Gavin Pearce's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2025-09-07T23:05:15+00:00
items: Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Braddon Electorate: Don River Railway | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Tasmania: Bushfires | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Tiller, Dr Jane | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
items: World AMR Awareness Week, Camp Quality | Adjournment | House debates
items: Elphinstone, Mr Dale Brendon, AO | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Endangered Species | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Genetic Screening | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Variety TasBash | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Aged Care Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Tasmania: Agriculture Industry | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Braddon Electorate: Environmental Approvals | Constituency Statements | House debates

Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: Prior to me speaking on the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025, there are a few Ts and Cs as far as I'm concerned that come from a very personal perspective. I...
encoded: Prior to me speaking on the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025, there are a few Ts and Cs as far as I'm concerned that come from a very personal perspective. I would first of all like to recognise that I come from the bush, in the electorate of Braddon, in the north-west west coast of King Island in Tasmania, where not only are childcare centres rare but they're sparse. But they've got waiting lists that are in the pages in length. We just don't have the positions available in the bush, unfortunately. We don't have the resources. What I would like to say in this place, very sincerely, very honestly and very openly, is that the experience that I've had with the early childhood education sector has been very positive. I look at the care, at the sincerity and at the real genuine leadership that some of these individuals, some of our early childhood educators, provide our young children, and it's second to none. I am astounded by the level of care that is generally available to our youngest and most needy in their formative years. They love our kids, and those kids love them. When you see a young child wanting to go to day care, that is indicative of a wholesome environment, a good environment. As we argue to-and-fro across the chamber here today, I don't want those good folks in our early childhood education sector to feel that it's an indictment on them, because the work, for the most part, that they do is second to none. I take my hat off, and I mean that most sincerely. I myself have a three-year-old daughter. Her name is Elsie, and she's a little handful from time to time, but she absolutely loves going to day care. Her little face lights up as she meets her little friends and puts her lunchbox—which is always chock-a-block full—into the fridge. She comes home tired and sometimes a little grumpy, but she always has a story to tell about her day and what she learnt at day care. It's beautiful. That's the future that I want to see for …
date: 2025-02-12T19:23:00+00:00

Braddon Electorate: Don River Railway | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: This weekend we celebrate a remarkable milestone—50 years of the Don River Railway on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Since 1973 this heritage railway has been more than just a collection...
encoded: This weekend we celebrate a remarkable milestone—50 years of the Don River Railway on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Since 1973 this heritage railway has been more than just a collection of locomotives and tracks; it's been a living link to Tasmania's rich rail history, built and maintained by passionate volunteers who refuse to let our past be forgotten. It's from humble beginnings that the Don railway began one of the finest heritage railway experiences in Australia. It has restored and preserved historical locomotives, given tens of thousands of visitors the chance to step back in time, and provided an enduring reminder of the role that rail played in shaping our communities. But this railway is more than just history. It's about people. It's about volunteers past and present who have poured their blood, sweat and tears in order to keep it running. Their dedication ensures future generations will continue to hear the whistle and feel the rumble of the tracks, and experience the joy of heritage steam and diesel travel. To all who have made the Don River Railway the thing that it is today, I say thank you. 'We all love shunting,' said the fat controller, and, if you have a chance, please visit it on the north-west coast of Tasmania.
date: 2025-02-12T13:33:00+00:00

Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: to further it—100 per cent! Instead of working collaboratively with industry, instead of working collaboratively with communities—communities need to have a say. It's their backyard....
encoded: to further it—100 per cent! Instead of working collaboratively with industry, instead of working collaboratively with communities—communities need to have a say. It's their backyard. It's their view. Communities need to have a say in this process. My job isn't to say whether we should or shouldn't do something; my job is to represent the views of my electorate and put that to the government, put that to this place, so that my constituents are heard. It's not my job to say whether something is right or wrong; it's my job to ensure that the process is followed. And in this case, in this particular bill, the process has not been followed. The process has been circumvented. This bill is a shortcut. This bill is being jammed through, and I fear trickery. It doesn't look good. It doesn't bode well for the views of my electorate, those good communities, those good people out there, who just want to have a say on what they're looking at from their homes and their businesses. It's not on. I'm all about looking people in the eye and asking them how they feel. That's something the government hasn't done in this case. The other issue that we need to talk about, when we start talking about Tasmania, is the ability for Tasmania to grow. Now, in order for any country to grow they need to grow their base load energy production. It unlocks industry and it unlocks potential. It aids in providing businesses with the energy that they need for 24/7 operations. I will use Tasmania as an example. As I said, Tasmania consumes around 10,500 gigawatt hours of energy each year. Around 86 or 86½ per cent of that is through hydro. It comes from 54 hydro dams and 30 power stations. Some have been operating for 110 years. That hydro energy is made up by wind and solar. We've already got that. In order for the wind and solar industries—if you like—to develop and grow, they need access to market. That's where Project Marinus comes in. That's where the two dual 750-megawatt DC cables that go from my…
date: 2025-02-11T20:07:00+00:00

Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: As I rise to speak on the Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, I do so with a certain amount of frustration for my constituents on the north-west, the west coast and King...
encoded: As I rise to speak on the Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, I do so with a certain amount of frustration for my constituents on the north-west, the west coast and King Island in the great state of Tasmania, a state which you will know, Deputy Speaker Freelander, is renowned for the production of renewable energy. It has done so for the past 100 years. Tasmania is already net zero. It is the only state or territory in the country to have such a status. It is a status that we are very proud of in the great state of Tasmania. Along with that is our beauty. Tasmania is a beautiful state. Those who have visited my state will attest to that. Those who haven't need to get their backsides down to the great state of Tasmania and take all that in—our rugged coastlines, rainforests, arid farming regions and mountainous areas. It is a beautiful place of which I am profoundly proud. As I look out across my farm, I see the rolling green hills of north-west Tasmania, with the rich arable and volcanic derivative soil, growing potatoes, peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, onions and opium poppies, with black cattle off in the distance. In the far distance is the beautiful Bass Strait and our coastlines, coastlines that we are very proud of. That leads me into this issue and aligns with this particular amendment, which seeks to put a smear on the face of our beautiful coastlines. In Tasmania, we have already taken the liberty over the last more than 100 years of making ourselves, as a state and as a community, 100 per cent renewable, as I stated at the beginning of my speech. We've done the right thing. We are the only state or territory to have done so. Why, then, do we have to look out our windows at our beautiful coastline and have that blemished by wind towers, some in excess of 280 or 300 metres tall? Why do we have to do that? Why do our shipping lanes, with currently unimpeded access both in and out of our great state, need to be impeded by such structure…
date: 2025-02-11T20:07:00+00:00

Tasmania: Bushfires | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, I'd like to hazard a guess and say that you understand completely the power of mother nature. Our thoughts and our support need to go to our brothers and sisters, our...
encoded: Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, I'd like to hazard a guess and say that you understand completely the power of mother nature. Our thoughts and our support need to go to our brothers and sisters, our fellow Australians, in northern Queensland as they go through those terrible floods up there. I'd like to also recognise the great work of the my good friend the member for Herbert for the great work he's doing with his great community. But the fact remains that, in my electorate down on the west coast of Tasmania, the electorate of Braddon, a different disaster is occurring. At the moment, approximately 16,000 hectares of my electorate are on fire. North of the Pieman River on the rugged west coast, our rainforests and our button grass plains are immersed in fires—many fires—to the point that they are almost now into forestry area, up onto the north-west coast, and posing significant risk to the coupes that are maintained by Sustainable Timber Tasmania and Tasmanian forestry. I'd like to recognise sincerely the great work of our firefighters—our Tasmania Fire Service, those volunteer rural fire brigade services and those tenders who get out there every day and who understand intimately their background, their back door and how to best fight that fire. Ironically, in an area that is so heavily wooded, it is our forestry operators that are saving the day with heavy earthmoving machinery. I would like to send a big shout-out to Collins's earthmoving Collins Contracting at Smithton, who have got several bulldozers putting fire breaks in. The logging contractors have got fallers felling trees, and I saw footage last night of a faller felling a large tree that was on fire. That posed a significant life-threatening risk to the person doing that job on the ground. Often in this place, as we sit on our shiny seats, we forget that that very real risk takes place on the ground. I think it would do us all well and bode us all well if we thought about those real people doing that real dan…
date: 2025-02-10T10:48:00+00:00

Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: It saddens me today and it's with a very heavy heart that I rise to speak on the second reading of the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024. It saddens me because, whilst this is...
encoded: It saddens me today and it's with a very heavy heart that I rise to speak on the second reading of the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024. It saddens me because, whilst this is necessary at this point in time in Australia's history, the way I and most Australians view it, it should never be necessary. It should have been stamped out from the very start. It shouldn't have been allowed to escalate to the levels, the hurt and evil, that it has got to at this point in time. It's for that very reason that it saddens me that the leadership has been lacking for so long. I come from the profession of arms, and I have spent the majority of my life being deployed to all sorts of places for that very reason—to combat evil. Mostlywe stand in front of those being persecuted with a weapons system, and we protect them from that evil. I know a little bit about wiping evil out and eliminating evil from the earth. There's an old saying that goes right back to the Romans; it's in Latin, and it's the phrase, 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' That means, 'In strength, comes peace.' Unless you have strength and unless you have the leadership that demonstrates that, you will never have peace. Unfortunately, that's what we have gotten to. That lack of leadership has allowed this festering serpent to develop and grow to the point that it is spitting venom at those most vulnerable. I think the actions of this government have lacked that leadership, that strength, that power and that force in stamping this out, and that's why that escalation has taken place. I actually visited Israel last year at the request of my good friend the ambassador, Amir Maimon. Amir served a life in the Israeli special forces, Mossad. He was an electronic warfare special forces operator working for the Israeli Army around the same time as I was posted in the Middle East. We have a kinship there, and we have become very close. I saw a very hardened man, a tough man, a strong man, a man with conviction and lea…
date: 2025-02-05T17:46:00+00:00

Tiller, Dr Jane | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: Change rarely begins in this place. It often starts with the relentless efforts of the dedicated few who champion important causes. Today I rise to recognise one such leader of change. Dr Jane...
encoded: Change rarely begins in this place. It often starts with the relentless efforts of the dedicated few who champion important causes. Today I rise to recognise one such leader of change. Dr Jane Tiller from Monash University has been awarded Research Australia's Health and Medical Research Advocacy Award for 2024. This prestigious honour celebrates her outstanding work advocating for Australia's protection against genetic discrimination in life insurance through genetic testing. Genetic testing saves so many lives by helping to prevent, diagnose and treat heritable conditions and cancers. Yet many have avoided testing, fearing that insurers will utilise that data in order to deny coverage or increase premiums. Thanks to Dr Tiller's tireless years of advocacy, in September of this year this parliament banned the use of adverse predictive genetic tests in life insurance underwriting. From a personal perspective, I want to say to all our medical researchers that lock themselves away in laboratories until the wee hours of the morning, devoting their lives to the pursuit of outcomes for their division of science: at the end of that, there are some very real humans who are eternally grateful for your work. Well done to all our medical researchers, and well done to Dr Jane Tiller.
date: 2024-11-27T13:48:00+00:00

