Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm honoured to have been elected again as the member for Berowra to serve in this parliament as the representative of the community I love. The election campaign in Berowra this time was very different to previous campaigns, and one of the key reasons for that was the redistribution that occurred at the end of last year. That redistribution saw Berowra lose the Hills Shire parts of West Pennant Hills and Carlingford. I want to thank the people of West Pennant Hills and Carlingford, whom I have had the privilege to represent since my original election to the House in 2016. I enjoyed working with them on improvements to telco in their area, on supporting the local schools and on delivering local road projects.

This election, the redistribution was quite radical and, for the first time, a member for Berowra represents the entirety of the Hornsby shire. That involved the suburbs of Waitara and North Epping coming into Hornsby and those parts of Hornsby, Normanhurst and Asquith which I previously had not represented becoming part of the Berowra electorate. It is very good to have the Hornsby shire represented by one member of parliament. It means that, alongside the very good state members that are in the Hornsby shire, I can work very closely with my good friend the mayor of Hornsby, Warren Wardell, to deliver outcomes for our electorate.

As well as North Epping, we took on Epping from Bennelong. Epping is in the Parramatta council area. It has traditionally been a more Labor voting area, and was so even in the time when John Howard represented Epping. I want to pay particular tribute to John Howard and John Alexander, who represented Epping and North Epping previously for our party. Both of them came campaigning with me at this election, and both of them gave me good advice on representing the people of Epping.

I'm looking forward to representing these areas. As I've been out and about talking to local sporting groups, the civic trust and some of the church groups, doorknocking in these areas and getting to know these communities better, it's been a great privilege to find some of the challenges. In particular, I'm looking forward to representing more of the business community in Hornsby and Waitara and to being a strong voice for them, as I have been for other parts of my electorate. In the context of the last federal election campaign, I think that, perhaps, too little attention has been paid to the effect of the redistribution on the result and the way in which, particularly in New South Wales, that changed the composition of a number of our electorates, making them naturally less safe than they previously had been. It also affected how the seats fell more broadly.

I also want to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the former leader of our party Peter Dutton. There have been lots of unfair reflections on Peter since the election. I want to state on the record that, even when Peter and I had disagreements, which we did from time to time, he was always thoroughly decent to deal with. He always treated me with great respect. On two of the most important issues facing our country and the world today—the dreadful rise in antisemitism in Australia and standing with our Western liberal democratic ally and security, the State of Israel—Peter Dutton showed magnificent leadership, and for that he will never ever be forgotten. I want to thank him for his service and his leadership.

I also want to acknowledge his staff, in particular Alex Dalgleish, who was his chief of staff, with whom I always had good relationships—even when, famously, I took a very different position on the referendum on the Voice to Parliament, I continued to have a very warm relationship with Alex—and Michelle Hutchinson, who was his principal legal adviser. They were the two people I dealt with. Even when I was drafting private members' bills or doing work, I always benefited from their support and help. I also want to acknowledge my friend Andrew Hirst, the federal director of the Liberal Party. Being a party official is a thankless task, but Andrew does that job with great distinction.

As a party, we are now in a period when we need to reflect on the reasons why we lost nationally and what we can do to bring ourselves back and prepare ourselves to be a government that, in the future, is based on basic Liberal principles and is in touch, particularly with the concerns of families in the suburbs. If we are constantly thinking about how we can make life better for young families in the suburbs, particularly around housing, education and the needs and challenges of raising families, I think that is a good foundation upon which to anchor ourselves. They and the many people who, springing from those communities, are engaged in small business are, in some respects, the forgotten people of the present era. We need to remind people not just of the economic benefit of being involved in small business but of the moral benefit. Putting forward sacrifice, offering to employ people, creating opportunities for people and aspiring to a better future for your family—that is fundamentally what our party has always been about.

I particularly want to take this opportunity to thank some of the people without whom I would not be here. I want to note in particular my wonderful conference president, Michael McAuley. Michael is a tremendous person, a barrister, a former president of the Saint Thomas More Society, a bioethicist. As is said repeatedly in my community, he's either the actual godfather or the metaphorical godfather to about half of the electorate. He did a wonderful job running my conference. It is a very cohesive and diverse conference in terms of political opinion. Michael is warmly respected. Michael follows in the footsteps of Senator Maria Kovacic, who was my previous conference president before she went to the Senate, and Matt Cross, who is now the state member for Davidson. I just want to quash all rumours; I don't think Michael is going to seek election to public office. He is a wonderful friend and wise counsellor, and he is hugely respected across my community. I lean very heavily on Michael for advice and counsel, and he has been wonderful to me.

I want to thank the other members of the conference executive, including Warren Waddell and Helen McNamee, who've served as vice-presidents of the conference. Warren, of course, has now become the mayor of Hornsby, and he is doing a wonderful job. For the first time in a very long time, we have a mayor who understands the people who live and work on the other side of the Galston Gorge, and who has a traditional farming background. Warren is a fifth-generation farmer in our community. I want to also acknowledge the outstanding work of my conference secretary, Tom Green. Tom's political skills are second to none. I was very lucky to have Tom run my campaign alongside Tracey Shute. Tom has walked this journey with me for many, many years before I was a member of parliament, so a particular thanks to Tom.

Tracey Shute also led my office across most of the last term. It was a unique term with many challenges. I think, in some respects, I lived more than three years of a political life in the three years of the last term. Tracey did a phenomenal job keeping our team focused, assisting me to best represent the people of Berowra. She dealt with a major office restructure and an office refit, me being in and out of the shadow cabinet, the big referendum and all of the events that have occurred since October 7 and the enormous projection that that put onto our office—people not only from our electorate but from around the country calling in to the office to offer support or seek succour. Tracey and the team did a wonderful job.

I want to acknowledge the other people who worked in my office. I want to disabuse people; I haven't had a big staff turnover, and I don't have a huge army of people working for me, but I have a lot of part-time people that have worked for me, and I want to acknowledge everyone's contribution. I want to particularly acknowledge Lisa Forrest and Karolina Pulczynski. Karolina particularly has been with me for the entirety of the term and has helped serve our wonderful constituents. Clayton Hopper is my media adviser. Lisa has taken over as office manager. Ava Davidson has been my EA. Also Noah McCarthy, Natalie Yeoman, Eliza Brown, Zach Tang, Lach and Josh Dale, Charlie Stephenson.

In the earlier part of the term, I was honoured to have Paul Ritchie work with me. Paul is one of the heroes of the Liberal Party. He has been an extraordinary storyteller, writer and speechwriter for four leaders of our party at the state and federal level, and I was hugely fortunate to have him work with me, with his great, good counsel and wise judgement and experience. I want to acknowledge Liat Granot and Graham Bannerman, who worked with me as shadow attorney and has come back again to work with me again. Also Anna Coote, Emma Rogers, the wonderful Annette McHugh, Ross Macdonald, Tracey Barrowcliff, Sarah Greenbaum—and mazel tov to Sarah on the birth of Ella—Rowena Bennett, Winnie Le, Jemima Collins, David Mitchell and Aaron Fawcett.

In addition to my hardworking team, there were the wonderful members of the blue crew who helped to ensure I was elected, and I want thank all the people who participated in the various aspects of the campaign, and in particular the people who led the major efforts for the election: Stephen O'Doherty, Georgina Kelly, Peter Brook, Keith and Joanne Anderson, Neil Gleeson and Sreeni Pillamarri, who did a terrific job at the various prepoll locations. Graham Bateman flawlessly ran our train station operation. Phil Hare, despite the personal challenges in his own family, continued to coordinate our street stalls.

I want to thank everyone who came and was involved in the wonderful super Saturday and super Sunday of doorknocking that has become a feature of the Berowra campaigns and, in particular, the Young Liberals from the Hornsby-Berowra Young Liberals and also the Young Liberals from Mitchell conference who came to assist as well. We doorknocked hundreds and hundreds of homes in the more densely populated areas of the electorate on those days. I want to thank Vinay Mann, who led the phone canvassing operation. I'm only able to be the member for Berowra because of the wonderful work of my supporters in the Blue Crew.

One of the things that I especially focused on for the election campaign was a number of commitments that I want to see made to different organisations in my community that are crying out for infrastructure upgrades. I'm probably the least sporting person in the parliament, but I've ended up—

I hear my friend the member for Barker have a chuckle at that, because it's almost certainly true. But one of things I have prided myself on is supporting the sporting communities, because the sporting communities are the hub of our community more broadly. If we had been elected, it would have been such a good thing for our community because our sporting communities have some of the worst infrastructure in the entire state, if not the country. I want to say to the sporting communities: when we make commitments, I will continue to fight for you to get upgrades—the upgrades you so strongly deserve—across the term.

I was proud to stand with the North Epping Rangers and the North Epping Bulls to seek upgrades for the clubhouse at North Epping Oval. Those are wonderful clubs whose sports include cricket, netball and football, among others, and they are the absolute hub of that community. It was wonderful to be able do something with the North Epping community, and I'm going to continue to do so. Similarly, the Berowra Football Club is desperate for new facilities, particularly to accommodate the expansion for female players in both football and cricket. An upgrade of the changing facilities is 40 years overdue.

For two elections now, I have fought alongside the West Pennant Hills-Cherrybrook Football Club to improve facilities at Campbell Park, including a Campbell Park clubhouse upgrade. They need an oval upgrade; I can't remember a worse winter season in terms of the amount of rain than the two winters that we've had. The difficulty is in going back onto the 'Campbell Park swimming pool', as it sometimes looks, rather than the Campbell Park Oval.

I want to acknowledge the wonderful work at Normanhurst of the Normanhurst Eagles and the Normanhurst and Warrawee cricket clubs. These are spectacular soccer and cricket clubs. Again, they have a clubhouse from the seventies. It's not DDA compliant. The doors to the change rooms are often missing. On one occasion, I went down there and one of the glass windows to the change rooms was smashed in. These are great clubs, and great clubs deserve great facilities, so I will continue to fight for them.

They were the major projects. There are a number of smaller projects that I have encouraged my state and council colleagues to help back so we can try to deliver some of their facilities earlier than after the next election, should we win. The first one is the Hawkesbury River Dragons, who are looking for an upgrade to their storage facilities at Brooklyn. They are a wonderful dragon boat club, and I enjoyed so much spending time with them. They are the best of what a sporting club is all about. The Dangar Island Bowling Club, where there is a great hub for live music in my electorate, needs a place where they can have a permanent stage and facilities to keep them dry and keep them safe. Warrah Disability Services is an organisation that runs a Steiner school for people with disability and uses agricultural pursuits to improve and enhance the lives of people with disability. They were looking to get an upgrade for some of their livestock management to enable them to use livestock and agricultural education to assist students and to get them all the opportunities that they are looking for.

The Hills District Netball Association, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Basketball Association and Hornsby PCYC all need security upgrades. I would have loved to have seen them, and I will continue to fight for them to get better access to CCTV and better access to better lighting at their areas—particularly the Hornsby District Netball Association. I've been very concerned about girls that are going to netball training, because of unsavoury people hanging around there, not being safe when they go to use the toilets. We need to ensure people can go to those facilities very safely. Funding for the Hillside RFS to improve their telecommunications continues to be a battle I'm fighting. People who've seen me in the parliament over the last nine years have seen how hard I've fought for and delivered better telecommunications for our electorate. The Wisemans Ferry Community Men's Shed has done a wonderful job attracting local people to come and see Wisemans Ferry, one of the original Macquarie towns—they want to create a more meaningful experience for people there. The Asquith Scout Hall needs new toilet facilities, and, again, from opposition we will continue to fight for these things.

I want to say something about Epping because of two particular challenges that Epping and North Epping face. The first is traffic. For too long, the fact that there have been Hornsby Council in North Epping and Parramatta Council in Epping and that the two councils do not talk to each other has been to the disadvantage of the people of Epping and North Epping. Everyone in Epping and North Epping talks to me about how bad the traffic is. As the government—the state government particularly—rams more people in there as the new towers are built, we're not getting new parking spaces or roads. That's why I fought hard to create a traffic study—the first since 2018 and the first since those towers have started going up—to try and work out whether we have the best configuration of traffic flows across Epping and North Epping. Everyone acknowledges the problem, but no-one agrees on the solution, and that's why we need to get a traffic study happening there.

