Nicolle Flint's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Boothby Electorate: Infrastructure | Statements by Members | House debates
I am so excited about the budget our government has handed down and I am particularly thrilled that the electorate of Boothby will see even more infrastructure upgrades. We have done so much for...
I am so excited about the budget our government has handed down and I am particularly thrilled that the electorate of Boothby will see even more infrastructure upgrades. We have done so much for our local community during my two terms in parliament. We have fixed Oaklands Crossing, which has changed lives. We have done the Flinders link upgrade so that there is a rail line up to Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre. There is the Darlington upgrade. We have fixed the age-old problem of the Springbank-Daws-Goodwood roads intersection, which is saving people 30 minutes a day one way. We are undertaking this Cross Road and Fullerton Road upgrade. The Mitcham Hills Road corridor upgrade will be happening soon and, of course, the greater Adelaide freight bypass planning study is under way. But in this budget we announced a fix to another age-old problem in the electorate of Boothby, which is the Marion Road upgrade between Anzac Highway and Cross Road. We will be doing a grade separation of the road and the tramline. This is one of Adelaide's worst bottlenecks. It's a road that so many of my local residents have to drive through to get into the city to get to work every day and it is also one of the arterial roads to the airport, so people will no longer be running late for their plane, they'll get to work faster and it will be safer. I'm so proud of what we've delivered.
Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
FLINT (—) (): on indulgence—I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the chamber for their indulgence. Good morning, Prime Minister. I wrote two versions of this speech. Thank you, Member for...
FLINT (—) (): on indulgence—I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the chamber for their indulgence. Good morning, Prime Minister. I wrote two versions of this speech. Thank you, Member for Barker, here looking after me as always. Thank you. I wouldn't be here without you. I wrote two versions of this speech, and some advice was that the first was a little bit too angry. I'm happy to take suggestions, as to whether you'd like the angry version or not, but maybe you can buy the book eventually instead. We are a different nation and a different world compared to when I gave my first speech to this place on 31 August 2016. I am vastly different too. I rose to give my first speech as a person—a person who was a proud Australian, South Australian and Liberal, and the fourth generation of my family to serve our local community in Boothby. Today, I give my valedictory speech not as a person but as a woman, having been forced time and time again over the past seven years in this place to confront and defend the fact that I am female. This has been exceptionally challenging for me. Throughout my long and interesting career, developing policy in industry associations, as a staff member in politics, as a senior Liberal Party volunteer and as a deliberately provocative newspaper columnist at the Agestill not sure how they published me—and then the Advertiser for over three years, I was never attacked as a woman. I was never reduced to a woman. As a newspaper columnist, the only vaguely sexist comment was a letter to the editor asking if I was writing for the Advertiser or Dolly magazine. That might be something that my fellow women in the chamber understand, because we grew up with Dolly magazine, and perhaps you have to be of a certain vintage to get the reference. Before anyone tries to suggest that perhaps the internet and social media weren't invented when I was writing columns, they were. I'm old, but I'm not quite that old. At the Age and the Advertiser, I never had to put up with the repetitive sickening, sexist, misogynistic abuse and dangerous behaviour that started in the lead-up to the 2019 election and hasn't stopped since. At my lowest point last year, after a series of events in and around this place that you could not dream up if you tried—my 'Whipsie Chicks' Jessica Anne Howard and Larnie, understand exactly what I mean—it occurred to me that all of these things were happening to me during my time, in this place, in politics, because it's up to me, as a woman, to try to fix them for all women. So today I want to suggest a few ways we can fix things for women in in public life because, as some other Chicks sang, after they'd been cancelled, 'I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down.' My first suggestion is: the Left of politics needs to act, and that action needs to start in this place with the Leader of the Opposition. Last March, in response to an emotional speech I gave in this place, the Leader of the Opposition told the press gallery and the Australian people that he would act when sexist and misogynist dangerous behaviour was drawn to his attention. Well, he hasn't, despite further speeches I've given in this place, the letters I have written to him, and the numerous newspaper reports, especially since last December when online attacks on me reached a disgusting new low of sexism and misogyny. It's tempting to describe the Leader of the Opposition with a single word, a four-letter word. It begins with L and ends with R. But that would be unparliamentary, so I won't. Instead, I call on him again to finally show some leadership on the issue of women's safety in public life, because it's not just me who is copping this behaviour. It's not just me who is being abused by men and some women on the Left; it's senior ABC journalists like Leigh Sales, Jane Norman and Lisa Millar, and businesswomen like Sal Grover. I want to be very clear about the sort of behaviour that I'm talking about. Men on the Left, some of whom are public figures of influence, have done the following: stalked me; suggested I should be strangled; criticised the clothes I wear and the way I look; repeatedly called me a whiny little bitch; repeatedly called me weak, a slut, a dick—and I apologise for the language—and much, much worse over email, online, on YouTube, on Facebook, and on Twitter. They've commented that I should be raped, grudge-fucked, that I am doing sexual favours for all my male colleagues, that I should be killed, that I should kill myself, and many, many more things that I will not repeat here. These men have also consistently reminded me that I deserve everything that has happened to me. To the Left, to GetUp, to Labor, to the unions and to the left-leaning media—you know exactly who you are— you need to finally show some leadership and put a stop to this sort of behaviour by not pretending that you will stop this sort of behaviour, because you're on the side of women, allegedly, but by actually stopping the behaviour. They have the power to do so. They have the power to lead. They have the power to stop implying that I'm the wrong kind of woman or that Senator Holly Hughes is the wrong kind of woman and that we deserve everything we get because we're Liberals and we stand up for women. If they don't, well, they're not really leaders, then, are they? I say that particularly to the Leader of the Opposition. The second challenge that will allow women in public life to get on with their jobs is for social media companies or big tech to start to behave like corporate citizens. I did put some very colourful language in here to describe their approach, but I'm trying to maintain some standards of decency, even if they're not. We know that big tech could stop all forms of hateful abuse tomorrow if they wanted to, but we also know that they won't. Just look at their recent evidence to the Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety. Again, I commend the member for Robertson for her incredible leadership of this committee. My submission to the select committee documents the abuse they allow on their platforms. And I will have a lot more to say about this later today when I speak on the trolling bill. People like to say that social media is like a sewer. Experiencing the online attacks over multiple platforms, as I have since last December, I think it's more like a festering toxic sewer. But this is where I think the analogy needs to be extended. It's not so much about the sewage itself; it's about the companies that are spreading it. Big tech is the modern-day equivalent of the unregulated, greedy, big business