My next IWD event was at Willinga Park, Bawley Point, and was hosted by the Women's Connection of Milton Ulladulla. It was so lovely to see over 100 women from right across our region at this event, from local women as Rural Fire Service volunteers to workers, business owners and many local organisations. Surfing legend and local Pam Burridge was the guest speaker, and Pam talked about her very real and interesting endeavours to achieve equality for female surfers. As one of the organisers said, we don't have to go too far to find inspirational women in our community. Congrats, Nowra High School and the Women's Connection of Milton Ulladulla.
]]>The Princes Highway-Jervis Bay intersection is the busiest and most crash-prone intersection to the Victorian border. It has been the location of 15 crashes over the past five years, resulting in six serious crashes. It is the main gateway to Huskisson and Jervis Bay. In peak times, locals and tourists know all about the long queues that can be seen backed up on Jervis Bay Road. But what did the local Liberals propose all those years ago for this intersection? A roundabout, and the community had their say about that—that it just would not be good enough.
A community petition was started for a flyover, which quickly gained signatures. I gladly walked that petition around the streets of Vincentia. It gained over 14,000 signatures. It was then-New South Wales deputy opposition leader Yasmin Catley who presented the petition in the New South Wales parliament. Let me be clear, it was the community I wholeheartedly supported that was responsible for the current plan for the Jervis Bay flyover. I called for federal funding to be brought forward and was pleased to secure $100 million in federal funding delivered by the Albanese Labor government, together with $64 million by the Minns Labor government. The total project cost is $164 million.
The new intersection upgrade will deliver a grade-separated flyover style intersection and an overpass across the Princes Highway with a roundabout on each side of Jervis Bay Road to deliver safer and smoother connections it. It will include a multimodal facility which will include parking, park and ride, and pathways. This upgrade will expand the Princes Highway to two lanes in each direction on the approaches to the intersection, longer entry and exit lanes, and free-flowing access to the highway when travelling north and south. At least 110 jobs will be created during construction, with contractor SRG Global Civil delivering the project to be completed in up to four years. I cannot wait to open the Jervis Bay flyover, along with my community.
]]>To understand why this has been so important to local people, we need to remember—and for local people it is hard to forget—what happened in the summer of 2019-20. The devastating impact of the bushfires on South Coast communities cannot be overstated. It is still being felt today. We are still recovering, and front of mind for every local person is how we can ensure our communities are better prepared and more resilient should the worst occur again.
While there were many devastating things that happened during that terrible summer, one that sticks in people's minds is the loss of power. That's because when you lose power you lose telecommunications, you might lose water, and so much more; you are vulnerable. Across the South Coast, local people want to know that we are doing everything possible to stop that happening again. To help ensure the South Durras community is better prepared for future disasters, I have delivered $221,000 in funding to replace 30 timber power poles between the village and the Princes Highway with fireproof composite poles and to relocate power cables to the local NBN fixed wireless tower underground.
In the wake of the bushfires, members of the South Durras community—in particular, Durras Community Association stalwart Trevor Daly—sounded the alarm about how close their key power and communications infrastructure came to being destroyed. I worked closely with local community stakeholders and I promised at the 2022 election to ensure their local power and telecommunications would be more resilient. In January I had the pleasure of joining with Trevor Daly and representatives from Essential Energy to celebrate the completion of the last component of these important upgrades in South Durras. The NBN cables were moved in August, and the final power poles were changed over in December—just fantastic news. I'm focused on improving natural disaster resilience across the South Coast and I'm proud to be delivering these improvements. Thank you to Essential Energy, NBN, the Durras Community Association, Trevor and everyone who worked hard to make this a reality.
The South Durras project isn't the only exciting update in the Eurobodalla area recently. In early December I joined with representatives from the local health district, the primary health network—COORDINAIRE—and provider ForHealth to celebrate the opening of the Batemans Bay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. It's no secret that people living in regional areas like ours face challenges in accessing quality healthcare services. We have been experiencing an ever-increasing GP shortage for far too long, with more and more pressure on our local hospitals as people either struggle to get in to see their GP or struggle to afford the cost. That's why, before the last election, I promised to deliver an urgent care clinic for Batemans Bay so that local people needing urgent critical care could get it with just their Medicare card, and so our hospital emergency departments could continue to focus on providing care in life-threatening situations.
I've proudly delivered on this commitment to the people of Batemans Bay, and what a success it has been. Just last week the provider gave me an update on how things are going. I cut the ribbon on the Batemans Bay urgent care clinic on 5 December last year, and by 5 February this year, just two months later, the clinic had seen nearly 1,900 patients—1,900 people who walked into the clinic with their Medicare card and received the critical care they needed; 1,900 people who avoided a trip to the emergency department, who didn't have to wait to see their GP for treatment of conditions like cuts and breaks, and who didn't have to open their wallet to pay for that care. That's success by anyone's measure, I am sure.
It's moments like this that I like to celebrate—years of hard work by the community, supported by me as their local member, to deliver real improvements for local people. I am incredibly delighted to have delivered on this promise, just as I did in South Durras and just as I am continuing to do all along our South Coast.
]]>For three days in November last year, I joined the Australian Army's Special Operations Command at the Australian Defence Force Parachuting School in Nowra, as part of the ADF parliamentary exchange. What an amazing experience that was—so good in fact that I have already signed myself up again this year. Last year it was ADF parachuting. This year it is helicopter underwater escape training and ships survivability training, with hopefully another parachute jump, this time into Jervis Bay. What could be better!
I had one key takeaway from this experience—that those serving in our Defence Force are highly skilled, incredibly dedicated and passionate about what they do, and what they do is beyond what we could ever imagine. These men and women take their lives in their hands, quite literally, every single day for us so that we can enjoy our peaceful lifestyle. At the ADF Parachuting School, they train our special operations defence members, like commandos, to parachute.
