Zoe McKenzie's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Flinders Electorate: Road Infrastructure | Statements by Members | House debates
Peninsula Link connects the Mornington Peninsula community to work, services and the city every day. Over the last year the incompetent Allan Labor government has turned Pen Link into an obstacle...
Peninsula Link connects the Mornington Peninsula community to work, services and the city every day. Over the last year the incompetent Allan Labor government has turned Pen Link into an obstacle course, with inexplicable speed limits, phantom roadworks, unpredictable lane closures and enough orange cones to be visible from outer space. Last year there were months of roadworks, with southbound lanes closed between September and November. My community was completely baffled. We have a long list of roads that desperately need to be fixed, but not that one, and not as we head into the summer blitz. Last month I got a flyer telling me that major works would again resume in February, with southbound lanes closed this month and northbound closure next month. It also said, 'We will undertake these works in sections, rebuilding the freeway from the ground up, replacing layers of pavement below the road surface to make it stronger and better suited to local road conditions'. So, why have we suffered closures causing traffic chaos and reduced speed limits for months so that in February they can start rebuilding the freeway from the ground up? Today's commuters are spending an average of 10 to 20 minutes each trip stuck behind cones and lane drops. While that doesn't sound like much, when it's your lifeblood, your connection to work, family, health services and education an extra 40 minutes a day of driving really impacts your commute. Businesses are bearing the cost, local roads are bearing the load and residents are bearing the poor planning. The Victorian government is nothing short of a disgrace. Responsible road planning, respecting the commercial calendar of the peninsula, is not too much to ask for.
Jonceski, Mr Ljupco (Luch) | Condolences | House debates
A few days ago I actually got up to give my speech for our dear friend Luch in this place because I was fearful that, listening to the contributions of others, I would struggle to keep myself...
A few days ago I actually got up to give my speech for our dear friend Luch in this place because I was fearful that, listening to the contributions of others, I would struggle to keep myself together. And, may I say, I delivered in spades. I was a burbling, sobbing mess. But today I hope to tell some of the fun stories of Luch. After all, I can't cry in front of the member for Canning! I would never live that down. But, as I went to give my speech a couple of days ago, I actually reached out to Luch's colleagues, and I said, 'If there's anything you'd like me to say on your behalf—to read into the record of Hansard forever—then I am very happy to do that. And so here are some of the reflections of his friends and colleagues in the messages to Luch. I'm mindful many of them are watching from your offices and that some of them are here with us today. Here's the first one. This one's from Raff. Everybody knows Raff. Raff has been around forever, and I didn't know that Raff's official title is Messengerial Attendant. I assume that's what Luch was too. Raff said: I first met Luch when I joined the Messengerial Services Team a number of years ago. It was clear to me right from the start that he was well respected and much loved. It didn't take me long to realise that he was a bit of a legend throughout Parliament House. He was a trusted source of information and people would seek out his counsel—he was often a 'steady hand' that provided calm reassurance. One of the things that I admired about him was that he didn't have tickets on himself. He was a 'down to earth' kind of guy who was pretty happy (and so grateful) for his lot in life. He was the longest serving member in the Department of the House of Representatives and he had a vast amount of experience and knowledge in the functioning and operations of this place. All of which he was willing to share with you, and I've learned so much from him in my relatively short time here. Raff, it feels like forever. He goes on: Luch was a wonderful colleague who brought much joy and humour to this place. He took his role seriously but he also loved a chat and a joke behind the scenes, and occasionally from the Centre Stage of the Chamber. I will always cherish the many laughs and good times we shared. He was a wonderful workmate and friend, and it was a privilege to have worked with him. I will miss the larger-than-life character, along with his trademark smile and booming laugh. Rest in peace my Friend! And there's another one from Messengerial Phil—I love the way they sign them off: Luch was a font of knowledge in the Reps chamber back office. Whenever he had answered a clarifying question from a colleague, he would then usually add, "What are you going to do when I'm gone?" or "What will you do without me?" Unfortunately Luch was taken from us too soon and we are left trying to work out what we are going to do without him. We all miss you, Luch. This is from one of my own staff members. We all love Luch in our office precisely because, as the member for Eden-Monaro would say, he'd always come around at Christmas time, my birthday, his birthday—any excuse for another photo and indeed another card. And so Unity Paterson in my team said: He insisted on showing me the prorogue personally when parliament dissolved—something I'd never forget, because he reminded me how genuinely incredible a peaceful dissolution and election is. People just rush past this inconspicuous document on this inconspicuous stand, on their way to do this or that, but Luch was PROUD. I would have done the same if it wasn't for him, and it really reframed how I entered the election. How lucky we are to have democracy sausages as a hallmark of our election, not violence, and that Luch's pride is what sustains that—it's not really luck after all. He was so proud of the functioning of this building, connecting the dots and people to get the best outcome, whether it be a piece of mail, a piece of advice, or just a feeling of inclusion. He was always worried about people's wellbeing, and he was genuinely interested in the humans that made up this building. People like him are the reason that these institutions stay strong, as he reminds those who work in it, when the stakes are so high and the stress is so much, and it all starts to feel not real, of the human stories that make up our democracy and our country. My friend Annabel Crabb, who had featured Luch in her series, The House, back in 2017, says: Of all the Parliamentary denizens we interviewed for our documentary series 'The House', Luch captured better than any what the spirit of this place can be when it listens to its better angels. He was courteous, respectful, charming, industrious and observant to a fault. I will never forget the wonderful sight of Luch reporting to Mike Hughes' office at the beginning of a sitting week to have Mike do his tie. They would never let me film this little ritual, but it's always stuck in my mind. Towering Mike and modest Luch, preparing solemnly for another week in a place whose purpose and significance is far greater than that of any individual. It is a great honour for Australians that such a man both helped to assemble the bricks and mortar of this place, and then contributed an infallible humanity to its democratic function. In my interactions with Luch over the years, every