polluters of the industrial revolution. Big tech is enabling toxic sewage to spill into the homes and the lives of innocent, hard-working Australians every single day It took the 19th century legislators decades to clean up the waterways, the air, the streets, and public health in Britain. But they did, and lives were saved, improved and enhanced. It's the responsibility of every single person in this place to support legislation that will clean up the online sewer right now and force big tech to finally behave the same way that we demand of every corporate citizen and every business in Australia, as responsible corporate citizens. I do believe this will happen, thanks to our government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. We are already leading the world with our online safety laws. I commend this place and all of my colleagues, Minister Paul Fletcher and the Prime Minister, for their leadership in this space. Having seen and having personally experienced sexist and misogynistic attitudes online from other human beings, my third observation and suggestion is probably the most important. Women need all-encompassing protection from sexism and misogyny through, I think, the Sex Discrimination Act. We need to stop the abuse at the start. Women like journalists Leigh Sales, Lisa Millar, Jane Norman, Erin Molan, Natalie Barr and Van Badham, AFL player Tayla Harris and businesswoman Sall Grover should be able to do their jobs without highly sexualised abuse. I know that women on the other side of this place, like the member for Kingston and the former member for Adelaide, Kate Ellis, copped this too. Ms Ellis devotes an entire chapter of her book, Sex, Lies and Question Time, to the online abuse of women in parliament and public roles. Ms Ellis's excellent book does a lot more than that as well. She explains how difficult it is to be a woman in this place. If you want to make it easier for your female colleagues, please read the book. It's outstanding. This is a hard place to be a woman, whether you're a staff member, MP or senator. I want to thank most sincerely Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and her team for their incredible work in a short period of time last year on Set the standard, the Jenkins report, which I believe will finally lead to the change that we need in this place. More broadly in society, however, women will continue to be attacked, abused, belittled, gossiped about and lied about until we have blanket protection that says it's an offence to offend, insult, humiliate and intimidate women. We know this has worked to protect other groups in our society. It's worked well. Now we need to protect women. We are half of the population. I hope everyone here today and especially those in the next parliament can give this some consideration. My final major observation about this place is also about modern society in general. I've thought very carefully about the things that have happened to me and the things I've seen happen to others in and around this place. All of it comes back to one simple problem: a complete lack of respect for other people. This is the obvious conclusion of the less great project, the disruption of Western civilisation. They've sought to replace our institutions, our traditions and our conventions with causes that have no moral compass and no guide as how to respect your fellow human beings. The outcome is disrespect, abuse and hatred. When you replace religion and the models and ethics it has taught us with the religion of climate change, for example, when the battle of ideas is replaced with cancel culture and the lynch mob, when you tell women that we have fewer rights than men who choose to change their sex to be women, when women are abused for asserting our right to be women, when the Left celebrate being rude and disrespectful, claiming freedom of expression, when this becomes the standard, contempt creeps in, hate flourishes and society breaks down. That's probably enough heavy duty reflection for a Wednesday morning of a double sitting week, you'll be pleased to hear! What I now want to do is briefly celebrate what my government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has done to support and protect women during our time in office, which is more than any other Prime Minister and any other government in the history of this nation. We have record funding for domestic violence strategies, child care, catch-up superannuation contributions for women and new programs for women's home ownership. We're the first government to take endometriosis seriously. I cannot thank enough the former member for Canberra, Gai Brodtmann, the member for Forrest and of course the minister for health, Greg Hunt, for their incredible help and support on this issue. As such, we've launched the first ever national action plan on endometriosis. I want to acknowledge and thank Senator Anne Ruston as well. I say to all the endo warriors out there: ladies, I know there's much more to do and we will do it together. The same goes for stillbirth. There's now the first ever national action plan on that. Again, I recognise our incredible minister for health, Greg Hunt, and amazing people like Claire Ford, who told me her story, which motivated me to fight for the change we have already achieved and we will continue to achieve. We are the government who introduced the world-leading eSafety Commissioner online anti-trolling bill, which is before us today, and amended the electoral act to make politics safer for all of us in this place and the other. We're the government who commissioned and implemented the Respect@Work report. We also commissioned and are implementing the Foster report and the Jenkins report. Our record is something to be very, very proud of. In terms of my local community, there's a lot I've achieved as well, and I probably could stand here for the rest of the day talking about my incredible community and volunteers and what we've done together. But, the first and probably one thing that I'm most proud of was fixing Oaklands Crossing, a 40-year-old problem for my community. It was thanks to us, a Liberal government, and particularly the minister for urban infrastructure, Paul Fletcher—Paul, thank you so much—that we fixed this and also the Goodwood, Springbank and Daws Road intersection. This is saving people hours every day between both intersections, and it's making life much safer. Right next to the Goodwood, Springbank and Daws Road intersection is the repat hospital. This historic veterans' hospital, chapel and rehabilitation site is the site that the previous state Labor government cruelly shut down. Thanks to my lobbying, thanks to the Morrison and Marshall Liberal governments, we've reopened it and the site is once again thriving. I should apologise to the minister for health for relentlessly pursuing federal funding for this site. As you can tell, I've been a bit of a serial pest for poor Greg, but he's been very patient, and thanks to the Morrison and Marshall Liberal governments we have nation-leading dementia care at the repat, a brand new brain and spinal rehabilitation unit and, thanks to the immediate past minister for veterans, the member for Gippsland, and perhaps some more very persistent lobbying from me with the support of my incredible veterans' community in Boothby, we have one of six of the nation's veterans' wellbeing units at the repat. Just a couple of kilometres away we also have, thanks to the Morrison Liberal government, the soon-to-be completed brand new war memorial in the upgraded Women's Memorial Playing Fields for the 21 brave nurses and their colleagues who gave their lives for our nation on Radji Beach 80 years ago today in World War II. Nearby are my Vietnam vets, and I could not be prouder that I managed to help them with their new permanent home. There are several very different projects I was particularly passionate about that will serve my community for generations. The first—and, Prime Minister, thank you for being there to launch it—the nation-leading recycling plant that I worked very closely on with cities of Holdfast Bay, Marion and Onkaparinga. That is located on one of the most visionary waste sites I've ever seen. It is absolutely best practice, and this will improve our environment and support my community in Boothby by for generations to come. In the arts, thanks to some more relentless lobbying by me, we will see South Australia become the gallery destination of the nation with Australia's leading Aboriginal arts and cultures gallery on North Terrace; a brand new gallery for Hans and Nora Heysen in