Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to follow the member for Scullin. I very much appreciated some of his remarks, particularly with respect to what is happening now in the high country, and also his recognition of the people that support us in our offices, which I will talk about with respect to my own office. It is so true that none of us could do what we do were it not for the people that are in the background doing all the day-to-day tasks that make us look so much better.

I stand in this place because a majority of voters in the Makin electorate voted for the re-election of an Labor government and for myself as the Labor candidate. To the people who voted for me, I say thank you. I've always taken everyone's vote as something that I should not take for granted, and I've always endeavoured to live up to the expectations that people have of me once they elect me, and I will continue to do that. I also stand in this place because of the Makin office team that I was referring to a few moments ago: Ann, Frank, James, Mignon, Rob and Wasim. There were some others who have come over the last couple of years to assist as well, but have moved on. All of those people respond to the daily phone calls, the emails, the personal visits of people who come to the Makin electorate office for assistance, and the staff in the office do all they can to assist those people. They take the calls from the critics and from people in desperate situations or people who have simply no-one else to turn to. And they always do so with a sympathetic air and an understanding that everyone's needs matter.

As everyone elected to this place knows, organising a federal election campaign and manning the early voting and election day polling booths requires an enormous effort. I simply could not do that without the support of my family, hundreds of committed volunteers and the Labor movement more broadly. I'm grateful to them all. They are the true believers of the Labor cause, who selflessly and for no personal gain give so much of their time to help me and the Labor government get elected. I also acknowledge the work of the Australian Electoral Commission for the professionalism that they showed in the course of the election campaign and for ensuring that all Australians can have confidence in the electoral process here in Australia.

The 2025 federal election resulted in an extraordinary outcome. A record number of 94 Labor members were elected to the House of Representatives. At 28.7 per cent of the seats, the coalition probably received its lowest-ever percentage of representation in the parliament. For the first time that I can recall—and I believe it's the first time on record—the opposition leader lost his seat. Representation of the Greens party, a party that was supposedly on the rise, was reduced from four seats to one, and the Greens leader also lost his own seat. In my view, the outcome highlights how Australians are more engaged in day-to-day politics than is often assumed, and they can see through the political spin and tactics used in election campaigns and often by the biased media outlets.

On the opening day of the 48th Parliament, as is customary, the Governor-General outlined the Albanese government's agenda for this term of parliament. It's an ambitious agenda which first and foremost delivers on Labor's 2025 election commitments. Quite rightly, delivering on election commitments should be a priority because that is what the majority of Australians voted for. However, in a parliament with such a clear majority, there should also be room for new ideas and bold reforms that will make Australia an even better country—reforms that we know are needed, which Australians have been calling for, which other countries have often embraced and which I believe are in the public interest.

I begin with Australian gas supplies. Regardless of the views about whether we should or should not use gas, it is ludicrous that, as the world's first- or perhaps second-largest gas exporter, we don't have enough gas for ourselves, that we pay world parity prices for it and that we receive comparatively very little tax income from gas exports. I can only imagine what people in other countries must think of us when, in countries such as Qatar, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, fossil fuel exports underpin their entire economy. Even more frustrating is the inability or lack of interest by successive governments to do anything about it. Australians expect that Australia reserves enough gas to meet our needs, that Australia collects a fair level of tax from the gas producers, most of whom pay negligible tax, and that Australians pay for gas at prices which reflect the cost of production, not global prices.

On the issue of taxes, if Australia and the rest of the world continue to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, as they should do, then Australia's ability to collect a fair level of taxes from Australia's fossil fuels, particularly from gas exports, will not be available to us in years to come as the transition to renewable energy continues. We have a diminishing opportunity to ensure Australians fairly benefit from the nation's gas reserves.

The second issue I raise is the inclusion of dental care into Medicare. This is a matter I first campaigned for in my first federal election campaign years ago. Of course, it will add an ongoing substantial cost to the federal budget, but I expect there will also be savings through better health outcomes. There is no logic as to why dental care, which is essential to good health, was left out of Medicare, and it is time this anomaly is corrected. As an aside, if our gas supplies paid their fair share of tax, we could afford public dental care.

