Basem Abdo's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Brotherhood of St Laurence: Youth Transitions Support Pilot Program | Constituency Statements | House debates
Last week I joined the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Anne Aly, in my electorate for a visit to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, where, together, we heard directly from young people in our...
Last week I joined the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Anne Aly, in my electorate for a visit to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, where, together, we heard directly from young people in our community who have participated in their Youth Transitions Support Pilot Program. The YTS Pilot Program supports young refugees aged 15 to 25, providing guidance and practical support to help them participate fully in our community through work, education and sport. The program delivers pathways for young refugees to connect with employers, gain work and volunteer experience, and access career guidance, mentoring, training, coaching and support, often at moments when it is needed most. Among those we met was Jawid Noorzai, a 21-year-old originally from Afghanistan, who was connected to the YTS program through another local institution, the Kangan Institute, during his studies. Jawid was initially uncertain about his education and employment pathway. With encouragement and support from YTS, he was accepted into a Diploma of Information Technology at RMIT University. Since then, Jawid has pursued a full-time career in the insulation industry and is giving back, through his involvement as a casual youth adviser, to support other young people along similar settlement journeys. We were also introduced to Dina, a 20-year old who came to Australia from Iraq with her family five years ago and now lives in Craigieburn. Dina faced challenges engaging with the education system due to earlier disruptions in life. After connecting with YTS, she was able to develop her skills, build confidence and pursue her aspirations, securing work as a youth adviser with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, followed by full-time employment in the hospitality industry. Similar stories were shared by other participants, including Lencho and Sandra, who connected with YTS activities while undertaking their Adult Migrant English Program studies at local institutions in my community. I want to congratulate these young people not only for their personal achievements but for their generosity in giving back as youth advisers when given the opportunity. Their stories are a powerful reminder of what is possible when we invest in people. The Albanese Labor government is committed to community led, place based programs that provide early, practical support, meeting young people where they are and backing their potential. That's because, when we invest in young people in their formative years, we are investing in the skills, confidence and potential that strengthen communities for the long term, reducing disadvantage, increasing participation and supporting better outcomes across education and employment.
Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill. This reform reflects our government's ongoing commitment to maintaining and...
I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill. This reform reflects our government's ongoing commitment to maintaining and strengthening the services that millions of Australians rely on each and every day. In my electorate, interactions with our healthcare system is a lived experience for many. It is something many people live with and seek access to every single day. It determines whether people can get to work, whether children can stay focused at school, whether students can attend their lectures and complete their studies, and whether older Australians can age with dignity, security and continuity of care. The belief that health care should be universal, accessible, affordable and of high quality is a core principle for members on this side of the House. That is why we made a clear commitment to prioritising a range of practical reforms that enable health professionals to deliver timely, accessible and effective care, and this bill does exactly that. This legislation amends the National Health Act to let appropriately trained and endorsed registered nurses to prescribe certain medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, ensuring that those medicines attract Commonwealth subsidy and remain affordable for patients. This is a critical follow-up to the reforms introduced in December 2024, which established a new registration standard to enable qualified nurses to become designated registered nurse prescribers of medicines. Right across my electorate people tell me a familiar story. They are working hard. They are raising families. They are caring for ageing parents and relatives. For them, accessible health care plays an essential role in their day-to-day lives. We do not believe rising costs and a system perpetually under strain are inevitable. We believe they can be changed, reformed and strengthened. That is why it is so important to break down barriers that prevent families from accessing the health care they need. That's why, in allowing designated registered nurse prescribers to prescribe PBS subsidised medicines, we make better use of the skilled workforce already serving in our communities. We reduce unnecessary delays and we expand the access so people can get the treatment they need when they need it and at a price they can afford. This reform does not lower standards, it does not replace doctors and it does not compromise patient safety. It is carefully designed, nationally regulated and built on years of consultation and evidence. Since 2017, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, working alongside the Australian Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, has undertaken extensive research and consultation on how registered nurses can safely and effectively contribute to improved health outcomes by working to their full scope of practice. That process has been deliberate and it has been sustained. It has involved regulators, clinicians, educators, medical organisations, primary care stakeholders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health representatives. That matters, because health reform works best when it is done with the workforce not at the workforce. The national registration standard that underpins this bill reflects that approach. It is evidence based, nationally consistent and designed with patient safety as its priority. When people ask whether this reform has been properly considered, the answer is clear: it has been years in the making. It is also important to note that consultation is not a process for its own sake. It's about confidence, it's about uptake and it's about adoption. Even the most carefully designed reform will fail if the workforce does not trust it, if employers do not understand it or if patients are unsure about it. Through consultation led by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia since 2017, designated nurse prescribing has been shaped into a model that clinicians understand, employers can support and patients can trust. The registration standard clearly sets out education requirements, clinical governance arrangements and partnership models. That clarity gives nurses confidence to step into these roles safely. It gives employers confidence to implement them responsibly, and it gives patients confidence that the care they receive is properly regulated and accountable. Many Australians rely on nurses as their most regular point of contact with the health system. When reforms are clearly explained, nationally consistent and professionally endorsed, people are far more likely to engage with the healthcare system early rather than delay treatment. The Albanese Labor government's commitment to breaking down barriers to accessing health care neither starts nor ends here. Since coming into government, we have taken decisive action to strengthen our health system and expand access to care for all Australians. This bill builds on another major reform that came into effect that started this year: cheaper medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. From 1 January, the Albanese Labor government capped the cost of PBS medicines at $25, the lowest price since 2004. We've also continued to cap the cost of PBS medicines for pensioners and concession card holders at $7.70. This is policy designed to improve access to health care while also taking real action on the cost of living. It reduces barriers for families across the country when it comes to accessing prescription medicines. This is good health policy and good economic policy, because we know that, when people delay taking their medication, it leads to poorer health outcomes and an increase in the dependency patients have on our health system across the board and into the future. Our government has not only made medicines cheaper. We have also made it easier and more affordable to access in-person primary care. Since coming to government, the Albanese Labor government has rolled out Medicare urgent care clinics right across Australia. These clinics are playing a vital role in providing timely access to care while relieving pressure on our emergency hospital departments. This model of primary care helps free up emergency departments and general practices across the country, reducing wait times, and gives patients and their families more options when they need it. We have also expanded Medicare with 24/7 over-the-phone medical support at no out-of-pocket cost, 100 per cent bulk-billed, through 1800MEDICARE. On this side of the House, we understand that health care is accessed in different ways and at different times. Our policies reflect that reality and ensure care is accessible when Australians need it. I'm proud of these reforms, and the truth is that none of them would be possible without our record investment in Medicare. Medicare is the foundation of Australia's health system. It's not just a green card. It is access to world-class, reliable, affordable and dignified care. Labor understands the value of Medicare today just as we did 42 years ago, when Medicare was launched in 1984 by the Hawke Labor government. It was Labor that rebuilt our universal health system after attacks on Medibank, another Labor reform introduced by the Whitlam Labor government. Labor made Medicare, and it is Labor that will always fight to protect and strengthen it. Once again, it has fallen to a Labor government to repair Medicare after a decade of neglect by those opposite, a decade in which Liberals viewed health care through the lens of ideology and profit. It seems that culture of neglect has not left them even in opposition, as they remain consumed by internal squabbles, internal division and an inward-looking focus on themselves rather than a vision for Australia defined by opportunity and possibility. When I was first elected, fewer than 40 per cent of general practices in my electorate bulk-billed. Today, that figure stands at 90 per cent, more than doubling. That is an extraordinary achievement that is only possible under a Labor government and a Labor government delivering on its commitments and true to the values which guide it. I've visited clinics in my community that have taken up our bulk-billing incentives, including the Craigieburn Medical and Dental Centre, which moved to 100 per cent bulk-billing following our reforms. I visited the centre alongside Minister Butler and met the dedicated health professionals delivering primary care and working collaboratively with the Northern Hospital in mitigating risks to patients. What stood out was their commitment to serving our community, particularly our most vulnerable residents, and the importance of governments backing them with real investment. This past weekend, I was pleased to join the team at the Annadale Family Medical Centre as it reopened after having been out of operation following a tragic fire. It returned to deliver fully bulk-billed medical and allied health care to our community. I give a shout-out to the team there and to the team at Happy Hippo Kindergarten and Childcare in Mickleham. Medical care and child care are essential services families in my community rely on and two things our government is proudly delivering on. That is what real, effective and on-the-ground policy looks like, translated on the ground with organisations in our community doing amazing work in helping local families thrive. This remarkable turnaround in bulk-billing in my community reflects what is happening across the country. Our government's investment will deliver an additional 18 million bulk-billed GP visits annually. It will see the number of bulk-billing practices triple to around 4,800 nationally, with nine out of 10 GP visits bulk-billed by 2030. This bill is about making our health system work better for the people who rely on it not in theory but in practice. It recognises that the demand on the health system is real, but it rejects the idea that inaction is the only response. It makes sensible use of the skills already present in our workforce, supports safe and regulated care and removes unnecessary barriers that delay treatment and drive up costs for patients and the system alike. By enabling appropriately trained registered nurses to prescribe PBS subsidised medicines, we improve access, reduce pressure elsewhere in the system, ensure Australians can get the care they need when they need it and expand our healthcare system in sustainable ways. That is good policy. It is responsible reform and it is exactly the kind of practical change our communities expect from their government. This bill builds on a broader agenda: strengthening Medicare, lowering the cost of medicines, expanding bulk-billing and improving access to primary care right across the country. Together, these reforms are about protecting the integrity of our universal healthcare system and ensuring it remains fit for purpose. Yesterday, I joined nurses in parliament in support of primary healthcare nurses. They reminded us of the value of patients when nurses are trusted to work to their full scope of practice, something this legislation helps deliver. They reminded us that nurses don't choose this profession because of buildings or systems, but because of a deep commitment to care. And they reminded us that, when illness shrinks a person's world and when fear, uncertainty and vulnerability take hold, nurses are there—present, skilled, compassionate, delivering care when it is needed most and in the ways that matter most. That is the magic of this profession, and it is why this parliament must do everything it can to support nurses to do what they do best: care for people with dignity, skill and humanity. Health care should never depend on where you live, how busy the system is or how long you can afford to wait. This legislation moves us closer to a system that is fairer, more efficient and more responsive to the realities Australians face every day. I commend the bill to the House.
