2016-09-12 45 1 1 House of Reps 0 1

Monday, 12 September 2016

The SPEAKER ( Hon. Tony Smith ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.

 

COMMITTEES 1 COMMITTEES Selection Committee 1 Report 1 10:01 The SPEAKER 00APG I present the report of the determinations made pursuant to a resolution of the House on 31 August 2016 relating to private members' business today, Monday, 12 September. Copies of the report have been placed on the table. Treaties Committee 1 Membership 1 10:01 The SPEAKER 00APG I have received a message from the Senate informing the House that Senators Back, Farrell, Fawcett, Hanson-Young, Macdonald, Singh and Sterle have been appointed members of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. BUSINESS 1 BUSINESS Rearrangement 1 10:02 Mr WILKIE C2T Denison At the request of the member for Kennedy, I fix the next sitting Monday as the day for presenting the Dairy Produce Amendment (Milk Marketing Board) Bill 2016. BILLS 1 BILLS Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 1

Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2016

First Reading 1 Second Reading 1 10:03 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today is a chance for our parliament to prove its worth and fulfil its purpose. Today we can bring a new measure of hope and happiness to the lives of tens of thousands of Australians whose love has been denied equality under the law for too long. Together we can vote to make marriage equality a reality. I stand here today to echo the sentiments of so many of our fellow Australians, who cannot comprehend why their children, their brothers and sisters, their friends and neighbours are considered equal in every right but one: the right to marry the person they love. I speak on behalf of Australians like Wilma Lorne. Wilma is 89; she has 14 grandchildren. Three of her grandsons are gay. After her husband of 62 years marriage passed away, Wilma wrote to me about her grandsons and their partners, saying: 'I see the same love and commitment that my husband and I shared, just as much as all my other grandchildren, who are happily married. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to attend their weddings.' I speak for Tony Rogers and Ken Armstrong from the Blue Mountains, who have shared each other's lives for 23 years. When Ken needed a kidney transplant, Tony was the donor. Both men are proud Australians—they love our country. They can trace their ancestry back to the First Fleet. And there is nowhere else in the world they want to get married. Today I speak for Sophie Meredith and Alison Gerrard, who have been together for eight years. They wear rings. They have two children, whom they adore. They fulfil all the obligations of marriage: care, respect, love and family. Yet they are excluded. Their relationship is, in the eyes of our laws, somehow different—somehow less. Go down any street in Australia and you can hear these stories: hardworking people, raising children, building communities and serving the country made to feel like second-class citizens through one last, lingering relic of legal prejudice. It is in our power in this place to change that once and for all. That is why Labor promised to deliver marriage equality within our first 100 days. Today we seek to honour that promise. I live in a blended family. I have step-children, who I love as my own children. Part of the reason Chloe and I chose to remarry is because we wanted a sense of formal equality between our other children and their baby sister. And, of course, from time to time you still hear people talking about the superior moral value of a traditional family. It is a narrowness I have learned to live with. But for LGBTI Australians and their families those criticisms are far more common, far more cruel and they are backed by actual legal discrimination. Why should the children of LGBTI Australians be denied the formal recognition of their parents' relationship? Some might say that marriage equality is a second-order issue: identity politics—mere symbolism. But what they need to understand is that if you already enjoy a legal right it is easy to take it for granted. For me it is as simple as this: in delaying marriage equality we are not just falling behind the rest of the world—21 countries who we consider our legal, cultural and social peers have already moved ahead of us—we are falling short of our own national sense of self: the country we want to see in the mirror, the Australia we tell our children to believe in. How can we call ourselves the land of the fair go if we discriminate against our citizens on the basis of who they are and who they love? And we who sit in the parliament, trusted with the great privilege of representing all the Australian people—not just some of the Australian people: how can we call ourselves leaders if instead of acting to correct this unfairness we put the responsibility back on to the people who sent us here, with an opinion poll which will cost at least $160 million? The Prime Minister and the member for Warringah are both fond of quoting 18th-century Conservative Edmund Burke. They would know what he told the people of Bristol about the job of a parliamentarian: Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion. A plebiscite would represent a fundamental failure of this parliament to do its job. In 115 years of our democracy 44 parliaments before us have declared war, negotiated peace, signed trade deals, broken down the White Australia policy, opened our economy, floated our dollar, built universal superannuation, passed world-leading gun control and legislated several changes to the Marriage Act without recourse to plebiscite. And, of course, they have done all of this with no recourse to a non-binding public vote. How can we look Australians in the eye and say that a piece of legislation three pages long—a straightforward change, which a majority of members in both houses support—is too much for us to handle? How do we say that every question of human rights can be decided by the parliament but a special exemption—a new hurdle—must be imposed upon LGBTI Australians? As Justice Michael Kirby has said, the plebiscite in itself is a discriminatory step driven by hostility. And how can anyone justify spending at least $160 million on a compulsory vote when members of the government will not be compelled to respect the result? The plebiscite is not a real vote—it is a straw poll—but it will cause real harm and real waste. The true cost of a plebiscite is far greater than $160 million. Putting the question of marriage equality to a national vote risks providing a platform for prejudice and a megaphone for hate speech comparing homosexuality to bestiality, bigamy and paedophilia. And on Sunday we learned the Prime Minister has already promised the 'no' case millions of taxpayer dollars. Now, I respect that there are people of faith, Australians of good conscience, who do not support changing the Marriage Act, but it is not their voices that will be loudest in advocating a 'no' vote. Instead, there is a very real risk that LGBTI Australians will be subjected to a well-organised, well-funded campaign of vitriol and prejudice, denigrating their relationships and attacking their identity. And nor should we forget the Australians who will not even get a vote in the plebiscite: the children of same-sex couples watching TV ads saying their parents' love is not real and the relationship that they have is second-class, and hearing the hurtful words from those ads thrown back at them in the schoolyard and on Facebook. And then there are the teenagers who are gay. Growing up is hard for everyone, but, for young Australians who are grappling with their sexual identity, it can be so much more difficult. Every piece of expert advice tells us young Australians who are gay are more likely to contemplate suicide and more likely to take their own lives. The idea of young people, perhaps yet to come out, seeing the legitimacy of their identity debated on the national stage—that is not an ordeal which we should inflict on any citizen when we have a better path. Let me be as blunt as possible. A 'no' campaign would be an emotional torment for gay teenagers, and, if one child commits suicide over the plebiscite, then that is one too many. Achieving marriage equality should be an occasion for joy, a unifying moment of celebration. That is why the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and I have brought this proposed legislation forward today. I say to the Prime Minister: this is an issue you said you cared about. You have been Prime Minister for a year now. You can get this done and, instead of a private member's bill introduced by the opposition, let marriage equality be a truly cooperative achievement. Join with us and sponsor this legislation, or bring in your own and we will second it. We are prepared to work with the crossbench as well. We do not mind who gets the credit. A year, even a week, from now no-one will care whose name was on this bit of paper, but what will stand for all time, to the credit of the 45th Parliament, will be extending equality under the law to all Australians. What will stand for all time is this parliament's statement that marriage is about love, not about gender. It is up to us to summon the courage and to show the decency to make this happen. It is up to us to prove the parliament can lead and keep faith with the people. It is up to us to make marriage equality a reality. The SPEAKER 00APG Is the motion seconded? Ms Plibersek 83M I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. The SPEAKER 00APG The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 [No. 2] 3

Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 [No. 2]

First Reading 3 Second Reading 3 10:14 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This cross-parliamentary bill will remove discrimination from our marriage laws and finally achieve marriage equality in this country. It is time that our laws recognise this equality. It is time that our parliament finally says to every Australian, to every LGBTIQ Australian, that they and their love are equal. It is time that we end discrimination and promote acceptance, love and equality for all. I say today that we worked together for marriage equality in the last parliament and now we can do it again. We find ourselves in the fortunate situation where, probably for the first time ever, if a free vote on marriage equality were held in this room now, a bill would pass. We have the prospect of making marriage equality a reality without the need for taxpayer-funded hate speech, which will be an inevitable consequence of the plebiscite. Funding a referendum that is not binding on this place is the equivalent of funding the schoolyard bully to go and insult other students. It is not only unnecessary, but it is hateful and hurtful. That is why I am proud to join with the Independent member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, and the Independent Member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, to co-sponsor this important bill. In the last parliament, seven members of this place from across the political spectrum co-sponsored this very same bill. Along with myself and these two Independents, we had two Liberal backbenchers, the member for Leichhardt and the then member for Brisbane; the Labor member for Griffith and the then member for Werriwa. The fact that we worked together, across the divide, to progress marriage equality, shows that love is love is love is love—that the love, bond and depth of a partnership between two people is equal, regardless of their genders. We now have to ask ourselves, as a chamber and as a parliament, what is the best way to progress this reform, given that a majority of us want it? So I invite Liberal and Labor MPs again to join as co-sponsors of this bill to achieve marriage equality. If we all work together, we have a real chance to pass marriage equality through parliament sooner rather than later, without a divisive and wasteful plebiscite. If we all work together, wedding bells could be sounding before Christmas this year. At the end of the day, what matters is that marriage equality is passed. The Leader of the Opposition is right: ultimately, no-one will care whose name appeared in what position on this bill. What they will care about is that the reform happens. Around Australia, people are looking to this parliament, where they know there is now a majority in favour of reform, to work together to make that reform happen. I am worried that now that the issue of equality is firmly on the national agenda, if one person or one party tries to own it, it will fail. If we bowl a bill up only to have it voted down, we may find ourselves set back further. But the best path to reform will be a bill that has cross-parliamentary support, and ideally a Liberal backbench co-sponsor, that can be progressed through parliament. I am pleased that the Leader of Opposition has indicated a willingness to work with the crossbench. I hope that there is now a willingness from either the Prime Minister or members of his backbench to work together as well. Instead of two bills proceeding, if we can all unify as co-sponsors of one cross-parliamentary bill or even get behind a government bill, it can become law. We, the crossbench, believe that a bill that is not owned by one political party will have the best chance of attracting a Liberal co-sponsor. That is especially the case if legislation enabling a plebiscite is not passed by this parliament. It looks at the moment like this government's plan to establish a non-binding, hateful opinion poll will not have the support of this place. If that is right, but the Prime Minister is serious about achieving marriage equality, then we will need a plan B. The best plan B is a bill that comes from the backbench and across the chamber from this parliament. We must work together because, on this fundamental issue of equality, Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world. We are now the only developed, English-speaking country to not have equal marriage laws. Our laws continue to send the message to people who are same-sex attracted and in same-sex couples that their love is not equal. Our homophobic marriage laws are part of a system that for years has told young people who are coming to grips with their sexuality and identity that if you are not straight, you are not equal. They have been part of a system that has allowed the tragedy of young people who are same-sex attracted or gender diverse to suicide at rates many times greater than their heterosexual peers. This bill is a chance to take another important step away from this discrimination and pain and towards creating a world where all people know and feel that they are equal regardless of who they love. This bill is a chance to say love is love. It knows no gender, it is beautiful and it is equal. As a country, we are faced with a perverse situation where the leaders of the three largest political parties all support marriage equality, yet this parliament is being prevented from making marriage equality a reality. My party, the Greens, as a whole stand ready to support this bill. We have long stood up for the rights of same-sex attracted and gender diverse peoples and couples. I am proud to have introduced the first ever bill to achieve marriage equality into the House of Representatives, in 2012. Sadly, that was not passed because it did not get the unanimous support of either of the old parties. Australians know they can trust us as a party to vote for equality. We always have and we always will. But the delays that are being forced on loving people across the country have reached a point where the situation is no longer tolerable. The Prime Minister says he supports marriage equality, but for various reasons we have a continuation of the previous Prime Minister's policy of delay by insisting on a plebiscite. This pandering to the conservative rump of his own party is not good enough. His shotgun wedding with the right wing of the backbench cannot be allowed to stand in the way of equality. Australians are ready for equality—they have been ready for years—and there are loving couples who are running out of time and can no longer be forced to wait to celebrate their love. To have their love recognised as equal under our law is something that will mean the world to many people in this country. Instead of insisting on a wasteful and divisive plebiscite, the Prime Minister should stand up to his party and let this parliament do what the country wants and vote for equal love. In the end, love will win. The question is how long we force loving couples to wait—how long we force LGBTIQ people to be less equal and have fewer rights than everyone else. So let us use this place for what it is meant for. Let us take a stand for equality and do something that matters to so many Australians. Let us open up our arms and our hearts to love. The SPEAKER 00APG Is the motion seconded? Mr Wilkie C2T I am immensely proud to second this co-sponsored bill, and I reserve my right to speak. The SPEAKER 00APG The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. BUSINESS 4 BUSINESS Rearrangement 4 10:23 Mr WILKIE C2T Denison At the request of the member for Kennedy, I fix the next sitting Monday as the day for presenting the Banking Commission of Inquiry Bill 2016. Rearrangement 4 10:23 Mr WILKIE C2T Denison At the request of the member for Kennedy, I fix the next sitting Monday as the day for presenting the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic Assets) Bill 2016. PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS 4 PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS Telecommunications 4 10:24 Mrs SUDMALIS 241586 Gilmore I move: That this House: (1) acknowledges that: (a) improving mobile communications is of critical importance for people living in regional and remote parts of Australia; and (b) the Government has committed $220 million over three funding rounds to the Mobile Black Spot Programme which will provide new or upgraded coverage to more than 3,000 black spots in regional and remote areas; (2) recognises that mobile communications are not only essential for commerce, agriculture and education, but also for emergency services and public safety; and (3) congratulates the Government for committing public funds to this important program to improve mobile communications in regional and remote Australia. Today, I take the opportunity to reinforce the critical importance of improving mobile phone communications for the people living in regional and remote parts of Australia. In March this year, we announced the up-to-date information on the rollout of round 1 of the government's $160 million Mobile Black Spot Program. Residents and visitors to Gilmore alike welcomed the announcement. The website, launched by Telstra, provided details on the construction status and timing of the 429 new or upgraded mobile base stations being established. Kioloa is one of the areas marked for a new station and our local residents have been monitoring this constantly. The website allows people to type in their postcode for updates and click on areas of the national map. The Mobile Black Spot Program will offer dramatic improvements to mobile phone reception throughout Australia. The government is determined to boost mobile phone coverage across our regional and remote areas. The original rollout was boosted by contributions from Telstra, Vodafone and state and local governments to bring the total investment up to $385 million. The Turnbull government has committed more than $220 million over three funding rounds to fund the Mobile Black Spot Program, which will develop new and upgraded coverage to more than 3,000 blackspots in regional and remote areas. Recently, the Minister for Regional Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon. Fiona Nash visited Gilmore and announced the pledge to deliver mobile phone blackspot funding for towers covering the areas of Bewong and Wandandian. I know this has been an ongoing issue for many residents. In addition, the minister also announced funding for Clyde Mountain, better known to the locals as Pooh Corner; East Lynne and Kangaroo Valley. They will also benefit from the funding. This is an essential safety pledge for the amenities of our local residents and also for the thousands of people travelling on this section of the highway. I remind the House that Labor invested zero dollars in mobile phone blackspots and made built zero towers in their six long years of their government. This government recognises that mobile communications are essential not only for commerce, agriculture and education but also for our emergency services and public safety. Michele Edwards from Batemans Bay recently wrote me following a local event, the dry swim for the aquatics centre. The following is an extract to show just how important the establishment of a mobile phone tower is for certain locations on the Kings Highway. She writes: I made it my personal agenda two years ago to see this area covered by mobile phone coverage. I will not rest until I see this completed. The Kings Highway is recorded as having 6,000 vehicle movements per day and has a high accident rate. One-third of the accidents on the highway involve locals. We need to fix this problem. You are unable to call emergency services when you are lying in your car, possibly bleeding or injured. You may be a young or inexperienced driver who cannot call their parents when they are slightly injured or their car breaks down. At the moment if you have an accident, you have to wait for the generosity of the passing vehicle to pull over and offer to help and then you have to wait 30 minutes until they can get to a phone and they are in range to call for an ambulance and help. Michele's son was overtaken by a speeding driver on double lines. As the son veered to avoid collision, his car spun a 180 degrees and crashed on the opposite side of the road. It took some four vehicles going past before he could actually get help. Michele says: It is time to fix this problem and I appreciate the efforts that the Turnbull government has taken to rapidly establish mobile phone blackspot remedies for remote areas. I again remind the House that Labor put in zero dollars and built zero towers during their six years in government. Whilst we on this side acknowledge the importance of the rollout, particularly for safety and especially in light of Michele's letter, we also know that, for the economic value in regional areas, they need to have mobile coverage for tourism, agricultural enterprise and so many other issues, particularly when you have got farmers out in paddocks who may have the misfortune of moving into an area where they get stuck. If they cannot phone for help, they are definitely disadvantaged. Having a coastal seat like Gilmore, where we have thousands of people bringing their mobile phones with them—and their iPads and everything else—our systems are completely overloaded to the point where businesses cannot get their takings through the phone and their connections because there is just not enough there for them. So this rollout is absolutely fabulous. I am very, very proud of the fact that is my government that has actually been rolling out this massive investment. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E Is the motion seconded? Ms Henderson ZN4 I second the motion and I reserve my right to speak. 10:30 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important matter, the matter of providing mobile phone communications to people throughout Australia no matter where they live. For all of the reasons outlined by the member for Gilmore, Labor supports this program. It is an important program because it ensures that mobile phone black spots and the base stations which support mobile phone telecommunications can be subsidised and distributed in those areas where there is demonstrated market failure and the operations of a normally operating mobile telecommunications market will not provide those base stations within those localities. Deputy Speaker Mitchell, I am sure that you regret that you are sitting in the chair during this debate and not able to participate in it, because I know that you have been a strong advocate on this particular issue. I am also delighted to have the opportunity to talk in this debate because it is the first opportunity the parliament has had to discuss the issue of mobile phone black spots since the Australian National Audit Office released this damning report of the government's handling of the program. I will go to some of the findings of the Audit Office's report. In summary, the Audit Office has found that this is an important program but it has been monumentally mishandled by this government. I will give you a few examples. In a program which has been designed to provide coverage of mobile phone black spots and to extend coverage into areas where base stations have not already been placed, the Audit Office has found that, of the 500 base stations that were funded by this government, 89 base stations provided no or minimal benefit to consumers. In fact, the government provided base stations in areas where base stations already existed. What was the price tag of this monumental blunder? Twenty-eight million dollars of precious taxpayers' money wasted on a scheme designed to fill in mobile phone black spots, as the program's title suggests. Why would you be putting mobile phone base stations in areas where there is no black spot? They are not extending new coverage. Twenty-eight million dollars has been wasted on this monumental blunder. Twenty-five per cent—that is one in four—of base stations funded under this program provided no new coverage. So all of those people who live in an area—and there are 10,000 areas around the country listed on the public database that are mobile phone black spots—are probably looking at this—and, if they have not read the report, after this debate they will—and saying, 'I now know why I still have a black spot: because $28 million has been wasted and one in four of the base stations funded by this government has been placed in an area that does not extend coverage.' In fact, what it does is actually concentrate the market position of the dominant mobile phone carrier within the regional telecommunications market. Thirty-nine of the selected base stations were located within 10 kilometres of a base station already on another telecommunications company's network—39 of them. And, when pressed about this, the hapless minister responsible, the senator from the other place, said, 'Well, what we were doing is providing additional competition.' Well, no new competition was provided, because over 90 per cent of the towers funded went to the dominant incumbent, Telstra—the overwhelming majority of the new subsidised base station contracts. Normally, when something like this occurs, you would see the parliamentary secretary or the minister responsible dragged into the Prime Minister's office and told, 'Explain yourself for this monumental blunder.' There is only one reason why that will not happen: because the cabinet minister responsible for this program is the Prime Minister. It was on the Prime Minister's watch that $28 million worth of taxpayers' money has been spent. During the election campaign prior to the last one, Mr Deputy Speaker, you would have been sent senseless by the Prime Minister saying, 'We need a cost-benefit analysis for every major infrastructure project in this country.' A cost-benefit analysis would have made a big difference to this project. 10:35 The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E Before I call the next speaker, I want to make a quick statement. Given I did not have the opportunity the other night, I want now to thank members of the House of Representatives for the honour of being elected as Second Deputy Speaker. So that I can properly represent my constituents and advocate for my community, I will continue to exercise my deliberative vote. To that end, it is my intention to leave the chair before any division takes place. I thank the House. 10:35 Ms HENDERSON ZN4 Corangamite Mr Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your election as Second Deputy Speaker. I rise to celebrate the wonderful commitment that we have made as a government to connecting Australians living in regional Australia through our $220 million mobile phone blackspots program. I say to the member for Whitlam: shame on Labor, a party that says it supports our program. The Labor Party, prior to the election, managed to commit to a total of nine base stations around the country, which shows that those members opposite have no commitment whatsoever to connecting regional communities, keeping us safe and ensuring that, whether you are a farmer, a firefighter, a tourist or a student living in a regional community, you have every right to use your mobile phone to get the connection and the communication that you deserve. What hypocrisy we are seeing from members opposite. The fact of the matter is that Telstra, unlike Vodafone and Optus, is the predominant carrier because it has chosen to invest predominantly in regional Australia—and I say it is a pity that Vodafone and Optus have not taken on board the needs of regional Australia as much as Telstra has. I think that the member for Whitlam needs to take this on board. In my electorate of Corangamite, last year we announced 10 mobile base stations. Before the election, we announced another four mobile base stations. I can tell the member for Whitlam and members opposite that every one of those base stations is providing critical communications to those communities. Let us not forget that last year we funded 10 Telstra base stations, in Barongarook, Apollo Bay, Barwon Downs, Carlisle River, Cape Otway, Dereel, Kawarren, Gellibrand, Steiglitz, near Meredith, and Yeodene, which also services Birregurra, and Carlisle River was switched on in May 2016—and with what pride that occurred. This is a community that had been absolutely ignored by Labor. It now has communications that it never received before. Labor, over six long years, provided zero to mobile blackspots. Now we see this great commitment by the government. It is absolutely shameful what Labor have done. On 24 May, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Regional Development, Senator Nash, visited Anglesea, and with great pride, after much advocacy, we committed mobile base stations to Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Bellbrae and Birregurra. As we all know, the Surf Coast is an incredibly vulnerable part of my electorate, and yet it was ignored by the previous government. So I am very proud that, apart from the eight mobile base stations that we have funded in the Colac-Otway region, we now have another in Birregurra, an incredibly important town for farming and for tourism, as well as along the Surf Coast. I want to raise one concern. One of the mobile base stations to receive funding is in Dereel, a community that has been hit twice by bushfire. I have on many occasions called on Telstra to expedite the rollout of base stations to areas of high bushfire risk. The people of Dereel deserve that base station as soon as possible. I was up there just last week, opening the new Dereel men's shed. I was able to again update the community and advise the community that Telstra have put an application in to nbn co to co-locate the base station on the NBN tower just outside of Dereel. But I say to Telstra: we need a move on. We need to make sure that those base stations go into the areas of high bushfire risk. Across the Corangamite electorate, there are many areas that are very exposed to bushfire risk. We all know about the terrible Christmas Day bushfire in Wye River and Separation Creek last year. We as a government are incredibly proud of our achievements. We are incredibly proud that we are listening to the people of regional Australia. In the first round we funded 499 blackspots and now, with the third round being announced, we have committed $220 million. We have seen a hopeless, pathetic commitment to this issue from those opposite. We are very proud, as a government, to be standing up for regional Australia on this critical issue. Thank you. 10:40 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo It is rare to actually stand in this place and see a government celebrate a program that has been proven to be a disaster. The previous two speakers from the government side did not even mention the Auditor-General's report into this program, which has just proved again what Labor has been saying from the beginning: this program is nothing more than pork-barrelling and this program is a lemon that failed to deliver value for money or the service that is required to regional Victorians. I represent a regional electorate, the Bendigo electorate. We have received one tower that has been built under this program. At that rate, it would take this government over 100 years to fix the blackspots in Bendigo if in one term they build one tower. For that tower, all they did was attach it to an NBN tower that was built when Labor was in government. That is the great success this government is delivering in the Bendigo electorate! We are not the only Labor electorate that missed out under this program, which the Auditor-General's report has now proven. There was the member for McEwen's electorate and the member for Ballarat's electorate. What do all these regional Victorian electorates have in common? Oh, wait: they are Labor electorates. This government used this program to pork-barrel their own seats. That is what has been proven by the report released by the Auditor-General last week. What did the report say? That the Mobile Black Spot Program provided very little new coverage. Isn't the whole point of the blackspot program to fix blackspots, which means fixing the mobile phone blackspots by making new coverage areas? It did not deliver value for money. Aren't the Liberals all about value for money? You will do it for Defence manufacturing; you will send uniform contracts overseas to China. There will be value for money for the manufacturing of Defence uniforms, but you will not deliver value for money for the blackspots program. Insufficient attention was paid to local issues and community needs, yet you claim to be the voice of regional Australia. This is what your own Auditor-General's report has said about your own program. The parliamentary secretary changed the minimal coverage requirements in the draft guidelines, but the person responsible removed this requirement. So we actually had the department suggesting that there be a change to the minimum coverage requirements and then this government's own parliamentary secretary changed it. You wonder why you have had this damning report. This report vindicates Labor's approach to dealing with the blackspots problem. We have advocated that there needs to be co-location. For what we have in Bendigo—that one tower—we want to see things like that rollout across the country. What Labor committed to in the election—which the previous members have ignored—is the same amount of money to this program, but what we have also said is this program needs to be redesigned. It needs to put need first. This is what this government has not done. Instead, what it has done is pork-barrel its own seats. We need to make sure that we are addressing the needs of areas in our communities. We need to make sure that we are supporting our growth corridors, like in the member for McEwen's electorate, in my electorate, in the member for Ballarat's electorate and even in Corangamite, the electorate of the member who just spoke. We did not commit to base stations based upon pork-barrelling to win seats and win polling booths. What we said is, 'We need to structurally redesign this program,' because we knew it was a lemon. We knew it was not delivering value for money. We knew it was not delivering new coverage, as the government claim. For all their ranting and raving, for all of their grandstanding about, 'We will fix mobile phone black spots,' they have failed. To design a program that does not deliver new coverage—what a spectacular failure! Yet what we have seen in the second week is the government members absolutely ignoring that and trying to be the champions of this program. People in regional Australia know this government is failing to fix the mobile phone black spots issue. This is an issue that comes up over and over again. As we get closer and closer to summer, people start to get anxious. There are days in the regions where SOS is all you have on your mobile phone, but they are not getting a program from this government. They are getting a program that is rolling out slowly, is not creating new coverage and is pork-barrelling the government's own seats. If this government were serious, it would take on board Labor's proposal and join with us in redesigning the program the mobile phone coverage that regional Victorians need. 10:45 Mr HASTIE 260805 Canning It is always bracing on a Monday morning to hear from the member for Bendigo, particularly when she gives us tales of pork-barrelling and lemons and accusations that this government has done nothing with regard to telecommunications. It is rather ironic, because six years of Labor government saw no delivery of more telecommunications infrastructure, whereas this government has committed $220 million over three funding rounds to the Mobile Black Spot Program, which will provide new or upgraded coverage to more than 3,000 black spots in regional and remote areas. This is very important to my electorate of Canning, which fits into the category of a regional electorate. It is important to note that the WA Department of Planning predicts that Perth and Peel—the Peel region sits within Canning—will reach a population of 3.5 million by 2050. The top of the Peel region—the top of my electorate of Canning—is located approximately one hour from the Perth CBD. Despite our relative proximity to the CBD, infrastructure in the Peel region is lagging in comparison to other metropolitan areas, particularly when it comes to telecommunications. There are still parts of my electorate that receive little or no mobile phone reception at all: places like Boddington, which is home to Australia's largest goldmine and still has patchy telecommunications; the outskirts of Waroona, which was recently affected—this Christmas gone—by the terrible bushfires which swept through the Peel-Harvey region; Jarrahdale; and, of course, Byford, which is one of Australia's fastest growing local government areas. In fact, I have one constituent who lives out past Byford and has to drive three kilometres downhill to receive a mobile signal. Ministers have fallen victim to the lack of coverage when they have visited Canning. In April, I had the member for Kooyong, who went for about 30 minutes without mobile phone coverage. Only last weekend, the member for Warringah suffered the same fate. Having said that, though, I note that, during the six years of Labor government they did nothing in Canning to improve our telecommunications services. It took a Liberal government—a coalition government—to deliver and improve upon our telecommunications infrastructure. Under round 1, Canning received funding to improve the base station in Dwellingup. Dwellingup was the location of a very terrible bushfire that took place in the sixties, which almost razed the town. Every Christmas, the people of Dwellingup, Waroona, Boddington and the surrounds worry about bushfires. They rely upon telecommunications for emergency services so that they can alert the relevant bushfire firefighters to be prepared and respond to fires. We need better telecommunications. It was a great pleasure during the recent election campaign for Minister Fifield, the Minister for Communications, to visit Canning and announce further funding for base stations in Lake Clifton and the Serpentine-Keysbrook area in Canning. I have had many constituents in Lake Clifton complain about the lack of telecommunications coverage—people who rely upon mobile phone coverage to run their businesses and to stay in contact with family and friends. It has been patchy, so the announcement during the election is very significant for the people of Lake Clifton, as it is for the people of Serpentine and Keysbrook, who are part of the local Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale. In regard to the Australian National Audit Office's three key recommendations, which those opposite keep raising, establishing minimum thresholds for assessment purposes is a great initiative, and the coalition government has always said that the Mobile Black Spot Program has dual purposes: to improve both coverage and competition in regional Australia. So we welcome more competition. We welcome more access to different services in Canning, whether it be Telstra, Vodafone or any other mobile phone service provider. The people of Canning deserve more options, and the Mobile Black Spot Program, funded to the tune of $220 million rolled out by this government, will deliver just that for the people of Canning. 10:50 The DEPUTY SPEAKER 00AMT Before I call the next speaker, I wish to make a brief statement. I thank the Speaker for nominating me as a member of the Speaker's panel. So that I can properly represent my constituents and advocate for my community, I will continue to exercise my deliberative vote. To that end, it is my intention to leave the chair before any division takes place. I thank the House. 10:51 Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E McEwen What an illuminating statement we received this morning from the member for Gilmore, who in raising this motion highlights the government's absolute failure to deliver telecommunications for regional communities. The member for Gilmore obviously must be on the outer in the government, because—seriously—if she is putting up this motion, they must really not like her very much, do they! They are making her come in here and put up a motion about an abject failure of this government. To congratulate itself on failing rural and regional communities just shows how desperate this government has become. We know telecommunications is a very important issue. Mobile communications are crucial and potentially lifesaving for rural and regional communities—so much so that it was a central focus of the black spots program, the program that was scrapped in this year's budget but then brought back two weeks later in the middle of an election campaign just for political expedience. The report released last week by the Australian National Audit Office told us what we already knew living in the regions: this fizzer government has provided barely any new coverage for our communities. It was a pork-barrelling exercise that failed to address the needs of rural and regional Australia. The program itself failed to meet its own criteria, and the Turnbull government has again failed on everything it touches in telecommunications. We have a PM with the reverse Midas touch: everything he touches does not turn to gold but goes elsewhere. It fails. The government promised that the black spots program would improve mobile coverage in areas prone to natural disasters. Today they are touting the program as a success, yet my electorate is a stark example of how this did not occur, and our residents know a con when they see one. In our towns it is about safety. It is not about better reception to post selfies to Instagram or watching YouTube, which is what the member for Wentworth thinks is what people do with telecommunications; it is about making sure vital, lifesaving communications can give our communities the best chances of surviving disaster. There were three criteria in this program: rural and regional, major transport routes, and areas prone to natural disaster. It is no secret that my seat has faced five major bushfires over the past six summers, including Black Saturday, the Mickleham-Kilmore fire and the Lancefield fire last year. We have many areas identified as being at the highest risk for bushfire in the state of Victoria. We understand in communities that no one source of communication can be relied on for bushfire warnings, but people in our towns do not have mobile phone access, they certainly do not have internet access, and television does not give up-to-date information—and let's not talk about what this government has done to community radio. That is why we identified some 70 black spots in our areas, and this is where we talk about mobile black spots. We are talking about areas that have little to no reception at all. We are talking about people unable to receive the urgent emergency messages the CFA send out. In spite of all this, how many stations were allocated? Two. One of those was actually an upgrade of a decommissioned tower that had been out for 20 years and provided absolutely no coverage. In fact, the community put one of the biggest petitions in to say, 'Don't upgrade this tower; put it up on the hill where we can actually get better coverage for people who have been affected by bushfires.' But there is this lack of consideration by the government, along with the disingenuous act of the member for Bradfield in removing the requirements for minimum coverage as part of this program. The government has been very quiet about that. It shows that this government is not interested in improving safety and connectivity to our regional communities. The drafted guidelines clearly included a requirement that 65 per cent of the coverage provided by a base had to be new coverage. The member for Bradfield, under the instruction of the current Prime Minister, took that language out of the program, to stop that. So let's recap. We have seen 80 per cent of new base stations announced in coalition-held seats, with a solid handful in seats that they were desperately trying to electorally keep. We have seen a report confirm that this allocation meant that the program failed. It failed to improve access to communication for regional and periurban communities. What we are about to face is another year of deadly bushfires, and this government should stop prioritising greasing its own wheels and start prioritising the safety and wellbeing of Australians. McEwen, which covers 4,592 square kilometres, as I said, is prone to natural disasters. We put in our submissions based on the criteria of the program by this government. But, in this context of the 500 towers announced in July 2015, 417 went to National-held seats and only two were allocated to an electorate which has seen the biggest natural disasters of modern times. We asked how this could happen. We have sent many letters through to the government, and to date there has been no response. Ultimately this government ran a program—and I do not blame the telcos for what they did; I blame the government and the Prime Minister, when he was Minister for Communications, for establishing a program that puts dollars before life. As I have been saying for a long time, this program is broken, and the PM must recognise it and fix it now. (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 00AMT The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. National Servicemen 10 10:56 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I move: That this House: (1) recognises the important role that national servicemen played in the defence of Australia; (2) acknowledges that Australia owes a great debt to these men who underwent military training and served our nation, many of those on foreign soil, in the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force, in the advancement and protection of Australia's national interests; (3) further acknowledges that during the: (a) first national service scheme between 1951 to 1959, approximately 227,000 men served across the three branches of the armed services, providing an important military capability during a period when Australia faced many international security challenges; and (b) second national service scheme from 1964 to 1972, more than 804,000 men registered for national service, of whom more than 63,000 were called up to serve in the Australian Army, and that during this period, more than 15,000 went on to serve in the Vietnam War, with 201 killed and more than 1,200 wounded; and (4) thanks the 'Nashos' for their service and encourages the Australian community to remember the service of these men each year on 14 February which is National Servicemen's Day. There are words of this motion which I would like to read out. Firstly, we: … recognise the important role that national servicemen played in the defence of— our great country. We acknowledge: … that Australia owes a great debt to these men who underwent military training and served our nation, many of those on foreign soil, in the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force, in the advancement and protection of Australia's national interests … We further acknowledge: … that during the: (a) first national service scheme between 1951 to 1959, approximately 227,000 men served across the three branches of the armed services, providing an important military capability during a period when Australia faced many international security challenges; and (b) second national service scheme from 1964 to 1972, more than 804,000— Australians— registered for national service, of whom more than 63,000 were called up to serve in the Australian Army, and that during this period, more than 15,000 went on to serve in the Vietnam War, with 201 killed and more than 1,200 wounded … We 'thank the "Nashos" for their service' and encourage: … the Australian community to remember the service of these men each year on 14 February which is National Servicemen's Day. I would like to add that many of our national servicemen that fought, and the over 200 that died in Vietnam, did so for the right cause. The conflict in Vietnam was one about halting the advance of communism, and in that goal we were successful, because Vietnam became the 18th and last country in world history to turn to communism. For those that do not think that was what the war was actually about, I quote from the Communist Party's official biography of Ho Chi Minh: Ho Chi Minh … felt the need for active propaganda and organizational work in order to step up the revolutionary movement in colonial countries, including Vietnam. He deemed it his task to spread communist doctrine in Asia in general and in Indochina particularly. There was a real threat at that time of Vietnam being more than the 18th country that turned communist. Why should that concern us? Why should we be concerned about countries becoming communist? The history of the last century tells us that 100 million people perished directly at the hands of communist regimes. I read a good quote recently, and I would like to read it into the Hansard. It is a quote from Gary Morson's writing in The New Criterion, in an article called 'The house is on fire!' He said: Western public opinion has never come to terms with the crimes of Communism. Every school child knows about the Holocaust, Apartheid, and American slavery, as they should. But Pol Pot's murder of a quarter of Cambodia's population has not dimmed academic enthusiasm for the Marxism his henchmen studied in Paris. Neither the Chinese Cultural Revolution nor the Great Purges seem to have cast a shadow on the leftists who apologized for them. Perhaps the last words should go to Lee Kuan Yew, who wrote in his autobiography: Although American intervention failed in Vietnam, it bought time for the rest of Southeast Asia. In 1965, when the US military moved massively into South Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines faced internal threats from armed communist insurgents and the communist underground was still active in Singapore … America's action enabled non-communist Southeast Asia to put their own houses in order. By 1975 (when the Vietnam war ended) they were in better shape to stand up to the communists. Had there been no US— and Australian— intervention, the will of these countries to resist them would have melted and Southeast Asia would have most likely gone communist. The prosperous emerging market economies of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)— that we know today— were nurtured during the Vietnam War years. And we have our national servicemen to thank for that. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E Is the motion seconded? Mrs Wicks 241590 I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 11:02 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston I do rise to speak to this important motion that recognises the significant contribution made by our national servicemen and remembers both their service and, indeed, their sacrifice. Australia has had a number of episodes of national service, having seen four periods of compulsory military service—the last one ending in 1972. The first period of compulsory service began in 1911 and lasted throughout World War I. The period required boys from the age of 12 through to men in their mid-20s to undergo military training. It was suspended in 1929. The second period began a decade later, in 1939, and lasted until 1945, with unmarried 21-year-old men being called up for three months military training. When not deployed overseas, service was performed in Australia, and included service in New Guinea and nearby islands. The third period started in 1951 and saw men aged 18 being required to register for national service, with a requirement to remain in the reserves for five years. This scheme trained approximately 33,000 men annually for the six years it was in operation. While universal obligation for service ended in 1957, selected training was introduced until the scheme ceased in 1959. While those in this scheme did not necessarily see active service, except for those who enlisted, our national servicemen did serve in our country in a variety of ways and were prepared to fight for their country. National servicemen during this period were on naval ships that visited Korean waters during hostilities, were at Montebello Islands in Western Australia for the atomic tests, and at Maralinga in South Australia. So you can see from that activity that they made a significant contribution to our country. Although they were compelled to sign up, our nashos undertook their training and were prepared to put their lives on the line to protect our country. For that they should be acknowledged and remembered. The last period of a national service scheme began in 1964 in response to Australia's growing involvement in South-East Asia. Under the National Service Act 1964, which included conscription from 1965, all 20-year-old males were required to register with the then Department of Labour and National Service, with their names selected by a birthday ballot. Between 1964 and 1972 over 804,000 men registered, with 63,000 being called up to serve for two years. They were integrated into the regular Army units. These men undertook 12 weeks of training before being assigned to different corps. Most were allocated to infantry, enabling our Army to increase to nine battalions. These nashos served in Borneo, Vietnam and in support units in Australia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. From 1965 to 1972, 15,381 of these national servicemen served in the Vietnam War, with 1,279 wounded and 200 making the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. One of these men, 20-year-old Ross McMillan from Uralla in New South Wales, died as he set up a claymore mine outside the patrol perimeter on 2 February, 1968. Upon his death his section corporal wrote: 'I will never forget you, and I hope your country and its citizens will always remember your sacrifice.' Despite not having a choice to serve it was widely reported that our national servicemen did their training and their active and reserve duties with distinction and honour. Whether or not these men saw active duty overseas, they put their lives on hold and served side by side in the defence of Australia. They were willing to put their lives on the line, and we owe them a debt of gratitude. The nashos displayed the qualities that are often associated with our first Anzacs: courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship. They should be honoured and remembered. I do, indeed, commend this motion to the House. 11:07 Mrs WICKS 241590 Robertson May I also commend the member for Hughes for moving this motion in support of our national servicemen, a motion that aims to recognise in this parliament the important role that our servicemen have played in the defence of Australia. Nashos, as they are affectionately known, are an important part of our military history. Australia owes a great debt to our servicemen, who fought for the advancement of and protection of Australia's national interests. These are men who underwent military training and served our nation, many on foreign soil, in the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force. Across the three branches of the armed services, around 227,000 young men served during the first National Service Scheme, between 1951 and 1959. During this period, in which Australia faced a number of international security challenges, our national servicemen were an important part of our military capability. More than 804,000 registered for national service under the second scheme, in 1964. Of those, more than 63,000 were called up to serve in the Australian Army between 1964 and 1972. During this time more than 15,000 of the nashos went on to serve in the Vietnam War, where some 200 died and more than 1,200 were wounded. To these men we are indebted. In the short time we have today, I would particularly like to acknowledge some of the national servicemen in my community, on the Central Coast. On the Central Coast we have a strong and active presence of veterans' groups, supporting not only the nashos but also our wider community. Part of the work that is done includes local organisations supporting initiatives such as Trek 4 Vets, as well as supporting the Cancer Care Centre's Shirley Shuttle and the Brisbane Water arm of Legacy. Indeed, Ken Lyons, who is heavily involved in the work happening around the Gosford community, told me that for 18 years our national servicemen have been delivering Easter eggs to patients at Gosford Hospital. Each year, in the week leading up to Easter, the members donate money to buy chocolate eggs and spend a day spreading Easter cheer to patients and their families. Ken said that the first stop is always the children's ward, where it is rewarding to see the reaction from the children. He also mentioned that the members never want the adult patients to miss out either, so there are always plenty of Easter goodies to go around. This is a wonderful tradition, which Ken said means a lot to the nashos and also to the wider community. I want to take this opportunity to also recognise the National Service 1951-1972 Re-Enactment Unit based in my electorate of Robertson and the important role they play in commemorating our national servicemen. The unit commander, David Myers, told me their motto is to 'respect and honour the memory', an important reminder for us to do the same. The re-enactment unit is a group of 18 members, 14 of whom are ex-servicemen, that does both ceremonial and educational re-enactments across the Central Coast. David said to me that visiting nursing homes like Tarragal House, BlueWave Living and Woodport Aged Care are some of the most special events for the unit. National servicemen are often residents of these villages and David said it allows both the unit members and residents to reflect on and to share stories of their time in the service. The unit also plays an important role in educating the younger members of our community, sharing with them the significance of our national servicemen as part of our proud military history. The unit also visits schools across the Central Coast, including St Philip's Christian College, St Edward's Catholic College and Central Coast Grammar School, where they officiate Anzac Day ceremonies or act as a ceremonial honour guard. David said to me that this is an important part of the unit's mission, honouring the memory of our national servicemen and encouraging younger Australians to reflect on their sacrifice. In closing, I encourage all Australians to reflect on the sacrifices these men have made for our nation. It is important to recognise our servicemen throughout the year, but particularly every year, on 14 February, which is National Servicemen's Day. So, today, I pay tribute to our national servicemen and thank them for their service to the nation. 11:11 Dr MIKE KELLY HRI Eden-Monaro It is a great privilege to be able to speak on this motion put forward by my colleague—no relation. It is good to see an acknowledgement of the opportunity that has been afforded us in delivering this motion. The nasho experience in Australian life and the history of our nation is a very significant one. The numbers have been quoted—altogether over 287,000 have served during the two phases of the National Service Scheme, the 1951 to 1959 and the 1965 to 1972 periods. During that time, 212 of those national servicemen perished on active service, a sacrifice on our nation's behalf that needs always to be remembered, acknowledged and commemorated. I was pleased to see that the service of national servicemen was acknowledged also by a special declaration that was struck in 2001. I know that all of those national servicemen who received that declaration are very grateful for that acknowledgement. I think a lot of them felt that they had been left under the radar in many ways by the nation. It also was good to see the creation of the National Servicemen's Memorial at the War Memorial. I was pleased to be there at the opening of that memorial. It was a scheme that, of course, was not without its controversy, and I will come back to that. But during the period from 1951 to 1959 it was universal—every 18-year-old male was called up for national service, so it was universal and equitable. It was actually quite a positive experience. People from every different background in Australian life had that experience together. It really was quite a formative thing in terms of binding our nation, in many ways. It would be nice to be able to find a way to achieve that kind of mechanism again some time in our future, to instil that understanding amongst our young that as well as having rights you also have an obligation and an investment in your nation. It was a very positive experience, bringing all aspects and levels of society together. Many of our citizens who experienced national service went on to bigger and better things. We know of people like Tim Fischer and Bill Hayden, who both experienced national service, as well as famous sporting personalities like Dougie Walters and the singer Normie Rowe. There were businesspeople as well, like Lindsay Fox, who also was a beneficiary of the experience and reflects very fondly on it. The second phase, the period from 1965 to 1972, was controversial in that it was not a universal scheme. There was the famous ballot, which really was a terrible mechanism—it left a lot to be desired, obviously—and, of course, involved overseas service. We have just had the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, and it is important to remember that of the 18 soldiers who lost their lives in that battle—17 were killed in action and one later died of his wounds—11 were national servicemen. A further 13 of them were wounded in action. They fought side by side, literally shoulder to shoulder—and died shoulder to shoulder—with their regular-service colleagues. An interesting thing out of that period, and even the previous period, is that quite a lot of people in national service went on to become regulars and serve in the Army. In my early years in the Army I came across quite a lot of them, and they passed on to me many of the skills and much of the knowledge that served me so well in my Army career. So I would like to personally pay tribute to those national service people. Those who left the Army were in a difficult situation. They did not have the embrace of the Regular Army and were more exposed to the very unfortunate community attitudes at the time, and they suffered a great deal as a consequence. They went from the drama and trauma of a battle like Long Tan straight back into civilian life with no real support or follow-up. I really want to pay tribute to those who endured, and their families, who dealt with all of the traumas and difficulties they faced upon their separation without backup. I hope that we continue to learn the lesson of providing our ex-service personnel with support and come up with more creative and innovative ideas to help manage the transition into civilian life and manage stress into the future. My own father was a national servicemen. Interestingly, all our family have served in the military; my father was the only one who did not want to join voluntarily and he ended up being conscripted. But he certainly had a positive experience out of a very important part of our national history. 11:17 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra I welcome the opportunity to speak today on this motion in recognition of the crucial role that national servicemen play in the service of their nation. I commend the member for Hughes for bringing on this motion. We sometimes forget that nearly 290,000 were called up for national service between 1951 and 1972, under two schemes. For decades their service and their loss have been overlooked. As my colleague the member for Eden-Monaro just said, they have often fallen under the radar. So, when more than 4,000 national servicemen met in Canberra for the unveiling of a national service memorial fountain in 2010 at the Australian War Memorial, the moment was a very special and long-anticipated one. It was the product of an extraordinary and prolonged campaign to get to that place on that day. It was one that had taken more than nine years of design, fundraising and construction, and it was one that, for the longest of times, must have seemed impossible. The treatment of returned servicemen following the Vietnam War is a well-documented moment of shame in the history of this nation. All too often we have allowed the political divisions of the era to obscure the people who were actually involved. Too often we have let questions over why we were there crowd out the appropriate recognition and support of those who were there. Over 500 Australians were killed in the Vietnam War, and nearly 40 per cent of them were nashos. The national service memorial fountain recognises their sacrifice but it does not limit its recognition to them alone, because to narrow one's scope to those who lost their lives is to miss those many, many more who were wounded and made it home, often to very difficult and challenging times. They had to stare down a lot of demons, as did their families. We are yet to realise the full scale of the wounds inflicted by the Vietnam War. We are gaining a greater understanding, and I think the recent Long Tan commemoration highlighted the fact that there are still a number of significant issues that we need to address. Enemy fire caused some, but there remain emotional and mental scars that were caused by much more than bullets and mines. Sadly, many will not heal. The National Servicemen's Association called the dedication a moment that could finally bring 'closure to the Vietnam era'. Situated at the Australian War Memorial, the fountain commemorates the nearly 290,000 former nashos who served in the Australian Defence Force, including 212 who died on active service in the Borneo and Vietnam conflicts. It is right for a country like Australia to debate the legitimacy of any conflict and the appropriateness of our involvement; it is wrong to use that debate as a means to distract from the very real sacrifice and the very real bravery that we asked our national servicemen to exhibit on our behalf. Their cause was our own, but we turned our backs on them. When we did so, we left their grief and trauma to be dealt with in silence and in private. I am glad that attitudes are finally changing. As I said, the Long Tan commemoration underscored that fact. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the great work that has been done in the Canberra community by the local RSLs, in particular the RSLs in Tuggeranong and Woden Valley and also the Hellenic RSL. The work is ongoing because the challenge is still there, but we are lucky to have organisations both locally and nationally that are so diligently and effectively working to meet it. I thank the nashos for their service and I encourage the Canberra and wider Australian community to remember the service of these men on 14 February, which is National Servicemen's Day. In closing, I want to acknowledge my late father. He died two months ago. He was also one of the nashos of the first scheme—the universal scheme from 1951 to 1959. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker Mitchell, all young men aged 18 were called up for training in Navy, Army and Air Force. My father was a huge fan of national service. He loved the time he spent there. He was an electrician from a working-class background and it gave him the opportunity, because of its universality, to meet people from a broad range of backgrounds. In the fifties, Australia was very sectarian and very divided by class, so for a working-class boy national service provided a mountain of opportunities. He was very strongly of the view that national service should be compulsory. 11:22 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon I appreciate the opportunity to speak. It is an absolute privilege to rise and speak on this motion today. We as a people and as a nation owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who have served this great nation, no matter what ensign they served under, be it the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Regular Army, the Royal Australian Airforce, the Merchant Navy, the Citizen Military Force, the Reserve or, for that matter, those who have served our nation in various agencies but can never speak of their service. Military service, national service and veterans' issues are causes that are particularly close to my heart. In my first speech in this place I mentioned that my father, John Gosling, is the son of a World War II veteran and that when Dad was called up for national service at the age of 20 he chose the infantry and joined the fight in Vietnam. My dad's birthday, 21 December 1948, came up in the national service lottery. You can see the barrel that they used to draw the marbles, each imprinted with a birthdate, at the National Vietnam Veterans Museum at San Remo in Victoria. Dad felt that national service was the result of a democratic process and that there was some good that came of the training, if not much good from the war. National service created a significant impression on my dad and gave him lifelong friends. I remember meeting Dad's nasho mates coming to our house in the seventies, and I have seen the strength of those bonds. Dad joined the 6th Battalion on their second tour and he lost some good mates in firefights in the Nui May Tao Mountains. Dad knew nashos who were killed and of course, as mentioned earlier, there were many nashos who paid the ultimate sacrifice at the battle of Long Tan in the 6th Battalion's first tour. My dad instilled in me a deep sense of respect for service to our nation and the virtue of public service. The National Service Medal includes the stars of the Southern Cross, representing national service being influential in the machinery of the Defence Force during a time of need and its broad impact in Australia. Surrounding the central device on the medal is a cog, the traditional symbol representing the spirit of cooperation between the Australian Defence Force and the Australian community. I can clearly remember when the National Service Medal was introduced in 2001. I remember thinking: 'Well, that's about time.' Four years later, on 17 July 2005, the National Servicemen's Association of the Northern Territory in Darwin was formed, and it currently has 22 members. Members of the National Servicemen's Association of the Northern Territory are active in my electorate of Solomon, including in the Pensioners Workshop in Winnellie, which is a Men's Shed that, amongst other things, produces works of art such as a wooden Territory plaque that will soon welcome people to my parliamentary office. The Northern Territory association was instrumental in the campaign to rename the path on Darwin's Esplanade to 'Anzac Centenary Walk', complete with a plaque, and also at the Darwin North RSL earlier this year they laid a plaque. The Darwin North RSL is home to the National Servicemen's Association of the Northern Territory. The Darwin North RSL is currently in a battle to stay afloat and I am confident they will succeed with much community support. I really want to thank all of the people who have pledged support to help Darwin North stay afloat. If you want to help at all in that effort, please get in touch with me. When the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, Amanda Rishworth, visited Darwin last week we met with Kaz from the NT veterans' centre at the Darwin North RSL. I think it is a location that is ideally suited for a physical NT veterans' centre that will be built. I just want to quickly acknowledge my friend Tony Sievers on his election to the NT parliament and his appointment as the Assistant Minister for Veterans Affairs, Men’s Policy and Sports and Community Events under the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner. The National Servicemen's Association NT holds a remembrance day every year at the Adelaide River War Cemetery. The Darwin North RSL, with the National Servicemen's Association, put on a cracking Anzac Day service each year. Most members of the NT National Servicemen's Association were a part of the earlier intakes of national service, including the president, Ivan Walsh. National servicemen were called up at a time of great uncertainty for our country and, should we not be able to meet future force requirements, the issue may again enter the Australian experience. To our national servicemen: thank you for your service and your ongoing contribution to the community. I salute you for your service and your concern for the protection of our land, our freedoms and our way of life. Thank you. Debate adjourned. DOCUMENTS 15 DOCUMENTS Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Media Reform) Bill 2016 15 Presentation 15 11:27 Mr KEENAN E0J Stirling I present a replacement explanatory memorandum for the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Media Reform) Bill 2016. BILLS 15 BILLS Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016 15

Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016

Second Reading 15 11:28 Dr LEIGH BU8 Fenner It is appropriate that this debate should follow a debate recognising Australia's service men and women, because, when we speak about deaths overseas, we think about the many Australians who went overseas to serve their country and did not come home. We think too about the tragedy of September 11—the 15th anniversary was acknowledged yesterday—including Australians who were killed there, and events such as the Bali bombings. We think too about individual cases of deaths overseas. Talk of deaths overseas immediately brings to my mind Alex Hodgins, the son of Tony and Judy, who died in Mexico in 2010 and whose funeral packed one of our largest Canberra churches to overflowing. The opposition supports the passage of the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016, which makes amendments to the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984. The act itself provides that the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall appoint a registrar of deaths abroad. This registrar is responsible for the registration of deaths of Australian citizens, residents and other prescribed persons who die abroad on board Australian aircraft or ships or in other prescribed circumstances. Before I turn to the detail of the amendments made by this bill, let me note that the opposition recognises the importance of the registration of deaths abroad regime. We know that the death of a loved one is a sad and distressing event in anyone's life. One of the main requirements for family members dealing with a bereavement is to obtain an appropriate certificate. Death certificates are important documents for a range of legal and administrative requirements that must be attended to following the death of a loved one. Naturally, when an Australian dies overseas the stresses and difficulties for family members can be magnified. That is why it is important that the state and territory systems for the registrations of deaths are supplemented by the Commonwealth Registration of Deaths Abroad Act. When a death occurs abroad there can sometimes be problems in registering the death under the normal state or territory arrangements for a range of reasons. The Registration of Deaths Abroad Act ensures alternative arrangements are available where such problems arise and that is why it is important that we have this system for registering deaths that occur abroad. We need to ensure that the system is operating efficiently and effectively because it helps people at a difficult time in their lives. The bill now before the chamber will assist in that regard by making a number of amendments to the principal act. The bill's main purpose is to correct an anomaly which has arisen under the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act. The amendments will validate the earlier appointment of the ACT registrar-general as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad and validate any registrations of deaths made under the existing act. In addition, the bill makes a number of other amendments to simplify and clarify the processes and requirements for registering deaths abroad. These amendments provide the Minister for Foreign Affairs with the flexibility to appoint any state or territory registrar of deaths as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad. They allow the Registrar of Deaths Abroad to register deaths that could have been registered under state or territory law where the relevant state or territory has provided notice that it will not register the death. And it will remove references to registering officers from the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act to ensure that only the Registrar of Deaths Abroad can register deaths under the act. The opposition notes that the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that it has no financial implications for the Commonwealth or for the community. The explanatory memorandum also contains the relevant statement of compatibility with human rights which notes that the bill does not give rise to any relevant human rights concerns. As I noted, the opposition is pleased to support this bill. We also point out that the bill was introduced to the last parliament in March this year and could have been passed much earlier had the Prime Minister not chosen to prorogue parliament for the purposes of an early election. This was one of several pieces of legislation where passage has been delayed as a result of this year's double dissolution election. The anomalies in the registration of deaths abroad system, which this bill addresses, could and should have been resolved months ago in the last parliament. So we are pleased to support the bill, for the second time. But we do place on record today that the delay in securing passage of this bill is regrettable, is a direct consequence of the government's failure to manage its legislative program in the last parliament and the Prime Minister's decision to go to an early election. I commend the bill to the chamber. 11:33 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I am pleased to rise this morning to speak on the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016. Firstly, it is interesting to look at the great increase in the number of Australians travelling overseas. If we look at 1976, the first year the Australia Bureau of Statistics took records on this, less than one million Australians took overseas trips. So for every 14 Australians there was one trip. Fast forward to last year and that number has a zero on it. Last year, Australians took 9.7 million short-term trips overseas. That is a tenfold increase with our population. A citizen of our country is more than five times more likely to travel overseas today than they were back in 1976. The member for Canberra, who previously spoke, often likes to rise in this parliament and talk about the growing inequality across our nation, but I put it to you that the rich and famous have always had the opportunity to travel and today we have five times as many Australians with the opportunity to travel overseas. The ability to travel overseas is one of the great opportunities in our lives. Experiencing different cultures and seeing the wonderful sites of the world is available to a greater percentage of the Australian population than ever before. This completely debunks the idea of a growing inequality. When it comes to overseas travel, there is a growing equality for more and more Australians. If we look back to 2005-06, we had 4.8 million Australians travelling overseas—in that last decade there was a 100 per cent increase. What is also good is that we are seeing more young people travelling—we are seeing some of the biggest increases in that age groups. There are also more elderly people travelling overseas, which brings us to the point of this bill. There are so many Australians taking the opportunity to travel overseas, because our country has become more wealthy, more prosperous and has given our citizens more opportunities to travel, that unfortunately we are seeing more deaths overseas. In fact, in 2014-15, there were 1,282 Australians who died overseas, most—648—were due to natural causes but there are an increasing number who die due to accidents—168—murder 64, and natural disasters. The most deaths overseas are recorded in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. That gets to the purpose of this bill. The amendments correct an anomaly in the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984 which has left some applicants in a procedural limbo, unable to register the deaths of family members overseas. The nature of the anomaly is as follows. The ACT Registrar-General was originally appointed as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad under the act. However, the act requires that the Registrar of Deaths Abroad be engaged under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1999. Since 1994, the ACT Registrar-General has been employed under the relevant ACT legislation, not the Public Service Act. When this anomaly was discovered in 2015, the ACT Registrar-General ceased exercising his functions under the act. This anomaly is corrected by this bill. Travelling overseas is truly one of the great things any Australian citizen can do. This bill reminds us that it is sometimes risky, that it is sometimes dangerous. The safety and security that we sometimes take for granted are not available in many other countries around the world, so we take this opportunity to remind the more than nine million Australians that make overseas trips to take care and to look after themselves. With that, I commend this bill to the House. 11:39 Mr KEENAN E0J Stirling This is a lapsed bill without amendment from the previous parliament. The Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016 will amend the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984—the RDA Act. The main purpose of the amendments is to allow the RDA Act to correct an anomaly in current registrations of deaths abroad which has left some applicants in procedural limbo, unable to register the overseas deaths of family members. These amendments will provide clear authority for the Registrar of Deaths Abroad to exercise its discretion where a state or territory has provided notice that it will not register a death. Often this occurs because the deceased was not domiciled in the state or territory at the time of death. This is an important measure which will once again allow the families of those who have died overseas to register the deaths of their loved ones. These amendments also provide the Minister for Foreign Affairs with continued authority to appoint any state or territory registrar, including the ACT Registrar-General, as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad. Overall, this bill seeks to simplify the process for registering overseas deaths, and I therefore commend this bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 74046 Is leave granted for the third reading to be moved immediately? Mr Conroy 249127 No, leave is not granted. I haven't been warned about it. We haven't received any notice. Mr Keenan E0J Presumably, we've just asked. Mr Fitzgibbon 8K6 I think we're in a new world, to be honest with you. 11:41 Mr KEENAN E0J Stirling It is obviously very straightforward that, when the second reading is moved, we move straight on to the third reading for a bill that has the support of both the government and the opposition. But, given that leave is not granted, I move: That the debate be adjourned. Question agreed to; debate adjourned. Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016 17

Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016

Second Reading 17 11:42 Mr FITZGIBBON 8K6 Hunter The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016 was debated in this place during the course of the 44th Parliament and lapsed as a result of the now-infamous double dissolution, which produced some interesting results. We are back here debating it once again. I say at the outset that the opposition will again be supporting the bill before the House, but throughout the course of my comments I will be expressing the same concerns that I expressed the first time the bill was debated here—concerns that the minister still has not adequately dealt with. I have invited him to give some additional reassurances about some of the measures in the bill. Indeed, I have written to him today, hoping to secure some of those assurances in writing. Given the public nature of the document, it does not contain anything that might relate to a private matter, so I will seek leave to table that correspondence to save the time of the House. Basically, this bill seeks to overcome impediments in the current legislation which prevent the research and development corporations from developing and maintaining industry levy registers. To put it in simpler terms—and I believe it will come as a shock to members in this place—the research and development corporations which are recipients or beneficiaries on behalf of the sector of levies paid by producers and growers do not have a database of the people who make those contributions. Indeed, in most sectors they do not even know who those people are. In other words, the levies are paid to what are generally described as agents. In most circumstances, those agents might be, for example, processors. So the department of agriculture receives the levy on behalf of the research and development corporations and then passes it on to the research and development corporations, less an administrative charge for the work involved in collecting the levies et cetera, but the research and development corporations do not know who is paying those levies. Obviously, the extent to which they have knowledge varies across sectors. Some research and development corporations have many more contributors than others. Obviously, the more contributors and the more collection points and transactions along the way, the less likely it is that the research and development corporation will have visibility of who it is that is paying those levies. It makes absolute sense. Labor supports in principle the idea that the RDCs, who are the bodies making decisions about how levy payers' money is spent, have the capacity to interact with levy payers. In other words, sensibly, they will have the capacity to go back and consult levy payers about how they believe their money should be spent, how well and how efficiently they think their money is being spent and whether they are happy with their compulsory investment in research and development. That absolutely makes sense. This legislation will overcome an enormous shortfall in the arrangements we have. Again, the opposition supports that. Our ongoing concern is around who will have access to this information. The collection and retention of data is of course becoming a big issue in society generally at this time of digital disruption and at this time in our history when data is, if you like, gold. We are very keen to assure ourselves that the data and information will not go to others and will not be misused. The best example of that—and it is a concern of mine—is what we generally describe as representative organisations like, for example, the Cattle Council. I am not singling out the Cattle Council; I am just using it as an example because it is one of the bigger sectors and one of the bigger representative bodies. We are concerned that an organisation like that could potentially use the information for political purposes. These are elected bodies. They are sometimes in very good shape, but they sometimes find themselves struggling, including in financial terms. They also, therefore, face difficult situations with their membership. I think we would all agree—in fact, I do know that we all agree and I believe the minister agrees—that it would not be appropriate for the information gathered as a consequence of this bill to go into the hands of representative organisations who might then in turn use it for political purposes. I raised these matters the last time this bill was debated here. Again, I am not satisfied that my concerns have been addressed. Indeed, when referring to the purposes for which the database might be shared and while also giving assurance about the need for ministerial approval in certain circumstances and departmental secretary approval in other circumstances, in his second reading speech the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources said: Where an eligible recipient is permitted to disclose levy payer information to a third party, that person or body may only use the information for restricted purposes relating to R&D, marketing, biosecurity or the National Residue Survey, or in connection with any activity carried out by the RDC for the benefit of producers in the industry it serves. I did study some law, but I am not a lawyer. I would have thought that a lawyer looking for a tight arrangement about whether or not this information is going to be shared with people for whom it was not intended would not be very happy with 'the benefit of producers in the industry it serves'. That could mean so many things. Obviously, that could mean that someone may conclude that providing the money to the representative organisation is in the interest of the producers. That may well be the fact. It could possibly be the case that sharing the information with the representative organisation is in the interest of the producer or grower. The representative organisation may have something in mind that undoubtedly would be in the interest of the producer or grower. But of course that is not the point here. We as the opposition want assurances that that is the case. That line in the minister's second reading speech causes me great concern. Typically, the government says, 'This will all be dealt with in the regulations and the guidelines.' In other words, the government is saying on this very important matter: 'Don't worry. Trust us. It'll be okay.' I have learned not to do that, particularly with respect to this government. I opened by making the point that this bill is here for a second time. The now minister travelled extensively around the country in the lead-up to the 2013 election, making lots of promises to producers and growers about levies, in particular with respect to the grass-fed cattle levy. He was not the shadow minister for agriculture at the time, I remind people, so I do not know what the shadow minister for agriculture thought about his musings in the lead-up to the 2013 election. The minister made lots of promises, most of which he has not delivered on. The grass-fed cattle levy is the perfect example. It is a matter that Minister Joyce promised to send to a Senate committee. He belatedly and reluctantly eventually did that, but since that very extensive inquiry, which travelled very extensively, consulted widely and made, I think, seven recommendations, the minister has not embraced or properly responded to those recommendations. On this matter, it is similar. He made promises in the lead-up to the 2013 election. And why was he making promises? Because axiomatically, understandably and predictably, very few growers and producers believe they receive value for the levy. This is a compulsory levy that primary producers have to pay and, of course, reaching out and touching the benefits of R&D is a very hard thing to do, so, understandably, the growers and producers are sceptical about the value they receive from their levy. Therefore it is understandable that Minister Joyce would be making comments pre-election. The fact that we are only finally debating this bill and, hopefully, sending it through its final stages in 2016 is best explained by the incompetence of this government. We are not prepared to take as a lick and a promise their guarantees on information sharing, and I do look forward to a proper response from the minister on the issues I have raised. 11:53 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker I think that the member for Hunter answered his own question, where he indicated that he is particularly concerned about the provision of information pursuant to this bill, namely, the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016, when effectively he went to the bill. It is perhaps best summarised by saying to him that any and all information collected under this bill must be used for an activity related to rural research and development, or for biosecurity or national residue survey purposes. So the member for Hunter, in an attempt to find foul with the bill, has answered his own question. This information can only be provided in a circumstance where it is for a purpose related to research and development or biosecurity matters. In any event, I rise in support of this bill. Perhaps that is not a surprise, given that I supported a bill in the very same terms during the course of the 44th Parliament—it is not a surprise to see me supporting it here at the beginning of the 45th. Mr Deputy Speaker Goodenough, you know that Barker is an agricultural hub for South Australia and, indeed, for the nation. It is home to some of our country's most fertile agricultural and horticultural assets and land. Indeed, Barker hosts many of our nation's top primary producers: from farmers deep in the south-east on cattle properties to blockies in the Riverland growing late navels, we see the spectrum, if you like, of primary production across an electorate which is 68,000 square kilometres. Obviously, primary production employs the vast majority of my constituents: from small family-owned enterprises to large company-run farms, Barker is home to that full range of primary producers. Farmers across my electorate, and indeed across the nation, are consistently searching for more opportunities and further development in research. In the last parliament I stood in this chamber and spoke of the importance of research and development, particularly in the primary industries sector. This importance has not diminished since I was last here in March. Rural research and development serves to help not only the producers of our nation but also our budget bottom line. For every single dollar that is invested by the government into rural R&D we see a $12 return over 10 years. That is a significant achievement: a one-dollar investment creating a $12 return. As a coalition we remain committed to facilitating innovation across the agricultural sector. We have been laying the foundation to transition from the mining boom to the new, innovation-driven economy. This bill clears the constraints of the old economy, opening the channels of dialogue between rural R&D entities and the primary producers who fund and benefit from them. We are seeking to enable a productive dialogue between these two incredibly important entities for the next step in Australia's economy, opening the possibility for rural research and development corporations to identify and connect directly with the primary producers they serve. This bill amends the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 to allow for the distribution of levy payer information by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to rural RDCs for the development of levy payer registers. This decision comes on the back of numerous reviews and inquiries which have identified improved consultation with levy payers as important for the ongoing strength of Australia's R&D architecture. This consultation will enable producers and rural research and development corporations to collaborate successfully on the relevant issues. Levy payers should have more of a say in how their funds are expended, and the rural research and development corporations should know who provides the levy and what their objectives are. This bill allows for a register, providing these corporations with the ability to identify and consult directly with producers on research priorities and levy expenditure, and the relevant allocation of voting entitlements. We are introducing this bill to fine-tune rural R&D, allowing the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to allow levy-payer information to be provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and to distribute contact information of people who have paid or are liable to pay a levy or charge; and may include the amount of levy or charge on a leviable commodity. This amendment is consistent with the government's Public Data Policy Statement, which commits to securely sharing data between Australian government entities to improve efficiencies and inform policy development and decision-making. As I said earlier, all information distributed under the bill must be used for an activity related to rural research and development, or for biosecurity or national residue survey purposes. We are talking about greater situational awareness when discussing the primary production sector, enabling the government to better formulate future policy decisions in a targeted, focused and informed manner. This bill is consistent with the government's reasonable and responsible approach to agricultural policy. It is only the coalition that understands the plight of rural and regional Australians and the importance of reasonable policy when it comes to agriculture. Today the coalition is delivering a better outcome for primary producers across the nation and, indeed, in my electorate of Barker. The provisions in this bill will create greater clarity for our primary producers, their representative bodies and their related research entities. When this bill was introduced in the 44th Parliament it was well received by representative bodies, which I noted when I first spoke in support of the bill. Jed Matz, the CEO of the Cattle Council of Australia, welcomed the benefits of more communication between entities. He said: This will have multiple benefits such as improved disease management and prevention, improved extension services, more targeted communication and policy. The sheepmeat industry is also supportive of the legislation. The President of the Sheepmeat Council of Australia, Jeff Murray, said: The introduction of this legislation is an important step in empowering industry representative organisations … Once passed, these amendments will enable peak bodies such as SCA— the Sheepmeat Council of Australia— to identify the industry issues and priorities of the levy payers we represent through better engagement with them and therefore empower us to oversight levy expenditure more effectively. These are but a few of the many organisations supporting our legislation here today. Those opposed to the bill could not say they have received such endorsement from the primary producers of this nation. That is what is very interesting about the contribution we have just heard from the member for Hunter. I often wonder about the member for Hunter. He has won out with the opposition—a group that are effectively union dominated and overwhelmingly hail from the inner city or, at least, from cities. The member for Hunter is given the responsibility of speaking for the Australian Labor Party on questions of agriculture and the bush. He does a reasonable job and is an honourable advocate. But, frankly, it is very difficult for him to convince his fellow representatives from the Australian Labor Party to work for the interests of Australians living in rural and regional communities. That is why this bill is an example of the differences between our respective parties. Aside from the National Party, with whom we are in coalition to form government, there are 14 members of this place who hail from rural and regional Australia. I am one of them. I love visiting our capital cities but I often say about Adelaide that the best view of it is in the rear vision mirror as I enter my electorate via the Adelaide Hills or the Northern Expressway through the Barossa. I see that some on the other side are giggling. But when you have assets like mine—the Coonawarra, the Barossa, citrus from the Riverland, the whole of the Murray in South Australia—it is not hard to see why those of us who visit capital cities are quite happy to leave them. I am a proud and parochial South Australian, so for me it is Adelaide. I am quite happy to leave it and return to the serenity and great beauty of regional centres. When we talk about the differences between the coalition members of the House and those on the other side—and invariably I am talking about agriculture—I am reminded of one of the great failings of this place when those opposite were seated on this side of the chamber and my predecessors were in opposition. That, of course, was the live cattle export fiasco. That was a knee-jerk reaction, policy making on the run, which saw an industry decimated overnight. That was something we did not support, and would not support, because we are not about policy on the run or policy in any other way than by consultation, not reaction. I eagerly anticipate the benefits this bill will deliver to agriculture. Our government will ensure a strong future for primary production in our nation. I commend the bill to the House. 12:04 Mr HARTSUYKER 00AMM Cowper The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Bill 2016 is the first step to enable rural research and development corporations, RDCs, to establish a levy payer register if they choose to do so. This bill will strengthen the ability of RDCs to connect directly with those who fund their work. The levy payer registers will allow RDCs to identify and consult directly with the levy payers who fund the research and development system and ensure accuracy in the allocation of voting entitlements. As it currently stands, the department cannot distribute levy payer data to RDCs except in the wool and dairy industries. The bill will remedy this by allowing the government to provide levy payer information for the purposes of a levy payer register to 13 other RDCs should the RDCs choose to do so. There are a number of steps in the process for each levy payer register to be established. We need to bring along a diverse range of industry and levy payers. That will necessarily take some time. Developing a fit-for-purpose, cost-effective system to deliver levy payer information to RDCs is a complex process. Each industry will need to take the time to consider what benefit a levy payer register will offer in view of the cost of establishing and maintaining such a register. Recognising that each agricultural industry is different, the distribution of levy payer information to an RDC for a levy payer register will only occur where an RDC, in consultation with industry, requests its distribution and that request is approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Levy payer registers could include information such as the name, address, contact details and ABN of any person who has paid, or is liable to pay, a levy or charge. The information may also include details of the amount of the levy or charge that a person has paid or is liable to pay. To be clear, financial information will only be available to the RDC, and any requests for access to this information from a third party will be considered by the secretary of the department. My department has already started consulting with RDCs, industry representative bodies, and levy collection agents on how to best collect levy payer data and on the systems that all parties will use to collect and distribute that data. Workshops are also under way to determine user requirements for the IT system underpinning levy payer registers. These consultations will inform the regulations that sit under this bill to mandate the collection of data to populate a levy payer register. The government will continue to work with industry and RDCs to ensure that Australia's R&D system remains transparent and consultative and delivers tangible benefits to Australia's rural industries into the future. I commend the bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Third Reading 21 12:08 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I move: That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.

The House divided. [12:13]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 78 AYES Abbott, AJ Alexander, JG Andrews, KJ Andrews, KL Banks, J Bishop, JI Broad, AJ Broadbent, RE Buchholz, S Chester, D Christensen, GR (teller) Ciobo, SM Coleman, DB Coulton, M Crewther, CJ Drum, DK Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Evans, TM Falinski, J Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hartsuyker, L Hastie, AW Hawke, AG Henderson, SM Hogan, KJ Howarth, LR Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Katter, RC Keenan, M Kelly, C Laming, A Landry, ML Laundy, C Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Marino, NB McCormack, MF McGowan, C McVeigh, JJ Morrison, SJ Morton, B O'Brien, LS O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD O'Dwyer, KM Pasin, A Pitt, KJ Prentice, J Price, ML Pyne, CM Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharkie, RCC Sudmalis, AE Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE Turnbull, MB Van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Wicks, LE Wilkie, AD Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wood, JP Wyatt, KG Zimmerman, T 67 NOES Albanese, AN Aly, A Bandt, AP Bird, SL Bowen, CE Brodtmann, G Burke, AS Burney, LJ Butler, MC Butler, TM Byrne, AM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Claydon, SC Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Feeney, D Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Hammond, TJ Hart, RA Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husar, E Husic, EN Jones, SP Keay, JT Kelly, MJ Keogh, MJ Khalil, P King, CF King, MMH Lamb, S Leigh, AK Macklin, JL Marles, RD McBride, EM Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Toole, C Owens, JA Perrett, GD (teller) Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM Swan, WM Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Vamvakinou, M Watts, TG Wilson, JH Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 12:20 Mr HARTSUYKER 00AMM Cowper I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016 23

Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016

Third Reading 23 12:20 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I move: That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the motion moved by the Leader of the House be agreed to.

