Kate Thwaites's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Jagajaga Electorate: Australia Day Honours and Awards, Geary, Mr Mick | Adjournment | House debates
My community of Jagajaga is home to some truly remarkable people. It is a place shaped by volunteers, health professionals, educators, advocates and community leaders. These are people who...
My community of Jagajaga is home to some truly remarkable people. It is a place shaped by volunteers, health professionals, educators, advocates and community leaders. These are people who quietly and consistently give their time and expertise to make life better for others. Each year our community is proud to see locals from Jagajaga recognised in the Australia Day Honours, and it's a privilege to acknowledge these individuals in this parliament. They do deserve to be recognised nationally. This year, Marcus Wigan AM has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his significant service to engineering, road safety and tertiary education. Marcus is someone I interact with frequently who takes a strong interest in policy, and I always appreciate our discussions. Jeffrey Borland AO has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to business as a labour market economist, to tertiary education, to microeconomic research and to public policy development. Ann Congleton PSM has been awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in policy and service design, corporate resources management and operational service delivery. I had the pleasure of working with Ann at what was then the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, and I know firsthand the care she has for our communities and people who need support. Our congratulations to all our recipients. Your commitment, leadership and service are inspiring, and your work does make a real difference to our community and to our country. I also want to acknowledge the many people in Jagajaga whose contributions do not come with formal recognition but are very important. We have people who are volunteering and people who through their vocations help to strengthen the fabric of our community every day. I am looking forward to recognising many more of these efforts at my annual Jagajaga Volunteer Awards in March. I also support broader efforts for us to continue to make sure women are represented in our national awards as well, and I am hoping to increase the number of women in Jagajaga who are recognised every year. I also take this opportunity to recognise an extraordinary community leader who's contributed so much in Jagajaga, particularly to the Heidelberg West and 3081 community. After many years of dedicated service, Mick Geary is farewelling his role as Executive Director of Strategy and Impact at Holstep Health as he takes up a new role with Anglicare Victoria. Mick began his journey with Banyule Community Health, which is now Holstep Health. He began working in youth homelessness before progressing into senior leadership and serving as the CEO for eight years. Throughout this time, Mick's leadership, his vision and his steady stewardship have been instrumental. He had a pivotal role in guiding the successful merger with Merri Health to secure a stronger future for our local community health services, and I congratulate him and all involved on that. Mick's connections to our community health service and to the people it serves run deep. I know him as a leader of integrity, humility and compassion, with a genuine care for people and communities at the heart of everything he does. His advocacy for the 3081 community has made a lasting difference, and I know his impact will continue to be felt. You only had to walk into the Banyule Community Health building in Heidelberg West to see how Mick was greeted by everyone, how Mick knew everyone and how he knew what was going. He took time and care to invest in people's individual issues and concerns as well as community issues and concerns. Mick has been a valued colleague and a friend to me, to my predecessor in this House and, I know, to my state colleagues. I do want to thank him for his extraordinary contribution. I want to wish him every success and fulfilment as he begins the next stage of his work in service to the community. I know that his contribution in our community isn't done, but we will miss having him in this particular role at Holstep Health. I will miss walking into the building and seeing him, but I look forward to seeing what he achieves next and to continuing to work together for good outcomes for our community in the north-east of Melbourne.
Victoria: Bushfires | Private Members' Business | House debates
This is an important motion, and it is important that we commemorate one of the darkest days in our state of Victoria. Black Saturday was a day of terror. It was a day when too many lives were...
This is an important motion, and it is important that we commemorate one of the darkest days in our state of Victoria. Black Saturday was a day of terror. It was a day when too many lives were lost. It was a day that many people still deal with the consequences of. It was something that has changed forever how we look at bushfires not just in Victoria but right around this country. On Black Saturday, 173 lives were lost and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed. Whole communities and towns were changed forever. People, families, neighbours, communities and lives were torn apart in a matter of hours. For those of us in Victoria, especially across Melbourne's north and north-east, Black Saturday is still not something that we remember at a distance. It is something that we vividly hold and that many people still carry. In my community of Jagajaga, many families have direct links to the communities that were devastated—Kinglake, Marysville, Strathewen, St Andrews and beyond. Many people locally were in the CFA crews and the emergency services who were on the front line that day. Some lost loved ones, some lost homes, and some lost the places that of course have shaped who they were. As I said, many are still carrying that trauma today. Today, to the survivors, the families of those who died, the firefighters, the emergency workers, the volunteers and the community members who stood in the face of that unimaginable danger: we as a parliament honour you. We remember not only what was lost but the courage that you showed and what has emerged from the ashes. The events of Black Saturday have fundamentally changed the way we understand bushfire risk in Australia. We have in fact changed the way we talk about emergency management and the way we build, plan and prepare. As someone who, in an earlier life, was a journalist who spent some time training with our CFA crews and who has spent some time on the frontline on firefighting, I can say that the messages that went out prior to Black Saturday were very different to the messages that go out to communities now. We have as a result of that terrible disaster entirely changed the way that we tell communities to prepare and that we tell people to make sure that they are safe. In all of that, we are having to change the way that we think about climate, the way we think about weather and the way that fires now hit our communities as a result of our climate being warmer and our landscape being drier. The royal commission into the Black Saturday bushfires made it clear that what happened was a warning of what could happen again if we didn't take that seriously. It gave us a new 'catastrophic' fire danger rating, and agencies across Australia came together to build a new Australian fire danger rating system. Emergency services across Australia built the Australian Warning System, for the first time creating nationally consistent public information for fires, floods, storms, cyclones and severe heat. We have, just this past summer, in Victoria again faced severe heatwaves, faced dangerous fire risks and faced dangerous fires, and I have no doubt that these ratings and these warnings have provided clarity and no doubt saved lives. I do hope for all the people who still carry the effect of Black Saturday that that is some comfort—that, as a result of what happened on that day, the Victorian government and governments around the country took note and said, 'We do need to be very serious and very methodical about how we look at this disaster, how we understand the lessons, how we honour the legacies of those who lost their lives and how we prepare for the future.' As we do look to a future where we will experience more frequent and severe weather events, we will continue to recognise Black Saturday as a catalyst for change. It is a reminder of devastation, but it is also a reminder of the strength of community. It reminds us of neighbours helping neighbours, of towns rallying together and of the volunteers who drove into danger when others were fleeing. I once again thank our local SES, CFA and FRV crews who not only supported our community that day but continue to support us in the most difficult times and who deserve our deepest thanks. We honour all of those affected, not only with our words but with how we plan for the future. Debate adjourned.
Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025, Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
This debate goes to the very heart of what kind of country we want to be. It's not just a conversation about universities, about commissions or, indeed, about funding models. It is a conversation...
