The SPEAKER ( Hon. Milton Dick ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PETITIONS COMMITTEE
REPORT No. 5
Ministerial Responses
13 February 2023
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
Chair Ms Susan Templeman MP
Deputy Chair Mr Ross Vasta MP
Mr Sam Birrell MP
Ms Alison Byrnes MP
Ms Lisa Chesters MP
Mr Garth Hamilton MP
Ms Tracy Roberts MP
Ms Meryl Swanson MP
Report summarising the petitions and Ministerial responses being presented.
The committee met in private session in the 47th Parliament on 8 February 2023.
The following 23 ministerial responses to petitions were received:
From the Minister for Social Services to a petition regarding parental leave for stay-at-home dads (EN1838)
From the Minister for the Public Service to a petition regarding age discrimination in the public service (EN2627)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding the name used for 'Persian Gulf' (EN2805)
From the Minister for Financial Services to a petition regarding early access to superannuation (EN2941)
From the Minister for Financial Services to a petition regarding increasing the superannuation concessional cap (EN2997)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding support for the people of Afghanistan (EN3164)
From the Minister for Financial Services to a petition regarding extending the temporary COVID-19 grounds for early release of superannuation (EN3190)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding assistance and logistical support to armed groups in Afghanistan (EN3199)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding humanitarian support for Tigray Ethiopia (EN3340)
From the Minister for Financial Services to a petition regarding the cost of financial advice for consumers (EN3360)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding the recognition of genocide against the Yazidi community (EN3404)
From the Minister for Health and Aged Care to a petition regarding delay on delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations to vulnerable Australians (EN3410)
From the Minster for the Public Service to a petition regarding a mandate for all public servants to be vaccinated (EN3528)
From the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet to a petition regarding a change in the National Anthem to Thirty Merc's "In the Summertime" (EN3689)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding joint custody arrangements in Japan (EN3897)
From the Minister for Foreign Affairs to a petition regarding the detention and release of Professor Sean Turnell in Myanmar (EN3917)
From the Minister for Defence to a petition regarding defence personnel assistance during natural disaster (EN4048)
From the Minister for Communications to a petition regarding mobile phone reception in the Lucas area (EN4060)
From the Minister for Defence to a petition regarding gender equity for frontline combat roles and conscription (EN4069)
From the Treasurer to a petition regarding a new $5 note featuring Steve Irwin (EN4471 and EN4472)
From the Minister for Health and Aged Care to a petition regarding bulk billed paediatric appointments for under 18's (EN4502)
From the Minster for Health and Aged Care to a petition regarding Nunyara Aboriginal Health Service (EN4549)
From the Minister for Social Services to a petition regarding eligibility for aged pension (EN4564)
Correction to previous presentation
In Report 04 presented on 6 February 2023 the incorrect petition number (EN4048) was given to a response from the Minister for Financial Services. The correct information is:
From the Minister for Financial Services to a petition regarding superannuation contributions for Members of Parliament (EN4084)
Ms Susan Templeman MP
Chair—Petitions Committee
Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022
The pamphlets are often full of not only misleading statements but sometimes lies that we know to be false.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Cleaning up Political Donations) Bill 2023
That this bill be now read a second time.
The fact fossil fuel interests donated more to Labor than to the Liberal and National parties suggests the coal and gas firms sensed Labor was headed for victory and shows the whole point of companies donating to political parties is to gain access to decisionmakers.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Stop PEP11 and Protect Our Coast) Bill 2023
That this bill be now read a second time.
This PEP-11 project should be consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs.
We stood at Terrigal and made it very clear that we were opposed to PEP-11. That was a process that went through our processes of shadow cabinet and through our caucus unanimously because this is a bad proposal.
… the truth is that the people of the northern beaches have been abandoned by this government. The people of the Central Coast have been abandoned by this government. The people of Newcastle and the Hunter have been abandoned by this government. The people of Sydney around the Kingsford Smith and, indeed, Wentworth electorates have been abandoned by this government as well.
Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2023
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) Australia's housing stock has lagged behind that of many countries in terms of its thermal performance and the performance of heating, cooling and other energy systems; and
(b) inefficient buildings are unhealthy for occupants and lead to a range of poor respiratory and cognitive outcomes, particularly when inefficient fossil fuels are used indoors for heating or cooking; and
(2) calls on the Government to consider incentives and regulation to accelerate building improvements such as:
(a) a specific economy-wide target for improvement in energy performance;
(b) a specific target within the National Energy Performance Strategy for building electrification;
(c) improving the thermal envelope of buildings through insulation, double glazing, draught-proofing and other initiatives; and
(d) providing assistance to low-income households, in particular those living in rentals and strata buildings, to reduce energy consumption and associated bills.
That this House notes that the Government:
(1) has been delivering on its plan for a better future over the 2022-23 summer break;
(2) is being a responsible and honest government, accountable and upfront with the Australian people in the tough times we face;
(3) is cleaning up the mess left to us by the Governments of Prime Ministers, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison; and
(4) will continue to deliver targeted and responsible cost of living relief to Australians in 2023 as part of delivering on our plan for a better future.
Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 being introduced into the Senate by Senator Price;
(2) recognises the need for immediate action to address underlying issues across parts of the Northern Territory following months of escalating crime incidents; and
(3) condemns the lack of urgent action taken by the Commonwealth Government in addressing community concerns in relation to alcohol-related harm across vulnerable communities in the Northern Territory.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
That Dr Haines, Mr L O'Brien and Mr Wolahan be appointed members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023
That this bill be read a second time.
Pearson merely limited the blunt instrument that is mandatory cancellation in its application to aggregate sentences.
… … …
Unnecessary, cruel, politicised policy-making—and in particular, the retrospective overruling of inconvenient court rulings—is a hallmark of previous governments, an approach that has harmed thousands of individuals and families, eroded the rule of law, and left Australia's migration system in disarray.
To release and then re-detain roughly 100 people in the space of weeks is abhorrently cruel, and will devastate those people and their families.
'In the first half of the week alone we had 1000 people—
'Budgets are stretched and lots of people are needing to find savings wherever they can.'
I do understand that, as a result of and connected to the disruption and dislocation of many people across the region … there has been a rise in antisocial behaviour in Broome, Derby and Kununurra.
It's hard to put into words what this means.
We came to Australia with so much hope for a safe and bright future.
Instead, we were met with a decade of cruelty and limbo, unable to build our future here with any certainty.
This change will gift a new life to so many people in our community, the opportunity for them to start their lives again.
It is extraordinarily difficult to understand how anybody could imagine that this is going to be anything other than a spectacular financial disaster.
Wholesale electricity and gas prices declined in response to the announcement of the temporary price caps on domestic gas and thermal coal in the Energy Price Relief Plan on 9 December 2022.
Futures markets now suggest that wholesale electricity and gas prices will be lower in 2023 and 2024 than previously expected …
The Applicant would have good prospects of succeeding in a claim for relief on the basis that the use of apportioned ATO PAYG data will not establish that she owed a debt under—
As will be clear from the above, our analysis suggests that there are wider legal risks involved in the Commonwealth solely using apportioned PAYG Data to determine whether a debt is owed to the Commonwealth in relation to the payment of social security dependent on a fortnightly income test.
The outcome of the class action … is not compensation for the meals that were skipped, school trips that were foregone, and the stress, fear and despair that some families and individuals no doubt experienced.
I would like to hear remorse from the Robodebt architects for causing such harm.
Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023
(1) Page 7 (after line 33), at the end of the Bill, add:
Schedule 2 — Strengthening the character test
Migration Act 1958
1 Before subsection 5C(1)
Insert:
Character concern
2 After paragraph 5C(1)(a)
Insert:
(aa) the non-citizen has been convicted of a designated offence (see subsections (3) to (7)); or
3 Before subsection 5C(2)
Insert:
Substantial criminal record
4 At the end of section 5C
Add:
Designated offences — general
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a designated offence is an offence against a law in force in Australia, or a foreign country, in relation to which the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) one or more of the physical elements of the offence involves:
(i) violence, or a threat of violence, against a person (see subsections (4) and (5)); or
(ii) non-consensual conduct of a sexual nature, including (without limitation) sexual assault and the non-consensual commission of an act of indecency or sharing of an intimate image; or
(iii) breaching an order made by a court or tribunal for the personal protection of another person; or
(iv) using or possessing a weapon (as defined by subsection (6)); or
(v) aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv); or
(vi) inducing the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv), whether through threats or promises or otherwise; or
(vii) being in any way (directly or indirectly) knowingly concerned in, or a party to, the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv); or
(viii) conspiring with others to commit an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv);
(b) for an offence against a law in force in Australia—the offence is punishable by:
(i) imprisonment for life; or
(ii) imprisonment for a fixed term of not less than 2 years; or
(iii) imprisonment for a maximum term of not less than 2 years;
(c) for an offence against a law in force in a foreign country—if it were assumed that the act or omission constituting the offence had taken place in the Australian Capital Territory:
(i) the act or omission would have constituted an offence (the Territory offence ) against a law in force in that Territory; and
(ii) the Territory offence would have been punishable as mentioned in subparagraph (b)(i), (ii) or (iii).
