Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am proud to stand here for a second term, and I believe I am still the same Andrew who walked through these doors three years ago. My values have not changed. While I learnt a lot in my first term, the training wheels are off and my focus hasn't shifted. My priority remains squarely on the needs of the people of Dawson and the betterment of this great country. I want to take a moment to congratulate all the members of this House, and the senators, who have been elected to represent their communities. There is no greater honour than to be trusted by your community to represent their views, and to fight for their needs in our nation's parliament.

While the election result did not go the way I had hoped, I am 100 per cent committed to working with whoever I need to in order to secure the support, resources, infrastructure, and investment the people of Dawson need and deserve. I am also humbled by my new appointment as a shadow assistant minister for manufacturing and sovereign capability. It's a role that couldn't be more fitting for the region I represent. Dawson is a vast and vibrant electorate and, in my opinion, the best part of this entire country. It stretches from Mackay in the south to the southern suburbs of Townsville in the north. It includes the stunning Whitsundays, the communities of the Burdekin, and my home town of Bowen. In Dawson we grow, we build; we are miners, manufacturers, farmers, fishermen, tourism operators and even space pioneers. We are people of vision who take an idea from concept to application. We are innovators and entrepreneurs. We are everyday Aussies who just want to have a fair crack and enjoy their life.

Behind wheat, sugar is Australia's second-most exported crop, generating around $2 billion annually. A significant chunk of that comes straight from Dawson, being the largest sugarcane-growing area in the country. How sweet it is. The sugar industry sustains thousands of jobs across Dawson, and the flow-on economic benefits to our communities are massive. Sugar isn't just about the sweet stuff in your morning cuppa. Mackay Sugar's Racecourse Mill runs a 38-megawatt cogeneration plant that turns sugarcane byproducts like bagasse into renewable electricity. This single facility supplies roughly 30 per cent of Mackay's electricity and slashes greenhouse gas emissions by around 200,000 tonnes a year.

Paget is an industrial estate in Mackay and the largest manufacturing hub in the southern hemisphere. It is also the service centre of the mining sector just over the hill. Despite what this government says, this industry is vital to our country, creating thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. It generates millions in royalties, which keeps our economy ticking. Without mining, our country stops. At the opposite end of Paget, in South Townsville, Dawson boasts the Wulguru Group, one of the largest steel fabrication and engineering companies in northern Australia—g'day Bob! Dawson is also home to a major coal export terminal and two metal refineries—for now, anyway. Let's see how Labor goes with these.

In our section of the Great Barrier Reef, we have 74 of the most gorgeous tropical islands in the world. Of course I'm talking about the Whitsunday Islands. In Bowen and the surrounding regions, we have the largest production of vegetable crops throughout the winter months, worth approximately $650 million, generating roughly 1,500 full-time jobs and increasing to 2,000 more during the season. Our growers feed the nation. We're also home to around 400 kilometres of the more notorious and deadly section of the Bruce Highway—by the way, that last one I'm not terribly proud of.

Time and time again, regional and rural Australia—regions like Dawson—get left behind under Labor. As I've just explained, we contribute so much, yet we receive so little. While North Queensland fuels the national economy and revenues flow to the cities, the returns we see in Dawson—well, to be frank, you'd be better off stuffing pineapples under your mattress. In Labor's last term, Dawson was all but ignored. Living standards went backwards. The cost of everything has spiralled. Farmers are being hit hard, and then they're being hit some more. Businesses have closed. People are having to choose between keeping heating and cooling or putting food in the fridge. The Bruce Highway is deteriorating further and faster. And essential services are less accessible and affordable. Dawson deserves better.

Over the past three years the people of Dawson have spoken to me and they've shared their stories. Some of our elderly are more concerned about their grandchildren's future than they are about their own current living conditions. Having been through tough times before, they know and understand what it means to tighten their belt. What if the damage has gone too far, irreversible for both the economy and the environment? That is why I will continue to fight for what I believe is just and fair, to get Dawson and rural and regional Australia its fair share.

I am extremely proud to have had the AEIOU centre in South Townsville come to fruition in my last term. This centre provides a vital service of education and care for children with autism. I'm also pleased to see the upgrade and expansion of VMR Whitsunday, a project I campaigned hard on, allowing this amazing team of volunteers to have a more creative and up-to-date operations centre so they can continue to keep our boaties safe on the water. For the 2025 election campaign I pushed for $5 million in funding to go towards a veterans wellness hub in Mackay. To have 4,000 veterans living in an area that has no safe place to go or receive support is simply not good enough. I've also campaigned on funding to go towards Orange Sky in Mackay, a service that operates washing machines and dryers for the homeless; Angel-Paws in Townsville, a refuge for abandoned animals; and many sporting clubs throughout the electorate, some of which are in dire need of the basics, like toilets, change rooms, and clubhouse builds and upgrades.

Now that the parliament has been sworn in, I've written to the Prime Minister and asked for these commitments to receive bipartisan support and be honoured so that our families in our region can drive. The government made a lot of big promises during the recent election campaign, and I intend to hold them to account. Labor told my constituents that things would improve, that help was coming. They promised no cut to health care, yet the very first thing they did was slash the number of mental health sessions in half, from 20 to 10. They promised no new taxes and only tax cuts. Well, we've all seen how that's been going. They promised that the Bruce Highway would be fixed, boasting that the Labor government is the only government that will fix our Bruce. Let's see how that goes. They promised more housing, and easing of cost of living, but we're living in a Labor-created cost-of-living crisis. They said green energy would mean cheaper electricity. Well, even the CSIRO said that's not right. And we've all heard the promise, over and over again, of a reduction of $275 in our power bills. We never heard of that again.

Labor has cut the guts out of the NDIS, with zero consultation and zero notice. These cuts are a huge impact on people living with mobility impairments in Dawson. Next they want to slug Australians with a super tax on unrealised gains, which will hurt our farmers the most. Let me spell it out. How does this government expect a farmer to pay tax on income that they haven't even received—money that's not in the bank and never was? What if there's a drought? What if prices fall or machines break down? Farmers are already doing it tough. They don't need to be hit again. And where's the aspiration for our next generation just starting out?

The rest of Labor's so-called promises are also on shaky ground. Back in January, Labor announced $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway. It's now past midyear. The wet season is fast approaching, and very little has been done. Meanwhile, the roads keep deteriorating—more potholes, more fatalities and more chaos. At the beginning of this year, Whitsunday Coast Airport was cut off four times—four separate times, and for days at a time! The Bruce was also cut at Plantation Creek between Home Hill and Ayr for over a week, and this is the only connection from north to south. A flooded Bruce disrupts the movement of goods and essential supplies, as well as the safe movement of our people. Every time the Bruce gets cut, our shelves run bare. The people of Dawson shouldn't have to live like that. This is a critical national highway, not some hardly used backstreet. Labor's inaction impacting everyday living and costing lives is not good enough. I have campaigned to fix the Bruce, and I won't stop until we see some real investment, not just patch-up jobs and empty announcements.

On housing, Labor promised 1.2 million new homes in five years. This target is slipping further and further away. Treasury's own predictions now show that the government targets are not achievable. Treasury documents leaked to the media also show that the government faces a choice: raise taxes or rein in their wasteful spending.

On the cost of living, prices are still going up on all of life's essential items. Australia is in a per capita recession. The only reason we haven't ticked the technical recession box is uncontrolled immigration. Let me be clear. Immigration is vital to our story as a nation. But, without proper planning and without controlled immigration, the result is a skyrocketing demand for housing, services and infrastructure, which are pushing prices up for Australians even further.

And, while other development countries are shoring up their energy security, Labor is pursuing a renewables-only fantasy. It's ideological and simply not practical. We are one of the most resource-rich countries on Earth. There is no reason or excuse for our power bills to be among the highest in the world, and yet they are. Labor insists that wind and solar will solve everything and drive costs down. That's simply not happening. To cover some of the pain from previous unrealised promises that power prices would be $275 cheaper, Labor rolled out a $75 per quarter subsidy. These subsidies will come off at the end of this year. With prices still rising, this means that next year households will have to find at least another $300 on top of what they're already paying, and that's just to keep the lights on.

I support a balanced energy mix. I support what's practical, affordable and reliable. Let's be clear. Solar and wind is not a 24/7 solution. Wind and solar requires massive land use and infrastructure, and, once again, our farmers are shouldering the burden of Labor's green obsession. In this term, I have been appointed to the coalition's energy policy working group. I look forward to reviewing our national energy mix based on economic merit and reliability, not ideology.

As the new shadow assistant minister for manufacturing and sovereign capability, I'll be fiercely promoting Australian made manufacturing backed by Aussie talent and resources. If COVID has taught us anything, it's that we need to be able to stand on our own two feet as a nation. We need to manufacture, build, grow and develop in our own right.

Speaking of sovereign capabilities, how about our very first Australian made rocket, Eris, which recently launched just north of Bowen. When I gave my maiden speech three years ago, I informed the House of two brothers, Adam and James Gilmour, who were on a mission to launch rockets with payloads of satellites into low Earth orbit. Although the first test flight did not make low Earth orbit, it did get off the ground—for 14 seconds, I might add—and allow the Gilmour team to gather valuable data which will help lead to further launches in the future. Congratulations to Adam and James and the entire Gilmour space team. To the stars!

Before I finish, I would like to make mention of a few people who, without, I wouldn't have the opportunity of this second term. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and thank my campaign team: Ian Shield, Ian Dean, Pauline Townsend, Mardi Mathieson, Jean McCubbin, Merewyn Wright, Amanda Hall, Mick Adam and Rosemary Menkens. I give a shout-out to a couple of young fellas, Rory and Nate, who did a great job handing out, setting up, doing data collection, staying up all hours of the night, setting up booths in the early hours of the morning and working like Trojans. Well done, young fellas. We're looking forward to seeing where your careers are going to go in years to come.

I must also mention David Cooper, Laurie Neilson, Sophie and Lawson Camm, Peter Byers, Chrissy Lando, Peter Hall, Trevor Townsend, John and Donna Carroll and my countless volunteers who gave up their valuable time in one way or another. Whether it was setting up, packing down, letterbox dropping, making phone calls, standing out in the weather or even just turning up with a cold drink for other volunteers, I say thank you, thank you, thank you. Of course, I'd like to thank my campaign manager and wife, Raylene, and our children and their partners for their love and support and all their hard work through my campaign.

