Rick Wilson's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
O'Connor Electorate: Agriculture | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to give this speech in memory of O'Connor constituent, Mark Huisman, an innovative deer farmer and loving husband of Keeva. Since Mark's untimely passing last July, Keeva has worked...
I rise today to give this speech in memory of O'Connor constituent, Mark Huisman, an innovative deer farmer and loving husband of Keeva. Since Mark's untimely passing last July, Keeva has worked tirelessly to maintain his legacy, single-handedly running Premier Deer Farm. I visited the farm when Mark was still alive and was guided through their novel agricultural enterprise: selectively breeding deer with antler and velvet characteristics specific to the traditional Chinese medicine market. Deer velvet is worth around $110 per kilogram, and the Huismans are the biggest producers of velvet in Australia, yielding about 35 per cent of our annual harvest. Unfortunately, in May 2023, China ceased importation of frozen deer velvet from both New Zealand and Australia. While New Zealand promptly renegotiated new protocols and resumed the velvet trade with China, Australia did not. In my communications with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, it appears any progress in their negotiations with the General Administration of Customs of China has been painfully slow. Questions asked in Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Senate estimates in March 2025 revealed DAFF were actually unaware of the May 2023 Chinese ban until May 2024, but they had been working on an interim solution to secure export of the 2024 deer velvet harvest. Meanwhile, Australia's velvet producers were holding that harvest literally on ice at minus 22 degrees Celsius in expensive freezer facilities. I subsequently made several representations to the Minister for Agriculture. In August 2025, Minister Collins provided a glimmer of hope for producers like Keeva Huisman when she stated, 'I'm hopeful the trade may resume in time for the upcoming harvest later this year,' and, 'The department will continue to prioritise the resumption of this trade.' Well, the 2025 harvest is now complete and producers are now stuck with two years of perishable product, which has devalued by up to 45 per cent, whilst unproductive negotiations continue. For my constituent Keeva Huisman, her future has also stalled. She has an unsellable asset and a business with no turnover. She imports skilled labour from New Zealand to harvest a product with no market, and she has had no income for the past two years. As summer progresses, Keeva has 1,000 hungry deer to feed, many with fawns at foot, and any prospect of turning stock off is limited by local processing capacity of only eight animals per week. With all these delays, Keeva is looking down the barrel, literally, of having to shoot her herd if this trade does not recommence. I close by commending Keeva on her determination to continue Mark's legacy as Australia's premier producer of quality deer velvet, and I call on Minister Collins and the department to redouble their efforts to restore the trade in Australian frozen deer velvet with China. Our reputation as a reliable exporter of fit-for-purpose deer velvet is at stake.
Australia Day Honours and Awards | Statements | House debates
Today I recognise outstanding Australians whose service reflects the very best of our nation's values: commitment, compassion, courage and care for community, culture and country. The 2026...
Today I recognise outstanding Australians whose service reflects the very best of our nation's values: commitment, compassion, courage and care for community, culture and country. The 2026 Australian honours include four appointments to the Order of Australia and one meritorious award for people in my electorate of O'Connor, acknowledging decades of dedication across Western Australia. Mr William Faahan-Smith of Castletown is recognised for extraordinary service to the community through emergency response organisations. Over 40 years with Esperance sea search and rescue and the state emergency service, alongside leadership in Rotary and community safety initiatives, Mr Faahan-Smith's service has saved lives and strengthened our region. Mr Ezzard Flowers of Gnowangerup was honoured for his lifelong service to Indigenous communities. A cultural leader, mentor and advocate, his work spans Aboriginal health, land, language and the arts. He has empowered communities and preserved culture for future generations. Mrs Betty Loxton of Kalgoorlie was recognised for her decades of charitable and community service. Her lifelong service to civic organisations and support for vulnerable people has earned widespread respect and numerous community honours. Mr Peter Robinson of Kojonup was acknowledged for exceptional service to conservation and the environment. For more than 40 years, he has led and supported environmental campaigns and shaped policy. Finally, the Australia Fire Service Medal was awarded to Mr John Jonker of Manjimup. With over 55 years of frontline service, his courage, technical skill and leadership have saved lives.
Western Australia: Agriculture Industry, Live Animal Exports: Sheep | Adjournment | House debates
Tonight I rise to give a big shout-out to the grain growers of Western Australia and also to update the House on the plight of sheep producers across Western Australia. Let's start with the good...
