Nicolette Boele's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2026-02-05T22:06:04+00:00
items: Bondi Beach: Attack | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Ku-ring-gai Rural Fire Service | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
items: Housing | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
items: National Security | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
items: Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
items: Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Climate Change: Safeguard Mechanism | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Low-Income Superannuation Tax Offset | Motions | House debates
items: Cerebral Palsy | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Gas Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Food Insecurity | Adjournment | House debates
items: g54.1
items: Bradfield Electorate: Women | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
items: Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | House debates

Bondi Beach: Attack | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is for the Leader of the House. Two weeks ago this parliament passed legislation to respond to the Bondi terror attack. The crossbench was required to vote on legislation mere hours...
encoded: My question is for the Leader of the House. Two weeks ago this parliament passed legislation to respond to the Bondi terror attack. The crossbench was required to vote on legislation mere hours after receiving it. That process disrespected the one in three Australians who voted for a strong crossbench and it degrades the democracy that we fought so hard to nurture. What steps will the government take to ensure that law-making processes following future crises will not degrade democracy in this way?
date: 2026-02-04T14:11:00+00:00

Ku-ring-gai Rural Fire Service | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: In scenes all too familiar to Australians, my community watched with dismay at the devasting bushfires in Victoria this summer. As blazes tore through the state, I was incredibly proud to learn...
encoded: In scenes all too familiar to Australians, my community watched with dismay at the devasting bushfires in Victoria this summer. As blazes tore through the state, I was incredibly proud to learn that our very own North Shore volunteer brigades answered the call for help. Congratulations to Huw Bradshaw from the North Shore Lorikeet for reporting on their journey. As Huw reported, several Ku-ring-gai volunteers travelled to places including Yarck in the Goulburn Valley to protect vulnerable communities and their properties. In the great tradition of Australian firefighting and community service, they put their own lives at risk to help fellow Australians. It's what we do, and it's what we need to keep doing as the devastating impacts of climate change usher in weather events that are more severe and more frequent than ever before. Today is 4 February, Extreme Heat Awareness Day. It's critical that we properly plan for what's ahead, but it's also critical that we properly tackle the causes of the problem. We can't protect communities from extreme heat and catastrophic bushfires while we literally pour fuel on the fire. Making climate change worse by approving new fossil fuel projects is not part of our plan. I offer my sincere thanks to our Ku-ring-gai volunteer firefighters for their service, and I call on this place to do everything it can to protect those who answer the call by mitigating the risks, helping to build more resilient communities and ending the approval of new fossil fuel projects.
date: 2026-02-04T13:54:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I move the amendment as circulated in my name: (1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (after line 23), after section 6L, insert: 6M Temporary freeze in indexation for craft beer (1) Despite any other...
encoded: I move the amendment as circulated in my name: (1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (after line 23), after section 6L, insert: 6M Temporary freeze in indexation for craft beer (1) Despite any other provision of this Act, subsection 6A(1) applies, in relation to craft beer and each CPI indexed non-draught beer rate, as if the indexation factor were 1 for each of the following indexation days: (a) 1 August 2025; (b) 1 February 2026; (c) 1 August 2026; (d) 1 February 2027. Note 1: This means the rates as they are on 31 July 2025 will be unchanged for the next 2 years. Note 2: When indexation resumes in August 2027, the indexation factor for 1 August 2027 will be applied against these unchanged rates (see subsection 6A(1)). (2) In this section: CPI indexed non-draught beer rate means a rate of duty set out in subitem 1.1, 1.5 or 1.10 of the Schedule. craft beer means beer brewed by a member of the Independent Brewers Association or a similar not-for-profit organisation representing independent, local brewers with appropriate governance of member eligibility and conduct. indexation day has the same meaning as in section 6A. Everyone knows that households and small businesses around the country have been doing it tough. The cost of living has been hurting Australians for some time now. To address that, one of the Labor Party's election promises was to pause indexation on draught beer excise and excise-equivalent customs duty rates for two years from August 2025. The idea, of course, is to ensure that the price of a cold one down at the pub stays the same for a little while longer. The legislation, the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, implements that promise. The Labor Party has a clear mandate for it, so I will be supporting the legislation. However, in my view, the underlying election promise was flawed. By pausing the excise on draught beer only, the policy mostly benefits large, multinational companies and does nothing to assist the small independent craft b…
date: 2026-02-04T09:49:00+00:00