This debate goes to the very heart of what kind of country we want to be. It's not just a conversation about universities, about commissions or, indeed, about funding models. It is a conversation about opportunity, about fairness and about the future of young people in our communities. For generations, education has been an important driver of social mobility in Australia. It is how children from families across the country become doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists, nurses, social workers and leaders. It strengthens our community, it helps our economy grow, and it makes sure that we have people working in the industries that we need. Despite its importance, our government is very aware that, for too many Australians, higher education does still feel out of reach. Cost-of-living pressures, rising rents, insecure work and student debt make university feel like a risk instead of the opportunity that it can be, and that is why these reforms matter. Because Labor understands that tertiary education is not a luxury. It is nation-building infrastructure. Labor understands that investing in skills today is how we secure prosperity tomorrow. Labor understands that education changes not just individual lives but whole communities. The universities accord, which our government developed, is a blueprint for a stronger and fairer Australia, and these bills that we have before us—the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025 and the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025—give that blueprint a permanent institutional foundation. They establish the Australian Tertiary Education Commission as a steward of our tertiary system—a body that will ensure our system is fair, coordinated, forward looking and focused on people—not just providers. As I mentioned, our government commissioned the universities accord because we knew that the higher education system really is the bedrock of so much in our country, but it needed help. After a decade of those opposite—who really had no plan for higher education and who certainly had no plan for how students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds would access higher education—we knew that we needed a systemic look at how this system operated, so we commissioned and we released the final report of the Australian Universities Accord. We need to be very clear that this is not a short-term fix. It's not just political slogans. This is a long-term national plan for the next decade and, indeed, for the decade after that. The accord we received tells us something stark and unavoidable, which is that the jobs of the future will require more skills. It tells us that, over the coming decades, about 80 per cent of jobs will require a certificate, diploma or degree. That means more Australians, not fewer, will need access to TAFE and to university. It means more people will need the chance to retrain, to reskill and upskill throughout their working lives, and it means, if we do nothing, skills shortages will grow, inequality will widen and economic growth will stall. These are things that I have conversations about over and over again with people in my electorate, with grandparents and parents who are looking at their children and thinking about what their future will be, who want to see that those young people do have the opportunities that a good education provided them and who want to know that the industries and jobs we need for the future will have the workers that should be there. These are very important reforms, and that's why our government has not waited. We have implemented 31 of the 47 recommendations of the universities accord, in part or in full. We have already doubled the number of university study hubs, with 20 new regional hubs and 14 new suburban hubs. This brings higher education closer to students who cannot easily relocate or commute. We do have one established in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, in Epping, not far from my electorate. Again, the idea is that we are spreading the benefits of higher education, making it accessible to people who otherwise would not be able to reach these places to study. We've expanded free university bridging courses, opening the door for people who may not have had the chance to go straight from school to university. We have introduced paid prac for the first time for teaching nursing, midwifery and social work students so that people are not having to choose between paying their rent and completing their degree. Again, I have heard from my community how important this reform has been for so many people, particularly women, who often are studying to be part of these caring professions and who, in fact, find themselves being economically disadvantaged by taking up a profession that all of us rely on. That has been a very important reform—to have paid prac. We've required higher education providers to direct at least 40 per cent of student services and amenities fees to student led organisations. We've made demand driven, Commonwealth supported places available to all First Nations students who meet entry requirements, and we've established the National Student Ombudsman and a national code to prevent and respond to gender based violence, ensuring campuses are safe and respectful environments. We have also done a lot of work to make HECS better and fairer. Again, I know this has been felt in my community. We have cut 20 per cent off all student debts. We have capped indexation to the lower of CPI or WPI, lifted the minimum repayment threshold and moved to a marginal repayment system. On top of all of these recommendations, we've made free TAFE permanent, ensuring people in our communities can skill-up for the jobs of the future. Locally, I've been really pleased to see this being accelerated by our $50 million investment to establish a TAFE centre of excellence for housing construction at Melbourne Polytechnic in Heidelberg West, supporting local jobs, addressing skills shortages and helping to deliver the homes our community needs. I see and my community sees how these reforms are already playing out, already making a difference and already opening doors for students who once felt locked out of the opportunity of higher education, giving people the confidence to invest in themselves, helping us as a country to make sure that we have the workforce we need for the future and helping to make sure that we sustain what is so important in our country—that opportunity that comes with education. That opportunity should not be linked to how much the family you come from earns. At the heart of the universities accord is the idea that Australia does need a national steward of tertiary education. We have had a fragmented system for too long. Our universities, our TAFEs and our regulators have operated in silos. For the world that I've described—a world where we will need more people with skills, where people will need to upskill throughout their working life—that sort of system no longer serves us well. Students have faced confusing pathways, inconsistent funding and uneven support, so the accord recommended the creation of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to bring strategy, coordination and long-term planning to the system. These bills establish ATEC as an independent statutory authority. To help deliver the future tertiary system Australia needs one that is equitable, joined up, responsive to skills needs and focused on student support. It will help us reach the 80 per cent attainment target by encouraging diversity, providing expert evidence based advice to governments, monitoring skills and equity targets and, as I said, helping to deliver a joined-up tertiary system that brings higher education and vocational education together. This is a critical service that I think will improve our universities. Locally, I know for universities like Latrobe University in my community, with its strong focus on health education, regional outreach and first-in-family students, this will mean recognition of the vital community role it plays. For institutions like the University of Melbourne, with its global research leadership, it will mean support to continue driving innovation, medical breakthroughs and economic growth for the nation. This is not about forcing universities into a single mould, but it is about building a diverse, collaborative system that reflects our communities and our workforce needs now and into the future. The ATEC will implement a new funding model that is fairer and more targeted. It will provide demand driven places for equity students at a system level and needs based funding based on the number of low-SES students, First Nations students and regional campus students. This is how we close participation gaps and how we lift completion rates. It is how we ensure that talent, not background, determines success. And, as I said, the ATEC will also provide advice to government on policy settings and strategic direction, making sure that we are getting that joined-up picture. It will publish a 'state of the tertiary education system' report tracking performance, identifying challenges and setting out opportunities for future reform. I also acknowledge that this is not a one-and-done situation; there is more work for us to do to make sure that our higher-education system is meeting the needs of students and allowing students to get the skills and qualifications they need now and into the future. The conversations I have about higher education in my community are about learning, about jobs and about opportunities for the future. People in my community are really aware that higher education is also the pathway to a more secure life. It can help open the doors to homeownership. It can help people feel like they have a stable and prosperous future ahead of them. So I was very proud to see our government cut 20 per cent off all student debt, including for nearly 23,000 people in my electorate of Jagajaga. I was proud to see us make free TAFE permanent, making a real difference for students at our local Greensborough and West Heidelberg Melbourne Polytechnic campuses and right across the country. For students in my community, this means no or lower repayments, less financial stress and a real chance to save for a home, start a family or invest in the future. I have had this conversation; I do hear this time and time again from people in my community at all generations. It is something that parents, grandparents and young people are talking to me about. This is a continuing conversation about how we make sure young people in our communities can aspire to a good life and the stability and aspiration of knowing that there are good jobs ahead of them, knowing that they can look at secure homeownership and knowing that they can play an important part in our communities going forward. This bill does a lot more than just set up a body to look at our higher education system. This bill makes sure that we are getting the foundations right for young people to have those opportunities—to feel like they have a government that understands and cares how important it is for them to have that sense of opportunity, that sense of community and the sense of a government and a community that wants them to have good lives. It would be remiss of me to say that those opposite share this government's view of a future for young people in that way. Their record shows that they did not back our universities. They did not back opportunity. They've said that students should just pay their debts. They've called our plan elitist. They cut funding to education institutions, and they undermined equity. It was clear over the decade that those opposite were in power that they see education as a cost, whereas we on this side, Labor, see education as an investment. They have opposed opportunity; we have defended it and we are trying to enhance it. Our government will always choose fairness, opportunity and young people in our community and their future, and that is what these bills are about. These bills are about the future of higher education and about the kind of nation we want to be. They're about backing our students, strengthening our universities and investing in the communities that rely on them. These bills do recognise that education is not just a personal opportunity but a national asset, one that underpins our economy, our workforce and our social cohesion. We are getting on with the job: establishing the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, implementing the recommendations of the universities accord and placing students back at the centre of our system, where they should be—building a system that is fairer, more sustainable and fit for the future. Our government's clear message is: in Australia, opportunities should be earned by effort, not determined by background, postcode or family income. Young people should not be locked out of higher education because of who they are or where they come from, and these bills help us to make sure that that is the Australia of the future.
Energy | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is the Albanese Labor government working with households to modernise and rebuild our energy grid after a decade of neglect?
Medicare | Private Members' Business | House debates
It is a privilege to rise to speak on this motion because it is fundamental to what this government is about and to what Labor governments are about. At its heart, it's about how we regard being...