single one of these stories was brought to life. There was one day when we were threatened with a Saturday sitting, and I said, 'Luch, can you remember when it was that we sat on a Saturday?' Here came the response: 'It was back when Kevin 07, Mr Rudd, was PM, and Mr Randall got a cardboard cut-out of Mr Rudd and brought it into the chamber that morning.' I said, 'Oh, my goodness.' He said, 'And before that, well, I think that was when we were doing Mabo, the stolen generations legislation. But I will confirm tomorrow.' He followed up with an Excel spreadsheet of exactly when we'd sat on a Saturday. I don't even know how he did it. Luch, as we know, was famous for sneaking chocolates into the drawers of some of his favourites. It didn't always work well. I do remember once I was chomping down on a Flake. Why would he put Flakes in my drawer? Honestly, that is the least appropriate thing to put in the drawer when it's illegal to chew anything in the chamber. But he gave me a Flake once, and I was talking to the member from Macnamara, who'd come round for a chat. I looked down and I said, 'Oh, dear, Josh. There's a problem.' He said, 'What?' I said, 'I've had a chocolate explosion on my pants.' He looked down, and he said, 'There's no recovering from that.' I said, 'I know. I don't quite know what to do.' Anyway, it turns out we have leather on the seats down there, where the chocolate went. Luch must have known, and that's why he gave me a Flake. But there was another instance where I said, 'Luch, my goodness! I've had a mini-Crunchie choc explosion in my drawer. How do I deal with this disaster?' 'Leave it with me,' said Luch. The next day the Crunchie explosion was gone, and there were more to replace them. Luch was an avid follower of politics. I think he knew more about politics than most of us. At the last election he would send text messages every few days, checking in on the count and making sure that I was going to be okay. And then came good wishes for Easter and then came good wishes for promotions. He signed off every text message 'Luch-elicious', which I called him one day. He seemed to like it, and so he stuck with it. There was one day in the campaign when we'd run out of all the money that we had, and we had run out of stamps. But I knew there were about 40 stamps somewhere in the office here. Luch broke in, got the stamps, stuck them in a package, and sent them down to Melbourne. He went far and beyond for all of us to make democracy work, and he was so proud of his time here. He sent me a photo of the pollie class we all do when we first get elected. When I looked at it carefully the other day, I realised the reason he sent me that one was that it shows Luch in the attendance box, watching over us for the future. My great regret is that I missed my last Christmas photo with him. He'd said to me, 'Can we do the Christmas photo?' I said, 'Yes, yes.' But the end of the year was so crazy and so busy. There's one person I want to thank, who is one of the silent angels in this building. On New Year's Day, I received a message from the member for Fadden. He said, 'I just need to tell you that we've lost Luch.' I was shocked and I said, 'Are you sure?' He said, 'Yes, absolutely. Leanne, the former attendant, wanted you to know specifically.' I don't know Leanne, but I know she's one of the angels of the architecture of this building. Wherever you are, Leanne, I say: thank you. I sat with the news of Luch's loss for a day, and then I wrote an ode to him on Facebook. Then I observed Luch's last great gift to democracy: 300,000 people read that post. Thousands engaged with it, and hundreds of people commented. It was obvious that through the story of this wonderful, humble and humorous man, so dedicated to this place, that Luch had restored their faith and hope and belief in democracy itself. I leave you with the final words of Luch's family—so raw and yet so formal, as was our man Luch: The Jonceski family extends their sincere gratitude for the kind words shared and for recognising the positive impact his presence in Parliament had on many, all of whom he regarded as family.
Economy | Constituency Statements | House debates
Yesterday, the Labor government's economic mismanagement again reached into the homes of the Morning Peninsula and landed with bigger bills on the kitchen table. Over the past four years, they've...
Yesterday, the Labor government's economic mismanagement again reached into the homes of the Morning Peninsula and landed with bigger bills on the kitchen table. Over the past four years, they've handed bigger bills to my constituents for electricity, for gas, for rent, for school supplies, for eggs, for bread, for ice cream, for insurance, for travel, and, yesterday, we saw the 13th interest rate rise on this government's watch. In June 2022, interest rates went up. In July 2022, interest rates went up. In August 2022, interest rates went up. In September 2022, interest rates went up. In October 2022, interest rates went up. In November, December and February 2023, interest rates went up. In March 2023, interest rates went up. In May 2023, interest rates went up. In June 2023, interest rates went up. In November 2023, interest rates went up. Finally, there was a moment of stability, with a year of no change. Then, with enormous relief, there were small cuts in February, May and August of 2025. Again, yesterday, interest rates went up with pump primed public spending and a bloated budget, keeping inflation well above the RBA's preferred target of two-to-three per cent. My constituents keep doing it tough. The average mortgage holder in this country is now paying $23,000 more a year in interest compared with when this government first came into office. That's a whole second job needed in a household to cover those interest payments. The impact of yesterday's interest rise on a $1 million home loan will be about 150 bucks a month. That's like another tank of fuel, a school excursion or a big grocery shop that somehow families have got to find. The economists' verdict is clear. AMP chief economist, Shane Oliver, has said: The best thing that Australian governments can do to help bring down inflation would be to cut government spending back to more normal levels, which would free up space for private sector growth without higher inflation. Yet, in this financial year alone, Labor has added $50 billion in new spending; many more interest rate hikes are likely to come. High interest rates do not just mean tighter times around the kitchen table. They mean higher rents, which have gone from an average of around $500 to around $600 a week in my electorate, since this government came to power. Labor's financial mismanagement at the federal level is matched by equal incompetence at the state level. State levies like the metropolitan planning levy, cladding rectification levies and the Victorian government's recent 'holiday tax' in terms of a short-stay levy are all disproportionate, sitting on the shoulders of my constituents. In the last financial year, there were only 650 residential building approvals; 25 years ago, there were over 2,000—that's a 71 per cent decrease in 25 years—and what it means is higher rents from here. Inflation will continue to go up, and it becomes a vicious circle. (Time has expired) A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 10 : 53 to 11 : 17
Jonceski, Mr Ljupco (Luch) | Grievance Debate | House debates
Today it is the grievance debate, and it occurs to me that I rose here exactly 12 months ago and took some creative licence with the inherent grief in the word 'grievance'. I spoke of the loss of...