Secondly—and I've said it on a few occasions since the election—the parking situation in Epping is dire. People are not able to get to the doctor or to the shops, businesses are missing out on customers who need to use their services and facilities, and the quality of life for the people of Epping and North Epping just isn't what it should be for one of the most livable and beautiful areas of Sydney. As we see more tower blocks proposed for Epping and North Epping, the state government has this bizarre idea—and I want to be bipartisan about it; it was the same bizarre idea that the state government had when we were in government—that somehow, if you live in an apartment building and you're close to a train station, you don't need parking or not every unit needs parking. I think that is a ridiculous idea. All that does is add to already parked-out streets. What is desperately needed in Epping and North Epping, particularly in the Epping town centre, is an increase in parking. Parramatta Council has had some plans on exhibition for changes to the traffic movement and to the streetscape of the Epping town centre, and they are doing something with the car park there—but I think we desperately need to deliver more public car parking for Epping. Epping will continue to be a difficult and dysfunctional centre if the parking issues are not addressed, whether it means the council and the state government negotiating with the landholders such that, as they develop their new sites, they need to set aside some provision for public car parking, or whether something is done with the council-owned land to improve parking. We just cannot keep having a situation where one of the busiest areas of Sydney—a fundamental transport interchange, an area where people are coming to live because of its great lifestyle and its proximity to the centre of the Metro, the centre of travel to the north and south of Sydney—is inadequately served by parking. Epping is a wonderful area, and it could be so much more wonderful, but we've got to get the traffic and parking under control.

As I said, going forward as a party, we need to look to the future with fresh perspectives. Australians rejected what we took to the last election. They've rejected the way we've conducted ourselves as a party, and they've rejected the politics of the past. I want to give Australians a chance to elect a coalition government at the next election—one that represents them, one that represents the people of my electorate—with a clear plan to tackle cost of living, to stand with families and to support some of the most vulnerable people, who too often fall through the cracks. We need a strong plan to keep Australia safe from the hateful unrest in our streets. I cannot remember a time when we have seen the level of lawlessness in our country that there is today. We need our police officers to enforce the law, and we need a government that takes the security of our cities seriously and always puts it first. I want to restore security to our streets. I want to restore to young Australians the hope of homeownership. I want to support our young people, support our Indigenous people and preserve the beautiful areas not just of our country but of my electorate; and I am honoured to have been chosen yet again to serve the wonderful people of Berowra.

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we gather today, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, and recognise the First Nations communities that call my very own electorate home, the Turrbal and Jagera people. Modern Australia stands on the shoulders of 1,600 generations of Indigenous history, culture and knowledge, and we are always lucky to be able to listen and learn from our First Australians.

I rise today, re-elected by the locals of Lilley, with the privilege and responsibility of representing my northside community for another term in this amazing place. I want to thank the people of Lilley for once again placing their trust in me. I'm grateful for the opportunity to ensure all local voices and concerns are heard, whether they voted for me or not.

The 48th Parliament is unique—unique in that it now looks more like Australia than it ever has. I'm beyond proud to see our government representing Australians from all walks of life. The decisions of this parliament will shape our country for generations to come. It's especially encouraging to see young Australians gaining a foothold in both houses. From our newest gen Z representatives to our growing millennial contingent, which number more than 20 per cent in the House, our community now recognises itself more on the benches of parliament. When I gave my first speech in July 2019, millennials were less than 10 per cent. I'm so proud that has now doubled to more than 20 per cent.

Like all of my colleagues who serve in this place, we do so at the behest of our constituents. But none of us could fulfill our role without the support and sacrifice of our families. Celeste, Ossian and Dashiell: no matter what happens here in Canberra or around the country you are my greatest privilege. To our director of household operations, Finn: wherever I go, you stand beside me. Nothing is possible without you.

I also want to take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank my local Lilley campaign team, who worked tirelessly to support my re-election. Like all local members, I might be a tad biased, but I do think my local team is one of the very best. From our proud branch members to local volunteers, family friends, my staff and the wider labour movement I say thank you. It was a busy 12 months in Queensland on the campaign front. Balancing work commitments and life is hard enough as it is without electoral fate stacking consecutive campaigns on top of each other. It was tough. My team is tougher.

As usual, there are far too many people to list, but, if you'll indulge me, I want to take the chance to acknowledge a very special few: Warren and Kate Derrington, Graham Appleton, Christine and Megan O'Keeffe, Sofia and Bella Scattini, Cath Palmer, Faye Clark, Anne Marlay, and Kim and Wayne Swan. Running as a local member is just not possible on your own; it is truly a team sport. None of this is possible without the countless early mornings and sometimes very late nights. Throughout the campaign, my local colleagues were a constant source of love and support. Being able to lean on friendly faces and sound out local issues is more valuable than you can imagine. Thank you.

When I was elected in 2019, the federal electorate of Lilley was an island, the northernmost Labor-held seat in Queensland, located on the northern suburbs of Brisbane. On 3 May, I was very pleased to see this change, and change in a big way. We've now welcomed a host of friendly new neighbours—Emma Comer, the new member for Petrie; Ali France, the new member for Dickson; and Madonna Jarrett, the new member for Brisbane. I look forward to joining forces to deliver for our respective northside communities. In the Senate, I welcome my friend and colleague Corinne Mulholland, whose office is located right in the heart of my Lilley electorate. I know that Corinne will represent the people of Queensland with great enthusiasm and tireless energy. And, across the river, the ranks of our Brisbane Labor team swelled even further with the election of Rowan Holzberger, the new member for Forde; Renee Coffey, the new member for Griffith; Kara Cook, the new member for Bonner; and my dear friend Julie-Ann Campbell, the new member for Moreton. I was even happier to relinquish the northernmost electorate title to the member for Leichhardt, Matt Smith. I look forward to the new and expanded Queensland team kicking even more goals in the 48th Parliament than Queensland Broncos captain Adam Reynolds, now the second-highest goal scorer in NRL history, after fellow Queenslander Cam Smith.

Since the election, I have been out in our Lilley community at mobile offices, community events and, more recently, our own Lilley business roundtable. Northsiders are a rightfully parochial bunch. We know we live in the best part of Brisbane in the best country in the world: Queensland. Like the rest of the country, Lilley residents have been experiencing those same cost-of-living pressures that were fuelled by high inflation. What they've been telling me, as their local MP, is that the measures the Albanese government has taken to ease those cost-of-living pressures and tame the inflation beast are making a difference.

There are 23,694 Lilley residents who have just received 20 per cent off their HECS debt. My constituents have also saved another $11.8 million on cheaper medicines since we were first elected to government. There have been more than 20,000 visits to our Northside Medicare Urgent Care Clinic since it opened in December 2023, and just last week I visited the Kedron Medical Centre, which has just become a 100 per cent bulk-billing clinic. Their CEO told me that this is one of the first clinics in the ForHealth network to transition to 100 per cent bulk-billing, as a direct result of the Albanese government's $8 billion commitment to lifting bulk-billing rates nationwide. From 1 November, they expect seven in every 10 practices in their network to only bulk-bill patients, up from one in every 10 practices today. That is good news for Northsiders.

In more good news, I'm looking forward to getting back home to talk to people about our five per cent home deposits, which will now start on 1 October. Thirty per cent of Lilley residents are renters, which is much higher than both the Queensland and national statistics. This will help so many people in Lilley get into their own home sooner, cutting years off the time that it has been taking to save for a deposit, and they won't have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance. Their ability to service that mortgage will also be helped thanks to the seven consecutive quarters of growth in real wages under our government. Over the next three years, I look forward to delivering more cost-of-living relief for Lilley residents.

Alongside the privilege of being the local member, it has been an honour to serve in my role as Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport. Communications touch all Australians in one way or another. Whether it's keeping grandparents in Lilley connected with grandkids or ensuring those in remote Australia have access to fast and reliable broadband and good mobile coverage, I will never stop working to ensure Australians are connected. From Broome to Bendigo, from the Pilbara to Palm Island, Australians deserve to connect with confidence. It is critical that a country as vast as Australia prioritises connectivity regardless of postcode. That is my priority, and the Albanese government will continue delivering a better connected continent for all Australians.

Within the Sport portfolio, I am thrilled to be delivering for Australia's high-performance athletes, along with the next generation, through investment in better sport facilities throughout the country. On the pathway to Brisbane 2032, the Albanese government has announced a record $489 million for high-performance sport over the first two years of the Olympic and Paralympic cycle. This is the largest ever government investment in Olympic and Paralympic sports to help Australian athletes achieve success on the world stage. We are continuing to back our athletes at the elite and grassroots levels. That is why I am proud to be leading the delivery of the $200 million Play Our Way program, the largest ever sporting fund specifically for women and girls, which will help develop the next generation of athletes. We know there are too many women and girls who are changing in men's dressing rooms and playing on poor courts and fields. Through Play Our Way, almost 300 programs are being delivered throughout Australia. Everyone has a right to enjoy sport at every level, and this program helps get more women and girls taking part.

I am determined to be a good ancestor, and there's no better time than now, so let's take action, leave this place in better condition than we found it and build a future our kids can enjoy for generations to come. I thank the House.

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to rise today to follow my good friend the member for Berowra, my neighbour in Sydney, whom I congratulate on his re-election. I obviously welcome the fact that, after a very tough contest, he was returned by the people of Berowra to serve them. I also want to open in this parliament by thanking my community in the Hills district again for their endorsement of me as the local member and their support for me to continue, for the next three years, to represent them in this parliament.

It's been a great privilege for me to represent all of the communities of the electorate of Mitchell since 2007. However, we now have a very reduced electorate. This election saw a redistribution that led to the loss of the suburbs of Box Hill and Nelson and a lot of Rouse Hill, which were vibrant and very special parts of the Mitchell electorate. We saw them go to Greenway at this election, and obviously it was sad to see them go. I still miss them, in terms of the connected community that we have with Kellyville and the rest of the Hills district.

However, that is the theme of the times. In the Sydney equation, in the growth that is being put upon us by the New South Wales Labor state government, the lion's share of new housing is being asked to be met by the north-west of Sydney. In the initial proposal up to 30,000 new dwellings is proposed in already overloaded suburbs under the government's priority housing precincts. Through the community's action, through the Hills District's action, we put together a petition which has seen 20,000 people sign it, and it was submitted to the state parliament of New South Wales. That government already has relented and downscaled the amount of housing they are proposing in my community, in our federal electorate. This is a good and welcome move, but my priority as your local member for the term ahead will be to say to the state government: if you're going to increase the densities to that level in one community in the north-west of Sydney, you must provision infrastructure and you must provision the necessary services our community will want. At the moment there is no plan for an additional school, and to propose even 20,000 new residents with no additional public school isn't an acceptable position from a state government—especially a Labor state government, I must say.

Regarding the Rouse Hill Hospital, which the member for Greenway spoke about extensively in the campaign, there are more delays to the funding and the building of the Rouse Hill Hospital. It was commissioned by a Liberal government, the land was secured by a Liberal government, and the site was prepared and ready, with the funding put aside. That has still not commenced. We also had the ridiculous situation where the state government announced there would be no maternity facility at a brand-new public hospital in the biggest growth corridor in the biggest city in our country. I commend the member for Greenway for getting that reversed. Good on her. We all took the same view early on that this was ridiculous. I think she was president of the Labor Party in New South Wales at the time. I just ask her and the state Labor government now: how could you possibly, in 2025, propose a brand-new public hospital without maternity services in the biggest growth corridor in the biggest city in our country? With completely ridiculous issues like this, the community has to waste enormous amounts of time fighting for basic common sense of government policy.