Tonight I rise to give a big shout-out to the grain growers of Western Australia and also to update the House on the plight of sheep producers across Western Australia. Let's start with the good news. This year—and I had an update from Co-operative Bulk Handling today—the Western Australian farmers and grain growers produced a record crop of 27 million tonnes, roughly. That is the estimate of GIWA. The dominant grain handler in Western Australia, CBH, received 24.2 million tonnes. That is 1.3 million tonnes higher than the previous record receivable, so that is an amazing achievement by our Western Australian grain growers. It wasn't a fantastic season—the rains came just in time in most instances—but the crop production was outstanding. That is testament to the production gains that have been made by the industry, whether that be through improved machinery, sowing, seeding and harvesting techniques or whether it be through improved varieties, such as Roundup Ready or GM canola, which has allowed growers to sow early, sow dry and take advantage of every drop of rain. In the case of cereals, some of the new varieties are just phenomenal yielders. To the grain growers of WA: well done. To CBH: also well done. Two of my girls worked on the receival points. It was a big job, with 5,000 volunteers. They did a wonderful job of receiving the crop in record time. As machines get bigger, trucks and transport get bigger. But it's not all good news across the Western Australian wheat belt and the Great Southern. In the sheep industry, we are seeing dramatic declines in numbers now. Ironically, that has been good for prices. Prices in the sheep industry at the moment are actually quite good. However, we've seen a dramatic drop in the number of breeding stock, which is now leading to abattoirs and processing plants being short of numbers. Just before we came back to Canberra, I was told by my local processor that they were dropping a day a week off their work schedule because they can't get enough numbers. Now, this is very early days in the impact of the government's phase-out of the live-export policy, and the results that many of us have predicted are starting to be manifested. Confidence in the sheep industry in Western Australia collapsed in 2022, after the May 2022 election, when the current government won with a policy to phase out the live-export trade. The Western Australian sheep flock has traditionally been based on a self-replacing merino flock and the merino wether. The male progeny has traditionally been sold to the live-export trade. That self-replacing merino, as opposed to a British breed—a crossbreed, as we call them, or a shedding sheep—needs to be shorn. It needs to be crutched. There's quite a lot of animal husbandry that goes into that. That supports the shearing teams in our country towns, which in turn puts a fair bit of money through the local pub. Kids go to school in the small local schools. We predicted that this would decimate those towns, and that's exactly what it is doing. Sheep numbers have dropped in Western Australia from 12.2 million sheep in 2022. The only accurate figures we've got from DPIRD are that they dropped to 9.8 million sheep by 2023. I can tell you anecdotally—I go to the saleyards, I talk to stock agents, I talk to truckies—that sheep numbers are collapsing. People are selling breeding stock as quickly as they can get rid of them. Ironically enough, the good prices that we're seeing today are leading to growers getting out of the industry. They can get good money for the breeding stock which are going to the local abattoirs and being slaughtered. Those sheep will not be breeding a lamb next year so the processors will find it even harder to find stock next year. Now, if you can't keep a many, many multimillion dollar plant operating five days a week, then the viability of that plant becomes questionable. The two biggest abattoirs in my part of the world will find it hard to keep the 350 staff on. We are seeing the manifestation of the government's live export policy play out in front of our very eyes.
Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I rise today to point out to the House that law-abiding, gun-owning farmers, sporting shooters, recreational shooters, hunters and people who like to get out in the bush and do a bit of target...
I rise today to point out to the House that law-abiding, gun-owning farmers, sporting shooters, recreational shooters, hunters and people who like to get out in the bush and do a bit of target practice are being scapegoated by this government. In the electorate of O'Connor we have many gun owners. We've heard from government members today that—shock, horror—there are four million guns in this country; that's seven people for every one gun. Well, I can tell you that, in the electorate of O'Connor, that ratio would be far higher. Yet, when I think back on my 13 years as the member for O'Connor and how many terrorist attacks there have been in the electorate of O'Connor, that number is zero. When I think back on any serious gun crimes that have taken place in my electorate of O'Connor in 13 years, the number is zero. That would suggest, to me, that it's not the guns or the number of guns that are the problem. An additional factor for Western Australians in this debate is that we have just been through a gun buyback scheme conducted by the Western Australian government. As a licensed gun owner myself, I found that process quite traumatic. My dealings with the police department made me feel as if I was a suspected criminal. Many people contacted me—even though I'm a federal member and this was state legislation—about how intimidating and difficult that process was for them. They are now going to be subjected to that process a second time. This ramps up what the Western Australian government did. I'm very disappointed that the member for Hunter isn't here to talk about what he thinks about making vests illegal. The vests that clay target shooters and other shooters, including pistol shooters, wear as a matter of course as part of their sport will now be deemed to be illegal and punishable by a jail sentence of up to five years. Reloading—which is par for the course for sporting shooters, to reload their own ammunition—will now be punished by up to five years in prison. I conclude today by saying that I strongly oppose the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026, and I will always fight for the rights of law-abiding citizens in my electorate of O'Connor.
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
As literally the last opposition speaker on today's condolence motions, I've heard many fine contributions on the tragedy that was 14 December: speeches acknowledging the heartache and loss...
As literally the last opposition speaker on today's condolence motions, I've heard many fine contributions on the tragedy that was 14 December: speeches acknowledging the heartache and loss suffered by the families and loved ones of the 15 innocents who were killed on that fateful day in Bondi, and speeches acknowledging the heroism of those who ran towards gunfire to help their fellow Australians—heroes including members of the public, the police, paramedics and the lifesavers who are here in the gallery this morning, performing actions which, for many Australians, have restored their faith in the people of our great nation. These were everyday heroes not afraid to act bravely without thought for their personal safety. I can only add my condolences on behalf of myself, my family and the communities across my vast electorate of O'Connor. Geographically, O'Connor is about as far away from Bondi Beach as you can get and still be within continental Australia, but Bondi holds a special part in the hearts of all Australians, and the people of O'Connor were shocked at the desecration of this most revered place. They were shocked that our Jewish community were singled out and targeted while celebrating the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. They were shocked that families that had gathered to light candles, to sing and to pray were torn apart in a moment of mayhem and destruction. My office has been inundated with calls from constituents offering condolences and sympathy for the loss. They were heartfelt and sincere. But beneath that genuine sympathy I detected a burning anger. People have asked: 'How did it come to this? How did we allow antisemitism to fester and grow to the point where innocent Australian families celebrating a religious festival at one of our most iconic beaches were gunned down in cold blood?' The call for a royal commission to find answers, which rang out across the country, was echoed by the good people of O'Connor. There is a steely determination by everyday Australians that this tragedy should never happen again in this country, and that is why the responsibility falls directly on our shoulders in this place. The condolences that have been expressed so eloquently here today will mean nothing if we do not act to prevent this tragedy being repeated. We know some of the actions that are required already. Other measures will be recommended by the royal commission. Above all, we must all of us demonstrate leadership by condemning antisemitic hate when we see it. We need to demonstrate that as leaders of our communities we will not tolerate hateful slogans and marches targeting our Jewish brothers and sisters, because to do anything less will dishonour the memory of those who died so needlessly on 14 December at our nation's favourite beach. May all their memories live on in the hearts and minds of Australians, and may their legacy be a commitment to peace and tolerance for all fellow Australians without regard for religion or ethnicity. We are all one under our Australian flag, so may this be a watershed moment in our shared history.