Today it is the grievance debate, and it occurs to me that I rose here exactly 12 months ago and took some creative licence with the inherent grief in the word 'grievance'. I spoke of the loss of my mum, Ann Shanahan, who had passed that summer, a few weeks before we returned. Today I rise for a similar contribution—not for my actual mum but for my House mum, Ljupco Jonceski, or as all of us know him here in this place our beloved Luch. Luch was this place. With each turn of the cheek and each turn of the head and every time I look up in the chamber, I'll be looking for Luch, as I know so many of us do. I also know that in this place tomorrow there will be a structured moment for all of us to make our reflections about him. But I am gluttonous for my Luch. After all, he was gluttonous for me. Every day he would leave a small envelope of chocolates in my desk wrapped with my name on the outside. And so it is with Luch's gorgeous gluttony as my guiding spirit that I will use this longer opportunity to talk about my friend. Thank you. Luch came to this place more than 40 years ago. He was one of many who helped actually build this building with his bare hands. He worked in new Parliament House as a labourer and then he became an attendant. But he wasn't just any attendant; he was the attendant—the attendant of all attendants, the big cheese, the man who got to meet Barack Obama, the Speaker's right hand. But, to me, he was my chamber mum. When I first got elected, I arrived here somewhat short of breath, even though so much of it was already so very familiar to me. After all, I had roamed these corridors as a 25-year-old working for the Attorney-General on all things constitutional law, criminal law reform, marriage law and even the republic referendum. It was so long ago, and Luch was already here doing his thing. And then I came back as a 40-year-old, as the trade minister's right hand, doing trade deals with China, Japan, South Korea, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Indonesia, India, the EU. And Luch was here doing his thing. When I came back as an elected representative four years ago, Luch was still here doing his thing, together with Barry in Security and little Dom at Aussie's. They were the first people I spotted, and their presence settled my soul. My closest friends from the parliamentary ranks had long left this building by the time I was elected, off to London, New York and Paris to serve the global good, but Luch was still here with a big bear hug and a hearty welcome back as though I'd never left. Luch cared for the parliament and parliamentarians like we were his family. Each day, somehow, he would find a way to come across my path in the chamber. But I would often duck into the attendants' room, where Luch had a small fridge filled with chocolates, which apparently no-one but him was ever allowed to touch. Sometimes, in the lobbies or in the members' lounge, I would find Luch washing glasses or organising the assortment of teabags. There was no rushing past Luch. I'm so very glad that, each and every time I saw him, I'd stop for a bit of a natter. In the last term of parliament, he would always ask me about my mum's health and how she was going with her chemotherapy and her immunotherapy. Luch somehow knew mum was all I had. And I would ask him about his morale, about his family, about his Christmas, about his kids, about his fishing, about his adventures. There would often be a giggle. There would always be a photo. Luch loved a photo. He would say, 'Let's get a photo!' Jess, his daughter, is also part of this building's fabric. Jess worked here too. She was on the secretariat for the Parliamentary Joint Committee for Intelligence and Security when I served on it, and Luch was so proud of her. But, for me, the story about Luch and Jess was indeed the story of Australia—that Luch could come here as a child and spend a life of service, first building and then tending to democracy at its fulcrum, while his daughter contributes to our defence and security at the highest possible level. Some time ago I asked the Speaker if we could tell the stories of the multigenerational families who form the bricks and mortar of the Australian democracy and spirit in the parliament—a small documentary to go in the theatrette upstairs. I now wish I had been so much more insistent. All of us here know what Luch means to this place. I have been bowled over by the number of people here, not just Luch's fellow attendants but the clerks, the team from the Serjeant-at-Arms' office, the security guards, the committee secretariats, fellow MPs and their staff, former MPs and their staff and former speakers who have come up to me reading the words I had written about Luch on Facebook when I learned of his passing and who all want to express their love for him. It even happened earlier today. What I could not have expected was the impact Luch had on the outside world. When I put up that post on Facebook on 2 January, I thought just my friends and colleagues—the people who know me—would read it, remember him and send a note to his family. What I didn't see was that Luch's final gift to democracy would be going viral on the internet. You see, Luch broke Facebook— 278,000 people read my post about him, 2,500 loved it and 200 people made comments on it. But that wasn't the best bit. The best bit was that people just understood Luch. People like Carolyn Sheetz and Ant Lewis, who had worked with Luch in the eighties, made a comment. Jo Ward, who went to high school with Luch, made a comment. People who had noticed him while watching the House on telly, just during question time, like Ray Cook, Jo Dewhirst and John Bourke, all chimed in. Former parliamentarians like Bob Baldwin remembered his love of fishing, and my constituent Gerard Weibrecht compared Luch to Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride. I literally have no idea what that means, but it sounds about right. Then there were those people who Luch had never met. Jim Catchpole wrote: People like that are what makes Australia awesome. He obviously felt connected to something important and made doing it well a key part of his life. Mary-Anne Rapkin wrote: Everyone needs a Luch in their workplace. And Christine Kendrick wrote: What a lovely post for a special person who none of us regular punters knew, but how nice to know there really are people of kindness employed in the Houses of Parliament and who actually keep the wheels turning without egos, Rest in peace to this very special man. Vicki Jones said: What a beautiful soul Luch must have been, Canberra was lucky to have him, and his daughter. Nick Woo wrote: Thank you for acknowledging his contribution to the Australian community at large through his quiet dedication, presence and love for the country. In a world that is full of uncertainty, it is clear we need more people like him. Condolences to his family and yourself for the loss of Luch. May he rest gently and his memory serve as a reminder that kindness is the greatest gift for humanity. And here was a nice one from Andrew Jacobs: This personalises parliament, which often enough comes across like a bunch of overtired toddlers. Fair enough. And then there's my favourite, from someone who didn't know him. Ciaran Crehan wrote of Luch's extensive service, grace and humanity, and concluded: The human spirit lives on and thrives. Be like, Luch. A few weeks ago, a number of us joined Luch's family and local community at the Macedonian Church in Queanbeyan. It was there that Luch saved the best for last. I didn't understand a word of it, of course, because it was all in Macedonian, but I didn't need to. It was there that I saw the magic of Luch writ large; love was central, the core of everything he did. The church was filled to the rafters—literally. There were people in the gallery under the ceiling, and tens more spilled out onto the street. As I headed out there, my Comcar driver, Robert, asked why I was going to Queanbeyan. 'I'm off to Luch's funeral,' I said, and Robert was crestfallen. He hadn't heard, and he knew Luch well. 'He used to come to the airport on Sunday nights,' Robert told me. 'He was the only one who actually knew who you all were, and he'd spot you all as soon as you got off the plane. He was the best—the best we've ever had at that job.' Robert called Comcar and asked if they wouldn't mind if he didn't actually do his job for the next two hours, because Robert wanted to stay for Luch's funeral too. And so we stayed together—together with so many people who make up the patchwork of this amazing building and this amazing democracy and who wanted to be there to say their thanks and farewell to the great man, our friend Luch. We are all better in this place because of our friend Luch. I am better in this place because of our friend Luch. I'm more grateful for life because of our friend Luch. My thoughts are with his wife, Mary, and his beautiful children, Jess, Rebecca and Joshua. Your dad lives on through you. His memory will live on long through this place. Whenever you see me look up in the chamber, open my drawer, walk through the members' lounge or lift a glass of water, please know your father is with me. Vale, Luch. You were one of the best.
Australia Day Awards and Honours | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise to celebrate the extraordinary Mornington Peninsula locals who were honoured this Australia Day. We are not overrepresented in the honours list; we are overrepresented with people who will...
I rise to celebrate the extraordinary Mornington Peninsula locals who were honoured this Australia Day. We are not overrepresented in the honours list; we are overrepresented with people who will not sit still and who always insist on getting things done. Their recognition spans the Order of Australia, the Medal of the Order of Australia, the Australian Fire Service Medal, the Emergency Services Medal and distinguished military honours, including the Conspicuous Service Cross and medal. Debra Griffiths AM was honoured for significant service to nursing and medico-legal education. Aunty Helen Bnads OAM was recognised for her leadership within the Indigenous community. Margaret McArthur OAM, the late Michael O'Rourke OAM and the marvellous Charles Reis OAM have strengthened our peninsula through community service and sport over decades. Graham Kirk and Tony Marchesani represent the courage of our fire and emergency services. Among the men and women of service to the ADF most associated with HMAS Cerberus, which I visited with the member for Hume on Friday, Commander Stefanie Curic, Leading Seaman Jack Schulze, Lieutenant Commander Scott Shipton and Lieutenant Perri Trew were all recognised for their devotion to the defence of our nation. On Australia Day, we can acknowledge past injustice while recognising how far we have come and the good Australia continues to do for her people. One of our defining achievements has been the weaving together of Indigenous heritage, British foundations and successive waves of migration, an achievement seen across the peninsula on Australia Day.
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
There is a thing I like to say whenever someone asks me about my electorate. I say, 'I am the luckiest MP in the country.' When I say it, I'm not referring to our beaches or the beautiful opal...