Last, but certainly not least, I thank the people of Dawson for once again putting their faith in me, their trust in me, to be their voice in this place and to fight for their needs. The honour of being a federal member is one that I do not take for granted, and I will continue to work hard for them and to work collaboratively with any member of the House to advance the interests and the better living standards of the communities of Dawson. I extend an open invitation to all members of this place to come and visit my region and see firsthand what my people provide for our nation, what is needed for them to continue to deliver and what they deserve. I promise you: come to Dawson and you will not be disappointed.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very proud to be part of this government, the Albanese government, in this 48th Parliament. I say so because, No. 1 and as we just heard the member say, it's an absolute honour to be elected to this place, regardless of what political party you're in or what your political views are. It's something that is an honour, and there is no greater vocation than to have your peers elect you to this place. It's something that is very, very special.

This was my 10th election. I've run in 10 elections. My record is seven out of 10, so it's not bad. I first ran in 1998 and then in 2001, missing out both times by a tiny margin, and then scraped through in 2004, in one of the most marginal seats in the country, with 108 votes. I went on to win in 2007 and 2010, losing in 2013 and making a comeback in 2016—again, scraping through—and, certainly, winning in 2019, 2022 and again in 2025. But, regardless of the margin or the results, I am, as I said, immensely proud to represent the people of Adelaide—to be their voice, their conscience, and to ensure that we listen to the electorate, that I hear the electorate, and that I bring those views to the parliament. That's our No. 1 role as members of the House of Representatives. If you look at the title, it says House of 'Representatives'. Representatives—we represent those people in our electorates. I'm very honoured to be here again at the will of the electors in the seat of Adelaide.

For someone who's been a long-term supporter and defender of multiculturalism in this country, it's great to see the changes in this parliament. I'm delighted to be part of such a wonderful, diverse parliament that has changed immensely from when I was first elected in this place. The electorate of Adelaide is a diverse community, and, when I look around, this parliament indeed reminds me of that community I'm so proud to serve and represent, where over 72,000 people—around 36.8 per cent of my constituents—were born overseas. It is a very diverse electorate, and I'm absolutely blessed to, every weekend, attend an event, whether it be an Ethiopian Orthodox Church service or a Hindu temple for a particular Hindu event.

My family were migrants. When they came here in the 1950s, I was born here. I was lucky enough to have been born here—very blessed to have been born in this wonderful nation. I know that my parents came here in 1954, worked in the lowest-paid jobs, had no command of the English language and no skills whatsoever, but they managed to make a life for themselves. Why did they do that? Because of the laws and legislation that were in place—the pillars of our democracy. And that's what we're here to do: to uphold those pillars to give generations of Australians—whether they're second-, third- or fifth-generation migrants—the same opportunities that we had. That is very important.

I'd like to thank the people of Adelaide for placing their trust in me to serve them in this 48th federal parliament. I'm truly humbled and honoured to represent them here. The Albanese government is getting to work straightaway, and we've seen legislation that went through this place at the last sitting and will go through this sitting to deliver more help with the cost of living. That's the No. 1 issue at the moment for all of us. That cost of living is something we must focus on, to make it easier for those people that put us here, as is more investment in the next generation and more support for working Australians. I'm very pleased to say that every household in Adelaide and across Australia will see $150 taken off their power bills, while three million minimum- and award-wage workers are getting a 3.5 per cent pay rise.

We've strengthened Medicare to protect the PBS, delivered generational reform to the aged-care sector and secured the future of the NDIS. These are all very important pieces of legislation being brought forward in this place. Our legislation to reduce student debt, which will wipe 20 per cent off every single student's HECS, saving students an average of about $5,000. I'm very pleased and honoured to represent the universities in my electorate: Adelaide University, the University of South Australia and, with the merging of Flinders as well, the many, many students who live within the electorate of Adelaide.

We're also investing in Australia's future in education and training. Eligible students—nurses, teachers, social workers and midwives—will now be paid during placements. If you're training to be a tradie—to help build those homes that Australia needs—there will be support there as well. The superannuation guarantee is increasing from 11.5 per cent to 12 per cent, giving more security to Australians, as they retire in their old age, that they will be able to live with dignity. Working parents will now get two extra weeks of government Paid Parental Leave—to spend more time with their children and families—and, for the first time, will earn superannuation while on government Paid Parental Leave. That is a big step towards closing the gender retirement gap.

My electorate is focused on growing our community and sporting clubs, as well as our multicultural groups, by creating housing, focusing on the cost of living and addressing important infrastructure matters around roads and transport—being a CBD seat with surrounding suburbs. I am very proud to be part of this Labor government, which takes infrastructure very seriously.

Now this is very important—climate change and energy. We know climate change is something that we are absolutely committed to—ensuring that we reduce emissions. In Labor's last term we passed strong laws to make big polluters cut their emissions and committed to 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030. We're committed to net zero and embracing renewable energy, and we've already ticked off more than 87 renewable energy projects—enough to power more than 11 million homes. That's 11 million homes which will be powered by renewable energy projects, bringing down emissions and meeting our targets in the future.

It's very important that this government is also investing in circular industries and the circular economy, with Australia's recycling capacity increased by more than 1.4 million tonnes a year to prevent more waste going into landfill. In my electorate of Adelaide, in the suburb of Kilburn—that you, Deputy Speaker Boyce, would be very familiar with—a company called Recycling Plastics Australia received $20 million in Australian government funding through the Recycling Modernisation Fund, RMF, plastics technology stream to install advanced polymer separation equipment, which will be able to recycle more plastics. They're already recycling thousands of tonnes. The project will expand RPA's existing operations—a HydroDyn cleaning and purifying hot washing plant will be installed to process 14,300 tonnes per annum of problematic soft plastics to a purity level capable of making new soft plastic packaging. It is described as the world's best advanced mechanical recycling of post-consumer soft plastics, replacing virgin resin in packaging. This is cutting-edge technology in one of the suburbs not far from the CBD. It has already been touted as the world's best advanced mechanism for plastics and will no doubt be exported to other countries in the very near future.

The government is helping households, small businesses and community groups bring down their energy bills with the Cheaper Home Batteries Program that was announced. I am pleased that South Australia has one of the highest uptakes already. This will save households with existing rooftop solar up to $1,100 off their power bill every year, and those installing a new solar battery system could save up to $2,300 a year—up to 90 per cent of a typical family's electricity bill. The Albanese Labor government is fixing that by giving all Australians a proper leg up towards the cost of a battery. That's around 30 per cent or around $4,000 off the cost of a typical home battery.

As a proud South Australian, I'm delighted to see that five of the top 10 electorates in the country for the take-up of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program are in South Australia, and Adelaide is No. 7 in the nation, with 495 installations as of 18 August. I was very pleased to welcome Minister Bowen to the electorate recently, for a forum to discuss this new program with constituents on 5 August. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a particular group who are doing some great projects in the electorate of Adelaide, Electrify Adelaide, who were there speaking to people about the different projects that they can assist them with.

There are some great infrastructure projects taking place in my electorate. As I said earlier, this Labor government takes infrastructure seriously. In May this year—in fact, it was exactly 5 May, because I remember it was the Monday after the election—I went out with the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in South Australia, Tom Koutsantonis, and we announced that construction had officially commenced on the non-stop South Road project. This project will allow motorists to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights between the River Torrens in the electorate of Adelaide and Darlington, saving up to 40 minutes of travel time in peak-hour traffic. The project will support approximately 5,500 jobs. So, it's not just the infrastructure; it's also the jobs being created—5,500 jobs per year during main construction, with 90 per cent of labour hours to be undertaken by South Australians, which is a great thing for my electorate and for South Australia. The government is also contributing $7.7 billion of the $15.4 billion, half the funding for this project, with the other half coming from the South Australian Malinauskas Labor government.

Another project is Marion Road and Sir Donald Bradman Drive, which is very close to the airport. It gets congested traffic, back to back, bumper to bumper. For years this has been going on. For years I've had constituents talk to me about it. Major works commenced in May on the upgrade to the Marion Road and Sir Donald Bradman Drive intersection. I just have to make a correction—when I said 5 May, it wasn't for that particular project; it was for this project, because I remember it was two days after the federal election. This is $85 million, which is being jointly funded by the federal Labor government and the state Labor government. More than 60,000 vehicles pass through the corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Marion Road every day. It's a very busy intersection, and there were 28 crashes at this intersection between 2018 and 2022. So you not only fix up the bottleneck but also avoid serious injuries et cetera. This upgrade will make the journey through this intersection safer and more reliable.

Then we have Grange Road and Holbrooks Road. It encompasses three suburbs: Flinders Park, Allenby Gardens and Hindmarsh. It's a huge bottleneck as well. There's $90 million going into that. That project has started. It forms part of the $850 million package of broader network upgrades that are being undertaken as part of the River Torrens to Darlington project. These are all offshoots of that project. The intersection upgrades include two through lanes on all approaches, two dedicated right-turn lanes for traffic going from Grange Road into Holbrooks Road and travelling south. Those people that live around there will know what this means for them. It's certainly very welcome. Those are just some of the infrastructure projects.

We've had Medicare urgent care clinics. There are three Medicare urgent care clinics in Greater Adelaide thanks to this government. They're located close by in Oaklands Park, Royal Park and Para Hills. Following the election in May, there will soon be one in the Norwood/St Peters area adjacent to my electorate, which is very close. I look forward to these clinics being established in the future, which takes the load off our public hospitals. That is the whole purpose of these Medicare clinics. You have a place to go after hours which bulk-bills so you don't have to line up in hospitals, clogging up serious injuries et cetera that need to go to the emergency services, so it's very important.

We've also announced the Thriving Suburbs Program in my electorate. It's very important funding. There's a contribution for Karkungka Reserve of $3.6 million, together with the City of West Torrens upgrade to community facilities. It's a reserve project which will be called Karkungka. There's an existing reserve there, the Keswick reserve. This will include upgrades to the National Servicemen's Association building, which is housed there as well, and the former Child and Family Health Service building. The new centre will be a remembrance centre, and it will replace the existing National Servicemen's Association building and provide space for the NSA, the Hilton RSL sub-branch and other service and veteran groups to connect. The space will also be available to other community groups as residents use the programs, activities and events.

And we've got a great new community recreation facility at Cowandilla Western Youth Centre. The Western Youth Centre is a great organisation. Many sporting clubs are associated with or are members of the Western Youth Centre, and it forms part of a number of things, from judo classes to kinder gym. I'm very proud to say that, as a child, I used to go to the Western Youth Centre. We used to have Boys' Brigade. I don't know if anyone remembers Boys' Brigade and those blue uniforms. When my kids grew up, they used the Western Youth Centre. They played tennis there. They went to kinder gym there. Now my grandchildren are there at kinder gym. I'm very proud. I've seen the great work they do, and that's why we've contributed $7.53 million for this new facility. I thank Mayor Michael Coxon and the City of West Torrens for their support and their efforts in making both these projects possible—both the Karkungka Reserve project with the National Servicemen's Association and this particular project. I've got to say that Mayor Michael Coxon's a true asset to the community that he represents.

