Josh Burns's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2026-02-05T22:06:03+00:00
items: Antisemitism | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
items: Swinburne University of Technology | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: JOY Media | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: g26.1
items: Education | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Consideration of Legislation | Business | House debates
items: Albanese Government | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Medicare | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Housing | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Albert Park | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Medical Workforce | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: B'nai B'rith: 80th Anniversary | Private Members' Business | House debates

Antisemitism | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. How is the Australian Federal Police working to crack down on antisemitic crimes, and what progress has there been?
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. How is the Australian Federal Police working to crack down on antisemitic crimes, and what progress has there been?
date: 2026-01-20T15:10:00+00:00

Antisemitism | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. What is the Australian government's response to combating antisemitism, and why is a bipartisan approach important?
encoded: My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. What is the Australian government's response to combating antisemitism, and why is a bipartisan approach important?
date: 2026-01-20T14:39:00+00:00

Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I listened carefully to my friend the member for Berowra's speech on the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026. For all of us who have lived...
encoded: I listened carefully to my friend the member for Berowra's speech on the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026. For all of us who have lived antisemitism over the last two years, this is an incredibly difficult moment in our country's history and for our community. I take the words the member for Berowra said seriously. I have never sought to politicise antisemitism and I will work and stand by anyone, from any part of this House or from any part of politics, in order to get things done to protect our community. But the bills that will pass this parliament, hopefully, with the support of the coalition, are not the full set of bills that should have passed this parliament today. The member for Berowra is quite right in saying that antisemitism should be confronted in more than just the way these bills present today. But the truth of the matter is that the vilification clauses that were originally attached to these bills had to be taken out because the Liberal Party refused to support serious vilification laws in this place. That came after the Leader of the Opposition came to my electorate last week, stood up in a synagogue and said that hate needed to be confronted and that there needed to be consequences. She said that, if she were the prime minister, there would be. Within hours, the Liberal Party refused to support laws in this place that would do exactly that. If you break down what the Leader of the Opposition said—that, if she were the prime minister, there would be consequences for hate—there is not going to be an election for over two years. So the Leader of the Opposition is actually saying that she's not going to look at tackling hate or antisemitism in Australia for 2½ years—not while we are government and not before the next election. The Jewish community shouldn't have to wait that long for the Leader of the Opposition to do what she said she wanted to do inside a synagogue last week. The Leader of the Oppos…
date: 2026-01-20T11:52:00+00:00

Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
type: item
description: Most Australians wouldn't have heard of the Chabad movement before 14 December, but the philosophy of the Chabad movement is one that sends missionaries to bring Judaism to Jewish people in all...
encoded: Most Australians wouldn't have heard of the Chabad movement before 14 December, but the philosophy of the Chabad movement is one that sends missionaries to bring Judaism to Jewish people in all corners of the world, to enrich Jewish life and to make it easy to experience Jewish life wherever they are. You may not realise it, but there is something beautiful and something completely opposite about Chabad holding an ancient festival celebrating Hanukkah, which is about the oil that was found after the destruction of the temple, on one of the most iconic beaches in Australia, synonymous with sunbaking and hanging out with friends. That is what Chabad does; it brings Judaism to all different corners of the world and embeds it in the society that is there. The Jewish community in Sydney is, just like all other Chabad communities, rich because of the effort that is put in to make Jewish life beautiful and celebratory, filled with mitzvahs and good deeds. That's what was going on on 14 December. The driving force behind Chabad at Bondi was Rabbi Eli Schlanger. I was privileged to attend his funeral, and even at his funeral he was raised as someone who brought Judaism not just to the community of Bondi but to prisoners and to people who otherwise would be out of reach. He did so because he wanted to enrich their lives. We are taking this moment in this House to appreciate the beauty that in Australia you can have one of the most iconic and modern and beautiful beaches embedded with an ancient tradition filled with people who just wanted to feel a part of their own history and spirituality. That was the target. I remember, on the evening of 14 December, I was driving home, and my phone rang. It was one of my staff, who was born in Sydney. She said: 'There are shots being fired on Bondi, and we think it's near the Hanukkah celebration. The WhatsApp groups are growing crazy.' At that moment, I knew I had to make calls to my colleagues and to the Prime Minister's office, but my…
date: 2026-01-19T10:49:00+00:00