O'Connor Electorate: Medicare | Constituency Statements | House debates
My constituents, like all Australians, treat health care and access to Medicare as a major priority. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Albanese promised on over 70 occasions that...
My constituents, like all Australians, treat health care and access to Medicare as a major priority. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Albanese promised on over 70 occasions that Australians would be able to see their doctor with nothing more than a Medicare card, but recently published Medicare data shows that bulk billing nationally stands at 77.6 per cent—unimproved from a year ago. The PM isn't fooling anyone in my electorate of O'Connor, where bulk-billing rates have dropped to 76.1 per cent. Under the previous coalition government, O'Connor's bulk-billing rates were 84.4 per cent, which means bulk-billing rates have actually dropped 8.7 per cent under Labor in my electorate. In 2022, the average out-of-pocket cost for a visit to the doctor in O'Connor was $43.19. This year's Cleanbill Blue report states that the average out-of-pocket cost for someone visiting a GP in O'Connor is now at $45.41. That's an increase of five per cent. Last week's West Australian published an article headlined '$8.5 billion bulk-bill baulk'. It stated that, despite the much-lauded commencement of bulk-billing reform, figures across Perth had failed to improve. Citing the government's official health website, Healthdirect, the West found that only two out of 30 GP clinics fully bulk-billed in each of the large Perth metropolitan centres, Joondalup and Midland. In Fremantle and Mandurah, only five out of a collective 60 clinics advertised that they fully bulk-billed. I conducted a quick search for my electorate. The city of Albany, with a population of 40,000, has only one practice advertised as fully bulk-billed. In Esperance, with a population of 17,000, none of the GP practices contacted had taken up the fully bulk-billing option, and only one clinic indicated that they were open to doing so in the future. On the plus side, a constituent from Wagin, with a population of 1,800, responded that their town's only GP was now fully bulk-billing. Unfortunately, for many of our O'Connor towns there is no local doctor. Increasingly it has fallen to local government authorities to secure and sustain medical services for their residents. In 2023 the Wheatbelt shire of Quairading made national headlines when they offered a package of $1 million to secure a GP. On top of a base salary, the shire was providing a four-bedroom house and covering all running costs at the clinic. Shire president Peter Smith told the West Australian: If we don't have a doctor, we don't have a medical clinic … Then we won't have a hospital … we won't have a chemist … and so the demise will continue. This mantra is echoed by many of the 47 regional shires across O'Connor and was reiterated in the inquiry into local government sustainability currently being conducted by the House Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport. In the committee's interim report, the chair of the committee, the member for Solomon, said— (Time expired)
Valedictory | Constituency Statements | House debates
I'd like to start this constituency statement with a big shout-out to this year's school leavers as they celebrate the end of their school days and the beginning of summer holidays. You've all...
I'd like to start this constituency statement with a big shout-out to this year's school leavers as they celebrate the end of their school days and the beginning of summer holidays. You've all worked so hard, and I'm sure I join your parents, siblings and friends in congratulating you on this milestone achievement. I trust you're safely celebrating at the end of your journey through primary and secondary education, sharing your joy with the friends you have made along the way, who will likely be there for you long into the future. I wish you every success for your brave new journey into continuing education, training or employment and what I'm sure will be a bright future ahead. In this, my final parliamentary speech of 2025, I take this opportunity to thank the entire O'Connor community for putting their faith in me by re-electing me for a fifth term. I promise to continue to work hard to represent your interests in Canberra and make sure regional communities like ours thrive and grow. O'Connor is an electorate of great beauty, varied and wonderful people, and boundless opportunity. At this time of year, whatever your faith, I hope Christmas provides you with time to reflect on the year past and make plans for the future. It's an opportunity to appreciate the simple things in life: good food, good friends and the love of your partner and family. I'll close by wishing you a merry Christmas, a blessed holiday season and a healthy, hopeful start to a terrific 2026. In closing, I'd like to say a big thank you to a much valued community asset that closed its business doors last week, the Esperance Weekender. A casualty of COVID, the town's previous local masthead closed in 2020, and the resourceful locals established a new weekly newspaper, the Esperance Weekender, to fill the news void. It was started more as a social enterprise than a business prospect due to a combination of economic uncertainty and what the local appetite for advertising might be. Editor Geoff Vivian had previous experience on another independent newspaper that had folded, the Great Southern Weekender. Geoff was appointed in 2022 and was still at the helm when the final edition hit the newsstands on Friday 14 November. I pay tribute to Malcolm Heasman and his leadership of the tight team of locals who had a clear vision for a newspaper that would engage the local community, support local businesses and provide topical local news. To Geoff, Nikki, Greg, Clara and Roslyn: thank you for your dedication to the Esperance community and for producing a paper that delivered on its purpose until the end. I know that your drive and talent will stand you in good stead for the future.
