Mark Coulton's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2025-09-07T23:05:09+00:00
items: Federal Election | Statements by Members | House debates
items: National Apology to the Stolen Generations: 17th Anniversary | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Albanese Government: Infrastructure | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Wee Waa Hospital | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: On Farm Connectivity Program | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Rural and Regional Health Services | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Royal Far West | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Inland Rail | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
items: Aged Care Bill 2024, Aged Care Legislation Amendment Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Pesticides | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Telecommunications | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Youth Voice in Parliament Week | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Parkes Electorate: Rural Newspapers | Adjournment | House debates
items: Parkes Electorate: Growing Regions Program | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Parkes Electorate: Mundi Mundi Bash | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates

Federal Election | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: After 17-and-a-bit years, this is my last speech in this place as the member for Parkes. I want to say how proud I have been to represent such a wonderful part of Australia. The people of...
encoded: After 17-and-a-bit years, this is my last speech in this place as the member for Parkes. I want to say how proud I have been to represent such a wonderful part of Australia. The people of Australia need to know that my constituents feed them and clothe them, keep their lights on, and work every day. The unemployment rate in the Parkes electorate is below the national average. But a word of warning: do not take these people for granted. In the last three years, despite the cessation of work on the Inland Rail and other government decisions, no senior ministers have been here. We've had a few nondescript senators wander through from time to time but no senior ministers. The people of Parkes are not happy about this. To show you the contempt the Labor Party has for the Parkes electorate, we're on the eve of an election—apparently it's going to be called tomorrow—and they don't have a candidate yet. They don't have a candidate for the seat of Parkes. Jamie Chaffey has been out there. He's knocked on about 22,000 doors and has been campaigning for eight months. That's how seriously the National Party takes representation in this place. In what has notionally been considered a safe seat, I have a candidate out there who has been working for eight months. It has been a great privilege, but it's time to move on.
date: 2025-03-27T13:51:00+00:00

National Apology to the Stolen Generations: 17th Anniversary | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Today marks the 17th anniversary of the apology to the stolen generation made by Kevin Rudd in this place. It also coincides with the anniversary of my very first day as a member of...
encoded: Today marks the 17th anniversary of the apology to the stolen generation made by Kevin Rudd in this place. It also coincides with the anniversary of my very first day as a member of parliament—a day that I'll never forget. As I'm coming to the end of my time here, I'm reflecting on things. I represent, in terms of percentage, the second-highest Indigenous population of any electorate in Australia, following only Lingiari in the Northern Territory. The relationships I've formed and the work I've done with Aboriginal communities over that time is something that I take a great deal of pride in—the friends that I've made and the successes and sometimes heartaches we've shared. One of the great success stories has been the Clontarf Foundation, which I've championed in this place right from the beginning. Across my electorate, we've got many of the foundation's campuses. Tomorrow, on the Senate lawn, Clontarf will be putting on a game of football—rugby league—and I'm looking forward to being part of that. Later in the week, there will be a presentation in the House from Clontarf as well. Because of Clontarf, hundreds of young men have graduated from high school and gone on to further education, employment, the military and a whole range of other things. The Aboriginal people in my electorate are working hard, and Clontarf has the next generation of leaders coming through.
date: 2025-02-10T16:24:00+00:00

Albanese Government: Infrastructure | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: The Labor Party has a real problem at the moment. They've just worked out that on the slim chance that they win the next election they'll have nothing to do because they've spent the last 2½...
encoded: The Labor Party has a real problem at the moment. They've just worked out that on the slim chance that they win the next election they'll have nothing to do because they've spent the last 2½ years opening projects funded by the previous government, full time. So what are their junior ministers and nondescript senators going to do in the next term? I've got a few suggestions. How about a sod-filling ceremony for the section of Inland Rail that didn't get started? We could have a bushwalk in the area that Narrabri Shire bought for their inland port. Maybe a game of cricket on the parched cotton fields where water was taken to give to South Australia to get votes in the Senate down there? For the real thrillseekers, I've got a beauty: crossing the Newell Highway with a road train full of grain at the site where $44 million for the overpass that was to make access to the Moree grain terminals safe was removed. That would be a great thing to do. This government has spent an entire session opening projects from funding that has been removed. Roads of Strategic Importance is no longer there. Building Better Regions—no longer there. For the ones that they have funded, they gave the money to the state government, who haven't handed it on yet. Growing Regions—not one cent has flown through to where it's needed.
date: 2025-02-06T13:57:00+00:00