Swinburne University of Technology | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to raise serious concerns about Swinburne University. After multiple scandals in the news about the conduct of university leadership, Swinburne have now decided to kick out a community run...
encoded: I rise to raise serious concerns about Swinburne University. After multiple scandals in the news about the conduct of university leadership, Swinburne have now decided to kick out a community run childcare centre with no regard for the interests of the local community and the public that they are meant to support. Swinburne was gifted public land in Windsor by the Victorian state government to support TAFE training and community education. They have even used federal grants to build Windsor Community Children's Centre, a centre that has trained generations of early childhood educators. They now refer to the site as an investment property. The land was transferred to Swinburne at no cost on the explicit understanding that it would remain in educational use, not as a commercial asset. After multiple assurances from Swinburne in March that they would be willing to sell for below market value, they are now seeking a commercial windfall by evicting a community service that they helped create. What do Swinburne have to hide? If a university's first instinct is to extract maximum commercial value at the expense of families, workforce development and community trust, then something is fundamentally wrong. Eighty families face displacement from an essential learning service and a longstanding student training pipeline built by Swinburne itself. Stonnington council, in partnership with our government, has formally offered $8.4 million for this site. Swinburne should accept that offer and allow the Windsor Community Children's Centre to remain exactly where it should be.
date: 2025-11-27T13:45:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I congratulate the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on his statement and thank him for his tireless efforts in order to bring down emissions—a very difficult job but one he is doing...
encoded: I congratulate the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on his statement and thank him for his tireless efforts in order to bring down emissions—a very difficult job but one he is doing excellently and with great skill. Just like the shadow minister's process, he didn't quite finish before it had to be interrupted by people who are above him. I know a lot of members opposite were very angry with the shadow minister for taking too long with his internal review on net zero. He didn't quite get there. The Leader of the Opposition had to step in on the timing because the shadow minister was just taking forever and making his colleagues very angry. After that ridiculous contribution, those opposite have outed themselves as the climate change deniers that they are. When they talk about credibility, they have none in the Australian community. Moving on to more important matters, the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, as I was saying before those important statements, is a bill that says we are here to support the small businesses across the country. For those who don't know—and I'm sure many members of this parliament have worked in hospitality at some point in their careers—back in my university days I did have a brief stint working at one of St Kilda's fantastic establishments, the Beachcomber restaurant. I spent a summer running plates to and from the kitchen and, when there were functions, also working behind the bar. It was hard work. It was work where, after a six-hour shift, you were really tired. You had to put in a big effort, but it was really good, honest work. I know that, for people who are working in hospitality, the moments where you get to interact with people and see people enjoying our beautiful city and our beautiful businesses are really an enjoyable part of that job. It's really important for communities like mine that hospitality businesses are able to run them sustainably to support their workforce and not have too many costs that co…
date: 2025-11-27T12:31:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: At the Espy—I take interjection from the government whip. I did mention the Espy! I reported to the House earlier that, after the renovations, the floors are less sticky, but the times are...
encoded: At the Espy—I take interjection from the government whip. I did mention the Espy! I reported to the House earlier that, after the renovations, the floors are less sticky, but the times are just as good. We're very pleased to support these businesses, and I will continue in a moment. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned.
date: 2025-11-27T11:51:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I won't take that interjection, but St Kilda East has become a real hot spot for night life. There are some great local bars as well. The local taphouse was one of the first places where you...
encoded: I won't take that interjection, but St Kilda East has become a real hot spot for night life. There are some great local bars as well. The local taphouse was one of the first places where you could get fantastic beers on tap that were some of the best that you could get in Melbourne, and the food there is also excellent. I definitely recommend coming down to St Kilda East as well. People unfairly think of St Kilda and near the beach, but St Kilda East is such a great part of my local electorate and has so many great establishments on Fitzroy Street, which is obviously the night-life capital of Melbourne, and so many iconic venues, such as the Prince of Wales, which also has a smaller establishment in Chronicles Bar, which I will give a shout out-to. It's a young, local team who established this and are popping up a few other venues as well. Chronicles Bar is always welcoming, and the team there work really hard. It's a great small, local business that's making it work on a street that desperately needs really good businesses and people walking up and down there, contributing to and supporting our local businesses. In Southbank, there are so many different options around and so many amazing food options as well. An old favourite of mine is the Belgium Beer Café. The team of Macnamara once did our Christmas party there, and it was a great day. The team there really looked after us, and they are wonderful people. All of these local stories and all of these local businesses—we want them to continue and thrive. The costs of excises to run these on-tap beers add up, and this is a core part of their product business, and we want to ensure that they are able to thrive and continue to manage all of the costs of running their businesses in a way that makes it sustainable so that they continue to be there. When you ask people, 'What are the things that you love about our local community?' it's having the places that are familiar, having places that are unique and having places …
date: 2025-11-27T11:51:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: What an honour and pleasure it is to follow the member for Melbourne, my new neighbour in this place. The Yarra River used to be the border between Melbourne and Macnamara, but now we have this...
encoded: What an honour and pleasure it is to follow the member for Melbourne, my new neighbour in this place. The Yarra River used to be the border between Melbourne and Macnamara, but now we have this wonderful amalgamation of the southern and CBD parts of Melbourne. One thing that the member for Melbourne and I share is some of the best places for people to come and visit in our magnificent city, whether people go to the Melbourne electorate to see some of the most amazing sporting or cultural events in the country or they navigate south to the arts capital of the country, in Southbank, and right through so many other parts of my electorate. What people know is that, if you're going to come to our neck of the woods, you're going to have so many options of amazing small and big establishments to visit and enjoy. It's something that we stand on in this place, wanting to support our amazing local businesses and establishments that make Melbourne vibrant, make it exciting and make it fun but also provide jobs to our wonderful hospitality workers. The Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 is all about supporting our local businesses and the amazing hardworking staff who work in them. It is really hard work to be a hospitality worker. People who work in our local establishments work really hard to serve people and ensure that those businesses can function. They do so to help represent our city and ensure that people who are visiting our city, as well as the locals who want to support their local pub or bar, have a great time. At first glance, this bill might seem a little technical, but the beer excise is something that can add up and make a financial difference to a lot of small businesses. Around the country, we have members who are privileged to represent these great local and vibrant small businesses—pubs and breweries and all those sorts of establishments—and something that we take great joy and pride in is supporting them and ensuring that they have lower costs…
date: 2025-11-27T11:51:00+00:00

