Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Appropriation bills are about priorities. They are about what we value as a nation and whether we are prepared to back those values with sustained investment and service delivery. Over the last four years, the Albanese government has demonstrated that we are prepared to do just that: to invest in climate action that lowers bills; to invest in a health system that puts people first and in a National Disability Insurance Scheme that is sustainable and fair; to invest in a Defence Force that is ready for the strategic challenges ahead; and to invest in a multicultural society that remains cohesive, confident and secure.

The appropriations in these bills reflect those priorities in practical terms. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will receive over $2.9 billion, predominantly to continue support for the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. In Western Australia, particularly in my electorate of Hasluck, this really matters. Households across suburbs like Dayton, Noranda and Guildford are already embracing rooftop solar at remarkable rates. We in the west have recently led the nation in household solar uptake, but until now too many families have generated clean power during the day, have seen it flow back into the grid and then have had to buy it back at peak prices in the evening. Home batteries flip the script. They allow families to store their own power, reduce reliance on the grid at peak times and cut their bills. It's a win-win for the environment and the cost of living. Labor is delivering.

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program builds on the work we've already undertaken, from energy bill relief to investments in grid stability and renewable generation, to ensure that climate action and cost-of-living relief go hand in hand. In Hasluck I speak regularly with families who are doing everything they can to manage household budgets. They want practical solutions, not slogans. Supporting home batteries is exactly that: practical, local, immediate relief combined with long-term emissions reductions. At last count, more than 2,100 batteries had been installed in my electorate, and that number is climbing. That's over 2,100 families who are not waiting for the coalition to come onboard with net zero or with renewables. That's 2,100 families voting with the space on their garage walls. Likewise, all across Western Australia, with our unique grid and our strong uptake of distributed energy, this investment strengthens system resilience while empowering households. It reflects a government that understands the realities on the ground and backs communities to be part of the solution.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will be receiving over $1.5 billion for programs that improve wellbeing and participation, ensuring access to medicines, strengthening Medicare and delivering reasonable and necessary supports for NDIS participants. In Hasluck, these investments are not abstract line items; they are tangible changes in people's lives.

We know that Medicare was under sustained pressure when we came to office. Bulk-billing rates were falling, workforce shortages were biting, and patients were paying more for out-of-pocket costs. Through strengthening Medicare reforms, supported here with $101 million, we have reversed that trajectory. Tripling the bulk-billing incentive, expanding urgent care clinics and investing in primary care reform has made a real difference. Western Australia has seen improved bulk-billing rates and in communities across Hasluck, families are feeling that shift.

Access to medicines has also improved. By lowering the maximum cost of PBS medicines and enabling 60-day prescriptions for many common medications, we have reduced costs for patients with chronic conditions. For older Australians and families managing long-term health needs, that is not marginal; it is meaningful. Members opposite really do need to get on board with this.

Medicare and cheaper medicines are popular because they relieve cost pressures at the very time when people need help the most, when they or their loved ones are unwell. The Australian people voted for this, and I know firsthand that the people in Hasluck voted for this both in the 2020 election and again resoundingly in 2025. It really is on the coalition to create some sort of health policy prior to the next election that takes account of the fact that the community want investments in health care.

Then there is the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The further appropriation includes $876 million for the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide that reasonable and necessary support for NDIS participants. The NDIS is one of Australia's most significant social reforms, but it must be sustainable to endure. In Western Australia, thousands of participants rely on the scheme for support that enables independence, employment and social participation. In Hasluck I regularly meet with families who speak of the transformative impact of properly delivered supports, therapies, assistive technologies and community participation.

Over the past four years we've undertaken some serious reforms to stabilise growth, reduce fraud and ensure that funding is going where it is genuinely needed. That work has required cooperation across jurisdictions, including with the Western Australian government, and also with community members—people who identify and call out alleged fraud where they see it. These are people like Drew and Pete, who recently wrote to me to bring my attention to concerns they have about some NDIS providers allegedly being in breach of the contractual obligations that they have to the NDIS. That is something we take seriously and are absolutely clamping down on. It reflects this shared commitment that we have for the individuals who are the beneficiaries—from participants to the providers and across all tiers of government——to protect the integrity of this scheme and safeguard participant outcomes. This appropriation ensures continuity of support while reform continues. It is responsible, compassionate and focused on long-term sustainability.