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
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description: Finally, I guess I should close with some words about our flag and how important that is to me. It's best summed up by a story that I read about following the Great War, when some schoolkids...
encoded: Finally, I guess I should close with some words about our flag and how important that is to me. It's best summed up by a story that I read about following the Great War, when some schoolkids visited a museum and they found an old flag—a ratty and torn flag. They asked the guide from the museum what that old flag was about. He was a veteran and he had his medals on. He said to the kids, 'That isn't exactly a flag; that is called a guidon. A guidon is the battle honours that our Australian Light Horse had'—Andrew Hastie. In the military we have colours, banners, standards and guidons, and they are absolutely sacred. They are the things that the soldiers dress themselves off when they go into battle, that dictate the line of advance and the rate of advance. To lose one's colour or guidon is a fate worse than death. It's a disgrace. And these particular guidons, on 31 October 1917, were in the centre between the 4th and the 12th regiments of the Australian Light Horse, as they charged on those Turkish trenches in a place called Beersheba. They took those trenches and they took those wells and they saved literally hundreds of thousands of soldiers. And the old bloke that was in the museum looked at the kids and he said that it was simply a moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole: 'Now, that does not do much to stir a man's soul. 'Tis the deeds that were done neath the moth-eaten rag, when the pole was a staff and the rag was a flag.' Look after our flag and all the customs and all the history that it contains, because it will chart a way forward. Protect those real people that I talked about, because they've got real issues. And we shouldn't be frightened to talk about them here. Finally, I want to say that I am the most humble, the most grateful and the most loyal servant of the greatest electorate of the greatest state of the greatest country in the world. And may it always be the land of the fair go. I want to thank everybody for giving me that opportunity. Thank you.
date: 2024-11-25T16:11:00+00:00

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
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description: Jim was right. Jim was also a philosopher when it came to his love not only of the country but of combining that love with the defence of this nation and the national security strategy that we so...
encoded: Jim was right. Jim was also a philosopher when it came to his love not only of the country but of combining that love with the defence of this nation and the national security strategy that we so desperately need. I spoke of Jim's funeral and I spoke of the flag that covered his coffin that day. Again, that flag is enmeshed and interwoven into everything that I think about. For blokes like Jim Molan, every day of their life is spent in the preservation and the strength of that flag. I think that's why I have such a solemn focus on the power and the strength of that flag. Jim was a leader in every true sense of the word. When it comes to leaders, Peter Dutton, I see that strength in you. You have the moral compass, you have the moral strength, and you have the moral support on those benches behind you. I know you will stick up for that little girl who's too frightened to go to school just because she's Jewish, or that little Indigenous kid in Alice Springs who's too frightened to go home because dad has been on the drink and she doesn't want to be bashed or raped. It's not very nice, is it? But it's real, and it's going to take real leadership and it's going to take a real plan to fix that—and no welcome to country in this place is going to fix that. Peter, I have a lot of faith in you, and so do the people on the benches behind you.
date: 2024-11-25T16:11:00+00:00

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
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description: It's an absolute honour to rise on the call. I said in my first speech that this place was a daunting place. It's still a daunting place and rightly so. The customs and traditions that surround...
encoded: It's an absolute honour to rise on the call. I said in my first speech that this place was a daunting place. It's still a daunting place and rightly so. The customs and traditions that surround this chamber remind us of the history and the very reason that we sit here in this parliament. The fact that you, Speaker, sit from an elevated position and control both sides of the argument and both sides of the debate mean that you are the fulcrum of the scales of justice when it comes to that great Australian principle of a fair go. That's what I'm about—a fair go. The fact that we all sit on an even level means that we are selected by the majority of our constituents to come from the four corners of this nation to represent them without fear or favour in this place, this fair-go place. It's important. The mace is your instrument of appointment, Speaker, with its crown pointing towards the government. Long live the Crown only once we are in government! The Australian national flag, to me, symbolises the four corners of the nation. That flag means everything to me. I will explain as I go through summing up what was important for my service not only here but in serving the nation in the Defence Force. That flag means everything to me and I look at it for daily inspiration and it gives me strength. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues today and all the help, support and friendship you have given me over the six years that I have been here. That isn't limited to only this side of the chamber. There are some decent people all over the chamber, and I want to acknowledge and recognise that. Mind you, I've seen some deadset shockers come through here! I want to recognise our leader, and I'll say more about that later. I have my family here, and that was a surprise visit. My family are up from the great state of Tasmania. Megan, thank you for bringing the kids up. Megan, you have been an incredible strength to me over the last two terms, the last six years. I'm the bloke that…
date: 2024-11-25T16:11:00+00:00

