Justine Elliot's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2026-02-05T22:05:58+00:00
items: Defence Properties | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Workplace Relations: Gig Workers | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Climate Change | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Energy | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Natural Disasters | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Emergency Services | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Housing | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Police Week | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Address-in-Reply | Governor-General's Speech | House debates
items: National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Richmond Electorate: Medicare | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Environment | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
items: Cost of Living | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
items: Rearrangement | Business | House debates
items: Liberal-National Coalition | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Free TAFE Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates

Defence Properties | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. How is the Albanese government delivering a future Defence estate for our Australian Defence Force, and what have been alternative approaches?
encoded: My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. How is the Albanese government delivering a future Defence estate for our Australian Defence Force, and what have been alternative approaches?
date: 2026-02-05T14:10:00+00:00

Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I too rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This bill is about making sure Australians can get the medicines they need...
encoded: I too rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This bill is about making sure Australians can get the medicines they need when they need them without unnecessary barriers standing in their way. It really builds on our government's investment in health care and Medicare over the past few years. Of course, as we've heard from many of the speakers, we did have a decade of neglect under the Liberal and National parties when they were in government. It's taken a long time to build back and invest in Medicare and in health services. This bill today is part of our reforms to make sure that people can access health care when they do require it, particularly those in rural and regional areas. Our reforms have made a huge difference, and I'll go through some of the details later on about that. This bill proposes amendments to the National Health Act 1953 and the Health Insurance Act 1973 to enable authorised nurse prescribers to prescribe certain medicines under the PBS. Under existing law, prescribing rights are confined largely to medical practitioners, dentists, optometrists, endorsed nurse practitioners and midwives. The reforms in this bill will mean that nurses are empowered to provide this care directly to the community, reducing the need to visit a GP or attend a hospital emergency department. It'll make a huge difference. The reforms in this bill support the broader health workforce reform agenda of ensuring that health professionals are enabled to work to their full scope of practice. For a health professional, 'scope of practice' means the activities which they are competent and authorised to perform. As identified in the Strengthening Medicare taskforce report and the subsequent Unleashing the potential of our health workforce review, removing barriers and increasing incentives for all professionals to work to their full scope of practice is necessary in delivering better health outcomes. Thes…
date: 2026-02-05T10:30:00+00:00

Workplace Relations: Gig Workers | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering a better deal for gig workers, and how does this compare to other approaches?
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering a better deal for gig workers, and how does this compare to other approaches?
date: 2025-11-25T14:46:00+00:00

Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to call on the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens political party to support the Albanese Labor government's environmental protection bills. At the election, Australians endorsed our...
encoded: I rise to call on the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens political party to support the Albanese Labor government's environmental protection bills. At the election, Australians endorsed our government's plan to keep building Australia's future—including our ambitious plans to protect our environment and act on climate change. We want to reform our national environmental laws to ensure we're protecting nature for generations to come. We know that the current laws are not delivering for the environment or for business or for the community. These measures address the critical issues identified by Professor Graeme Samuel in his 2020 independent review, which found that our national environmental laws are fundamentally broken. This isn't about making a choice between protecting the environment and protecting the economy, jobs and business. We know we can have both. We can do both. And that's exactly what we're proposing. The reforms in these bills will deliver stronger environmental protection and restoration, more efficient and robust project assessments, and greater accountability and transparency in decision-making. We want to see decisions made faster with less duplication between state and federal processes. Too many projects, from housing developments to renewable energy projects, are just caught up in a tangled web of red tape. We want to modernise our environmental laws and establish Australia's first ever independent federal Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. A federal EPA will be a tough cop on the beat, with real teeth. The creation of the federal EPA will bring together the regulatory and implementation functions of our national environmental laws under a single independent agency. The federal EPA will also be empowered to issue environmental protection orders, stop work orders and utilise expanded audit powers. These reforms will also include the creation of a new ministerial power to make national environmental standards, which will improve enviro…
date: 2025-11-24T10:45:00+00:00

Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I too rise to speak in support of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025. This bill delivers on...
encoded: I too rise to speak in support of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025. This bill delivers on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to introduce an Australian content obligation on streaming services, ensuring that, no matter what screen you're watching from, you have guaranteed access to Australian stories. Our National Cultural Policy—Revive, which is wonderful—recognises that our greatest cultural asset is Australia's people and their stories—our stories. It also acknowledges there have been major changes in the way audiences access and consume film and television content; we've all seen that over the past few years. Australia's television landscape has evolved to include not just public broadcasters, commercial broadcasters and cable but, increasingly, a huge variety of streaming platforms and services. Australian content quotas for commercial television were first introduced in the 1960s, showing we have long known how important it is that the content of our screens reflects our culture and identity as Australians. These content requirements were updated in the 1990s to capture free-to-air and other television broadcasters, and this ensured a minimum level of Australian content was produced every year. Of course, both the ABC and SBS acknowledge in their respective charters that their functions include informing, educating and entertaining audiences with content that represents our diverse identities, values and experiences. While streaming services derive very big profits from Australian audiences, often the content they deliver does reflect someone else's experience and someone else's identity. What these laws do is level the playing field. Just as free-to-air networks and pay television have long supported Australian stories through content requirements, streaming giants will now be required to invest in our people, our places and our perspectives. Austr…
date: 2025-11-24T19:08:00+00:00

Climate Change | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Acting on climate change is so vitally important. That's exactly what our government, the Albanese Labor government, is doing. It's a really important issue for my community, as it is right...
encoded: Acting on climate change is so vitally important. That's exactly what our government, the Albanese Labor government, is doing. It's a really important issue for my community, as it is right across the nation. It's so important for our environment and for the economic opportunities that it brings, particularly to those in regional Australia. In the regions, we are at the front line of climate change when it comes to natural disasters. In my area we had the severe 2022 floods. People in my region know we have to see action on climate change, and that's what the Albanese Labor government is doing. It's so important Yet what we see from those across from us, the Liberals and the Nationals, is the National Party now abandoning net zero. That is just appalling and disappointing. People in my community are really annoyed about that because we know it's the regions that have so much to gain from acting on climate change. It's about the economic opportunities that are there as well as protecting our environment. It's only the Albanese Labor government that's taking that firm, decisive action when it comes to climate change. You can particularly see it in our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. In my electorate we have one of the highest take-ups for New South Wales. I think, as of a few days ago, it was 1,233 and growing every single day. People right across my region and across the nation know that we need to act on climate change. Yet, disappointingly, we see the Nationals abandoning that and we see more infighting after a decade of inaction from them. They just keep continuing with their negativity when it comes to one of the most important issues of our time.
date: 2025-11-03T16:40:00+00:00

Energy | Questions without Notice | House debates
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description: My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How will the Albanese Labor government's record investment in bulk-billing make it easier to see a GP for free, and how will the investments...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How will the Albanese Labor government's record investment in bulk-billing make it easier to see a GP for free, and how will the investments that kick off this Saturday make a difference for Australians after a decade of cuts and neglect?
date: 2025-10-30T15:06:00+00:00

Natural Disasters | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to prepare communities, particularly in regional Australia, for more intense natural disasters...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to prepare communities, particularly in regional Australia, for more intense natural disasters as a result of climate change? And what other approaches has the government been asked to consider?
date: 2025-10-08T15:11:00+00:00

Emergency Services | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. In the lead-up to National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September, how is the Albanese government honouring police bravery, and why is strong...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. In the lead-up to National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September, how is the Albanese government honouring police bravery, and why is strong leadership so important in supporting our police?
date: 2025-09-04T14:03:00+00:00

Housing | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering new social and affordable homes for Australians in...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering new social and affordable homes for Australians in need? Is the minister aware of any obstacles?
date: 2025-09-03T15:03:00+00:00

