Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

And there was the legislation we introduced to protect farmers from the unlawful actions of animal activists, to deter those who incite this type of behaviour. It didn't seem much to a lot of people, but these people are my neighbours and they're people right next to me. Yes, these actions did have a massive impact. I'm proud that that was one of the first things that this government did—understanding exactly what that means on-farm.

I look at those same people in relation to the new free trade agreements—for Peru, Hong Kong and Indonesia—that have recently come through the parliament. At the time we came into government, 26 per cent of our goods were covered by free trade agreements. Now it's 70 per cent. The other night we had our national Export Awards, and I saw those wonderful people who are the most amazing, most successful exporters in Australia—the finalists. I want to speak about Brad and Jodee Adams, of Ocean Grown Abalone in Augusta, who were Western Australian finalists. They have a world-first green-lit commercial abalone branch in Flinders Bay. They are doing just amazing work and exporting from that little area of Augusta.

The other thing I think we've done particularly well is the 2,285 new, amended medicines on the PBS. This is what matters to people in my electorate and around Australia, especially in the cystic fibrosis area—I know there's a very young family in my electorate who are particularly pleased about the listing of Orkambi and Kalydeco—and for the women who will be able to get better treatment for metastatic breast cancer. And there is our work on endometriosis—there are a lot of members who understand the importance of the investment in this space.

In finishing, we're heading into Christmas and I want to encourage all Australians to be safe. Whether they're on the roads or whether they're on water, when they take their festive break, I encourage them to give themselves plenty of time to get where they need to be, and to look after each other and be able to get into the new year with their families safe and well.

See this speech in context