Renee Coffey'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: Housing | Statements | House debates
items: Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Copyright Amendment Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Sharing for Kids | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: Bondi Beach: Attack | Adjournment | House debates
items: Education | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
items: Commonwealth Prac Payment | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
items: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Economy | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: National Immunisation Program: Hepatitis B | Constituency Statements | House debates
items: g119.1
items: Dismissal of the Whitlam Government: 50th Anniversary | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Energy | Questions without Notice | House debates
items: Climate Change | Private Members' Business | House debates
items: Labor Government, Coalition | Statements by Members | House debates
items: Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
items: Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide | Statements on Significant Matters | House debates

Housing | Statements | House debates
type: item
description: The Albanese Labor government is helping more Australians to realise the dream of homeownership sooner, and I'm thrilled that more than 50,000 Queenslanders have now bought their first home with...
encoded: The Albanese Labor government is helping more Australians to realise the dream of homeownership sooner, and I'm thrilled that more than 50,000 Queenslanders have now bought their first home with the help of our five per cent deposit scheme. At my last weekend mobile office in West End, I spoke with Mitchell, a young man in my electorate who finally has a real chance to enter the housing market through Labor's Help to Buy scheme. For thousands of Australians who've been locked out for too long, this is what practical support looks like, turning hope into a genuine pathway for a home. I have seen the difference this work makes through the Brisbane Housing Company project in Stones Corner. When I first visited early last year the Prime Minister and I had to wear hard hats because it was a construction site. Late last year I was delighted to welcome the Prime Minister back and to see residents moving into 82 brand-new social and affordable homes. We met John, Jan and Karen, and heard firsthand what safe, secure housing means for their lives right in the heart of our community. John said that it was the first time in years he had been able to sleep soundly. After a decade of coalition neglect we know there is more work to do, but I am proud to be part of a government that is the boldest and most ambitious on housing. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. The Albanese Labor government is tackling Australia's housing crisis by making it easier to buy and better to rent, and by building more homes faster. We are focused on delivery and we are focused on delivering for the people of Griffith and the people of Australia.
date: 2026-02-05T13:59:00+00:00

Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: Griffith is home to one of the busiest health precincts in the country, and our workforce numbers reflect that, with more than 16½ thousand healthcare and social assistance workers across my...
encoded: Griffith is home to one of the busiest health precincts in the country, and our workforce numbers reflect that, with more than 16½ thousand healthcare and social assistance workers across my electorate—the fourth highest in the country by percentage. Griffith is also home to some of Queensland's and our country's most important hospitals. The Princess Alexandra Hospital is a major teaching and research hospital, leading in major trauma care and home to Queensland's specialist adult spinal injuries rehabilitation unit. The Mater Hospital is a leader in obstetrics and provides specialist neonatal intensive care for some of our tiniest and sickest babies. I would like to shout out the Mater Foundation and also the work of the Mater Little Miracles. The Queensland Children's Hospital delivers specialist health services and care for kids and young people from right across the country, and our community also relies on the high-quality care and treatment provided by Greenslopes Private Hospital and St Vincent's private hospital. So, when we talk about strengthening Medicare, improving access to care and pursuing better health outcomes, Griffith is not watching from the sidelines. We are living it, we are staffing it and we are relying on it. But we also see the strain. We see it in how hard it can be to get a timely appointment in primary care. We see it in the pressure on emergency departments when people cannot get the right care early. We see it in aged care, where clinicians are working to keep residents stable, comfortable and safe. But the system can still create delays for matters that should be straightforward. The Albanese government made an election commitment to prioritise scope-of-practice reforms for health professionals because we know these reforms deliver real benefits to Australian patients through improved access to health care. This bill, the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025, is an important step in deliveri…
date: 2026-02-04T12:12:00+00:00