Hahndorf, and I thank Lyn and John Nitschke for their relentless lobbying of me to get support for this project; and a brand new visitors' centre at historic Carrick Hill in my electorate, and I acknowledge South's most generous philanthropists, Ian and Pamie Wall, for their generous support of this project as well and Richard Heathcote for all his work. On a very local level, I've worked so closely with my incredible local volunteers at the Sturt CFS group, our four Surf Life Saving Clubs, our local RSL groups, Lions and Rotary, environmental groups, our First Nations people on sites and volunteers, sports clubs, community groups, mayors and councillors and council staff, and we have delivered so many upgrades for our local community. Revisiting all of these varied projects, and I haven't even mentioned the Flinders Link train line extension or the Fullarton and Cross Roads upgrade, I'm starting to realise why I feel a little bit tired. I also realised last week that during my time in parliament I have moved further and further to the right in the chamber. I first sat next to my twin, the member for Robertson, and then right behind the Prime Minister. I moved to the right with my wonderful, wonderful whips, Bertie Bert and Rowan, and now find myself here in National heartland. I've got to say: being a country girl at heart, this is a very comfortable place for me to be. I want to thank the current Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, and the immediate past Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, for their wonderful support over the years. However, before anyone gets any ideas about a potential defection or future path for me, I'm standing here today in double blue for a reason: I'm a passionate Sturt supporter. I am talking about not the seat of Sturt—although I'm very happy to see it in Liberal hands, James!—but the Sturt footy club. I look forward to getting to a lot more games when I achieve my freedom. But, more so, I am a Liberal through and through—and I am also a staunch coalitionist, so I am happy to be sitting here with my National Party colleagues. To all my dear friends in the Nats: we can't do it without you, and vice versa. Long may we remain the most successful coalition and parties of government in Australia and the world. Just don't try and re-establish yourselves in South Australia any time soon, because the member for Barker, the member for Grey and I will stop you at the border! When people ask me why I'm a Liberal, the simplest and easiest answer is: I was born Liberal. I will always continue to do all I can for the party in my voluntary roles, as I've always done—first as chairman of the rural and regional council, and I thank the member for Barker for strongly encouraging me into that position, and now as president of the women's council, where I'm instilling processes, procedures and traditions that I hope will last for generations. No doubt my dear friend Nick Cater will soon start pitching to me to write a fourth edition of Gender and politics, about women in the Liberal Party, after the federal election. And I acknowledge the incredible class of 2019, where we achieved fifty-fifty representation of men and women. Finally—we're almost there!—I need to say some specific thank yous. Thank you, of course, to the people of Boothby for giving me this incredible privilege of serving you. I have never worked harder in my life and we have achieved so much, as I've outlined. Thank you. The kindness and generosity, and the cards, flowers, emails and gifts that flooded my office when I announced I was retiring, were really humbling. To my dear friends and supporters, including the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, Peta Credlin, Peter, Jenny and Anna Hurley, Matthew, Charmaine and Sue Binns, Tony Franzon, Vicki Franzon and John Lewis, Greg and Marguerite Evans, Nick Cater, Dr Susan Evans, Dr Louise Hull, Dr Jane Woolcock, Dr Graham Tronc, David 'Penbo' Penberthy—if he hadn't called me and said: 'Do you want to tell your story, Nic? I know you've had a hard time', I probably never would have—and Janet Albrechtsen, who stand up for women time and time again: thank you. I turn to my Liberal Party volunteers. To my longest-serving president, Archbishop John Hepworth, who the PM dubbed 'the Bishop of Boothby', which was very appropriate, and who sadly passed away a few months ago and who was one of my best supporters: we miss you, John, and thank you. To Jenny and Vern Hembrow, Geoff and Lis Bartlett, Garry and Sue Dolman, Rhys and Helen Roberts, Brenton and Kay Griffiths, Fran and Dennis Southern, and Helen and all the Ronsons: thank you. And thank you to my staff: Jane; Janice; Georgia; Camilla; Zane—who you all know through his wonderful work as the whip's assistant; Eleanor, my constituent whisperer; Amie; Sue; most especially, Alexander Hyde, without whom I could have achieved none of this; and, more recently, Fiona Lee, who has been a godsend and to whom I will be eternally grateful for supporting me and the Boothby EO through our final months. South Australia also, sadly, lost Professor Dean Jaensch a few weeks ago. We're all thinking of him and his wife, Helen—two incredibly kind and generous people. Without Dean, without Professor Haydon Manning and Andrew Parkin from Flinders University, and without an excellent education from my tiny little Kingston Community School primary school under principal Grant Murray, and from Pembroke School under Malcolm Lamb, I doubt I would have ended up here. These wonderful teachers taught me how to think, not what to think. I worry for our students today, especially in our universities, but I acknowledge the minister, the member for Wannon, and the very important work he began and we will continue. To all our incredible Parliament House staff—the attendants, clerks, security guards, Comcar drivers, catering staff and everyone: thank you. You're all such amazing and kind people, and I will really, really miss you and our chats. Thank you to our wonderful whips team—Bert, Rowan, Drummy, Kenny—to our staff—Leonie, Zane and my amazing 'whipsie chicks', Jess and Larnie—and to those whips opposite—the member for Fowler, the member for Werriwa and the member for Lalor—with whom we make this place run seamlessly. You do not understand what the whips do until you have to do the job; believe me, we are very important people! The Speaker probably appreciates that more than anyone. I would not have been here in this place in the first place were it not for the member for Barker. I've cried a lot less during this speech because during my maiden speech he paid me out and said, 'Gee, that was a lot of crying, Nic,' so I'm trying hard not to cry quite so much today. Tony, thank you for your support, especially during my campaigns. And to everyone from Barker FEC; Mackillop SEC; Mount Gambier, Millicent and Kingston SE; branches, and also to the member for Waite—thank you; I couldn't have done this without you. To Senator Alex Antic, who was so kind, supportive and protective during the 2019 campaign, thank you. And congratulations to you and Edwina on the arrival of Oscar. There are a couple of other ladies I know in this place who are also precisely the sorts of women who are incredibly tough and staunch defenders of women, my good friends Senators Claire Chandler and Amanda Stoker. I'm so proud of you both. Okay. We're almost there. Sorry, Tony; the crying's building up now. To my very best friend, Jano—who is now partnered with Jason and has just had baby Amelia—thank you for still being here after seven long years. To my newer friends Amber, Gemma, Caro, Parnell, Sunita—wow; how lucky am I to have ladies like you in my life! You've managed to get me through the past 12 months. Thank you. Thank you to my parents, Evan and Glenys, for all their support. To dad and his brother Tim, who I know are incredibly relieved that they will never have to put another corflute up on Shepherds Hill Road—they're still complaining about it, and that was in the 2016 campaign—thanks, Dad and Tim, for your support. And to my family, Johnny, Cat, Brodie, Elijah, Dylan, Alexis, Belinda, Josh, Hugo, Gwenyth and especially Simon, Rachel, Fraser, Alana and Edward, I'm so glad to finally have someone in Adelaide with me, and I can't wait to spend more time with you. To the House, thank you for your indulgence; to all of my amazing colleagues, my class of 2016, thank you; Prime Minister, thank you for your leadership. I look forward to watching on the television, but seeing us return to this side of the parliament after the next election. Thank you.