The Department of Defence will receive over $1 billion, including $985 million brought forward to implement the 2024 National defence strategy and the 2024 Integrated Investment program. Western Australia is central to Australia's defence posture. From HMAS Stirling to the broader defence industry ecosystem in our state, WA plays a critical role in maritime capability and strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific. The updated National defence strategy recognises that we live in a more contested and uncertain strategic environment. Investment must be aligned with that reality. Bringing forward expenditure is about ensuring readiness, modernisation and capability not in some distant future but now.

For Western Australia that translates into jobs, industry participation and sovereign capability. It means supporting local defence industry businesses that contribute to sustainment, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing. It means training and employment pathways for young Western Australians looking to build careers in defence and related industries. In Hasluck, many residents work in defence, the defence industry and related supply chains, particularly around sustainment. And very soon, we will be the home of not just army cadets but army reserves as well. Strategic investment supports secure, skilled employment and it reinforces Australia's ability to protect its interests. National security is not a slogan; it is a serious responsibility. These appropriations reflect a government that is meeting that responsibility with clarity and foresight.

The Department of Home Affairs will receive $881 million to implement programs that safeguard Australia's domestic interests, respond to crises and threats, support the government's response to the antisemitic terrorist attack and maintain our cohesive multicultural society. Australia's strength has always been its diversity, underpinned by our shared democratic values and mutual respect.

Western Australia is proudly multicultural. In Hasluck, communities from every continent call our electorate home. Our local schools, small businesses, community groups and places of worship reflect that richness. The events surrounding the antisemitic attack in Bondi and then the further failed attack in Forrest Place on Australia Day, as well as the security and police actions that have nipped plans in the bud, are all a stark reminder that hatred and extremism have no place in our society. The government's response has been firm and principled: protecting community safety, supporting affected communities and reinforcing our zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and all forms of hate.

Funding through Home Affairs strengthens intelligence, counter-extremism and community safety measures, but it also supports cohesion because security is not only about enforcement; it is about inclusion. Maintaining Australia's cohesive multicultural society requires investment in community engagement, settlement services and initiatives that build understanding across communities. In Hasluck, I see benefits of these investments in local multicultural associations, youth programs and community events that bring people together. Just by way of example, we have the Ellenbrook Multicultural Festival, the Cook Islands community Pasifika festival and the Kings multicultural—I recently attended their Holi event and still have the colours all across the skin on my back, but one day they will come off. I have celebrated the Iftar dinner with the Alnoor community language school and the Pongal harvest festival with the Tamil Association of Western Australia.

These are all extraordinary, fantastic events and I'm honoured to attend them.

But they are not just add-ons or luxuries; they are, taken together, the very foundations of our society and of social stability. They are something that we are deeply proud of within my community—to be able to celebrate culture, language, dance, music, and traditions respecting those who have come from different parts of the world with different perspectives, and to have an open mind and a willingness to learn and build bridges where there are differences. Having that ultimate that respect for each other is what I'm proud that the appropriation for this area will go towards strengthening.

The Housing Australia Future Fund is a Labor legacy program that I am proud to have supported in this place. Already in Hasluck funds have been committed through the first rounds of the construction of 537 social and affordable homes in Ellenbrook, Bassendean, Woodbridge and Midland. All of them are adjacent to the railway line, which is now completed, from stations through to the extension of the rail line out to Ellenbrook. That will soon mean 537 families in Hasluck will have access to housing that they are currently finding difficult to obtain. More than 2,260 people in my electorate have been able to access the five per cent deposit under the Home Guarantee Scheme. A home means security, and we all need a place to call our home.

These appropriations are further evidence of the commitment of this government to govern for all Australians. They support climate action that lowers bills. They strengthen Medicare and protect the NDIS. They modernise our defence capability. They safeguard our security while reinforcing social cohesion. They act to address the housing needs of communities like mine in Hasluck. Importantly, they are extensions. They are backed by four years of demonstrated delivery. In Hasluck and across Western Australia, people are not interested in political theatre. They want to see government that identifies challenges, invests responsibly and then follows through. That is what these appropriations do; they invest in households, in health, in security and in the future resilience of our nation. For these reasons, I commend the bill to the House.

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