The third issue I refer to is the Australian banks. When I first came to this place, former senator Doug Cameron and I met with Treasurer Wayne Swan to discuss the possibility of establishing a government or publicly owned bank. Of course, that hasn't happened. In the meantime, bank profits have soared, and I note that recently the Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced a $10 billion profit for last year. Services have been slashed, cash and cheques have been phased out, and bank branches have closed. Bank regulations have failed customers. I believe that the best form of regulation is a government owned bank that operates as an honest broker in the free market, a public bank that maintains a customer service standard and that keeps others honest whilst returning a profit to the people of Australia.

Banking is an essential service. This was recognised when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia was established as a public bank in 1911 by the Andrew Fisher Labor government. According to one background paper—and I haven't read all the parliamentary debates—at the time that the CBA was established the argument was that Australia needed a bank that would benefit all citizens, a bank that would bring stability to the banking system and offer an alternative to high fees charged by the private banks. Nothing has changed. Those same arguments would be applicable today. With cash and cheques being phased out, today there is no option but to manage finances through a bank, which in turn adds to the case for a public bank. It is indeed an essential service, and people cannot do without it.

The fourth issue I refer to is the importance of national reinvestment in Australia's rail system. Regrettably, and unlike those countries that have continued to invest in rail, Australia has over the past 50 years neglected its rail systems. In an expansive country like Australia, rail transport still makes a lot of sense. It is efficient, it is less polluting, it is reliable, it is cost-effective, and it saves wear and tear on our roads and therefore saves dollars for local, state and federal governments. Importantly, it also saves country and regional towns from dying, as so many did when they were cut from the rail networks. When regional towns decline, the effects are devastating for those left, and the downward spiral then continues. I know that rail systems rest primarily with state governments, but I believe that the federal government can show leadership in rebuilding a national rail grid.

I'm often contacted by a local railway historian, John Wilson, author of several railway books, who has become a terrific and articulate public advocate for restoring our national rail networks. John talks quite passionately about the importance of doing so. I appreciate that in recent years there has often been talk about rebuilding inland rail and the like, but I've seen very little evidence that we're making much progress in doing that.

I now turn my remarks to population growth. I've previously raised my concerns about global population growth and global consumption being the underlying cause of many of the global crises the world is now facing. Climate change, species extinction, global conflicts, refugee numbers, mass migrations, fish stock depletion and ocean pollution are all consequences of increased consumption driven by population growth and corporate greed, in turn leading to people being at war over diminishing resources or leaving their homelands in search of a safer and more secure place to live. Too many of the world's people are now literally fighting for their survival, in a world that is being rapidly depleted of resources, while our natural environment is becoming unsustainable.

Global population is now 8.2 billion and is expected to increase to more than 10 billion, or by about 25 per cent, over the next 30 years. By the time global population begins to decline towards the end of this century, it may well be too late to repair the damage. In a recent opinion piece, science writer Julian Cribb makes an excellent case for how humans are destroying their own world. He refers to a study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research working collaboratively with BOKU University in Vienna, which found that 60 per cent of the world's land area is in a precarious state and 38 per cent is already at high risk of degradation.

The collapse of ecosystems has catastrophic consequences for humanity, yet, by and large, much of the world continues on its current trajectory, largely oblivious of the impending disasters. The global acceptance that climate change is real and that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential is welcome. However, environmental degradation—in particular, land clearing—continues and is contributing to climate change. Conversely, climate change is causing more environmental losses. The earth's plants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate.

In May this year, I received an email from Dr John Wamsley OAM, a mathematician and environmental scientist who has studied trend lines from reputable sources for many years, which point to a collapse of nature in Australia somewhere between 2040 and 2080. Dr Wamsley attributes the collapse to three main causes. Firstly, he attributes between a third to half of the losses to climate change. Secondly, he points to unsustainable agricultural practices. Thirdly, he states that we do not properly protect the areas that have been declared protected areas. Dr Wamsley states:

Things look very grim for nature.

He ends his email with a call for a royal commission to investigate nature loss and its consequences and to chart a way forward. Environmental degradation has reached a critical level both in Australia and across the world. We cannot continue to ignore the facts, ignore the advice of experts like Dr Wamsley and keep kicking the can down the road.