It is a privilege to rise to speak on this motion because it is fundamental to what this government is about and to what Labor governments are about. At its heart, it's about how we regard being Australian—that access to quality universal health care which Labor governments always stand up for. On that note, it was disingenuous of the member for Forrest to say things have in fact got worse under this government. What has happened under this government is we have reversed the freefall in Medicare bulk-billing that was happening under those opposite. We have opened Medicare urgent care clinics right around this country. Those opposite did not do that. They did not offer this opportunity for walk-in, bulk-billed care in our communities. In fact, in my community we now have two Medicare urgent care clinics. Just recently, over summer, a new clinic opened in Eltham, providing fully bulk-billed treatment for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries without the long waits people too often face in emergency departments. That joins the one we had existing in Heidelberg, on Burgundy Street, which has supported thousands of locals since it opened in 2022. I see this firsthand in my community—parents of young children who otherwise knew they were in for a long wait at an emergency department after, perhaps, an injury at a sporting event, and elderly people who feel like they just need to be seen and can't get into their regular GP at that time. This clinic is providing all those people and others with support and care they never had before, and it is providing it because this Albanese Labor government believes in Medicare, because we are funding Medicare in our communities. One local, Riana, shared her experience with me, saying she went to the clinic when her daughter was in severe pain. She described the staff there as welcoming and compassionate, and the doctor as knowledgeable, and said the care helped to ease her daughter's pain. For her, the relief was finding the clinic, not having to wait as long and having that peace of mind almost immediately. On that note, I acknowledge the incredible doctors and nurses who keep these clinics running and who are part of our Medicare system. I've had wonderful feedback about the people who work in these clinics. At the Eltham clinic, Sharrine shared that, after finding all the GP appointments fully booked, she was feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of tears. She was able to meet with a staff member there, Allison, who took the time to listen, who treated her with care and understanding and who went out of her way to help. It's that approach that means people are getting both the empathy and the care they need. It's a testament to the value we put on Medicare. Outside of Medicare clinics, we are delivering cheaper medicines for people in our community. We have reduced the maximum cost of PBS prescriptions to $25, and to $7.70 for concession card holders. In Jagajaga locals have now saved more than $15.4 million from 1.7 million cheaper prescriptions. This is real cost-of-living relief, and it means people are able to access these prescriptions without worrying about what trade-offs they're making in their lives. We do not want to see people going without medicines—they should have the medicines they need to have—because they are needing to make choices about what they pay for. That is, again, a fundamental tenet of this government; it is what we believe in. We believe that access to these medications, to this health care, should be for all Australians, not just for some. We've introduced 1800MEDICARE, where locals can now access free 24/7 health advice from registered nurses. So whether you need expert guidance or simple reassurance, the nurses at 1800MEDICARE are available around the clock. They can refer you to the right care—whether that is back to your regular GP, a local hospital or a Medicare urgent care clinic. We've made major changes to bulk-billing, tripling the incentives for GPs to bulk-bill. Again, I get a lot of feedback about this in our community. I'm pleased to see that the Greensborough Medical and Dental Clinic on Flintoff Street is now 100 per cent bulk-billing for GP visits. I know other clinics in my community are following suit. Again, this is making a real difference to people's lives. But these are the investments that only happen under Labor governments. Under those opposite, bulk-billing was in free fall. We did not have walk-in Medicare urgent care clinics. We did not have the discounts that we've made on PBS scripts, because those opposite do not understand that part of being Australian is having access to good quality health care.
I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.
Health Care | Constituency Statements | House debates
Access to health care is top of mind for people in my community of Jagajaga. We're fortunate to be home to some of Melbourne's best medical institutions, including the Austin, the Repat, the ONJ,...
Access to health care is top of mind for people in my community of Jagajaga. We're fortunate to be home to some of Melbourne's best medical institutions, including the Austin, the Repat, the ONJ, the Mercy and many more. Local health care matters, and that's why investing in local services and strengthening Medicare locally is so important for my community. Because for the families, the seniors and the young people I represent, access to affordable health care is not a luxury; it is essential. That is why this government, the Albanese Labor government, has put people and access at the heart of our reforms to strengthen Medicare, and it's why we are already seeing a difference in communities in Jagajaga. For the first time in decades, we are making bulk-billing viable again after it was allowed to languish under those opposite. We have expanded the bulk-billing incentives for GPs so that these incentives apply across the board, encouraging more GPs to make sure that people can see the doctor for a bulk-billed visit. We are seeing this have an effect in Jagajaga. More practices in Jagajaga are now bulk-billing patients, and I'm encouraging even more of our local GP clinics to take up this incentive so that this becomes the norm rather than the exception. I recently visited Greensborough Medical & Dental Centre in Greensborough, which is one of our wonderful local practices and was one of the first clinics in our community to switch to full bulk-billing for GP visits. It was really heartening to talk to Alicia, the practice manager there, who told me that every day she is seeing how this change is making life easier for local families. People are not having to choose what in their budget they have to take out to pay to see a GP, and that is how it should be in Australia. That is how health care works in Australia. It is why Labor set up Medicare, and it is why we continue to strengthen and back Medicare. So, as I said, I encourage more GP practices across Jagajaga to take up this opportunity and to further expand access for our community. In Jagajaga, we are also benefiting from a new Medicare urgent care clinic in Eltham. It's making a real difference for people in that part of my electorate. This is walk-in care for when you need it urgently—those times when your child might have had an accident at sport, it's late at night and the other clinics aren't open. I've had such positive feedback about this clinic. One local told me she had a fantastic experience and had avoided waiting at the Austin Hospital in emergency for the hours that, unfortunately, often takes. So this clinic is a wonderful addition to our local health care. The one in Eltham joins the one that we already have in Burgundy Street, in Heidelberg. As I said, I consistently get good feedback about this investment we are making locally for access to good, affordable health care and the work that this government is doing to strengthen Medicare.
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
Nothing we say today can end the pain of the Jewish people whose lives were upended by the Bondi terror attack. Nothing we do can bring back the 15 people who were killed, people should have had...
Nothing we say today can end the pain of the Jewish people whose lives were upended by the Bondi terror attack. Nothing we do can bring back the 15 people who were killed, people should have had more—more time, more life, more moments with those who now face the bleakness of a future without them. Those moments were stolen, and they were stolen by people who were driven by hatred and by antisemitism, who designed their act of terror to spread fear and to test our trust and our faith in one another as Australians. That is why our words today matter: we are also saying that we will not allow that to happen. I extend my deepest condolences and those of my community in Melbourne to the families and friends of those killed and who are suffering. To all of those people whose lives will never be the same, today we acknowledge that and we grieve for you. I extend our thanks to the first responders: to the police, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, doctors and everyday civilians who acted with courage, professionalism and compassion in the most difficult of circumstances. Their care and their bravery saved lives and provided reassurance in moments of fear and plain terror. At this difficult time, they remind us that our communities are filled with people who value and support each other—not only those who seek to spread hate and terror. This was an antisemitic and deeply hateful attack on our Jewish community, and it has shaken people's sense of safety and belonging. It is confronting, it is unacceptable and it has caused real fear and distress well beyond Bondi. People are shaken, they are angry and they are grieving, and rightly so. At this moment, it matters that we are clear-eyed, that we stand with the Jewish community and that we don't look away or soften the truth of what has occurred. It is also important that those of us in this place who are given the task of leadership do this with respect for each other and respect for our communities in this place and outside. It is not possible for us to build better communities if our words are motivated not by speaking about the challenges we face and the work we need to do but by attacking and posturing. Australia is a multicultural country, and our foundations of that country must continue to include respect for each other. As Australians, we are at our strongest when we stand together, when we look out for one another and when we respond to tragedy not with division or suspicion but with kindness and, through that kindness, with strength and solidarity. In the days following this attack, we've seen flowers being laid. We've seen messages of support and people lining up to give blood donations—quiet acts of kindness and reaching out from strangers to strangers. These moments remind us that, while violence may leave deep scars, it does not have to define us. What does define us is our commitment to one another and to our shared humanity—our commitment to creating a sense of community that every Australian can see themselves in, based on values of respect, inclusion and our responsibility to each other. Today we also reaffirm a simple but powerful truth: terror and hatred will not succeed in dividing us. They will not erode our commitment to community or to the open and inclusive society that we value so deeply. We honour the victims of this attack by remembering them with dignity, with compassion and with deep sorrow and by standing together in the face of great loss. Today we grieve for all of those whose lives should have been longer. We grieve for all those affected. We stand with the Jewish community, and we reaffirm that antisemitism and hatred have no place in our communities.
VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
As I was saying, in my community I certainly know that these skills are very much valued, and the investment in TAFEs is very much valued. We are fortunate to have Melbourne Polytechnic campuses...
As I was saying, in my community I certainly know that these skills are very much valued, and the investment in TAFEs is very much valued. We are fortunate to have Melbourne Polytechnic campuses in both Greensborough and West Heidelberg. I've visited these many times, and I often hear from students about the quality of the education and support they receive. The Centre of Excellence at Melbourne Polytechnic's West Heidelberg campus is already upskilling locals in Jagajaga and across Melbourne in critical and emerging industries. This includes targeted training in affordable and environmentally sustainable construction techniques. I was talking earlier about how our investment is helping to fill skills shortages, and this is really about us using these skills and using this investment, not just to give young people and other people the skills and training they need but also to deliver on our national housing needs, which is obviously especially timely given the significant housing investments we are making. By allowing these students at these facilities in my electorate and, as I said, right around Australia to defer the cost of their tuition until they earn a sufficient income, this program opens the door to opportunities for thousands of Australians every year. Without it, many would not be able to study at all and our businesses and communities would lose the benefits of a skilled and qualified workforce. That is why this bill and the broader work we are doing are so important in making sure we have a system that operates in a strong, transparent way and is set up to deliver for our country now and into the future. So I'm really pleased that this bill is fixing a technical issue that arose from the transition between the two loan schemes, providing students and providers with the certainty they deserve. But I'm also really pleased that as a government we are putting such a focus on skills and training. I get to see frequently, as I said, what a difference that makes in my community. I always love meeting particularly the construction apprentices at the West Heidelberg site and learning from them about the opportunities they see in their future and learning from their instructors about how important they know the work is. So we as a Labor government are opening up these doors to opportunity for everyone. We are saying that this is not about how much money you earn, this is not about your background; this is an opportunity for every Australian to get the skills they need in order to get a good job and to help us as a country to build the workforces we need. So I'm very pleased to be speaking on this bill and to be supporting this bill and our government's broader work in skills and training. Thank you.