The House divided. [12:22]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 77 AYES Abbott, AJ Alexander, JG Andrews, KJ Andrews, KL Banks, J Bishop, JI Broad, AJ Broadbent, RE Buchholz, S Chester, D Christensen, GR (teller) Ciobo, SM Coleman, DB Coulton, M Crewther, CJ Drum, DK Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Evans, TM Falinski, J Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hartsuyker, L Hastie, AW Hawke, AG Henderson, SM Hogan, KJ Howarth, LR Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Keenan, M Kelly, C Laming, A Landry, ML Laundy, C Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Marino, NB McCormack, MF McGowan, C McVeigh, JJ Morrison, SJ Morton, B O'Brien, LS O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD O'Dwyer, KM Pasin, A Pitt, KJ Prentice, J Price, ML Pyne, CM Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharkie, RCC Sudmalis, AE Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE Turnbull, MB Van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Wicks, LE Wilkie, AD Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wood, JP Wyatt, KG Zimmerman, T 67 NOES Albanese, AN Aly, A Bandt, AP Bird, SL Bowen, CE Brodtmann, G Burke, AS Burney, LJ Butler, MC Butler, TM Byrne, AM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Claydon, SC Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Ellis, KM Feeney, D Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Hammond, TJ Hart, RA Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husar, E Husic, EN Jones, SP Keay, JT Kelly, MJ Keogh, MJ Khalil, P King, CF King, MMH Lamb, S Leigh, AK Macklin, JL Marles, RD McBride, EM Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Toole, C Owens, JA Perrett, GD (teller) Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM Swan, WM Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Vamvakinou, M Watts, TG Wilson, JH Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 12:25 Mr HARTSUYKER 00AMM Cowper I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS 24 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS Economy and National Security 24 12:25 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth by leave—Today, I will update the House on important global economic and security developmentsaffecting directly and immediately the national interests of all Australians. Last week I discussed with other leaders at the G20, ASEAN-Australia Summit, East Asia Summit and Pacific Islands forums the actions we need to take to secure our long-term prosperity in these times of remarkable opportunity but rapid change. There was overwhelming consensus among leaders that open markets, free trade, innovation and entrepreneurship are key to reinvigorating global economic growth. Our clear resolve was that we must not respond to global and domestic economic volatility by giving in to populists peddling the empty promises of isolationism and the false hopes of protectionism. As I said in Hangzhouat the G20, protectionism is not a ladder to get us out of the low growth trap. It is a shovel to dig that hole deeper and make the problem more intractable. If global economic events over the last decade have taught us anything it is that growth cannot be taken for granted. We must see the world as it is not as we would like it to be, or fondly imagine it once was. Policies matter. And inferior economic policies lead to poor economic outcomes. It is that simple. Global growth remains fragile, and there is no surer recipe for extinguishing vital consumer and business confidence than putting up economic barriers. The G20 leaders agreed that if all countries turn inwards, we all lose. Australia has achieved 25 consecutive years of growth, and our economy remains strong and resilient. This is a remarkable achievement, particularly given the global economic headwinds that we have faced. The hard work of millions of Australian men and women, and millions of businesses—large and small—lies at the heart of this strong economic performance. But it is also the result of determined efforts to keep expanding our horizons and to pursue genuine economic reforms. Great reformers from both sides of politics, including Hawke and Keating, Howard and Costello, took tough decisions to make our economy stronger. These reforms were aimed at improving living standards for all Australians. A strong economy is not a given. We must remain agile and pursue every avenue of genuine reform; we must make the right policy calls for the times that deliver higher incomes for all Australians. A reinvigorated approach At the G20, all leaders acknowledged that subdued global economic growth and rapid change is playing into anxiety over industries that are left behind. There isunderstandable fear about what this means for economic circumstances, economic security in certain communities. The mining construction boom showed clearly that economic shocks do not affect economies—or people—uniformly. But this does not mean we should stick our head under the doona. Leaders agreed that our policymaking must be as agile and dynamic as the economy itself where the pace and scale of change is without precedent. As I outlined to leaders at the G20, the way the Australian economy handled these shocks shows the benefit of policies that ensure our economy is open, flexible and resilient. Over time the benefits of the boom werespread widely across the population, through changes in share prices and dividend payments, higher wages, movements in the exchange rate and government payments. Now that the construction boom has ended and the exchange rate has declined, different parts of the economy are benefiting. We must recognise the negative impacts of dislocation and make sure we have the policies in place to ease the burden of change, particularly on the vulnerable. This is why we have committed to establishing a $200 million Regional Jobs Fund. It will ensure areas like the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Geelong in Victoria, northern Tasmania and the Spencer Gulf in South Australia remain great places in which to live, work and invest. G20 leaders were clear; in these times when the pace and scale of change has never been greater, genuine leadership means reassuring people and explaining to them how trade, investment and innovation have improved our incomes and livelihoods. Rather than preying on people's fears and resorting to political opportunism, we must be steadfast and principled in making the case for reform. As I outlined to leaders at the G20 meeting, we should focus our efforts on three areas. 1 ) Communicating positive impacts The first and most urgent priority is to better communicate to our communities the positive impact of trade, investment and innovation on growth and job creation. G20 leaders recognised that we live in an increasingly complex and integrated global economy. Populist sentiment—based on fear, not evidence—is gaining ground. These pressures are likely to increase as technological advances cause greater disruption. The G20 is in a unique position to make the case for how specific trade and investment measures raise economic growth and living standards. At the meeting I strongly supported trade ministers' commitment to developing the best available evidence through the world's leading experts at the WTO, World Bank and OECD. Our job as leaders is to set out a clear factual explanation of the benefits of trade which can disarm the cynical and reassure the anxious. Innovation also has many benefits but these are not always easy to identify or quantify. While some seek to generate fear and misunderstanding when they talk about its impact, innovation can be the great leveller of opportunity and access. As Jack Ma pointed out when I visited the Alibaba campus in Hangzhou, innovation and technology have put mum and dad businesses, start-ups and young people on a more level playing field with big business in accessing trade and new markets than ever before. Thirty years ago, a student writing an essay needed to have access to a library—and most did not. Today the world's knowledge is available online and open to all with access to the internet the advance of which continues to spread apace. We also need to demonstrate that all parts of society are reaping the benefits of trade and investment. It is more important than ever before to ensure that policies which have delivered stronger growth and more jobs are seen as fair—a rising tide that not only does lift all boats but is seen to do so. Growth must be thoroughly inclusive. One of the keys to maintaining public confidence in reform is stamping out tax evasion and the erosion of our tax bases. We are committed to a global economy that supports the aspirations of the many, not the few; it cannot be so unless the system is transparent. Unscrupulous behaviour, even if it provides companies with short term benefit, is not just against the interests of the community, but ultimately also against the interests of business. The G20 made significant progress this year. As an example, the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project has been expanded to more than 80 countries, including some outside the OECD and the G20. This will improve the coherence of international tax rules and ensure a more transparent tax environment. Australia is proud to have played a leading role in galvanising the global response to tackle tax avoidance. Multinationals should be in no doubt of our resolve: while we support lower taxes, paying them is not optional. The Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law, which my government passed and regrettably Labor voted against, prevents companies from artificially shifting profits offshore. In this year's budget we went further and announced a new diverted profits tax to ensure large multinationals will pay a penalty rate tax of 40 per cent if they shift profits offshore. We have also announced a new Tax Avoidance Taskforce to strengthen the ATO's audit and compliance activities. 2 ) Embracing flexibility and agility The second agenda item I pursued at the G20 meeting was the need to embrace flexibility and agility as vital elements of economic success. In the two decades before the global financial crisis, the volume of international trade grew at roughly twice the rate of economic growth. But this trend has now come to an end. New, opaque, behind the border, trade restrictions continue to accumulate—now hitting five per cent of global imports. It is vital that we remain steadfastly committed to the principles of free trade. G20 leaders agreed to ratify the 2013 Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of this year. This agreement delivers practical measures to strengthen global trade by removing regulatory and procedural burdens on free trade. My government will continue to pursue export agreements and reduce red tape impediments to free trade. We have already seen the benefits of the coalition's export deals with major trading partners—China, Korea, Japan and Singapore. As an example, in the first six months of this year, there has been a doubling in the value of exports to China of fresh mangoes, fresh cherries, and fresh oranges—tariffs on all of these products have been cut twice already, and are being progressively removed. Exports of bottled wine have increased by approximately one-third since the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement entry into force. At the G20 I continued working towards the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and finalising new trade agreements with our major trading partners—including Indonesia, India, the European Union and the United Kingdom—to maximise Australia's opportunities to expand trade and investment. I encouraged G20 leaders to continue to use their combined influence to support the WTO and make the multilateral system work better—for example, by encouraging the uptake of good practices in trade agreements that create, rather than divert, trade. 3 ) Domestic r eforms My final message to the G20 leaders was that in addition to trade and innovation, we must implement domestic reforms if we want to escape or avoid the low growth trap. We support the G20's enhanced structural reform agenda, including the nine priority areas for structural reform, underpinning principles and the development of the indicator system to measure our progress. As a result of opening up our capital and product markets to the rest of the world, the long-term productive capacity of our economy—the wages, employment opportunities and standards of living, for our children and our grandchildren—will be limited only by their imaginations. My government is committed to reforms that will increase productivity, such as investigating how to apply competition principles to health and other human services, as outlined in the Harper review. This is about providing consumers with better information, wider choices and more responsive services. Ultimately, it is about improving every Australian's quality of life. I note that the Chifley Institute recently acknowledged that these kinds of reforms have the potential to play an important role in the delivery of health services. Regional s tability We cannot have economic security and prosperity without regional stability. The US-anchored rules-based order has delivered the greatest run of peace and prosperity this planet has ever known. Nowhere is this more evident than in our region, in the Indo-Pacific. Decades of peace have allowed us to build strong economic links—improving the living standards of millions of Australians and many more in the region. South-East Asia's GDP per capita has more than tripled in the past 15 years. The clear message I took to the Australia-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit was that continued prosperity into the future relies on the region remaining stable and secure. As a groupASEAN is Australia's second largest trading partner and Australia is ASEAN's eighth largest trading partner. Bilateral trade was worth almost $100 billion in 2015. The more we trade, the more we rely on each other, the more our supply chains stretch across countries and borders—and the more there is to lose by a disturbance in the security and order on which our prosperity is founded. Free trade is not just good for jobs. It is good for security. Openness. Stability. Security. Prosperity. They go hand in hand. But peace, security and order is not a given. We live in an uncertain and complex strategic region. And we were again reminded of the fragility of the international security environment during the G20. On 5 September, North Korea launched three medium-range ballistic missiles into Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone and Air Defence Identification Zone and, on Friday, while I was at the Pacific Islands Forum on Pohnpei, yet another nuclear test took place. This follows reports of ballistic missile tests every month this year. North Korea's ongoing provocative, dangerous and destabilising behaviour aggravates tensions in the region and threatens peace and security. Australia strongly condemns these activities from this rogue state, which are clearly in breach of unanimously agreed United Nations Security Council resolutions. North Korea's behaviour shows why it was important that Australia and Myanmarsecured the agreement of the leaders at the East Asia Summit to a new commitment to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and to work to support non-proliferation. Such provocation by this rogue state, North Korea, requires action—the foreign minister and I will work with the UN Security Council to support additional sanctions against North Korea. Tensions that have arisen as a result of developments in the South China Sea also have the potential to threaten our prosperity. Australia's position has been consistent and clear. We are not a claimant to any territory in the South China Sea. However, Australia has made it clear that it is vitally important that all countries abide by international law to settle disputes peacefully with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes and without resorting to the threat or use of force. We continue to urge all claimants to refrain from coercive behaviour, militarisation or unilateral actions designed to change the status quo in disputed areas. Such behaviour undermines stability and stifles trade. And, regrettably, as we saw in Sydney on Saturday night, we cannot be blind to the real threat to our region from terrorism. Daesh is expanding its presence into South-East Asia and the leaders of the ASEAN nations made it very clear that they see Australia as a key partner in countering this threat. We cannot pretend that Daesh-related terrorism is a distant threat. As I stated in my security statement a fortnight ago: … unfortunately, the risk of terrorist attacks is rising as our battlefield success against Daesh grows. Whether it is Nice, Orlando, Wurzburg, Istanbul, Jakarta or Sydney, Daesh is inspiring, encouraging and directing many more attacks now than when it was expanding its territory in Syria and Iraq. Yesterday, as we remembered the devastating 9/11 attacks 15 years on, the Sydney stabbing was a reminder of how terrorists and terrorism have evolved and mutated. To defeat them, so must we adapt. We cannot close our eyes to the reality. There are people in Australia who want to do us harm and undermine our free, open and tolerant society with violence. That is why my government will continue proactively to reform our national security laws to ensure our agencies have the powers they need to meet the challenges of the evolving threat environment. This week we will introduce two key pieces of legislation—the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill to, amongst other things, strengthen our control order regime and post-sentence preventative detention laws to enable a continuing period of detention for high risk terrorist offenders. These measures are designed to deter, prevent and reassure. My government is absolutely committed to ensuring Australians can go about their daily lives and enjoy their freedoms as the government and our agencies do everything possible to keep them safe. And I was reassured throughout the summits that the ASEAN leaders are united in their resolve. Leaders recognise the reality of the challenges posed by online propaganda, rapid radicalisation and returning foreign fighters with battle-hardened capabilities. Threats of terrorism are not bound by borders, rules or traditional barriers. The digital age means vulnerable young people, some who are only children, are now more susceptible to social media lies and propaganda, and able to self-radicalise online. At the ASEAN-Australia and the East Asia Summit I urged members to share their understanding of how the internet and social media are being used to spread violent ideology to inspire and recruit our young people in the region. The fear, division, hatred and violence terrorists seek to bring about puts at risk the region's stability, its security and therefore its prosperity. That is why I joined with world leaders in a signal of collective political will to counter such weakness and division with strength and unity. This included ASEAN leaders renewing the ASEAN-Australia Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism. Australia's allies and partners expect us to not only be a cooperative participant but a leading voice and player actively demonstrating the need for, and how to achieve, security and prosperity in our region. I am providing this leadership. And through our efforts to secure unanimity on the Non-Proliferation Agreement at the EAS and the CT Declaration at ASEAN, Australia is providing this leadership. Conclusion These visits and the consistent themes I heard from global leaders confirmed that my Government's economic plan is the right one for Australia. Our plan will boost exports via free trade agreements. We have established a strong Innovation and Science Agenda that provides tax incentives for start-ups and encourages entrepreneurship. Our defence industry plan secures the nation and supports innovative Australian companies. We will live within our means and restore the budget to balance as we guarantee funding for all the essential responsibilities of government including health and education. We are backing small and medium sized businesses with lower tax rates to encourage investment, greater productivity, and jobs and wage growth. We will restore the rule of law in the building construction industry. And our cities and infrastructure plan provides record investments on road and rail infrastructure, to create more liveable cities and connect regions to markets. And we must play a strong role in ensuring security in our region. Our plan lies in stark contrast to the anti-opportunity, anti-growth, anti-investment, anti-jobs policies of those opposite. Flexible and competitive markets—supported by the rule of law and sound macroeconomic policy framework and regulatory settings—have served Australians well. Our policies will ensure that in these times of challenge, and of opportunity, we do not get left behind but remain a prosperous, First World economy with a generous social welfare safety net. I present a copy of the ministerial statement. 12:47 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong I thank the Prime Minister for his address and I begin my response to his address on the subject of national security, because upholding the safety of Australians is the shared mission of all of us who serve in this place. Over the weekend the world commemorated the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Australians cast their minds back to the wide-eyed horror of that fateful day: the skies and streets of New York filled with the smoke, ash and dust of the World Trade Center; the Twin Towers, which had starred in 1,000 movies, reduced to rubble; nearly 3,000 lives claimed in an act of unspeakable evil and hundreds more cut short by a cancerous cloud. Here at home, 15 years later, the face of terror showed itself again. The attack at Minto was a sudden, vicious act of violence perpetrated against a 59-year-old Australian. The whole parliament sends him and his family our prayers for a speedy recovery, and we offer our gratitude to those neighbours who saw the danger and rushed to his aid in the finest Australian tradition. The perpetrator of Minto was an individual known for his extreme views but not flagged as a security threat. This is the reality of the world we now live in, a place where isolated youth are easy prey for the false promise of radical violence. This is the threat we must continue to meet and master through both rigorous counterextremism programs and strong law enforcement. Our security agencies and our police are amongst the very best in the world at what they do. Their determination, their professionalism and their courage keep us safe. In this parliament we are united in our support for their work and our admiration of their qualities. And the enemies of peace—the extremists who seek to spread hatred and inflict violence in some perverted, twisted concept of Islam—should know that we are united in our determination to defeat them. These lone wolves will be hunted and they will be caught. Labor will continue our record of being constructive and cooperative, working with the government to make national security legislation as strong as possible. Those efforts at home must be matched by our greater cooperation abroad, especially with the nations in our region, especially through these multilateral forums where Australia's voice is heard and respected. I certainly find common ground with the Prime Minister on his goals for regional security. In fact, any Prime Minister who attends the G20, ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum goes with the goodwill of the whole nation, because the continuing success of these international bodies is vital to our national success. We are united on the fundamentals of national security but we still see real difference in the economy and who benefits. Today, once again, the Prime Minister has preached his message of sunny, zealous economic optimism in his 20-minute report on his trip overseas last week. I share his faith in the capacity, the courage and the resilience of Australians and I agree: we need to see things as they are, not as we wish them to be. So, unlike him, I see that a lot of our fellow Australians are under pressure and not feeling this security. I recognise that Australians need more than a lecture about digital disruption and those taxpayer-funded ads for an ideas boom at our suburban bus stops. I know that for hundreds of thousands of apprentices, machine operators, carers, teachers and nurses this is far from the most exciting time to be an Australian. It is about time we had an honest conversation about jobs and growth in this country, because a headline annual growth figure of 3.3 per cent should not blind us to the soft underbelly of the domestic economy. Two-thirds of Australia's annual growth has come from the contribution of net exports propped up by mining production, but Australians employed in the mining sector represent less than two per cent of our total employment. Meanwhile, private investment is still in retreat, having just experienced its largest decline in 16 years, and, alarmingly, consumption growth halved in the June quarter. Ordinary Australians are feeling the pinch. Living standards are a full two per cent lower than when the Liberals came to office. Of the 220,000 jobs created in the past year, just 30,000 were full time. In other words, nearly nine in every 10 jobs created in the past year were part time. The proportion of women in full-time work is steadily falling. It is lower than at any time under the previous Labor government. There is nothing wrong with flexible work if that is what you choose, but a lot of people do not get to make this choice. Underemployment is at near record levels. One million Australians would like to be working more hours than they can currently find. The underemployment rate for women aged 35 to 44 is more than double the rate for men the same age—more than double. The proportion of working-age men who are not in the labour force, who have given up looking for work altogether, is higher than at any point during the global financial crisis. It is taking Australians longer to find their next job after becoming unemployed. The average length of unemployment has increased by eight weeks since September 2013, and over the next 12 months, as Holden, Ford and Toyota close their doors, between 28,000 and 40,000 jobs will be lost in Elizabeth, Salisbury and Smithfield, in Port Melbourne, Campbellfield, Geelong and Altona, and those losses will impact further along the supply chain too. Never forget that it was the Abbott-Turnbull government's first achievement: goading the car industry into leaving Australia's shores for good. And, at a time when we should be investing in training and creating infrastructure jobs, the number of apprentices in Australia has fallen by 128,000. These are vital economic challenges this parliament needs to acknowledge and not gloss over. Inequality is at a 75-year high. The middle class is being squeezed. Dignity in retirement is uncertain. The gender pay gap, effectively unaltered since 1979, remains an affront to our national credo of the fair go. Our great regions are too often experiencing second-class treatment. Home ownership has fallen to its lowest ever level amongst middle-and low-income families. By next year, homeowners will be in the minority in Australia, with more than 50 per cent of people renting because they cannot afford to get into the market. Trickle-down economics is not the answer. There is nothing for Australia to gain from the idea that you can look after the very top and everything else will look after itself. The last thing our economy needs right now is a $50 billion tax giveaway for multinational companies and the big four banks. The Treasurer has the nerve to talk about the taxed and the taxed-nots. He had to be dragged kicking and screaming to take even modest action over multinational tax. He is presiding over a system that allows Australia's highest earners to pay no income tax at all—not even the Medicare levy. In 2014, 55 Australians earned more than $1 million but managed to quietly write their income down to below the tax-free threshold. But 40 of those 55 paid their accountants more than $1 million and then deducted this money from their tax the following year. None of this is illegal and this is the problem. Our current system is biased in favour of the very fortunate few who have sufficient wealth to opt out, but the Treasurer would rather go after Australians on the pension or the DSP. The massive cash splash for big companies at the expense of strong safety nets and targeted skills education and infrastructure programs is a recipe for nothing but anaemic growth, undermined by far greater and growing inequality. What Australia needs for economic security is a plan for targeted growth—growth that boosts communities, regions, industries and the demographic groups missing out. Between 2006 and 2012, the mining investment boom delivered us eight per cent of our GDP in capital expenditure and mining, up from a long-run average of two per cent. A hundred and fifty billion dollars extra flowed into our economy. It boosted our export incomes which have buttressed us in recent times, but the billion-dollar flows have stopped. The national ATM has witnessed a massive withdrawal of capital expenditure. Replacement income and growth is needed now. And in a low interest rate, low investment return environment, we cannot rely on monetary policy to do all the heavy lifting. We need a targeted growth agenda; a plan for education and skills for new technologies; renewable energy; promotion of our services sector; publicly funded infrastructure, including a first-class NBN; harnessing the growth of China and, more broadly, Asia; a fair dinkum march of women to equal treatment in our workplaces and in our society; and budget repair that is fair. Government has to be something better—something more than a mechanism for transferring money from the working and middle-class families and Australians of this country to vested interests. In the Labor Party, we are determined to ensure people and industries are not left behind by economic change. On this side of the House, we understand that inclusion is a plan for prosperity, not one of the benefits. It is not an either/or calculus in the Australian economy that you either have fairness or you have growth. And, furthermore, we do not believe that the existence of the safety net of social security kills individual initiative and innovation or that the strong minimum wage and the 38-hour week and penalty rates are not causing the decline of Australia, and it is not reckless to find an extra payment of a few dollars each week to unemployed Australians on Newstart rather than reward multimillionaires getting a $10,000-plus tax cut. Good social policy is not just about maintaining a strong safety net and it is not a matter of charity. It is about investment in people, their skills, their education, their capacities. Lifting people back into work and supporting their full participation in our economy and our society is good economics and it is good community-building. This is the purpose of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Ever since the government came to power, there has been a sustained campaign of leaks aimed at undermining the National Disability Insurance Scheme. They over there talk about the expense, the cost, the price tag, but never the value. PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that the cost of disability services to the taxpayer without the efficiency and consumer centred model of the NDIS would be two to three times greater—not to mention the massive economic and personal benefits of empowering 470,000 people with severe and profound disability and tens of thousands of carers to participate more fully in our economy. The Productivity Commission estimates the NDIS will add a full percentage point to our GDP by 2050. Fairness is a growth strategy. The same is true for Medicare. Our publicly owned, universally accessible system delivers health outcomes that are twice as good as the private, profit based American model and at half of the cost. Medicare keeps sick days down at work and workplace productivity up. It alleviates the cost-of-living pressure of healthcare bills. It is the foundation of a strong Australian middle class. Yet, despite the wild-eyed rage of election night and the fake contrition of the following days, despite admitting that Australians do not trust the Liberals with Medicare, the government and the Prime Minister are continuing the freeze on bulk-billing incentives for GPs; the increase of the price of medicine by cutting the PBS; the new imposition of up-front fees on vulnerable Australians and the new charges for mammograms, blood tests, X-rays, melanoma treatments; and, of course, the Prime Minister's privatisation task force. The government is determined to hollow out Medicare and to push the price of health care back onto Australian families, undermining every Australian's standard of living and the economic security of all Australians. Fairness is the most powerful counterargument to disempowerment and marginalisation. It says to all of the people who feel forgotten, left out and left behind that they have a stake in society: if they put in the effort they will get a reward; if they work hard they can get ahead. Fairness is therefore both an obligation and a necessity because those who would make fairness too difficult make the splintering of our society too easy. Delivering greater progress, greater security and greater opportunity for all Australians must begin by recognising that current insecurities and frustrations are not imagined or insignificant. There is a very real alienation between the boosters of change and those on the receiving end of change: cab drivers and Uber, the CUB maintenance tradesmen and contracting out, Australian printers and writers and parallel imports, dairy farmers and milk processing, Ford and Holden workers and the preachers of disruption, the victims of shonky banking practices and bank CEOs. There is a disconnect, matched by stalling wages and a growing cost of living. Australians hear the news of a growing economy and they wonder when it will deliver for them. Private household debt is at its highest level on record. Consumer confidence is flat. Purchasing power is falling. Parents are genuinely worried about whether they will have enough to pass on a better standard of living to their kids. Few issues better illustrate this than housing affordability, yet this government is belligerently and obstinately refusing to change their negative gearing policies. They stubbornly defend a negative gearing policy that actively contributes to putting the price of houses beyond the reach of middle-class and working-class families. When did Australia become a nation that is happy to spend more taxpayer money subsidising property speculation than we spend as a nation on child care, infrastructure or higher education? And telling a generation locked out of the housing market to get rich parents is not good enough. Dismissing legitimate frustrations with the uneven, hard-to-reach opportunities of the new economy as cynicism is the worst possible way forward. Telling the workers of the car industry, who feel insecure about their futures, to stop 'hiding under the doona' is breathtakingly out of touch. It is easy to sing the praises of free trade and condemn the evils of protectionism from the comfort of financial security. As the party that built Australia's modern, open economy, Labor fully understands the benefits of free trade from the multilateral processes to market access agreements. But we believe that free trade should work in the interests of all, not some. We know that nothing damages the cause of free trade more than poor advocates with a flawed argument that costs local jobs or puts those jobs in jeopardy. Nothing hurts the argument for an international labour market more than a visa system where imported workers are exploited or the visa process system is corrupted and Australians miss out on the jobs that they were promised. My party is determined to take a stand against insecure work, rampant casualisation and the race to the bottom driven by contracting out. Our whole system of enterprise bargaining is flat. It is going nowhere at the moment. Employers who bargain are undercut by employers who do not bother, and too many workplaces simply acquiescing with no bargaining is the new normal. Whole sectors of industry have opted for a wages pause and are simply not renegotiating. Important sectors for future growth—retail, tourism and hospitality—are focused on reducing wages costs rather than boosting productivity. Australians understand that the future of work is being defined by the limits of automation, artificial intelligence and robotics. That is why people are legitimately worried about what comes up next. That is why we need to focus on skills, on apprenticeships, on training and on TAFE. It is why we need to clean out the dodgy private providers who are ripping off Australians by not preparing our workforce for what comes next. I notice that John Howard has made another contribution to the national debate this week by saying that the Prime Minister should start talking about industrial relations. Let us have that debate. Let us talk about sham contracting, casualisation and the exploitation of foreign workers. Let us talk about the 2½ million Australians receiving no paid entitlements and the three out of four people working today who do not meet the 10-year requirement for long service leave. Let us talk about how we can do more to reduce serious injuries and fatalities at work, including real action on industrial diseases, including asbestos and mesothelioma, which are a great cost to the economy. Let us talk about the 12 per cent of employers who do not pay any superannuation at all. And let us acknowledge that penalty rates are an essential feature of our industrial architecture and our workplace safety, particularly for workers in rural and regional Australia. Australia's economic future demands a lot more than the threadbare slogans of those opposite. It is almost exactly a year ago—364 days ago—that the member for Wentworth said about his predecessor that 'ultimately the Prime Minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership that our nation needs.' After a so-called year of great achievement, that statement has never been more true. Australia needs a new approach, new energy and real leadership. Government is not perfect and it is not infallible, but it is not good enough to argue that we just leave it to the market and the invisible hand. We are not afraid to challenge the existing distribution of wealth and power in this country. We do not believe that saying 'so far, so good' is an adequate response to the challenges of the moment. We know that not all change is automatically good or automatically fair; however, we do not believe that things are about as reasonably good as they are going to be for the foreseeable future. History never stands still, and we must make our own luck. We believe that the actions of government can improve the quality of the lives, job security and economic security of the Australian people. This margin of benefit to our fellow Australians is worth the effort of this parliament. We are in this place to improve the quality of Australians' lives, to protect Australian security, to invest in their capacities and to see every citizen fulfil their potential. The people who benefit are worth the effort. BUSINESS 32 BUSINESS Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders 32 13:08 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I ask leave of the House to move a motion to suspend standing order 43 until the conclusion of the speech on the address-in-reply by the member for Wills. Leave granted. Mr PYNE 9V5 I move: That standing order 43 be suspended until the conclusion of the speech on the address-in-reply by the member for Wills. Question agreed to. GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH 32 GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH Address-in-Reply 32 13:08 The SPEAKER 00APG Before I call the honourable member for Wills, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech. I ask the House to extend to him the usual courtesies. 13:08 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills Mr Speaker, I congratulate you on your election to the chair and I begin my first speech by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land we meet on, the Ngunnawal people, and their elders past and present. I do so because it is a profound mark of respect for the peoples and cultures that have been present on this land from the beginning of time. I stand in this place because I was elected by the people of Wills to serve them and to make a difference to their lives. I am conscious of being charged with an enormous responsibility bestowed with great honour. Even though it is somewhat improbable that I stand here, I am living proof that in this country politics matters, that it can make a profound difference to people's lives. My parents, Fayek and Georgette Khalil, are here with us in the gallery today. They came to Australia from Egypt 47 years ago. Just like those who come today, they were escaping a region where conflict was the norm and opportunities limited. Their sacrifice and that of millions of other migrants helped build Australia—not just its physical environment but the diversity of its culture, the generosity of its peoples and the depth of its humanity. I say these things too because nowhere is this diversity, this generosity of spirit, this decency better reflected than in the people of Wills. My parents sacrificed so much of their own lives, their dreams and ambitions, to give my sister, Ellen, and I a better life. We started out in an inner-city Melbourne housing commission. Dad had to give up a career in Egypt as a lawyer and he worked for Australia Post. He became a union man, a shop steward, and later was on the state executive of the Victorian postal workers union. Mum gave up her uni degree in Egypt and worked at the Reserve Bank printing labs and as a preschool carer and an interpreter. They worked hard to give us a chance to make something of a new life in Australia. It was not always easy. There were times of great hardship and ugly prejudice. I grew up in Australia in the seventies and eighties, a world very different from the one we live in today. Racism was more overt and considered acceptable by some. I experienced much of it directly. I will always remember my Grade 6 teacher, Mrs Hendrix, a coloured South African woman, who told me that in apartheid South Australia my parents would not be able to travel on the same bus, because of the difference in their skin complexion. That troubled me deeply as a 12-year-old, but it also awakened in me a yearning for social justice and a nascent political activism. Although I was a serious kid who went to concerts in support of the ANC with my dad and who read Gandhi and Mandela, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, I was also like every other Aussie kid: I really loved my footy—Aussie rules, of course. My grandparents lived in a housing commission in Preston, and my Auntie Gigi—Giselle—who is here today too, went to Preston East High School with Peter Daicos, the great Collingwood champion. She introduced me to Dakes at the Preston fish and chip shop in 1978, when I was five years old, and I was Collingwood for life. I remember dragging Dad down to Victoria Park to watch the Magpies every second Saturday. I would sit on his shoulders as he stood in the outer. While footy gave me great excitement, agony—1979, 80, 81, 2002 and 2003; I was too young for 77—and some great joy in 1990 and 2010, it taught me deeper life lessons. Dakes was an ethnic, more usually called a wog in those days—and other terrible things—much the same as I was being called in the schoolyard. Despite the abuse, Dakes was a champion. His exploits inspired me, and I started to believe in myself too. I learnt to ignore all of the hatred and prejudice and to let my actions do the talking and that lots of hard work and a little talent will always make you a winner. My parents also instilled in us the critical importance of education to our futures—education and the lasting impact of dedicated teachers like Mrs Hendrix and my year 9 politics teacher, Mr Sestito, who ignited my passion for Australian politics. I met recently with one of my predecessors in Wills, Bob Hawke, better known, of course, as one of Australia's greatest Prime Ministers, and I asked Bob whether with all the achievements of his administration there was a policy that went unheralded. He told me that, when he became PM in 1983, only a third of students in Australia finished year 12. Only a third. Through policies his government put in place, by 1991 it had almost tripled to 90 per cent. Bob was particularly proud of that achievement. It was the visionary policy achievements of Labor governments—the one he led and those before and after—that gave me access to a quality education. I am and will be forever grateful. Mine is not a unique story. Millions of Australians, whatever their ethnic background or their socioeconomic status, were given opportunities through Labor Party policies based on fairness. For my migrant family, affordable housing, Medicare and access to education were life-changing. The Labor Party's commitment to equality of opportunity is not just a three-word slogan. It meant something to me and my family as it means something to millions of Australians, allowing them to make positive contributions in their lives and to those around them based on their merit and hard work, not on their postcode or their pay cheque, their gender or ethnicity, their religion or culture. My parents also instilled in me the importance of giving back to the country that has given us so much. They often told me that Australia is not the lucky country, but, rather, we are lucky to be Australian. Migrants like my parents got much from the lucky country, but they also gave much to making it better, more prosperous and as open as its beautiful broad skies. I will do my utmost to advocate for and represent the people of Wills with all my wit and judgement, skill and experience, passion and smarts. I thank them for entrusting me with this great privilege. When I reflect on what is important in our lives I think immediately of my family, as we all do. We love our families, and if we have children we would do anything for them. We also cherish the bonds we share with our friends and the importance of making an effort for them. Whatever god we worship or not, whatever cultural beliefs we have and whatever ideologies we adhere to, it is a central part of the human condition that we are fulfilled by our connection and service to others. Yet the public are cynical of politics and politicians. We become lightning rods for people's frustrations, disappointments and anger. The raw quest for power can threaten to overshadow our more noble instincts. More often than not, the public's expectations are low, and when they are high they are seldom met. However, at unique and rare times in history politicians become the vessels for inspiring leadership, visionary change or simply doing good. That can only be when we keep our eyes affixed on our very own compass star—the shining light that guided us each to serve in this place, even amidst the voracious storms that rage around us and all too often consume our national politics. We can yet, with a steady gaze on that guiding star, serve to protect and defend the values that make our democracy great while passing new laws that reform our nation, advancing an even greater and fairer Australia. The responsibility and burden for this we happily bear. It signifies something great and important within all of us—a deep desire to make the lives of those around us better. While a public servant for the Australian Department of Defence, I was sent on a posting to Iraq in 2003 and 2004, tasked with helping to rebuild Iraq following the removal of Saddam's regime. Although I believed at the time the Iraq War was a strategic and humanitarian disaster, I made a choice to serve my country. I worked in Iraq on rebuilding and training of the Iraqi army that is now taking on Daesh, building the ministry of defence and public service, and negotiating for the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Sunni tribal leaders to jointly fight al-Qaeda in Iraq. While I faced danger, I was ably protected. I thanked the diggers of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment as we moved through the Baghdad streets in the very agile Australian light armoured vehicles. No matter our ideological beliefs and how we choose to serve, we must recognise the importance of open and honest debate, differing opinions and different beliefs. Australia is a successful migrant country because of our wonderful multicultural model. I am proud to be Australian whilst also embracing my cultural heritage. I do not have to choose between identities. Our multicultural model works because we embrace and do not just tolerate cultural diversity. This diverse and fair society that generations of Australians have created and nurtured is worth protecting. We must educate that difference is not to be feared but embraced. We must all stand up to racism and prejudice. To those who would peddle it in this parliament by playing on fear and ignorance: 'I will stand steadfast against you.' I am particularly honoured to be one of the first of two Egyptian Australians elected to the 45th Parliament. The other of course is Dr Anne Aly, the member for Cowan. We are also the first African Australians in this place. I look forward to representing our brothers and sisters who have migrated from Africa and the Middle East. I am also the first Copt to be elected to this place. The Copts are adherents of one of the oldest sects of Christianity that emerged almost 2,000 years ago. Our history stretches back thousands of years connecting us to ancient Egypt. The Coptic language is the last form of the ancient Egyptian language. The Copts have faced the violence of sectarian persecution, as have many other ancient peoples of the Middle East. The Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, the Yazidis and the Kurds have all been on the front line, taking the brunt of violent extremism of Daesh. They deserve our support. In Australia and in many Western democracies this is a moment in history where we face a fractious body politic exacerbated by or perhaps driven by the ugly rise of demagogues. These charlatans pull from their sleeves the same three-card trick played throughout history: first, identify an angry segment of the population and tell them they are just as angry; second, find a minority to scapegoat, like Asians, Muslims or Mexicans, and blame them for taking all the jobs; and, third, throw in a dose of fear, accuse the scapegoat minority of harming our way of life, stir the angry mob until it reaches boiling point and then claim only the demagogue can fix it. Of course we all know there is no substance to any of it, let alone real policies that can effect genuine change. To those religious and ethnic groups being used as political footballs: 'I will stand by you, with you and for you. Know this: Labor will defend the multicultural society that we have built and we will never let the hateful dividers rip apart the egalitarian fabric of Australia.' We must not, however, fall into the trap of blaming the people who are disaffected and angry. They are being exploited, they are genuinely fearful of the threats we all face and they are uncertain of their place in our society. While there are many winners in our globalised world, there are also many people who have lost out. Thousands of workers have lost or are about to lose their manufacturing jobs. Many live in Wills. Not all of these workers, after 20 years or more in a Holden or Ford plant, can become baristas or start-up tech gurus in our so-called exciting innovation society. I say to these people: 'We the Labor Party and the labour movement are doing the hard yards to develop—and upon winning government will implement—policies that retrain and retool workers, provide vocational education, establish job creation programs and provide support to families that are struggling.' I say to all of those people who feel disconnected, lost and angry: 'Do not give yourselves to the haters. Keep faith in us. There will be better days ahead.' I look forward to being the representative for the people of Wills, which is a diverse and socially progressive microcosm of modern Australia. In suburbs like Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Glenroy and Fawkner, to name a few, 60 per cent of residents were born or have at least one parent born overseas and 40 per cent of households are bilingual. Multiple faiths and over 60 ethnicities are living in harmony. Wills has a magnificent arts community. The suburb of Brunswick has the highest concentration of artists in Australia. The arts matter. A thriving arts sector is the heart and soul of any society. It cannot be measured in traditional economic terms—its metrics are intangible—but its social benefits are invaluable. I will continue to support Labor's great policies for the independence and return of substantive funding to the Australia Council and in addition be a voice and a pen on issues, such as parallel importation, that are of great import to authors, of which there are many great ones in Wills. Wills has a commitment to the environment. Residents have led the way on climate change action, with one of the fastest rates of home and business adoption of solar panels. In the suburbs of Fawkner and Glenroy pensioners have roofs covered in solar panels because it makes environmental and economic sense. Wills has a social heart that beats strong, exemplified by the work of 11 neighbourhood houses that do so much for the local community. There are many vibrant Italian and Greek pensioner and social clubs—and I enjoyed playing bocce in Fawkner with some of them during the campaign. I have chosen to serve to change people's lives, to channel their hopes and dreams, because I believe that Labor values make a difference. I believe in equality of opportunity, access to education, affordable health care and social justice. I believe in equality before the law, regardless of gender, sexual preference, ethnicity or religion. I believe in fighting for job creation, because a job gives a person dignity. I believe in tackling climate change for our and future generations, in sustainable living and in funding for infrastructure and public transport. I believe in a successful multicultural society that celebrates and embraces diversity. Equality, not privilege; diversity, not divisiveness; hope, not fear. I will fight for these values for the people of Wills and for the nation, as have great Labor governments done for the best part of a century—delivering the reforms that have made all of those so lucky to be Australians. Prime Minister Curtin, who led Australia through the darkest days of World War II put it much more eloquently than I when he said that the Labor Party and the labour movement stand for: … humanity as against material gain and has more resilience, more decency and dignity, and the best of human qualities than any other political movement. The Labor Party has always stood for improving the lives of Australians—for putting people first. It also has a tradition that seeks to extend these values beyond our shores. Prime Minister Chifley spoke of reaching for that light on the hill—to bring something better to the people: better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people. Our objective to reach for that light on the hill was and still is to aim for the betterment of all humanity. That is why I am committed to Australia's role in the world as a good international citizen, making a difference to people's lives across the globe. In 2005 I had the opportunity to testify before the US Senate foreign relations committee on security policy in the Middle East. I spoke before then Senator Joe Biden and then Senator Barack Obama. I was struck by Senator Obama's compassion and search for real solutions. Over a decade later, President Obama is hosting a summit on refugees next week. I call on everyone in this place and those government ministers attending the summit to put aside partisan politics and work to find sustainable and compassionate solutions to the international refugee crisis. As a son of migrants who came from Egypt, escaping a region engulfed by war, I can appreciate the yearning for a life of peace, security and opportunity. For the best part of a decade, and in the recent federal campaign when discussing asylum seeker policy, I argued strongly for an increase in our intake and an end to indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru. I supported our leader, Bill Shorten, when he made clear that if we won the election one of his first acts would be to negotiate with the UNHCR the resettlement of the refugees to safe and secure countries. We should not be fixated on countries like Cambodia or PNG which have woefully inadequate infrastructure but look to other countries, including New Zealand and Malaysia. But I recognise that even this falls far too short in our moral, legal and international obligations as a good international citizen. I believe Australia has a moral obligation, at the minimum, to take responsibility for the care of those refugees that have been physically or emotionally damaged by the long-term detention that we have submitted them to. I also think we should re-examine the assumed nexus between detention centres and discouraging people smugglers to ascertain how much this argument holds in the context of robust turn back policies. Whilst I support the ALP policy I also look forward to playing my part in the ongoing debate and change on this issue. I will advocate that Australia take a leadership role in developing an international agreement in which multiple countries increase their quota intake of refugees so we can begin to find solutions for 25 million asylum seekers and refugees in UNHCR camps around the world. An international agreement between 10, 15 or 20 countries agreeing to take an additional 30, 40 or 50,000 refugees a year each would start to be a real solution, resulting in a million or more refugees being resettled to safe haven each year. If we can as an international community come together to tackle climate change that threatens our planet we can and must come together to find a way to deliver safety and security for millions of refugees. We can and must do away with the lowest-common-denominator policies that have poisoned our political culture. We can and must do better as a nation. So I speak on this not because it is popular, nor will I resile from the issue because it is unpopular, but because it is simply the right thing to do—because I believe that true leadership is not about appealing to the fear that lurks in our darker angels but appealing to our better angels. No-one gets to this place without the support of literally hundreds of people. I want to thank the over 1,000 ALP members in Wills, the volunteers—the true believers—who worked tirelessly during the campaign. I salute you, for it is your commitment to the Labor cause that wins elections. I would like to pay a special tribute to my predecessor, Kelvin Thomson, acknowledging his many, many years of service and advocacy. Thank you, Kelvin, for all your support and wise counsel. Ben Davis, the Victorian Secretary of the AWU, a great union leader of a great union: his wise counsel to me was summed up in four words, 'Talk to the voters.' Thanks to Theo Theophanous and his wife, Rita, who are in the gallery, for their strategic guidance, support and friendship, and to Steve Michaelson, also known as Mocca, and Shannon Threlfall Clark, who headed up my campaign team with great professionalism and efficiency. Thanks to the rest of the campaign team: Carole Fabian, Councillor Lambros Tapinos, Hasan Erdogan, Chris Anderson, Mel Sherrin and Iva Bujanovic, our campaign field organiser, and to my many state colleagues—Minister Philip Dalidakis and Debra are here today. And special thanks to Speaker Telmo Languiller—thank you for your support. To Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek: you have run a tremendous campaign—but more than that you are Labor leaders we can believe in. I thank you and all my federal colleagues—too many of you to thank; you are all my friends as well—for your support over many years To His Excellency Mohamed Khairat, the Egyptian ambassador: I bet he never dreamed that there would be not one but two Egyptian Australians elected to the federal parliament! Your Grace Bishop Suriel, Abouna Michael: thank you and the Coptic community for your support. And to Robert Ray for his political wisdom. Thanks to my family, friends and supporters who have made the trip to Canberra for today: to my life-long mate John Jardim, Rose and my goddaughter, Emma, and Erin; to David Noakes, Tiff, Ollie, my godson, Coco and Zoe; and to Priya Saratchandran, Joseph Hanna, Robert Ishak, Simon Banks and Justin Di Lollo. Thanks to my Aunt Gigi, her partner Barry, Aunt Julie, my uncles John and Jerry—who cannot be here—and to my maternal grandmother, Nana Ellen, who is 92 and is here today; to my sister Ellen and my nephews Oscar and Ethan; and to my parents Fayek and Georgette—once again, I love you and I thank you all. To my wife, Lydia: your sacrifices—the small ones you make every day as well as the big ones you have made and I know will also make—are the very reasons I am standing here today. Thank you for your patience, your wise counsel, your remarkable intelligence and, most importantly, for your love. To my children, Cassius—the shadow minister for dinosaur welfare!—and to Aya—the parliamentary secretary for loud screaming!—I hope that I can do some good in this place that will make you proud of your dad, and make Australia a better place for your generation. I love you and your mum very much. I hope I can do you all proud and make something of my service. Herein lies the magic of this place. It resides within and through that call to service, because I can serve and make a difference in the lives of not just my family and my friends but on a grand scale to tens of thousands of people across Wills. The tempest that rages in this place most often at 2 pm belies the quieter work MPs do for their constituents. I know it is not only sound and fury as we strut upon this stage. We have an awesome responsibility and a rare privilege to work even in the eye of the political storm and make our shared political values into realities. The magic of this place is that I—as a most improbable candidate—was elected to truly serve the people of Wills and the nation that has given me so much by making what I believe true for the many, not just the few. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 36 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Lalor Electorate: Thomas Chirnside Primary School 36 13:32 Ms RYAN 249224 Lalor I rise today to share with the House a visit I made recently to Thomas Chirnside Primary School in my electorate. Principal Bev Thompson invited me to come and see their professional learning communities on the ground. It is a state school, a primary school that is doing incredible work—with the support of needs based funding, obviously. The professional learning communities at Thomas Chirnside Primary School plan for student learning every day. They work together to create efficiencies in their team to ensure they know about the learning of every child in that school. They are doing amazing work and they are evidence that, when we use evidence based methods to improve learning outcomes in our schools, we get great results. But these results take time. This school has been on this improvement journey for some six years, iterations of which have changed and shaped the way students in that school are learning. A delightful thing I found out at Thomas Chirnside Primary School was that a wonderful teacher there, Shannon Auld, had been a student of the high school where I was fortunate enough to be acting principal and taught young Shannon. It was pleasing to see her really relishing the profession. Hughes Electorate: Kirrawee High School 36 13:33 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Kirrawee High School on their 50 anniversary, which will be celebrated on Saturday, 17 September between 10 am and 3 pm. Since opening its gates in 1966—coincidentally, the same year that Australia's currency changed—Kirrawee High has posted a proud and successful tradition in the Sutherland Shire. During that time the school has delivered outstanding programs in sport and creative and performing arts. And, since the 1990s, it has been known as a comprehensive languages school. There are currently around 1,200 students enrolled. Last week it was my great pleasure to address the students at the school assembly and present them with an Australian flag. Following the electoral boundaries redistribution, Kirrawee High is one of the schools that has returned to the electorate of Hughes, which I represent here in the federal parliament. I look forward to working closely with the school, staff and parents. I have already met with the principal, Paul Owens, and members of the executive team. We are exploring ways in which we can assist the school to continue to provide the very high level of education they have been delivering for the past 50 years. Eid al-Adha 37 13:35 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Today the Australian Muslim community is celebrating Eid al-Adha with Muslims around the world. Eid al-Adha describes events which are found in almost identical terms in the Quran, the Torah and the Bible of Ibrahim's—or Abraham's—faith having his son spared. It is an event which unites all the Abrahamic faiths. There was a special sense of unity this year when all Muslims around the world celebrated on the same day as pilgrims gathered at Mount Arafat. Many Australians made the long journey to the cities of Mecca and Medina to join the Hajj pilgrimage and we wish them all a safe journey home. There are many ways we see Eid al-Adha celebrated in the community, whether it be a haircut leading up to the day, a gift for a friend, sharing a meal, a new set of clothes or joining others in prayer. My electorate of Watson has communities from all around the world, including Muslims from around the world. Today they share in the importance of family and togetherness with the wider community. In a multicultural society, we should always resist those who claim the way to show respect is by nobody celebrating anything for risk of offending. It is for this reason that, when I celebrate Christmas, I always prefer to wish people a happy Christmas rather than using terms such as 'happy holidays' or 'seasons greetings'. Modern multicultural Australia should give us the opportunity to celebrate every occasion with joy rather than avoid religious references out of fear. In this spirit, I take great pleasure in wishing everyone all the best for Eid al-Adha. Eid Mubarak! Bowman Electorate: North Stradbroke Island 37 13:36 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman Very important in my electorate of Bowman is the fate of North Stradbroke Island and mining. I want to make it very clear that I am utterly committed to continuing economically sensible and justifiable decisions, including sand mining on North Stradbroke Island with all the protections built into it. People ask me what is going to happen after mining and I say let's worry about making sure there are employment opportunities in mining, particularly for Indigenous families for whom there is no alternative. I mean, pulling cappuccinos and sweeping slabs on tent sites is no substitute for high-paying mining jobs—and I will defend that as long as I am in this place. To get to Stradbroke Island, you need the gateway that is Toondah Harbour, and I fully commend Walker Corporation on their hard work, and their assiduous detail in putting together a proposal that will get through the EPBC Act—that is something that provides the highest environmental protections available, through the federal legislation, and that is precisely what I hope they will do. This is about jobs and opportunity for a local community that does not always sees these opportunities come along. It is a once-in-a-generation chance to reconfigure our Moreton Bay coastline, where there are really only three or four places in my entire electorate where you can sit, eat a plate of food, and look at that beautiful bay. Yes, it is a delicate environment and a delicate ecology, but we can get the hydrology right, we can look after the migrating seabirds, we can look after the dugong—all of that is possible if we think creatively about how we create one small gateway to Stradbroke Island—called Toondah Harbour. Turnbull Government 37 13:37 Mr WATTS 193430 Gellibrand While changing the recipe for a well-known product is not something you do lightly, Arnott's learnt this the hard way when they misjudged the palates of the nation and changed the recipe for their popular Pizza Shapes biscuits earlier this year. The new and improved formula just did not resonate. It left a bad taste in the mouth of Australians. And over the last 12 months, we have had our own version of a changing Shape in this very chamber. When Malcolm Turnbull took over from Tony Abbott, Australians thought they knew the recipe they were getting. They thought they knew the flavours—the republic, marriage equality, a strong advocate on climate change. But the new PM and his plotters thought they knew a better recipe. They tweaked the recipe and removed all of Malcolm's tasty bits as a way to win over the coalition party room. They changed the recipe and removed the flavour. They took away the opportunity to legislate for marriage equality in this place and replaced it with oratory and rhetoric with three-word slogans. They added the tax on Medicare and a $50-billion tax cut to big corporates. What we have here is Malcolm Turnbull, the new recipe, the new conservative Shape. What is the lesson from this, Mr Speaker? Well, Arnott's listened. They heard what the Australian people wanted. Australians told them on social media: they expressed their disappointment at the folly of the Arnott's decision. They spoke and Arnott's listened. It is a real shame that a biscuit company is more open to feedback than our democratically elected Pizza Shape Prime Minister. If a biscuit company can listen to the Australian public, why won't the Prime Minister? Vietnam Veterans Day, Battle of Long Tan: 50th Anniversary 38 13:39 Ms LANDRY 249764 Capricornia Recently it was my privilege to attend the Cockscomb veterans' retreat at Cawarral near Yeppoon to mark two equally important occasions: Vietnam Veterans Day and the 50th anniversary since the Battle of Long Tan. In 1987, the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, declared Long Tan day on 18 August as Vietnam Veterans Day. However, he did not have that date gazetted as a military historic date. Fifty years on since the Battle of Long Tan, it is now time that the Commonwealth government got on with the job of officially gazetting the date. I have previously approached the relevant minister and will continue to maintain my support of Vietnam Vets, pushing for the gazetting of this day at their request. To those who specifically served their country in the controversial Vietnam War, I turn to you with dignity and say: thank you. Finally, in the 50th anniversary year to mark Long Tan, let us reflect on those who did not make it back, or have since passed away. May they rest in peace. Lest we forget. Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 38 13:40 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra Most of the time in this House we present arguments both in favour of a proposal and in opposition to it. We review our proposal shaped by extensive consultation and collaboration between government and industry. This is not one of those times. Today I am speaking of the Turnbull coalition government's decision to uproot nearly 200 public servants at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, to take them and their families out of their homes, schools and communities here in Canberra, and to transplant them into the Deputy Prime Minister's own electorate. This is not a time to consider for and against, because there is nobody outside of the coalition party room that is for the idea. It is opposed by the National Farmers' Federation, Animal Medicines Australia, and CropLife Australia. It is opposed by nearly every member of the APVMA's staff. It is even opposed by the Liberal senator here in the ACT. Not even the Prime Minister supports this plan. The Deputy Prime Minister admits the cost-benefit analysis he commissioned does not support this plan. He refuses to release the report. It is a shame that the government is more committed to a universally despised policy than it is to transparency, accountability or the people of Canberra. The Deputy Prime Minister should release the cost-benefit analysis—because it will show that this plan is a blatant exercise in pork barrelling. Flynn Electorate: Sport 38 13:41 Mr O'DOWD 139441 Flynn Central Queensland is arguably the strongest sporting region in Australia—and before I get all the boos and heckles from over there, I meant on a per capita basis—and home to great legends like Rod Laver—tennis, Anna Meares—cycling, Jamie Dwyer—hockey, and Gary Larson and Ben Hunt—rugby league? What a great effort. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of awarding young potential future sporting stars in my electorate of Flynn with Sporting Excellence Awards. These young people were rewarded for excelling in a range of different sports. It just goes to show how Gladstone and Central Queensland are still leading the way. The recipients were Lyncoln Rebel, Lachlan Wilmot, Maddison Campbell, Lachlan Pacheco, Paris Richardson, Hannah Slaughter, Jacelyn Davidson, Lilly Gibson and Rory Noonan. So good on you ,team: well done and keep going! Richmond Electorate: Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games 38 13:43 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I would like to wish all our Paralympians the very best of luck in Rio and acknowledge those who have already competed and those competing in the coming days. In particular, I would like to mention two outstanding athletes from the Tweed, both of whom have huge community support. Firstly, swimmer Kate Wilson lives in Kingscliff and is a student at Mount Saint Patrick College at Murwillumbah. Recently, college principal Paul Clohesy in the Tweed Daily News that Kate Wilson was given a hero's farewell from students, staff and school, and as school community over the moon with excitement. 'Everyone here is rapt', he said. 'We farewelled Kate officially with an assembly before she left. It was really exciting.' Kate is competing in a number of swimming races, including the 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay, the 50-metre freestyle, the 200-metre individual medley, the 100-metre breaststroke and the 100-metre freestyle. Our other athlete from the Tweed is Bill Chaffey, a local policeman who is a paratriathlete. Bill is Australia's most successful paratriathlete: he has won five paratriathlon world championships. Bill did finish in first place in his fourth place in his race in Rio. This is a major achievement, and one we are very proud of. Bill's commitment to physical endurance events predates an accident that left him badly injured. Five days before he was to contest his first Ironman triathlon in 2005, Bill was hit from behind by a truck while cycling, leaving him paralysed from the hips down . Bill's skill and resilience make him a great role model to his police colleagues and to the broader community. He is a true champion. To both Kate and Bill: you are an inspiration to so many people in our community, and I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavours. Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games 39 13:44 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker I rise today to speak about those amazing athletes who represented Barker at the Rio 2016 Olympics. To represent Australia at the Olympic Games is an honour not many young people will have the opportunity or talent to achieve. To display one's talent, hard work, sacrifice and dedication on such a vast international stage takes determination and guts. Our 2016 Olympic squad for Rio comprised 442 athletes across 26 sports. On average then there were 2.8 athletes per division. Of course some electorates turned out more athletes than others this year. My electorate of Barker, for instance, was represented by five superstars and I would like to pay tribute to these young athletes who have made Barker, South Australia and indeed Australia proud. Alexander Hill from the Riverland may have come to rowing late in life but he has certainly made his mark on the sporting world. Alex has inspired young rowers in his home town of Loxton North by winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games as a member of the coxless fours. James McRae is another home-town talent, rowing for the Murray Bridge Rowing Club—the home of the famous Murray Cods. Like his colleague from the Riverland, James also claimed silver—this time in the quad sculls. The Riverland not only breeds strong rowers but is also home to two of Australia's elite hockey players: Karri McMahon and Georgie Parker. Both did Berri, Barker and our nation proud as Hockeyroos. Of course, the south-east was represented by Jess Trengrove, the marathon runner from Naracoorte, who placed 22nd out of a field of 133 athletes. Broadband 39 13:46 Ms McGOWAN 123674 Indi I rise today to express my concern about the poor coordination of the NBN long-term satellite rollout in my electorate of Indi. A significant number of constituents have contacted my office to express frustration about financial loss, business disruption and isolation as a result of trying to connect to the NBN long-term satellite. I understand the nature of the relationship between NBN Co as a wholesaler and the downstream providers and stakeholders; however, this business model creates a vacuum for end users and inevitably they are seeking clarification about how things can happen in the transition. NBN Co are advising constituents that they can now place an order with an eligible LTSS provider but constituents are finding that they have to wait months to be allocated a potential connection time. Some constituents have had their previous sources of the internet—ISS and ADSL—cut off on or before the LTSS appointment date, which has caused huge disruption in the cases where their LTSS has not been working. Providers have liaised with constituents and NBN Co contractors to create appointment times for connections which have then been cancelled or rescheduled without any notice and then they have failed to turn up to rescheduled appointments, sometimes four and five times in a row. Contractors have allegedly signed off on work completed but constituents have found that the service is not working and then they having to pursue NBN or their provider for further appointment times. This is not good enough. Dowerin Field Day 39 13:47 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack I am very pleased to speak about the fabulous 52nd annual Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Day, which I recently attended. Over 160 kilometres north-east of Perth, Dowerin is a magnificent and beautiful rural town in the heart of the Wheatbelt. Dowerin Field Day is the largest of its kind in Western Australia and is the third largest in Australia, with people travelling from right across the state and the country to attend. Over 25,500 people visited the two-day agricultural show, which is an increase of 10 per cent on last year. The event illustrated why it is the largest in WA, with a record 770 exhibitors, which is up 10 per cent on last year and up 33 per cent on the last five years. It is a fantastic testament to Dowerin Events Management, led by their chair, Michael Metcalf. This year's success is attributed, in part, to the great season the Wheatbelt region is anticipating, which will be a 10-year high and will be enjoyed by thousands of farmers across the great electorate of Durack. Congratulations to Waratah fencing products on being awarded this year's most outstanding exhibitor. The success of the Dowerin Field Day tastes so much sweeter for the shire of Dowerin, which, let us be honest, has had a bit of a rough patch of late. Under the leadership of shire president Dale Metcalf and CEO Andrea Selvey this very proud shire is back on track. I am very proud of them. Marriage 40 13:49 Mr THISTLETHWAITE 182468 Kingsford Smith Why should gay and lesbian Australians have to have their right to love expressed through marriage subject to a divisive and vitriolic campaign and national vote? Clearly the majority of Australians want the parliament to, and believe that the parliament should, deliver marriage equality in Australia. They simply want us to do our jobs as local community representatives and as legislators, as indeed we are expected to do because section 51 of our Constitution clearly grants the Commonwealth the power to make laws with respect to marriage. This is the view of the majority of the Australian people, this is the view of many state parliaments and this is the view of many local councils and local governments. Interestingly, this includes Waverley Council, which is a Liberal controlled council, smack bang in the heart of the Prime Minister's seat of Wentworth. On 21 July 2015 this council passed a motion supporting marriage equality and said it was 'prioritising a debate to change the Marriage Act and allow a conscience vote on marriage equality', clearly implying that the view of that community is that this parliament should debate and vote on this. This is the view of a Liberal council in the Prime Minister's own electorate. Not even Liberal councillors in his own electorate support his view of a plebiscite. He should show some leadership and listen to the Australian people on this issue. Royal Flying Doctor Service 40 13:50 Mr RAMSEY HWS Grey Mr Deputy Speaker, this is the first time I have spoken since you have been in the chair. Congratulations on your elevation to that position. I stand before you today as living proof that the Royal Flying Doctor Service is doing a great job. I had an unfortunate encounter with a ride-on mower on Father's Day. Luckily, my home town of Kimba, only 30 kilometres away, had a doctor on staff at the hospital at the time—that is not always the case, but more on that another day—and, upon perusal of my wounds, he decided I should be flown to Adelaide. It took a little while to get there because my injuries were not life threatening, but I did appreciate the local staff at hospital, the local ambulance staff, who I know well—thanks, Ian and Deb—and particularly the Royal Flying Doctor Service staff. I must admit that I did not have the presence of mind to get their names at the time, but I did really appreciate the service and also the call from the CEO, John Lynch, in the following couple of days. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has a base at Port Augusta. It services over a hundred patients a day in South Australia. Interestingly enough, I flew to Adelaide in a PC12. It is a wonderful aeroplane, but they are to take delivery next year of a PC24, their first jet aircraft to operate in the South Australia region. I wish them well and thank them for their service. Thornett, Mr Ken 40 13:52 Ms OWENS E09 Parramatta On 17 August, Parramatta lost one of its own. Ken Thornett was an international, national and local sporting legend. In a sporting career spanning two codes and two continents, his skills were and still are revered in the rugby league and union communities. He was nicknamed 'The Mayor' while playing for the Leeds Rhinos, because of his sheer presence and ability. It was a nickname that stuck and was embraced in Parramatta. From 1962 through to 1968 and then in a further season in 1971 he was of course a Parramatta Eel, and he was a major force in the building of a then fledgling team into a competitive side. South Sydney rugby league legend John Sattler once described the fullback, who played 130 games for the Eels, as a seventh forward. Ken, who delighted locals with his strength in defence and verve in attack, was known by fellow players simply as 'Bucket', because he never dropped the ball. Phil Russo, a former Parramatta councillor, reflected last on seeing his return to Parramatta in 1971, and said, 'His comeback was like a resurrection, and the aura at the ground was palpable.' The Mayor was inducted as one of the greatest 100 players in the first 100 years of rugby league. He will always be in the hearts and minds of the Parramatta community, every time they see his name on the eastern grandstand at Parramatta stadium. The Parramatta community's thoughts are with his family. His deeds will linger in our hearts. Australia 41 13:53 Mrs SUDMALIS 241586 Gilmore Congratulations, Deputy Speaker Coulton. Sometimes we receive letters that are just so special they deserve a wider audience. Julie is a local surf club volunteer, and the following are words from her letter: Just a few of the thoughts of our "like minded" souls and friends. As a nation "… united we stand … divided we fall". The media seems to be "beating up" all things negative and are manipulating people's thinking, often erroneously, and they have much to answer for. We all want the best for Australia and future generations … can bipartisanship and cooperation promote the positive outlook we need and promote productivity. The negatives in society are most likely creating more depression in our youth. "Defuse" the opposition and "others" by asking them "Are you wanting to promote the welfare of all Australians into the future or pushing a negative agenda and creating a nation of depressed complainers!!" We want to have Australia continue to be the best place in the world … the opposition seem to be "spoilers" instead of putting their brainpower & influence to positive, productive pursuits for all of us. In past generations, families and community achieved so much by being self reliant, caring, generous to others and didn't have expectations of "government doing everything for us!" They survived happily by using their own resources and supporting each other. Julie, I can only say you are not alone in this view. There are many who feel the same but do not always write to express how important it is to value our nation of true-blue, wonderful Aussies. (Time expired) Bendigo Electorate: Defence Procurement 41 13:55 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo Overnight it was revealed that new service uniforms to be worn by Australian soldiers are being manufactured in China, because that represents best value for money, according to the Department of Defence. It has been confirmed that a $9 million contract awarded to ADA, Australian Defence Apparel, to produce non-combat clothing, involves the use of established subcontract arrangements overseas. You can understand, Mr Speaker, that the people of Bendigo are incredibly disappointed. We have an ADA defence manufacturing facility in Bendigo, which is currently manufacturing the combat uniform. The government know this. They have had several ministers out to the site to speak to the men and women who work there. The former Minister for Defence was out there at the very time that this new contract was being negotiated, talking to the men and women in Bendigo, but did he once breathe a word that the next contract would go overseas? The current Minister for Defence turned up in May to speak to the men and women at the facility in Bendigo, but not once did she outline the fact that they were not considered for this contract, that the company that had won it was their own company for manufacturing overseas. If this government were serious about Australian jobs and growth then it would see that these contracts went to Australian based manufacturers like we have in— (Time expired) Deakin Electorate: Road Infrastructure 41 13:57 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin This morning the results for this year's RACV Leader News Redspot Traffic Congestion Survey were revealed, and the findings will not come as a surprise to those on this side of the House and those in the Deakin electorate. That is because the junction of the eastern freeway with Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade was voted Melbourne's worst traffic bottleneck. In addition, the intersections of Maroondah Highway and Dorset Road in Croydon featured in the top 10, as did the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Oban Road in Ringwood. Fortunately, the Turnbull government has plans, and has committed funding, to fix these two traffic blackspots in Maroondah. I was pleased recently to announce that $8 million would be provided to ensure that the intersection at Dorset Road, which is notorious for the number of accidents, will be fixed as soon as possible. That is in addition to significant works being undertaken on Oban Road in Ringwood. Unfortunately, though, thanks to Bill Shorten, Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Deakin will refer to members by their correct titles. Mr SUKKAR 242515 there remains no funding in place for the East West Link, but we have $3 billion committed. Kilgour Prize, Gardiner, Mr Peter 41 13:58 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle I rise today to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of Peter Gardiner, a resident artist in my electorate of Newcastle. Peter has just won the 2016 Kilgour Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery's prestigious annual award for figurative and portrait painting, with his oil painting Origin/Landscape. This year the judges chose 35 finalists from an entry pool of 200 works of art, and then the winning painting from those 35 shortlisted works. The Kilgour Prize is one of Australia's major art prizes and continues the long and rich history of art and art prizes in Newcastle. I am delighted to see the $50,000 prize go to a Novocastrian, particularly one as accomplished as Peter. Peter lives and paints in Newcastle, but his work has been celebrated around Australia. He received the Calleen art prize in 2011, the Muswellbrook Art Prize in 2009 and the Maitland Art Prize in 2003 and in previous years he has been a finalist in the Kilgour Prize, the Wynne Prize, the Dobell prize and the Mosman Prize. The contribution that artists and the arts make to our nation cannot be understated. They not only illuminate and enrich our social and cultural worlds but also have immeasurable impact on our economy. I congratulate again and thank Peter Gardiner for his long-standing commitment to both the visual arts and our community. The Kilgour Prize is showing until 13 November. I invite all members present to make the trip to my electorate of Newcastle and view all the pieces on show at the Newcastle Art Gallery, and particularly Peter's winning painting. The SPEAKER 00APG In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded. MINISTERIAL ARRANGEMENTS 42 MINISTERIAL ARRANGEMENTS 14:00 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth The Minister for Social Services will be absent from question time today as he is attending to a personal matter. The Minister for Human Services will answer questions on his behalf. Mr Burke interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG I am going to address the House and I would appreciate it if the Manager of Opposition Business will allow me to do that. Mr Burke interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG I am very reluctant to hear the point of order from the Manager of Opposition Business. The Prime Minister each day outlines what the ministerial arrangements are. It is a well-known practice. It is covered well in the Practice. I caution the Manager of Opposition Business—I would not hear it from anyone other than him, but if it is a frivolous point of order, I am pre-warning him. Mr Burke DYW Mr Speaker, it is not required now. It was about directing questions to a minister who had not yet arrived, but that minister has now arrived. The SPEAKER 00APG All right, then. I thank the Manager of Opposition Business. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 42 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Marriage 42 14:01 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong My question is to the Prime Minister. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney has said that the Prime Minister gave an unambiguous commitment to provide taxpayer funding for a no campaign against marriage equality, a commitment the Prime Minister's office has strongly denied. Is the Prime Minister accusing the archbishop of lying? Has the Prime Minister given any commitment to anyone for any public funding for the marriage equality plebiscite campaign? Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my right, I was having difficulty hearing the question. The Leader of the House, the Treasurer and the member for Corangamite are delaying the Prime Minister receiving the call. 14:01 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question. As he knows, the matter of funding for the plebiscite will be decided by the cabinet, and, as I have said publicly on many occasions, any funding provided in respect of the arguments—yes or no—in the plebiscite will be provided equally, in accordance with past practice. They will be provided equally. The details, manner and amounts will be determined by the cabinet. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my left! The member for McMahon will cease interjecting. The member for Isaacs and the member for Jagajaga are not going to interject continually through question time. I am making that really clear. You will not be interjecting continually through question time. We will work out how that is achieved. Economy 43 14:03 Mr CREWTHER 248969 Dunkley My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister advise the House on developments in the economy over the last year and why strong economic leadership is vital to securing Australia's economic prosperity? 14:03 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question. The Australian economy has outperformed all expectations over the last 12 months. Strong economic leadership under my government is delivering more growth and more jobs. It is creating greater economic security for Australians and their families. A year ago, economic growth was two per cent. It is now 3.3 per cent. Our growth is higher than any of the G7 economies. A year ago the unemployment rate was 6.3 per cent. It is now 5.7 per cent. We want to see it lower, but employment has improved: nearly 220,000 more Australians are in jobs than just 12 months ago, and over 60 per cent of those new jobs went to women. Consumer confidence is 8½ per cent higher than a year ago and has now been above its long-run average for 19 weeks in a row. Business conditions are well above their levels a year ago and well above their long-run average. Exports are up 9.6 per cent over the past year, signifying the strongest export growth since the Sydney Olympics 16 years ago. The fundamentals of our economy are strong. They are strong, but we cannot be complacent. That is why we need to do more and that is why we took to the election a comprehensive, clear national economic plan to generate growth and investment, deliver more jobs and open new markets for Australian businesses through our export trade deals, harnessing our biggest asset: the creativity, the imagination, the determination of 24 million Australians—their entrepreneurship. We seek to harness and inspire that through the National Innovation and Science Agenda. We have set up a defence industry plan that not only secures our nation for the future but supports the high-tech Australian jobs we need and supports innovation in our industry. We are backing the small and medium businesses with more competitive tax rates. What we are doing is increasing the return on investment so that you get more investment, and we are restoring the rule of law in the building and construction sector. Our record $50 billion land infrastructure package invests in roads and public transport at levels never seen before. Because we know that we have to live within our means and we need to bring our budget back into balance, we are doing so with a savings bill presented last week. We look forward to the support of the opposition for the measures they supported in the election, and we do that because we need to guarantee funding for all of the essential responsibilities of government including health and education. We are getting on with the job—a stronger economy and a stronger nation. Marriage 43 14:06 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney My question is to the Prime Minister, and it refers to his previous answer. If public funding is a matter for cabinet, why then did the Prime Minister secretly promise marriage equality opponents millions of taxpayer dollars to campaign against equality? 