There's also the Unley cultural club through the Thriving Suburbs Program grants. We contributed $2.66 million towards the creation of a new cultural hub in an expansion of the existing Unley Museum, and the upgraded museum will provide for an increased and improved gallery space with the capability to feature national and regional exhibitions.

And, of course, there's the Hutt Street revitalisation project. This is within the CBD. The government has contributed $7.32 million towards the Hutt Street revitalisation project in the City of Adelaide. The street is lined with cafes, restaurants and small businesses, and this project will beautify the street and bring more people into Hutt Street, making those businesses more viable. I'd like to thank Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, the lord mayor, for her efforts in helping this project come to fruition.

There was also the Unley Swimming Centre, which has been electrified—not to confuse that with electrifying the water and causing damage! Basically, it was about their pumps and the energy they used. There was an announcement from Chris Bowen during the campaign of $1.055 million from this government to electrify the entire swimming centre through the electrification project, and I'm very pleased that the Mayor of Unley announced that during the lead-up to the election.

Some of the other things that we've been working on include a great announcement we made a few weeks ago about the Adelaide United, the A-League football club in my electorate, and AMES Australia, which is a settlement service for refugees and migrant communities. In other words, they've partnered to be able to use the club and its players to help settle some of our newest arrivals. A lot of them gravitate towards the club, and they feel like they're at home when they play soccer or football. You can imagine it is an extremely lonely time when you've arrived in a new country, and sport is a great facilitator in getting you into the community, whether it be through football, cricket or whatever. Adelaide United have played a big role in partnering with AMES.

Earlier this month I was joined by the Hon. Emily Bourke, the South Australian Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing; Grace Portolesi, former South Australian minister for multicultural affairs and a good friend; Catherine Scarth, the CEO of AMES Australia; and Nathan Kosmina, the CEO of Adelaide United, to announce this wonderful partnership and this wonderful foundation that will promote and assist new arrivals and people of refugee background to help settle into our communities. It's important that we make people feel part of our community if we want them to integrate.

More than most sports, football or the round-ball game allows for the joining of individual efforts through the foundation of shared passion, optimism, belief and commitment, and this ability of sport to create, connect and cement relationships explains the authenticity and nature of this great partnership between the club. It champions the efforts of its young migrant players. We've seen many players come through Adelaide United that are playing at the top level.

Thank you to everyone that assisted on the campaign, and I look forward to working hard for the federal seat of Adelaide over the next three years.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak today in reply to the Governor-General's address. In doing so, I want to honour the people of Indi who have granted me the utmost privilege of representing them again in this parliament. Each time I rise when the Speaker says, 'The member for Indi has the call,' I feel this responsibility deeply. It's a responsibility I don't take for granted.

The people of Indi elected me first in 2019 and in 2022—again this year because they wanted their representative to act with respect, integrity and accountability to the community and to the nation. This is the Indi way of doing politics. The electorate of Indi covers a vast 29,000 square kilometres, and I travel right across this region. I meet people where they're at, in their home towns, and I represent the unique needs of these diverse Indi communities. I listen to the challenges people are facing in their lives—the problems that they turn to their members of parliament to help solve. A key part of my job is to bring these voices to the federal parliament. But I don't use this platform just to describe problems. I work with my community to find solutions together and bring them to the parliament and to the government, and my work has a history of having local impact and national influence.

The people of Indi demanded better transparency and integrity in our government. That's why I campaigned for a national anticorruption commission in my first term—a campaign that was won with the start of the National Anti-Corruption Commission two years ago. I'm proud of my work in the last parliament representing Indi as Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and this term I can assure you that I will continue to advocate for the transparency of the National Anti-Corruption Commission's decision-making, because the work of integrity is never done. It's why I'll continue to champion the establishment of an independent whistleblower protection authority to provide real safeguards and provide support for those who take the personal risk of exposing corruption and misconduct. Without them, and without broader reforms to end things like pork-barrelling and clamp down on the lobbyist free-for-all in Canberra, our integrity framework remains unfinished business.

When the people of Indi told me they're struggling to purchase and rent homes, I campaigned for a fund to build the critical enabling infrastructure—the pipes, the poles, the pavements—needed to open up housing supply. I was pleased to see the government adopt my policy under the Housing Support Program, but their commitment of $500,000 is just not enough. I will continue to advocate for this important investment and demand that a fair share be allocated to regional Australia.

When I heard Indi farmers tell me they wanted to take climate action but needed the support about how to do it, I successfully secured $76.4 million in the 2023-24 federal budget to establish a network of sustainable agriculture facilitators, or SAFs. This policy delivers tangible support for farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices.

My constituents tell me they want to access cleaner, cheaper energy, so in 2022, and again in 2023, I introduced a Cheaper Home Batteries Bill to include batteries in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Home batteries help households and community groups take control of their energy and receive maximum benefit from their rooftop solar. Over time, we will see this benefit extended to all consumers by reducing overall pressure on the grid. This election campaign, I was very pleased indeed to see the Labor government finally listen to me and take up this idea, right down to the very title of my bill.

These are policies and laws that benefit the people of Indi, but they benefit the whole nation too. I'm the first to say that we haven't solved all of the problems. Significant challenges remain for my constituents: accessible and affordable health care, housing, child care and aged care. The cost of living is still a challenge for so many households, as is reliable and secure energy, especially as we continue to transition towards net zero. These are big challenges, but I'm confident that the cooperative, consultative and evidence based work that I do with my community means that we can bring solutions to address these very big challenges.

Access to health care is one of the biggest issues right across the electorate. This election campaign was no different to any other that I have participated in. From Corryong and Wodonga in the north of Indi through to Alexandra and Kinglake in the south, I heard time and time again about the need for better investment in our health care in the regions. Regional Australians have poorer health and die younger than metropolitan Australians. That's a fact, and it's simply unacceptable that in 2025 rural Australians continue to suffer poorer health outcomes because of their postcode.

One of the biggest concerns I hear from the people in the north of my electorate is the desperate need for a greenfield single-site hospital on the border in Albury-Wodonga. Albury Wodonga Health is the largest health service between Sydney and Melbourne. It's the only cross-border health service in the country, and it's stretched across two separate hospital campuses. As the border region grows, so too does the need to increase our access to high-quality health care close to home. I'm committed to working constructively with all levels of government—the Victorian and New South Wales governments and the Commonwealth government—and to come together. We need to come together and collaborate on this project.

In the last parliament I brought the Wodonga and Albury mayors to Canberra for a meeting with both the Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health and the federal Minister for Health, to make the case for federal funding for a greenfield hospital. I handed the Prime Minister a letter signed by more than 200 doctors—200!—from the Albury-Wodonga region, explaining the duplication of services across the border as inefficient, inadequate and unsafe. The community is calling for a greenfield hospital. Doctors and health professionals are calling for a greenfield hospital. And I'm joining them in this call. In this parliament I will keep fighting for a single-site hospital at Albury-Wodonga.

I've done the work to make it possible for the Commonwealth to come to the table on this. During the recent election I campaigned for a $2 billion building rural hospitals infrastructure fund. I had my policy reviewed and costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office. The Commonwealth government funds hospital infrastructure. This is a fact. The problem is, it's not done transparently, fairly or equitably. Recently the government announced $200 million as an election commitment for infrastructure for a Perth hospital. Yet a letter from Minister Butler to the Victoria and New South Wales health ministers, who were requesting federal funding for Albury-Wodonga Health, said there were no current Australian government grant opportunities available to support public hospital infrastructure development at Albury-Wodonga Health. Think about that.

My building rural hospitals fund would provide hospitals like Albury-Wodonga Health and small regional health services, like those in Bright, in Mansfield and in Alexandra, with a fair, transparent and competitive opportunity to apply for the funding they need. Our rural health infrastructure is falling behind that of our metropolitan counterparts, and rural Australians are paying the price with their lives. That is why I've done the work here for the government to close the gap on healthcare outcomes in the bush.

But it's not just infrastructure that Indi's healthcare system needs. As a former nurse and midwife and then rural health researcher, I know just how critically important it is to have an exceptional health workforce—doctors, nurses, psychologists, all the allied health professions—in the regions. In Indi we don't have enough health professionals to care for the needs of our community. During the election campaign I consistently heard about long waitlists to see health professionals and about people spending too much and travelling too far to access necessary health care. We need to do everything we can to support the growth of our healthcare workforce, and nowhere more than in rural, regional and remote Australia.

We know that students who live and train in rural and regional Australia are more likely to stay and practice in rural, regional and remote Australia. But we must do more to support them to do so. While undertaking mandatory clinical placements, many students report significant hardship, including loss of income, housing insecurity and the need to pay double rents. Some simply can't afford to do this and are forced to stop their studies. What a waste.

I welcome the government introducing the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme for Australians studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work to get the support they need while on practical placement. This is good. However—and it's a big 'however'—this policy leaves behind students who are studying medicine and all of the other allied health professions. In this parliament I will continue to put pressure on the government to extend practical payments to include students who are studying medicine and the allied health degrees. We are in dire need of excellent health professionals in rural Australia. It's our responsibility to act and help them get their degrees and provide the services we so desperately need.

My constituents in Indi care deeply about our natural environment. I often hear that the natural beauty of our region is one of the reasons people move here. My constituents tell me they love to explore the bushland, the mountains and the rivers so close to where we call home. They also care deeply about the preservation and regeneration of Indi's natural spaces and unique flora and fauna. This includes the magnificent snow gums in the alpine High Country, covered in snow right now; grass-tree orchards in the Warby Ranges; and the native orchids in the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park. These are loved, these are visited and these are cared for by local people. My constituents first sent me to this place in 2019 to protect our beautiful and unique natural environment, and they've re-elected me twice more to push for stronger action on climate change to care for our precious environment and for ourselves.

We need to strengthen our environmental laws, and I'll continue to call for comprehensive reforms in the 48th Parliament, including for the inclusion of communities in decision-making—not just businesses and environmental groups. It is important that the public has a clear line of sight on all environmental decisions, like whether the large-scale renewable energy or fossil fuel projects should be approved. We need to make laws that lock in transparency, and we can't leave that to chance—or, worse, vested interests and lobbyists. I will keep fighting for this; I'll keep fighting for this hard in the 48th Parliament.

