Keith Wolahan's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Budget | Statements by Members | House debates
There is a sense of despair in Australia, and it is not just about the cost of living, which has seen the price of milk go up 18 per cent, bread go up 25 per cent and eggs go up 35 per cent. It's...
There is a sense of despair in Australia, and it is not just about the cost of living, which has seen the price of milk go up 18 per cent, bread go up 25 per cent and eggs go up 35 per cent. It's not just a sense of despair at mortgages being up 57 per cent or rents up 32 per cent. It's not just a sense of despair that transport costs are up 17 per cent. In the budget on Tuesday, the Treasurer stood there and handed down a budget that showed, for the very first time, that Commonwealth debt is forecast to go beyond $1 trillion. When you look at that clock, I have 90 seconds and it's ticking. In just about every second the Commonwealth will owe $1,000 in interest on debt. This Treasurer and this Prime Minister had no plan to address it. The sense of despair is particularly acute in Victoria, because, if you want to know what a second term Labor government looks like here, look to the third term of the state Labor government in Victoria. It has got the highest debt, the highest taxes, the most rubbish and the most graffiti. It is a state in despair. I take no pride in saying that. When you look at household incomes in Victoria, they are at 2014 levels. If you want to know what the next term of this government looks like, look to Victoria. It's not pretty.
Menzies Electorate: Hong Kong Club | Statements by Members | House debates
It's hard to hold onto good friends over time, but you've got to make an effort. So, when a club that was formed by friends celebrates its 60th anniversary, we shouldn't just celebrate it; we...
It's hard to hold onto good friends over time, but you've got to make an effort. So, when a club that was formed by friends celebrates its 60th anniversary, we shouldn't just celebrate it; we should find out what they did and then learn from it. I was really pleased to join Amelia Hamer and Katie Allen at the 60th anniversary of the Hong Kong Club—60 years. The current president, Michael Tse, was there, and the founding president, Kam Leung, was there as well. To see both presidents bookended by 60 years of friendship was an amazing thing. Just imagine when they came as students in the 1960s, a lot of them at RMIT but some at Melbourne university and Monash also. They didn't have any friends, didn't know anyone, had to learn the language and had to try strange food. They got together, learned from each other and gave each other a leg-up through tough times. They had a magazine; it was called Flight of the Southern Geese.For those of you who don't know your birds, southern geese fly across the whole planet. They do so in a V-shape, and they take turns being at the lead. What I noticed about this club is they don't have ballots for president; they take turns being president because being the head of that is tough. I want to say to all of the committee—the past president Emily Tang as well as David Wong, Maria Hui, Paula Lau, Kendy Tat and Patrick Leung—I admire you, and I really appreciate being your member in this place.
Economy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
Shortly, we will hear from the Treasurer about the state of the economic books for the Commonwealth. That matters in two key respects. First, it directly matters to the state of household budgets...
Shortly, we will hear from the Treasurer about the state of the economic books for the Commonwealth. That matters in two key respects. First, it directly matters to the state of household budgets and how they are doing. Second, it matters when we zoom out. I see there are schoolchildren visiting up above, and you are very welcome. It's good to see you. There's a document here that's about you. It's called the Intergenerational report. It is a report that first started in 2002, and it's designed for us in this place to look forward 40 years to see how we're doing and what the impact might be on you. I'm sure most of you may be about 10, 11 or 12—I apologise if I got that wrong. Imagine yourselves about our age, what this economy looks like and what our country looks like. I want to briefly tell you what it looks like in the last Intergenerational report, which was done in 2023. It looked forward to 2063. On page 144, there is a graph that matters to you and that should matter to all of us. The report says that real Australian government spending per person before COVID was $22,000. Immediately after COVID it was $24,000. It's now peaking at $28,000 per person. That's a lot of money, especially when you consider that the average household, the average person, earns just over $100,000. Half of Australians earn $65,000 or less. In this document it said, if that spending is not addressed, then adjusting for inflation, when you are our age, you'll be paying $40,000 per person. Imagine you're earning $100,000, as the average wage, and $ 40,000 of that is just for what we spend here! Then there's state spending and your local government. You won't have much left over. When the Treasurer wrote this document, 'Capitalism after the crises', published 1 February 2023, he didn't mention the Intergenerational report. Instead, he questions the fundamentals of capitalism, and how has that worked out for families? Let's test the numbers. When you look at actual family budgets right now, here in 2025, you see that average mortgage payments have gone up by 57 per cent. In the Melbourne inner city, the average mortgage is about $660,000. That is almost $19,000 worse off. If you're renting, the costs are up by 32 per cent. That's a per annum increase of almost $9,000. Groceries are up 32 per cent. When we say groceries, what do we mean by that? We mean the essentials—milk, up 18 per cent; bread, up 25 per cent; eggs, up 35 per cent. It's no wonder families are going to sleep hungry at night, it's no wonder food banks have never seen more demand, and it's no wonder families have a sense of despair that this government and this Treasurer do not have their interests at heart here and now. From the government, we hear a selective quotation about how family budgets are actually doing. We'll hear a component part that is repeated in a way that demands gratitude in return. Looking at the increase in average wages—and there has been an increase in average wages—when you add to that the subsidies that have been given, that's a good news story, or so the government will tell you. But they're only telling you part of the picture. What they don't say is that the total cost-of-living rise for families in Australia is $24,000. That's this side of the equation. They say you should be very grateful for the subsidies that they've given, the increased wages that you have seen, which only come to $8,300. So you're down $24,000 and up $8,000, and you should be very grateful for that! But that's not all. We have seen, as people's wages rise and they move through several different income tax brackets, them lose even more, to the point that families are now down. After the wage increases, after all the subsidies, the average family is down $10,636. Think about that. The average family in Australia is over $10,000 worse off after all of the good news that this government and this Treasurer tell you that you should be grateful for. The reason is that this government cannot live within its means. And, because it can't live within its means, it is creating a burden on families in the here and now, and it is creating an unexplainable and unjustifiable burden on you for when you are our age. So it is important that we, as a government, live within our means. If we don't, families will continue to suffer.
Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak. Debate interrupted.
