Scott Buchholz's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I rise to offer my support for the freezing of excise taxes on draught beer, an election commitment that we made during the last election. It's now time to action it. I want to acknowledge the...
I rise to offer my support for the freezing of excise taxes on draught beer, an election commitment that we made during the last election. It's now time to action it. I want to acknowledge the amazing work done by the Australian Hotels Association in lobbying and advocating for this outcome—the work conducted by Steve Ferguson, the amount of kilometres he walks in these corridors to get these outcomes on behalf of his membership, coupled with my Queensland AHA president, Richard Deery, from the Story Bridge Hotel. He is an amazing Australian who run some significant events there at the hotel tucked underneath the Story Bridge in Brisbane. There is also their CEO for Queensland, Bernie Hogan, a tireless advocate. Interestingly enough, the way this excise is calculated is that there's no cap on it. It would have just kept on going up and up and up and up. In fact, the only way, without government intervention, that the excise would have stopped was if there were no pub left in Australia for the excise to be applied to. It was done originally to keep it in line with inflation, but, unfortunately, the cost of doing business in Australia under this government outstrips the inflationary pressures. There are the cost increases in insurance, labour and energy. Food is up 16 per cent for those pubs with kitchens. This alcohol tax will raise around $8 million per year. The cost to freeze the excise altogether is going to be about $90 million over the forward estimates, but that's only less than two per cent of what the actual receipts are. More important is what this industry does for Australia. Broaden your mind for a moment and think about the jobs, the economic benefit and the multiplier that goes around the economy. The alcohol industry directly supports the employment of around 176,000 full-time-equivalent jobs. The alcohol manufacturing industry employs about 22½ thousand. Now, in my great state of Queensland, we've got two big breweries up there—XXXX and CUB through their manufacturing location on the Gold Coast. Those jobs are mostly Queensland jobs. There are a further 21,000 alcohol related jobs in the retail sector and a whopping 126,300 alcohol related jobs in the hospitality sector, in the restaurants, pubs et cetera. I want to offer my support for freezing the excise, because I think pubs need a fair go. The number of pubs I have in my electorate—I think I've been to every one of them. It's just out of a sense of civic duty and Australian patriotism, getting into my local pubs! My favourite little local is a place called Dugandan. No-one can pronounce it, so we all just call it the 'Dugie'. The way it's written, they'll call it the 'Dug-andan' or something. Wednesday night is quiz night. We're always looking for new quiz members to come down. That pub provides that sense of community, that social hub. I get into the quizzes with the schoolteachers who come down. There's a group from the hospital. There are a couple of retirees. There's even a group we let into the pub who call themselves the 'Greenies'. They play and conduct themselves at the quiz night as well. I actually ran a pub for a very short amount of time after I finished with my time at the bank. It was the Eimeo hotel up in Mackay. Do not kid yourself that it is not hard work. You're up early. You go to bed late. There are big volumes and small margins. You have to have your eye on every bottle, because the margins are so low. If you take your eye off, you can be broke in a very short amount of time. The coalition welcome the relief for pubs and clubs and beer drinkers, and we'll not stand between the government and a cut to the beer tax. But let's be clear: the freeze delivers less than one per cent of relief per pint. That's enough to give Labor the headline of a cut to the beer tax, but it's just a headline. We welcome this. To all of my people and all my publicans in the electorate of Wright: I look forward to having a beer with you when I get home.
Australia Day | Constituency Statements | House debates
Australia Day is a day that reflects who we are as a nation: resilient, generous, hardworking and community minded. Like many Australians, I spent the day with local families, volunteers and...
Australia Day is a day that reflects who we are as a nation: resilient, generous, hardworking and community minded. Like many Australians, I spent the day with local families, volunteers and community leaders, all celebrating what makes our part of Queensland very special. I began Australia Day at the Kalbar community breakfast awards, a wonderful local tradition that brings people together—local families, farmers, business owners, young people and volunteers. I acknowledge Wilson Neuendorf for his leadership in those awards. It was an honour to recognise some of our outstanding locals. The Young Achiever went to Gabriella Stokes, a wonderful example of leadership and service. The Young Farmer went to Ben Neuendorf, representing the future of Australian agriculture. Farm Innovation went to Rieck Farming, showing how tradition and innovation now walk hand in hand. The Best Business went to Emporium, supporting local jobs in our main street. The Community Leader award went to Phil Ortlipp, a dedicated police officer and a community champion. And a very special award went to Ray Parker from Aratula, recognised for a lifetime of service and community spirit. These are the people who quietly keep our region strong. Later in the day I attended a citizenship ceremony and Scenic Rim Australia Day Awards in Beaudesert. We welcomed 71 new citizens. It's always a powerful reminder how fortunate we are to live in this country. I congratulate this year's Scenic Rim awards recipients. Citizen of the Year 16-30 went to Izzabella Lower. Citizen of the Year 31-65 went to Jenny Jenner and Kane Lutter. Citizen of the Year 65+ went to Phil Rankin. The Community Event of the Year went to Boonah State High School's paddock-to-plate function. And the Community Spirit award went to Beaudesert Hospital Auxiliary. The Mayor's Award went to Kay Tommerup. Each of these awardees represent service, generosity and commitment to others. I also wish to acknowledge members of our electorate recognised on the Australia Day 2026 Honours List: Mr Wen Yao Ko OAM, Ms Susan Neale ASM, Mrs Dannielle Bull ESM and Flight Sergeant Anthony Ahchow CSM. These honours reflect extraordinary service to our nation and community. Australia Day in my region is not about speeches and ceremonies alone; it's about acknowledging the amazing people, whether they're volunteers, emergency workers, teachers, farmers, business owners or community leaders, who make our region such a great place for us to call home.