Reforms like these are critical as we transition to renewable energy—a goal I support. But I am concerned at the damage done to regional communities from the poor consultation—and bad behaviour, frankly—of some renewable energy companies. Communities deserve to be engaged early and meaningfully in the development of energy projects happening in their area, and right now this is not consistently happening. In 2023, I took my concerns to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to set up an independent community engagement review, and I was very happy to work with Senator Pocock on this endeavour. This review, undertaken by former Australian Energy Infrastructure commissioner Andrew Dyer, made nine recommendations to improve community engagement and consultation on renewable energy projects. I successfully argued for some of these recommendations to be funded in the 2024-25 federal budget. I will continue to advocate for the people of Indi in ways that are appropriate as their federal member, to work to improve the systems for all regional Australia and to also ensure regional communities meaningfully benefit—long-term benefit, long-term legacy and regional development—from their renewable energy transition.

As with their renewable energy plans, if the government fail to take a strong regional lens to their housing plans, they will be failing our growing regions. We experience the housing crisis just as those in the cities do, and, for too many people in my electorate, finding an affordable home or secure rental feels like a complete impossibility. This is why the Housing Australia Future Fund, and similar investment programs delivered through Housing Australia, must guarantee—guarantee!—funding for regional communities. We represent 30 per cent of the population, so we should receive 30 per cent of housing funding, and I will continue to prosecute the case for this. Addressing the housing crisis will require sustained commitment from all levels of government—not for a single year, not for a single election cycle, but over many years and many election cycles. This government has taken important first steps with investments in social and affordable housing, critical enabling infrastructure and planning reform at the state and local level. But the work cannot stop there. Australians will expect results over the next three years, and so will I.

During the recent election, I highlighted that while the government has conducted significant work to address the affordability of early childhood education and care, the major issues in my electorate relate to accessibility. We know that childcare deserts exist right across regional Australia, occurring at more than double the rate that they do in major cities—yes, double the rate. In north-east Victoria there are three children for every childcare place. This means that many children miss out on all the benefits of child care and parents are unable to work to their full capacity, meaning that our whole community misses out on their skills. I'm working with communities in my electorate to prepare for the Building Early Education Fund, or the BEEF, which, if delivered well, can make a meaningful difference in childcare deserts like those in my electorate. But, frankly, this fund is too small, and more funding will be needed to meaningfully increase availability across regional and outer-urban Australia.

Like long day care, outside school hours care is another key pillar of education in small rural communities. That's why, in 2024, I fought hard for eight local providers when they had long-term funding under the Community Child Care Fund withdrawn. These providers are the only services in their areas and are mostly based in small rural primary schools. The funding cut meant some services were at risk of closing. Last year, hundreds of providers across Australia were found to be in need of this funding, but the funding pool was just too small.

During the election campaign, I argued that this could be solved if the Community Child Care Fund was a demand-driven grant, not a competitive grant. If we want young families to come and stay in the regions and grow our communities, we must have available child care. Thriving communities also rely on reliable internet and phone connections to run businesses and healthcare services and to simply stay connected when there's an emergency.

In the election, I put forward a costed policy to ensure all mobile phone towers in areas of high fire and disaster risk are equipped with battery backup. This is crucial, because, when mobile phone towers and internet systems fail, entire towns can become cut off. During emergencies, like fires or floods, that can cost lives. By requiring all towers in high-risk areas to have at least 24 hours of backup, we will increase our resilience and keep businesses and communities online even when the power goes out.

I hear from my constituents and Indi's nine local governments about how our roads are disintegrating before our very eyes and how we simply do not have the funding to fix them. To solve this, I want to see the return of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. This program provided untied funding for local governments to invest in the maintenance and upgrade of their local roads, of which they have thousands of kilometres to look after. Through my work as a member of the Regional Development Infrastructure and Transport Committee, I know that untied funding is vital for small rural councils. The nine local governments in my electorate frequently raise the need to reinstate this funding. I am glad to support them, and this government should do so. I was pleased to see the coalition make the same commitment during the election, and now I call on the government to step up to the plate and do the same.

This 48th parliament is a big opportunity for this place to come together and solve some of the big problems that Australians face. I want to be clear that I come into this parliament with the spirit of collaboration, with the spirit of bringing solutions to difficult problems, and with the community of Indi firmly in my mind every time I stand to speak in this place.

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The last election campaign feels like a long time ago now. I don't think it would be hyperbole to say that our particular campaign in Wills was one of the most difficult campaigns—remarkable in some respects—in recent Australian political history. It was tough campaign; I think that's the best way to put it.

On that, I do want to thank a number of people who made such an amazing and remarkable commitment to such a tough campaign. All the Labor members, all of my staff, all of the supporters, all the people who were part of that Wills campaign—I want to say a really deep, strong thank you to them for everything they did. They should take great pride in the effort they made and in the commitment, the passion and the belief that they kept. We did it together. A lot of people wrote us off, with respect to winning or being re-elected in Wills. Then there were people who kept the belief. They were true believers, in many respects.

We did it against the odds. We did it in the face of what could be considered a barrage of sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We prevailed together because of those people who were so committed. I say thank you to each and every one of you, because you never gave up, you never took a backward step and you never stopped working for Wills. I say thank you, for us to be able to represent the people of Wills and work for Wills. There are a lot of people to thank. They know who they are, and I'll come to some of the individuals in a moment.

One of the key themes in the campaign—particularly at the national level, all the way at the top—was the theme of kindness, compassion and respect. These are important values, and they were articulated regularly by our prime minister during the campaign, before the campaign and at key moments. Part of the respect aspect was that there was this culture war and a debate about the acknowledgement of country. But acknowledgement to First Nations people is a profound mark of respect. Because of the work we do in this nation, we seek a more perfect union of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians across what is an ancient land. That respect is important. The work we do as a Labor government for the peoples of Australia right across this continent—whether it's to uplift First Nations peoples, whose ancestors have been here for over 60,000 years, or whether it is to support newly arrived Australians who've been here for 60 days—is about giving every single Australian an opportunity to fulfil their potential.

All the volunteers, staff, Labor members and Labor supporters who worked on that campaign, I think, understood the core of that, which is that we are here and we have a special privilege being here, as members of parliament, to try and uplift the people that we represent, to give them a better life. Of course, you can't do that unless you win elections and get re-elected, and it is the work of those people—those volunteers and those supporters—that makes amazing victories happen. They dedicate weeks, months and years to victory, and they do it in the smallest possible ways but in the most important possible ways: doorknocking, calling on phones, phone banking, and putting up signs and corflutes in front yards across the electorate. They work at prepoll—which was brutal, sitting there from 8 am to 6 pm every day for over two weeks—and they work on election day as well. They are what makes our democracy tick. I think all the members of parliament, whatever their political stripes—whether they be from whatever party they belong to or whether they be Independent—understand that the work these people do and the commitment they make forms the guts of our democracy. It's what makes it tick as well.

We did a lot of doorknocking and a lot of calling of people—tens of thousands of people—over that period of time in engaging with our community. As I said, it was a tough campaign, and we faced what were very significant obstacles over a long period of time. There was a redistribution. We can't fault the AEC; they're independent from us and they do their thing. But that cut the margin by five or six per cent in my electorate. We faced a very strong campaign from the Greens political party, throwing pretty much everything at us, including lots of money and resources and a full-time candidate, for over a year. That's all normal; that's fine.

But I wanted to just touch on something that wasn't fine and wasn't acceptable, and that is the violence and intimidation that we experienced and that many of our volunteers, supporters and staff experienced as well. Threats against staff and volunteers that were made at the prepoll, including death threats, are not normal. That's not acceptable and should never, ever be acceptable in our democracy. Physical violence and harassment of that nature are absolutely unacceptable. Every person in this country has a right to participate in our democratic processes freely and without risk of violence or intimidation of that sort. That is, I think, fundamental to our democracy as well. Our democracy is built on the idea that we resolve our disagreements through debate and voting and not at the end of a sword. I think the length of the table in the House of Representatives chamber is the length of a sword, or longer than a sword, so that you can't reach over and do harm to your political opponent.

The right to protest, though, is something that I've publicly stated again and again is a fundamental democratic principle and a democratic right of every Australian citizen. Every Australian has a right to freely express their views in public protest, and we should always support that 100 per cent. That's what I've tried to do. But I think it's important to note that with that great privilege in our democracy comes obligation as well—that people don't cross the line into attacking someone because of their ethnicity, faith, gender or sexuality, or whatever attribute, and they don't personalise in that respect. But they can be free to express any view they want, and we can be free to disagree. It's navigating that difference that I think makes our democracy work. It's not just here in this place—this is the pointy end where we navigate difference in robust debate—but every day within our society and within our communities that people must find a way to get through their differences and navigate those differences without resorting to attacking someone else because of who they are.

I would like to say that our campaign—and I can speak for the many people who volunteered and were part of that—rose above some of these petty hatreds that we experienced. I again want to thank those people for being able to conduct themselves with such grace and respect in the face of such unacceptable behaviour. It is not right for my staff to be subjected to physical attacks where they basically had to be escorted by police out of their own electorate office. These are young men and women who are working every day to help people have a better life, as most MPs would understand. The work we do is to help people with their visas, with NDIS, with Centrelink or with whatever it might be. They're helping people. They don't deserve to be spat at or surrounded by a mob and to have to have a police escort to leave their own office. They don't deserve to arrive at their office to find chemical fumes from a hole drilled into the back of that office by activists the night before and to have to evacuate our electorate office for six to eight weeks while a hazmat team sorts it out. They don't deserve that. I don't think any of us as MPs should be subjected to this kind of hate speech, but I want to really emphasise that our staff should not be subjected to that, nor should our volunteers be subjected to that.

Ultimately, one can make the point that the voters rejected these disgusting tactics. This even goes for those people who didn't vote for us. So many people who I spoke to said, 'Well, Peter, I like you, but I'm voting for the Libs'—or, 'I'm voting for the Greens'—'but we think what's happening is disgusting.' I appreciated those people speaking to me in that way. This is not a question of whether you agree with the politics or the party or whatever; it's a question of what kind of society you want to live in and what you think is acceptable. There were many, many good people who did not vote for me, who I represent, who made the point to me that they didn't accept what was going on. I thank them for talking to me about that. The other point I want to make is—and I would hope that the results in overcoming some of what we faced sends this message too—that this kind of campaigning doesn't work. It's not a blueprint for success; it's a blueprint for failure and condemnation. I hope that message is heard.

When you get re-elected, you obviously have a lot of commitments that you made, and it is all about being able to deliver. One of the main things I was talking about during the campaign is the fact that being a member of the Labor Party, a party that can form government, means that we can actually deliver on the commitments that we make to the community. We made some incredibly important commitments for the next three years, and that will make a difference to the lives of the people in Wills, the electorate I represent. It also shows the power of being able to form government and deliver for Australians.