Fuel | Statements by Members | House debates
My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. I've spoken recently about the devastating effects of Labor's safeguard mechanism, capacity mechanism and vehicle emissions reduction scheme...
My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. I've spoken recently about the devastating effects of Labor's safeguard mechanism, capacity mechanism and vehicle emissions reduction scheme on our miners and primary producers. Now they're coming after the diesel fuel rebate scheme. Just to be clear, the diesel fuel excise is designed to fund the maintenance of Australia's public roads, so the fuel credit scheme rebates diesel used for off-road business activities—activities like the seeding and harvesting of grain; the irrigation, mechanised pruning, picking and packing of our fruit and veg; and the fuelling of boats used to sustainably harvest O'Connor's premium finfish, abalone and southern rock lobster. For our mining operations that extract gold, coal, bauxite, nickel, lithium, graphite and rare earths, this will add to the already considerable costs of complying with the safeguard mechanism. An O'Connor miner recently stated that they are investing in solar and wind power at twice the cost per megawatt hour of diesel generation and are installing battery storage at twice the cost per megawatt hour, and they still need diesel generators to back it all up. Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean recently described the diesel fuel rebate scheme as insane. But what is insane is to further harm the primary producers who feed and clothe our nation and the miners extracting the very minerals on which this government's net zero aspirations rely.
Bureau of Meteorology | Constituency Statements | House debates
The Bureau of Meteorology has just spent $4.1 million creating a new website that delivers net zero benefits in weather information. Social media, particularly rural and regional pages like Farm...
The Bureau of Meteorology has just spent $4.1 million creating a new website that delivers net zero benefits in weather information. Social media, particularly rural and regional pages like Farm Twitter, has been burning up with comments like 'epic fail', 'the worst website redesign for many years' and 'improvements that result in less transparency and usability'. There are others who helpfully provide a link back to the old version, particularly for radar observations. My staff have taken calls and had visits from constituents who could not comprehend how the Bureau of Meteorology could get it so wrong. An elderly constituent from Esperance complained that the font and colour scheme were badly designed for those with poor vision. She said she's struggling to read it even with a magnifying glass, and the ability to enlarge text seems to have disappeared. She was also unhappy that the new map coverage did not give her the ability to predict inclement weather. I believe this helpful lady shares this information with her fellow seniors so they can plan to leave their homes on their mobility scooters to shop and to meet up. She now has no confidence as to how long the clear weather will last or when the bad weather will hit. A farmer from Ravensthorpe who flies a plane also said he wanted the colour gradient from the old website to return. He's actually colourblind, an affliction that affects eight per cent of men. He felt that the previous radar map provided easy-to-comprehend wind speed and direction, temperature and rain information, with a colour gradient that made sense to the colourblind. With grain harvest well and truly underway in WA, farmers want and need accurate forecasts to plan and manage the delivery and storage of grain. The $4.1 million cost of the new website is outrageous if it has not improved the functionality and reliability for users. After spending $866 million across seven years on the Robust project, you would think that the bureau could get the public-facing website right. People want to check the radar and see relevant information at a glance, not click through layers of content or try to interpret what the colours mean. Words and symbols on a map matter and provide meaning. The Albanese government and the Bureau of Meteorology have failed to deliver what is a critical tool for regional businesses and individuals. These people rely on accurate weather reporting that makes sense and is user friendly. More resources should be directed to daily forecasting and fewer to climate modelling and homogenisation of past data. This is the weather forecast that the good people of O'Connor rely on to make everyday decisions, not climate change modelling for COP31.
Mobility Devices for Fiji | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to commend a great community initiative called Mobility Devices for Fiji, which will be launched this Friday at the Albany show in the Great Southern region of O'Connor. Mobility...
I rise today to commend a great community initiative called Mobility Devices for Fiji, which will be launched this Friday at the Albany show in the Great Southern region of O'Connor. Mobility Devices for Fiji is the brainchild of Joseph Raikoti, a disability support worker with Community Living Australia and a proud Fijian-born Australian living in Albany. This project will deliver mobility equipment from the electorate of O'Connor to our friends in Fiji. It's a project I'm proud to support in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Albany City, Scott Leary MLA and the City of Albany. In the course of his work, Joseph noticed that a surplus of mobility equipment was no longer being used or had been discarded or sent to landfill. He thought the life of this equipment could be extended and the equipment used in communities in and around Suva through his connection with the Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation. Mobility Devices for Fiji will be collecting wheelchairs, walkers, sticks, crutches, walking frames and shower chairs, with the aim of delivering them to Fiji in the first half of 2026. I'm proud to endorse this practical O'Connor project that will deliver important social outcomes in Fiji and strengthen the links between the people and organisations of our two great countries.
Roads | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to stand with the people of O'Connor, whose lives will be negatively impacted by the Albanese government's proposal to lower the default regional road speed to as low as 70...