World AMR Awareness Week, Camp Quality | Adjournment | House debates
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description: Over this term of parliament, I've had the privilege of meeting many passionate professionals and volunteers dedicated to improving the health outcomes for all Australians are. They wake up each...
encoded: Over this term of parliament, I've had the privilege of meeting many passionate professionals and volunteers dedicated to improving the health outcomes for all Australians are. They wake up each day with one goal—that is, to make a difference to the lives of others. Tonight, I want to highlight two. Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, occurs when bacteria, fungus, viruses and parasites become resistant to the drug's designed to kill them. This growing resistance is making infections harder to treat and poses one of the greatest threats to global public health. In Australia, AMR is linked to more than 5,000 annual deaths, a statistic that cannot be ignored. AMR threatens the very foundation of our health system, and without effective treatments, critical procedures such as surgeries, cancer chemotherapy and childbirth can become increasingly unsafe. This week marks World AMR Awareness Week, driven by the AMR network, a multistakeholder group dedicated to combating this issue. The network highlights a concerning reality that Australians lack access to many of the newest antibiotics already available in countries like the US and the UK. This gap puts patient safety at risk. The Australian government has acknowledged the severity of AMR, and I welcome the policy reforms being progressed, particularly through the health technology assessment review. However, acknowledgement isn't enough. What we need is action. We need these reforms to be implemented in order to improve access to new and effective antibiotics, to bolster research into future treatments. The time to act is now. I also want to share the inspiring work of Camp Quality and is volunteers who transform the lives of children impacted by cancer across Tasmania. Every day in Australia, two families sadly hear the devastating words, 'Your child has cancer.' Their world is immediately turned upside down, as they watch a childhood stolen and moments of joy disappear. Camp quality works tirelessly in order to give thes…
date: 2024-11-20T19:30:00+00:00

Elphinstone, Mr Dale Brendon, AO | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: In recognition of outstanding contributions to the mining industry and unwavering commitment to Tasmania, Dale Elphinstone in the electorate of Braddon was recently inducted into the prestigious...
encoded: In recognition of outstanding contributions to the mining industry and unwavering commitment to Tasmania, Dale Elphinstone in the electorate of Braddon was recently inducted into the prestigious United States National Mining Hall of Fame. This achievement is made even more extraordinary as he is the first inductee from outside the USA. Dale Elphinstone is indeed an incredible individual and a pioneer of the industry on the north-west coast of Tasmania. He is probably the most grounded bloke I know. He is a bloke that left school at 14 to do a diesel fitter's apprenticeship in the local Caterpillar dealership. Many years later, he owned that dealership. Some years after that, he owned all the dealerships. Through hard work, through vision and through concentrating those efforts at a target, he was able to achieve great things. The Elphinstone Group now employs more than 2,900 people internationally. They have a combined annual revenue exceeding $1.5 billion, and they operate in 10 countries. The crazy thing about all this is that this driven individual achieved all this without an arts degree. He did that with drive. He did that with determination. He did that because he prioritised what was important. And, to Dale, people are important—the people that he surrounds himself with, that he has on the production lines and that he has in his R&D. 'The process, the people and the professionalism,' he always says. He has a saying, and it's a saying that I often repeat to school graduates as I visit the schools. It goes along the lines of 'You just gotta wanna,' meaning it doesn't matter where you come from, your position in life or what you have or have not got. The point is that if you 'wanna' then you'll get there. That determination encompasses and embellishes the life of Dale Elphinstone. I congratulate him on all that he has done. He's been a great contributor in philanthropic activities along the coast, even donating an MRI machine to the local hospital. So he is a bl…
date: 2024-11-19T16:06:00+00:00

