Julie Owens's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2022-07-06T23:05:40+00:00
items: Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
items: g16.15
items: Space Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Road Safety Program | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: COVID-19: Morrison Government | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Electoral Legislation Amendment (Assurance of Senate Counting) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Juvenile Arthritis | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Global Polio Eradication Initiative | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: HMAS Parramatta II, Parramatta Electorate: Veterans | Statements by Members | House debates
items: GP Access After Hours Service | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Tweedale, Mr Eric, Parramatta Mission | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Corporations Amendment (Improving Outcomes for Litigation Funding Participants) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Kamban Vizha: 15th Anniversary | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Member for Parramatta | Statements on Indulgence | House debates
items: Aged Care | Grievance Debate | House debates
items: Tax and Revenue Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
items: Cybersecurity | Private Members' Business | House debates

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
type: item
description: Yes, I did. So, again, there's this extraordinary capacity we have that we're not really exploiting yet. Fashion? Parramatta? What can I say! We really do have an amazing group of designers in...
encoded: Yes, I did. So, again, there's this extraordinary capacity we have that we're not really exploiting yet. Fashion? Parramatta? What can I say! We really do have an amazing group of designers in Parramatta that, again, don't have a pathway from being a microbusiness to a small business. They don't really have a distribution channel. The most common question I get asked is, 'Where did you get that?' And usually I say, 'At a market.' If you don't know the designer, you won't find her work. This jacket, for example, is made from a blanket from Africa. It is made out of a blanket. I've had some extraordinary—the garage sale is going to be enormous after I retire, by the way. Send me an email if you want to go! It will take me days to remove most of the stuff. We should be a leader of urban agribiz. There is a bit of research that for every car in a city there are about 13 parking spaces usually vacant, waiting for a car to arrive in a street, undercover, at Woolies—you name it. We know that in 10 to 15 years we will not have that many cars; there will be self-driving vehicles. There will be less. We already know that around the world there are countries trying to figure out what to do with their car spaces. It is the perfect opportunity for urban agribiz. In Parramatta it's a question of whether, when we do start our city agribusinesses—and Western Sydney is doing really good work on this—they're companies that come in from outside or whether it's us, whether it's perilla, tulsi, galangal, curry leaves, methi or sukuma wiki—that's the Kenyans' name for kale. The Kenyans will look at you and say 'You do what with kale?' because they've been eating it for years. They have several varieties. We have African heirloom vegetables. The question is whether, in 10 years time, when agribiz is big in Parramatta, it is ours or it is dumped on us from somewhere else. I'm hoping it's ours. Western Sydney is doing incredibly important work for that. I will briefly refer to solar panels.…
date: 2022-02-17T09:31:00+00:00

Valedictory | Parliamentary Representation | House debates
type: item
description: on indulgence—I have just broken one of my fundamental rules, with my first word, in fact. That rule is: never start a sentence with the word 'I'. It's a rule that I have tried to live by...
encoded: on indulgence—I have just broken one of my fundamental rules, with my first word, in fact. That rule is: never start a sentence with the word 'I'. It's a rule that I have tried to live by since my election way back in 2004, and its purpose is simple—to remind me several times a day exactly who this position I hold serves, its purpose, who it's actually there for, and who actually does the work of building community. In the simplest examples, it's not, 'I had a great time at the event,' it's, 'You guys did a great job of organising it.' The positions we hold here are fundamentally and profoundly not about us. In an electorate like Parramatta, one that is so diverse, when you put it all together, it nets in the middle—it nets marginal—with such diversity in life experience, it is not only about what I believe and my perceptions of the world but also about finding a common path, quite often by using our different cultural perspectives and the skills we have at looking at the world from more than one perspective to find that path. When you represent a community where one in two people you see in the street do not share your view of the world sufficiently to vote for you—damn it—you learn very quickly that, when you unravel the knot of disagreement, we quite often agree on what the problem is. We're arguing about the solutions we have come up with, the solutions we're vested in, the path we're on, rather than the destination or the outcome that we seek. There are times when the person in me was quietly screaming, 'How can you believe that?'—and worse—but the position I hold was quietly acknowledging that a good person sits opposite me with a different view and is trying to find the middle ground. An electoral office is, or, at least, should be, a resource for democracy, of finding that common ground. The role our offices play in democratic processes, in finding common ground in local decision-making, in participatory democracy, in using the unique knowledge that, as memb…
date: 2022-02-17T09:31:00+00:00