My tandem jump, as I have shared with the House before, didn't go to plan. We had a one-in-750 chance of a parachute canopy malfunction, and that's what happened. We spun and we spun downwards. But I knew that my ADF parachutist had loads and loads of experience. I guess you never know how you will react in that situation, but I certainly remember what he told me and all those safety measures. After the safety checks failed, he cut away the parachute and pulled the reserve parachute, and we landed with that. The next part, the fractured ankle, was all my fault. After all, I was a bit eager to get back to land.
When we landed, I was told to go and fight the Taliban—which, Madam Deputy Speaker, is the point. Special Operations Command Defence members parachute into war zones, from high altitudes, in freezing conditions, and with the biggest packs and weapons—extremely difficult and dangerous situations. When they jump out of a plane, something could go wrong. Regardless of whether or not you're injured, when you hit the ground you have to be up and running, ready for what is there on the ground. I am in awe of our Defence members; they are simply amazing.
What I want to see, as a proud local member in a Defence town, is our Defence Force members being supported and celebrated with genuine appreciation for their service. I will never bat away improvements to our local Defence facilities and services, whether it's for our community and our much loved 'chopper on a stick', a security gate for the ADF Parachuting School or more. That's why last year I was pleased to join with the Minister for Defence Industry to announce $124 million for a major upgrade to the airfield at HMAS Albatross. From mid-2025, we'll see our local fleet of MH-60R Seahawk 'Romeo' helicopters expanded from the current 23 aircraft to 36 aircraft. The upgrades will ensure the airfield continues to safely support our Navy operations while growing our local defence jobs.
Not only does the Shoalhaven boast a significant number of ADF employees; it also has a large number of civilian employees working on the base and a thriving defence industry. In fact, Defence and defence industry are our biggest employers—local expertise and local products supporting our defence operations. We're recruiting local people into Defence and defence industry by showing them the vast opportunities available. As just one fabulous example, the new Commander of the Fleet Air Arm, Commodore Matthew Royals, grew up on the South Coast. He went to Shoalhaven High School. He says himself that his passion for the Navy started at home, with his exposure to helicopters flying over his school—an inspiring story for many.
We're investing in our local bases to make sure they can support our defence personnel and technology. We believe in defence, we understand how important it is for our country, and we are so proud of our Defence Force members.
]]>I want to take the time now to congratulate and thank all this year's local recipients for the work they do every day in our communities. The general division of the Order of Australia recognises Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement. Professor Deborah Parker AM received a Member of the Order of Australia award for significant service to community health, particularly through palliative and aged-care research. Richard Adams OAM received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Mogo. Valda Brunker OAM received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to netball and to the community.
A division having been called in the House of Representatives
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Lorraine Mairinger OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for her unwavering service to the Kangaroo Valley community. Raymond Dorsett OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to hockey and to the community. Michael Fay OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to international relations and to education. Peter Fitze OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community through a range of organisations. The late Mary Kell OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through a range of volunteer roles. Peter Moore OAM received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to cricket and sports in New South Wales. Warwick Shanks OAM received the Medal for the Order of Australia for service to the community through a range of organisations. Margaret Sheedy OAM received the Medal for the Order of Australia for service to the community of the Shoalhaven region.
The meritorious awards recognise outstanding and distinguished service by public servants, members of the police force, fire, ambulance, corrections, intelligence or emergency services or in support of outstanding work with an Australian Antarctic expedition. On the South Coast, after so many years of seemingly never-ending natural disasters—not to mention the pandemic—these first responders are the true heroes of the South Coast community. It's a privilege to congratulate and thank Donna Brotherton ACM, who received the Australian Corrections Medal for service to the community of the Shoalhaven region. Chief Inspector Raymond Stynes APM received the Australian Police Medal for his service to the community of the Shoalhaven region.
The South Coast is also extremely proud of our military personnel. Home to HMAS Albatross and HMAS Creswell, the Defence Force is an incredibly important part of our community. The Order of Australia in the Military Division recognises the exceptional contributions made by individuals in our defence forces. Group Captain Dennis Davison AM received the Member of the Order of Australia in the military division for exceptional service in space capability development for Australia and its allies. Air Commodore Anthony Hindmarsh AM, CSC received the Member of the Order of Australia in the military division for his exceptional service in personnel capability management and organisational sustainment for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Finally, I would like to make special mention of Stanley Berriman from the Sussex Inlet RSL sub branch. I was recently honoured to present Stan with a 2024 national Australia Day achievement award for his exemplary commitment to ex-service veterans and the local community on behalf of the RSL New South Wales through ongoing service excellence as master of ceremonies for the Sussex Inlet RSL sub branch commemoration and presentation ceremonies.
It is such a long and esteemed field. I wish I had the time to celebrate their individual achievements in more detail. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all these amazing community members, and congratulations on this magnificent achievement. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and your impact on our local communities is undeniable. The South Coast is simply a better place for having you as part of our wonderful community. Once again, thank you and congratulations to all our 2024 Order of Australia and Australia Day honours recipients for your dedication and service to the South Coast.
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]]>People are struggling with their rent and mortgages. They are struggling with their groceries, their petrol costs and their electricity bills. They need help and they need it now. More than that, they want to see a system that is fair, that puts the needs of those struggling the most first. The changes we are proposing here with this bill deliver that, and local people across the South Coast have been telling me how welcome that is for them. Tony from Malua Bay says, 'This is good policy and quite good politics.' Duncan from Callala Bay says, 'Cutting that tax handout is not a broken promise; it is a promise to review taxation equity policy.' He says, 'It is good economic sense because tax relief for poorer people will return to the daily economy. It will support and create employment rather than further imbalance wealth and power.' He says, 'Thank you for supporting this taxation recalibration.' Your welcome, Duncan. Joan from Kiama called it 'a wise and necessary change that will benefit most workers'. I agree, Joan. Jean from Kings Point said, 'The original policy was designed to give crumbs to low-income families and generous tax cuts to high-income earners who do not need tax cuts. It would increase their earnings and investments and increase the gap between the haves and have-nots.' Well, Jean, that's exactly why we are making these changes, to make the system fairer, to help those who need it and to do so without increasing inflation. I could go on with the wealth of people across my electorate who have contacted me to praise the government's changes to these tax cuts, but I think we get the picture. As Tony from Malua Bay said, it is good policy. It is sensible policy. It is fair policy, good for local people and good for the economy.
