Matt Thistlethwaite's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
After Michael and Valentina migrated to Australia from Ukraine, they wanted to choose the most Australian name they could for their firstborn child. The name they chose was Matilda. Matilda and...
After Michael and Valentina migrated to Australia from Ukraine, they wanted to choose the most Australian name they could for their firstborn child. The name they chose was Matilda. Matilda and her sister, Summer, were students at La Perouse Public School, where over half of the student population are Indigenous kids from the La Perouse Aboriginal community. That community welcomed and embraced Matilda, Summer and their family. They gave Matilda the name Wuri Wuri, which in the Dharawal language means sunshine. And what a ray of sunshine she was. Matilda was the youngest victims of the senseless antisemitic terrorist attack on the Jewish community at Bondi Beach on 14 December. I offer sincerest condolences and the love of our community to Michael, Valentina and Summer for the loss of your beautiful Matilda Bee. The last photo of Matilda is of a happy, smiling 10-year-old dancing amidst the bubbles, face painted, celebrating the start of school holidays and the first day of Hanukkah with her family on a picture-perfect day on Australia's most iconic beach. It represents the innocence and the tragedy of those who lost their lives that day. That photo of Matilda was taken by Peter Meagher, a distinguished, retired police detective and legend in the Randwick Rugby Club who was working capturing photos of the Chabad of Bondi Chanukah by the Sea event before his life was tragically cut short. Marzo was a man of integrity and service who volunteered with the Galloping Greens as a team manager, official and referee for decades. The guard of honour at his funeral from the NSW Police and the rugby community stretched the length of Sydney's College Street, a measure of our community's respect and affection for Peter. His wife, Virginia, and his brothers Greg, David, Andrew and Paul carry not only their grief but the love of the entire Randwick community. We honour the life of Alex Kleytman from Matraville, devoted husband of Larisa and father to two children and 11 grandchildren. Alex survived the Holocaust and the freezing winters in Siberian during World War II before migrating to Australia. It's unimaginable that he died on Bondi Beach, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. He died a hero, shielding his wife from the gunfire. The family's courage in the face of unimaginable grief has moved our entire community. We honour Tania Tretiak, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and member of the Randwick community. Her husband, Pavel, her children Dennis and Julia and her grandchildren mourn the loss of someone whose strength and kindness shaped generations. We also remember the many others who lost their lives that evening—Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Tibor Weitzen, Marika Pogany, who volunteered with Meals on Wheels for over 20 years and whose family I know very well, Dan Elkayam, Edith Brutman, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd and Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a teacher and mentor to many. We also remember and pay tribute to Boris and Sofia Gurman and to Reuven Morrison, who bravely attempted to disarm the gunmen and whose courage saved lives. They are now Australian heroes. In the darkest moments on that terrible evening, we also witnessed some extraordinary acts of courage. Our first responders, including police, paramedics and emergency medical teams, acted with skill and composure that saved lives, and our surf lifesavers and lifeguards once again proved why they are among the most trusted and respected Australians. Lifeguards Michael Jenkinson and Daniel McLaughlin ran towards the gunfire, treating the wounded and ducking for cover as they moved from patient to patient. Jackson Doolan ran barefoot from Tamarama carrying a defibrillator and a first aid kit. Rory Davey rescued swimmers caught in the chaos. Many surf lifesavers from Bondi and North Bondi clubs ran into the danger, treating the wounded and shielding them from harm, including Andy Reid, Anna Booth, Brett Pattinson, Mason Kemeny, Steve Larnach, Anna Willis and Pete Colquhoun, who are here with us today. Surf lifesavers are highly trained and skilled in rescue and resuscitation, but they're not trained to treat gunshot wounds as they were doing that day. Their selfless actions saved lives, and we pay tribute to them and we thank them. That afternoon, North Bondi Surf Life Saving Chub was celebrating its members Christmas party. In the aftermath of the shooting, the club became a triage point, with club members carrying victims on rescue boards back to the club house for treatment. That evening, instead of sweeping up tinsel, they were hosing down the blood-soaked floor. A week later, I was proud to stand arm in arm on the shore at Bondi with those surf lifesavers and hundreds of others in red and yellow as a tribute to the victims and to symbolise our thanks to those who risked their lives to help. That guard of honour stretched the entire length of Bondi Beach. You are truly great Australians. Hanukkah is a celebration of light over darkness. The oil meant to burn for one day on the re-establishment of the Second Temple gave light for eight days, a symbol of the resilience of the Jewish people. This motion is not only an expression of grief and remembrance; it's a reaffirmation of unity and hope, a declaration that hatred and terror will never define us, and a commitment to comfort and support the families of all the victims and survivors of this shocking antisemitic attack, that the wuri wuri of Matilda and all those lost will shine eternally, that Jewish Australians will continue to be proud of their faith, their heritage and their culture, and that they will never, even walk alone.
Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
Modern Australia is built on migration. The great economic advancements that we had in the wake of World War II were related to the 'populate or perish' policy that our immigration department and...
Modern Australia is built on migration. The great economic advancements that we had in the wake of World War II were related to the 'populate or perish' policy that our immigration department and Arthur Calwell delivered in those important years after the Second World War. Unfortunately, as a government, we're aware that too many migrants who are working in Australia have been exploited. They haven't received the correct wages and conditions that they are entitled to. Many unscrupulous employers have taken advantage of the power imbalance that exists between migrant worker and employer. Our government is determined to fix this and ensure that all Australian workers, including migrants, enjoy the full protection of the law and are paid a fair wage for a fair day's work. We're taking responsible action to fix the problems that we've inherited in this system from the previous government. We're restoring integrity to the system and working to bring migration back to sustainable levels, with a focus on skilled migration as a major part of the program. When we first came to government, we commissioned Martin Parkinson to review the country's migration system. It hadn't been done for decades, but we thought it was important to take stock of whether or not the migration system was delivering better living standards, greater productivity to our economy and, most importantly, better living conditions for migrants who come to Australia. Martin Parkinson found that the system was 'broken' and in need of 'major reform'. In the wake of that, we put together the Migration strategy to fix the problems that Martin Parkinson had identified, which had developed under the previous government. This bill that we bring to the parliament today is part of this process of fixing the issues that we inherited from the previous government, particularly those around combating migrant exploitation. The government have been clear about the need to bring migration back to normal and our actions are helping to achieve that. But we're also restoring integrity to the system and ensuring that it delivers the skills that we need. This legislation strengthens arrangements around skilled entry to Australia by introducing a public register of approved work sponsors, to be published and maintained by the Department of Home Affairs on their website. It will implement a commitment made by our government in the Migration strategy, which was released in December 2023. The exploitation of those on temporary visas hurts all workers by driving down wages and worsening conditions for everyone. This reform provides enhanced protections and oversight mechanism. The intention is that the development of a public register will encourage transparency, monitoring and oversight. The register will help combat temporary skilled migrant worker exploitation by enabling workers to find a new sponsor and provide a resource to check that a sponsoring employer is legitimate. The proposed amendment in the bill is underpinned by extensive consultation that was undertaken with businesses, unions and stakeholders through the migration review that informed the Migration strategy. Delays in the passage of this bill will mean delays in the implementation of the public register which strengthens the integrity of the temporary skilled visa program. The register is of employers who are approved as standard business sponsors and have nominated skilled workers for entry into Australia. The register may include details such as the type of approved sponsor, the name of the approved sponsor, the approved sponsor's ABN, the postcode associated with the approved sponsor's ABN, the number of sponsored workers and the occupations nominated by the approved sponsor. Including the postcode registered with the approved sponsor will enable migrants who are considering mobility to identify employers nearby and increase the practicality of the register. The register will complement the public register for sanctioned sponsors published by Australian Border Force. This is a name-and-shame register that workers and other employers can go to in order to see who is abiding by the rules and regulations related to people working in Australia on visas. Approved standard business sponsors will be automatically included on the register without needing to request this at the time of applying for sponsorship. The data behind the register will be uploaded and updated regularly to ensure that it remains current. Information will be provided to approved sponsors at the time of sponsorship application as well as messaging on the department's website to alert them to their business details to be included on the register. The register will also draw on already available public information, such as the information the sponsor has provided for their ABN. Any disclosure of information on the register would be consistent with the Privacy Act 1988. No personal identifying information of nominated workers will be included on the register. The government has made a commitment in the Migration Strategy to develop a new skills-in-demand visa. The passage of this bill will continue the government's commitment to implement reforms to strengthen and maintain integrity of the temporary migration system. Migrants