The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 addresses a technical but important issue in the administration of our vocational education loan system. It ensures that students,...
The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 addresses a technical but important issue in the administration of our vocational education loan system. It ensures that students, training providers and the government all have the clarity and confidence that they deserve in the operation of the VET Student Loans program. This is a responsible and necessary measure that fixes a problem identified during a review. It provides certainty to the sector, and it strengthens the integrity of a system that supports tens of thousands of Australians to gain new skills and qualifications. Vocational education is a highly valued resource in my community, and much of this important work to upskill workers is happening in north-eastern Melbourne, in my electorate of Jagajaga, thanks to some really important investments from our Labor government. Income-contingent student loans for vocational education and training students were first introduced under the Rudd Labor government in 2008 under the VET FEE-HELP scheme. That allowed VET providers to handle student tax file numbers, as those identifiers are essential to linking students' loans with their Australian Taxation Office accounts. In 2017, the VET Student Loans program replaced the VET FEE-HELP scheme. It brought in stronger integrity requirements and a new legislative framework: the VET Student Loans Act 2016. However, the new legislation did not explicitly provide a role for VSL providers to handle tax file numbers, even though the IT systems that supported the program continued to operate as they had under the previous framework. During a review of the program, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations identified this misalignment between the legislation and the technology platforms that manage loan applications and data. This bill ensures that the law will now match what has occurred in practice. It retrospectively authorises the handling of students' tax file numbers by approved VSL providers for the purpose of administering student loans. This retrospective authorisation will apply from 1 January 2017, when the program commenced, until 30 September 2025, when final system updates fully removed the need for providers to handle tax file numbers. Put simply, this bill provides legal certainty that past actions that were taken in good faith to administer student loans were lawful. While this bill deals with the past, it also ensures confidence for the future. Throughout 2025, the department has implemented system updates to mask tax file numbers from providers and automate their secure transfer between the student interface and government systems. This means that from 1 October 2025, providers will no longer handle tax file numbers at all. These are important reforms that strengthen privacy and reduce the administrative burden for training providers while maintaining integrity and accuracy in the loan system. I also want to assure members and students in my community that no students have been adversely affected by the past handling of tax file numbers and that the department has received no complaints relating to this issue since the program began in 2017. This bill is all about certainty and integrity, but I also think it's about something broader. It's about the value that our government places on skills and training, and the work we are trying to do to continue to build a robust TAFE and training system that is giving Australians the best possible future and the best possible chance at a good future with the job and the skills they need. We know, on this side, that free TAFE is delivering real opportunity right around the country. It's helping hundreds of thousands of Australians to gain the skills they need while also strengthening our workforce in key industries. That's why I continue to be surprised that those opposite have free TAFE on the chopping block. Despite having recently gone to an election where it was wholeheartedly endorsed by my electorate and others, despite the results we see through our TAFE and training sector—where people are getting the skills they need to get good jobs, where we are filling workforce shortages right around our country in key industries—the Leader of the Opposition and her colleagues continue to come into this place, and go out to the community, and oppose Australians getting the skills they want for the jobs we need. I was here in the last parliament when the Leader of the Opposition said: 'It's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party: if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' I want to be very clear. Our government does not see it that way. We believe in opportunity. We believe that every Australian, no matter their background or their postcode, deserves the chance to learn, to upskill, to work and to build a better life for themselves and their families. We believe that education should open doors, not close them—that skills and knowledge are the great equalisers of our society. The truth is, as the Prime Minister has said, that, no matter how far TAFE helps you climb or what opportunities it opens for you and your family, the Liberals and Nationals will always look down on the very education that gave you that lift. We do not see it in this way. That is the difference. This opportunity to help people to get these skills, to get the future that they deserve, is what drives and defines our government: helping Australians now while also building for the future. I'm really pleased to see how this is playing out in my electorate in north-eastern Melbourne. We have a number of excellent TAFEs and vocational institutions locally that have for many years been playing a vital role in creating opportunity and that I know are feeling reinvigorated by this government's focus on skills and training and by the investments we are making in this.
Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
The member is clearly a little embarrassed about what is happening under his party at the moment. It seems unlikely that they will learn from these mistakes of the past and reverse direction. In...
The member is clearly a little embarrassed about what is happening under his party at the moment. It seems unlikely that they will learn from these mistakes of the past and reverse direction. In fact, it looks like his colleagues are walking away from net zero. I understand that's probably a shame for the member for Goldstein, but he does not currently have the numbers, it seems. Good luck to him in his efforts to get them. Since 2022 our government has turned the page on that track record. We have passed strong laws to cut emissions and put Australia on the path to net zero by 2050, including strong 2035 reduction targets to get us there. We've committed to achieving 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, with more than 100 clean energy projects already underway. We've protected 95 million hectares of Australian land and ocean, an area almost the size of Germany, Italy and Norway combined. We've expanded marine parks around Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald islands. We've established Environment Information Australia, giving the public and business easier access to transparent environmental data. We've doubled funding for our national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We've invested $1.3 billion to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program, delivered $600 million to protect threatened species, and created the world's first nature repair market, unlocking private investment in environmental restoration. It is a strong record, but we know there is more to do, and that is why this bill is before the House. These reforms are the product of one of the most extensive consultation processes ever undertaken in the environmental policy space. As I said before, I want to pay tribute to the individuals, environment groups and business groups—the stakeholders—who have all engaged constructively in that process. Minister Watt and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water have conducted more than 100 meetings, forums and roundtables across the country. Of course, as I said, these reforms are built on the recommendations of the review conducted by Graeme Samuel: a review commissioned by those opposite—by the now leader of the opposition—but which, unfortunately, they could not follow through on. It's taken a Labor government to get this bill before the House. Under Labor, we're delivering the change that that review called for: modern, balanced and enforceable national environmental laws. We're delivering reforms that reflect the best available science, the most up-to-date policy thinking and the real-world feedback from those who live with the consequences of inaction on protecting our environment. This is something that people in my community in Jagajaga care deeply about. I'm particularly lucky, as are members of my community, to live in one of Melbourne's most biodiverse regions. It's home to bushland, wetlands and parklands—the lungs of our suburbs. Locals are passionate about the Yarra River, the Banyule Flats, the Warringal Parklands and the Darebin and Diamond creeks, and these are all areas where volunteers and community have been working for decades to protect habitat, restore native vegetation and preserve the wildlife that makes our area of Melbourne so special. I give a shout-out to community groups like Friends of Edendale farm, Friends of Yarra Flats Park, Darebin Creek Management Committee, Warringal Conservation Society, our local Landcare networks and many more, who have regularly contacted me both about this bill and about the need for stronger national laws to protect nature. The people who are contacting me are concerned about declining biodiversity, the loss of tree canopy and the impact of urban expansion on local waterways and ecosystems. These are the people who get up on weekends to plant trees, pick up rubbish and teach our kids about the importance of caring for country. Their passion and stewardship reflect the best of our community, and their message to me has been clear: they want stronger, fairer and more effective environmental laws. Throughout the development of this bill, I've been proud to make sure that their voices have been part of the consideration that has gone into drafting. This bill does deliver clear standards, transparent decision-making and a federal EPA that can take action where breaches occur. It ensures that people who live alongside our natural areas, those who know them best, have confidence that they will be protected for the future. The bill is built on three key pillars: stronger environmental protection and restoration, more efficient and robust project assessments, and greater accountability and transparency in environmental decision-making. At its heart, this reform will create Australia's first independent, national environmental protection agency: a tough, science based regulator to enforce one clear set of national rules. This will mean that, when environmental harm occurs, there will be consequences—real ones—with no more loopholes and no more shifting blame between levels of government. There'll be a genuine cop on the beat with the authority to investigate, audit and stop harmful environmental activities before they do permanent damage. The need for these laws could not be clearer. Every day of delay in updating these laws is damaging our environment and costing business time and money. The average time it takes to approve a major project has more than doubled since 2004. Meanwhile, Australia's native species continue to decline at alarming rates, and habitat destruction remains one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss. Communities see developers fast-tracked while local concerns are sidelined. They see companies breach environmental conditions and face little or no consequence. And they have seen, for too long, governments, such as those from the other side, pass responsibility from one level to another