Let's take a closer look at exactly what this bill is going to do. Under these changes, taxpayers earning less than $45,000 will now receive a tax cut—one they would not have gotten under the former Liberal government's plan. These are modest income earners, people working part time in my electorate, and we have a lot of them. Those earning average wages, around $73,000, will now get a tax cut of more than $1,500 a year, around $29 a week, and more than double what they would get under the coalition's plan. Nurses, hospitality workers, teachers, aged-care workers, childcare workers and those transitioning into retirement are the people who are better off, and these are the workers keeping our economy on the South Coast going. For a family on an average household income of around $130,000, with one partner earning $80,000 and the other $50,000, their combined tax cut will now be over $2,600. That's about $50 a week extra in the family's budget and $1,600 more than they would have gotten under the old plan of the Liberal Party. That's why we are making these changes. It's to support families, women, those working in the care economy and in tourism, young people and those on award wages. These are the people that are struggling to get by. They are who we are helping.
By focusing on middle Australia and addressing bracket creep for middle Australia, we will improve participation of women with a taxable income between $20,000 and $75,000. We will see more people working more hours, increasing labour supply, Treasury estimates, by around 930,000 hours per week. That's more than double the labour supply impact of the former Liberal government's plan.
I want to dwell on this point for a moment, because on the South Coast supply of labour is a real problem. We've got cafes that can't keep their doors open and farmers who can't harvest their crops because they don't have the workers. The tourism industry in particular is really struggling. Providing more incentive for those sitting on the cusp of the bracket, particularly part-time workers, is completely valuable to these businesses. Providing more incentive for those who are transitioning to retirement, more incentive for women returning to work and more incentive to young people to work while they study will make a huge difference to those businesses that rely on these workers to keep the doors open. It will have a real economic impact on the South Coast, supporting our tourism industry and helping our economic recovery.
I'm a broken record on this, but there is good reason for it. The South Coast is still recovering from the 2019-20 bushfires. We are still feeling those impacts economically, socially and emotionally. We are not recovered. We are not recovered from a pandemic that decimated the industries we rely on—namely tourism, but it impacted everyone. We are not recovered from a dozen disaster declared floods, and that's without even mentioning inflation and the rising cost of living that has made recovery from all those disasters so much more difficult. We have been hit over and over again ever since that terrible summer. We are not back on our feet, and local people need all the support they can get. That's why I'm excited about this plan. That's why I'm excited to see 87 per cent of local people left better off than they would have been if we had stuck to the Liberal Party's plan. It will provide better support for our economy and better encouragement for workforce participation.
Local people demanded that we as the Labor government look at the current economic conditions that we consider our new reality, not the reality of five years ago when the original plan was put into place. What does our economy need for those conditions we are facing right now? What does our economy need to keep inflation down? What do we need to ease cost-of-living pressure? No-one could have predicted these specific conditions five years ago. We hadn't seen the bushfires, the pandemic, crippling inflation and the rising cost of living. So what we did was listen to the community and to the experts. We looked at the economic conditions and we decided on the right thing to do and the responsible thing to do. We showed our integrity, we stood up for what the Labor Party stands for and we put middle Australia first.
While our 10-point economic plan is bringing down inflation—we've seen it start to moderate and that is incredibly welcome news—we are not out of the woods. The plan the Treasurer has carefully calibrated is making a difference, but we are not being complacent because it is so clear there is more that must be done. So from 1 July this year we will reduce the 19 per cent tax rate to 16 per cent, reduce the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent, increase the threshold above which the 37 per cent tax rate applies from $120,000 to $135,000, and increase the threshold above which the 45 per cent tax rate applies from $180,000 to $190,000.
Sixty-four thousand people in my electorate of Gilmore will receive a tax cut under this plan, and 87 per cent of them will be better off than under the former Liberal government's plan. That's what we are delivering here today and that's what local people on the South Coast need.
I am proud to be part of the government that is delivering real cost-of-living relief targeted to where it is needed most. I commend the bill to the House.
]]>Just last week I was really delighted to join with the member for Cunningham and the member for Whitlam to announce that more than 1,500 local people across the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands have been helped into their own homes thanks to the government's improved Home Guarantee Scheme. It's an all-too-familiar story on the South Coast: people who were born and raised in our communities, when it comes time to buying a home, are forced to move away because they can't find an affordable place to buy or rent. We're suffering from a workforce shortage. How can we address that if our young people are continually forced to move away? Our Home Guarantee Scheme is on top of our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator, our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund and, importantly for so many local people in my electorate, the biggest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years.
What else is there? What about $3 billion in electricity bill relief, co-paid with the states? Since July last year, this has been providing eligible households up to $500 and small businesses up to $650 off their electricity bills. There are cheaper medicines. I jump for joy every time we talk about cheaper medicines. Twelve thousand eight hundred and fourteen 60-day prescriptions were dispensed for people with chronic illnesses in my electorate between 1 September and 31 December last year. That's just the first stage of medicines released under this policy, which cuts the costs of those medicines in half. Not only this, but a further 119,075 scripts in Gilmore were dispensed last year at a cheaper rate of $30 per script. This has saved local people more than $1.3 million just on the cost of medicines under the Albanese Government, because we reduced the copayment.