make a valuable contribution to Australia, not only to our prosperity but also to our communities, our national identity and our connections across the world. They have the right to feel safe and to be safe, particularly in their workplaces. Since 1945 more than six million migrants have chosen to make Australia their home, and each of them has in their own unique way contributed to our cities, regions and towns. They're our relatives, neighbours, friends, work colleagues, acquaintances, industry and business leaders, corporate and small-business owners, and of course workers—good, hardworking people who help shape our culture and our social, civic and economic life. Our human diversity is both our nation's defining characteristic and our nation's greatest strength. My electorate of Kingsford Smith was one of the original homes to many of those post World War II migrants—the Greeks, the Italians and the Chinese—who settled in our area, and we're now into the third and in some cases fourth generation of those original migrants. I love living in a country where you can have a front-row seat to see Australians from so many backgrounds honouring their traditions while passing them down through those new generations. We know how important it is to maintain the Australian people's trust and confidence in the migration system, to ensure that those settings that we put in place for migration work in the national interest and deliver better living standards for all Australians. At the same time, we're progressing an ambitious migration reform agenda, building a migration system that matches the needs of the nation and delivers for Australians and for migrants. This bill will help ensure that we have the skills we need into the future and ultimately make sure that the system is working in the interests of all Australians. The Albanese government continues our important reform work to ensure that the migration system works in the interests of all Australians and can be the best that it can be. Much has been achieved already, particularly in relation to system integrity, skills gaps and student migration. We're restoring public trust and aligning with Australia's economic and humanitarian programs. Australia is a great country. We must never take our way of life for granted. It must be cherished, valued and nurtured, and this bill is an important step towards achieving this government's aim of a coherent migration strategy that delivers better living standards for all Australians.
Gweagal Spears, Eastern Suburbs Football Association | Constituency Statements | House debates
It was 254 years in the making, and the Gweagal spears have been returned to the La Perouse Aboriginal community. The four spears were taken by Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks at the time of...
It was 254 years in the making, and the Gweagal spears have been returned to the La Perouse Aboriginal community. The four spears were taken by Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks at the time of first contact between the crew of the Endeavour and First Nations people of Kamay, or Botany Bay. They belong here in Australia on country, and I was delighted to join the local community for the premiere of the documentary film about the journey for the Gweagal spears from Cambridge university to Sydney at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. I'd like to acknowledge the great work of the Gujaga Foundation in helping to produce the return of the Gweagal spears documentary. The short film focuses on both the decades-long campaign by members of the La Perouse Aboriginal community and the experiences of the delegation of traditional owners who travelled to Cambridge for the hand-back ceremony. The delegation was make up of Noeleen Timbery, Ray Ingrey, Tristan Simms, David Johnson, Quaiden Williams Riley and Ash Walker. The film also captures the perspectives of representatives from the University of Cambridge, who received the Gweagal spears in 1770 and held them until their hand-back. The return of the spears is extremely important to the La Perouse Aboriginal community, but it's also important for Australia. It's a significant step forwards on the journey of reconciliation and towards finally telling the truth about what actually occurred when Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay. I was also proud to join the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Eastern Suburbs Football Association in Sydney recently. In 1925 the association, known as ESFA, was founded to create a place where people across our community could unite on the football pitch. What began with just a handful of local clubs has flourished into a thriving association boasting 24 member clubs and a record-high of over 10,000 registered players. Notable milestones include historic premiership wins, the expansion of women's football opportunities and an ongoing growth in player participation year after year, with grades from very young children all the way up to walking football. Off the pitch, ESFA is recognised for its commitment to inclusion, volunteerism and club development. This includes supporting junior football and investing in coaching education so that the beautiful game continues to flourish in our community. I'd like to make special mention of the tireless dedication of the volunteers who keep ESFA kicking goals year on year. Congratulations to everyone who has played a part—the players, in particular; the referees, who week in week out adjudicate games; the coaches; the volunteers; the sponsors; and the supporters. Happy 100th anniversary to the Eastern Suburbs Football Association.
Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide | Statements on Significant Matters | House debates
On the one-year anniversary of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide's final report, I wish to pay tribute to the families of those who lost their lives in the service of our...
On the one-year anniversary of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide's final report, I wish to pay tribute to the families of those who lost their lives in the service of our nation and to veterans for their commitment to putting on the agenda the plight of those who served our nation and unfortunately took their own lives. Those that campaigned for the royal commission deserve our recognition today. We, of course, remember all of those who have passed, and we think about their loved ones. There's an expectation from the Australian community that we look after our Defence Force members and veterans, but, for too long, that wasn't the reality. We were tasked by the royal commission with effecting once-in-a-generation cultural change and reform, and our government has been working at pace to implement the royal commission's recommendations that will ensure the most comprehensive reforms to the systems, processes and culture that support Defence Force personnel, veterans and families ever undertaken in Australia. We're doing this not only because it's the right thing to do but because our Defence Force personnel and veterans have risked their lives in the defence of our nation and deserve better. It's also a crucial component of building a defence force that people want to join, want to serve in and want to stay in. We've already legislated for the Defence and Veterans' Services Commission, an independent oversight body that the royal commission deemed their most important recommendation. That will be formally up and running later this month. Where changes were able to be made immediately, we've done so. Our priority is to improve the wellbeing of our people from the day they sign up to long after they've hung up their uniform for the last time. We want to strengthen suicide prevention and drive better outcomes for current and former serving personnel, making sure we're supporting them in ways they not only need but deserve. I'd like to outline some of the outstanding work that's been done by Open Arms, the veterans and families counselling service, and also point out that people can contact Open Arms at any stage if they're struggling and need support. Our veterans make sacrifices in the service of their country, and they put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. I want to thank Open Arms and their staff for their unwavering support to veterans and their families. Specialist staff are trained to provide military aware and trauma informed care at Open Arms, and many Open Arms staff are veterans themselves or from veterans' families. Open Arms was established by Vietnam veterans as the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service. That conflict was a lengthy conflict and a contentious one, and many of those who returned to Australia from Vietnam struggled. From that experience, a dedicated group of Vietnam veterans banded together to lobby for a dedicated support service that's now grown into Open Arms and is doing fantastic work. Since 1982, Open Arms has provided millions of free mental health sessions for more than 300,000 veterans and their families. I also want to congratulate the family advocate that works in the Defence Force as well. We recently appointed Annabelle Wilson as the Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner for five years. This is an important role. Ms Wilson is the widow of a veteran and a respected champion for the veteran community, recognised for her empathy, drive and evidence based approach. The job of a veteran family advocate commissioner is a vital one which continues to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The commissioner is tasked with giving voice to veterans and their families, providing strategic policy advice and fostering cooperation between government agencies and the veteran community. The Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner is a member of both the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, which oversee and administer the veteran and family entitlement schemes. I want to pay tribute to the former veteran family advocate commissioner, Gwen Cherne. I want to thank Ms Cherne for her steadfast determination and her work on behalf of veterans. When I was the assistant defence minister, I worked very closely with Ms Cherne. She's a person who has a deep understanding of the plight of families that have been wracked by suicides of Defence Force members, given that her own husband, unfortunately, took his own life in the wake of his service. Gwen has devoted her life to assisting those veterans and their families to cope with service and ensuring that they get the best support and mental health services, which they deserve and require. I want to thank Gwen for her steadfast commitment to veterans and their families throughout this country and her sterling job in that role. Earlier this year, the government reappointed Kahlil Fegan as Australia's Repatriation Commissioner for another five years. Kahlil is also someone I worked very closely with as the assistant defence minister. Since his appointment in 2023, he's lent his voice to fellow veterans, ensuring that they're heard on issues that matter to them. In that role as the Repatriation Commissioner, Kahlil, working with the RSL, has established the Middle East Area of Operations Scoping Study to look at the impact of service in the Middle East since 2002 on our veterans and their families. For each major conflict that Australia has been involved in, there has been