JOY Media | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: Macnamara is a proudly diverse and wonderful place. Sitting in the heart of Macnamara is the Victorian Pride Centre. Sitting in the heart of the Victorian Pride Centre is JOY Media, which is...
encoded: Macnamara is a proudly diverse and wonderful place. Sitting in the heart of Macnamara is the Victorian Pride Centre. Sitting in the heart of the Victorian Pride Centre is JOY Media, which is Australia's premier community LGBTIQA+ radio station. It was founded in 1993 amidst the AIDS crisis, with its original purpose of bringing together an isolated community through connection and inclusion. It amplifies the incredible voices of the LGBTIQ community both inside and around Macnamara. It also brings people across the political divide. I've co-hosted shows on JOYwith the member for Goldstein, for a brief period the other member for Goldstein and now the original member for Goldstein. There's Senator Smith and, of course, many other crossbenchers as well. It is an outstanding organisation, and we were proud to support it with a $250,000 election commitment to ensure that JOY Media can thrive, survive and expand its reach and network so people can hear the voices, the views and the good and welcoming nature of the LGBTI community. That grant process is underway, and I'm pleased to report good progress on it. We will fulfil that election commitment as per we set out in the election. I want to say to all the team at JOY Media that we are proud to support you. We look forward to it growing, and we look forward to JOY Media entering into the next chapter. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate the parliament on the passing of the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill. This is a bill that will mean a lot to families. We are ensuring that any family that has a stillborn child or a child that passes away, tragically, after birth, is still able to take paid parental leave. I think that some of the contributions across the chamber have really been outstanding, on all sides of politics, and I congratulate the parliament for passing this. I do think it's worth mentioning the fact that, as is often the case, these sorts of sensitive topics have been hijacked by peopl…
date: 2025-11-05T10:08:00+00:00