Copyright Amendment Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: In Griffith, we are lucky to live in a place that tells stories everywhere you turn. Along the Brisbane River, through the backstreets of West End, at the school crossings at Coorparoo and Camp...
encoded: In Griffith, we are lucky to live in a place that tells stories everywhere you turn. Along the Brisbane River, through the backstreets of West End, at the school crossings at Coorparoo and Camp Hill, at the weekend sports fields and in the cafes that hold a thousand conversations every day, our community is made up of people sharing knowledge, memory, culture and connection. Sometimes it's big and public, sometimes it's quiet and personal, but it is how we make sense of who we are and how we pass that on. And that brings me to copyright. Deputy Speaker, 'You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal a handbag,' and, I confidently say, 'you wouldn't steal a television.' For many Australians, that old piracy ad from 2004 is still our most vivid introduction to copyright; it has become somewhat of a cultural joke, but the point behind it still matters. Australians want to do the right thing. We want rules to be fair. We want to know what is allowed and what is not, and how to respect the people who make the work we all rely on: writers, musicians, educators, film-makers, photographers, publishers, artists and so many more. When the rules are clear and practical, people follow them—not just because they have to, but because we understand that copyright is one of the ways we recognise labour, reward creativity and keep Australian stories being made. That is the balance that this bill is working hard to strike. The Copyright Amendment Bill 2025 makes two important improvements. First, it creates a sensible way to deal with 'orphan works'—material that is still in copyright but where no-one can identify or locate the owner. Second, it makes sure the laws apply consistently in classrooms, whether teaching is happening face to face, online or in a hybrid model, including when parents or community members are supporting students. These reforms are not coming out of nowhere. They are the product of the copyright roundtables held across 2023, where stakeholders across the creati…
date: 2026-02-03T17:00:00+00:00

Sharing for Kids | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: In Griffith, going back to school can bring a sense of routine back to the house. I know it has for my household. But for some families it also brings a quiet stress, because the book list is...
encoded: In Griffith, going back to school can bring a sense of routine back to the house. I know it has for my household. But for some families it also brings a quiet stress, because the book list is long, the uniforms need replacing, the shoes have been outgrown and the basics can add up fast. That's why I want to speak today about a small idea from a young person in my Griffith community that has made a real difference. That amazing young person is seven-year-old Zoe. Zoe noticed that some children start the school year without the things many of us take for granted—a pencil case with pencils, a new notebook, glue sticks, rulers; the everyday tools that help kids feel ready to learn. And that gave Zoe an idea. She rolled into her kitchen with roller skates on, and she told her mummy that she wanted to collect supplies for kids who might not have everything they need. With that, Zoe started Sharing for Kids, a little idea from a big heart. Zoe went to different places in our community. She set up donation boxes and asked people to give what they could, and our community responded overwhelmingly. We received so many donations at our office. It absolutely filled our office with boxes of pencil cases, lunchboxes and school supplies. We had families collect these from our Stones Corner office, and we also dropped these off to many of our local schools, including the Seville Road State School, where Zara and Mia, the school leaders there, gratefully accepted these on behalf of students in their community. Sometimes the biggest ideas come from the smallest people, and that is exactly what our community knows, thanks to people like little Zoe. It's exactly stories like these that make me so proud and so honoured to represent the Griffith community. When a seven-year-old takes the lead on helping our neighbours, it tells us something important about the values being lived out in our suburbs and in our streets, of compassion, of empathy and of connectedness. It shows that our kids …
date: 2026-02-03T16:45:00+00:00