Medicare | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How are the Albanese Labor government's record investments in bulk-billing helping to strengthen Medicare after a decade of cuts and neglect?
Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
I rise to stand in grief and sorrow with the families and loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered and all those injured at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025. This atrocity, which stole...
I rise to stand in grief and sorrow with the families and loved ones of the 15 innocent people murdered and all those injured at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025. This atrocity, which stole innocent lives, was an act of terrorism deliberately targeted at Australia's Jewish community as people gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. This was a devastating, targeted, antisemitic attack, an attack on our shared values and on all Australians. On the very next day, I stood with members of our Jewish community in Melbourne. I stood with them to mourn, to listen, to grieve and to stand in solidarity. This nation stands with them. Communities right across Australia wrap their arms around them with care, with compassion and with resolve. I joined with the community at the Caulfield Shule to make one thing unmistakably clear: you belong here, never to be silenced by fear or diminished by hate. It should be voice, it should be defended, and it should always be uplifted. Every Jewish Australian has the right to live in peace; to work, to contribute, to worship safely, freely and without fear; to gather in community, proud of who you are; and to be celebrated for the profound contribution the community makes to this nation's strength, its character and its success. The attackers set out to do two things: to take innocent lives and to pull Australia down a dark and dangerous path, one marked by fear, division, hatred and suspicion of one another. They failed. They will fail. Australians will not be divided or defined by fear nor bend to violence. We will defend the right to live openly and safely, and we will respond to hate with resolve. We will stand today, tomorrow and always with all communities who call this country—Australia, in all its diversity—home. The evil of antisemitism wounds more than those it is aimed at. It attacks more than that wonderful expression that was put to me by young members of the Jewish community, something that stuck with me—Jewish joy. Antisemitism corrodes trust. It fractures communities. It tells people they do not belong. Once hate is allowed to grow unchecked against one community, it creates permission for prejudice against all of us, which is why we must never forget that Australia is home to all of us. It's a home where people can live openly, visibly and safely; a home where faith, identity and culture are not hidden but protected; and a home where diversity is a strength, with the right to safety, security and belonging. It is unacceptable that fear should shape the life of any Australian or that any of us should be denied this sense of belonging and home. This is a moment that calls for national unity to confront the worst of hatred and division. Let us honour the victims in the way Australians know best: with unity and without allowing grief to harden to fear or division. We honour the extraordinary bravery shown that night by police officers, paramedics and first responders whose courage and professionalism saved lives. The heroes of Bondi—ordinary Australians who showed extraordinary courage over self-preservation—are Australians like Ahmed al-Ahmed, whose actions saved countless lives by placing himself between danger and strangers, guided by his own convictions and faith. We also remember those whose courage cost them their lives—like Boris and Sofia Gurman, killed after confronting the terrorists as the attack began, acting instinctively and selflessly to protect others. Bondi Beach has been a place of beauty, gathering and renewal since human footprints first pressed into that sand. It holds a treasured place in the story of this country and in the hearts of generations of Australians. This tragedy will not eclipse the spirit of this place nor the hope and belonging that return with every new sunrise over that shore. This is Australia, a nation built and defined by its diversity, unity and inclusion. May their memory be a blessing.
Energy | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
Those opposite love nothing more than talking Australia down. While this government is strengthening our energy system, lowering wholesale prices and rebuilding our reputation in the world, their...
Those opposite love nothing more than talking Australia down. While this government is strengthening our energy system, lowering wholesale prices and rebuilding our reputation in the world, their only instinct is to sneer, to undermine and to oppose. With our family in the Pacific, Australia has just secured unprecedented influence over global climate and energy deliberations. In 2026, Australia and the Pacific will co-host a special pre-COP, giving Pacific leaders and communities the global stage they deserve and ensuring the world sees the impacts and solutions of our region firsthand. That outcome strengthens our security, strengthens our economy and strengthens Australia's standing in the world, and the only response from those opposite is to try to tear Australia down. If your only focus is political pointscoring, you will never act in the national interest. We have an exceptionally strong climate and energy team. Teamwork, of course, is a foreign concept to those opposite. We've taken real steps to help: three rounds of energy bill relief, a gas price cap, and major investment in cheaper renewable energy while rebuilding a reliable modern grid after a decade of neglect. The Australian Energy Market Commission could not be more clear: delaying the connection of renewables and transmission puts upward pressure on electricity bills. This is where the opposition has completely lost the plot. They walked away from net zero. They walked away from investment certainty, and they walked away from Australia's place in the world. What they're really saying is that Australia should sit quietly and accept whatever the world hands to us. This government believes Australia should help write the rules, and that's why our minister has been asked to lead COP negotiations. We are Australia; we don't aim for second place. Those opposite can explain why they do. Our policies are built around Australian families and Australian industry. They spoke about manufacturing. In my electorate, the Ford factory delivered generations of secure, well paid work. When the industry needed support, the Liberals attacked our automotive industry. They issued ultimatums. They questioned its commitment and dared it to leave. And when Ford, Holden and Toyota shut their doors, those opposite applauded their exit. So, when they suddenly proclaim their love of manufacturing, when they get all hasty and lean their elbows against borrowed cars, we will not forget how they attacked Australian families, Australian jobs and Australian industry. And we will take no lectures from them about ministerial focus. Under this government, ministerial roles are transparent. Under theirs, Scott Morrison secretly swore himself into health, finance, Treasury, home affairs, and industry, treating ministries like Pokemon—'gotta catch 'em all!' The member for New England knows a thing or two about extra roles. Now he's off to join the circus that is One Nation, which is fitting, because they've always got a job for a clown in that reactionary outfit, and he comes cheap—really cheap. It took a sandwich press steak to get him over the line. I saw it came with a bit of Saxa salt. Imagine if it came with a bit of mushroom sauce—the big, tasty cookout with the cookers. You tasteless, tasteless bunch. Every coal breakdown, every bit of energy pain—it all comes on the back of their decade of denial. While this government takes action to reduce bills today and reform the market for tomorrow, those opposite choose slogans over solutions. Here's the contrast: while they sulk, fight, hold press conferences during question time and divide, we deliver. In the past year alone, we've delivered for Australian families. That's what this is all about—Australian families and Australian industry. This is about a $9,000 pay rise for minimum-wage and award workers, for Australian families; 24 weeks of paid parental leave with super on paid parental leave, for Australian families; and energy bill relief of $150 for every household, for Australian families. This is about a $10,000 bonus for housing apprentices, for Australian families; 30 per cent off home batteries, for Australian families; and paid placements for nurses, teachers and social workers, for Australian families. This is about aged care pay rises, expanded bulk-billing, a five per cent deposit for first home buyers, a 20 per cent student debt cut and, from 1 January, all PBS medicines being at $25 or less, for Australian families. That's what we fight for—Australian industry and Australian families.
VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I rise to speak on the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. On this side of the House, we know the importance of vocational education and training and its impact on opening up...
I rise to speak on the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. On this side of the House, we know the importance of vocational education and training and its impact on opening up opportunities for so many in my community and right across Australia, whether it's a young person beginning their journey in the workforce or someone looking to reskill or upskill—a need which will become even more important to help address the economic changes our country is witnessing. It's the confidence of knowing that there are initiatives such as the VET and TAFE systems that are not only available but funded, supported and protected by the Albanese Labor government that gives certainty to students enrolled and looking to be enrolled knowing they have a government that supports them on their journey. I want to highlight the importance of VET student loans to my community, to Australians and to our economy. The VET student loans program makes vocational education and training more accessible to Australians. It enables students to undertake a VET course and defer the payment of tuition fees to an income-contingent loan—a similar scheme to the HECS-HELP loans that enable university students to defer their fees until they pass certain wage thresholds. It's very much about fairness in our tertiary education system. It provides financial support to students undertaking higher level training and courses that address workplace and industry needs. These courses have arguably never been more important with respect to employment outcomes and opportunities, with the opportunities they afford by helping to address skills shortages in industries right across our economy, involving fields such as science, technology, engineering or mathematics and occupational licencing trades. This is particularly important for communities such as mine. Without programs such as the VET student loans, many students would not have the opportunity to undertake tertiary studies. Australian businesses and the economy would also miss out on the skill these students and alumni bring to our industries. Our government is taking steps to fix a problem identified during a review of how VET student loans were administered in relation to the handling of a student's tax file number by a provider when completing an application for a VET student loan. The use of a tax file number plays a critical role when it comes to the use of a loan scheme such as the VET student loan scheme. It enables students to accurately track and repay their loans via the tax system. This legislation will take steps that will see providers no longer be required to handle tax file numbers of students. It provides the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations with the ability to realign its IT systems to enable this to occur. The changes will allow the department to mask tax file numbers of students and allow for the department to transfer tax file numbers within their relevant systems, relinquishing VET student loan providers from the need to handle tax file numbers. We've taken action to ensure that this issue is resolved and that there is certainty for students and providers. It provides integrity to the system and ensures that there's no disruption imposed on both students and providers. Students will still be able to fulfill the enrolment process when applying for a loan using the Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form, as they were before these reforms. We're a government that believes that bureaucracy should not override practicality so that technicalities don't hinder vocational education and training, don't hinder progress and don't inhibit the Albanese Labor government's focus on the skills and training required for today and into the future. These changes reflect the careful and considered work of our government in ensuring that Australians are able to participate in acquiring the skills they need to pursue their career of choice. As they embark on their education journey, it can be one made with confidence knowing that the system works. On this side of the House, we'll continue to fight for VET and TAFE because we understand that a strong vocational education system is vital to addressing the economic challenges and opportunities that are before us. Australia's economy, both at present and going into the future, depends on a workforce with the skills that vocational training helps deliver and on the ability to skill and reskill our workforce to advance both our economy and Australia's national interest, delivering the future of energy and housing, delivering on manufacturing and delivering on a future made in Australia. We understand the importance of having a workforce with the skills needed to seize new industries, support employers, meet community needs and stay competitive, and we, on this side of the House, back this in through policy and with purpose. Our government supports those who will be on the front line in addressing the need to build more housing because we, on this side of the House, understand the role that apprentices play in addressing housing supply. Our government has invested in our future tradies by expanding the Key Apprenticeship Program to include a housing construction apprenticeship stream, providing up to $10,000 in financial incentives to new apprentices. This is on top of other key initiatives that support apprentices in their work whilst also delivering real cost-of-living relief, including the living-away-from-home allowance, the Australian apprentice training support payment and the priority hiring incentive. This government's commitment to skills and training extends beyond VET. Free TAFE reflects what the Albanese Labor government stands for—providing real cost-of-living relief while also advancing opportunities for Australians to get the skills they need to participate in our workforce. Free TAFE, and our TAFE system more broadly, has been the cornerstone of economic participation in communities like mine in my electorate of Calwell, which has seen major changes to its industrial base, specifically the fall of the automotive industry that saw Ford and a raft of employers dependent on Ford close down, causing job losses for thousands in my electorate and surrounding areas. Our supply chains were torn up, and manufacturing was driven out of our community by a Liberal Party that launched a full-scale attack on Australian manufacturing, on Australian industry, on Australian jobs and on Australian families. It is these types of workers who will find the provision of VET TAFE and, specifically, free TAFE of significant help. When workers need to reskill and to find their feet again in the workforce to regain the dignity of work and provide for themselves and their families, initiatives like this are a necessity. We had those on the other side—those responsible for destroying Australian industry, whose imaginations cannot extend beyond the vision of Australia solely as a quarry—shipping our resources overseas, failing to support value added manufacturing and driving down Australia's economic and manufacturing complexity to the floor. While we set standards, they see floors as ceilings. The now Leader of the Opposition, while talking about free TAFE, said, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' What a cynical view of the Australian people! Those opposite view communities like mine with disdain and view the Australian people with disdain. We, on this side, value free TAFE, and we value the Australians who benefit from free TAFE, whether it's a young person leaving school and beginning their journey into further education, towards starting their career, or someone who's been retrenched in middle age, a difficult experience. Regrettably, that was not an uncommon experience in my electorate when those opposite were in charge and actively goaded our local industry to leave, seeing thousands of workers across Melbourne's north left to fend for themselves in an act of economic vandalism only those opposite could ever put together. Workers like the ones I just mentioned are a key reason why fee-free TAFE is so critical. We remove a key barrier for those who need the opportunity and assistance the most. It's real cost-of-living relief for those who are looking to rejoin the workforce after a job loss or for younger Australians, who are set to benefit. That's why our government is supporting 100,000 places in free TAFE each year from 2027. On this side of the House we understand that if we embark on large initiatives, such as Future Made in Australia and the Housing Australia Future Fund, we need to invest and support the institutions that will train and equip our workforce with the skills necessary to see these initiatives through and enable Australians to participate in the employment opportunities that these record investments bring. I am proud of the work that TAFEs like the Kangan Institute do in my electorate, and I want to thank the Minister for Skills and Training for his steadfast advocacy when it comes to providing greater access to skills and training opportunities for all Australians. I know his commitment to our community, to Melbourne's north and to all Australians seeking to skill, upskill and reskill. Fighting for greater access to education irrespective of one's background or circumstances is a core Labor principle. It is a principle that drives members on this side of the House and indeed the Albanese Labor government. The Albanese Labor government's commitment to opening opportunities to pursue education also extends to students enrolled in university and to those who have graduated. The very first thing we legislated was to cut student debt by 20 per cent and to change the way fees are indexed and repayments are made going forward. We legislated this promise, this commitment, and already student debt reductions have come into effect, providing major cost-of-living relief for so many Australians. I want to also thank and acknowledge the work of the Minister for Education, someone who cares deeply about education but equally about the importance of the access and opportunity that education brings, particularly and importantly to our outer suburbs. This reform is often associated with university students who have incurred a HECS debt from either their current or prior university studies. But it's not limited to just the cohort of students who attended a university, as over 280,000 VET student loans and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans will also see a 20 per cent reduction. This gives students more financial freedom to focus on doing what matters to them. It's worth noting that often this comes at a critical time in their lives as they are starting a family, looking to purchase a new home and tackling the cost of living. On top of the 20 per cent reduction in student loans, the Albanese Labor government has provided real support to students in my community in Melbourne's outer suburbs. For students in areas that I represent, it can be difficult to access university campuses. The government understands this challenge and has acted by establishing a suburban university study hub in my electorate, because we know that where these study hubs are, university participation rates go up. During the opening of the university study hub in my electorate, a student shared her experience of how the university study hub has enabled her to cut her commute time down to just minutes thanks to her close proximity to the study hub. This has enabled her to study and focus on the studies without disruptions to her work and personal life. Students shared not only the convenience that the university study hub delivers but also the importance of being able to access an environment and the facilities, resources and added wraparound support that it provides. One student was the first in her family to attend a university—a milestone. Students like this are the reason why we fight for education on this side of the House. I am proud to support this bill. We will always support and fight for measures that make our education system more accessible, stronger and fairer. I commend this bill to the House. Debate adjourned. Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:33
Medical Workforce | Constituency Statements | House debates
Professionals across our allied health sector do incredible work, not only in supporting our health system and keeping it afloat but also through the vital role they play in preventive health...