Housing | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: I know we have a housing affordability crisis, and I know this as acutely as anyone. Despite our relatively strong position on socioeconomic scales, my electorate is one of Australia's most...
encoded: I know we have a housing affordability crisis, and I know this as acutely as anyone. Despite our relatively strong position on socioeconomic scales, my electorate is one of Australia's most unaffordable. Out doorknocking, at pop-up offices or attending local events, I hear how hard it is for people to live close by where they work, in residential aged care, in our hospitals and our schools, and how hard it is for small businesses to find people to work in the cafes, on worksites or in GP practices. So my team and I have, in earnest, been researching the availability of affordable housing options. Surely there must be some in our area of Sydney—but apparently not. Then this happened last week. The Australian Council of Social Service, or ACOSS, laid bare a remarkable statistic: the federal government is spending more on tax breaks for property investors than on social housing, homelessness services and rental assistance combined. As everyone knows, one of the biggest crises facing this country, and one of the most significant causes of growing intergenerational inequity, is the unaffordability of housing. In my own electorate of Bradfield, a mere 0.9 per cent of a total 67,000 private homes are social housing, either state housing authority or community housing provider homes. This is compared to a national average of 3.8 per cent during that same period. Over a third of renters are in housing stress—in other words, they're paying more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent. Nationwide, that position is also dire. Last week the Productivity Commission released its report on government services which showed that social housing makes up only 3.6 per cent of all dwellings, down from 5.7 per cent in the 1980s; 41 per cent of public housing waitlists is made up of households that are homeless or at risk of homelessness, up from 26 per cent in 2015; and 18.3 per cent of Commonwealth rent assistance households are in severe rental stress—that means they're payin…
date: 2026-02-03T16:01:00+00:00

Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to speak in support of the member for Curtin's motion, and I rise also to ask: what does it say about our democracy when we seem to have two sets of standards for protecting citizens from...
encoded: I rise to speak in support of the member for Curtin's motion, and I rise also to ask: what does it say about our democracy when we seem to have two sets of standards for protecting citizens from hate? We had a violent start to the modern Australian nation, and we have made some but very little progress on making good on that—little progress politically, institutionally, economically and culturally. Let's not forget report after report showing that we're not adequately closing the gap. We don't have an ATSIC, and we don't have a voice to parliament or a permanent way to have solid representation in this parliament of the hundreds of First Nations that make up Australia. We continue to stand by whilst the states and territories pass laws to allegedly address crime but which have the practical effect of discriminating, targeting young First Peoples offenders and institutionalising them in harsh, cruel cells and detention centres with little regard for their cultural, social and economic needs. We essentially add to their harm rather than help remove it. Last week, we watched as people with hate in their hearts and harm in their hands hurled a bomb into a crowd of people peacefully demonstrating—as they have for years on 26 January, as is their right, as is everyone's right in this precious but increasingly precarious democracy. Let me be clear: just as in Bondi, Sydney, where the target was Jewish people, in Forrest Place, Perth, the target was our First Peoples. This is a hate crime on the basis of race, of othering. Sadly, it felt to me that the hate shown against First Peoples on this day wasn't as seriously considered as the hate shown to others, and, therefore, that a strong response by our institutions wasn't as swift and wasn't as warranted. Let's be clear: hate on anyone in this country is hate on all of us. My message is: how our institutions, the media, the intelligence agencies and people in this place respond matters. Responding appropriately when this hate…
date: 2026-02-03T17:07:00+00:00

Perth: Attack | Motions | House debates
type: item
description: Yes, I second the motion. Question agreed to.
encoded: Yes, I second the motion. Question agreed to.
date: 2026-02-03T16:46:00+00:00

National Security | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: I rise on a point of order of relevance. The question was specifically around the reasons.
encoded: I rise on a point of order of relevance. The question was specifically around the reasons.
date: 2026-02-03T15:24:00+00:00