14:06 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for her question. The position is exactly as I stated it in the previous answer. Any funding provided will be provided absolutely scrupulously equally. We want to ensure— Opposition members interjecting— Mr TURNBULL 885 The honourable member and I, I gather, will vote the same way in the plebiscite. We would both vote yes for same sex marriage. Mr Dreyfus interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Isaacs! Mr TURNBULL 885 I understand that. But I will tell you this: my commitment is to ensure that the plebiscite is utterly fair, scrupulously fair. We want every Australian to have their say and we want them to do so with a fair question and a fair process so that, at the end of the day, whichever side is unsuccessful will nonetheless be able to say: 'We had a fair go. It was fair contest, a fair question, a fair process. The Australian people spoke. They made a decision, and we the parliament then respect it and the Australian nation will respect it.' That is my commitment. Mr Dreyfus interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Isaacs I cautioned during that answer. I could not have made it more clear. He is now warned. National Security 43 14:08 Dr McVEIGH 125865 Groom My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the alleged terrorism incident that occurred in Sydney on Saturday afternoon, and what steps the government has taken to keep all Australians safe? 14:08 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question. Yesterday, we remembered the devastating terrorist attack of 9/11. We remembered and mourned the victims, and we mourned and honoured the victims and those who, heedless of their own lives, rushed to their aid. We were also informed, and I was briefed by my security heads, of a different but similar terrorist incident in Sydney, in Minto. Late on Saturday a 22-year-old man stabbed a 59-year-old man in the street, inflicting very, very serious injuries. The victim remains in a serious condition but he is improving. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family for a fast and complete recovery. I spoke of the heroism of those who rushed to the aid of those assaulted in the Twin Towers on 9/11. I want here today to also commend the bravery of the man who was attacked in Minto and the bravery of those citizens who helped him and supported him, including the police officers that rushed to the scene. They are true heroes, standing up with all of us in the battle against terrorism. The 22-year-old assailant has been charged with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder. The police believe, as you know, from the deputy commissioner's remarks, that the attack was inspired by Daesh propaganda. This event shows us how terrorism is evolving. We look at 9/11—an elaborate attack, planned months in advance, extremely complex. The attack on Saturday was by one person, a lone actor, inspired, it appears, by Daesh propaganda online. As Daesh is defeated in the Middle East, it will seek to do more of this. They have called for attacks like this in Australia. We have to recognise that we will see more of these. They are more likely to occur. We have to remember, however, that as these Islamist terrorists seek to divide us, we must not let them win. Security at home is always the government's highest priority. Our law enforcement and security agencies are the best in the world. We are well placed to keep our citizens secure but we have to be as agile in our response as the terrorists are in their attacks on us—and we are. We are committed to giving our agencies the laws they need, the resources they need, to keep us safe; but, above all, we must bind together in solidarity defending Australia, defending our friends and neighbours, keeping our nation safe. The SPEAKER 00APG The Leader of the Opposition on indulgence. 14:11 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong I would briefly like to join the opposition to the Prime Minister's remarks commemorating the terrible events 15 years ago but also the events of the past weekend. I completely concur with the Prime Minister's words that we live in a special community where not only the police but one's local neighbours and community will step up. I think all of us wonder how we would act in such an event, but for these people they were asked that question of themselves and they answered most commendably. Marriage 44 14:12 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his previous answers to the opposition today. Just to be clear: before the election, did the Prime Minister tell the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney that taxpayer funding for the plebiscite was a matter for cabinet, or did he guarantee the funding? Which one was it? Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my right will cease interjecting. Mr Dutton interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister for immigration! 14:12 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I have answered this question before. I want to be very clear about this. I am not going to engage in a discussion or a debate about private conversations, but I can say this— Opposition members interjecting— Mr TURNBULL 885 I can say this very clearly to honourable members that the government's position and my position has always been this: any funding provided to the yes-or-no case will be scrupulously equal and fair as it always has been with respect to referendums in the past—as it was in the republic referendum and as it has been in other referendums. It has always been scrupulously fair, and it will continue to be so. Mr Snowdon interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Lingiari! Mr TURNBULL 885 The details, the nature, the amount, the terms of any such funding and the terms of the plebiscite are a matter for the cabinet. The cabinet will decide on that and then it will be presented through the party room processes and, following that, to the parliament. I look forward to the support of the Leader of the Opposition, because if he is committed to same-sex couples being able to have their relationships treated or regarded as a marriage then what he should do is support the plebiscite, because what we are doing is offering a clear and democratic road map that gives every single Australian a vote. Every criticism he makes of the plebiscite, which he once supported, demeans the Australian people. You can say it costs a lot of money—that is true. You can say it is unusual in our political experience—that is true. But that is not what he says. What he says is: Australians cannot be trusted to have a civil debate. That is what he says. He is basically saying that Australians are unable to have a civil discussion about a fundamental question. He demeans the people he claims to represent—he demeans their civility; he insults them; he disrespects them. What we are saying is: every Australian will have their say in this plebiscite and the nation will make a decision and the nation will respect it—and so should the Leader of the Opposition. Roads 45 14:15 Ms McGOWAN 123674 Indi My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. The people of Indi were made a series of funding commitments by the government during the campaign. On 23 June, $10 million was announced for the Kiewa Valley Highway, the Great Alpine Road and the Rutherglen bypass and, on 3 June, $7.1 million for roads in Walwa and the Hume Highway at Mansfield, Eildon and Jamieson. Will the minister please outline the time line for the implementation of this funding? 14:15 Mr CHESTER IPZ Gippsland I thank the member for Indi for her question. I appreciate her interest in the coalition's plan for jobs and growth and prosperity. For the information of new members, I can inform the House that the member for Indi is a purveyor of find tokay and Christmas cake, and I hope I get my invitation to the soiree later on this year. Can I also say that she also takes a very keen interest in coalition policy and the development of those policies. She was particularly interested in my frequent visits to her electorate during the election campaign. Admittedly, I was not always there in a supporting role, but, as the member for the neighbouring electorate, it is true that Albo had to build the Great Dividing Range to keep us apart. I assure the member for Indi that all commitments that were made during the election campaign will be honoured and I know that she has a particular interest in our commitments to infrastructure and transport. We have had conversations about that. These commitments will be kept and they will be honoured, because we are government that does keep its promises. This is a Prime Minister who has committed to getting on with the job of delivering right across Australia—not just in our cities but also in our regional centres. The only way that any of these projects are to be delivered in the seat of Indi is for this side of the House to get on with the job of delivering, because those on the other side actually promised nothing for Indi—no mobile phone blackspots program, no constructive programs to help towns like Wangaratta, Wodonga, Bright and Rutherglen, nothing to help your community prosper in the future. It is this side of the chamber that is actually working with the member for Indi to deliver the projects that she is so interested in. The Turnbull-Joyce government has a $50 billion infrastructure investment program. As I said, it is not just in our cities; it is also in our regional centres. It is through our Roads to Recovery program, the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity program, the Black Spots program and, in particular, the issues that the member for Indi raised regarding the specific questions of— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Indi on a point of order. Ms McGowan 123674 The question was: when. The SPEAKER 00APG You need to state the point of order. Ms McGowan 123674 The point of order is relevance: when is the money going to be delivered? Mr CHESTER IPZ As I said to the member for Indi, we are working very constructively right now with the Victorian government on the $1.5 billion Infrastructure Investment program that the Prime Minister helped negotiate earlier this year. For the information of members in this place, probably the most constructive thing they can do is to get on the phone to Premier Daniel Andrews and ask him to match the funding on a dollar-for-dollar basis. We have a $345 million package— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Gorton. Mr CHESTER IPZ which the member for Indi is relying on for the funding for the Kiewa Valley Highway and the Great Alpine Road. There is also the $10 million she referred to in relation to the bypass work required in Rutherglen. All of those projects will be delivered by this government on time, on budget and we are encouraging the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, to support us with a dollar-for-dollar investment. We understand, as the member for Indi understands, that, when you invest in good infrastructure you not only change people's lives, but you can save people's lives. Changing lives through reducing congestion, improving productivity and also saving lives through the investment in the engineering treatments which will improve safety on our road network. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 46 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 14:19 The SPEAKER 00APG I would like to inform the house that we have present in the gallery this afternoon the Hon. Ross Free, the former member for Lindsay and former minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, and also Ms Mary Jo Fisher, former Senator for South Australia. Honourable members: Hear, hear! QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 46 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Economy 46 14:19 Mr BUCHHOLZ 230531 Wright My question goes to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on the recent positive economic results and how this government has strengthened our economy over the last 12 months? 14:19 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I thank the member for Wright for his question. Mr Speaker, this government is all about jobs and growth. Under this government they are getting more of that—more of jobs and growth. Over the last 12 months, as the national accounts demonstrated, there has been more growth—3.3 per cent through the year growth, up from two per cent the year before. This is one of the strongest rates of economic growth in the advanced world today. It is double that of Canada; double that of the United States. Our growth rate is the envy of the advanced economy world. It is important that we never take that growth for granted. It is not just the growth—it is not just the growth that we stand for—but it is the jobs. Some 200,000 additional jobs have been created over the last year and some half a million have been created since this government was elected to office in 2013. This side of the House not only has a plan for jobs and growth which those opposite do not have—which is why they were rejected at the last election—but we also have a record of jobs and growth through the figures and the statistics that have been released over the course of the last week. It is not just that. As the Prime Minister said, exports have grown by 9.6 per cent. That is the strongest result since the Olympics—not Rio, not London, not Beijing, but Sydney—since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. That is also a stunning result in terms of the export performance by this government and the arrangements we have put in place to drive and support trade and exports right around the world. On top of that we have seen the diversification in how our industries are performing, as we move through this transition of the economy. As we transition the economy, it requires the safe and strong hand of careful economic management which enables this transition to continue to take place. We have seen services exports increased by six per cent, but mining volume and exports are up by 15 per cent. So the growth continues to come, the jobs continue to come, but you cannot be complacent about it. That is why in this chamber we introduced legislation to ensure that businesses, particularly small businesses, with a turnover of less than $10 million will be able to access the instant asset write-off, they will be able to access depreciation pooling provisions and they will be able to access a lower rate of corporate tax. That is for one reason: so they can reinvest the earnings back into their business. To do what? To drive more jobs and to drive more growth. Over the past year, under this government—under the Turnbull government—we have stood for jobs and growth, we have delivered more jobs and growth and, over the next few years, we will continue to deliver jobs and growth. Employment 46 14:23 Mr BRENDAN O'CONNOR 00AN3 Gorton My question is to the Prime Minister. Unemployment in Australia is higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. Is this what the Prime Minister means when he says 'so far, so good'? 14:23 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth The honourable member knows very well—very, very well indeed—that we have seen strong jobs growth. But we have more work to do. He understands, and he should understand from his background with the CFMEU, how important it is to have investment in the building sector. And he would understand very well how important it is to restore the rule of law to the building and construction sector—how important it is to drive more jobs in the construction sector by getting rid of that 30 per cent cost loading that we currently have because of the lawlessness in that sector. He is right to draw attention, however, to the fact, as I outlined in my speech earlier today, that not all Australians are doing as well as they should, as we would like them to do. We do recognise that growth must be inclusive. We do recognise that we need to deal with sections of the community, parts of Australia, where there has been disruption, where there have been big sectoral changes that have undermined employment in those areas. That is why we are seeing strong support for regional jobs program. That is one of the reasons why we were able to secure the agreement with Singapore—over $2 billion going into new investments in Townsville and in Shoalwater Bay. Those are investments that will drive jobs and growth in Queensland and areas hard hit by the downturn in the resources boom. Of course, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, which the CFMEU opposed violently, and the Labor Party opposed until the last minute, is driving jobs and growth. That is driving jobs in the region. Many Australians are facing challenges in terms of the cost of living. Not everyone is like Senator Dastyari, who, when he cannot pay a bill, just gets a donor to pick it up. This is the man the Labor Party defended all last week. The party of equity, the party of fairness, the party of the downtrodden—they defended Sam Dastyari, who, when he was presented with a bill, unlike any other Australian, who would pay it themselves, who would put their hand in their own pockets—oh, no—he asked his Chinese sponsor to do it. And, when he was asked, 'Why did you do that,' he prevaricated. He prevaricated but then finally, in a burst of candour that struck like a lightning bolt across the political firmament, he said: 'I asked him for the money because I didn't want to pay the bill myself.' Those are the standards of the Labor Party. Don't lecture us about fairness; look to your own house, look to your own machine, look to your own hypocrisy. Agriculture Industry 47 14:26 Mr BROAD 30379 Mallee My question is to the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Will the minister update the house on what measures the government has taken in the last year that has supported the agricultural industry? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies? 14:26 Mr JOYCE E5D New England I thank the honourable member for his question. He, like most, would note the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent in his area, especially on water infrastructure to do with the Murray-Darling Basin. This is part of that real delivery that gives us an economy which is now growing at 3.3 per cent. Part of that real delivery is seen in things such as Chaffey Dam, which since the coalition has been in power has not only been built, it has not only been filled; it is filled beyond its current capacity. It is now into extra capacity. We might also note the Nullinga Dam and the vision we have for the future—a feasibility study of $5 million to grow the north, to get more water infrastructure in place—and also part of the $15 million investment that we are making now in the feasibility of the Mitchell River, and into the Darwin region, into the Fitzroy river in Western Australia and into Ord stage 3 of $2.5 million. It is not just the feasibility studies but also the delivery of building in Tasmania, $60 million, which includes four dams in the Southern Highlands. But, currently, we are also starting to roll out more farm management bonds, which are vitally important; $800,000 is the limit we have taken that to. On the communications front, we have now provided funding for up to 499 new and upgraded mobile phone towers. We are rolling out the NBN. Sky Muster satellite now has 22,000 customers. Whether it is Roads to Recovery, where we continue to seal the roads, to improve the roads, to roll things forward; or 'bridges to recovery', which I can see in my own area with such things as Abington bridge and Severn River Bridge, these are part of a program of real delivery, tangible delivery—things you can see, things you can touch—by a coalition government. Whether it is biosecurity, dealing with such problems as Panama disease race 4 and making sure that we have the flying squad for protection of the banana industry; or country-of-origin labelling, which we have rolled out, we continue to roll them out. An honourable member interjecting— Mr JOYCE E5D I take the interjection. I heard them mentioning Sam Dastyari. Of course, they would be mentioning him, wouldn't they? Because the biggest thing that happened to the Labor Party in the last week is they lost one of their frontbenchers. Apparently he was kind of a frontbencher. He was sort of on loan or something! He did not quite make the grade as far as salary goes. He had a bit of a problem and came up with a novel way to pay his bill. But apparently the member for Maribyrnong said there was no problem there. He had a long conversation with him: 'Nothing to see here. No problem at all.' 'No problem at all,' they said—except that Senator Sam Dastyari thought there was a problem! They have gone very silent now, haven't they? We look forward to the member for Maribyrnong explaining to us exactly how this came about. But I think we will be waiting a while. (Time expired) Mr Snowdon interjecting — The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Lingiari will cease interjecting. Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 47 14:30 Mr FITZGIBBON 8K6 Hunter My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister refused to release the cost-benefit analysis for the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to the Deputy Prime Minister's own electorate. Is it government policy not to release completed cost-benefit analyses? How much did the cost-benefit analysis cost? 14:30 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook It cost $272,000, and the matter is for cabinet consideration. Defence Procurement 48 14:30 Mrs SUDMALIS 241586 Gilmore My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. Will the minister inform the House why a sovereign defence industry capability is vital to Australia's national security and international interests and how this differs from other approaches? 14:31 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. I know that she, like many members on this side of the House, takes a sovereign defence capability seriously. Obviously, in the last 12 months, this government, the Turnbull government, has made the decisions necessary to undo the wrongs that were committed by the Labor Party in the six years that they were in government. This is the government that decided to build 12 submarines, nine future frigates, 12 offshore patrol vessels and 21 Pacific patrol vessels—54 vessels over the next few decades, creating not just jobs but also sovereign defence capability, which is vitally important to Australia if it wants to be a good ally and partner to our allies and partners around the world and also to have the capability where we can enforce the support that we have for the international rules-based order and we can defend our own national interests. When Labor was in power, spending on defence dropped to the lowest levels since the appeasement period, since 1938: 1½ per cent. Opposition members interjecting— Mr PYNE 9V5 And I see that they are very exercised about this answer. Of course, Labor's actions in government belie the way that they have behaved since they were in opposition, particularly when we see the weakness that they have attracted to their foreign policy with respect to the South China Sea. In the last week or two, we might have started to see an inclination as to why the Labor Party have changed their mind about the South China Sea over recent times, or at least significant people within the Labor Party, because Sam Dastyari, who was a senior member—Shanghai Sam, as my colleague the Treasurer dubbed him—said about the South China Sea: The South China Sea is China's own affair. On this issue, Australia should remain neutral and respect China's decision. And now we know why, because, when Senator Dastyari had bills that he needed to have paid, he simply sent them to the piper. We know that the person who pays the piper calls the tune, and that is what happened with Sam Dastyari and these Chinese businesspeople. What we really need to know, though, from the Leader of the Opposition is: what did he do? The SPEAKER 00APG I just remind the Leader of the House he should refer to senators by their correct title. Mr PYNE 9V5 Yes, Mr Speaker. What did the Leader of the Opposition do when it became apparent that Senator Dastyari had this significant problem? How did the Leader of the Opposition satisfy himself that Senator Dastyari did not have a reason to resign? In the past, when these issues have arisen, a proper inquiry has been sought and the Leader of the Opposition or the Prime Minister has satisfied themselves as to the efficacy of the person's story. This Leader of the Opposition did absolutely nothing. He took no action. Who knew that Sam Dastyari would have higher standards than the Leader of the Opposition? He knew to resign when Bill Shorten still did not. (Time expired) Donations to Political Parties 48 14:34 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs My question is to the foreign minister. I refer to the receipt of $500,000 in donations by the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party by companies with links to the Chinese government and no business interests in Western Australia. What assurances can the foreign minister provide that these foreign donations have not influenced the policies of the government? Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my right will cease interjecting. 14:34 Ms JULIE BISHOP 83P Curtin All political donations to the Liberal Party of Australia are audited, as the Liberal Party is audited. All are declared in accordance with the AEC requirements, and I would expect that to be the case on the part of the Labor Party. Political donations to political parties are subject to AEC rules and requirements and subject to audit. I think it is quite apparent that the government's policy on foreign affairs is taken in the interests of the national interest. All decisions we take, whether it be on the South China Sea or whether it be on Australia's relationship with China, are taken in the national interest. I am proud of the consistency and the coherency of the Turnbull government's foreign policy. Taxation 49 14:35 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on the progress of the Australian Taxation Office in relation to the recovery of debt? What advice does he have for businesses and individuals in relation to the payment of their bills? 14:36 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I thank the member for his question. I commend the Australian Taxation Office for the extraordinary work that they are doing in ensuring that the revenue base is secure and that we have provisions in place. As we know on this side of the House, we have been increasing the resources of the Australian Taxation Office to ensure that they can pursue these very measures and the increased support we have given them to ensure that we recover debts. It is the same support we have given to the Department of Human Services and other agencies to ensure that we recover the debts of those who might have a welfare debt or something like that, and the same is true for those in the corporate sector. As the Prime Minister has said, it is absolutely critical that we have a tax base that is secure. We would all like the tax to be lower, but all taxes must be paid. My advice, obviously, to those people is to work with the Australian Taxation Office to ensure that they are able to meet their debts. But the one thing I would not suggest they do is the practice that we have seen from a member of the opposition in the Senate, Senator Dastyari, whose approach to paying debts—we know those opposite seem to think this is about foreign donations; it is not about foreign donations at all; it is about paying a debt. What we know is that Senator Dastyari—Shanghai Sam— The SPEAKER 00APG The Treasurer will refer to senators by their correct titles. Mr MORRISON E3L I will. Senator Dastyari, having spent his allotment of his travel expenses, decided he did not want to have to pay the extra, so he got on the blower and rang a donor and said, 'I'd like you to cover the rest.' What is extraordinary about this is: you have got to have a pretty high level of expectation to get on the phone to someone to ask them to cover off the debt. I do not know if this was the first person he called. Maybe he was up to call 2 or 3, but I suspect it was the first call he made, because he knew and he had expectation that that donor would pick up his personal debt. The Leader of the Opposition, when confronted by this—what he did not do was seek to get some clarity about the facts of the case. Did he ask the National Secretary of the ALP to give him some advice and sit down with Senator Dastyari and get a clear statement of the facts? No. He said: 'It'll be all right, Sam. It'll be all right. We'll just bludgeon this one out, and they'll all back off.' It came to the point where Senator Dastyari actually decided to resign. As the minister has said, who would have thought that Senator Dastyari had higher standards than the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to these sorts of issues? There was no new information between what we learnt about the facts of Senator Dastyari and the time of his resignation. And I have not heard one thing from the Leader of the Opposition to explain why he defended him one day and then was happy to accept his resignation the next. What went on on that side of the House shows the low standards of this Leader of the Opposition and why he cannot be trusted to impose those standards as a Prime Minister. Mr Perrett interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Moreton is now warned. Mr Rob Mitchell M3E Go and ask Mal Brough! The SPEAKER 00APG The member for McEwen will cease interjecting. I just warned the member for Moreton, in case he did not hear as the member for McEwen was interjecting. Donations to Political Parties 49 14:39 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs My question is again to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer to the foreign minister's acceptance of a media tablet, airfares and accommodation from Huawei. Has the foreign minister ever advocated, within government, in the interests of Huawei? 14:39 Ms JULIE BISHOP 83P Curtin A number of members of this House, particularly when in opposition, have accepted sponsored travel. Indeed, the member for Rankin last year accepted travel from Huawei. I believe this is the corporation to which you refer. So, when the member for Rankin accepted sponsored travel from Huawei, I assume he declared it, as did I, as did a number of other members of this House. And there was an iPad, because Huawei is a technology company, and I donated the iPad to a school. I did not use it; I donated it to a school. So I question where the shadow Attorney-General is seeking to go with this, because, if you want to see an example of money buying influence, look no further than Senator Sam Dastyari. That is where we have an example of money buying influence. Not only does he have his personal bills paid by this Chinese entity but then he goes to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices and— Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The Minister for Foreign Affairs will resume her seat. Members on my right will cease interjecting. The member for Isaacs on a point of order? Mr Dreyfus HWG Yes. Thank you. The question— The SPEAKER 00APG No. You state the point of order; you do not restate the question. The member for Isaacs on a point of order. Mr Dreyfus HWG Relevance. The foreign minister was asked whether she— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Isaacs will resume his seat. There is no point of order. Just before I call the foreign minister: the member for Isaacs well knows that he asked a very long question, and he has taken a point of order. I am entitled to rule on the point of order as soon as it is made. There is no point of order. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has the call. Ms JULIE BISHOP 83P So, having received money into his pocket to pay his own personal debts, by a Chinese entity— Mr Dreyfus HWG What's the answer to the question? The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Isaacs has already been warned. Ms JULIE BISHOP 83P Senator Sam Dastyari then calls a press conference at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices. He stands at a dais with the Commonwealth emblem at the front, with Australian flags behind, and, with his Chinese benefactors, then declares a position on the South China Sea which is totally at odds with the Labor Party and with Australian government policy. That is when you are bought by a Chinese corporation. That is what Sam Dastyari did. What I like about this tawdry little story is the way that the Leader of the Opposition stood by Senator Dastyari. He said: In terms of Senator Dastyari, he has spoken to me directly about this issue. … I don't buy into Mr Turnbull's petty insinuations of anything untoward in terms of Senator Dastyari’s motivations. Well, Senator Dastyari knew that he had been bought by a Chinese corporation. That is when money buys influence, whereas, in the case of the Australian government, our position on the South China Sea has been consistent throughout—before the arbitration, after the arbitration—and it is in Australia's national interest. Medicare 50 14:43 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister update the House on how the government has strengthened our health system to ensure Medicare is well placed to support the one in five Australians who are living with multiple chronic conditions? 14:43 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer Thank you to the member for Bowman. He had a previous career as an ophthalmic surgeon, and his contribution, as a clinician, to healthcare policy and reform in this place is well recognised. In order to build the world-class health system that Australians expect, you do need reform. You actually do need to challenge the existing status quo and recognise that improvement is a pathway forward. It is a long time since we have had a Labor health minister prepared to do that. It is a long time since we have had a Labor health minister who has said what one previous health minister said, which was: Without reform … the system will cannibalise itself. Because in health there is a continuous clamour for more and more funding with no regard to where the money comes from. It is a long time since we had Nicola Roxon prepared to make the appraisal necessary. Labor, of course, in government stripped $6 billion from health, from Medicare and medicines. That is interesting from a Labor government that spent as much as they did. Labor, in opposition, have not come up with one single positive health policy. Actually, they have come up with spending. They have come up with more money on the credit card—money that this generation and the next generation will have to pay for. They have come up with more debt. Such a lazy approach to policy, you have never seen. Ms Plibersek interjecting— Ms LEY 00AMN Now, let me explain what the coalition are doing and what we have done when it comes to healthcare reform. Underpinned by a spend on Medicare of $23 billion this year, rising by $4 billion over the forward estimates, our Health Care Homes policy has seen general practices and patients around the country putting their hands up to sign up to this revolutionary reform. It was actually presented to Labor in 2009. They had the opportunity to do it and they did not, because they did not do a single thing when it came to health reform—except take that money out of medicines and Medicare. Ms Plibersek interjecting— Ms LEY 00AMN We have listed $4.5 billion worth of new drugs in the last three years. We have got agreement, with $2.9 billion over the next two years in public hospitals underpinned by safety and quality, and we are flexible and responsive to new concerns. When people in Australia raised their concerns about the ice epidemic we found $241 million in response for the National Ice Taskforce—for people to go to rehab, to go to detox. That is rolling out across the country to frontline services. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister, personally passionate about mental health, added another $192 million on top of existing funding to reform mental health care so that mental health patients are no longer discharged into a vacuum. We are a government that absolutely has got it right when it comes to reform in health care, with patients at the centre. The Labor Party remains bereft of ideas, initiatives or imagination. Ms Plibersek interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Sydney will cease interjecting. She was interjecting right through the answer. Marriage 51 14:46 Ms BUTLER 248006 Griffith My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to reports that the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, and the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, have written to the Attorney-General complaining they have been shut out of negotiations— Mr Dutton interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Griffith will resume her seat. The minister for immigration will cease interjecting. I am seeking to hear the question. I am going to call the member for Griffith again. The member for Griffith can start again. The clock will restart. Ms BUTLER 248006 My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to reports that the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, and the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, have written to the Attorney-General complaining they have been shut out of negotiations about the plebiscite. Are they part of current negotiations with the government? Is this what the Prime Minister means when he says, 'So far, so good'? 14:47 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth As I have said elsewhere publicly, the Attorney-General has been conducting discussions with interested parties and stakeholders in the same-sex marriage debate and that does include the church leaders. I have met with the Catholic archbishop—I have mentioned this fairly recently—and the government continues to discuss matters, as does the Special Minister of State. There has been a wide range of ongoing consultation. We are a very consultative cabinet government. National Security 51 14:48 Mr IRONS HYM Swan My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on how the government's actions have kept our borders safe since 2013 and emptied the detention centres that were at full capacity under the previous government? 14:48 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I say thank you very much to the member for his question. He is rock solid, as is every member on this side of the parliament, when it comes to making sure that we have strong and secure borders. There is no better argument for having secure borders than what we have seen in Europe and across the world elsewhere in recent months and recent years, and it is why this government remain absolutely determined to make sure that we send a very clear and consistent message to people smugglers that they will not get back in business. This government has, over the course of the last 12 months, been able to reduce the number of children in detention. Labor had 2,000 children at its peak in detention. There were 1,200 people who drowned at see when Labor was last in government, in coalition with the Greens. There were 50,000 people who came on 800 boats and Labor had completely lost control of our borders. What was demonstrated at the last election was that Labor had not learnt one lesson, because we know that there are many Labor members who have come into the parliament who are still advocating against the position adopted consistently by this government over the course of the last few years. We will not deviate, because the people smugglers are still there—still there in Indonesia, still there in Sri Lanka, still there in Vietnam and elsewhere—trying to put syndicates together to put people on to boats. One thing that we know is that they could not care less whether those people make land or whether they go to the bottom of the ocean. Mr Shorten went to the last election saying— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister will refer to members by their correct titles. Mr DUTTON 00AKI My apology. The Leader of the Opposition went to the last election trying to trick the Australian people into believing they had a united position. Of course, they do not. There are many Labor members—and we are going to go into some detail about their comments over coming parliamentary days—who are still advocating for the Albanese cause within the Labor party, and we know the member for Grayndler has a very different position to the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to policy in this area. It is absolutely essential that the government continues the work that we have presided over, over the course of the last couple of years. Not only have we been able to stop boats, but we have also been able to get children out of detention. It is one of the crowning achievements of the last 12 months of this government, but it did not come easily. We stared down all of the nay-sayers within the Labor Party. The Leader of the Opposition has no such leadership ability. Turnbull Government 52 14:51 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has listed the following as achievements of the Turnbull government's: the Defence white paper, the China-Australia free trade agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Given the Prime Minister has claimed the member for Warringah's so-called achievements as his own, does he also have plans to copy his duration in office? 14:52 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question—I do—because he asked a highly political question and in answer to a highly political question we should get a political answer. The real question here today about political longevity is the political longevity of the Leader of the Opposition. It is so tenuous and so under threat. So frightened is this man that he was unwilling to say anything critical of a junior senator from New South Wales, just a junior senator, and from New South Wales—I am not sure whether New South Wales was another fault, in addition to being a junior senator. How junior can you get from the Melbourne— The SPEAKER 00APG The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order. Mr Burke DYW On direct relevance. It is a chance for the PM to talk about his achievements. It is a big opportunity— The SPEAKER 00APG The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister will wait a second. I almost gave the Leader of the House the call, because the question was very broad. One could argue that the last part was not in order, but I allowed the Prime Minister to answer it. On a very broad question you are going to get a broad answer. Mr TURNBULL 885 When we get these broad political questions it is very important to deal with political issues and issues of political culture, because Senator Dastyari, of course, said not so long ago: You will not find somebody who came more from the ALP machine than me. I'm a product of the machine like you would not believe. I joined the Labor Party when I was 16. I took over my first branches by the time I was 17 ... none of that braced me for an understanding of just how concentrated, brutal and aggressive a handful of businesses operate [in Australia], and the real corporate power where it actually rests in this country. He then claimed that there are 10 companies that wield the most incredible amount of power. One of those was not his benefactor—his benefactor that succeeded in getting him to abandon the Labor Party's policy on the South China Sea and sign up to the Chinese government's talking points! It is a most extraordinary thing. Joe Hockey said that the age of entitlement is over, but I will tell you what: it is only getting started on the Labor side. What an extraordinary sense of entitlement. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Parramatta. Mr TURNBULL 885 There he is: a senator paid well over twice average weekly earnings, paid money that is massive by the standards of most Australians, and because he is a senator he believes he has the right—and he has that Labor culture, that Sussex Street culture that gives him that right—to ring up a business with a vested interest in changing Australia's policy and ask them for money. That is what he did. He asked them for money to pay his own bills. And what did the Leader of the Opposition do? He said our criticism was petty insinuation—that there was not anything untoward. 'There is nothing to see here. He is just a junior woodchuck.' The Leader of the Opposition abdicated— (Time expired) Honourable members interjecting—\ The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Parramatta will cease interjecting. The member for Corangamite has the call. Innovation and Science 53 14:56 Ms HENDERSON ZN4 Corangamite My question is to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. Will the minister update the House on the progress of the government's National Innovation and Science Agenda, announced in December last year? How is the agenda supporting innovation, science and jobs? 14:56 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I want to thank the member for Corangamite, who has been an absolutely energetic advocate for her electorate, and that was recognised by the electors of Corangamite only a few weeks ago. Well done! When we were there recently, when I was able to join the member in her electorate only a few weeks ago, we visited a business called Carbon Revolution, which makes the world's best carbon wheels—they are the lightest and the fastest. It is an example of Australian innovation. Whilst we were there we were able to announce, as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, $250,000 for a Geelong carbon cluster, which is all about creating the jobs of the future. These jobs are about manufacturing. They are about new exports. They are about increasing investment in Geelong. It is a tremendous example of what the Prime Minister set out to do and my predecessor set out to do and what the government is delivering. It is why we have been able to deliver over 200,000 jobs in the last year and 3.3 per cent economic growth—a stunning national achievement in that last year. But under the National Innovation and Science Agenda, it is not just what we have done. It is about what we are going to do and what we are continuing to do. The National Innovation and Science Agenda is about new firms but, critically, it is also about old and existing firms—giving them the opportunity to invest and giving them the support to have an environment that will allow job creation. Against that background, in just the last eight weeks under the National Innovation and Science Agenda we have had achievements in science, where the synchrotron has been handed to the Commonwealth—we had taken responsibility—with a $520 million commitment over the next 10 years: science jobs built around the Monash precinct; creating cures for leukaemia and for diabetes; and improving the quality of rice for the developing world. This is fundamentally important research, but with enormous spin-offs in jobs and national growth. At the same time we have been investing in the talent—women in science. How can it be that in the 21st century only one in 10 engineering graduates in Australia are women? Well, we are investing in that and we are making that difference. And we are supporting investment. There is the $500 million biomedical translation fund; tax incentives for angel investors, much loved by certain junior senators; and at the same time the global linkages as well— Mr Pyne 9V5 What about crowd funding? Mr HUNT 00AMV Their version of angel investors is a little different to ours—let me say that. There is the Global Innovation Linkages program, which is not a top-up plan for underpaid junior senators; and the Shanghai landing pad. The Shanghai landing pad, for us, is all about jobs and exports from Australians. With them, it is all about feathering their own nests. (Time expired) Turnbull Government 53 14:59 Mr BURKE DYW Watson My question is to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that the Liberal Party's list of achievements for the Turnbull government is twice as long as the achievements for the entire Menzies era? Can the Prime Minister confirm that some are achievements of his predecessor, the member for Warringah, and there are others which have not been legislated and are therefore achievements which have not yet been achieved? And is the Prime Minister capable of talking about his own achievements for three minutes? 15:00 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question. I will take him up on the opportunity to remind him yet again of what we have done in the past year. Every element of our economic agenda is designed to ensure that we continue the successful transition, so far, from a mining construction boom, a massive terms-of-trade boost and a massive increase in mining investment—it got up to eight per cent, now halved. We have seen a big lift-up in mining construction investment and then a decline, and that was always going to happen. Economists around the world predicted that we would have a hard landing. Most countries do. It was almost inevitable that you would have a hard landing. But we did not, and we have not, and the reason is that we had clear economic leadership from the government and we have hardworking, agile, creative Australian businesses—people who are prepared to act and invest and get on with the job. Our economic future can only be maintained by securing a commitment to open markets and free trade. Protectionism, as I said earlier today, is not a ladder to get us out of a low-growth trap; it is a shovel to dig us deeper. What we heard from the Leader of the Opposition earlier today was a classic cry of populist protectionism: raging against the modern world, full of grievances, no solutions—completely at odds, I might say, with the shadow Treasurer's speech to the Crescent Institute last week. They seem to be moving further apart. They are as far apart on the economy as they are on the banking royal commission. Consider this, Mr Speaker: we inherited a colossal corporate failure in the NBN, probably the biggest corporate failure in Australia's history. In six years, the Labor Party managed to connect 50,000 premises—50,000 premises to the NBN in six years. In the last four weeks, the NBN, under new management—new board, new plan—which I set up as communications minister, connected 95,000 premises: nearly twice as many in four weeks as Labor did in six years. The reality is: we are seeing strong growth in the economy—3.3 per cent—and strong growth in jobs. By any measure, all of our policies are pulling in the direction of ensuring we maintain the successful transition, and, when it comes to the big projects, Labor fails, Labor messes them up; we sort them out and get on with the job. (Time expired) Broadband 54 15:03 Mrs WICKS 241590 Robertson My question is to the Minister for Urban Infrastructure representing the Minister for Communications. Will the minister further update the House on the strong progress of the NBN rollout under the Turnbull government? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches? 15:03 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield I am very pleased to answer that question from the member for Robertson, who knows something about telecommunications. The member for Robertson has significant experience working in the telecommunications sector, as of course does the Prime Minister, which he deployed to very good advantage when he had ministerial responsibility for the NBN. How is that to be contrasted with the minister who was previously responsible for the NBN? That, of course, was a senator in the other place, Senator Conroy, memorably described by one of his own Labor comrades as a 'factional dalek'. Indeed, Robert Ray went on to say: A whole production line of soulless apparatchiks has emerged … individuals who would rather the party lose an election than that they lose their place in the pecking order. That is one experienced former Labor parliamentarian talking about the man who was previously responsible for delivering the NBN. So is it any surprise that the previous delivery of the NBN, under the previous government, was such a hopeless debacle? Is it any surprise that after six years in government they had spent $6 billion and they had barely 50,000 premises connected to the NBN? Let us look at the member's own electorate of Robertson, because it is not a coincidence that the member for Robertson is back in this place as a second-term member; it reflects her hard work, it reflects delivery of outcomes and it reflects the fact that there are 27,000 premises in Robertson which now have an active connection. In September 2013 that number was 306—306 people in Robertson when Labor left power; that number is now 27,000. The Turnbull government is delivering when it comes to the NBN. As the Prime Minister has rightly said, just in the last month 94,000 is the increase in the number of premises now connected to the NBN, reflecting a competent, experienced board; competent, capable, experienced management. And what has the chief executive of NBN said just in the past few days? He has pointed out that nearly two-thirds of Australian premises are now under design, under construction or able to order an NBN service. The CEO of NBN, Bill Morrow, has pointed out that the NBN will be nearly halfway finished by June 2017; it will be three-quarters done by June 2018; it will be done by 2020. That is what the chief executive is saying. That is delivery. That is what a competent government can do. This lot would not know the first thing about it. Turnbull Government 54 15:06 Dr MIKE KELLY HRI Eden-Monaro My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister lost 14 MPs in the election, and last time the parliament sat the Prime Minister lost another eight MPs, including three ministers. Is this what the Prime Minister means when he says 'so far, so good'? The SPEAKER 00APG The question is borderline. I will allow it. The Prime Minister has the call. 15:07 Mr TURNBULL 885 Wentworth I thank the honourable member for his question. What we have is a question focused on politics and focused on attendance, focused on political leadership—all of those important matters. And what the honourable member should be reflecting on is his own leader who had no concern about a junior senator from New South Wales on his frontbench ringing up a Chinese benefactor, a Chinese company, and asking him to pay his bills— Ms Julie Bishop 83P Personal bills. Mr TURNBULL 885 Personal bills. And I wonder: when the honourable member is getting around his electorate—when he is in Cooma, when he is in Bega—how many people does he represent that earn as much as Senator Sam Dastyari? Not many. And I reckon they would love to be able to ring someone up—dial a benefactor. That is what they would like to do: dial a benefactor. 'Bills are too high, credit card maxing out, tax bill a bit difficult, overdone on the expenses. Don't worry, go to the Dastyari bank. That's what you want.' This is a man who rails against business, rails against banks, claims to be standing up for the workers, standing up for the people who are doing it tough in Australia, but how does he do it himself? Earning an income which is a fortune by the standards of most Australians, he is not even prepared to pay the bills himself. He is not even prepared to pay the bills himself. His breathless candour when he was asked: 'Why did you ask for the bill to be paid?' 'Because I didn't want to pay it myself.' That is what he said. It reminds me of that famous American gangster John Dillinger who was asked, 'Why do you rob banks?' and he said, 'That's where the money is.' It is that sort of candour. Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Gorton will cease interjecting. The member for Durack has the call. Cashless Debit Card Trials 55 15:09 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Will the minister inform the House of the progress of the cashless debit card trials? How is the trial reducing the harm caused by alcohol, drug and gambling abuse in communities around Australia, including the East Kimberley in my electorate of Durack? 15:10 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I thank the member for Durack for her question and her interest in addressing social disadvantage in her electorate and elsewhere across the nation. I visited the East Kimberley last week to assist the progress of the cashless debit card trial and can report that this trial and the one in Ceduna are both going very well. The trials have been going for several months now and consist of a simple concept, and that is that instead of providing all welfare payments into a person's saving account, which can be accessed as cash, 80 per cent is provided into an account which is only accessible by a special visa debit card. This visa debit card works just like any other visa debit card. It can purchase anything anywhere, but simply will not work at the bottle shops, will not work at the gambling houses and cash cannot be withdrawn from it. The objective of the trial, of course, is to reduce the very significant harm caused by welfare fuelled alcohol, drug and gambling abuse. Alcohol particularly is the poison that runs through so many communities and underpins 80 to 85 per cent of all domestic violence, assaults and child neglect, according to local police in Kununurra. On my visit I had the pleasure of speaking to many of the community and service leaders and can report that there is widespread support and acknowledgement that the trial is making a difference. The local St John Ambulance station, for example, reported to me that ambulance call-outs are down 30 per cent since this time last year. There has been a dramatic reduction in admissions to the hospital emergency room due to alcohol, according to the hospital's chief medical officer. The Wyndham sobering up centre has 30 per cent fewer admissions. Public drunkenness is down, according to police, with call-outs to the local park, which is a notorious drinking spot, halved. In Ceduna equally encouraging results are emerging. About a fifth of residents in the Ceduna region are on the card, but the pokies revenue from the main pokies venue in Ceduna is down an incredible 30 per cent. There is also strong anecdotal evidence that food sales are up. The Ceduna mayor reports that the town is the quietest it has been for a long time. Ian Trust, one of the most respected Indigenous leaders in the East Kimberley, says that he believes that we will look back in 20 years and identify this trial as the turning point in his community. Of course, it is still early days and we continue to monitor the data, but these early results are very encouraging. It is also important to realise that the trial has been co-designed with the community leaders at every step of the way. I also thank both the Western Australian government and the South Australian government for their tremendous support of these trials, but particularly thank the community leaders who have led these trials, along with the government, at every single step. PRIVILEGE 55 PRIVILEGE 15:13 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I wish to raise a matter of privilege. In doing so, I refer to page 753 of Practice that deals with improper interference with the free performance of a member and, on the following page, intimidation of members, on page 754 of Practice. I also refer to a story which has appeared online in the last few minutes by Simon Benson and Daniel Meers claiming that at a meeting the Leader of the House has ordered that all eight exits of the parliament be manned by a staffer to stop any coalition MP leaving the House before the adjournment of business of the day. It further states that the Leader of the House is believed to have told a meeting of around 100 Liberal staffers this morning that staff needed to ensure that their member be prevented from leaving early. I ask, Mr Speaker, that you consider the matter and report back as to whether there is a contempt of the House and whether the matter of privilege should be granted precedence. The SPEAKER 00APG I thank the Manager of Opposition Business. In accordance with standing order 51, I will consider the matter raised by the Manager of Opposition Business and report back to the House in the normal way. PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS 56 PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS 15:14 Ms McGOWAN 123674 Indi I wish to make a personal explanation. The SPEAKER 00APG Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented? Ms McGOWAN 123674 Yes. The SPEAKER 00APG Please proceed. Ms McGOWAN 123674 I claim to be misrepresented and to have been inaccurately quoted by The Border Mail on Saturday, 3 September. I am reported in The Border Mailas having said that you, Mr Speaker, requested 'text me' and requested that I 'turn back'. This is a misquote. The full interview was recorded and can be found on The Border Mail website. For any embarrassment taken by you, Mr Speaker, please accept my apologies. The SPEAKER 00APG I thank the member for Indi. I think all members who were here on the Thursday night know that I did not have a phone with me up here. AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS 56 AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS Report Nos 14 and 15 of 2016-17 56 15:15 The SPEAKER 00APG I present the following Auditor-General's Audit reports for 2016-17: report No. 14 Performance Audit Report: abatement crediting and purchasing under the Emissions Reduction Fund: Clean Energy Regulator, and report No. 15 Performance Audit: meeting revenue commitments from compliance measures: the Australian Taxation Office. Ordered that the reports be made parliamentary papers. DOCUMENTS 56 DOCUMENTS Presentation 56 15:16 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt Documents are presented as listed in the schedule circulated to honourable members earlier today. Details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. COMMITTEES 56 COMMITTEES Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network 56 Appointment 56 15:16 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I move: That: (1) a Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network be appointed to inquire into and report on the rollout of the national broadband network; (2) until the national broadband network is declared built and fully operational, the committee report to each House of the Parliament annually on: (a) rollout progress with particular regard to the NBN Co Limited Statement of Expectations issued by Shareholder Ministers on 24 August 2016; (b) utilisation of the national broadband network in connected localities in both metropolitan and regional areas, and the identification of opportunities to enhance economic and social benefits; (c) Australia's comparative global position with regard to residential broadband infrastructure; particularly relative to other large, developed economies; (d) national broadband network activation rates, user demand, usage patterns and trends, and any identified impediments to the take-up of national broadband network services; (e) any market, industry, or regulatory characteristics that may impede the efficient and cost‑effective rollout of the national broadband network; and (f) any other matter pertaining to the national broadband network rollout that the committee considers relevant; (3) the Committee consist of 17 members, 4 Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, 4 Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, and 1 non-aligned Member, 3 Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 3 Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, 1 Senator to be nominated by the Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate; and 1 Senator to be nominated by any minority group or independent Senator; (4) participating members: (a) may be appointed to the committee on the nomination in the:    (i) House of Representatives, of the Government or Opposition Whip or Whips, or any minority group or independent member; and    (ii) Senate, of the Leader of the Government or Opposition, or any minority group or independent senator; (b) shall be taken to be a member of the committee for the purpose of forming a quorum (c) may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of a member of the committee, except that a participating member may not vote on any question before the committee; (5) the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that not all members have been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy; (6) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (7) the members of the committee hold office as a joint standing committee until the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time; (8) the committee elect: (a) a Government member as its chair; and (b) an Opposition member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee; (9) at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting; (10) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote; (11) five members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one Opposition member of either House; (12) the committee: (a) have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee any of the matters which the committee is empowered to consider, provided that each subcommittee shall include at least one Government member of either House and one Opposition member of either House; and (b) appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only; (13) two members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House; (14) members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purposes of a quorum; (15) the committee and any subcommittee have power to: (a) call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced; (b) conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit; (c) sit in public or in private; (d) report from time to time; and (e) adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the Senate and the House of Representatives; (16) the committee be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President and the Speaker; (17) the committee has power to consider and make use of the evidence and records of the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network appointed during a previous Parliament; (18) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders; and (19) a message be sent to the Senate acquainting it of this resolution and requesting that it concur and take action accordingly. 15:16 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway I would like to say a few words on this. We are pleased that there will be a committee established for parliamentary scrutiny of the NBN, but we have a couple of points to make. There were seven committee members on the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network in the last parliament. There are 17 members and senators proposed for this committee. I note in paragraphs (11) to (13) of the terms of reference for this committee that is being established that there is a requirement that 'five members of the committee constitute a quorum, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one government member of either house and one opposition member of either house'. That basically flows through from paragraph (11) into paragraphs (12) and (13). The issue that we have is: why is there this insistence on the attendance of a government member, or even an opposition member, to have quorum. Our view is that quorums should be based on the attendance as a whole, not on political affiliation. It could result in a perverse situation, which I will explain. I note that the previous terms of reference simply stated: (c) that 3 members of the committee constitute a quorum … When you note that three of the 17 members of this committee are going to be Greens or Independent members or senators, so unaligned, then the potential outcome could be a situation where if you have those three Greens or Independents turn up and seven Labor members turn up—so that is 10 out of 17—but there is no government member present, then it would not be quorum for a deliberative meeting of the committee. Indeed, in our view, this would be a perverse situation. So we will be reserving our rights to pursue this matter further in the Senate. This is indeed an issue which I seek to highlight in order that the proper functioning of the committee and the task it is set to carry out under the terms of reference are fulfilled. Question agreed to. PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE HOLDERS 58 PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE HOLDERS Speaker's Panel 58 15:19 The SPEAKER 00APG Pursuant to standing order 17(a), I lay on the table my warrant nominating the honourable member for Wright to be a member of the Speaker’s panel to assist the chair when requested to do so by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker. CONDOLENCES 58 CONDOLENCES Nye, Mr Bryan OAM 58 15:19 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler Mr Speaker, on indulgence, this morning Mr Bryan Nye, the former chief executive of the Australasian Railway Association, who will be known to many members of this House and indeed the Senate, lost his life to the debilitating motor neurone disease. Bryan was the CEO of the Australasian Railway Association from 2003 to 2015. He was a passionate advocate for the rail industry, whether it be passenger, freight or high-speed rail. On behalf of the parliament and all who had contact with Mr Nye, we acknowledge his passing and pass on our condolences to his family, his many friends and his professional colleagues. GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH 58 GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH Address-in-Reply 58 15:20 Mr CREWTHER 248969 Dunkley I am privileged and humbled to stand here today as the new member for Dunkley. My role is to serve the people of Dunkley, and I thank them for placing their trust in me. I have a great example of service to live up to. A giant in personality, positivity, passion and persistence, I acknowledge and thank the honourable Bruce Billson, who achieved great things for Dunkley, small business and veterans' affairs. I will work hard carrying on this tradition with my dedication to being capable, compassionate and committed. You have heard this many times before: Dunkley is the Riviera of Melbourne. From a breathtaking coastline to forest reserves, from wetlands to winding creeks, from cosmopolitan cafes to sculptures and wineries, and from fantastic schools to innovative businesses: Dunkley has the best of the city, the country and the coast. Like many locals, my wife, Grace, my daughter, Yasmin, and I have made it our home. We have a wonderful future ahead of us. We have the highest economic growth of any Victorian electorate. We are the gateway to the Mornington Peninsula. We are a transport, health and education hub. We will continue going forward by investing in the local economy, community and environment. Dunkley is also incredibly diverse for only 140 square kilometres. Great disparities and differences exist in the environment, demographics and socioeconomics, bringing both challenges and opportunities. I am up for that challenge because my family's story is also that of Dunkley's people. It is a story of the city and the country, one of struggle and disadvantage but also one of hard work creating opportunity for future generations. Ours is a story that shaped my Liberal beliefs, which I will outline today. I am a Liberal because I believe in equality of opportunity and reward for effort. All people deserve a fair go to achieve their best irrespective of background. I say this as my own family comes from humble beginnings. My dad, Barry, was born in Mildura to Les and Dawn. Grandma Dawn was a country girl from a farm in Carwarp while Grandpa Les was from the city. Tragically, Dawn died at 23 when Dad was just three. He was sent to live with relatives in Croydon. His baby sister Glenda, having a brain injury, was sent to Kew Cottages and Saint Nicholas, dying at 14. Grandpa remarried and Dad moved home at seven, settling in Bayswater. Dad went to Bayswater High and at 16 started in the Army at Balcombe, following on from Grandpa, who served at HMAS Cerberus, both on the Mornington Peninsula. My mum, Debbie, was born in Jeparit, birthplace of the Liberal Party founder, Sir Robert Menzies, to Bob and Pat. Grandpa Bob was from the country while Nanna Pat was from the city. Mum lived at the farm in Ellam. Following their divorce, at four Mum moved with Nanna and her siblings to the city. When Nanna later remarried, Mum moved to Bayswater. Like Dad, Mum also went to Bayswater High, through which they met. Mum and Dad bought their first home in Kilsyth. They worked hard. Mum was a legal secretary and a ballet teacher. Dad first worked as a mechanic in Ringwood, then a courier, a workshop foreman and a vacuum cleaner salesman. Then I was born at Mitcham hospital, soon joined by my sister Sara. Dad then worked in real estate as a mechanic, a cleaner and in insurance and investment while also completing his HSC. We moved to Horsham when I was four, when Dad started his career as a financial planner, where my siblings Katrina and Lee were born. Dad eventually set up his own business and, while the early years were tough, he worked hard to achieve success to give us a chance. Like my family, Dunkley locals are hardworking and aspirational, wanting the best for themselves and their families. That is why I believe in equality of opportunity. Education is one path to opportunity. On the upside, deferred tertiary fees mean a person can enter a course irrespective of cost. However, a child's circumstances still largely govern their chance of school or tertiary success. Statistically, in Dunkley there are great extremes, with disadvantaged areas having the lowest levels of childhood literacy and numeracy and advantaged areas the opposite. For families struggling to survive, books are often unaffordable. When these children start primary school, they are already behind, particularly with cognitive development peaking between zero to five. Return on investment in preschool education is greater than all other stages, with estimates of 162 per cent Australian GDP growth just by bringing lower performing primary schools up to average. In Dunkley, 123Read2Me is tackling this issue by delivering free books to those who need them. They are joined by other local organisations such as That's The Thing About Fishing, Rotary, Lions and Legacy in creating opportunities. Disadvantage also continues in schools, with state-level zoning distorting house prices, government school choice due to housing affordability, reducing school competition and lowering social mobility. I am also a Liberal because I believe we should govern for the outer suburbs and the country, not just the inner city. These communities often face problems with transport infrastructure, health, education and other services. Lack of transport investment has resulted in smaller towns declining and industries shifting to urban centres. I experienced this growing up in Horsham and Murtoa such as when the local passenger train service was closed. Outer metro and regional health outcomes are also often lower, for example, due to limited specialist health services. Furthermore, with less local tertiary options, many young people do not have the same opportunities to study as their inner-city counterparts due to distance from home, housing costs or inadequate transport. As a country lad myself, I strive to create opportunities, working as a paperboy from 11, cleaning the swimming pool, working at a servo and the local supermarket. I studied hard to get into university and moved three hours away to attend Melbourne university, studying a double degree in science and commerce. I then transferred to Canberra, doing an honours law degree and two masters degrees in international law and diplomacy at Canberra uni and the ANU, working back on local farms on breaks to help pay for living costs. Many from the country never have this chance. Bringing infrastructure and services to the country and outer suburbs can reverse this trend. That is why I am proud to have helped secure $4 million for the Dunkley rail plan. This plans the electrification and duplication of the Frankston-Baxter rail line to enable metro rail services to stations at Frankston Hospital; Monash University, Peninsula campus; Langwarrin and Baxter. It also plans a third track between Frankston and Melbourne for express rail. This investment will attract industry, create jobs, connect communities and increase local education and health access. It will mean people are more likely to live, study, work and build relationships in Dunkley. Six million dollars secured for full public access to MRI at Frankston Hospital will also improve Dunkley's health hub status. Locally, we should also develop the Port of Hastings, build a major airport, consider interhub rail connections between Frankston, Cranbourne and Dandenong, investigate bayside ferry services to the CBD and build a convention centre. More broadly, we must invest in freight and passenger rail to all key outer metro and regional centres, whether it be Baxter or Mildura, easing pressure on inner suburbs by creating a polycentric Melbourne and a state of cities. I am a Liberal because I believe in parliamentary democracy, the best system developed for a free people. Paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill: democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. Strong democracy must be nurtured and enhanced, as Australia did with reforms such as secret ballots at elections. I support further democratic reforms such as: introducing full optional preferential voting for the House; eliminating above-the-line voting in the Senate, combined with full optional preferential voting; introducing a 'none of the above' voting option; changing the Constitution to allow for maximum four-year terms; considering electronic voting at elections and in parliament; and considering a secret ballot in parliament. Democracy also requires an informed, educated and engaged constituency, checks and balances, and trust. On this point I will start off with a dose of reality: Australians are fed up with politics and politicians. Public faith is diminished by cross-chamber squabbling; petty arguments; opposing for the sake of opposing; winning at all costs; disconnection from the grass roots; the perceived influence of lobbyists, unions and big business interests; and political rhetoric instead of plain-speaking truth. People are tired of instability. This last decade has not helped. Australians want solutions, decisions and results under stable government. They want representatives who are principled and visionary but pragmatic to achieve outcomes. They want those whose primary interest is making their community and Australia the best it can be. This is the basis on which I will conduct myself. As the youngest member of the House—although Wyatt Roy still calls me 'grandpa'—I will seek to encourage young people to get involved in politics and in their communities. My own interest in politics was sparked at school through the YMCA's youth parliament at Camp Manyung in Dunkley. What excited me was the youthful exuberance and passion and the idea that young people could make a difference. Activating young people is why I have supported sporting investment in Dunkley, such as Mornington Little Aths and Frankston Dolphins Junior Football Club. My own passion has led me to the country, the city, interstate and overseas. I have worked in Canberra as a magistrate's associate, a private practice lawyer, a project manager and in legal work at the Department of Agriculture. In Canberra I met Grace. We married at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, where this parliament commenced. I then worked as an international lawyer through the UN at the Kosovo Property Agency, resolving property claims for people who lost possession of their properties due to the war. In this rare opportunity, working in a post-conflict country, it was inspiring to see the youthful optimism, new ideas and a democracy that clearly was not taken for granted. I am a Liberal because I believe in small government. Government's minimal role is to govern interactions between people, minimising harm that would otherwise arise. Like referees at a footy match, governments should allow open play within a fair, rules-based structure. Government goes too far when creating overcomplicated rules that hinder play or when trying to be a player itself—for example, providing public services that could be profitably, efficiently and fairly provided by the private sector. We must, therefore, ensure that regulations are smart and efficient. Small businesses are particularly disadvantaged by over-regulation, with bigger businesses usually having more resources to cope. This reduces competition by impeding small business and start-ups, resulting in market domination. Small businesses, including the 16,000 in Dunkley, must be consulted when updating regulations, tax, IR and competition law. For taxation, complexity could be reduced by hastening simplification of the tax acts, implementing a proportional income tax and encouraging states to abolish inefficient stamp duty and payroll tax. Even better, by encouraging a future digital-only currency market, we can consider lower, more efficient forms of taxation, such as a point of payment low-rate, broad-based transaction tax to replace less efficient taxation methods. I am a Liberal because I support freedom and liberty, including freedom of thought, religion, worship, speech and association. This is the essence of liberalism. John Stuart Mill said: … the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. The argument is often over what constitutes harm as against offence. Causing offence should not fall within the bounds of legal action. Accordingly, I believe that current anti-discrimination laws in Australia limit freedom of speech. I believe that we are gradually becoming an illiberal society, with people increasingly afraid to express their views or to critique other faiths for fear of public ostracism, being silenced through ad hominem attacks or being caught by such laws. This needs to stop. This is detrimental to democracy, preventing contrary views being aired and challenged publicly. Sending such views underground only strengthens them. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall said when noting Voltaire's beliefs: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. That said, we should not shrink from denouncing in unambiguous terms statements driven by cruelty or prejudice. The greater the diversity of people, views and ideas, the better the solutions and decisions. As Sir Robert Menzies said: Stagnant waters are level, and in them the scum rises. Active waters are never level: they toss and tumble and … purify themselves in a few hundred yards. Our veterans fought for this freedom of speech. Without our Korean War veterans, my wife, Grace, and daughter, Yasmin, would not be here. Grace was from South Korea, migrating to Australia with her family at three. Her dad's family only just made it across from the North Korean side, and they have not seen their relatives in North Korea since. The communists killed her mum's grandparents by throwing them alive into a well. The freedom of speech and many other liberties we take for granted are not guaranteed in our Constitution; only freedom of religion and freedom of political communication are protected, so basic freedoms can be whittled away by a simple parliamentary majority, as we have seen with anti-discrimination legislation. I do believe, therefore, that there is some merit in considering charter protection of our freedoms and liberties. I am a Liberal because I believe in Australia being a secular liberal democracy, not imposing or restricting the practice of religion. The word 'secular' is occasionally construed to mean atheism. This is incorrect. Section 116 of our Constitution, which is mostly based on the US First Amendment, states: The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion … or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion … A true secular state should not impose any religion or world view, such as Christianity, Islam or atheism. Nor should a state restrict the practice of any religion or world view. It should allow freedom of religion, including freedom to express one's views, critique and criticise. The contemporary debate on either retaining or expanding the government definition of marriage illustrates this dichotomy. In my view, both are big-government perspectives and neither are truly secular, given both impose a government-sanctioned definition of marriage. Ideally, governments should get out of the business of defining marriage. Government's only role should be to legislate as contractual relationships, leaving the definition of sanctioning of marriage to marriage-solemnising bodies and individuals. This is a small-government approach under Liberal principles, creating equality under the law while also better ensuring freedom of religion. It allows people to freely express their own views on marriage and to solemnise marriage in line with these views. Liberal Enlightenment principles must be advocated consistently at home and with other states in not imposing or restricting religion. As Maximilian II said: God alone rules the consciences of men: man only rules man. For example, we should oppose laws forcing women to wear the veil and, equally, oppose women being restricted by law from wearing the burqini, as long as it is their own choice. Such laws are contrary to true secular liberal democracy. I am a Liberal because I support economic growth and the creation of wealth. Wealth and prosperity come by producing more of something others want. Optimising the three Ps—population, participation and productivity—is key to encouraging economic growth. We must ensure an optimal working-age population to support the young, the elderly, the disabled and others who cannot support themselves. But the ratio of the working-age population compared with the young and the elderly continues to fall. After 2050, five per cent, or nearly two million Australians, will be 85 and over. The proportion of those aged 65 and over will also double. With a fertility rate sitting at about 1.9 below the replacement rate of 2.1, maintaining an optimal working-age population requires either a higher birth rate and/or immigration. This optimal population structure, combined with productivity improvements and increased workforce participation will help guarantee Australia's continued prosperity. Lastly, I am a Liberal because I believe Australia should play a constructive role in the pursuit and maintenance of international peace. We are part of an interconnected and complex world, where Australia's actions impact locally and overseas. Internationally, we must encourage free trade and, over time, greater freedom of movement, thus creating wealth and reducing global poverty. With a growing middle class in Asia looking for high-quality goods and services, Australia stands to benefit—particularly in growth areas like tourism, international education, gas, wealth management and agribusiness. Through my experiences as CEO of Mildura Development Corporation, responsible for economic development of 48,000 square kilometres with three billion gross regional products, and running my own small business, I am a firm believer that our quality, clean, green agricultural exports will both feed Australia's prosperity and the world's population. We must also assist migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into Australia. As a new Australian, having emigrated from South Korea, Grace and her family settled in Blacktown. Her parents worked hard to provide for the family, with Grace and her sister, Cathy, having now both achieved success. Integration, though, is a two-way street. It is important that people can retain elements of their own cultures while we also develop a shared Australian culture by being mutually open, interacting, adapting and taking each other's best ideas. We must also avoid ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and extreme political correctness. For example, some people will say that Islamist terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. I understand the sincerity of such beliefs held by the majority of law-binding Muslims, for whom Islamist terrorist attacks are un-Islamic and therefore committed by people they do not see as real Muslims. But this argument is problematic. The fact is that Islamist terrorists see themselves as Muslim, relying on their own extreme interpretations of Islam to justify their actions—much as the Crusaders justified their actions on extreme interpretations of Christianity. These terrorists see those Muslims who do not share their convictions as not real Muslims and as targets to be killed. Their own incorrect understanding of Islam must therefore be tackled within the prism of Islam—particularly through early intervention. Australia must also do its part to assist the 65 million refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers—more now than after World War II—for instance, by resettlement and conflict prevention. Public trust in Australia's immigration, asylum seeker and refugee programs is critical to resettlement. Strong borders and a well-regulated system are critical. The coalition's work through successive immigration ministers has resulted in stopping the drownings at sea in our region, limiting the people-smuggling trade, ensuring that those coming by irregular means do not supplant those coming through regular means and reducing numbers in offshore detention. Adding to this, I believe there are diplomatic means to strengthen our borders even further, and enable border patrol cost savings. If Malaysia and Indonesia sign the Refugee Convention and implement effective protection, a natural further border could be created around Australia. By utilising safe third-country provisions, asylum seekers travelling from those countries to Australia could be sent or flown back, even if they reach our shores, as they would already enjoy effective protection. In exchange, Australia could take a negotiated additional number of asylum seekers each year from those all ready on Malaysia's and Indonesia's territories. This helps Indonesia and Malaysia by reducing asylum seeker numbers on their soil, as well as reducing asylum seeker numbers travelling to those countries in the first place. To assist prevention, state and nonstate actors must engage in conflicts only in accordance with international humanitarian law. For, as justice breeds justice, injustice breeds injustice. This means continually using techniques and weaponry that largely ensure that only combatants are targeted, avoiding inadvertently killing civilians. If civilians are killed and there is no avenue to achieve justice, this only helps feed the ranks of our enemy. Federalism between and within states can also help avoid conflict, whether one looks to Australia, the US, Germany or elsewhere. But union should come voluntarily, under self-determination, being ideally democratic, promoting subsidiarity and enabling uniformity but not centrality. These are some of the key principles why I am a Liberal, which will guide my decisions for Dunkley and Australia. I would like to end by thanking all those who helped in my campaign. To Barrie Macmillan: thank you for believing in me from the beginning. To the local, federal and state MPs who helped—in particular, Neale Burgess, Greg Hunt and David Morris—thank you. To the Honourable Michael Ronaldson, my former boss, thank you for your mentorship and support. To the ministers and parliamentarians from across Australia who helped—in particular, Sussan Ley, John Dawkins and so many others who supported me in preselection and during the campaign—thank you. To the Prime Minister and leadership team: I look forward to working with you. To the campaign team led by Darrel Taylor, the 'A' team led by Robin Amos, Dunkley FEC members led by Robert Hicks, the Young Liberals led by Jess Wilson and all volunteers: we could not have done it without you. Of these volunteers, there are too many to single out, but I would particularly like to thank those people who were out with me nearly every day, through cold and rain, in good times and hard times, including those who are here today. You know who you are. Thank you to all the office staff. I look forward to working with you for Dunkley. To state president Michael Kroger, director Simon Frost, '104' staff such as Rowan, Laura and Jackson, and all admin committee members who helped, including Peter McWilliam, Marcus Bastiaan, Caroline Elliott, Greg Hannan, Amanda Millar, Paul Mitchell and many others: thank you. Thank you to all my Mallee team, including Adrian and Veronica Kidd, Bill Dolence, Kevin Coogan, Gino Salvo, John Freimanis, Aunty Marlene and, of note, Fred Garratt, who passed away just after winning Dunkley. This victory is yours. And I am honoured to share this day with you, Greta. I acknowledge my grandparents Bob, Verna and June and my grandparents who are no longer with us. Nanna Pat, you passed away last year but election day fell on your birthday. Your spirit lives on. Nanna was proud of being the daughter of a Sherrin—the inventors of the football and co-founders of Collingwood. Our daughter carries 'Patricia' as her middle name, and I will make sure that she too barracks for the Pies! Thank you to all my extended family, friends and teachers who helped on election day and supported me from Melbourne, Mildura, Horsham and elsewhere. In particular, to Christian Mitchell in Frankston: you helped me beyond measure. To Geoff, Coll, John, Kaye, Kim, Leonie, Ali, Ben, James, Rob Smith, Professor William Maley and many other: thank you. To Grace’s family, Justin and Sarah, Cathy and Jai, and Grace’s grandparents and relatives in Korea: Song won hae ju sho so, kam sa ham ni da. To my parents, Barry and Debbie, my siblings Sara, Katrina and Lee and their partners, who have been supportive ever since I was born: thank you. To my wonderful wife, Grace, and my daughter, Yasmin: you are my rock and sacrificed so much to achieve this dream. Thank you. Finally, thank you to God for your continuous guidance over my life. The SPEAKER 00APG Before I call the honourable member for Lindsay, I remind honourable members that this is her first speech. I therefore ask that the usual courtesies be extended to her. 15:49 Ms HUSAR 263328 Lindsay Thank you, Mr Speaker, and can I congratulate you on your re-election to the role of Speaker. I suspect that there may be times when my passionate advocacy for the people of Western Sydney is too loud or too frequent and earns me a bench seat outside this chamber—but hopefully not too often. In the end, I appreciate that we are both here to make sure that this place, where important decisions are made, operates fairly for all those inside and outside its walls. I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to those people. I would also like to acknowledge the people of the lands of Lindsay that I proudly represent. To these the traditional custodians of the land, and ancestors past, present and future, I pay my deep respects to you and your culture, the oldest continuing culture on earth. During my time in this place I will work hard to close the gaps of inequity that sadly still exists today, and I will work hard for the proper recognition of our nation's first people as a sign of my commitment and the deep respect I hold for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the first Australians. I am Lindsay version 5.0—the fifth member for Lindsay in the 45th Parliament, voted in from position No. 5 on the ballot paper. Some might say No. 5 is alive! In winning Lindsay, something they said could not be done, we achieved the impossible. Lindsay is no longer a bellwether seat, and I am proud to be the first Labor woman to represent Lindsay. I acknowledge Lindsay version 1.0, the Honourable Ross Free, who is here today; and also version 3.0, the Honourable David Bradbury, who is in part responsible for my being here today. I would like to thank the voters of Lindsay who have placed their faith in me to represent them, to speak for them and to ensure that the needs of our community are a first-order priority, not an optional extra. Before I move on, the fact that I have been in the Labor Party a short time needs some reflection. I would like to thank the people who in my brief period have shown me a huge amount of support and guidance and made me see things in myself that I did not even know existed. I thank Kaila Murnain—our New South Wales general secretary, ceiling smasher, Fortress New South Wales boss lady and election slayer!