while the environment pays the price. Our current system is fragmented, outdated and failing both the environment and business. So that is why this bill is so important: to modernise the act, to streamline approvals and to bring consistency, transparency and accountability to a process that, in too many cases, has lost public trust. The federal environmental protection agency, an independent national watchdog with strong powers, will have the ability to audit state and territory approval processes, issue stop-work orders to halt damaging activity, impose stronger penalties on repeat offenders and give communities a clear way to report breaches and see real action taken. The EPA will operate independently of political pressure. It will publish data on environmental outcomes, monitor compliance and help ensure that environmental decisions are based on evidence, not influence. The bill also defines what constitutes unacceptable environmental impacts so that projects causing irreversible damage cannot be approved. A new offsets regime will ensure that, where environmental impacts cannot be avoided, developers must deliver measurable and lasting benefits elsewhere. This achieves a net gain for nature rather than simply offset losses. Importantly, bioregional and regional planning will provide greater clarity for communities and investors alike. These plans will identify no-go zones, areas of critical habitat, high-conservation value and cultural significance that must be protected while guiding responsible development to areas where environmental impacts can be minimised. This approach balances protection and progress. It supports environmental certainty and investment and business confidence at the same time. Strong and clear boundaries, formal rules and no room for ambiguity: our environment deserves nothing less. We have too many precious places and too many precious species still being lost in this country. It's on all of us in here to make sure that we do all that we can to end that loss. That means working together to pass these laws. These rules will also improve efficiency. They will cut red tape for business by removing duplication of Commonwealth and state processes. They will create clear and consistent national standards and save businesses time and money while improving outcomes for nature. The Productivity Commission estimates that these reforms could deliver up to $7 billion in economic benefits through faster and more-efficient approvals. That's a win for business, it's a win for workers and it's a clear win for our environment. This bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. As I said, it reflects the commitment our government made to voters at the last election to get this done. We are very focused on restoring integrity to environmental decision-making. We want to strengthen protection for our most precious ecosystems. We want to ensure that those who damage the environment are held to account. We do all of that with this bill. We are also conscious that we cannot do it alone. For these reforms to be successful, we will need support from the Liberals or we will need support from the Greens. I say to the members of this parliament: this is our chance to do this once-in-a-generation reform. This is our chance to halt the loss that we have seen—the loss of biodiversity and the loss of species, which is unacceptable—and to work together to protect our environment. I started with a series of questions about the attitudes of those opposite and their commitment to this bill. Those questions remain but, as we debate the bill in this House, we have before us the opportunity for those opposite to answer them—and in fact to answer them positively for nature, to answer them positively for our environment for generations to come, and to answer them positively for business and for the work that needs to happen to continue to develop the infrastructure that our country needs. There is an opportunity here for our environment and for this parliament to do the work that has been far too long in coming—to do the work that it takes Labor governments to do—and to work with passionate advocates who have continued to stand up for our environment and who have worked with us on a set of reforms that, while long overdue, will deliver real gains for our environment. It's now over to this parliament to do the necessary work to make sure that what's been in train for so long, since Graeme Samuel started his review, which is now reflected in these bills, becomes a reality for our environment, for our country and for the future of biodiversity in our country.
This is a landmark piece of legislation that represents the most significant overhaul of Australia's environmental laws in a generation. It is overdue. After our environment was neglected,...
This is a landmark piece of legislation that represents the most significant overhaul of Australia's environmental laws in a generation. It is overdue. After our environment was neglected, ignored and left to degrade by those opposite, this is work that Labor attempted in our last term but that we could not get opposition or Greens support for in the Senate. We are now meeting the commitment we made—I certainly made this commitment to many of my constituents prior to the last election—to bring back to the parliament new laws to protect the environment. Our Labor government understands how critical these laws are, for our environment and the precious places and species we must protect and for the certainty needed by business and those looking to make necessary developments. While this bill, the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, very clearly demonstrates that the Labor government understands the need to protect our environment and pass these laws, I'm yet to be convinced that those opposite understand it. These are some of the questions on my mind right now: Will the Leader of the Opposition stand up for our environment? Will she demonstrate her party's new-found capacity to listen, to learn the hard lessons and reflect the Australia from which they have become disconnected? Will she listen to Graeme Samuel—who she commissioned to do the report that these laws are based on—to Ken Henry or to the businesses urging her to support reform? Will the Greens political party finally join the government and pass these reforms to protect our environment, or will they once again hold out for the perfect and scupper the good? I want to pay tribute to the many groups and individuals who have campaigned hard for these reforms for many years, who have made and continue to make informed contributions. These are the people who understand the importance of getting this done. I just hope that the opposition and the Greens political party do too. This bill builds on the Albanese Labor government's broader agenda to protect and restore Australia's natural environment, and this is an agenda that stands in stark contrast to the inaction and neglect of those opposite. For nearly a decade the Liberals failed to act on climate change. They ignored the warnings of scientists, and they left Australia without a credible plan to safeguard our environment. They stalled renewable investment, cut environmental programs and oversaw worsening biodiversity loss.
My question is to the Treasurer. Why is reliable energy so important to Australia's economy, and how does that compare to other approaches?
Cybersafety | Constituency Statements | House debates
There are some important changes coming up soon as a result of our government's reform to make children safer online. I want to take this opportunity to talk about what these changes mean for...
There are some important changes coming up soon as a result of our government's reform to make children safer online. I want to take this opportunity to talk about what these changes mean for parents, guardians and, of course, young people across our community and the country. From December, social media platforms will be required to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping social media accounts. This is something that is of huge interest to many communities, including those in Jagajaga, and I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to parents and young people in our community. Firstly, what is actually changing? Social media platforms will have to ensure under-16s cannot hold accounts. Children will still be able to view some public content, but they won't have full accounts and platforms will be held accountable if they don't apply these changes. This is a change that is about safety and responsibility. It's about making sure that we are not taking childhood away from young people, who should be protected. It really comes about because there has been a failure of the social media platforms to do this properly—to take their social responsibility seriously. We have essentially allowed them to conduct a giant social experiment, and at many points they have shown that they did not take social responsibility seriously, and we have seen the consequences of that. It's not unusual for government to step in and regulate if we see an industry that's doing harm to young people. We've done it with alcohol and we've done it with tobacco, and now we're doing it with social media. Importantly, under-16s or their parents will not be fined or penalised if they use or allow the use of a platform. The responsibility for this lies on the platforms, as it should. I want to pay tribute to the parents across the country who have campaigned for this change, and I know that they've campaigned because their children have been affected in ways that they absolutely should not have been. This is a tribute to you and your work. As a parent myself, I know that this is an opportunity to have real conversations with our kids about healthy online habits, managing screen time and understanding the pressure social media can bring. I also want to acknowledge that there are legitimate concerns from young people, who have come to me and others and said that they use social media well and that they use it to connect. This is not to say that that doesn't happen; it is to say that the vast majority of the evidence shows us that social media platforms have been harmful for young people. What we are saying is: it's not 'no social media forever', but it is 'no social media at this critical stage while you're still developing and you're still forming your brain and your relationships'. I give my commitment to young people in my community that I'll continue to talk to them as we implement this change. Our government have prepared a range of materials to help explain these changes to young people and to schools. My office in Heidelberg will have information available, and I also encourage people to go to the eSafety Commissioner, a trusted resource, for more information.
Housing | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to back first home buyers and build more homes? What is...
My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to back first home buyers and build more homes? What is standing in the way?
National Anti-Corruption Commission Joint Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
by leave—I present the following reports of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission of the 47th Parliament: Examination of the Inspector of the National...
by leave—I present the following reports of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission of the 47th Parliament: Examination of the Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission annual report 2023-24 and Examination of the National Anti-Corruption Commission annual report 2023-24. Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—These two reports from the 47th Parliament represent a significant body of work by the former committee, particularly under the stewardship of the former chair, Senator Karen Grogan. I want to thank the committee for that work. It is a committee that plays an important role in oversight and supporting Australians' confidence in the commission's work. I look forward to continuing this important work as the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission in this parliament.