Professionals across our allied health sector do incredible work, not only in supporting our health system and keeping it afloat but also through the vital role they play in preventive health care, helping people spend less time within that system in the first place. I've spoken before about how workers in this space are too often overlooked and underpaid, and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the critical work they do in communities like mine supporting some of our most vulnerable people. When all else fails, when someone's health, ability or circumstance changes, when self-reliance becomes increasingly out of reach, it is our disability and allied health workforce who step in. They pick up the pieces for patients and their families during some of the most vulnerable and emotional times in their lives. I'm an advocate for the dignity of work. It's what drives me every day in representing my community and in helping shape Australia and our economy. These workers not only carry that dignity with them every day but deliver it to others through the care and support they provide. That's why it's incumbent on all of us in this place not only to thank them but to support them, to stand by them, to back them and to deliver for them, just as they deliver for our communities. Nobody chooses the circumstances that place them at the receiving end of this care. When we talk about the dignity of work, we often mean the dignity that comes from employment itself. But we must also talk about dignity in work, which depends on fair conditions, proper staffing levels and fair pay. As this workforce supports people through their personal struggles, I also want to recognise the Health and Community Services Union in my home state for standing with their members in their collective struggle for dignified wages and working conditions. To those who work in mental health, disability and drug and alcohol services, to the nurses, allied health professionals, lived and living experience workers, disability support workers, administrative staff, program and support workers: thank you—thank you for showing up, for your care and for your compassion. To all who serve others in their time of need, please know this: we see you, we stand by you and we support you. The trust that helps hold our health system together rests also on the shoulders of this workforce. We owe it to them—and to every person who depends on their care—to ensure that this responsibility is met with fairness. The quality of care we deliver can only ever match the value we place on those who provide it. Dignity in care also means dignity for these carers.
My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering on our commitment to more Australians accessing bulk-billing? Why is it so important after a...
My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering on our commitment to more Australians accessing bulk-billing? Why is it so important after a decade of cuts and neglect?
Apprenticeships | Statements by Members | House debates
Every apprentice deserves to be safe at work. That's why the Minister for Skills and Training brought colleagues together to establish a zero tolerance approach to apprentice harm, updating the...
Every apprentice deserves to be safe at work. That's why the Minister for Skills and Training brought colleagues together to establish a zero tolerance approach to apprentice harm, updating the national code of good practice for apprenticeships and traineeships. Governments, industry and advocates share responsibility for apprentice safety. We're working with states and territories, training providers, employers and unions to ensure every apprentice receives the training, support and protection they deserve. Research by the Electrical Trades Union found one in eight apprentice electricians has been exposed to a potentially deadly electrical shock at work, and, when classroom training is delayed, that risk doubles. That's not good enough. We must ensure our apprentices are safe in every classroom and on every job site. Australia will need more than 100,000 additional electricians by 2050 to power the energy transition and to tackle housing. Through Apprentice Connect Australia, the $10,000 housing apprenticeship incentives and the $60 million Building Women's Careers Program, we're backing apprentices with skills, support and safe workplaces. Thank you to the ETU and to Aaron, Matt and Maya for their courage in speaking up and sharing their stories with us last week. Apprentices are a vulnerable cohort of young workers and workers new to the industry. They are the workers we need to help deliver the future of energy, housing and manufacturing, and of a future made in Australia.
Medicare | Statements by Members | House debates
It's nearly the end of the week. Not only will it be great to return to our communities, but, from Saturday, what goes live is the single-largest investment in Medicare ever. We're expanding the...
It's nearly the end of the week. Not only will it be great to return to our communities, but, from Saturday, what goes live is the single-largest investment in Medicare ever. We're expanding the bulk-billing incentive to all Australians, and we're boosting payments to general practices that bulk-bill every patient. We're already seeing the difference this is making in my own community. The Craigieburn Medical and Dental Centre has already moved to 100 per cent bulk-billing. It means families don't have to worry about gap payments or putting off care because of costs. I'm proud to have announced a full Medicare mental health centre in my community to roll out more places that locals can go for free public mental health care, backed by Medicare. Under those opposite, it had never been harder to see a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall. We had a neglected health system, longer wait times and Australians paying for care that should have been free. And who was at the helm of that policy? It was the current Leader of the Opposition, the then health minister—someone who said, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' My community values Medicare, we on this side of the House value Medicare, and Australians value Medicare.
Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
And, if you're going to bring in other issues, Member for Barker, extend to your full time to explain yourself. I rise to speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025, a...
And, if you're going to bring in other issues, Member for Barker, extend to your full time to explain yourself. I rise to speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025, a bill that reminds us that the law is not only about contracts and clauses but about compassion and conscience—about people; about Baby Priya and her family and families right across Australia. This legislation ensures that parents who endure the unthinkable, the death of their child, are not asked to return to work while they are still shattered by grief. It closes a cruel gap in our workplace laws and places humanity at the centre of our fair work system, a fundamental principle of the Albanese Labor government. In June of last year, a baby girl named Priya was born just shy of 25 weeks. She was a tiny figure in a humidicrib, her parents, by her side, suspended between fear and hope. Her mother has since shared her story with immense courage. She said: I used to call her my 'fighter girl' and my 'super girl' when she was in the NICU, encouraging her through every challenge she faced and overcame, until she couldn't anymore. Priya lived for 42 days. Ten days after losing Priya, her mother—a loyal employee of 11 years—received a text message from work. It said her preapproved paid parental leave was being cancelled. Priya's mother asked if she could have, in her words, 'at least six weeks leave, for the time she was alive'. She received no response. Her partner, a teacher in the New South Wales public system, retained his full parental leave. Government paid leave is protected; private sector leave was not. That cruel contrast, between two parents grieving the same child yet treated differently by two systems, laid bare an injustice no fair minded Australian could accept. So, in the depths of their grief, Priya's parents began to campaign. They launched a petition in March, calling on the government to make it illegal for employers to cancel paid maternity leave following infant death or stillbirth. They turned to their union, the Australian Services Union, for help. ASU secretary Angus McFarland said: Parents deserve compassion and support during a time of unimaginable grief. No parent mourning the loss of a child should be forced back to work early or face financial strain. Their campaign gained momentum. In mid-April, the then workplace relations minister announced that the government would move to close the loophole. Labor made an election commitment to protect grieving parents' entitlements. This bill inserts a simple but profound principle into the Fair Work Act. Unless an employer and an employee have expressly agreed otherwise, employer funded paid parental leave cannot be cancelled because a child is stillborn or dies. It brings employer funded leave into line with government funded and unpaid leave entitlements. It ensures that parents like Priya's mum and dad have time to grieve, to heal and to rebuild without the indignity of having to bargain for compassion. It provides clarity for employers too, removing uncertainty and ensuring consistent practice across workplaces. The amendment applies to parents who experience stillbirth or early infant loss and have workplace arrangements for parental leave in place, aligning private employer schemes with the protections already embedded for government funded leave. It preserves flexibility without imposing new obligations on employers who do not already provide paid leave and without overriding enterprise agreements or bargained entitlements. It simply sets a national standard that compassion is not optional. Every year, around 3,000 families in Australia lose a child to stillbirth or within 28 days of life—roughly one every three hours. Behind each number is a story of love, loss and longing. In her own words, Priya's mother said: It seems unfathomable in Australia, in 2025, that this is even possible. And yet, here we are. Later she said: My baby's name means 'Beloved' in Sanskrit. I was her mother for 42 days, and I am STILL her mother. It is in her name, as Priya's mother, that I will ensure no other Australian grieving a stillbirth, or infant death, has her paid Maternity Leave cancelled by her employer. That is the voice that moved our government and this parliament. In April the Albanese Labor government made a clear commitment to close this loophole. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has been steadfast in ensuring that compassion is built into the law. She said, and I quote: Parents should not have to deal with uncertainty about their employer-funded paid parental leave entitlements on top of their grief. It is important that parents don't find themselves having to negotiate with their employers over their leave arrangements at such a difficult moment. She's right, because no parent should ever have to open a text message cancelling their leave while they plan funerals. This bill makes sure they never will. As a new father myself, I can hardly imagine the heartbreak that Priya's parents have lived through. When my son, Noah, was born earlier this year, in the NICU ward, I would watch him sleep, counting his breaths, filled with awe and fear in equal measure. Becoming a parent changes how you see everything. It makes you understand what it truly means to love without condition. That is why this story cuts so deeply, because every parent can picture that crib, that hospital room and that NICU ward. This bill is not an abstraction. It's a moral necessity. At its core, this reform is also about our principle, the Labor principle, of dignity at work. It aligns with Labor's long tradition of ensuring that the Fair Work system reflects who we are as a society. Paid parental leave was a Labor reform. Superannuation on paid parental leave, a Labor reform. And now, Baby Priya's law, a Labor reform, continuing in that tradition. Being an employer is about more than managing rosters and budgets. It's about recognising the humanity of your workforce, of the people who work for you. As Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents at Work, said: Australia has a patchwork of paid parental leave policies. Not all employers offer paid parental leave and they're not required to by law, which leaves parents solely reliant on workplace discretion. She also noted that Australia's scheme remains among the least generous in the OECD, reminding us why a national floor for compassion matters. She's right when she says: Embedding compassion through major life events into workplace culture benefits everyone. Supporting parents through every stage—from fertility and pregnancy to childbirth, loss and the return to work—isn't just the right thing to do, it's vital for building thriving, sustainable workplaces. Good employers already do this. This bill makes that decency the national standard. This reform also shines a light on how we treat loss in Australia. Disparities persist between public and private sectors and across states and regions. Government funded leave includes premature birth leave, giving parents additional time from birth to 37 weeks gestation so that they don't exhaust their entitlements before bringing their baby home. Many private policies don't. The Pink Elephants Support Network's Not just aloss report, released alongside this bill, found that 75 per cent of women coping with miscarriage or stillbirth felt unsupported. More than two-thirds received no workplace support when told their pregnancy had ended. Women in regional and remote areas were 60 per cent more likely to experience perinatal death than those in major cities, and waited an average of three hours longer for miscarriage related care. The report describes an 'abandonment crisis', where families are denied basic workplace protections, such as bereavement leave certificates, that give them time and space to grieve. One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage. Six babies are stillborn every day in Australia. Those numbers demand compassion and not bureaucracy. At a recent South Australian inquiry into stillbirth, a mother named Cathy Nguyen shared her story. She had been told her pregnancy was healthy and low risk. She wrote: I will never forget the moment my world shattered. She went through 30 hours of labour to give birth to her daughter, Sage, who was stillborn. She said: How can nature be so cruel? To allow me to birth death … to go through nearly 30 hours of labour and end with … my lifeless daughter. Her words remind us that physical recovery, hormonal change and emotional devastation all co-exist and that our systems must recognise that complexity. In 2018, a federal Senate inquiry into stillbirth delivered 16 recommendations. Labor acted and invested $7.2 million in prevention and research, but we know prevention must be matched by compassion. This bill delivers that next step. It sets a clear national principle that grief will not be compounded by financial loss or administrative cruelty, and it does so with broad support. The minister said: 'I hope the opposition supports this bill, which is motivated by the courageous advocacy of Priya's parents. I've been encouraged by the broad backing we've received from employer and employee groups, because fairness serves everyone.' When we legislate for compassion, we reaffirm the core Labor principle and belief that work is about people. It's the same belief that drove early generations to fight for annual leave, to fight for simply, to fight for maternity leave and to fight for superannuation on paid parental leave. Fairness at work is not a gift; it's a right earned through struggle and enshrined through law. This bill continues that story. It measures our success not in dollars but in decency. Priya's mother said recently: Priya's name is going to be law. My fighter girl, my Priya, has changed the world. She certainly changed Australia. A little girl who lived for 42 days has changed how this country treats parents and families in their most vulnerable moments. That is her legacy. Her parents, who in their darkest hours found the strength to fight not for themselves but for others, have shown extraordinary courage. To them this parliament owns is thanks. This bill is modest in its text but monumental in its meaning. It restores dignity where indignity once existed. It replaces silence with certainty and it tells every grieving parent in Australia, 'We see you, we stand with you and we will not let the system fail you again.' As a father, as a Labor MP and as an Australian, I see in this bill the best of what government can do: turn private pain into public purpose and ensure that compassion is not left to chance. This bill before the parliament says that no parent should ever have to have their grief compounded. No family should lose a baby and then have their entitlements loom as a real consequential shadow compounding their grief. In Australia compassion as part of our workplace law. In the end this is more than a bill; it's a promise, a Labor promise, a government promise that our laws will reflect that humanity. It's a promise that the name Priya will forever stand for fairness, dignity and compassion.
I just want to note for the member for Barker that, if you're not going to take up the full time that you're allowed to speak, my understanding of the law relates to severe foetal abnormalities...
I just want to note for the member for Barker that, if you're not going to take up the full time that you're allowed to speak, my understanding of the law relates to severe foetal abnormalities incompatible with life or serious threats to a pregnant woman's health and life.
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
Australians should never be punished for seeking in good faith the help that their government offers them to manage life's challenges. Good government exists to lend a hand, not to turn that hand...
Australians should never be punished for seeking in good faith the help that their government offers them to manage life's challenges. Good government exists to lend a hand, not to turn that hand against the people it serves. Yet, through the bitter experience of robodebt, Australians have seen too clearly what happens when that principle is betrayed. Thousands of people were treated not as citizens entitled to fairness but as suspects to be pursued. Labor is determined to repair the damage that was done to so many innocent Australians who were hurt by the previous coalition government's cruel and disastrous robodebt scheme, to restore trust, to uphold the law and to rebuild a system that treats people with dignity, because, when government makes an error, it is not a line on a spreadsheet that suffers; it is a person, it is families, it is the parent sitting at the kitchen table staring at a letter from Centrelink—it is the quiet humiliation of being told you owe money you don't have and never should have owed. These mistakes go to the heart of something bigger than administration; they go to the social contract itself—the promise that our institutions will deal with people fairly and lawfully and that government will take responsibility when it falls short. That is why this bill is so important. It is addressing an issue that is less notorious and without the malice of robodebt but that, nevertheless, has a negative impact on vulnerable people in our community, and that is the longstanding process known as income apportionment. With income apportionment, imagine your pay slip covers two weeks of work but begins halfway through a Centrelink fortnight. One week falls in the first Centrelink period, the other week in the next. If you work more shifts in one week than the other, your income fluctuates, so your payment should too. But for years Centrelink assumed that income was earned evenly across the whole pay slip period. It spread that pay across both fortnights, even though the law said that income could only be counted in the period it was actually earned. It made an assumption that every income-earning day was the same and that, as a result, recipients had been overpaid when in fact they hadn't. That's income apportionment. It sounds technical, but its consequences were very real. For some, it meant an underpayment, a smaller payment than they were due. For many more, it meant a letter telling them they owed money to the Commonwealth. Debts were raised—some were repaid, some prosecuted—all based on a practice that was later found to be unlawful. This went on for nearly two decades and, while this was not robodebt—it was not automated, nor was it implemented against legal advice—it shared a troubling trait: a deep-seated presumption of mistrust towards those who rely on government support. When the system starts from a belief that people on welfare are to be met with distrust, errors multiply and compassion disappears. That attitude costs more than money: it corrodes trust, it hardens the spirit of social safety nets and it leaves a stain that can take generations to remove. Tammy is a financial counsellor who works with people in my community. She saw firsthand the real-life damage that was done to people who were slugged with a wrongful debt by income apportionment at a time when they were already struggling to stay afloat. Tammy told my office: 'There's this depressing feeling of "I'm being punished again. The government is after me. Oh, my goodness, it's the government. I'm scared and I need this money for my children." They'd often call Centrelink and agree to a payment plan where they'd promise something they couldn't afford. Imagine not having enough money for food because you've overpromised, you've got this debt and the government wants their money back and you feel like you are being punished. There's a sense of shame in not having enough money for food. Nobody ever wants to hear their child say, "I'm hungry, Mum."' This is the bitter legacy that mechanisms like income apportionment left for far too many Australians. Thankfully, this legislation ends that once and for all. In 2020 a Federal Court decision made it clear beyond doubt that income apportionment was not permitted under the law that then stood. The government changed the legislation that year to fix the issue going forward, but that still left an enormous historical tangle. Decades of debts and decisions had been made using a method now deemed unlawful. The Commonwealth Ombudsman's investigation examined what should happen next and what should have happened much sooner. The Ombudsman found that, since at least 2003, Services Australia and its predecessor agencies had been unlawfully spreading income across multiple fortnights. The effect was that people's payments were often calculated on the wrong evidence at the wrong time and for the wrong amount. The investigation also found that, when doubts were first raised in 2020, the agencies took too long to act. They sought multiple rounds of legal advice, some of it conflicting, but delayed finalising a clear position. They paused around 13,000 debt reviews and identified 87,000 potentially affected cases but failed to alert oversight bodies quickly enough. The Ombudsman made four key recommendations: (1) seek an authoritative legal view from the Solicitor-General or the Federal Court, (2) develop a clear policy on the