Wee Waa Hospital | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: Basic health care is something that all Australians should have access to. And so can you imagine the frustration of a community that has had a service that is no longer available? The community...
encoded: Basic health care is something that all Australians should have access to. And so can you imagine the frustration of a community that has had a service that is no longer available? The community of Wee Waa have been very angry and upset by the actions of Hunter New England Health. They have closed Wee Waa Hospital. The emergency department closes at 5.30 every day. There is no visiting medical officer, and this hospital is largely underutilised. There are wards with beds. There are treatment rooms. Everything is ready to go. Despite the reassurances of the independent state member and the New South Wales health minister, there appears to be no action by Hunter New England Health in this regard. Hunter New England Health do have form there, I think, showing a lack of interest in the issues of and services for people in northern New South Wales. The community of Wee Waa have been publicly protesting. They have been trying to reach out to the New South Wales government. The Narrabri Shire Council mayor, Mayor Tiemens, has been very active in this space. It just needs the hierarchy and the leadership of Hunter New England Health to step out of Newcastle, go to Wee Waa, and come up with a solution. There are four doctors in Wee Waa, and none of them have the VMO rights at the local hospital. We are coming up to the cotton-picking season. There will be lots of heavy machinery and lots of people working in the fields. Young mums will need to bypass Wee Waa to go to Narrabri to have a baby. But it's not just Wee Waa. Wee Waa Hospital services a big community, largely to the west. There are communities from Burren Junction up to Rowena and nearly as far out as Walgett. Those people of western New South Wales rely on Wee Waa Hospital. I'm calling on the New South Wales government and Hunter New England Health to get behind the people of Wee Waa, get their skates on, hop in the car, drive to Wee Waa and fix this problem that should be very, very simply fixed with just a bit of…
date: 2025-02-05T09:35:00+00:00

On Farm Connectivity Program | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: After hearing speech after speech from members reading speaking notes from central HQ of the Labor Party, I've got an issue they might be interested to get their heads around: the debacle that...
encoded: After hearing speech after speech from members reading speaking notes from central HQ of the Labor Party, I've got an issue they might be interested to get their heads around: the debacle that was the rollout of round 2 of the On Farm Connectivity Program. Round 1 of the On Farm Connectivity Program, $15 million, took five months to expend. Now, don't get me wrong. This is a great program. This is assistance to help innovative farmers develop the connectivity across their farm, whether it's for monitoring of water or soil temperature or it's increasing the mobile coverage. But guess what? Round 2, $18 million, was expended in four days, of which two were a weekend. It wasn't announced publicly. It was on a website that farmers had to find. So, in four days, $18 million—four days. The maximum amount is $30,000. That's 600 applications they supposedly processed in two working days and finished the program off. I smell a rat, big time. There is something very, very strange going on, and it's very much in alignment with round 6 of the Mobile Black Spot Program, where, in New South Wales, all but one of those towers went into Labor-held seats, and I think eight or 10 of those never got built because there was actually no proposal to build them. Communication is important to the bush, and this government needs to take it seriously.
date: 2024-11-27T13:51:00+00:00