some form of study or investigation into the effects that that service has had on veterans and their families. We did it after World War II, we did it after Vietnam, and it is the right time for us to do this again to ensure that the government, the Defence Force and veteran support organisations are responsive to the needs of veterans who served in the Middle East since 2002. It's important to point out that the needs of veterans change through the generations. The needs of Vietnam veterans will be very different to the needs of this generation, and the purpose of this scoping study is to make sure that we understand what those needs are and we can deal with them into the future. As Repatriation Commissioner, Kahlil will continue to engage with and advocate for veterans to ensure that they receive high-quality services from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. I also want to thank, and highlight the unbelievable advocacy of, Julie-Ann Finney, whose 38-year-old son, Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer David Finney, died by suicide in 2019. Ms Finney played a crucial role in the establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. She campaigned day in, day out, hour after hour, to ensure that her son's service and memory meant something and that our government responded. She also shared her deeply personal story when the royal commission's public hearings opened in May 2023. In my previous role as assistant minister, I worked quite closely with Ms Finney, and I pay tribute to her again for her advocacy. She is a wonderful Australian, and she deserves our praise. The royal commission's task for us as a government is no small feat, but we have no doubt that delivery of this task is vitally important and will ensure the most comprehensive set of reforms to the systems, the culture and the processes of the Defence Force and our veteran support organisations. Implementing these reforms from the royal commission is a priority for our government and will ensure that our Defence Force personnel and veterans and their families get the service and support that they deserve for serving our nation.
Taxation | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
The obligation that we have as members of parliament is to ensure that we deliver better living standards for our kids and generations to come. That is our goal, and that is what we work towards...
The obligation that we have as members of parliament is to ensure that we deliver better living standards for our kids and generations to come. That is our goal, and that is what we work towards every day as a government. But, over the last decade, that commitment and promise to the next generation has been under threat. Young Australians are facing increasing pressure from the cost of housing, they've inherited a massive debt from the previous coalition government in the wake of COVID, and the threat of climate change is eroding their quality of life. We have an ageing population, which means there are more people in our economy and our society who require aged care, the NDIS and hospital and health services. That is putting an impost on the budget and, at same time, reducing the same number of taxpayers that are actually paying tax to fund those services. This is putting pressure on the welfare of younger generations of Australians. But this is something that our government is committed to addressing. We are acting to ensure that we make our taxation and welfare systems much fairer to produce more equitable outcomes for future generations. We're putting in place those policies to ensure greater intergenerational equity through our taxation system to ensure our children inherit a better quality of life through a fairer tax system, a more affordable housing market, a clean and safe environment through stronger action on climate change, a sustainable budget position and an affordable and fairer education system. Making the taxation system fairer, particularly the income tax system, is one of the priorities of our government. It was the principal policy that we took to last election. During our last term in office, we reduced the rate of income tax on all Australians to ensure that the tax system was fairer. We're following that up with two further income tax cuts—one this year and one next year, which will see the rate of taxation on the minimum level income threshold in Australia fall to 15 per cent. The greatest beneficiaries of that reform will be lower- to middle-income workers, the majority of whom would be younger Australians who are starting out in the labour market. This will be a great benefit for younger workers. It will return some of the bracket creep that has crept into the system over recent years. For the average wage earner, it will reduce their taxation by about $30,000 over the next decade. It's a great relief for younger workers into the future. I might point out that this is a policy that has been opposed by the opposition. At the moment, they are supporting higher taxes for younger workers and low- to middle-income workers in this country. We're not stopping there. We're also increasing the Medicare low-income threshold to ensure there is additional relief for younger Australians who are paying the Medicare levy. We're also making sure that our broader taxation system is much fairer and more responsive to the needs of the economy into the future and to the welfare of younger Australians. We're reforming the multinational taxation system. We're reforming the petroleum resource rent tax system so that it raises more revenue for younger generations for a fairer return on the exploitation Australia's natural resources. This issue has been identified for some time. When the opposition were in government, they refused to act on it. Labor acted in a first our term so that the PRRT is now a much fairer system. Thanks to the assistant minister for the Treasury, we've now got a much fairer multinational tax system in Australia as well. When we talk about intergenerational tax reform and making the taxation system fairer, one of the greatest demonstrations of our commitment to that is to make the superannuation system fairer in Australia, and particularly the taxation of superannuation. At the moment, we have a system where ultra-high-income earners can shift their income out of the normal income tax system and into superannuation to get a concessional treatment of their income and avoid paying their fair share of tax. It is an unfair system, but it is encouraging people to do that. We are cracking down on that. We are acting on that to ensure that ultra-high-income earners pay their fair share of tax and cannot avoid a fair rate of tax by transferring their income into their superannuation, which most Australian wage earners cannot do. It affects a very small proportion of the population—less than one per cent of the Australian population—and the major beneficiaries of this intergenerational fairness will be younger Australians in a better retirement income system. But—what do you know?—it's opposed by the coalition. It's also opposed by the crossbench, and the irony is that they've proposed this matter of public importance here today. This is a reform that will ensure a greater and better level of intergenerational fairness in our taxation system—opposed by those opposite. If you give a child an education, you give them a better life. This is something that our government knows all too well. It is deeply committed to ensuring that we have greater equity in our education system, be it through a massive investment in our public schools or finally funding public schools to the level of need in Australia, as recommended by David Gonski over a decade ago. It's also in our tertiary education system. We all know that students have faced a large increase in their HECS debts due to indexation over recent years. We've acted. The first piece of legislation that we put into this parliament was to reduce the HELP debts of Australian students by 20 per cent. Speaking to students in Kingsford Smith, I've heard that it's welcome relief for them in their challenge of getting an education and having an affordable lifestyle as well. We've also increased the repayment threshold, which has been a great relief for students. It means that, for the average student with an average debt of $27½ thousand, their debt is cut by $5½ thousand. We've also ensured that APRA changed the lending rules and the lending requirements for young people seeking to gain a home loan, ensuring that financial institutions can't use a HECS debt against a person who is applying for a home loan. We're acting to ensure that access to housing through lending is much more affordable. We're introducing practical payments for students who are required to undertake prac placements as part of their degree or their training. Fee-free TAFE will ensure not just that we're investing in the skills that Australia will need into the future but, more importantly, that those Australians that want to train for a trade or do a traineeship can have access to it at an affordable rate into the future. In terms of housing, for the first time in a generation, we have a government at a Commonwealth level that is committed to substantially increasing the supply of housing in this country by directly building more homes. That's something that the opposition completely shy away from when they're in government by saying, 'Housing is the responsibility of the states; we're not going to get involved in that.' We take a different view. We know that there is an undersupply of housing in Australia that has pushed up the cost of housing, particularly for young Australians. That is why we introduced the Housing Australia Future Fund, which is now making its first and second distributions that will directly fund social and affordable housing throughout the country. A total of 55,000 social and affordable homes will be built by this government to increase the supply of housing and make it more affordable; 10,000 homes, in a first for Australia, will be specifically reserved for first home buyers and built by this government. If that's not a commitment to increasing the housing supply and making it more affordable for young Australians, I don't know what is. We're also making it easier for Australians to own their first home. The Help to Buy scheme will encourage a co-investment of up to 40 per cent, and the five per cent deposit scheme has gone through the parliament and will start in the coming months. We're also working to ensure that the rules around housing are liberalised and that the states, in their zoning and planning requirements, ensure that they're focused on delivering more homes, particularly where those homes are going to be built around mass transport, public transport, in Australia. We're also making sure that young women get a better deal by increasing the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent, paying paid parental leave for up to 24 weeks and, importantly, paying superannuation on paid parental leave for the first time to ensure that young women get a fairer outcome in the labour market, particularly when they have to have breaks to raise children. So our government is committed to ensuring that we deliver on that promise that every government should make to younger generations of Australians, and that is to deliver better living standards. We are delivering that for younger Australians.