I rise today to stand with the people of O'Connor, whose lives will be negatively impacted by the Albanese government's proposal to lower the default regional road speed to as low as 70 kilometres per hour. Thankfully, the coalition noticed that the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts' public submission process was not open for the requisite 42 days and secured an extension. Now regional residents, tourists, transporters, farmers and business owners have a proper opportunity to have their say on the cost and inconvenience of this bad policy. O'Connor's 20,000 kilometres of regional roads are already badly neglected, following the 2023 government review which led to Labor cutting regional road funding. They've dispensed with the Roads of Strategic Importance program and are abolishing the popular Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. In contrast, when the coalition was in government, we prioritised funding programs for regional roads and freight routes, accident black spots, bridges renewal and heavy-vehicle rest bays. This is how you keep regional roads safe and the wheels of enterprise and leisure turning, all while reducing driver fatigue, one of the greatest contributors to road crashes and fatalities. A blanket reduction from 100 to 70 or even 80 kilometres an hour across our regional road networks simply makes no sense. Labor's go-slow will only increase travel times and driver fatigue and impede the delivery of critical goods and services to regional electorates like O'Connor.
Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I rise today to speak in support of the Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025. My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. We've already seen the total demise of the nickel industry, with 14 out...
I rise today to speak in support of the Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025. My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. We've already seen the total demise of the nickel industry, with 14 out of 16 nickel mines in my electorate closing thanks to cheap, dirty nickel being produced in Indonesia. Of the two remaining facilities, Murrin Murrin has lost $61 million in the last six months and has just declined a $35 million government grant to transform its gas-fired power to renewables. The iconic Kalgoorlie nickel smelter and Goldfields nickel mines are shuttered, and the Ravensthorpe First Quantum nickel mine and processing operation on the south coast has folded. Thousands of jobs have been lost across my electorate, and, going forward, the safeguard mechanism will single-handedly destroy even more productive industries between now and 2030. Of the 219 largest emitters in the country captured under the safeguard mechanism, 36 per cent are in WA, with over 20 of those facilities in my electorate of O'Connor. They include the goldminers of the historic Goldfields; Boddington, the largest goldmine in the country; lithium producers at Mount Marion; the Worsley Alumina refinery; and Premier Coal, in Collie. The safeguard mechanism is forcing companies to buy expensive renewable energy, build their own renewable power stations or buy expensive offsets, which is literally converting productive O'Connor farmland back to bush. Meanwhile, the capacity mechanism is incentivising renewable energy projects across the agricultural areas of my electorate. Under the capacity mechanism, taxpayer dollars are underwriting the profits of largely multinational or international companies to build wind and solar farms across some of the most productive farmland in the country, where this year's grainyards will potentially be the highest ever and stock prices are at record highs. These wind and solar projects are creating considerable community division. Last week I visited Narrogin, which will soon host three wind farm projects. There is open tension between those who accept the wind farm windfall and those who want to continue farming as their forebears did. Some residents are concerned about visual and noise pollution or are fearful of potential adverse health effects. Landowners and volunteer firefighters who have lived through raging bushfires know a wind farm makes agricultural land and adjacent wildlife havens indefensible by air. Where are the guarantees for environmental restoration at the end of the life of these renewables? Will farmers and shire councils be left with the environmental remediation burden after cashed-up multinationals have cut and run? But the renewable energy fallout doesn't stop here for the good people of O'Connor, where the most popular vehicles for work and leisure are the Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger. Labor's vehicle emissions reduction scheme will drive up the price of these vehicles, as electric vehicles are simply not suitable in my electorate, where people can drive up to 600 or 700 kilometres just for a doctor's appointment. At the end of the day, for my electorate it's the hardworking businesses and taxpayers of O'Connor underwriting these projects. These imposts effectively constitute a carbon tax. Treasury recently referred to the cost per tonne of carbon—which is effectively the same as a carbon tax—as around $65 per tonne to achieve targets of 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, and then up to $323 per tonne to reach net zero by 2050. People may recall—and I'm sure people on the other side will recall—that when the Gillard government was unceremoniously dumped in 2013 the carbon price was $23 a tonne. Now to the impact on agriculture. The CSIRO recently modelled that a carbon cost of $70 per tonne of CO2 would add $150 to $200 per tonne to the cost of urea. The Grattan Institute modelled similar effects on the costs of agricultural chemicals, up five to 15 per cent, and lime and on-farm diesel, also up five to 15 per cent. Just this weekend, climate czar Matt Kean floated the removal of the diesel tax rebate. For a 4,000-hectare WA wheat-sheep farm, this could add more than $200,000 per year in additional costs by 2030. So, to achieve these net zero goals, we're already decimating the mining industry across my electorate, inflicting serious damage on our agriculture and transport industries and hitting the hip pockets of everyday people living in O'Connor, all for a climate goal that most of the international community is coming to realise will never be reached. The only thing we're on track for is impoverishing our great country, for no gain to the global climate.
Davey, Ms Tiffany | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise to give a big shout out to Western Australia's newly minted rural ambassador, Tiffany Davey. I caught up with Tiffany last week at the Perth Royal Show and congratulated her on her...
I rise to give a big shout out to Western Australia's newly minted rural ambassador, Tiffany Davey. I caught up with Tiffany last week at the Perth Royal Show and congratulated her on her well-deserved accolade. Tiffany is an accomplished young rural professional who studied agribusiness at my old alma mater, Muresk College. She has been an accredited Australian stockperson since 2019, ensuring the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of sheep on live export vessels to the Middle East. Tiffany understands more than most the importance of maintaining Australia's international reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality protein to countries that cannot produce their own. In her role as project manager for the rural advocacy group the Livestock Collective, she is passionate about enhancing the public understanding of farming. Tiffany has been an integral part of the Keep the Sheep movement, and I commend her for her courage in proudly supporting an industry that has been so publicly vilified. Tiffany is pleased to have a platform to help rural Australians tell their stories and share their passion for what they do as farmers, shearers, transporters and stockpeople. She firmly believes city people want to meet farmers and know more about where their food comes from. This makes Tiffany the perfect advocate for rural and regional Australia, so I take this opportunity to wish her every success in her year ahead as WA's rural ambassador.