Rural and Regional Health Services | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: This motion is most appropriate. One of the issues that constantly comes to my three offices in western New South Wales is vacancies and the need for more health professionals. As of yesterday,...
encoded: This motion is most appropriate. One of the issues that constantly comes to my three offices in western New South Wales is vacancies and the need for more health professionals. As of yesterday, it's been 17 years since I was elected. The Member for Blair and I turned up on the same day. There have always been attempts to look for a silver bullet—the quick answer to fixing these problems. With regard to health, we've actually made it considerably worse. The idea of paying health professionals, whether they're doctors, nurses or in allied health, considerably more to go and work as locums has actually meant that it is now a pathway for people to choose as a career. I asked why someone would choose to go and hang up their shingle and work for 40 or 50 years as a local GP when they can fly in and fly out and earn considerably more money? The problem with that is that the standard of health is much lower. It doesn't matter how qualified that person is; health is all about relationships. It's all about having a person you know and can trust and having those critical discussions—end-of-life care, aged care and all of those things. I could point to the time when I was a regional health minister and working with the then Rural Health Commissioner, Professor Ruth Stewart. We worked with ACRRM and considerably increased the numbers of training places for the generalist pathway. Part of the problem was that general practitioners were getting trained in specific areas but they didn't have the qualifications to go into a rural region where they may have needed more skills in emergency medicine but also other skills such as in anaesthetics or obstetrics—something that could benefit a broader range of patients. There was a reluctance to go out, but changing the John Flynn program from being a student experience to putting that money into more actual training places in regional areas has significantly given more people that opportunity to train in a regional area. We've also had a g…
date: 2024-11-25T12:51:00+00:00

Royal Far West | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: I move: That this House: (1) acknowledges that: (a) Royal Far West (RFW) is a national charity dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Australia's country children across more than 200 schools...
encoded: I move: That this House: (1) acknowledges that: (a) Royal Far West (RFW) is a national charity dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Australia's country children across more than 200 schools and 364 communities; and (b) RFW is celebrating its centenary of service to Australia in 2024; (2) notes that: (a) in 2019, RFW received funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care to provide services online to schools and preschools under the National Paediatric Telecare Service (NPTS), and that funding finishes in June next year; (b) workforce shortages in regional areas, and a resulting lack of access to services, has seen high demand for NPTS; (c) the NPTS overcomes the tyranny of distance and reduces expenses for families in the midst of a cost of living crisis; and (d) operating across four states, the NPTS has provided support to 20,000 children, parents and educators; and (3) urges the Government to provide ongoing funding to RFW to allow this vital allied health and mental health service to continue to support families in rural, regional and remote Australia. In December this year, next month, Royal Far West will be 100 years old. I can proudly say that its roots are firmly planted in the Parkes electorate. Reverend Drummond, who spent time himself recuperating in Manly all that time ago, thought, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring children from the country to the coast, where they could get medical care and assistance—not only those children but their families as well?' The first lot of children that came in from the country came from places like Brewarrina, Bourke and Cobar. One of the first establishments was an old railway carriage that was repurposed for use as a clinic in Cobar. So Royal Far West has a long and proud history in delivering care to children from remote parts of Australia, largely New South Wales, but it has now expanded into other areas. Originally, as children and families were brought in to their facility at Manly, they had an all-encom…
date: 2024-11-25T11:50:00+00:00

Inland Rail | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: Last week a press release came out from Minister King and the Prime Minister, acknowledging and taking credit for the completion of the Narrabri to Turrawan upgrade of the railway on the Hunter...
encoded: Last week a press release came out from Minister King and the Prime Minister, acknowledging and taking credit for the completion of the Narrabri to Turrawan upgrade of the railway on the Hunter coal line. Great news—except this government didn't put a razoo into it, and the minister has never been anywhere near Narrabri and wouldn't know where Turrawan was. The significance of this project, which was entirely funded and conceived by the previous government, is that it connects the Hunter coal line to the Inland Rail at Narrabri. So now we will have higher capacity trains—grain trains and cotton trains—going from Moree and Narrabri into the port of Newcastle. The government dropping the ball on the Inland Rail project has been nothing short of a scandal. We talk a lot in this place about reducing our emissions, road safety, promoting regional development and cheaper prices on supermarket shelves. There's one project that does all of that, Inland Rail. It has 1,700 kilometres of track from Melbourne to Brisbane, taking trucks off the road, reducing carbon emissions and leading to cheaper freight, and this government has dropped the ball. We need a new government in Canberra, someone that understands the importance of regional Australia, to get this project back on track.
date: 2024-11-21T13:42:00+00:00