Community Services | Constituency Statements | House debates
It's been a tough week for police officers throughout the country, and we pay tribute to and offer commiserations to the families of the two police officers tragically killed in Victoria last...
It's been a tough week for police officers throughout the country, and we pay tribute to and offer commiserations to the families of the two police officers tragically killed in Victoria last week. That's why I want to highlight the great work of the Eastern Beaches Police Area Command in the area that I represent. They recently held their Police Area Command Awards to recognise and pay tribute to the great work of police throughout the country, particularly our local area command, who do their utmost to keep our community safe every year. Sharing the special evening were the Central Metropolitan Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna, and Detective Superintendent Paul Simpkins. The focus was on supporting police officers at every level. I want to congratulate Constable Luke Noakes for earning the 'Cop's Cop' award, as judged by his peers—a true testament to his commitment and the respect he has earned from them. I also congratulate Detective Sergeant Ryan Booker, who won the award for Leadership in Community Safety. I'd also like to extend heartfelt thanks to all our local police, who do a wonderful job, day in, day out, keeping our communities safe. They often encounter people at their lowest moments. The mental and emotional toll of their job cannot be overstated. Australians expect much from our police, asking them to be brave, fair and calm no matter the situation. Behind each officer is a support network of family and colleagues. We honour both those serving and those who've lost their lives in the line of duty. If you see a local police officer in your community, please take a moment, particularly at the moment, to thank them for their work. I was recently honoured to join Kingsford Smith local legend Con Theocharides for a night of volunteering with his organisation A Touch of Kindness in Sydney's Martin Place. Started by Con in 2022, A Touch of Kindness brings together community groups and volunteers to provide food and support for those who are homeless in the Sydney community. They do it every Wednesday night at Martin Place, where they feed the homeless. Unfortunately, the lines have been growing in recent years. The evening is filled with the spirit of generosity as donors and volunteers from all walks of life come together to offer a helping hand and a caring heart. Con said so eloquently that the heart of his work is about touching people's lives. Con is a true leader. He is very involved in the local Greek community, particularly through Saint Catherine's parish church, and he brings together many members of our community to ensure that those in need are fed, that they have clothing and that they get a touch of kindness in their hour of need. Congratulations and thank you, Con.
Rearrangement | Business | House debates
I move: That order No. 3, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to.
Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2025; Third Reading | Bills | House debates
by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time.
National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
The laser-like focus of the Albanese government over the past three years has been on providing cost-of-living relief for all Australians, and this National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines)...
The laser-like focus of the Albanese government over the past three years has been on providing cost-of-living relief for all Australians, and this National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025 delivers on a commitment that we made, in the lead-up to the last election, to make medicines even cheaper for all Australians. We know that, for many, the cost of health care can be a big impost on their household budget, and this bill is designed to ensure that, in particular, pensioners, seniors and people with chronic health conditions get the support that they deserve from the government with the cost of their medication. We already slashed the cost of medicines with, in 2023, the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS. We're now going even further with this bill. The National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025 will mean prescriptions on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or the PBS, will cost Australians no more than $25 from 1 January next year. This is a more than 20 per cent cut to the maximum cost of PBS medicines, which will save Australians over $200 million each year. The last time that PBS medicines cost no more than $25 was back in 2004—21 years ago. It means that pensioners and concession card holders will continue to benefit from the freeze to the cost of PBS medicines, with the cost frozen at a level of $7.70 until 2030. That's another key cost-of-living measure delivered by the Albanese government. I mentioned earlier that our focus has been on the cost of living, but it's also been to support all Australians—not some Australians but all Australians. If you're a worker, you benefited from a tax cut and the energy bill rebate. If you're a student, you benefited from the cuts to HECS, the introduction of a prac payment, fee-free TAFE and other supports. If you're a pensioner or a senior in our community, you're benefitting from this as well as the energy bill relief that was provided by the rebate. Making medicines cheaper is a tangible way to really help people with their cost of living, particularly those who have some chronic health conditions that require medications on a weekly basis. These changes will make a big difference to household budgets, and, importantly, they won't add to inflation. That was the brief that we gave to the Department of the Treasury when we were formulating our cost-of-living relief: it can't add to inflation. The success is in the fact that inflation has fallen back down to the RBA's target band of two to three per cent both in headline and in real figures. This builds on the action that we're taking to deliver cost-of-living relief in health care more generally. In 2022, we delivered a greater range of free and cheaper medicines with a 25 per cent reduction in the number of scripts a concessional patient can fill before the PBS safety net kicks in. In January 2023, there was the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS, down to $30 from $42.50. In September 2023, 60-day prescriptions were introduced, saving time and money for millions of Australians with an ongoing health condition. In January this year, we froze the cost of PBS medicines, with co-payments not rising with inflation for all Australians for the first time in 20 years. Our reforms have made a big difference in the community that I represent, with $11 million saved on medicines for people in Kingsford Smith. This bill includes further specific provisions to protect the availability of discounting. All medicines that pharmacies can discount today can continue to be discounted once the co-payment is cut to $25. It also builds on the reforms that we're making to Medicare more broadly. The increase in the rebate, particularly for pensioners and children, has ensured that there's more access to bulk-billing, and now we're extending that bulk-billing incentive to the rest of the population, so there'll be more incentive for GPs to bulk-bill their patients and more incentive for practices to ensure that all their GPs bulk-bill. That's why we continue to add new and expanded PBS listings to help support Australians who are facing severe health conditions. These new medicines on the expanded PBS bring real relief to Australians who are facing severe health conditions, including those with Parkinson's disease, neuroblastoma, endometrial cancer, cystic fibrosis and melanoma. So we are delivering on our commitment to make medicines cheaper so that all Australians benefit. Couple that with the decreases that we've already made to medicines and the fact that we're expanding Medicare—it's a good deal for more Australians, to help them with their cost of living. Much as I know you'd love to hear me continue to speak about the benefits of cheaper medicines, Deputy Speaker, I note that the Minister for Housing is in the chamber and it's now time for her parliamentary statement. Debate adjourned.
Moscow Olympic Games: Australian Team | Statements on Indulgence | House debates
'Gold, gold to Australia!'—the member for Wannon remembers it! Since that time, every athlete that competes at the Olympics for Australia hopes to hear those iconic words being called in...