National Security | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is for the Prime Minister. Parliament has passed laws to combat antisemitism, hate and extremism, but legislative levers are one of a myriad of responses required to prevent terror...
encoded: My question is for the Prime Minister. Parliament has passed laws to combat antisemitism, hate and extremism, but legislative levers are one of a myriad of responses required to prevent terror attacks of the type that we saw in Bondi. You've called for a royal commission, but what are the other steps to address the underlying cultural, social and economic factors which contribute to extremism? Will you commit to adequately resourcing the implementation of a national anti-racism framework, a comprehensive strategy commissioned by your government and released in November 2024?
date: 2026-02-03T15:23:00+00:00

Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2), as circulated in my name, together: (1) Page 2 (after line 16), after clause 3, insert: 4 Sunset clause The amendments made by this Act are repealed...
encoded: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2), as circulated in my name, together: (1) Page 2 (after line 16), after clause 3, insert: 4 Sunset clause The amendments made by this Act are repealed on the day that is 2 years after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. (2) Schedule 1, item 13, page 12 (lines 1 and 2), omit "80.2C or 80.2D,". I want to be really clear about my approach to my role in this place. I am committed to doing everything that is necessary and appropriate to rid this country of the scourge of antisemitism. The murderous terror inflicted on the Jewish community and on Australians more broadly on 14 December must never be allowed to happen again. It is precisely because of that desire to get our response right that I've been so disappointed in the haste with which the government has approached this task—the severely truncated inquiry; the lack of meaningful consultation; and the limited time given to parliamentarians to review and understand the legislation, let alone an opportunity to work with the government on behalf of my constituents to try and improve it. After all, these are very significant changes being proposed. We're talking about new criminal offences with penalties of imprisonment of up to 15 years. As a lawmaker new to this place, it is utterly confounding to me that—in what is supposed to be one of the most robust parliamentary systems in the world—I'm being asked to vote on a law today which could result in someone being sentenced for up to 15 years in prison the very same day as I am receiving texts of that law. I completely understand, I respect and I support the need to act swiftly to protect people. Indeed it's the duty of this government to do so. But what if we are acting swiftly to enact laws which trade off people's rights without being sure that they will even achieved desired results? Expert after expert has expressed deep concerns about not only the substance of the laws but the process by which they will make their way th…
date: 2026-01-20T13:30:00+00:00

Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
type: item
description: I rise today with an aching heart. On 14 December our nation was shaken by the horrific terror attack at Bondi, where 15 innocent people lost their lives. Most were members of our Jewish...
encoded: I rise today with an aching heart. On 14 December our nation was shaken by the horrific terror attack at Bondi, where 15 innocent people lost their lives. Most were members of our Jewish community. They were targeted not for anything that they'd done but for who they were—for the faith that they carried in their hearts and for their identity, passed down through generations. Today we honour their memory. I honour the lives stolen too soon, the families forever changed and the communities left to grieve the unimaginable loss. I extend my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those who were killed, to those who were injured and to all who will continue to carry the trauma of that day five weeks ago. Bradfield is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in New South Wales. It includes four synagogues, Masada College and families whose roots in Australia stretch back generations. It's a community that contributes profoundly to our civic, cultural and moral life. On the first Friday after 14 December, I was invited to and attended a service at one of the synagogues in Bradfield. It was the words of its rabbi that moved me beyond words. The rabbi spoke of one of her community, a boy, who on the following morning, the Sabbath, was to complete his months of study by reading from the Torah, leading prayers and delivering his speech, culminating in his bar mitzvah, his transition to religious manhood. What is already a very profound rite of passage for a young Jewish person should have been pure joy, but in this moment it was tempered instead with yet another level of gravitas. The Rabbi spoke, among other things, of the symbolism of this young man, a young, proud Jew, as the steward of traditions and culture from generations before to the generations to come. The Rabbi spoke in general terms about him being the embodiment of resilience and resolve, which are needed more than ever in the wake of the hate crimes the Sunday before, not just for himself and his family bu…
date: 2026-01-19T18:27:00+00:00

Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.
encoded: I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.
date: 2025-11-25T17:35:00+00:00

Climate Change: Safeguard Mechanism | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The safeguard mechanism, the government's primary lever for achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions, is set to be reviewed in...
encoded: My question is for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The safeguard mechanism, the government's primary lever for achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions, is set to be reviewed in 2026-2027. In August this year, the Productivity Commission recommended reducing the threshold for facilities covered by the mechanism to those omitting 25,000 tonnes of pollution a year, down from the current 100,000 tonnes. When will the government start the review of the safeguard mechanism, and will it accept the Productivity Commission's recommendation to lower the safeguard mechanism pollution threshold?
date: 2025-11-25T14:55:00+00:00