Interest Rates | Adjournment | House debates
Before I make a contribution, today in the House the Prime Minister advised the House that absent would be the member for Blair. This is the first opportunity I've had to get to my feet to offer...
Before I make a contribution, today in the House the Prime Minister advised the House that absent would be the member for Blair. This is the first opportunity I've had to get to my feet to offer my thoughts and prayers to him and his family as they navigate the waters ahead. He and I have been adversaries and neighbours from across the political divide, and I know him to be a good man. My thoughts are with him. That aside, Labor are failing the Australian public. Shayne, if you're watching, you'll know that this is all true. I can see him firing up right now. Australians are poorer today as a result of the RBA's announcement to shift rates from 3.6 per cent to 3.85 per cent. There are so many people in Australia that will take the position that they don't own a house—'I don't have a mortgage, so the rate rise doesn't really affect me.' But can I tell you it does? It affects everyone because any business that's got an overdraft—and we come from a party of business; we come from a party that understands what it means to balance the books. We bet our lot. We bet our family home with a bank to say that we think we can get out the other side of this. I know businesses in my electorate—my farming businesses, my coffee shops—have overdrafts. When their cost of business goes up, so does the cost of their production, so does the cost that gets pushed onto the consumers. That is, for those who can. Some of the larger ones that will deal with the larger retailers will make the argument that they can't push those costs on and they'll absorb it. But, to use the basic principles of business, you calculate your costs and you push them on. So today's rate rise means that everyone is going to be poorer as a result of the RBA's decision. I remember being in grade 9. We had to debate, in an economics class, which was more important: fiscal or monetary policy. The lecturer or the teacher was trying to establish that you had a complete understanding of both policy settings. What's avoiding the Australian Labor Party, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer at the moment is that they're making the argument that there is now a complete separation between fiscal and monetary policy and the two are not connected. The Treasurer stood at the dispatch box today and tried to make the argument that none of the decisions that have been made by the Reserve Bank have got any unintended consequences for what we're doing here in this House. They've got no unintended consequences for what our spending habits are—none whatsoever. You know, as a Labor Party, you're in trouble when you've got the ABC starting to roll the heat up on you. I draw you to the attention of no less than David Speers, who on 24 October had an interview with the Treasurer. The Treasurer said, 'I think, when it comes to inflation specifically, the worst is behind us, and better days are ahead.' I would have hoped that that was correct. And, as Australians, we all would have hoped that that was correct. Then, in April 2025, the comment from the Treasurer when inflation was going down was, 'This is proof of the responsible economic management which has been a defining feature of the Albanese government.' So they take credit for the numbers when they're going down, but it's always somebody else's fault when it's going up. I've got five kids. They're great kids, but even they're starting to see through it. How can you take the credit on one but not on the other? So Speers says in January 2026, just a couple of weeks ago— (Time expired)
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
My fellow Australians, my sincere condolences go to those that are affected by the antisemitic terrorist attack that happened on our shores that has ingrained itself—a scar on our landscape...
My fellow Australians, my sincere condolences go to those that are affected by the antisemitic terrorist attack that happened on our shores that has ingrained itself—a scar on our landscape that history will remember. I represent, and offer my condolences on behalf of, all of the people of Wright. I cannot fathom the amount of pain that those people endured on that given day. I want to acknowledge and associate myself with some of the comments that have been made in this House today from both sides of the chamber. The contributions have been genuine; the contributions have been heartfelt, and, to some extent, enlightening. The contributions that we make today condemn the atrocity which stole the lives of those victims of the terror attack. It was an act of terrorism that deliberately targeted the Australian Jewish community, gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. I want to acknowledge the courage, composure and quick action of all those police officers, first responders and healthcare workers whose dedication and skills saved lives. I also want to acknowledge the trauma of the men and women who were injured physically and psychologically, including those who witnessed the horror. I wish to express Australia's deep admiration for those heroes of Bondi, the everyday people who showed extraordinary bravery and unselfishness, including those who were wounded and killed. Some of the contributions I heard today moved me. There was a comment from the other side where they said, 'Antisemitism is anti civilisation,' and then additional comments that it was anti-Australian. It is anti-Australian. This is not the country we want for the next generation. It's not the country we want for our children. I want to acknowledge the contribution made by the Leader of the Opposition, where she said: Antisemitic hate fuelled the terrorists on 14 December, but it came out of the shadows in October 2023. It walked our streets. It marched over our bridges. It took over our landmarks. It camped in university quadrangles. It painted graffiti on our buildings. It firebombed our places of worship. It sent children to school behind locked gates and armed guards. Like a slow, creeping disease, it festered in plain sight. Jewish Australians do not feel safe, and if Jewish Australians do not feel safe then no Australian feels safe. You warned of this menacing storm, and you said you felt unheard. There were some other comments that were made around the contribution to our country. And there were some comments made around the different stages of grief. Some human behavioural theorists would suggest that there are five stages of grief: first denial, then anger, and then, ultimately, acceptance. These stages are not necessarily linear, and each individual person who grieves can grieve differently. This particular incident gave me time to ponder how those victims are feeling. I tried to fathom what it would be like if it were one of my children, if it were my wife, if it were my parents or if it were my grandparents—how I would deal with the loss. It would be heartbreaking for a community that was out celebrating joyfulness to have a part of their heart, their soul, torn from them, with that loss never to be replaced. I can't fathom the hate. I cannot fathom the hate of the shooters. Who could bring a rifle to their shoulder and find an unarmed 10-year-old innocent child in the crosshairs—I cannot find the hate that would then cause them to pull the trigger and repeatedly go through this process. I can't understand why that hate is there. I don't know what they expect to achieve with these actions, and I don't know how we fix it. I heard in our contributions today that the Jewish community have a belief that, if you continue to speak the names of those that have fallen, they will not stay in the dark; they will forever be in the light—a magnificent contribution. So, in my closing comments, I would like to just speak the names of those 15 into the Hansard. There were Boris and Sofia Gurman. Boris was 69, and his wife, Sofia, was 61. They had been married for 34 years. Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41 years old, was a devoted rabbi, a chaplain and a father of five. Edith Brutman, 68, was a loved member of the Sydney Jewish community and a woman of great principle. Adam Smyth, 50 years old, was a local Bondi resident, a loving husband to his wife, Katrina, and a father of four. Boris Tetleroyd, 68, was a gentle soul and a gifted musician. There was10-year-old Matilda, who we have heard about today from most speakers and whose parents named their firstborn, in their words, with 'the most Australian name that can ever exist'. Marika Pogany, 82, known lovingly as 'Omi', was a mother, a grandmother and a pillar of her community. Peter Meagher, 61, was a retired New South Wales police detective sergeant who spent 34 years of his career protecting others. Dan Elkayam, 27, was a young man in the prime of his life. Reuven Morrison, 62, was a businessman, a philanthropist and the patriarch of his family. Tibor Weitzen, 78—a father, grandfather and a great-grandfather—managed to survive the worst tragedy in human history, where six million Jews were murdered, but could not survive this crisis. Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, was a deeply committed religious community leader. Tania Tretiak, 67, was a much loved member of the Randwick community. You will never be in the darkness; we will always keep you in the light. And we will do what we need to do in this place to change the course, the trajectory, that our country's on at the moment. We need to do that not only for the Jewish community; we need to do it for our kids and the next generation.
Energy | Statements by Members | House debates
Electricity prices are going up, and, when they go up, two things happen. The first thing is you'll pay more for your product because the manufacturing cost, the cost of doing business, has gone...
Electricity prices are going up, and, when they go up, two things happen. The first thing is you'll pay more for your product because the manufacturing cost, the cost of doing business, has gone up 40 per cent from when this government first came into power. When electricity prices go up 40 per cent, business has got two choices: absorb the cost or pass it on. If it's getting passed on, you in the gallery will pay more for your product. The other thing that happens when electricity prices go up is that our debt gets bigger. We're screaming towards a trillion dollars worth of debt and we're pushing that debt onto the next generation of Australians, who are going to have to pay it. In my electorate, the largest contributor to GDP is agriculture. For packing sheds that pack and value-add to the likes of corn, onions, cauliflower, cabbages, broccolini and various other vegetables, when their energy costs increase 40 per cent, they've two choices. They can put it onto their cost of the product, which has got an inflationary effect for you, or they can go broke. There are more businesses going broke today under this government than there has been. When my growers and irrigators water their crop, they're water intensive. Their costs go up 40 per cent. They're not going to be here under this government.
Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 1) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I thank the Speaker for his contribution in assisting the House. This bill is comparable with the human rights and freedoms declared in the international instrument listed. Mr Speaker, in the...
I thank the Speaker for his contribution in assisting the House. This bill is comparable with the human rights and freedoms declared in the international instrument listed. Mr Speaker, in the absence of our illustrious speaker, I think we just need to let this one go through to the House. Debate adjourned.
I rise on behalf of the shadow minister for veterans' affairs. He's been detained in getting to the chamber, but I'm sure he is on his way as we speak. Absolutely! I'll share with the room that...
I rise on behalf of the shadow minister for veterans' affairs. He's been detained in getting to the chamber, but I'm sure he is on his way as we speak. Absolutely! I'll share with the room that I'm of the opinion that the shadow minister has very strong opinions on the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 1) Bill 2025 and is keen to get to his feet and offer his comments. I think those concerns were around—is this the tribunal one? It may be the bill that affects the tribunal's decision to—
VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 is an uncontroversial bill. It's a bill on which I've worked closely with the minister. The minister's office has provided briefings with...
The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 is an uncontroversial bill. It's a bill on which I've worked closely with the minister. The minister's office has provided briefings with the department. The bill seeks to remedy an oversight in the original bill, which was introduced in 2017. There's a degree of retrospectivity within the bill. It seeks to offer protection to around 200,000 registered training organisations that, when applying for student loans for their vocational students, inadvertently picked up their tax file number. It would have been prudent to ensure that that tax file number was then no longer viewed by the provider. This anomaly was subsequently picked up by the department in a review. As a result, I want to offer my thanks to the department for the work that they have done in getting to the bottom of what was an oversight. It was picked up in a standard review, and, as a result, the extra funding that was required to address the anomaly has been borne within an internal machination of the department. In seeking stakeholder engagement with a number of people who were affected, all are of the same opinion—none of them share any great concern. This is in essence, as I said, an uncontroversial bill. The government are to be offered the due compliment that they deserve for the way that they have worked cooperatively in this space to fix an anomaly. I notice that the bill has been referred to the Federation Chamber, where the minister will offer his kind remarks and, I dare say, acknowledge the department for finding the oversight. Debate adjourned.
Apprenticeships | Constituency Statements | House debates
I rise today to call out this government's failure on employer incentives for apprentices. From January, Labor will slash employer incentives for apprentices from $5,000 to $4,000 per apprentice....