There is a thing I like to say whenever someone asks me about my electorate. I say, 'I am the luckiest MP in the country.' When I say it, I'm not referring to our beaches or the beautiful opal waters of Port Phillip Bay, and I'm not referring to the sparkling leaves in the hills alongside our vineyards or to our walking tracks, where a daily collision with a koala, an echidna or a roo is pretty common. I'm referring to our people, the people of Flinders. Here's how I describe it: they bring their best selves to meet with me every single day. They bring their kindness, their generosity and their sense of adventure, combined with a sense of resilience and responsibility to one another. They look after each other. I saw it on the weekend at Cliffex Meats in Rosebud, where hundreds of people turned up to thank the CFA of Rosebud and Rye for fighting fires across the state. The people of Rosebud are of modest means, but Bec and Blair put a call out and people turned up and stuffed their $20 and $50 notes into those plastic jars, and our firies chomped down on a snag with some sauce. I saw it at the Boneo market, where people stopped for a chat to check in on one another and, there too, to stuff more money in those CFA tins, and then at the Portsea Swim Classic, where I was worried about everyone's welfare because of the easterly gale, but the organisers looked at me with a bit of a giggle and said, 'We've got this, Zoe, because we're lifesavers.' Next week, I will join another 50 people as they take the final steps in their marriage to Australia on Australia Day. That's how I like to think of citizenship ceremonies—they are like a marriage, particularly for those who've been in a long-term de facto relationship with this wondrous land. Where I'm from, it's not uncommon to meet someone becoming Australian who's lived here for 50 years already. The choice to become a citizen is a welcome one. In taking the oath, our new Australians pledge loyalty to Australia, to care for our nation and our shared future and to embrace in perpetuity the blessings of this land—because the blessings of this land are many. As a country, we have been particularly good at imparting the notion that, when you come to Australia, you join our way of life—a way of life so amply demonstrated that Sunday night in mid-December when families gathered on a warm, early summer evening at Bondi Beach to have a barbecue, to play games, to have a swim or a surf or to just catch up. We say it less loudly, but we ask you, in coming here, to leave the troubles of your earlier homeland behind, whether ancient hatreds or contemporary wars. We ask you, 'Please do not bring them here,' and, in return, we say to you, 'Here you are safe.' Since 8 October 2023, I've no longer been sure that that is Australia's promise. I learned that lesson two years before—to the day—15 innocent people lost their lives on Bondi Beach. I was in Israel, on the Australian parliament's only bipartisan trip to Israel since 7 October, so we could see for ourselves what had happened there. During that visit, I put a single photo up on Instagram—standing with my mate, the member for Macnamara, on the Mount of Olives—and I wrote, 'I am proud to stand on and in Israel with this bloke.' A few hours later, the comments started coming in—hate filled references to 'violent colonial oppressing regimes', 'genocide and terrorism', 'the sound of children being brutally murdered'. People suggested I lacked moral fibre. 'You make me sick.' 'I'm disgusted in you.' 'You are vile.' 'Free Palestine,' many wrote—and one odd one: 'If you've ever wondered how atrocities like the Holocaust happen, it's because of apathetic politicians like you.' I came back to Australia and I talked publicly and often of what I had seen in Israel, the horror of 7 October, the slaughter of innocent people in their homes and the rape and mutilation of women—the targeting, in particular, of those who had sought to live in peace with the people of Gaza in the border-town kibbutzim. And then the letters started coming in, first a trickle and then a flood of gratitude that somebody, anybody, was speaking out for the Jewish people not only in Israel but here in Australia, where they needed to hear it. The nature of the letters is best summed up by the one from Amy from Melbourne, who said: My young family moved to Melbourne from the States in 2010 for what we thought would be a few years… We never went back—partly because the Melbourne Jewish community has been an unbelievable safe and supportive place for us to live… I have felt rocked to my core since the 7th of October… I watched your interview on Sky News and for the first time in months really felt safe. You speaking out means everything to me… Others who wrote to me spoke of a possible return to Israel, despite the war and despite the danger, in the hope that they would feel safer there than they were feeling in Melbourne and Sydney. In my very first words in this place, in my maiden speech, I pondered: what happens here in this parliament and in this country when we find ourselves surrounded on these benches by men and women who have never read Primo Levi's If This Is a Man? On 14 December I realised that day had already come.
Housing, Valedictory | Constituency Statements | House debates
I rise today to thank the members of my community who joined me last week—together with the Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness, the member for Macnamara—to discuss the...
I rise today to thank the members of my community who joined me last week—together with the Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness, the member for Macnamara—to discuss the critical need to assist those who find themselves without a home across the Mornington Peninsula. Over the last year, almost 1,000 people have sought help through our local service providers to find emergency accommodation and access to food rations, the highest need being in the southern Mornington Peninsula, where over 400 people, mostly men, are experiencing homelessness. Around half are sleeping rough on the foreshore and in bushlands alongside our major roads. Another 350 people have sought help in the Western Port region, and roughly half of that number have sought help in Mornington. All three community support centres were present for my roundtable, together with the Salvation Army, which meets the highest demand for homelessness services, mostly among women. They are supported by Bolton Clarke, Peninsula Health, Fusion and the Lighthouse Foundation. In coming weeks I'll be working with the CEO of Southern Peninsula Community Support, Jeremy Maxwell, to seek to fill a funding hole of some $350,000 caused by recent changes in federal funding. I am so very grateful to Josh Burns for the time he gave Jeremy and all involved in a meaningful conversation to address homelessness on the peninsula. It was indeed a frank and focused conversation to see what can and must be done to help those most in need. These are issues beyond partisanship—a lesson lost on some, who, earlier this year, endeavoured to arrange such discussion with failed candidates in the last federal election, bafflingly excluding the member for Flinders and the state seats of Nepean and Mornington, even though the member for Mornington at the time was the shadow assistant minister for housing and rental affordability. Shame on those trying to manipulate this issue for partisan passions, and my thanks to Josh for rising above petty motivations. As I said to him in the gym this morning, he is welcome on the peninsula any time. It being the final sitting week of the year, I wish to thank my wonderful staff, who make this job both possible and inspiring: Julia Doyle, Conor Barnes, John Hooke, Katie Wilkie, Marshall Grande, Rocco Labriola, Benn Eccleston and, earlier this year, the magnificent Unity Paterson and Dana Hawtin. I thank also the wonderful leaders of my Federal Electorate Convention: Chair Richard Hurley; Treasurer Georgie Silverwood; Vice Presidents Ed O'Donohue and, earlier this year, Phil Wise; Di Kleinert, who always comes in a duo with her beautiful husband Gordon; Marg Hawker; and Marshall Grande. I thank those who lead the Nepean, Mornington and Hastings divisions, especially Jackie Hamill, Greg Dixon, Virginia Carey, Andrew and Megan Murphy, David Burgess, and Peter and Kay Grey, for all they do for the broader Liberal family. I thank all of our hundreds of volunteers—some of them Liberal, some of them not—who have been an army of intellect, joy and passion throughout 2025, keeping Flinders blue. I hope I do you proud.