Low-Income Superannuation Tax Offset | Motions | House debates
type: item
description: In September this year, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a panel run by Super Members Council to discuss this LISTO, the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset. It was an excellent...
encoded: In September this year, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a panel run by Super Members Council to discuss this LISTO, the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset. It was an excellent event with a sterling line-up of talented women. Panellists included Georgia Brumby, the Deputy CEO of Super Members Council; Jo Kowalczyk, the CEO of Women in Super; and Georgie Dent, the CEO of the Parenthood. Collectively, these women have worked for years to make the everyday lives of Australian women better. The topic for discussion on the day was the subject of this very motion: the need to reform the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset, or LISTO. The LISTO was introduced in 2012 and provided a payment of $500 into super for people earning less than $37,000 a year. It was designed to ensure that low-income earners don't pay more tax on their super contributions than on their take-home pay. The problem was that it had not changed since 2012, when it was introduced. The income threshold of $37,000 was out of date, and the amount of the payment itself had been devalued as a result of not keeping up with inflation. With 63 per cent of people benefiting from LISTO being women, the panel and I that day were in firm agreement that it was in need of updating. So I was pleased when the Treasurer announced in October that the government had listened and would be increasing both the amount of the LISTO and the threshold for eligibility in line with what the experts and industry had been calling for. I was equally pleased to see the way in which the government proposed to fund the changes to LISTO. The LISTO changes, it was announced, would be paid for by tweaking the government's proposal to reduce tax concessions on earnings in superannuation accounts with balances over $3 million. Tax reform is another topic entirely—one which, although needed, successive governments have shied away from. I welcomed the announcement during the last term that the government planned to reduce ta…
date: 2025-11-24T17:01:00+00:00

Cerebral Palsy | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: I recently visited the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in St Ives, in my electorate of Bradfield. The alliance hosts an awesome group of highly-valued people in our community. In a minute I'm going to...
encoded: I recently visited the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in St Ives, in my electorate of Bradfield. The alliance hosts an awesome group of highly-valued people in our community. In a minute I'm going to read a statement from one of the clients there, but firstly I want to say that I have and have had family members living with CP. Despite what so many in our communities may think is a disability or disabling condition, I would stridently argue that it's our communities that are disabling. People living with CP could much more easily participate in communities and their spaces if provided physical access and emotional safety such as smoother footpaths and longer traffic light periods for crossing safely at the lights when using wheelchairs. Emotional safety is something that so many in broader society need to understand. When speaking to someone with CP, it's important to address the person, not just the carer. Likewise, it's important that our shopping centres offer quiet places away from the noise, lights and busyness. When I visited the St Ives branch and met Magsy Karvouniaris, a client of the alliance, I was thrilled when she shared with me her perspectives on living with CP: Cerebral palsy isn't about limitations—it's a SUPERPOWER. It's a source of unique strength, courage and resilience that inspires me every day. Cerebral palsy is a condition that gently shapes how a person moves and experiences the world. It comes from a difference in the brain that happens early on in life but does not define the beautiful and amazing spirit that lives inside the person. With love and support this superpower helps me shine in my own special way and reminds me that being different is something to celebrate.
date: 2025-11-24T13:36:00+00:00