We've also tripled the bulk-billing incentive for the most common GP consultations for children under 16 and Commonwealth concession cardholders. This will not solve a decade of cuts and neglect to Medicare by the Liberals, but, in the first two months of this change, bulk-billing rates in my electorate have increased by 4.3 per cent. That's more than an estimated 6,000 additional bulk-billed trips to the GP, saving an estimated $252,000 in gap fees. In just two months, that's a huge difference. Another fabulous health investment for local people in my electorate is the Batemans Bay Urgent Care Clinic, which is helping local people access urgent critical care using just their Medicare cards, easing pressure on GPs and the local emergency departments. The Batemans Bay Urgent Care Clinic opened on 4 December, and, in its first two months of operation, nearly 1,900 patients were treated there. How great is that?
There's so much more in our plan, too. There are nearly 4,800 local families benefiting from cheaper child care. There's our expanded Paid Parental Leave scheme. Don't forget the local students now studying fee-free TAFE, the workers who've received pay rises, like those in aged care, who are now getting 15 per cent more, or the thousands of local people who have seen their income support payments boosted. We haven't stopped there, either. With our improved tax cuts plan set to leave 87 per cent of taxpayers in my electorate better off than under the Liberals' plan, we're delivering a tax cut to every local taxpayer, because it's the fair and right thing to do. The fact is our cost-of-living plan is supporting those doing it tough with targeted assistance while also tempering inflation. I'm proud to be part of a government that is delivering for our community.
]]>I think we all remember Peta's first speech in this place. The revelation and, I would say, shock to us all was that Peta's cancer had come back. But, true to Peta's personality, she just got on with things. Peta was here to serve her constituents, and that is what she did. Not a day went by in the parliament that Peta would not be flying the flag for her constituents. Peta was a true listener and a reformer. She would always speak on lots of legislation and was always there to speak when needed. Peta had some absolutely brilliant speeches, and her speech on her reaction to the Morrison government's plan for women fleeing domestic violence to use their retirement savings was an absolute corker; she nailed it.
Peta certainly knew what she was talking about. She was a lawyer, a researcher, a networker and completely dedicated to doing what is right for fairness for women and all people. Peta poured herself into reforming legislation particularly around women's health and superannuation, and had a special knack, I noticed, for talking on financial legislation—and, of course, she promoted breast cancer awareness and prevention, and women's health in general.
Even though Peta herself had cancer, she never let it define her. Peta, true to form and in that true Peta way, used her voice to help others. Even after the cancer returned and we knew that she was battling extreme illness, Peta was always here in parliament, supporting her colleagues and the parliament she loved, representing her constituents and fighting the good fight for better legislation and a better Australia. She simply never gave up. That same old dogged determination that I saw from day one was still there.
I am still in awe of Peta Murphy. I am pinching myself that it was just last Tuesday that I was sitting next to Peta. We were still chatting, and Peta was still doing what she did best—supporting her colleagues, the parliament and her community. And Peta asked a question in question time. I had no idea it would be the last time we would see Peta.
Our country is poorer for Peta's passing, but I reckon Peta would be telling us to just get on with it and pass legislation that will help fix people's lives for the better. My sincere condolences go to Peta's family: her husband, Rod; her mum and dad, Jan and Bob—Peta often talked about them; and her sisters, Jodi and Penni, and to all those many people in this place that loved Peta too. May everyone take some comfort in the legacy that Peta Murphy leaves behind.
]]>I will set the record straight on the Batemans Bay hospital emergency department—a decision, I repeat, that the former member for Bega and his government made as early as 2020 and, to be clear, a decision the Australian government and I as a federal MP have no say in at all. The Liberals are trying to rewrite history and stoke unnecessary fear and anxiety in a vulnerable community for their own political gain. I won't have it. These men have zero regard for what is best for our community.
The community led a campaign for a level 4 regional hospital for the Eurobodalla, under the banner 'one Eurobodalla hospital', because the current facilities at Batemans Bay hospital and Moruya hospital no longer service the wider needs of the community. When we have local people forced to travel to Canberra or Sydney for cancer services, paediatric care, mental health services and intensive care, we have a problem. It took many years of campaigning led by the current fabulous member for Bega, Dr Michael Holland, to get the former government to agree to build a new hospital. It took even longer for them to agree to make it a level 4 hospital. It was the Liberals who stood in the way of the Eurobodalla Radiation Therapy Centre. They still don't think we need one, but I have delivered that funding and will work with the New South Wales government to see it happen.
The Liberals are saying there is some new announcement that the New South Wales government will close Batemans Bay hospital's emergency department, but in 2018, when presented with the 3,000-signature petition for a new—one—regional hospital, Andrew Constance said, 'It is a vision of mine to see one big regional facility.' In 2021 he announced a new HealthOne facility, funded by New South Wales government, to be located at the Batemans Bay hospital site. He said, 'The new health facility will complement the new Eurobodalla hospital'—not the Batemans Bay hospital, because he knew it would close. This week Mr Constance has said the HealthOne facility isn't happening. Clearly, he has been far too focused on his failed Senate bid. In a November statement, the local health district confirmed the Batemans Bay Community Health Centre is going ahead. Mr Constance said the Batemans Bay ED will close next month—not true.
It will remain open until the new hospital opens in 2025. He, and the facilitator of a community forum—another Liberal—have tried to score political points against me by lying about why I wasn't at the recent forum. I was here, in the parliament, and the organisers were told that in advance of the meeting. He also threw in a lie about the Moruya bypass; it is being delivered as promised. The Liberals just cannot be trusted.