Endangered Species | Statements by Members | House debates
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description: Environment Minister Plibersek has announced that she will delay a threatened species assessment on Macquarie Harbour's maugean skate for a period of 12 months. This decision prolongs the...
encoded: Environment Minister Plibersek has announced that she will delay a threatened species assessment on Macquarie Harbour's maugean skate for a period of 12 months. This decision prolongs the uncertainty for our salmon-farming industry employees, who are living with the possibility of their industry being shut down completely. The West Coast of Tasmania is buckling under the uncertainty, and it appears that this minister couldn't care less. I condemn her decision. Kicking this assessment down the road is a political strategy, not one made on science or in the best interests of Tasmania and the West Coast. The science clearly shows that the maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour is at the same levels as it was 10 years ago. This further proves that the skate population data being asserted by green activists with the sole purpose to shut down this vital industry is flawed. Delaying this assessment and the linked EPBC review decision simply allows Minister Plibersek to shield Labor in Tasmania from pushback from Tasmania's salmon workers and the industry in order to shore up votes across inner-city, mainland electorates. It's a year since Minister Plibersek started this unnecessary process, and now families on the West Coast face yet another Christmas with their futures in limbo. The West Coast deserves better than this Labor government is delivering them.
date: 2024-11-07T13:41:00+00:00

Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: The principle of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth should underpin everything we do here. The fact that you sit here in the centre of this chamber, Deputy Speaker Vasta, from...
encoded: The principle of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth should underpin everything we do here. The fact that you sit here in the centre of this chamber, Deputy Speaker Vasta, from an elevated position, with a degree of authority, indicates that you are not here to be the arbiter of one side or the other but that you are to represent a fair and honest debate without fear or favour. That is a role that you, personally, take very seriously. I know you do, as do most of our deputy speakers. The flags that adorn this chamber are representative of our great and free country that many men and women have given their lives for in one way or another. Some may not have directly died in defence of that democracy, but they have given their lives in the pursuit of that democratic power and that principle that we have as a country. It's something that is near and dear to my heart. I believe in protecting our hard-fought freedoms, and the right to free speech is one of our most cherished. It's not a freedom that we've won lightly. It stands on the sacrifices of generations of men and women who have given everything to protect it. They stood up, unwavering, against those who would strip it away from us. Their courage has afforded us the right to live, to think and to speak freely. It's our duty to honour their legacy, this principle, and to fiercely protect these rights for the generations who follow. We cannot yield. We cannot allow a backwards step. The consequences would be deeply troubling for a nation that prides itself on that democracy and those principles. For those of us who hold freedom of speech dear, the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 is deeply troubling at best. It represents a line that we cannot, as a nation, afford to cross. It is a bill that, simply, is an attack on our right to speak freely and to think freely. It's an attack on our right to hear the voices of our fellow Australians and to…
date: 2024-11-06T18:30:00+00:00

Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: It's an honour today to speak in relation to the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024. In doing so, I want to outline some of the scope of...
encoded: It's an honour today to speak in relation to the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024. In doing so, I want to outline some of the scope of the bill, but I also want to detail some of the other issues and some of the other implications that I see that we could possibly include as we approach our service to our veterans. The objective of the VETS Bill is to simplify and to harmonise the legislation governing the rehabilitation and compensation for veterans. Currently, there are three separate acts for this. They all operate to provide entitlements, compensation and rehabilitation support to our veterans. I enlisted in the Australian Army in 1985, and I discharged at the end of 2004. I am covered by all three of these acts. Let me tell you that it's confusing at best. Currently, as I said, there are three separate acts. Let's go through them in more detail. Firstly, we have the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, the VEA. Secondly, we have the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988, the DRCA. Finally, we have the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, MRCA. These three acts are over 2,000 pages. They are complex and they include more than 850 legislative instruments. They are confusing at best. I take my hat off to all our advocates, out there in veterans' worlds today, all across the country doing great work with our veterans, not only supporting them and guiding them through this legislation but also providing that helping hand and providing that mateship that takes that veteran through that process. I want to acknowledge that, and I want to thank them today on behalf of a grateful nation. Our advocates do a great job. This bill that we're dealing with today applies all of these three to try and simplify the process to make it simpler for our veterans. I'm not going into the detail; I think it's already been detailed enough. Instead, I want to run through some of the iss…
date: 2024-11-05T18:34:00+00:00