Victoria: Roads | Adjournment | House debates
As we get closer to the end of the year, that summertime feeling descends upon the Mornington Peninsula with, at first, delicate discomfort about our roads and traffic, which, by 27 December,...
As we get closer to the end of the year, that summertime feeling descends upon the Mornington Peninsula with, at first, delicate discomfort about our roads and traffic, which, by 27 December, becomes abject panic. But this year has been made so much worse by inaction and incompetence from the Victorian state Labor government. Let us start with the Peninsula Link debacle. A planned closure for major works meant that all southbound lanes of Peninsula Link towards Rosebud were closed between Bungower Road and the Moorooduc Highway from 28 September to a scheduled 29 October. Whilst this led to a huge bank-up of traffic on the old roads heading south, we endured, counting down the days until 29 October, only to find that, when we reached the unofficial launch date of the holiday season—that is, the cup day long weekend—the road was still shut down. As I drove up to the city on Sunday to get my flight to Canberra, I saw kilometres of traffic banked up all the way heading southward. On Monday, I wasn't surprised to receive tens of emails from local businesses, reporting both mad and missing visitors on one of the most important business weekends of the year. The closure has been extended for another two weeks until 15 November, running perilously close to the next bumper business season on the southern Mornington Peninsula—schoolies week. This is the Victorian Labor playbook in action: delays, mismanagement and wrong priorities. Rather than upgrading the crumbling local roads that people use every single day, Labor was busy resurfacing one of the better roads on the peninsula, and shutting it down completely to do so for weeks. Ask locals and they'll tell you the real problem isn't the smoothness of the Peninsula Link. It's the potholes that make local driving dangerous, breaking axles and punching punctures in people's tyres. This has largely resulted from the state government's 93 per cent reduction in patching works and a 14 per cent reduction in road resealing and rehabilitation budgets. But nowhere is Labor's neglect more deadly than at the intersection of the Nepean Highway and Uralla Road in Mount Martha. This single intersection has seen over 30 serious accidents since 2012. Eighteen thousand vehicles travel along the Nepean Highway in Mount Martha every single day. The coalition committed to fixing this intersection back in 2019, and, six years later, drivers entering or exiting Uralla Road are still taking their lives into their own hands. After years of persistent advocacy by me and, indeed, my predecessor, the nearby Forest Drive intersection finally got its upgrade—again, funded by the federal coalition. The contrast makes the inaction on Uralla Road even more idiotic—indeed, callous. How many more accidents will it take before the Labor government actually delivers? Every time the government delays, the risk persists. And it's not just the highways. In Moorooduc, parents are living through a traffic management nightmare right outside the local primary school. A local parent, Cass, told me there are four separate roadwork projects, all taking place simultaneously, within a few hundred metres of the school, and the result is gridlock in a 40 kilometre zone. Parents are late to pick up their kids, drivers are becoming aggressive, and there have been multiple near misses and several minor collisions. Local police are now stationed at the site during pick-up times—not for speeding, but just to stop traffic chaos from breaking out. That's not policing; it's babysitting the government's horror mismanagement. To top it off, our council recently flagged an intention to lower speed limits along Point Nepean Road between Dromana and Rye to between 40 and 50 kilometres an hour. We learnt this week, of course, that lowering speed limits is one of Labor's mad ideas to limit carbon emissions, according to the department of infrastructure's own consultation. But this proposed change will add many wasted minutes to the daily commute up and down the peninsula. Residents are right to be frustrated—indeed, furious. The southern Mornington Peninsula is now like a battle of Galaga, with ever-changing speed limits, potholes, narrow and dangerous bike lanes, and constant roadworks. Labor's answer is always the bandaid solution of slowing everybody down. If the roads are unsafe, fix the roads. Don't penalise drivers who are trying to get to work or school or the shops on roads that have been neglected for years. The pattern is clear. Under Victorian Labor, the Mornington Peninsula's roads are getting worse, not better. The Allan Labor government likes to boast about record infrastructure spending but, if you drive down the roads in my area, you'll be forgiven for asking, 'Where has that money gone?' because, on the ground, it sure doesn't look like it's being spent at home. The people of the peninsula deserve better. We deserve a government that understands that road safety isn't a slogan; it's about safe intersections, well-timed works and well-maintained roads. But, right now, every single driver on the Mornington Peninsula can see the same thing: Labor has lost sight of the basics, and it's a disgrace.
Youth Voice in Parliament | Constituency Statements | House debates
I'm delighted today to read out the speeches of two entrants in the Raise Our Voice initiative from my electorate of Flinders. Matilda, who is 14 years old, from Padua College in Tyabb, says: I...
I'm delighted today to read out the speeches of two entrants in the Raise Our Voice initiative from my electorate of Flinders. Matilda, who is 14 years old, from Padua College in Tyabb, says: I write to you today as a young person in Australia, with concern for our education system. Over my two years at high school I have noticed time and time again that the modern classroom is only built for one type of student, someone who can easily focus in large groups or noisy classrooms, however this is not the case for over 570,000 students who suffer with neurological disorders such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia and more, for majority of these students they have an extremely hard time remaining on task or focused when in loud classroom settings resulting in them not getting all the work completed and having piles of home work. Furthermore, common issues with these disorders include zoning out even when your teacher is in the middle of explaining the task or concept, which results in the student being unable to complete the task and having to rely on his or her peers to get the relevant information, as unfortunately, the teacher cannot cater to everyone. This is not good enough. I strongly believe some of these circumstances could be mitigated through better government funding for schools, higher pay for teachers and smaller class sizes. I now go to a speech from Cooper, who is 16 years old, from Padua College at the Mornington campus, who, I am thrilled to say, is in the audience today with his mum and his sister. He writes: We are in the midst of a crisis. Young people are facing a crisis. I'm Cooper, a 16-year-old from the electorate of Flinders. And I know that young people today are facing a serious mental health crisis. These issues cannot be ignored any longer. We cannot pretend that they simply don't exist. If this parliament doesn't act now, we risk the lives of thousands of young people. If this parliament doesn't act now, we risk losing our next Olympians, our next doctors, our next ministers. My question is: if we can see the issue, why can't you? If we can see what needs to be done, why can't you? Our parliament needs to invest further in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Whilst there are policies in place already, these are quite simply not good enough. We need this government to invest in better mental health education for both young people and adults, lower wait times for online and over the phone crisis support, and more youth advisory groups to shape Australia in terms of mental health. These actions cannot wait. We need this to happen now. This is not about just feelings, this is about the lives of your fellow Australians. So please, I call on this government to make change and invest now in the mental health of young people in order to make Australia a better place for all not just today, but also tomorrow. Thank you, Cooper and your family, for joining me here in parliament today. It brings these words to life would have such a critical program—the Raise Our Voices program—so that you can come here and express your views directly to the Australian people. What a joy and an honour for me—for all of us—to have you and your family here.
Hospitals | Statements by Members | House debates
The Rosebud Hospital is a much-loved institution on the southern Mornington Peninsula. Everyone who lives there has a story of how the hospital and its excellent staff has come to their rescue....