Designated offences — violence against a person
(4) For the purposes of subparagraph (3)(a)(i), violence against a person includes an act constituting an offence of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, robbery or assault, or an equivalent offence.
(5) Despite subparagraph (3)(a)(i) and subsection (4), a person's conviction for an offence of common assault, or an equivalent offence, is taken not to be a conviction for a designated offence unless the act constituting the offence for which the person was convicted:
(a) causes or substantially contributes to:
(i) bodily harm to another person; or
(ii) harm to another person's mental health (within the meaning of the Criminal Code );
whether temporary or permanent; or
(b) involves family violence (as defined by subsection 4AB(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 ) by the person in relation to another person.
Designated offences — possessing a weapon
(6) For the purposes of subparagraph (3)(a)(iv), a weapon includes:
(a) a thing made or adapted for use for inflicting bodily injury; and
(b) a thing where the person who has the thing intends or threatens to use the thing, or intends that the thing be used, to inflict bodily injury.
Designated offences — ancillary offences
(7) Despite subparagraphs (3)(a)(v) to (viii), a person's conviction for an offence covered by any of those subparagraphs because of the operation of subparagraph (3)(a)(i) (as affected by subsection (4)), in relation to the commission of an offence (the primary offenc e ) by another person, is taken not to be a conviction for a designated offence if, were the other person to be convicted of the primary offence, that conviction would not be a conviction for a designated offence because of the operation of subsection (5).
5 After paragraph 501(6)(a)
Insert:
(aaa) the person has been convicted of a designated offence (see subsections (7AA) to (7AE)); or
6 After subsection 501(7)
Insert:
Designated offences — general
(7AA) For the purposes of the character test, a designated of fence is an offence against a law in force in Australia, or a foreign country, in relation to which the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) one or more of the physical elements of the offence involves:
(i) violence, or a threat of violence, against a person (see subsections (7AB) and (7AC)); or
(ii) non-consensual conduct of a sexual nature, including (without limitation) sexual assault and the non-consensual commission of an act of indecency or sharing of an intimate image; or
(iii) breaching an order made by a court or tribunal for the personal protection of another person; or
(iv) using or possessing a weapon (as defined by subsection (7AD)); or
(v) aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv); or
(vi) inducing the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv), whether through threats or promises or otherwise; or
(vii) being in any way (directly or indirectly) knowingly concerned in, or a party to, the commission of an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv); or
(viii) conspiring with others to commit an offence that is a designated offence because of any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv);
(b) for an offence against a law in force in Australia—the offence is punishable by:
(i) imprisonment for life; or
(ii) imprisonment for a fixed term of not less than 2 years; or
(iii) imprisonment for a maximum term of not less than 2 years;
(c) for an offence against a law in force in a foreign country—if it were assumed that the act or omission constituting the offence had taken place in the Australian Capital Territory:
(i) the act or omission would have constituted an offence (the Territory offence ) against a law in force in that Territory; and
(ii) the Territory offence would have been punishable as mentioned in subparagraph (b)(i), (ii) or (iii).
Designated offences — violence against a person
(7AB) For the purposes of subparagraph (7AA)(a)(i), violence against a person includes an act constituting an offence of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, robbery or assault, or an equivalent offence.