secretary's power to review historical debts, (3) work with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to manage the impact on past and future criminal cases and (4) share all relevant legal advice transparently across agencies. The agencies accepted or partially accepted every one of those recommendations. The Ombudsman's message was plain: the law must be followed even, and especially, when it is inconvenient. This is a very important principle which we must never forget, especially when it's inconvenient. The administration of social security must be transparent, accountable and humane. This bill is the government's comprehensive response—an effective, rational response. It fixes the rules, reforms the debt process and builds in fairness for the future. For the first time in more than 30 years, the small debt waiver threshold will rise to $250 and will now be indexed annually to CPI. That single change will wipe or prevent about 1.2 million small, undetermined debts in 2025-26—almost half the backlog currently sitting with Services Australia. It makes no sense to spend more money recovering a debt than the debt is worth. This change saves taxpayers money and spares ordinary Australians unnecessary stress. It brings an outdated threshold, unchanged since the 1990s, in line with modern realities. Importantly, this bill also expands the special circumstances waiver, allowing decision-makers to consider a person's broader life circumstances when deciding whether a debt should be pursued, including extending it to situations of financial abuse or coercive control. If someone's partner controlled their access to income or pressured them to give false information, the system should recognise that. This reform delivers on Labor's 2025 election commitment to embed safety in Commonwealth systems and implement a key recommendation of the 2024 joint parliamentary inquiry into financial abuse. It ensures that our welfare system can never again be weaponised against those already living with abuse. It is practical reform with profound moral importance. The bill also addresses the long shadow left by the income apportionment practice itself. Between the early nineties and 2020, millions of debts were calculated by using this method. The scale of this legacy is immense: around 5.5 million debts involving three million people and worth approximately $4.4 billion. To manually recalculate them would take years and divert thousands of staff away from their core job of supporting Australians who need help right now. That is why this bill does two things: first, it retrospectively validates the historical use of income apportionment to prevent mass legal uncertainty. Second, it creates a fair and compassionate pathway for those affected through the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme. Under the scheme, people with debts from 1 September 2003 to 6 December 2020 will be eligible. They can apply for resolution payments of up to $600, depending on the size of their original debt. Applications open in January of next year. This is how good governments should act, in terms of admitting where fault lines are in the system, compensating fairly and ensuring that such errors cannot recur, with a response that does not overwhelm the very same system designed to support vulnerable Australians. Others have asked, 'Is this robodebt 2.0?' It's not. Robodebt was a scheme born of deliberate disregard. It was automated and unlawful and was maintained against explicit legal advice. Income apportionment was a human error—manual, mistaken and unchallenged for too long, but never driven by malice. Yet both are linked by a common thread: the need to rebuild trust between citizens and the state. That is what this bill sets out to do. This package is fair, and it is fiscally responsible. It has an indicative cost of $283.7 million over the forward estimates and $41.2 million per year ongoing from 2029-30. Those numbers matter, but so does what they represent: a system that values fairness, efficiency and humanity in equal measure. For decades, the administrative machinery of welfare debt recovery has been built on the assumption that error and fraud are widespread, but the evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of Australians do the right thing. This legislation recognises that reality and shifts our system from suspicion to support. In electorates like mine, where casual and shift work is common and people juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet, these technical errors are not abstract. They're lived experience. They're the reason someone's rent fell behind or their electricity was disconnected. This bill means those people will not be chased for minimal errors. It means decision-makers can see the full picture, including when coercion or abuse were at play. It means those affected by an unlawful process have a clear and fair path to closure. The lessons from this saga extend beyond Services Australia and the Department of Social Services. They go to the culture of government itself. The ombudsman called it a lesson in lawfulness and a reminder that good intentions are not enough if the law is not followed and oversight is ignored. Transparency and accountability are not optional extras. They are the conditions of public trust. In government, mistakes will sometimes happen, but integrity is measured by how government responds to them. This bill represents that response. It is grounded in recognition, guided by law and motivated by compassion. This legislation is about more than technical amendments. It's about restoring a simple but vital truth: our social security system exists to support, not to punish. It ensures that people who did nothing wrong are not left carrying the burden of bureaucratic error. It upholds the law, strengthens protections and clears away years of accumulated unfairness. It reflects what Labor stands for: a government that takes responsibility, fixes mistakes and treats every Australian with respect. I want to acknowledge the Minister for Social Services for her careful and principled work on this issue and on all issues in relation to her portfolio. I thank the community organisations—Economic Justice Australia, ACOSS, Legal Aid and so many others—who have advocated tirelessly on this issue. This is thoughtful, responsible reform. It is about integrity in administration, compassion in government and justice for ordinary Australians who deserve nothing less. I'll leave you with a thought from Tammy, who made it clear that being liberated from a punitive debt can be life altering for people on the margins: 'It means less stress. It means that a parent in crisis can say, "I will be okay; my kids will be okay." It means they've got a fighting chance to keep their heads above water.' When people reach out for help, their government should meet them with a hand, not a demand.
Medicare | Private Members' Business | House debates
I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Lalor and I thank her for her commitment to her community and to protecting and strengthening Medicare, one of the proudest achievements in...
I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Lalor and I thank her for her commitment to her community and to protecting and strengthening Medicare, one of the proudest achievements in our national story. When Labor came to government in 2022 it had never been harder or more expensive to find a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall. After nearly a decade of coalition cuts and neglect, the very foundation of our universal healthcare system was eroding. That is the legacy of those opposite: a neglected health system that led to bad health outcomes, longer wait times and Australians paying more out of pocket for care that should have been free. Under the coalition, Medicare rebates were frozen for six years, stripping billions from primary care and making it harder for doctors to bulk-bill. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners estimates that general practice lost around $3.8 billion due to that freeze. And who was at the helm of that policy? The current Leader of the Opposition, then the health minister, who oversaw the continuation of that freeze and supported a GP co-payment, a policy that would have forced Australians to pay every time they saw a doctor, set in stone. In 2014-15 the coalition government proposed a $7 co-payment for GP visits and a $5 cut to that rebate, defended until public outrage forced its withdrawal. That's the Liberal record on health: freezes, fees and funding cuts. It left GP clinics struggling, bulk-billing collapsing, and patients paying the price, in money and in health. Labor is rebuilding Medicare from the ground up. The Albanese Labor government is proud to be delivering the single-largest investment in Medicare history: $8.5 billion to deliver 18 million additional bulk-billed GP visits every year across the country; hundreds of new nursing scholarships; and thousands more doctors through the largest GP training program in our history. In 2023 we tripled the bulk-billing incentive and delivered the largest investment in bulk-billing in Australia's history. More than nine in 10 visits for concession cardholders and children under 16 are now bulk-billed, with 6.5 million extra bulk-billed visits in the last year alone. From 1 November, Labor is expanding bulk-billing incentives to every Australian—by the end of this week—and creating a new bulk-billing incentive program, giving practices that bulk-bill every patient an additional 12.5 per cent incentive payment. This reform means that nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030, and around 4,800 clinics will be fully bulk-billed—triple the number from when Labor came to office. Importantly, this isn't just good for patients but also good for doctors. A metro GP who bulk-bills every visit will earn $5,300 more than a mixed billing GP delivering the same number of services, and in rural areas that figure rises to nearly $24,000. We see the difference every day in Calwell. As the member for Lalor mentioned, just a few weeks ago Craigieburn Medical and Dental Centre, in my electorate, announced it will move to 100 per cent bulk-billing for medical visits. That's a big win for our community. It means families don't have to worry about gap payments or putting off care because of cost. We're backing that up with 90 Medicare urgent care clinics already open nationwide, exceeding our initial promise of 50, with another 47 on the way this financial year. I'm proud to have announced a full Medicare mental health centre in my community to roll out more places that locals can go for free public mental health care backed by Medicare. This is in stark contrast to their plan to drive up gap fees and make waitlists longer. We've also cut the cost of medicines, reducing the PBS co-payment to $25 from January 2026 and saving Australians over $200 million a year on prescriptions. This is what a government that believes in Medicare looks like. Where the Liberals froze, we funded. Where they cut, we rebuilt. Where they put up barriers, we are breaking them down. That is because Medicare in our community keeps kids healthy, older Australians independent and families secure in the knowledge that their government has their back. That is the promise of Medicare, that is the Labor difference and that is why only a Labor government will always protect and strengthen Medicare.
I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.
Kolbe Catholic College: Walk against Domestic Violence, Elevation Secondary College | Constituency Statements | House debates
At Kolbe Catholic College in my electorate, I had the pleasure of joining students, teachers and staff for the school's feast-day celebrations, which included a walk against domestic violence....