Now we understand that maternity services are going to come, but the hospital hasn't started, even though we're now looking at the fifth or sixth or seventh year of well-established need for this hospital, and the land is provided for, the site is secured, and we're ready to go. This has got to get underway. This is a top priority. For Premier Minns to tell us we're going to have an additional 20,000 residents when we already need our public hospital built, this is really where the priority is: better infrastructure and services, and for the funds to be provided at the same time as the houses and the dwellings. It isn't acceptable for a state government to say to a community, 'Take these additional dwellings without those services.' So we've got a good fight on our hands. Our community's up for it. The 20,000 petitioners have already got a win, we have seen a downscaling of these zonings and we have seen some sensible adjustment.

I think Minister King in the previous government promised infrastructure funding, and she actually made some announcements with the member for Greenway, including a huge amount of money, half a billion dollars, for regional parks, one of which is in my electorate. We're going to hold the government to account for every single cent of that money—an enormous amount of money for three sites in Sydney, I must say—so that it is spent on the proper infrastructure provision within Sydney electorates. Some people will say they were good announcements, but we still can't get details or answers to basic questions. Where are the parks? What are they for? What regional precincts are they intending to create? They were election announcements committed to, but they have not been forgotten just because the Albanese government has won the election. They need to come forward with this money and provide for this critical infrastructure in parts of Sydney. So I will be holding them to account on that.

The signal that was sent to us—to the Liberal Party here in Canberra but also to me as a representative of my electorate—was that people wanted us to do better on the economy in particular. The economy continues to be the No. 1 issue in Sydney. The cost of living is through the roof, and that isn't just a mantra people use every day about the cost of living. I can attest to the House personal anecdotes from my street. A property sold this month for $2.3 million which would have been about $1 million 10 years ago. Prices in Sydney are through the roof. The average price in my electorate is heading to $1.5 million or $1.6 million for a basic dwelling. This is unsustainable price growth already, so I do question and caution the government about its five per cent deposit guarantee which they have been trumpeting. It is worth trying as a policy, but to apply it to properties up to $1.6 million—to have five per cent with no income limits on $1.6 million—does create a lot of questions.

One of those questions is: have they modelled the impact on prices in major cities of all these new buyers being given, in effect, the guarantees to access the market in a demand-driven way? We've already had 10 and 20 per cent price increases in recent times. Will this increase prices further? Some economists say it will. How will that help people if prices continue to rise in this unsustainable fashion? The government needs to be very careful about the unintended consequence of this policy: the impact of it at this point in time on pushing up prices, especially in metropolitan cities. It could be real.

There's no point hitching someone, on a five per cent deposit, to an unsustainable price if that price is going to continue to rise because of these demand-driven policies. There isn't the supply, even with the Premier's good intentions to fast-track homes and fast-track projects; they're still two to three years away in Sydney. I want to remind this House that the state of New South Wales built more houses at the end of World War II than we did in the last year, despite a population differential, with a substantially lower population. More houses were built in the year following the end of World War II in a single year in our state, the biggest state with the biggest economy, than were completed in the last year, despite, so many years later, demand and population being through the roof.

This is a huge problem. Prices are going to continue to increase. The cost of housing and now the cost of rents will increase, with unsustainable rent increases still coming across the City of Sydney. People are getting rent increases again—big ones. This is going to continue to be a drama. The government says: we've got a fund, and, with the earnings off the fund, we'll build a few houses. This is not going to solve the problem. It doesn't matter when the fund comes online; even small increases in the amount of social housing will not solve the basic economic problem in our major cities, where unsustainable price rises for housing and now rent are causing a cost-of-living crisis.

People are paying more for their mortgages, even with interest rate reductions, because prices are going through the roof. With their deposits lower, they'll still pay an enormous proportion of their disposable income into mortgages for longer. Rents are through the roof. People can't afford to rent. We have social challenges in front of us that are immediate and require much more urgent action from state and federal governments, in terms of unlocking cheaper and more sustainable housing for all kinds of people who are seeking housing in the market.

All constructors and builders will tell you that in Sydney today you could probably not build a house in New South Wales at the moment for less than something like $400,000 minimum. Why should it be the case that that is the minimum house cost before you even get to the price of the land? We need to provide cheaper housing solutions—and more of them, much faster—if we are to seriously tackle this issue.

I flag again—with the state government in particular, but also the federal government—that these housing policies are not going to be sufficient to reduce prices. Prices are going to continue to rise unsustainably. It's not going to put downward pressure on rents. Rents are going up, yet we don't see any policies cutting through to reduce the actual cost of construction, to accelerate the release of land and to see more and cheaper dwellings built in a faster way—and this is going to get even more urgent in coming years.

It's incumbent upon parties like the Liberal Party to have a good quality housing policy at the next election. It's something that we will absolutely be committed to working on, to make sure that we can cut through this cost dynamic and to make sure that we do put downward pressure on prices so that people can afford to rent and afford to live.

We've also seen cost-of-living pressures placed on every kind of business around the country. Having been elevated to shadow minister for industry and innovation, what shocked me the most about getting an update from every major business around the country in the industry space was that a lot of them are on their knees in terms of their profitability and their ability to compete internationally. Almost all substantial heavy-industry businesses across the country are asking for a handout or bailout from the government—and they have serious reasons to do so.

The government's response, of course, has been to have funds like the National Reconstruction Fund and the Future Made in Australia fund to hand out money to businesses. We still question the wisdom of this approach, because the government continues to increase the cost of doing business. Energy costs are through the roof, not just for consumers but for manufacturing and domestic industries. Wages are, by deliberate design, being pushed as high as possible, even though we've seen today that profitability in all major sectors is in many cases negative and in some cases very low. Profitability is falling and wages are going up unsustainably in comparison to profitability. Of course, we also have cost and regulation imposition from our net zero commitments, our carbon taxes and all of the things that are being imposed on businesses in Australia.

So costs are going through the roof—industrial costs, costs of doing business, costs of components coming into the country and more. Everything is costing more. Yet what we see from the government is: 'I will give you a small bit of public money rather than focusing on the core of the problem, which is: how do we reduce cost structures, what is the competitive advantage Australia can see again, and can we have a reduced power cost profile for manufacturing?' Well, there is no solution to that, and there is no solution coming forward. All industrial users report that the cost of their new energy contracts is much higher than that of their existing contracts. We have no industrial relief; the government will provide none. The productivity roundtable produced exactly zero ideas that the government have said they will agree to on lowering costs through productivity.

So what is the government's response to whole sectors of our industry being on their knees? They say, 'We've got some government public money that we're going to borrow and put into some funds, and we'll ask them to give you a bit of it to keep your operations going for a while.' That doesn't smell like success to me. We do need a 'future made in Australia' policy that recognises that the cost structures of doing business in Australia are at record highs and our international competitiveness is at record lows. Private sector investment is at a record low in Australia.

Even the Treasurer has discovered that this is a problem, even if it was by reading the book Abundance, I understand. I actually endorse the book Abundance,becauseit actually says what people on the left of centre should have realised for a long time: you can't kill the private sector. We need it to pay the bills. That's the essence of the book. So I do endorse that book, yes. We do need the private sector to survive. They do something useful for the government. They do pay the bills. So I welcome the fact that he's found it. I'd say to him that we must do more to make Australia competitive again and see growth again.

If there is zero private sector investment—and, anecdotally, big business chambers and some of the biggest business representatives across the country have come to see me. I won't identify them here, because everyone lives in terror of the Albanese government's supermajority. But they made the point—I think quite sensibly—that they had gone through all of their members around the country—big businesses and everyone who does a lot of foreign investment—and looked at the state of Victoria as one case study, and they said that there had been basically no big new private sector investment in Victoria for two to three years. Nothing has come on. Now, I'm from New South Wales. I love Sydney, and I'm not a huge fan of Melbourne in the Sydney-Melbourne dynamic. But I will say this: I don't find it good that in the state of Victoria there is no new private sector investment. There must be new big-scale private sector investment in the state of Victoria, including Melbourne. So, whatever settings are broken down there in the government and whatever they're doing to discourage private sector investment, you need this. You don't have to believe me—I don't ask any government members to listen to me at all—but grab Abundance and open it up and have a look. That's what it says in there. Abundance says that. That's all the rage in leftie circles. So have a look at it. It says, 'Don't kill the private sector in your state, because they have to pay the bills at the end of the day.' You should really pay attention to Abundance. Don't listen to a word I'm saying; I honestly say, 'Don't do it.' I'm not saying it's a good book; read it. I encourage everybody, including my left-wing friends, to read Abundance.

The settings for Australia are quite serious. We're at a time when our cost structures are going through the roof. That's why the Reserve Bank governor warned—it wasn't picked up, but she warned very clearly—that there would be no price deflation in the foreseeable future. That wasn't widely reported, but what that means, in relation to the cost of everything, is that nothing is going down in the foreseeable future, so costs are going to remain unsustainably high for all our goods and services. As to whether wages will try and catch up with prices, she's saying they're not going to do that. Normally, we would have periods of price deflation where costs and things come down, and there would be a catching-up because of downward pressure as well as upward pressure. The Reserve Bank governor is signalling to the government and the economy that we're in for a difficult time. There will be no price deflation. It's a very serious warning that hasn't got enough attention, in my opinion, because prices are going to stay very high.

So the government does need to pay attention to this. More regulation is not the answer, and more and more difficult regulation is not the answer. We have some of the world records in regulation in terms of our business sectors. Our competitive advantages have been eroded over time—sometimes by deliberate design; sometimes accidentally, to be fair to the government; and sometimes because things have changed under us. But all of them acting together means our country needs a new economic compact to be able to see more growth and to see our cost structures come down. It will be unsustainable for the government to hand out and subsidise sector after sector with public finances. We're already seeing the broken nature of this model, so we must come up with cost-competitive and pro-economy models.

The government started by saying: 'That's exactly what we will do. We will have a productivity summit. We will have an economic roundtable.' We're all still waiting for the memo of what happened at the economic roundtable. What came out of the economic roundtable? Where are these productivity measures? What is going to happen to our economy? Well, the government's gone silent on that. So either they've got some really, really good ideas from the summit that they haven't told us about yet and they're working on them or they're working on other things that they came up with that they already had agreed to—well, we're going to find out which. Or they still don't know what they're going to do about it.

Now, I'm thinking we don't have a lot of time. There are cost pressures for most businesses that have come to me, and they say their profits are very, very thin. The margins have dropped in small, medium and large businesses. Large businesses are asking for bailouts and handouts. Medium and small businesses are collapsing at record levels, and insolvencies are through the roof. This is more than just the post-COVID period. That is not the answer to what we are seeing. There are serious collapses of small and micro and medium businesses in our country, and they cannot be explained by the post-COVID period.

The government's response, so far, is to say we had a summit. Now, that's fine if it produces results, to be frank. But, if it doesn't produce results, we're going to see these trends continue—no private sector investment, soaring housing costs and the costs of doing business, and an increase in business collapses. The public finances can't get us through this period. There are only so many times the government can pay a small amount of a person's power bill or hand out money to a business to keep it going. The public finances will not sustain that in the long run. We must bring down costs, see cost structures come down and improve our competitive advantages.

And we can do these things. We have an energy abundance, and yet we're charging the highest rates for power of all the developed countries from our own citizens and businesses. Why are we doing that when we have all the resources in the world? We need to be smarter and better and take a pure economic focus into the next few years, or we are sleepwalking into a disaster. And so, with that in mind, that will be my prime focus for the next three years—improving the ability for the private sector and our economy to, again, do the heavy lifting for Australia in growth, in prosperity and in paying the government's bills too, which would be a bonus for the Labor Party.