g16.15
type: item
title: Electoral Legislation Amendment (Foreign Influences and Offences) Bill 2022, Electoral Legislation Amendment (Authorisations) Bill 2022, Electoral Legislation Amendment (COVID Enfranchisement) Bill 2022; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: Before I call the member for Perth, I remind the House that it has been agreed that a general debate be allowed covering this bill, the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Authorisations) Bill 2022,...
encoded: Before I call the member for Perth, I remind the House that it has been agreed that a general debate be allowed covering this bill, the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Authorisations) Bill 2022, and the Electoral Legislation Amendment (COVID Enfranchisement) Bill 2022. The question is that the amendment be disagreed to.
date: 2022-02-16T11:00:00+00:00

Space Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. It being 1.30, the chamber stands...
encoded: The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. It being 1.30, the chamber stands suspended till 4 pm today. Sitting suspended from 13:30 to 16:00
date: 2022-02-14T13:25:00+00:00

Road Safety Program | Private Members' Business | 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: 2022-02-14T12:53:00+00:00

COVID-19: Morrison Government | Private Members' Business | 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: 2022-02-14T12:33:00+00:00

Electoral Legislation Amendment (Assurance of Senate Counting) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: Is the amendment seconded?
encoded: Is the amendment seconded?
date: 2021-12-01T11:55:00+00:00

Juvenile Arthritis | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: Is the motion seconded?
encoded: Is the motion seconded?
date: 2021-11-29T17:49:00+00:00

Global Polio Eradication Initiative | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.
encoded: The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.
date: 2021-11-29T17:44:00+00:00

Global Polio Eradication Initiative | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: Is the motion seconded?
encoded: Is the motion seconded?
date: 2021-11-29T16:58:00+00:00

HMAS Parramatta II, Parramatta Electorate: Veterans | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Saturday was the 80th anniversary of the loss of the HMAS Parramatta II. Commissioned in 1940, her crew served in perilous conditions, escorting, patrolling and mine sweeping as part of the Red...
encoded: Saturday was the 80th anniversary of the loss of the HMAS Parramatta II. Commissioned in 1940, her crew served in perilous conditions, escorting, patrolling and mine sweeping as part of the Red Sea Force. In 1941, she began service in the Mediterranean, supporting the reinforcement of Cyprus and allied forces besieged in Tobruk. In the early hours of 27 November 1941 she was escorting a ship carrying much-needed ammunition supplies to Tobruk when she was sunk by a German submarine. The damage to the ship was so great that only those on deck had time to escape. Twenty-four crew survived the sinking; 138 lost their lives. On Saturday, I was honoured to attend the annual memorial service in honour of the men who served on the HMAS Parramatta II that was held at Queen's Wharf Reserve on the Parramatta River. I'd like to thank the Naval Association of Australia, Parramatta memorial subsection, and its president, Bruce Richens, for their work to commemorate the HMAS Parramatta II and her crew. I'd also like to thank the other organisations in my community that work tirelessly to support veterans and service men and women in the community: the Parramatta RSL subbranch—President Ron Grace; the Merrylands RSL subbranch—President Robin Grimley; the Granville RSL subbranch—Treasurer Alice O'Connor; the Vietnam Veterans, Peacekeepers and Peacemakers Association of Australia, New South Wales branch—President Frank Cole; and the Sydney Veterans Lodge—President Fred Mannah. Lest we forget.
date: 2021-11-29T16:25:00+00:00