O'Connor Electorate: King's Birthday Honours and Awards | Constituency Statements | House debates
The contributions of 61 Western Australians were recognised in this year's King's Birthday Honours List. You can imagine how proud I was, as the federal member for O'Connor, to see six local...
The contributions of 61 Western Australians were recognised in this year's King's Birthday Honours List. You can imagine how proud I was, as the federal member for O'Connor, to see six local heroes acknowledged with a King's Birthday honour. I've known two Order of Australia medal recipients for many years, so I rise today to congratulate them individually. Russell Thomson is a lifelong farmer from Woodanilling, just down the road from our family farm. Russell received an Order of Australia medal for services to his community of Woodanilling. Russell has served on his local council, the Shire of Woodanilling, since 1982. He was deputy shire president from 1991, then shire president from 1995 to 2021 and he's still a shire councillor to this day. Russell has been an exceptional wheat and sheep farmer but is also passionate about caring for his country, co-founding the local Wagin Woodanilling Landcare Zone and serving as an active member for over a decade. He was also a founding member of the Blackwood Basin Group, remaining as a member for over 20 years. For his commitment to Landcare, Russell has received awards and commendations from all levels of government—local, state and federal. I close by commending Russell on his ultimate honour: the Order of Australia medal. Ken Clements is another local legend I've known for many years in his capacity as shire councillor, deputy president and president of the Shire of Plantagenet, and through his passion for local history. Ken received his Order of Australia medal for service to local government and to the community of the Mount Barker region of WA. A shire councillor since 1980, Ken was shire president when I took office in 2013, and we have worked together on many Mount Barker projects, including the mammoth Sounness Park redevelopment, incorporating sports grounds and a community centre much valued by the local Mount Barker community as well as visitors to the town. In 2009, Ken acknowledged his commitment to local government with a Long and Loyal Service Award from the WA Local Government Association, of which he has been a life member since 2016. Ken's passion for local history is embodied in his role as chair of the Plantagenet Historical Society, where he is a fierce guardian of local artifacts and anecdotes. Ken recently helped secure federal funding to construct a repository to protect the diary minutes, photos and records related to Mount Barker and its surroundings. For 16 years, Ken was co-owner and publican of the Plantagenet Hotel, which has become synonymous with the TV advertisement for Mount Barker Free Range Chicken. Ken's hospitality provided the obvious answer to the age-old question: 'Why did the chickens cross the road?' I congratulate Ken on this well-deserved honour of an Order of Australia medal.
Wiluna Caravan Park | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to give a big shout-out to the Shire of Wiluna, shire president Peter Grundy and the entire community after last week's official opening of the Wiluna Caravan Park. I visited Wiluna...
I rise today to give a big shout-out to the Shire of Wiluna, shire president Peter Grundy and the entire community after last week's official opening of the Wiluna Caravan Park. I visited Wiluna back in April and saw the terrific progress on the $1.16 million Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program funded component. Since its completion, the Wiluna Caravan Park has welcomed over 500 guests, generating accommodation revenue of over $90,000. For those of you who have never heard of Wiluna, it truly is the outback. Situated on the edge of the Western Desert, the entire shire has just over 500 inhabitants, including the people of the Martu country. This new caravan park site is at the convergence of two iconic outback adventure routes: the Canning Stock Route, which connects Wiluna to the Kimberley and at 1,850 kilometres is perhaps the longest historic stock route in the world, and the Gunbarrel Highway, a remote desert track connecting Wiluna to Victory Downs Station in the Northern Territory. The new caravan park offers 22 powered caravan sites, seven queen-bed cabins with ensuites, two spacious family suites and a grassed camping area. It has a well-equipped camp kitchen, shaded barbecues, free laundry and wi-fi. So, whether you're overnighting in Wiluna to stock up on supplies for your big adventure or staying longer to explore the region, the Wiluna Caravan Park now offers all the creature comforts anyone could hope for.
National Disability Insurance Scheme | Grievance Debate | House debates
I rise today to draw the House's attention to the NDIS travel policy changes and their impact on regional and remote electorates like my own. Around the middle of June I started to get a lot of...