I'm very excited about the brand-new Medicare urgent care clinic that will be set up in Coburg. Expressions of interest opened just the other day for sites, and that clinic will take pressure off emergency wards in hospitals. It will take pressure off the public hospital system's emergency departments by treating locals for urgent but non-life-threatening issues like cuts, burns and breaks. We've all been in that situation where you need more than a GP but less than an emergency department, and this is the gap the clinic will fill.

I also was very pleased to be able to commit $4.5 million for upgrades to the Fawkner netball courts. That sounds like a lot of money for sports, but I can tell you that that community, the Fawkner Netball Club, has built something quite special. It has grown over the last couple of years, and I've been there for the journey with Grace, Jade and everyone there. They've brought in girls and boys—but mainly girls—from so many diverse communities to play netball and to be part of something, to be part of a community. It's a sporting club, yes, but it's also somewhere you go where there's a lot of love and community. It's so important for young people to be physically fit and healthy and play sport, but it's also important for their mental health to have those social connections. There are so many places in our society where there's less and less of that—fewer people are going to mosques or churches or temples or whatever, fewer people are volunteering, fewer people are involved in Rotary clubs—so sporting clubs are still that bastion of community spirit. That's going to make a big difference to the entire team there at Fawkner Netball Club.

I also was very excited to announce $3.7 million for the Linear Parklands in North Carlton, North Fitzroy and Princes Hill. As soon as Princes Hill became part of my electorate, Yarra City Councillor Ken Gomez and others were onto me straightaway about how desperately they needed upgrades to Linear Park, and I was thrilled to announce that funding at a community meeting in April.

But our commitments for my electorate don't stop there. We're delivering $3.3 million for the Gillon Oval redevelopment, and that is an important one, because John Curtin—our great Prime Minister John Curtin—actually played football for the Brunswick Football Club at that oval. He also sat up there in the stands when he was a member of the selection committee for the Brunswick Cricket Club. So it's a very famous and historically important place. Upgrades are desperately needed for all the sporting clubs there, and for all the boys and girls and seniors that play there. Again, it will bring that sense of community. We supported lots of local community groups as well.

Funding for the environment is so important, such as the $1.9 million for Merri Creek, which is the border of my electorate. Thankfully the AEC didn't change that one; it's still there. They can't change the course of the Merri Creek that much; it's a natural feature. It's also so important that future generations can see and enjoy the local flora and fauna along Merri Creek.

I've always said that the best and most important thing about being a member of parliament is serving the community. Service is the No. 1 objective of what we do—serving the people you represent and making a difference to their lives. That's why I'm so excited to be part of this second-term Albanese Labor government. The Prime Minister talked a lot about kindness. If we can keep that as our guiding star in this second term, where we look at all the policies that we're developing and trying to debate and all the rest—and that's great—we'll hopefully improve them through the parliamentary processes. But kindness and compassion for others will remain central to what we're about and why we're doing what we're doing—kindness in the sense of being able to help people who are vulnerable, the kindness of helping those who are struggling and can't help themselves, and kindness to those who just need a bit of a helping hand, to give them the guidance to fulfil their potential. These are, I think, the ways that these values can be so instrumental in the work that we do.

So whether it's getting people into homes, whether it's cutting their HECS debt by 20 per cent, whether it's tackling the climate crisis or whether it's making GP visits free, what does that stem from? It stems from our desire to help people and to demonstrate compassion and kindness in what we do and why we do it. There's going to be a lot of work to do in the next three years. For me personally, that will be reconnecting as well as building new connections with the communities that I represent, and battling those intergenerational challenges that people face. I'm up for the challenge and I know my team is up for the challenge.

Lastly, it is a great privilege to be sworn in and appointed as Assistant Minister for Defence. I was reminded of my place in the pecking order by my 10-year-old daughter when she asked, 'What was your first trip like?' I said I went to RAAF Base Pearce in WA, which is like in Top Gun; it is where we train our fighter jet pilots. She said, 'Oh yeah, that's interesting.' Trying to impress her further, I said I'd gone on the PM's plane and, when I walked down the tarmac, all the military saluted me. She asked, 'Why'd they do that?' and I said it was because they have a protocol where they have to salute the Minister for Defence. She replied, 'Settle down, dad; you're just an assistant minister.' So she put me in my place! But it is an important responsibility and a real privilege to do this work in defending our national interests, our national security and our way of life and supporting the Australian Defence Force in the work that they do.

I'm particularly keen and excited to be working on things like humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. I've already started to do that work as well. I note our place in the world, Australia's role in the world and the responsibility that we have to make our contribution to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific, because that security and stability is where our prosperity as a trading nation flows from, and the ADF play an instrumentally important role in ensuring that stability and security in our region and maintaining that rules based order, which includes adherence to international law and human rights. So the work that our men and women in uniform do—the humanitarian assistance they provide, the security work that they do and the defence of our nation and our interests—is of such critical importance, particularly in such a volatile period as the one that we're facing. But they're up to the task, and it's our responsibility to provide them with the capabilities and assets they need to do their work.

In conclusion, there's a great movie called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Some of you might have seen it if you are over 50 or maybe 40. It is a great film. My little kids also said to me—

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hope you don't reflect on the chair!

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, not on you, Deputy Speaker! I tried to show this to my kids, aged 12 and 10, and my daughter said to me: 'Oh, do the good always win? Sometimes the bad win in life.' I said: 'That's true. Sometimes the bad win. But you know what? If you stick to your principles—if you stand fast to what you really believe in and you work hard and express that compassion and kindness in everything you do and help others—more often than not the good will win.' I think that's very true.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet for this parliament, the Ngunnawal people, which is of course part of the electorate that I am so proud to represent in this place, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. It was particularly moving to see Aunty Violet Sheridan do the welcome to country for the opening of parliament this term. It was really wonderful to see her, as someone I know and am often with at events, have that honour this time. We share this continent with the world's oldest continuing culture—more than 60,000 years of custodianship and of deep connection to country, land that always was and always will be Aboriginal land. 'Canberra', of course, comes from a word meaning 'meeting place', a fitting description for a place which for millennia has brought together Indigenous nations and today brings together the representatives in our democracy.

I was born and raised here in Canberra, and it is an immense privilege to have been re-elected by my community to represent them in the 48th Parliament. On 3 May, Canberrans once again rejected the politics of hate and division, they rejected fear campaigns, they rejected relentless attacks on public servants and they rejected the tired, cynical attempts to diminish this city. As a proud Canberran, I was heartened to see the rest of the nation reject those attacks too, resoundingly, and to see my Labor team and my prime minister defend our city and the hardworking people that live here, not just here in our city but in the national conversation. Canberra is a special place. We have five university campuses in my electorate. The federal government is a major employer. We have an incredible small-business community that makes our city the vibrant and wonderful place that it is. For many years, Canberrans have punched above our weight on the national and international stage.

I want to focus for a minute on the Public Service. The men and women who make up our APS are dedicated, hardworking, professional people. The work of the APS is the solid foundation that we use to build the future prosperity of the nation. It is work that confronts the challenges we face as a nation, from climate change to health care to infrastructure to social security. It requires long and tiring work hours, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of what Australia and Australians need as a nation and as a people. As the term suggests, these people are servants of the public. They are people whose motivation to go to work every day is the national interest, and that is something that, as a Canberran, I have a deep respect for.

Canberrans know, probably more than most, the value of an empowered APS in delivering the policy outcomes that create a better future for all Australians and are a key part of a well-functioning democracy. I saw it in my father's career in the Public Service, and I was fortunate that he taught me about the principles of frank and fearless advice and how important that was to getting the best policy outcomes for Australia. In my own career, including as a public servant in Treasury, I was also able to see that work firsthand and work with some of the most professional and dedicated people I will ever have the privilege to work with.

That is why it is so enraging to see the politics of Canberra-bashing wielded by those opposite. While in office, those opposite gutted the APS in what could only be seen as an attitude of contempt for those who work in it. We saw huge amounts of outsourcing, arbitrary employment caps designed for political pointscoring, wage freezes, and speeches by the former prime minister that completely misunderstood the purpose and mission of the APS—or, more likely, misrepresented what he knew was the hardworking and important role they play, as anyone who has served as a minister or of course prime minister would know from working directly with those people.

When Labor returned to power in 2022 we set about rebuilding a greatly diminished APS, and the response of those opposite was as expected. For the last term we saw Trumpian attacks on public servants, culminating in the election threat to sack 41,000 Canberra based public servants and end flexible work. Thankfully, Australians understood the dire consequences there would have been, not just for those who would have lost their jobs but also for the services that Australians rely on. Given that election result and the fact that our government openly rejected this, I hope we can move on from this cheap politics of Canberra-bashing that had no basis in actual outcomes for the Australian people but was based on a cheap political idea that attacking our city is popular elsewhere. I hope we can put that to bed and move on from it, because I've been incredibly proud of the way our prime minister, our government and my ACT colleague Senator Katy Gallagher, who has ministerial responsibility for the APS, have stood up to defend those hardworking people.

On 3 May Australians voted for a government that, over the previous three years, had delivered stability, decency and vision—a government that understands the lives, hopes and needs of everyday Australians. Australians told us clearly what they wanted to see: help with the cost of living, serious action on climate change, action on housing so that more people can have a roof over their head and own their own homes, free health care and affordable medicines, cheaper early childhood education and care, fully funded public schools, a fairer deal on student debt, Australia's global reputation restored, and the ability to earn more and keep more of what they earn. The Albanese Labor government delivered on these priorities and will continue to deliver for the Australian people in the 48th Parliament.

We are lucky to live in Australia. Our democracy is robust, our elections are fair and our independent Australian Electoral Commission is one of the best in the world. We should be immensely proud of the system we have built, a system that delivers stability, integrity and a voice for every citizen. Our elections are well run, transparent and trusted—a credit to the professionalism of the AEC. Of course, no system is perfect, and there are always improvements that can be made. But the 2025 federal election once again showed why Australia's democracy is among the strongest and most inclusive in the world. Our system of compulsory and preferential voting is unique and powerful. It ensures broad participation and real representation, and we must never allow it to be undermined.

I should say that while my Labor values are fundamentally part of who I am and will always motivate me, my first love is democracy, and my first political lesson from my mother was that you should never take for granted your right to vote. We continue to see people around the world dying for that very right. I think it is something that we must cherish and always take the opportunity to engage in as much as we can. When I'm out talking to Canberrans and campaigning, I'd rather hear someone say to me that they are supporting someone else or that they want to see me or my party doing something differently than hear someone express a total disinterest or disengagement with politics. It is so important that we stay engaged in order to maintain that strong democracy. I'm particularly pleased about and looking forward to serving on the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in this 48th Parliament and to do my part in protecting and strengthening our democracy for future elections.