Albanese Government | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
It is not lost on me that in the chamber right now are nine members of the class of 2022. I just want to say at the outset that it has been a pleasure serving with all of you if this is our last...
It is not lost on me that in the chamber right now are nine members of the class of 2022. I just want to say at the outset that it has been a pleasure serving with all of you if this is our last time, and we'll find out soon. In a previous life I was a barrister, and I learned the most from a particular silk who, when he gave me the most constructive feedback, said, 'You know I love you,' and then would give me the feedback. So to the class of 2022 on that side I say: 'You know I love you—but.' I go back to my first speech here, which was in September 2022. From time to time, we should go back to our first speeches because they should be a guidebook for all of us when we have tough decisions to make. And there is no tougher decision for this country right now than easing the cost-of-living pressure on Australians, because it's affecting their daily lives. We can rattle off the numbers on inflation. We can do: 'This is your fault. No, this is your fault.' We can do the Punch and Judy show. But let's imagine you are a young family at a supermarket buying essentials. Let's narrow it down to the ones that count: milk, bread and eggs. Milk is up 18 per cent this term. Bread is up 25 per cent this term. Eggs, an essential protein, cheaper than steak and other foods, is up 35 per cent this term. For those of you who don't use compound interest calculators much, I ask you to put 35 per cent in, divide it by three and see how long it takes to double it. It doubles every six years. If we continue that trend in the next term, it means eggs have doubled in two terms of your government—doubled! These are basic essentials to have breakfast at the table for a family, and there's not much change from $20. So, when we say Australians are doing it tough, that's the practical reality of what we're talking about. I haven't touched on the big bills of insurance, the monumental bills of mortgage or rent, or the lack of hope that comes with that when you do live pay cheque to pay cheque. When you live pay cheque to pay cheque, people have moments of panic and desperation, and Australians are living in moments of panic and desperation between the fortnightly pay cheques that are coming through. They're not sleeping well. They're stressed. Some of them are in tears, and you know it. All of us know it. The class of 2022, on both sides, are good doorknockers, and we hit the phones and we know what people are telling us. Yes, this started as a global challenge that we all had to meet, but the truth is inflation was longer and higher here. It just was. We didn't do a good job compared to other countries. We didn't. So when you want to ask, 'Well, what will a second term of a Labor government look like?' look to Victoria. I'm a proud Victorian. There aren't many Liberal Victorians here in this place, but guess how many Labor Victorians are in the federal caucus? There are 26. There is real frustration and anger and disappointment at the state Labor government, but to think that you can separate yourselves from that is a fantasy. This caucus is dominated by Victorian Labor. So the future for a second-term Albanese government is what you've seen in Victoria, where we have the highest debt, the highest tax and a sense of despair that hasn't been seen since the early 1990s. I said in my first speech that, when we have tough problems, we should have a true north. The true north for me was to make sure that we democratise prosperity and democratise power. So, when we criticise the monumental increase in government spending over this term, it's because that's the antithesis of democratising prosperity and power. It is concentrating power and it is taking prosperity away from Australians, because that side of politics that I'm looking at have the opposite view. Yes, these are tough challenges. Yes, it's not all of this government's making, of course, but it's how you react to it. When there's a decision to be made, there are two doors you can walk through: you can walk through one based on power and self-interest or you can walk through one based on principle and values. That is a test of leadership and that's why this MPI is all about leadership, and this government has failed.
Road Safety | Private Members' Business | House debates
I want to thank the member for Barker and the member for Wannon. We represent different parts of Australia. The members for Barker and Wannon represent rural and regional Australia for the most...
I want to thank the member for Barker and the member for Wannon. We represent different parts of Australia. The members for Barker and Wannon represent rural and regional Australia for the most part, and I represent metropolitan Australia. I just want to acknowledge that this is an issue that covers every electorate, but it disproportionately affects rural and regional Australia because of the obvious fact that you have more trees on the side of the roads, cars going at speed directly opposite each other, and greater fatigue. That is why the road toll is, to our national shame, higher in rural and regional Australia. So I thank those members for their advocacy. We're not just talking about numbers on a page. The member for Barker noted that the road toll per 100,000 is at 4.8. Every September, the MCG is full for the grand final, and at capacity it holds about 100,000 people. Imagine your one game of the year is that grand final, and the price you pay for that is that about five people in that stadium that day will not survive. That's the price you pay for attending that one game a year. All we are asking, and all both sides of politics have committed to, is to reduce that to two. We would move heaven and earth if five people died attending the grand final every year, but that sense of urgency isn't here. The criminal law is a blunt instrument, and very few road accidents are about deliberate, intentional criminal activity. They're mostly in the field of negligence or recklessness, mostly by young men. There are three tools at our disposal to reduce the road toll: technology, training and infrastructure. As to technology, I myself survived a car accident because of technology. When I was a baby, our car was hit head-on by a truck, and, but for advances in seatbelt technology, I wouldn't be here. In terms of training, we know that young men are more prone to taking risks. You see it on the road. When a car shoots past you, zooms into a lane or cuts off another car, more often than not it is a young man who thinks that he will live forever. I saw that in a yearlong trial that I conducted for road fatalities. We heard from world-leading experts that the only antidote to that is supervised experience with someone showing you the way. But the third part, infrastructure, is where the government can do the most work. We heard the fine speeches from those opposite about how every life matters and this issue is just a serious for them as it is for us, but let's judge them on their actions. In my seat of Menzies, there is a notorious intersection called Five Ways. It's called Five Ways because five roads intersect. The council have told us that, as a state road, all it needs is a roundabout, at the cost of $10 million. That's it—$10 million. Two years ago, just before I got elected, a young woman died at that intersection, and many others in the area know that they take their lives into their hands when they move through that notorious part of Melbourne. Leading up to the election, the coalition had a commitment of $10 million. My Labor opponent said, in the local newspaper, they would match it. I thought, 'Great. Here is an example of bipartisanship, where we're agreeing that a problem is there, it can be solved and there's a plan.' But what happened? I went to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, in her ministerial suite, and when I sat down, surrounded by all the department officials, they shuffled some papers and said, 'We're really sorry, but our candidate didn't fill in the form. You can do with that what you want.' So the first reaction was a process one. Whatever paperwork was supposed to be filled in by the Labor Party wasn't filled in, so I was told, and instead of the minister saying, 'But I will do it anyway; I will honour that commitment,' it was 'You can use it for political purposes.' Well, the minister can shove the political purposes, with respect. The correct response was to say, 'I will fix that road anyway because it is about lives. It is not about politics.' That is the problem with this government. It's always about the politics. It's not about lives. It's about the politics. I don't care about the politics. We'll be making that commitment again, and I won't just call on my opponent to match it. I will say, 'Show me the paperwork because we don't trust you, we don't trust this government's commitments, because you are putting Australians' lives at risk.'
