Steve Georganas'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: Bolkus, Hon. Nick | Condolences | House debates
items: Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
items: Economy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
items: Economy | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Energy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
items: Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Racial Discrimination Act 1975: 50th Anniversary | Statements on Significant Matters | House debates
items: Personal Information and Privacy | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Medicare | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Gas Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: g124.10
items: g124.5
items: g124.3
items: g123.17

Bolkus, Hon. Nick | Condolences | House debates
type: item
description: It's with great sadness that I stand here today to honour the life of Senator Nick Bolkus, who was a giant in Australian politics, a giant in South Australian public life and a groundbreaking...
encoded: It's with great sadness that I stand here today to honour the life of Senator Nick Bolkus, who was a giant in Australian politics, a giant in South Australian public life and a groundbreaking national leader. He was a wonderful mentor to me, a friend, a colleague, and someone that taught me so much about politics, and a man whose service left an undeniable mark on the state of South Australia and our nation. Today, our condolences go out to his wife, Mary; his two daughters, Aria and Mikayla; his son, Nicholas; and his sister, Anna. As I said, it is with great sadness that I stand here today. Nick's political rise was marked by a complete determination, intellect, and an unwavering belief in the possibilities of public policy. He was elected to the Australian Senate in 1980, at the 1980 federal election, beginning a remarkable 24-year tenure as one of South Australia's longest serving senators and ministers. Prior to that, he had worked and assisted many of Labor's greats, like Clyde Cameron, the industrial relations minister in the Whitlam government; Reg Bishop, who was Postmaster-General; and many others. He was a natural-born leader. He was empathetic, understanding, and he would always take the time to speak to people and learn and question and probe and grasp exactly what that particular person was and what he could learn from them. And that happened to everyone he came across. He showed me, personally, what it was like to represent a community. I was lucky to be given a place in his office to work for him. It was an opportunity that I will always be grateful for. In fact, I wouldn't be standing in this place as a member of the House of Representatives if it wasn't for Nick's probing and encouraging me to run for a seat back in the late nineties. I remember clearly the discussion we had about running for Hindmarsh back in 1998, and, I've got to say, if it weren't for Nick, I wouldn't have made that move. No doubt, without his support, his encouragement and his…
date: 2026-02-05T11:06:00+00:00

Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to speak on and support the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill today because translating and interpreting services have always held a special place in Australia's story. When you...
encoded: I rise to speak on and support the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill today because translating and interpreting services have always held a special place in Australia's story. When you look at Australia's story, we look at our wonderful multicultural story. We have people that live here, that settle here, from all over the world. Language is more than words. Language carries with it its identity, dignity and the ability to feel seen and understood. It's very important. When someone arrives newly to this country or someone has perhaps been here for many years but has never been able to learn the language because of their basic education—perhaps they didn't go to school when they were very young in a war torn country, perhaps they've been here for years and have been isolated because the husband's been at work and the wife has been home or the other way round or whatever the reason—there are many circumstances that bring them to the point where they do not speak the language within the place that they live. With Australia being Australia, with such a high migrant and multicultural community, this is fundamental to what we do and who we are and a basic right that everyone deserves. There are moments when an interpreter does so much more than just translate. They open the door, they provide hope, and they are someone to listen. They are who someone can actually tell what they feel, who someone can be listened to by and who can then go on and convey that particular message to whoever it may be. We don't always get it right, and maybe sometimes we don't give translating and interpreting the importance that they deserve. I know that we regularly use translating and interpreting services in our electorate office. When we have constituents that can't speak English and speak a different language, we will engage the interpreting services for translating over the phone during a constituent meeting. The issue of translating and interpreting services is that, without tha…
date: 2026-02-04T17:50:00+00:00

Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. The member for Brisbane will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.
encoded: The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. The member for Brisbane will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.
date: 2026-02-04T13:28:00+00:00

Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
type: item
description: Is the motion seconded?
encoded: Is the motion seconded?
date: 2026-02-03T16:46:00+00:00

Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
type: item
description: Is the motion seconded?
encoded: Is the motion seconded?
date: 2026-02-03T16:46:00+00:00

Economy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: The discussion has concluded.
encoded: The discussion has concluded.
date: 2026-02-03T16:45:00+00:00