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
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description: on indulgence—Mr Speaker, I'd like to start by acknowledging you and the job you're doing, particularly your outreach that you are taking out all over Australia. The five small schools that...
encoded: on indulgence—Mr Speaker, I'd like to start by acknowledging you and the job you're doing, particularly your outreach that you are taking out all over Australia. The five small schools that you visited in my electorate were very grateful. It was a two-way conversation. I'm really pleased that you're now much more aware of the finer points of catching wild pigs, and the roles that the dogs do and the various parts of the pig's anatomy that they grab hold of! But I can say, Mr Speaker, that in 17 years in this place I have never been asked to leave under 94(a). Opposition members: There's still time! I don't believe it's because of my behaviour. This is as close as I've ever sat to the Speaker in 17 years. You'd have to have a Speaker with ears like an African elephant to actually hear any interjection from this far back. So, except for the two years I was Deputy Speaker and happened to sit in that chair, it's been fairly uneventful in here for me, apart from misleading the House as a minister during question time. That's a very interesting thing to do! That walk from down there up to the dispatch box, not knowing what you're going to say when you leave down there is a feeling all of its own. And, on my second day as Deputy Speaker, having a motion of no confidence in the chair is also something that I will remember fondly! It is, next week, 17 years since I was elected. It's appropriate that the member for Forrest and the member for Grey are doing these speeches today—three farmers from different parts of the country. The member for Grey's my next-door neighbour. We've got about a 500-kilometre boundary fence between South Australia and New South Wales. Indeed, I've got one of my offices on South Australian time. So we have a lot in common. I'd like to acknowledge that we've got some very special people in the gallery. I'd like to acknowledge my family. I've got my sister Joy and her husband, Jim; and my much older brother, John, and his wife, Kerry. My brother Bob i…
date: 2024-11-18T16:24:00+00:00

Aged Care Bill 2024, Aged Care Legislation Amendment Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: I rise to speak on this Aged Care Bill tonight. I understand we have an ageing population in this country. I speak as someone who is a baby boomer, I've got to admit—one of the younger baby...
encoded: I rise to speak on this Aged Care Bill tonight. I understand we have an ageing population in this country. I speak as someone who is a baby boomer, I've got to admit—one of the younger baby boomers, but a baby boomer. We are the largest cohort of citizens in Australia, and we, the baby boomers, are rapidly heading to being in higher need. So there's a need for this parliament to work through to improve legislation around aged care and how it's managed. It is incredibly important. I would like to give credit to the government and Minister Wells and the coalition leadership team that agreed to work through this process and make some changes, particularly around regional funding. This issue is way above party politics. This is way above some of the issues that get debated in this place. There is a Senate inquiry happening, and, if it happens to identify issues that need to be fine-tuned or corrected, I'm certainly hopeful that the process is there to do that. Fundamentally, with this large wave of Australian post-war babies that are coming through the system, there will be an enormous burden and pressure on this country—on the cost of funding that and on the workforce. By the time the baby boomers will need peak care, we're going to go from three out of five Australians in the workforce back to two. So not only are we going to have a smaller income coming to the government through income tax; we're also going to have a workforce issue. It's the workforce issue at the moment that is creating some problems in aged care in my electorate, but, before I go on to that, I might just touch on something else. I was regional health minister during the pandemic, and I believe one of the absolute scandals was the way the Australian media portrayed aged care during that time. They made elderly people fearful, so much so that people are only gaining back the confidence to go into that higher level of care. Quite frankly, we've seen people languishing at home, living in less-than-opt…
date: 2024-11-06T18:08:00+00:00