Menzies Electorate: Lunar New Year | Adjournment | House debates
There are over 1.4 million Australians of Chinese heritage, and we have recently seen the culmination of the lunar new year festival period, also known as spring festival or Chinese new year. As...
There are over 1.4 million Australians of Chinese heritage, and we have recently seen the culmination of the lunar new year festival period, also known as spring festival or Chinese new year. As the electorate in this place that, on the new boundaries, will have the largest Chinese diaspora—at 29 per cent in the census—I want to say how grateful I am to represent this community and also how much I enjoy attending so many festivals in the community. This is the Year of the Snake. I was born in the Year of the Snake. Can I say—and apologies in advance to Hansard—xin nian kuai le, gong xi fa cai. With that, I thank all of the organisers of the many events, including Michael Zhou of the Zhejiang United Association. We gathered at Riverstone Estate in the Yarra Valley and were joined by a lovely crowd, including the founding president, Jing Chen. I also thank the FCA, who organised an event in Springvale. Derrick Chen is the head of the FCA and also a constituent of mine in my electorate. I also want to thank his vice-president, Chunjiang Wu. This was an event that took a lot of work. I want to thank everyone who put it together. The signature event in Melbourne which attracts the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and, I think, just about every MP in Melbourne and beyond is the ABAW lunar new year event in Box Hill. I thank ABAW's president, Bihong Wang, its vice-president, Richard Shi, Tim Chen and their committee for their hard work and dedication. You are professionals in every sense of the word and that was a superb event. It was attended by over 100,000 people. Earlier in the day, I attended the light offering and world peace blessing ceremony in Box Hill. I want to thank Linda Chea, the president of this association. It was organised by Fo Guang Shan Melbourne and the Buddha's Light International Association of Victoria. It was also attended by the venerable Jue Min, superintendent of Fo Guang Shan Melbourne. I want to thank the lunar new year committee from the CYSM, the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, who, with the HGYS and the BCA, the Bendigo association, gathered for a lunar new year parade and dragon dance in Melbourne. Thank you to Bill Lau, Carmen Lau and all of the organisers who put that event on. It was my honour to be there. Later in the day, we attended Melbourne's premier event for lunar new year, which had the Lord Mayor in attendance and many distinguished guests. Can I single out Christina Zhao, president of the MCBA, and also those who organised it, including Philip Liu, who is a councillor of Chinese heritage. There are many of Chinese heritage on the council, but he put a particular effort into organising that. That was also attended by over 100,000 people. I thank Michelle Chen, David He and Derrick Chen again, who are from the Source and the FCA and had a spring gala event in the Besen Centre. I thank Tony Zalewski, who organised a community lunar new year event at the Stables Provedore Cafe. It was attended by over 150 people. I thank Selina Leung of the Manningham senior club Chinese celebration, which is the largest club in my electorate. At their event there were 38 tables, with over 10 people on each table. I was proud to sponsor that event. I thank Jordon Chen of the Shandong Association, who organised an event in the Box Hill Town Hall, noting that my principal adviser in my electorate office who teaches me Chinese is from Shandong as well. I thank the Fusion Arts Spring Festival organisers, particularly Mrs Xia and Mrs Fang, for their event. I also thank the Box Hill Hawks for their lunar new year dinner. Ed Sill is the president, but the brains behind that is Diana Lin and the committee. Thank you for putting that together. It is a meld of two cultures: AFL and lunar new year. Then, finally, whilst not in my electorate, I spoke with Katie Allen, who is our Liberal candidate in Chisholm, and she wanted me to put her thanks on the Hansard record for the Glen Waverley event which was organised by Cecilia Hsieh and Hong De Lion and the Dragon Dance Association. Finally, it is worth noting that this is the first ever lunar new year event marked on the UNESCO heritage list. Xie xie.
Albanese Government | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Prime Minister. The last time the Prime Minister stood with his close friend and factional ally Premier Jacinta Allen, the Prime Minister thanked the Premier for her...
My question is to the Prime Minister. The last time the Prime Minister stood with his close friend and factional ally Premier Jacinta Allen, the Prime Minister thanked the Premier for her 'leadership'. But Premier Allan has tanked Victoria's economy, piled up the debt and made Melbourne suburbs less safe. Why is the Prime Minister taking the failed policies of the Victorian state Labor government to a national level?
Cost of Living | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
I listened carefully to the contribution by the member for Chisholm. We are electorate neighbours, and I have inherited an area that used to be part of Chisholm in Box Hill. We heard the same old...