We desperately need a new level 4 hospital for the Eurobodalla. The Liberals never wanted it, and they are still standing in the way. We don't have the resources for multiple EDs so close to one another, but this won't put the community at risk. The Batemans Bay urgent care clinic I have funded federally and the New South Wales community health centre will fill the critical care gap, covering more than 55 per cent of presentations to the Batemans Bay ED, with emergency patients treated at the new fit-for-purpose facility so that fewer people have to travel to Canberra or Sydney and so that we get the health services we deserve. Dr Holland and I will continue working hard to represent the best interests of our communities.
]]>It's important to remember that the bushfires of that terrible black summer didn't rage for days or weeks; they raged for months. The Currowan bushfire, which started in November 2019, burned for 74 days before finally being extinguished in February 2020. That bushfire alone destroyed nearly 500,000 hectares of land. It was our firefighters that helped to save thousands of homes and countless lives over those harrowing 74 days. Devastatingly, many homes were destroyed and lives were tragically lost. I was on the ground every single one of those 74 days, whether it was at fire control—I had two in my electorate—at the staging grounds spread across our coast, in the local RFS stations, in the evacuation centres or just out in the streets with those facing the impact. I was there, and there was barely a day that went by that I didn't see a first responder lending a helping hand and doing what they could where they could in really difficult circumstances. It's important not to forget that this was not just the RFS. There were first responders of every order: New South Wales police, paramedics, SES, marine rescue, St John Ambulance, defence, surf life saving—the list goes on. On the ground were also council workers, electricity providers, tree loppers and wildlife rescuers. I know I can't name everyone who was there. It was a whole-of-community effort, and we are grateful for it.
In the wake of those devastating bushfires, I spoke with so many of our first responders. They told absolutely heartbreaking stories. Our community experienced a shared grief, a shared trauma, that is not easily explained. In those early days as the bushfires raged, I spoke long and loud about the need for mental health support for our heroes, and I have continued talking about that ever since. On the South Coast, the bushfires were just one of many disasters to impact our community. We've had severe storms, we've had countless disaster declared floods—which we are still cleaning up from—and, of course, we have had a worldwide health pandemic. Our first responders face trauma every single day. They deserve our support. The Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt, also understands this. As the shadow minister back in 2019, he came to the South Coast many times to see for himself the impact of the bushfires. I know he felt that trauma too. Now, he, as the minister, and the Albanese government as a whole are steadfastly committed to supporting our first responders.
The Department of Health and Aged Care fund a range of mental health supports targeted towards emergency service workers and volunteers. The Black Dog Institute through the National Emergency Worker Support Service and the Australian Psychological Society through the Disaster Response Network are funded by the department of health until 30 June 2025 to provide direct support to first responders. We're also working on the National Disaster Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework and the national mental health plan for emergency services workers to ensure we have a coordinated approach to mental health support for our first responders. We'll keep working with the state and territory governments to get this plan right.
Once again, I want to say from the bottom of my heart a huge thank you to every single first responder across our community. Where would we be without you? You are the true heroes of our community.
]]>We have targeted our support to low-income earners and those doing it the toughest because it doesn't encourage them to spend; it helps them keep their heads above water. In fact, the ABS September quarter data shows that the measures we have developed took half a percentage point off inflation. The policies we have put in place since coming to government are actually making a difference to people and the economy.
Health, always high on the agenda for people in my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast, has had a major boost. As of November, we have tripled the bulk-billing incentive to help children, pensioners and concession cardholders access a bulk-billing GP. Not only does this help them but it also helps GPs. I have heard that local doctors in my electorate have started bulk-billing again, and local GPs have told me what a difference this policy is making to them. Our indexation boost on Medicare payments is also ensuring local GPs are getting the biggest helping hand they have had in years. On top of this, we have freed up countless GP appointments and halved the cost of many common medicines with our cheaper medicines policy. Coming from an area with high rates of chronic disease and a GP crisis that has escalated for years, this is extremely welcome news.
Despite the scare campaign that was run and the cries that the sky would fall in, it didn't, and local people are feeling the benefit of that. People with a Medicare card buying just one of the medicines covered by this policy will save up to $180 per year. That is on top of our reduction to the general co-payment, which brought the cost of medicines down from $42.50 to $30 from January. No-one should be choosing between food and medicine, and if people are healthy they can also continue contributing more fully to our economy—so many benefits!
We know that electricity is one of the areas hurting the most, so we've given electricity bill rebates of up to $500 to around five million households to help families, working parents and children alike. We've made child care cheaper, helping families on incomes of $120,000 with one child in care to save around $1,700 a year. That's benefiting around 4,800 local families in my electorate. That makes a very big difference to the family budget. It's another one that also has dual benefit for our economy, because it's helping parents, particularly mothers, get back into the workforce. At the same time, we're expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 2026. How great is that?
The No. 1 cost for so many these days is housing. We know house prices are rising, access to affordable housing is at all-time lows and rents are skyrocketing. Our Housing Australia Future Fund will invest $10 billion to build more social and affordable housing along with our $140 million Housing Accord, and we've increased Commonwealth rent assistance by 15 per cent, benefiting 1.1 million households.
As a former TAFE teacher, I could not be more proud that we've made TAFE fee free for tens of thousands of students, because TAFE changes lives, and it benefits our economy, giving us the skilled workers we need now and into the future.
As well as bringing costs down, we have also made a big difference to the money coming into households. We've boosted income support payments by $40 per fortnight, and we've gotten wages moving again. Since we came to government, wages have been growing at an average rate of 3.6 per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent under the previous government. We've increased the minimum wage and boosted award wage earnings for our lowest paid workers, and we've given aged-care workers a 15 per cent pay rise. We're working hard, and we will keep working hard every single day to support those who need it most while ensuring we are helping our economy, not making things worse.