Economy | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer update the House on the interest rates decision taken this afternoon by the Reserve Bank.
encoded: My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer update the House on the interest rates decision taken this afternoon by the Reserve Bank.
date: 2026-02-03T14:30:00+00:00

Energy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: I thank the government whip. Member for Cook, direct your comments through the chair. There were a couple of points where you were directing questions to the bench on my right. For everyone, just...
encoded: I thank the government whip. Member for Cook, direct your comments through the chair. There were a couple of points where you were directing questions to the bench on my right. For everyone, just ensure that all comments are made through this chair.
date: 2025-11-27T16:46:00+00:00

Energy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: The member will resume his seat. The Chief Government Whip, the member for Lalor.
encoded: The member will resume his seat. The Chief Government Whip, the member for Lalor.
date: 2025-11-27T16:46:00+00:00

Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I'm very pleased to support the Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025. I support this bill, as all of us on this side of the House do, for many, many reasons. When we...
encoded: I'm very pleased to support the Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025. I support this bill, as all of us on this side of the House do, for many, many reasons. When we look at the history of migration to Australia, we know it's been at the core of our labour force, from the first settlers that came here—and when you think of the history, you think of convicts being brought to Australia and forced into labour for a number of years before they became free settlers. Then there was a mass promotion to bring free settlers here to populate and work the land. When you think of the history, even people from Fiji came to work with the sugarcanes in that period, in those early days when we first planted sugarcanes in northern Australia. We then had mass migration from Europe, for our manufacturing and for our factories. Then we went a step further and considered southern Europeans as white Europeans; prior to that, they weren't considered white—people from my race, for example. They were brought out from 1949 onwards to fill the factories of Australia and do hard labour. If you look at the history, we have continuously relied on migrant workers, whether it be to populate the nation, fill certain skills or just fill the shortfalls in labour. From time to time, that changes, and, of course, governments should always be monitoring what the needs of the nation are in terms of skills, workforce and population to be able to benefit the nation. I think this government, the Albanese Labor government, is tackling those hard issues. One of the things that is fundamental to workers—regardless of where you're from and whether you've been here for eight or nine generations or whether you've just arrived—is to ensure that we do all that we can as legislators to ensure that those people aren't being exploited. That is very important. That's a fundamental human right. People have the right to work under the same conditions as everyone else, to receive the same pay an…
date: 2025-11-27T09:58:00+00:00

Racial Discrimination Act 1975: 50th Anniversary | Statements on Significant Matters | House debates
type: item
description: I congratulate the member for Barton for putting it so eloquently and so well. It's just great to see some of these young people that are here today in our parliament. When I compare it to the...
encoded: I congratulate the member for Barton for putting it so eloquently and so well. It's just great to see some of these young people that are here today in our parliament. When I compare it to the parliament that I joined in 2004 and the faces all around us, how it's changed and how it's changed for the better is just incredible. When I see members like the member for Barton, it gives me great joy that we are finally coming of age in this parliament. We still have a long way to go, but we're just coming to that point where we are truly a reflection of our communities. It's so important to ensure that we honour and celebrate those things—just as it's important to honour and celebrate milestones in our political history, such as the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act. The Racial Discrimination Act was the cornerstone of our modern-day society in ensuring that everyone was treated equal under the law, even though that was the case under our Constitution. This value-added to the significant pieces of legislation in Australia's history. It was a cornerstone of our journey towards becoming a truly multicultural nation but also a truly egalitarian nation. This landmark act came into effect on Friday 31 October 1975, under the Whitlam Labor government. It was the first legislation of its kind in Australia to focus squarely on human rights and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race. So what did that mean? It meant that, even though we had a Constitution that looked at all of us equally and fairly—unless you were of Aboriginal descent, of course; we know that it took many years to come up to the mark there, and we still have a long way to go. But what this meant was that under the law you could not be vilified on the basis of race. It embodied a principle that has long been part of our Australian spirit. The Racial Discrimination Act gave life to Australia's commitment under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimi…
date: 2025-11-26T16:54:00+00:00