Genetic Screening | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) investment in equitable access to disease prevention is critical to tackle the major diseases of our time such as cancer and heart disease; (b)...
encoded: I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) investment in equitable access to disease prevention is critical to tackle the major diseases of our time such as cancer and heart disease; (b) genetic screening provides a novel opportunity for disease prevention, especially screening for genetic risk factors for certain types of hereditary cancer and heart disease that manifest in early adulthood; (c) identifying people with medically actionable genetic risk for certain diseases can allow at risk individuals to take steps to reduce risk or in some cases, avoid developing disease altogether; (d) in Australia, funded testing for these genetic risk factors is only available to individuals who meet narrow criteria, usually only after a person develops symptoms of disease, and this criteria-based testing fails to identify most high-risk individuals in the population, who remain unaware of their risk and are unable to access preventive measures until it is too late; (e) investment in prevention will save significant downstream healthcare costs, as well as saving lives and improving the health of at-risk Australians; and (f) the costs of genetic testing have decreased considerably, and health economic modelling now suggests it would be cost-effective in the Australian health system to offer DNA screening to all adults for such genetic risk factors, as part of a population screening program; (2) acknowledges that: (a) in August 2022, Monash University launched DNA Screen, a study funded by the Medical Research Future Fund and led by Professor Paul Lacaze and Dr Jane Tiller, which aimed to test 10,000 young adults (18 to 40 years of age) for genetic high risk of developing certain types of cancer (breast, ovarian, colorectal and others) and heart disease, that can be prevented or identified and treated early; (b) the study was extremely popular, with almost 10,000 people registering their interest in the first 24 hours of the study launch, and over 30,000 people registering inte…
date: 2024-11-04T17:20:00+00:00

Variety TasBash | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: The north-west, the west coast and King Island are chock-a-block full of unsung heroes. They're everywhere, tirelessly helping those in need. Usually, they work quietly behind the scenes without...
encoded: The north-west, the west coast and King Island are chock-a-block full of unsung heroes. They're everywhere, tirelessly helping those in need. Usually, they work quietly behind the scenes without fanfare, except when the Tassie bash comes to town. What's not to love about buying an old car and giving that car a decent whimsical dose of Wick'ety Wack, driving around Tassie with your mates and raising money for kids in need? Another great charity is Rapid Relief Tasmania. They pulled out all the stops with breakfast, hot coffee, fresh fruit and egg-and-bacon sangers when the bashers visited Penguin pitstop recently. The bashers visited Forth Primary School, Boat Harbour, Smithton, Redpa Primary School and the North West Support School. I've got no doubt that their visit made those kids' year. It absolutely did. Knowing somebody is out there thinking of them is often enough. So TasBash 2024 is a wrap—1,230 kilometres, 15 themed cars, dozens of passionate bashers and over $283,000 raised for Tasmanian kids. There's no doubt charities like Variety and RRT are making the country better. I can't thank them enough and all our great charities enough for all that they do.
date: 2024-11-04T16:34:00+00:00

Aged Care Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: We all want our older Australians to have the care that they deserve and that they so desperately need. We all want equity in our aged-care system. The care that you receive should not be...
encoded: We all want our older Australians to have the care that they deserve and that they so desperately need. We all want equity in our aged-care system. The care that you receive should not be determined by your postcode. It should not be determined by whether you live in a remote region or in the middle of a city. Every single Australian, irrespective of where they live or their situation, should be able to seek their own pathway into retirement clearly and be able to look forward with confidence, not fear, to how they will live in their later years. Unfortunately, that's not always the case in today's aged-care system, so it is beholden on government to do better—much, much better. Our goal as a parliament must be to create a world's-best-practice model of care when it comes to our older Australians. That's the only benchmark that our older Australians deserve, and it's a model of care we must start delivering immediately, forthwith. This cannot wait. The new Aged Care Bill 2024 will replace the existing aged-care laws, including the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018. The introduction of the bill follows the release of the exposure draft of the Aged Care Bill on 14 December 2023 and the Final report of the Aged Care Taskforce on 12 March 2024. The bill will cover all aged-care and home-care services that are funded by the Commonwealth. The primary aim of this bill is to simplify the aged-care sector. It moves it away from being far too complex to navigate to being a system that tries to remove the stress involved in transitioning into this phase of one's life. For its part, the coalition has worked tirelessly for six months with the government, in good faith, in order to progress the bill. But, to be clear, this bill represents Labor's reform package, and this has not been a co-design process. We have fought hard to make amendments where we believed that changes were necessary, and we have achieved significant changes throughou…
date: 2024-10-09T19:00:00+00:00