Pesticides | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: I, too, stand here to support the member for Mallee and her motion in this House. I acknowledge that the members opposite, in the Labor Party, are in fierce agreement, but they can't resist the...
encoded: I, too, stand here to support the member for Mallee and her motion in this House. I acknowledge that the members opposite, in the Labor Party, are in fierce agreement, but they can't resist the temptation to throw a political spin onto what's a very common sense motion. I speak with practical experience in the use of paraquat. In my previous role as a grain farmer, we would use that in what's known as a double knock. The glyphosate would take out a lot of the weeds. The harder to kill ones would need another application, this time of paraquat, to finish them up. People would go, 'Oh, you're using chemicals.' The reason that at the moment, as we speak, right across western New South Wales we have the biggest wheat crops on record ever harvested is the technique of growing wheat in western New South Wales, and that's using no till, zero till. We're not ploughing or cultivating; we're just preserving the trash from the previous crop on top of the ground. It reflects the light and the heat, and it conserves the moisture. We hear a lot of talk in this place about carbon farming and funky phrases about what's all the go. The farmers in my electorate have been doing this for decades. They pioneered this process. The ABC didn't just play this once. I must be in the car—I think it was last week—driving around my electorate, and I heard the first report on this, with the same gentleman quoted, between six and 6.30 in the morning. Then, it was on between 12 and 1, and it was on the afternoon show, at about four in the afternoon. So three times in the one day they read this. I've got great sympathy for the gentleman they reviewed, who has Parkinson's and who believes the use of this chemical might have led to it. But he also said he was soaked in this chemical. Look, if you soaked yourself every day in petrol, you probably wouldn't be all that healthy, but we're not banning petrol. If mechanics tipped battery acid over their heads while installing batteries into cars, it probab…
date: 2024-11-04T12:05:00+00:00

Telecommunications | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: A few weeks ago, a storm hit the 240-kilometre-long Transgrid powerline that connects Broken Hill to Wentworth, to the south. Of the backup generators that were in place, one was being serviced...
encoded: A few weeks ago, a storm hit the 240-kilometre-long Transgrid powerline that connects Broken Hill to Wentworth, to the south. Of the backup generators that were in place, one was being serviced and the other one shortly after failed, which caused a huge amount of hardship not only to the people of Broken Hill but also the other communities in the far west. That also affected the telecommunications towers. There's been a massive job to get everything back in order, from Telstra putting generators into those towers to Essential Energy and Transgrid getting generators up and going. It has caused hardship. There's a of wastage. Most people in town, including the coffee shops, lost all the contents of their fridges and freezers. Indeed, someone stole the generator from the pharmacy, so the chilled pharmaceuticals were all ruined. It was a major disaster. I'd like to acknowledge Senator McAllister, who has shown great interest and has been in communication with me about the federal response to this. Just as a comment, though, Broken Hill is surrounded by renewables, including solar and wind, and there's a high level of rooftop solar. But, on this particular occasion, that seemed to work against getting the power back on track, with the surging solar impacting the generators.
date: 2024-11-04T13:42:00+00:00

Youth Voice in Parliament Week | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: Today I'm making a speech on behalf of someone else as part of the Raise Our Voice Australia campaign. I'm about to read a speech written by Molly from Dubbo. When I read this speech, everyone in...
encoded: Today I'm making a speech on behalf of someone else as part of the Raise Our Voice Australia campaign. I'm about to read a speech written by Molly from Dubbo. When I read this speech, everyone in Dubbo will know who I'm speaking about. The speech reads: Honourable Members of Parliament, I am from the Parkes Electorate, and today I stand before you not just as a survivor, but as an advocate for change. At 18, I've spent over a third of my life fighting osteosarcoma—a rare and deadly cancer that too many young Australians face, yet too few know about. In the next 10 years, I envision a community where sarcoma is no longer the "forgotten cancer", and where every young person diagnosed with this disease has access to the research, treatment and support they need to survive and thrive. But to make this vision a reality, Parliament must act now. Sarcoma kills more teenagers than any other cancer, yet it receives less than 1% of all cancer funding. This is unacceptable. We need dedicated funding for sarcoma research, national awareness campaigns, and the resources to ensure that no family has to face this battle alone. As a member of the Dubbo Youth Council and the 2024 Dubbo Citizen of the Year, I know far too many families who have lost young people to this deadly disease. I've raised funds, shared stories and fought to make a difference—but I need your help to secure the necessary funding to bring hope to these families. Together, we can ensure that in 10 years, sarcoma is no longer a death sentence, but a challenge we have faced and overcome. I won't rest until we do.
date: 2024-10-10T09:36:00+00:00