g26.1
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: I thank all of my colleagues who clearly have given up a bit of time in their day to come and listen to the contribution on the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025. I'll start my remarks by...
encoded: I thank all of my colleagues who clearly have given up a bit of time in their day to come and listen to the contribution on the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025. I'll start my remarks by saying that I'm very fond of the member for Monash and hold her in high regard, but her comments about rushing this bill through the House is actually quite ironic. A bit of history for the member for Monash is that when the Leader of the Opposition was the then environment minister, she too brought a bill that was meant to be the then federal government's response to the Samuel review that they commissioned. What did the Leader of the Opposition do? She brought in a bill that undermined the key principle and the key recommendation of the Samuel review, which is that the federal government and this place need to have strong federal, national environmental standards that are upheld by the federal government and by the parliament. What did the then minister for the environment, now Leader of the Opposition, do? She brought in a bill that would have given all of the powers to the states, completely taking the federal government away from environmental standards and away from environmental decision-making. There's worse than that. When the member for Monash talked about rushing through, I looked at this speaking list, and there is ample opportunity for any single member on that side of the House to contribute their views to this debate. In fact, we welcome the contributions of those opposite and we have extended the sittings to ensure that every member of this place gets a chance to contribute to this debate. Of course, that wasn't the approach of the former government. That wasn't the approach of the Leader of the Opposition when she was the environment minister, or when Christian Porter, who was the then Leader of the House, used the numbers of the Morrison government to crunch debate and to ensure that members didn't get a say on the government's environmental approvals and di…
date: 2025-11-05T12:22:00+00:00

Education | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to help Australians with a student debt and to make our education system better and fairer?
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to help Australians with a student debt and to make our education system better and fairer?
date: 2025-11-04T15:24:00+00:00

Consideration of Legislation | Business | House debates
type: item
description: Is this an audition for leader? Has he had a haircut as well?
encoded: Is this an audition for leader? Has he had a haircut as well?
date: 2025-11-04T12:14:00+00:00

Albanese Government | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: It's always fascinating to listen to the member for Barker or, as we like to think of him, the numbers man for the member for Hume. The member for Barker is up and about. He might have a busy...
encoded: It's always fascinating to listen to the member for Barker or, as we like to think of him, the numbers man for the member for Hume. The member for Barker is up and about. He might have a busy couple of weeks coming up as the member for Hume's numbers man. He might be rolling the sleeves up and making a few phone calls to some of his colleagues. I know the Leader of the Opposition's team must have been absolutely thrilled that the member for Barker was the member for Hume's numbers man. That would have been one of the first signs that maybe they were going to have a successful campaign. Let's move onto more important things. I'm so proud to be part of this motion led by the member for Banks, who is an outstanding new member of this place and one who is going to make a huge contribution to this parliament and serve the people of the community I know he loves and respects. And I know and he feels grateful to be here in this place. It has been six months since the election. When you think about the job that the Australian people asked us to do, it was all of the simple things that would make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people that we are privileged to represent—all of the simple things that would help Australians with the cost of living, with getting through the day and helping their families and communities get through and do in this amazing country of ours. I was speaking to thousands of people in the lead-up to the election, asking them simple questions like: 'What matters to you? What do you care about? What's really on your agenda?' I remember speaking to hundreds of young people at university, people with student debt, and the thing that came back was, 'Look, 20 per cent off HECS—that sounds pretty good.' It wasn't everything but it was meaningful, and it was the first piece of legislation that we brought into this place. Over the next few weeks, students are going to be receiving text messages with the amount coming off their HECS. That is a fanta…
date: 2025-11-03T11:32:00+00:00