'Gold, gold to Australia!'—the member for Wannon remembers it! Since that time, every athlete that competes at the Olympics for Australia hopes to hear those iconic words being called in their race. That team gave that moment to us, to our nation and to every Olympic athlete after that, and for that we truly thank them. I reckon the best time I've ever experienced as an Australian, and the proudest that I've ever been, was during the Sydney Olympics. The feeling and the buzz around Sydney at the time was unbelievable. Everyone had a smile on their face and everyone was proud to be Australian because the world had been invited to that spectacle of the Olympics, and Australia had done such a good job in putting it together. I imagine it would have been the same in 1956, as it will be in 2032 in Brisbane. The Olympics is humanity at its best, and that is something that should be celebrated and that we should be very proud of. Those Olympians we paid tribute to yesterday, and the fact that they came to Canberra with no bitterness, no animosity and no regret, symbolise that Olympic spirit, and that is something that they should be very, very proud of. That is why it was appropriate that we, as a government, as a nation, welcomed them home finally after 45 years and said: 'Thank you. Thank you for representing Australia with pride and distinction. Thank you for being proud Australians and thank you for continuing the Olympic dream.'
I grew up in Maroubra. Like every kid growing up in Maroubra in the seventies and eighties, I learned to surf and swim. When I was swimming at Heffron Pool, the people that I idolised as a kid...
I grew up in Maroubra. Like every kid growing up in Maroubra in the seventies and eighties, I learned to surf and swim. When I was swimming at Heffron Pool, the people that I idolised as a kid were a few lanes down, swimming under the tutelage of the great John Rodgers—the likes of Max Metzker, Ron McKeon, Graeme Brewer, Michelle Ford and Trevor Cracknell. I saw the gruelling sets they used to get put through by JR and how hard they trained for that one shot at representing their nation in the pinnacle of sport, the Olympics. I imagine it's the same for every Olympian in every sport they train for, day after day, month after month, year after year, waiting for the opportunity to fulfil their dream of representing their country at the Olympics. For the 1980 team, to have that dream ripped away would have been heartbreaking and harrowing, particularly in circumstances beyond their control. In an unfair manner, sportspeople were asked to undertake a boycott but in other facets of society, most notably in the economy, we still continued to trade with Russia. It was fitting that those 1980 Olympians were welcomed home yesterday by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition here in the parliament. We thanked them for coming to Canberra, we thanked them for coming to parliament and, most importantly, we thanked them for representing our nation with pride and distinction at the 1980 Olympics. It was a tribute to their courage, to their conviction and to their hard work in representing Australia at that time. That team gave Australia one of its greatest Olympic moments ever. Who could ever forget those iconic words of Norman May in calling the men's 4x100 medley relay; he uttered those immortal words—
Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
As a Pacific nation, Australia is a partner that the region can count on. We share an ocean and we also share a future. Australia is committed to supporting our regional neighbours, listening to...
As a Pacific nation, Australia is a partner that the region can count on. We share an ocean and we also share a future. Australia is committed to supporting our regional neighbours, listening to Pacific priorities and delivering on our collective interests. Together, we're building a stronger Pacific family, upholding our common values so we can all make our own decisions as strong sovereign nations, free to grow and to live together peacefully. Our region is stronger together, and we're counting on each other to support the aspirations and wellbeing of our people. These are messages that came through in the trip that myself and the Foreign minister made recently, when we travelled to Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. It was my first trip as the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and it was a deliberate decision to go to the Pacific to reinforce the importance of that relationship to Australia and to demonstrate to our neighbours and friends how important the Pacific family is to Australia and how we understand the challenges that they are facing, particularly the challenge of dealing with climate change, which is an existential threat to many of those nations. As the Pacific's largest and most comprehensive development partner, our investments are designed to deliver transformative change to improve the lives and livelihoods of all Pacific peoples. As the largest trading partner of many Pacific nations, we're supporting growing markets by reducing the barriers to trade and partnering with local businesses while continuing more than 40 years of tariff-free access into Australia. It was a point that we made on that trip, given what is going on in the international trading environment at the moment. It's having a dramatic effect on many Pacific nations. Some of those Pacific nations do have access into larger markets like the United States and are now facing tariffs on the products that they export to those markets. And, for a small island nation with a limited export potential and a limited export capability, when you are exporting into a market and there are trade challenges, it can make a big difference to the viability of that business, that industry and, ultimately, that country's GDP. That's why we reiterated that point with our Pacific neighbours—that Australia won't be taking a retaliatory approach to the tariffs that have been placed on us by the United States, and we'll make sure that we guarantee the tariff-free access to Australia, particularly for our Pacific neighbours. We've partnered to better integrate our economy, making it easier for people to do business between the countries in which we live, work and study. Our support is focused on inclusive economic growth, sustainable infrastructure, jobs, skills and connectivity. The everyday but essential banking services people rely on are available through the guaranteed presence of Australian banks in nine countries. When Labor was last in government, I was the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, so I travelled extensively throughout the Pacific. The one thing I noticed was that, despite the development challenges, most people in the Pacific had a mobile phone and most people in the Pacific used that mobile phone for a lot of their financial transactions, particularly their banking services, as many Australians do today as well. Access to those banking services is vitally important to their security, their livelihoods and their living standards. When those banking services are at risk because of banks pulling out of the Pacific, Australia has an obligation to work with our partner nations in the Pacific to stabilise their banking services, and that's exactly what the Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025 does. It's about ensuring that we are putting in place the measures to provide that confidence in the Pacific banking system. The continuing decline in access to cross-border banking services in the Pacific region and the reduction of Pacific operations by Australian banks are concerns shared by our government and by governments of our regional neighbours. The Pacific, unfortunately, has experienced the fastest withdrawal of correspondent banking relationships anywhere in the world. Over recent years, we have had some Australian banks reduce their Pacific operations. Secure access to the global financial system and banking services is critical for economic growth, financial inclusion and overall stability. We know that this access can offer life-changing opportunities for families and, importantly, businesses and communities in our region. This bill allows the Commonwealth to offer support to eligible Australian banks to maintain their Pacific operations by providing a guarantee that transfers risk of default on low-risk exposures to the Commonwealth. The bill provides a special appropriation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, allowing the Commonwealth to pay any valid claims for the full amount of any guarantee in a timely manner in the unlikely event of a default. We all remember the global financial crisis and how close Australia and many other developed nations came to a run on the banks. Thankfully, the Rudd government acted quickly at the time when that risk began to materialise and provided a government backing of Australians' deposits through that period. That action by the Rudd government stabilised the Australian banking system, and it also stabilised our economy, which meant that the government could then go about the government support that was provided to ensure that Australians got through that difficult period. We got through in better shape than most OECD nations. We didn't have a recession; we had small changes in unemployment. We didn't have rampant inflation, and we were able to stabilise our economy. It demonstrates how important government guarantees are at moments of economic uncertainty. This bill provides that stability and that guarantee for our Pacific neighbours in the wake of the uncertainty resulting from the reduction in banking services in the Pacific. This guarantee is not a subsidy. Banks will pay a fee for the guarantee, as they should, and provision of this guarantee is not about any individual country. It's about enhancing cooperation with our Pacific island neighbours and is responsible for low-risk measures to assist in securing Australia's banking commitment to the Pacific. We place a high priority on ensuring that the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste remain connected to the global financial system, and we share the concerns of many of our regional neighbours. This guarantee will make our region safer and more stable and make sure loved ones, families and communities can continue to access their money. Australia is a respectful, reliable and transparent partner, responding to the Pacific region's needs and priorities. In uncertain times, Australia and the Pacific are counting on each other as we build a region that is a peaceful, stable and prosperous one. Australia, as the region's largest economic partner, is committed to working through the regional institutions that are in place, particularly the Pacific Islands Forum, towards our shared goals of stability and prosperity. Greater integration of our economy, particularly of our trading systems and business transactions, is making it easier for Pacific people in business to connect and investment to flow across the region. We've listened, we've learned and we're working together on a Pacific led, Australian backed solution, and we will continue to elevate the voices of our Pacific neighbours on issues that matter most to them to ensure a stable and prosperous region into the future.
Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Bill 2025 | Statements | House debates
If there's one group of Australians that have had the rough end of the pineapple when it comes to the cost of living, it's young people. They've had increases in rent, increases in student debts...
If there's one group of Australians that have had the rough end of the pineapple when it comes to the cost of living, it's young people. They've had increases in rent, increases in student debts and increases in their general cost-of-living expenses like every other Australian and they've really been struggling. That was the message that came through in the last period of the former parliament and, indeed, in the first period of this parliament. That's why the Albanese government reacted and put in place that commitment to reduce student debts by 20 per cent if we were elected and to make it a priority of this government upon returning to office. I'm proud that this Universities Accord bill will provide that real relief for millions of Australians. Many of them are younger Australians—who we've listened to—and we're now taking action by cutting their student debts by 20 per cent. It's a promise that we made in the election and we're now delivering it as a priority for this government. It will be the first piece of legislation that will pass this parliament. We know that the cost of living is important to Australians. That's why the major focus of our election policies was cost-of-living relief. This bill does just that, helping to wipe more than $16 billion in debt for more than three million Australians. We know that getting an education shouldn't mean a lifetime of debt. We also know that the coalition opposed this measure in the election campaign. I'm pleased to see that they've changed their mind, but they did call it 'terrible' and 'unfair'. But the Australian people made it clear on 3 May that they wanted cost-of-living support, and many parents wanted it for their kids. They want to ensure that their kids get access to education and that that education is affordable. This is what this bill does. We saw large increases in indexation associated with student debts in the wake of COVID because of the inflation spike that occurred throughout the world. That resulted in some unfair debts and some increases in debts for many Australian students, so we've responded by cutting their debt by 20 per cent and easing pressure for workers and students across the country. Someone in the community of Kingsford Smith with an average debt of $27,600 will see around $5,500 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans. It's backdated to 1 June and it will reduce the burden for many of those students, including those with HELP vocational education and training student loans, Australian apprenticeship support loans, student start-up loans and other student loans. I've been speaking to some students from Randwick TAFE in the community that I represent, and I know that costs can often be a barrier to Australians pursuing an apprenticeship or a qualification at a trade level. This bill will deliver cost-of-living relief to 280,000 students in the VET sector across the country, cutting half a billion dollars of student debt from that group alone. Our government is focusing on reducing the barriers to further study and training so that every Australian can get the skills they need for a secure, well-paid job. In addition to cutting student debts by 20 per cent, the legislation raises the minimum threshold for repayment, before students start making those repayments, from $54,435 to $67,000. So those payments will be reduced. For someone earning $70,000, that will reduce their minimum repayments by $1,300 a year. I'm fortunate to have the wonderful University of New South Wales in the electorate that I represent, and I'm a very proud alumnus of that great institution. It fills me with great pride to see the opportunities on offer at UNSW for students in our community and for those beyond Australia, and to hear of the positive impact on them from the education that they get. They're the ones making the future happen today. UNSW, of course, leads the world in solar research, in quantum technology and, indeed, in AI and in other areas where there's some fantastic research going on. You can see the development of hydrogen fuel in UNSW, as well as the work that goes on at the Kirby Institute around the development of lifesaving treatments for many viruses and other diseases across the world. No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, we'll continue to ensure that the doors of education and opportunity are open for more Australians, not just at UNSW but at other great universities across the country. It's not just helping students from Randwick TAFE but also those from other great TAFEs throughout the country. This reform helps everyone repay student debts right now, and it delivers a better deal for every student in the three years ahead. It builds on significant reforms that we made to help students in the last period of government, when we wiped $3 billion of HELP debts and fixed the system so that indexation of HELP debts can never increase faster than wages. From 1 July this year the government established the Commonwealth Prac Payment to support about 68,000 eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students whilst they're completing their compulsory practical training at university. They'll now start to receive that $320 payment whilst they're on practical placement—again, assisting those students to meet their cost-of-living pressures, ensuring that when they do have to take a break from the workforce they will still be able to earn and to pay their bills. We've locked fee-free TAFE into law. It's now seen more than 650,000 enrolments across the country, with 170,000 of those courses already completed. From 1 January this year, the government also massively expanded the fee-free uni ready courses, which are life-changing courses that help more students from disadvantaged backgrounds get access to early support for education in the university sector. We're establishing an independent Australian tertiary education commission to drive reform of Australia's tertiary education sector. We're changing the way that universities are funded—that will start from 2026—which will help more people from outer suburbs and regions get a chance to go to university and provide them with the support that they need to complete their degrees. The government has heard the calls from younger Australians about support for their educational aspirations and the challenges that they're facing with their cost of living. We heard that call; we put in place the policy; we took it to the election; we received a mandate; and now we are delivering that cost-of-living support for millions of younger Australians to ensure that they can aspire to the education that they want, aspire to the job that they hope to achieve, and make a valuable contribution to Australia moving forward.
Address-in-Reply | Governor-General's Speech | House debates
On the eve of the recent election campaign, I met a public school teacher who teaches at a local primary public school. She was at a meeting with some fellow teachers who were meeting with me and...