Tasmania: Agriculture Industry | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: In Queenstown, on Tasmania's rugged West Coast, they're so tough they play footy on gravel, not grass. The football ground is actually gravel. It has a reputation of being the most feared ground...
encoded: In Queenstown, on Tasmania's rugged West Coast, they're so tough they play footy on gravel, not grass. The football ground is actually gravel. It has a reputation of being the most feared ground in Australia—the home of the mighty Queenstown Crows. This year, the Crows raised the trophy at the Darwin Football Association 2024 premiers. Unless you live in the bush, unless you live in that region, you can't comprehend how important our sporting clubs are to our valuable communities, and you wouldn't know that often these communities rely on just one or two industries to keep them going. If they lose one, it's simply devastating. That's what's happening on the West Coast, because the Albanese government refuses to support the two key industries in their region—mining and agriculture. Since day one, Labor has refused to make a decision on MMG's tailing facility at South Marionoak. They've done everything they can to shut down Macquarie Harbour and the agricultural industry. I promise the West Coast that a Liberal government will do whatever it takes to ensure the ongoing viabilities of these two valuable industries because, unlike Labor, we get what communities need. We understand how important they are. Welcome to those from Keep the Sheep up there in the gallery. Out of my Burnie Port, 843,000 fat lambs are sent live to Victoria each year. Well done on your efforts today—it's good to see you.
date: 2024-09-10T13:48:00+00:00

Braddon Electorate: Environmental Approvals | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: The Albanese government's list of broken promises to the electorate of Braddon and the great state of Tasmania is long, but it's getting longer. The local Labor representative says she is...
encoded: The Albanese government's list of broken promises to the electorate of Braddon and the great state of Tasmania is long, but it's getting longer. The local Labor representative says she is 'building a better Braddon'. But nothing is being built thanks to this government. Business owners are telling me loud and clear that things are pretty bleak. Labor has created a cost-of-living crisis—and a cost-of-doing-business crisis, which often isn't talked about. No industry in Braddon is safe from its economic wrecking ball, and its mantra appears to be 'delay, delay, delay'—to kick things down the road. When it comes to approvals through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the EPBC Act: on Tasmania's West Coast, the mineral epicentre of Tasmania, Minister Plibersek refuses to provide certainty for salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. The minister's inaction is impacting the entire community right across the West Coast and threatening the state's salmon industry. There's no scientific evidence that demonstrates the removing of aquaculture from Macquarie Harbour—which is seven times the size of Sydney Harbour—will ensure the future of the maugean skate. It's dishonest to lay the blame at the feet of the salmon industry, and it's time for this unnecessary EPBC process to end. Go just an hour up the road to the Rosebery MMG mine; they continue to wait for Minister Plibersek to make a decision on their critical tailings dam facility at South Marionoak as an alternative storage option for their fast-reaching capacity. Years of delay and a lack of leadership are risking the livelihoods of 550 workers. That's 550 families. Just above that is Robbins Island, where wind farm proponents are waiting for, guess what, an EPBC approval. They're kicking it down the road. This would be a massive boost for renewable energy in the great state. It will provide clean energy for tens of thousands of homes, create hundreds of jobs and drive billions of dollars of ec…
date: 2024-08-21T09:47:00+00:00