Bellomo, Professor Rinaldo, AO, Middle East | Constituency Statements | House debates
I rise to pay tribute to Professor Rinaldo Bellomo AO after his death in May this year. Professor Ronaldo was a director of intensive care research at Austin Health in Heidelberg. He was a giant...
I rise to pay tribute to Professor Rinaldo Bellomo AO after his death in May this year. Professor Ronaldo was a director of intensive care research at Austin Health in Heidelberg. He was a giant in Australian and global intensive care medicine—the most published and most cited medical researcher in the history of Australian medicine. Professor Rinaldo arrived in Australia from Italy in 1980, completed his medical degree at Monash University and earned his PhD from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. He became a professor at Monash University, where his passion for research and teaching shaped generations of clinicians and scientists. In 2018, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to intensive care medicine as a biomedical scientist, researcher and systems innovator. He once said that his life's work wasn't just about finding answers but about having conversations with patients, students and fellow clinicians, rooted in humility and empathy. He said: 'Patients are not just cases; they are people with stories. The privilege of being a doctor is being invited into those stories, sometimes at their most vulnerable point, and trying to help.' I know he is very much missed by the community of Austin Hospital, and our community and our country are grateful for his immense contributions. Vale, Professor Rinaldo Bellomo AO. I continue to be contacted by many people in my community who are deeply distressed by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I share their horror. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's denial of aid, the killing of civilians, including children, as they seek access to water and food, is indefensible. The Australian government has called on Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law. This includes ensuring that the United Nations and NGOs can carry out their life-saving work safely and without obstruction. As the Prime Minister said: … it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, which was a decision that Israel made in March … It is also a breach of basic humanity. I hear and I stand with members of my community. We are all devastated as this war continues to take innocent lives. The situation in Gaza has gone beyond even the world's worst fears, and the position of the Australian government is very clear: we must continue to contribute to the global efforts to break the cycle of violence, because every innocent life matters. This war must end and we must have peace.
Address-in-Reply | Governor-General's Speech | House debates
It's an absolute privilege and an honour to be here once again as the member for Jagajaga, and I am sincerely grateful and humbled to once again be trusted by my community to represent them in...
It's an absolute privilege and an honour to be here once again as the member for Jagajaga, and I am sincerely grateful and humbled to once again be trusted by my community to represent them in this parliament. I've said many times that I love our community. It is the place where I grew up, and it's now the place where I'm bringing up my own children with my husband, Daniel. We absolutely know firsthand just how special our part of Melbourne is. The people who live there, the community groups, the parks, the creeks—there is a strong sense of belonging and connection in Jagajaga, and it makes it a wonderful place to call home. Every day I absolutely take pride in the opportunity to be our community's voice here in this parliament. I was really pleased with the conversations I was able to have with community members during the election campaign. A lot of people spoke to me, both about what they could see our government had achieved in our one term in government and also about the progress they wanted to see come next—about the work still to do. There was a marked difference in those conversations I had in the community between the sense of trust they had in a Labor government to deliver on that work still to come and what was being put forward by our Liberal opponents—which really was an agenda based around negativity, an agenda that clearly wasn't well thought through, particularly if we think about their main plan of a nuclear future for Australia. It's an agenda which showed they really don't understand the lives of modern Australians and of people in communities like Jagajaga. I'm thinking here particularly of the way they wanted to limit things like working from home. It was clear to me when I was talking to people, whether it was at early voting centres or when I was knocking on doors or standing outside the local shops, that what they valued were the things that Labor governments do, and they were trusting us to get on and do those things and to build for the future. I am really looking forward to doing that work in the second term, to staying focused on our goals and to making sure that we continue to achieve, not just for Jagajaga but, of course, for the entire country. I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I'm giving this speech today, the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri people, and I pay my respect to their elders past and present. I also want to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land Jagajaga stands on. Theirs is a deep and ongoing connection to land, water and sky, which is absolutely inseparable from that place, and I again pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging in Jagajaga. In this second term, I look forward to getting on with work to continue that connection, to continue to close the gap and to continue to make sure that we are helping First Nations people in our country to be as strong a part of our community as possible. I know it is something that many people in Jagajaga are passionate about, and they talk to me about it. The Birrarung, the Yarra River, forms a natural border around my electorate. It runs from Ivanhoe all the way through to North Warrandyte. And, certainly, that waterway and other significant waterways such as the Darebin Creek, the Banyule Flats and Plenty Gorge are an important part of Jagajaga. People in Jagajaga care deeply about these places and about our environmental legacy. I can absolutely say that one of the main issues raised with me during the election campaign, and now, by people in Jagajaga is the need for continued action on climate change. There is a real understanding in my community of how environmental protection, emissions reduction and climate resilience action all come together. What was very clear at the last election and what is increasingly clear now, as those opposite continue to debate whether they will actually ditch a commitment to net zero, is that Labor is the party of climate action. We have made tackling climate change a top priority. Again, that is exactly what communities like mine in Jagajaga expect of a government that understands the challenges that we are facing and that understands what this country needs to be doing to provide a safe and secure future with good jobs—not just for people now, but for our children and for their children's children. As a government, we are delivering on our emissions reduction targets. It was really encouraging to see the announcement from the minister this week that emissions are falling and that we are on the right track—with a lot more to do! That's why we are making major investments in renewable energy. We are improving and protecting the places that we love. We're also, this term, putting a renewed focus on expanding our climate adaptation and resilience work, on making sure that communities like mine are supported to live with the effects of what we already see from climate change. That will be critical right around the country. Very clearly at the last election Australians rejected the divisive nuclear push that we know was steeped in climate denialism from those opposite. Every time they put that policy forward, it wasn't a policy about debating a better way forward for Australia; it was a policy about denial. Again, we see this very clearly now with the motion before the parliament to drop net zero. The sense of security and of certainty for Australians that we now are committed to climate action and that that will continue under this government is really important. In Jagajaga, just like around the country, we are rolling out community batteries with support from this government. That obviously supports the many solar rooftops that I see as I travel around the electorate. People in my community understand that batteries are not only a good way to help tackle climate change but also a good way to bring down their bills and reduce electricity costs. I know they will continue to be very popular in Jagajaga. Recently—in fact, just before the start of the election campaign—I helped open the Bellfield community battery, which our government has helped fund. Again, this work is about taking pressure off the grid and supporting local people to reap the benefits of the energy transition. Another key issue during the election campaign in Jagajaga, and right around the country, was Medicare and our health system. Labor will always be the party that protects Medicare. We understand that it is the cornerstone of our health system. We know locals want it to be there for them when they need it—for themselves, for their kids and for our entire community. I was so pleased to be able to open the Heidelberg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic during our first term of parliament, and I've seen the huge impact it's had on the community—providing that place that people can go to when they need urgent care, rather than having to go up the road to the Austin Hospital and wait many hours in emergency. They're able to go to the clinic, be seen and have certainty. I know it's also taking pressure off the Austin emergency department, so it's appreciated there. I was pleased that, in this last campaign, we also committed—together with the member for McEwen—to secure a new Medicare emergency clinic for Diamond Creek and surrounds. I know that will be beneficial to people living in the northern end of my electorate. It was fantastic to be able to do that with the member for McEwen. I'm very pleased he is back