On the eve of the recent election campaign, I met a public school teacher who teaches at a local primary public school. She was at a meeting with some fellow teachers who were meeting with me and the New South Wales Teachers Federation. This teacher was in tears. She was at wits' end and frustrated by the fact that she teaches kids in a range of age groups with disabilities yet the facilities she's teaching in are outdated, are old and, importantly, don't have air conditioning. That means during the hot summer months, when this classroom is under the flight path of planes associated with Sydney Airport, they can't open the windows and get proper ventilation. The toilets in the school were constructed in the 1970s and haven't changed. These are the conditions the teachers at a local public school were working under. Around the same time a well-known Sydney private school was opening a new Scottish-style baronial castle, built on the school grounds, that cost $60 million. I don't begrudge private schools providing better facilities for their students. Their parents pay hefty fees and deserve a quality education and facilities for their children. But when a local public school, which cannot knock back kids with disabilities, where the teachers are giving their all to try and provide those kids a decent education, can't fund air conditioning to keep teachers and students cool in summer, then something is drastically wrong with our education system—and there has been wrong. The public education system in Australia has not been up to scratch for well over a decade now. The report by David Gonski on the deficiencies in our public education system was handed to the Gillard government in 2012. I was quite proud that during this election campaign the Albanese Labor government finally committed to properly funding our public schools. It has only taken 13 years, but finally we are getting there. It shouldn't take 13 years. Quality education should be a basic principle that Australian governments of all persuasions adhere to, because it's about providing opportunities for kids to get access to a decent education regardless of their background, regardless of where they live, regardless of their parents' income and regardless of any disabilities or learning deficiencies they have. But that has not been the case. The legacy of the previous coalition government was to underfund public schools. Labor is fixing that, and I was very proud that the Prime Minister and the education minister signed an agreement, during the election campaign, with the New South Wales government to finally properly fund public schools so schools like the one I mentioned earlier can finally get access to the facilities they deserve and the kids finally get access to the education they deserve. During the election campaign I was doorknocking in Chifley, where I met a woman who was telling me about her complex health needs. She was also telling me about the fact that she didn't visit the GP anymore; she only went to the public hospital when the situation was drastic. When I asked why she wasn't visiting the GP, she simply said she can't afford the co-payment. Unfortunately we've had many GPs in our community and across Australia that have been charging co-payments for people to visit. That undermines the universality of Medicare and the healthcare system, and the effect is that people don't go to the GP when they get sick, as this woman in Chifley outlined to me. They wait and wait and wait and get sicker and sicker and sicker until eventually it ends up being acute care in the public hospital system and, guess what, costs the taxpayer much more money. It doesn't make sense that we don't provide that universal primary health care upfront. That is the reason why Medicare was established—to ensure that all Australians, regardless of your income, your background or where you live, get access to that primary health care that they deserve and to ensure that minor health problems don't become major health problems and result in acute care. Thankfully, I'm proud to be a member of a government that is dealing with that issue of co-payments and properly funding bulk-billing in this country. Again, a legacy from the coalition government was that they froze the Medicare rebate for a number of years, which basically ensured that doctors had to charge co-payments to continue to survive. It shouldn't be that way. That undermines the universality of Medicare, and that is why the Albanese government is acting. During our first term in government, we provided funding to ensure that children and pensioners got access to additional bulk-billing through a guarantee and increases in funding. We're now extending that to the rest of the population, with a massive increase in the incentive for bulk-billing to ensure that doctors, GPs in particular, and their practices bulk-bill their patients and everyone gets access to the health care they need when they need it. We're very fortunate in my community to have a Medicare urgent care clinic in Maroubra. I was very proud when we opened this facility. As of last month, there had been close to 30,000 visits to the Medicare urgent care clinic, providing people with access to Medicare funded, bulk-billed, non-life-threatening care when and if required in the local community. It has been very popular. It is a wonderful initiative, and the community appreciates that. Again, during the election campaign Labor announced that we would fund additional Medicare urgent care clinics across the country to ensure that people get the access to health care that they deserve. And this week in the parliament we will reintroduce legislation delivering on the promise that we made to make medicines cheaper, reducing the cost of a PBS script to $25 and continuing the freezing of script prices for pensioners and seniors at $7.70. During the election campaign I was fortunate to have the Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, come to the Children's Cancer Institute at the University of New South Wales in Randwick to make the announcement that the Albanese Labor government will continue to properly fund the Children's Cancer Institute to ensure that the groundbreaking research and clinical care at this institute will continue into the future. Many Australians would not believe that Australia actually leads the world in the research and development of what is personalised medicine and personalised treatment, each treatment being unique and different, specified and tailored to the needs of the child. I'm very proud that Professor Michelle Haber and her team at the Children's Cancer Institute are in our electorate, and I'm very proud of the work that they are doing that will continue, thanks to the investment made by the Albanese Labor government. Every election campaign, I get someone who comes up to me and says, 'I always vote Labor because Gough Whitlam gave me the opportunity of an education that I otherwise would not have got.' This year is the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government. In shameful circumstances, a good government was cut short. But that legacy left by the Whitlam government around access to education still continues to this day, and we always get people saying, 'I vote Labor because Gough gave me the opportunity of an education when my family would never have been able to afford it.' It's in that vein and within that tradition that Labor continues such policies as fee-free TAFE, ensuring that anyone who wants to get a trade qualification in Australia can now do it free of charge, particularly given that we have skill shortages in a number of industries and we want to encourage more Australians to train for a trade and take up those opportunities. We've introduced a prac payment to ensure people undertaking nursing, teaching and social work degrees, who have to have a break from their studies to undertake a practical placement, don't lose income during that period. It will ensure that they can meet their cost-of-living commitments. Importantly, legislation was introduced by the Minister for Education last week to dramatically cut student debts by 20 per cent and to increase the repayment threshold to $67,000 from $54,000. These are policies that make a difference to the cost of living of young Australians. They're very popular policies, and we're very proud of them. The election campaign was delayed because of the effects of Cyclone Alfred. We all remember those images of locals coming together to sandbag and to get ready for the impending extreme weather that was coming during that difficult period for the Queensland community. It was a salient and sobering reminder of the threats of climate change and of the importance of governments taking this issue seriously, providing stronger action on climate change. Throughout the course of the last term I met so many Queenslanders, particularly in the north of Queensland, who simply cannot afford home insurance anymore; their homes are now uninsurable because of the risk of damage associated with climate change. Climate scientists were warning us of this 20 to 30 years ago. Yet you had the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments that completely ignored the advice and cut back on action on climate change. We remember the Abbott government getting rid of all the architecture that was established to reduce emissions in Australia. Well, Australians are now paying the price of that inaction. Thankfully, the Australian people rejected that notion when it was espoused by the former member for Dickson, Peter Dutton, during the election campaign. The Australian people voted for stronger action on climate change, and that is exactly what the Albanese government is delivering. A few weeks ago I was fortunate to join local members from Greenpeace in my community. They do an annual whale survey along the outskirts of Cape Banks in my electorate. We did the survey at a place colloquially known as the 'humpback highway'. It's the place where whales are seen migrating from Antarctica to the north to have their babies, to calve; they return later on. Each year I go along for that census of whales. We're finding that each year the number of whales counted by volunteers on this particular day is increasing, and it's a wonderful sight to see. I see literally tens of whales every time I go to do this whale census with the local community. It's a salient reminder of the very precious nature of the coastline that I'm so fortunate and blessed to represent. During the election campaign I was very proud to help launch the Gamay sea country plan of the Gamay Rangers, the local Indigenous rangers. The plan has been developed by the University of New South Wales, the Gamay Rangers, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the state and federal governments to ensure the protection of that precious resource, Gamay—or Botany Bay, as it's more regularly known—and the beautiful coastline along the Pacific Ocean. It's a very precious resource and something that's cherished by our local community. I pay tribute to Robert Cooley and all of the Gamay Rangers for their important work in putting this sea country plan together. The Gamay Rangers represents thousands of years of traditional care for country and for sea. The totem of the Bidjigal people, the local Indigenous community at La Perouse, is burriburri, the whale. The whale is sacred in their culture and their heritage, as represented by that migration. They were telling me on the weekend of a whale that came into Botany Bay with her calf just a few weeks ago to frolic and play around and of the delight that the local community had in seeing that representation of their community so visible in the precious Botany Bay. And it really hit home to me how important stronger action on climate change is and why I'm an advocate for ocean conservation. I'm very proud that the Albanese government, in our first term, have delivered the largest network of marine reserves of any nation in the world, to protect that sea country and that biodiversity in our the oceans. We've signed the high seas biodiversity treaty and, over the coming months, we will implement that legislation in the parliament to ensure that we do our bit as a nation to protect our precious oceans and their marine reserves. We introduced a number of policies that represent that stronger action on climate change. The net zero by 2050 architecture, believe it or not—as if they haven't learned any of the lessons from the election—is now under threat thanks to the National Party. We will keep that architecture in place, and all of the policies that sit under it to deliver it, such as new vehicle emission standards; massive investments in solar and battery technology; the household battery program, as the minister outlined in question time today, delivering large increases in the number of people investing in batteries; a pathway to net zero, a pathway to a transition to a greener, cleaner future for our kids; but, most importantly, a pathway to ensure that we protect those beautiful marine resources into the future. I thank the people of Kingsford Smith for bestowing upon me the continuing honour of representing our wonderful community. I've lived in our community my entire life, and I'm very passionate about it, particularly the community organisations. I often say to people and people say to me, 'You're so lucky to represent that beautiful coastline, those wonderful beaches, Botany Bay and those green spaces.' I say, 'No, the best thing about the community I represented is the people, and the fact that we care for each other and we look after each other.' We are represented by many different community organisations: the local surf clubs, the local sporting clubs, the local multicultural community groups, the local churches and synagogues and the like. That's why I was very pleased to be able to provide commitments to upgrade the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club, during the course of this term of government, to multicultural organisations, like St Spyridon Orthodox Church, the Coogee Synagogue, and the Eastern Suburbs Islamic Welfare Services to upgrade their important facilities, in recognition of the important work that they do in social harmony in our community. I'm very fortunate to represent a multicultural community. I often express to that community that Australia's greatest strengths are our multiculturalism and our diversity, and we're starting to see that finally reflected in this, the 48th parliament. I want to pay tribute to the new members of parliament for their wonderful speeches, representing that multiculturalism and diversity. When you hear those people speak, it's very easy, I think, to come to the conclusion that Australia and our future is in good hands. Finally, I pay tribute to my family: my beautiful wife and our four children, who I love and respect. I'm very proud of what they do and what they achieve, as well. I thank them for providing me with the support to continue to represent the wonderful community of Kingsford Smith.
