Rick Wilson's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2026-02-10T22:05:32+00:00
items: O'Connor Electorate: Agriculture | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Australia Day Honours and Awards | Statements | House debates
items: Western Australia: Agriculture Industry, Live Animal Exports: Sheep | Adjournment | House debates
items: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
items: O'Connor Electorate: Medicare | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Valedictory | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Fuel | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Bureau of Meteorology | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Mobility Devices for Fiji | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Roads | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Davey, Ms Tiffany | Statements by Members | House debates
items: O'Connor Electorate: King's Birthday Honours and Awards | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Wiluna Caravan Park | Statements by Members | House debates
items: National Disability Insurance Scheme | Grievance Debate | House debates
items: Campbell, Mr Graeme | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Pingelly Somerset Alliance | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: O'Connor Electorate: Health Care | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Nuclear Energy Select Committee; Report | Committees | House debates

O'Connor Electorate: Agriculture | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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…
date: 2026-02-10T16:30:00+00:00

Australia Day Honours and Awards | Statements | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2026-02-05T13:39:00+00:00

Western Australia: Agriculture Industry, Live Animal Exports: Sheep | Adjournment | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 th…
date: 2026-02-04T19:40:00+00:00

Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 …
date: 2026-01-20T10:20:00+00:00

Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 eve…
date: 2026-01-19T19:26:00+00:00

O'Connor Electorate: Medicare | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 …
date: 2025-11-26T10:33:00+00:00

Valedictory | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 Vivia…
date: 2025-11-25T17:13:00+00:00

Fuel | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-11-24T13:51:00+00:00

Bureau of Meteorology | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 th…
date: 2025-11-04T16:46:00+00:00

Mobility Devices for Fiji | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-11-03T16:18:00+00:00

Roads | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-11-03T13:42:00+00:00

Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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…
date: 2025-11-03T10:25:00+00:00

Davey, Ms Tiffany | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-10-08T13:44:00+00:00

O'Connor Electorate: King's Birthday Honours and Awards | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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 gov…
date: 2025-09-02T16:53:00+00:00

Wiluna Caravan Park | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-09-01T13:30:00+00:00

National Disability Insurance Scheme | Grievance Debate | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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…
date: 2025-08-26T12:49:00+00:00

Campbell, Mr Graeme | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-08-25T16:43:00+00:00

Pingelly Somerset Alliance | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: 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...
encoded: 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 initiativ…
date: 2025-08-25T10:53:00+00:00

O'Connor Electorate: Health Care | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-07-31T13:49:00+00:00

Nuclear Energy Select Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
type: item
description: 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...
encoded: 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.
date: 2025-03-26T17:20:00+00:00