GP Access After Hours Service | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: I remember when, in Parramatta, the Labor government funded the expansion of the clinic in Harris Park to allow for after-hours services. We actually funded the renovation of a building so that...
encoded: I remember when, in Parramatta, the Labor government funded the expansion of the clinic in Harris Park to allow for after-hours services. We actually funded the renovation of a building so that that service could be open essentially 24 hours a day. They had a whole range of specialists in that building, as well, so people were able to walk down the street, in this high-density area, to an after-hours clinic that profoundly made a difference. Rather than getting in the car and spending several hours at emergency—if they had a car; many don't in that suburb—they were able to get the help they needed. It reminded me of something that I've had discussions about with health professionals for years, which is that it is almost always true that what is best for the patient turns out to be cheapest for the taxpayer—early intervention and better primary health care, helping people not progress towards diabetes or liver failure by actually getting in early with calcium tablets, vaccinations, cancer scans, colon cancer checks and all those things. What is best for the patient is nearly always cheapest for the taxpayer. There can be no doubt that the issue that the member for Hunter has raised, which is after-hours GP clinics, is actually both best for the patient and—coincidentally!—cheapest for the taxpayer. It is better for everyone that people can take their families to an after-hours GP clinic and get in quickly rather than go to the emergency department where the costs are enormous because the safety checks and the protocols are horrendous—quite rightly in an emergency department. It is much more expensive, by thousands of dollars, to go to an emergency department and not as effective or as useful. In fact, there are many people that will not be able to take their three children under the age of five to be at the emergency department all night because one of them has a tummy ache. They will wait. It's not good for the patient and, in the long run, not better for the taxpay…
date: 2021-11-29T11:36:00+00:00

Tweedale, Mr Eric, Parramatta Mission | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: I want to talk about two very important milestones in my community in 2021: a man who made it through his first century and is embarking on his second and a local organisation that's joining the...
encoded: I want to talk about two very important milestones in my community in 2021: a man who made it through his first century and is embarking on his second and a local organisation that's joining the growing third-century club of Parramatta. Just before lockdown, I had the honour of joining the celebration of Eric Tweedale's 100th birthday. Eric is famously Australia's oldest living Wallaby. He was drafted into the Wallabies in 1946, after serving in the Navy in World War II, and played prop-forward—front-row forward—for Australia until 1949. In Parramatta, he is best known for inspiring generations of our young people to play rugby. Born in England, Eric moved to Australia with his family when he was three. They settled in Merrylands. He went to Guildford Public School and then Parramatta Intermediate School on the site that is now Arthur Phillip High School. He played his first game of rugby on Cumberland Oval in 1937, and at 17 he was selected to play for Parramatta, now known as the Western Sydney Two Blues. He would play for the club on and off for the next 21 years. When Eric retired from playing, he took up coaching and was instrumental in setting up junior rugby in Parramatta. As a coach, Eric wasn't focused on winning. It was all about having a go. The strength of the game in the middle of rugby league heartland is a testament to his influence on generations of Two Blues players. This year, their home ground in Granville was named the Eric Tweedale Stadium in his honour. I want to wish Eric Tweedale a very happy 100th birthday once again and thank the Merrylands RSL Club and the Western Sydney Two Blues for allowing me to join the celebrations earlier this year. The year 2021 is the 200th anniversary of Paramatta Mission. It's been an extraordinary two centuries. Parramatta Mission has been serving my community since Parramatta's first Wesleyan chapel was founded on Macquarie Street in 1821. Today, they do the work that nobody else does. No matter who you are or…
date: 2021-11-25T10:24:00+00:00

Corporations Amendment (Improving Outcomes for Litigation Funding Participants) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: Order! The member will address his remarks to the bill, please.
encoded: Order! The member will address his remarks to the bill, please.
date: 2021-11-24T12:11:00+00:00