My own re-election campaign here in Canberra was a massive grassroots effort as it always is. Our campaign team was made up of committed volunteers, mostly from Labor Party members, who did everything from erecting roadside corflutes, doorknocking and assembling booth kits to standing on pre-poll for countless hours, always with a smile on their face. I really want to thank them for their efforts from the bottom of my heart.

I'm always hesitant to start naming people because you will leave someone off, and I probably didn't actually see the work that many people were doing behind the scenes, putting in countless hours doing things like putting the signs out at night. But I particularly want to thank a few volunteers who showed up to pretty much every doorknock across almost all of the suburbs in my electorate, including Oksana Melnyk, Anne Baly and Julia Raine. I also want to acknowledge Janaline Oh, Labor's formidable second Senate candidate, who was doorknocking at not only all of my doorknocks but also those for our other ACT candidates. Her commitment to our cause was an inspiration, and I'm so grateful for the time that she gave to my campaign.

With over 32 booths on polling day, it took essentially an army of volunteers to man those booths and spread the Labor message. I want to thank everyone who helped out on that day, particularly the booth captains of whom there are far too many to name. I want to thank my core team: Hamish; Rad Miller; Grace; Andrew; India; my volunteers Fran and Karen, who came out of retirement to help out on the election campaign; and Tina, who always takes time off work to come and volunteer in the lead-up to polling day. I couldn't do it without you guys. You're absolutely amazing, and I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful team around me.

I also want to thank the Labor Environment Action Network for the faith they placed in me when naming me as one of their LEAN champions in recognition of the importance of having people within our Labor caucus speaking up on environment and climate matters. It was really helpful for me, with the grassroots campaigning that the ACT region LEAN team did for me as well as the national efforts around that. Campaigns are run by people, but they also require money. I want to thank the many Canberrans and Labor Party members who donated generously to my campaign. I'm very grateful.

To my community who put their faith in me at the ballot box: I will not let you down and I pledge to work every day to represent you as best as I can in this place. Thank you for placing your trust in me. For those who didn't support me at the election, I want you to know that I am equally here to listen to you and understand the changes that you want to see and also to represent you in this place.

Even before this parliament convened, key policy changes began from 1 July. Paid parental leave was extended to 24 weeks, with superannuation now paid on that leave. This is something that will make a huge difference for so many families around Australia. Also from 1 July, every household and business began receiving energy bill relief. We slashed the price of home batteries to help lower household emissions and energy bills at the same time. Apprentice tradies who will be building Australia's homes became eligible for a $10,000 bonus. An extra $1.8 billion flowed into hospitals, including here in Canberra. Paid prac placements began for nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery students. The superannuation guarantee increased to 12 per cent, and millions of minimum wage and award wage workers got a 3.5 per cent pay rise. These are true Labor reforms to improve the lives of Australians.

The mission of Labor governments has always been one of fairness, of a society where, as the Prime Minister says, no-one is held back and no-one is left behind. We are the party that created and will always strengthen Medicare, we are the party that stands up for our environment and for climate justice and we are the party that established the NDIS and paid parental leave. We will continue to deliver on these things in this term.

I now want to turn to some of the issues that my constituents have been raising most with me since the election and in the lead-up to the election. I want to begin by speaking about the situation in the Middle East. The people of Gaza are starving. The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip is beyond comprehension. As the Prime Minister has said, it has exceeded the world's worst fears of what could happen there. We see the photos of starving children and hear the reports of doctors collapsing from hunger. We watch the videos of desperate people scrambling for the tiniest scraps of food, dodging gunfire to do so. Just yesterday we saw another hospital bombed and more journalists killed in what has been the deadliest conflict on record for the press.

UN agencies have warned that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out. The famine is not the result of natural disasters or drought. It is not an unavoidable tragedy. It is a man-made catastrophe. It is a calculated, deliberate starvation of a civilian population that has endured relentless war for nearly two decades. We cannot let this go on. Using starvation as a weapon of war is horrendous and clearly a breach of international law, as is the bombing of hospitals and relentless killing of innocent people.

I welcome Australia's decision to recognise a state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly. It is so important. It is a clear and principled statement and something that many people, including me, have advocated for for a long time. It is a recognition that the Palestinian people are entitled to dignity, to safety and to statehood. Of course, it doesn't address the current situation that is going on in Gaza. The fear that many are expressing to me is that, as the Foreign minister has said, there's a risk that there will be no Gaza left to recognise. But it is an important step in creating that international momentum. Our prime minister has been subject to personal attacks from the Prime Minister of Israel for taking this position. The Israeli prime minister has claimed that our prime minister is weak. But I thought the Leader of the House said it best when he said that strength is not measured by the number of people you can blow up or children you can starve. True strength is measured in the pursuit of peace. True strength is measured in protecting the innocent, in committing to uphold international law and in having the courage to stand on the side of humanity.

I am proud of what our government has been doing in this regard. We have been calling for a ceasefire, we have been calling for aid to flow into Gaza and we have contributed significant aid. We have been calling on Israel to respect international law, and we will continue to do so. I hear my community and their deep distress about what is going on in Gaza. I have been engaging with people all of this time, particularly with the Canberra Palestinian community, with organisations like APAN and with any constituents, because I understand their desperation about wanting to see an end to this and the powerlessness that they feel when they see this happen. They just want to stop the killing and destruction. What I do reject when I hear it from my constituents is that our government is doing nothing, because we are not. We have been speaking very strongly on this. There is incredible work that is going on behind the scenes by the Foreign minister, the Prime Minister and others. I also want you to know that, as your representative, this is something that I am focusing on very much and constantly raising in discussions around this. We do want to see an end to what is happening there—this terrible situation. It would dehumanise us all if we were to stand by and see what is continuing to happen in Gaza.

The government is taking real, responsible action to protect nature and secure the economy of the future. We are reforming Australia's outdated and broken environmental laws—laws that don't work for the environment, for business or for communities. We're responding to the Samuel review with our Nature Positive Plan, backed by serious investment, and we're getting on with delivering it. I've been really pleased, since the election, to see the momentum with which we are working towards delivering reform of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This is something that my constituents raise with me constantly. It is something that I have focused my advocacy on for the whole time I've been in parliament, since 2019. It is critical that we get this right, and I was pleased to see that, as part of the roundtable last week, this priority was emphasised again. We need strong laws that protect nature and protect the environment but also are going to make it more efficient for projects to be approved in a way that is more fitting for these decisions. So I want to say to my electorate: I am raising those concerns that you raised with me, and I will continue to do so.

When we choose fairness over division, compassion over cruelty and responsibility over denial, we build a better future for all Australians. That is the mission of this Labor government, and it is why I sought election, why I am honoured to serve in this place and why I will continue to work every single day for the people of Canberra and for our common future, because ours is a nation built on the principle that no-one should be held back and no-one should be left behind. I'm so proud to be part of a government that will always strive to achieve this goal.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In this traditional first debate of the parliament after a federal election, it's always been my practice to begin by saying thank you. Thank you to the voters in my electorate in Gellibrand in Melbourne's west for their trust and confidence. Thank you to them for choosing the things that unite us and seeing that the things that we have in common are bigger and more important than the things that divide us. Thank you to the outstanding, professional and independent staff of the Australian Electoral Commission, who undertook a very well-run election in Gellibrand in Melbourne's west. Thank you to the other contesting candidates who ran in Gellibrand at the last federal election. They all conducted themselves with, I think, very real respect and dignity, and I was proud to spend many, many hours standing next to them at prepoll and on election day.

But, of course, the most important group that I need to thank here in this chamber are the Labor true believers and my supporters, who made the election win in Gellibrand for the Labor Party possible. We couldn't have achieved the result we did without the volunteers who shared our vision for building Australia's future, including those who, without complaint or ego, showed up in a common cause to support our Labor campaign. I'm proud that our campaign in Gellibrand was as diverse as the place in which we live and work. It reflected modern Australia and won the endorsement of modern Australia. It brought together people from all possible backgrounds in pursuit of a common cause: to build a stronger and fairer future for Australia.

I want to name many of these people individually here for the benefit of the Hansard. I want to give special thanks to Alison, Catherine, Freddie, Victor, Azhar, William, Jason, Greg, Leon, Clovis, John and Nitika, who showed up throughout the entire campaign to deliver our Labor government's vision for building Australia's future. Alison and Victor showed up for all the usual events, joining me for doorknocking, prepoll and election day, but also went so far as to indulge me in that very Queensland practice of wobbleboarding on Point Cook Road and Central Av, where our government has committed $58.5 million to get our community where they need to go faster and safer. That funding will deliver duplication on Central Avenue to Point Cook Road to ease congestion. We're also developing a business case to duplicate Point Cook Road between Jamieson Way and Dunnings Road. I'm proud that we're delivering meaningful action for some of Australia's most diverse and fastest growing suburbs.

Scores of people turned up to help throughout the campaign and on election day to share our message for the voters in Gellibrand. I want to thank our booth captains: Tully, Melissa, Felix, Gary, Bill, Japinda, Jason, Anne, Rajash, Alison, Archita, Gary, Nathan, Sean, Catherine, Rajash, Sean, Scott and Aidan. I also want to share our gratitude with all the locals who volunteered on the doors, at train stations and at voting booths: Amar, Ken, Noel, Mel, Peter, Narelle, Isaac, Dylan, Myles, John, Effie, Andy, Houssein, Kifeh, Raha, Claire, Ahmad, Ghassan, Milad, Micheel, Olivia, Ehsan, Amany, Khaled, Louay, Kemal, Wajid, Tefera, Meserat, Matiebie, Catherine, David, John, Peter, Daniel, Dan, Margie, Craig, Marguerite, Lucien, Mark, Muffy, Chandni, Nadia, Tilak, Kazim, Israel, Abdi, Azhar, Abdul, Lorraine, Robin, Dean, Peter, Dan, Enchalew, Di, Lance, Andrew, Rajash, Palak, Solomon, William, Hasan, Julie, Kiran, Rubay, Tekeste, Alula, Neha, Jeeva, Aymart, Rashmi, Mac, Vinesh, Eva—but, wait, there is more—Rabindra, Mita, Ravi, Amit, Ivo, Kay, Gavin, Matt, John, Tom, Greg, Nahida, Rayane, our third Rajneet, Greg, JP, Katherine, Reena, Anagha, Niharica, Nick, Abnash, Ali, Trish, Sumit, Nick, Maryam, Ian, Kerry, Kevin, Molly, Maria, Justin, John, Linelle, Patsy, Ralph, Carrol, Trevor, Kai, Joel, Sandy, Scott, Jane, Kate, Ken, Sam, Andrei and Bill.