At Kolbe Catholic College in my electorate, I had the pleasure of joining students, teachers and staff for the school's feast-day celebrations, which included a walk against domestic violence. Dressed in purple, carrying the words 'Not now, not ever', students took to the streets to send a powerful message: violence has no place in our homes, in our schools or in our community. The statistics show why this leadership shown by the school was so critical. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that one in four women and one in 14 men have experienced a form of violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15, nearly a quarter of women and 14 per cent of men have experienced emotional abuse by a partner and more than 1.6 million women and 745,000 men have endured economic abuse. These are disturbing figures, but they are not just numbers; they represent neighbours, friends, colleagues and families in every community. The truth is the cycle of violence can only be broken by education, prevention and cultural change; that is why what I saw at Kolbe mattered so much. Education leadership provided for and by young Australians, like that shown by students in my community, is the key to ending this awful cycle of abuse. I congratulate the students, teachers and staff at Kolbe for the incredible work done to highlight such an important social issue and for their ongoing advocacy—a truly grassroots effort, real action on the ground, one step at a time. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Elevation Secondary College in Craigieburn, where I met with the student leadership team. Elevation is a school that lives its vision: to be an inclusive, outward-looking community committed to improving student learning, wellbeing and outcomes for every young person. The school values are clearly lived out by the students I met, who represented this school with pride and with purpose. The student leaders I met are amongst our community's brightest, and Elevation is helping to grow the next generation of our leaders: young people who are not only academically capable but also community minded, outward-looking and determined to make a difference. That is why I'm so proud to represent Calwell, a place that embodies the values of fairness, opportunity and solidarity. I will continue to fight for policies and programs that give every young person in our community the chance to live out their potential and to tackle every opportunity, engage in study, work and build independent lives. I congratulate the students, teachers and all staff at Elevation Secondary College for their ongoing commitment to continuous learning and academic excellence.
Housing | Questions without Notice | House debates
My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to address housing challenges? And is the minister aware...
My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to address housing challenges? And is the minister aware of any risks to the government's plans?
Housing | Statements by Members | House debates
I'm incredibly proud to be part of a government that is determined to take real action with the cost of living, and one of the biggest cost-of-living factors facing Australians and those in my...
I'm incredibly proud to be part of a government that is determined to take real action with the cost of living, and one of the biggest cost-of-living factors facing Australians and those in my community is the cost of housing and owning your own home. That's why Labor's five per cent home owners guarantee is so important, and it's why the program is going to be extended to all first home buyers. My community understands the value of housing—not just the dollar figures but the value it provides for families, the sense of purpose, the sense of security and the sense of place. With this reform, we are telling first home buyers: 'The Albanese Labor government is on your side. We will cut the years you need to save. We will stop you from being penalised with costly lenders mortgage insurance. We will help you move from renting to owning sooner.' This is fairness. This is aspiration. This is Labor making the Australian dream of home ownership real again. It is about turning rent payments into mortgage payments so that people who are building equity in their own home can secure their futures. The Albanese Labor government is doing what good governments should do, and my community has already shown that our policies can transform lives. Calwell has the fifth highest take-up rate of any electorate in the country under the home owners guarantee scheme. It shows that Labor and this government, the Albanese Labor government, understand the circumstances and aspirations of working Australians in Calwell and right across Australia.
Housing Australia Investment Mandate Amendment (Delivering on Our 2025 Election Commitment) Direction 2025; Consideration | Documents | House debates
Owning your own home is a shared dream for most Australians. There is the joy associated with a home, but, importantly, there is a sense of stability and security. I want that for all Australians...
Owning your own home is a shared dream for most Australians. There is the joy associated with a home, but, importantly, there is a sense of stability and security. I want that for all Australians who aspire to it. We know that people are working hard, doing everything right—saving, renting and sacrificing—and still, for too many, the dream of owning a home seems out of reach. This is not just an economic challenge; it is about whether Australians feel secure in their future. It is about whether young people believe they can enjoy the opportunities their parents had. It's about whether single parents or young couples starting a family can put down roots in a community they love. That is why the Albanese Labor government has taken bold action. From 1 October this year, three months earlier than promised, every first home buyer will be able to purchase with a five per cent deposit. Single parents will continue to be supported to buy with as little as two per cent. This is about cutting years off the time it takes to save. It is about avoiding thousands of dollars in what is so often inhibitive with the lenders mortgage insurance, and it is about turning rent payments into mortgage payments so people are building equity in their own home. This policy provides a real opportunity for all Australians looking to buy their first home. For a median priced home in Australia, of around $844,000, it can take up to 13 years to save the old 20 per cent deposit. Thanks to Labor's reforms, that wait is cut by up to eight years. Instead of needing nearly $170,000 up front, a first home buyer would need just $42,000. They will avoid paying around $34,000 in lenders mortgage insurance to a bank. That is not just policy on paper; it is life changing reform for ordinary Australians—a game changer for millions of Australians. Think of a young apprentice in my community, living at home with their parents while saving for the future. In my community, most often, they don't have access to the bank of mum and dad. They're working hard and putting money aside each week, but with Melbourne's median house price sitting at around $922,500, the old 20 per cent deposit meant needing about $185,000 up front. For many in my electorate that could take more than a decade to save, and by then the dream of homeownership has often slipped away. Under Labor's reforms, that same young worker would need $46,000. Additionally, they'd avoid tens of thousands in mortgage insurance, and, crucially, they'd be investing in their own future sooner instead of paying rent, week after week. Or take a young family in my electorate, raising kids and saving every spare cent. With the median house price in Calwell at about $832,500, a 20 per cent deposit is almost $167,000. Even families who manage to save that much still face huge barriers because, on top of it, they risk losing another $30,000 to $35,000 in lenders mortgage insurance. This is the fundamental unfairness our government is tackling—the unfairness for Australians who do everything right but still find themselves locked out of homeownership. In electorates like Calwell, the demand for this scheme is among the highest in the country. This reform is not theory; it's the difference between a dream deferred and a dream realised. In my own electorate, this policy is already making a difference. Between May 2022 and April of this year, 1,430 households in Calwell have taken up the Home Guarantee Scheme. That means another 2,360 people in my community are now homeowners, thanks to Labor's reforms. Calwell has the fifth highest take-up in the entire country. That shows how families in my electorate are responding to the Albanese Labor government's reforms aimed at providing security of homeownership, and it proves that extending this scheme to everyone is the right policy approach. The fact that Calwell ranks fifth nationally for take-up tells us something, too. Demand is not concentrated in just the inner suburbs of our major cities; it is spread across our suburbs. It's in the outer suburbs, in the regions and in communities right across the country. This is why removing the old income caps and increasing the property caps matters so much. In practice, these changes mean a nurse or a teacher in my community, who may earn just above the previous threshold, will now be eligible. It means that, instead of being restricted to buying a small flat far away from their support networks, first home buyers can now look at homes that meet their needs and reflect real prices in their areas. These changes are about fairness, but they are also about common sense. They make the scheme usable, accessible and relevant to more Australians. We know this alone won't fix the crisis that has been decades in the making. The long-term solution is to build more homes and to address housing supply. That is why our $43 billion housing agenda includes 55,000 new social and affordable homes, 10,000 homes dedicated to first home buyers, 80,000 long-lease rentals to give renters security and a national aspiration to build 1.2 million homes in five years in partnerships with the states, territories and industry. We're also backing the workforce with fee-free TAFE and a $10,000 incentive for new apprentices in priority trades so we have the skilled tradies needed to deliver. This is the most ambitious housing program since the Second World War. In the first term of this government, we took the Commonwealth from being an indifferent, irresponsible bystander under the coalition to being the boldest and most ambitious federal government on housing in generations. We have done this while delivering results. More than 180,000 first home buyers have already used our lower deposit scheme. Around 6,000 more first home buyer loans are in each year under Labor than during the near-decade of coalition government. In the first year alone, Australians are expected to avoid more than $1.5 billion in lenders mortgage insurance costs because of these reforms. This is real money back in the pockets of families, particularly young families. It is real hope restored to those who thought homeownership was beyond reach. You have to ask: what were those opposite doing in the near-decade they were in government? This housing challenge was avoidable, yet they did nothing about it, preferring to fight culture and climate wars instead of building homes for Australians. Still, those opposite continue to stand in the way. The coalition voted against Help to Buy, they promised to abolish the very scheme that is helping people into homes right now, they refused to back our commitment to 100,000 homes for first home buyers and, after nearly a decade of neglect in office, the opposition have still learnt nothing. They gave us just 373 social and affordable homes in a decade. Contrast that with the half a million built under Labor in just three years. The choice could not be clearer. Labor is on the side of first home buyers; the opposition is not. Housing is about more than supply-and-demand charts. It is about whether Australians believe that, if they work hard, they can build a better future. With this reform, we are telling first home buyers: The Albanese Labor government is on your side. We will cut the years you need to save. We will stop you being penalised with costly mortgage insurance. We will help you move from renting to owning sooner. This is fairness. This is aspiration. This is Labor making the Australian dream of homeownership real again.