in this parliament so we can continue to work together to serve our communities. In fact, today I met with the Northern Councils Alliance with the member for McEwen, the member for Scullin and some other colleagues, to work together across Melbourne's north to continue building the services we need. Another part of election campaigns that I always enjoy is engaging with my local sporting clubs. These play a huge role in bringing people together locally and in providing both young people and older people places to keep fit and engaged. I was so pleased to support the Heidelberg West Football Netball Club with an $814,000 grant for female-friendly facilities, including proper changerooms, showers and toilets. I know these facilities will be much appreciated and make a huge difference to the women and girls playing at that club. Congratulations to all of them. I'm absolutely thrilled that we will be delivering $2 million to support Banyule City Council to build a new netball facility and upgrade the Ivanhoe Park Croquet Club. These investments really help promote active, inclusive communities, the netball encouraging more women to participate in and play sport and the croquet club encouraging people of all abilities, including older people, to be involved. I always enjoy my visits to the Ivanhoe Croquet Club. They are a very lively bunch. They've given me tips. I'm not very good yet, but I hope that I have the opportunity to continue to go back and improve my skills. We are continuing to support community infrastructure more broadly, including at Shelley Park and Heidelberg Heights, which is getting a brand new pavilion and clubrooms through an investment we made during the last term. I'm really looking forward to seeing it become a new hub for local sport and community events. This does come, I think, at an important time for that growing population in that area of Jagajaga. At Eltham Lower Park we've opened a new off-leash dog park, and the sporting pavilion there will be upgraded, which will help the local lacrosse, croquet and cricket clubs. There is lots going on on the sporting and community front in Jagajaga, which I'm very pleased about. One of the main focuses for our government this term is of course housing. We know that right across Australia we have challenges when it comes to housing. It is still very difficult, particularly for people to enter the market. We don't have enough social and affordable housing. We are trying our best to tackle this, obviously, after many years of those opposite neglecting it—neglecting to have a housing minister for most of their time in government, in fact. Again, one of the frequent conversations I had with people in Jagajaga during the election campaign was about how difficult it is to get into the housing market. Many people who were having this conversation with me were approaching it from a situation of generational inequality, talking to me about how they were worried for their children or their grandchildren and also how they want their children to be able to live in the vicinity of them. Again, in many parts, Jagajaga is an expensive place to buy a house, and people want to be able to live near families, to live near the places they love and where they grew up. So I am really pleased that our government has announced that we're expanding the opportunity so that people can access the dream of homeownership with a five per cent deposit and that it will come into effect from 1 October this year. In Jagajaga we are also delivering new social and affordable housing through the Housing Australia Future Fund and the Social Housing Accelerator. In Heidelberg West we've teamed up with the state government to rebuild the Bell-Bardia estate. This will mean 104 homes in the area delivering high-quality, modern housing. It's on a site that previously had 94 homes which were not really fit for purpose anymore, so they were demolished some years ago. I am really glad we are getting these new houses built on that site, and I know that it will be really important for the 3081 community. Across Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Rosanna and Greensborough, 642 new homes are being built through the HAFF. We have just funded 25 additional homes under the second round of the HAFF, in Bellfield. These are significant investments in Jagajaga and in our communities. Again, I'm really pleased with how our community has embraced this opportunity and seen the need for more housing and particularly more social and affordable housing in our area. It will support women and children leaving family violence. It will support First Nations people. It will mean that key workers can live close to things like the Austin Hospital, so that's going to be really important. I look forward to continuing to see those houses being built and hopefully visiting some of them fairly shortly for an opening. I talked before about intergenerational equality. Again, when I talk about those conversations about the future that people had with me during the election campaign, this idea of how we're making sure we do build a country that delivers a better life for our children and their children was one they were talking with me about. So I'm very pleased that one of the first acts of our government in this new session of parliament was to introduce our bill to wipe 20 per cent off all student debt. I've already heard from many people in Jagajaga about what a real difference this has made to them, particularly when it comes to things like getting into the housing market, so that's fantastic. Obviously we have a commitment to not just wiping debt but also helping young people to get the skills and education they need. We've made free TAFE permanent, because it is essential to skills development and opportunity. In my community, that means that students at Greensborough and the west Heidelberg Melbourne Polytechnic are already benefiting. We are investing in the future workforce though a new national TAFE centre of excellence for housing construction at west Heidelberg Melbourne Polytechnic, which will be fantastic. That's a $50 million investment which will tackle skills shortages, speed up housing delivery and support more sustainable construction, all while creating strong pathways into secure local jobs. It was great to visit that site with Minister Giles and talk with some of the students studying there and also some of the educators about the important work they are doing there. Another great strength of Jagajaga is our diversity. I'm proud to represent one of the largest Somali Australian communities in the country. I was pleased to secure further funding for Himilo Community Connect, which does outstanding work in education, youth leadership and engagement within the community. Supporting community cohesion, interfaith understanding and cultural celebration has been a focus of the great work they are doing. Together with the member for Cooper, I was also proud to support the Darusalam Community Centre, helping to ensure that it remains a safe and welcoming gathering place. Thank you to community leaders Abdallah Ahmed and Ishmael Gabo. To Abdiaziz Farah, Pam Burley and Yusuf Oman: you and your teams are doing the work on the ground in the community, and I thank you for your collaboration—and all of those in the Somali Australian community who are helping us build a more inclusive and connected society. There are a lot of thankyous to make after a campaign, and I want to thank all of the people who made our local campaign possible. In Jagajaga, we ran a grassroots campaign, which was local, positive and progressive, and it focused on what mattered to our community. I'm so grateful to every person who gave their time and energy and for their belief in the work we do. To my incredible volunteers and branch members: thank you. Whether you joined us in the morning at the train stations or you were making phone calls in the evenings, there every day at prepoll or helping behind the scenes, I could not have done this without you. To Judy, Jennie, Garry, Rhonda, Chris, Jason and all our local party leaders and volunteers: thank you for your trust and support. To my state colleagues Anthony Carbines, Colin Brooks and Vicki Ward: it's always such a pleasure to have your support and to work with you on behalf of our communities, and I'm looking forward to standing alongside you in your coming election campaigns. To my wonderful staff—to David, my campaign manager; Simone; Alex; Kate; Ziggy; Izzy, who's here in the chamber; and Carla: you all worked so hard and you delivered for our community, so thank you. Of course to my family—to Daniel, Harriet and Gilbert, these campaigns do take a lot and put a toll on families. I could not do it without any of them. It was great to see Harriet, who's now seven years old, take quite an interest in this campaign. She's definitely on team red. She was quite pleased and proud to see her mum's face up around the electorate. I don't think that will be the case if I get the chance to run for election when she is 10 years old, so I also enjoyed having that moment. But a huge thanks goes to them and to my parents, to my brothers and their partners, and the whole family who wrapped around us. Also a final thankyou from me goes to the Australian Electoral Commission. We are really privileged in this country that we have an independent commission that is dedicated to running our elections in a way that is free, fair and transparent, and I know that that work is not always easy. We particularly see this in local campaigns, and we did see in this last local campaign, particularly when it came to prepolling, that the environment can get heated. There can be some very difficult demands put on AEC staff, who are working to deliver a free and fair election. I think that the way the AEC is able to deal with those demands, with the professionalism shown by its staff, is exemplary. We absolutely must make sure that we protect that system and that Australians do feel confident and proud to vote and to participate in our democracy. Thank you to the AEC, and I look forward to hopefully doing it with them all again. In the meantime, I look forward to delivering for Jagajaga during this campaign.
Jagajaga Electorate: Infrastructure | Grievance Debate | House debates
I'm very aware that we're all here in this parliament because we hold a deep sense of responsibility to our communities and to our electorates, and, for me, that responsibility is really clear. I...