I also want to thank our state members, Mat Hilakari, Melissa Horne and Sarah Connolly. It was a team effort. Thank you for giving us all your early mornings at train stations, your voices at doorknocks, prepolls and polling booths, your time scrutineering, and for coming together to celebrate on election night. Thank you to all—it really means a lot. Can I also say thank you to my staff, some of whom were experiencing their first election campaign working from an electorate office. I should assure them that they're not all like this one! Thank you to Lachlan, Priya, Arth, Alex, Annabel, Laura, Mel, Francis and Archita.

I do want to single someone out here, and that is, of course, Stevie Le. I want to briefly recognise the contribution that he has made as a long-term member of my office, who finished up with me shortly after the last election. Stevie Le has worked with me since I started as a member of parliament 12 years ago. He's the only staffer who's done the full journey. We've gone through five elections together and seen thousands of volunteers and staff come and go through our office and our campaigns. During that time, Stevie has been the foundation stone of the work of my office. He's been a mate, and he's been a personal rock for me.

We've been through a lot together over the last 12 years. There's been a lot of joy. Steve's had a wedding and three kids while working in my office. Steve won ABC's Hard Quiz with his expert knowledge of S Club 7. He won the APH footy tipping competition—an extraordinary achievement that deserves recognition in the Hansard. We were both there when the Western Bulldogs won the flag in 2016. We were also there for the open training, the banner making, the grand final parade and all that good stuff that goes along with a grand final win.

There were hard times too, though. We've been confronted by neo-Nazis at the pub. We've lost dear friends from our office and grieved our fellow staffers Clara and Walter together at their funerals with our electorate office family and the community that they served. We got through the long Victorian COVID lockdowns together, for stretches of which it was just Steve and me in the electorate office.

Through all this, there has been no-one who has helped more people in my electorate than Steve. As a result, he's been a beloved member of our local community. It would be a rare day for me at a train station, polling booth or supermarket that someone in my electorate didn't thank me for something that Steve had done for them. So thank you, Steve. More importantly, thank you, Marylyn, for sharing Steve with us on so many weekends and late nights. To Sammy, Spencer and Maisie: you can all be very proud of your dad.

For the benefit of the Hansard, I want to say thank you, mate, for the last 12 years, and I do want to note that Steve isn't out of the electorate office game just yet. He's just moved on to work with a dear friend of the both of us, the new member for Gorton, helping her set up her electorate office in the electorate down the road. So he's got plenty more people to help in Melbourne's west just yet. I want to send him off into this new role with the words of S Club 7. Let me say this just once for the record. I say:

Don't stop, never give up

Hold your head high and reach the top

Let the world see what you have got

Bring it all back to you

Thank you, Steve Le.

Point Cook in my community in Melbourne's west is the largest and most multicultural suburb in Australia. In Point Cook, one of those spaces for connection where we come together in our diverse backgrounds is the Point Cook Pop Up Park. For nearly a decade, this diverse and growing community has come together at the Point Cook Pop Up Park at Stockland. The Point Cook Pop Up Park would not have existed without the tireless work of CoLocal, a not-for-profit grassroots group who have championed the park from inception and nurtured it to the success that it is today. It's been supported by a series of state and federal grants along the way and has hosted a swathe of important local and multicultural events which reflect who we are as a community in Melbourne's west.

I have personally attended at the pop-up park many Diwalis, Holis, Lunar Festivals, Pasifika Festivals, a Latino festival, Filipino Fiesta, Tamil New Year, Eid al-Fitr, Harmony Day, the Africa Festival, Halloween events, spring racing activations, kids fun days and the Christmas market and carols. There's also a wonderful Rainbow Serpent mural celebrating First Nations culture, symbolising community unity and cohesion. The events that have been at the Point Cook Pop Up Park are a reflection of the rich tapestry of culture, tradition, food and storytelling that makes Point Cook unique as Australia's most multicultural suburb.

The park not only provides community space and celebrates our community but provides real economic benefits to local traders and has revitalised Point Cook Stockland's dining precinct, with 81 per cent of people who have said that the events at the park encourage them to explore new shops, cafes and restaurants in the area and 83 per cent of people surveyed who purchased food or went shopping at nearby stores before, after or during attending events at the park.

Located on a pedestrian street in one of the community's biggest shopping centres, events aren't just something on the way to your weekly grocery shop. They're a destination. It's clear that CoLocal and the Point Cook Pop Up Park's events are deeply valued and supported by the community, drawing 60,000 people to the town centre in the last 18 months alone. The park has become a cherished gathering place for westsiders to frequent today and a focal point for building community and connection and an array of events and entertainment.

Although it is a collaborative project, the driving force is CoLocal, a grassroots community group who conceived of and power the park's development and success. Sadly, CoLocal have made the difficult decision to step away from future involvement in the pop-up park in coming months, and now the future of the park is at risk. Stockland has indicated its preference to wind up the park and reopen the road it currently occupies. As a community, we can help ensure this doesn't happen. Wyndham City Council is currently seeking feedback from people in Melbourne's west that will determine the future of the park. This feedback is vital to the pop-up park's existence. The council will be guided by what our community tells them. Although CoLocal is stepping away from the pop-up park for now, their hard work and legacy will not be forgotten. I want to thank CoLocal for their leadership, determination and passion over the past eight years. They turned a regular suburban street into a welcoming space that celebrates diversity, fosters connection and champions collaboration.

I want to thank in the Hansard in this place today the CoLocal volunteers who made this project possible: Sudhit Juneja, the organiser of the Diwali and Holi events I mentioned earlier; Phebe Yeo, the organiser of the Kids Lunar Festival; Luciana Manrique, the organiser of the Latino festival; Kaliope Vassilopoulous, the organiser of the Greek Festival; David Mullins; Steve Jaz; Karthick Thanigaimani; and Senthill Sundaram. And, of course, I want to personally recognise Sara Mitchell, the founder of CoLocal. Sara has really put her whole soul into the Point Cook Pop Up Park. I've seen it over the years, and I've seen the very real personal sacrifices she has made investing her time and labour into this passion project. I've seen it, I valued it, I recognise it in this place and I thank her for everything she's done—and I do understand the reasons that she is now walking away from the project.

But I do want to say to everyone in Melbourne's west: whether you're a resident, a community group or a local business, share your feedback on how you use the Point Cook Pop Up Park via the Wyndham City Council's community survey. You can voice your support and what you'd like to see happen there in the future. You can complete the survey online or by speaking to one of the council staff present at the pop-up park from 1 pm to 3 pm on Sunday 7 September or from 3 pm to 5 pm on Thursday 11 September. This feedback will directly determine the future of this vital space for Point Cook locals, and I encourage my community to jump online and make sure the community knows you support the park's ongoing operation and existence. Let the council know how important it is to have a place in the most multicultural suburb in Australia for our Diwali events, our Holi events, our lunar festival—a place where you can bring your family and your friends to come together to celebrate. Share your stories of connection, of celebration and of tradition. If you value the Point Cook Pop Up Park as a place for our community to come together, make sure your voice is heard by the council.

After the federal election I was pleased to be appointed as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs. The Indian Ocean matters to Australia. The Indian Ocean region is essential to Australia's prosperity and security. It's a major part of the Indo-Pacific region, home to the world's fastest growing large economies and also a centre of increasing geostrategic competition. Australia faces the most challenging strategic environment since the Second World War, and our strategic circumstances are continuing to deteriorate. In the Indian Ocean there's increasing competition for access and influence, including efforts to secure dominance over sea lanes and strategic ports. The shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean aren't just vital to Australia; they are vital to the world economy. The Indian Ocean is already bustling with more than a third of the world's bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of global oil shipments. Around half of Australia's sea-bound exports set sail from Indian Ocean ports.

The Indian Ocean is also critical for our defence and national security. Half of Australia's naval fleet is based in the Indian Ocean. And of course it's home to Fleet Base West and Submarine Rotational Force—West. The north-east Indian Ocean was identified as an area of primary interest in the National Defence Strategy for these reasons, and strengthening our partnerships with key partners in the Indian Ocean is one of the Albanese government's priority areas for action in response to the Defence Strategic Review. Our priority in the Indian Ocean is to enhance regional resilience by coordinating with partners on solutions to shared challenges, including maritime and economic security, climate change and disaster resilience. As the foreign minister, Penny Wong, has said, by building resilience we can help keep Australians safe.

Australia has shared interests with the countries of the Indian Ocean in maintaining the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean and in seeing all countries growing their economies and deciding their own futures. The Albanese government is working with the countries of the Indian Ocean to increase our trade, investment, diplomatic and development ties. And we're supporting regional institutions, like the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the region's premier ministerial-level organisation. IORA is critical for Indian Ocean countries to collaborate and resolve shared challenges, and Australia is working to strengthen regional resilience through IORA, including through our investments in maritime security, the blue economy and climate change.

We're also supporting humanitarian initiatives to help prevent regional crises from spilling over and causing instability throughout the Indian Ocean region. For example, we continue to support regional resilience through our development program, including, since 2017, $1.26 billion in humanitarian assistance for people in need in Bangladesh and Myanmar. In Bangladesh, in Cox's Bazar, there are now 1.1 million Rohingya refugees who have been in that camp for going on nine years. This week in the parliament is the anniversary of their exodus from the Rakhine state in northern Myanmar into Bangladesh. It's important for countries in the region—like Australia, the South-East Asian countries, the Indian Ocean countries—to support Bangladesh and support their resilience in hosting this very significant refugee community in our own region.

Where requested, the Australian government also invests in regional resilience by taking targeted actions to help lift the sovereign capabilities of Indian Ocean partners. For example, this year Australia announced that we will gift the first Australian built Guardian class patrol boat to an Indian Ocean country, the Maldives. This gift is a key milestone in our bilateral relationship and a significant step towards enhancing the Maldives's capability to protect its sovereign waters and to contribute to collective maritime security in the Indian Ocean. Lifting the sovereign capabilities of Indian Ocean partners supports them with meeting their challenges in the best way that they see fit. It invests in their agency and their sovereignty.

We've lifted our engagement throughout the Indian Ocean region. We've expanded our diplomatic footprint in the Indian Ocean with a new high commission in Male, in the Maldives, and new consulates in Bengaluru and Kolkata, in India. We're also strengthening our defence partnerships with key partners in the Indian Ocean. Our bilateral defence relationship with India is a primary example of this effort. India is a top-tier security partner for Australia, and we have never been more strategically aligned than we are right now. There are real steps we're taking to grow our defence relationship. We're doing more exercises together, and we're concentrating on how we can build interoperability between our defence forces, enabling us to have greater access to each other's defence facilities.