Medicare | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: On the border of Macnamara and Goldstein, unfortunately on the wrong side of the tracks, lives a fantastic medical centre called the Elsternwick Medical Centre. No thanks to the member for...
encoded: On the border of Macnamara and Goldstein, unfortunately on the wrong side of the tracks, lives a fantastic medical centre called the Elsternwick Medical Centre. No thanks to the member for Goldstein, but thanks to this Albanese Labor government, the Elsternwick Medical Centre has gone 100 per cent bulk-billed—100 per cent bulk-billing for the 77,000 consultations that the Elsternwick Medical Centre did last year. This is a fantastic medical centre. The GPs and the staff there are doing an incredible job, and I was pleased to go and visit them recently. Of course, there were other plans by other people that weren't about bulk-billing. The approach of the Leader of the Opposition, when she was the health minister—obviously after the $7 GP co-payment was scrapped—was to lower the rebate of Medicare and then get the doctors to pass it on to patients. At that time the Leader of the Opposition said: The price signal is about somebody paying a bit extra when they go to the doctor and not receiving a bulk-billed consultation when they can afford to pay … That's what we mean by the price signal and I think that's vital. I'll tell you what this side of the House thinks is vital—that people can go and see a doctor with their Medicare card, not their credit card. This side of the House thinks it's vital that Australians can access the health care they need, at fantastic clinics like the Elsternwick Medical Centre.
date: 2025-10-30T13:57:00+00:00

Housing | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: I move the motion relating to first home buyers in the terms which it appears on the Notice Paper: That this House: (1) acknowledges the Government's commitment to help first home buyers realise...
encoded: I move the motion relating to first home buyers in the terms which it appears on the Notice Paper: That this House: (1) acknowledges the Government's commitment to help first home buyers realise their dream of ownership by: (a) bringing forward the launch of the 5 per cent deposits scheme for all first home buyers to 1 October 2025, instead of next year; (b) expanding the 5 per cent deposits scheme with unlimited places and increased property price caps; (c) guaranteeing a portion of a first home buyer's home loan through the 5 per cent deposits scheme, so they can purchase with a lower deposit and avoid lenders' mortgage insurance; and (d) offering eligible single parent families with a saved 2 per cent deposit access to the Family Home Guarantee; and (2) notes that 180,000 Australians have already been helped into home ownership through the Government's housing policies. In the thousands of conversations that I had with the wonderful people of Macnamara leading up to the election, I often asked them a pretty simple question: 'What do you care about? What's important to you?' and, time and time again, what people in my electorate came back to me with was: 'We'd like to buy our own home; we'd like to be able to purchase our own home, get out of the rental market and set up our lives so that we're accumulating an asset and paying off our own mortgage and not someone else's.' This is a trend and a sentiment that is expressed by not just the wonderful people of Macnamara but also people right around our country. People know that to be able to get into the housing market means being able to work overtime to pay off a mortgage, to build up an asset, and to potentially retire with their own home—to have their own house as a place of safety and security. But we also know that, as a long-term trend in this country, the cost of housing, in proportion to one's own salary, has gone up dramatically and that what used to be affordable 30 or 40 years ago, at around three or four …
date: 2025-10-27T11:15:00+00:00

Albert Park | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: If you know about Albert Park you know we are home to the Grand Prix and we put our magnificent electorate of Macnamara on show to the world. Thousands of people come and enjoy our wonderful...
encoded: If you know about Albert Park you know we are home to the Grand Prix and we put our magnificent electorate of Macnamara on show to the world. Thousands of people come and enjoy our wonderful parklands, but, for the local people of McNamara, of Albert Park, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, St Kilda, Middle Park and all the different surrounding suburbs, what we know about Albert Park is that that's the home for our community sport. That's where we go and spend our weekends playing basketball, football, soccer, baseball and rugby. Albert Park is the home of badminton, table tennis, swimming and gym. It is a place where people go, but is also home to sailing. We were so proud at the 2019 election to invest $5 million on upgrading community sport infrastructure in Albert Park. The way we did that was not based on political views of what we want to invest in but rather what the community needed. We partnered with Parks Victoria and, as part of their master plan, we identified all of the different projects that were really necessary to improve access to the park; to ensure that young girls and women can have better access to better, appropriate facilities; to increase participation; and especially to make sure that they are accessible for the entire community. We are in the process of finishing this fantastic set of works that is improving lighting for local sporting clubs, including the South Melbourne Women's Football Club. We're improving change room access. We're building women's change rooms in a couple of different spots around the park. We are upgrading facilities as well. I also had the absolute privilege of joining the Albert Park Yacht Club and the Albert Park sailing crew down at the Pontoon, where they joined the principal of Albert Park College for the launch of our new Pontoon. What this means, thanks to our investment in upgrading the Pontoon and the entry point into the lake, is that all of those public-school kids get to participate in this fantastic prog…
date: 2025-09-04T09:51:00+00:00