I'm very aware that we're all here in this parliament because we hold a deep sense of responsibility to our communities and to our electorates, and, for me, that responsibility is really clear. I do want to improve my community. I want to make it the best place for people to live, work, study and raise a family. I am really proud that, since we've been in government, Labor has been both building our nation and also building our communities, investing in communities like those in Jagajaga, which, unfortunately, were neglected for far too long under previous Liberal-National governments. When those opposite were in power, they put themselves first. They, in fact, allocated community funding in ways that benefited their own seats. That meant, in Jagajaga, that our community missed out on major infrastructure funding, on school upgrades, on sporting and community facilities and on much more. I stood in this place at the time, when then prime minister Scott Morrison led a Liberal-National government, and I called out that government for their unfair treatment of my constituents. Between 2018 and 2021, the then treasurer and member for Kooyong's neighbouring electorates received $5.7 million in community grants while my community just over the river in Jagajaga received just $800,000. That is more than seven times less, and it is absolutely indicative of how those opposite treated running the country. They were not in it for communities. They were certainly not in it for the community of Jagajaga. They were governing for themselves. Labor does take a different approach. We believe that every community—city or regional, no matter who they voted for—deserves respect and deserves its fair share, and I'm really proud of what that means and what we're delivering in Jagajaga. When we come to people's health, one of the key things that people talk to me about is the need for good quality healthcare services that can be accessed locally and that are affordable. We absolutely understand that Medicare is the cornerstone of our health system. It was something that I talked to many community members about during the last election campaign, as I'm sure my colleagues did. We had these discussions about making sure that this very Australian institution is there not just for now but into the future. Of course, we know it was at risk because it was neglected for far too long by those opposite who have never believed in Medicare and who have never believed that you should be able to see a doctor with your Medicare card, not with your credit card. It was neglected, but we have been doing the work to fix it. In Jagajaga, that means that we have delivered the Heidelberg Medicare urgent care clinic right in the heart of the Austin Hospital precinct, taking pressure off the emergency department there. I have a lot of positive feedback about this facility, and I'm really pleased that, at the election that we've just had, together with my colleague the member for McEwen, we pledged that we will deliver another clinic in Diamond Creek and surrounds, which will really benefit people who live in the northern end of my electorate. We're backing that up. We are, obviously, making it easier for people to see a GP and to have that bulk-billed—an extra 18 million bulk-billed GP visits every year so that people in Jagajaga can see a doctor without worrying about the cost. I know there's more work to do in this space. We're not there yet. As I said, it takes time to overturn the damage that those opposite did. In 10 years of government, they never invested in local health infrastructure in Jagajaga. They oversaw the collapse of bulk-billing. They took a service that was essential to Australians, a service that that Australians could count on, and they rubbished it. That is, again, indicative of their approach to services. Labor is strengthening Medicare, the Liberals try to destroy it and that is the clear difference. If I look at other infrastructure in my community, community sport is such a big part of how people spend their time. It's a big part of how people come together and how our kids learn about community. Keeping active is so important. I'm really proud that we've been able to deliver investment in community support in Jagajaga, including funding for the Heidelberg West Football Netball Club to build female-friendly facilities—proper change rooms, showers and toilets; funding for the Banyule City Council to build a brand new netball facility and upgrade the croquet club at Ivanhoe Park; and funding for the Shelley Park pavilion in Heidelberg Heights, on which I'm pleased that construction will be starting soon, along with renovating the pavilion at Eltham Lower Park. Again, this is all work that is underway in our time in government. It is not work that happened under those opposite. We did not have this local-level investment in my community under those opposite. We're supporting the transition to renewable energy in Jagajaga and around the country while those opposite have a debate about whether they need to be signed up to net zero. As the Prime Minister has said, if you are not prepared to back net zero, what you are actually saying is you don't believe in climate change. If you are not prepared to say that this country needs to reach net zero, then what you are saying is you are a climate denier. And it was not just when they were in government; those opposite are still full of climate deniers. In Jagajaga and around the country we are investing and doing the necessary work. We're investing in our cheaper home battery scheme, which has seen nearly 40,000 home battery systems purchased since 1 July, including 166 in the community of Jagajaga. Of course, we know that those opposite promised a $600 billion nuclear plan to drive up household bills, but we are delivering direct energy bill relief to every household. We're doing this on a community infrastructure level as well. We are supporting the Banyule council to electrify WaterMarc, a well-known and well-loved community pool in my electorate. With federal government support it will become a fully electric facility, helping Council cut costs, lower emissions and reinvest savings back into the community. We're delivering on major infrastructure. The North East Link project, which is the biggest infrastructure project ever delivered in my electorate, will transform the way people live and travel in Melbourne's north-east. Connecting Watsonia to Bulleen, it will fix what is known as the missing link in our freeway network. It will take 15,000 trucks off Rosanna Road every single day and cut travel times by up to 35 minutes. This is something we're putting $3.3 billion towards to support the state government to make this happen. Again, we never saw this level of future investment in much-needed infrastructure in my community under the Liberals. I do want to say thank you to all the community members who I know are putting up with a large level of disruption as this major project goes on. You are showing remarkable patience, forbearance and understanding that in the end this project will be a huge win for our community, so thank you. The final area I want to highlight, as I think it shows the contrast between this government's attitude to investment in community and people's lives and the attitude that was taken by those opposite when they had the opportunity in government, is housing. We do still have a housing crisis in this country—one which built up over a very long time, and it certainly built up under those opposite when they were not investing in housing. They didn't see a role for the federal government in housing, and for most of the time they didn't even have a federal housing minister. I have spent quite a bit of time recently going to housing that is being built in my community with the support of the federal government. I never had that opportunity under those opposite, because there wasn't any housing being built in my electorate with the support of the then federal government when it was a Liberal-National government. In West Heidelberg, Labor is rebuilding the old Bell-Bardia estate, which was demolished in 2020 because it needed serious upgrades. Together with the state government, we're really proud to be delivering 104 brand new homes—more homes than were there before. They will be high-quality, modern homes that local families can be proud of. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund, Labor is delivering 642 new homes across Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Rosanna and Greensborough. We've also just announced another 25 homes to come in Bellfield as part of the second round. I recently, just a couple of weeks ago, had the pleasure of having the Prime Minister and the housing minister visit Rosanna, where we saw the Beetham Parade development take shape. That's a fantastic development that will support women and children leaving family violence, as well as key workers and First Nations people needing a house. It's in a great location—just next to the train station, near our medical precinct. It is absolutely the type of housing we need in our community, so it is wonderful to see this investment going forward. Again, we know those opposite weren't keen to support the Housing Australia Future Fund, but we can only hope that at some point during this period in opposition they do change the way they look at community infrastructure and they do change the way they look at investing for the future and investing in the future of communities like those in Jagajaga. There is still time for them to come to this realisation, change their ways and support some of these fantastic initiatives that our government is delivering on.
Climate Change, Murphy, Ms Peta Jan | Adjournment | House debates
Thank you, Speaker. It is a real pleasure to see you back in your role. It's a privilege for me to be back in this place as the member for Jagajaga. This is now my third opening of a parliament,...
Thank you, Speaker. It is a real pleasure to see you back in your role. It's a privilege for me to be back in this place as the member for Jagajaga. This is now my third opening of a parliament, and while I don't yet think I'm at the nostalgia stage, the ceremony and the first speeches of the past few days have certainly prompted some reflections for me. I have in particular been thinking about one of the things that was a huge prompt for me to first stand for parliament, and that is the need for us to urgently tackle the climate crisis. When I first ran for parliament we were well into the decade of Liberal-National climate denial. It was a time when Scott Morrison brought his lump-of-coal prop into question time. At that time for me—and I think for many Australians—thinking about the need for climate action and the lack of it under successive Liberal-National governments could make you tend towards despair. The denial of successive Liberal-National governments meant we were drifting further and further away from the actions that needed to be taken. In general, I am not someone who tends to lean into despair. I try to lean towards hope. A lot of that hope for me was realised in our first term in government. As a government we have been—and we are—working hard to recover the lost time and the lost opportunities, and we are making real progress. Labor is the party of climate action. We've legislated a 2030 emissions reduction target. We've locked in our commitment to net zero by 2050. We're investing heavily in clean energy projects. Since coming to office we've approved a record number of clean energy projects, and we're now at a stage where we're powering homes across the nation. From 1 July we launched our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, providing a 30 per cent discount on battery systems. We're scaling up climate adaptation, investing in disaster preparedness—all of this work that I am pleased with and looking forward to getting stuck into supporting in my role as the Special Envoy for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. I'm very aware that we're not all the way there yet. We must still push ahead with the ambitious action that allows us to land the clean economy future that this country deserves—the one that I want my kids and generations to come to benefit from. There are still risks, and there are still deniers in the ranks. Most notably, there are deniers in the ranks opposite. Most recently is the member for New England, who's proposing the Liberal-National coalition abandon net zero. In his recent words: … you have to find issues which are binary, which you are fully for and the Labor Party is fully against. I suppose we've come to expect this type of attitude towards our science and climate action from the member for New England, but I must admit I was slightly disappointed to see he's being joined by the member for Riverina. I expected better from the member for Riverina, who I've always held to be quite a sensible person. The member for Maranoa seems like he might want in on the action as well. He's leaning into suggesting that perhaps net zero needs to go. The Leader of the Opposition has today refused to affirm her commitment to net zero. So, once again, we're back in the situation where those opposite are either deniers or they're a climate rabble. I say to the many Australians who I know are still deeply concerned about the need for climate action, who are urging our government to succeed in tackling this crisis, that we are up to the task, and we certainly won't be wasting this opportunity that this new parliament gives us to get on with this most crucial of jobs. My final point of reflection tonight is once again not nostalgia, but it is deep sadness. Throughout the ceremonies and moments of the past few days of the parliament's opening, I've so deeply missed my good friend the former member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. Peta and I gave our first speeches on the same day, six years ago. We spent the opening of the 47th parliament together, and I so vividly remember her excitement and her determination as we approached that first term of a Labor government. She made her time count, her determination aptly demonstrated—I told myself I would not cry! You don't need length of service in this place to make a difference. I so desperately wish we could have celebrated the opening of this parliament together, and I do feel like I carry a little piece of her with me into this one. I send my love to Rod, to her parents and to her sister, who I know must feel this ache even more constantly than I do, and I know I'm not the only person here who holds a little bit of Peta and her memory close into this new parliament.