Personal Information and Privacy | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: We live in an era where information flows faster than ever before. Protecting what little privacy we have left is so important. Every day we're asked to share more and more of our personal...
encoded: We live in an era where information flows faster than ever before. Protecting what little privacy we have left is so important. Every day we're asked to share more and more of our personal details, which often go far beyond what's necessary. Every year, Australians do the right thing. They fill out and return their tax forms, abiding by the law and contributing to the system that supports our nation. As a government, we have a responsibility to do the right thing by them, to respect their privacy and to protect their personal information. Recently, a constituent of mine contacted me to discuss something that caught his attention: on page eight of the tax return for individuals in 2025, there is a question asking applicants to specify their spouse's gender. The options are male, female or intermediate. He started to wonder why this question is asked when, both earlier and later in the form, it asks for your spouse's date of birth, first name and surname—therefore having all the details. One has to ask: Why? Why is this question in there? Why does the ATO need to know the gender of your spouse? What purpose does this serve? Does it affect the amount of tax you pay? Does one receive a benefit for being in a heterosexual relationship? Does one receive a benefit for being in a same-sex relationship? Or is there a penalty for being in either one of those relationships? Of course not—so why is this question there? Why is this question there? That's what this constituent is asking. This issue, as I said, was raised by a constituent in Adelaide, who wrote to me with genuine concern, and I couldn't agree more with their questions. We're told to accept people for who they are, to respect diversity and individuality, yet here we are asking Australians to disclose personal details that have absolutely no relevance to their tax obligations. This is not a census. This is a tax return. It's not the census that we do every few years, where we want to know lots of details. It is a ta…
date: 2025-11-25T16:20:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: It gives me great pleasure to speak on the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 and the associated bill. These bills will help pubs, clubs and breweries across our country, across our...
encoded: It gives me great pleasure to speak on the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 and the associated bill. These bills will help pubs, clubs and breweries across our country, across our electorates and across our states, and will deliver a simple, long-overdue measure—that is, pausing the indexation on draught beer excise and excise equivalent customs duty rates for two years. This will be a real relief. This will be a real-money-in-people's-pockets policy. I'm very pleased to be speaking on these bills and supporting them. With bills like these, we are supporting the great pubs, clubs, sporting clubs et cetera of our nation. Think of your iconic pub. There is nothing more Australiana than a local pub, than being in the front bar with people and talking to them. I've campaigned in plenty of pubs over the years, believe me. I've been a frequent customer in many of them in my electorate because I enjoy them. I feel like it is part of our culture. I enjoy the conversations and I enjoy meeting people. For members of parliament, it is the best place to hear what people have got to say and what the realities of this world are. When you think of pubs, you also think of the hard work that goes into running a pub. You look at publicans, and a lot of pubs are still run by families, especially in my electorate. I give a shout-out to some of those pubs, and to the Franzon family at the Hilton hotel—and I'm not talking about the Conrad Hiltons and the five-star Hiltons; I'm talking about the workers of the Hilton in the suburb of Hilton in my electorate, run by James Franzon. It was run by his father, Bob Franzon, for many years. Bob was affectionately known as 'Bob the Hat' because he always wore a hat. He passed away a number of years ago but his son James has taken over the business. We talk regularly, when I'm down there with James, about the industry and how hard it is, and the long hours they put into running a successful pub. The Hilton hotel today has changed c…
date: 2025-11-25T17:45:00+00:00

Medicare | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour.
encoded: There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour.
date: 2025-11-24T11:51:00+00:00

Gas Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: Is there a seconder for the member for Bradfield's motion?
encoded: Is there a seconder for the member for Bradfield's motion?
date: 2025-11-24T10:34:00+00:00

Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.
encoded: There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.
date: 2025-11-24T10:28:00+00:00

g124.10
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: Order, both members on both sides. I'm not going to have banter between both sides. It's through the chair that you ask the questions, and you're speaking through the chair.
encoded: Order, both members on both sides. I'm not going to have banter between both sides. It's through the chair that you ask the questions, and you're speaking through the chair.
date: 2025-11-05T18:02:00+00:00

g124.5
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: It is the member for Macquarie.
encoded: It is the member for Macquarie.
date: 2025-11-05T18:02:00+00:00

g124.3
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: The member for Kennedy will refer to members by their proper title.
encoded: The member for Kennedy will refer to members by their proper title.
date: 2025-11-05T18:02:00+00:00

g123.17
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: Order! The member for Kennedy will cease interjecting.
encoded: Order! The member for Kennedy will cease interjecting.
date: 2025-11-05T17:51:00+00:00