In times of increasing geostrategic uncertainty, engaging with the Indian Ocean is more important for Australia than ever. We have the biggest search and rescue zone of any nation in the Indian Ocean and one of the biggest EEZs. Australia is using all the tools of statecraft to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region where each country can pursue its own aspirations.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the re-elected member for Gilmore, I am honoured to give this address-in-reply to the Governor-General's speech to start the 48th Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. I want to start by thanking the people of Gilmore, on the South Coast of New South Wales, for re-electing me as your representative in the Australian parliament and for the privilege of fighting for you every single day. I am so thankful to have been first elected in 2019, then in 2022 and now in 2025. It is not something that I take for granted any single day. I have relished the opportunity to stand up for people and fight for more services, roads and community infrastructure. From Moruya and Batemans Bay in the Eurobodalla to the Shoalhaven and Kiama regions, this is a place I am so proud to call home. It's where I was born, where I was married and where I've raised my four now young-adult children, who also live locally. It's where I want all children to be able to grow up, have access to a good education, go to TAFE or university, and work and live locally so they can enjoy this most beautiful part of the world.

When I embarked on this journey some years ago now, to be perfectly honest I didn't know what really lay ahead. But I knew I had, and still have, a yearning thirst and undeniable determination to make sure people in my communities get the best possible support. It was my way of giving back to my community, which I eternally loved and which had provided me with so much. But nothing could prepare me for those first years. From the significant drought in 2019 to the Black Summer bushfires, floods, COVID and natural disaster after natural disaster, people in my communities have gone through so much. They have given so much. Every day we see the selfless sacrifice of volunteers, essential workers, emergency service volunteers and workers, and people in our communities working so hard together to help make our communities even better. Those are communities that I'm proud to be a part of.

I stand with all people in Gilmore as we face many hurdles moving forward, whether it's helping ease cost-of-living pressures, providing better access to health and mental health services, providing more access to affordable and social rental housing or helping more people into homeownership.We are moving forward and delivering on major road projects, such as the Jervis Bay flyover, the Princes Highway duplication to Tomerong, the Milton-Ulladulla bypass and the Nowra bypass, and we are supporting many community infrastructure projects, which, in turn, support people and families.

This election was an excruciatingly tough one, but it was a critical election in Gilmore and returned the Albanese Labor government to continue with the job of providing important cost-of-living relief. There are some people who wrote Gilmore off, but luckily I have never been a person to listen to idle chatter and sometimes even threats. I thought I had seen it all through many elections, but this one really surprised me. I was simply stunned by the scale and ferocity of personal threats. I never knew that we even had woke-culture wars in my own little village of Callala Beach and Callala Bay. This was not the place I knew and loved; it's like someone had invaded it. I remember driving around thinking, 'I just really hope people see through all of that over-the-top, horrible and self-indulgent signage.'

I'm pleased to say they did. There are many great outcomes of this election, but, apart from all the terrific things I'll be able to continue to deliver for my communities, for me, it was knowing that good had prevailed. You don't need to be nasty, to lie outright, to backflip on your views for a vote or to be misogynistic to succeed. And, just because some of the nastiest people might be the loudest, they are, in fact, not the normal. It really is a victory for kindness, for what is right and, ultimately, for what will help people best into the future. I have been strengthened by what I have learnt over the last three years and before that as well. I have tested my own inner strength to the absolute max and beyond what I could imagine, but I've done this because I want the best for our community.

I want to take the next moments to highlight some of the positive measures coming to Gilmore. Health is always No. 1 in Gilmore. With one of the highest numbers of age pensioners in Australia, access to health services is key. That's why I'm proud to be delivering a second Medicare urgent care clinic at Nowra, providing bulk-billed urgent care every day of the year with extended hours. Importantly, this will also take pressure off our busy emergency department at Shoalhaven Hospital. At Batemans Bay, we saw the first Medicare urgent care clinic established, which has now seen over 17,000 patients, all fully bulk-billed. We're extending the hours of the Batemans Bay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic even further so it will be open from 6 am till midnight. That's 18 hours a day—the longest opening hours of any Medicare urgent care clinic in Australia. Again, we're supporting this community, taking pressure off the EDs and supporting local GPs as well.

I'm also proud to say that we're upgrading the existing Medicare mental health hub at Nowra to a full Medicare mental health centre, which will provide extended services and access to psychiatry and psychology services. I have had so many people approach me quietly and tell me that the mental health hub at Nowra and the mental health centre at Moruya have literally saved lives. They are much-needed services and ones I'm proud to deliver, supporting local families and individuals and, again, supporting our local hospitals as well.

Our South-Eastern NSW Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinic at Milton has been so successful, and I'm pleased that the Albanese government has a comprehensive women's health package that provides greater access to menopause support as well as greater access to women's services.

I know people in Gilmore love the changes to make medicines cheaper. Of course, we have introduced 60-day prescriptions. We've also reduced the maximum price of a general script down from $42 to $30, and we're slashing the PBS script price further to $25 from 1 January. We've frozen the cost of PBS scripts for pensioners and concession cardholders at $7.70 until the end of the decade, further helping pensioners with the cost of living.

When it comes to education, I'm immensely proud that our government will deliver fair, needs based funding for our local public schools. This is something I have been campaigning for a very long time. Importantly, it means students will get greater needs based support because education really is a human right. Not only does it support students but it benefits our entire communities. Thanks to the Albanese Labor government, 14,000 people with student debt in Gilmore will have 20 per cent of their student debt slashed. Importantly, the legislation also changes the repayment system to a marginal system, which will reduce minimum repayments required and further help people with the cost of living.

We're extending energy bill price relief, and our Cheaper Home Batteries Program is going gangbusters, with the take-up in Gilmore the highest in New South Wales. Community infrastructure is vital in Gilmore, and I'm thrilled that I'll be delivering $1.39 million to help build a new pilot house for Marine Rescue Shoalhaven at Crookhaven Heads, $3 million for the Batemans Bay Seahawks Football Club to build a new clubhouse, $512,000 for Kiama Surf Life Saving Club to help with their amenities, $840,000 for the Gerry Emery Oval clubhouse upgrade at Gerringong and $5 million to help with the upgrade of the Shoalhaven riverfront at Nowra.

When it comes to roads, we've made great progress. The Jervis Bay Road flyover is under construction and going well, with $100 million in federal funding. The Princes Highway, from the Jervis Bay Road flyover intersection to Hawken Road at Tomerong, is also progressing well, with the concept design being refined, enabled by $400 million in federal funding. The Milton Ulladulla bypass, with $752 million in federal funding, has moved forward to a contract being awarded for concept design. The Nowra bypass, with $97 million in federal funding, is also progressing and expected to enter the development phase in 2026. I have also been really pleased to have secured and delivered federal funding for a wide range of local road projects which are much needed. Whether it is disaster recovery funding, infrastructure betterment funding, Roads to Recovery funding, black spot funding, safer roads funding, the Shoalhaven local roads package or more, federal funding is assisting our local councils and state government with local roads.

When it comes to housing, you can feel the change happening. The momentum is growing, and we are seeing more affordable and social rental housing, more build-to-rent premises that have started and been completed. Importantly, the incentives provided to the state governments are resulting in this uptake of affordable and social rental housing projects and planning reforms, which is allowing more medium-density housing. One such example of this is the Nowra riverfront project, which in one precinct will see an additional 650 medium-density homes, including social and affordable rental housing. This will also assist with frontline worker accommodation, a significant upgrade for Shoalhaven hospital.

Defence and the defence industry is crucial in Gilmore. I am pleased that infrastructure upgrades are occurring at HMAS Albatross in preparation for further upgrades to house additional Seahawk Romeo helicopters. All of this means additional ADF members, squadrons and the training and maintenance to support this increase in capability for our Navy's Fleet Air Arm based at HMAS Albatross. We're home to many terrific defence industry businesses, and we're working to support defence industry employers as well. We're Navy and Defence proud, and it's the reason why we're bringing the 'chopper on a stick' back at its iconic gateway position, which says, 'We are a Navy and Defence town.' Shortly, nominations will open for the community to decide whether the new chopper should be the Huey or a more contemporary Seahawk Romeo that is currently operated by our squadrons.

During the 47th Parliament, I had the honour of participating in the ADF Parliamentary Exchange Program at my local ADF parachuting school just outside HMAS Albatross. The ADF Parliamentary Exchange Program is something I definitely recommend to new MPs. I tell this story because of the immense lessons it has taught me and the deeper understanding I have gained of Defence generally. I participated in the exchange because the Gilmore electorate is home to thousands of serving Defence members, veterans and their families. We're mostly Navy, but the Australian Army's Special Operations Command runs the ADF Parachuting School. I simply wanted to gain a greater understanding of what goes on there, and I wanted to encourage every child locally to consider an ADF career. The reality is that we need more people to join the ADF to fly and maintain our helicopters locally but also to take up a range of roles to provide the integrated and ready capability that Australia needs.

During my exchange, I undertook a tandem ADF parachute jump around 5,000 feet above my beloved electorate, with a very experienced ADF tandem parachuter. While my parachute jump did not quite go as expected—we had a canopy malfunction and a cutaway parachute, we came down on the reserve chute, and I fractured my ankle on the landing—it actually taught me so much. Our ADF members put their lives on the line every single day. They train for every situation possible. But, as I was told later, you can mitigate risk as much as possible but, when you step off the back of a plane, anything can happen. I also came to realise that Defence members and MPs possibly do have some similarities. They both protect and help people—just in different ways. Thank you again to the ADF parachuting school.

I have so many people to thank with this campaign. Thank you to my campaign team, led by the amazing Amy Knox and Simon Zulian. Thank you to Jess Malcolm-Roberts, who has the best political know-how. Thank you to my awesome electorate office team, who just kept things going and kept me on track. Thank you to our most wonderful branch members and volunteers, who were out there every day talking with voters, phone banking, doorknocking, and doing mobile offices, coffee clubs and election day. You name it; they were there. Special thanks to Gwen, the most sensible sounding board, and Lizzie. Michelle Miran, this speech is also for you. While I know you are so unwell, I will always be thankful to you for your unwavering support over many years. You are indeed a Labor legend. Thank you to the best dedicated CPSU doorknockers, Young Labor and everyone who helped. Special thanks to George Simon, assistant general secretary of New South Wales Labor, and to my colleagues for their support during the campaign, for visits and, yes, for more doorknocking.

Thanks to the Prime Minister for visiting multiple times, always being there when needed and providing the steady guidance. I think we both agree that the impromptu visit to Alfresco Coffee Roasters at Moruya on Easter Monday, where you were mobbed in a good way, was a highlight and perhaps the only poll we really needed to listen to.

My final thanks go to the people of Gilmore. Thank you for putting your faith in me, for me to support you over the next three years and be your voice in the Australian parliament. I love supporting people in Gilmore because I love the community I grew up in and always will.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further debate on the matter tonight, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:22