The government's going broke. The answer is not to do more taxes; it's not to introduce more charges on people. Let's grow the economy again. Let's listen to abundance. Let's have abundance. Let's bring it back. I don't care if you do that in a left-wing context or a right-wing context. Abundance means we grow the economy, we let people succeed again and we stop holding them back, as the Prime Minister might say. Well, we're holding back the Australian economy at the moment. We can do better. We will do better. We might need to change the government to do that, but we will support any measure from the government that reduces taxes or increases productivity in the meantime. We await with bated breath to see if they'll do it.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It remains a great privilege today—as it was just over nine years ago, when I was first elected to be here in the Australian parliament—to be re-elected as the member for Brand in this 48th Parliament.

I'm deeply honoured that the community I was born in, grew up in and live in have chosen to elect me for a fourth time to represent them and the wider community of Western Australia. As many know, I was born in Calista at the Kwinana Maternity Hospital that was built for the community that emerged to build and then support the extraordinary Kwinana industrial precinct, which has been integral to the WA economy since it was created in the fifties and remains to this day. I've spent much of my life in Shoalwater and Rockingham and I'm very honoured to represent my hometown here.

In March this year, Western Australians also expressed their strong support for my friend and member for Kwinana, Premier Roger Cook, and elected him and his government for another term. I want to congratulate the state MLAs in the Brand electorate—Magenta Marshall, Reece Whitby, Paul Papalia and Premier Cook himself—and I look forward to working with each of them over the coming term on continuing to build our community together. And, at the opposite end of the Perth metropolitan area, I want to congratulate my good friend and WA Labor president, Lorna Clarke MLA, who is the newly elected member for Butler.

It's fair to say federal Labor and WA have come a long way since I was first elected in 2016. On the eve of my first election, the Australian Labor Party held just three Western Australia seats in this federal parliament. After 2 July 2016, Labor held five seats in WA. In 2022, that number increased again to nine seats, and, after the recent 2025 election, Labor now holds 11 of the 16 seats in Western Australia. That support is founded on a great many things, such as trust in our government to deliver on our promises, to deal with the unexpected challenges that inevitably arise and to implement policies that reflect the concerns and needs of the community.

But it is also due, in large part, to the hard work of great candidates, their teams of volunteers and supporters and the commitment of their families. I want to acknowledge Trish Cook, the first member for Bullwinkel; Tom French, the new member for Moore; Ellie Whiteaker, our new WA senator; Tania Lawrence, the member for Hasluck; Tracey Roberts, the member for Pearce; Patrick Gorman, the member for Perth; Zaneta Mascarenhas, the member for Swan; and Sam Lim, the member for Tangney.

I also want to acknowledge those I was first elected with in 2016—Matt Keogh, the member for Burt; Anne Aly, the member for Cowan; and Josh Wilson, the member for Fremantle. I also want to congratulate Senator Varun Ghosh on his first election to the Senate after his appointment in February 2024. I also want to congratulate Senator Sue Lines on being elected once again as the President of the Senate.

I want to make a very special acknowledgement to Senator Glenn Sterle, an extraordinary advocate for northern Australia who has served WA for 20 years in the other place. I see him regularly in the Kimberley and the Pilbara doing great things, representing the long-haulage truckies that make this country tick and helping out the communities by personally driving many thousands of kilometres to deliver donated mattresses and other goods for those who need it in the north.

I want to congratulate all new members and senators. I've enjoyed the many and varied first speeches of the new parliamentarians. There are far too many new MPs and senators to mention, and I look forward to getting to know you all better as we serve together in this great place.

I do want to make a very special mention of one returning member of the House, and that's the wonderful member for Pearce, Tracey Roberts. During the election campaign, Tracey bravely shared some of the serious health challenges she is facing, but even a diagnosis of multiple system atrophy, as well as an injured ankle, couldn't stop her from engaging with the community she has worked for over two decades. The member for Pearce just kept on working hard and reaching out to people because that's who she is.

The people of Pearce re-elected her with confidence. They know she puts her community first. And it's also because she has delivered so much in just one term as the first ever Labor member for Pearce. But no campaign is fought alone, so I'd like to thank all of the amazing staff and volunteers who stood by Tracey and have supported her throughout her campaign, including, of course, her very lovely husband, Pete. The member for Pearce's return to this House is a victory for her community and for compassion in politics. I'm immensely proud to call the member for Pearce a friend, and I really look forward to continuing our work together in WA.

I want to extend my thanks to the trade union movement supporting my campaign and all of my campaigns, including Ben Harris from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, Tim 'Smoky' Dawson from the Transport Workers Union of Australia and all the great members of the Australian Workers' Union. Many of you work in the resources sector and, like my dad, work in the Kwinana industrial area.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 17:53 to 18:07

In continuation, I also thank delegates from the Mining and Energy Union, the AMWU and the MUA, all of whom engage productively in all areas of policy. I want to thank Sally McManus and the ACTU for their support. The union movement has always stood up for working people by fighting for fair pay and safe workplaces. I welcome their engagement on policy development just as I welcome the participation of industry and the wider community.

As the Prime Minister has noted, families often pay a high price for the long absences, travel and demands of us as elected representatives in this place. Those absences are often greater for MPs and senators from Western Australia, and, indeed, for my friend from the Northern Territory the member for Solomon and those from other areas that are a long way from Canberra. I take this opportunity to pass on my thanks to my husband, Jamie, for his constant support during the campaign and throughout my parliamentary career. I don't think it is possible to serve in this place without the support of family and friends, and I would like to take a few moments to talk a little about some people who have been very important to me and supportive of me as the member for Brand.

Toward the end of May, shortly before her 94th birthday, we said our final farewells to a wonderful woman, Adelphe King. Adelphe is my husband's stepmother. She married Walter King and raised Jamie and his sister and brothers from a very young age after the loss of their mother. I'm enormously grateful to Adelphe for being so welcoming to me as part of the remarkable and joyful extended King family over 25 years ago. Adelphe and Walter were fixtures of the historic town of York, the oldest inland town in Western Australia. They were both conservationists and environmentalists in the true sense of the word and volunteered extensively at the local tourist centre. A few months ago I attended a memorial for Adelphe at the Holy Trinity Church in York, where she and Walter had been parishioners and volunteers for many, many years. It was a wonderful, joyful and very full memorial. It says much about how highly regarded Adelphe King was in York that her contribution, and that of Walter, to the restoration of the riverbank landscape of Avon River has been acknowledged by a charming memorial by the well-known waterway. Thank you so much, Adelphe, for all your support over the years for the whole of the extended King family.

It is something of an indulgence to speak here about a constituent that you are related to. All of us who serve here know that so many of the people in each of our constituencies all around the country are worthy of tribute—the salt-of-the-earth, hardworking, caring people who make our communities what they are. One of these people was Diana Morris. Diana was a pioneer of Rockingham and Shoalwater Bay, having lived there since 1959, and she was also my mum. After finishing up on a very rainy Anzac Day a couple of years ago, I got a text from our next-door neighbours Bob and Dorothy saying that Mum had had a fall and been taken to Rockingham General Hospital, and that is where we had our last conversation. She died peacefully two days later in the wonderful care of the staff at Royal Perth Hospital, just over the road from St Mary's Cathedral, where she and my dad, John Morris, were married in 1959.

This is my very belated thanks to all the doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff at the Rockingham emergency department and at the Royal Perth Hospital for their care of our mum and of me and my brothers, Matthew, John and Peter, and our sister, Rebecca, in those moments when we, quite frankly, didn't quite understand what was happening and we had to make some very serious decisions as a family about our mum. Our health workers deal with these very intensely emotional and painful moments every single day, and there are the police officers and other workers who assist the coroner and assist families like ours who have to identify a loved one. We don't much think about all of those jobs that happen until we run into them, usually in the midst of some pretty serious grief, and I want to thank them all for what they do for our entire community. I personally want to thank those strangers who helped our Morris family in the last week of April and into early May in 2023.

Diana Morris had an interesting start in life. She was born in 1936; her name then was Diana Pizer. She was raised by her mother, Hannah Pizer, known as Peggy, and her grandparents Thomas and Mary Ann Pizer. In the very conservative Perth of the 1930s and 1940s, it wasn't socially acceptable to have a child without being married, so Mum was raised in the belief that her father had died in the war. That was not true, but it was a kind lie so that Diana had something to say that wouldn't draw scorn and judgement at school when she was asked. When Mum was born, there was pressure for Peggy Pizer to give up her baby for adoption, but my nan did not do that. Her parents and her sister supported Peggy and gave her and Mum all the love and help they needed to stay together and make a really courageous choice for the times, in spite of those societal expectations. Much has changed since then, and that is a very good thing. These were not good old days when women and families had to go through such sad subterfuges to remain a family.

Diana and John Morris built a home together in Shoalwater, and it was in this home that they raised a family. Mum lived there from 1959 until she died in 2023. She would remind me that she was the first in her family to own her own home. Her mother lived with us, and her grandparents retired from the Goldfields to social housing in West Perth, where my mum grew up. It goes to show, I think, that homeownership has not always been a matter of course for many working families in this country. We talk a lot about the importance of homeownership, and it is really important, but for many in Australia the dream of homeownership is only, maybe, one generation old and heading into its second generation, and it cannot be taken for granted.

John and Diana were both pioneers of Rockingham, having lived there since the fifties. I often refer to my mother's shop, her family drapery and haberdashery on Railway Terrace at Rockingham Beach. My office now is literally five doors up the road. Mum and Peggy worked together in that shop, The Family Traders, for a number of years. It was a much-loved meeting place for many women in the community. There was always lots of chatter and lots of laughs. It's been over 30 years since Mum and Dad retired and sold The Family Traders, and for a long time the shop itself has not been there, but locals still mention it fondly as part of their memory of old Rockingham.

Like so many retirees Diana volunteered in the community for many years. Diana, with her great friend Faye Winter, volunteered at Meals on Wheels for what seems like forever, delivering meals to those who needed it at their homes. She only stopped when her knees could no longer help her get in and out of the delivery van. I think of all the volunteers across all of our communities and reflect that, without volunteers in our communities doing all manner of things, we would not have the fine communities and support that we all need.

Mum and Dad's home in Shoalwater has been a place that all of our family have returned to again and again for over 60 years—us, our partners, our families, my nieces and nephews, their partners and their children, and, of course, all of the very many Morris dogs. I was really fortunate that my mum was able to travel here to the parliament to see me sworn in as the member for Brand in 2016 and then as a minister in 2022. She was an integral part of three campaigns, and, as I noted when I spoke at her memorial, I really lost a superb campaign asset in 2023. Diana Morris loved coming here to share in the excitement of these events and the work of the parliament. She was a fine Australian. She will be missed by many, but in particular me.

Many members and senators lose loved ones while serving in this parliament, and some of those losses are so much more tragic and heart-wrenching than the natural order of things of a parent passing. While the public often—indeed, usually—see this place as the height of contest and debate, it is also remarkably kind in the manner in which colleagues from all quarters offer their sympathies and kind affections in those very sad moments. So I thank all of those colleagues who wrote to me, or simply spoke to me about it, after my mum died a couple of years ago. It means an awful lot. I'm sorry if I never responded, but I remember each and every one of your kind wishes.

I also want to thank my ministerial office and my electorate office staff, who kept the wheels turning and provided enormous support for me and Jamie at a very challenging time in my life. They're really good, hardworking people. They care for the community. They care for the policy that we work on in this place. They care for our nation and for ensuring it is well placed into the future. I thank them for their commitment to me as an individual—and, I guess, as their boss but I hope as a work colleague—and for helping me out. I am sure that's the same for many of us here that have experienced such loss. We really rely on our teams; they're very good people.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge some of the retiring Labor members that I had the really great good fortune to work with in past parliaments. These all retired at the election: Linda Burney, the former minister for indigenous affairs; Brendan O'Connor, the former minister for skills and training; Bill Shorten, the former minister for the NDIS and government services and the Leader of the Labor Party when I was elected in 2016; Stephen Jones, the former assistant treasurer and minister for financial services; Maria Vamvakinou, the former member for Calwell; Brian Mitchell, the former member for Lyons; Graham Perrett, who was a wonderful friend and a great travel companion when we went on some committee trips together; and the now retired senator Louise Pratt.