(7AC) Despite subparagraph (7AA)(a)(i) and subsection (7AB), a person's conviction for an offence of common assault, or an equivalent offence, is taken not to be a conviction for a designated offence unless the act constituting the offence for which the person was convicted:
(a) causes or substantially contributes to:
(i) bodily harm to another person; or
(ii) harm to another person's mental health (within the meaning of the Criminal Code );
whether temporary or permanent; or
(b) involves family violence (as defined by subsection 4AB(1) of the Family Law Act 197 5 ) by the person in relation to another person.
Designated offences — possessing a weapon
(7AD) For the purposes of subparagraph (7AA)(a)(iv), a weapon includes:
(a) a thing made or adapted for use for inflicting bodily injury; and
(b) a thing where the person who has the thing intends or threatens to use the thing, or intends that the thing be used, to inflict bodily injury.
Designated offences — ancillary offences
(7AE) Despite subparagraphs (7AA)(a)(v) to (viii), a person's conviction for an offence covered by any of those subparagraphs because of the operation of subparagraph (7AA)(a)(i) (as affected by subsection (7AB)), in relation to the commission of an offence (the primary offence ) by another person, is taken not to be a conviction for a designated offence if, were the other person to be convicted of the primary offence, that conviction would not be a conviction for a designated offence because of the operation of subsection (7AC).
7 Application of amendments
(1) Paragraph 5C(1)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958 , as in force on and after the commencement of this item, applies for the purposes of subsection 336E(2) of that Act in relation to a disclosure of identifying information that is made on or after that commencement.
(2) Paragraph 501(6)(aaa) of the Migration Act 1958 , as in force on and after the commencement of this item, applies to:
(a) a decision to grant or refuse to grant a visa, if:
(i) the application for the visa was made before that commencement and had not been finally determined as at that commencement; or
(ii) the application for the visa is made on or after that commencement; and
(b) a decision made on or after that commencement to cancel a visa.
(3) The provisions of the Migration Act 1958 mentioned in subitems (1) and (2) apply as mentioned in those subitems in relation to a person whether the person committed or was convicted of the relevant designated offence before, on or after the commencement of this item.
The House divided. [16:10]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
(1) Page 7 (after line 33), at the end of the Bill, add:
Schedule 2 — Character test
Migration Act 1958
1 After subsection 501(7)
Insert:
(7AA) Paragraphs (7)(c) and (d) do not apply if the person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less, and any of the following apply:
(a) the person is a person for whom a protection finding within the meaning of subsections 197C(4) to (7) has been made;
(b) the person is a person in respect of whom Australia has non-refoulement obligations;
(c) the person is stateless;
(d) the person has arrived in Australia and has been granted a visa on humanitarian grounds.
The Court made a finding of proportionate balance, it was a step towards a more humane system.
The House divided. [16:36]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
The House divided. [16:41]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022
… it is impossible for the Parliament to hold Ministers to account for the administration of departments if it does not know which Ministers are responsible for which departments.
National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill 2022
Cuts to the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and Entrepreneurs Programme in 2022 deprive the NRF of two main pipelines for preparing innovative SMEs to be investment-ready.
Unlike many other countries, Australia does not face food shortages.
Implementation of below-the-line activity through newly created investment vehicles (National Reconstruction Fund … should be phased appropriately, and, more broadly, a proliferation of such vehicles should be avoided.
Cost-of-living support in light of high energy prices should be targeted, aimed at protecting vulnerable households and small viable firms.
… it is not necessary to provide for further parliamentary scrutiny of the timing of particular transfers to the Special Account.
Australia can be a place that makes things. But it won't just happen because we declare it so.
I'm currently pregnant and put myself and unborn child and my family at risk every time I assess a febrile patient wearing a simple surgical mask (this is all we are to have access too …
Work in aged care. Do not have access to PPE, is locked up. Have new residents, residents that go to hospital, visit family come back to the facility. I have no PPE to protect myself or them.
The fact that we are expected to work with inadequate PPE is disgraceful, and runs contrary to OH&S regulations in every other facet of working life. At my hospital, we have masks rationed, and are only allowed to use surgical masks to intubate patients. We re-use goggles (when you can find them).
The PPE we have been given has been sub-optimal, surgical masks sent from China with very poor packaging and have been very flimsy/not moulding to our faces properly. We have been told we cannot wear N95 masks until a patient is proven positive, which at times is taking several days. Our health is compromised every day we work and I fear for my colleagues and my own safety.