Bondi Beach: Attack | Adjournment | House debates
type: item
description: Days after the horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi on 14 December, people in my community of Griffith were shaken. I was shaken, as I know every single Australian was. If we are honest, that...
encoded: Days after the horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi on 14 December, people in my community of Griffith were shaken. I was shaken, as I know every single Australian was. If we are honest, that shock has landed on top of something else that has been building for too long, a sense in parts of our community that it is getting harder to simply belong. Over recent months, and especially in the last few weeks, as I have met with constituents and community groups across Griffith, I have heard stories that have stayed with me. I've heard from a Jewish community member who no longer feels comfortable in his own gym, a man who feels judged and condemned by those around him. I have heard from Muslim families, including a father whose daughter-in-law is now afraid to wear her hijab on the way to work or to the shop simply because of her faith. This fear and concern did not start on the on 14 December last year. Our community is clear on this. It has been building for some time through the drip of hateful rhetoric, the spread of misinformation and the steady normalisation of behaviour that makes people second guess whether they will be safe and welcome in their own suburb. Last week I had the opportunity to visit 4EB in Woolloongabba with the Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs, my friend, the member for Bruce. We sat down with the team and heard directly from trusted community voices that connect people across languages, cultures and generations. The member for Bruce said something that stuck with me about how social cohesion is a dynamic process, not an end state or a mere tick box, reminding us that it's a process that requires constant work. He said, 'Hate and violence don't result from diversity. Hate and violence result because of misinformation, polarisation and miscommunication of those differences.' We know what is putting strain on that work: echo chambers driven by algorithms, foreign malign influence and the weaponisation of overseas …
date: 2026-02-03T19:35:00+00:00

Education | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: School is back. Right across Australia and throughout my community in Griffith, the contact has been patiently placed on the books, the lunch boxes have been lovingly packed and oversized...
encoded: School is back. Right across Australia and throughout my community in Griffith, the contact has been patiently placed on the books, the lunch boxes have been lovingly packed and oversized backpacks have been heaved onto small shoulders. While our little ones are on track for the new school year, our public schools are on track for full funding. This is the biggest new investment in public schools by the Australian government ever. It's worth $16.5 billion over the next 10 years. It's not a blank cheque; it is tied to real, practical reforms to reduce the number of students who need additional support for literacy and numeracy, and help students who fall behind to catch up, keep up and to finish school. What this means in practice is more teachers in classrooms, early support for kids who fall behind, better access to wellbeing services, and properly resourced public schools that are not forced to do more with less, no matter what your postcode. When we properly fund education, we give every child a fair start and we strengthen our whole community.
date: 2026-02-03T13:43:00+00:00

Bondi Beach Attack Victims | Condolences | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to add my condolences and the condolences from my community of Griffith for those murdered in the Bondi terror attack on 14 December 2025. It's very meaningful to me to be able to add my...
encoded: I rise to add my condolences and the condolences from my community of Griffith for those murdered in the Bondi terror attack on 14 December 2025. It's very meaningful to me to be able to add my voice to those who have spoken before me—and, Mr Speaker, I would like to acknowledge how humbling it is to see that you have been sitting in that chair for almost seven hours now, showing your own deep respect for this debate. As a parent of school-aged children, at times I have looked on at the security processes and protections at schools in other nations—security checks and armed guards—and thought, with deep gratitude: 'Thank God we don't have to do that here. Thank God that here, for my children, school is a place of learning, friendship and inherent safety.' But, for so many of our Jewish families here in Australia, I know that is not the case. Jewish schools, childcare centres, places of worship and, yes, even public celebrations are all forced to plan carefully, consider safety and assess risk in moments that should be defined only by joy, community and connection. This is a deep shame to me. I am a person of faith, and not once have I ever felt afraid to be in my family's church of five generations. In a little over the last 12 months, I have gathered with our local Jewish community of Brisbane twice—once for the first anniversary of the October 7 attack, and again just weeks ago for the Bondi terror attack memorial. At both gatherings, I will admit, I was scared. I found myself scanning the crowds outside, looking at faces and at vehicles—a vigilance known all too well by our Jewish communities. And yet inside, past security checks, our Jewish community welcomed me with openness, reassurance and warmth, even as they carried their own grief. The first time I witnessed antisemitism was on another Sunday afternoon in Sydney's Bondi many years ago. It was in the checkout queue, during the couple of years I lived in the eastern suburbs of Sydney for work. A woman slamme…
date: 2026-01-19T18:01:00+00:00