I would like to pay a special tribute to Louise in mentioning her. She was first elected in 2007, lost her seat in 2013 and was re-elected again in 2016—you've got to say something for her persistence! Throughout her life and parliamentary career, Louise has been an incredibly strong advocate for the rights of the LGBTQI community. Her tireless work has left a positive impact on the lives of all Australians. It has been a privilege to work alongside Louise in standing up for Western Australians here in Canberra. Her retirement marks the end of a remarkable parliamentary career, defined by tireless advocacy and passion, and I wish her and all her family the best. Bec has been by her side for many years now, and I remember their wedding—I think it was up in Broome—and their lovely young son, Jasper. I wish them well in her retirement.

I just want to reflect once more for a few moments on the election itself. As we all know, politics is a team sport, and nobody who makes it to this place has done it alone. I've spoken about how families support each of us here, and it takes a really great and dedicated team to get any candidate elected. So I want to give my deep thanks and lasting gratitude to the team who supported me, not only in the campaign but throughout my time in parliament. To all those volunteers across Brand: I want to thank you. To the supporters and branch members who keep turning out time and time again, not only to our great branch meetings but also at the polling booths and at the prepoll: your commitment and unwavering support across the campaign was truly special, particularly since it was only two months after the WA state election. I want to thank you each for your doorknocking and letterboxing and your efforts at prepoll and on election day.

And, of course, I mentioned my electorate staff and ministerial staff earlier in the context of supporting me through a personal moment, but their remarkable work in the campaign, especially that of my electorate office, was truly very special. I thank you all for that. The dedication and tireless work over the past three years of my ministerial staff were invaluable in developing policy that has really put this government in an excellent place to be able to develop further policy and implement it for the benefit of the Australian people. They're very hardworking people, very smart people, thoughtful people and, of course, very kind and generous people. And I thank them for it.

In my last couple of minutes, I want to reflect on the remarkable new members of this parliament, and there are a lot of new members, which is a really amazing thing. They have made incredibly varied speeches. They have a diversity of backgrounds—and I mean members across the chamber and in the Senate as well. Traditionally, when I've spoken on the address-in-reply, I've mentioned all the new Labor members and gone through their speech, but, quite frankly, there are too many now, and I can't do that this time. But I really look forward to meeting you and engaging in my portfolio responsibilities of resources and northern Australia. As a Western Australian, I'm very familiar with the resources sector. That might not be the same experience for others in different states. I look forward to talking with each of our new members about the resources sector—how it contributes to our economy, how it contributes to our livelihoods and how it goes towards the greater benefit of the nation. I also want to thank the new members for their great enthusiasm and for the work I know they'll do in the coming term.

To conclude, I want to thank the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. He was a great leader for us, as the party leader, when in opposition and again, as Prime Minister, in the last term and now this term. His commitment to my home state is remarkable. As Western Australian members, we could not have hoped for more. I think he goes to Perth more than I go to Perth, and I'm about an hour's drive south of Perth, so that is saying something. The Western Australian people take his commitment very seriously, and I look forward to serving another term under the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. I thank the house.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister and give my condolences on the passing of her wonderful mother.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Congratulations, Deputy Speaker Aldred, on your appointment to the Speaker's panel and on your election, for the first time, to this place. I have to say it's my 15th year of having the honour of representing my part of Western Sydney, the electorate of Chifley. I never expected to be elected. I'd had a tilt before and not been successful. As I've explained to people, when the opportunity came round, it was akin to stepping on the wrong end of a rake: it came very suddenly, very quickly. And I didn't know what had happened for me to be put in the position of being preselected and then selected to represent the party I've loved since my teenage years and joined in that time.

Having grown up in my part of Western Sydney, I've always taken this job incredibly seriously. It's not been about checking off a list of things that need to get done for the sake of being able to rattle those off. I've always taken the view that my part of Western Sydney has been told long enough that it should wait its turn, that the folks I represent, salt of the earth people in Western Sydney, based in Mount Druitt, should wait a bit longer to get what they need. I saw the needs that they had were great and that they needed to get those things that would make their life easier and, more importantly, that they could use to deliver for their kids, to build better neighbourhoods and to oversee the personal challenges they have in their life, in our area, so they can have a much better quality of life.

I've seen tremendous contributions in my area. We recognise them every year—for instance, in the Coral McLean Awards, named after Coral, who, it was estimated, dedicated over 100,000 hours of her personal time, out of the Holy Family Parish in Emerton, to help people at all hours of the day. In fact, when she moved out of our area to the Central Coast, we were told stories by her children of people knocking on her door late at night who'd driven from our part of Western Sydney to the Central Coast to get help from Coral. When Coral passed away after a battle with cancer, we set up these awards to recognise the contribution of women and girls in our area who are building better neighbourhoods.

The community spirit in our area is often remarked on by people who visit our part of Western Sydney. They always talk about how those from our part of Western Sydney, when you need a hand, will go out of their way, even if they have limited means to do so. They will literally give you the food off their plate or the shirt off their back to help you out. That is why I have been proud of representing Chifley. I've been proud to have such great faith in the people of our area. As a response to that, I have fought really hard. People know I don't take a backward step; I'm always prepared to argue, and argue hard, for the people of our area because, as I've said, they've been told quite often that they have to just wait in line and take their time to get the things everyone else has had the good fortune of being able to receive.

For example, things like education are a big deal in my area—making sure we are investing, in particular, in primary education and secondary education. Once kids finish school, which I always urge them to do—please do. Your fortunes in life will be shaped by the bag of skills you get, and you will not develop them fully just by finishing high school. Being able to take time to go into TAFE or uni is a big deal. The fact that Chifley has some of the highest uptake of fee-free TAFE in the nation shows you aspiration right there. There are a lot of young people that want to go to their local TAFE, like the one in Mount Druitt. I've met automotive apprentices they really want to be able to not only get a job in there but start their own shop as well. That's aspiration right there, and I'm proud of the fact that our government has fought so hard to make sure we have fee-free TAFE. Just the other week we opened up a university study hub with the Minister for Education, the member for Blaxland, Jason Clare. The Mount Druitt Ethnic Communities Agency fought to get that funding and have just opened up a uni study hub in Mount Druitt and will open one in Emerton.

So many kids and young people in our area—they would probably be mortally offended that I referred to them as kids, but it's probably a sign of my age—will be the first ones to go through uni. For so many families in our area, it's the first time they have. I want young people in our area to feel that uni is for them, because sometimes they figure it's for someone else better than them, and that's absolute garbage. It is proper. It is right. Labor governments in times past opened up the university sector to ensure more kids from a first-in-family background took up that study. The thing about the study hubs is it gives them a place to go and quietly do their study and, more importantly, engage with other students going through the same experience as them. I am proud of the fact that our government put forward the money that then got invested into our area. It got taken up by MECA, and now we have these hubs, which I suspect will expand in time.

We're building those skills, and the base of it all is making sure that, if young people are going to TAFE or uni, before they got there, investment in primary and secondary education happened. Our government, in our first term, worked out with the states and territories the funding stream to properly bring to life those Gonski reforms. People may not remember the bloke, but they do remember and do get that if you've got an area of high need, it takes a bit more in terms of resources to be able to make sure you get your way through. That's what Gonski was about. Schools like Crawford Public would tell me that the extra resources they got at the tail end of our last government helped them set up tutoring for kids who were struggling in math. They provided that, and, once they did, they could see a definite difference in terms of the math scores in that school. That is huge because that means the life trajectory of that student has been transformed. The fact we put in $5 billion, with the New South Wales government, to make sure we invested in the proper resources for primary and secondary schools is phenomenal. As much as people think 'life changing' is a well-worn term, that is exactly what it is.

In Chifley we saw the biggest investment in school infrastructure in 10 years. On top of that, about half a dozen schools received improvements to the quality of their infrastructure, so that the schools were modernised, they had modern equipment, and parents could have confidence that their kids were going to a place that is a quality environment. Plus there's the investment we made through the school funding reforms, which has been huge. It is critical.

The fact that we are cutting student debt is a point of pride for us. Some of the largest numbers of students who will benefit from the 20 per cent cut in student debt come from the Chifley electorate. It makes it a bit easier that, once they've finished their studies, we relieve a bit of that debt and that they can get on and chase the things that they want in their neck of the woods.

The other thing I've fought hard for, which I think reflects our national values, is health care. As much as some people might think we go on about Medicare, the reality is that Medicare reflects an embedded value of this country—the value of a fair go. When you hold up that Medicare card, it represents what we truly believe, which is that if you're in strife, particularly with your health, the size of your bank balance should not be the determinant. It should not decide whether or not you get quality healthcare. For us, it is a clear reflection of a national value that we look after our own, and we don't judge them on how big their bank balance is. They'll get the care they need.

The fact that we cut the cost of medicines means a big deal to Chifley residents. It's been estimated that people in our neck of the woods have saved over $9 million, with about 1.5 million of cheaper scripts. For people on low incomes in our area, that is huge. It's a huge relief, and it stops them wondering whether or not they can afford to get the medicines that will make their quality of life better.

On top of that, I pushed for the establishment of an urgent care clinic in our electorate. That happened with the setting up of the Rooty Hill Urgent Care Clinic. By visiting the Rooty Hill Road North urgent care clinic, 12,000 people were able to get the help they needed, and it will continue to provide support for them in our part of the world. Doctors, GPs, nurses and support staff all work so hard—and there are a lot of doctors. In fact, I want to recognise one who's retiring this week: Dr Kek, from the Mount Druitt Medical Centre. He's worked in our area for nearly 50 years. The reality is these doctors could have worked in any other part of Western Sydney. They didn't; they stayed in our area and made a tremendous contribution.

Infrastructure is another big thing. I've fought hard for upgrades for the fastest-growing parts of our electorate, like Marsden Park, Colebee and Schofields, which have had real issues with road funding. Our government put forward a billion-dollar roads plan, which is delivering for people in my area, including the upgrade of Richmond Road. The other big project that I'll be working on is the extension of the metro and the filling of the metro missing link that would see Tallawong to St Marys constructed in the long term.

The other thing that I think we've got to be able to work on is building social and affordable housing in Chifley. I'm proud to be part of a government that has dedicated so much towards the building of new homes and increasing supply. It will be a priority for me in this term to push for the greater development of social and affordable housing. Later this month, we'll hold a housing forum to talk about how we can make that happen. It builds on the fact that we've announced the five per cent deposit scheme for first homebuyers, and we've had a 50 per cent increase in the maximum rent assistance, which helps over 11,000 people in the Chifley electorate. For this term, pushing for more social and affordable housing will be a massive priority for us. All of this can only be done by a government that takes seriously its responses in these spaces.

I want to end with thanks. There have been a lot of folks who have helped us out over many years, but especially I want to thank those who helped in the recent election—working on stations and mobile offices and being there through prepoll and out on election day. I make huge thanks to my FEC, the branches in our area, and volunteers—some who may not be members of the party but wanted to assist and support us in the campaign. I extend to them my deepest gratitude.

I want to thank local state members Edmond Atalla, Stephen Bali, Prue Car and Warren Kirby. It's been tremendous to work with them and Mayor Brad Bunting and the Blacktown City Council team. It is terrific to have the federal, state and local government levels working together. Can I just say to Deputy Premier Car, who's got her own health challenge at the moment, that, if anyone's going to beat a health challenge, it's Prue Car. She is a tremendous fighter, and we look forward to her getting through the challenges she's facing and getting back on the front line in our area. We had a wonderful campaign launch in Tregear, and I want to thank all the branches for being there through thick and thin.