In Silicon Valley, if you're not a white man, your identity is a ball and chain, from which you cannot escape.
There may be cracks in the Silicon Ceiling, but it is far from shattered.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ) took the chair at 10:30.
The first of my family to settle in Australia arrived in Tasmania in 1836. Many more came by sea in the following years. They weren't distinguished people but their arrivals can all be found in Trove. As can their births, engagements, marriages and deaths. Their small honours and rewards, serving their country in its wars and more besides. We cherish their stories which would be lost without Trove.
Failure to provide ongoing funding for the Trove service will have a serious impact on our museum's ability to inform the public and support ongoing research on tramway history.
Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.
I'm convinced, having seen it, this project has real merit.
… I'm confident, provided this project meets the parameters of the program, which I'm sure it will, it's exactly the sort of project that should be funded.
Ultimately, I'm the guy who will make the decision on the funding … having seen it you'd be foolish to not realise how important this project is to the community.
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the Order of Australia is the highest national honour awarded to Australian citizens for outstanding contributions to our country or humanity at large;
(2) notes that since being established by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1975, there have been 40,000 recipients of awards in the Order of Australia;
(3) recognises and celebrates the 1,047 Australia Day 2023 awards recipients, including 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia for meritorious, distinguished and conspicuous service;
(4) further acknowledges community members recognised through Australia Day 2023 Local Citizen of the Year Awards; and
(5) congratulates all the recipients of awards on Australia Day 2023.
That this House:
(1) notes that Tuesday, 7 February 2023 marked 14 years since the Victorian Black Saturday Bushfires that saw:
(a) 173 lives lost;
(b) 414 injuries; and
(c) over 3,500 structures destroyed, including over 2,000 homes;
(2) thanks the:
(a) brave men and women of the respective emergency service organisations for their brave work on that day, fighting around 400 individual fires; and
(b) dedicated volunteers who came to the aid of the devastated communities; and
(3) remembers the people who lost their lives on that day and those who we have lost since then.
… less about moving on and more about adapting to that experience and figuring out how to live while carrying that experience with you.
You incorporate the experience into every cell of your mind and body. It's really how you work with that as you progress through life. Because it's a part of you and it will always be part of you. And you can't move on from that.
The wind change would prove to be a bullet dodged for the residents of Melbourne's outer suburbs, a close escape most still don't understand they had. Given its speed, energy and direction, in another hour or two the inferno would have descended upon the tightly packed, overgrown suburbs of the northeast: Warrandyte, Hurstbridge, Diamond Creek, Greensborough, Eltham. For Melbourne it was a near miss.
That this House:
(1) notes the:
(a) increased use of unregulated nicotine vaping products (vapes) in Australia, particularly among young people;
(b) serious health implications of the unregulated use of vapes; and
(c) increasing community concern about the prevalence and accessibility to vapes;
(2) acknowledges that the Therapeutic Goods Association has sought public comment on potential reforms to the regulation of nicotine vaping products aimed at preventing children and adolescents from accessing vapes, while supporting access to products of known composition and quality for smoking cessation with a doctor's prescription; and
(3) calls on the Government to address the problems associated with increased access to and use of vapes, particularly among young people.