Commonwealth Prac Payment | Matters of Public Importance | House debates
type: item
description: I want to thank the honourable member for Indi for her support for paid prac and her enthusiasm for supporting students, especially young people, to gain the qualifications they want and the...
encoded: I want to thank the honourable member for Indi for her support for paid prac and her enthusiasm for supporting students, especially young people, to gain the qualifications they want and the qualifications that Australia needs. In particular, I want to acknowledge her longstanding advocacy about placement poverty in regional Australia. Thank you very much. More than 20 years ago, when I first left high school, all I wanted to be was a teacher. I started off at the University of Queensland, undertaking a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. I finished all the coursework that was needed for that degree over a number of years. My intention was to graduate and to start teaching, but, when it came to my final practicum—the very last part of my qualification—there was absolutely no way that I could afford to give up work for that period and continue to pay rent and all other costs. So I had to make the very difficult decision all those years ago to graduate with an arts degree and to leave my education degree on the shelf for a bit longer. It took me a couple of years of working and saving after that point to be able to afford to return to university and finish my teaching qualifications. During that period, when I was a young adult, my gorgeous little baby niece, Bridget, was born, and, quite famously in my family, Bridget said that when she grew up she wanted to live in a 'nunit' and go to 'nooni' like 'Aunty Nay'. She has done most of that. Twenty years after that, I watched her studying her education degree and also, very recently, watched her trying to finish her practicum and not being able to afford that and have it be incredibly challenging. Due to my own experience, and, decades later, seeing my niece go through the same hardship, I was incredibly proud to be able to support this policy within the Australian Labor Party, through our conference processes. I have advocated for and supported this from its earliest stages, so I was absolutely heartened to se…
date: 2025-11-26T15:52:00+00:00

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government strengthening Medicare by delivering cheaper medicines and providing real cost-of-living relief to...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government strengthening Medicare by delivering cheaper medicines and providing real cost-of-living relief to Australians? Are there any risks to these important measures?
date: 2025-11-26T14:28:00+00:00

Economy | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is for the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government helping to ease pressure on Australians and modernise our economy? How does it compare to other approaches?
encoded: My question is for the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government helping to ease pressure on Australians and modernise our economy? How does it compare to other approaches?
date: 2025-11-25T14:39:00+00:00

Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: For many of us, Australian stories live in our memories as moments on screen that marked out whole chapters of our lives. We remember Scott and Charlene's wedding on Neighbours with the classic...
encoded: For many of us, Australian stories live in our memories as moments on screen that marked out whole chapters of our lives. We remember Scott and Charlene's wedding on Neighbours with the classic 1980s big hair and big shoulder pads, when it felt like the nation pressed pause to watch two young Aussies say 'I do' and then talked about it at school and work the next day. Who can forget sitting around the television for Molly's death on A Country Practicea heartbreaking scene in the garden—tissues in hand, as families right across the country cried together. That slow fade to black still feels like a punch in the gut to me today. We remember the collective shock and outrage when Dr Patrick died on Offspring. That gut punch of an episode had people texting other as the credits rolled, wondering how a fictional character could make us feel we had lost a friend. Even the New South Wales Police joined in the drama, posting, 'We appreciate your calls but we cannot arrest anyone at Channel 10 for killing Patrick.' Who could forget the visual of Maggie, clutching her proud bargain purchase of roadside oranges on Mother and Son or the chaotic moment as a dozen oranges wreaked havoc at the graveside—my mother threatened to buy some oranges on the way to a recent funeral—or Ernie Dingo in the house auction skit of Fast Forward. With my remaining minutes, we could barely scratch the surface of the countless incredible scenes and iconic lines from Kath and Kim. I'm sure we could hotly debate our favourites. We all know of course, it's when Kath fake-tanned her wrong arm. These moments stayed with us because they were ours—Australian characters, Australian heartbreak, Australian humour—beamed into living rooms and woven into our shared story. In Griffith, I see every day how much stories matter. On week nights in West End, Woolloongabba, Coorparoo and Carina, families pile on the couch after dinner, kids in school uniforms or pyjamas, flicking through channels trying to find somethi…
date: 2025-11-24T16:17:00+00:00