I listened carefully to the contribution by the member for Chisholm. We are electorate neighbours, and I have inherited an area that used to be part of Chisholm in Box Hill. We heard the same old trope that is wheeled out every election, a 'Mediscare' campaign, which no doubt will be a feature of this campaign. I'd like the member for Chisholm to think of somewhere I hope she visited when she was the member, which is healthAbility in Box Hill. I recently visited healthAbility, and they've had their funding cut by $500,000 under a Labor government. This is what happens when you see a Labor government manage the economy as it has in Victoria. That is where the future of the national economy will go. So you can run the 'Mediscare' campaign all you want; it's dishonest. It is dishonest. It is wrong. The only record that counts on health is the Labor government's record in Victoria, and it is about cutting essential services. Now, I was quite worried about coming here again after our holidays, because when we do that the Treasurer gets thought bubbles in his head that have real consequences for this country, and they're quite serious. We had him come back after one thought bubble and write an essay saying he would reinvent capitalism. But what we have seen from this Treasurer, two years after he wrote that infamous thesis, is that he has not reinvented capitalism; he has repeated history's mistakes. We're not the first capitalist economy to experiment with what happens when you blow out government spending. We are not the first. We know where that ends. Yet this Treasurer has copied that in a way that has hurt Australians and affected frontline services. Right now, families are going back to school, and the question was put to the Prime Minister, 'How much has food gone up on your watch?' He refused to answer it. Let's go to specifics. Some foods are essentials; some foods are luxuries. Let's go to the essentials. Milk is up 18 per cent in this country. Bread is up 25 per cent in this country. Eggs, a key protein source which should be cheap compared to other expensive items, like high-end steak, are up 36 per cent. With school starting, when families come back and they still have debts from maybe a few trips away they took—maybe to an aquarium, a park or a drive—these are the sorts of bills they are facing, and they are entitled to ask: 'Am I better off than I was three years ago? Is this what the Prime Minister promised me?' We know the answer to that. They are worse off. We take no joy in that—none. These aren't just numbers on a page; these are people we see every day. They're our neighbours, they are the people we fight for, and they're hurting. We heard from many other members that people are bursting into tears when they're doorknocking. They're writing heartbreaking letters to us. Food banks have queues through the door. This is Australia in 2025, and people are queuing for food. That's not the Australia we should be proud of. We've seen the worst per capita recession on record—seven quarters of negative GDP. We've seen higher inflation, higher for longer, which has given us higher interest rates. We've seen business confidence collapse. On the NAB survey, 75 per cent of businesses think costs are going to continue to rise. There have been 27,000 insolvencies—even more in Victoria. Again, I say to those members opposite and Australians around this nation: If you want to know what a second-term Albanese government looks like, look to Victoria. Their government is cut from the same cloth. The state is on its knees. It has the highest debt and is the highest spending state. It's the highest taxing and the poorest in the nation. Crime, graffiti and rubbish are out of control and businesses are fleeing or shutting down. No wonder Victoria will feature heavily in this election. Australians will say, 'If this is what you have done to my state, what will you do to my nation?' There are only two answers from this government: pump migration, and pump spending because, by doing those two things at record levels, they get to say, 'Ta-dah, we avoided a technical recession.' Families have a recession and they've had enough of this government, and they'll soon make that known to them.
Australian Defence Force | Statements by Members | House debates
Like so many in this place, I wasn't born here but I learnt some truths about our sacred stories. There is no more important sacred story than the war memorial up the road, and it was appropriate...
Like so many in this place, I wasn't born here but I learnt some truths about our sacred stories. There is no more important sacred story than the war memorial up the road, and it was appropriate that both sides of politics were there last night. I also learnt an important truth about that place—that service is not defined by ancestry but marked by duty, courage and sacrifice. We are a multicultural society. It's important to note that there are pages of that story that include multicultural Australians, and many who weren't born here are on that memorial, having given up all their tomorrows for our today. That's why I was so pleased to see us announce, as a coalition, that we will fund a memorial sculpture in Box Hill to acknowledge the pages of that story written by Chinese Australians, including: Billy Sing in World War I; flying officer George Fong in World War II; Peter Liefman, a good friend of mine who served in Vietnam; and Grange Chung, who has served in contemporary conflicts. The memorial sculpture will be in Box Hill. While the Prime Minister and defence minister are here, it's also important to note that service is not defined by politics either. Who you vote for was irrelevant to me as a platoon commander; it's irrelevant to the names on that memorial. I plead with the Prime Minister and the defence minister: it would be wonderful if you matched that commitment and we celebrated it together.
Spence Electorate: Curtis Road | Constituency Statements | House debates
by leave—I table the names of winners of the Greg Sher Memorial Awards for this year.
Menzies Electorate: Greg Sher Memorial Award | Constituency Statements | House debates
Australia's Jewish community are not just a part of Australia; they helped build it, and many lost their lives defending it. One of them was a good friend of mine, Greg Sher, who died in...
Australia's Jewish community are not just a part of Australia; they helped build it, and many lost their lives defending it. One of them was a good friend of mine, Greg Sher, who died in Afghanistan on 4 January 2009—almost 15 years ago. The community gathered on 14 November to acknowledge him, to be with his family and to award recipients of the Greg Sher Memorial Award in Caulfield North. It was my great honour to be there for the third year in a row. Briefly, Greg was curious, kind, loyal, selfless, resilient, fearless and a hero to this nation and to his community. He didn't just serve in the ADF; he was also a key member of the Community Security Group, who were there to host the event. I thank them, their volunteers, their donors and Justin Kagan, who leads it. Greg's parents, Felix and Yvonne, were there. I also want to acknowledge his brothers, Steven and Barry, and their partners, Ronit and Nim, and their children—many, many children whom Greg never got to meet, but I know they're proud of him. I can't list all the winners, but I'll list the schools. Beth Rivkah Ladies College had four students, two from year 5 and two from year 11. Bialik College had four—again, two from year 5 and two from year 11. The King David School had two from year 5 and two from year 11—and you see a pattern here; those are the key years that have been acknowledged. Leibler-Yavneh College had four students, again, from each of those year levels; Mount Scopus Memorial College had four—two from each year level; Scholem Aleichem College had two from year 5; Yeshiva College had two from each year level; and, finally, United Jewish Education Board in their various campuses had three from year 5 and two from year 11. At this moment in time, I know that Greg would probably be doing two things. He would still be a reserve commando, serving his nation and prepared to go to war. He would also be giving up his time to help the Jewish community, whether it be in front of places of worship, on campus or at events, because Greg exemplified the very definition of someone who gives of themselves for others. To the students who received an award in his name, I know that you are worthy winners. I know that you, too, will be people who are curious, kind, loyal, selfless, resilient and fearless. You have an award that is in his name and you do him a great honour. As Barry Sher said to me, 'Wherever you can, say his name.' I always will.
Menzies Electorate: Parkruns | Statements by Members | House debates
Happy birthday, Dawn, and thank you for that precedent you just set. I would like to give a shout-out to the parkruns my electorate and one just on the boundary of my electorate. Parkruns meet...