National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
I want to thank the member for Whitlam for her contribution, and I'm proud to stand alongside her in support of this bill, which does precisely what it says. It delivers cheaper medicines—a...
I want to thank the member for Whitlam for her contribution, and I'm proud to stand alongside her in support of this bill, which does precisely what it says. It delivers cheaper medicines—a simple, principled objective to be delivered by the Albanese Labor government. It's a simple, effective proposition: Australians will no longer have to pay more than $25 for any medicine on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Let's unpack that. For the first time in over two decades, essential medicines will be capped at $25 a script. Last time this was the case was in the early 2000s, back when we were all glued to our soapbox, watching Kath and Kim, and Anthony Albanese was busy campaigning for the return of his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs to the NRL. Times have changed, but the inherent value of affordable medicines has most certainly not. This is cost-of-living relief that matters to every Australian household—relief that shows once again that, when Labor are in government, we put the health and dignity of Australians first. I want to touch on the scale of our reforms. This bill, the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill, reduces the PBS general patient co-payment from $31.60—an already reduced cost, again thanks to the Albanese Labor government—down to $25 from 1 January next year. This is a cut of more than 20 per cent to the maximum cost of PBS medicines. It will save Australians over $200 million every single year. As of 31 July, people in my electorate of Calwell had saved over $8.9 million, thanks to our already legislated cheaper medicines policy. And there is still more to do. Four out of five PBS medicines will become cheaper because of this government's $689 million investment. This will have a direct and significant impact on the quality of life of millions of Australians who rely on medications to maintain their health. We should never underestimate the impact of providing cheaper, accessible medication to those in our community that need it. It's not just the individuals who rely on these medications that are beneficiaries; it is their families and communities who also benefit when those in need of medication can access it when they need it. When we look around the world and we see the sorts of challenges other countries face in meeting the medical needs of their people, we are acutely aware that Australia has built something special with its approach to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. But it didn't just happen; it had to be fought for. And it was successive generations of Labor governments that made it happen. The story of the PBS stretches right back to the wartime government of John Curtin. In 1944, Australians were beginning to see the extraordinary power of the new antibiotics, penicillins. Curtin believed these medicines should not be reserved for the wealthy few. He believed they should be available to everyone. It was his successor, Prime Minister Ben Chifley, and his health minister, Arthur Calwell—the man after whom my electorate is named—who took that vision forward. In 1944, Arthur Calwell brought legislation into this parliament to establish a national pharmaceutical benefits scheme, but it was met with fierce resistance. The conservatives of the day cried 'socialised medicine'. The medical profession challenged it in the High Court. The legislation was struck down, but Labor did not give up. In 1946, Australians were asked at a referendum whether the Commonwealth should have the power to legislate for pharmaceutical benefits and other social services. The answer was yes. Australians voted for fairness. They voted for universal healthcare. Even then the road was hard. There were more legal challenges and more delay, and it was not until 1960 that the PBS was finally rolled out in the form we know today. That is our history—hard fought, hard won and deeply cherished. From Curtin to Chifley and Arthur Calwell to Whitlam, Hawke and Keating, Labor governments have built and defended the PBS, and today the Albanese Labor government is proud to carry that legacy forward. In 2023, Labor delivered the biggest cut in PBS history, lowering the co-payment from $42.50 to $30. In 2025 we froze the co-payment, protecting Australians from inflation, for the first time in 25 years. For pensioners and concession card holders, the cost of PBS medicine is now frozen at $7.70, all the way through to 2030. This is real relief for families, pensioners and workers in my community of Calwell and right across Australia, and it delivers certainty, alongside the certainty that we will always fight to protect it. Our reforms have a real, tangible, local impact. What matters most is what this means for people in our communities. In my community, local pharmacist Rayan engages every day with people who live on low incomes, many juggling multiple health conditions. She told my office: For many in this community, it would be very difficult to afford their healthcare without subsidised medicines. Some are on five or more medications at once. Without the PBS, they wouldn't be able to afford their scripts. That means they wouldn't take their medicines. That means they would end up in hospital. That's the reality. When medicines are affordable, people simply stay healthy. They don't miss doses. They don't skip scripts. They don't turn up at emergency wards with preventable complications. This is dignity in practice. This is the PBS at work. And Rayan is right: making medicines cheaper doesn't just save families money; it saves our entire health system money, because prevention is always cheaper than responding to crisis. It is important to be clear: we are talking about the prescriptions people rely on every day for chronic illnesses and life-threatening conditions. Over 1.7 million scripts each year are written for asthma medicines. There are more than 860,000 scripts for Eliquis, which helps prevent strokes. There are those used by thousands for type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. There are over one million scripts written annually for the menopause drug Estradiol. This means real practical relief. And there are stories behind every one of these numbers. Take Taya Purves, who spoke to the ABC. She has cystic fibrosis, a condition that requires multiple prescription medicines to manage, including breakthrough drugs. She said she currently spends more than $240 a month just on scripts. From next year, she will pay only $25 for her life-changing medicine. She described it as a 'welcome relief'. In her words: It's so refreshing to hear about the cost of something you need to function dropping. That's what this bill is about: tangible, everyday relief; life-changing, life-extending relief. Our PBS is a cherished Australian institution. This bill matters because of the accessibility of medicines and the dollars saved but also because of what it says about us as a nation. It is no exaggeration to say that the PBS is a practical expression of the Australian value of egalitarianism. The health of our society can be measured by how we value the health of our people. A basic commitment that every Australian should have access to cheaper medicine that is vital to their wellbeing is a foundation stone of our national character. No matter your wealth, no matter where you live, you deserve access to medicine that keeps you healthy, keeps you working and keeps you with your family. This is who we are. This is what makes us proud. We have to defend our healthcare system from those opposite and from those abroad, and it is precisely because the PBS is so effective that it is under attack from outside our borders. We now face threats of tariffs on Australian pharmaceuticals, punishing our nation for running a fair and affordable medicine system. The Prime Minister said it plainly: 'The PBS is not for sale.' The health minister has been just as clear: 'We will not negotiate away cheaper medicines.' That's because the PBS is not just a line in a budget; it reflects who we are as Australians. It is an Australian solution built on Australian values, protecting Australian families, and we will defend it. Beyond the scheme's priorities and central purpose of the health of Australians, there are economic and productivity benefits. Cheaper medicines are not just good for the hip pocket; they are good for our economy. In 2024, the Productivity Commission released research showing that advances in new medicines were directly linked to measurable productivity growth in Australia's healthcare system. We've recently seen productivity grow by about three per cent per year in areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, blood and metabolic disorders and kidney and urinary disease. These are areas that together account to one-third of all healthcare expenditure. The lesson is simple: when Australians get access to the medicines they need, they live healthier, longer and more productive lives. They can work. They can care for their families. They can participate fully in society. That is why cheaper medicines are not just a social good; they are an economic imperative. This bill is part of a bigger picture of Labor's broader health and cost-of-living agenda. The Albanese Labor government is committed to tackling the cost-of-living crisis head-on. We are making medicine cheaper. We are strengthening Medicare. We are investing in the health workforce through free TAFE and paid practical placements for nursing and midwifery students. We are freezing PBS prices for pensioners through to the end of this decade, and we are ensuring that the foundations of our healthcare system remain strong not just for today's Australians but for generations to come. The PBS is not perfect. It will continue to evolve as new medicines and new treatments emerge. But it is, without question, one of the most important pillars of our healthcare system. It is a cornerstone of fairness, a cornerstone of dignity and a cornerstone of what it means to live in a healthy, civil society. This bill reaffirms Labor's commitment to that cornerstone. We are cutting the cost of medicines to $25 a script. We are delivering over $200 million in annual savings. We are defending the PBS from external threats, and we are ensuring that every Australian, no matter their means, has the chance to live a healthy, productive life. This is Labor's vision for a fairer Australia. It is a vision where your health is not determined by your bank balance, where families in my community and in every suburb and town in this nation can afford the medicines they need and where future generations can look back and say: 'We did not let the PBS be weakened or sold off. We defended it, we strengthened it and we passed it on.' At its heart, the PBS is about the dignity of every Australian, and Labor will always defend that dignity.