National Immunisation Program: Hepatitis B | Constituency Statements | House debates
type: item
description: In Senate estimates, I was alarmed to hear comments made by Liberal senator for South Australia, Senator Antic, about the National Immunisation Program, a program that delivers protection against...
encoded: In Senate estimates, I was alarmed to hear comments made by Liberal senator for South Australia, Senator Antic, about the National Immunisation Program, a program that delivers protection against many diseases through immunisation—a simple, safe and effective way to protect ourselves, our families and our communities. One vaccine included in the National Immunisation Program is for hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is one of the most common liver viruses in the world. It causes significant damage to the liver, causing both short-term and long-term effects and can lead to cancer. Around 200,000 Australians live with chronic hepatitis B, and thousands more are newly diagnosed every year. For First Nations Australians and for many culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the rates are even higher. The hepatitis B vaccine given to newborns is one of the safest, most effective public health measures we have. Last week in Senate estimates, Senator Antic asked: … who can tell me the rationale for newborn babies having a vaccine for a disease which is largely in the domain of intravenous drug users and prostitutes? This was from a senator in the Liberal Party of Australia. We know that there are 200,000 people in living with hepatitis B in Australia, including in vulnerable communities like sex workers, intravenous drug users, First Nations communities and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Sex workers and injecting drug users experience discrimination daily, which, sadly, results in a general acceptance of social stigma against them and internalised stigma within these communities. These people are valuable members of our community—people who matter and who deserve respect, quality health care and our protection. Included in the 200,000 people living with hepatitis B are people who have contracted the disease at birth through their mother or through exposure to unsterilised equipment, including those in tattooing and body piercing studios, from medical pro…
date: 2025-11-05T10:03:00+00:00

g119.1
type: item
title: Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
description: Every generation gets only a few chances to do something significant that truly lasts. For ours, this is one of them—to renew the laws that protect the only home we have. These reforms are...
encoded: Every generation gets only a few chances to do something significant that truly lasts. For ours, this is one of them—to renew the laws that protect the only home we have. These reforms are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect and restore our natural world and to pass on an Australia that is cleaner, greener and fairer than the one we inherited. In Griffith, we don't have to look far to see what's at stake. From the mangrove edges of Norman Creek to the summit views at Whites Hill Reserve, our community is stitched together by green corridors that give life and character to our suburbs. At dawn, rowers cut through the Brisbane River as mist hangs over the water. By dusk, lorikeets return to the canopies in our many bush corridors. These rhythms are part of who we are. Every weekend, I meet locals who tell me how much they treasure these places—people who walk our bush trails in the Seven Hills Bushland Reserve, kayak the reaches of the Brisbane River or volunteer with our many local conservation groups. Their work is quiet, local and deeply powerful. They plant, they restore, and they remind us that protecting the environment starts right here in our own backyards. The Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 honours their work and gives Australia a framework that finally matches their local efforts. The current EPBC laws date back to the Howard era in 1999, more than a quarter of a century ago. We all know these laws are simply not fit for purpose. They're outdated and broken. Across Australia, too many species are in decline, too many habitats are shrinking, and too many communities are weighed down by processes that are slow and inconsistent and lack the transparency that our communities rightly demand. Independent experts have urged us to act. In 2020, Professor Graeme Samuel's review told us the truth. The system is failing the environment and the people who depend on it. He has been plain about the urgency, saying this has been urgent for decades. From …
date: 2025-11-04T20:40:00+00:00

Dismissal of the Whitlam Government: 50th Anniversary | Private Members' Business | House debates
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description: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.
encoded: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.
date: 2025-11-03T18:42:00+00:00

