Senate debates
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
- Housing, Hanson, Senator Pauline, Tamil Oppression Day, Kurdish Community (1 speech)
If you haven't already bought a house in Sydney, it's basically impossible to do it now. Even with two wages, most families can't manage the obscene mortgages required for what used to be called... - Energy (1 speech)
Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered the verdict that Australians had feared and that the Albanese Labor government pretended would not come. The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by... - Education, Waste Management and Recycling (1 speech)
This week, school gates have swung open across the country. Families are back to that familiar rhythm. This moment always feels like a reset, but it's also a reminder of something deeper:... - Economy (1 speech)
Queenslanders are doing it tough right now—really tough. I know that, after a summer of being battered by a monsoon troughs, floods and extreme weather, Queenslanders are calling out for... - Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, Albanese Government, Queensland: Natural Disasters (1 speech)
Queensland is embarking on a bold and ambitious vision for Brisbane 2032 with the construction of the new Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park, an investment that's going to shape our capital city... - Tasmania: Hospitals, Thriving Kids (1 speech)
The hospital funding deal between the Commonwealth and the states has now been agreed to. It's been signed, sealed and sold as a win. But, for Tasmanians who rely on our public hospitals every... - Medicare (1 speech)
I rise today to speak about something that affects every Australian family: access to affordable health care. I've just come from the ABC Heywire Regional Youth Summit showcase of young people... - Indigenous Australians (1 speech)
Every day, First Peoples are under attack and dealing with racism in this country, whether it is what people say to us in the street or what they at the supermarket, online, in our workplaces or... - Bondi Beach: Attack (1 speech)
I rise with a heavy heart to reflect on the Bondi Beach massacre. On 14 December 2025 at Bondi, our country changed forever. As a nation, we are still reeling from the shock and pain of the act... - Energy (1 speech)
There actually have been two interest rate decisions this week, and I wanted to highlight the lesser known interest rate decision in my contribution today. Understandably the focus has been on... - Economy (1 speech)
Could this be the worst economic management of the Australian economy in history? It has to be close. Let's start with forecasting. One of the most important jobs that the parliament has is to... - One Nation (2 speeches)
On the day before One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson returns to the Senate, I'd like to reflect on just how Australia has changed during her absence. If a week is a long time in politics,... - Australian Society (1 speech)
The science has weighed in, and it turns out that the right of politics is the more pleasing to the eye. Research in Politics and the Life Sciences journal has now found that the more attractive... - Dapiran, Ms Faye Lynette (1 speech)
I rise today in the Senate in memory of a Labor true believer, patriot and friend to many. Her name was Faye Dapiran, a woman whose contribution to this parliament was matched only by the... - Perth: Attack (1 speech)
Since the first colonial ships landed on this continent, First Nations people have been sent a very clear message: that their lives are not valued, that their safety doesn't matter and that their... - Economy (1 speech)
I rise to speak about an issue that impacts every single Australian, whether you're paying a mortgage, whether you're renting, whether you're running your own business or whether you're a family... - Victoria: Bushfires (1 speech)
Across Australia this summer, communities have endured floods, fires and searing heat, and in many places the challenge is not over. Across Victoria, in places like the Mallee, where I grew up,... - Cost of Living (1 speech)
The Albanese Labor government has failed the most basic test of economic management. Under Labor, inflation is up, interest rates are up, and families are paying the price. Australians are now... - Victoria: Bushfires (1 speech)
I rise today to speak on behalf of the communities across regional Victoria who have endured an extraordinarily difficult and confronting bushfire season. Having visited the aftermath of the... - Liberal-National Coalition (1 speech)
Here we go again—divorce No. 2 for the coalition. Clearly, they both have their divorce lawyers on speed dial! And it's been a bumpy ride. But wait—there is hope. Apparently, they... - Discrimination (1 speech)
Australia's Commonwealth laws still allow faith based institutions to lawfully discriminate against people, whether they be teachers at schools, patients in hospitals or people relying on... - Parliamentary Representation (1 speech)
Australia likes to think that it has a two-party system, but what we really have is a political photocopier. Labor presses the button, and the Liberals take the copy. Sometimes they change the... - Johnston, Professor Emma Letitia, AO (1 speech)
On Boxing Day last year, Australia lost a visionary, an extraordinary marine scientist, a gifted educator and communicator, and a wife and mother: Professor Emma Johnston, AO. Her passing was... - Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (1 speech)
February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which is held each year to educate, advocate and elevate awareness of ovarian cancer. I recently met with a Canberran who shared the story of her... - Connolly, Mr David (4 speeches)
King Charlie, old mate, how have you been? It's me, Lidia, the angry black woman from Down Under. I hear you have a new representative in the Northern Territory—David Connolly, a man with... - Labor Government (1 speech)
Labor is bad for families. Inflation is up, four per cent is on the horizon and, according to the Reserve Bank's own analysis, it's likely to go even higher. Interest rates are on the rise once... - Early Childhood Education and Care (2 speeches)
Last week, like thousands of children across Australia, my daughter, Zara, started her first year of primary school, excited to dive straight into learning. A lifetime of adventure awaits her....