Gas Industry | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) south-east Australia is at risk of seasonal gas shortfalls by 2027 as a result of prioritising our export market; (b) there are several reasons for...
encoded: I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) south-east Australia is at risk of seasonal gas shortfalls by 2027 as a result of prioritising our export market; (b) there are several reasons for this upcoming shortfall, including: (i) gas exports commenced from Gladstone, Queensland in 2015; (ii) within a decade, 75 per cent of the total east coast gas volume demand was being exported; and (iii) since 2017, successive Commonwealth Governments have introduced overlapping, interim measures to avert shortfalls; (c) in June 2025, the Government announced it would conduct a review into gas market regulation; and (d) Australians deserve, and it should not be difficult to achieve, a sufficiently predictable, reliable, affordable and transparent market; and (2) calls on the Government to: (a) only allow uncontracted gas to be exported after it has been offered to the domestic market at a reasonable price; (b) end the cycle of changing government and regulator intervention in the gas market; (c) conduct a thorough consultation process with key stakeholders for the purpose of reviewing the Future Gas Strategy, including to more deeply consider the impact of different gas users across the economy, the role of demand management and Australia's climate change policy commitments; (d) establish a clear framework for the deployment of gas in the transition to a net zero economy, to give suppliers, investors, and large gas users the confidence to invest in clean technologies and infrastructure; and (e) anchor the approach to gas market regulation in two key objectives: (i) impose an ongoing obligation on LNG exporters to supply the domestic market, by embedding it in their export licences; and (ii) improve transparency, by transferring the gas market monitoring role from the Australian Competition Consumer Commission to the Australian Energy Regulator, with a requirement to regularly aggregate and publish price and contract terms, and market imbalances. This motion speaks to the heart…
date: 2025-11-24T10:34:00+00:00

Food Insecurity | Adjournment | House debates
type: item
description: One in three, or 3½ million, Australian households experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months, according to the Foodbank hunger report 2025, which was released yesterday. The report...
encoded: One in three, or 3½ million, Australian households experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months, according to the Foodbank hunger report 2025, which was released yesterday. The report paints a stark picture of widening food insecurity across our nation, debunking the myth that hunger only affects the unemployed or the homeless. It affects people everywhere, including in my electorate of Bradfield. The Foodbank hunger report 2025reveals that cost-of-living pressure remains the No. 1 concern for 91 per cent of food-insecure households, followed by housing and the broader economy. Behind the data, there are some real stories of families forced to skip meals so children can eat, workers going hungry to pay rising rents and people living with disability or illness struggling to put food on the table. What is food insecurity? It's a broad spectrum. Marginal food insecurity means you're worried about whether your food will run out. That is the case for about 11 per cent of Australians, but they are not in the 'one in three' category I mentioned earlier. Food insecurity takes in those that are moderately to severely insecure. If you're moderately food insecure, that means you compromise your meal choices. That is the case for 13 per cent of Australians. That means you may not choose to buy proteins like beef or nuts, or you switch out fresh fruit produce for lower-priced, less-perishable frozen fruit. Severe food insecurity means you're skipping meals—not just possibly one meal but not eating for a whole day. A troubling 20 per cent of Australians are in this category, and it's having crushing impacts on individuals and families. This week I spoke with a GP who told me that there are an increasing number of people, particularly women, presenting to his surgery with low health standards—fatigue, anaemia, anxiety, depression. When this happens, his first question goes to the patient's lifestyle and food choices, asking whether they are eating poorly or skipping meals. Un…
date: 2025-11-06T16:30:00+00:00

g54.1
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
description: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) as circulated in my name together: (1) Schedule 1, page 5 (after line 7), before item 2, insert: 1A After section 3A Insert: 3B Climate principles...
encoded: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) as circulated in my name together: (1) Schedule 1, page 5 (after line 7), before item 2, insert: 1A After section 3A Insert: 3B Climate principles Decisions under this Act must have regard to: (a) the protection of the environment from climate change, including the impacts of climate change on matters of national environmental significance; and (b) the impact of global greenhouse gas emissions on matters of national environmental significance and the environment, and the need to reduce those emissions to ensure that those matters and the environment are protected; and (c) the need to promote and support adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change; and (d) the contribution of biodiversity and functioning ecosystems to climate change mitigation and adaptation; and (e) Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; and (f) Australia's international climate change obligations including under the Paris Agreement; and (g) any other climate related matter set out in a regulation or a standard. (2) Schedule 1, page 98 (after line 11), after item 234, insert: 234A At the end of subsection 136(1) Add: ; (c) climate change matters. To explain my amendments to these bills, the bills comprising the first overhaul to our nature laws in a quarter of a century, it's useful to go back to first principles. Why do we have nature laws? What's the purpose of them? I think, if you ask the average person on the street those questions, they would answer, 'Surely, the primary purpose of nature protection laws is to protect nature.' That's a proposition that's really hard to argue with. The next question is: if the purpose of nature laws is to protect nature, what does nature need protecting from? There are many threats to nature, but the key ones that have fuelled the species extinction crisis of the past 25 years are habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change. In their current form, the government's EPBC reforms do v…
date: 2025-11-06T12:04:00+00:00