Police Week | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: I too rise to speak on the private member's motion on Police Week put forward by the member for Wide Bay. I note his and indeed all the speakers' commitment to honouring those police who have...
encoded: I too rise to speak on the private member's motion on Police Week put forward by the member for Wide Bay. I note his and indeed all the speakers' commitment to honouring those police who have lost their lives in the line of duty and the shared commitment of all members of parliament in honouring that. All Australians were deeply saddened and heartbroken by the tragic events that unfolded in Victoria last week. On Tuesday we learnt that two Victorian police officers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, were cruelly and senselessly killed in the line of duty. I honour these officers, recognise their dedication and courage, and share in the grief felt right across our nation. I extend my heartfelt sympathies to the families of these officers as well as the entire police family. Police officers understand the risks they face every time they put their uniforms on. They know these risks can have an absolutely devastating impact, yet, despite this, police show up. They show up during the darkest moments in people's lives, and they do what needs to be done. In Victoria, these families have faced the worst nightmare imaginable: the fear that someone they know who is so dedicated and so selfless could be taken from them so suddenly. The families of the two Victorian police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty and another who was seriously injured are now enduring a form of grief that no-one should ever have to face. Our thoughts are also with the emergency services who responded to this unthinkable crime, and our hearts go out to the families, friends and colleagues of all those officers. Of course, this tragedy underscores the significance of Police Week 2025, which begins across Australia on Saturday 13 September with the 16th annual Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance. On Monday 29 September, we will observe National Police Remembrance Day, and on that day we honour the men and women of the service who have made …
date: 2025-09-01T17:53:00+00:00

Address-in-Reply | Governor-General's Speech | House debates
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description: Can I say what an honour it is to be here and to have been elected to this parliament, the 48th Parliament. I really want to thank the people of Richmond for putting their trust in me for the...
encoded: Can I say what an honour it is to be here and to have been elected to this parliament, the 48th Parliament. I really want to thank the people of Richmond for putting their trust in me for the eighth time. It is, as I say, an incredible honour and, indeed, a massive privilege to be elected to the federal parliament, and I take that on very seriously. To have been elected for the eighth time—again, I want to thank the people of Richmond for putting their trust in me. Of course, nationally, Labor won the election and won with a very large majority. We won 94 seats, more seats that any political party in Australia's history. Right across the country we saw that people voted for Australian values of fairness, aspiration and opportunity, and these are the values that drive our government, the Albanese Labor government. Our caucus is much bigger and so much more diverse, with 56 per cent women and our new members being incredibly diverse and bringing a whole range of different skills and histories to our caucus and to the parliament. It's wonderful to see—I think we'd all agree—from the first speeches, the incredible array of people that have been elected to the 48th Parliament. Since we've been back here, our government has been extremely busy delivering on, particularly, many of our election commitments, like reducing HECS debt by 20 per cent. This was a huge issue in my electorate, as I heard out and about talking to locals who had those huge HECS debts. Having that decreased by 20 per cent will make such a big difference to them. Since we've been back, we've been ensuring that medicines are cheaper—again, vitally important in areas like mine, the far north coast of New South Wales. We have a large proportion of elderly people, so ensuring their medicines are cheaper and ensuring it's cheaper for families is all vitally important. Also since we've been back, we've been working to protect penalty rates. That was one of our many election commitments, because we know how i…
date: 2025-08-27T12:55:00+00:00