]]>I grew up on a dairy farm, which is still there today—a small business that has grown. My husband, a carpenter, runs his own small business as well, as he's done for many years. I know the struggles small businesses face. I've been there as well, like so many people. That's why I am so incredibly proud to be part of a government that is working to support small businesses to grow, to diversify and to meet the challenges of a changing energy market.
We all know that energy prices have been rapidly going up, pushed by global challenges and a former government that spent a decade without a cohesive energy policy. We've seen it in our homes, and this government has worked to do what it can to bring those prices down. At the same time, we've supported eligible households with $500 in energy bill relief, a fantastic support that is helping millions of households right across Australia to deal with the cost of living.
Small businesses have probably felt this brunt more than others—no shock there. Their outputs are higher, their energy needs are higher, and so, of course, are their costs. To help them, this bill introduces the small-business energy incentive, to help small and medium sized businesses electrify and save on their energy bills. Businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will, from 1 July until 30 June next year, have access to a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction for eligible assets supporting electrification and more efficient use of energy. Up to $100,000 of total expenditure will be eligible for the incentive, with the maximum bonus tax deduction being $20,000. This incentive will help small businesses to make investments like electrifying their heating and cooling systems, upgrading to more efficient fridges and induction cooktops and installing batteries and heat pumps. Not only is this going to help with the upfront cost or depreciation of these assets; there will also be the long-term impact on electricity bills, helping small businesses to save in the long run as well.
It has been clear for a long time that businesses have been working to make some of these changes themselves. Small-business owners can see the benefits in upgrading their equipment, making it more modern, easier to use, easier to maintain, better on the environment and, most of all, cheaper. Of course they can. But they've spent a decade without the right government support to help them do that. That's what we are trying to do—give businesses incentives, give them support and help them deal with the global economic climate that is driving up electricity prices. As a happy bonus, this will also help to reduce their impact on the climate. Up to 3.8 million small and medium-sized businesses will be eligible. How great is that? This is just one way we are helping businesses with their energy needs.
I want to briefly touch on another program that I have been so delighted to support as part of the Albanese government, which is helping small businesses with practical support to reduce their energy costs. The Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises program is a $62 million grants program designed to help businesses become more energy efficient, to ease pressure on their energy bills and to reduce emissions. The program provides grants of between $10,000 and $25,000 to SMEs in all industry sectors to help them undertake energy-saving measures such as upgrading or replacing existing air conditioners with high-efficiency units, replacing gas-heating boilers with heat pumps, or purchasing tools to monitor energy use—and more. There is so much opportunity.
I was absolutely delighted to see local businesses in my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast benefit from this fantastic program. Hubert Estate, one of those family run tourism drawcards that I mentioned earlier, a truly beautiful winery in the Ulladulla area, has taken many steps to improve its energy efficiency and reduce its impact on the environment. I was really happy to deliver $25,000 as part of that program to Hubert Estate for a compressed air system. Meadows Swim School in Nowra, another locally owned and run business, was successful under the program for a heat pump upgrade worth $25,000, which was a big help for a small local swim school. Dungowan Erowal Bay, a beautiful waterfront holiday accommodation in stunning Jervis Bay, received $25,000 to replace inefficient air conditioning units with modern high-efficiency units, helping the business, helping boost tourism and helping the environment—win, win, win. Another fascinating small business, Cyber Heroes, a podcast hosted by two local fellows giving guidance on protecting yourself from cybercrime and becoming cybersavvy, received more than $12,000 to replace non-LED lights and add automation control. This is a small business helping people around the country with one of our great modern challenges, so we're helping them.
The diversity of these recipients and what they have chosen to put the grants towards is simply fabulous and demonstrates our government's commitment to working with small business to give them the support they need now and into the future. They're just a couple of examples on the energy front of how we are supporting small and medium-sized businesses, and it's great to see this bill extending that even further.
That's not all this bill does. Another part of the changes we are introducing today is something else I know will be welcomed with open arms by local small businesses—the $20,000 instant asset write-off. Schedule 1 of this bill increases the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000 until 30 June 2024, to improve cash flow and reduce compliance costs for small businesses. This is something we announced as part of the 2023-24 budget, and I'm delighted to see it being delivered. Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 this financial year. It will apply on a per asset basis, so businesses can write off multiple assets—simplicity, reducing red tape, as they say, and increasing cash flow when it's needed most. Music to small business ears, I'm sure. That's what we are delivering today, because we know it's what they need and want and we know that it will make a difference. Of course assets over $20,000 can continue to be placed into the small-business simplified depreciation pool, depreciated at 15 per cent in the first income year and 30 per cent each income year thereafter.
On top of support for small businesses, this bill is also supporting registered charities. The bill provides a path for up to 28 community foundations to be endorsed by the Commissioner of Taxation as deductible gift recipients, providing an incentive for donations to these foundations for the important work they do in our community. This is working towards our government's goal of doubling philanthropy by 2030.
I will always do everything I can to support local businesses, to celebrate them and to thank them for the work they do in our community. We've seen the difference small businesses make to communities. There's no better example than during the 2019-20 bushfires, when small businesses stepped up to support our recovery, donated goods, acted as community hubs, stayed open for incredible hours and were just simply there for local people and tourists alike through some of our hardest times. We thank them so much for that. In amongst all the tragedy and hardship we were surrounded with, it was a beautiful display of the true South Coast spirit, and we genuinely thank them from the bottom of our hearts for that.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our regions, and we need to do everything we can to help them through some of these hard economic times. That's what this government is doing, and this bill is just one piece of that puzzle. I am proud to be supporting it. I commend the bill to the House.
]]>Nowra is definitely known as a navy town, and for good reason. That's something we're proud of. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Australian Army's Special Operations Command trains the best of the best special operations defence members to parachute, maintain their jump proficiency, become a parachuting instructor and learn rigging, ground support, air dispatch and all the many elements in parachuting. It's where you'll find commandos, the SAS and many other special operations defence members learning to parachute, maintain proficiency and upgrade their parachuting skills. Around 84 personnel are involved with the ADF Parachuting School, from serving defence members to reservists, Australian Public Service employees and even the CASA planes crew.