Happy birthday, Dawn, and thank you for that precedent you just set. I would like to give a shout-out to the parkruns my electorate and one just on the boundary of my electorate. Parkruns meet every Saturday morning and are run by volunteers for the community. Running is a key part of my life and a key part of our family life. I run with my children every Tuesday and Friday, and sometimes they join me for the parkruns on Saturday. We say the hardest part of it is putting your shoes on. Always turn up; never give up. Running is a metaphor for life. To the three parkruns in my community, including the Warrandyte parkrun, where almost 8,000 people have finished and there have been 233 volunteers, I say thank you. To those in the Westerfolds parkrun—73,000 finishers and over 700 volunteers, and those hills are brutal. I experienced that recently. Just outside my electorate in the member for Chisholm's electorate is the Gardiners Creek parkrun, but many from my electorate use it. There have been 79,000 finishers and 992 volunteers, and you've got to dodge the off-lead dogs in that area. To the timekeepers—those who scan the barcodes, lift morale at the start, keep the pace and are there for you at the end—I want to say thank you. These are a wonderful part of our community, and I'm very grateful to all of you.
Victoria: Local Government | Statements by Members | House debates
We recently had council elections in Victoria, and I want to single out those who lost their wards or retired and to thank them for their service. It is often said that government is most...
We recently had council elections in Victoria, and I want to single out those who lost their wards or retired and to thank them for their service. It is often said that government is most effective when it's closest to the people. Local councils play a vital role in grassroots democracy. They don't just bring services to the community; they bring communities together. I will always work closely with the local counsellors. From Whitehorse, I want to thank Andrew Munroe, Trudy Skilbeck, Amanda McNeill, Denise Massoud, Mark Lane, Tina Liu and Raylene Carr. Many of you served as mayors and deputy mayors. I don't just count you as colleagues, in serving the community, but as friends. Cynthia Watson, in the Boroondara ward that will overlap the new Menzies, I thank you for your service. Finally, to the three councillors in Manningham, Tomas Lightbody, Stephen Mayne, who many will recognise, and Michelle Kleinert, all of you, in all three local government areas, have gone above and beyond to serve your wards. I appreciate what you have done for our communities, and I look forward to working with those who take the mantle from you. To that end, I acknowledge the new mayors and deputy mayors of Manningham and Whitehorse. To Deirdre Diamante and Andrew Conlon, and to Andrew Davenport and Prue Cutts, I look forward to working with you to serve our communities.
National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
If I were to stand in this place, express a fear about a future government banning Anzac Day and then present a bill that said, 'This will stop a future government doing that,' I would be laughed...
If I were to stand in this place, express a fear about a future government banning Anzac Day and then present a bill that said, 'This will stop a future government doing that,' I would be laughed out of this place because I'm not taking it seriously. If I were to say that I'm scared and worried about a future government banning Christmas and 'here's a bill to stop a future government banning Christmas,' I would be rightly laughed out of this place. If I were to say, 'I'm worried about a future government legislating to kill all firstborn males, and here's a bill to stop it,' I would quite rightly be laughed out of this place. And that's all this is—this is a joke by the Labor government on the Australian people. It's a joke that goes for six pages and is designed for one purpose: to be put on a tile on social media or a DL in your letterbox. So, to Australians watching, if you get one of those DLs in the next few months or you see it pop up on an ad, know that this government is not treating you with the respect that you deserve, because the other thing you are getting your letterbox, other than a DL that has this rubbish on it, is your increased power bills, your increased insurance, your increased gas. And there is nothing coming from this government to address those problems. Instead, they sat around in a tactics meeting with empty pizza boxes thinking: 'What are we going to do? What's some issue we can manufacture to scare people—not to inspire people but to scare them?' On that I would like to reference the Prime Minister's own words. The Prime Minister, in 2012, in a Press Club speech, said this about an Australian opposition leader: In Australia we have serious challenges to solve and we need serious people to solve them. Unfortunately, Tony Abbott is not the least bit interested in fixing anything. He is only interested in two things; making Australians afraid of it and telling them who's to blame for it. Those words were given at the Press Club in 2012 by the now Prime Minister. They were so inspiring they had featured in a Hollywood movie 17 years earlier, when Aaron Sorkin had Michael Douglas, acting as the American president, say this—and it might sound familiar: We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. Well, the person who came up with this bill knows that we have serious problems to solve and that we need serious people to solve them, but that person is not one of them. He's interested in two things: making you afraid of it—that the NBN might be sold—and telling you who is to blame for it. That is the only purpose. So, when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese channelled Aaron Sorkin in the Press Club in 2012, he needed to heed his own advice. This is not a serious bill. What we have been asked to do by this Labor government is to amend its own bill. Many speakers before me have referred to these particular quotes, but they are worth repeating. In a media press release by the then minister, Stephen Conroy, headed 'Government committed to the sale of NBN Co' he said: Senator Conroy said the Gillard Government remained firmly committed to selling its stake in NBN Co after the network was fully built and operational, subject to market conditions and security considerations. That was on 22 November 2010. Three days later, in a speech on the original National Broadband Network Companies Bill given by the member for Grayndler, the Prime Minister, then the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, he said: It also sets out arrangements for the eventual sale of the Commonwealth's stake in the company once the NBN rollout is complete, including provisions for independent and parliamentary reviews prior to any privatisation, and for the parliament to have the final say on the sale. So we had a Labor government with the then Minister for Infrastructure and Transport committing to the sale of the NBN, and we've been asked to take this government seriously on this joke of a bill which is designed for one purpose—to scare people and to be put on material on their screens and in their letterboxes. This government has a choice and, instead of sitting around in tactics meetings about what goes on tiles and DLs, they should be turning their minds to solving real problems that Australians have. That's what a serious government would do. That's what a serious Prime Minister would do. If you wanted to help Australians, you would cut back bloated government spending. We saw recently that government spending in the June quarter had blown out to 27.3 per cent of GDP. If we carve out the COVID period and we go back to the norm, pre-COVID, it was averaging 22.5 per cent. Think about that: 22.5 per cent of GDP was bumped up to 27.3 per cent by this government. That is totally unsustainable and is directly contributing to inflation in this country. So, instead of shoving a DL through a letterbox, they should be answering to the Australian public for why government spending is increasing inflation and increasing everything, including the interest rates on their mortgages. It's as if you want to scare and distract, instead of actually solve problems. Whenever we raise that issue the government says, 'What services are you going to cut?'