National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
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description: I, too, rise to speak in support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. The bill amends the National Health Act 1953 to cut the maximum cost of PBS medicines by 20 per...
encoded: I, too, rise to speak in support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. The bill amends the National Health Act 1953 to cut the maximum cost of PBS medicines by 20 per cent from $31.60 to $25. It was a Labor government that created the PBS so that every Australian could afford the medicine that they needed. Now, the Albanese Labor government is continuing that legacy, strengthening and protecting the PBS for future generations. Without the PBS, many medicines would cost hundreds, even thousands, per prescription, which would make access to vital medications difficult, if not impossible, for so many Australians. We know that, for so many people, the cost of medicines is a major contributor to cost-of-living pressures, but delaying or foregoing medication due to cost can lead to worsening health conditions, more complex treatment and higher long-term healthcare costs. This bill is the latest in a series of cost-of-living measures delivered by our government to make medicines even more affordable. It fulfils our 2025 election commitment to reduce the PBS general patient co-payment. From 1 January 2026, all Australians with a Medicare card will pay no more than $25 for PBS medicines. This change will benefit around 5.1 million Australians, delivering immediate relief at the pharmacy counter. Our government's committed to cheaper medicines, a stronger Medicare, more bulk-billing, more doctors and nurses, and more urgent care clinics. In 2022, we reduced the PBS safety net threshold, cutting the number of scripts concessional patients need before qualifying for free or discounted medicines by 25 per cent. This reform has saved patients over $535 million, with 73 million additional free scripts issued. In 2023, we made the largest cut to medicine costs in PBS history, reducing the general patient co-payment from $42.50 to $30, a 30 per cent reduction that saved patients over $755 million. We also introduced 60-day prescriptions for chronic conditio…
date: 2025-08-27T11:20:00+00:00

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Richmond Electorate: Medicare | Constituency Statements | House debates
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description: The Albanese Labor government is absolutely committed to strengthening Medicare and has been doing that since day one of being in government. This week in the parliament, we introduced...
encoded: The Albanese Labor government is absolutely committed to strengthening Medicare and has been doing that since day one of being in government. This week in the parliament, we introduced legislation for cheaper medicines. This means a prescription under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will cost Australians no more than $25 from 1 January 2026. This builds on action we've already taken to deliver cost-of-living relief through cheaper medicines. We had the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS, with the 60-day prescription saving time and money and freezing the cost of PBS medicines. For pensioners and concession cardholders, their scripts stay at $7.70 until 2030—a vitally important issue in my region, where I have many pensioners and concession cardholders. This cheaper-medicines policy is another key cost-of-living measure that this government has brought in. For the people of the North Coast, all our initiatives have made a huge impact on them when it comes to health care, particularly the tripling of the bulk-billing rates; making MRI scans more affordable; new health services to support those experiencing homelessness; a new headspace in Ballina, which is already open and providing important services for our younger people; and, really importantly, changes to the Modified Monash Model for the township of Murwillumbah. I've told this House many times the situation in Murwillumbah. The Morrison government changed the classification of the wonderful small regional town of Murwillumbah from 'regional' to 'metropolitan', which was completely absurd. That meant they were unable to bulk-bill many people and they couldn't attract many doctors. The situation was devastating, and I was very pleased that the Minister for Health and Ageing came to Murwillumbah, met with local doctors and heard firsthand about the impact of this classification. Only a few months ago, it was changed; Murwillumbah is classified as a regional area again, and I am very …
date: 2025-07-31T09:45:00+00:00