Bangka Island Massacre: 80th Anniversary | Statements by Members | House debates
On this day 80 years ago the SS Vyner Brooke was fleeing the Fall of Singapore. The little boat was overflowing with 181 passengers, mainly women and children. Sixty-five passengers were...
On this day 80 years ago the SS Vyner Brooke was fleeing the Fall of Singapore. The little boat was overflowing with 181 passengers, mainly women and children. Sixty-five passengers were Australian nurses. The SS Vyner Brooke was clearly not a navy boat, yet, on Valentine's Day 1942, 80 years ago today, nine Japanese planes bombed the vessel 30 times in five minutes, killing many passengers and sinking the ship. Twelve Australian nurses never made it to shore. Of the 53 nurses who did make it to Indonesia's Bangka Island, 21 would live just another two days before they were marched into the sea and machine-gunned to death by Japanese troops on Radji Beach. We know this because one nurse, South Australian Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, survived and told the story of the extraordinary bravery of her colleagues. Although scared, these nurses had not tried to hide from the Japanese because they had sick and wounded to care for. They thought that, being women and nurses wearing Red Cross armbands, they would be safe. Tragically, they were wrong. Yesterday, in my seat of Boothby, the Governor-General dedicated a brand new memorial to these unbelievably brave women, made possible by $500,000 of federal government funding—a project I have worked on and spoken about throughout my time in this place. This is one of the very few memorials to Australia's servicewomen, and I hope that we will soon see funding for a sculpture of Sister Vivian Bullwinkel at the Australian War Memorial. For today, we remember all the nurses for their courage, bravery and sacrifice. Lest we forget.
Australia Day Awards | Statements by Members | House debates
Today I would like to congratulate the recipients of awards in the 2022 Australia Day honours within my electorate of Boothby. I'm honoured to be able to congratulate this year's recipients and...
Today I would like to congratulate the recipients of awards in the 2022 Australia Day honours within my electorate of Boothby. I'm honoured to be able to congratulate this year's recipients and to highlight their contributions to our local community, to South Australia and to the nation. The following local residents were awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day honours: Mr Robert Canney, for service to cricket; Mr Roger Grund, for service to conservation; Dr Kerry Hancock, for service to medicine through a range of roles; Ms Meg Harris, for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympic Games, winning gold in the 4 x 100 metre freestyle swimming relay at only 19 years of age; Angela Pangallo, for service to people with neurodevelopmental disorders; and Mr Graham Priestnall, for service to the defence industry. A number of local residents were also recognised with meritorious awards. I would also like to highlight their work for our community, state and nation. Mrs Sara Fleming was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to the development and provision of Paediatric Palliative Care Services; Mr Malcolm Amos was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal; and Mr Jamie Goldsmith was awarded the Australian Corrections Medal. Each of these honours recipients is a dedicated and respected member of our local community, and I extend my sincere congratulations and thanks to them all.
Australian Women | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for the Environment, representing the Minister for Women. Will the minister update the House on the strength and resilience of Australians during a very challenging...
My question is to the Minister for the Environment, representing the Minister for Women. Will the minister update the House on the strength and resilience of Australians during a very challenging two years, particularly Australian women and their incredible contribution?
COVID-19: Economy | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer please explain to the House how the Morrison government's decisive economic leadership over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic will assist in...
My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer please explain to the House how the Morrison government's decisive economic leadership over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic will assist in a strong economic rebound and a brighter future for Australian families and businesses around the country?
Boothby Electorate: Beach Safety | Statements by Members | House debates
Summer has started in South Australia, and that means that it's beach time in Boothby. Staying safe at the beach this summer is so important, and our surf lifesaving volunteers do so much to...
Summer has started in South Australia, and that means that it's beach time in Boothby. Staying safe at the beach this summer is so important, and our surf lifesaving volunteers do so much to ensure that we can all enjoy the beautiful beaches in Boothby both safely and responsibly. I urge all beachgoers to follow the advice of our trained lifeguards and to swim between the flags at all times. We can also visit beachsafe.org.au for more tips about beach safety. I would like to highlight the tremendous work of our local surf lifesaving clubs in Boothby and thank President John Cvetko and the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club volunteers; President Michael 'Mick' Billing and the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club volunteers; President Jacinta Day and the Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club volunteers; and President Warwick Holland and the Somerton Surf Life Saving Club volunteers. These clubs and amazing volunteers do so much to keep us all safe each and every summer. They also support the development of skills, fitness and volunteering and foster lifelong friendships, especially amongst their young members. There are so many ways to support these amazing and fantastic clubs, so please get in touch with your local club in Boothby to find out how you can get more involved and support our wonderful volunteers who keep us all safe at the beach each summer. On behalf of all South Australians, I thank all of our surf lifesaving clubs in Boothby for their tremendous work each and every summer.
Boothby Electorate: Infrastructure | Constituency Statements | House debates
This morning I am going to speak about four infrastructure upgrades in my electorate of Boothby that I am incredibly proud to have seen completed during my time as a federal member of parliament....
This morning I am going to speak about four infrastructure upgrades in my electorate of Boothby that I am incredibly proud to have seen completed during my time as a federal member of parliament. These upgrades have changed people's lives. They've made my local residents safer. They've got them to school, to work and to the shops more quickly. They've particularly managed to get them to Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre more quickly and more safely. Three of them were started and completed during my time as the member for Boothby. One of them was started just before, but it's fully complete as well. The reason that we have been able to fund and deliver these very important infrastructure upgrades is that the Morrison Liberal government are strong economic managers, which has meant that we have been able to fully fund and deliver these life-changing projects for my local community. The first project that I'm particularly proud of is the Springbank intersection upgrade. I first came across the issues at the Springbank, Goodwood and Daws Road intersection way back in 1996, when I was a first-year uni student at Flinders University, which is within my electorate of Boothby. I spent seven years getting stuck at this intersection. Then, after I was preselected as the candidate for Boothby in 2015, I spent another seven years getting stuck at this intersection again. So I couldn't be more proud that I've fixed this terrible problem for my local community that's been a problem for 40 years, not just the past 20 years that I've been going through it. It was fully complete in early September, so we now have 60,000 vehicles a day that no longer get stuck at this terrible dogleg. We've managed to actually increase the green space in the area as well. We've put in a brand new entrance to the historic and heritage listed suburb of Colonel Light Gardens, and we actually delivered this ahead of time. The federal government funding that went into this project was $30.7 million and the total project was valued at $61.4 million. We have changed people's lives, and I am so proud. It's also right next door to the Repat hospital, which the state Labor government cruelly and shamefully shut down when they were in power. We've reactivated the Repat and federally we've put in $40 million to get this amazing veterans hospital site back up and running. Nearby, we have the Darlington upgrade, which is fully delivered federal funding of $603 million; the Flinders link, which extended the train line from Tonsley up to Flinders University, finally linking it with the city and also linking Flinders hospital with the city, $70.5 million of federal funding; and Oaklands crossing, fully complete, with $95 million of federal funding. All of this has changed lives—made people's lives safer and got them to work more quickly, to school and to the shops—and I'm so proud to have delivered these projects. (Time expired)
Research and Development | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth. The Morrison government is securing Australia's economic recovery by investing in technology and research. Will the minister please update...