There is strong evidence that never smokers who use e-cigarettes are on average around three times as likely than those who do not use e-cigarettes to initiate cigarette smoking.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) according to Volunteering Australia's Key Volunteering Statistics, volunteers contributed almost 600 million hours of voluntary work to local communities in 2019;
(b) the Australian Bureau of Statistic's General Social Survey estimates that 30 per cent of Australians, aged 15 and over, participated in volunteer work in 2019 dropping to 25 per cent in 2020; and
(c) volunteering contributes billions of dollars in economic value to the economy as well as substantial social and community value;
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the recruitment efforts and operational ability of many local and national charity organisations;
(b) volunteering rates decreased substantially in 2020 and the 2021 Census showed a 19 per cent decrease in volunteering compared to the 2016 data;
(c) people in our community rely on the critical role of volunteers and any decrease in volunteering numbers impacts the most vulnerable in our community;
(d) the Government is continuing to provide support through grant programs for organisations;
(e) Australia needs a new approach to encourage people to participate with a greater focus on younger people; and
(f) the 'National Strategy for Volunteering' by Volunteering Australia is an important process in modernising Australia's volunteering systems;
(3) encourages all Australians to volunteer for the betterment of their local communities; and
(4) expresses support for the organisations and individuals who dedicate their time for the betterment of our communities.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) serious mental health issues are often at their highest two to three years after a crisis, pandemic or natural disaster;
(b) the previous Government made significant progress in supporting the mental health of Australians by doubling Medicare-subsidised sessions through the Better Access initiative; and
(c) the current Government has halved the 20 sessions to ten from 1 January 2023;
(2) condemns the Government for prioritising their budget over the health and wellbeing of Australians; and
(3) further notes the Government's use of the independent evaluation of the Better Access initiative to defend their decision to rip away mental health support from Australians, is disingenuous given that Recommendation 12 clearly states, 'the additional 10 sessions should continue to be made available and should be targeted towards those with complex mental health needs'.
We should regard people's access to mental health care as no different to if someone who breaks an arm.
The government commissioned Better Access evaluation released today found workforce shortages and location as key barriers to patient care which makes the axing of the additional sessions program harder to understand.
This program safely gave many people telehealth or in-person psychological care for the first time in their lives, yet many patients will now have to ration or stop treatment altogether.
Just as people shouldn't be asked to ration vital medicines like insulin, they shouldn't have to ration mental health care.
… we should regard people's access to mental healthcare as no different from if someone breaks an arm—they expect to get treated by a doctor.
Mental Health Australia chair Matt Berriman said the cut to Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions had raised broader concerns about the mental health system. He challenged the government to reveal its longer-term plan for the sector.
"We need added services and action yesterday, not less," Berriman said.
"The new government should make mental health a key priority, which has seemed to have been lost since taking power. Where's Labor's plan for mental health in this country?"
He said while there was a "small group of people that for which an extra 10 sessions would be helpful", the extra sessions amounted to a "really weak and inadequate" second-tier solution.
… serious mental health issues are often at their highest two to three years after a crisis, pandemic or natural disaster …
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the significant contributions made by the more than 180,000 Australians who participate in a variety of motorsports nationwide, every year;
(2) recognises that motorsports have a substantial impact on the Australian economy, which:
(a) is estimated to be worth as much as $8.6 billion a year;
(b) supports a workforce of over 65,000 people, including:
(i) 46,800 direct and indirect jobs; and
(ii) 18,900 unpaid volunteers and officials; and
(c) in 2019 included almost 10,000 events across Australia, from the Grand Prix to club meets, attracting thousands of competitors and fans, boosting local economies through retail, hospitality, and tourism expenditure; and
(3) supports the ongoing development of motorsports in Australia, particularly at a grassroots level.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) skin cancer, particularly melanoma, is and remains a greatly concerning health problem in Australia;
(b) Australians require more equitable access to skin cancer checks with the need for greater access through general practitioner (GP) clinics and dermatologists;
(c) early diagnosis is the key to good outcomes;
(d) not-for-profit groups, such as the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Council, are the key to better awareness of skin cancer and the importance of early diagnosis; and
(e) diagnosis is being inhibited by the costs involved in GP and dermatologist skin cancer checks; and
(2) calls for the consideration of a separate bulk-billed GP and specialist item number for skin cancer checks.
That this House:
(1) notes the Government will have delivered cheaper medicines from 1 January 2023 with millions of Australians paying almost 30 per cent less for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) scripts; and
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) for the first time in its 75-year history, the maximum cost of general scripts under the PBS will fall; and
(b) the Government is helping to ease the squeeze on household budgets for millions of Australians.
When seeking to purchase a monthly update of my prescription which I have been taking for several years, my pharmacist advised there is currently no stock. It is now several weeks that I have been waiting for supplies to be available. My pharmacist has me on a priority list and has undertaken to call me once he has some stock. Hopefully next week.
I have found out from my doctor that the company has stopped making my drug and no other company makes it as it is no longer profitable. That is the bottom line. So I have to come off them gradually and then nothing for at least a week before I can try a new drug.
On several occasions when I have been unable to get my diabetes medication I have gone on to half dose to make the supply I have last a little longer.