Environment | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
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description: Thank you, Deputy Speaker Claydon, and can I start by congratulating you on your re-election as the Deputy Speaker. I'm really excited today that my first contribution to the 48th Parliament is...
encoded: Thank you, Deputy Speaker Claydon, and can I start by congratulating you on your re-election as the Deputy Speaker. I'm really excited today that my first contribution to the 48th Parliament is to talk about our environmental reform and how it drives our economy as well. It is no surprise, of course, that what we've heard from the other side is the usual rhetoric we've been hearing forever from them—all climate deniers. You can look at that when you look at the legislation that we've brought into the House. Of course, our first bill yesterday was to cut HECS debt by 20 per cent. What was the first major piece of legislation from the coalition? A bill to scrap action on climate change. Just as we saw with the nine years of inaction when they were in government, they still don't accept the science of climate change and they just want to take the country backwards. As I said, we had almost a decade of inaction with them. I think there were 20-odd plans they had. They were always changing their minds when they were in government, and of course they went to the last election with their $600 billion nuclear plan. Well, how did that go? The Australian people clearly rejected that. They are sick of this ongoing climate denial from the Liberals and Nationals. In contrast to all of that, we are absolutely committed to making Australia a renewable energy superpower, and the Australian people support that as well. They endorsed our policies at the election because they involved protecting jobs and protecting the environment. We can do both—we absolutely can—and we're committed to making sensible reforms to better protect our environment and deliver certainty to industry. As we heard today, the independent Samuel review found that our current laws aren't working to protect the environment for industry and business, so our priority is to fix those laws. The current ones are outdated, and we need the support of the House. They should get on board with this. It's vitally important …
date: 2025-07-24T15:59:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: ELLIOT (—) (): The choice at this year's coming election is so incredibly clear: we have Labor's plan to keep building Australia's future or, indeed, the Liberals' and Nationals' plans to...
encoded: ELLIOT (—) (): The choice at this year's coming election is so incredibly clear: we have Labor's plan to keep building Australia's future or, indeed, the Liberals' and Nationals' plans to cut everything everywhere. That is their only plan. We know they have at least $300 billion on cuts proposed, but they will not tell us exactly where. Is it in health or social services, perhaps in the NDIS, infrastructure, in areas or agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency? We don't know where these cuts will be, but they will be catastrophic for the Australian people. It is a very, very clear choice at this election, with us building and them cutting. That is all it is: build or cut. The Leader of the Opposition will make families worse off by cutting the very things they need. He has done it before and he will definitely do it again. Those opposite don't have any plans at all except their one plan—the $600 billion nuclear madness scheme; that is all they have. What will they cut to pay for that? The end result of all that will be much higher power prices for Australians. Let's have a look at exactly the record, particularly that of the Leader of the Opposition and Liberals and Nationals. As a health minister, the Leader of the Opposition cut $50 billion from our public hospitals, cut funding for Medicare and tried to end bulk-billing with that GP tax. We all remember that one, particularly how unpopular it was right across the community. He also tried to make medicines a lot more expensive and charge for emergency room visits. And, of course, we all remember that the Leader of the Opposition was voted the 'worst' health minister. Let's go back even a little bit further. As we've heard a few times today as we reflect on 2013, we had the then Leader of the Opposition running around saying to people prior to the election that there would be no cuts—no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensions, no cuts to the ABC and no cuts to the SBS. What did they …
date: 2025-03-25T15:42:00+00:00

Rearrangement | Business | House debates
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description: I move: That notice No. 1, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to.
encoded: I move: That notice No. 1, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to.
date: 2025-03-25T12:31:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: I'm very pleased to be speaking today about our cost-of-living measures and how important they are for all Australians. I want to start by talking about the situation when we came into...
encoded: I'm very pleased to be speaking today about our cost-of-living measures and how important they are for all Australians. I want to start by talking about the situation when we came into government. We knew then, when we came into government, that inflation was high and rising, real wages were falling, living standards were declining and people were going backwards. That was the reality. But, under our responsible economic management over these past few years, we now see inflation is almost a third of what it was at the election and is falling, real wages are growing again, living standards are rising again and we've recorded the lowest average unemployment rate for any government in 50 years. We've also overseen the creation of more than 1.1 million jobs—the most jobs created on record in any parliamentary term. So our economic plan is all about helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn and addressing many of those cost-of-living pressures. Now, there are a whole range of them, and I'd like to run through them. Certainly when I'm out in my electorate, door-knocking at listening posts, people raise how a lot of these measures have assisted them. Our tax cuts for every taxpayer—in my electorate that's over 70,000 people—have made a huge difference. As I said, we know people are doing it tough. That's why these measures are important. The energy bill relief for every household of $300 helps so many, particularly a lot of older Australians in my area on the New South Wales North Coast. Of course, our cheaper child care is so vitally important for families. Cheaper medicines are, again, so important for everyone, particularly older Australians. And what a game changer fee-free TAFE has been across the nation, as is reducing HECS debts. All of those measures are so vitally important. There are the wage increases for aged-care workers and childcare workers as well. I'm hearing every day from people in my area about what a difference they make. Now, of co…
date: 2025-02-11T16:08:00+00:00