Transport Security Amendment (Security of Australia's Transport Sector) Bill 2024; Third Reading | Bills | House debates
by leave—I move: That this bill now be read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time.
Transport Security Amendment (Security of Australia's Transport Sector) Bill 2024; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
I present the supplementary explanatory memorandum of the bill, and I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (9) together. Leave is granted. I move government amendments (1)...
I present the supplementary explanatory memorandum of the bill, and I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (9) together. Leave is granted. I move government amendments (1) to (9) as circulated together: SHEET AP102 (1) Schedule 1, item 5, page 8 (line 20), omit the penalty, substitute: Penalty: 300 penalty units. (2) Schedule 1, item 5, page 9 (line 1), omit the penalty, substitute: Penalty: 300 penalty units. (3) Schedule 1, item 7, page 9 (line 28), omit the penalty, substitute: Penalty: 300 penalty units. (4) Schedule 1, item 7, page 10 (line 9), omit the penalty, substitute: Penalty: 300 penalty units. (5) Schedule 1, item 28, page 20 (after line 11), at the end of subsection 171(5), add: Penalty: 200 penalty units. (6) Schedule 1, item 59, page 35 (lines 17 and 18), omit "200 penalty units", substitute "300 penalty units". (7) Schedule 3, page 85 (after line 8), after item 25, insert: 25A After section 69 Insert: 69A Notification of special security directions (1) The Secretary must, as soon as reasonably practicable after giving a special security direction, notify the Minister, in writing, of: (a) the giving of the direction; and (b) the terms of the direction. (2) Failure to comply with this section does not affect the validity of the direction. (8) Schedule 3, page 86 (after line 11), after item 29, insert: 29A Before section 37 Insert: 36B Notification of security directions (1) The Secretary must, as soon as reasonably practicable after giving a security direction, notify the Minister, in writing, of: (a) the giving of the direction; and (b) the terms of the direction. (2) Failure to comply with this section does not affect the validity of the direction. (9) Schedule 3, page 90 (after line 30), at the end of the Schedule, add: Part 7 — Increased penalties Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 39 Subsections 13(1) and 14(1) (penalty) Omit "200 penalty units", substitute "300 penalty units". 40 Paragraphs 35(3)(a), 36(3)(a), 36A(3)(a), 37(3)(a), 38(3)(a) and 38A(3)(a) Repeal the paragraphs, substitute: (a) for an offence committed by an airport operator, an aircraft operator or a screening authority—250 penalty units; or 41 Paragraph 38AB(3)(a) Omit "200 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 42 Subsection 38B(1) Omit "50 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 43 At the end of subsection 38B(1) Add: Note: If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against regulations made for the purposes of this section, subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose fines of up to 5 times the penalty stated in this subsection. 44 Paragraph 44(4)(a) Repeal the paragraph, substitute: (a) for an offence committed by an airport operator, an aircraft operator or a screening authority—250 penalty units; or 45 Paragraphs 44C(4)(a), 52(3)(a), 60(3)(a), 62(2)(a) and 65(3)(a) Omit "200 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 46 Subsections 65C(1), 73(1) and 74C(1) (penalty) Omit "200 penalty units", substitute "300 penalty units". 47 Subsection 74K(3) Omit "50 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 48 At the end of section 74K Add: Note: If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against regulations made for the purposes of this section, subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose fines of up to 5 times the penalty stated in this subsection. 49 Subsections 100(1) and 101(1) (penalty) Omit "200 penalty units", substitute "300 penalty units". 50 Paragraph 133(2)(b) Omit "50 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 51 At the end of subsection 133(2) Add: Note: If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against regulations made under this section, subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose fines of up to 5 times the penalty stated in paragraph (b). 52 Subsection 133(3) Omit "50 penalty units", substitute "250 penalty units". 53 Transitional provision The amendments of sections 35, 36, 36A, 37, 38, 38A, 38AB, 38B, 44, 44C, 52, 60, 62, 65, 74K and 133 of the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 made by this this Part do not affect the validity of regulations in force for the purposes of those provisions immediately before the commencement of this item. The amendments that the government is moving come about as a result of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry into this bill. These amendments pick up six of the recommendations made by that committee following that inquiry. The amendments increased penalties for offences across the transport security legislation, specifically for airport operators and aircraft operators. They also increase penalty offences across the legislation as it expressly applies to screening authorities. The amendments also amend the regulation-making powers in the Aviation Transport Security Act to expressly allow regulations to prescribe offences and penalties for airport and aircraft operators and increase those maximum penalties. They also amend the general regulation-making powers in relation to sections 38B, 74K and 133 of the Aviation Transport Security Act to increase the maximum penalty that may be prescribed for offences under those provisions from 50 penalty units to 250 penalty units. Finally, they introduce a requirement for the secretary to notify the Minister for Home Affairs after issuing a special security direction under the Aviation Transport Security Act and the Maritime Transport Security Act as well. This will enhance the existing safeguards and provide an accountability measure for the secretary. Question agreed to. Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I want to thank all the members who've contributed to this debate on the Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill. It is an important reform. Silicosis is an...
I want to thank all the members who've contributed to this debate on the Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill. It is an important reform. Silicosis is an insidious disease, and people who contract it, unfortunately, can have their lung capacity reduced over time and die a very long, slow death. We know that engineered-stone products, when handled in the wrong way, can result in the people working with them contracting silicosis and other diseases. That's why the government has taken this action to strengthen the legislative framework for engineered stone—in order to protect workers from the health risks associated with it. We're determined to put in place mechanisms to prevent workers from being exposed to respirable crystalline silica, which, when inhaled, can cause fatal lung disease and other chronic illnesses, like silicosis. A key element of achieving this is inclusion of engineered stone as a prohibited import under customs' regulations, and the prohibited imports regulations came into effect on 1 January 2025. The measures in this bill will support the import prohibition, providing for the expedited seizure and disposal of engineered-stone products seized at the border and enhancing the operational effectiveness of the import prohibition. The management of seized engineered-stone products at the border presents significant logistical challenges for Border Force, particularly in terms of storage and transport of this bulk good, so the measures in this bill are essential to provide a mechanism to allow Australian Border Force officials to effectively administer seized engineered-stone products at the border. With the passage of this bill, I'm pleased to say that Australian workers and their families will be a step closer to being protected from significant harms caused by working with engineered stone. I commend the bill. Debate adjourned.