The Rosebud Hospital is a much-loved institution on the southern Mornington Peninsula. Everyone who lives there has a story of how the hospital and its excellent staff has come to their rescue. But, in recent years, the stories about Rosebud are less about proud births, broken arms or learning to ride a bike and more about long waits in triage, an overwhelmed ED in summer and eventual transport to Frankston Hospital for anything more than a flesh wound. Back in 2019, the federal coalition provided $5 million to the state government, which owns and operates the hospital, to do a business case to rebuild it. A month ago, with great fanfare, the state health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, came to Rosebud for a grand announcement. There was much excitement and enthusiasm, particularly from community group that has argued for years for the much needed investment to redevelop it, only for them to be told the hospital would get—wait for the drum roll: $4 million. Let me help you with the maths. In 2019, federal coalition provided $5 million for a business case. In 2022, the state coalition promised $340 million to rebuild the hospital. Six years later, the Labor Party in Victoria comes to the party with $4 million, roughly 0.01 per cent of what the hospital needs to be rebuilt. Even that is $1 million less than what the federal coalition provided six years ago. We all know that Victoria is broke and that each day another $20 million of Victorian taxpayers' money goes to paying interest on Labor's debt. Every month, Labor spends on interest what it could have spent on a full rebuild of the Rosebud Hospital.
Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
Let me begin by saying that the coalition will support the passage of the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Bill 2025. That is because, fundamentally, the content of the...
Let me begin by saying that the coalition will support the passage of the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Bill 2025. That is because, fundamentally, the content of the bill is aimed at doing two worthwhile things. The first is to modernise and clarify Australia's laws regarding the collection and use of biometric facial images under the Migration Act 1958 and the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. The second is to provide the Minister for Home Affairs with a new discretionary power to exempt certain individuals from meeting the physical residence requirement that ordinarily applies in the first two years after a citizenship application is made. These are relatively modest and pragmatic updates to existing laws, and, on the surface, they are likely to give expression to valuable improvements. Of course, they also reflect the need for ongoing vigilance to return to Australia's migration and citizenship laws, not least in order to ensure they keep pace with technology and align with global best practice and that the administration of our borders and citizenship systems remains effective, secure and just. The biometric provisions in this bill are in large part a continuation of reforms that were first enacted by the former coalition government. More specifically, it was the coalition that, in 2015, legislated on the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Biometric Integrity) Bill. That landmark legislation established the very foundations of the biometric systems that now underpin Australia's border operations, including SmartGate automation and the broader facial recognition architecture in use at our airports. A decade has passed since those reforms were legislated, and, unsurprisingly, biometric technology has advanced substantially during that time. Criminal networks involved in human trafficking, people smuggling and identity fraud are now more sophisticated than ever, and our verification systems must, accordingly, evolve just as quickly. The content of this bill essentially updates and refines parts of our laws to reflect those realities and imperatives. Foremost among the changes incorporated within the legislation are clarifications of what constitutes a lawful facial image under both the Migration Act and the Citizenship Act. By modernising these provisions, the bill brings Australian law into closer alignment with international biometric standards. In the process, it is designed to make it more difficult for identity fraudsters and human traffickers to exploit emerging gaps in our existing framework. More specifically, the bill makes it clear that facial images used for identity verification can lawfully include the full face alone or the face together with parts of the neck and shoulders, depending on how the image is captured. This clarification is important because modern, automated systems such as airports SmartGates, kiosk check-ins and digital visa processing platforms often record cropped or variably framed images. Under the current law, that has created uncertainty about whether such images technically meet statutory requirements. These amendments should resolve that doubt. They will confirm that existing records remain valid and that future image collection will be legally sound and operationally consistent across agencies. On each of these grounds, the effects of the bill should be to strengthen the integrity of biometric matching, reduce the risk of administrative error and ensure that Australia's systems are compatible with the standards widely used internationally. It should complement other national initiatives such as the National Driver License Facial Recognition Solution—a system that, once operational, is meant to better integrate Commonwealth and state facial databases to improve information-sharing and establish additional protections against identity crime. Schedule 2 of this bill deals with a different though not entirely unrelated issue the physical residence requirement for aspiring Australian citizens. Currently, Australian citizenship law requires that individuals granted citizenship must be physically present in Australia for at least 180 days within the two years immediately following their conferral. That requirement makes sense in the overwhelming majority of cases, as it encourages genuine connection and integration into the Australian community. However, there are some circumstances in which the rule can be unreasonably restrictive and problematic—most notably for elite sportspeople, who regularly train and compete on foreign soil. The passage of this bill would provide the Minister for Home Affairs with a new discretionary power to exempt such individuals where it is assessed that it is justifiable to do so, especially where they would otherwise be required to travel to and from Australia on a frequent basis simply in order to try to meet the existing obligations. The coalition recognises the practicality of this measure. It essence, it introduces improved flexibility for relatively exceptional circumstances. That said, we naturally expect that this new ministerial power will be exercised with appropriate care and caution and that necessary oversight measures will be put in place in order to prevent the potential for misappropriation or abuse. It must ultimately be the case that these exemptions are not used to create backdoor arrangements or any other form of preferential treatment in relation to Australian citizenship for particular individuals or groups, but we are prepared to support at least in principle what appears overall to be a sensible fix. At the same time, it must be said that many of the legal ambiguities this bill seeks to correct, particularly those addressed through deeming provisions that retroactively validate past actions, are almost certainly the result of problems that have been around for a while due to yet more administrative mismanagement and delays under Labor's watch. Over the past 3½ years we have seen repeated wanton examples of retrospective clean-ups and ad hoc fixes across the Home Affairs and Immigration portfolios—evidence of a government playing catch-up rather than leading with competence. Indeed, over the past 3½ years the Albanese government's record in home affairs has been one of disarray, delays and some dysfunction. From the High Court's ruling in the NZYQ decision that exposed shocking gaps in the management of immigration detainees, to stripping the Home Affairs portfolio of its many functions and then restoring them again much later, and to repeated failures in visa processing, border protection and cybersecurity coordination, the government has demonstrated a lack of control. Ministerial infighting, reshuffles, endless reviews and reactive management of one crisis after another have become hallmarks of this administration. Australians have seen detainees released without adequate safeguards; critical infrastructure vulnerabilities left unaddressed; extremely dangerous criminals released, only, in some cases, to commit even more alarming crimes; and the integrity of migration programs eroded by paralysis. In essence, this government's approach has too often been reactive, opaque and, in some cases, incompetent and piecemeal. When Labor encounters administrative or legal difficulties, its instinct is to ignore the seriousness of the problem and then, some time later, rush in here to legislate after the fact—to paper over cracks rather than address the foundations. Given that extreme secrecy and a wholesale lack of accountability have been such staples of this government's administration, it's probably right to imagine that the same has happened again in the lead-up to the introduction of this legislation—for anyone outside the bureaucracy knows at this point that the creation of this bill would be the by-product of yet more mistakes rather than any kind of forward-leaning development. We see here again, at the very least, multiple provisions targeted at retrospectively correcting past actions. Overall, this government's approach to home affairs has been a story of confusion, complacency and some chaos. It has represented a very stark contrast to the years before that, when the coalition delivered strength, order and decisiveness. To return to where I began, the coalition will support the passage of this bill. Whilst its origins may well lie in more quick fixes from Labor, its content, especially around the biometric updates, is generally sound. It is also broadly consistent, in this particular case, with the basic policy direction established under the previous coalition government. We therefore welcome the improvements it should make to the management of Australia's migration, border and citizenship systems, and we hope the changes the bill delivers will represent at least one small step in the right direction in the Home Affairs portfolio for the Labor Party. I thank the House. Debate adjourned. Ordered that the resumption of the debate be made an order of the day for a later hour.