My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth. The Morrison government is securing Australia's economic recovery by investing in technology and research. Will the minister please update the House on the government's university research commercialisation agenda and how this plan will create more Australian jobs?
Boothby Electorate: South Australian Country Fire Service | Statements by Members | House debates
Although we've had a mild spring in South Australia this year, summer is on its way and so is the hot weather. I want to remind all of my local residents about what they can do to be bushfire...
Although we've had a mild spring in South Australia this year, summer is on its way and so is the hot weather. I want to remind all of my local residents about what they can do to be bushfire ready and to thank our wonderful CFS volunteers, who keep us safe each and every summer. Boothby Hills-zone residents must make sure they have their bushfire survival plan in place now. There's nothing more important than having a plan in place; it could literally be the difference between life and death. There's nothing more important, as well, than supporting our incredible CFS volunteers. They have a wealth of information about planning and prevention, and I encourage all residents to visit cfs.sa.gov.au to update their bushfire plans. It's essential that my local residents know how to protect themselves, their loved ones and their homes. As the CFS says: prepare, act, survive. I want to acknowledge the continuing work of our local CFS volunteers in the Sturt CFS Group for keeping local residents safe in Boothby each and every summer. The Sturt CFS Group is led by Group Officer Dale Thompson and deputy group officers David Simms and Chris Smith. I thank them for their years of dedicated service to our local area. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the following CFS brigade captains and all the brigade volunteers: Mark Brooks and volunteers at Belair; Jamie Emsweiler at Blackwood; Lawrie Linggood at Cherry Gardens; Rowan Clark at Coromandel Valley; and Ben Gloyn at Eden Hills. On behalf of all our residents, thank you so much for everything you do.
Boothby Electorate: Repat Veteran Wellbeing Centre | Statements by Members | House debates
Looking after our Defence Force veterans is one of the most important tasks we have as a nation, and that is exactly what we are doing at the brand-new veterans wellbeing centre located within...
Looking after our Defence Force veterans is one of the most important tasks we have as a nation, and that is exactly what we are doing at the brand-new veterans wellbeing centre located within the reactivated Repat site in Boothby. Made possible by $5 million of funding from the Morrison Liberal government, the centre is one of six veteran wellbeing centres around Australia. The centre is now home to the RSL, Open Arms Australia, Soldier On and, of course, the Plympton Veterans Centre—and I pay tribute to their veterans advocates: Tich Tyson, Bill Hignett and Graham 'Ruddy' Rudd—who I recently visited. The veterans centre is complemented by the refurbished SPF Hall, the town square and the neighbouring sports gymnasium, which offers sports such as wheelchair basketball. I returned to the Repat for Remembrance Day and, along with many of the veterans in attendance, saw the state Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade MLC, plant in the town square a lone pine which is a descendant of the original Gallipoli Lone Pine. This is a fitting tribute to the thousands of Australian veterans who have been supported and cared for at the Repat during its long and proud history. I am incredibly proud to have secured funding for the Repat as part of more than $40 million of Morrison Liberal government funding towards its reactivation, which also includes a specialist dementia unit and a brand-new brain and spinal unit. The former state Labor government shamefully closed the Repat hospital, but, thanks to the Morrison and Marshall Liberal governments, it is once again thriving.
Mr Speaker, my sincere congratulations on your election. My question is to the Prime Minister. Australians are emerging from restrictions with increasing confidence about our economic recovery....
Mr Speaker, my sincere congratulations on your election. My question is to the Prime Minister. Australians are emerging from restrictions with increasing confidence about our economic recovery. Will the Prime Minister please outline to the House how the Morrison government is driving that confidence by delivering on its plan to secure the economy and create more jobs for Australians?
Agriculture Industry | Adjournment | House debates
) ( ): I would like to thank and congratulate the Morrison government and my National Party colleagues for the fact that we now have in the Senate the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and...
) ( ): I would like to thank and congratulate the Morrison government and my National Party colleagues for the fact that we now have in the Senate the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport investigating the definitions of meat and other animal products. I have for some years been continually raising my serious concerns about the false, misleading and fake claims that a number of plant protein and fake meat products are trying to associate themselves with the clean, green, natural, endlessly renewable products that our Australian farmers grow, whether that's beef, whether that's dairy, whether that's lamb, whether that's wool, whether that's eggs or whether it's our seafood. We need to make sure that we are looking after our Australian farmers. I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with plant protein producers getting their products onto shelves, but I have a huge problem with them claiming to be meat-like products or dairy-like products or seafood-like products. I have huge problems with people claiming to make so-called vegan 'leather', which is purely plastics and petrochemicals. It could not be less like natural, endlessly-sustainable leather if it tried. I am going to continue during the remainder of my time in this place to be fighting for our farmers, for our dairy farmers, for our beef producers, for our sheep producers, for our wonderful fishermen and women around the nation, to make sure that their products are no longer being put at risk by these imposters. The aim of these groups, companies like Impossible Foods—this is big business; these people are backed by billionaires—as the CEO of Impossible Foods says, is to 'eradicate the meat and fish industries by 2035' and replace them with 'genetically engineered plant based meat'. This CEO, Patrick Brown, has stated, 'I want to put the animal agricultural industry out of business. It is that simple. It is the most destructive industry on earth,' and he wants to see the 'land returned to nature'. Well, my goodness me. That would have pretty catastrophic impacts for Australia and for all of our rural and regional areas if we shut down our livestock producers, if we shut down our dairy producers and if we shut down our fishermen around the coastline of Australia. So I'm going to keep fighting these people and I'm going to take great pleasure in doing so, because I'm going to make sure that their false and misleading claims are no longer applied to products that could not be less natural if they tried. I have been a bit concerned, I must say, about the efforts of the National Farmers Federation on this matter, who established the Future of Protein Forum to work with alternative protein producers. One of these food producers is Food Frontier, who explicitly state on their website: … we must champion safer and more sustainable ways of producing food. … reducing our reliance on industrial animal agriculture and aquaculture, and backing protein sources that have fewer impacts on human and planetary health, are central to this. Again, my goodness me! Could we see any more false and misleading statements about our amazing protein producers, our real protein producers—our sheep growers, our cattle producers, our fishermen, our dairy producers, our chicken and egg producers? Animal production is one of the most historic, most successful means of production known to the entire world. It's actually the basis of human civilisation. When we actually managed to start farming we managed to start feeding ourselves in a reliable and sustainable way, and that is why we need to continue to do so. Animal production is endlessly renewable. Cattle and sheep will continue to reproduce and provide fabulous protein sources, not just for Australians but for people around the entire world. I'm also very disappointed with the National Farmers Federation. Today I read their submission to the Senate committee and I was a little bit encouraged that they seem to be a bit more back on the right track, but I wasn't greatly encouraged, so I'm just putting them on notice that I'll be carefully watching how they manage this. I was deeply disappointed with the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation, which considered and rejected this matter. They rejected truth in labelling to protect our farmers and our fishers. I will continue to prosecute this issue during my remaining time in the parliament to make sure that Australian farmers can continue to sustain this nation. They are the backbone of this nation and they deserve our support.