I rise today to call out this government's failure on employer incentives for apprentices. From January, Labor will slash employer incentives for apprentices from $5,000 to $4,000 per apprentice. That's a thousand dollars less support for every small business that is doing the right thing by training the next generation, giving young Australians a start and keeping our economy moving. Without skilled workers we can't build homes, we can't keep the lights on and we can't maintain the roads, the hospitals or the infrastructure that makes our country work. Yet, at the very moment when Australia's skills pipeline is on life support, the Albanese Labor government has decided to pull the plug. It may not sound like much to those sitting on the other side of the chamber, but, to a small-business owner trying to keep the doors open, every single dollar counts. At a time when almost 15,000 businesses have gone broke under Labor's watch in the last year alone, this decision is not just short-sighted; it's reckless. When the coalition was in government, the apprentice system was strong. We saw record highs of over 428,000 Australians in training, confidence was high, businesses were hiring, and apprentices were coming through the system in record numbers. But today, under Labor, there are 107,000 fewer apprentices training in the system. That is 107,000 fewer young Australians learning a trade. That's not just a statistic; that's tens of thousands of careers that'll never be started and small businesses that will never grow. The reality is that wages are going up and the costs of business are going up, especially energy costs. Compliance is getting harder, red tape is getting thicker and small-business owners are being pushed to the limit. The only thing going down under Labor is the support for employers who take on the apprentices. It's madness. Labor decision shows a government completely out of touch with the reality facing businesses and tradies on the ground today. Their ideological opposition to backing employers is driving our skills system into the ground and threatening the next generation of tradespeople. Labor is talking a big game about solving the housing crisis, but you can't build more homes without more tradies. If you can't train more tradies without employers, who can afford to take them on? Cutting support for them now is the wrong time. That's why I, along with industry leaders and peak bodies across the country, are calling on the Albanese government to urgently reinstate and strengthen employer incentives, before the 1 January deadline, to restore confidence and to protect Australia's future workforce. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Without them, apprentices will collapse. I'd asked the minister to reconsider on behalf of the sector.
Employment: Construction Industry | Statements by Members | House debates
If we want to understand the depth of the Australian skills crisis, imagine trying to build a house, but before the first brick can be laid, before a single frame goes up, you need people. You...
If we want to understand the depth of the Australian skills crisis, imagine trying to build a house, but before the first brick can be laid, before a single frame goes up, you need people. You need skilled people. You need builders, electricians, plumbers, tilers, carpenters, glaziers and roofers. According to the Housing Industry Association of Australia, we're short 83,000 construction tradies. But a house doesn't just sit on an island; it sits on a street. To reach that house, you first need to lay the road, along with the pipes, the power lines, the water and the telecommunications. The Civil Contractors Federation has reported on an ongoing shortage around 197,000 public infrastructure workers, and to design those roads and bridges, and to plan the delivery and infrastructure our nation relies on, you need engineers. By 2040 Australia is on track to be short 200 thousand engineers. From the ground up, from rubble to the skyline, the skill shortage is biting hard, and it's biting under Labor. When the coalition left office there were 428,000 apprentices and trainees across the country. Today, that number has plummeted by 107,000. Every shortage adds to cost and to delays, and puts the dream of homeownership further out of reach. It's time to rebuild our apprenticeship pipeline, back our tradies and give young Australians the chance to build our future—a future that they deserve.
Housing | Questions without Notice | House debates
Building and Construction Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
I move: That this House: (1) notes: (a) the National Centre for Vocational Education Research advises that there are 320,830 active apprentices and trainees in training, representing a drop of...
I move: That this House: (1) notes: (a) the National Centre for Vocational Education Research advises that there are 320,830 active apprentices and trainees in training, representing a drop of 107,320 apprentices and trainees in training compared to when the Opposition was last in office; (b) that new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released in September 2025 shows Australia's building approvals are collapsing, with total dwelling approvals down by 8.2 per cent and private sector apartment approvals down by 22 per cent; and (c) the critical link between the collapse in apprentice and trainee numbers and the shortage of skilled workers needed to address Australia's growing housing crisis, with fewer tradespeople available to build the homes Australians desperately need; (2) recognises that the housing crisis is being compounded by this failure in skills and training, leading to higher costs, longer delays, and fewer Australians able to achieve the dream of home ownership; (3) condemns the Government for failing to ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled workers to meet Australia's needs, and for overseeing a collapse in both apprentice numbers and housing approvals at a time when the nation can least afford it; and (4) calls on the Government to take immediate and urgent action to: (a) rebuild apprentice and trainee numbers across the economy, particularly in construction and housing trades; (b) work with industry and employers to support real pathways into skills and training; and (c) develop a credible strategy to ensure Australia has the skilled workforce required to meet current and future housing demand. I move this motion out of deep, deep concern for the sector, deep concern for our young people, concern for our tradies, concern for the employers and concern for the future of the skills pipeline for this country, because, under this government, we're watching a collapse of Australian apprenticeships and trainees that we have never seen in our history. It's having a devastating consequence for our economy and the workplace and, more particularly, the housing market. The national pre-eminent body, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research—they're the pre-eminent body that capture the data. You will hear those on the other side of this chamber come in and make these flippant allegations that, when they took over in government four years ago, the economy was terrible and everything was upside down. But, I can tell you, these numbers from the pre-eminent independent body do not lie. When we left office—when we left government—the sector