I want to say thank you to my ministerial office. There are a lot of people who have been through the office or worked in the office, led by David Masters and deputy chief of staff Ellen Broad. I want to recognise Brett Gale before them as well and all the team that worked in the ministerial office. I could rattle off a list of things, but the big thing is that we were driven by a belief, a faith, in the power of Australian ideas to make Australians' lives better. It was a huge honour to play a part in that industry and science portfolio—in particular, in terms of supporting the great work of so many people in those areas, Australians who are doing phenomenal things for our nation. I appreciate having that ministerial team there, and I want to say to them: thank you so much for working the hours and doing what you did. It will never ever be forgotten. To be honest, I'm particularly grateful for their service to the country as well because what they did was to help a first-term Labor government achieve quite a lot, and I'm very grateful for all their work

I'm grateful to the electorate office as well. In my time as a minister, I wasn't there as much as I'd have liked, but I can tell you that they made a difference. I had so many people say that their lives had been shaped by the fact that the electorate office would go that extra mile to help people out. I'm sure every single member of parliament reflects so warmly on their members of staff within their electorate offices for the work that they do. I give a heartfelt thanks to every member of my office. To one who just recently left, Ade Amuda, I want to say thank you so much for your help.

Finally I want to say thank you to my partner, Fiona. She's actually my fiance, but my nickname for her is 'wife asterisk', where the asterisk represents a rounding up, because she will be my wife at some point soon. I can't tell this chamber how blessed and lucky I am to have someone like Fiona in my life. We are parenting three boys: Tor, Sam and Harry. It is an absolute blessing to have that in my life. I regard public office as a tremendous opportunity, but ultimately being able to find someone you love who can make such a big difference in your life is truly something words cannot express gratitude for. To Fiona, who I love so deeply, I just want to say thank you—in particular for all her fierce support, her help and, more importantly than anything else, her love. I'm grateful for all of that.

I'm conscious that Minister Rishworth is here and she thought that I'd only speak for 10 minutes but I've spoken for 17. And I notice the member for Barker on the other side coughing. Are you speaking next, or is it Minister Rishworth?

You've been very good to me, Minister Rishworth, so thank you for that.

I want to end on a sombre note. We learnt of the passing of Greg Whitby. Greg Whitby was with the Catholic education office. He was someone I worked with when I was first elected. I was stunned to hear that he passed away on 30 August. He was a teacher, academic and author who changed the lives of thousands, particularly through his principles of inclusivity. He was awarded the highest honour for teachers in 2017, as director of the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, assisting 78 schools, 43,000 students and 4,500 staff. Along the way, he wrote a book called Educating Gen Wi-Fi that looked to modernise the way schools educate and deal with the vast impact of technology, and he wrote that 10 years ago. I'm really sorry. I was just saddened incredibly at Greg's departure. I would like the House to know about his contribution to public life in his way. I thank him enormously and will miss him greatly. Vale, Greg Whitby.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is an absolute honour to have been sworn in as the member for Kingston in the 48th Parliament, my seventh time having this privilege. I continue to be absolutely grateful for and humbled by the confidence that my local community has placed in me to represent them in this place. I continue to be deeply committed to listening to the views and priorities of my community and making sure that they have a voice in this place.

I'm a bit biased here, but the southern suburbs of Adelaide are the most beautiful place in the world to live. They have some beautiful coastline that is experiencing some challenges at the moment, but that doesn't take away from the absolute beauty of the coastline, of course, and the many, many open spaces that we have. But, ultimately, what makes our community strong is its people—people from all walks of life, raising families out in the areas further flung from the CBD and contributing to community, whether that's through the local Lions, Rotary or Kiwanis; the local CFS; the local coastguard association; the surf lifesaving clubs; or the sporting clubs, such as football clubs and netball clubs. I am astounded, every weekend and during the week when I get away from Canberra, to go around and visit some of those clubs and organisations and think about the volunteering that is put into this—ordinary people doing, I think, extraordinary things to serve the community. So I want to say that I really always admire and am humbled by the effort and work that people put in.

Of course, in my electorate people work very hard. They work very hard to put a roof over their heads and give their children and their grandchildren the best opportunities. For my electorate, making sure that in this most recent election we looked to the future was critically important. It's pretty clear across the country that Australians have chosen to build Australia's future. They voted for fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all and the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need. This was very important in the election.

I think also that, for me and my electorate, people really wanted to connect. I have to say that over my time in parliament it has been absolutely amazing, and I feel so privileged that so many people have invited me into their lives, whether it's through doorknocking, at street corner meetings or by coming into my office. They have trusted me and my office to be brought into their lives. Whether they're seeking assistance, giving me some good advice—which happens on a pretty regular basis—or having a genuine conversation, I feel really honoured that so many people have brought me into their lives and told me of their aspirations. This election was no different. People's aspiration to support their community, to give their kids a better life than they perhaps had and to make sure that they can just get on with life and look after others was really profound.

I would like to particularly acknowledge all the members from South Australia and congratulate everyone on their election to this place. I think it's true—hopefully it's true—to say that at times South Australia bats above its weight. I think we are very blessed to have a new member for Sturt join us as well as a new senator in Senator Charlotte Walker. They join other representatives from South Australia: the member for Boothby, the member for Adelaide, the member for Hindmarsh, the member for Makin and the member for Spence. They join the Labor team and make up the Labor caucus. I acknowledge and congratulate the member for Barker, who is in the chamber; the new member for Grey; and the member for Mayo for their re-election as well. I know that, each in our way, we will fiercely fight for South Australia and for the communities that we represent.

I want to reflect on the fact that this government was re-elected on a very clear vision for the future building on what we started in our first term of government. I think that everyone—certainly me—decided to enter into politics to ensure that everyone could reach their full potential, that we could as government allow everyone to try and reach their full potential, that we could put the supports in place to ensure everyone got that enabling opportunity, whether that was education or healthcare, to allow them to really do the best they can. I think that really is a critical motivation. Therefore, I'm really proud that, in our first term of government, particularly in my role as Minister for Social Services, we were able to do some really important work to ensure that we did better for people.

I would particularly like to say that the reform we did in disability employment services, which will now come into effect as Inclusive Employment Australia, is a really important reform to ensure that people with disability do get the opportunity for economic empowerment to get a job and to make sure that the service system was not trying to make them change but responded to their individual needs to make sure they were working with employers to deliver better outcomes. I heard over and over again from people with disability that they did want the opportunity but no-one was giving them that chance. I'm very proud of the disability reform we did.

There was also our National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. That was work we put in to make sure we could really have a common anchor to guide us all. The document itself drives Commonwealth investments and state and territory investment and really gives us a framework in which we can end violence against women and children. We've got a long way to go, and I remain absolutely committed to that goal along with, I'm sure, everyone across the parliament.

Of course, we expanded and strengthened paid parental leave, paying superannuation on it for the first time. We boosted social safety increases, including JobSeeker, the single parenting payment and Commonwealth rent assistance. They were some—I can't go into all—of the work that we did, and I would like to thank all of my ministerial staff, who worked so diligently on ensuring that we could get the best for people. They really were passionate and believed in what we were doing, and I'd like to thank them very much.

Now in this new term, I am absolutely honoured to have been appointed Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Of course, part of this work continues some of the work that I did in social services to make sure that Australians have the opportunity to obtain and retain a well-paid job. I think it is really critical to acknowledge the work that was done by the now minister for home affairs and Senator Watt for the work that they did in laying a very strong foundation to get wages moving in this country and to work on secure jobs.

Some of the work that has been done, that we will continue working on, is a world first in minimum standards for employee-like work. Other countries are looking to us. We have set a pathway to make sure gig economy workers actually get a minimum standards safety net. I think that's really important. We will continue to deliver in this portfolio on our election commitments to workplace relations. But also, importantly, there will be new challenges coming at us. There is, for example, artificial intelligence and its opportunities but also its challenges that we must grapple with. So I think there is still a lot of work to be done.

For me, getting back to what the election was fought on, there was a very clear message from my electorate. They wanted us to talk about things that would make a practical difference to their lives, whether that was a tax cut for every taxpayer, energy bill relief, cheaper medicines or a cut to student debt. I heard over and over from young people, and also older people who still had a debt, about just how important that student debt policy was.

I did want to talk about free TAFE, in particular, though. In my electorate, further out in the suburbs, the Noarlunga TAFE campus had become a little less populated and not as vibrant as it had been. That was until free TAFE came along. What free TAFE has done was not only unlocked the opportunity for so many people to either train for the first time or retrain but unlocked the ability to do so close to home at Noarlunga TAFE. I visited there, and, in areas where construction had been done and which had been vacant for a long time, I saw students training there again. It is so heartening to hear stories as we see more and more students attracted back to that TAFE campus, getting the opportunity for the first time. Making sure that opportunity is close to home is so critically important.

In addition, I did want to talk about health care. Health care is so important. Ensuring you are able to access a universal healthcare system is something I think our country can be very proud of. It's something I actually spoke about in my first speech in this place. The healthcare commitments we've made, particularly in this election, will have a big impact on my electorate, whether that's the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive, which will encourage many more doctors to bulk-bill; the extra funding for our very busy urgent care clinic at Morphett Vale—and a shout-out to everyone who works there; this urgent care clinic is doing amazing work—or the commitment to a walk-in mental health urgent care clinic in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. We know there are times when people are quite distressed emotionally and feeling like they need some support right there and then, and a walk-in Medicare mental health clinic will do just that.

I did want to use the remaining time I had to say some thankyous. There have been a lot of people who have worked very hard, including my ministerial office who worked through the last term and was headed up by Owen Torpy. He's decided to look for other opportunities now, but I couldn't have done what I did in that last term without his absolute commitment. We really were a team, and I really appreciate everything that they did. I had a huge campaign team, who gave up their weekends and weeknights and were really committed to seeing me get re-elected. So thank you to Noah Beckham, Lily Waltham, Lachie Byrne, Lorraine Christalee, Oliver Shepherd-Bailey and Saxa McDonald. We had over 300 volunteers who came out, packed shopping centre bags and worked on prepolling days. But I did want to particularly give a shout-out to Kylie and Alistair Douglas, Jono Gauci, Jim Phillips, Chrissy Slater, Sally Hand, John Naylor, Bill and Maxine Watson, Naomi Piper, Bridie Ward, Georgina Walk and Jess Zilly—all did a huge amount of work.

I would like to give a big shout-out to the many who, in addition to supporting me as minister, helped in my campaign: Lanai Scarr, Phil Nigg, Kate Coleman, Jaimee Hunt, Kirsty Johnson, Leesa Markussen, Jack Loader, Drina Velidka, Marie Goodnick, Ruth Albertson Kill, Rosie Lenty, Genevieve Scarf, Jordon O'Reilly and Louis Gordon. They worked incredibly hard over the last term, and I am very grateful to them.

I am also incredibly appreciative of my electorate staff. Electorate staff do, and I hear this over and over again, make an enormous difference. While I feel privileged to be let into people's lives, they are also let into people's lives, but they have to really spend a lot of time helping and assisting, and they make a difference every single day. They do change lives, and I think sometimes they're not recognised for that. To Angela Duigan, James Carter, Emma Kane, Lucy Nguyen and Eloise Atterton, a really, really big thank you.

I also wanted to shout out Jordon O'Reilly, who's actually here today and who was my campaign manager. He has been with me for a while. He's been absolutely dedicated and, with his leadership, he was able to put together such a strong campaign in a seat where there's not always the same attention as sometimes there is on a marginal seat. We were able to mount a really grassroots campaign. Jordon, your attention, your engagement with people and your commitment and loyalty to both the campaign and myself are desperately appreciated. I'd like to thank you very much for the work you've done for a long time for me, but also of course in the campaign.

I would like to acknowledge the many members of parliament outside of South Australia—though obviously South Australians comes first—including the many, many new members and members returning to this place. I particularly wanted to reflect on the new Labor caucus. I had the privilege of starting to get to know many of the new Labor caucus before the election, as I visited their seats, and since the election. I feel so privileged to be working alongside so many of these new members. The acumen, the intelligence, the policy, the thoughtfulness, the energy—it is unbelievable. I feel so lucky that, for the next three years, I'll be working alongside so many talented people. And the diversity! From all walks of life, this is one of the most multicultural caucuses and governments ever. With women and men from all walks of life, it's an absolute privilege to be part of this new Labor government.