Australian Defence Force | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's investment in cutting-edge technology is equipping our Defence Force with...
My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's investment in cutting-edge technology is equipping our Defence Force with the capability they need to keep Australians safe, especially with global uncertainty?
Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
It's an honour and a privilege to be able to speak on the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 today, which the Morrison government has brought to the parliament...
It's an honour and a privilege to be able to speak on the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 today, which the Morrison government has brought to the parliament based upon work that we instigated and initiated. Everyone in this place agrees that we all have the right to feel safe at work, especially women. Sexual harassment is unacceptable in any context, particularly in the workplace. Our workplace laws must reflect these ideals to ensure all Australians are protected from workplace sexual harassment. That's why the Morrison government is acting quickly to strengthen the national antidiscrimination and industrial relations frameworks by simplifying and enhancing protections against sex based discrimination and harassment in the workplace. We began by funding the Australian Human Rights Commission to undertake the landmark National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces. The inquiry was the first of its kind in the world, and represented a landmark moment for Australia. The federal government's response to the Respect@Work report, the Roadmap for Respect, released on 8 April 2021, sets out the government's long-term commitment to building safe and respectful workplaces. The end product of this national inquiry found that too many workplace cultures fall short. We must do, and are doing, what we can to ensure this changes. The Respect@Work report made 55 recommendations—directed at the Australian government, the states and territories, employers, industry groups and others—highlighting the important roles all groups have in supporting cultural change and creating safe workplaces. The Morrison government has either agreed to—in full, in part or in principle—or noted all 55 recommendations in the report. I want to briefly pay tribute to the Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General, Amanda Stoker, for her incredibly hard work on a response to this report and for her wonderful, tireless advocacy for women. She has been a great friend to me and a wonderful supporter through the various trials and tribulations I have experienced. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the Attorney-General, Michaelia Cash, and of the former minister for women and member for Higgins, Kelly O'Dwyer, who commissioned Kate Jenkins to do the report in the first place. We miss the member for Higgins very much. She was a great champion for women, especially in the Liberal Party, and should be incredibly proud of everything she achieved for women during her time in parliament, including the legislation we see before us today. I also want to pay tribute to Kate Jenkins, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, who is an absolute champion for women. She's an incredibly thoughtful, kind and compassionate woman, and she's doing wonderful work for the government in other absolutely critical areas so we can make sure all women are safe in their workplaces in every way. This bill will ensure that more workers—in particular, vulnerable workers—are protected and empowered to address unlawful conduct in their workplaces. These reforms are essential for advancing both women's safety and women's economic security. The Respect@Work bill does this by implementing legislative reforms committed to by this government in its Roadmap for Respect, including in response to recommendation 16, recommendations 20 to 22 and recommendations 29 to 30 of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner's Respect@Work report. It implements the majority of the legislative recommendations in the Respect@Work report, focusing on the changes that can be implemented quickly and see the greatest improvements to the antidiscrimination and industrial relations frameworks. It's also important to stress that those legislative recommendations not included in the bill are still under active consideration by the government. While this bill addresses many of the recommendations outlined in the Respect@Work report, more measures are already underway. Through our commitment to the Respect@Work report in the long term, the Morrison Liberal government has commenced actions to implement the Roadmap for Respect, including through establishing the Respect@Work Council; developing the Respect@Work website and a package of training and education resources; consulting with states and territories, including at the recent meeting of attorneys-general and at national cabinet, regarding their respective responses to the Respect@Work report; and preparing for the fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. To implement our response to the Respect@Work report we are also providing more than $64.3 million over four years, as announced in the 2021-22 budget, building on the initial $2.1 million over three years provided in October 2020, to implement key recommendations of the report. Through this funding we will see $43.89 million committed over four years to additional legal assistance funding for specialist lawyers with workplace and discrimination law expertise, and $5.3 million committed to the Department of Social Services to be provided to Our Watch, Australia's national research organisation for women's safety, and to 1800RESPECT to build the evidence base and develop primary prevention initiatives to respond to sexual harassment. But, of course, this is not all we have done on this very important issue. We commissioned the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces, as I've outlined, through the former Minister for Women and former member for Higgins, Kelly O'Dwyer; Kate Jenkins reported back to us and we have now responded, which is why we're seeing this legislation before us today. We have also this year commissioned the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces; that was commissioned in March, and the progress update was released in July. So there is a huge amount of progress occurring in that area as well to address the incredibly serious issues that we have seen spoken about and reported on this year. The Prime Minister also commissioned—and this was a bipartisan agreement and there was bipartisan support for this—the Review of the Parliamentary Workplace: Responding to Serious Incidents, in February. I know the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and her wonderful team are doing fantastic work on this issue. I have sat here and sat in my office this morning listening very closely to the contributions of those opposite, particularly the member for Watson, the member for Sydney and the Leader of the Opposition. I really cannot describe those contributions, and some of the content and the allegations made against our government and me and my colleagues, particularly the Prime Minister, as coming from a place that is not completely disingenuous. Each and every one of those individuals, quite frankly, sounded like a sanctimonious hypocrite. I, more than any person in this place, have put up with absolutely unacceptable behaviour thanks to GetUp, Labor and the unions, which those opposite still refuse to address. They still refuse to condemn GetUp and their tactics. They refuse to condemn the unions. I'm really proud of the actions my government has taken, and the actions the Prime Minister and the Treasurer took, to publicly condemn the sexist and misogynistic behaviour I suffered during the 2019 election campaign. They supported and encouraged me to present to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, and I was absolutely thrilled to see one of its key recommendations pass this parliament recently, through the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021. The provision in this bill, which I'm delighted to say will now offer proper protection to every single member of parliament, to our volunteers and to our staff, clarified what constitutes interference with political liberty. It noted that violence, obscene or discriminatory abuse, property damage, and harassment or stalking with relevance to an election are examples of what can be considered interference with political liberty, with penalties of imprisonment for three years or 100 penalty units or both. This is critical for the operation of our democracy and for the continued free and easy access that every single member of the Australian public deserves to have to their elected representatives. I have just outlined how my government, how our government, how the Prime Minister, have shown leadership time and time again in addressing the incredibly serious issues that so many people in this place have unfortunately suffered. But I ask myself what on earth those opposite have done. I had to come in here and give a highly emotional speech outlining how deeply distressing my experience as a female member of parliament had been before the Leader of the Opposition would even go out there and not only apologise but say that if he was ever made aware of this sort of behaviour again then he would act. I find it extraordinary that, back in March, Samantha Maiden reported the most horrifying, genuinely horrifying, allegations of sexual harassment and assault and generalised abuse and bullying of female Labor staff members. I have not heard a word from those opposite as to whether these women are safe, whether the perpetrators have been held to account and brought to account, yet they come in here today and start telling us that we have a problem. I'm going to read some of this into Hansard because it needs to be recorded, because I will not by lectured by those opposite, as I've said before, when I know that they have even more-serious problems than the ones that have already been revealed by the brave women who have come forward: This is female Labor staff members reporting the behaviour of current and former Labor MPs. The article continues: This is disgusting behaviour. 