Building and Construction Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
It is seconded, and I reserve my right to speak.
Flinders Electorate: Australia Post | Statements by Members | House debates
On Friday, the Rosebud Plaza Post Office closed its doors for good—another piece of important community infrastructure in Flinders lost under the Albanese Labor government. Despite a...
On Friday, the Rosebud Plaza Post Office closed its doors for good—another piece of important community infrastructure in Flinders lost under the Albanese Labor government. Despite a petition signed by nearly 2,000 residents and strong local opposition, our community's concerns were ignored. My repeated inquiries of the minister and to Australia Post directly were met with bureaucratic platitudes rather than real answers. Minister Wells acknowledged the closure's impact but brushed it off, advising that there had been a significant drop in foot traffic and that: 'Australia Post has assured me that there is sufficient capacity in the network to absorb the current 263 PO boxes leased and that the area is still well serviced with two alternative outlets within five kilometres.' That simply does not reflect the real-life experience of the Rosebud residents, who have emphasised to me how, especially over the holiday periods, the line will stretch well out the door. Australia Post's response was no better, hiding behind compliance and accessibility jargon while ignoring the practical reality. Locals will now face longer waits with fewer options. A representative for the CEO of Australia Post told me: 'We recognise that this closure will have an impact on the community. We ensure a thorough assessment takes place to ensure our services remain accessible and available for customers, and, in the case of the Rosebud Plaza post shop, the closest post offices are DDA compliant and accessible…'—blah, blah, blah. Although the government, at the end of the day, did not listen to my community's concerns, I am confident and hopeful this will make the government seriously think twice about closing essential services in my electorate. (Time expired)
Treaties Joint Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
by leave—I rise to speak as deputy chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on Report 227: Nauru-Australia Treaty; Radio Regulations WRC-23. Firstly, I'm very pleased to have been...
by leave—I rise to speak as deputy chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on Report 227: Nauru-Australia Treaty; Radio Regulations WRC-23. Firstly, I'm very pleased to have been appointed deputy chair of this important committee, which inquiries into any treaty to which Australia has become a signatory. In this unstable global trade environment and challenging geopolitical context, our role as scrutineers on behalf of the Australian people has never been more important. I thank the committee chair, the member for Bendigo, and the secretariat for their able and quick work in assisting the committee, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs officials, for their extensive appearance before the public hearing last week. I also thank all my fellow committee members for their consideration and collaboration on this report. This is the first inquiry of the treaties committee in the 48th Parliament, and our report makes two recommendations: to support both major treaty actions reviewed and to recommend that binding treaty actions be taken. However, as members can read in the report, the committee members raised concerns in the context of the prospective Nauru-Australia Treaty, which go to this government's attentiveness to mapping our relations with our South Pacific neighbours. Australia and Nauru entered this treaty in late 2024, establishing a comprehensive partnership encompassing economic support, banking services and security cooperation. This agreement elevated the longstanding, close relationship between the two countries to a formal treaty level, with Australia committing significant financial assistance and Nauru offering strategic concessions in return. The treaty recognises Australia's strong interest in Nauru's future security and critical infrastructure arrangements with third parties under article 5 of the agreement, a provision aimed at ensuring balance and ongoing stability in the South Pacific region. However, the effectiveness of the treaty is already being brought under question following Nauru's apparent decision to enter into a socioeconomic development agreement valued at $1 billion with the hitherto unknown China Rural Revitalisation and Development Corporation. The investment proposal, as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade chose to describe it in its testimony to our committee, was signed just weeks ago on, Monday 11 August 2025, and purports to span renewable energy, infrastructure, agriculture, transport, tourism, marine fisheries and sea infrastructure, and cultural exchange programs. In hearings before our committee last week, we explored whether a pre-emptive triggering and potential breach of article 5 of the treaty may have already occurred. The committee was reassured by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that they have made inquiries as to the nature of the investment proposal. Nonetheless, it was made very clear to us that the department only became aware of the announcement of the so-called investment proposal when it was published on the Nauruan government's website. The level of involvement, if any, that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Trade and Tourism, Minister for Pacific Island Affairs or Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs have had in relation to this matter remains entirely unclear. Unfortunately, 'unclear' seems to be the key word for circumstances surrounding this important treaty action. We are no wiser as to the status of the investment proposal, nor indeed of the character described as the China Rural Revitalisation and Development Corporation. Nor do we know how this investment proposal will impact this treaty between Nauru and Australia, particularly article 5. What are the relevant ministers doing in response? At this point, that is equally unclear. More concerningly, how has the government allowed a potential breach of this treaty to occur when the ink has not yet dried on it? It would appear the government has been caught unawares, and they have not explained what significant actions, if any, they're taking to rectify it. Last week, the Minister for Home Affairs made a quick flight to Nauru to announce a $408 million immigration detention deal, seemingly without any coordination with this treaty's processes. This government's engagement with Nauru appears to lack crucial strategic clarity, and this uncertainty has opened the door to other Asia-Pacific players keen to test Australia's credibility as a reliable partner with Nauru. If Nauru was willing to enter a generous deal with the China Rural Revitalisation and Development Corporation so soon after signing their own agreement with Australia—and, indeed, while concurrently negotiating a generous deal with the Minister for Home Affairs and his department—it raises some questions. Has Australia's support fallen short of expectations? Was communication lacking? And what does this mean for other deals between Australia and our South Pacific neighbours? Does it mean that they are wise to hedge their bets? In closing, Australia has few friends as close as our neighbours in the South Pacific region, in terms of both cultural and strategic interests, than our friends in Nauru. With this treaty, the government has promised Nauru, 'We've got your back, both economically and security-wise, in exchange for loyalty.' Australia has been working to confirm its commitment to the region by signing numerous security and defence cooperation treaties, many with exclusivity clauses. The efficacy of that strategy is now being tested in Nauru.
Aged Care | Questions without Notice | House debates
My point of order is on relevance. I'm very grateful for the assistance that has been offered for Kevin, but my question was whether Kevin or anyone like Kevin had asked the minister to delay the...
My point of order is on relevance. I'm very grateful for the assistance that has been offered for Kevin, but my question was whether Kevin or anyone like Kevin had asked the minister to delay the 83,000 packages.
My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors. Kevin, an 85-year-old, lives by himself in Mount Martha in my electorate and now needs further assistance to remain at home. Kevin...