—like there's no waste or bloat in the federal government. Of course there is. Of course there is, but this government is not the least bit interested in finding it or cutting it. It is throwing taxpayers' money away—and not just that of taxpayers now but of future taxpayers: our children and our grandchildren, who will be forced to wear this debt. If a serious government wanted to help Australians, it would also do things like bring energy down and have energy security for this country and seriously consider support for a civil nuclear industry. A non-serious government—a joke of a government—would do other things. They wouldn't engage in that debate seriously. They'd produce memes of three-headed fish, and that's what we saw from this government. It's not a serious government. They're not the least bit interested in solving serious problems. If you wanted to help Australians, you would make sure that our migration was proportionate to our capacity to deal with it—at all levels, federal and state. Instead, through the term of this government we have seen net overseas migration go to 1.5 million people. I'm from the great state of Victoria and we have that temple that is the MCG. It holds 100,000. Net overseas migration in this term of parliament has been 15 of those—15, in a country of 27 million people, with a housing crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. Now, the government may claim: 'We can't really pull the levers to fix that. It's not in our control.' They may have that debate, and we heard some of that in question time, but what we hear when we have debates about migration is members on the other side standing up and accusing us of engaging in dog whistling for even suggesting that there should be a debate. That's not the sign of a serious government; it's the sign of government that's more interested in the lines. It's more interested in DLs and more interested in tiles. It's not the least bit interested in solving problems. If you wanted to really help Australians, you would make sure that our nation is secure. At the same time as we have seen public servant positions grow by 26,000, we have seen the full-time ADF drop by 5,000. As a proportion of our full-time ADF, 5,000 is one in 12. Imagine 12 ADF members sitting around a table. There's one missing on every table. Each of those people were supposed to bring the capability that keeps this nation secure. But if you wanted to scare and distract, you wouldn't fix that problem. You wouldn't talk about the monumental delays in ADF recruiting. Instead, you'd come up with a silly bill that's more of a talking line. That's all you would do. If you wanted to actually help Australians, you would address the scourge of online gambling. Despite the Murphy report sitting on the desk of the minister and the Prime Minister, we keep going for month after month and week after week of this government doing nothing. If you wanted to actually help Australians, you would back in free speech. You would back in free speech, because it is the fundamental right from which all others flow. Free speech isn't just about talking; it's about thinking. It isn't about narrative; it's about truth. It's through free speech that we get to have the contest of ideas. With open hearts and open minds, we actually get to see if our ideas hold water. If they don't, and if we actually have an open mind and an open heart, we will move further to the truth. That's what you would do if you were serious and wanted to help people. Instead, we have this government producing its mad bill, where it wants us to move closer to being a technocracy where particular people are carved out, including us in this place or academics or journalists. 'But, ordinary Australians, you're not allowed to have free speech—not you. You will be governed by your betters.' That's not the sign of a serious government that believes in things. If you actually wanted to help Australians, you would address the cost of food, which has risen by 12 per cent; you would address the cost of housing, which has risen by 13 per cent; you would address the cost of rents, which have gone up 16 per cent; and you would look at insurance, at 17 per cent through this term. And the cost of gas, which people use to cook their food and which we need for our industry, is up 33 per cent. But, instead, this non-serious, joke of a government comes in and waves around more spending on the symptoms and not the cause. That's all we get from this government—increasing the very thing that's fuelling inflation and at the same time saying, 'Don't worry about that. Here's a little bit of help. I'll throw some more of your money back at you and say I'm fixing it.' It'll increase your bills by $100 but then say, 'You're fine. Here's $10 more. Don't worry about it. It's all good.' A serious government would look at the causes of inflation, not the symptoms. A serious government would address bloated government spending, because we know that that is the singular cause of increasing inflation in this country, and the RBA has told us that. If you wanted to actually help Australians, you would seriously look at productivity in this country. Flatlining productivity has led to six quarters of negative GDP growth per person. That's the only measure that matters. It's the only measure that matters. Instead, to avoid a technical recession, we've seen this government crank the levers they say they don't control to prop up net overseas migration to be able to say, 'How good are we? We've avoided a technical recession.' Well, avoiding a technical recession has nothing to do with how people feel—nothing to do with the real, lived experiences of Australians, who are begging for inflation to come down; who want this government to control its spending, because they're controlling theirs; and who want to make sure that they're not leaving their children a worse future than they inherited themselves. A serious government would address those problems. A joke of a government would introduce bills like this. Very soon, Australians will go to the polls, and they will give their assessment of this government. They'll ask, 'In these really tough times, were they focused on the things that mattered to me and my family and my community, or were they more focused on themselves?' They'll have to ask, when they get that DL through the letterbox or they see that tile on Instagram or Facebook, 'Is this all you did?' I think, as many others have asked, they will ask themselves, 'Am I better off than I was three years ago?' The answer to that is an absolute no.
International Relations | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
The title of an MPI is quite important, and often, as the member for Parramatta did, we stray from the actual title. The title here is 'The importance of Australia's relationship with our key...