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: Unions have long been one of the most important forces for fairness and safety in Australian workplaces. They've fought for rights many take for granted now—the weekend, paid leave, safer...
encoded: Unions have long been one of the most important forces for fairness and safety in Australian workplaces. They've fought for rights many take for granted now—the weekend, paid leave, safer work sites and fair pay. When unions work as they should, they give workers a voice, uphold dignity and protect lives, because every worker deserves to go home safe at the end of the day. So much of the work done in our construction industry is inherently dangerous. Every day workers, often young and often vulnerable, put their health and safety on the line to build the infrastructure our communities rely on—roads, hospitals and housing. It's hard, risky work, and these workers deserve to be paid fairly and treated with respect. Employers have a duty of care to keep their workers safe, not just because the law says so but because it's the right thing to do. Families should never have to worry about whether their loved ones will make it home from work. Close to my community of Griffith, we've seen the heartbreaking consequences when those protections fail. In 2023, 29-year-old worker Daniel Sa'u lost his life when temperatures reached a sweltering 36.1 degrees Celsius while working on the Cross River Rail site in Moorooka. His wife described Daniel as a wonderful father to their three children, a loving son and someone deeply missed by all who knew him. And earlier that same year ,17-year-old Tyler Whitton was placed in an induced coma and died the next day after a fall at a construction site in West End. He had been working for just three months before he died, and he was so proud to be able to help support his family. Tyler's grandfather wrote of his beloved beautiful grandson that 'words cannot describe the pain and complete numbness we are all experiencing, knowing that we needed to let him go'. These tragedies show the real and ever-present risks faced by construction workers. They deserve safe workplaces, proper protections and the confidence that their employers are looking o…
date: 2025-11-03T13:24:00+00:00

Energy | Questions without Notice | House debates
type: item
description: My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How are the Albanese Labor government's policies to deliver more renewable energy, backed by batteries, helping Australians? What...
encoded: My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How are the Albanese Labor government's policies to deliver more renewable energy, backed by batteries, helping Australians? What policies would threaten this progress?
date: 2025-10-30T15:00:00+00:00

Climate Change | Private Members' Business | House debates
type: item
description: (): That this House: (1) notes the: (a) Government has accepted the Climate Change Authority's independent advice and has set Australia's climate change target at a range of between 62 to 70 per...
encoded: (): That this House: (1) notes the: (a) Government has accepted the Climate Change Authority's independent advice and has set Australia's climate change target at a range of between 62 to 70 per cent on 2005 emissions; (b) release of the National Climate Risk Assessment, which found that no Australian community will be immune from climate risks that will be cascading, compounding and concurrent; and (c) release of the Department of the Treasury's modelling on 18 September, which found Australia's ambitious and achievable plan to reduce emissions will support continued economic growth, higher living standards and employment, including 2.3 million more people being employed by 2035, and Australia's economy being up to $2 trillion worse off cumulatively by 2050 compared to a disorderly transition scenario; (2) recognises the Government is delivering on its promises which Australians voted for to act on climate change, upgrade our energy system and seize the economic opportunity before our nation; and (3) calls on the Opposition to leave the climate wars in the past, solve its internal divisions and join the rest of the Parliament in taking meaningful action on climate change. My electorate of Griffith is a diverse one—young families alongside older Australians, university students, thriving culturally and linguistically diverse communities, small business owners, healthcare workers, people getting by on a little and people with much more—and while this diversity leads to a range of views on many issues it became clear through my door knocking on the lead-up to the last election of almost 15,000 homes in my electorate that there is one issue most people and Griffith agree on—that is, that climate change is a real and clear and absolutely present danger for us globally, across Australia and locally in my community of Griffith. The people in my community didn't need to wait to read the recently released national climate risk assessments to see the risks that climate chang…
date: 2025-10-27T18:28:00+00:00