Bradfield Electorate: Women | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: I stand today to celebrate three stellar members of the Bradfield community, people who have gone above and beyond the hundreds, even thousands, of outstanding Bradfielders. The first is...
encoded: I stand today to celebrate three stellar members of the Bradfield community, people who have gone above and beyond the hundreds, even thousands, of outstanding Bradfielders. The first is Sallianne McClelland, outgoing president of Wahroonga Rotary. Named Hornsby Woman of the Year in 2018 for her incredible hard work, passion and determination to ensure the success of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter, Sallianne has gone from strength to strength, using her energy and ingenuity to contribute to our local community. Continuing as an advocate with the broader Women's Community Shelters, she now serves as deputy mayor on Hornsby Shire Council and has been invaluable in her leadership as president of Wahroonga Rotary. Sallianne has also worked directly for the benefit of younger generations in northern Sydney in her role as the volunteer club president and director of the PCYC Northern Beaches, contributing to sports, mentorship programs and crime prevention initiatives. Next up is Mayor Christine Kay, who has used her leadership position in Ku-ring-gai local government to be a powerful advocate for advancing gender equality in so many efficient ways. Elected mayor in 2024, Christine has wasted no time in using her role to foster a framework of cooperation and community-mindedness. Just some examples include championing the council setting aside grant funding of $100,000 to fight violence against women. She launched a clothing drive to empower women, partnering with Dress for Success. She established an advisory committee on council for the status of women. Furthermore, she launched a new award in July 2025 to honour inspiring women leaders and announced a menopause forum in September 2025 as part of council's commitment to supporting the health and wellbeing of women in her community. Then there is Mayor Tanya Taylor, who leads Willoughby City Council with a strong focus on sustainability, inclusivity, community engagement and cultural development. Here are just s…
date: 2025-11-05T09:36:00+00:00

Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025; Consideration in Detail | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) as circulated in my name together: (1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 7 (line 2), omit "members.", substitute "members; and". (2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 7...
encoded: by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) as circulated in my name together: (1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 7 (line 2), omit "members.", substitute "members; and". (2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 7 (line 2), at the end of subsection 110ABA(2), add: (e) 2 persons, each of whom is a member of the House of Representatives or a Senator but not a member of the Government or the Opposition. In this year's federal election, Independents and minor parties received more votes than the Liberal-National coalition, achieving 34 per cent of the primary vote. While Labor would have us focus on their 94-seat so-called supermajority, only about 35 per cent of Australians gave Labor their first preference. This is no anomaly. This is a very long trend in Australian politics. In 1975, minor parties and Independents accounted for only four per cent of the primary vote. Fifty years later, the non-major-party vote of 34 per cent represents the highest recorded since the emergence of the two-party system. That's nearly a ninefold increase. This is the modern Australian political landscape—a third of the votes for Labor, a third for the coalition and a third for the rest. Understandably, the major parties do not like this trend, and, understandably, they would like the status quo to remain where the two major parties are the only voices in Australian politics, and this bill is evidence of that. For good reason, the government is creating a parliamentary joint committee on defence, and the stated aim of the bill is to inject greater parliamentary transparency and accountability and oversight of Defence. In fact, I was very interested to hear the member for Fremantle speak on this bill last week. He seems to share my view in relation to the committee, noting it is important that, with respect to matters of national security and the national intelligence community, ordinary parliamentarians who are not members of the executive can have some visibility over these matters. These are worthy aims, and I…
date: 2025-11-05T16:52:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Treasurer. Foodbank Australia's Hunger report2025 reveals that one in three Australian households have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. This means that...
encoded: My question is to the Treasurer. Foodbank Australia's Hunger report2025 reveals that one in three Australian households have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. This means that 3½ million Australian families could be going without food tonight. Foodbank has a proposal that would make it cheaper for food producers to donate excess food to those in need, reduce food waste and save taxpayers' dollars. Will the Treasurer commit to legislating a national food donation tax incentive which would achieve these aims?
date: 2025-11-05T14:21:00+00:00