I rise today to draw the House's attention to the NDIS travel policy changes and their impact on regional and remote electorates like my own. Around the middle of June I started to get a lot of communication from NDIS providers who were very concerned about this change that was coming at them from 1 July and how it would impact their clients. What has happened is that the NDIA has reduced travel labour that can be claimed to 50 per cent of the standard hourly rate. It has maintained the existing time limit of 30 minutes each way in the MMM—or Modified Monash Model—areas 1 to 3, 60 minutes in MMM areas 4 to 5, and continued with no limit in areas MMM 6 to 7. What this actually means on the ground for the providers and, more importantly, the recipients of these services, is that, for example, in a town like Albany a service provider was travelling to Katanning, which is an hour and three quarters there and an hour and three quarters back, and they were previously absorbing the lack of payment for the 45 minutes, because they were capped at an hour. They were absorbing that and they were continuing to travel beyond the one hour to provide the service in a town which has limited service providers. I have been told by those providers that they will no longer be able to viably provide those services, which means that people in a reasonably significant-sized regional town in my electorate will no longer have access to these allied health services. That story is repeated across my electorate in the 100-plus towns that I represent. The peak bodies have complained that there was a lack of engagement, a lack of consultation, prior to these changes being brought in. Only 14 days notice was given to the service providers to make whatever changes they needed to make to adjust when this came in on 1 July. One would have thought that, when making decisions around service provision to remote and regional communities, the providers based in Albany, Esperance and Kalgoorlie would have been consulted to get their view on how this would impact them, but I haven't been able to find anybody yet who was consulted by the NDIA on these changes. The NDIA's annual pricing review says that it needed to address excessive claims and that the current arrangement could lead to travel claims that are higher than the value of the support, especially in regional or less-populated areas. Well, yes, that's absolutely right. If you live in Warburton, which is a thousand kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, then, yes, the travel is going to cost more than your actual service, but that is just the way it is. If the NDIA has a better solution then it should put it on the table. I will come to the impact that it's going to have on that particular community in a moment. What the service providers that I have spoken to are calling for is the reinstatement of full travel rates on regional and remote services, a genuine consultation with regional providers and communities, and a three-month pause on changes until the regional impact is addressed. I mentioned the situation with the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, and one of the service providers—the only service provider, in fact—who travels out to Warburton and many surrounding Aboriginal communities to provide these services has given me a case study she'd like me to present to the House. This is the impact of the travel cuts on an amputee client in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands: I'd like to share the story of an NDIS participant living in the remote Ngaanyatjarra Lands—an Aboriginal woman in her mid-50s who recently underwent a below-knee amputation due to complications arising from unmanaged Type 2 diabetes. In her case, early intervention and health literacy supports were not accessible, contributing directly to the progression of her condition. There is no regular podiatry or diabetes education service available in her community. By the time she presented to hospital, her condition had deteriorated to the point of requiring surgical amputation. She now requires significant support to regain independence and avoid further decline. This is where the NDIS-funded occupational therapy becomes critical. Our team … one of the few mobile OT services willing and equipped to travel to the NG Lands—is working with her to restore function, dignity, and safe access to her community and home environment. Without face-to-face, culturally responsive OT input, here's what she would go without: That's a pretty extensive list that this particular client will go without. There's no question that this service can be continued under the current rules. She goes on to say: Her nearest regional centre is over 1,000 km from Kalgoorlie, meaning service delivery requires up to 22 hours of round-trip travel per therapist, often over several days. Until June 30th, 2025, NDIS travel rules allowed providers to claim this time in full—making the service possible, if still tight financially. From July 1st, however, travel to and from these communities has been capped at 50% of … what our hours total, regardless of distance, duration, or number of therapists involved. This results in an estimated loss of 20+ hours of unfunded travel time per therapist per outreach trip which makes it financially unviable. The Consequences Are Clear: This is just one example. I do thank very sincerely the service providers across the Goldfields, not only for what they do on a daily basis but also for providing me with a whole host of case studies, which I'm not going to get a chance to get through in the time available. In conclusion, I did want to say that the decision to reduce NDIS travel funding to 50 per cent of the service rate creates a significant barrier to the service provision for families in regional areas, particularly in my electorate of O'Connor. A physiotherapist from Collie, at the other end of the electorate, says he has 'grave concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Agency's decision to lower price limits and travel funding for physiotherapy supports'. He says: Physiotherapy services under these new pricing limits are unsustainable and will dramatically reduce choice and control for vulnerable NDIS participants. New rate cuts and reduced funding for clinician travel do not keep pace with the growing operational costs required to provide individualised care. This will have an even greater impact on participants in rural and regional settings. What this all adds up to is a situation where people living in regional and rural Australia will receive a significantly lower level of care than their city cousins, and that is simply not fair. I call on the government and the minister—who I have written to, and to her credit she has responded, but she responded by saying there'll be no change—to revisit this and to take into account the impact on those people who live outside the box. We're not talking about millions and millions of recipients here. The people mostly impacted in my electorate would be in the hundreds, if not the low thousands. So it's not a matter of destroying the budget by making concessions and accommodating this small group of people who will be impacted; it's simply about providing equity and fairness for people who live in regional and remote Australia.
Campbell, Mr Graeme | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to acknowledge the passing of a Goldfields legend whose name will be familiar in this place. Graeme Campbell, former member for Kalgoorlie, passed peacefully and surrounded by his...
I rise today to acknowledge the passing of a Goldfields legend whose name will be familiar in this place. Graeme Campbell, former member for Kalgoorlie, passed peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones on 16 August, aged 86. Graeme was a champion of the workers of the mining and pastoral region, and his loss will resonate across the greater Goldfields region. Graeme's family emigrated from England, and he grew up in South Australia. He went on to establish Kybo Station, a remote pastoral property on the sparse Nullarbor Plain, with his brother Rod. There he met his French wife, Michele, and started a family, eventually moving to Kalgoorlie to work in the mining industry. Graeme joined the Labor Party in 1980 and was elected as the federal member for Kalgoorlie, then Australia's largest electorate. His pro-mining views saw him cross the floor in 1988, challenging then treasurer Paul Keating's plan to remove company tax exemptions for goldminers. He gained a reputation as a political maverick, winning a second term as an independent and serving his Goldfields community long beyond his tenure in parliament. Graeme joined the Liberal Party in later life and was a regular visitor to my Kalgoorlie office, joining my staff for coffee so often that he actually had his own biscuit stash. Graeme was one of a kind, and I will forever treasure his friendship and his sage words of advice and encouragement. My heartfelt condolences go to Michele, Ainsley, Leyland and family. Vale, Graeme Campbell.