Four courses were running at the parachuting school when I was there, involving well over 100 defence members, teaching everything from the basic parachuting course to parachuting instructor courses, ground support and more. There was drill after drill on mats about how to fall and land the static-line jump; rows and rows of parachute harnesses hanging from the high ceiling where parachuters practised, even with the heaviest packs; drills on land in a makeshift plane on how to prepare, enter and exit the plane to parachute; simulators to simulate every parachuting situation that can go wrong; and the towers to practise.
On the second day I went up in the CASA plane with defence members, with some having travelled far on the day to jump and keep up their proficiency. Others were parachuting to become an instructor or gain new proficiency. I was down for a tandem jump on the third morning with a very experienced tandem parachuter, and I must say that tandem-jump proficiency is a highly valuable and much-needed skill. I've got to say that I have never been the thrillseeking type of person. I'm not one for fast rides at the show and certainly not one for heights. But the training that these special operations defence members were doing was first-rate. I thought I should just put away my fears and do it. I had multiple safety briefs and I had made sure I hadn't eaten breakfast, just in case. We climbed to 13,000 feet, which is about four kilometres high, above HMAS Albatross. I listened to every instruction. I felt like my life depended on it, and it did, but oddly I actually felt quite calm, which surprised even me. When the back of the plane opened, all I could see were the clouds—yes, we were hopping out here.
The freefall was sensational through the clouds. There was even another freefall parachuter with a camera that somehow—I'm not sure how—came up in front of me and waved. Then the parachute went up, and, woah, up we went. Now, I do have a small grievance here. We started spinning rapidly round and round—and down. I was trying to remain calm, knowing that my tandem parachuter was the best of the best and had everything in hand, which he absolutely did. I'm not sure how he did it, but somehow he got rid of the main parachute. It went sailing into the air somewhere, and he pulled the reserve parachute out, and we landed with that. When we landed I was told to hop up and go and fight the enemy, which is a very fair point because that's the reality for our special operations defence members. Parachuting is a means to an end, or perhaps just the start, for military reasons and humanitarian reasons: parachuting in at night, parachuting in from extremely high heights and freezing temperatures, parachuting into the water or parachuting in supplies and infrastructure.
I did have a slight problem with the landing. I accidentally put my left foot down at the last moment, which is not what you do. It turned out later that I had fractured my fibula just above my ankle, but, again, that's nothing compared to what defence members go through. I was told, with regard to the canopy malfunction, that that was not meant to happen, to which I said, 'I thought it was just part of the ride.' At that stage I probably did not grasp the severity of the situation. But the truth is that the ADF Parachuting School and our special operations defence members practise every scenario just in case something goes wrong. I believe I have had the full experience as part of my ADF parliamentary exchange, but people will be relieved, no doubt, that, once I'm fully recovered, I have been invited back to do another ADF Parachuting School tandem jump into the water at Jervis Bay. What could possibly go wrong there?
I want to sincerely thank every defence member and the entire team at the ADF Parachuting School. What I learnt in three days was just the best. I have the absolute admiration for our ADF parachuters, the ADF Parachuting School team and the many insights they taught me. I never imagined I would learn so much or jump out of a perfectly good plane. I surprised myself. While the special operations members' identities are protected for very good reason, I will forever be grateful to them. The truth is they train to protect us all. We should never forget that. I encourage local people and people from right across Australia to consider a defence career. You just never know to what heights and where it will take you.
]]>Sadly, over my years in this job, I have heard regularly from pensioners who tell me they feel like they are punished if they work more. They have worked hard their entire lives and they are now entitled to the age pension, but, if they keep working—even just a little bit—that pension is reduced, making it not worth it. They may as well not work because the extra hours don't actually give them anything extra in their pocket. It's incredibly frustrating for many, not just because they like or, in many cases, need the extra income but also because they are trying to keep themselves busy, trying to help their community and trying to do their bit.
Regional areas like ours are also struggling through an unprecedented workers crisis. We actually can't afford to lose our qualified nurses and doctors, our cleaners, our farmers, our tradies or our hospitality workers. Local businesses are struggling to stay afloat and struggling to find people with skills—just struggling to find anyone. It's something I am hearing all too often from local businesses across the South Coast.
Put all that together—an ageing population that feels punished for working and a workforce that is crying out for skilled and willing labour—and you've got the perfect storm. That's where this bill comes in and why I am so proud today to rise in support of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Transition to Work) Bill 2023. This is the perfect solution to that perfect storm and one that is so very welcome in my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast. It answers the call of hundreds of local pensioners and hundreds of local businesses. It'll help keep our economy moving and help local pensioners keep up with the cost of living. What could be better?
In the very first few months after winning last year's federal election, the Albanese government announced we would hold the Jobs and Skills Summit. We did this because we knew Australia was facing unprecedented challenges in the employment sector and we wanted to bring all sides of this together in one room to map out our employment white paper, which was released in September this year. The white paper outlines our vision for a dynamic and inclusive labour market where everyone has the opportunity for secure, fairly paid work. To ensure that local voices were heard during the Jobs and Skills Summit, I held the Gilmore jobs summit survey to find out what local people and businesses needed and what challenges they were facing and to hear their innovative solutions. Guess what? High on the list of solutions was allowing pensioners to work more hours without it impacting on their pension rate. Many people who responded to my survey talked about the underutilisation of, and barriers for, older workers. Many respondents talked about age discrimination and the disincentives to work that were built into the welfare system. Suggestions were made to change the impact of work on access to the pension, allowing more hours to be worked before deductions were triggered.