'What are you doing about this?' I say to those opposite. It goes on and on. It is horrifying. It is truly, truly horrifying, and it had better be being addressed, because I want to know whether these women are safe. We do not know whether these women are safe. That's why the sanctimonious, hypocritical lectures that I heard directed at us today from those opposite are precisely that. You cannot trust anything those opposite say on these issues, because they do not have their own house in order and they refuse to address the problems that they have. This is another example: • He is a married man who plied a young woman with drinks until she had no idea what was happening. He promised others at the gathering he would get her home safely but before putting her in the cab he had sex with her when she had no ability to consent. • The next day he texted to demand she take the morning after pill and blamed her for what happened saying she was so drunk that she came onto him. He threatened "tell no one". I could go on. I'm not going to go on, because these allegations are so deeply upsetting. As I said, I sincerely hope that these women are safe and that they are getting the help and support that they need. I believe that they now know through everything that's happened this year where to get that help, whether it is through contacting the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, contacting 1800RESPECT or contacting the Department of Finance and accessing the many, many supports that we have put in place since a range of terrifying facts and allegations have been made this year. I am really pleased to support this legislation because we all know, we should all know—those opposite certainly do know, whether they admit it or not—that everyone bears responsibility for improving the safety of women in the workplace, whether it's sexual harassment, violence against women or bullying. Whatever it might be, we all bear a responsibility to fix this behaviour. If we in this place—every single political party, Independents and everyone—can't get their own houses in order, can't get their own parties in order, then what hope do women out there in businesses around Australia have of things improving for them? We have to demonstrate, we on this side are demonstrating, the leadership that is desperately needed in this area. I am very proud to have worked with my senior colleagues—like the Prime Minister; the Attorney-General; and the Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General, Amanda Stoker; to see this legislation, and with the Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters, Ben Morton, to see the Electoral Act tightened up—so that every single person is safe in their workplace in every single way.
National Health Amendment (Decisions under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I would just acknowledge the contributions and expertise of the members for Cooper and Macarthur on this very important issue. They have both had very successful careers within medical services...
I would just acknowledge the contributions and expertise of the members for Cooper and Macarthur on this very important issue. They have both had very successful careers within medical services in Australia. I know that they have just provided a lot of information that will be of great use to people watching today or listening at home. The National Health Amendment (Decisions under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme) Bill 2021 will reform the review of decisions made under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme Instrument, conferring review functions of decisions to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This will allow for Australians who are using the CAPS program, or their nominated representative, to apply for an independent merits review by the AAT for decisions made under the program. This is a commonsense reform to the scheme's operation and brings it into line with many other programs and benefits offered by the federal government to Australians in need. I think it's important to reiterate what the members for Cooper and Macarthur have said and explain a little bit about why this program is needed, who this program assists and how the program helps people before again reiterating why the changes to this legislation are needed. The CAPS program assists people suffering from incontinence. This, like many other health issues that involve bodily functions, is not something that many people are comfortable talking about or letting others know that they suffer from. So I hope that by discussing this bill today, and the broader issues, we might help someone watching or listening to get the help they need or to discuss their problems with somebody—to assist in understanding and to gain support. Again, I thank the members for Cooper and Macarthur for lending their medical expertise. The member for Cooper was a nurse and the member for Macarthur was a specialist paediatrician, and they have both had personal experience in supporting people and families with incontinence issues. Incontinence is described as follows by the Continence Foundation of Australia: Continence is the ability to control your bladder and bowel. Incontinence is the involuntary loss of bladder and bowel control. This affects approximately 15 per cent of the Australian population. If you would like more information about continence and incontinence, please visit the Continence Foundation of Australia website, which is continence.org.au. You can find a lot of very clear and easy-to-understand information, and you can find out more about where to get help and support. The Department of Health also provides the National Continence Helpline, which is staffed by a team of continence nurse advisers and is available to anyone in Australia. It operates from 8 am to 8 pm, eastern standard time, Monday to Friday. You can contact the hotline on 1800330066, and that's a free call. It's really important to understand that incontinence can affect anybody: men, women, young adults, teenagers and children. For sufferers, it can be deeply embarrassing and affect and impact every part of their daily life. But, as the Continence Foundation of Australia explains, there's a lot of help available to people, so, again, please visit their website at continence.org.au or call the Department of Health's national hotline from 8 am to 8 pm, eastern standard time, Monday to Friday, on 1800330066. There are many specific health issues that can cause incontinence. In men it may be because of prostate issues, or perhaps after prostate cancer surgery or perhaps because of pelvic floor issues. In women it may be because of menopause, pelvic floor issues or as a direct result of childbirth or prolapse. It can also affect children and teenagers for a variety of reasons. A range of other serious diseases and medical conditions can also cause incontinence, from stroke and diabetes to dementia and Parkinson's disease, and arthritis and mental health conditions may be linked with incontinence, even if they don't directly cause it. People with incontinence often need careful planning in their days; they need to make detailed plans for travel and ensure that they have the continence products they need, which is what this bill is all about. Those who care for people with incontinence also take on an involved and taxing task. It can complicate even the simplest of tasks that most of us take for granted. It can often be one of the most difficult aspects of caring, as the member for Macarthur has just powerfully described. It can be unpredictable and add a lot to a carer's workload. For this reason, there's a huge psychological toll and impact on carers but also, of course, on the person who is suffering from incontinence. If the condition is not managed well, people may experience feelings of rejection, social isolation, dependency, loss of control, and may also develop problems with their body image. These immense pressures can, of course, also impact carers, overwhelming them with stress and straining their relationships. While the CAPS program could be considered small within the context of the broader health budget, the subsidy and provision of incontinence products can have a huge impact on a person's life. In addition to the social cost, this has an impact on Australia's overall health system. A Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Continence Foundation of Australia estimated that incontinence cost Australia's health system around $450 million last year alone. The report estimates that further costs born by the economy generally include productivity losses numbering into the tens of billions, the costs of formal care and aids that this program assists with directly, and the burden of the problems themselves. This is why the effective delivery of this scheme to all who are entitled to it is so important. Every year, the CAPS program helps around 130,000 Australians by providing financial support of more than $620 to each person to assist them with the cost of incontinence products. This benefit is non-taxable, it's offered on an annual or six-monthly basis and it is provided to those who are over four years of age and have permanent and severe incontinence. Earlier this year, the CAPS instrument was amended