Parkes Electorate: Rural Newspapers | Adjournment | House debates
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description: On 1 October a significant event happened in the north-west part of New South Wales, in my electorate: the Narrabri Courieroriginally the North Western Courierchanged hands after 104 years. It...
encoded: On 1 October a significant event happened in the north-west part of New South Wales, in my electorate: the Narrabri Courieroriginally the North Western Courierchanged hands after 104 years. It has been in the Dunnet family since 1920, when it was purchased by JS Dunnet. Since then, various members of that family, most recently the third generation, Wanda and Ian Dunnet, have been managing that newspaper. It is an institution not only in Narrabri but in Wee Waa, where they run the Wee Waa News, and more recently in Gunnedah, where they have the Gunnedah Times and the North West Magazine. The Dunnets have shown the importance of having a newspaper that is connected to the community and understands the community, one that does not run an agenda but shares the highs and the lows of the community through the newspaper and deals with contentious issues from time to time. I'm really pleased that Mark and Susie Slack-Smith have purchased the Courier, and I welcome them. I know that the residents of the towns that are serviced by these newspapers are really pleased that Mark and Susie have taken on the ownership and that they will see those papers continue. Over the years there have been some contentious issues that the Courier has not been afraid to be involved in. The first one in my memory would probably be the introduction of irrigated cotton and the change in the landscape in Narrabri and the Namoi Valley, from grazing, largely, to more intensive irrigation. The introduction of the coal seam gas industry in the Pilliga forest is an issue that is still bubbling away. More recent has been the route of the inland rail through Narrabri. The Courier has been instrumental in allowing opinions from all sides of the arguments to be voiced. When the Namoi Valley Independent closed down, Ian and Wanda Dunnet started a new newspaper in Gunnedah, and the Gunnedah Times is now a very solid newspaper servicing that community. I want to touch on that time. During the pandemic, ACM rec…
date: 2024-10-08T19:49:00+00:00

Parkes Electorate: Growing Regions Program | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: Over the term of this government we've seen a cutback in funding going into regional Australia. We've seen the cessation of local government programs for community infrastructure and roads, such...
encoded: Over the term of this government we've seen a cutback in funding going into regional Australia. We've seen the cessation of local government programs for community infrastructure and roads, such as Roads of Strategic Importance and the Stronger Communities Program. The Growing Regions Program, which is this government's flagship funding program for regional Australia, is something that my communities have been hanging out for. I acknowledge that, in the last round, five projects in my electorate were funded, and those organisations were grateful to receive that funding. We've got a problem in New South Wales at the moment, though, in that round 2 closes for applications in two days time, on 10 October. Since 13 September, local government has been in caretaker mode, virtually, because of local government elections. We haven't had councils. In some of the 19 councils in the Parkes electorate, we haven't yet got a mayor elected, because of the timeframe and the complexity of counting in local government elections. I'm calling on Minister King to please extend that deadline out by another week or so so that councils that have been caught up in the hiatus of local government elections can get their applications in. (Time expired)
date: 2024-10-08T13:51:00+00:00

Inland Rail | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: The Prime Minister championed this project back when he was a minister in the Gillard-Rudd government. At the moment there, there's no-one. Neither Minister King nor the Prime Minister have been...
encoded: The Prime Minister championed this project back when he was a minister in the Gillard-Rudd government. At the moment there, there's no-one. Neither Minister King nor the Prime Minister have been to that area to explain anything to those communities, farmers and businesses that are having to sell their equipment to make ends meet. Prime Minister, don't send another gormless senator to go to those towns and patronise those people about what's going on. Hop on the jet—there are plenty of places to land at Narromine, Narrabri and Moree—and talk to the people and explain to them what's happened with this project.
date: 2024-08-21T13:51:00+00:00