The title of an MPI is quite important, and often, as the member for Parramatta did, we stray from the actual title. The title here is 'The importance of Australia's relationship with our key allies'. The day after the United States election, we really are referring to the United States, but I would like to refer to the word 'importance' because, when it comes to our relationship with the United States, its importance is everything. That's how important it is, and I want to illustrate that through one example. I want to take the chamber back to a time before anyone here was born: 1942, 4 to 7 June. It was six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Japan had taken Hong Kong, the Philippines, British Malaya, Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. Japan sought to eliminate the US as a strategic power in the Pacific. They correctly assessed that the source of that power was their carrier forces—each carrier being a floating 'death star', for those more familiar with Star Wars. Midway is a small atoll 2,000 kilometres north-west of Hawaii. The Japanese felt that, by attacking it, they would compel the Americans to defend it, and it would shift the trajectory of the war. Assumptions were made on intelligence and, thanks to the ingenuity of young US officers, the Japanese naval code was broken, and they were able to guess not only where but when and how the attack would occur. The battle was immense. The Japanese lost 3,000 men and four carriers. The US lost 300 and one carrier, and it struck a fatal blow to the Japanese military machine. This was the Allies' first victory, and, had the US not won, the war would have taken a different course, including for Australia. There are two points to note about that one battle that shaped the course of that war and why it is known as one of the most consequential battles in military history. The first was industry. The US had an inferior capability in terms of equipment, they had lower numbers and they had been wounded by previous battles, yet they still prevailed because US industry in Hawaii repaired the Yorktown and put it back into operation within 48 hours. Very few countries on earth would have been able to do that at that time, and that is why US industry is so important to our national interests. The second was human will. We don't just have alliances with random countries because of their ranking in power and status; we have alliances because of what they believe in, who they are and what drives them to bet everything on fighting for their country. Young men flew into hell at Midway, and, in doing so, they helped keep Australia safe. The War Memorial just down the road, which has 103,000 names, would be maybe five times as large if not for the bravery of young United States men who fought in battles like that. But they didn't just fight for a flag, an oath or a constitution; they fought for a country worth fighting for. They fought for a country that believes in values that are very similar to ours and that are their true north: democracy, the rule of law and freedom. There has been a lot of hyperbole in the last 24 hours, and that's all it is: hyperbole. The United States isn't its president, and it isn't the political party that is in power there. It is a nation of people who believe in things, as we are. With all due respect to the Prime Minister, Australia isn't Anthony Albanese, and Australia isn't the Labor Party. Australia is the people and the people who will come next. The same applies to the United States. One of the issues we have to deal with in keeping Australia secure is the security dilemma. The security dilemma goes like this: if our adversaries feel insecure, we will be insecure; if we act, they will counteract. The source of that insecurity is not that democracies, which we are and the United States is, will destroy nations. That's not the fear; the fear is that we exist, that we set an alternative example. And the counteraction is to throw sand in the gears of democratic institutions. We've seen a lot of that in the last 24 hours—a lot of that sand thrown by people in this country. It feeds off mistrust, and it's deliberately designed to undermine democracies. The way we practise democracy matters, and the way the United States practises it matters, and it is a great credit to them that they had a peaceful transfer of power.
Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I will take the interjection. They include the introduction of a new additional disablement amount. They include the introduction of presumptive liability. For those who don't understand what...
I will take the interjection. They include the introduction of a new additional disablement amount. They include the introduction of presumptive liability. For those who don't understand what presumptive liability means, it means that the Commonwealth assumes responsibility. If you are a veteran and you have been injured, you don't have to prove that that was because of the service that you had. It consolidates household and attendant care. It has an increase of $3,000 for the funeral allowance and the availability of reimbursements of funeral expenses up to $14,000 for all service related deaths. I do want that to be widely known. Too often veterans will pass away and not only did they not tell enough of their stories and their service to their family but they didn't tell their families that this benefit was available. So I think it's important that families of veterans know that. There will be a higher reimbursement amount for travel when a private vehicle is used to travel for treatment. We heard many stories of veterans being out of pocket just to drive to the place where they needed care. There will be the standardisation of allowances and other payments and the introduction of an instrument enabling the Repatriation Commission to determine circumstances where a veteran must receive financial advice before receiving a lump sum payment. And that is important. Not every veteran is in a position where the influx of a payment will necessarily make their life better without advice. That is an important change. I spoke at the start about an MCG full of Australians who died serving this nation. We have six MCGs full of veterans in this country who are alive now and deserve and need our care. This bill will go a long way to making that process simpler and fairer and to giving people the comfort to know that this next phase of their life will be a little easier and, more than that, that a nation recognises the sacrifice that they have made and supports them in every way that they need. I just came from a meeting with a group. There are many groups that support veterans, but this one focuses particularly on families. Veterans care for their families probably as much as they do for their country, and it is important that we also care for veterans' families. Often they fall through the gap, and they're left to pick up the pieces. I think that, as a veteran myself, there would be no greater gift to know that, whenever I'm no longer on this earth, someone else is caring for the people that I left behind—because that's what makes you get up every day and that's what makes you think of a better tomorrow for our country. I commend the government. This is above politics, because, to anyone who puts on the uniform, you are a patriot no matter which side of the chamber you sit on.
Go out that door and turn right and you will see a clear line all the way through to the War Memorial, where 103,000 names are etched on a wall. Those 103,000 names are from every corner of this...