Medical Workforce | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to train more nurses and doctors to strengthen Medicare for decades to come?
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to train more nurses and doctors to strengthen Medicare for decades to come?
date: 2025-09-03T14:22:00+00:00

Medicare | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Saved by the bell on that one, I think! Speaker, I'll tell you who loves Medicare urgent care clinics. It's the great state of Victoria. Victorians love Medicare urgent care clinics. In fact,...
encoded: Saved by the bell on that one, I think! Speaker, I'll tell you who loves Medicare urgent care clinics. It's the great state of Victoria. Victorians love Medicare urgent care clinics. In fact, there have been 393,000 presentations to urgent care clinics by the great people of Victoria. But I'll tell you who doesn't like Medicare urgent care clinics: the Liberal Party. The Leader of the Opposition says the Liberal Party believes you don't value something unless you pay for it. Fair dinkum! And they went even further. The shadow minister for health and aged care said during the election, 'We never said that Australians will get access to free GP services without exception.' Goodness me! They are walking well away from Medicare urgent care clinics—but not all of them. There is a Victorian among their ranks who said something different. He said bulk-billing services ensure 'everyone in our community can access affordable health care' in his petition for a Medicare urgent care clinic. It was the member for Casey. We know he really wants to be on this side of the House. But he understands, just like all Victorians, the importance of Medicare urgent care clinics. They know that the Labor Party is the party of Medicare. We know that we will always support Victorians and all Australians in getting high-quality health care in this country. (Time expired)
date: 2025-09-02T13:59:00+00:00

B'nai B'rith: 80th Anniversary | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: It is rare for the Federation Chamber to be standing room only, but it is a great privilege for us to have members of B'nai B'rith here to be part of this fitting and important tribute to B'nai...
encoded: It is rare for the Federation Chamber to be standing room only, but it is a great privilege for us to have members of B'nai B'rith here to be part of this fitting and important tribute to B'nai B'rith's 80 years in this country. I am a product of a community designed and fed by B'nai B'rith. I grew up in Melbourne's Jewish community, which was and still is a vibrant community—one which is full of people who give back to the community and who speak up on its behalf in a way that feeds Australian public life and celebrates multiculturalism and diversity whilst never forgetting the history of Melbourne's Jewish community: one of persecution and one of Holocaust survivors coming and making their place here in this country of ours, finding a safe haven in doing so. For me, B'nai B'rith is an organisation that helps shape the very vibrant and wonderful community that I'm in and helps shape the identity that I'm proud to have, as a proud Jewish Australian. Since coming to and being established in Australia in 1944, B'nai B'rith has been more than just a community organisation. It has been a home to the largest percentage of Holocaust survivors of any other city outside of Israel, and it has also been a place where the vibrancy and breadth of the activity it's involved in has been truly astonishing. The first B'nai B'rith youth group was formed in Sydney, followed by one in Melbourne in 1945. The opening of the first offices for B'nai B'rith was in Darlinghurst in 1948, and the Hillel Foundation was established in 1961, serving as a residential campus for Jewish university students. Affordable accommodation for elderly Jewish Australians was set up in Sydney in 1964 and then, a few years later, in Melbourne. In 1977 there was also an opportunity shop known as the B'nai B'rith Bargain Bazaar, a fantastic and catchy title. In 1981, B'nai B'rith organised—as the member for Berowra so eloquently put before—the first-ever Holocaust exhibition in Australia, held at Sydney Town Ha…
date: 2025-09-01T13:02:00+00:00