Inland Rail | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Will the one-term member on the other side be quiet for a bit?
encoded: Will the one-term member on the other side be quiet for a bit?
date: 2024-08-21T13:51:00+00:00

Inland Rail | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Over the years, I've heard magnificent speeches in this place about decentralisation, regional development, lower carbon emissions, cheaper prices in our capital cities, better access to ports...
encoded: Over the years, I've heard magnificent speeches in this place about decentralisation, regional development, lower carbon emissions, cheaper prices in our capital cities, better access to ports for farms and miners, lower use of fossil fuel, jobs for Aboriginal people, a lower death toll on the Newell Highway and support for the Australian steel industry. There is one project that does all of those things: the Inland Rail project. But, for the last two years, there has been no activity north of Narromine. The farmers are wondering whether they should be negotiating to sell their land—
date: 2024-08-21T13:51:00+00:00

Parkes Electorate: Mundi Mundi Bash | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: Last weekend in the far west of New South Wales, in my electorate, there was a three-day music festival, the Mundi Mundi Bash. There were 14,500 people, and 5,000 caravans rolled into town....
encoded: Last weekend in the far west of New South Wales, in my electorate, there was a three-day music festival, the Mundi Mundi Bash. There were 14,500 people, and 5,000 caravans rolled into town. Broken Hill and Silverton were absolutely chock-a-block with people. While they were there, they undertook the Mundi Undi run in their underpants. They raised $68,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They also set a new world record, with 7,200 people dressed in blue making a map of Australia. The drone footage looks amazing; it's worth checking that out. They also raised $115,888 for Beyond Blue. This is now becoming an institution packed to capacity. Mundi Mundi Plains is one of the most sensational places in my electorate. From the lookout, looking towards South Australia, you can see the curvature of the earth looking towards Mundi Mundi. It's beautiful. These people not only experienced the beauty of Silverton, Broken Hill and the far west. They also stopped, on their way to and from, at Menindee, Wilcannia and some of the other magnificent communities that are in the Parkes electorate. This has become an institution. People look forward to it, and it's really good that the visitors to the far west are not only contributing to the economy but are also understanding how wonderful it is.
date: 2024-08-19T16:36:00+00:00

Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: I rise tonight to speak on the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, and I'll state from the outset that I am opposed to this bill. I've been listening to the speeches, particularly on the other...
encoded: I rise tonight to speak on the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, and I'll state from the outset that I am opposed to this bill. I've been listening to the speeches, particularly on the other side, and sometimes I think I'm in a high school debating club where you can signal your virtue and talk about wonderful things. The previous speaker, the member for Tangney, talked about high-paid jobs. I'm just wondering how that works when you take an operator off a D10 bulldozer because you've closed down their mine and you give them a bottle of Windex and a soft cloth to wipe the dust off solar panels. How does that actually work? We've heard other members blame the coalition for the Holdens and the rest of the car industry leaving Australia. Would they keep subsidising it? The reason that Ford and Holden left Australia is that they made a product that no-one wanted to buy. We didn't lose the Kingswoods and the Falcons; we lost a large family sedan that was too low slung to go on a country road and too big for the city. A lot of people come to me and complain about the loss of Holden and Ford. When you ask them what they're driving, they say, 'Oh, it's a Hilux,' or something. So the Australian people made the decision about Holden and Ford leaving Australia. Following on from the speeches from the Labor Party, we would probably continue to be subsidising them to make something that they don't really want. The previous member spoke about universities and getting the skills to undertake this new industry that we're going to have in our renewable powerhouse. I'm not sure what university course teaches you how to use a pop riveter, but that's the sort of skill you would need in a factory bolting together solar panels. I'm wondering where this workforce is going to come from. One of the reasons that manufacturing has moved offshore is the scarcity of labour. The industrial relations laws in this country have made it incredibly difficult. With the implementation of the IR agend…
date: 2024-08-19T18:37:00+00:00