Go out that door and turn right and you will see a clear line all the way through to the War Memorial, where 103,000 names are etched on a wall. Those 103,000 names are from every corner of this country, and they are from every background, many not born here. They were people whose politics we didn't know and we shouldn't know, because it's irrelevant. So to speak on this topic and to hear the member for McEwen engaged in the most partisan speech was really disappointing and beneath him and beneath this place. I want to take you back to an event that happened in my electorate recently. It was an event to acknowledge Vietnam Veterans' Day, which used to be called Long Tan Day. Gathered there were so many Vietnam veterans from my electorate. Amongst them was one that I knew, because his son sits in this place over on that side: the member for Solomon. In that address, I singled him out because I wanted to make the point that service is above politics and beyond politics. Those who put on our uniform are patriots, no matter who they vote for, whether they're a socialist or way to the right. It doesn't matter. They're a patriot either way. They risked their life for a better tomorrow. To clarify, the member for Solomon's not a socialist—I just want to be very clear about that! He's not a socialist. But it is important. We need to look at the numbers, because that wall that you can walk down the memorial to isn't just a piece of public architecture. It's an acknowledgement of the sacrifice and service that has come before us. One hundred and three thousand names sounds like a lot, and human brains aren't very good at thinking of large numbers. There are some Victorians in this place and we're thinking of our fellow citizens, who are deservedly having a long weekend back in Victoria. But, when we think of large numbers in Victoria, we think of that other great icon in our state, the MCG. One hundred and three thousand names is a full MCG with veterans spilling over onto the place where we actually play football. That's how many Australians died for this nation. Right now, we have an almost full MCG of full-time Defence Force members, just under 90,000. That includes almost 20,000 members of the Navy, almost 50,000 members of the Army and just over 20,000 members of the Air Force. More than 6,000 Australians enlist in the ADF on average every year. I mention those numbers in speaking on this bill because, when parents are thinking of where their children might go and if they might serve our nation, they want to know that we will care for them on the other side. It is part of the contract that we have with those who serve. If you seek to sacrifice your life, all of your tomorrows, for us, the very least we can do is to look after you on the other side. It is important that the title of this bill says 'veterans' entitlements, treatment and support simplification and harmonisation'. That is an important attribute of the rule of law. If you go to the Law Council's webpage they have a document on how to promote the rule of law and the very first principle they have is that the law must be known, it must be available, it must be certain and it must be clear. For too long, for veterans to seek the support that they needed, they needed to engage someone who not just was qualified as a lawyer but knew every in and out of this process. In fact, Vietnam veterans found it so hard that they developed a system where they became advocates. Advocates, you might think, are paid and get a cut of the benefit. But they are not paid. They are volunteers. They were people who recognised that the system was so complex that other veterans needed help. I am a qualified lawyer, I was admitted as a barrister and practised for 10 years. But, when I looked at the old act, I didn't understand it. It was so complex that I wouldn't know where to fill in the form. So I spoke to other veterans that I'd served with who had gone through the process, and each of them said they could not have done it without an advocate. That was a broken system. That's why the royal commission into veteran suicide had as its first recommendation to simplify and harmonise veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislation. The law should be simple, clear, available and easily understood. You should not have to engage an advocate. You certainly should not have to engage a lawyer. So it is important that this reform happens, and I commend the government for bringing it forward. I wish they'd brought it forward a year earlier, but here we are. It has been brought forward now. Currently, there are three acts. We know from various speakers before me what they are. Depending upon when your service was or when your injury occurred, you are covered by one or more of those acts. I have on many other occasions held up the pages of bills and acts in this place, from the Fair Work Act to the Corporations Act and the tax act, and they are complex enough. But, when you look at the veteran scheme, it came to over 2,000 pages, with more than 850 legislative instruments. That is an unworkable system on any definition. This bill will amend that system, and it will close the loop for those who were in a period of uncertainty—they didn't know which act they were covered by. Then, if they filled in the form, assuming they were covered by one and not the other, it delayed the time in which they got compensated or the treatment that they desperately needed. The bill proposes a range of enhancements for various entitlements. I do want to list some of these, because veterans do watch question time and they sometimes watch speeches like this. So they include the introduction of a new—
Menzies Electorate: Neighbourhood Watch, Menzies Electorate: St Bishoy and St Shenouda's Coptic Orthodox Church | Adjournment | House debates
I rise to talk about an institution in my electorate that is dearly valued—our Neighbourhood Watch. Recently I have been doorknocking in my electorate, and the top three issues are cost of...
I rise to talk about an institution in my electorate that is dearly valued—our Neighbourhood Watch. Recently I have been doorknocking in my electorate, and the top three issues are cost of living, housing and crime. We have seen an uptick in crime in my neighbourhoods, particularly aggravated burglaries. Aggravated burglaries are not just another property crime; they're a crime where a person is at home and where the sanctity and safety of a family is threatened. I have seen CCTV footage of people violently breaking through front doors to steal car keys and other valuables. When I met with Neighbourhood Watch, I thanked them for the work they do in keeping our community safe. I met with Geoff Kloot, Angie Lew, Ian Morris and Herman Harberts. They wanted me to stress that it's all the volunteers in Neighbourhood Watch that make a difference. In fact, it is one of the largest neighbourhood watches in Australia. Recently they have been giving up their own time to help our community and inform them. They have been doing letterboxing in Templestowe, delivering crime prevention pamphlets. They have been running a campaign to prevent motor vehicle theft and a campaign to prevent burglaries. They spoke to me about a campaign they ran at the Park and Ride, where people's number plates were getting stolen so the car could be used for another crime. There's a particular screw you can get from Bunnings that, if you put it in, is almost impossible to pull out—and it's a very cheap one, so to those watching: please do the same with your number plates. Thank you, Neighbourhood Watch, for all you do and for giving up your time. It is greatly appreciated by me and our entire community. I have many churches in my electorate, and I single out one that I attended recently for a key event: St Bishoy and St Shenouda's Coptic Orthodox Church, in Bulleen and Donvale. The history of the Coptic Orthodox Church is an old one. It was founded in Egypt by St Mark in 43 AD and is one of the world's oldest Christian churches. Coptic is derived from the Greek word for Egyptian; it is an Egyptian church. This particular parish moved from Springvale to Bulleen in 1981, and, like many churches, it was the generosity and foresight of people who wanted something that lasted long beyond themselves, something for their children, their grandchildren and beyond—and that is a great credit to them. The congregation is over 300, and it runs youth services and discipleship programs; that is very important. The event I attended wasn't a religious event; it was a community event, the Bulleen Festival. It was hosted by the church on Saturday 21 September. There were many stalls that included Mediterranean barbecue, face painting, Egyptian sweets, an animal farm and many other things. More than anything, it was a celebration of Egyptian and Coptic Orthodox culture. I single out the leaders of the church: Father Mina Isaac; Father Jonathan Alexander Awad; Father Salib; and the Board of Deacons, which includes treasurer George Saleh, secretary Ereni El-Aschkar—Ereni kindly hosted me for the event—Abanoub Saleeb, Amgad Girgis, Eng Attalla, George Samuel and Bassem Yacoub. When I was at the event, we spoke about the Orthodox calendar and how Christmas Eve is one of the most special services that they run. I was invited to come and join them on Christmas Eve, and I want to let them know that I will be there. I want to thank them. They are a very special church, full of generous and wonderful people who contribute to our community. I say to them: I'm so honoured to be your representative in this place, and I look forward to joining you at many more events.
Online Gambling | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Communications. Minister, it has been 470 days since the late Peta Murphy's report concerning online restrictions for gambling was tabled. Along with the member...
My question is to the Minister for Communications. Minister, it has been 470 days since the late Peta Murphy's report concerning online restrictions for gambling was tabled. Along with the member for Hughes, the member for Cowper and many others in this place, I signed that report. Australian parents are expecting the government to deliver on its promise of reform. Will the government make a decision this month?