—who has had my back since I walked through the door and has supported me even as an unknown quantity. I would also like to acknowledge Pat Garcia and Jay Suuval, from New South Wales Labor, who join us here today. I thank Alex Classons and Russ Collison, two of the starting five who knew I had something to contribute and backed me from the beginning. And to the leader in the upper house in New South Wales, the Honourable Adam Searle: I do not know how, when or why our friendship began, I just know it has been there from the very beginning. I thank you for your trusted and measured advice. To former New South Wales Premier, the Hon. Nathan Rees, who gives advice freely, refrains from judgement, and lets me make my own mistakes occasionally: your firm advice has not let me down. To my former boss turned colleague, my electoral neighbour, mentor and friend, Ed Husic: keep the meter running, add it to my tally, and one day I will figure out how to repay the debt of gratitude I have for the time, the wisdom, and the answering of 47 million questions—even if I may have asked them before—and for only ever saying, 'I told you so' once, and being right. Next time you tell me not to play basketball during a campaign, I will probably listen—probably. To the wonderful members of the great Australian Labor Party, the Lindsay FEC, the Young Labor crew, the volunteers who want Labor governments, and to friends who for months campaigned alongside me in this two-year battle, some of whom join me here today: thank you seems an inadequate statement for what your support means to me. I will stand up for our shared values in this place and, in doing so, honour your time and commitment to our common goals. To our campaign family, which spans two elections—both of which were run out of my home, and forced you all to become de facto family members in a most unconventional family—thank you for working in sometimes less-than-ideal conditions, and for showing up and making sure I did the same, even when exhaustion and breaking my body made your jobs harder. Liam Rankine and Peter Grey, the Western Sydney campaign team bosses, I thank you. I would just like to acknowledge all of the people in the gallery today, all of my friends, for their epic journey on the bus from Sydney to be here in support of me today. My sincere thanks to the Penrith Valley Community Unions, Unions NSW, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Communications, Electrical Plumbing Union, Transport Workers Union, Health Services Union, United Services Union, and the Australian Workers' Union. Mary Court, Mary Yaager, Mark Morey, Alex Claassens, Jim Metcher, Tony Sheldon, Gerard Hayes, Graeme Kelly, Russ Collison: without your support I would not be here. The decent working conditions of every single Australian are owed to the mighty trade union movement, and without your continued advocacy for workers and their families, our country would go backwards. Never stop fighting for fairness. I know, in this place and beyond, I will not. Thank you also to EMILY's List for supporting me, and for the work you do in ensuring that women get elected to our parliaments. Our parliaments should reflect the people they represent, and you cannot do that without women. I have to admit though, and probably not unlike yourselves, I look forward to the day when EMILY's List is not needed, a time when women are treated equally and allowed to make their own health choices, when quotas are not necessary, and when women receive equal pay for equal work. To my favourite New South Wales state members, particularly those I came to know during the 2015 state campaign: I may now be in a different parliament but rest assured, I will help wrestle Western Sydney back into the Labor fold, and I will do this because we know only Labor understands Western Sydney. To our leader Bill Shorten—epic timing!—thank you for your leadership which was outstanding in arguing our case for a fairer Australia and putting people first, and for joining me more than once on the campaign trail. To my federal colleagues, Tanya Plibersek and the Chrises Bowen and Hayes, Tony Burke, Catherine King, Jason Clare, Sharon Bird, Justine Elliot, Ed Husic, Deb O'Neil and Sam Dastyari: thank you for your support throughout the campaign and for continuing that support following my arrival in this place. To my long-suffering and neglected friends: I know I almost never answer my phone, and responding to a text message or email or even listening to a voicemail is absolutely out of the question. I do not know how you put up with me but I am forever grateful for our friendships. Thanks for letting me miss out on some of the special occasions, and not making me feel guilty for my absence by welcoming me back seamlessly when I am around. And to Leonie: none of this would have happened without your loyalty, support and the dedication you have to me, and for my children, and I thank you for being who you are. Getting here was an absolute team effort and I thank everybody involved. I look forward to continuing this journey with you all. Lindsay is now my patch of the world that I have called home my whole life, and a place I now proudly represent. When I look around that place, I see things that make the community I love so great: our university, our thriving city centre, the small businesses, our growing arts scene, an active sporting community, and the living elements—our river, the lakes, the Cumberland plains, and the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains as our backyard. I see our people, and I count the people of Lindsay as our No. 1 asset. We do not ask for much, we are fair-minded, we are loyal, we help each other out, and we work hard. We are, however, disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to most things, compared to our inner city and northern suburbs neighbours—public transport, roads infrastructure, and a lack of local jobs. And our health is affected, with some of the highest rates of heart and lung disease, and we currently—sadly—claim the title of having the most under-pressure hospital in the state of New South Wales. A hospital that already cares for 350,000 people will need to serve even more, as our Western Sydney home grows to become Sydney's third city. Like many parents in Lindsay, I have frequently relied on the exceptional care provided by the under-resourced and overworked staff at Nepean Hospital, without whom my youngest child would have died at just 10 days old. Had it not been for our world-class universal healthcare system, I would have been faced with crippling debt, or the death of a baby—which is why I will always defend Medicare. The inequity for the people in my community is without doubt growing. With Medicare under threat, huge cuts to health care, plans to deregulate university fees, stagnant wages, housing markets exploding, the casualisation of the workforce, and the cost of living increasing, the divide is getting wider. These, though, are not endemic problems faced by my community alone. They are challenges repeated in communities right across Australia, and they demand and deserve immediate action. These are questions of intergenerational equality, and I look forward to being part of this debate—a debate that is so important my community. Since my election to this place, I have seen the people of Lindsay stand up and fight for what they believe is fair and just for us. Liberal governments have consistently shown they simply do not understand us, do not serve us, and do not represent us. The people of Lindsay know they need someone in their corner, one of their own, someone like them, to advocate for their needs and those of their family, and the people they care about. That is how I ended up here. So often I hear people refer to politicians as out of touch and not being from the real world—when I look to the class of 2016 and all of the diversity my newly elected peers bring, particularly those on this side of the House, I see a paediatrician, a pharmacist, an early education teacher, journalists, lawyers, counter-terrorism experts, mothers, fathers, women, Indigenous women. I believe that if you want to know how to solve some of the complex issues facing our country, you need to ask those who have been affected by the inequity and the injustice, or those whose luck of the draw has simply just been less lucky. You need to ask the people who have not just lived through adversity but who have helped others to overcome it. I am a mum—I am a single mum—raising three very different but amazing children, one of whom has special needs, one of whom has her own additional health needs, and one who is just a typical teenager. I will leave it to you all to decide which of these three presents the greater challenges! Life for me has not been without adversity. I have spent 29 out of my 36 years, both as a child and as an adult, living in domestic violence. If you want to know how to address the biggest challenge facing women and our children today, you need to ask the people who have been affected. Even better than that, you need to elect them to decision-making tables where rhetoric will not be accepted and only action will be good enough. In this place I will use my life's experience to contribute all that I can to tackling the scourge of domestic and family violence. I will stand up for the parents leaving violence who are confronted with a family law system that does not always work for them. The situation at the moment is truly a national emergency, and one that cries out for more focus and more attention from our leaders. Domestic and family violence is one of the contributors to children living in out-of-home care. Children in foster care are typically disadvantaged compared to their peers. Despite best efforts, children often bounce from home to home, with little to no regard for stability and the wellbeing of the child. We must do better. I will be looking for opportunities to work with the states to reform our out-of-home care system and ensure that society's most vulnerable children are no further disadvantaged by the system. Another of the challenges facing many families in Lindsay is accessing the services they need when caring for someone with special needs. Raising a child with special needs and navigating what is a minefield was probably my lever for really getting started in politics. There is no more isolating feeling in the world than being a special needs parent. When all the other families can access and engage in the community at their own free will, ours needs special planning, special stories and sometimes a reconnaissance mission. to explore the suitability. After all the box ticking had been done and the mission looked like it might be a success, you would forge ahead. And when I say 'mission', I actually mean getting from one end of the local supermarket to the other without my son experiencing a total meltdown and the unaware shoppers you come across offering a wooden spoon to spank your naughty son with. When the campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme began I immediately knew, from my experience with my son, that I needed to support this to ensure that kids like mine, mums like me and families like ours were able to access something that can and will change their lives forever. I thank those people on my side: Bill Shorten, Julia Gillard and all of those people who worked tirelessly to ensure that this was a national priority. The NDIS is a great starting point. It will help serve the day-to-day needs of people living with a disability. Now is the time to start the next conversation about raising participation rates in open employment and the significant contribution people with a disability can, do and will make to the workforce. And whilst we work towards the rollout of the NDIS we must be thinking about the physical accessibility of public places. Before arriving here I worked for the disability access committee serving Penrith City Council. Our committee advocated for improved accessibility within the local community. However, there is still a long way to go. I want to see major changes around physical access, particularly two basic and frequently overlooked areas: changing places and play spaces. It is necessary to legislate for public bathrooms to be accessible for those who need it. Changing tables which cater to the needs of older children and adults are a basic necessity requiring immediate action. For those who rely on changing facilities like these, the choice currently is between a public toilet floor and leaving the venue altogether and heading home. Neither of these is acceptable and undermines the quality of life for those with a disability and their carers. In another area of my advocacy work it has been my great privilege to work alongside the Touched by Olivia Foundation, who are the world leaders in inclusive playground design, ensuring that children with special needs can enjoy the same facilities as their peers. However, until such time that there is legislative leadership in this space, inclusive play areas will remain the exception and not the norm. Inclusion in society makes all of us stronger. We are all shaped by our families and by our experiences—for better or for worse in a lot of cases. It is the lottery of life. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and there is no making sense of any of it. This was my experience in 2007 when my amazing, smart and beautiful cousin Chloe died unexpectedly at age 18 from a catastrophic brain aneurysm. Chloe impacted my life in many ways, none more significant than her choice to be an organ donor. On her passing, our family honoured her wishes, and through her gift of life she saved seven others. Our rates of organ and tissue donation here in Australia are unacceptably low. Tara Bennett, a local Glenmore Park schoolgirl in my electorate, came to meet me last week. She lost her three-year-old brother, who was waiting for an organ transplant. Our organ donor opt-in system, which can be overridden by families, is not working. We have an opportunity and an obligation to create legislation which will increase our rates of organ donation, and we need to continue this conversation about how we achieve this. There are many issues that I am passionate about, but time prevents me from covering all of them in detail today. I will be an advocate for policies that ensure we defend fair working conditions and end all forms of discrimination. So with all of my lived experience, both as a mother and an advocate for the issues I have outlined today, I promise to work hard as the member for Lindsay. I cannot let today pass though without acknowledging the most important people of my life: my mum, my dad, my sister, Amy—the people who will always love me the most; thank you for your support—and my freakishly amazing children, who are, beyond a shadow of doubt, the most exceptional part of my life. Being your mamma is the greatest privilege I will ever know. The triumphs, the tests, the tantrums—all of it: I would not trade a single moment. Mitch, through you I have learnt patience I did not even realise was possible. Zhalia, you remind me too much of myself most days. Your strong will, belief in fairness, your empathy and your outstanding ability to argue your point will stand you in good stead for the future, little girl. And when you tell me you are proud of me, you bring tears to my eyes. And to my little Evie: you reinforced the lesson I learnt from Chloe about not taking any of it for granted. When the doctor told me you were touch and go there for a while, I was reminded that we are all on loan from some other place and in a second it could all be gone. And with that I vowed that each second would be valued and I would let you know each day through my actions how much you are all loved and cared for. Thank you for supporting me to come into this place and your daily reminders to keep it real. I thought I would share a quote by Daniel Goldston that hangs in our home and one I often tell my children. I think it is quite relevant to all young people in my electorate of Lindsay: If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning. If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need. If you're going to question something, question authority. If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions. If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence. And if you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams. For those of you who might struggle to see the amazing opportunities ahead of you and for those of you who, for one reason or another, feel like things are stacked against you, I stand here as proof that you are not voiceless, that we can as a community come together and demonstrate and agitate for the things we think are important and the things we want to see changed. That is why I am here. As my good friend Adam still reminds me, governments more or less tax the same amount and spend the same amount. It is who they choose to tax and what spending they choose to prioritise that reveals their true nature. Government is about making choices, and I am proud to be on the side that chooses to make fairness, equality and opportunity for all a priority. On 19 June we launched the federal campaign in my home town. I stood proudly under a banner that read 'We will put people first.' From now until my time in this place, that is exactly what I will do. 16:08 The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN Before I call the honourable member for Cowan, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech. I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies. 16:09 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton. May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and the traditional owners of Cowan, the Nungar people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I would also like to take a moment in recognition of the significance of delivering my first speech on this most holy day for Muslims, Eid al-Adha, and to wish all Muslims a peaceful and blessed Eid. I am incredibly humbled to be here today as the person chosen to represent more than 96,000 electors of Cowan and their children, who may not be able to vote but whose welfare is ultimately the reason I am here. I use the word 'represent' in its full sense. My electorate was named after a woman, and not just a woman but a groundbreaking one: the first woman to be a member of this parliament, Edith, later Dame Edith, Cowan. Today I stand here not just as the first graduate from the university named in her honour to be elected to the federal parliament but as the first of Egyptian-Arabic heritage, along with my colleague the member for Wills, Mr Peter Khalil, and the first Muslim woman. I mention the latter points not to claim any special accolades but because they mark a significant moment in the history of this nation, especially right now and especially given the circumstances of my election. I was born in a part of the world where the passing of time is marked by war and where the birth of a girl child is greeted not with ululations or congratulations but by the clicking of tongues. But it is not the circumstances of my birth that define me. I was not born in this country, but I am surely born of her. I never knew my maternal grandfather—he died long before I was born—but by all accounts Mahmoud Osman was a simple man without much of an education. He sold textiles in a small space on the high road in a small village around 200 kilometres south of Cairo, and although he lived in a time and a place where women did not get an education, my grandfather was determined that his daughters would all finish high school and attend university. Although the men who frequented his little shop told him that he was doing the wrong thing and that he was better off finding them suitable husbands, he would not be moved. So committed was my grandfather to ensuring that all his daughters were university educated that by the time my mother finished school he had already enrolled her in nursing school at Cairo, unknown to her and despite her protestations. On her first day at nursing school, he drove her the 200 or so kilometres and stood at the front gates of the country's largest hospital, demanding to see the room that his daughter would be sleeping in for the next three years. Legend has it that my grandfather was the first and perhaps the only male to ever be allowed into the nurses quarters of that hospital. So it was through a father's love for his daughters and his sheer determination to see his daughters educated that my mother became a qualified nurse. She retired in Australia having worked at some of the country's major hospitals as a matron and a director of nursing. My parents arrived from Egypt at the Bonegilla migrant camp in Albury Wodonga in 1969, later settling in the outer suburbs of Sydney. Despite having qualified as a textiles engineer, my father, like many migrants, ended up taking a job for which he was overqualified, though no less grateful. He became a bus driver, and together my parents built a life for themselves and their three children. I started my schooling at a Catholic school and I ended it at an Anglican school, having attended several public schools in between. Those years shaped my view of Australia and my place within it. Coming from a practising Muslim household, I would read from the Bible and sing hymns at morning chapel service while fasting for the holy month of Ramadan and celebrating the holy days of Eid. When I asked my mother what I should do during chapel service when we read the Lord's Prayer, she responded that I should also bow my head in prayer and remember that we all worship the same God. Most importantly, I learnt that the values that make us Australians are measured not by the colour of our skin or by our religion or where we were born but by our dedication to the fundamental principles of equality and fairness. At an age younger than most I found myself a single mother, after a marriage breakdown, and as a result I brought up my two young sons on a single parent pension of just $200 a week. I responded by becoming a mature-age student, and it was through education that I was able to become who I am and have a career as an international academic, culminating in being asked to speak at the White House, at President Obama's countering violent extremism summit, and, more recently, receiving the prestigious Australian Security Medal. I know through my own life that, no matter what problems beset them or what circles they fall into, every young person has it within them to rise above their youthful mistakes and find a valued place in Australian society. Over the last decade or so I have devoted much of my working and personal life to understanding how and why people, especially young people, become attracted to and engage in violent and dangerous ideologies. I have worked with governments, academics, and civil society in countries including Indonesia, India, Singapore, Kenya, Jordan, Nigeria, Israel, the Maldives, the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Afghanistan and, of course, here in Australia. I have worked with former violent extremists, I have become an advocate and a patron for victims of terrorism, I have advised the families who have lost sons and daughters to violence and hatred, and I have mentored young people who have sadly fallen prey to such dangerous ideologies. I have seen the worst of humanity, and I have often despaired, but I have also seen its best through the eyes of people like Phil Britten, Louisa Hope, Jarrod Morton-Hoffman, Gill Hicks and Michael Gallagher—all of whom have survived terrorist attacks; and through the work of organisations like Together for Humanity; the Bali Peace Park Association; and Youth Futures WA, which provides essential services to young homeless people in Cowan; and, of course, the inspiring young people who have worked with my own organisation, People against Violent Extremism—or PaVE. PaVE has worked with all governments in Australia to be the first organisation in the region to develop a social media campaign against violent extremism and to deliver the MyHack program, which harnesses the skills, talents and knowledge of young people to address violent extremism within their own communities. Last year we received funding from the Australian government and the US Department of State to run Australia's first 'hackathon' on countering violent extremism during the Australian CVE summit. I am proud that my expertise and work has put me at the centre of our nation's efforts to keep Australians safe from the scourge of violent extremism. Personally, I have mentored young people who have, sadly, fallen vulnerable to radicalisation, and I have helped families divert them from a destructive path. The ripple effect that reaching out and changing just one life can have on entire communities cannot be underestimated. I was most moved by the words of one young man who, in a quiet moment of contemplation, whispered to me, 'If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead or in jail.' I am pleased to say that that young man is now successfully enrolled in a university degree, is a leader in his community and is looking forward to a bright future. The fight against terrorism is a fight for reason, and we cannot afford to let it be hijacked by populism or by party politics. This is not the sort of issue where pointing out the gaps in our policy response should attract accusations of being soft on terrorism or insinuations of appeasement or, even worse, supporting terrorism. We have to get this right, because the currency here is people's lives. That is why I will continue to argue for a reasoned, balanced and, above all, smart response to the threat of terrorism. Our response to terrorism needs to be intelligent and proportionate, and that means putting resources into the sorts of programs that tackle the problem at its source and which develop a strong civil society capable of responding with the necessary agility to the changing nature of the threat. Governments and institutions need to recognise their limitations and use the tools of influence that are most effective in building up the immunity of young Australians against the infection of radicalism with all its hatreds and all its dangers. As those who followed my campaign will know, the nature of my work resulted in ugly tactics being employed against me. We could dwell on what happened during the campaign, perhaps unproductively, but given the gravity of the charges and the fact that nothing less than protecting Australians against terrorism was involved, passing over it completely would be wrong. We have to face up to this sort of thing and pledge never to repeat it, because we cannot afford to let partisan politics loosen the unity of purpose that is needed to combat dangerous terrorist movements. So let me make this one observation: in a tight election contest the appeal to the worst angels of our nature did not work. Those smears never had a chance, because they could only have been made by people who fundamentally do not understand the essential decency of those who live in outer suburban electorates, like Cowan; they could only have been made by people who only ever see the working-class outer suburbs—places like Girrawheen, Wanneroo, and Lockridge—through their statistics, their focus groups and the windows of a passing bus. They never get to know the outer suburbs through the eyes and the lives of real people. All that filters up to them are a series of abstract impressions, usually abstract grievances, niggles, resentments, regrets, effusions of bad temper—an incoherent disaffection with the world—all inaccurately reported and all taken out of context with no complexity, no nuance, no humanity, no reality and, most importantly, no hope of producing the answers that people are seeking. What they do not see is the way that people actually live—as people connected to each other by the bonds of community, trust and mutual respect. They do not see people as neighbours in the same streets or blocks of flats, friends with the same interests, shoppers at the same shopping centres, parents of children who attend the same schools and volunteers whose children play soccer, cricket and netball altogether. They do not see the things, the invisible, intangible and unmeasurable things, that make outer suburban communities survive and thrive. It is no secret that I find the politics of division, this attempt to break down those bonds and set people against each other to win votes, to be desperate, dangerous and undemocratic, especially at times like this, when unwise words can be bullets. According to such people, the electorate that I represent should be a stronghold for the kind of politician represented by the likes of the One Nation Party. Instead, it voted for me. Instead of division, it voted for a different sort of nation—a tolerant nation; a unified nation; a peaceful nation; a nation happy with the reality of what it now is, a multicultural country whose people are better than the peddlers of division would have us believe. This is a critical time in Australia's political history, a time when our parliament is beset by an unprecedented polarisation of ideas and ideologies, a time when our only chance to move forward as a nation is to come together, regardless of where we sit on the political spectrum, in mutual respect and with a common goal of serving our nation. It is a time when we should not allow important discussions about our future to degenerate into a competitive agenda of rights, for all rights are worth pursuing and worth pursuing with vigour. I do not accept, for example, that the right to freedom of speech is any less or any more important than the right to safety and security for all our citizens. Too often those who espouse their right to freedom of speech argue that it is undermined, weakened, by those who would call out bigotry or racism or who draw attention to the ability for hate speech to mobilise violence. So let me be clear: I will defend freedom of speech to the last, but I will not stand by and allow the proponents of hatred and fear, no matter where they come from, to claim some form of moral superiority as they browbeat fellow Australians into accepting second-class citizenship. We may live in an era of unease and of extremes. I do not know how we found ourselves in a time when asking for a little more compassion, a little more reason, a little more empathy for those less fortunate attracts accusations and hate mail, sadly, sanctioned by some of the very people who sit in this chamber. But I believe that with goodwill from all sides the centre can hold. Cowan has proven it. But holding the centre together requires more than just political will. It needs strong moral leadership. That is what all of us here in the parliament have a duty to provide, and that is what I intend to try to provide. The electorate of Cowan, like all of the outer suburban electorates of Australia's major cities, represents the best of our country. And if the outer suburbs represent our new demographic heartland, it is a warm and trusting heart indeed. But those places need our support. They need the sorts of policies that Labor took to the election: a secure Medicare; a Gonski needs-based funding model for our schools; more apprenticeships for our young people; affordable higher education; and the winding back of negative gearing, to allow young families to buy a home and gain a stake in our society. But we need more. We need to understand that our economic growth has to be spread broadly. This is the big lesson of the world today: when the wealth we generate is shared unequally, the good it does is undermined. We cannot afford to have a middle that is rising while the periphery is declining—inner suburbs booming while outer suburbs stagnate and economic inequalities tearing at the fabric of trust between institutions and the people they are supposed to serve. This is the next great challenge for our country. We cannot progress as a nation until we deal with the fundamental and irrefutable reality that growing up in the outer suburbs means you start life on an uneven playing field. Someone in Girrawheen is five times more likely to be unemployed than the average Western Australian. A child living in Wanneroo is 30 per cent less likely to finish year 12 than a child living in Perth. A family in Lockridge will have less than half the household income of one in Cottesloe. And in the last five years the number of young homeless people in Cowan has risen by a staggering 22 per cent. The reality of this inequality is represented in the stories of the people of Cowan. People like Maureen, who, at 75, had to take out a credit card to pay for her medical bills, because she just could not afford them any other way. Or Sean, who worked for 30 years in the construction industry before losing his job. Now in his 50s, he cannot find another job but he cannot afford not to either. Or Robert, an enterprising young man who is keen to develop a start-up business but cannot, because his internet speeds are just too slow. And Anh, a young Vietnamese Australian who dreams of one day forging a career as a rap artist—and he is not half bad! These are not just statistics. They are a reality. And this is not just a matter of justice; it is a matter of extreme national importance. The affluent inner suburbs of our nation cannot provide all the intelligence, knowledge, skills and energy our country needs to become all it can be. That is why I am calling for, and dedicating my parliamentary career to, the creation of a national strategy to deliver the benefits of growth to the outer suburbs of every city in Australia, from Lakemba, where I grew up, to Cowan, which I represent, and to every outer suburb in between. That means a plan to provide better services, better schools, better infrastructure and, perhaps most importantly of all, decent jobs for the people on our city peripheries. We need to promote the people on the edge. We need to talk about how we plan to distribute our wealth just as much as we talk about how we plan to grow our wealth. The era of putting the economy first and our society a distant second is over. We have to have an eye to growth and fairness, economy and society, and that is what I, as the member for Cowan, will endeavour to do—for my electors, for my sons and for the sons and daughters of Australia. But I would not be standing here today if it were not for the faith, dedication and absolute belief in me shown by so many people both inside and outside of the Labor Party. The circumstances of my preselection were serendipitous. I was in the middle of the busiest time of my career, sharing the stage with former world leaders at the Club de Madrid's Madrid+10 policy dialogue in Spain— Mr Laundy 247130 As you do! Opposition members: As you do! Dr ALY 13050 as you do—and then joining a panel of international experts at the United Nations in Vienna on the judicial responses to terrorism. Walking out of the United Nations building that day, I said to my husband, 'All this work, all this talk and I know I will go home to Australia and it won't make any difference because there is no political will.' It was just a few days later that I received a call, out of the blue, urging me to run for the seat of Cowan. Unbeknownst to me, the architect of all this was a young man who had heard me speak, for about 10 minutes, at a Young Labor event. That young man, Robbie Williamson, became my campaign manager and is now my most trusted adviser. Thank you, Robbie, for your vision, your dedication and for believing in me. Thank you also to the incredible men and women who worked on my campaign—Bec, Matt, Travis, Hussein, Lorna, Amy, Justin and Margaret Quirk MLA—and the hundreds of volunteers who gave up their precious time, too many to mention here but particularly Ruth, Lara, Bobbie, Justin and the irrepressible Clim. Many thanks also to my Labor colleagues: to Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek—thank you for your leadership and your absolute commitment to putting people first; to Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic—thank you for your advice and guidance and always being there on the other end of the phone, even if my question was a stupid one; and to those at WA Labor, Patrick Gorman, Lenda Oshalem and the team. To my extended family: my love and thanks, be you an Aly, an Allen, a Rida, an Osman, a Serougi, a Dupagne or a Bacon—and yes, the irony of a Muslim woman with a family named Bacon is not lost on me. I would not be here today without the love and support of the three men I admire most. To my husband, David Allen: Dave, you are my rock and it is only with you by my side that I have been able to soar. Till the end! To my sons, Adam and Karim: it seems like only yesterday that I held your tiny hands in mine and shed tears about all the things that I was unable to give you. And now you take my hand in yours and I am in awe of the fine young men that you have become, despite your mum. And my parents. To my mother, Hamida: thank you for telling me every day that I am strong like you and for showing me how to be strong. To my father, Mahmoud, who sadly passed away last year: you are loved and remembered, Dad. Finally, to the people of Cowan, to whom I pledge to always be a strong and fair voice: this is not a journey I can walk on my own. Throughout the election campaign, I told you that the only promise I could make you was that I would always listen, always represent you and always open my door to you with integrity, honesty and sincerity. I know I have a lot to prove to you and I hope that you will hold me accountable. I look forward to working with you, and for you, in service and with honour. 16:36 Mr JOSH WILSON 265970 Fremantle Thank you, Deputy Speaker Goodenough, and I congratulate you on your election to that position. I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and the traditional owners of my electorate, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, and I pay respect to elders past and present. I have the honour of being sent here to represent the mighty federal electorate of Fremantle, the place where the Swan River, or Derbarl Yerrigan, meets the Indian Ocean, in the land of the Whadjuk Noongar, the place known for thousands of years as Walyalup. I am proud to say that I have been shaped by Fremantle, by its landscape and its culture; by its function as a place of industry and trade and the arts; a port city; a place of arrival, whose multicultural diversity and cohesion has been hard won and is precious; a place that looks out into the world and welcomes people, whether they come for a short or a long time, with open arms; a place defined by the heat and by the sea. Representing Fremantle is a great responsibility. There is no role or task that I can imagine being more meaningful to me in this life, and I am going to pour myself into this work—at home, in my electorate, and here in this place. I relish the fact that this work spans the full range: from helping a person who has come to you when every other door is closed to working in this place to shape national laws and policy, and I think one should inform the other. If you are from WA, it is work that literally spans the continent, and I look forward to all of it. I hope I can undertake the task with energy, humility, dedication and good humour. My constituents in Freo and my children will let me know if I do not. While I am brand new to this role, it seems to me that our work in parliament, at best, is about making difficult judgements. They are difficult because the problems they address are often wicked and the remedies they apply are scarce and imperfect. They are difficult because very few judgements will be free of impact. Very few decisions in the public and national interest will leave everyone the same or better off. And, if that is the threshold test for reform, or even for budget repair, then we are not going to get much done. As a person of Labor values, I believe our work is fundamentally about the custody and stewardship of the things we share: public health and education, public transport, fair and safe working conditions, and our environment. And it is about forging change so that we share and participate more equally and responsibly in Australia now, more equally and responsibly between this and future generations, and with our fellow women and men across the planet. The Australian economy has just marked a quarter century without recession, and that is remarkable. But the real story of those years is not the quarter-by-quarter growth numbers, and we are not here simply to be brokers or bookkeepers in some marketplace, or to administer a system whose form is taken to be unchangeable and whose inequities and imbalances, even through a period of growth, have to be accepted as somehow reflecting the natural order. We are here to look hard at inequality and social exclusion, to look hard at injustice and environmental damage and to do something about it, with our touchstone being the circumstances of people who are trapped by severe disadvantage, as we seek to help those who stand furthest from the light. I am the 11th representative of Fremantle, a federation seat, and I follow in the footsteps of some relatively well-known former members. Since the Second World War, they include John Curtin, Kim Beazley Senior, John Dawkins, Carmen Lawrence and Melissa Parke. That is a tough line-up to follow. I had the privilege of working with both Carmen and Melissa, and I am grateful to have benefited from their guidance and friendship. I recognise and pay tribute to the standard they set as Labor representatives who held fast to the pursuit of social inclusion, social justice and humanitarian principle. When Carmen Lawrence gave her first speech in this place in 1994 she remarked on the centenary of universal suffrage. My daughters are here today and I am glad they are able to see a parliament, especially on this side, that is replete with women who are ready to make a contribution and take their place here on merit, because women have been ready to make their contribution on that basis for a long time, and that process is not finished. Let's remember there are 72 seats in this place that have not yet been represented by a woman. It was a privilege to work with Melissa, who is here today, especially as part of a Labor government that brought in the first set of major 21st century national reforms, including: a national apology to the Stolen Generation and to the Forgotten Australians; the National Disability Insurance Scheme; the National Broadband Network; an unprecedented network of national marine protected areas; and the enabling conditions that have stimulated a burgeoning renewable energy industry. Together, these acts of creation, and many others, represented a much needed step-change in our social democracy. Each of those reforms is carrying us towards a fairer, more sustainable and more creative Australia, and in time each shift will settle deeply within our social fabric so that it will be hard to imagine that it was ever different. That is what Labor does. Last week I spoke with a young dad in Spearwood who said how much the NDIS meant in terms of supporting his son, who has autism. I also attended an open day at Tuart Place, a centre for people who were in out-of-home care as children, and presented them with an Australian flag that hung in this place on 16 November 2009, the day the Prime Minister said: Today, and from this day forward, it is my hope that you will be called the ‘Remembered Australians’. During the first week in parliament I was briefed on the rollout of the NBN over the next 12 months to 29,000 households in the heart of my electorate, covering areas like Coolbellup, Kardinya, Hilton, Samson and Hamilton Hill—suburbs where in some cases people still have no access to line broadband. Good government, responsive and reforming government, is not just important, it is necessary, but there is more to be done. There is a danger, I think, when you come to participate in the work of parliament, not that you will be deluded into thinking that we happen to exist at an especially crucial moment in history but that we might be deluded instead into thinking that all the big changes have been won; that what is left is only marginal, asymptotic progress along the curve. On any reasonable assessment, that is not the case. There is in fact a great deal more to do. The Fremantle electorate is bound up in a number of those challenges: in the need for action on climate change and renewable energy; in the need to hasten the too-slow progress to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians; in relation to the future of work in this country, its forms, quantity and conditions; in regional leadership and our engagement with the wider world; and in the need for smart and forward-looking urban design and planning, and the delivery of matching transport and communication infrastructure. Granted, city planning sounds boring and technocratic, but unless we get it right we will consign families in outer metro areas to lives limited by unaffordable housing, dislocated from jobs and services and characterised by congestion in suburbs where people struggle to feel connected to their neighbours because there is no reason to walk or ride through the streets, no local shops or community centres and poor public transport. The local governments in my electorate—Cockburn, Fremantle, East Fremantle and Melville—are seized by this challenge but they are frustrated at not being met halfway by state and federal governments. There is no better example right now of that frustration than the Perth Freight Link. My community is fighting to be on the right side of a decision that divides between two very different futures. Despite the absence of planning and cost-benefit analysis, despite the absence of environmental approval in accordance with the EPA's own policies, the state and federal coalition governments still intend to press ahead with the most expensive road in WA's history—a privately operated toll road that cuts the Beeliar Wetlands in half, locks us out of rail freight and public transport, locks us into greater road congestion and, essentially, serves to stitch up our public port for private sale. People have been fighting to save those wetlands for 30 years—people like Patrick Hume, Joe Branco and Kate Kelly. Now there are thousands who are fighting for a sensible freight and transport plan, an outer harbour with matching road and rail links that keeps our port in public hands and functions as a much needed major economic catalyst in an area of stubborn unemployment, and, above all else, saves the Beeliar Wetlands. In Fremantle the future of work is coming into sharp focus at a point when the number of full-time jobs in Western Australia has fallen for 18 consecutive months, a bleak run that we have not seen since the last recession in the early 1990s. On the campaign trail it was notable just how many people talked to me about jobs lost, contracts coming to an end and not being renewed, and when there was work on offer the fact that it was in similar roles for a lot less money. Employment in resources, manufacturing, construction, maritime work and related trades is under pressure and jobs across the public service are being cut or squeezed, weakening our social safety net and weakening our capacity in areas like science and research, and tax collection. One of the most distinctive things about Fremantle is its loud and proud arts and culture workforce—the ordinary, everyday presence and production of musicians, architects, artists, writers, dancers, street performers and even circus performers. Arts practitioners and businesses are the very definition of the creative economy, and you would be hard-pressed to find leaner and meaner enterprises or people and organisations that do more with less, so it is incredibly disappointing that in my electorate of Fremantle arts funding and support bodies have been subject to so much chaos in the last couple of years. For all of those reasons, we need to think hard about and plan carefully for the future of work in this country. The technological innovation and disruption that some are calling the second machine age will no doubt offer improvements in productivity yet are not, by any stretch, guaranteed to deliver a smooth transition from older to newer forms of work. We simply cannot afford to be complacent or sanguine about the relationship between growth and jobs or innovation and jobs, let alone the relationship between economic growth and rising inequality. The question of work is particularly acute in the context of closing the gap. This is one area where progress is not merely off track; it is going backwards. As a councillor and deputy mayor in the City of Fremantle, I was very fortunate to work with a united council that made efforts to advance practical and symbolic reconciliation. We established the long-awaited Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre, we began to address the paucity of Noongar names and signage in our public realm and we introduced a successful four per cent Indigenous employment target. I am very conscious that these achievements are tiny in the scheme of things and that meaningful change needs larger scale program and policy input in areas like social housing, needs based education, employment support and justice reinvestment. Fremantle is a dynamic and multicultural place, notwithstanding the fact that we have our fair share of dark history. It is outward looking and open, with strong links into our region and great potential for those links to become stronger still, especially throughout the Indian Ocean rim. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to see a bit of the world, first as a kid of wandering parents, then under my own steam, including through my work as a writer and photojournalist—some of the places were a bit more humid than this. I was in the Solomon Islands for the 10th anniversary of RAMSI in 2013 with foreign minister Bob Carr and with Melissa Parke, in her role as Minister for International Development. I do not think there were any organic steel-cut oats on that occasion, but we did visit an eye clinic where the Fred Hollows Foundation, with the support of Australian aid, was doing brilliant work not just giving back sight but also liberating children from the burden of caring for blind parents or relatives and making it possible for them to attend school. I was in Kabul in 2014 as an independent election observer for the audit and recount of the Afghan presidential election, and I shared that work with my friend the new member for Solomon. It was a reminder of how contingent and fragile democracy can be, and a very limited but intense experience of how much damage the Afghan state and its people have endured. Earlier this year I was in Nagasaki as part of the Mayors for Peace initiative, which saw the installation of the first Australian sculpture in the Nagasaki Peace Park. That sculpture was created by people from Yalata and Oak Valley in South Australia, communities that were forced from their land as a result of the Maralinga bomb tests and, in that sense, the bestowal of the sculpture formed a link between atomic survivor communities. The Hibakusha people we met in Nagasaki and Hiroshima joined with the South Australian mob in expressing a clear message: never again. In this world, and in our region, Australia has a role to play in terms of development assistance, in fostering international cooperation and fair trade, and in supporting peace and disarmament. We do live in a time when the greatest challenges, whether they are climate change or resource management or conflict, can only be overcome by nations working together. At the moment, however, there is not a lot to be optimistic about on that front. It feels like the prevailing force in the world is centrifugal, spinning out towards fragmentation and self-interest rather than towards unity of purpose. Throughout our history Australia has played a role in leading international cooperation. It is critical we put our shoulder to that wheel again, but that cannot happen if we continue to ransack Australia's overseas development assistance budget, which in addition to reducing poverty and saving lives—if you were not convinced that reducing poverty and saving lives was not good enough—dollar for dollar is one of the best investments we can make in regional security and economic development. And that cannot happen if we continue to approach our responsibility to asylum seekers by cleaving to the divisive extremes of fear and demonisation or righteousness. The operation of the centres at Nauru and Manus Island has been unacceptable, and indefinite detention is wrong. We know that creating a properly constituted regional settlement framework is possible. It is not easy, but it is possible, and we can begin that work by engaging with the UNHCR and our regional neighbours, by increasing our humanitarian intake and by finding resettlement places for people currently held in detention as a matter of urgency. It cannot be said better than my colleague and most often neighbour here, the member for Wills, earlier today, and I thank him for putting it so well. Those are some of the areas in which I hope to make a contribution in this place, recognising that in many cases I will join others in a collective effort supporting progress in the wider cause rather than looking for a place on the grandstand. And speaking of grandstand: I am grateful to have some people here with me today that form part of my extended tribe: my mum, Poonam, and my sister, Gy; my aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Mark Aarons; long-time family friend and wise woman, Joan Sheridan; one of my oldest and best mates, John Hill; and, above all, my wife Georgia and my children, Oscar, Priya, and Abby. I know that my dad, GR; my brother Mo; and other family and friends will be watching and listening elsewhere. None of us is a Lone Ranger, and to be honest that is a mercy. Even at this early stage I know it would be impossible for anyone to put their heart and soul—and sweat, as it turns out!—into their representative work without the love and support and honesty and good-natured ribbing that only family and friends can provide. My dad has a pretty fierce sense of right and wrong. He and I are maybe too similar in that way, but I love him. For years he gave his time to the good governance of not-for-profit cultural organisations, driven by his love of music and the arts, and I'm glad I got a bit of that too. My mum, who is here today, is the most optimistic and accepting and resourceful adventurer that I have ever known. When I was growing up I did not always appreciate some of the feats of loving parenthood that she managed to pull off in extraordinary circumstances, and sometimes I was guilty of being self-conscious about the way we lived: the fact that we moved a lot, we pulled together interesting meals, we lived in strange countries—and even that she cut our hair. As I have got older, with a much better appreciation of that strength of self and that unconditional love, I have really come to marvel at my mum's energy, positivity, and generosity of spirit. I wish I had more of it. And thanks for the haircut! My brother and sister and I have shared a lot. My brother is not here today, but my sister is. As kids we lived with Mum in a bamboo hut in India; we were the Australian oddities at school in Long Island, New York; and we came to mostly amicable bedroom-sharing arrangements in probably fifteen different rental houses on the limestone ridges and in the valleys of Fremantle. I am grateful we all live there close by still. And last but most of all, the beating heart of my world is my own family: my wife, Georgia, and our children, Oscar, Priya, and Abby. I love you. On the theme of acknowledgments and with fewer tears I want to thank those who travelled the road of the Fremantle campaign with me. Campaigns are not just a means to an end; campaigns have value in themselves. They are the way we come together and pursue something bigger than our individual interests. I want to thank the WA Labor Party and the labour movement in the west for their huge practical and moral support. I pay tribute to the organisational and morale-lifting work of the WA Labor team, led by Patrick Gorman and Lenda Oshalem, often mentioned in dispatches today, and carried forward by hundreds of valiant people within Labor's Community Action Network. I thank local state members Fran Logan, Peter Tinley and especially my fellow member for Fremantle, the state member for Fremantle, Simone McGurk. For my own sake, I have to particularly acknowledge the fantastic support of the rank and file Fremantle electorate branch members and my campaign team, especially David Settelmaier, Matt Bowden, LeeAnne Willows, Kath Longley, Nick Chinna, and the four Peters: Peter White, Peter Feasey, Peter Woodward, and Peter Tagliaferri, who is also here today. And I do want to mention the two small left unions that roared: Sue Bowers and the Community & Public Sector Union—Sue is here today—and John Welch of the Western Australian Prison Officers Union. Thank you both for standing up when it appeared there was not much hope or much point. To bring my slightly damp first speech in this incredible place to an end—that will not make sense to people reading this in the future!—I am happy to say that I am a romantic when it comes to representative democracy. I think it is one of the best things. I do not agree with Winston Churchill; I think it is one of the best things. It deserves to be valued. It deserves to be performed with maximum effort, and cultivated with great care, with its essence and structure respected and its live parts allowed to flourish and be renewed. As a new member in this place I intend to listen and learn, to not hold back for fear of making the odd mistake or the odd joke, to participate and work hard in good spirit and good faith, to make a difference and always to apply myself in dedicated service to the people of Fremantle. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 74046 Before I call the honourable member for Groom, I remind the House that it is the honourable member's first speech. I ask that the House extend to him the usual courtesies. 17:01 Dr McVEIGH 125865 Groom Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and can I congratulate you on your role in this the 45th Parliament. Today I rise as a very humbled and proud member of the Australian parliament. I am especially humbled to be the new member for Groom. At the outset I thank sincerely the people of Groom, who have done me the great honour of representing them here in this the federal parliament. Our electorate is 5½ thousand square kilometres on the Eastern Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It is based on the city of Toowoomba, the second largest inland city in Australia—second only to this our national capital, Canberra. Groom is made up of other towns and villages, such as Cambooya, Pittsworth, Brookstead, Mount Tyson, Bowenville, Jondaryan, Oakey, Quinalow, Goombungee and Highfields, just to mention a few. Our economy is based on agribusiness, health services, education, resources, construction and, above all else, small business. Research, development and innovation are features of our region, with industry, the University of Southern Queensland and the department of agriculture all greatly assisted by a significant CSIRO presence. Our cluster of world-class boarding schools serving southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, which, together with the South-West Queensland TAFE, the university and excellent private and state schools, means that we have magnificent education facilities and teachers, including my wife, Anita, on the Darling Downs. I, along with many others, am a fortunate beneficiary of a Darling Downs education, starting school at Jondaryan State School and finishing at my beloved Downlands College before commencing my first degree at our own university. We are among the most productive agricultural regions in the nation, featuring grain, cotton, horticulture, intensive livestock and food-processing facilities. We sit at the northern headwaters of the Murray-Darling system. Toowoomba is the home of the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland and the National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture. We remain the agricultural innovation centre for Australia. Our region houses the Oakey Army Aviation Centre and the Borneo Barracks Army base at Cabarlah, and like the rest of the nation we regularly commemorate our region's proud but sobering history of military bravery. I am very proud of the fact that Groom enjoys an economic growth rate and employment levels that are the envy of much of the rest of our nation. Surveys confirm that we are among the most philanthropic regions in the country. Our sporting heritage is strong from original rugby league international Duncan Thompson to members of our Australian women's rugby sevens side, who won gold in Rio just last month. Our cultural icons extend from Steele Rudd to Geoffrey Rush and from the Jondaryan Woolshed to the Empire Theatre, DownsSteam, Cobb & Co Museum and our annual Carnival of Flowers, which will start this coming weekend. We have much to offer the nation's economy, with the $1.6 billion second range crossing now finally under construction; a $500 million Grand Central retail development; a $50 million inner-city bypass; $100 million of Warrego Highway upgrades, and with more to come; inland rail developments; and our burgeoning new international airport—the first greenfield public airport built in Australia in 50 years, which took just 18 months to be operational and was totally privately funded and developed by the Wagner family. From the arrival of Allan Cunningham in the early 1800s and the large pastoral runs established by the Leslie brothers and other pioneers to selectors, farmers, graziers, small business people and cultures from across the world that followed them and from Defiance Milling, established by the forebears of the member for Fairfax, KR Darling Downs Smallgoods and Southern Cross Windmills to Weis Frozen Foods, Wagners, FK Gardner & Sons, Russell Mineral Equipment, the whole resource sector, Easternwell and Heritage Bank, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs have always been about opportunity and enterprise. Above all, we recognise the history and position of the traditional owners in our part of the world, including the Jarowair and Giabal peoples and Indigenous warriors at the time of the arrival of Europeans, such as Multuggerah of the Jagera people, who led his people in the Battle of One Tree Hill near Toowoomba exactly 143 years ago today. Like any other region, though, we have our challenges. Support for some of our troubled youth, mental health sufferers, others in need and the scourge of drugs are coordinated by the likes of Toowoomba Clubhouse, Sunrise Way and traditional agencies such as Endeavour and Lifeline, among many others. But there is always more to do, and I am committed to supporting this vital work in our community. For example, we have those who are pleading for access to medicinal cannabis and we are working through NDIS implementation preparations. Many in our community continue to recover from both flood and drought. The continued economic pressures on small business, the lifeblood of our economy and our community, are ever present. The Oakey community is working through the challenge of unintentional water contamination from firefighting foams previously used at the Army aviation base, and I am working with them to obtain answers and clarity for their futures with the defence minister's office just as soon as possible. I say to the consultants, the scientists and the bureaucrats who research on this and other impacts in our region: time is of the essence. And please understand: my constituents are not simply 'receptors', as they are referred to in various reports. They are people whose concerns we must respect. Now, our future is exciting. The government is considering the feasibility study into a recycled water project from Brisbane to the Darling Downs for sustainable irrigation purposes. FK Gardner & Sons have plans for a data hub facility that is attracting worldwide attention. Despite downturns, the resource sector still plays an important part in our local economy. Fantastic export opportunities are being facilitated by the national and international road, rail and air logistics hub that our region is becoming, and we have much more to do to bring this fully to fruition. We must complete the task of world-class telecommunications infrastructure in our regional area, and I am focused on pushing ahead to complete and then sustain that system as a priority. Ultimately, I am committed to seeing the benefits of this exciting future filter down through our whole community and our whole economy—entrepreneurs, small business, families and job seekers right across the region. It is often said that we are shaped and influenced by community leaders around us, and I would like to mention just a few from Groom. My predecessor, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane, in his maiden speech to this House 18 years ago, spoke of government needing to engender industry growth and community spirit and to be a public participant in a constructive way, and of the community's need to recognise their government not necessarily as the fixer of all things but as an entity to facilitate, to assist and to lead. On his election as our mayor in 2012, His Worship, Paul Antonio, here in the chamber today, declared that the Toowoomba region was open for business, and I know he revels in the fact that we are a family-friendly city and a refugee welcome zone. But as he says, the freedom that we have as a nation was not gained for free and that all of us, whether we have been here for generations or are just newly arrived, need to recognise that sacrifice by our forebears and our diggers. Our community is well served by many faith and business leaders: my own Bishop Robert McGuckin and other faith leaders in our Christian tradition; Prof Shajahan Khan and others from our Islamic community; the multifaith activities of the Venerables and Mr Haneef at the Pure Land Learning College; Chancellor John Dornbusch and Vice Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas from USQ; Chairman Shane Charles from the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Economic Development organisation, here in the gallery today, and the chambers of commerce across our region; our emergency services leaders; and my great friend and Indigenous elder Uncle Darby McCarthy. It is Uncle Darby who is often quoted in our community, when we meet to discuss incarceration levels and other Indigenous challenges, as having confidence in full reconciliation. To quote him, 'We must continue to work to achieve it in the knowledge that if we can't, our black babies and our white babies will'. The current electorate of Groom was created following a redistribution in the 1980s at the time my father, the Hon Tom McVeigh, was the federal member. Whilst I commence my federal role here almost 30 years after Dad retired, I did observe firsthand his approach to public life: a passionate connection with the electorate, a reliance on common sense as the ultimate guide, a keenness to engage in robust debate in the true coalition tradition but, above all else, an overwhelming respect for all engaged in the argument. Dad is one of the fittest people of his age that I know, but at present he is recovering, and recovering well, from a recent illness. Last week, unfortunately, he was advised by his doctors not to travel for many weeks. He told me today on the phone that he is heartbroken that he cannot be here today, and so am I. I will ask other members here in the House to say g'day to him when he visits the House later in the year. But please be warned: he is of the very firm view that there is no Parliament House anywhere near as good as the old one down the road here in which he served! I should also put on the record that I appreciated Dad's assistance in the campaign, but I remain concerned that he spent more time working on the campaign of his own local member, Trevor Evans, the very distinguished new member for Brisbane! I come to this House as an LNP member from Queensland, a party that combines the heritage of the great Liberal and National parties in our state, and I am so proud to sit in the Liberal Party room in this coalition government as a regional member. In my limited political experience to date in the Toowoomba Regional Council, the Queensland state parliament, as a state cabinet minister and now in the federal parliament I have learned just a few things: it is not about we as individuals in these chambers, it is about our constituents and electorates. All of us come and go, but the people and regions we serve are the constant. Together we debate, form, implement and critique policy as a government and as a parliament, but the most meaningful, rewarding and effective work we do is back in our electorates—one-on-one with our individual constituents in ways that will inevitably remain private forever to them and us. A thick skin and pragmatism are prerequisites, a view to the long-term future, regardless of daily debates and contemporary scrutiny, is necessary and we should recognise that the role of the media is essential in the imperfect world of communication. Above all else, a respect for the office, despite our political differences to those who may hold that office—be it leadership or individual representatives—is essential for our democratic system to work. In terms of my own studies and 20-year career in agribusiness prior to politics—from tractor driving and abattoir floor work to postgraduate study and international trade missions—I learnt clearly that as Australians we must focus on the entire value chain in which our producers, processors, logisticians and marketers exist. Ultimately each member of the chain needs to share in the benefits of commerce if we are to successfully compete with the world and develop our own communities. This is a strong view and a message that I bring to this parliament, and I believe it applies to our entire economy. Before I close., I would like to express my sincere appreciation and admiration for my campaign manager, Cynthia Hardy, and her husband, Ben, who are here in the chamber this afternoon. Other supporters with them in the gallery today include John and Roseanne Munns—and a little birdie has told me they happen to be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary! I thank our party president, Gary Spence, and regional vice-president, Cameron O'Neill—both boys from Toowoomba, like me—and many other campaign workers and supporters, including Peter Wilson, Jim Curtis, John Eacersal, Deidre Counsell and a lady I have known since I was a child, Mrs Joan Andersen, or, as I know her, Aunty Joan. I also acknowledge Senator Barry O'Sullivan, who resides in our city of Toowoomba, and my former state colleagues whose electorates overlap with Groom: Trevor Watts, Deb Frecklington, Pat Weir and, especially, David Janetzki, who has replaced me in Toowoomba South and will do a sterling job. I am fortunate to have many lifelong friends who have supported me in my political pursuits, including Paul Dashwood and Jon Martlew, here today in the gallery. And I acknowledge my new electorate office team of Megan Brown, Chris Leslight and Rae Copeland. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience as we all settle into our new roles. Few of us can achieve anything without mates and mentors in our lives, and I take this opportunity to mention some from my life to whom I am so grateful: Ted and Maureen Timperley, youth group leaders from Highfields; the late Dr Peter White, from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries; Peter Kenny, one of my teachers at St Joseph's; Phil Jauncey, from Toowoomba; Professor Ray Collins, from the University of Queensland; Greg Windsor, from Fibreking, a private manufacturing business that I have been involved with for over 20 years; my mayor and great mate Paul Antonio; and my wife's late uncle Bishop Michael Putney, from Townsville, one of the most ecumenical and compassionate people this country will ever know. As a fourth generation Darling Downs resident, I often reflect on the pioneering efforts of my great grandparents Patrick and Hester McVeigh and how their descendants have spread across the nation—aided, no doubt, by the fact they had 13 children to start with! My maternal grandparents, James and Margaret Meara, were leading citizens of Clifton, on the Southern Darling Downs, with James being its longest serving shire chairman. My parents, Mary McVeigh, who is here today, and Tom McVeigh, together with my parents-in-law—Cel, who is also here today, and the late Kevin Phillips—have provided Anita and I with a wonderful example of community service, a genuine concern for others, strong family values and the importance of family farming and small business enterprise in regional Australia. And I am greatly supported by my siblings, Margaret, Tom, Michael and Peter, whose families and successful careers in the arts, education, law, engineering and finance inspire me no end. As I have said, I am humbled and proud to have been selected as the new member for Groom in this place. But my most important role in life is as a father and husband. Our children, Meghan, Kevin, Bridget, Annabelle, Marita and Tessa, as well as Bridget's partner, Alec Noble, are all here today. I say to them—through you, Mr Speaker—that mum and I are so privileged to be surrounded by such creativity, gentleness, leadership, determination, resilience and love. It is the future of you and your generation that first drew me into public life, and it has motivated me ever since—from those original kindy committees right through to this place. The law, commerce, education, arts and health sciences futures that you have embarked upon, with our support and immense pride, I trust will sustain us into our old age—or at least I hope they do! Above all else, I come into this house with the support and patience of someone who has already been a conscript to public life, as we so often say—rather than as a volunteer, as we all are that sit in this chamber—my wife, Anita. Our love sustains me through all of this. She is my best friend and my rock. In conclusion, I applaud those who work their guts out, as business founders, owners or employees, who succeed in their businesses and their jobs such that they can then contribute in turn to their communities. I often regret that such Australians and their families can be seen by some as privileged, and their success as being unfair, when that is exactly the enterprise, self-reliance and community support that we need to encourage in our country—in line with the Liberal ideals of enterprise and social justice. It is, as our Prime Minister and Treasurer have stated, the moral challenge of our time to bring the national budget back into order for the sake of future generations—and that is as true in Groom as it is anywhere in our nation. The ongoing challenge of limited resources and competing interests, I believe, is best addressed by small government that backs rather than regulates individual enterprise and freedom. We must appreciate the very broad range of concerns and aspirations across the generations and world views that make up our nation—especially those who feel disenfranchised—but at the same time we must guard against extremism in any guise. Ongoing reform and change is difficult for any community, but it is up to us as representatives here, and our state and local colleagues right across the nation, to listen to our communities, to represent our communities, and to lead the change necessary for our nation's future. On behalf of the people of Groom, whom I represent here in the federal parliament, I dedicate myself to that task. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 74046 Before I call the honourable member for Herbert, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies. 17:24 Ms O'TOOLE 249908 Herbert Mr Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet here today in Canberra, the Ngunnawal people; the traditional owners of the land in Townsville, the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people, and the Bwgcolman people, the contemporary Aboriginal name for Palm Islanders, which means 'many tribes'. I acknowledge their elders past, present and future, and I am proud and privileged to say that I share this great land with the oldest living culture on earth. It is with great humility, pride and privilege that I stand in this place today as the Labor member for Herbert. I know better than most that democracy is at its best when it is clearly evident that every vote counts. It is with huge enthusiasm that I say the seat of Herbert has been delivered back to Labor after 20 long years. I pay my respects to the last long-serving Labor member for Herbert, the Hon. Eamon Lindsay, who successfully held the seat of Herbert between 1983 and 1996 during the Hawke and Keating years. I also pay my respects to my predecessor Mr Ewen Jones, who was the member between 2010 and 2016. The seat of Herbert is a Federation seat that has been held by 11 members since 1901, all of which have been male—until now. For the first time in history, after 115 years, the seat of Herbert is held by a female member, and that has been no mean feat, even in 2016. I come from a working-class family. My father, Les, is a first-generation Australian on the paternal side of his family. His father came to this country by boat from England as a 10-pound Pom. My mother, Marie, is also a first-generation Australian on the paternal side of her family. Her father was born in Mount Lebanon in Lebanon. His family story is one of difficulty and tragedy, as the life of an immigrant in Australia both before and after World War I was not easy, especially for people for whom English was a second language. My parents grew up in the Depression years, where success was based on hard manual work. My parents were not afforded the opportunity for a secondary education, let alone a university education. My parents entered their married life with the intention of giving their children a better life than they had experienced and, for my mother especially, that resulted in a steadfast commitment to ensuring that her children had every possible opportunity to access the best education. I am the eldest of five children, all born within seven years. We were not a wealthy family, but the values of honesty, trust, respect, compassion and the right for all people to be treated with dignity and respect were both practised and expected. My youngest sister, Janice, is here today in the gallery. My extended family is large and ranges from nearly-newborn to age 86. I am married and have three children and three—soon to be four—beautiful grandchildren, who are the delight of my husband's and my life. My husband, Dennis, is here today in the gallery as well. My son, Liam, and his fiancée, Eszter, grandson Riley and almost-born granddaughter Lilly; my daughter Jane and her husband, Stian, granddaughter Matilda and grandson Jack; and my daughter Louise and her fiancée, Katrina, who I hope in the very near future will be able to marry—without the potentially destructive and divisive plebiscite—and be able to have children of their own. I left school in year 11 at the age of 16, to take up a hairdressing apprenticeship, and in my second year my mother and I purchased the business and I became self-employed at the age of 18. Under the stewardship and guidance of my mother I learned to be an effective and efficient small-business owner of a number of successful hairdressing businesses. My husband and I eventually bought my mother out, and we continued to grow and diversify our businesses and to employ and train successful apprentices and other staff. I have a very deep understanding of the issues that small businesses are facing throughout the electorate of Herbert, and I am committed to working closely with the Townsville Chamber of Commerce and Townsville Enterprise to grow and diversify Townsville's economic sector. This experience led me to a vocational education and training teaching career with TAFE Queensland, where I commenced my university education as a mature-aged student. Since then, I have achieved a number of tertiary qualifications. During my time at TAFE, I was involved in the development of a range of competency-based curriculum projects across a diverse range of industries. I have also owned and operated my own Registered Training Organisation. As the member for Herbert, I am committed to ensuring the growth of our great public TAFE system, in support of the vocational education and training sector. In 2002 I moved into the mental health community sector, firstly as the CEO of a mental health specialist Disability Employment Service that operated in Townsville and Charters Towers. I then became the CEO of a medium-sized community-managed mental health organisation that operates across north and west Queensland, from Palm Island to Mount Isa, with a head office in Townsville. This change in career enabled me to become active in advocating at the peak body level for the most vulnerable people. I held the position of President of the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health and was a state council member for a number of years. I also held a position on the national peak body Community Mental Health Australia. I am absolutely committed to working with the community sector in order to ensure that the needs of vulnerable citizens across all ages and cultures are met. So what brought me to the world of politics? I guess it started with my youngest sister, Janice, who was very politically active in her early 20s in university and then as the Queensland State Secretary of the Australian Services Union. Janice was also a member of the federal executive of the Labor Party. Both of my grandfathers were shop stewards in their workplaces and staunch union and Labor people. The Hon. Mike Reynolds, who is married to Janice, also played a significant role. Mike is here in the gallery today. The call to action came, however, with John Howard's Welfare to Work program in 2006. That got my blood boiling to the point of immediate active engagement with the Labor Party, and shifted me from a passive fellow traveller to an active party member. The unfairness and punitive nature of this policy was outrageous, coupled with the fact that in my work I was expected to implement this unworkable policy, which had a drastic impact on our society's most vulnerable citizens. Labor values of a fair go for everyone are consistent with my personal values and beliefs. I am driven by honesty, integrity and purposeful and meaningful work that is grounded in human rights and social justice, and that is why I became a member of the Australian Labor Party. I believe that it is impossible to talk about economy without reference to people and the role they play in community, because people collectively form a society. Therefore, ensuring that all people at every level within our communities experience a fair go will create a flourishing society which will in turn create the space for a strong and thriving economy. Surely that is the role of government. I sincerely thank the women and men of Herbert for putting their faith and trust in me, and I give my word and absolute commitment that I will be their strong and constant voice in this parliament, because North Queensland deserves a fair share of the distribution of Australia's wealth. This is especially the case when North Queensland more than pulls its weight in terms of Australia's productivity, industry and people. Herbert includes Magnetic Island and Palm Island. Palm Island is recognised as one of the largest Aboriginal communities in Australia, with a large number of economic and social issues. However, it is also a place of magnificence and beauty. It is a place of resilience, hope and capacity, and it deserves the opportunity to be a thriving community. Both in my professional work and as a candidate, I have developed a very strong and close working relationship with Mayor Alf Lacey and council members, and I am determined to work in a collaborative and cooperative partnership to address the social and economic inequalities. Townsville is also a very proud multicultural city. It is also a resettlement city. Herbert covers an area of approximately 946 square kilometres and it is on the doorstep of two World Heritage Listed areas: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest. Herbert stretches west from the city of Townsville, predominantly north of the Ross River, and includes the Defence establishment of Lavarack Barracks, which is the largest Army base in Australia, and the RAAF base in Garbutt, which has played a strategic and key role in times of warfare and in peace. Australian Defence Forces are deployed and continue to be deployed from these Townsville Defence establishments to go to serious conflicts in areas such as Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. I am committed to supporting our Defence personnel in their campaign for better wages and working conditions. I am also committed to supporting our ex-service personnel—veterans both male and female—and their families in their fight to secure appropriate services in our community. The electorate of Herbert has historically been one of the most diversified regional economies in Australia, with copper and zinc refineries and, until more recently, a nickel refinery. Townsville is noted for its port facilities, including a bulk sugar terminal, which is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere; a prawn and fishing industry; the export of beef; and a thriving tourism industry, including a modern cruise ship terminal. Townsville is also home to James Cook University and now Central Queensland University, and research institutions, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the CSIRO. However, people in our community are doing it tough right now. Our unemployment is approaching 15 per cent, one of the highest rates in the country; youth unemployment is nearly 20 per cent; small business is struggling; and business confidence is low. When my predecessor, Ewen Jones, was first elected to the seat of Herbert, unemployment was only 5.4 per cent, despite the largest global economic contraction in 75 years. Now, after six years of the LNP 'stewardship' and three years of an LNP national government, it is approaching 15 per cent. During this time, Townsville suffered a double whammy, with three years of an LNP Campbell Newman state government, with thousands of public sector jobs decimated from our economy. Unlike our conservative opponents, Labor believes in a proactive role for government in the management of our economy. We do not accept the passive wishful thinking of the LNP's trickle-down economics. Townsvillians are capable and resilient people. We have been in tough times before and I know that with strong and collaborative leadership between the three levels of government and our community we can move forward into a much brighter and more prosperous future. I give the people of Townsville my word that I will fight tooth and nail to ensure we get the projects that were promised by the Turnbull government to our community during the election campaign, which include: the construction of the Townsville stadium linked to the new cities deal; the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor; a water feasibility study to secure a reliable water supply for our residents and for the future residential, commercial and industrial growth of Townsville; the Singapore deal and the realisation of economic and social benefits to our city; and the $5 million for an upgrade to Illich Park in Aitkenvale. I am determined that all of these projects and commitments made by the Turnbull government include local jobs and opportunities for local contractors and local small businesses, which will grow our economy and local business confidence. All of these projects must be expeditiously delivered to Townsville, to urgently improve the city's unemployment rate and economic base. Labor already brings proactive policies in regard to the global climate change crisis. Unlike the Turnbull government, we do not bury our head in the sand and allow the climate change sceptics to have their way. As the member for Herbert I will work rigorously to make Townsville the renewable energy capital of Australia. I will work collaboratively with James Cook University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO and other research institutions to ensure that we are a globally significant knowledge hub for sustainable tropical ecosystem management, conservation and development. I will fight hard to ensure that workers' transferable skills are identified in order for them to successfully transition to the new industries and jobs. As the member for Herbert, I recognise the growing importance of the tropics globally. The James Cook University State of the tropics report indicates that the tropics currently are home to 40 per cent of the world's population, and this is projected to be more than 50 per cent with two-thirds of the global population of children under 15 by 2050. This creates excellent opportunities for Townsville as a globally significant knowledge hub for sustainable tropical development. It is my firm belief that the government's Northern Australia development program needs to be as focused on social and educational infrastructure as it is on physical infrastructure, and in particular on the need for meaningful engagement with Northern Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I will always stand up for Labor's values, principles and policies that put people first. I will fight for Townsville's Community Legal Service; affordable and accessible aged care supports; recognition of quality early childhood education; access to needs based funding for schools, as envisaged in the Gonski Report; access to universities for all students; the full rollout of Labor's NDIS and the absolute protection of Medicare. I did not get elected to this position on my own or by sheer luck. The journey for me started in November 2012, when I was endorsed to run in the 2013 campaign. That was a tough time for Labor, but I was fortunate to have some loyal Labor people such as the Hon. Mike Reynolds as campaign director and, in particular, Billy Colless, Alec McConnell and my daughter Jane as my key campaign workers. The 2016 campaign was a very different machine with a very different election campaign strategy, including over 100 positive Labor policies, with each and every one resonating in our community. I would like to thank Bill Shorten, Leader of the Opposition, who kicked off the campaign in Townsville, clearly demonstrating his commitment to regional centres. He returned several times during the course of the campaign, which reinforced this commitment. I would also like to thank Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese, Catherine King, Kate Ellis, Steven Conroy, Claire Moore, Kim Carr, Doug Cameron, Brendan O'Connor, Stephen Jones, Andrew Leigh, Andrew Giles, Gai Brodtmann, Sharon Claydon, Chris Ketter and Murray Watt, who made the time to visit and support me and my community during the campaign. To Bill Marklew, CPSU state secretary, and Nadine Flood, CPSU national secretary, who believed in me and supported our campaign: thank you. To the ASU, ETU, United Voice and the RTBU, who also provided valuable support: thank you. I also thank the people and my colleagues of the Queensland Labor Party. Strong campaigns are built on strong foundations—that is, like-minded people who have a shared vision of Labor values and a deep commitment and belief that they can win. I was privileged and honoured to have a campaign team that met these qualities. My sincere thanks go to Stephanie Naunton, my extraordinarily committed campaign director, who is also here today; Jackson Hitchcock, a dedicated field organiser; my wonderful daughter Jane, my campaign treasurer; and many, many other amazing committee members and volunteers who worked tirelessly above and beyond the call of duty and all expectations. To the special people, and there were many of them, who scrutineered over the 29-day recount, which was led by my campaign director Stephanie Naunton: thank you for your dedication and support in what was an intense and stressful time. To my family, my husband Dennis, who is also here today: thank you for your support and understanding. You have always been there for me and you have supported every career decision that I have made. You have also supported me through 37 years of marriage. Thank you to all of my large extended family, and in particular my parents, who constantly told us as we grew up: 'You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you are committed and work hard.' My parents taught my four siblings and me that we would not be defined by our social standing or how much money we had but by how we lived our lives, how hard we worked and how well we respected the rights of others, especially those less fortunate than our selves. In closing, I would like to say that as the member for Herbert I will be committed, determined and professional and I will make every minute count, as my community expects and deserves no less. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D I congratulate the honourable member for Herbert and I wish her every success in this parliament. Debate adjourned. BILLS 80 BILLS Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2016-2017, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017 80

Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2016-2017

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017

Second Reading 80 17:44 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017 and related bills, but also for the opportunity to follow an outstanding new colleague, the member for Herbert, one of a number of terrific first speeches in this place today on our side—the members for Wills, Fremantle, Lindsay and Cowan, as well as the member for Herbert. It is one of the great days in this parliament when you get to hear about people's backgrounds and the motivations that brought them here. It applies to both sides of the House. So, to the member for Herbert and all the colleagues on both sides, congratulations on such terrific speeches. We are dealing now with the appropriation bills. These bills are required to ensure the funding of the ordinary functions of government, but they go to broader issues in our economy and especially in relation to the government's mismanagement of the budget and also, to an extent, to the approach that both sides are taking to the current omnibus bills. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D Order! I ask the clerks to reset the clock. Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting— Mr Craig Kelly interjecting— Dr CHALMERS 37998 Thanks, though. Thanks for your concern. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D I thank the member for Hughes for pointing that out to me—that he does have unlimited time. I know you will use it wisely. Dr CHALMERS 37998 Thanks very much, Deputy Speaker, and thanks to the member for Kingsford Smith for making a good point on the way past as well. As I was saying before I was so kindly interrupted by the member, these bills are all about ensuring the funding of the ordinary functions of government, but they do go to some of the broader issues about the management of the budget, the management of the economy and also more specifically to the approach that both sides of the House are taking to the omnibus bills which will come to us later in the week. The truth is that when debt has blown out and is blowing out, when the deficit has tripled since those opposite handed down the 2014 budget and with the AAA credit rating at real risk, we do need budget repair and both sides agree on that. But that budget repair needs to be fair and it needs to invest in the drivers of growth and productivity and employment, not hollow out the future or ask the most vulnerable people in our society to carry the heaviest burden. These are the challenges before us as we go about managing the budget, and to compound these fiscal challenges we unfortunately have a government which is divided, dysfunctional and deluded: divided on superannuation reform, a key part of the fiscal repair task, but not just super reform but right across the budget; dysfunctional on the omnibus bill, which shrank by more than $500 million in a space of a week, and that is before the Treasurer had to kind of skulk in here last week and admit that there was a $107 million hole in his numbers; and deluded about the nature of the mess that the budget is in, its causes and consequences, and the government's own culpability in that situation. We need those opposite to take responsibility for the deterioration in the budget on their watch and to work with us—to work with people of goodwill in all corners of the parliament—to fix the budget. And for our part we will continue to be constructive; we will continue to seek common ground; we will continue to propose improvements to the budget and to do the right thing. That will guide our approach to these bills. It will also guide our approach to the omnibus bills and other bills as well. That responsible approach begins with these appropriations. The three bills before the House today are required to ensure that the ordinary functions of government, as I said, continue for the remainder of the 2016-17 year. The package of bills appropriate about $58 billion this financial year, and that of course is in addition to the $41 billion which was appropriated in that quite unusual period, that uncertain period where the government was moving around the timing of the budget and where the government was seeking the double dissolution election. And so it was quite an unusual way to do it in two hits, but for our part we will respond to the appropriation bills in the usual way, and that of course is to not block supply. But I do want to spend a few minutes putting these bills into their broader economic and fiscal context, because when it comes to the economy, despite that quite impressive 3.3 per cent GDP growth figure headline, it masks some fairly serious and fairly pressing challenges in the economy. We have a problem with investment in this country despite record low interest rates. We have mining investment collapsing and other sectors not quite ready to pick up the slack. Total private investment has plummeted 14.7 per cent over the last 12 months alone, the worst yearly drop in nearly 16 years. GDP growth for the June quarter was entirely driven by the government sectors, so, if you think about that, underneath that 3.3 per cent growth figure for the year in the last quarter, were it not for the contribution made by government spending—ironically when you consider some of the arguments made by those opposite—growth would have been negative in the most recent quarter. Real national disposable income per capita, which is a measure of living standards, grew by 0.2 per cent in the June quarter, but living standards still remain 1.9 per cent below the level at the 2013 election. This is a factual reflection of the fact that people have gone backwards under this government as measured by the most credible measure of living standards. Wages growth, related to that point, is the slowest on record. We have unemployment at or near the same level as during the global financial crisis, quite remarkably. And we have more than a million Australians who cannot get the hours that they want or need at work. All of that combined means that despite that headline number, as I said, the experience for people right around the country—in my electorate, the member for Griffith's electorate, the member for Eden Monaro's electorate, the member for Oxley's electorate and the member for Werriwa's electorate—is that they hear the Prime Minister talking about how spectacularly well things are going but their experience when it comes to wages and living standards is entirely different to the one that they are lectured about by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. And so, with these challenges and despite things like the nominal growth figure recovering in those last national accounts, it still remains the case—and this is important for the budget—that government revenue will remain under pressure for the foreseeable future. We have an issue in this country when it comes to the revenue coming into the budget—the revenue we need to fund important public services, to invest in infrastructure, to invest in clean energy and all of those sorts of things. So we have these ongoing budget deficits—of course, the ones that were supposed to miraculously disappear when government changed hands in 2013—and we have this trajectory of debt, which is unsustainable. We have had debt to GDP, which is the most reliable measure of a country's position, rising faster than most other advanced economies since 2012. The solution has to be a mix of changes to spending but also to revenue. The Treasurer has spent a long time saying that there is no revenue issue. And then finally, just before parliament came back, he gave a speech about how we do not have a revenue problem, we have got an earnings problem, which was his way of saying that he was right all along, when in reality he has been wrong all along. If we are going to repair the budget in a fair way, we need a mix of revenue measures—things like negative gearing and capital gains, multinational and tobacco tax—combined with spending cuts—things like the new baby bonus et cetera. That is what we need in this country. However you want to look at it, whatever facts you want to dig out, it is undeniable factually that the budget, according to the government's own budget papers, is in a worse shape today than when Labor left office. In their own budget papers—let me give you a couple of examples, Deputy Speaker—net debt has blown out by well over $100 billion in just over one parliamentary term. That deficit has tripled from the disastrous 2014 budget. The expected deficit for 2016-17 was $10.6 billion; now it will be $37 billion. It has more than tripled between the 2014 budget and now. Tax has been higher as a share of the economy every year under the Liberals than it was under every Labor budget. Government spending is higher now than at any point since the peak of the global financial crisis. Spending as a percentage of GDP is higher under this government than under Labor. When you think about those facts together and about all the bluff and bluster that we get from those opposite about how responsible they are, all of those measures—and they are not cherrypicked measures; they are all credible measures for a government's position and how a government is managing the budget or, in this case, mismanaging the budget—really do put some perspective on the sort of rubbish that we hear from those opposite. When you have a set of numbers like that, an awful set of numbers like that, it is little wonder that the ratings agencies are starting to pay the wrong kind of attention to our budget and to our country. When it comes to rating sovereigns, rating countries, they have started to indicate that our AAA credit rating—which was won by the previous Labor government during the global financial crisis because of the good work of people like former Prime Ministers Rudd and Gillard and former Treasurer Swan—is at risk. What we saw during the GFC was ratings agencies paying the right kind of attention to our country. They looked at Australia and said, 'Those guys know what they're doing. We're going to give to them for the first time in their history'—not under Costello, not even under Keating—'three AAA positive outlook credit ratings for the country.' That was a hard-won outcome for Australia. It was a good outcome for Australia. Now that is at risk. For people who tune into politics sparingly, understandably, who do not quite understand what the AAA credit rating means for us, when you have a AAA credit rating the money that you borrow is cheaper. So when you lose that AAA credit rating, money becomes more expensive for governments but it is also passed on in terms of mortgages. It means that money at the national level that could go towards vital infrastructure, schools, services or repairing the bottom line will instead be needed for ever higher interest repayments. It means higher borrowing costs will be passed on to consumers; mortgages and other loans will cost more. I think it is shameful that at a time like this, with the AAA credit rating at risk, the only contribution that the Treasurer has made to that so far is to say that it would all be Labor's fault if we lost that AAA credit rating. We all know—and I think if people around the country were asked to judge they would also think—it is entirely reasonable that, after more than three years of government, those opposite should take some responsibility for the budget position and the fact that that AAA credit rating is at risk. No matter how hard they try and pretend that it is somebody else's fault, they cannot pretend that they have not been in government for the last three-plus years. The reason that people have so little faith in the government's ability to fix the budget is, I believe, that since the election it has been stumbling from one stuff-up to the next. Time does not permit me to go through all of them—the royal commission, the census— Ms Butler interjecting— Dr CHALMERS 37998 I am sure the member for Griffith has a long list that she could rattle off, but let me just focus on two. The first one is this omnibus bill, or what people have come to know as the 'omni shambles'. We had the finance minister stand up at the Sydney Institute and say that there is an omnibus bill that is going to have $6.5 billion worth of savings. Within the next week, the Treasurer said, 'Actually, it is $6.1 billion.' We had a bill that was supposed to have 21 measures in it; it has 24 measures in it. Then, as I said before, the Treasurer had to admit to that humiliating error—that $107 million black hole—where he could not even add up the sums on page 5 of his explanatory memorandum. Of course, he blamed Treasury for that, because that is how he rolls, but the responsibility for an error like that rests with the Treasurer. We were able to find that error in two days. The Treasurer could not find it in two weeks. Ms Henderson interjecting— Dr CHALMERS 37998 The member for Corangamite can chirp all she likes about this. It is a $107 million hole. If the member for Corangamite is so confident of these matters perhaps she could help out poor old Scott Morrison when it comes to his sums. The second one is superannuation. The reality is that there is in-fighting on that side of the House about this. While they demand consistency and urgency from us on the omnibus bill, they have a superannuation policy which is being shredded by their backbench and so it still has some time away. We had the member for Warringah shirt-front the Treasurer in a meeting about those superannuation changes. We had the Treasurer release half a bill, not the whole bill, because some members of the backbench have not finished dictating to him what the other half will contain. There is no end in sight when it comes to this embarrassing impasse. That is why we doubt the government's ability to fix the budget. No matter what happens with the other bills, the omnibus bills and all of that, we doubt the government's capacity not just to repair the budget but to repair the budget in a fair way. They don't just have form when it comes to this; they have cuts still on the table from that 2014 budget and subsequent budgets. Whether it be the $30 billion cut from schools, the expensive university degrees, the medicine price hikes—tinkering with the PBS—raising the pension age to 70, which will be the world's oldest retirement age, or cuts to the pension and the like, those measures are still on the table. No matter what happens with the omnibus bill in the next little while, if people want to know how the government approaches budget repair they need to look at some of those cuts to health, education, pensions and changes to the retirement age. The fact that these cuts survived a change of prime minister a year ago shows that the member for Wentworth has brought none of the new direction or leadership that he promised. Even his own side of politics has struggled to point to a single tangible achievement in the past year. I was very interested to see that, when Jeff Kennett was asked if he could name a single achievement of the Turnbull government over the last year, he said: 'No, not at the moment.' He could not identify a single thing—a former conservative premier of Victoria could not nominate a single thing. I was also very interested to see when the member for Warringah's former chief of staff was asked on TV to name a specific policy achievement, she responded: 'Oh, look, Andrew, I'm pressed.' She could not name a single achievement. That same source, Peta Credlin, in The Australian during this week also wrote: For a guy with so much promise to start with, the reality of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister has been a bitter disappointment. Once so loved in the seats that don't determine elections, he's now reviled in those that do. That is a very interesting reflection, and not just from Peta Credlin but Jeff Kennett and others. I was very interested to see in the Financial Review on the weekend a piece about evaluating the first year in office. The headline is 'D+' and the article begins: After one year as prime minister, the verdict on Malcolm Turnbull's performance is in: D+. I was also very interested to see Warwick Smith, a former Liberal member of this place, was asked about Malcolm Turnbull's performance and he said: He is in danger of being seen as a total fizzer. When asked to nominate Turnbull's greatest success, Smith said: The search continues! That is really a reflection on how those opposite are going; and it does reflect on their ability to solve some of these budget challenges. One of the reasons he is in such a weakened position—so incapable of fixing the budget in a decisive way—is that he has sold his soul to the extreme right in his party. He has thrown his principles out the window when it comes to climate change or marriage equality—the list goes on. What is very revealing is not necessarily the things he has given away in this one-man job policy of his—not just the things he has sold his soul on—but the things he really digs in on that say the most about him. There are really only three things. He says he is flexible and agile and nimble and he has to keep people happy, but the three things he has dug in on are: his refusal to back a royal commission into the financial services industry; the $50 billion gift to big business; and high-end personal income tax cuts. He is flexible on all the stuff that might be seen as a bit of a fairer version of what is being proposed. He is flexible on all that—that can all go out the window; that is easily traded away—but, when it comes to these other things, he digs in. I think that says it all about the government's approach to the budget. Imagine how much better off this country would be if he showed that same willingness to dig in on things like schools or Medicare or fairer budget repair. When he was in China and elsewhere in the region last week and again when he was at the dispatch box today, he talked about populism and protectionism. He said that populism and protectionism is a shovel that digs us deeper into a hole. What I find really disturbing about that approach is that the Prime Minister fails to understand that, when it comes to these populist protectionist urges, he is not the solution to these issues—he is the problem. If he were serious about these challenges—the sorts of feelings and emotions which are leading people to Hanson or to Trump or to Corbyn or to Brexit—the absolutely last thing he would do would be to hollow out services in Medicare, schools and the like and to give $50 billion to the biggest multinational corporations in this country. As the member for Lilley, the member for Scullin and others have pointed out in this place, if you are serious about warding off the kind of division that poisons democracy, the last thing you want to do is feed that division with a policy agenda that says to most people, 'We are going to take money out of your hospitals and schools and we are going to give it to the biggest companies in Australia.' The nerve of the Prime Minister to lecture us about the moral challenge of fixing the budget while at the same time not fessing up to his core agenda, which is to take money off battlers and the most vulnerable people—out of their hospitals, out of their schools, out of their pensions—and give it to the biggest companies. That is really quite an offensive thing: to be lectured about the moral challenge of fixing a budget while that kind of stuff is going on. You can see that his divisive attitude affects the whole show. The other day the Treasurer talked about 'the taxed and the taxed nots'. It was an imitation of another expression that went so well for Joe Hockey—the lifters and leaners. You get the sense that, if you really care about division or populism and protectionism, what those on that side are doing will not fix the problem; it will be part of the problem. That is a big part of what we are talking about here—budget repair that is fair. We will continue to play a constructive role in fixing the budget. We have led the conversation. We have already demonstrated our bona fides. We have put solutions on the table on superannuation; we have offered the Treasurer a way out of the superannuation mess. We have put all sorts of constructive proposals on the table—more than any opposition in the 20 years I have been in the Labor Party. We have put so much on the table and said, 'Look, if you want to pick that up and run with it, go for it. If you want to take the credit for this good idea of how to get out of this superannuation mess, go for it.' That is how we have approached the task of budget repair. We put on the table at the Press Club, via Bill Shorten, $8 billion in savings over the forward estimates and $80 billion over the medium term with some very sensible proposals. As I said, we offered the government a way out of the superannuation mess to make the retrospective part of it prospective, to make it fairer and to save more money. Nobody here would be able to suggest to me that the first act of an opposition in a new term should be to propose a saving of the magnitude that we have proposed on superannuation. We have made it fairer and we have made it better for the bottom line in the budget. The government should keep that up and run with it, instead of letting the backbench shred their superannuation policy. We have put on the table a way forward, and they are welcome to it. All up, we have committed to $130 billion in budget improvements over the next 10 years and we have done that in a way that does not ask the most vulnerable people to do the heaviest lifting. We are guided by fair principles that reflect our Labor values. Fiscal policy has to suit the times, and times change. We do not cut the budget for the sake of it; we make good decisions even when they are difficult. We are open to ideas about better budgeting and forecasting and more transparency and forward-looking ways to borrow cheaply to invest in infrastructure. We understand the transformative possibilities of big data, targeted service delivery and technological progress, not just to improve the bottom line but to improve lives. Above all else, we think that budgets must underpin economic growth that is inclusive, that creates jobs and that attacks inequality and social immobility in this country. As I have said, whether it is our approach to this bill, the omnibus bill or the other bills, budget repair must be responsible and fair. Our careful and cautious approach has been justified by the discovery of some of the errors in the omnibus bill. But we want to continue to play that constructive role. We want to continue to talk with stakeholders and other people affected by the changes in the budget and changes in the economy to make sure that we are relying on the lived experience of people, whose lives are touched when we change budget settings. We will do all of this, adhering to those Labor values that I have spoken about. To be clear, we will support these appropriation bills. Obviously, we will not block supply. We will continue to play a constructive role, we will continue to lead the conversation, we will continue to propose responsible ways to repair the budget and we will continue to prioritise budget repair that is fair—in this bill, in the omnibus bill and in all the bills that come before this House in the 45th Parliament. 18:08 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes It gives me great pleasure this evening to speak on appropriation bills Nos 1 and 2 and the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1). I would like to start off by asking a question that the member for Rankin so kindly asked at the dispatch box. He asked: 'What was the biggest single achievement of the coalition over the last 12 months?' The answer to that is very simple: it was keeping the Labor Party off the treasury bench. That is what we have done. It may have been narrow, but our biggest achievement has been making sure that that mob that sit over there are not sitting on this side of the parliament. The speech by the member for Rankin is a perfect example of why the best thing that the coalition can do is to keep Labor—with their reckless and wasteful spending, their history of mismanagement of this economy—away from the treasury bench. I also thought the member for Rankin was making a bit of a comedy statement there. In his speech, he talked about the 'good work' of the former Treasurer, Wayne Swan, the member for Lilley—that he knew what he was doing. And I note the member for Lilley is in the chamber. The member for Rankin said the former Treasurer knew what he was doing. I have here the former Treasurer's budget speech, delivered on 8 May 2012. It says: The four years of surpluses I announce tonight are a powerful endorsement of the strength of our economy, resilience of our people, and success of our policies. … This budget delivers a surplus this coming year, on time, as promised, and surpluses each year after that, strengthening over time. If ever there was a Treasurer that did not know what he was doing, it was the member for Lilley when he was standing at the dispatch box and he read out that speech. Yet we have the member for Rankin coming in here and saying the former Treasurer knew what he was doing. It is another perfect example of why the greatest achievement of this coalition government was to make sure that Labor are not sitting on this side of the chamber. There are a couple of other things the member for Rankin raised. He talked about his great policy of a royal commission into financial services. That is simply a chance to give tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees to lawyers for achieving nothing. A royal commission will tell us nothing that we do not know. There are issues in the banking industry; they are issues that we should be working on across the chamber. I believe that there is a strong argument that we should act on penalty fees for late credit card payments following the High Court decision. That is something we know mutually that we should work on across the chamber and try and come up with something. The real concern that I had with the member for Rankin's speech was how he perceived that the reduction in the rate of company tax was somehow taking money away from other people. This is the fundamental flaw that we see with Labor time after time. They see the size of the economy as a fixed pie, and it is just a matter of arguing how you cut it up. We see that in a completely different way. We understand that our goal is to grow the size of the pie to make sure that everyone's slice of the pie is larger. Let us just have a look at the recent history of the corporate tax rate to show exactly how that is done. I hope members on the other side are actually listening. They might learn something from this. Back in 1986-87 and 1987-88, we had a corporate rate of tax in this country of 49 per cent, and we lowered that. Up until recently, the last reduction was in the year 2001, when we reduced it to 30 per cent. Now, what do you think would happen, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton, if the corporate tax rate was 49 per cent and you lowered it to 30 per cent? If you follow the logic of the opposition, that would mean giving all that money to big businesses. But look at what actually happened, Mr Deputy Speaker. When the corporate tax rate was at 49 per cent, we were getting 2.4 per cent as a percentage of GDP in 1986-87, and 2.7 per cent in the following year. So an average of around 2.5 or 2.6 per cent of GDP was the corporate tax that we were taking in for the Treasury to pay for all those schools, hospitals, aged care, kids with disabilities and for all the things we want to do in this parliament. So, what actually happened? In dollar numbers in 1987-88, we were collecting $8.8 billion in company tax. Then we lowered that rate down to 30 per cent. What happened to the tax that we were getting as a percentage of GDP? If you believe what Labor are telling us, there would have been a reduction. But, remarkably, exactly the opposite thing happened. We know that over the previous decade, from 2000 to 2010, when we had a corporate tax rate of 30 per cent, as a percentage of GDP we were getting double. At a lower corporate rate of tax, we were getting double what we were getting when it was 49 per cent. It has happened throughout the last 30 years, under both the Labor governments of Keating and Hawke and the Liberal government of Howard and Costello. Every time we have lowered the rate of company tax we have got more tax. Mr Swan interjecting— Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 I hear the former treasurer laughing over there. I would encourage you, former treasurer, to go and get the numbers and have a look. You might learn something and understand why the policy that you bought here for six years was so disastrous and sent this economy backwards so much. If we lower the corporate tax rate again, will exactly the same thing happen? No-one has a crystal ball to tell what the future is. There is an argument that company tax is already about 4½ to five per cent of GDP, which is already one of the highest in the world. There is an argument that it is harder to push it any higher than that. That is a legitimate argument. But we are not hearing that from the Labor Party. What we are hearing is, 'If you decrease the corporate tax rate, that simply takes money off someone else.' What a flawed economic argument that is! When it is explained to the former treasurer he laughs. Is it any wonder that the way this country was run was such a mess during the previous years of the Labor government? Getting back to some of the overall numbers, as we are talking about appropriation bills, it is always important to know where we came from. If we go back to 1996, we know that this country was $96 billion in debt from accumulated deficits of the previous government. Over the term of the Howard-Costello government, each year they whittled that debt away. They achieved a surplus; they put that surplus into reducing the debt; and they paid back that $96 billion. What gets forgotten is that not only did they pay back the $96 billion, but along the way there was an interest bill of $54 billion that had to be paid. So they paid the $96 billion and the $54 billion in interest, and then they put another $40 billion in the bank. That was $200 billion that had to be taken out of the economy to retire debt and pay interest, that could otherwise have been spent on the things that we all hold dearer. Then we had what was called the global financial crisis. There was an argument then that the country should go into debt and borrow money, but the argument at the time was that that borrowing and debt were to be short term and temporary. In 2008-09 we borrowed $31 billion. The accumulated surpluses and savings had disappeared. If it had been just that year, we could explain that to future generations of Australians. But what happened? The following year we borrowed $56 billion. The next year, in 2010-11, we borrowed another $51 billion. In 2011-12 we borrowed another $47 billion. There was nothing temporary about this. It was because Labor was great at spending the money and giving the money away. We saw it with the school halls, the pink batts and waste after waste after waste. We have very little to show for it apart from a big pile of debt. Because the Senate has been controlled by the Greens, Labor and the Independents, every time we have tried to take some of the hard decisions, the hard decisions that are difficult but responsible to try and wind that debt back, we get blocked. So this year, today, we will borrow another $100 million, which will go on to our debt and will simply mean that our children and grandchildren will have higher taxes and fewer government services. Already, this coming year, we are going to have to pay the interest bill. The interest bill is over $12 billion. That is a billion dollars every month that goes out the door in interest payments, all because both sides of this parliament could not control their expenditure, could not wind it back and could not live within our means. It should be incumbent upon both sides of this House to work together to do everything we possibly can to bring the budget back to a balance and then start paying the debt off. But instead, we have speeches like that from the member for Rankin, whingeing about illusory cuts that do not exist, whingeing about all the hard decisions that we have to make as the coalition. The Australian people deserve better than that. One of the other concerns that I have, which we need to drive home and emphasise, is that if we are going to increase the living standards of Australians we have to become more productive and more efficient. We have to discover new products, new ways of doing things, new methods of production, new distribution channels. The only way that can be achieved is that people in the private sector take risks with their ideas. But if we have a corporate tax rate that is much higher than many places in the rest of the world—if the rate of corporate tax is 30 per cent in Australia, but 15 and 17 per cent in Hong Kong and Singapore and 20 per cent in the UK—we will not get that innovation. We will not get that risk taking and that improvement in our living standards. That is what our coalition policies are about: increasing the productivity, the innovation and the risk taking in this nation, so we can become more productive and more efficient, so we can grow our living standards and grow the size of the economic pie so we have all the more of the things that really count. I would like to finish my 15 minutes with a quote from Deirdre McCloskey, who wrote in The New York Times: … by the standard of basic comfort in essentials, the poorest people on the planet have gained the most. In places like Ireland, Singapore, Finland and Italy, even people who are relatively poor have adequate food, education, lodging and medical care — none of which their ancestors had. Not remotely. …   …   … In the last 40 years, the World Bank estimates, the proportion of the population living on an appalling $1 or $2 a day has halved. Paul Collier, an Oxford economist, urges us to help the "bottom billion" of the more than seven billion people on earth. Of course. It is our duty. But he notes that 50 years ago, four billion out of five billion people lived in such miserable conditions. …   …   … What, then, caused this Great Enrichment? Not exploitation of the poor, not investment, not existing institutions, but a mere idea, which the philosopher and economist Adam Smith called "the liberal plan of equality, liberty and justice." … Give masses of ordinary people equality before the law and equality of social dignity, and leave them alone, and it turns out that they become extraordinarily creative and energetic. 18:23 Mr SWAN 2V5 Lilley I firstly want to thank the electors of Lilley for re-electing me for another term in parliament. It is a job I enjoy. I am humbled by their support and the honour of representing the community for a further term in parliament. I want to say to them that I will not let them down. These appropriation bills implement Malcolm Turnbull's trickle-down economic strategy—and we heard some more of it then from the member for Hughes. I will not respond to all of his inaccuracies, but I would make this point: during my time as Treasurer, nearly six years, the Australian economy grew by 15 per cent, at the height of the most difficult time in the global economy since the Great Depression. The 'Great Recession' did not impact on this country like it impacted on so many others. So, at the most difficult time in the global economy, our economy grew by 15 per cent, as others shrank and went into recession. During that time, we created over one million jobs, and, at the end of that period, we had a AAA credit rating from the three major rating agencies. The member for Hughes has had a lot to say about tax, and that is good, because I want to say a lot about tax tonight as well. One of the reasons that, under his government, deficits are now three times what they were when Labor was in government and that debt is substantially higher—by about a third—is precisely that tax revenues are down dramatically. He might believe in a Laffer curve and that there is some magic growth which spurts forward from a cut in taxes across the board, but that is not how economies work anywhere else in the world, and they do not work like that here. At the heart of these appropriation bills is, as I said before, the Prime Minister's determination to implement what is a pretty extreme program of trickle-down economics. What do I mean by that? The notion that if you give more to the rich—either individuals or wealthy corporates—they will somehow take that money, wisely invest it and create greater growth which will sprinkle down on everybody else. Of course, it has been trickle-down economics of the variety espoused by the member for Hughes that has produced such a tragic outcome in the greatest democracy of them all, which in the last 30 years has seen a hollowing-out of the middle class and the creation of a great army of working poor. Thankfully that did not happen in this country during that 30-year period, half of which was presided over by Labor governments. And it most certainly did not happen in this country during the 'Great Recession', which sent other countries into recession, smashed their labour markets and destroyed the capital basis of those economies, to the point that many of them are still recovering. Our structural intervention meant that we secured our economy, we secured our people and, as a consequence of that, we can have a conversation about a healthy economy and how we might like to reform it. No other developed economy in the world can begin to have that conversation. All of these matters were not addressed by the Prime Minister on the night of the election. I would have thought that, by the time he got to the Sofitel on election night, he might have been able to think of some uplifting words he could have said to the nation. After all, Australia's longest election campaign had been all his idea and his alone, and at the core of that campaign was a commitment to a $50 billion unfunded corporate tax rate cut. He had a long time that night to think of a few fine and inspiring words he might have said to the Australian people. He is claimed to be one of the most polished and accomplished speakers in the country. By the time he got to the stage, in the wee hours of 3 July, his speech was about as appetising as the cold spring rolls and the stale champagne that had been circulating in the Sofitel ballroom for about five hours. That speech by the Prime Minister that night will go down as one of the worst speeches in history by a leader of any major political party in this country. He commenced by comparing the election outcome to the 1998 election. I thought that was a good idea. In the 1998 election John Howard lost 18 seats and received the minority of the vote but won the majority of the seats and became the Prime Minister. In 1998, then Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley delivered what I would regard as one of the great speeches in history, a very generous speech, despite the fact he had received the majority of the vote and lost. This is what Mr Beazley said, in uplifting words, to the people of Australia back in 1998: We must, as a people, … turn to each other and not on each other and against each other. By contrast, about two-thirds of Prime Minister Turnbull's speech that night only 2½ months ago was spent attacking the Labor Party and all of the people who supported it. He effectively accused 49.64 per cent of the electorate who voted Labor of being involved in 'a pretty shameful episode in Australia's history', and said that 'more than a few people were misled' by 'systematic, well-funded lies'. Whack, whack, to 49 per cent of the Australian electorate. As I watched this tantrum unfold—and I had just got home from my own election function—I could not believe what I was seeing. I was reminded of an old comic strip where the lord of the manor is speaking to one of his servants, and the servant says, 'Sire, the peasants are revolting,' and the lord of the manor replies, 'Yes, they are, aren't they.' That is the attitude of our Prime Minister. He thinks that he is here to rule over the peasantry. That is what he thinks. He wanted to blame the people of Australia for not having the brilliance to understand what an important politician he was. Of course, that is why we do call him the 'prince from Point Piper'. He is little different from Mitt Romney in the United States, the last Republican candidate for the presidency of that country, who spoke about the 47 per cent of voters who would never support him, 'because they thought government has a responsibility to take care of them.' Where does that take us? That really takes us back to the attitude of the modern Liberal Party, which has been radicalised and taken over by these United States Tea Party type people. I know the Nationals understand that—they spent a lot of time fighting it. Only a Tea Partier could have gone to the election expecting the Australian people to support a $50 billion unfunded corporate tax cut—truly spectacular. Of course, that is because—and we heard it from the member for Hughes—their storyline is all Ayn Rand. The whole world just consists of the 'lifters and the leaners', and now it is the 'taxed and the taxed nots'. It is so stupid you could not make it up, but that is the world that these people live in these days—these radicalised, extreme Tea Partiers who are now running the government's economic policy. I know the Prime Minister probably does not understand it, because in his world—as he spoke to the people during the campaign, as he stood on his balcony there at Point Piper and looked across at the four wealthiest electorates in the country—he does not really walk in the same shopping aisles as the average Australian. Therefore he does not get the very basis of why his message is so unappealing at the grassroots level. In his world people just go to the doctor because it is free, not because they need to go there. In his world workers' wages are always too high. In his world business regulation is simply out of control—we should not have any more—and the taxed nots out there are dragging down everybody else, unless they are big multinational companies who are evading tax and do not pay anything at all. For this Prime Minister to come into this House and lecture people in here and in the community about the moral challenges that we face, the moral challenges of debt, when he is giving a $50 billion unfunded tax cut to some of the wealthiest companies in the world—who are not going to change their behaviour and take the gift and come back and reinvest here and drive jobs and growth—and for him to lecture Australians and the Labor Party on moral cowardice like that is simply breathtaking. A corporate tax cut of this magnitude is not even in the 10 most important actions you would take if you were really trying to power jobs and growth in the circumstances we are in here, in Australia, given the context of the international economy. I wish the member for Hughes would stay because I want to demonstrate why it is such an act of stupidity—an act of wealth concentration, not an act of wealth creation—to offer a $50 billion unfunded tax cut of that nature. Thankfully, one of Labor's last acts in office was to put in place tax transparency legislation, which forced the corporates to publish total income, taxable income and total tax paid. So now we know what is going on in that area, and, of course, the average effective rate of tax paid in Australia is not 30 per cent. It is 24 per cent. If you are a private company, not a public company, it is actually 19 per cent. So forget all this rubbish about 30 per cent and somehow they are 12 here and 15 there—we do not pay 30 per cent in this country. There are some valid reasons for it and there are some very, very squalid explanations for it for many of our large corporates. So why would cutting the corporate rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent work in an environment where they are paying an effective rate on average of 24 per cent? It is just stupid. Dumb. Which is why it does not have support. It is not seen by bodies such as the IMF and many other international organisations as a rational choice at all. Will all of those companies be suddenly inspired to create more jobs? One-in-three private companies in Australia now pay no tax—did you get that; one-in-three—and one-in-four public companies pay no tax. How are they going to be inspired to invest more when they are not paying anything now at all? Which is yet another demonstration of how absurd this policy is, and why, really, the government is being controlled by a pack of zealots who are simply interested in providing a huge gift to a few of their mates at the top end of town. Meanwhile, the average member of the public can see through this. They can see through it thanks to our tax transparency legislation. Everyday workers do not have access to Panamanian tax shelters or tax havens or corporate minimisation opportunities, so how dare these workers challenge the Prime Minister on election night, and say: 'No thanks. We don't think it's a great idea.' How can anyone have faith in a leader who professes to believe in equality of opportunity but leads a government that has opposed strong measures to stamp out tax evasion? He can lecture all he likes about the moral challenges. He is a fully paid-up member of the Cayman Islands club. He has got a capital fund growing there under the palm trees. How is he in a position to lecture Australians about their moral priorities? If he was a leader who had faith in his leadership, if he was a leader who had faith in his Treasurer, then he would be investing his money first and foremost here. The truth is this: the use of tax havens by wealthy corporates and wealthy individuals is destroying progressive taxation as we know it. It is a very significant factor, not just in growing inequality of wealth and income globally but also as a significant factor in the loss of trust across the world by individuals in their democracies. It is also a substantial factor leading to weaker and anaemic growth and lower living standards across both the developed and the developing world. You do not go to a tax haven unless you are intending either to avoid tax, either in countries where you live or you are based, or to use it as an end-point for tax minimisation. The fact is, and the public know it, that strong action against tax havens will never be taken by public officials who use them. In question time today we once again had lecture from the Prime Minister about culture. He decided he was going to lecture the Labor Party about culture. So I have a question for him: what kind of Prime Minister puts his fortune in a tax haven? What sort of cultural implications does that have for our country and for moral leadership? So in this environment you can be absolutely certain that the public are indeed very sceptical when the government says it is committed to Medicare, that they do not have an agenda to privatise it, which we know they do—and, by the way, which is still being implemented behind the scenes, I am sure their backbenchers will be shocked to know. We in Australia have an opportunity to have a debate about what the drivers are of growth with equity. This is why we in the Labor Party have produced the report I am holding here. This shows the way. We have reached a fork in the road in the economic debate. We can grow inclusively, and if we are growing fairly we will grow more strongly. If we are growing unfairly we will have weaker growth. This is the way ahead, not the government's trickle-down economics. (Time expired) 18:38 Mr VAN MANEN 188315 Forde First, let me take this opportunity to congratulate you, Deputy Speaker Coulton, on your election to the deputy speakership. I rise today to speak in support of the appropriation bills that have been presented to the House. It is always interesting to speak after former Treasurer Swan. I always value his contribution, but, as usual with the Labor Party, they like to rewrite history. I think it is worth reflecting—and I was asked this question on the weekend by somebody: over the past 12 months what is one of the achievements of the government? My answer to them was this: our primary responsibility as a government is to govern the country well. If you have a look at our track record for the past 12 months, and prior to that, we have not had a pink batts debacle, we have not had a 'cash for clunkers' debacle and all manner of debacles that we saw under the previous Labor government. So, I think the first and most important measure is that as a government we have governed the country well. That is about ensuring that the programs we are looking to put in place for the current and future benefit of Australians are being well run and, importantly, are being funded. That is what we are consistently looking to achieve. The previous speaker spoke about the issues of fairness and equality. But, interestingly, they actually never define what fairness and equality are all about. They never define it and instead just make these giant motherhood statements, expecting everybody to nod in agreement that fairness and equality are great ideas. But they never actually define what they are. We should be very proud as a nation that we provide the social service net that Australians enjoy today across a wide variety of payments, whether it be our age pension system, our welfare and support payments for middle-class Australians, for those who are unemployed, for those who are finding life difficult and, for those who have a disability, now through the NDIS and the programs we are running there. The responsibility of government is to provide and continue to provide these services and support, to ensure we remain a well-functioning first-class nation. I think, overall, we have done a great job in that over the past 12 months. But I want to remind the House that it is important for us to have these debates about what governments can and cannot do. Over the past 30 or 40 years I think we have seen that maybe governments have made promises—and both sides of politics have done this, I might add—and now that the time is coming to pay those bills we are discovering it is much more difficult to pay the bills than we originally envisaged. I will quote a passage I have previously quoted in the House that I think bears repeating in the context of some of the points raised by the previous speaker on the notion of fairness and equity. This is from an author, Tom G Palmer, writing about the risks of the welfare state, if we do not manage it properly. He uses this analogy: The welfare state has something in common with fishing. If no one owns and is responsible for the fish in the lake, but one does own all the fish he or she can catch and pull out of the lake, everyone tries to catch the most fish. Each reasons that 'if I don't catch the fish, someone else will.' Each of us may know that catching lots of fish now means that the lake will be fished out, but so long as others can catch whatever I don't catch, none of us have an incentive to limit our fishing and let the fish population replenish itself. Fish are caught faster than they can breed; the waters are fished out; and in the end everyone is worse off. We have a system today where 50 per cent of Australians pay no net tax. By the time they pay their income taxes and receive benefits back through middle-class welfare they pay no net tax. The question is: how long can this situation continue? Environmentalists, economists and political scientists call the analogy I have just spoken about 'the tragedy of the commons'. It is a very serious problem, because it goes to the heart of my earlier comment about governments making promises that ultimately they cannot deliver. It is the root cause of many of the crises we are facing globally today, whether they be depleted ocean fisheries, air or water pollution, or other problems. But it is not limited to those; it also affects how welfare states operate. The tragedy is facing countries across the world today. In this country we are in a fortunate position, in that we had a period from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s when successive governments of both political persuasions sought to open up our economy, relax regulation and give Australians the opportunity to do what they do best, which is to grow businesses and build wealth. Whether they were small, medium-sized or large businesses, they were all given that opportunity. That is what we, as a government, want to present to the Australian community again: an opportunity for them to succeed and do what they do best. Now, back to the analogy! In modern welfare states, everybody has an incentive to act like the irresponsible fishermen who fished out the lake—and it is not only individuals; interestingly, we also see it in the various incentives that get paid to the business and corporate sector—except the resource we are plundering is each other. At the end of the day, the revenue that government receives comes from Australian taxpayers. It is not money that governments receive through magnanimity or create out of thin air; it is money received from Australian taxpayers. Each person seeks to get as much as he can from his neighbours, but at the same time his neighbours are trying to get as much as they can from him. The welfare state institutionalises what French economist Frederic Bastiat called 'reciprocal plunder'. We heard that earlier from the member for Lilley. There is a notion among members on the other side that we can continue to tax those who have wealth and resources because it does not matter how much we tax them as long as we can redistribute it somewhere else. That does not work in the long run, because the people who have those resources will eventually try to do something with their resources to protect what they have. The risk is that they will take away their knowledge, wealth, skills and intellect—maybe to set up their businesses offshore in a foreign country—not only robbing the Australian economy of finance and resources but robbing the Australian economy and Australian people of jobs. That is why it is so important, as a government, to ensure that our taxation and regulatory systems create incentives not only for existing businesses to grow and prosper but for people to take the risk and start new businesses, because frequently it is the new businesses that come up with new ideas and innovations. In this country we have a history of being creative and inventive and of solving problems. Australia's history is replete with examples, such as the black box flight recorder, the Hills hoist, the combine harvester—to name a few. We should be seeking to encourage and facilitate the modern-day versions of those businesses in this country, because they are the businesses that will create the opportunities and wealth for the future, not only for the owners of those businesses but for their employees. We know that when people are employed they have better self-esteem and the ability to provide for their families. Nobody wants to see people survive on welfare. We want people to have jobs, because that is the best form of wealth creation there is. It gets people out of their homes every day, doing something constructive and productive. Interestingly, it is employees in the small and medium-sized businesses around this country who sometimes come up with the best ideas about how those businesses can grow and develop. That is what this government is looking to do in its agenda going forward, but I also want to touch on a couple of things I have achieved over the past three years in the electorate of Forde. Again, I take this opportunity to thank the community of Forde for re-electing me for another term. This government and the previous government have delivered on all of the commitments we took to the 2013 election for the electorate of Forde. Whether it was funding for the Beenleigh town centre project, funding for safer streets through the use of CCTV, continued funding to our councils for Roads to Recovery or funding to our councils for the bridges to recovery program, there have been many, many projects that this government have funded over the past three years in the electorate of Forde. We will continue to do so through the commitments we have made for the forthcoming term of parliament. In addition, we are seeing more and more areas of the electorate receiving NBN as the rollout gathers pace. I know there are those who would like to see it happen more quickly, but in the electorate of Forde it is happening far quicker now than it would have under the previous Labor government. Every single commitment I made at the 2013 election has been delivered, and I have every intention of continuing that record by funding the commitments we made at the 2016 election. We have committed $350,000 to the Loganholme football club to upgrade its clubhouse. The Loganholme football club—or Loganholme Lightning, as it is known—is a fantastic local club that is growing and becoming one of the major clubs in our area. It enjoys tremendous support from its members, players and supporters. We also announced $100,000 to install lighting at the Ormeau Bulldogs Junior AFL Club so they have the capacity to train at night, not just in the afternoons. Beenleigh Senior Citizens Club will receive $90,000 to upgrade their kitchen facilities. The kitchen is not only used by the seniors citizens club but also used by our local Meals on Wheels. Given that we recently celebrated National Meals on Wheels Day, can I just say what an amazing job our Meals on Wheels friends do. I am very pleased that they will also benefit from the upgrade to this kitchen. We have committed a further $525,000 through our Safer Communities program to fund the installation of new CCTV cameras around Logan. Through our Solar Communities program, we have allocated $100,000 to a number of local organisations to assist them install solar to offset some of their electricity costs. We have also announced a major Green Army project on the Logan River for $200,000 to improve water quality and protect waterways through revegetation. The achievements of this government over the past term and the achievements that we foresee over the coming term will stand the electorate of Forde in good stead. I am extremely proud to be part of the Turnbull government and look forward to a productive three years to come as we continue to build a future for Australia. (Time expired) 18:53 Ms OWENS E09 Parramatta I was sitting in the parliament in question time this week and I came to the conclusion that, strangely enough, the government were trying to Photoshop out the 44th Parliament—that somehow we have miraculously gone from the 43rd Parliament to, tada, the 45th Parliament. No matter what question— Mr Dick 53517 It never happened! Ms OWENS E09 Yes—it never happened. Exactly—it never happened. Nothing to see there. No matter what question we asked about what the government was doing about anything, they immediately went back to the 43rd Parliament and what Labor did or did not do. It is as if three years of government and all the things they could have done in those three years were gone. Out came the metaphorical paintbrush and off it went. The 44th Parliament—gone. The whole Abbott-Turnbull horrible mess disappeared completely. But I looked at these appropriation bills over the weekend, and what do you know—here it is, back again in all its glory. These appropriation bills contain all of the zombie measures from 2014 budget, all of those that were still there in the 2015 budget and still there in the 2016 budget, and here they are. So, in spite of all their efforts today to Photoshop it out, to pretend it did not happen, here it is, back in the 45th Parliament in all its glory. The zombie measures are here. The zombie measures are back. We heard in the election campaign Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister, saying that if he won the election it would give him a mandate to impose these on the Australian people, and here he is again trying to do it, and here we are again—in 2014, 2015 and again in 2016—stopping them from ripping the guts out of support for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. So let's look at what this budget actually locks in. Let's pull the 44th Parliament back out of the cupboard and have a good look at what they tried to do then and what they are still trying to do. The budget locks in family tax benefit cuts to 1.5 million families; cuts to paid parental leave for 80,000 new mums every year, leaving some $11,800 worse off; cuts to 330,000 part pensioners; increasing the pension age to 70; cuts to young job seekers that will force them to live off nothing for a month; cutting $30 billion from schools; $100,000 university degrees for Australian students; a plan to increase the cost of medicines for everyone by increasing the co-payment as part of the PBS, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; cutting bulk-billing incentives for diagnostic imaging and pathology services; cutting the pension to 190,000 pensioners through the plan to limit overseas travel for Australian pensioners. That is a particularly nasty budget measure that hits people in my community very hard. And of course it also locks in a new one, which is the $50 billion tax cut to some of the biggest businesses in the country, flowing through eventually to any business with a turnover of less than a billion dollars. That pretty much sums up the whole 44th Parliament, I think: cuts to the most vulnerable and giving the benefits of those cuts to the big end of town. The 44th Parliament is alive and well. I expect them to still try to Photoshop it out tomorrow, but with these appropriation bills before the House they are just not going to be able to do that. When the Prime Minister rolled previous Prime Minister Abbott, the country breathed a sigh of relief, and I have to say that so did I. Even though I and probably the entire country thought that the deposing of Prime Minister Abbott and the replacement with Prime Minister Turnbull meant that we did not have a chance of winning the next election, I still breathed a sigh of relief because we could not continue down the path we were going. We had been a country with a finger on the pause button for nearly two years. There were all of the things that needed to be done—the massive changes taking place in the world, the investment boom in mining coming to an end—and we had a government that was essentially sitting on its hands when it came to addressing the future. They were very good at repealing things, they were very good at cutting support for the most vulnerable in our society, but, when it came to putting anything forward which actually generated growth, when it came to doing anything which might position our country for the next decade or the decade after that or the decade after that, there was nothing. So we all breathed a sigh of relief and what a disappointment. It is a year tomorrow since Prime Minister Turnbull deposed Tony Abbott and it has been a year of more of the same or, rather, nothing. It has been another year of nothing. Today, in question time, when we asked the Prime Minister to name his achievements, once again he could not. The only achievement he managed to come up with today was the NBN. Mr Dick 53517 Don't go there! Ms OWENS E09 I know. Exactly. The only 'achievement', and I am using quotation marks, in a whole year of being Prime Minister—this man who desperately wanted the job, who angled for it, who manoeuvred, who manipulated, who stabbed people in the back and did whatever he needed to get this position, and he has had it for a year—was the NBN. We have moved from 30th to 60th in the world in terms of internet speed in the last year, and it is now twice as expensive and it will not be delivered anywhere near on time. If that is the achievement of this gentleman while he been Prime Minister, heaven help us if he gets another three years in the job. The phrase that the Prime Minister uses a lot and used today—and we hear it over and over again—is 'jobs and growth'. In spite of having no achievements for the last year, apart from the NBN, and in spite of being a government that had their fingers on the pause button for three years in the 44th Parliament, they keep repeating over and over again 'jobs and growth' as if just repeating the words will cause it to happen. You say, 'What's your strategy?' 'Jobs and growth.' 'What are you trying to achieve?' 'Jobs and growth.' That is fair enough because one should try and achieve jobs and growth, but usually if you are in government you actually have to do something, have a policy, have a strategy which generates those jobs and that growth. The strategy you should not have is the one we saw in the last term, and which we are starting to see again now, which is to assume you can cut the things that cause growth and then wait for the growth so that you can fund the things that cause growth again—so you cut all of the things that cause growth in order to have growth. It makes no sense at all. Let us look at the things that this government has cut, because there are a lot of them—in fact, virtually every element of an economy that causes growth has been cut. There is the NBN for a start. It has cost more money, but it is not the infrastructure that we need to grow this economy in this decade, let alone in 2030 and 2050—and it should be. An investment of that magnitude should be an investment in infrastructure that will last us 80 to 100 years. Under Labor's plan it would have been. The government has ripped the guts out of the most essential infrastructure that will grow our economy. It is gone. They cut $30 billion out of education and they are ripping the guts out of funding for universities. How extraordinary. How are we supposed to have the knowledge workers of the future if you cut the guts out of education? They cut the guts out of science—they did not even have a science minister initially; at least we have one now—and even with the small amounts of money the government is now so proudly putting back into the CSIRO, hundreds of staff have left that organisation. They cut support for renewables. When they abolished the price on carbon, they pretty much drove Australia's move towards a clean economy into reverse. There were incredible reductions in the amount of investment into renewables. Renewables is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and we, as a nation, walked away from it. We had incredible support for coal, now a sector in decline, but none for renewables. We have a government that cancelled most of the infrastructure in our major cities. All of the infrastructure that assisted our cities to be more productive is gone—some of it is coming back, but most of it has gone. The approach that this government has of trying to generate jobs and growth by cutting the very things that generate growth is bizarre to say the least. You can see already, after three years of this government, the effect their strategies are having on the community—on families, workers and small business. You can see the effect it is starting to have. 'Jobs' and 'growth' are just two words until you consider which jobs and which growth: where is the growth, who benefits from that growth and where are the jobs. If you look at Australia at the moment from that prism, rather than just the mantra of 'jobs and growth', you will see that there are many, many areas where a considerable amount of work has to be done. Two-thirds of Australia's annual growth, for example, comes from the contribution of net exports and we all know that a significant part of that is still mining—that is a good thing. But the mining sector only employs about two per cent of total employment. So if that sector is going well, it is good for government coffers and it is good for big business profits. But in terms of jobs coming out of that sector—not a great deal. Private investment is incredibly important if you want to stimulate jobs and growth, but we have just seen the largest decline in private investment in 16 years. This is not a good sign for jobs and growth. The words 'jobs and growth' are not enough. What is the government doing about it? Well, they are repeating the words a lot. Consumption growth halved in the June quarter. It is hard to see where the jobs and growth are going to come from if that is actually happening. From the local business perspective, having customers who are prepared to spend their money—customers who feel confident, who are out there buying the services of local businesses—is one of the most important things you can have, and yet consumption growth halved in the June quarter. There is no doubt whatsoever that ordinary Australians are well and truly feeling the pinch because living standards have fallen two per cent since the Liberals came to office. This is devastating for local families. And while the government are creating jobs—220,000 jobs created in the past year; a reasonable number of jobs—what are those jobs? Only 30,000 of them are full time. Only 30,000 of those 220,000 jobs are full time, while nine out of 10 of those jobs were part time. I understand the argument that has been put by the other side that a lot of people want part-time jobs—yes, a lot of people do—but a lot of other people want full-time work. They want some sense of security so that they can invest in their own futures, buy a house and consider where their children are going to go to school. They can make the decisions that families make and they can invest in their own futures. For business too, it is worthwhile understanding that full-time, secure work in your community is like ballast—it has its good and its bad—but if there are a large proportion of people in your community who have secure work and who feel secure, then they ease the effect of volatile markets. They stop spending later and they start spending earlier. They continue to buy because they feel safe. As the market moves around a little, full permanent employment is an incredibly important stabilising influence. Underemployment is at near record levels. Jobs and growth? Great words, but the reality is that underemployment for women aged between 35 and 44 is more than double the rate for men of the same age and at record levels. The rate of working-age men who are not in the labour force—men who have given up looking for work altogether—is higher than it was during the global financial crisis. This is not a government that for ordinary families living out there in the suburbs is generating this jobs and growth success story. In fact, it is quite the contrary. Australians who have become unemployed are taking much longer to find their next job than they did even in 2013. In fact, the average length of unemployment has increased by eight weeks. That is not a sign of this great jobs and growth mantra flowing down to average families. Over the next 12 months we are going to see the great achievement of the 44th Parliament: the closing of our car industry, one of the first achievements of the Hockey-Abbott partnership, goading our car manufacturers to leave the country, and they are. We will see anywhere between 28,000 and 40,000 jobs lost—good, high-skill jobs that provide the basis for a whole range of new manufacturing jobs, jobs that stimulate university study and build engineers and expertise across the full range of manufacturing, gone from our economy. They are jobs that we will not be able to replace. So I say to the government: please let us know what your strategy is. Jobs and growth are two words. Unless you have strategies to achieve them, you will not and you are not. 19:09 Mr WOOD E0F La Trobe It is great to be again re-elected by the good people of La Trobe, and I thank them very much. It is also fantastic to be sitting beside the new member for Dunkley. Today he gave a fantastic maiden speech and should be very proud of his achievement. I also listened to all the new members' maiden speeches in recent weeks. They show the quality of new members who have entered the House on both sides of parliament. During the election campaign I had a number of people raise with me the issues of crime. One person at the Berwick train station advised me how his wife was involved in an attempted carjacking at one of the local shopping centres. I had not actually heard of that happening in the local area before. Then I had two or three other people straight after the campaign let me know that they had been subjected to a run-through of their premises. From the knowledge we gathered, it was actually the Apex gang involved in entering houses. One time it was four in the morning and was done with the view of stealing some car keys. They actually came back three times. I previously raised this issue after the Moomba festival, when the Apex gang actually did a run-through of the Melbourne CBD, which horrified Melburnians. That is when I first really became aware of the Apex gang. The Apex name actually comes from a street in Dandenong the founders of the gang decided to name their gang after. I did warn it is going to get worse, and it actually has got worse. Sadly, in recent times we have seen this incredible situation where we have police cars being rammed by offenders, and I have never seen that before. As a former police officer, I am greatly concerned to see this occurring. Recently, one of the members of Victoria Police actually had to shoot an offender. The offender was killed during the incident. I have previously called and will continue to call. No. 1, there is a severe lack of police numbers in the City of Casey and surrounds. In my time as a police officer, when you used to work an afternoon shift at, say, in Boronia or the Melbourne CBD you would normally have maybe two divisional vans on the road and a car at the same time. I am hearing that down at Narre Warren they have only got one car or one van on in the afternoon shift, and the same goes with Pakenham. Endeavour Hills's police station has been cut back on the weekend. With the growth of City of Casey and Cardinia, this is just a ridiculous situation, and the state Labor government must get serious about getting on top of this gang violence. I have called for and continued to call for the National Anti-Gangs Squad to get involved. That is joint AFP and state police. When they team up together, they have been very effective on the outlaw motorcycle gang members, but they now need to focus on violent gangs such as the Apex gang. They are not a street gang. Someone breaking into your house at three in the morning and terrorising your entire family is not a street gang. This brings me to a community crime prevention info forum we had on the weekend. I congratulate Andrew Hartley for arranging this at Sweeney Reserve. We also thank the rapid-response team for providing food. We probably had 300 members of the public turn up, which is very significant. They were all concerned about the crime occurring in their area. I was speaking to a gentleman by the name of Craig who was telling me that, last Sunday or the Sunday before, he was having dinner at home at seven o'clock at night with the family. Lo and behold, he heard some noise in the garage, walked through the kitchen, realised someone had stolen the car keys and was endeavouring to steal the car. He disturbed them and they left. There is a lot of work to do in this area. Once you get a gang of 300 or 400 members, it is at a tipping point where, sadly, because of the state Labor government, even though they have very hardworking detectives and police working on this, they need extra resources. That is where again I say to my own government that we need to help out simply because the state Labor government has completely failed. At this forum on the weekend I also said to the residents that we do actually live in a great place in La Trobe—in this case, the City of Casey—and talked about a project called Bunjil Place. I congratulate again the City of Casey. It is a $125 million project involving performing arts, visual arts, a library and a civic centre there. The quality will be state of the art. It will be good enough, for example, for the Russian ballet to come over or for an international art exhibition to show their works there. This is the great thing about where we actually live. It has been a focus of the coalition. Obviously, the Labor Party gets all uppity-uppity over jobs and growth, but that is simply what we are trying to do—we are trying to create jobs and growth. That brings me to some other great announcements we had during the election campaign. This is one of my favourites and this is something which I was looking at a number of years ago. I always thought it would be a great idea to restore one of the old red rattler trains, which as a child I used to catch to school. I must admit that 35 years ago we all hated them, but now we have become nostalgic and we all love the old red rattler trains. For those who are listening who do not know what I am talking about, if you look at the Harry Potter movies that is pretty much what a red rattler looks like. We are planning to restore a red rattler train. I thank John Robinson, the CEO of Puffing Billy, for getting behind the project; Adrian, who has been a great supporter; and also the Clark brothers, who have dedicated pretty much their whole life to restoring these old trains. Sadly, a number of years ago, one which had nearly been fully restored in the Melbourne depot in Williamstown was destroyed by an arsonist, which was truly a tragic event. Under the Turnbull government we have committed $1 million for the restoration and we very much look forward to seeing one of these red rattler trains leaving the Melbourne CBD and going along the Belgrave train line with both interstate and international tourists. Remember that Puffing Billy has over 400,000 tourists each year. The only issue is that on a wet day in winter if you catch Puffing Billy and get off at Emerald Lake Park there is really not much to do apart from walk around the lake in the wet. It is great in summer but not that much fun in winter. John Robinson and his team have put together a $12 million proposal for an Emerald discovery centre looking at the history of Puffing Billy and also, as I discussed with them, looking at the overall history of the Dandenong Ranges and capturing our history. Again this is a great tourist opportunity which will create jobs in the area. Whilst we are talking about things up in Emerald, we have also committed $1 million towards a walk—actually the missing link—from Cockatoo to Gembrook. This will be used by horse riders, cyclists and walkers. Again, it is something that will be very good for tourists and also for the local residents, who are very excited about this. We come back to the other side of the Dandenong Ranges. I have the firm view that, if we can get more people to work locally and use the Dandenong Ranges for its beauty in the tourism area, we will get fewer people driving on the Monash, which we know is a nightmare. One of the projects there is called the Ridge Walk, but I call it the heritage walk. It is going to be 14 kilometres of walking paths from Upwey right across to Montrose, connecting all our historic little townships there. It will be great for traders, great for walkers and great for tourists. I thank very much Ali Wastie from the Yarra Ranges Council, who has worked on another project with me. I had previously applied for National Heritage Listing of the Dandenong Ranges based on our famous landscape artists. For example, we have Horatio's house on Blackwood Street, Tecoma. For those who do not know, Horatio was a First World War veteran. In actual fact, Horatio was engaged to Caroline Hearst, whose father was the richest man in America, but they actually called off the engagement because he suffered injuries during the war. He ended up building this house out of kerosene tins. The Heidelberg Artists Society would come and visit. Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Sir Arthur Boyd would come and create some of their masterpieces there. Also, CJ Dennis wrote The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke in the electorate of La Trobe, and Indigenous artist Lin Onus created so many great works there. So it is unique. With the Yarra Ranges Council we want to apply again for National Heritage of the Dandenong Ranges and to link it with these 14 kilometres of walks, which I am very excited about. There is also the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road. We have had a number of issues with cyclists using the road. After Cadel Evans won the Tour de France the Dandenong Ranges have never been the same because every weekend we have countless cyclists coming up. They have the right to go up there, but it has also become exceptionally dangerous for cyclists and for local residents. So we have $10 million to actually address the safety issues for the cyclists and assist the locals. I very much thank Minister Paul Fletcher for getting behind that project. Now I know the member for Aston will nearly fall out of his seat when I talk about this: the 1,000 Steps drinking taps. I do not actually know when the 1,000 Steps were constructed, but I assume it must have been in the 1920s. They go from the base of the Upper Ferntree Gully National Park up to One Tree Hill. Whoever built these stairs had a fantastic sense of humour because the last 40 or 50 stairs are at least four feet apart and on a very steep angle. It is an absolute fitness test. Because of this we have so many people regularly coming up. I know the member for Aston loves going up there and getting on the stairs. We committed $50,000 towards this project. The reason is, sadly, a lot of people leave their drinking bottles around there, and the park rangers have much better things to do than go around picking up bottles which people have left behind. So we are looking at installing three drinking taps. We obviously will need to work with the state Labor government on this issue. Again, this is something I am very proud we got behind and supported. In the last couple of minutes I would like to talk about another very important issue, and that is the Monash Freeway. We have a billion-dollar plan for the Monash, and I thank the Prime Minister for that plan. Our plan is actually an extra lane from Warrigal Road right up to Cardinia Road. The state Labor government and the federal Labor opposition cannot see the value of actually extending the extra lane on the Monash from Clyde Road out to Cardinia Road. The growth figures out in the suburbs like Officer, Beaconsfield and Cranbourne are just horrendous. Even in the next three years I know there are probably going to be another 30,000 residents moving into that area. Everyone always blames government for not having the vision. Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, they should try having a vision here and actually take this road right out to Cardinia—an extra lane there. And to be on the safe side it is probably going to need another extra lane in the future even after that. The opposition leader and the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, have to realise that they have to get behind this project. They need to support it. Also part of our commitment are the on-off ramps at the Beaconsfield Exchange, which will greatly improve traffic, and extending O'Shea Road from Eden Rise shopping centre to the Beaconsfield Exchange, which will finally give a focus to the portion of the land there to be used for innovation and advanced manufacturing. We want to see the tourist jobs in the Dandenong Ranges and we want to see the innovation and advanced manufacturing jobs in the south of the electorate, and take pressure off the Monash. This is where the Prime Minister's vision for innovation and advanced manufacturing will be what we are doing in La Trobe. That is what we are going to achieve, and this should be rolling out in the next couple of years. 19:23 Mr HUSIC 91219 Chifley Mr Deputy Speaker, firstly, before I begin my contribution, I want to congratulate you on your elevation to that august position. I know that in your role as whip you have been very successful in applying your skills at counting sheep, and now you get to herd them in your new role. I certainly wish you all the best. I enjoy a very good working relationship with you and the approach that you bring to bear on your role. It is not surprising that a Labor member would speak more highly of a National Party member than a Liberal any day of the week! However, I want to start my contribution on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017 with this revelation—a second revelation, if I may, and that is: I agree with the Treasurer. I agree with the Treasurer. I think it is important in the context of the bills that we are considering, the appropriation bills, that we are pressed by a challenge—a fiscal challenge that does need to be addressed, and addressed thoroughly. It will require a lot of people to drop their ideological positions, their opposition, the views that they have had in the past and the views that they champion now in the interests of reform. I think, when we look at the stats, it is very compelling. In fact, the member for Rankin today walked us through the economic picture that is confronting the country and that I think needs to be considered in this debate. For example, our debt has blown out and is blowing out, and the deficit has tripled since those opposite have come to power and handed down their first budget. The AAA credit rating is now actually being spoken about as being at risk and that it is vulnerable. So we do need to undertake budget repair. The member for Rankin, the shadow minister for finance, also outlined at a few other stats that I think are very sobering. For example, he outlined that while there is strong headline economic growth, or GDP growth, of 3.3 per cent there are still some challenges that sit in the background. Despite low interest rates, investment is falling. Mining investment has collapsed and while other sectors might be picking up some slack, not all the slack is being picked up. Total private investment has plummeted nearly 15 per cent in just 12 months—15 per cent in just 12 months! For those who are interested, this is the worst yearly drop in nearly 16 years. GDP growth for the June quarter was driven entirely by the government sector, and if that had not been there growth would have been negative. Real net national disposable income per capita grew by 0.2 per cent in the June quarter, but living standards remain nearly two per cent below the level at the 2013 election. Wages growth is the slowest on record—a number of us have been raising this concern for some time; it is why families feel under the pinch and very concerned about their personal financial situation. So, the outlook remains considerably uncertain. As a result of all this, government revenue will remain under pressure as well. Ongoing budget deficits and the trajectory of the debt simply are unsustainable, with debt to GDP rising faster than most other advanced economies. There is going to have to be a broad solution. We cannot simply cut our way out of this; we are going to need to look at spending measures, or cutting spending, at the same time as looking at increasing revenue in other places. Even the Treasurer is conceding that this is probably something that will need to happen. The budget itself is in worse shape than when we last left office in 2013. Net debt is out by over $100 billion and the deficit, as I said earlier, has tripled. The coalition's first budget in 2014 predicted that in 2016-17—so, this financial year—we would have a deficit of $10.6 billion, and now it will rise to $37.1 billion this year. Taxation is higher every year under the Liberals than any Labor budget. Government spending, at 25.8 per cent of GDP, is higher now than at any point since the peak of the global financial crisis. And bear in mind that when Labor was in office we constantly got from the other side how high the spending had been while they airbrushed the actual event of the GFC itself. Clearly, these are things that need to be addressed. So I come back to my point said earlier, and that is that I agree with the Treasurer. We have to listen to him and work together. We need to be less divided. When I said we need people to work together, I, and many Australians, want those who stand in the way of budget repair to drop their opposition, to drop the ideology and to unite. And so I think a number of us in this place will be urging that the people who need to get on board are the coalition backbench, because we get told all the time by the Treasurer that Labor has to work with it. But the issue is that Labor has said, and not just said but outlined, ways in which we can actually deliver budget repair. As the member for Rankin rightly observed today, there are not many oppositions who, within the first few weeks of a new parliament, can outline a better trajectory of savings than the government. And that is what we did. In the first few weeks, we outlined $8 billion of measures that we think can improve the budget bottom line. And they are things that have to be looked at. But they will not be looked at. Why? Because the coalition backbench is standing in the way and refusing to allow the government to concede, to consider, to think about, to even scope out whether, for example, there could be reform of negative gearing in this country. They will not allow them to do it. In fact, we had the extraordinary revelation that on a key piece of economic reform, on a measure being considered by cabinet, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer—and bear in mind that the Treasurer acknowledged there were excesses in negative gearing and suggested that we needed to address this—got rolled by opposition, led within the cabinet, to that move. It is extraordinary that a Prime Minister and a Treasurer would be rolled on an economic measure. But voices within the federal government know they are backed up by a backbench that will not accept this change. As much as people say that the Senate is divided, riven, fractured, let us just check out how many leaders of political movements are in this place. You have a leader of the Liberal Party. You have a leader of the National Party. You have a leader of the Labor Party. You have a Greens representative. You have the leader of the Bob Katter Party. You have a Nick Xenophon member. You have a score of independents. And you have a second 'leader of the opposition' in the member for Warringah, Tony Abbott. He stands as the second leader of the opposition in this place, arguing within the coalition against any moves being considered by the Turnbull government. Everyone is wondering why Malcolm will not be Malcolm. Well, he will not be because he is not allowed to be. He is always looking over his shoulder. He does not look forward; he is always walking with a look over his shoulder, trying to fathom whether he will be rolled by his backbench, led by the second leader of the opposition in this place, the member for Warringah—and doesn't he love that role! He is the best opposition leader on either this side of the place or on that side of the place, and he is always urging for his view to be the most dominant one. We get a lot of lectures about 'respecting mandates'. In fact, in the whole debate about marriage equality and the plebiscite, we were told that the coalition is prepared to spend $160 million on a plebiscite and has a mandate. But what happens when we look at, for example, a budget measure introduced in haste this year on superannuation? What happens with that? We do not have a mandate. We had Senator Sinodinos say that, if the coalition won the election, they would have a mandate for the superannuation policies that they took to the election. They cannot change their position on marriage equality—because they have a mandate and they took that promise to the election. But what we got now on superannuation? We have the Treasurer having to negotiate not with Labor but with his own backbench on a key policy measure that was announced in the budget. It had supposedly received a mandate but it now has to be negotiated with the backbench. On top of that, we had a former leader on their side of politics—the second opposition leader of this country—go to a briefing led by the Treasurer and attended by the Minister for Revenue and criticise them both on the policy that has been put forward. Newspaper accounts suggest that he just flicked the policy document aside—as we know, the member for Warringah is not necessarily a person who is encumbered by detail—and castigated both the Treasurer and the Minister for Revenue on the policy that is being announced on superannuation reform by those people and others. So this is what we have got. In trying to address budget repair, it is not the Labor Party that those opposite should be looking at; if anything, the coalition frontbench should be entering into a union with the Labor Party to get budget repair done. If the coalition frontbench are stuck with trying to negotiate with the coalition backbench, we will get nowhere because they are not prepared to concede from their ideological position about what should happen. It is not like the coalition Liberals can turn to the National Party, their supposed coalition partners. These are not agrarian socialists; these are agrarian Trots who would just love to see the Liberal Party fail so that they can take more positions within the cabinet. You could see the contest in the election; they were more than willing to contest against Liberal Party members. Whenever you talk to a National Party member in this place, it does not take them long to reveal their disdain for the Liberal Party. And look what happens on economic policy. We have a situation in this country where one state is arguing for an increase in mining royalties. The WA Nationals are arguing for an increase in royalties, an increase in imposts. That side of politics championed a reduction in the impost on the mining sector. The Prime Minister says this is troublesome. And what do we get out of the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the National Party in this place? A nod and a slow wink to his colleagues in WA, suggesting it is okay to increase taxes. This comes from the party whose raison d'etre, their whole reason for being elected, was to remove the mining tax. They are now arguing for it and sending out the signal that that is okay, while back in Canberra they will not even countenance changes to revenue. So what is going on? There is no unity on that side. Given the economic challenges the government faces, and given the impact that that puts on the fiscal and budget repair that is supposed to be at the heart of this bill, you need that side, we need that side, the country needs that side to be united and actually get their act together. But they are not, and they will not. And this is just going to get worse. The division we have seen is just going to get worse. And we saw it on display last week when the second leader of the opposition, in the absence of the Prime Minister, decided he would float a number of things. Amazingly, the person who had been reluctant on electoral donation reform decided he would now champion it by effectively picking up every idea in the public space, claiming it as his own and going out there and talking about it. The week before, we saw him go and meet with the leader of One Nation. It was not a sanctioned visit. He decided to go and have a cup of tea—and then he put it in a video, mind you! Ms Madeleine King 102376 Awkward. Mr HUSIC 91219 It was very awkward, member for Brand, indeed! It was a cringe-worthy effort. But what was even more unsettling is the fact that you have the second Leader of the Opposition in this place attempting to destabilise—it is clear, everyone can read it; people in this place who have been familiar with politics can see it—and trying to undermine the Prime Minister—undermine the Prime Minister when he is here; undermine the Prime Minister when he is at the G20—and not allow for a unity of purpose when it comes to running government. And we simply cannot afford that, and the budget cannot afford that. If we are to encourage those types of savings and changes to go through, we simply cannot have a situation where the second Leader of the Opposition is fighting and leading a rearguard action against the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. And those reports actually get out into the public. We find out about it quickly. Any time that a decision is made on that side of this place, we find out in the media today—be it the introduction of the Christopher Pyne border patrol, or border force, in this place, spying on their own people, or be it some of the meetings that they are having about economic policy. It is simply unacceptable. As I said, I agree with the Treasurer: we need unity, we need bipartisanship, and we need the backbench to actually work with the front bench of the coalition to make that happen—otherwise we are going to be in a way worse spot. And the country cannot afford the division and dysfunction. The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN The question is that the bill be now read a second time. I call the Chief Government Whip. 19:38 Ms MARINO HWP Forrest Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your new role. I am sure you will bring great distinction to this. I rise to speak about something that is particularly important: the crisis in the dairy industry in Western Australia today. As of 1 October—that is in just 18 days' time—four of our dairy farmers, my fellow dairy farmers, in Western Australia will have no home at all for their milk. They have been told by their processor that their contract will not be renewed from this date. And no other processor has agreed or will agree to taking on these farmers' milk supplies. One of these dairy farmers is a new young farmer, Clayton Minson, who has only just recently bought his dairy farm. He has taken the risk, he and his wife have invested and they are having a go—and yet in 18 days' time, they will have no home for their milk. Another one is Graham Manning—both ends of the spectrum: the Manning family were actually pioneers of dairy farming in Western Australia, and Graham has produced some of the best quality milk in Australia throughout his time as a dairy farmer. In fact, for the last 16 years his milk has been in the top five per cent in Australia for quality. Yet he will have no home for this top-quality milk in 18 days. This also sees him—and us as an industry—losing decades and decades of breeding, and decades and decades of knowledge. And there are others: Dale and Leanne Hanks and Tony and Tina Ferraro and their families; they are the others of the four who will see no home for their milk in 18 days' time. How does anybody think these farmers are feeling today? What do they do with their cows in 18 days' time? What do they do with their milk in 18 days' time?. If that was you, how would you be feeling? But it does not stop there. In Western Australia, a further five dairy farmers will have no home for their milk from 1 January, and they supply a different processor altogether. All of these dairy farmers are extremely vulnerable because they have a perishable product, one that has to be refrigerated and processed on a daily basis. They cannot store it, they cannot put it away, they cannot put it in a warehouse; it has to be manufactured on a daily basis. But they also have to supply these contracts until that very last day. And as for cows, Mr Deputy Speaker—I know you are aware—you cannot simply flick a switch and turn off the udder of a dairy cow. It does not work like that. As you know, it is a long-term investment, when you become a dairy farmer, and with each set of cows that you raise. It takes 2½ years from the time a heifer calf is born until she comes into the dairy as a milker. It is a two-and-a-half-year turnaround for that one animal. It is a long-term plan and a long-term investment by dairy farmers. Given that the majority of milk in Western Australia is used in the domestic market, concerns have constantly been raised with me that the market dominance of the two leading grocery retailers is having a major impact on farmgate milk prices. And of course, what really concerns me with $1 milk is the value that consumers then place on that product. To think of what goes into the production, the processing and the delivery of milk—and to think that it is cheaper than water! When you consider the time, the effort, the expertise and the excellence that goes into producing milk around Australia, to see the value go out of this product—in my mind, it is just appalling. The problem arises from market dominance, whether it is in grocery sales or in any other marketplace. It is that processers and producers cannot negotiate a fair price or terms and conditions for their goods. That is what happens. Processers and producers who are unable to make sufficient returns on capital simply cannot make the necessary investments or maintain their businesses. That is it in a nutshell. An additional undesirable outcome is the reduction—often—of the number of branded products, as well as where they are placed on the shelves. We all know that milk and dairy products in effect lead the consumer through a store to the very back—that is where the refrigerated section is. What else will a consumer pick up, along the way to pick up their milk and their dairy products when they go into to a supermarket? The crisis in the WA dairy industry was highlighted by the Western Australia Farmers Federation dairy representatives at the dairy symposium held in Melbourne recently. I thank the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, for convening this symposium, because the issue facing Western Australia had not been raised at a national level. The amount of people in that room who had no idea that we had these nine farmers who would have no home for their milk in a short amount of time was borne out. I also want to acknowledge the work of the dairy section president, the newly elected Michael Partridge, who actually ran the debate for Western Australia at that symposium. It was an opportunity to facilitate an industry-led discussion, and this is needed to better manage the risk— Honourable members interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN Can I ask the members at the table to be quieter please. Ms MARINO HWP Thanks, Mr Deputy Speaker. Obviously the plight of my dairy farmers and industry is not necessarily an issue for those on the opposite side. We need to better manage the risk along the dairy supply chain, given the vulnerability, the perishability and especially the effects of world dairy prices. This meeting saw producers from many states raise concerns about the way milk is sold and the management of processing and marketing. Fairer contract terms were discussed and there was a strong desire to see the processing sector work cooperatively with farmers to agree to better bargaining and contracting conditions. In my view the long-term outlook for the dairy industry in WA is positive. We know that global dairy consumption is growing by around 2.2 per cent a year. We just have to keep our critical mass in Western Australia. I think we are down to around 145 dairy farmers, yet Western Australia is so well geographically located to supply quality product to developing countries. Our WA processors have an important role and a vested interest in ensuring local milk production capacity is retained for that inevitable time when domestic consumption once again outpaces supply and, of course, for additional export opportunities ahead. As a dairy farmer myself, I knew we had a problem when Fonterra sold the profitable brands and therefore reduced the manufacturing opportunities in WA—for instance, Lady Borden ice-cream. You are well aware that the dairy industry underpins small towns and local economies. For many years in this country dairy has been rock-solid in the way it contributes to small towns, particularly through my south-west. Australian dairy is a $13 billion farm, manufacturing and export industry. It is not a small player. We look at all of the careers not just on-farm that go with cows: in the food service sector, in research and development, in the vet industry, in herd recording and right through to in manufacturing and the creation of new products. There is career after career. Many of those, as you would know, are city based. So there are some very genuine reasons that this industry is so important in Australia. The government has commissioned and announced a review by the ACCC. An in-depth and independent inquiry by the ACCC is probably the only way to uncover inefficiencies and inequities that our farmers face and to identify a way forward—as long as those in the supply chain can give their evidence in confidence without the prospect of retaliation from powerful organisations further along the chain. This has been a problem historically. It was a problem when I was working for the industry with Dairy Western Australia. The very nature of the evidence, in such a small market, naturally identifies its source and, because there are limited outlets for the product, that evidence can put you out of business. I had a personal experience of this some years ago when I was given evidence of four potential breaches of the act to pass on to the ACCC. The individual concerned would only meet me to pass on this evidence in a car park in Perth where there were no cameras. The ACCC inquiry that we have announced will begin in November. It will investigate the sharing of risk along the supply chain, supply agreements and contracts, competition, bargaining and trading practices in the industry, and the effect of world and retail prices on profitability. It will release an issues paper and engage with stakeholders through public and private hearings and will finally report to government in the second half of 2017. The ACCC's agricultural unit, which was established through an $11.4 million commitment by the coalition government in the Agricultural competitiveness white paper, will lead the inquiry. I would suggest that a starting point for the review should be the examination of similar legislation in other countries, including the USA, UK and EU. Of course, we need to discover whether the practices currently found in the Australian grocery sector could potentially breach the laws as they apply in those countries. The review needs to consider whether the current law and competition policy reduce incentives for processors and producers to invest and innovate because they are subject to unduly harsh bargaining practices from big players. It needs to consider whether the remuneration structure for buyers and the dominant grocery retailers drive unreasonably aggressive bargaining practices. I want to finish this particular speech by recognising where those four dairy farmers find themselves. I spoke about it earlier on and I know how they are feeling. I know how the five and their families, who are yet to have their contracts not renewed in January, are feeling. I also know how strongly they feel about their cattle, their farms and the dairy industry. All of these people have spent decades and decades refining their craft and contributing not just to the industry but to their communities. I want to thank them very much for what they have done. It is an appalling situation that they find themselves in. I hope that everybody in this House acknowledges their vulnerability and commitment to the industry over so many years. 