I'd also like to acknowledge the leadership of Aemon Bourke, the state secretary in South Australia, who ran a great campaign in South Australia. I of course acknowledge Paul Erickson as well at the national secretariat. I would also like to particularly acknowledge the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, through his leadership, really defined what it meant to be optimistic, to look to the future, to address people's concerns in a practical way and to also have an eye on the horizon. I'd just like to acknowledge and thank him for his leadership.

Equally, I'd like to recognise our premier, Peter Malinauskas. Peter and the Prime Minister have worked incredibly well together, and nothing better represents that than the decision to keep the Whyalla steelworks going. This was a significant decision and an example of the power of government and of the important role that government can play but also of the importance of partnership between the Premier of South Australia and our prime minister. It was brave to keep Whyalla steelworks going, not only because of the jobs it actually saves and the communities that it supports but also because of the sovereign capability that Whyalla brings to this country, and I would like to commend both the Prime Minister and the Premier for that.

I give a big thankyou to a number of union members, including Josh Peak, Jordan Mumford, Nick Townsend, Jason Hall, Sam McIntosh and the broad labour movement. Of course, I'd better get in my husband, Tim, and Oscar and Percy. I couldn't do it without you.

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to rise to give this speech-in-reply, particularly having been given the immense honour of being re-elected to this place now on five consecutive occasions. Like previous speakers I'm incredibly humbled by the faith that the people of Barker have placed in me. It was a humbling experience in 2013 and it has been a humbling experience on every single occasion since. These are not privileges that are earned solo; they are part of a broader team's effort.

I want to take the opportunity early in this contribution to acknowledge one team member. I was in regional Victoria campaigning in my role as shadow minister for roads and road safety when my staff told me I needed to find a quiet place to take a call. At that point I thought, 'Hmm, I wonder which journalist has found something to ask me about.' The caller asked me if I was feeling okay, and then they said, 'Tony, we have some really sad news to tell you.' That sad news was that a very close friend and someone who'd been on this political journey with me for a very long time had passed away. His name was Nevin Lamont.

Nevin had served as the Barker FEC treasurer since 2013. At the last AGM that Nevin attended, which was the AGM of 2024, he pulled me aside and said, 'Tony, I think this election campaign might be my last.' He didn't mean his last on earth but rather his last as treasurer. But it turned out that Nevin didn't get to see the outcome of the election in 2025. I want to pay tribute to Nevin. Nevin's own grandfather served in this place as the member for Barker. Nevin was a loyal supporter of mine, someone who would walk on broken glass for me and for the Liberal movement. He was a farmer from Glencoe. He was then someone who became a photography enthusiast, which led to a business in retirement. He threw his support behind the Liberal Party. I just want to pay my respects to Nevin in this contribution. Nevin, it's a measure of your contribution that people continue, both as part of that campaign and in meetings subsequent, to refer to how Nevin would deal with a particular matter. So vale, Nevin Lamont.

While I'm dealing with volunteer contributions, perhaps I can give the shout-outs now. In particular, I want to give one to Barker FEC President Sophie Wilksch. This is a young lady who was elected to the presidency in the lead-up to the 2022 election. She was a quietly spoken individual. She has grown immensely, and she assisted in my campaigns in 2022 and 2025. Sophie was an amazing support during the campaign. I'd also like to give shout-outs to Sue Andrew in the Riverland, and Greg O'Brien and Suzy Howell, who I'll mention again, in the Murraylands. Shout-outs also go to Clayton Scott in the Barossa; the Peuckers, Mark and Julie, in Mount Gambier; and, through MacKillop, Matt Neumann and Lachy Haynes, who of course has served for a number of years as rural and regional chair of the Liberal Party in South Australia.

Thanks also to my staff, many of whom go above and beyond, some of whom have taken the decision, after a number of elections and terms—in particular, my former chief of staff, Vanessa Juergens—to move on to greener pastures. To Ness I want to convey my thanks. It's a particular challenge when you come to work for a member of parliament like me, having worked for former foreign minister Alexander Downer. The electorate office that had my name on the door was the first electorate office I had ever been to in my life. Mine was not a journey through staffing or other things, so Ness had a hard time in the first three or so years. I'm incredibly grateful for her service. Equally, thanks to Charlotte Edmunds, who worked with me in electoral seats and also did much of the work in the portfolio responsibilities I had. I'm so pleased to see her career journey progressing now through the Limestone Coast Local Government Association as their chief executive officer. To Suzy Howell, who has been a long-term stalwart in my office and was much loved by constituents, happy retirement!

While I am acknowledging people, can I acknowledge the former leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton. This is a man who, at times, for political reasons or otherwise, has been derided, but I think on election night we saw a glimmer of the character of the man. In his acknowledgement, his concession speech, when he spoke about the Prime Minister and how proud the Prime Minister's mother would have been of his achievements, I think that volumes of the Peter Dutton I knew and do know. I want to thank Peter for his service to the Liberal Party, his service to the parliament and, in particular, his service to the nation. I want to also thank him for giving me the great privilege to serve as assistant shadow minister for infrastructure and transport, and subsequently as shadow minister for roads and road safety.

I listened to the member for Kingston's contribution, and it was fine. It reminded me of one thing when she was acknowledging the new members of the Labor caucus. I want to acknowledge one group of people who I expect have not been necessarily acknowledged—at least, not frequently—in this debate, and that is the cohort of Liberal candidates who presented themselves to the Australian people. I had the opportunity to meet many of them and campaign with some of them, and I have to tell you that the result those opposite achieved at the election was not a reflection of the quality of those candidates. Those candidates were let down, and I have offered my personal apology to many of them, as I have to conservative voters, notwithstanding the result in Barker.

I want to quickly again thank my staff, who, during my time as assistant shadow minister, took on portfolio responsibilities over and above electoral responsibilities, because there wasn't an allocation of additional staff. That's a huge burden, but it was one they dealt with to great effect. I want to thank them particularly for the development of our policy on road safety. The concept of delivering to this nation the first ever no-fault investigation program—which the Australian people ultimately rejected, but I hope those opposite consider it—is an incredible achievement against a background of doing that with very limited resources.

I want to also acknowledge, both as a South Australia member of parliament and, more importantly, as the shadow minister for roads and road safety, as I was then, the announcement we made around the Truro bypass and the greater Adelaide freight route. For those not familiar with Adelaide, Adelaide remains the last of the capital cities in Australia to have the main trucking route boring all the way through it. It means all the heavy vehicle traffic that comes from southern Australia, Melbourne and the south-east of South Australia needs to traverse through the middle of Adelaide on Portrush Road or Cross Road. These are some of the most densely populated suburbs of Adelaide. Disappointingly, it's apparent that too many schools are located in this area, and it's also at the bottom of the sharpest descent into a capital city anywhere in this country. There is every sort of risk that presents itself with this heavy vehicle traffic. It was our policy to remove the majority of that heavy vehicle traffic from the streets and suburbs of Adelaide via a commitment of $1 billion to build the Truro bypass, to duplicate the Swanport Bridge and, of course, to build the interconnection between the Dukes and Sturt highways.

Unfortunately, that project will not be proceeded with. As it relates to the Truro bypass, it was a project that was about to start when the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government began her infrastructure review and effectively knocked that project off the to-do list. It is disappointing. I'm sorry to make this assertion, but those opposite went to the South Australian people with a proposal to build half of that road. Unfortunately, the South Australian state government simply doesn't have the money to pay the balance, which is a sum greater than half a billion dollars. That was, in my assessment, an attempt to hoodwink the people of South Australia into believing that it didn't matter, that they were getting a road in any event. They've now woken up to the reality that the road is more than a decade away, and I pray most days that the road safety risks that the failure to make that investment represent won't realise themselves.

Let's talk about the regions. It's hard for me to make a contribution without saying it. Those opposite enjoy an incredibly strong—and I referred to it the other day—hypermajority. Having said that—and I would've said this before the events of Ballarat a week ago—that's not a universally agreed position across the country. The National Party are fond of saying that their members of parliament did particularly well at the last election. I can tell you that, in truth, regional, rural and remote members of parliament, particularly those on the Senate right, did well at this election. I note my colleague opposite referred to some seat, and that might be true, but when we're close to losing the seat of Bendigo, you might need to be a little concerned about what's happening in regional Australia.

I can tell you what is happening in regional Australia. Regional Australia is feeling ignored. It felt ignored during this campaign and it's feeling ignored right now. When you've got people pleading with the Prime Minister to save their industry, an industry that's done every single thing that government has asked of it—and I appreciate you, Deputy Speaker Wilkie, don't share my view on this topic. The campaign to keep the sheep was one that resonated in two electorates, and perhaps that's why the call to save the live sheep industry fell on deaf ears.

I'll tell you about another policy area that's falling on deaf ears, and that's the Australian wine industry. I've got viticulturists in my electorate that have lost money in three or four successive vintages. This can't continue. Those opposite were fond, in the lead up to the election and indeed in the lead up to the '22 election, of blaming former prime minister Morrison for his actions vis-a-vis China. The truth is that didn't help, but the reality is that's a misunderstanding of what's happening globally to the wine industry. Globally, demand for wine and the propensity to drink wine is in sharp decline. That might be because people want to be healthier. It might be because people are choosing alternative drinks. The reality is demand has crashed, and it has crashed globally. Indeed, Australia left the Chinese market, and our competitors, Italy, Chile, France and America, all saw a market decline at the same time. So a major exporter, Australia, leaves the market, and it is still in decline. The reality is that there needs to be structural assistance in relation to the Australian wine industry. We're going to lose this industry, and I fear for older producers who simply have no other option but to fall destitute. I call on those opposite to heed the calls of the Australian wine industry.

Regional Australians, particularly South Australians, have been forgotten during this drought. Much of regional South Australia is living through the most severe drought in living memory. There is limited to no support available—no specific support. When, in 2016, we found ourselves in drought on the east coast and in South Australia, our then government provided grants to local government and specific grants to farmers. None of that has been forthcoming. I suppose I am effectively suggesting that if it's not in the metropolitan news cycle—if it's not affecting metropolitan Australians—then you're not seeing a lot of love or attention.

The farmers in my electorate, who've been in drought for more than two years, are particularly interested in the approach of those opposite to the algal bloom in South Australia. Nobody, not a farmer I know—salt of the earth as they are—would be opposed to any form of support going to the coastal communities on the back of this. But I just think it's interesting that dead fish on beaches in Adelaide lead to almost twice-daily visits by senior ministers from the government of those opposite to Adelaide, to profess their undying and loving support for these coastal communities, when I've got farmers on bended knee asking for support.

While I've got the time I have, can I just make a couple of other observations. I was sitting through question time, listening to the minister for health talk about GP clinics, particularly urgent care clinics. Can I tell the House and the minister—I know he's aware of this because, while he might not hear my regular speeches on the topic, I understand the South Australian state minister for health has written to him about it—the Mount Gambier urgent care clinic has been closed since June. I don't mean 'not open in particular hours'; I mean closed. Why? It went into liquidation. You might say, 'Mr Pasin, that's impossible, because these projects are block funded.' True, they are, but the operator of that business went into liquidation and, as a result, it is closed.

There's a tender process going on. I call on the minister to expedite that, for no other reason than this: there are four GP clinics in Mount Gambier—four—and every single clinic has now confirmed publicly that it is not taking on additional patients. So you've got four GP clinics that aren't taking on additional patients. It's great if you are a patient of the clinic, and, to disclose an interest, I am. But, if you're new to Mount Gambier and your kid's sick, you can't go to a GP clinic. You can ring all four of them, but you'll be told, 'We are not taking on extra clients.' Then you can go around to the urgent care clinic, but it's boarded up. So where do you go? You go to emergency. That's not good enough, and it's something that needs to be addressed immediately. When asked why this happened, I said I warned this would happen in 2022, when the minister for health changed the distribution priority areas. The minute he did that—the next day—I got phone calls from clinics saying that doctors had resigned.