Kamban Vizha: 15th Anniversary | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kamban Vizha, the Kamban Tamil literary festival, which was held virtually from 29 to 31 October. I want to congratulate Kamban Kazhagam on staging...
encoded: I rise to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kamban Vizha, the Kamban Tamil literary festival, which was held virtually from 29 to 31 October. I want to congratulate Kamban Kazhagam on staging this virtual celebration of one of the oldest languages in the world in a tough pandemic year, when so many other important cultural festivals have been cancelled. In particular, thanks to founder and chairman Jeiram Jegathesan, president Mr Shanjievan Gunaratnam and vice-president Ms Poorvaja Nirmaleswara Kurukka. Thanks so much for your dedication to the development of the three components of Tamil literature, in prose and verse, music and drama, through classes, workshops, competitions and events, including this fantastic festival. Thousands of people have attended over the years, to celebrate Tamil language and culture, including the works of the organisation's namesake, the legendary Tamil poet Kambar, author of the epic Ramavataram, also known as Kamba Ramayanam. I once again congratulate Kamban Kazhagam Australia on this significant milestone and on putting together such an extraordinary program of speeches, debates and performances. I have enjoyed them over the years. You do a great job.
date: 2021-11-22T16:30:00+00:00

Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I'm quite pleased to speak on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021 today, although I have very serious problems with it. In many ways, the issue the bill is...
encoded: I'm quite pleased to speak on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Political Campaigners) Bill 2021 today, although I have very serious problems with it. In many ways, the issue the bill is trying to solve is a really interesting one and a really important one. We need a far more transparent process in our democracy. We need to know where money is coming from. We need to lower donation thresholds. We need to do a whole range of things so that members of the public who are voting can see where the money that is flowing through election campaigns comes from—no doubt. But this bill is a really bad answer and an absolute demonstration of this government's seeming inability to look at a problem, pull it apart and investigate what the actual question is, and, through broad consultation, come up with an answer that actually works. It's a government that doesn't consult, and, time after time after time, comes up with answers that are simply bad ones. I would also argue in this case that the government is even trying to solve the wrong problem. They seem to believe there's a whole range of left-wing organisations raising money from the community to campaign against them. I come from a marginal seat, and I can tell them that a lot of the people donating to the climate change advocates and the conservation foundations are actually Liberal voters. If the problem is that a whole stack of Liberal voters are donating to charities that are campaigning against the Liberal Party, then perhaps the Liberal Party should consider their own policies. If their own supporters are putting money into defeating them at the election, perhaps they should look at themselves. Perhaps they are looking at the wrong problem. Let's go back to the issue that we need more transparency, and have a look at what this bill does. I'll explain why I think it's a rather bad bill, and why it would have incredibly detrimental effects to some organisations in my community that do extraordinary local work in fight…
date: 2021-11-22T17:17:00+00:00

Member for Parramatta | Statements on Indulgence | House debates
type: item
description: Thank you, Mr Speaker. On indulgence: I am announcing today that I won't be re-contesting the seat of Parramatta at the next election. An honourable member: Oh! I didn't expect that! I am now in...
encoded: Thank you, Mr Speaker. On indulgence: I am announcing today that I won't be re-contesting the seat of Parramatta at the next election. An honourable member: Oh! I didn't expect that! I am now in my 18th year as the member for Parramatta and I can honestly say that I've loved every single minute of it. Parramatta is home to the most fantastic people and I've been blessed to meet so many of them. It has been an honour to represent this diverse and endlessly fascinating community since 2004. But I'm approaching retirement age and the time has come for me to spend more time with my family, particularly my grandchildren—who don't necessarily think that being a politician is the best thing in the world, because they miss their grandma quite a lot! To my community: I assure you that I will continue to work with you and represent you to the best of my ability right up to election day. My office will be there for you, just as it has been there for the past 18 years. It's not possible to thank all the amazing people and organisations that make Parramatta the best community in Australia in a short statement today, but I look forward to thanking you all properly before this parliament ends. We have much to talk about in coming weeks! My goal in this job has always been to make my community stronger, because no one is better equipped to solve the problems that we face in the community and to build a better future for Parramatta than its community. Our local community and volunteer organisations need support to do this important work, so a small service my office has been providing over the past 18 years, which is a regular grant bulletin that tells people what grants are about to close, has turned out to be particularly effective. In fact, there probably isn't an electorate that anyone here represents which doesn't have a subscriber to my great bulletin now! There are literally thousands of subscribers and, strangely, no one unsubscribes—ever. I see its impact in the increase in…
date: 2021-10-28T15:25:00+00:00