Older Australians have the skills, and many have the will to contribute, but they are kept outside the workforce because of these structural barriers. Peter said we should 'realign the pension system to give incentives for able-age workers to contribute to the workforce'. Rodney said we should 'increase the amount of wages that people on the age pension can earn before their pensions are affected'. Felicity referred to our older Australians as an 'untapped resource'. She said:
… many have skills, capacity and desire to work in retail, hospitality, but a major disincentive is the loss of benefits applicable should they work more than very minimal hours per week.
She went on to say:
With many of our businesses unable to operate for full opening hours or days, and a significant older population in the region, surely this is a potential solution?
Felicity said this is a 'win-win option—increased trading and income for businesses, plus earnings for employees that then have spending capacity and increased feelings of connection and worth in our community'. You know what, Felicity? We agree. I put these ideas in Gilmore's submission to the Jobs and Skills Summit, and, following the summit, the government put in place temporary measures that allowed age pensioners to work more hours without it impacting their pension. A commonsense solution brought forward by local people, listened to by government and implemented—how great is that? It's democracy at work.
This bill makes those temporary measures permanent. It implements the changes which were announced in our employment white paper in September. To put it simply, we are giving older Australians more choice and flexibility to participate in the workforce by permanently enhancing the pension work bonus. It includes an up-front credit of $4,000 to all new pension entrants over age pension age and to eligible veterans, and it permanently increases the maximum work bonus income balance from $7,800 to $11,800. This means that existing pensioners will continue to benefit from the elevated maximum work bonus balance of $11,800, with new pension entrants over age pension age to receive a starting balance of $4,000 instead of zero.
Older Australians give so much to our community, and having them continue to work for as long as they want and are able is only a good thing. It gives businesses invaluable skills, knowledge and experience while allowing them to keep the doors open. It helps to keep these highly valued members of our community engaged with purpose and connection. It has health and mental health benefits for them and others as well—not to mention the economic benefits. There are only wins any way you look at it. Having a system that is set up to disincentivise or, at worst, punish them for wanting to stay active and contribute to our economy makes no sense whatsoever. People in our community recognise that. They called for it, and we have delivered it here today. These changes will take effect from 1 January 2024, with no gap between the existing temporary measure and the commencement of the new ongoing provisions.
I could not be prouder to be part of a government that has listened to the views and concerns of the Australian people and businesses and that has made changes to better support them. We are serious about setting up a workforce structure for the future, one that is ready and prepared to meet the challenges Australia will face and is facing. Our employment white paper makes this a transparent process. It has made it a collaborative process. We have listened to industry, we have listened to consumers, we have listened to workers and we have made well-thought-out, economically viable, commonsense changes that will make a difference.
Over the last 18 months we have made a lot of really important changes to help and support those doing it tough. We've increased the rate of working age and student payments by $40 per fortnight. We've increased the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 15 per cent, expanded eligibility for Parenting Payments Single to single principal carers until the youngest child turns 14—up from eight previously. We've increased the income threshold for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card to help an additional 10,893 older Australians access the card. That is just to name a few.
This bill introduces another support by expanding the nil rate period from six to 12 fortnights, and expanding access to the nil rate period for those who enter full employment. What this means is people who have been receiving support payments such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Abstudy, the Parenting Payment, the age pension, the Disability Support Pension and the carer payment can re-enter the workforce knowing that their safety net is still behind them should they need it. It means people can stay active in a system, retaining benefits like concession cards, childcare subsidies and other supplementary payments for a bit longer. If things don't work out for whatever reason—as we know can sometimes happen—people won't have to reapply or wait for the income support to come back. It helps to remove yet another disincentive, particularly for short-term contracts, casual work or work in the gig economy. The safety net remains a backup that is there when it is needed—as it should be.
When work comes up, no matter what it might look like, people should have no hesitation in saying yes. It shouldn't be in the back of their mind that when their contract is up they will be left with nothing but a long bureaucratic process. This will help reduce those barriers, keeping access to the supplementary benefits and automatically restoring payments if circumstances change. This is just one more way that the Albanese government is making sure help is there when it is needed most—by those who need it most.
There is no doubt we are facing tough economic times. Regional areas are harder hit than most, and local people want to know that their government is working to do everything possible to support them. Our 10-point plan on the cost of living is our highest priority, targeted to where people need it most. I have already mentioned several of these measures, but they are only the beginning.
We have given electricity bill rebates of up to $500 to around five million households—a common issue I hear and something that can make a big difference. We have made child care cheaper, helping families on $120,000 with one child in care save around $1,700 a year. At the same time, we are expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 2026—good news for families and our economy. We have made medicines cheaper. I'm so proud of this in particular because we all heard the cries that the sky would fall in if medicines were cheaper, but those changes came in and—guess what? The sky hasn't fallen in. Instead, millions of Australians had the cost of their medicines for many chronic conditions halved with 60-day dispensing. On top of that, we have also brought the maximum copayment on prescriptions down from $42.50 to $30—significant cost savings now. We have tripled the bulk-billing incentive, which came into effect just this month and is helping children, pensioners and concession cardholders see a bulk-billed GP.
What else? Our Housing Australian Future Fund has officially started, building and supporting the supply of more affordable homes through our $10 billion fund, as well as our $3 billion new homes bonus and our $2 billion dollars social housing accelerator. I was a TAFE teacher, so you can bet that I am super excited that we have made TAFE fee-free for tens of thousands of students. TAFE, and vocational education in all its forms, changes lives. I've seen it firsthand, and we have made it so much easier to access. It's an exhaustive list, but it has been well thought out. It won't add to inflation; it will go to where it's needed most and to who needs it most. It's good for our country, it's good for people in my electorate and it's good for our future. I'll keep working hard every single day to ensure that local people in my electorate get the support they need when they need it. I commend this bill to the House.
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