Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I love our teachers, and that's not just because my mum was one. On Friday, we celebrated World Teachers Day, and I want to give all of my teachers in Bonner a special shout-out. There are more than 31,000 school students right across Bonner, and their lives are changed and shaped each and every day by our teachers. I thank them for their commitment, service and passion for teaching. I also want to give a big shout-out to the Queensland Teachers Union, who I met with recently. For more than 135 years, they have ensured that teachers voices are heard loud and clear when it comes to ensuring teachers conditions, pay and safety are protected and that their rights promoted.

There are 49 schools in Bonner, and in the past six months I have already visited 21 of them. This includes Gumdale State School, who recently hosted Speaker of the House, Milton Dick, as part of the Australian Parliament House National Flag Roadshow. It was very special for the Gumdale State School students to hear firsthand about democracy and the parliament from the Speaker himself, and to unfurl the 12.8-metre by 6.4-metre flag, which has flown above parliament, in their hall.

As we know, not all students are able to visit parliament. I certainly didn't have that opportunity growing up in Yeppoon in Central Queensland, which makes it extra special for a piece of the parliament to come to them. Thank you to our Speaker for making the journey to Bonner. Our students absolutely loved it!

Finally, 2.7 million Australians are living with signs of kidney disease. That's about one in seven adults. For many, this means staying close to home to ensure access to dialysis machines, usually a few times a week. Holidays, family trips and simple time away from home become extremely difficult. I visited Kidney Health Australia's big red bus, which was right here at Parliament House last week, and saw firsthand the incredible initiative that it is. The bus is a mobile dialysis service. It gives people with kidney disease flexibility to travel while maintaining their treatment. Each bus is fitted with dialysis chairs, accessible facilities and qualified renal nurses. Delivering six sessions a day across holiday destinations in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, it gives patients the chance to spend time with their families, visit new places and maintain their health.

The Albanese Labor government is also supporting Australians living with chronic kidney disease by making medicines cheaper. Just last week, Jardiance was added to the PBS, giving more than 65,000 Australians access to life-changing medicine. Patients who used to pay $670 will now pay just $31.60 per script, or $7.70 with a concession card, dropping to just $25 from January 2026. These are practical measures making a real difference for so many Australians.