Aged Care | Grievance Debate | House debates
type: item
description: The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety shone a light on an aged-care system in crisis. It showed us the tragic outcomes of eight long years of neglect by the Morrison government,...
encoded: The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety shone a light on an aged-care system in crisis. It showed us the tragic outcomes of eight long years of neglect by the Morrison government, including aged-care residents suffering with maggots in their wounds and two-thirds of residents being malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. These stories were made all the more tragic by the fact that they weren't new stories. Families of older Australians in aged care, and the workers who care for them, had been sounding the alarm for years, but the government ignored them. In fact, they failed to act on 21 reports that showed older Australians were suffering in aged care. As then Treasurer, Scott Morrison even cut funding by $1.7 billion, while his government's response to the royal commission and the aged-care crisis has fallen well short. Today I want to talk about how this neglect of older Australians has been affecting people in my electorate. At the last census, close to half of the over-55s in my electorate spoke a language other than English at home. The rate is even higher among younger age groups. Parramatta is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia. The aged-care royal commission found there is a lack of understanding and respect for people's culture, background and life experience in Australian aged care. Again, this is not news. My community has been talking about this for a long, long time. But what does this lack of understanding look like? It looks like becoming isolated, because none of your carers speak your language, or losing the ability to communicate when dementia takes away your second language and you revert to your mother tongue. It looks like being served meat when you're vegetarian, or not being served halal food, and relying on loved ones delivering food to you twice a day to make sure you eat—something that wasn't possible in lockdown. It looks like not being able to connect with your religion or the…
date: 2021-10-26T18:33:00+00:00

Tax and Revenue Committee; Report | Committees | House debates
type: item
description: by leave—I'm really pleased to stand and speak on this report. It is an important one. As the chair has said, there are a number of recommendations in this report that ask the tax office to...
encoded: by leave—I'm really pleased to stand and speak on this report. It is an important one. As the chair has said, there are a number of recommendations in this report that ask the tax office to go further in a range of areas. But, before I go to that, I just want to add my voice to something the chair said, and acknowledge the work that the ATO staff have done over the last little while, not just during the COVID pandemic but before that. They are an institution in this country that has done remarkable work over many, many years. The last decade has seen extraordinary challenges as the world has changed and extraordinary opportunities as technology has made it possible for them to rethink entirely the way they interact with the general population. These are extraordinary times for any organisation. During these extraordinary times we've seen them also take on the Australian Business Register, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the super clearing house. They have undertaken a digitising and streamlining process. They've introduced online tax professional platforms, Single Touch Payroll, activity statement financial processing, greater tax compliance and less tax avoidance, a training program for small business. Then of course came the COVID pandemic, and they were doing early release of superannuation, JobKeeper—extraordinary additions to what was their workload a decade ago, and, in many areas, the world was changing so fast and the opportunities and the possibilities were changing so fast that it wasn't really possible for anyone to be in front of that, particularly people that work in an institution that has to be as precise as the ATO. They did a really clever thing early on with their practitioner lodgement service, which allows software vendors and digital providers to sit on the back end and allows taxpayers great flexibility in the process that they use to engage with the tax office. That's a possibility that needs expansion, by the way, …
date: 2021-10-26T12:14:00+00:00

Cybersecurity | Private Members' Business | 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. Sitting suspended from 13:25 to 16:00
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. Sitting suspended from 13:25 to 16:00
date: 2021-10-25T13:21:00+00:00