Labor Government, Coalition | Statements by Members | House debates
type: item
description: Half a year on from the election, our government's focus has never wavered. We're getting on with the job of building a stronger, fairer Australia and improving the lives of the people that we...
encoded: Half a year on from the election, our government's focus has never wavered. We're getting on with the job of building a stronger, fairer Australia and improving the lives of the people that we represent. For my community in Griffith we're strengthening the foundations of our health system, investing in bulk-billing, making essential medicines cheaper and investing in the services that families rely on. We're backing education, from new facilities and better resources in our schools to fairer funding deals and meaningful relief for people carrying student debt, with around $16 billion wiped from their HECS balances, wiping the debt of almost 32,000 predominantly young people in my electorate and delivering tax cuts for all Australians, not just those at the top. While we're working to deliver real outcomes for our communities, those opposite are busy turning on one another. Their party room is consumed by internal flights, by leaks and by name-calling. They are more divided and more divisive than ever before. They have no plan, no unity and no vision. We're focused on governing for Australians, not fighting amongst ourselves. While they remain stuck in yesterday's arguments, we will keep moving forward, delivering stronger services, better opportunities and a future our communities can believe in.
date: 2025-10-09T13:31:00+00:00

Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | House debates
type: item
description: I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Before coming to this place, I had the honour of working and volunteering in the...
encoded: I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Before coming to this place, I had the honour of working and volunteering in the Australian charity and non-profit sector for more than two decades as a volunteer, a fundraiser, a leader of teams, a CEO and a board director of other charities and nonprofits working within the sector. In that time, I had the opportunity to work to advance reconciliation between the broader community and First Nations people in South Australia, to empower young people across Australia to thrive beyond the impacts of family mental illness and to support more than 1,000 First Nations young people to gain transformative scholarships from communities throughout Australia. With each of the charities and non-profits I worked, I have been proud to work at the intersection of government, corporate and philanthropic bodies to help deliver remarkable outcomes for our community through genuine partnerships, where the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Every single day in my career and my volunteering in Australia, and especially in my electorate of Griffith, I saw volunteers, donors, partners, fundraisers and community organisations roll up their sleeves to help where governments and markets cannot. In Camp Hill, a Care Kits for Kids volunteer packs a backpack for a child who has recently entered foster care. In Musgrave Park, a Rosies volunteer hands a warm cup of coffee to someone sleeping rough. In a Morningside warehouse, a Foodbank worker manoeuvres a forklift to place another pallet of rescued food in place, ready for collection. In South Brisbane, a new, life-saving, state-of-the-art incubator is wheeled into a ward with funding from the Mater Foundation and Mater Little Miracles. Charities and non-profits enrich our communities. They support families and vulnerable Australians in tough times, and they deliver services that we, as governments, could not deliver alo…
date: 2025-10-08T12:37:00+00:00

Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide | Statements on Significant Matters | House debates
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description: As we approach World Suicide Prevention Day next week, it's important to reflect on what we have learned from the recent Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and the progress we, as...
encoded: As we approach World Suicide Prevention Day next week, it's important to reflect on what we have learned from the recent Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and the progress we, as a government, have made. On 8 July 2021, the Australian government established the royal commission. The inquiry, which concluded on 28 August last year, examined systemic issues and common themes in past deaths by suicide of Australian Defence Force members and veterans. Importantly, this included suspected suicides and the lived experience of suicide risk. The royal commission delivered its interim report on 11 August 2022, and the final report was delivered in September last year. I sincerely thank those serving and ex-serving personnel and their families who bravely shared their stories with the royal commission. Anyone who has read the report has encountered heartbreaking and devastating stories of anguish and loss. I say to those who spoke up that your courage and your commitment have provided us all with an opportunity to learn and strengthen how we, as the federal government, approach the mental health and welfare of current serving members, veterans and, as importantly, their families. Last year, the Albanese government released the Defence and Veteran Family Wellbeing Strategy. This delivers on Labor's commitment to identify ways to better support the families of Defence personnel and veterans, and it will further assist in responding to the royal commission. Delivering the strategy will help families to access appropriate housing solutions, offer greater certainty around locations for Defence Force personnel and their families, and provide better support during and after transition for ADF families. I listened with great interest—and, to be frank, quite a bit of pride—this morning as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon. Matt Keogh, updated the House on the progress that has been made since the royal commission and its final report. I'm fortunate to have so…
date: 2025-09-04T12:00:00+00:00