Pingelly Somerset Alliance | Constituency Statements | House debates
I rise today to highlight this government's appalling record of delivering on its promises. The delays in transitioning to the new model of seniors home-care packages have been a disgrace, and...
I rise today to highlight this government's appalling record of delivering on its promises. The delays in transitioning to the new model of seniors home-care packages have been a disgrace, and this government should be ashamed to be kicking the can down the road for six months, causing considerable uncertainty and distress to some of the oldest, most isolated and most vulnerable constituents in my electorate. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating when I say people will die waiting for the assessment, approval and delivery of their life-changing, life-sustaining packages. But this is a constituency statement, not a grievance debate, so I actually rise today to commend the hardworking team behind the staying-in-place model of care for seniors. Conceived in 2018, in the small O'Connor town of Pingelly, 150 kilometres south-east from Perth, the Staying in Place program has been driven by former WA Liberal cabinet minister the Hon. Helen Morton and Pingelly local Lee Steel of the Pingelly Community Resource Centre. Their dream was to support Pingelly seniors with services delivered by a locally sourced care workforce. As the Somerset Alliance, they secured federal funding under the previous coalition government for a pilot program to find ways of reducing loneliness and improving connectedness between geographically isolated older people in regional and remote communities. The concept of a virtual village was hatched, wherein activities could be hosted remotely by a concierge in much the same way as a real aged-care village. To date, this virtual village has brought together over 270 participants separated by the tyranny of distance and lack of transport or inability to travel and has connected them through modern-day technology. Upon this they built an entire suite of home-care services delivered by a latent local workforce comprised of retirees, stay-at-home parents and other skilled persons not engaged in the workforce. The result, Staying in Place, is a community led initiative whereby locals with various skill sets deliver a full suite of care options, enabling older people to age and thrive in the communities they have lived in and contributed to all of their lives. This sounds like a simple concept, but it's taken a lot of hard work by Helen, Lee and their team to get the machine working, and now they are on the move. The concept has spread like wildfire to 55 other regional and remote communities, not only in my electorate of O'Connor but throughout Australia. I conclude by saying how proud I am to have been involved in this initiative, and I welcome Lee and Helen to Canberra, where they will be giving evidence to the inquiry of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee into aged-care service delivery. But I'm also not alone in my praise. The Department of Social Services, who funded Staying in Place as a pilot, praised its cost effectiveness and positive health outcomes. Helen herself agrees that people who leave their communities often don't thrive; Staying in Place gives them a chance to age with dignity in the place they know best.
O'Connor Electorate: Health Care | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to call out the Albanese government for its neglect of regional Australians. Throughout the recent election campaign, the Prime Minister flashed his Medicare card around, stating...
I rise today to call out the Albanese government for its neglect of regional Australians. Throughout the recent election campaign, the Prime Minister flashed his Medicare card around, stating that this would be the only card needed to visit a doctor. For many constituents of O'Connor, this was never going to be their reality. They may be living in towns that may not even have a doctor, much less one that offers bulk-billing. And, as of 1 July, the changes to the NDIS, particularly the change to the travel charge rate, have resulted in even less essential service delivery to the bush. I've spoken to NDIS service providers who say that these latest changes, introduced with only two weeks notice, leave them with little option but to reduce or cease services. We're talking about providers who regularly travel up to 12 hours to service some of O'Connor's most isolated and disadvantaged communities. They're now saying that providing these outreach services will be financially unviable. Due to the tyranny of distance, many O'Connor constituents eligible for the NDIS have never been able to use their plan, and so many more will now be excluded from services that cannot be substituted with telehealth or any other remote form of delivery. Again the people of the bush are left behind by policies designed with only city and suburban voters in mind.
Nuclear Energy Select Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
When the Leader of the Opposition came to Diggers and Dealers in Kalgoorlie in August last year to meet with mining industry people, as we drove into town, there was a banner on one of the main...
When the Leader of the Opposition came to Diggers and Dealers in Kalgoorlie in August last year to meet with mining industry people, as we drove into town, there was a banner on one of the main intersections on Hammond Street. The banner said 'Kalgoorlie-Boulder welcomes Peter Dutton and welcomes nuclear energy'. There are towns out there and there are people across my electorate who welcome nuclear energy because they can see the benefits of it. But it's not only that; in the seat of O'Connor, we've got three uranium deposits—Australia does mine uranium; we export it to the rest of the world—that are waiting to be exploited. One of them, Deep Yellow's Mulga Rock, is permitted and ready to go. They are in the process of preparing that mine for operation. So we will see uranium being mined in O'Connor. It'll be trucked through Kalgoorlie and then through to South Australia, where it will be exported out of the Port of Adelaide, which is already accredited. We export a significant amount of uranium out of Adelaide. An honourable member interjecting— That's right. So we mine uranium and we export it. But not only that; we have an extraordinary storage site in the electorate of O'Connor at Sandy Ridge, which is about halfway between Coolgardie and Southern Cross. It's one of the most geologically stable parts of the planet's surface. It is fully permanent. It is permanent to accept low-level nuclear waste. There was the planned site in South Australia at Kimba which fell over, but the site at Sandy Ridge is permanent to take low-level nuclear waste and is ready to go.