In the time I have left, I'll return to one of the comments I opened with, and that is about the statement from the Governor-General and the agenda of the Albanese Labor government. It is indeed a very large agenda, which I'm proud to be a part of and which I hope we'll be able to deliver on. One of the critical issues that was debated in the 47th Parliament was the issue of what was referred to as the housing crisis across the country and across the world—and rightly so, because it is such an important issue. I want to spend a few moments talking about that.

From day 1, the Albanese Labor government made a huge investment to try to restore and rebuild the housing market and address the housing needs of our country. We have the Help to Buy scheme, the Home Guarantee Scheme, the build-to-rent scheme and a $43 billion plan to try to restore some confidence and address the housing needs of this country. And that is understandable because, as I've said in this place on previous occasions, homeownership is one of the most important thing that a family can do because it ensures stability for the individual, family and local community.

I was pleased that just this week the Albanese government announced that the expansion of the five per cent deposit for all first home buyers will now commence earlier, on 1 October of this year instead of next year. I think that that is a very welcome announcement. The way the scheme works is that the government guarantees a portion of the loan, which means that the first home buyer can purchase it with a lower deposit and not pay lenders mortgage insurance. That will make a lot of difference to a lot of people. Since 2022, 180,000 first home buyers have already been assisted with a lower deposit. On 1 October a number of other changes will also take place, expanding the scheme. Firstly, there will be no place limits. All Australian first home buyers who have saved a five per cent deposit can apply. Secondly, there will be no income caps, which means that first home buyers with higher incomes can access the scheme. Thirdly, higher property price caps will also apply, and that will help buyers where property prices have increased. Fourthly, there will be simpler access in regional areas. The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee will be replaced by the First Home Guarantee.

I believe that they are all welcome steps towards fixing what has been a major problem for so many Australians across the country. Regrettably, in the last three years we haven't had much support from the other side of politics with respect to our housing policies, but I suspect that things are starting to turn around. I would like to think that the support for establishing the houses that we need in this country to meet the needs of the people at affordable prices is starting to take shape. With respect to that, it's also important to note that our economy is starting to stabilise, inflation is starting to come down, unemployment rates are still relatively low and wages are going up. All of those things will make a difference to people's ability to purchase their own home. It is true, and I accept some of the opinions I hear when I listen to the debates on housing. Everyone has a view as to what the solution is. Everyone seems to be an expert at it. There is a lot of truth to a lot of the comments being made, but, when you put it all together, it's also true that each decision sometimes has consequences that were not foreseen. Trying to get the balance right is not always easy, but I believe that the Albanese Labor government is doing that.

In the last two minutes, I will touch on some of the other issues that I think are so critical to this term of government, which were referred to in our election campaign and which the Albanese Labor government is now getting on with. It is indeed a very ambitious agenda. We already have the legislation passed through parliament to reduce higher education fees by another 20 per cent—again, a very welcome move out there in the electorate. Protecting penalty rates is another critical issue because it ensures that people will get increased wages or at least get the wages that they are entitled to and not lose money as a result of changes to their employment conditions. Reducing the cost of medicines, a bill that was debated in the parliament only up until this morning, is so critical to so many people. Quite often I have people say, 'So what are you doing to help with the cost of living?' Reducing the cost of medicines pretty much affects everybody in this country—in some cases, to a very large extent—and that's one of the critical differences that has been made in terms of assisting with the cost of living.

We then have the real wage increases that have come about because of the changes in industrial relations policy by the Albanese Labor government. We're strengthening Medicare. I could talk at length about all of that, but, again, our investment in restoring and securing the Medicare system in this country is not only making a difference to people's ability to access the health care they need but also making a difference to their out-of-pocket expenses as a result. We've increased child support in the last parliament, and our commitment to our climate change targets remain strong, as is our investment in renewable energy. Members would hear the Minister for Climate Change and Energy each day talking about, if nothing else, the home battery take-up, which is around 40,000 across Australia in such a short space of time. I was with the minister at Tindo Solar in my electorate only a few days ago, which is another great example of an investment we're making in building solar panels here in Australia. Our support for veterans is something that I have been passionate about since being here and is something that I welcome. Time has run out, but I'm pleased to be part of a re-elected Labor government that has a real agenda that will make a real difference to the lives of all Australians.

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