Liberal-National Coalition | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: I rise today to point out the risk that the opposition leader and the Liberals and Nationals pose to my electorate on the New South Wales North Coast and, indeed, right throughout the nation. The...
encoded: I rise today to point out the risk that the opposition leader and the Liberals and Nationals pose to my electorate on the New South Wales North Coast and, indeed, right throughout the nation. The fact is, if they are elected, people will be worse off. Australians know that; people in my region know that and tell me that every day. Households will be approximately $7,200 worse off. That's the impact of their policies. We know this. How do we know it, people might ask? We know it because they've opposed every single cost-of-living measure we have put forward—every single one of them. People are doing it tough, and that's why we have those cost-of-living measures in place, but they're completely opposed to them. But we do know what they want to do. They want to spend $10 billion worth of taxpayers' money for bosses to have long lunches. They're fine with that but not with helping out Australians who are struggling. We do know there will be massive amounts of cuts. In fact, there will be $350 billion in cuts. Where will they be? They just won't tell us. Will there be cuts to Medicare? Will there be cuts to age pensions? Will there be cuts to bulk-billing? Will there be cuts across the board? People don't know, and they're quite terrified about the risk that they pose. Let's have a look in more detail at some of those cost-of-living measures that the Liberals and Nationals oppose. There are the tax cuts for every taxpayer. In my area, 71,000 people have benefitted from them. The average tax cut is around $1,500. They opposed it. There's the $300 energy bill relief. They opposed it, and people needed to have that. There are cheaper medicines and cheaper child care. The Liberals and Nationals opposed them. What about fee-free TAFE, which has been a game changer for 5,000 people in my region? They opposed it. They also opposed really important pay rises for aged-care workers and childcare workers. We know they've opposed all of those, and that's why we know people will be w…
date: 2025-02-04T16:21:00+00:00

Free TAFE Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I'm very pleased to be speaking on the Free TAFE Bill 2024 today. I'm especially pleased to be speaking on it today, of all days, because today in New South Wales—my state—it's the...
encoded: I'm very pleased to be speaking on the Free TAFE Bill 2024 today. I'm especially pleased to be speaking on it today, of all days, because today in New South Wales—my state—it's the start of semester 1 2025. It is a day to be celebrating TAFE and all that it provides and also to be speaking on this really important bill in terms of how committed the Albanese Labor government is to providing fee-free TAFE and of the difference that it's making in the lives of so many Australians. The Free TAFE Bill 2024 provides ongoing financial support to the states and territories for the delivery of fee-free TAFE places and ensures that it's in place and supports the delivery of at least 100,000 places across Australia each year from 2027. What it does is reaffirm our government's commitment to putting TAFE right at the heart of vocational education and training. We understand how important that is. This also removes those financial barriers to education and training, particularly for those people experiencing economic disadvantage. Very especially, it supports education and training in areas of high workforce demand with emerging skill needs that really are a national priority. I add that across the nation this is a game changer, especially in regional and rural areas like my electorate of Richmond on the New South Wales North Coast. Having such a policy in place has made such a difference. There are approximately 5,000 people who have had access to fee-free TAFE since this was brought in. I have met many of those students, and they have talked about how it has been life changing. They couldn't afford to go to TAFE without this in place and they are getting the necessary skills to work in much-needed sectors. Often in regional and rural areas there are impediments to gaining access to further training, and that's exactly why we have this in place: so people can get access. In my region we also have a series of outstanding TAFE facilities—indeed, as they are right across the count…
date: 2025-02-04T18:23:00+00:00