to provide for an internal merits review of decisions by the secretary of the Department of Health and, following internal review, an independent merits review of the internal review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This bill amends the National Health Act to make it clear the results of merits reviews conducted by the AAT are valid. This amendment will take effect immediately after the royal assent, and it is an important administrative improvement to the program's operation and to the previous reform. The program is administered by Services Australia, who work with CAPS applications, and applicants, to resolve issues relating to their eligibility, ensuring there are very limited numbers of applicants who wish to have decisions reviewed. In instances where an applicant wants to have a review, they should be entitled to one, and this is what this bill achieves. Resources such as continence products provided through the CAPS program work hand in hand with such things as the federal government's National Continence Helpline, which I have previously mentioned, and also the National Public Toilet Map app, which shows the location of 19,000 public toilets Australia-wide and is a resource also provided by the Department of Health. If you have a google, you'll be able to track down both of these very important information resources. These initiatives also, importantly, work alongside the NDIS funding, which the member for Macarthur mentioned, and have had such a huge impact for people suffering from incontinence. There are also state and territory run resourcing and funding schemes so that everybody receives the support they need to manage their incontinence. We know that independent merits reviews are key to accountability and transparency in decision-making that affect Australians in many ways, and, as such, this is a sensible reform. The bill is designed to provide more support to those that need it most, and it builds upon the Morrison government's strong record of investment in health and health care. We could not afford to provide this sort of support without the Morrison government's strong economic management that allows a range of health investments such as this. Broadly speaking, the Morrison government is investing a record $121.4 billion in the year 2021-22, and $503 billion over the next four years, to provide more support to Australians as we face some of our greatest health challenges in a generation, including the COVID-19 pandemic. I've already referred to the mental health impact that incontinence has on sufferers and also on carers, as did the members for Cooper and Macarthur. I do just want to note that we have made a record Commonwealth government mental health investment through our $2.3 billion investment in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. This includes creating a landmark national network of up to 57 additional mental health treatment centres and satellites for adults around Australia, as well as more centres for youth and children through the Head to Health and the headspace programs. I'm incredibly proud the Morrison government is delivering this record mental health support at a time when the nation most desperately needs it. Improving the mental health of Australians is one of the Morrison government's key priorities and, of course, it has never been more important following the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. I know in my electorate, for example, we are already seeing the benefits that further mental health investment has, through the recently opened headspace centre in Marion, in the heart of my electorate of Boothby. We know that early intervention is essential to minimise longer-term impacts on mental health, and headspace was created to serve precisely this purpose. The Morrison government is also guaranteeing the future of Medicare through an investment of $125.7 billion over four years, which is an increase of over $6 billion since last year's budget. It is extending a series of primary care measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through to 31 December 2021, including telehealth. It is continuing to implement reforms to the MBS from the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Task Force recommendations and Medical Services Advisory Committee recommendations. The Morrison government also has a health reform agreement which will deliver more doctors, more nurses and more services across public hospitals in every state and territory. These are all completely related to making sure that people, whatever their health issue may be—but particularly on the issue we're discussing, which is incontinence—can access their GP, can call their GP if they're not able to travel at the moment or leave their house because of all the COVID restrictions that we're seeing. Our national mental health investments mean that people can access the support that they need when they need it. I note that we are also listing a record number of medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. As part of our funding measures, we're also investing $43 billion over four years in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This has an absolutely critical role in making sure people can access the medications they need at an affordable price, especially where those medications are for rare diseases and people would never be able to afford them if they had to pay the retail price on the market without the support of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The listings that we've made recently represent an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month, or one each day, for an overall investment by the government of $13.6 billion. This reaffirms our commitment to making sure all Australians can afford the medicines they need. We're also doing a lot of work with the medicines and technology sector to continue streamlining and deregulating processes to apply for reimbursements for new products and services. We have invested $36 million in the Health Products Portal, where we are creating a new one-stop shop for applying electronically to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, the Medical Services Advisory Committee, and other mechanisms for listing new medicines and medical devices. In conclusion, the health care of Australians is absolutely paramount. This bill is just one small part of a raft of achievements and record funding amounts that support the health of everyone in the community. The National Health Amendment (Decisions under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme) Bill 2021 will reform the review of decisions made under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme instrument, conferring review functions of decisions to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. It will allow for Australians who are using the CAPS, or allow their nominated representative, to apply for an independent merits review by the AAT of decisions made under the program. So it's a commonsense reform, and I commend the bill to the House.
Small Business | Questions without Notice | House debates
Great, let's go! My question is to the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. Will the minister please update the House on why sticking to the national plan is...
Great, let's go! My question is to the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. Will the minister please update the House on why sticking to the national plan is vital for Australian small and family businesses, especially in light of today's national accounts and especially for those residents of the member for Mackellar's electorate?
COVID-19: Vaccination | Questions without Notice | House debates
There is a technical issue. Am I able to ask the question on behalf of the member for Mackellar?
Veterans | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government is supporting and assisting our...
My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government is supporting and assisting our veterans and their families, particularly at this very challenging time?
Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021 | Statements by Members | House debates
Today I wish to commend the parliament for the quick passage of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021. I feel immensely proud to have...
Today I wish to commend the parliament for the quick passage of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021. I feel immensely proud to have in my small way made a contribution to the provisions of this legislation that relate to the safety of candidates, members of parliament, staff and volunteers. The act clarifies what constitutes interference with political liberty and notes that violence, obscene or discriminatory abuse, property damage and harassment or stalking with relevance to an election are examples of what can be considered interference with political liberty, with penalties of imprisonment for three years or of 100 penalty units or both. Unfortunately, as I have previously recorded in this place, I was subjected to all of this during the 2019 election campaign and since from Extinction Rebellion and groups like that. No-one in politics, especially women, should have to go through this, and now we finally have a way to protect the safety of our participants in our democracy. I would like again to record my sincere thanks to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for allowing me to participate in the inquiry, to the member for Barker and Senator Eric Abetz for their forensic analysis of the GetUp, Labor and union tactics and also to the Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters and his office and his department for drafting the legislation. The future of our democracy and continuing free and easy access to members of parliament depends on all of us being safe.