19:52 Mr CHAMPION HW9 Wakefield Before I begin to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017, I would like to assure the member for Forrest that while there was a bit of chat around the desk it was not in regard to her constituents. We, indeed I, have constituents who are dairy farmers. We all know the great amount of time, energy, money and heart they invest into their farms and businesses. We all look aghast, I think, at some of the situations that have been caused by the deregulation of the dairy industry. That was led by Victorian farmers, I might note, and the consequences are still being felt now. Here we are on the appropriation bill, and I can talk about anything, so I am going to talk about the first anniversary. It seems like yesterday that I was standing just at this box. I remember standing here—it was in the triumphant period— Mr Husic 91219 Basking! Mr CHAMPION HW9 They were basking. Thank you, Member for Chifley. In fact, you could not stand at this box without getting the warm glow off the then member for—what was he member for, Longman? Was that Wyatt Roy? There is a blast from the past— Mr Tudge M2Y I don't think this is relevant. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Is it relevant to this government's budget? Too right it is. All that plotting put you off course, so of course it is— Mr Tudge interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 You've got to stand at the box if you are going to make a point of order, Minister. An honourable member interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 You are going to enjoy every second of it. Mr Husic interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 Yes, that's right, the outback tour with Tony Abbott. That must have been a hell of a tour, and he stole all your media. Mr Husic 91219 The mobile pub tour! Mr CHAMPION HW9 Wouldn't you be upset— The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN I remind members that the member will be heard in silence—on both sides of the table. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Indeed! Thank you for your protection, Deputy Speaker Coulton, I do appreciate it. I was talking about the basking that took place last year. I remember getting up here and saying, 'I don't think this will end that well.' I was making a point about the Westminster tradition, that if you are a minister in a cabinet and you are serving a Prime Minister you owe your first loyalty to him, and that if you engage in plotting out there in Queanbeyan—that is where it was, wasn't it? There are not too many of them left in the House, now. One? Two? There are some who do not own up to being there, and they are still here. You see them mentioned in the paper every now and again. One year on, it does not look quite as good. Today, in fact, in The Australian, hardly an organ of socialism and progress, we had Phillip Hudson: 'One year on, what is the point of Turnbull as PM?' Mr Husic 91219 You sound like Tony Abbott, asking that question! Mr CHAMPION HW9 It could be. What I like is that there are quotes in the article from Jeff Kennett and Peta Credlin. Mr Husic 91219 More friends. Mr CHAMPION HW9 They are all friends. This is a quote from Kennett: Kennett's cruel response that he could not name one achievement "at the moment'— 'at the moment' is in inverted commas— when asked in a television interview last week is a gift to Labor from a leading Liberal. Turnbull would expect Credlin, as the former chief of staff to the man he tore down a year ago this week, to be a critic but her analysis that he has a "skinny tally of wins" is as biting as her three word put-down during the election that he was "Mr Harbourside Mansion". Mr Husic 91219 That was a highlight! Mr CHAMPION HW9 That was a highlight! It is his first anniversary. We have words such as 'pointless' being used. It is not really basking in the warm inner glow. I saw the member for Rankin in here before. He was talking about the appropriations bill and numbers, and how those opposite are $100 million out. Mr Tudge M2Y Dim Sim Jim, you're talking about; Chinese Chalmers! Mr CHAMPION HW9 He can count, though. That is a big step up over your Treasurer—he can count! Mr Tudge interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 That's not good politics! Talking about people who can count, the Financial Review can count. Mr Husic interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 They are on the conservative side, Member for Chifley. Thank you for pointing that out. The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN I remind the member for Chifley that he does not have the call, and the member for Wakefield can make his speech by himself. Mr CHAMPION HW9 He has been interrupting me—and bullying me, I might add—since the Young Labor conferences of the early nineties. Mr Husic 91219 Forceful guidance. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Forceful guidance, he says. The Financial Review also celebrated the first anniversary. Their article is entitled 'Experts give Malcolm Turnbull a D-plus for first year as PM.' What confused me is they called it a pass mark. What confused me is they called it a pass mark—it said 'barely got a pass mark'—but in my day a D wasn't a pass mark. I thought that was a C-minus, but maybe things have changed—grade deflation—to make sure he gets in under the bar. That was '50 business leaders, former Liberal politicians, academics, economists, administrators, lawyers and lobbyists who graded the PM for AFR Weekend.' The article says: Not a single person awarded Turnbull an A and 50 per cent rated him D, E or F. Turnbull only narrowly avoided a fail. It is a tough crowd. I was stunned by some of the things that were said. Warwick Smith, a former Liberal MP, who now works for a media baron and as a banker for Macquarie Group—he was the member for Bass, I think; they lost the seat of Bass in the last election—said, ' He is in danger of being seen as a total fizzer.' A bit harsh. A bit rough. If was one year into the job, I don't know if I could bear this sort of criticism. I was reading and reading and highlighting bits and pieces, and then, a bit further on, I really liked this one— Mr Husic interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 Even I was a bit like: I wouldn't be this harsh on the Prime Minister on his first anniversary. I know he has to be dealt with with kid gloves, because he his delicate. An ANU economist, Mr Martin Richardson, said in relation to the Prime Minister's leadership: What's the Latin for 'I came, I did nothing, I stuck around?' I'm sure Mr Turnbull would know. That is brutal. My mother-in-law is a Latin teacher. Sadly, she was unavailable. You cannot really translate that into Latin. We tried with— Mr Husic 91219 'I came. I saw. I did nothing.' Mr CHAMPION HW9 You cannot actually translate 'I came, I did nothing, I stuck around.' Tragically you just cannot translate that into Latin, but I did use the internet for this. Mr Husic 91219 Thank God for the internet. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Thank God for the internet. There are a couple of things. There is 'causa perduta'. That is 'lost cause'. Mr Husic 91219 If you translate that, it's 'Malcom Turnbull'. Mr CHAMPION HW9 That is right. Translate back. A government member interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 Yes, generally, but I am referring to the appropriation bill and the budget and stuff like that. I am not sure if I am pronouncing this right, 'qua de causa', which is 'for which reason'. This is the first year of government and it started so well! It started with such a glow, such a basking sort of— Mr Husic 91219 Self-administered sunshine basking! Mr CHAMPION HW9 Self-administered! It was the tanning salon of governments. And now we see them—Deputy Speaker Kelly is in the chair. He was giving a fine speech before, as he always does. He talks a lot about corporate tax rates. He always neglects to mention fringe benefits tax and capital gains tax, which are also implemented. And he leaves a few things out about the eighties. Mr Husic 91219 It just gets in the way of a good argument. Mr CHAMPION HW9 It does get in the way of a good argument. But he, in his speech, singled out the one single achievement of this government, which was to keep Labor out of government. Mr Husic interjecting— Mr CHAMPION HW9 Of all the conservative causes. Normally they dress it up a bit, but they are really reaching into the bottom tray of achievements: 'We'll just keep the other guys out. Stop the other guys doing stuff—advancing the nation.' And given where we are with the world economy, our own national economy and all these debates, that is not really good enough. Non-thinking conservatism is not really good enough. Mr Husic 91219 There's a tautology! Mr CHAMPION HW9 That is right. A tautology. Thanks for the feedback, Ed; I do appreciate it. Mr Husic 91219 I am helping you and Hansard. Mr CHAMPION HW9 I agree. I will take all of your interjections. I also love the Prime Minister and his own words. When asked to describe his own first year in power, he said, 'So far, so good.' I mean, I do not really want to harp on it, but remember the thought bubbles that came through about the GST? There was all this chest thumping and you could see all these conservative commentators getting excited and the business lobby was getting going, and the backbenchers. He marched them all up to the top of the hill—and then straight back down again. And then we had the bizarre notion of the state income tax: getting the premiers to set your income tax. Mr Husic 91219 That is the future. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Well, I have been reading a bit about Jack Curtin and his time as Prime Minister. Interestingly enough, they finished those debates then with a referendum. It was unbelievable. I have got some very conservative people in my electorate, very conservative farmers, and it tried even their patience for the conservative cause. They did not want Jay Weatherill setting the income tax rate. I think the thought quite horrified them. I would not include myself in that club of course, but anyway. Mr Husic 91219 Let us know how this speech goes with them. Mr CHAMPION HW9 That is right. I am known for pleasing people with my speeches. Anyway, 'So far, so good.' That is how the Prime Minister judges his own year. Look, let us be perfectly and utterly honest about it in this great appropriations debate. We are here and the government has got nothing to say in the Senate. They have got barely any legislation in the House. They are clinging to a compromise on same-sex marriage which pleases nobody, because, at the end of the day, when the Australian people actually vote for it, the government will not be such fans of the plebiscite then. They will want to come back here and have a parliamentary vote. That will destroy the Prime Minister's government. Talk about 'be careful what you wish for'. If they get the plebiscite, it will be Malcolm Turnbull's Brexit moment. If they test this question with all of its consequences for the Australian people out there, he will then face an affirmative vote and he will have to come back in here and legislate it. Mr Husic 91219 It should be interesting. Mr CHAMPION HW9 That will be interesting. His prime ministership will fail on it. I would put money on it, the same way I put money on it when I got up here a year ago and ripped into the government for their terrible judgement. The best you can say about this Prime Minister is that he saved Australians making a judgement on Tony Abbott—on Tony Abbott's government, its conduct and its budgets. Mr Husic 91219 It saved Tony Abbott too. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Saved Tony Abbott? Well, it absolutely saved him. That is why Tony Abbott can now do the doors. I saw him this morning. Mr Husic 91219 Second opposition leader. Mr CHAMPION HW9 Yes. The second opposition leader. It is what he was always built to do: be in opposition. So now he is in opposition to the Prime Minister. When he went on the tour with Mr Tudge in Mr Tudge's office— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 99931 Order! The member for Wakefield well knows that he should address members of parliament by their correct title. I would instruct him to continue his speech doing so within those rules. Mr CHAMPION HW9 The minister went on a tour with the second opposition leader and it did not go so well. He stole all of the media. It must have been very frustrating. Mr Husic 91219 Oh no. Mr CHAMPION HW9 That would have driven him crazy. So what we have here is a government that is divided fundamentally on not just personality but policy. The reason they cannot do anything is they cannot agree on anything. Everybody in this building knows that only the Nationals have really got a policy agenda, and that is to send some poor vets down to—where are they going? I cannot remember, but they are being sent to the four ends of the earth. Let us hope that Norfolk Island is not transferred into the member for New England's electorate, otherwise people are going to get a very rude shock. This government is completely at war with itself, and it will not last the distance. 20:06 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler As one of the people who just sat through the ramblings of the member for Wakefield for the past 15 minutes I am pleased it has come to an end! Certainly, I think the people of Australia would be out there building bronze statues to anyone who has kept to Bill Shorten and the Labor Party away from the Australian Treasury. That is the reality. But the people of my electorate want to hear what we are doing, and the most important thing for them is creating jobs, so we will continue to do things as a government to ensure there are more jobs in my electorate of Hinkler and across the nation. I know I sound like a broken record, but I want to talk about ex-HMAS Tobruk. I know the Minister for Defence is sick of hearing from me and I know the staff of the Minister for Defence are sick of hearing from me. Certainly, a number of people are sick of hearing from me about ex-HMAS Tobruk. For three years we have been fighting to bring a military dive wreck into the electorate of Hinkler, to be parked in some 30 metres of water between Bundaberg and Harvey Bay, directly off Burrum Heads. I am pleased to report we are finally seeing some progress. I have to say—and this is not something I would do often—that I congratulate the Queensland Labor government. They have finally got on board. The state government has listed an expression of interest, which was submitted to the Department of Defence. I want to take the opportunity to thank the Queensland tourism minister, state Labor minister Kate Jones, for her support for the project and for the work she has done to progress the proposal, because where I come from we fight for what is best for our people and we try to deliver for them, regardless of who is in opposition or what position they might hold. The state government has called for expressions of interest from local councils across Queensland to use ex-HMAS Tobruk as a military dive wreck. Since this announcement they have come out of the woodwork. Like rats off a sinking ship, they have come from everywhere. Every coastal council in Queensland seems to think that it needs a military dive wreck and has the capacity and infrastructure to actually use it. And why wouldn't they? A project like this demonstrates how much potential it has to build local regional economies. Unlike some of those areas, I have two councils, the Fraser Coast Regional Council and the Bundaberg Regional Council, which have committed $1 million each towards this project. They are willing to work together. I know, Deputy Speaker Kelly, that you have a lot of experience in this place and I am sure that it would be very rare for you to see councils working together on a project like this. They tend to box into their corners. But, as I have said many times, this is a unique opportunity to bring a tourism venture to the Hinkler region to add to additional tourism infrastructure. It will bring a much needed boost to the local economy and it will create jobs, as it has done in other places. The increased tourism numbers to the region have a flow-on effect, of course—increased spending in local restaurants, in local shops and with local businesses. There are small-scale dive operators already in my electorate, at each end. They customarily service locals and backpackers. And thanks of course to the whale and turtle markets Harvey Bay and Bundaberg already have the capability, the capacity and the infrastructure needed to support a substantial dive tourism industry. Ecotourism, retail and hospitality and accommodation businesses do need another attraction to boost visitor numbers, particularly in the months when the whales and turtles are not in season. That infrastructure is already there—some 26 whale boats in Harvey Bay. Ex-HMAS Tobruk has the potential to contribute somewhere between $1 million and $4 million to our local economy, on estimates, for the next 50 years, with growth. A report by the Centre for Conservation Geography into the economic impact of the scuba dive industry in Australia estimates that dive related spending in Australia is $2.2 billion a year. We want our fair share of that I must say. In Queensland, dive related spending is potentially as much is $950 million a year. This demonstrates that there are real economic benefits from the project, if we are successful in the local bid. This could bring literally thousands of divers to the regions. Here are some examples. HMAS Adelaide, in New South Wales, already attracts 5,000 divers a year, with at least 90 per cent of those coming from outside the region and at least 20 per cent from overseas. Just recently, a dive operator on the Sunshine Coast said that his business increased by 1,500 per cent since HMAS Brisbane was sunk 10 years ago. How would you like that on your bottom line? They are the sort of numbers we are talking about. And, of course, people would flock to the region to see the actual scuttling take place. When ex-HMAS Adelaide was scuttled it attracted 30,000 visitors to see the ship sunk. HMAS Tobruk is a unique ship and we in the electorate of Hinkler will take great care of it and treat it with the respect it deserves. Work to prepare the Tobruk for scuttling could also be carried out locally at the Bundaberg port, in the northern end of my electorate, which will provide more jobs—another $5 million to $7 million project. So, I will continue to fight for this project, because it has multiple benefits. On the topic of big ships, earlier this year Fraser Island was host to the P&O cruise ship Pacific Aria, which is the first time a ship of this size has navigated the Great Sandy Strait. Fraser Island is in my neighbouring electorate of Wide Bay. Can I just take this moment to congratulate Llew O'Brien, the new member for Wide Bay, replacing long-term member and former Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss. There is no doubt that the flow-on effects into Hinkler are plentiful. There are many individuals in many local organisations who have made this historic event a reality. I congratulate Fraser Coast Opportunities, Tourism and Events Queensland, as well as the Fraser Coast Regional Council, P&O Cruises and Kingfisher Bay Resort. I think this will be the first of many cruise ships. The next cruise is scheduled to be there in December. I thank the passengers of Pacific Aria for showing an interest in the Fraser Coast, but why wouldn't you? It is a fabulous place to visit and has some wonderful attractions. I say to any of the passengers on future voyages, don't just go to Fraser Island. Have a look at Harvey Bay and Maryborough, in the neighbouring electorate of Wide Bay. You can get a hold of the local seafood—the Harvey Bay sea scallops; the Ocean King prawns; and all of the good fish—or you can explore the wonderful rich history that Maryborough has to offer, such as Portside, which has a collection of heritage-listed buildings that are now museums, restaurants and galleries. It is the electorate of Wide Bay, so I recognise my colleague Llew O'Brien. There is also the statue of the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Travers. We are talking about 1,500 passengers. Can you imagine the injection into the local economy from 1,500 passengers being offloaded for the day. They can visit the Fraser Coast and it is a wonderful opportunity to us to showcase what we have. So, when these opportunities come up, we should grab them with both hands and absolutely use them to the fullest advantage. Whilst on the subject of tourism, I would also like to say what a great honour it was to be appointed the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. My electorate, like many others in regional Australia, has enormous potential for trade, tourism and investment. I look forward to promoting not only my own patch but other areas across this wonderful country. I have had the opportunity already to visit Port Moresby to discuss with ministers and business leaders in PNG ways that we can enhance our significant trade and investment links. In 2015 Australian investment in PNG was some $18.4 billion, with two-way trade totalling $4.7 billion, and there are more opportunities. Australia's economic relationship with PNG has tremendous growth potential and can drive job creation in both countries. There are significant opportunities for Australian companies in PNG, including in the mining and energy, agriculture, construction and tourism sectors. I have had the great advantage of attending a number of events recently, including Corroboree Asia 2016, where over 300 qualified travel agents from across Asia, including from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, India and Indonesia, came to get some more training. Would you believe, Mr Deputy Speaker, they call these tourism operators the Aussie specialists. They are trained specifically for Australia. I called them the 'James Bonds', the 007s that Australia has placed in these countries. The joke fell a bit flat. Perhaps I should have gone with someone more local, like Jackie Chan. This is the first opportunity I have had to speak in this place since the election and I want to thank the voters of Hinkler. They put their trust in me to be their advocate in Canberra for another three years. It has been a very humbling experience to be re-elected as their representative, particularly as it is the electorate I call home, the electorate where I was born and where I have lived most of my life. I also want to thank all the volunteers and supporters who gave their time so willingly, because it is not a one-person effort; it is a team effort that gets you elected. I would like to thank the local members: Ted Sorensen in Hervey Bay, Stephen Bennett in Burnett, Ken and Christine Tyson, Peter Carey and everyone else—the hundreds of people who turn out for an election. And they do it the right way: with integrity. As many of my colleagues would no doubt agree, the campaign was a bit long, but it is great to have the support of the people that I represent. I will do my utmost to represent them and to spend the next three years kicking goals for them. They are the ones who sent me here and I will always act in their interest, as I did in the previous term. Throughout the election campaign I spoke about what the coalition government can deliver, because this is about delivery. It is not about rhetoric, not about social licence; it is about what you can deliver for your people. We have made a number of commitments, and we will ensure that each of those commitments is delivered, just as I delivered those from the 2013 campaign. The $20 million Wide Bay Burnett jobs package is an enormous announcement for our region. For somewhere that has had high unemployment for a long time, anything that can help build the local economy will be of great value. This package will give local businesses the confidence to invest and grow further. It will attract matching funding from participating businesses, resulting in a minimum package of $40 million. If I know one thing about the people I represent, I know they are frugal. They know how to get the best out of every single dollar. We will do our utmost to make those dollars extend as far as possible. These grants will assist existing local businesses to grow and also offer incentives for metropolitan based companies to expand their businesses into the Wide Bay Burnett region. They are about creating new, sustainable, long-term jobs. We have businesses located in Bundaberg, Childers, Hervey Bay—right across the electorate—that will be eligible to apply for this funding. Local communities will be involved by assessing their region's economic opportunities and developing tailored, forward-looking local investment plans. This is a key difference: they are local investment plans using local knowledge, local experience and local people who know their region best. It will create a community-driven investment partnership between the coalition government, business and local communities. Local knowledge will be a vital component. We need to continue to develop skills, upgrade local infrastructure and provide business innovation grants, because we do not want to see our talented people continue to leave the electorate. I went to the former Deputy Prime Minister's valedictory dinner in Queensland a few weeks ago. One of the things from Warren Truss's speech that really stuck with me was that his great regret, in all the infrastructure that he provided over 26 years in parliament—the billions of dollars of improvements to roads and telecommunications, including the NBN—was that unfortunately those roads became roads out of town. We need to ensure, in whatever we do, that we continue to support our regional communities. Another project which will underpin local jobs is the multiplex project, put up by Bundaberg Regional Council, to which the federal government has committed $5 million for stage 2. This will provide a civic hall, community function rooms, and a commercial kitchen and cafe—more job-creating projects with the capacity to bring in more investment. It is the missing element that will attract community events, business conferences and major sporting events to Bundaberg. An extension of a busy road into an industrial area of Bundaberg will not only direct traffic away from one of the largest high schools in the district but allow easier access for 25-metre B-doubles. This government has committed $1.4 million to extending Kay McDuff Drive to the Bundaberg ring road, which is something I have advocated very strongly for here in Canberra. More than 6,200 vehicles, including 320 heavy vehicles, use the current route every day. This extension will make the roads safer for the 1,500 students of the nearby school and provide direct access to the freight network. Many of the election commitments will not only provide jobs but enhance our communities. In Burrum Heads we have committed to a new bike path, for use by pedestrians, cyclists and parents with children, which will be accessible all year round. It is known locally as 'the missing link'. As a community infrastructure project, it will have positive flow-on effects, providing Burrum Heads families and individuals with more facilities to get active. Childers residents will benefit from a new hydrotherapy pool, which has been high on the wish list for many years in the community. My electorate has an older than average population, and this investment will have obvious benefits for the aging and senior residents in Childers. Pacific Haven and Redridge will receive a much needed boost to mobile phone coverage under the Mobile Black Spot Program. The coalition government has committed an additional $60 million on top of the $160 million already invested in mobile black spots, bringing the total investment to $220 million. I met with Redridge residents John Hunter and Jennifer Symons last year to discuss their concerns that areas surrounding Childers did not even have SOS phone coverage. They organised a petition, which I tabled in this place in November, with 606 signatures from residents in Doolbi, Horton, Abington, Goodwood, North Isis and Redridge. I congratulate them on fighting for improvements to mobile coverage and, of course, being successful. We will deliver that coverage. I will briefly mention Hervey Bay's AFL team, Bay Power, who have been training in the dark. We have provided some funding for lighting, which will make things much easier for them. Not only will they be able to play night games; they will be able to train after the sun goes down—can you believe it, Mr Deputy Speaker?—in regional Australia. That is a substantial investment for us. There will also be money for Bundaberg Netball, which will provide additional courts and shaded grandstands. The building could attract a state carnival of 500 teams, bringing some 10,000 people to the region. Everything we do is about creating jobs and building stronger regional economies, ensuring we get the budget under control whilst continuing to have strong economic growth. That has been demonstrated by the last quarter's figures of just over three per cent. I look forward to providing for the people of Hinkler for the next three years. 20:22 Mr KATTER HX4 Kennedy I have better things to do with my time than attack other members, but I cannot help but comment. The member's electorate is based upon Bundaberg, which is a leading sugar producing area. Our sugar farmers get, on average, for the last 10 or 15 years, $340 a tonne. We do not have ethanol in this country. Our competitors, Brazil, get $420 a tonne. So, whilst there have been 300 sugar mills built in the world, we are actually closing our sugar mills in Australia. That brings me to what I would like to talk about tonight. An infamous man in Australian history—and this is how history books will treat Paul Keating—said that we were going to have the freest economy on earth, and I think he went a long way to achieving that. What he did not achieve was achieved by Peter Costello. What does a free economy mean? When we are young, we get an inoculation to protect us from disease. A lot of our taxes pay for an army to protect us against invasion. We have locks on our doors and windows to protect us in our homes. So we have this thing called protection, and we had economic protection against people who will subsidise their product and will cheat and get advantages for their people over the free market system, but we removed all of our protection. If you have a look at the protection registers in the world, there are only two countries that removed their protection: Australia and New Zealand. If you want to include a third country, the third country would be Canada. It is very hard to see that the pockmarks are flashing here; the colonial pockmarks are flashing in neon lights. We as a nation simply have not grown up. We wanted to be the teacher's pet, the good boys in the playground, whilst everyone else was playing Marquess of Queensberry rules. Let me be very specific. If you remove protection from manufacturing, you are competing against people who work for $4,000 a year. Our wage structures at the time were $60,000 a year. Their wage structures were $4,000 a year. Is it any surprise that we have closed down all of our manufacturing industries? You cannot buy a light bulb. You cannot buy a motor car tyre. Next year you will not be able to buy a car. You cannot buy a whitegood. The last whitegoods factory closed in Orange last year. You can quantify these figures in agriculture. The OECD put out a report some years ago on agriculture and it said that a farmer on earth gets 41 per cent of his income from the government. If you are a farmer in Australia you only get 5.6 per cent of your income from the government. I just did a short ethanol tour and I would not be backing us against the Americans in beef, I can tell you, and I would not be backing us against the Brazilians in sugar, I can tell you. Even off a level playing field we would find it difficult. Giving our competitors a 36 per cent flying start and then thinking that we are going to have some agriculture? Within 10 or 15 years this country will be a net importer of food. Within 20 to 25 years, we will be a net importer in agriculture. The biggest export item that this country had for its entire history was wool, until 1990 when the world's cleverest Treasurer—and the rest of the world thought Mr Keating was bloody marvellous. He was the greatest gift that they ever had, outside of Mr Costello probably. But he deregulated the wool industry. The honourable government whip is sitting over here and her family are from the dairy industry. I represented the biggest dairy area probably in Australia; most certainly one of the biggest in Australia—past tense. We had over 240 dairy farms before the wonders of deregulation hit us. We now have 38 dairy farmers. That is all that is left. As far as the wool industry goes, it was a bigger export item—and my party proudly, the Country Party, put that scheme together—than coal in 1990. It is not ancient history. In 1990 wool was our biggest export item. Sixty-two per cent of our sheep herd is gone. This is the industry that carried Australia for its entire history, for 200 years—gone; destroyed by the free marketeers in this place. The manufacturing industries were destroyed by the free marketeers in this place. You can say it has not affected mining. Like hell it has not. I am from the mining industry. I am a mining man. All my life before I went into parliament was committed to mining, starting as a labourer and then working in my own mines. In the end I floated my own companies before the crash in mining came. We have to process our metals. We cannot sell them overseas unprocessed. You cannot sell copper, which is seven per cent, and send 93 per cent Australian earth over to Japan or to China or to America. You have to send the copper. You have to process it. What you need to process it is electricity. Ah, the free market. The free market came in in electricity. We had a 10 per cent increase through the 1980s. Through the 1990s we had 10 per cent. Through the 2000s we had 10 per cent. And then we hit the wonders of deregulation and it went up 300 per cent in nine years, which knocks us out of the ball game. We have the copper smelter half closed; we have the nickel plant closed; we have the zinc plant, which wanted to double in size but cannot because of the cost of electricity; we have the aluminium industry now under a cloud because of the cost of electricity. In Queensland, when I handed over to the socialists the electricity industry in Queensland, we had the cheapest power in the world, because we were no free marketeers. We had a reserve resource policy. We took the coal for free. If you turned your lights on in Queensland, the lights were turned on by free coal because of brilliance and aggression. There was no free marketeering here; we were out to win. We had the cheapest electricity in the world. That is how the aluminium industry in Queensland got to be the third biggest industry in the state and one of the biggest in the nation. The other thing it did was cut the capital base out from under us. When I had an insurance agency selling insurance, 60 per cent of all superannuation went into government securities. There were two reasons for this. One was that people in their retirement deserved security. They deserved the security of government securities. Now, of course, nothing goes into government securities. It is invested in real estate, in probably the most inflated real estate market in the world. The average price of a house in the greater Sydney area is $980,000. One-fifth of Australia's population lives in that area, where it is $980,000 for a house and the average income is $70,000. And we say we do not need an inquiry into the banks who have financed house prices up to $980,000 and forced average families out of their houses? How can they possibly afford to service a debt of $980,000? That brings me to the unfairness of the tax system in Australia. When we were young, my wife and I had five children. We paid virtually no tax because of the deductions for children in those days. A family with three kids now pays, on average, $20,000 for accommodation, $25,000 for food—it is a bit low, but that is the figure for a family with three kids—and tax of $22,000. If you take that $67,000 away from the average income of $75,000, it leaves you with $8,000 of disposable income for five people—$2,000 each. Of course, if you are a DINK—dual income, no kids—accommodation is still $20,000, food is a bit less at around $15,000 and you are taxed a hell of a lot more, so you end up paying out $79,000 on an income of $150,000 because of the double income. If you divide $71,000 by two, you have a disposable income of $35,000. So the question is this: do you want a disposable income of $2,000 or a disposable income of $35,000? Needless to say, Australians are not having children, except down at the welfare end of the spectrum—God bless them for having children. But do we help them? Do we help the middle-income earners, the wage earners, to have children? No. The tax regime penalises them to a dramatic extent. It says that people on $150,000 should pay the same tax as people on $70,000 with five kids, dividing it five ways. If the government are fair dinkum, then they are going to give us some capital expenditure to develop the resources of this nation. The country is going broke at 100 miles per hour. In the last three years, the trade deficit has gone from $10 billion to $29 billion—these are average figures; it looks a lot worse if I use the specific numbers for the three years—and the balance on the current account has gone from $54 billion to $85 billion. And while we did not hear much about foreign debt in the last election, the Liberals have taken it from $750 billion to $1,028 billion. How much longer do you think that can go on? Well, the party is now over. We have only got two sources of income: iron ore and coal. These are hardly a staple diet for a country. Nearly half of our entire income in this nation is now down to two items: iron ore and coal. If you give us a railway line into the Galilee, a lousy little 320-kilometre line—as a government, for nearly 20 years we were laying 360 kilometres every year out of the public purse, but there has not been a single kilometre by the ALP, the workers' friend. They have not laid a single kilometre of railway line for most of the last 30 years in Queensland. And, of course, for the Liberals it is against their principles, their philosophy and their religion to expend public moneys on developmental infrastructure. They will spend it on hurdy-gurdies, merry-go-rounds, function centres in the big cities and football stadiums to win votes. But will they spend it on a railway line so that we can open up the Galilee coalfields? No! What is that worth to the Australian economy? It is worth $16 billion a year. That is the immediate income from the Galilee. You build Hells Gate, you get $2 billion a year. You give us that little bit of on-farm irrigation that we need on each cattle station and give the First Australians title deeds, and we will give you $5 billion extra in cattle income. You give us a tiny little canal to get our phosphate fertiliser out, we will give you $4 billion. With these things, and with title deeds for our First Australians, we will give you $5 billion in silicone and $2 billion or $3 billion in prawn and fish production. But, no, the government of Australia thinks it is better to spend $25 billion a year to buy oil from the Middle East instead of producing that oil ourselves—oil called ethanol. And who is going to pay the piper as the country goes broke? The elderly will, with extra tax on superannuation and reductions in their benefits. If we had stayed owning 83 per cent of our mineral resources, as we did 25 years ago—the six major mining companies were all Australian owned: BHP, MIM, Western Mining Corporation, Rio Tinto Australia and Robert de Crespigny's company—the $30 or $40 billion a year that is coming into the coal seam gas industry would be going into Australian pockets instead of into the pockets of foreigners. (Time expired) 20:37 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina The government has introduced an omnibus bill which puts together all the government's savings measures and which we hope and fervently believe Labor will support to help us with the amount of debt repair this nation needs to do not just for people enjoying the benefits of a great Australian lifestyle now but for their kids and their grandkids. The budget bottom line that Labor outlined during the recent election campaign relied on more than $6 billion in coalition savings that they have not reversed, including $3 billion in measures that the Labor Party previously opposed. This follows Labor's backflips on the pension assets test and on the schoolkids bonus. This side of parliament is prepared to work constructively with Labor and the crossbenches to pass these necessary measures. The Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017 is important. Bill Shorten, the member for Maribyrnong, says he wants to work together in the parliament. He said on the first day that he wants it to be a more conciliatory parliament. We have not seen that yet. The test will be whether he supports the measures bills that we are putting forward or whether he just keeps on playing political games, keeps on with the stunts. The government is taking action to necessarily repair the budget by progressing $40 billion worth of unlegislative saves from the previous terms, including revenue increases. The passage of these measures is an absolute legislative and economic priority. The budget savings omnibus bill includes more than $6 billion of these measures, including five from this year's budget. The omnibus bill takes steps towards demonstrating immediate and tangible progress towards, as I said before, absolute, imperative and necessary fiscal repair. Unlegislative measures are obscuring the challenge facing the nation. They represent an important opportunity to get the debt back in control. Parliament has to demonstrate it is willing to take immediate, necessary and, importantly, tangible steps towards this repair work. Repairing the budget is challenging but necessary. We cannot go on just having populist policies and making sure that everybody is placated. We have to take some tough measures. Ratings agencies have stated that the AAA credit rating is at risk, and we all know what happens if that AAA credit rating is lowered. The downgrade would have flow-on consequences for the entire economy. There has been much said about our jobs and growth strategy during the election campaign. I cannot understand why Labor continues to mock and to knock the jobs and growth. They say it is a three-word slogan, but we have to have jobs. As we heard in question time today, we have improved the employment prospects for many. There were more than 200,000 jobs created, the Prime Minister said, in a very short space of time. He mentioned that the unemployment rate was down to 5.7 per cent. He said that this was too high—it is—but we are working towards getting that down even further. And growth. Of course we have had a growth strategy which has been, I have to say, enhanced by the defence industry white paper announced in February this year. I am pleased that the Minister for Defence Industry is in the chamber. The white paper has an unprecedented investment in Australia's defence capability of about $195 billion over the next decade. My electorate benefited to the tune of almost $1 billion from that. There are important upgrades for the Army recruit training centre at Army Recruit Training Centre Kapooka, where every soldier goes and does their basic training. That important facility is going to benefit considerably by more than $400 million worth of investment. The outgoing commandant, Colonel Steve Jobson, is delighted, was delighted, will continue to be delighted by that investment. There is the Royal Australian Air Force base at Forest Hill. If you spend any amount of time in the blue uniform in Australia, you will end up at that important strategic training base. It is going to benefit to the tune of $440 million over the next decade and beyond. I am delighted that inland rail is going ahead in the budget. Treasurer Scott Morrison announced that $594 million was going to go towards securing the important rail corridor with some land acquisition that is important as well as with some preconstruction works to extend that railway all the way from Melbourne to Brisbane. That is going to be so vital for the farmers I represent. When we talk of achievements—and I am proud to be the 17th small business minister of this nation—this government is supporting small business with the $5.5 billion growing jobs and small business package, the biggest ever. It was in the 2015-16 budget. It is fixing competition laws to help small businesses compete with large businesses and extending consumer unfair contract term protections to small business. It is establishing the first Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman—and isn't Kate Carnell doing a wonderful job? It is growing export opportunities through preferential trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan. So many of my small businesses in the Riverina electorate and in the Murrumbidgee irrigation area now represented by Sussan Ley, the member for Farrer, following a boundary redistribution, as well as in the Coleambally irrigation area have tapped into those markets already. There are so many export opportunities for them. The government is also getting on with the job of reducing red tape and government regulations, which is worth $4.8 billion to the economic bottom line. That work was started by the member for Kooyong and is now being continued through a series of ministers. It is a great thing. Key small business measures include cutting company tax rates to 27½ per cent, further reducing to 25 per cent over the next decade. In our recently introduced 10-year enterprise tax plan we introduced an immediate deductibility on every asset costing less than $20,000 purchased by small businesses from the 2015 budget until the end of June 2017. What a great thing that is. What a great initiative that has been for small businesses right throughout this nation. We are looking at section 46 to help small business to compete on a level playing field with big business. There are 2.1 million small businesses in Australia, they employ 4.7 million Australians and they generate $340 billion for our economic good each and every year. That is tremendous. There is so much more we are doing in the small business space. There is $1.372 million for training providers to help small and medium businesses access those groundbreaking trade agreements that we have been able to forge. We have made it easier for small businesses to access export loans up to $250,000 with EficDirect online. There is capital gains tax rollover relief when small businesses change their legal structures but keep the same owners. There is so much more. We abolished the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, saving the jobs of 62,000 owner-drivers in the transport industry. Whilst I am speaking of that, I would just like to refer to a couple of the comments that were made by those truckies—those great people who keep this nation moving—when that dreadful RSRT was in place. Alan Shearer from Shearer's Road Freight, whose depot is on Blaxland Road in East Wagga Wagga, said that from his personal perspective he saw it as discrimination against small businesses that totally involve family ownership and/or family members being employed by that entity. He said it was a restriction of free trade and that there was a total lack of understanding of how the transport industry is structured and runs. The inference is that contractor-drivers are the major source of road safety problems—we know that is not true. Clayton and Naomi Thomas are owner-directors of Thomas' International Transport Services on Neeld Street in Wyalong. Clayton said that the order which came into effect on 4 April 2016 set up an unworkable system of minimum payments that did not allow owner-drivers to compete on a fair market basis with fleet operators. Of course, he is right. He said that it was his considered position that the alleged linking of remuneration under this order to the objects of the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 was strongly disputed and not supported by readily available statistical data on the real causes of the majority of heavy vehicle accidents. It is the same sort of thing that Mr Shearer said, and of course he is right. Wayne Lewis from Coolamon said: Speaking of the TWU, I cannot really believe that an organisation such as theirs could hate a group of people, owner-drivers and their families, so much that they could instigate something as woeful as this. If they are trying to get owner-drivers on-side, I suggest they go back to the drawing board because this type of bullying will never make me want to be part of their little gang. How do I explain to a hirer that, instead of a tonnage rate or a cubic rate which they now pay, they are going to have to pay a kilometre rate and an hourly rate as well? What happens on a journey if the truck is held up through no fault of the driver, for example, for a flood, roadworks, accident or even law enforcement officers? Does this mean that I have to go back to the hirer and say to them that they owe me more money because the trip took longer because of these unforeseen circumstances? Of course, he is right. I have to say that one of the good initiatives that the government has and will continue to have is decentralisation. It is so important. Just last Friday I went to the Australian Taxation Office. They were having a digital platform regional workshop in Albury. They were celebrating—and I do mean the word 'celebrating'—40 years of the ATO being in Albury. The ATO used to have this facade of a sort of Big Brother. You could see the pinstriped, grey-headed fellow—like me really—with a big stick whacking people if they did not pay their tax on time. That facade has gone. These are young, tech-savvy people who want to actually help in a friendly way small business to meet their tax obligations. The new portal that the ATO has put up is tremendous. They have Alex the tax assistant. I have Alex the tax assistant at home—my tax advisor is my son, who is a tax accountant. Alex the tax assistant is an online portal for help which is there for small businesses to be able to meet their tax obligations. As I say, it was 40 years they were celebrating. They had this regional workshop and 80 small business owner-operators from Albury-Wodonga came. They were baristas and they were plumbers—they were good people wanting to meet their tax obligations. They came to this meeting at the ATO high-rise office in Smollett Street to learn how they could do that. The ATO is doing that in a friendly, helpful way. Well done, Judy O'Connell and her staff, for organising it. With decentralisation the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is heading to Armidale. That is a good thing. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation is heading to Wagga Wagga. It is going to be chaired by my predecessor, Kay Hull. That is a good thing. The Grains Research and Development Corporation is going to have a new hub-and-spoke model. It is going to have a presence in Toowoomba in Queensland, as well as branches and depots in Dubbo and in Western Australia. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is also on the move. All of these organisations are in Canberra at the moment. I have to say that it is good that they are going to be decentralising. That is a push by the Nationals in government, and it is a good push. We saw the success of the ATO when it moved to Albury—40 years of success. They have such a great presence there. They build direct and indirect wealth through helping small businesses and bringing people to fine regional centres such as Albury. I am sure the APVMA will do just the same in Armidale. Never mind what the member for Hunter thinks about opposing this all the way. He purports to be from country Labor. He should show a little bit more generosity towards country people and certainly towards country areas. I ask him to get on board with the APVMA moving to Armidale. It is a good decentralisation move. The RIRDC moving to Wagga Wagga is a sensible decision. The GRDC going to regional centres, such as Toowoomba and Dubbo, which is in the fine member for Parkes's electorate, is a good thing. The Murray-Darling Basin belongs in regional Australia, out where the irrigation is—out where they can do really important field work and certainly be a part of the communities that they serve. They rely on irrigation, water being the lifeblood of all the things that we grow. To help foster those wonderful preferential trade agreements, I urge that the parliament get on board with the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2016-2017. It is important, and certainly small business is also the lifeblood of this nation. Thank you. 20:52 Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Lingiari Mr Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your job. I am just wondering what the Leader of the House is doing—has he lost his office? Perhaps he is nervous, wondering if there may be a vote? Mr Pyne 9V5 Haven't you got anything to say? Mr SNOWDON IJ4 I wonder what is going on here, Chris? I wonder what is going on—here he is, actually working in the chamber. I have never seen it before! He brought— Mr Pyne 9V5 I wanted to hear your speech! You obviously don't have any material! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 a whole bucket of files here— Ms Rishworth HWA Just to keep— Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Just to keep an eye on the adjournment! Well done, Chris! Mr Pyne 9V5 Just for you! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 I am so pleased—I hope you are here every night! Mr Pyne 9V5 Only if you're here every night! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 No, no—you need to be here every night just prior to the adjournment to make sure everyone is here as they should be. We don't want things happening which you don't have control over. Put your staff on the doors, make sure they are not leaving the place— Mr Pyne 9V5 It's time you went out to pasture, Warren! Get on with your speech! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 It's okay, and I just— Ms Rishworth HWA You've been in the parliament for the same length of time, haven't you? Mr Pyne 9V5 I have! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 It's great, isn't it really? Just watching him! But I wanted to make a contribution which in part celebrates a very important thing, and that is the election of the Labor government in the Northern Territory. It has a particular interest in looking at the budget I might say—particularly the proposals by the Prime Minister. Another spur of the moment thing, you know? The lights are on—I am not sure who is at home. But, nevertheless, he pledged to introduce a GST floor—a threshold to ensure that no state receives less than a certain share of revenue from the tax. That is going to be of particular interest to people in the Northern Territory, and no doubt the new Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Michael Gunner, will have a particular interest, as will his Treasurer. The new Treasurer for the Northern Territory is Nicole Manison MLA. I wanted to talk briefly about this election, not to gloat so much—although I would like to—but just to make the observation that— Mr Pyne 9V5 Go on, gloat! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 it is a very rare occasion—in fact, I think this is unique in Australian history—that we have seen the major opposition party in a parliamentary forum in Australia be reduced to two. To two! So there are now only two CLP members in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The former Chief Minister, Mr Giles, who was the member for Braitling in my own town of Alice Springs—a blue ribbon Liberal seat—is gone. He is no longer there. In fact, he packed up so quickly you couldn't see him for dust. He has gone from town and 'we don't know where he are'. But we have a fair idea where he is not going to be: we know he will not be in the Legislative Assembly. But there are a number of things that are important to note. Of course, all the new members on the Labor side and particularly, I might say, Dale Wakefield, who took over his seat of Braitling, and another really unique win—the first time in the Northern Territory's history that Labor has ever won the seat of Katherine. Sandra Nelson, a formidable candidate, defeated a former aspirant to the Chief Minister's position in the Northern Territory. Mr Pyne 9V5 Who's that? I thought they all wanted to be Chief Minister. Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Willem Westera van Holthe. Do you remember the midnight coup? He turned up in the middle of the night and said, 'I've got the numbers. I'm going to be taking over as the Chief Minister this morning.' By 10 o'clock the following morning, what happened? Mr Pyne 9V5 Didn't they all have a go? I think they all had a go, Warren! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 They are your mates, mate! They are your mates—they are your kith and kin! So understand who we are talking about here! But I just want to make the observation that this parliament is unique: 60 per cent of the cabinet positions are being held by women. So there are historical firsts of great proportion really: firstly, only two CLP members left in the place; secondly, we have seen the incumbent Chief Minister knocked off his own seat and the seat of Katherine fall to Labor for the first time ever; and we now have a significant majority of women in the ministry, and that is a very important thing. It is good for us, good for the Labor Party and good for Australia, and an indication to our friends opposite that it is okay to preselect women. It is okay to preselect women, and you could do a better job of it! You might try a bit harder to preselect more women so we can see a greater representation of women on the conservative side of politics in this country. Mr Pyne 9V5 Hear, hear! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 I am pleased that the Leader of the House agrees with me. Mr Pyne 9V5 We do need more women on this side of the House. Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Good, good—why don't you do something about it? Mr Pyne 9V5 I'm trying to do something about it! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 I might just make the observation— Mr Pyne 9V5 Do you want me to retire, Warren? Trying to get rid of me already! I've only been here 23 years! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 No, stay as long as you like, son! But just make sure that you find a way to get more women into the parliament. Mr Deputy Speaker—Mr Speaker, I beg your pardon. Congratulations, by the way! So it is a great moment in Australian history, this election. I have observed Territory politics for almost four decades, and the last government was the worst I had ever seen. There is no question about that, and the new government in the Northern Territory has a real challenge ahead of it because of the state that the Northern Territory was left in by the previous government—not the least of which is confidence in the government, because they were so adrift, so far removed, from the concerns of the Territory community— Mr Pyne 9V5 I need a desk! Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Bring your desk next time! They were so adrift from the concerns of the Northern Territory community that they just had no respect for the community or, indeed, each other. I think that means that Labor in the Northern Territory, under the leadership of Michael Gunner, has a significant task ahead of it to again win the confidence of the community about what good government is and to understand that it is possible to have a good government—a responsible government and one which will look after the interests of the community. I understand that the adjournment is about to begin and I look forward to continuing at some later stage—with you here with me, Chris! I do hope you are here! ADJOURNMENT 111 ADJOURNMENT Anniversaries of the Battles of Long Tan, Fromelles and Pozieres 111 21:00 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston Since this parliament last met, there have been a number of significant anniversaries on which Australia has paused to remember our fallen men. I would like to speak about a number of anniversaries tonight. As members are aware, this year marks 100 years since the Battle of Fromelles and Pozieres during World War I and 50 years since the Battle of Long Tan in the Vietnam War. This year we can reflect on the sacrifices made and acknowledge the brave men who risked their lives and made the ultimate sacrifice in these historical battles. 19 July marked 100 years since the Battle of Fromelles, the first major engagement by Australian troops on the Western Front. At 6pm on 19 July 2016 the 5th Australian and 61st British divisions attacked. The attack began to go wrong almost immediately. Australian troops packed into the trenches suffered casualties from German artillery fire. Sergeant Jimmy Downing, of the 57th Battalion, stated: 'Hundreds were mown down in the flicker of an eyelid, like great rows of teeth knocked from a comb ... men were cut in two by streams of bullets ... it was all over in five minutes.' As dawn approached, the Australians were forced to fall back. The 5th division suffered 5,533 casualties, of which 1,917 were killed and 3,146 wounded. In addition, 470 Australians were taken prisoner. For these brave men, this must have been the longest night of their lives. Under constant attack, and with their fellow soldiers wounded or killed right in front of them, they pushed on, trying to gain important ground and protect their mates. The courage of these men, the sheer bravery of their actions, cannot be understated. But it did not end there. For three days and nights, these brave soldiers risked their lives, under open fire, in an attempt to retrieve the hundreds of wounded men in no man's land. It was at this time that they displayed the Anzac spirit that was forged at Gallipoli. And it was while our soldiers were still trying to retrieve their fellow men from no man's land in Fromelles that the Battle of Pozieres began. Lasting seven weeks, the Battle of Pozieres saw 23,000 causalities, including 6,800 deaths, almost equalling the amount of casualties experienced in the eight months at Gallipoli. World War 1 historian Charles Bean called the area around Pozieres 'more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth'. The battles of Fromelles and Pozieres demonstrate the bravery and resilience of Australians on the front line. Ongoing efforts to commemorate them are an important sign of the legacy they have left for all Australians. In addition, this year marks 50 years since the Battle of Long Tan in the Vietnam War. Last month we remembered the sacrifices made in this battle, which was one of the most significant engagements in the Vietnam War for Australian forces. It involved 105 Australians and three New Zealanders against a force of more than 2,000 Viet Cong soldiers. The Australians fought for their lives in tough conditions in this battle. It was pouring with rain and they faced rough terrain, with mud, trees and mist being their only cover. Despite the Australians being triumphant at Long Tan, there were losses on both sides. During the battle, 18 Australians were killed and 24 Australians were wounded. On the Vietnamese side, at least 245 were killed and an estimated 350 wounded. The Vietnam War was marred by great loss and tragedy, and it is important that we remember the more than 60,000 who served in that war under Australia's name. It is also important that we recognise their families and pay tribute to them as well. In our history, Vietnam veterans were not always afforded the respect that they deserve. However, I am pleased to see that Australia does now come together to recognise that these men served the country with dignity and respect and many payed the ultimate sacrifice. All veterans who have served and who serve today deserve our greatest respect and admiration for their service to our nation. Lest we forget. North Sydney Electorate: Bushcare Volunteers 112 21:05 Mr ZIMMERMAN 203092 North Sydney I rise to acknowledge in this parliament the hundreds of Bushcare volunteers who work across my electorate to protect our stunning local environment and care for our remnant urban bushland. The lower North Shore of Sydney is one of the most densely populated parts of our global city. Yet through the foresight of local residents, councils and occasionally the state government it remains the home of considerable tracts of native vegetation. These are, of course, now jealously guarded as both refuges for native flora and fauna and havens for the residents themselves. It startles many visitors to my area that, so close to a major CBD, it is easy to turn a corner and find yourself in the middle of the Australian bush. In my own suburb, I marvel at the beauty of the bushland of Balls Head, where it is possible to feel a million miles from civilisation—until the commercial towers of Sydney occasionally puncture the views to remind us that we are just a stone's throw from the city centre. These experiences are replicated around my electorate—be it along large tracts of our harbour foreshores and those of the Lane Cove River and Middle Harbour, or in places like Flat Rock Gulley or suburbs like Castlecrag, whose founders—and, indeed, the founders of Canberra—Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney saw a bush setting as an essential part of their design for the suburb they created. While the proportion of our area that remains as bush is small, it provides an environment for an incredible diversity of plants and animals. In the North Sydney municipality, for example, 190 native terrestrial vertebrate species have been recorded. Populations of bush turkeys are becoming increasingly common, and they often confidently walk the footpaths of residential areas and threaten the gardens of many residents. Bandicoot numbers are on the rise, and one resident even told me of her excitement in discovering echidnas returning to her garden. While our areas of bush are much loved, they are under constant challenge from invasive species and feral animals. We have our fair share of foxes, rabbits and cats, and weeds like privet, lantana and asparagus fern that constantly threaten to crowd out native plants and animals. This is why the work of our Bushcare volunteers is just so important. Our local councils do an incredible job in maintaining our open space and bushland, and programs like fox baiting have led to the return of many species. However, the task is so great they would not succeed without the support of so many local residents who are prepared to dedicate their time and energy to protecting native vegetation. Bushcare groups and volunteers from my electorate are making an exceptional contribution across our four council areas. In fact, 93 groups exist, supported by almost 1,000 volunteers. Yesterday I had the opportunity to join the Mayor of Willoughby, Gail Giles-Gidney, to see and participate in the work of one of those Bushcare groups when I joined 30 volunteers in Castlecrag to give them a hand on Bushcare's Major Day Out. This is a national event for Bushcare groups across Australia and it is their opportunity to promote their work and share the satisfaction of being involved in such a worthwhile cause. The Bushcare Major Day Out has grown every year since its inception in 2010. From 12 sites in that year, the event has grown to over 280 locations across Australia supported by thousands of volunteers. I am proud of the fact that the Major Day Out was started on the lower North Shore in the Willoughby City Council area. With the support of council, local residents Don Wilson and Matthew Keighery saw the value of a day that celebrated the Bushcare movement. Don Wilson is typical of the type of person who supports Bushcare. With little interest in gardening, he found himself roped into a weeding trip on Lord Howe Island—I think by his wife—to remove asparagus fern. The experience motived him to get involved back in Sydney, and his enthusiasm has seen him dedicate hour upon hour to establishing and expanding Bushcare's Major Day Out. So successful have he and his colleagues been that the event is now almost beyond the capacity of volunteers. I am hoping that, recognising the importance of their work, there might even be the opportunity for some federal support in the future to maintain the momentum of all they do. We can be proud of the commitment that so many residents have in all our major cities to protecting our local environment. We as a society must make sure that our beautiful local icons are looked after, for our generation and for future generations. That spirit is well and truly alive in my own electorate, and I extend my thanks and congratulations to all those who are prepared to don gloves and gumboots to protect our precious natural heritage. Environmental Conservation 113 21:10 Mr BURKE DYW Watson The two largest conservation decisions which have ever been made in the history of our planet both had their origins in this parliament. The largest conservation decision in history was when Bob Hawke and Michel Rocard worked together to turn the Antarctic into the world's largest conservation area. The second-largest conservation decision ever taken in the history of this planet was when the Australian government made the decision to protect our oceans. That decision on ocean protection is one that, on coming to government, the Abbott government decided to suspend—and in suspending it, there was a large amount of misrepresentation about the decision that was made. They then referred the matter to an expert panel. That panel has now reported. We will now, in the light of this parliament, see whether the new environment minister continues with the mistake of his predecessor, or whether he goes back to the bipartisan approach which had traditionally been taken with respect to conservation decisions. That approach was very simple—that with conservation decisions, once taken, no backward steps were subsequently made; an approach which had survived changes of government for decades until the arrival of the Abbott government. When the previous Minister for the Environment had argued, as shadow minister, that he did not like the conservation decision that had been made for the protection of our oceans, the member for Flinders—now the Minister for Innovation but then shadow minister for the environment—said this: 'There hasn't been consultation or a science-based process.' On becoming minister, he then set up the committee, and suspended the protection. The committee has reported back to show that the objections that were made were factually wrong. The government's own committee—set up by them to suspend the protections for the oceans, and then to examine the decisions that had been made by the previous Labor government, including when I was environment minister—has come back with the finding that the panel: is satisfied that the marine bioregional planning programme, which was based on the Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia and complemented by scientific workshops, peer-reviewed publications and literature reviews, was a sound basis and drew upon the best available information for designing the CMR networks— that is, for designing the marine reserve networks. You do not get a more thorough rejection of the arguments that the member for Flinders had put when he said, 'there hasn't been consultation or a science-based process,' when the committee that he personally selected to look into the decisions that had been made rejected that view wholeheartedly. The panel has then come back with recommendations which involve a significant step backwards in the protection of the Coral Sea. Make no mistake: you cannot protect the Great Barrier Reef properly without protecting it on every side. It needs to be protected from above, with respect to the climate change policies that are put in place. It needs to be protected from the west, with respect to the decisions that are made about land clearing, and it needs to be protected from the east, with the protection of the Coral Sea. The protections that were put in place only had—in total—a one to two per cent impact on the gross value of production for the fishing industry. The impact on recreational fishing was similarly small. If you left the Queensland coast and travelled east, as a recreational fisher you had to travel 400 kilometres before you reached the Marion Reef and found a place where you could not fish. If you went 400 kilometres in a tinnie, your biggest problem would not be whether or not you could drop a line, it would be whether you would ever make it back again. Marion Reef's lagoon, which, because of its isolation, has biodiversity not matched in other areas, effectively loses its protection under the recommendations that are being made, because it is divided in half. The ecology on the northern half is the same as the ecology on the southern half. If you allow fishing within it, you wreck and trash the ecology that is there. Osprey and Shark reefs are regarded as some of the most iconic dive sites in the world. They, similarly, had their protections torn away. (Time expired) Western Australia: Mining Industry 114 21:15 Mr RICK WILSON 198084 O'Connor I rise tonight to express grave concerns about a misguided tax policy in my home state that would damage the resources sector, particularly the iron ore industry. Last month the WA Nationals announced a plan for a tax grab in WA that simply seeks to extract more dollars from the resources industry with no commitment to apply any discipline or restraint on government spending. The Nationals have decided to revisit a number of state agreements in an easy and popular way to raise more cash for WA. Nationals leader, Brendon Grylls, who claims these agreements favour the industry, seems to have forgotten he was a key cabinet minister when they were renegotiated six years ago. In 2010 BHP and Rio Tinto reached an agreement with the state government to pay higher royalties on iron ore fines and to make a one-off payment of $350 million to the state Treasury. Forty years ago, when those state agreements were drafted, iron ore fines were not in demand on the world market and as a consequence the state government of the day applied a concessional royalty rate. By 2009, however, iron ore fines were an important part of the seaborne iron ore trade and the Barnett government decreed that concessional royalties were no longer permissible. The state government agreed to vary the agreements held by BHP and Rio to allow greater flexibility in those companies and how those companies ran their operations. BHP also divested back to the state government some land held in the vitally important Port Hedland port area. The $350 million one-off payment I referred to earlier was quarantined by the state government for the construction of the new Perth Children's Hospital, now close to completion. From 1 July 2010 BHP and Rio Tinto's royalty rates on iron ore fines changed from 3.75 per cent to 5.625 per cent to bring them into line with other iron ore producers in the Pilbara. Those royalty rates have since risen further to synchronise with the royalties on the majority of other forms of iron ore exports at 7.5 per cent. The reason I raise this sequence of events is to highlight the fact that Brendon Grylls was a senior member of the WA cabinet that signed off on this reform package. Mr Grylls did not raise the issue of land rents at that time. He was clearly happy to take the money and then proceed with the Royalties for Regions program, which was described by the Nationals candidate in O'Connor, John Hassell, as Brendon Grylls private slush fund. Now that cash flow from Royalties for Regions is threatened, Mr Grylls and the Nationals have simply cast around for a new tax system. There has been no suggestion from the Nationals about finding efficiencies in government spending or cutting back on programs that are wasteful. I have no doubt that placing another tax on the resource sector will damage business confidence and potentially drive investment away from Australia to other resource provinces around the world. What makes this poor policy is that it proposes increasing taxes when iron ore prices are significantly lower than they were in 2010, the last time royalties were increased. Another key weakness of the National's plan is that, if the plan were to be implemented, much of the additional revenue would be redistributed away from WA in the form of a reduced GST share to the west. Poor performing state governments, such as Tasmania and South Australia, would be the beneficiaries. They would simply sit back, do nothing to develop local industry or resource projects and be rewarded for it. Some analysts have already calculated that 90 per cent of the additional revenue would flow to other states. Mr Grylls knows that, but his policy is simply a ploy to position the Nationals before the state election. At the WA state Liberal conference last month the Prime Minister made a commitment to reform the GST distribution formula. This will include placing a floor in the formula which will ensure that no state can receive less than the agreed minimum of GST revenues collected in that state. I will be arguing for a 75 per cent floor by the 2019-20 financial year. Time lags in the GST distribution have resulted in a perverse situation from 2014-15 to 2016-17. The impact of historical royalty collections is still reducing WA's GST distribution. At the same time, royalty collection in WA has trended downwards, creating big problems for the WA state government in seeking to cater for population growth largely driven by the expansion of the resource sector. The Prime Minister's commitment to fix this problem is welcome. WA has done the right thing over many years by developing the natural resources within our state boundaries to generate export income for the nation and facilitating the development of oil and gas resources offshore. The resource companies, large and small, have in turn generated huge wealth for employees, shareholders and the states and Commonwealth governments in the form of royalties, payroll tax, company tax and the petroleum resource rent tax. Surely this is a classic case of looking to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games 115 21:20 Mr THISTLETHWAITE 182468 Kingsford Smith Every four years the world comes together in the greatest show of humanity and athleticism to marvel at the sporting feats of the world's greatest athletes at the Olympic Games. Australians—and people throughout the world—stop for two weeks to watch the greatest sporting feats and athletic marvels of the last four years. This year's Olympics were no different. As Australians, we were glued to the television—watching sports that we would never watch ordinarily if they were not during the Olympics period! Tonight I want to pay tribute to all of Australia's athletes who competed at the Olympic Games, who did our nation so proud—in particular those who hail from our community in Kingsford Smith—and to thank them for doing our community quite proud at the Olympics. The Olympics began with events in the pool, and our swimming team got us off to a great start. Our athletic accomplishments are a great source of pride and, for members of this place, that sense of pride is amplified when our own constituents chase gold against the world's best. From Kingsford Smith there were 10 local athletes who competed in a range of events: Jess Thornton, Selma Kajan and Victoria Mitchell on the track; Lea Yanitsas, John Cotterill, Nathan Power and Joel Dennerley in the water polo; Henry Hutchison in the rugby sevens; Miranda Giambelli in judo; and Samantha Stosur in tennis. Our water polo players did us proud in what is a very, very difficult sport to excel in, as did Miranda Giambelli, who did us very proud in the tough sport of judo. Samantha Stosur achieved her best result in an Olympic Games, reaching the third round before losing out to world number two Angelique Kerber. Henry Hutchison was in the rugby sevens team that, unfortunately, lost to South Africa at the quarter-final stage, Selma Kajan ran with pride in the 800-metre heats, while Victoria Mitchell ran a season's best time in the 3,000 metre steeplechase, finishing in 29th place. The youngest member of the athletic squad, Randwick-Botany Harriers star and Kingsford Smith Local Sporting Champions grant recipient, Jess Thornton, proved to be a highlight, as she and her compatriots reached the final of the women's 4 x 400 metres, finishing in eighth place. They are a very young team, and I have no doubt that if they stick together they will do much better at the next Olympics. As a strong believer in the importance of sporting participation and the promotion of health and wellbeing, I thought it was fantastic to see local athletes perform at the highest level and more than worth a few extra late nights, but it is not over yet. We now have the Paralympics in action and a number of athletes from Kingsford Smith are competing, including 14-year-old Tamsin Colley in the open-age 200-metre sprint; neuroscience student Prue Watt in the 100-metre butterfly, 200-metre individual medley, 100-metre breaststroke and 50-metre freestyle; and Andrew Edmondson in the wheelchair rugby. We wish them all the best. Best of luck to all the Paralympians and congratulations to all of those who competed and did us proud in Rio. I will finish by dealing with the issue of some of what I thought was unnecessary and unjustified critical commentary of the performance of Australia's Olympic team in Rio. I say to the athletes, in particular the members of our community from Kingsford Smith, that critical commentary does not reflect the views of the people in our community and the wider Australian populace. We are extremely proud of all that you achieved at the Olympics. We understand the sacrifices that you make: the early mornings, the hours and hours of training, the technical preparations and the sacrifice that your parents and families made. We thank you for that sacrifice and we want to know that you did us extremely proud and that we are proud of you wearing the green and gold. We wish you all the very best for the future. Thank you for representing our country with such pride. Bennelong Electorate: Olympic and Paralympic Games 115 21:25 Mr ALEXANDER M3M Bennelong Along with my colleague the member for Kingsford Smith and many other Australians, I was an avid watcher of the recent Rio Olympics. Our athletes gave their all and came away with incredible results. More importantly, I am certain that all our athletes left everything on the field, in the pool or on the track, and for that, more than their result, I am very proud. Bennelong had a higher proportion of Olympians than most electorates—five athletes had a connection with the great electorate I represent, and more in coaching teams. Between them, these competitors brought home two gold medals, as well as achieving a fifth, a sixth and a seventh place. This is an incredible local result. I would like to speak about a number of these athletes. One of the most incredible gold medals of the games came from sailing's Tom Burton, who played a game of cat and mouse to deceive the leading Croatian sailor and steal pole position from him before they had even started the final race. From there he sailed expertly to maintain his lead and snatch the gold medal. Sneaky—that is what I like about a good competitor. This race captivated the nation and made all of us instant aficionados of international sailing, just like in the last two weeks of January when everybody becomes an expert on tennis, and I realise how little I know. Tom's connection to the great electorate of Bennelong comes, strangely, not through sailing, despite our portion of the Parramatta River being home to two wonderful sailing clubs, the Concord and Ryde club and the Parramatta River club. Rather, he played junior rugby at Eastwood rugby club—one of two medals for the club. Keesja Gofers competed in the women's water polo team, which came sixth overall. They started off the round-robin stage strongly and had some dominant wins including over the hosts. Aidan Roach also competed in water polo, for the men's team. Like the women, our men performed very strongly but were kept out of the finals in a round-robin stage that saw a lot of upsets and many favourites knocked out. Water polo has had a strong heritage in Bennelong since Ryde aquatic centre was chosen to hold games during the Sydney Olympics. These easily accessible matches were highly popular with local residents and brought the game to a whole new generation. Chris Morgan was one of our double sculls pairs, who narrowly missed out on the A finals and was subsequently victorious in the B finals. Chris lives locally in Bennelong—I understand he is a Liberal voter—close to the excellent rowing conditions and boat sheds of the Parramatta River. Melissa Wu is a household name, having competed successful over many years at the sport of platform diving. She had another great games and finished with a fifth place in the individual 10 metre platform. Melissa is now a student at Macquarie University, one of the many thousands of students attracted to our world renowned university. Finally, while not a competitor himself, John Manenti was a member of the coaching teams for both our men's and women's rugby sevens squads. Our women's team was especially admired, and their flowing and aggressive style saw them taking out the gold medal with a wonderful game against the always threatening Kiwis. It is to this I would like to speak. For many, many generations we took great pride in our sporting success because our sporting champions came from people who we played the sport or swam in the pools with. There is not a school that did not have school swimming carnival. Every woman of a certain age swam with Dawn Fraser. In my sport, everyone of a certain age played with Lew Hoad or Ken Rosewall. My son often reflects to me that of all the people we meet who I played tennis against as a kid I never won a match. How come I became a tennis player? I tell him I persisted. But I think sometimes we miss what the essence of sport is about. We count up the medals and wonder whether we should have done better and lament that we did not do as well as we could have, but to me that is missing the point of sport. It is when those who represent us come from a huge base of participation— The SPEAKER 00APG Order! It being 9.30 pm, the debate is interrupted. House adjourned at 21:30 NOTICES 116 NOTICES

