Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to speak about this motion today on family support, and I thank the member for Warringah for putting it on the Notice Paper, because it is so important to talk about Australian families and the important things the government is delivering for them. I do disagree with the member for Warringah on a very important point, and that is that I think right now Australia is the best place to raise a family. Where else would you rather be? It disappoints me so often that Labor and Independent members are willing to talk down Australia and Australian society in terms of the opportunities we give to Australian families and to our kids and that we are delivering for them.

I've lived my whole life in the Ryan electorate, and I now raise my young family there, so it's something I can talk about from personal experience, along with the other 39,000 families who live in the Ryan electorate. They gave me the honour of representing them in this place, and I made a commitment that I would look out for the families in the Ryan electorate and across Australia in the work that we are able to do. So it is a great pleasure to talk, in response to this motion, about the significant efforts the Morrison government is making to ensure that the opportunities for Australian families are significant and to ensure that families are kept healthy and safe. There is certainly no place you would want to be other than Australia, particularly in this past year, through COVID.

But it's not just about keeping you healthy and safe, although that is important. Brand new medicines are being listed on the PBS every week—life-changing medicines for Australian families—that are possible only because of the Morrison government's commitment to the financial discipline that simply couldn't—

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