was healthy. We had over 428,000 apprentices and trainees in the sector working and contributing to our country. Today, after four years under this leadership, we have 107,000 fewer. Let me repeat that: there are 107,000 fewer apprentices—fewer younger Australians getting the training they need for skills, fewer jobs and fewer decent careers. How can that be? This is not a statistic; this is a Labor failure. This is a homegrown crisis, either intentionally or unintentionally grown by the policy failings of this Labor government—a failure of policy, a failure of leadership and a failure of vision. I've been on the road right across our country from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to Darwin. I've been meet being employers, apprentices and training providers all around the country, and, everywhere I go, they're telling me the same thing. They are desperate for skilled workers. Builders can't find enough tradies. Civil contractors can't find enough plant operators. Electricians, plumbers and mechanics are stretched thin. In the regions, it's amplified. It's even worse. We're facing a skills drought, and this is a direct result of this government's neglect. At the very same time, Australia's housing approvals have collapsed. We have seen Labor make some attempts to put some incentive programs in for apprentices. But they're very narrow; they're not for all apprentices. As Labor pursues their net zero targets, they'll give it to the apprentices that might be involved with building solar panels or windmills in that sector. Or they might give it to the affordable housing sector. But, when I was in Western Australia and I spoke with those from the resources sector, those looking for fitters, mechanics, diesel fitters—there was no support from Labor for those; zero. When I speak to the hospitality sector—the chefs, the caterers, the bakers, the sous-chefs, the apprentices—there was no support for those. When I talk to the car manufacturing sector, when I talk to the car dealerships—there's no support for the mechanics apprenticeships. There's no support for those that we need to train to accommodate the next wave of electric car fleet. The recent ABS data in September shows total dwellings approvals are down 8.2 per cent and private apartment approvals have fallen by a staggering 22 per cent. All of this is under the new Labor government—a nation in the grip of a housing crisis while the pipeline of skilled workers to build the homes we need is drying up. It's little wonder Australians are waiting longer, paying more and losing hope of ever owning their own home. Labor will talk a big talk, but, when it comes to delivering, they'll always be found wandering. My motion today is not about politics; it's about the people. It's about the young apprentices that we need to employ in this country who can't get a start. It's the civil contractor in Darwin who can't find the tradies. It's time to get Australia building again. It's time to get Australia training again, and it's time to get Australia working again.
Labor Government | Statements by Members | House debates
Labor is failing. Labor is failing Australians. It's failing on energy. It's failing on the economy and it's failing our next generation. Energy prices are up 32 per cent. We were told that, when...
Labor is failing. Labor is failing Australians. It's failing on energy. It's failing on the economy and it's failing our next generation. Energy prices are up 32 per cent. We were told that, when the wind blew and then the sun shone, everything was going to be for free. You're paying 32 per cent more. When it comes to the economy, government spending is growing four times the rate of the growth of the economy. That means that, for each of you in the gallery today, by the time question time concludes, you'll owe more money by the time you walk out than when you walked in. For the next generation, when we left office, there were 428,000 apprentices and trainees in the system. Today there are a hundred thousand less. Shame! The coalition is united and fighting for all Australians. It's united in fighting Labor. It's united, and, under the coalition, we will deliver cheaper energy, a stronger economy and a brighter future for the next generation of all Australians. In conclusion I want to acknowledge my mother, who's sitting in the gallery today, Veronica. She's 82, has travelled all the way down from Boonah and just had a cup of tea with the Speaker. I love you, Mum. Thank you for making the effort to come down.
Wright Electorate: Energy | Constituency Statements | House debates
This weekend, when I return back to my electorate, I'll have the great pleasure of being part of the opening ceremony at the Beaudesert Show. Located in the middle of my electorate, Beaudesert is...
This weekend, when I return back to my electorate, I'll have the great pleasure of being part of the opening ceremony at the Beaudesert Show. Located in the middle of my electorate, Beaudesert is probably one of the larger communities. It's a great day out. There's cattle, transport, agriculture, show bags. Kids bring their photos to exhibit. There are honey producers, and the ladies bake. It's a typical outback regional show. What won't be typical about it this year will be the conversations I'll have with the people I represent. I'm confronted by it time and time again when they ask me: 'What are you doing about electricity prices? Why aren't you holding those guys on the other side of the chamber down there in Canberra to account? We were told that electricity prices were going to be cheaper.' And I'll have to apologise to them, because I know it's hurting their family budgets. I know that electricity prices have gone up 39 per cent, and I know that only 40 per cent of the retail market goes to households. The remaining 60 per cent of energy production goes into the manufacturing sector; that's the cost of fertilisers and the cost of tractors. When you go into Woolworths and you buy items on the shelf, like a tin of baked beans or a frozen food product, everything has a component of electricity tied to it. That has had an inflationary pressure on our economy which has inhibited the Reserve Bank and led to their decisions to not give rate relief as quickly as they would have otherwise. There is not an original farm in my electorate—of which the largest contributor to GDP is agriculture—that still does not have a windmill on it. Southern Cross Windmills are celebrating 150 years here in Australia. They're situated in my electorate. So I won't be told by the richest postcodes in our country that we need to have an environmental conscience, that we need to be doing more to accept renewables. We are the early adopters of renewables and, when those windmills collapsed, we replaced them with solar pumps. But we didn't do it because we had a burning desire to save the environment; we did it because we had a burning desire to save our wallets. It was the most efficient type of energy. Unfortunately, renewables are far too expensive at the moment. That's a conversation this place needs to have about helping the people of Wright.
Freedom of Information | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
It's always a privilege to be able to make a contribution to the matter of public importance. I thank those that have made a contribution to this debate. Any time we have a conversation about...