Finally, can I say that I was privileged to make commitments to the following organisations as part of the campaign: the Murray Bridge Players and Singers; the Tailem Bend RSL; the Penola bowling club; the Mount Gambier and District Saleyards, via the District Council of Grant; the Kapunda Soldiers Memorial Garden and their efforts at Dutton Park; and the Mount Burr Netball Club. To all of those organisations, who are incredibly worthy and who have been ignored for too long: can I tell you I will continue to campaign for the funding and support you need. No-one was more disappointed than me that we failed to form government at the last election. I went to bed that night thinking about each of your organisations and how happy you were when I came to your facilities and gave you a commitment that a Dutton-led Liberal government would fund your respective projects. I'm going to work hard every day to ensure that whatever opportunities are available—and, sadly, in the last term there were too few; I hope there are more—deliver the social capital communities need particularly in my electorate of Barker. I will work every day to make sure we can deliver on those.

Finally, it is an immense privilege to serve as the member for Barker. If you had asked a young, perhaps primary school aged Tony Pasin whether he would ever serve in this parliament, he would have thought you were crazy. I don't take that privilege for granted. I'm fighting every day for the people of Barker.

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me start by saying this: representing the people of Shortland is the greatest honour of my life. I'm incredibly thankful to my community for putting their trust in me once again. I won't take it for granted. I promise to keep working hard every single day to deliver for you and for our region.

The result of the 2025 election sent a strong message across the country: Australians want a government that listens, that delivers and that puts people first. I'm proud to stand here and say that's exactly what the Albanese Labor government is doing and will keep doing. Throughout the campaign, my team and I spoke with thousands of people across our community. We doorknocked, we phone-called, we held street stalls, eager to hear what mattered most to people. We listened, we made commitments and now we're delivering.

One example I'm especially proud of is our support for an amazing local organisation, Survivor's R Us. Survivor's R Us helps people dealing with domestic violence, homelessness and unemployment, some of the hardest things anyone can go through. They told us they needed a permanent space so they could keep doing their vital work. We listened, and now we deliver. A commitment by the Albanese Labor government of $2.8 million will help them buy a permanent site. This will give them the security they need to continue helping our community for many years to come. That's what good government looks like: backing local organisations, supporting people doing work on the ground and making a real change in people's lives. Everyone deserves safety, dignity and opportunity to rebuild.

But our work doesn't stop there. We've also committed funding to support important community upgrades across Shortland. There is $4.6 million to deliver the second state upgrade of Belmont Sporting Complex, $130,000 to fix the steps of Charlestown Netball Courts, $220,000 to address Windale rugby league club's drainage issues at Hunter Barnett Oval, $420,000 to upgrade the lighting at John Balcomb Oval, home of the Dudley Magpies, $275,000 to install new floodlighting at Lisle Carr Oval in Whitebridge, $275,000 to upgrade the lighting at Cardiff Netball Courts, $275,000 to install floodlighting at Jack Edwards Oval in Argenton, $325,000 to fix longstanding flooding issues at Slade Park and $35,000 for new fencing at Halekulani Oval, home of the Budgewoi Bulldogs. These projects may not make national headlines, but they matter deeply to our community and to the players, families and volunteers who use these spaces every week.

I'm also proud of the $90,000 in funding we've committed for the expansion of the Vedic Samiti Temple in Cardiff South. This will help deliver a new, all-weather dining space for our growing local Hindu community, making it easier to come together, celebrate and connect.

Across Shortland and across Australia, people voted for a better future, for fairness, for stability and for a government that backs everyday Australians, not just the big end of town. That's what Labor stands for, that's what I stand for and that's what we'll keep delivering.

When I was out and about in my community, my constituents told me they wanted help with the cost of living. They told me they were feeling the squeeze. That's why we're delivering real cost-of-living relief. We gave millions of households more direct energy bill belief, and there's another $150 off electricity bills to come. We've introduced cheaper child care and rolled out free TAFE, and now we're cutting the costs of medicines even further, cutting the price of PBS prescriptions to just $25, the lowest it's been since 2004. Meanwhile, pensioners and concession card holders will keep saving money thanks to the price freeze on PBS medicines, which will stay at just $7.70 until 2030. We'll continue to protect our PBS. That's how we help families, workers and pensioners right now—with practical support that makes a difference every day.

During the campaign, young people told me they were struggling. The Albanese Labor government believes in a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, and that's why we've backed minimum wage increases. If you're getting a pay slip soon, minimum wages are now 3.5 per cent higher. We didn't just promise more jobs; we delivered better jobs with better pay and better conditions.

That's why we're supporting apprentices in dealing with cost-of-living pressures while ensuring Australia has the workforce it needs to build 1.2 million homes over five years. We're paying housing construction apprentice tradies $10,000 in incentives, because we're building the workforce Australia needs for the future, and we're giving Australians real pathways into meaningful careers. That's what my community wants, and that's Labor's way—lifting people up, not leaving them behind.

We know education changes people's lives, and that's why Labor has made it easier to learn, train and grow. I've heard from students and their parents that crushing HECS debts were stopping young people from buying houses and getting ahead. That's why we cut 20 per cent off HECS debt, why we introduced free TAFE and why, for the first time ever, eligible student nurses, teachers, social workers and midwives are getting paid for their prac placements—as they should. This is not just good policy; it's common sense. Because, if we want a strong future, we need to invest in the people building it.

We know housing has become a major stressor for far too many people in Shortland and across Australia—renters, first home buyers and people trying to get a roof over their heads. That's why Labor is delivering. We're tackling the housing crisis with our $43 billion Homes for Australia plan, making it easier to buy and better to rent and building more homes. We're delivering up to 100,000 homes just for first home buyers, with no competition from investors, and we're making sure they're built near jobs, families and the community.

From 2026, every first home buyer can access a government backed five per cent deposit, with no income caps and no limits on how much you can earn to be eligible. Our Help to Buy scheme will make it easier to buy your first home by cutting the size of your mortgage, with the government covering up to 40 per cent of the upfront costs. We are also speeding up construction with prefab and modular homes, which will fast-track building times. We're cutting red tape and fast-tracking the qualifications of 6,000 tradies to get it done. We've backed renters with more rights and more assistance, and now we're making the dream of homeownership achievable again. We're not ignoring the housing crisis; we're tackling it head-on.

My constituents also told me how important Medicare is to our community, and I'm so proud that we're strengthening and protecting it. We tripled the bulk-billing incentive, making it easier to see a GP—especially for kids, pensioners and concession card holders. We all know how important it is to get medical care when you need it without spending hours waiting in a hospital emergency room. That's why we've opened urgent care clinics in Lake Haven and Charlestown. These clinics have quickly become some of the busiest in New South Wales, demonstrating just how vital they are to our community. Because of their success, we're delivering more resources to help them meet growing demand, so more people can get the care they need, when they need it, and for free. This is great news for local families, providing faster and more accessible care for our region.

When I'm out in the community, I hear time and time again how much people value these services, so I'd like to thank the dedicated staff who work in these clinics. Your care and commitment are making a real difference every day, as is the care and commitment of every single person in the health sector in Shortland. Now we're working to deliver expanded mental health support, because my community told me that's what they need next. I'm proud that we will have a Medicare mental health clinic in Charlestown in the near future—because your health should not depend on your bank balance, and, under Labor, it never will.

My constituents also care deeply about the environment. That's why we're taking bold, responsible action on climate change—not just because it's the right thing to do for our planet, but because it's the smart thing to do for our economy. Under Labor, Australia is becoming a renewable energy superpower. We're investing in batteries, home solar and the Rewiring the Nation project to modernise our grid. We're creating thousands of clean energy jobs and driving down power prices, all while cutting pollution and protecting our future.

You can characterise our government as being steady. We've been focused, and we've kept our promises. From cost-of-living relief to Medicare reform and from housing to climate, the Albanese Labor government has delivered what we said we would, and we'll continue to do exactly that. At the end of the day, this election wasn't just about policies; it was about values, Australians chose fairness over division.

But, unfortunately, the campaign also had its darker side. I saw scenes I'd never witnessed my time in politics. We had Exclusive Brethren in Liberal shirts busting into our neighbourhoods from as far away as South Australia. They were there not to campaign but to bully, harass and intimidate. They physically blocked voters from entering polling booths, ripped other parties' materials from voters' hands, tore down signs, hurled sexist and offensive remarks and confronted volunteers and voters with aggression and contempt. This was not about persuasion and campaigning; this was about coercion and intimidation. These tactics—the coordination, the coercion and the intimidation—were among the most egregious I've ever witnessed. They were corrosive to democracy and contrary to everything we stand for. They didn't even bother to pretend to know the electorate. They didn't even know where the Charlestown Medicare Urgent Care Clinic was, even though many of them were at a prepoll centre just around the corner from the clinic for two whole weeks.

All this, according to media reports, was coordinated out of the then Liberal leader's office—a nationwide, orchestrated effort by a secretive religious cult to influence our election. Let's ask ourselves: Why did the Exclusive Brethren, who don't even vote, mobilise in their thousands for the Liberal Party? What were they promised? What was the quid pro quo? Let's hope the Liberal Party never again employs such disgraceful, antidemocratic tactics.

I'm pleased to report the voters of Shortland, when faced with this orchestrated campaign of fear and intimidation, said no. They provided the Liberals with the result they deserved. My constituents chose compassion over cruelty, hope over fear and action over spin. They chose a government that builds, not blames; that backs workers, supports families and stands up for the vulnerable; and that listens, delivers and brings people together. So to everyone who put their trust in me and Labor: thank you. I won't take your support for granted. Together we'll keep building a better Australia—one that is fairer, stronger and full of opportunity for all.

I'd like to say a big, heartfelt thank you to my amazing team. I couldn't have done this without you. To the mighty trade union movement I say thank you. Every day you work tirelessly to improve the safety and working conditions of millions of Australians. In particular, I would acknowledge the support of the Mining and Energy Union, the AMWU, the MUA veterans and the SDA. Without your support, the result we achieved in Shortland would not have been possible. To my staff, my volunteers and, of course, my family: thank you for hitting the streets, knocking on doors, making countless phone calls, delivering flyers and handing out on polling places—on prepoll and on election day. We delivered one of the most active campaigns in all of New South Wales, and the results speak for themselves. Your support never wavered, and I have the great honour and privilege of serving the people of Shortland for another three years because of your hard work and dedication.

I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to a very special member of my team: my former office manager Kylie Katalinic. Kylie joined the Labor Party at just 17, inspired by her proud Labor father, and from that day on she dedicated her life to the movement. Kylie joined my office in August 2023. From day one, Kylie was focused on the election campaign to come. She knew just how important it was to have a Labor government in office and how a Labor agenda can transform lives. Tragically, Kylie lost her life to cancer in February this year. Kylie was a passionate unionist, a fierce advocate for mental health and someone who lived her Labor values every single day. Kylie brought warmth, energy and kindness to everything she did in our office, with her family and in our community. She is deeply missed by all of us, and I know she would be incredibly proud of what we've achieved together. I again pass my condolences on to Kylie's family and friends.

In conclusion, I would like to thank two groups of people. First, I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for his continued leadership. He ran an incredibly disciplined, value driven, honest and effective government over the last three years, and the election result reflects the trust the people of Australia have in him and his agenda. He is a person who never forgets where he came from and is committed to fighting for Australians every single day.

Finally, in conclusion, I'd like to thank my family again. To my beautiful wife, Keara, and my two amazing kids, Rachel and Michael: thank you for the sacrifices you make. Thank you for believing in the Labor project of improving the lives of all Australians. I apologise in advance for another three years of my absence, but I hope I can continue to make you proud and to repay the trust and sacrifice you make every single day so that I can continue to represent the people of Shortland.

As I said earlier, representing my community in Shortland is the greatest honour of my life, and I will continue to work every day to make every moment in this place count. Thank you very much.

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

I join with the minister acknowledging the chamber staff, who've supported us as we have run a little over time. 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 19:3 6