My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors. Kevin, an 85-year-old, lives by himself in Mount Martha in my electorate and now needs further assistance to remain at home. Kevin registered to get an assessment for an aged-care package in March 2025, but his provider was told by the department that the department couldn't even get an assessment until 'early next year'.This is despite Kevin being told he's on the 'urgent' list. Is it really the minister's position that Australians like Kevin were the ones asking him to delay the delivery of 83,000 home-care packages?
Rosebud Hospital | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise to raise the issue of the Rosebud Hospital on the southern Mornington Peninsula again. I have raised it before; I've raised it in the news, I've raised it with my local council, I've...
I rise to raise the issue of the Rosebud Hospital on the southern Mornington Peninsula again. I have raised it before; I've raised it in the news, I've raised it with my local council, I've raised it with the state opposition and I've raised it with the state government—whose responsibility it is to rebuild it—repeatedly. I have some good news. Last week, Labor MLC Tom McIntosh stood in front of the hospital with a merry bunch of Labor supporters and friends to declare that the Rosebud Hospital is here to stay. He then went on to announce a new public melanoma clinic at Rosebud Hospital, where patients are now able to be seen and treated in the one appointment. 'Yay!' I think, 'That's great!' The Mornington Peninsula has one of the highest rates of melanoma countrywide, and I thanked you, Labor, for this investment—until I read the fine print and realised it's got nothing to do with a new investment and everything to do with Labor's forced merger between Peninsula Health and Alfred Health to make Bayside Health. So, if Rosebud hospital is indeed here to stay, where is the $340 million needed to rebuild it? Right now, that hospital is in a perilous state. The doors are too small for modern hospital beds to navigate, maternity is closed, surgery is closed and the roof collapses from time to time. This is Labor once again making false promises to my community. Own it. Fix it. We have waited long enough.
Crime | Constituency Statements | House debates
I congratulate you, Deputy Speaker Boyce, on your elevation to the Speaker's panel. Crime has been rising fast on the Mornington Peninsula over the last year. Data from the Crime Statistics...
I congratulate you, Deputy Speaker Boyce, on your elevation to the Speaker's panel. Crime has been rising fast on the Mornington Peninsula over the last year. Data from the Crime Statistics Agency for the year ending March 2025 shows total offences are up by 22 per cent, thefts of motor vehicles are up by 51 per cent, and breaches of family violence orders are up by 42 per cent. Behind every number is a real person. Many of these people attended the community safety roundtable I held in Somerville with the member for La Trobe earlier this year. Much of the blame lies at the feet of the state Labor government's weak bail laws. After months of pressure from the state opposition, including my local Liberal colleagues Mornington MP Chris Crewther and Nepean MP Sam Groth, the Labor government has finally caved to community calls to fix our broken bail laws. But Labor's so-called reforms still miss the mark. Under the Allan Labor government, significant crimes like burglary and robbery are not even classified as serious offences under the bail act, meaning repeat offenders face the lowest level test when applying for bail. The state Labor government's misguided decision to lift the age of criminal responsibility to 12, after backing down from 14, has created real problems on the peninsula. Just last week, a man was charged after allegedly recruiting children to commit crimes across the peninsula region. He now faces multiple charges, including the recruiting of a child for criminal activity, supplying drugs to a child, burglary, theft and more. This is exactly what happens when well-intentioned changes create perverse incentives. Criminals simply use under-age children to do their dirty work, knowing those kids won't face consequences. During the last parliamentary break, I attended a neighbourhood policing forum at Hastings Bowling Club, where the room was full of locals deeply concerned about youth crime and aggravated home burglaries. Police briefed us on the work being done to target known youth offenders, an issue felt particularly sharply in our community. Crime looks different on the peninsula, and so does our response. Anyone on a community Facebook group knows how often well-meaning locals share evidence of alleged vandalism and attempted crime in the hope of finding out who was involved. Today, home and shop CCTV has become a vital tool for both preventing and solving criminal cases. At the 2025 election, the coalition pledged $500,000 to deliver a youth crime diversion program across the Mornington Peninsula. The funding would go to community run programs that aim to strengthen youth engagement, encourage school attendance, expand employment pathways and foster community cohesion. Unfortunately, it was a commitment that went unmatched by Labor. Once again, it is only the coalition who will take crime seriously on the Mornington Peninsula. I thank the Victorian police for meeting regularly with me, our state MPs and, most importantly, the community face to face. Before I finish, I want to specially thank our Mornington Peninsula local area commander, Inspector Terry Rowlands, for his years of service and wish him well in his next role.
Health Care | Statements by Members | House debates
I rise today to speak about the Medicare urgent care clinic announced by the Albanese government in the March budget to be located in my electorate of Flinders, in Somerville, but which has now...
I rise today to speak about the Medicare urgent care clinic announced by the Albanese government in the March budget to be located in my electorate of Flinders, in Somerville, but which has now apparently shifted to Hastings without any consultation. A recently published open tender from the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network makes this clear. They're seeking a site on the Mornington Peninsula with a preference for Hastings. I do welcome this much-needed investment in our area from this government, and I have a long list of items which I constantly raise with government ministers. Hastings is well deserving of greater medical facilities. It's a 15-minute drive from Somerville and 30 minutes from Frankston Hospital. But, when governments make big undertakings to our community, locals deserve to see them delivered where and how they were promised or at least to be consulted on such a significant change. Somerville has high need. Indeed 33.2 per cent of Somerville residents have one or more long-term health conditions compared with just 27.4 per cent Victoria-wide. It is an area that's experiencing rapid urban growth, with 20,000 people now calling the township home. Last Friday, Health Minister Mark Butler put out a press release reiterating the plan to establish an urgent care clinic in Somerville. The health minister insists the clinic is still coming, and that's good, but why does the tender point elsewhere, and what are the possible proponents supposed to do? Are they supposed to trust the minister's press release or the tender documents? This government talks about transparency. This might be a good place to start.
National Youth Parliament | Statements by Members | House debates
Today I was thrilled to join my colleagues across the parliamentary spectrum to launch the National Youth Parliament for 2026. Anyone who follows my social media channels in my electorate knows...
Today I was thrilled to join my colleagues across the parliamentary spectrum to launch the National Youth Parliament for 2026. Anyone who follows my social media channels in my electorate knows that there is no more enthusiastic supporter of civics education than me. The program we launched today at midday will bring 150 high school students, one from every electorate, to Canberra for five days to step into our shoes, learning how bills are drafted, debated and passed into law. The need for such a program is clear. In the most recent National Assessment Program report on civics and citizenship, only 43 per cent of year 6 students were found to be at or above the proficient standard, and, more concerningly, only 28 per cent of year 10 students met the proficient standard. I've been running what I like to call 'democracy class' in schools right across my electorate for years, and I've seen firsthand the untapped passion for civics in our classrooms. Questions from grade 5 and grade 6 students are fascinating, full of curiosity and compassion and ideas for our nation's future. Last week, I visited Dromana Secondary College and spoke to kids between years 7 and 12, and I was blown away by their interest and most especially their passion for public policy and political life. To these students and many others like them, I say expressions of interest are now open. If you're a young person who'll be 16 or 17 this time next year, this is your time.