It's always a privilege to be able to make a contribution to the matter of public importance. I thank those that have made a contribution to this debate. Any time we have a conversation about transparency and openness it's a good thing for the Australian public, and I am happy to be able to engage in this debate. I have taken away a couple of points from the debate that I want to share with the room—in light of thanking those members who have made a contribution. We, as an opposition, need to make sure that we keep a light on the government. We need to make sure that the overwhelming numbers within the Australian Labor Party that exist in this chamber, which were so overwhelming and celebrated as a great victory—I think it was Lord Acton who once said: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I think that was back in 1887. It has stood fast for that amount of time. With the numbers that are in this place, it is incumbent upon us, as an opposition, to shine a light when the light cannot get in. I come to the dispatch box on behalf of our fourth estate, who are raising this discussion, this matter of public importance, as a real concern. If those members in this house are genuine, they will have the conversation with the people who wrote their speaking points to revisit this. In opposition, Labor promised to shine a light on politics and bring back accountability, but now it's rolling out the biggest attack on freedom of information that we have seen as a country in 15 years. The Albanese government wants to introduce what the previous speaker has referred to as a 'truth tax', charging fees on an FOI request that should be made public. I thought the previous speaker made a very valid and salient point about vexatious freedom of information requests, particularly if they were made by an anonymous party. I would agree. If they're anonymous, they're not going to put their name to it and we don't know what it's for, I wouldn't be giving them any credence. But, for those bodies that sit up there and are asking questions that should be made available, I would ask genuinely for the Australian Labor Party to reconsider their position. Plans to roll back scrutiny and normalise the use of fees for freedom of information are the latest in a series of attacks on transparency and accountability. It's the biggest attack on freedom of information in over 15 years, as I just mentioned. Since assuming office, Labor has presided over a massive spike in freedom of information requests and a massive spike in their refusals. They've pioneered widespread non-disclosure agreements on stakeholder consultation. I was not aware that we had ever participated in that type of activity in government. I will stand corrected, but, for the public record, governments having non-disclosure agreements with working parties coming into open forums is just beyond the pale. They've produced a secret manual which they've circulated to public servants on how to give acceptable answers in estimates and repeatedly flouted Senate orders on the production of documents. They've limited parliamentary scrutiny through changes of standing orders. There's nothing wrong with that; that is the privilege of government. But don't come in and be the virtue of all things transparent when debate is being shut down and bills are being sent to the other place while we continue to debate what we'd hopefully think would be an outcome. They've slashed staff for those parliamentarians tasked with holding officers in government to account, and they've ignored the report of the parliamentary inquiry into access to information. This is a real issue for the Australian Labor Party, and I would suggest that, while we agree on all things transparent, you revisit this for the sake of our nation.
Taxation | Statements by Members | House debates
Australians know that, when Labor run out of their own money, they'll come looking for yours. Labor's so-called economic talkfest was nothing but a fizzer—hand picked participants trotted...
Australians know that, when Labor run out of their own money, they'll come looking for yours. Labor's so-called economic talkfest was nothing but a fizzer—hand picked participants trotted out while real Australians continue to suffer. But here's the reality. We've got the lowest productivity rates in 60 years and electricity prices are out of control. The talkfest came up with a whole new bucket of taxes—starting with the unrealised capital gains tax—with leaked documents from Treasury saying that taxes had to go up. A plan to increase the GST was discussed—and the spare bedroom tax, an increase on fringe benefits, an increase on capital gains and abolishing negative gearing. And Labor loves the death tax. They're going to disguise all of this as an intergenerational fairness tax. You watch; before this afternoon you'll see them introduce a fairness tax, a truth tax. They've racked up the highest levels of spending since 1989. They've failed on productivity, they've failed on energy and they've failed to spend responsibly. People ask, 'How could they have done that?' The Department of Defence annual report states that there are 120 fewer personnel than there were 12 months ago. Accordingly, the bureaucracy has gone up—wait for it—by 1,700 people. You've got a spending problem. (Time expired)
Address-in-Reply | Governor-General's Speech | House debates
In 2010, the electorate of Wright was first formed as a byproduct of a redistribution. I am the inaugural member for the seat of Wright, and it is a privilege. I feel immensely proud to be able...
In 2010, the electorate of Wright was first formed as a byproduct of a redistribution. I am the inaugural member for the seat of Wright, and it is a privilege. I feel immensely proud to be able to represent the good people of Wright. This is the fifth time I have been returned to this amazing building to be their voice, to carry their concerns, to come and lobby for the infrastructure that's required and to speak with our ministers and departments down here about the reduction of red tape for businesses so that mums and dads and families can end up with more money in their pockets and so that businesses can become more profitable. This year, it is more likely that we will have another redistribution. The average electorate size is around 100,000 to 120,000. I am at over 140,000 people, and my next-door neighbour of Blair is very similar. I see the member for Forde in the room. Are you over as well? 135,000, for the benefit of Hansard. So it is very likely that our boundaries will not look the same in a future redistribution, but we will work actively with the Australian Electoral Commission to secure what hopefully is the best for our local communities. Our regions are growing. In terms of numbers, they are expanding, and with that come growing pains. The communities of Yarrabilba, Plainland and other communities right across my electorate are experiencing urban sprawl, as we're located just on the outskirts of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. As the entry points into the housing market are becoming more and more difficult, people are choosing to come and live in the regions and commute a little further because it makes sense from a price point perspective. There's another cohort as well. Those who have lived in the cities all their lives are taking the opportunity to downsize, cash out of high-value properties, come and buy a property, which is often superior with regard to its age, in my region and seek to retire. It is an absolutely picturesque region, from the Gold Coast hinterland and Tambourine Mountain to the Scenic Rim, which Lonely Planet says is one of the top 10 destinations in the world to visit. We have some of the most exquisite restaurants. We have an eat local campaign that goes for an entire month, where restaurants in Brisbane and the Gold Coast that buy local produce from our community—pork, cheese or honey—bring their clients out and set up pop-up restaurants on the farm where the honey, cheese or pork is grown. There are long table lunches in the spring. They converse with the locals and the community. They bring out their chefs and their waitstaff, and they sell tickets. It's such a popular event. You have to be very quick to get into the pop-ups that you want; otherwise they disappear very quickly. Agriculture is still the largest contributor to GDP in my electorate. This year, over in Withcott, a company that is probably not known to many people in Australia, Southern Cross Windmills, is celebrating its 150 years of manufacturing here in Australia, in my electorate. It's worth noting, given the current debate in the other house, that every single one of my original farms, the original blocks, would at some stage have had a windmill on them. When the windmills broke down, we went to solar pumps. That makes my growers and farmers the early adopters of renewable energy. They didn't do it because they were looking to save the planet; they did it because it was the most efficient and cheapest way to pump water for stock and domestic usage. We're very proud to have Southern Cross Windmills celebrating their 150th anniversary in our electorate. To be returned to this place is a great privilege, and it's not something that you can do on your own. I am very humbled by the 400-plus volunteers that helped me get re-elected. I'm also very blessed that nearly all 400 of them will give their advice freely to you with their recommendations on what's best for the great region of Wright. Encompassed in my electorate, which is just under 8,000 square kilometres, are a number of state seats, and I want to acknowledge the state members who worked so hard alongside our campaign: Jon Krause, who was the deputy speaker in the Queensland parliament; Jim McDonald, who heads up most of the committees in Brisbane on infrastructure, policing and state development; Ros Bates, who is the Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training; and Linus Power, from Logan, who predominately sits within the electorate of Wright as well. Encompassed in that geographical footprint are four shires. I have the Lockyer Valley shire, who boast to have the seventh most fertile valley in the world. When you come to Lockyer Valley, you can smell the soil and you can drive along and see the tapestry of different vegetable varieties when we're in full production of cauliflower, broccolini, carrot and lucerne. It is such an evocative view, and, because of the odour, you can nearly pick the vegetable as you drive past at 100 kilometres per hour. Often I just pull over and get out of my car to go and feel the quality of the soil and its moisture content. It really connects you to the amazing work that our local farmers and growers do to feed our country. Unfortunately, in the Lockyer Valley at the moment, there are a lot of farmers that are choosing to back out of the high-value crops and grow lucerne because it's just too hard to do business with our large retailers. The cost of production is spiralling. It's becoming increasingly difficult to procure labour for family farms, and often mums and dads are encouraging the next generation to pursue a career that's not farming. The way we entice the next generation back to farming is to make it profitable, and then they'll return overnight. Tanya Milligan, who is the Lockyer valley local mayor, does an amazing job. She has served in the council for over 20 years, and she is a well-known identity. There's nothing in that community that she is not across, with her entire council. Tom Sharp is the newly elected member for the shire of Beaudesert or Scenic Rim. It's aptly named because it is truly a scenic rim, as the rim part of the descriptor is the Great Dividing Range. The cracks around the Lamington National Park and Tamborine Mountain are truly spectacular events. We host a number of gliders who come down and take advantage of the thermal springs that are present because of the topography of the region. Tom is a tireless workhorse for the region. He's getting his feet under the desk and getting some real wins on the ground. Over on the Gold Coast, Tom Tate is a well-known political identity on the landscape down there and an enormously big thinker when it comes to infrastructure. In the city of Logan, Jon Raven is filled with energy, and you walk away from every engagement with Jon enthused and energised. His commitment to the city of Logan is absolutely commendable. I want to acknowledge in my area the amazing work that our sporting organisations do and just how important it is for our children to be involved in sports. It's too easy for a child to be armed with wi-fi and a phone or a PlayStation. I just think a child who competes in a team sport on a regular basis and attends training develops qualities and skills that advance their communication techniques, their confidence and their social skills to interact. So, to all of our sporting organisations, who potentially run on volunteer hours, I thank you for the work that you do. I've got 86 different schools across my electorate, between high schools, private schools and state schools. Our teachers do an amazing job. Some schools can have up to five deputy principals, like Beaudesert State High School, which is an extremely large school, and I've got other small schools that might have 18 kids. When I make consideration for the Speaker of the House when he travels to schools to spread the good word, it is a difficult deliberation to try and work out which are the best schools for him to visit because I'm so blessed with the skill sets and the development of these kids. We have an enormous number of service groups. I know they have these in the city as well, but our service groups and our volunteer base—you can tell the quality of your community by the quality of your community service persons and your volunteers, from your rural fire brigades to the people who'll go up and help clean the pool even though it's the council's. There are our churches. My mum, who is 83 this year, is part of mahjong. She's part of the church group, she's part of a walking group and a couple of day of the week she goes and does craft, and then somebody else roped her into going and doing something for another organisation that does women's packs for the Pacific islands and sends them off. I said, 'Mum, you're never home,' and she said, 'Well, I'm too busy.' I just love my mum. Occasionally, she might iron a few shirts for me. I love you very much, Mum! I thank all of our business owners that put their houses up as collateral to go and borrow capital to employ the kids leaving school in our community. I thank them for what they do—for the risks that they take, can I say. All strength to your arms. Coming from a small-business background myself, I know the challenges but I also know the rewards the small-business sector can bring. I want to acknowledge and say thank you to our agricultural shows. From Mudgeeraba to the smallest show we have, the Ma Ma Creek Exhibition, every one of the 10 that I have in my electorate has a different appeal. It's like trying to pick your favourite child. Every agricultural show has its strengths. Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend all of them every year, just by the nature of scheduling and the parliamentary commitments. It's not my intention to bore the House with the amount of infrastructure that I have delivered in the last term, because I think that is our job. It is our job, as federal members, to do that. What I want to do with the time that's left is share my vision for the electorate. There is still work to be done—on the Mount Lindesay Highway, for example. As I said in my opening comment, my communities are growing, and with that come growing pains. People are choosing to come out, which means I've got more commuters on the road. They're potentially still working in Brisbane and choosing to live in the electorate of Wright. So, I'm committed to partnering with the state government and making sure that we're making the right funding decisions today and into the future to deal with those infrastructure problems—to address those pinch points which can make what should be a pleasant drive to work often frustrating, because of the time delays. There are a couple of spots on the Warrego Highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba that, when we have considerable rain in the Lockyer Valley, are no stranger to substantial flooding. There are a couple of places where the highway is blocked, and we need to upgrade one of the intersections so that Brisbane and our far west still have connectivity to markets and to the greater Brisbane area. We will be pursuing and doing early costings on what that project looks like with our state colleagues. In Tamborine Mountain, as I mentioned before, there's a sporting association that has an incredible vision for their community, and sport is at the heart of it. They want to get a business plan done, so we'll work with them to try and find some money to assist them. We will continue to pursue the roll out of telecommunication towers to try and fix the inefficiencies. We have come a long way. People will buy blocks for many thousands of dollars cheaper, and they'll think they've got a good deal. Then they'll come and say to me, 'The block doesn't have any power.' Well, that's why you bought it cheap, my friend. It may not have power and it may not have mobile phone reception. We will continue to negotiate with our telecommunications operators and telcos to address those inefficiencies as we grow as a community. In Beaudesert, there's a motivated group within our community, particularly through the Beaudesert Chamber of Commerce, who are adamant that we work towards building our own police citizens youth club so that it can work with our children to prevent crime. We'll continue to work on Mount Lindesay. There's an intersection near the Amberley Interchange for which we had $75 million on the table some years ago. Unfortunately, we were looking for a funding partner in the then Queensland Labor government, and they wouldn't have a bar of it, so our community missed out on the money that we had on the table, and that money was repurposed. So we will continue to try to find a solution for the great people who use that intersection—most likely the people who work onsite at Amberley. Of course, there is the Bromelton precinct just outside Beaudesert. They're greenfield sites, and we have an enormous capacity. I will make a prediction today, without putting a timeframe on it, that there will be up to 10,000 permanent jobs in that precinct in the long term on hard-to-place industries. Our council is motivated to facilitate it. Our community is ready to harness it. We have the housing growth, the schools and the businesses motivated to see that precinct expand. I'm sure there are those who will be offended by the fact that I have omitted them from my speech. That has only happened as a result of the restrictions on time, because, hopefully, all and sundry can get a sense of how passionate I am and how proud I am to be the federal member for Wright. The position that I hold in this place as the shadow minister for skills and training is a great privilege, and I cannot do that unless I am re-elected at each election by our wonderful people. In closing in the last couple of seconds, I will say that our families pay an enormous sacrifice for the time that we spend away, both in the community and down here. I just want to thank my family and, on the public record, let them know that I am immensely proud of all them and I love them dearly. Thank you for the time.
Labor Government | Constituency Statements | House debates
It was once said by a prime minister in this chamber that if it's free it just means that somebody else is paying for it. Too many times we see this government failing Australians by giving away...
It was once said by a prime minister in this chamber that if it's free it just means that somebody else is paying for it. Too many times we see this government failing Australians by giving away sugar hits—the sugar hits to disguise the failures of their policy settings. Australians can see right through them. Since coming to office, this government has proven one thing: they can manage neither the truth nor the economy. When it comes to sugar hits, those on the other side lead the charge with quick fixes to cover up their failures. We were told that there'd be a $275 reduction in electricity prices but, instead, we've seen a 32 per cent increase. We get a sugar hit. We get a rebate or something that comes down from the government. In fact, we've had two of them. We give sugar hits to the billionaires who go out and invest them in failed hydrogen projects right around the country. It's a sugar hit, but who's paying for it? Where is the money coming from when there's a sugar hit to the bureaucracy of an extra 77,000 bureaucrats? We gave sugar hits out to the HECS students. My daughters were great recipients there. If you're receiving the sugar, it's pretty good. It was a good policy for them, but it's not a good policy for those who have to pay it back. There's an extra $32,000 of extra debt that has to be paid back dumped onto every household. That's an extra $2,000 in interest since these guys walked through the door. It's a bitter pill to swallow. I'd also encourage those on the other side, particularly the new Labor members: don't trust the speaking points that Labor give you. Don't trust them. Can I suggest that to you, as new members, particularly in the skills and training sector. The pre-eminent research body that captures the data for skills and apprenticeships is the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. When we left office, there were over 412,000 skilled apprentices in the workforce. Today, there are 100,000 fewer. These guys are failing the system. The same research centre, yesterday, produced additional data to say that in the twelve-month period between 2023 and 2024, under these guys' watch—and they'll continue to say it's our fault—there are 32,000 fewer apprentices. They are failing the country. They are failing the skills sector.