Monday, 12 September 2016

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Coulton ) took the chair at 10:30.

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 124 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS Scullin Electorate: Bubup Wilam 124 10:30 Mr GILES 243609 Scullin Thank you, Deputy Speaker Coulton, and I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your elevation to the high office you now occupy. I wish you all the best in it. I rise to inform this place of Bubup Wilam, which is an Aboriginal children and family centre established under the national partnerships of the former Labor government. It is located in the suburb of Thomastown in the Scullin electorate. I am incredibly proud of the role it plays in supporting Aboriginal children and families, but I am desperately concerned that this vital work is now under threat. I have often spoken about Bubup Wilam in this place, as well as having made numerous representations about it to Minister Scullion, because Bubup is incredibly important to the Aboriginal communities of Melbourne's north. It plays a key role in closing the gap, not only in supporting early childhood education and young families but also by being a real hub for an expanding Aboriginal population in our part of Melbourne. A few weeks ago I was very pleased, but not surprised, to hear that Bubup, which is also a very significant employer of Aboriginal people, was awarded Victorian Medium Employer of the Year at the Victorian Training Awards. This award recognises Bubup's significant achievement in providing educational opportunities for Aboriginal people in Melbourne. It is a bittersweet award, though, because Bubup faces an uncertain funding future and may have to close its doors within the month. This simply cannot happen. I noted yesterday that in his 2016 Boyer Lecture epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, speaking of the gross health inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, identified early years education as a critical response. He could have been talking about Bubup. He said: The social injustice of condemning some children to a poor start in life should not be tolerated. Indeed. We cannot allow this to happen in Melbourne's north. Bubup is vital for kids, for families, for community, for staff—for all of us. It is a powerful tool in lessening and ending these inequalities. It is shameful that Bubup's future is uncertain. While the City of Whittlesea has been a strong supporter and the state Labor government is working to find ways to keep Bubup going, little has been heard from the Turnbull government, despite the evidence. So much for a national partnership! So much for including school attendance as a 'close the gap' target! While the Leader of the Opposition and many senior Labor MPs have visited Bubup, repeated lobbying efforts have failed to engage this government. It is time for Minister Birmingham and Minister Scullion to look to the evidence and step in to secure Bubup's future. I am in awe of the work that Lisa Thorpe and her team do, especially in such desperate and uncertain circumstances when it comes to funding. And so I stand here to draw the attention of this parliament to the extraordinary work of Bubup Wilam and the vital importance of keeping it going, and to recommit my support for Bubup and all connected to it. I will do everything I can to keep it running and to support Aboriginal families in Melbourne's north. Hughes Electorate: Moorebank Intermodal Terminal 124 10:33 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I have long argued in this place that the Moorebank intermodal terminal is destined to become a white elephant, an example of a planning fallacy. It will not work as a major distribution centre for Sydney, simply because it is not centrally located and both governments and the private sector need to invest billions to actually get this up and running. It also will not work because it is too close to Port Botany to work as an effective intermodal terminal. From Port Botany in non-peak hour, Moorebank intermodal is just 28 minutes down the road, and that does not offset the cost of the double handling needed through an intermodal. But I am pleased that at least some are finally starting to listen to me. The penny is starting to drop. A few weeks ago Aurizon, which held a 33 per cent stake in the Moorebank intermodal, decided to ditch its entire investment, leaving Qube to go it alone and to carry all the risk—and what a risk it is! We know that Aurizon are now going to move their intermodal facility and locate it at Enfield. It was only last year that we had supposed experts from the transport and planning departments here in parliament telling us that Enfield was a bad location, a dud location that would not work. Yet we have Aurizon selling their share in Moorebank, moving out and saying that, to them, Enfield is superior. The writing should be on the wall. Just a couple of weeks ago, an analyst for TheAustralian Financial Review wrote: None of the potential customers I have talked to have indicated they are going to be moving quickly on Moorebank. If there is no demand, if customers are not going to relocate their business to Moorebank to set up a distribution facility, surely the penny must now start to drop. We have had the changes from the Planning Assessment Commission. They have made a regulation that all containers must be transferred to Port Botany by road rather than rail. They have also put the case that the locomotives all need to be incorporating best practice noise controls. And the site cannot start until the Southern Sydney Freight Line, that rail spur, is up and running. Let's hope that all parties can now realise that this project is not going to work. It is a bad use of our resources and a bad use of the land resources in Sydney. This project is destined to become a white elephant. Let's hope that the minister and the shareholders of Qube can sit down and save money for both the Commonwealth and the shareholders. Australian Public Service: Workplace Relations 125 10:36 Mr SWAN 2V5 Lilley In recent weeks, I have spoken to dozens of public servants across the northern suburbs of Brisbane. They are absolutely dismayed by the attacks on their living standards and rights at work by the Commonwealth government. The government have demonstrated, yet again, their contempt for working people. I notice the smiles across the aisle. They have no respect for those who work in the public sector whatsoever or the contribution that they make to the living standards and the wealth of our country. Since these people opposite came to government, they have sacked something like one in 10 public sector workers. Those that are remaining have suffered real wage decreases while watching their jobs become increasingly casualised and fearing that the ultimate goal is the outsourcing or privatisation of their employment opportunities. At no stage has there been any genuine consultation with their own workforce. Orwellian language such as jobs being 'reimagined' or 'refreshed' is simply a substitute for people being shafted. If you are an executive in the Australian Public Service, you have had a real pay increase. If you are on average weekly earnings, which the majority are in the public sector, you have received a real pay decrease. Those in the Department of Human Services, covering Medicare, Centrelink and child support, have had a particularly tough time. This has resulted in reduced staff numbers in service centres and on the phone lines, which has led to increased waiting times for many increasingly distressed Australians. But it is not just those who are in immediate distress. We are also talking about doctors who are waiting for prescription authorisations. We are talking about Medicare rebates for the ill and infirm, who are waiting up to a month for complex claims to be repaid. We are talking about new claims for age pensioners, which are months behind. And we are talking about pharmacy PBS claims. There are literally tens of thousands of Australians who are waiting and waiting and waiting on phone lines for much-needed assistance. Over 100,000 Australian government workers are now in their sixth year of what was supposed to be a three-year collective bargaining agreement. They are committed public servants—they support families and they have done so without a pay rise for three years—and they are struggling to hold on to the basic workplace rights and conditions that other Australians sometimes take for granted, particularly family-friendly rights that give some hope of balancing work and family. So what are they being offered by the government? Two per cent plus, at the same time, ripping away all of their basic rights and conditions. They are up for a fair dinkum deal, but a fair dinkum deal is not being offered. What is actually being offered is a decrease in their conditions— (Time expired) Petrie Electorate: Education 125 Moreton Electorate: Mid-Autumn Festival 126 10:42 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton As a member representing a strong multicultural community, I wish everyone here Zhongqiujie kuaile, which is Mandarin for 'happy Mid-Autumn Festival'. I know we are actually kicking off spring here, but this festival is the second largest and one of the most ancient festivals in the Chinese calendar. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which falls on 15 September this year. It is celebrated not only in mainland China but also in Vietnam. It is in fact a public holiday in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is a festival held to celebrate the harvest and to appreciate the role the moon has in our life and culture. It is normally celebrated by spending time with family, showing gratitude for what we have and eating delicious mooncakes. I am mindful of the growing number of Australians with Chinese heritage, particularly in my electorate of Moreton but also in other electorates around the country. To be proud of your roots is very important. Just because you are Australian does not mean that you have to forget your family's culture or where your family came from, despite what some elected representatives have been asserting lately. This festival is an inclusive celebration and was celebrated across my electorate of Moreton. The Queensland Chinese cooperation and friendship association selected the Mid-Autumn Festival as their inaugural event. I was privileged to attend two events on the weekend: the World Arts and Multi-Culture Inc. celebration and the 10th anniversary of Queensland Chinese United Council's Mid-Autumn Festival. Both were wonderful gatherings with some great company and great entertainment. At these festivals I saw my diverse community, and Brisbane and beyond, where they welcomed everyone and they celebrated the true meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival: friendship, reflection, family and that strong commitment to giving back to the community. The Mid-Autumn Festival also has some historical significance. During the reign of the Mongolians in China, during the Yuan dynasty, the ethnic Chinese wanted to overthrow the then government. However, they had no way of informing the soldiers and the people of the time or the location of the uprising. The generals decided to conceal the information on paper placed inside the mooncakes. The rebellion was successful and led to China being self-governing. Nowadays, how the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated can vary. For example, in Taiwan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by having a barbecue outside with family and friends underneath the bright full moon. That translates pretty well in Queensland nowadays in the middle of spring. I would like to thank all the organisers of the events that I attended on the weekend and that are coming up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. I am privileged to share these cultural festivals with you. We are definitely enriched from the experience. Through your celebrations we gain a far greater understanding of Chinese culture and how it is evolving around the world. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 126 10:45 Mr IRONS HYM Swan National redress is what I rise to speak about today. But, firstly, I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Deputy Speaker, on your elevation to the Deputy Speaker's chair. I know the Swan River bridges run will be the loser from your being ensconced here, but I am sure that Lake Burley Griffin will see you traipsing around there. Congratulations! This Thursday, 15 September, marks one year since the royal commission recommended a single national redress scheme be established by the federal government, to be contributed to by the churches, charities and state governments that ran the orphanages and children's homes in which so many suffered abuse. I have made numerous speeches in this place about it being time that the charities, churches and NGOs stumped up for the abuse that they visited upon the children who suffered so much, and about the role that the federal government can play to establish a body that can see the national redress scheme implemented. As a patron of CLAN, the Care Leavers Australasia Network, and a few other organisations who are involved with forgotten Australians and as a former ward of the state, I have seen it as my role to champion the issues of care leavers and children who have suffered abuse in institutions around Australia. I have continued to advocate for our forgotten Australians and I have tried to be a voice for the many innocent people who have suffered abuse—be it sexual, physical, mental or emotional abuse—in institutional care across Australia. In 2000, Leonie Sheedy and Joanna Penglase founded the Care Leavers Australasia Network, known as CLAN. Leonie was a state ward in Victorian, and Joanna was in a non-government children's home that was run as a business under licence from the Child Welfare Department in New South Wales. These two have done an enormous job to further the national redress cause in Australia. I know that Leonie is on her way to Canberra—actually, she is on her way to my office, and she will be there in about 20 minutes—to continue to raise awareness and to fight for national redress. On the occasion of the opening of the first session of this 45th Parliament, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, noted the outcomes of the inquiries in his address. At the end of next year, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will conclude. To date, the royal commission has handled more than 33,000 calls, received more the 19,000 letters and emails, held more than 5,800 private sessions and referred 1,639 cases to authorities. The Governor-General advised the parliament that the government is working to ensure redress is provided to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse by the responsible institutions as soon as possible. There will be a CLAN meeting here on Thursday and a passive demonstration outside Parliament House to advocate for a national redress, and I encourage all members to support them. Thank you. Wakefield Electorate: Stronger Communities Program 127 10:48 Mr CHAMPION HW9 Wakefield I rise to inform the House about the Stronger Communities Program round 2 in my electorate and some of the important projects within it. The Elizabeth RSL received around $19,700 for a car park upgrade. That was very important. Trevor Sloan, the president, has been a big advocate for that club, and this important upgrade will help upgrade not just the car park but also the memorial. That will be a big asset to the club. At the Brahma Lodge Footy Club, Shaun Ryan has been advocating for a scoreboard replacement for some time, and that club has received $20,000. The Mallala and Districts Mens Shed Incorporated is just at the beginning of their project. They have it half built. They are a very keen group of men who are utilising the Work for the Dole program as well. They are moving forward to stage 2 of their project. Ken Montgomery is the president there. Mallala Bowling Club has had a floodlight upgrade. Graham Cordon and Peter March put that application together, and it was good to visit both those project in Mallala the other day. I also visited the Stockport Community Association. Brian Koch, Dick French and Dennis Burman all put together an application to improve and identify the gravestones in what is a very historic graveyard out at Stockport. Brian Koch is a big supporter of mine and so I know he will like me mentioning him in the federal parliament. Freeling RSL is clearing some trees to advance a future project, a much bigger project, and Garry Shearing has been instrumental in the removal of some of the old pine trees at the Freeling footy ground, where I played as a lad. Greenock has three projects. One is for aircon installation in the local institute. I can tell you from personal experience how important that is. We met there after the fire. I have to thank Geoff Saegenschnitter, Ray Obst and Trevor Waldhuter for that. I also have to thank Mick Schluter and Geoff again for their application to upgrade the oval's toilets so that they can accommodate RVs. At the Greenock Cricket Club, Max McClaren, the president, and David Nitschke, the general manager, are putting in place a plant and maintenance shed. I know that is important for the existing upgrade. The Lions Club of Clare are constructing a bird hide and garden shed, and that will be enjoyed by all the bird watchers. I just thought I would update the House on all these good local projects. Marriage 128 10:51 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman I want to spend a couple of minutes, if I could, on the importance of a plebiscite on same-sex marriage. My electorate has had this question asked three times in the last three years in a household survey where 165,000 ballot forms have been sent out. The participation rates are now approaching 25 per cent. It is very important to remember, though, if you are going to deal with an important topic like same-sex marriage as a community or household survey, that both sides of the debate are engaged in that process and buy into it. There is no point just sending out a politician's survey form and getting five per cent back. You need to engage both sides and raise public awareness around the debate in your own electorate. My belief was that, in addition to surveying every household and giving them a say, in addition to running a really substantial social media campaign to promote engagement, we should do a suburb-by-suburb campaign. We promoted the delivery of those ballot forms to a different suburb each week. So there was full focus on suburb after suburb to raise awareness and to get people participating. A lot of people will say, 'Twenty-five per cent—that's not a very big participation rate.' Well, 25 per cent of 55,000 households is probably one of the largest polls ever done by numbers on this topic anywhere in the country. Of course, there are skews. What is most important is to address them and identify them, to be aware that they are possible. The biggest skew is the propensity to walk down to a postbox and put your form back in, free post. You do have to actually get out of bed, pick up a pen and complete a form. If they cared enough about a topic, I reckon most Australians would do that. The second skew is it was a household survey and not a survey of individual adults, and that is about the budget limitations of a federal office and how complex it is to work out how many voting adults live in every household, to start with. But, considering that households can fall one way or another or have divided opinions, that sort of washes out when you poll 55,000 of them. You still get a very, very clear picture. Over the three surveys in my electorate—it is an average-earning, outer metropolitan seat—each time it has been within a few per cent of fifty-fifty. I have called it a knife edge issue in my electorate. That is why I am utterly committed to my entire community having a say. But that is not just me—there is the Griffith University Centre for Governance and Public Policy study showing that well over 70 per cent of Australians hold the same view that on issues of conscience they would like to have a say: physician assisted suicide, abortion law changes here in Queensland and so on. I did not say they were the same issues, but they are issues where Australians would like a direct say. Among Labor voters, that figure is 72.9 per cent. These are compelling numbers suggesting people want to get involved. And yes, democracy costs. Yes, it is going to cost some millions of dollars, but that is the price of living in a vigorous civic democracy. So let's have that debate. We have promised to do it. The community will have its say, and I have committed to every one of my electors that I will vote in this place the way they vote in the plebiscite. I still cannot tell you until the plebiscite is held how I will vote. Hindmarsh Electorate: William Kibby VC Veterans Shed 128 10:54 Mr GEORGANAS DZY Hindmarsh On Thursday, 8 September 2016, I had the great pleasure of visiting a magnificent group within the electorate of Hindmarsh in Glenelg, and that was the members of the William Kibby VC Veterans Shed. The Veterans Shed is named after William Kibby, an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. It is a fantastic initiative within my electorate that provides support for veterans. It is on Kibby Avenue, Glenelg North, adjacent to part of the Glenelg North Community Centre. I was really pleased to be accompanied by my colleague the member for Kingston and shadow veterans' affairs minister, Amanda Rishworth, to meet the great members and vets involved in the shed and see the wonderful work that they do supporting vets. The William Kibby VC Veterans Shed is an initiative of a great bloke called Barry Heffernan, a Vietnam vet himself and a passionate advocate and supporter of our great service men and woman. It is the first veterans shed registered with the Australian Men's Shed Association. It is specifically intended for veterans of all conflicts and anyone who has served in the Australian uniform, regardless of whether or not they saw operational service. The aim of the veterans shed is to create and maintain an environment for veterans and ex-service personnel where concerns, past traumas, health issues and welfare issues can be discussed with other veterans who have empathy through similar life experience in operational areas. In addition to offering advocacy and support to veterans and their families, the shed offers veterans the opportunity to learn new skills and put their existing skills to use helping the community. It is fantastic to see that Barry Heffernan and the other veterans have constructed a wonderful memorial garden at Kibby Reserve. I would also like to congratulate and commend Barry Heffernan, Ken Parnell and all the others that are involved for their strength and tireless dedication to highlighting the complex challenges faced by many of our service men and women. I also commend the great team of veterans and volunteers who create such a welcoming atmosphere at the shed. They make an outstanding egg-and-bacon sandwich, I have to tell you, having been the recipient of one! The men and women involved in the veterans shed have taken up the challenge to help themselves and each other. They are independent and give back to the community with a generosity that is impressive. These men and women served to protect us, our country, our values and our way of life. They deserve to be listened to and heard and have their concerns taken seriously. Goldstein Electorate: Clubs 129 10:57 Mr TIM WILSON IMW Goldstein I am privileged to be able to conduct my first statement to the Federation Chamber as the new member for Goldstein. Goldstein is an electorate that embodies community spirit. To that end, over the past few weeks I have been very happy to be able to open the seasons of both the Brighton Croquet Club and the Sandringham Bowls Club. The Brighton Croquet Club kindly invited me down to the opening of their season to showcase their immaculate grounds and their members' friendly nature. The club have a fascinating history. Back in 1911, after many years of paying a fee to play on private property which included croquet pitches, Councillor Edmanson announced plans to purchase two acres of land for a croquet club to be officially formed. The first vice-president in 1911-12 was one Mr T Wilson. That name appears regularly across the Goldstein electorate on honour boards, but I can assure members that he is no relation. The land was purchased for 170 pounds in May of 1911 and was considered a very good deal at the time. Using the old cabmen's shelter from the Middle Brighton station as the pavilion, the club was formed. Despite mishaps with the original pavilion burning down in 1912, the club are still strong to this day. I would like to thank them for their hospitality but, more importantly, wish them well for the 2016-17 season. Similarly, I also had the great opportunity to visit the Sandringham Bowls Club and get their 2016-17 season off to a cracking start. Like the croquet club, the bowls club has an interesting past, having had a few locations over its 107-year history. The club began in Abbott Street in 1909 and then moved to the Beach Reserve from 1922 to 1975, with its final shift to its current location in Tulip Street after 1975. The move was unexpected due to the council only giving year-by-year assurances that the club could stay. The main issue with the move was a lack of funds. After repeated attempts to sell the old building on Beach Reserve, it was physically moved to the current site in Tulip Street. Today, it also plays an important part in Sandringham's social fabric for people of all ages. They deserve commendation for their contribution to the community, particularly for the committees which also serve with distinction. Following on from the previous speaker, I have not tried one of their egg and bacon sandwiches but I can say that they serve a mean cup of tea. The community spirit that lives within these clubs, combined with their rich history, is why the Goldstein community is a thriving area. These clubs respect the past while they help take the community forward together. The DEPUTY SPEAKER HWN In accordance with standing order 193 the time for constituency statements has concluded. PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS 129 PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS Penalty Rates 129 11:00 Mr CHAMPION HW9 Wakefield I move: That this House acknowledges that penalty rates are relied upon by Australian workers and their families to cover everyday costs of living, no matter if they are full time, part time or casual, including workers such as: (1) nurses; (2) police, firefighters and ambulance officers; (3) retail and hospitality workers; (4) manufacturing industry employees; (5) services sector employees; and (6) tourism and transport industry employees. We all know that the decision by the Fair Work Commission relating to penalty rates has been delayed, reportedly so employers can provide additional submissions to their case. That would, to my mind, only prove that their case has not been made. We know that a whole range of workers, from police to nurses, retail and hospitality workers, and everybody in between—really the bulk of the Australian working and middle class—rely on these penalty rates, if not for themselves then for their partners' or their children's income earnings. We know that during the election there was a lot of crab crawling away from some parties' positions on penalty rates. We know the Liberal Party has, in the past, been wildly enthusiastic about cutting penalty rates. We know that from the experience under Work Choices. We know that they first ran a mile and then crab crawled away from it. We know that the Nick Xenophon Team had a similar position. We know that these parties, which are essentially conservative parties and have been enthusiasts for cutting penalty rates, have been trying to obscure their positions by some sort of latter-day conversion to a commitment to the Fair Work Commission and its role as umpire in this situation. For my own mind, it is easy to quantify what penalty rates mean to an individual worker and it is easy to quantify what they mean to an individual business. I often chat to cafe owners and they express a desire to cut their penalty rates. They say, 'If I could cut my penalty rates, I could put an extra person on on Sunday,' and I say, 'That might work for you as a sole business if you operated in a vacuum where no other business was doing the same thing, but if Coles and Woolies and all the big employers and the state governments are all cutting their penalty rates who do you think's going to be shopping at your store? Who's going to be buying the cups of coffee?' This is often something that is lost on them. They often do not think about that broader situation. Interestingly, the McKell Institute, in an analysis in 2015, observed that if penalty rates were cut—and 18 per cent of rural workers work in retail and hospitality—then rural Australia would lose between $370 million and $1.55 billion each year, depending on the rate of cuts to penalty rates and the level of local ownership in retail stores. It also estimated that it would reduce disposable income in regional areas by between $174.6 million and $748.3 million. So you can see that cuts in penalty rates do not just affect individual workers; they affect whole communities and whole communities' economies. In South Australia, where we have quite a big independent retail arm in the case of Foodland and, in my own community, the Barossa Co-op, the effects would be somewhat moot. But, even so, we have a number of the big chains—Woolies, Coles and Bunnings—who receive regular pay rises and receive penalty rates. Of course, if they were able to cut them, then we know regional economies like South Australia would be affected. What we have here is the opportunity for this parliament—and I extend the opportunity for the Liberal Party and for the Nick Xenophon Team to do what Labor is doing—to express to the Fair Work Commission the importance of penalty rates and, in a formal opposition to cuts to penalty rates, to express to them just how important a part of the income of workers these are, and how important it is for regional and rural economies and for Australia's social fabric that these penalty rates remain in the national awards and in our social and economic ethos to make sure that there is fairness and wage growth in the economy. Previous speakers have talked about the lack of wage growth in our economy being a problem not just for those individual workers but for the economy as a whole. Fairness is essential for growth and growth is essential for fairness, and we know that the two things increasingly go arm in arm. That is why we should resist any proposition to reduce penalty rates across the economy. The DEPUTY SPEAKER MT4 Is the motion seconded? Mr Byrne 008K0 I second the motion. The DEPUTY SPEAKER MT4 And do you reserve your right to speak? Mr Byrne 008K0 Yes. 11:05 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman If anyone has been keeping a tally, this would probably have been the most popular debate in this place over the last decade. Hearing the two sides trot out the same ministerial talking points can get a little tedious, so I want to stray a little, if I may, from the issue of penalty rates to the bigger picture of whether employees are better off overall with rising standards of living, income and economic growth, which have to be the focus on this side of the room. Penalty rates are the big selling card of union membership, and we know why those from the other side of the chamber have to perennially push the topic. But, in reality, when we know that an employee can look at their salary and see it increasing, whether it happens on a Friday, a Saturday or a Monday is not terribly germane to them as long as over the pay cycle they are better off overall. Of course, this is something that the unions will simply never move away from because it is, as I have said, their calling card to union membership, so we understand where they are coming from. In the Capalaba Sports Club a new salary agreement was trialled last year, one that had been approved in the Fair Work Commission by none other than the then head of Unions New South Wales, who ticked off on the agreement saying that it left workers better off overall—and I will repeat that phrase regularly to remind those on the other side. It caused world war III in Queensland when the agreement was rolled out in a community club. Of course, employees did not quite understand, because in most cases their pay was no different. It was just that they were paid more through the week, and the large penalty rates on weekends came back to just $6, $9 and $12 per hour bonuses on top of the hourly rate. If you increase the weekday salary then it is all swings and roundabouts and the salary is no different, and most employees are smart enough to see that. If you are a union member, though, and you need to find a fight, then fighting for penalty rates is about all you have left, so I do not blame them for doing it. So what did they do? They called in Fair Work. They got an order from Fair Work and raided the club to look at their pay sheets. This raises one very important question: why are unions picking over the pay forms of non-union members at work? Why should non-union members have unions crawling all over their salary slips and their pay forms? Why should they be photocopied and taken out of the employer's office with tax file numbers on them, for goodness sake? How do I know that privacy is being protected when unions crawl over pay slips on the pretext that they are checking whether the employer is doing the right thing? That is a definite issue of privacy for non-union members that is not currently protected in the act. A second issue is that when you know where these teenagers live the next logical step is to go and knock on their doors, which is precisely what happened. Unions, calling themselves official investigators, went around to the homes of teenagers and told them, 'You are thousands of dollars worse off because you are not getting your penalty rates.' That is an abject falsehood, but you will say anything to get a new member, so of course you would do it. Trying to purloin union membership using home address details that potentially are not removed before they are handed over is a genuine concern. I think it is a far greater concern than whether you are paid your salary on a Saturday, a Monday or a Friday. If you are better off overall you would be way more worried about having pay slips under the arms of official union investigators. What on earth are those positions? Where does that exist in the act? But, no, there they are, leaving their business cards under doors: 'Your child would be way better off as a union member, and they are thousands of dollars worse off.' Your leader—this Leader of the Opposition—had the temerity to bring one of those employees down here and make out that they were thousands of dollars a year worse off. When challenged, they simply said, 'Oh no; she said she was worse off, so we just took that at face value.' Then there was a Facebook post with two payslips showing that the amount was the same but they could not see a penalty rate on the other side because they were paid more through the week. This is a simple and better overall test that everybody understands. This is a pay agreement approved by a Labor New South Wales commissioner; but, no, 'We'll fight that one to the hilt.' So what do we know? We know that if we touch penalty rates we will be off to the Federal Court. We know that cashed-up unions have really got nothing else to fight for and so they take on small cafes and clubs, because they know they have got deeper pockets. In the end, it is the employers who know they are paying better wages and the employees know they are getting the same amount of salary. This beleaguered club dropped the agreement because they could not afford to go to the Federal Court. The next week: out came the old award pays, and all the staff looked at their payslips and said, 'But are we getting no more money?' That is right, because you were never getting any less. You are better off overall. This is a fight unions will have as long as we have unions. (Time expired) 11:10 Mr SWAN 2V5 Lilley It certainly is a fight we are going to have—a fight for working Australians whose working conditions and basic pay levels are under attack from this government and plenty of their acolytes in the business community every day of the week. So we relish the opportunity to talk about penalty rates. We understand that penalty rates are not only important for the 4.5 million Australians who receive them but also important for our economy. What do we get from the apologists opposite—those opposite from the trickle-down brigade? They went to the people of Australia at the last election with their stunning proposal of a $50 billion tax cut for the wealthiest companies in the world, including a tax cut for the big banks of $7 billion, as if that is going to produce jobs and growth. This just demonstrates how out of touch they are. One thing that the last election did was demonstrate that the Australian community will not buy your trickle-down economics. They are heartily sick of it. In fact, around the world, organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and many other reputable authorities have pointed to the trickle-down program as not only being a source of lower economic growth but a source of political polarisation right around the world. Exhibit A here is the economy of the United States, where the wages of the middle class have been ripped to shreds in recent years and greater armies of working poor have been created on the back of a minimum wage of $7 or $8 an hour. Those opposite come into this House and argue that we should take down our minimum wage; we should erode the pay and working conditions of some of the poorest people in our community by ripping into their penalty rates. I can tell you this: we relish this debate. We want to have this debate with this government no matter how long it lasts, because we know if we go to the people, particularly on the question that the member for Bowman went on about before, we will thump you out of your seat. Even in your seat there are middle-class families that benefit from penalty rates. You somehow think that penalty rates are just about a few young workers, who you do not mind exploiting. Penalty rates build the wage of many middle-class families in our community: kids who are going university; second income earners who are reliant on a few extra hours a week. You erode the middle class in this country at your peril. They know what you are up to now, because they can see penalty rates as being the leading edge of the reintroduction of Work Choices in this country. It is an attack not just on penalty rates but an attack on minimum conditions right across our workforce. They will not cop it. When you offer an obscene program such as the one you took to the last election of a $50 billion cut for large corporates, nothing really for small business and certainly nothing for people on modest incomes, when you attack the conditions of 4.5 million Australians, you have a fundamental impact on confidence in the economy and you have a fundamental impact on growth in the economy. A middle class is not a consequence of strong growth; it is the force behind strong growth in an economy. Well-paid workers such as we have had in the main in this country for the last 30 years have been a source of that growth. With our economy now 20 per cent larger than it was at the end of 2007, it is a fact that they have been the source of growth. But in other countries which have gone down the trickle-down road, like the United States with huge armies of working poor and right across Europe where they do not pay or respect people properly, their economies are not doing well. The workforce does deserve some respect and at the moment in relation to the Commonwealth public servants and their role in the public sector of our economy you, the government, have no respect for your own workforce. You are out there ripping into their working conditions, trying to give them a real wage cut and somehow pretending that is good for the economy. It is not good for the economy. But I will tell you what: it is also not good for trust. Trust is the very basic secret ingredient that makes good economies work. So when you show so much disrespect to your own workforce, when you have a record of putting in place Work Choices, the Australian public know what you are really on about. So do not come in here and preach about small business. Small business depends on the purchasing power of the low- and middle-paid in our community if they are going to do any business. And do not go on about coffee shops. Who is going to buy the coffee if you continue to erode the wages and working conditions of the people— (Time expired) 11:16 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes What a disappointment we have had here this morning! At the first chance the member for Wakefield has to come into this new parliament and put up a motion that tries to tackle the problems that we have in this economy with our growing debt what does he resort to? It is the old scare campaign, the old 'create the bogeyman' and the old, 'They're taking away our penalty rates.' What an embarrassment and disappointment it must be to the people who elected the member for Wakefield. Let's get something very clear: there is absolutely no proposal coming from anyone on this side that the penalty rates of nurses, police, ambulance or emergency workers should be touched one iota. It is simply another scare campaign. Why is there a scare campaign? It is to try to get people to vote Labor and also to get them to cough up their union membership fees. It is to take their union membership fees and have that bogeyman and scare campaign out there. It was very interesting during this debate on penalty rates that there was not a single word from anyone in the Labor Party about the rip-off of workers by the shop and distributive workers' union. Yes, $300 million was ripped off. Union officials signed off to rip $300 million off those workers. That is what the Fair Work Commission found. Those opposite should be embarrassed about that. They should come in here and apologise to all those workers from Coles and Woolworths for the $300 million— Mr Champion interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER MT4 Order! The member for Hughes will resume his seat. Members, it is getting a tad disorderly, and it is not a good example for the new members of parliament who are sitting here. Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I appreciate you bringing some decorum back to this chamber. It is an embarrassment for the Labor Party that they would come into this parliament and talk about penalty rates but not mention a word about how those workers got $300 million ripped off—the workers that they say they represent. But with that crooked rotten deal they did with the shop and distributive workers' union, the SDA, they also put a lot of smaller businesses at a competitive disadvantage. So we had the big employers—Woolworths and Coles, the big chain stores—paying a lower rate of pay and these small businesses being forced under the awards to pay higher rates. You wonder why we have some distortions in our economy! You wonder why people worry about who the Labor Party truly represents! Do they stand for the actual workers, or do they stand for the union bosses? In this debate, that question has been answered. One thing that the member for Wakefield seems not to understand is that the size of the economy can grow and contract, and the private sector will only employ someone if the value that they add is at least equal to the cost of their wage. If, in the tourism and hospitality sector, we set the penalty rates so high, they can actually act as a penalty and become a discouragement to employment. So instead of workers actually having money, as the member talks about, to cover their everyday costs of living, they simply do not have a job because the businesses have closed because of the level the penalty rates were set at in some of these industries. That is what needs to be addressed, and that is what the Fair Work Commission is looking at. I would also like to comment on some of the comments by the member for Lilley, who was formerly the Treasurer of this country for six years. Is it any wonder, from hearing that speech, why our economy suffered for those six years. The member for Lilley seems to think that, if you reduce the corporate tax rate, it is simply a handout. I would ask the member for Lilley to go back through the records for the last 30 years and look at what happened when the Hawke and Howard governments reduced company taxes. It was not a handout to big business. What happened when they reduced that corporate tax rate? It was around 49 per cent in the mid-1980s. When they reduced the corporate tax rate, do you know what happened? We actually got more corporate tax paid! That has been the effect every single time that we have reduced the corporate tax rate. When we have reduced the tax rate, more tax has been paid because people have been prepared to take a risk with their money. That is something the other side simply does not understand. The DEPUTY SPEAKER MT4 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Sesquicentenary of the Sisters of St Joseph 133 11:21 Mr ZIMMERMAN 203092 North Sydney I move: That this House: (1) celebrates the sesquicentenary of the Sisters of St Joseph and acknowledges the inspiration of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop; (2) acknowledges the great works that the Sisters of St Joseph do all over the country in caring for the aged, education, supporting woman and families and partnering with Indigenous Australians to achieve outcomes; (3) recognises that regional communities are a special part-focus of work for the order, since it was founded in Penola in South Australia in 1866; and (4) congratulates the Sisters of St Joseph for the wonderful works they have done over the last 150 years and looks forward to the continuing works into the future. I am delighted to move that this House celebrates the sesquicentenary of the Sisters of St Joseph, as it is important that this parliament joins with so many Australians to reflect on their extraordinary contribution to our nation. At the heart of the story of the sisters is, of course, Australia's first Catholic saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop. As she did 150 years ago, Saint Mary continues to serve as a source of inspiration for so many people, whether of the Catholic faith or otherwise. Her selfless life of service to the spiritual and temporal needs of her fellow citizens remains a beacon of hope and example from which we can all learn. Indeed, the story of Mary MacKillop is, by any measure, the story of Australia's own progress and development as a nation. She has come to embody all those virtues that we like to think are at the heart of our national character. Saint Mary and the sisters have had an impact on Australians from all walks of life. Perhaps most notably, Mary MacKillop and the sisters played a vital role in establishing our understanding that universal education, no matter someone's means or circumstances, is the foundation for our success as individuals and as a society. Their work with Indigenous Australians, commencing at a time when few thought that Indigenous Australians should be afforded the dignity and rights of their fellow citizens, was groundbreaking. Like many Australians, Mary MacKillop's story begins with a family who migrated from the old world in search of a better life. That was not to be easily realised, and the family that Mary MacKillop's parents raised in suburban Melbourne was to experience considerable hardship. As the eldest child, responsibility often fell to her to support her family. At just 18, she undertook the journey to Penola, a small regional town in South Australia, to become governess to her aunt and uncle's children. Saint Mary's experience in Penola was to have a profound impact on her future, both through her own personal experiences and because it brought her into contact with a local parish priest, Father Julian Woods. Father Woods was to become a major influence in her spiritual life, and the foundation of the sisters became very much a collaborative undertaking by them both. Education in colonial Australia was sparse and mostly in the hands of families of means. Schools and good teachers were well out of reach for many rural, and certainly most Aboriginal, Australians. For girls and young women, the situation was particularly dire. This was to become the first and enduring mission of Saint Mary and the sisters she founded in a Penola barn in 1866. Within just three years, they had established 21 schools in Adelaide and the surrounding countryside. The order, growing in numbers and success, sent hundreds of young women across colonial Australia to educate the poor and impoverished. But the success was not without its hurdles; Mary MacKillop faced challenges from both within and without the Church. What today would be taken for granted, was considered 150 years ago nothing short of revolutionary. Sir Henry Parkes perhaps summed up some of the best sentiments when he was once reported as saying, 'The Sisters of St Joseph are like white ants; when once they enter a locality, you cannot even starve them out!' But it was the maxim 'Who will speak if you don't' and their deep faith and determination that saw Saint Mary and the sisters overcome the obstacles that were so frequently placed in their way. The order, forever growing in numbers and outreach, transferred its headquarters to North Sydney, in my electorate, in 1898. In 1909 more than 600 Josephites mourned Saint Mary's death. She left behind an educational system across Australia that provided schooling to tens of thousands of children. Mary's legacy has lived on through the Sisters of St Joseph. Today the sisters' work extends across Australia and beyond our shores to Peru, Brazil and East Timor. Although they no longer run parishes, education remains a core mission, and they continue to provide services and dignity to many Australians, no matter what their creed, colour or faith. They continue to be a hand of compassion for people longing for a decent life—women of the church living their faith through devotion to social justice and equality. Their example encourages us all to see the best in each other and to recognise that all Australians deserve the dignity and opportunities that we now regard as an innate right. In this, their sesquicentenary, we thank and congratulate the Sisters of St Joseph for their role in shaping our country and our culture and for the incredible work they do around Australia and the world today. I commend the motion to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER MT4 Can I have a seconder, please? Mr Pasin 240756 I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 11:26 Mr HAYES ECV Fowler I congratulate the member for North Sydney in moving this motion, drawing attention to this milestone—150 years since the founding of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The Sisters of St Joseph have certainly enriched many of our lives throughout our communities, but their involvement in education is how many of us came into contact with them. What they did through advocacy, particularly for the poor, dealing with rural access in various aspects, and what they do in aged care are things which I think are absolutely commendable. The Sisters of St Joseph were founded in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Woods. Mary MacKillop is now Saint Mary of Cross, after she was canonised by Pope Benedict in 2010, just over 100 years after her passing. The Josephites are a direct legacy of Mary MacKillop's dedication to her faith, to her community and to helping others in need, particularly women and children. The legacy started in the small country town of Penola in South Australia and now extends globally to over 800 sisters ministering to congregations throughout Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Peru, East Timor, Scotland and Brazil. I first came in contact with the Sisters of St Joseph when I was five and attended St Luke's Primary School at Revesby. We knew them as the 'Brown Joeys'. It was in kindergarten, under Sister Anne, that I came in contact with the former member for Banks, Daryl Melham. We have had a lifelong association ever since. The Sisters of St Joseph have something to be proud of: they have two members in this parliament from the same kindergarten. My personal association with the Josephites continued through my wife's auntie, Sister Paul Maria—as we know her, Auntie Gladys. Going back a number of years, in a young family, while Bernadette and her sister Margaret made Auntie Gladys's habits, I got to see the very selfless nature of the women who dedicate themselves to God and to people in need. Today I would like to focus on some other aspects of the important roles undertaken by the Josephites throughout the global community. For instance, the Josephite countertrafficking project was established by Sister Margaret Ng. This project provides resources to people who have been trafficked or exploited, especially those from Asia-Pacific backgrounds. Many of these women have been identified as victims of human trafficking and slavery. Sister Ng and her team provide culturally sensitive mentoring. They have joined forces with a range of organisations, including the Australian Federal Police, to provide programs to assist in addressing this scourge of human trafficking and to assist these women to live a better quality of life. Human trafficking is such a serious issue. It is not just limited to sex work, which many are involved in. As we have seen, men and women have been exploited in the hospitality and construction industries. Also, they are often victims of domestic violence. The work of helping others in need is a legacy that Mary MacKillop started 150 years ago. I recently attended the Mary MacKillop Catholic College in Wakeley for their celebrations of 150 years of the order, which was attended by many of the nuns. Most of the Catholic clergy in my electorate were there. It was great to see the principal of the school, Narelle Archer, and all the young women turn up. It was great to see the way they revered Mary MacKillop. When I look at the photos of Mary MacKillop, that is the way I remember nuns. When I was in kindergarten they all looked the same. To Sister Monica Cavanagh, the leader of the congregation, and her team of sisters: your order has made a remarkable contribution to the betterment for our community. We are truly in your debt. 11:31 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker It is an honour to speak to this motion celebrating the sesquicentenary of the establishment of the order of the Sisters of St Joseph. It was a great privilege for me to join the Josephites on 20 March of this year to celebrate this anniversary at Penola, where the original Josephite seed was sown. As I said in my maiden speech in this place, I regard myself blessed to serve an electorate so intrinsically linked to the life of our nation's only saint. While many now lay claim to Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, including the member for North Sydney—who, it must be said, needs to be congratulated for bringing this motion to the House—Mary's spiritual home is and will always be Penola, deep in the heart of Barker, in the south-east of South Australia. After all, it was there that a young governess met Father Julian Tenison-Woods, who inspired her journey in faith and who, in partnership, established the order. For me, the Josephite story is a difficult one. The order was established by MacKillop and Woods on St Joseph's Day, 19 March 1866. It was on St Joseph's Day that my brother, ironically named after St Joseph, was taken from our family in a tragic work accident. So this day, which commemorates for so many the establishment of an order that has done so much good, is for me a particularly sad anniversary. It was the father of Federation, Sir Henry Parkes, who probably best summarised the tenacity, determination and focus of the Sisters of St Joseph when he said, 'The Sisters of St Joseph are like white ants: once they've entered a locality you can't even starve them out.' It should be noted, of course, that Parkes's less than charitable reference owed much to the fact that he and Mary MacKillop shared different views on the role of the church in education. Parkes's attitude was not, thankfully, the prevailing view across the colonies of Australia at the time. When the sisters were forced out of Queensland, The Brisbane Courier reported: We regret extremely to hear that the Sisters of St Joseph are about to withdraw from Brisbane. The children of the working class and those of the entirely destitute have been taken under their care and educated in their schools. No distinction of creed has ever been made, the only passport to the favour of the Sisters of St Joseph being the need of assistance. Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile, have been equally welcomed. Without the heroic mission of the religious Sisters of St Joseph, who established primary and secondary schools throughout Australia from the 1870s onwards, a generation of Australian Catholics would never have gained the sound knowledge of the faith and access to the sacraments. The Josephites established hundreds of schools across Australia with no support from state or federal governments. In these schools not only was Catholicism taught but the sisters, by their exemplary lives, gave living witness to the faith and inspired a deep devotion to it, which was maintained in the Catholic community. The fact that until the late 1960s over half of Australia's Catholic population attended mass every Sunday was a measure of the contribution these teaching religious orders, like the Josephites, made to the church and to Australian society. Saint Mary embodied great personal holiness. Mary created a vision of what was needed to address the religious and educational crisis of her time. She had a ready willingness to accept the responsibilities which she had assumed and the burden of suffering which her vocation demanded. In the Josephites she created a vehicle to address the religious and educational crisis. It is important to acknowledge Mary in this place because, of course, Mary and Woods understood the interrelationship between the sacred and the secular, and, indeed, a seat in the South Australian House of Assembly is named in her honour. She faced many challenges, including an excommunication, the product of bishops who had the ear of some and who were jealous of her success. We should also acknowledge today the people who assisted Mary on her journey. In particular, I refer to Joanna Barr Smith and Emanuel Solomon. Emanuel was a Jewish man, which is fitting given that St Joseph was a Jew. Guided by Mother Mary's great holiness, the Josephites have tended to the poorest and most neglected parts of God's vineyard for 150 years. May they continue to do so for another 150 years. 11:36 Ms OWENS E09 Parramatta Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia's first saint, together with Friar Julian Tenison Woods, set up a school for underprivileged children in Penola in 1866. In doing so they started something much more. Saint Mary's Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart have continued their work and celebrate their 150th anniversary this year. Naturally, given Parramatta's history, the Sisters of St Joseph have had a long history in Parramatta, with the establishment of their congregation in Granville in 1885 where they built a convent and a boarding school. In fact, Saint Mary's relationship with Parramatta extends to her first miracle. The miracle of Veronica Hopson, who lived in the Catholic diocese of Parramatta, was accepted by the Vatican in 1993, and in January 1995 Pope John Paul II beatified Mary during a mass at Randwick racecourse, Sydney. The tradition of service of the Sisters of St Joseph is woven into the history of Parramatta. It was the Sisters of St Joseph who looked after and served 800 female convicts and 300 children confined in the Parramatta Female Factory, a place of national heritage significance to the Parramatta community and the nation. The sisters worked with fervour, lobbying the governor to allow the women to open a public laundry and take in needlework for employment. Not only did the Sisters of St Joseph serve Parramatta through care for the disadvantaged and marginalised, Saint Mary of the Cross wrote of 'bringing to birth a dream to give hope and meaning to thousands of children through the gift of education'. They did this when they founded the Holy Trinity Primary School in 1885. The Holy Trinity Primary School continued under the sisters' administration until 1976 when the first lay principal, Miss Shirley Reid, was appointed. The original boarding school now serves the local community as the Holy Trinity Primary School. The current principal, Helen Boyer, proudly services under the Josephite traditions and operates a Junior Joeys group in primary grades that operates under the motto: 'Never see a need without doing something about it.' The Sisters of St Joseph were not the first nuns in Parramatta. They followed in the footsteps of the very first Catholic sisters to arrive in Australia, the Sisters of Charity, in 1836. A 38-year-old novice by the name of Elizabeth Williams arrived with the Sisters of Charity. She was the first person in Australia to take religious vows and she did so in Parramatta on 9 April 1839. She became known as Mother Francis Xavier Williams and she founded St Joseph's Orphanage in Hobart. Some 50 years later, when the Sisters of Mercy first arrived in Parramatta in 1888 at the behest of the bishop, they discovered that nothing had been prepared for them, and it was the Sisters of Charity, who were already established, who took them in and supported them. The tradition of assisting sisters of different orders continued in 1977 when the missionary sisters arrived as refugees from Vietnam. They arrived, as many refugees do, with nothing, but the Sisters of St Joseph in Granville gave their convent to the Missionary Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World, and the Sisters of Mercy in Burraneer Bay did the same. The gifting of the convents from the Josephites and the Sisters of Mercy provided them with a sanctuary and allowed them to administer their work. The Missionary Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World, continue their outreach programs, even today, through the Holy Trinity Parish in Granville with an active congregation of 60. The Sisters of Mercy grew to develop the Mercy Works, which administers aid projects in Australian and internationally. They partner with numerous other organisations to support marginalised and displaced people, and Principal Stephen M Walsh of their school, Our Lady of Mercy College, continues their work in Parramatta today. I cannot talk about nuns in Parramatta without mentioning the wonderful Maronite sisters, who also arrived in the seventies. They continue to teach and empower children at Our Lady of Lebanon College in Harris Park, where Principal Sister Marlene Chedid and her teaching staff continue their good works. All these extraordinary woman from different orders have made their mark on the spiritual and social fabric of Parramatta and Australia. Around the Parramatta community we know some of them as troublemakers in the best possible sense. People who move to change the world quite often have to stir things up, and some of these women have been extraordinary in their time in stirring things up to make things better for those around them. I congratulation them and thank them all for their service to the people of Parramatta, particularly the Josephites because it is their 150th anniversary in Australia this year. 11:41 The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Asbestos 136 11:41 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) the Government's Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency's (ASEA's) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Tighe, describes the emerging problem of asbestos importation as growing exponentially; (b) the ASEA's independent review of the end-to-end border processes for the asbestos border control, resulting in the Asbestos Importation Review Report (KGH Border Services, March 2016), was conducted in just four weeks, had narrowly constructed terms of reference and lacked consultation with all affected parties; and (c) at the new $1.2 billion Perth Children's Hospital, an imported roof panel has tested positive for chrysotile, an asbestos substance banned in Australia; (2) acknowledges that: (a) Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related death and injury in the world, with 33,000 people having already lost their lives to asbestos-related diseases; and (b) around 700 Australians die each year from asbestos-related diseases, and without proper management, experts worry that tens of thousands of Australians could be diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases in the coming decades; (3) condemns the Government's inaction since the completion of the Asbestos Importation ReviewReport; and (4) calls on the Government to significantly increase the penalties available for those guilty of importing products containing asbestos. Last week, in the media, we had more reports about asbestos entering our country and appearing on building sites. It is not a rare occasion and there is a need for urgent action. Again, the government has being caught asleep at the wheel when it comes to asbestos importation. Let us not forget that asbestos is banned in our country, and it is banned for good reason—asbestos kills. We have had too many Australians, too many workers, lose their lives to asbestos related illnesses. Rather than acting on this issue, what the government has done instead is blame the union. They have blamed the union, the CFMEU, that speaks up and speaks out against products containing asbestos entering worksites. Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos related death and injury in the world. We know that 33,000 people have already lost their lives to asbestos related illnesses. Around 700 Australians die each year because of asbestos related diseases and, without proper management of our borders, more and more Australian workers will lose their lives if the government does not get serious about cracking down on asbestos importation. What happened last week that motivated the Labor side to move this motion today in parliament? Well, let us look at some of the media reports of last week. Asbestos has been found in Brisbane at a state government site in a new building. The same company was involved where asbestos was found in Perth in the children's hospital. These are two expensive projects being funded by state governments where the builders have imported products from China containing asbestos. But it is not just these two cases. Asbestos has been found in the Sydney WestConnex project. This is a project that we hear speaker after speaker rave about in this place. Yet how alarming is it for the residents of Sydney to discover that asbestos has been found in the building products of the WestConnex Sydney project. Asbestos has also been found in a hotel development in Hobart. Asbestos is getting through our borders. Asbestos is in our workplaces. These are just a few of the cases where the union and WorkSafe have entered in the various jurisdictions to make complaints to get products tested. Yet we have not seen action from this government. Instead, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection blamed the union and said it is the union's fault that asbestos is getting into this country. How laughable is it for the minister for immigration to say that it is the union's fault! Let's get this straight: the minister who is responsible for keeping this product out of our country is blaming the messenger who blew the whistle on the fact that there is asbestos in this country. To be frank, the government has completely failed in its response to stop illegal asbestos importations coming into our country. It is not spending enough on cracking down and testing this product. We all know that in China asbestos is not illegal, but it is in our country. The government needs to invest more to stop this product from getting in. We condemn the government for its inaction. We also condemn the government for their report. It was limited, it was brief and it did nothing to really address the concerns that are being raised in this space not just by the union but also by the industry. In fact, the Master Builders Association of Tasmania actually stated in the ABC report about asbestos being found in a Macquarie Street hotel redevelopment in Hobart that asbestos was prevalent in Tasmania. The report said: … the Master Builders Association said the incident was concerning, but asbestos was prevalent in Tasmania's building industry. It called upon people: … to consider where they're getting their fill from, the source of that fill, and just have a think about whether it may contain asbestos … This is from the Master Builders Association. This is not just the workers raising this issue; this is also the Master Builders Association raising this issue. The government should be condemned, and they should act on this issue now and seriously. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 Is there a seconder for this motion? Mr Hammond 80109 I am delighted to second the motion put forward by the member for Bendigo, particularly in relation to (1)(a) of the motion, and I reserve my right to speak. 11:47 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler It is a great pleasure to once again to be back in the House and speaking on something which is an important issue. I of course acknowledge the other side in the process. I will look at some of the comments from the member for Bendigo before we get to the substantive issue. Firstly, this is a serious issue, certainly for me and a number of other people in this room who are likely to have been exposed to asbestos. I will assume my good friend the new member for Fisher, as a former carpenter, would understand just what that means. It is certainly something which plays on your mind. It is certainly something that you are aware of. For people who have worked not only in the construction industry but also in heavy industry over many years, asbestos unfortunately is a fact of life. Asbestos contaminates our worksites. On some things we do agree: we need to ensure that we do not continue to import such a devastating product. However, this is not just a political blame game. We need to understand the practicalities of exactly how difficult it is to identify asbestos. It is not something which can be seen, smelled or heard. You certainly cannot tell that a product is an asbestos product simply by looking at it. The only way that you can identify an asbestos product is to have it sampled. They have to use a particular type of microscope to identify it, and that is typically done in a NATA registered laboratory by someone with extremely good qualifications, such as an occupational hygienist or somebody similar. The reason it is so difficult is that asbestos fibres are less than five micron, typically. There is a whole range of asbestos products The three types of asbestos you can usually see are chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite. They are known as 'white', 'brown' and 'blue'. For those of us who come from heavy industry, we are very well aware of just how deadly blue asbestos can be. In fact, in my former workplace where I did my trade, there used to be people employed as laggers, if you can believe that. Their job was to bundle up blue asbestos in a bucket, mix it into slurry and then pack it onto steampipes. Unfortunately, many of those people lost their lives. A lot of them I knew very well; they were personal friends. To have lung cancer or mesothelioma is a terrible way to lose your life. However, I will move to the substantive matters. The idea or concept that we can sample every single piece of product that comes into Australia that may or may not contain asbestos is, unfortunately, ludicrous. The typical products that you may or may not find asbestos in that are here in this country right now are things which are legacy items. It is not just roofing and wall sheets; it is things like brake pads and piping—anything to do with underground pipes from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Anything which is made of fibre is typically asbestos. Those products already exist. The concept that we could test every single product that comes into this country is just a ridiculous position to put forward. For example, mastic is something which is used to seal. Black mastic has a very, very high asbestos content and very, very dangerous levels of asbestos. People who are not aware of that tend to go out and do very silly things such as heat them up, which releases the fibres, because, quite simply, asbestos cannot affect you unless you inhale it. It is a difficult problem, but we are taking a sampling approach. Since 1 July 2015, the Australian Border Force have targeted 1,936 high-risk shipments, which has resulted in 144 examinations and 13 detections of asbestos contaminated goods. Unfortunately, there is no other way to do this. You simply have to take a sample and test it. So the only debate that we can have is about the number of samples and how quickly that might be done. This is a significant increase from 2014-15, when there were 273 shipments targeted, resulting in 20 examinations and 10 detections. Clearly, the good thing about construction is that it is underway, so someone must be funding it, and that is incredibly important. But it is also important to note that health and safety in the workplace is typically the responsibility of the state government. They have the resources, they have the inspectors and they have the people who are trained to do the investigations. The Border Force, of course, are continuing to do their work, but we should look at Labor's record. Labor's record on this is appalling. Federal Labor actually cut $734 million from the Border Force budget and 700 staff from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service during their time in government. That is not a good reflection on someone who is intending to do more samples and more inspections of asbestos products. Briefly, in wrapping up, I must say that I actually went into a place in another country—I will not say which one—where they had samples of asbestos bags being wrapped up. You could walk in and have a look as they made these things on the demonstration floor. That was very surprising. That is not something we should see in this country, and we must continue to fight to ensure that we do not have asbestos products here. 11:52 Ms RYAN 249224 Lalor I am pleased to rise today to speak on the motion moved by the member for Bendigo because of the importance of the motion that is before us today. The member for Bendigo quite rightly raised this issue in this place today because it is one around safety. It is incredibly important that we have many people coming into this place to raise this issue and raise the profile of what is, to put it bluntly, an absolute disgrace. We have just heard from the member for Hinkler. He came into this chamber to speak on this motion today, but unfortunately he has failed to grasp the danger of this product, although he clearly demonstrated that he understands the danger of asbestos in our workplaces, in our buildings, in our cars and in our brake pads. He understands that danger very clearly. Yet, as a member of the government, he needs to raise this issue in his caucus room. He needs to raise this issue with the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to ensure that something is put in place to ensure that this practice stops, and stops now. The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency CEO has outlined a dire situation. There is no good reason for Australians to be dying of asbestos related illnesses into the future. We all understand the history of this product. We understand that it took years to have the dangers of this product made public and for those people who have suffered terrible deaths from exposure to this product to be compensated. We understand that that is ongoing. But to be in a situation now where we are importing products with asbestos when we fully understand the dangers is outrageous. I will go straight to the heart of this issue. The member for Bendigo raised the notion that the immigration minister blamed the unions for the importation. I think it was some kind of roundabout argument that wages are too high and therefore people are trying to cut corners. Well, that is it: people are trying to cut corners. They are trying to reduce the costs of building in this country at the expense of safety—not just worker safety but public safety. This is an absolute outrage and the minister for immigration should be acting here. I condemn him for his lack of action to date in this space. It is clear that asbestos related products are coming into our country, coming into our building sites and coming into our factories when we all know the dangers and we all know that that should not be occurring. It has been found in cement compound board imported from China and even in sealing tape installed between roof sheets. This is not good enough. Workers in this country understand their rights, they understand safety in the workplace and I applaud them for taking the action that they have taken to bring this to government's attention. The minister for immigration needs to think long and hard. Let's face it: the minister for immigration is someone who likes to speak about keeping our borders safe. In fact, it is his favourite theme and his favourite topic. Well, this is an area where he can take real action to keep our borders safe, to keep our people safe from a future where we continue to bring asbestos products into this country. We know what that will look like. We have seen the deaths in the past. We know what this will do. Safety is the cost of doing business in this country. We have high standards. We have high product standards. We have high occupational health and safety standards. There is no point demonising the union movement in this way, but that is the pattern that we see. We are seeing the union movement demonised for getting in the way; we are seeing them demonised for adding to the cost of building. We look at that picture, and then we look at this picture, where we have a minister who is not taking appropriate action, who is not ensuring that improved testing arrangements are put in place to ensure these products are not coming in. We have a minister for immigration who likes to make videos to send to other countries about keeping our borders safe. Well, how about sending some videos into the countries where these products are being made? How about sending them some videos highlighting for them that in Australia we have high standards around safety practices and that this product is not welcome inside Australia? I would like to see the minister for immigration make a video about that. I will applaud him when he does. 11:57 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I rise today to talk about the Turnbull government's determination to protect the nation from the silent killer that is asbestos. The member for Hinkler talked about tradespeople, of which I was one, and I did have significant exposure to asbestos dust. It is very much on my mind, as they say, that asbestosis has about a 30-year incubation period and I am reaching that 30 years, virtually to the day. So I am very cognisant of the dangers of asbestos. One of the unwanted legacies of the 20th century building boom was asbestos. There has been innocent exposure which has resulted in complex health problems for many thousands of Australians later in life. The people at greatest risk of developing an asbestos related disease are those that frequently undertake repairs, renovations and other work which can generate the release of asbestos fibres into the air. The one thing that is not addressed by many people when they talk about asbestos, particularly in my own home state of Queensland, is that hundreds of thousands of homes contain asbestos. Hundreds of thousands of homes, not just in Queensland but across this country, contain asbestos. That is not to take anything away from the significance or the risk of asbestos, but one needs to put it in context. Every home and every building built before 2003 contained asbestos. Breathing in asbestos fibres has been linked to three asbestos related diseases—asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer—all of which can be fatal. Asbestos related diseases take time to develop. They usually emerge at least 10 years after exposure but can sometimes take up to as long as 50 years. There are no current cures for these diseases. It is for this reason that the Australian government is serious about maintaining tight controls on products containing asbestos coming into this country. Australia is strongly committed to a coordinated national approach to dealing with asbestos. It is, in fact, a global leader in asbestos control and one of only a few countries that has had a total ban on asbestos since 2003. In accordance with our commitment, in August 2015 the government released the National strategic plan for asbestos management and awareness 2014-18. Endorsed by all state and territory governments, the plan has, for the first time, secured a coordinated national approach among Commonwealth, state and territory governments for dealing with asbestos. Since its establishment on 1 July 2015, the Australian Border Force has been our first line of defence in preventing goods that pose a risk of containing asbestos from coming into the country. We can assure the nation that this increased level of intensity will be maintained. The Australian Border Force works proactively with a range of federal, state and territory authorities to address concerns about the importation of asbestos. This multilayered approach includes education, campaigns and outreach activities. Additionally, the ABF is working with relevant Chinese government bodies to enhance cooperation on the asbestos border control. The ABF uses profiles and alerts to target specific goods, countries of origin, suppliers and importers of concern. The ABF constantly refines this targeting activity based on intelligence received. The ABF undertakes interception and intervention activities targeting high-risk building products, which may result in testing and seizure of these goods. Unlike illegal firearms and other prohibited items, asbestos cannot be detected through X-ray screening or other detection and examination capabilities deployed at the border. The Labor Party's record on this is poor. (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Infrastructure 140 12:03 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack I move:    That this House: (1) recognises the importance of well-developed transport links in regional Australia and the role they play in linking rural and regional communities; (2) acknowledges the significant role that the Government has played in funding road and rail projects around Australia, especially in the electoral division of Durack; (3) recognises that the Government is building our future by delivering over $50 billion in critical road and rail infrastructure in 2013-14 to 2019-20; and (4) congratulates the Government for having national economic plan that backs growth in our cities and regions. I am very pleased today to speak to my private member's business motion highlighting the Turnbull government's extensive work in boosting Australia's transport links throughout our vast country, but particularly in regional and rural areas. This federal government is investing a record $50 billion—yes, $50 billion—in our country's land transport infrastructure, which not only links regional and rural communities to each other and to metropolitan areas but also creates jobs along the way throughout the country. And let's not forget this is the biggest infrastructure investment program in Australian history. It is worth underlining that very important point. Earlier this month, I was very pleased to announce that I am building on the road improvements which I have delivered since I was elected some three years ago with the announcement of 11 upgrades of roads through round 5 of the Turnbull government's Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. Over $1.9 million will go towards constructing the Port Hedland road train assembly area, which is adjacent to the town of Port Hedland's zoned area for heavy vehicle industries. It is a much-needed addition to Port Hedland, I can assure you, Madam Deputy Speaker Wicks. In the Wheatbelt, there are a plethora of road upgrades, including the upgrade of the Northam-Pithara Road, which includes a 23-kilometre widening stretch of the Ballidu-Pithara carriageway—again, a great boost for not only that town but also the surrounding towns. The government is constructing six truck bays on the Great Northern Highway between Wubin in the Wheatbelt and Kumarina in the Mid West. In April this year I announced that eight road black spots in Durack would be fixed, with over $3.3 million worth of federal funding through the Black Spot Program, including the upgrade of the Hamersley Street and Napier Terrace, in Broome, which is an incredibly dangerous intersection in the Kimberley. I did note the front page story of the Broome Advertiser—which is a great local paper in the Kimberley—from the week of this announcement, which highlighted the importance of this particular upgrade and I quote: The Hamersley Street and Napier Terrace junction was the site of four injury vehicle crashes in the five years to 2014. And what one senior journalist, Glenn Cordingley, noted as 'many near misses'. This government's commitment to creating better transport links throughout regional Australia goes beyond increased and improved roads. We are creating safer regional communities for all Australians to live in. In this financial year alone, in Durack, this government is spending—and it is a very long list—$3.3 million on safer roads through the Black Spot Program, $35 million in Roads to Recovery payments for local councils, over $8 million in safer roads for heavy vehicles through the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program, over $408 million on upgrades to the Great Northern Highway—Muchea to Wubin—the North West Coastal Highway—Minilya to Barradale—and new bridges between Barradale and Nanutarra. Finally, there is over $32 million through the National Highway Upgrade Program for the New Norcia Bypass, which I am particularly excited about, and floodways between Meekatharra and Newman. Earlier this month, on this side of the chamber, we illustrated our commitment to jobs and small businesses by introducing legislation which will support the 3.2 million small businesses who employ around 5.5 million Australians. The Turnbull government is getting on with the job. We are implementing part of our policy platform—the coalition's 10-year enterprise tax plan—which saw the government re-elected in July. This bill will assist with building jobs and growth in regional, rural and remote areas—reducing the corporate tax rate to 27½ per cent from 1 July this year for 870, 000 incorporated businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million. Our record infrastructure investment is creating tens of thousands of jobs across Australia, supporting those small businesses I just referred to, reducing congestion in our regional cities and towns and increasing the economic capacity of our freight routes, not to mention improving safety for road users and supporting tourism. I commend to the House the work that the Turnbull government is doing to boost transport across Australia: improving links for the safety of the people who live in regional Australia, increasing opportunities for tourism and supporting those small businesses which are the lifeblood of regional Australia. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 Is the motion seconded? Ms Marino HWP I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 12:08 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler If words and rhetoric could be turned into bitumen we could have duplicated Highway 1 many times over the last few years. If words and rhetoric could be turned into rail track we could have solved urban congestion. The fact is that this government has failed when it comes to infrastructure. These are the facts: according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics public sector infrastructure investment fell by 20 per cent in the coalition government's first two years in office. For three years the Abbott and Turnbull government has failed to commence a major new project in Western Australia that was not planned by the former Labor government and funded in budgets it inherited from the former Labor government— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting Suspended from 12:09 to 12:31 Mr ALBANESE R36 In order to hide its inadequate action, the government has gone on a magical infrastructure re-announcement tour. That began just weeks after the 2013 election, when the former transport minister boasted that the government would deliver the Perth Gateway WA project. This was a project that, during the WA Senate by-election, the government pretended was new, but some of it had already even opened at that point. Cars were already travelling on some parts of the road. We have seen it here again today with the member for Durack speaking about the North West Coastal Highway, the Port Hedland improvements projects, the Great Northern Highway—Muchea to Wubin—the Black Spot Program and the Roads to Recovery Program. All of those have not a single dollar of coalition government funding in them. They were all done by the former Labor government, just like we funded the Swan Valley Bypass, just like we funded, built and opened the Great Eastern Highway project in the member for Swan's electorate. Indeed, the member for Swan was there when I, as minister, began work on Gateway WA project, and yet the government pretends that it is new. They were funded by the former Labor government, just the like duplication of the Dampier Highway, the Esperance Port Access Corridor and other projects in Western Australia. Indeed, in Western Australia there is not a major road or rail infrastructure project that was initiated by the coalition. What we saw during the election campaign was nothing short of pathetic. The coalition allocated more than $850 million to 78 new road projects under its program. Of those projects, 76 out of 78 were in electorates held by the coalition at the time of the election, 46 of the 78 projects were in New South Wales and 11 were in Queensland. There were none in Victoria, and in Western Australia, of the 78 projects, there were three in the entire state. By contrast, Tasmania, which happened to have the three amigos—now known as the three oncers—in their marginal seats in Tasmania, had 15 project. There were 15 in Tasmania and three in the entire state of Western Australia. The member for Durack spoke about the Roads to Recovery Program and financial assistance grants through local government. The government cut $925 million in road funding via financial assistance grants to local government when it froze indexation in 2014. Indeed, one of the worst affected electorates was Durack—$71 million in cuts as a result of that. The fact is that this government has failed when it comes to infrastructure, has failed when it comes to building important roads and failed when it comes to public transport. This is a government without an agenda when it comes to nation-building which has marginalised Infrastructure Australia and politicised the entire infrastructure agenda, which is consistent with a government that has no plan for a stronger economy, just a plan for stronger rhetoric. 12:35 Ms MARINO HWP Forrest I acknowledge the member for Durack for this excellent motion and recognise the importance of well developed transport links in regional Australia—in her electorate, she would understand this better than most—and I acknowledge the significant role the government has played in funding road and rail projects around Australia. I note, member of Durack, you focused on those particular projects in your electorate that are making the most difference, and I commend you for that. Of course, there are some projects that, in spite of what we heard from Labor, they cannot claim, despite of their best attempts. Of course, one of those is in my electorate, member for Durack. There is some very good news on the horizon for all producers of quality products in the south-west of Western Australia. During the recent campaign, I was very proud to announce that a re-elected coalition government will invest $9.78 million in expanding— A government member: In new money. Ms MARINO HWP in new money—the Busselton-Margaret River airport and, in doing so, give what is a critical piece of regional infrastructure an international focus—that is what we understand on this side, representing the majority of representatives of regional and rural Australia on our side of the House, and understanding the regions better than most. The funding will add to the $56 million invested by the WA state government and the $3.5 million committed by the City of Busselton, making this project truly a partnership between all three levels of government. The expansion of this airport has been a different vision developed by the City of Busselton and embraced by the entire south-west. It was agreed it was the No. 1 project. It has been supported by all regional local governments as a key investment that will benefit the entire south-west. When federal ministers and MPs have visited in the south-west, this project has always been raised with them as a key component of the development of the entire region. The expansion of the Busselton-Margaret River airport now embraces all possible areas of growth as envisaged by the city and its other proponents. It was supported by the city and the WA state government to expand the airport to allow direct interstate flights and, of course, the next thing was to give the tourists in the east direct access to our sublime south-west holiday experience. Particularly, we know the Margaret River region is one of the best international brands, and all of the south will benefit. Our distance from an airport able to land larger passenger jet has discouraged potential visitors—the three-hour drive and the need to hire a car or rely on buses were all disincentives—but the federal coalition government will expand that interstate reach and give this project an international flavour. That $9.7 million will allow the expansion of the airport to take planes capable of international flights, international flights directly into the Busselton-Margaret River area. And it will also give our producers direct access to markets in Asia, making direct trade possible with some of our greatest trading partners. So this gives my south-west incredible opportunities. Imagine my south-west produce getting directly into markets like Indonesia and Singapore, our beef, our lamb, are marron, our truffles— A government member: Our wine. Ms MARINO HWP our wine into Asian restaurants and fine food shops, our fruit and dairy products in upmarket Asian supermarkets, avocados and vegetables. And, in time, imagine those same direct flights bringing Asian tourists to experience for themselves all of the great things the south-west has to offer. All of this has become possible with the investment provided by three levels of government by this coalition government. This expansion will grow jobs, will grow industries and will grow the entire region of the South West. Direct air access will open the South West up to the world and it will open the world up to our produce. It is a game changer. It is a transformative project and it will be a real game changer for small, niche producers trying to access the international marketplace, especially in Asia. And it will be a game changer, in time, for our local tourism industry. My next project is the Bunbury Outer Ring Road. I am working on that one all of the time to facilitate exports to complete that loop, to improve freight access into the Bunbury Port and allow efficient freight access to Perth and the South West. We need competitive international gateways. (Time expired) 12:40 Mr GILES 243609 Scullin I thank the member for Durack for bringing this motion before the House, because it is an important topic to discuss. However, I think the premise upon which this motion rests is false. At the very start of her contribution, the member for Durack spoke of the extensive work of the Turnbull government when it comes to infrastructure connecting our regions and cities. I just do not think the facts support such a claim. We heard extensively from the member for Durack about her own electorate, and from the Government Whip as well, but the story they told does not fit the reality of this government's approach to funding productive infrastructure—not at all. Indeed, as the member for Grayndler took us through in some detail, regional Western Australia is the area most affected by this government's nearly $1 billion worth of cuts to financial assistance grants to local government. When we talk about productive infrastructure—the infrastructure that is connecting places, products and markets—most of these are, of course, part of the legacy of the former Labor government, claimed by a government that fails to make the necessary investments to secure a productive future for all of us. Why this motion is so important is that it highlights a critical failing of this government, under the current Prime Minister and the former Prime Minister—and perhaps the future Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, as well. Infrastructure, and particularly cities, is the place where the gap between this government's rhetoric and the reality of its performance is most starkly evident, where it becomes most clear. We just have to look back to the record of the former government, where we saw Australia go from 20th in the OECD in terms of infrastructure and investment to No. 1. What has happened since, as the number for Grayndler has made very, very clear, is that we have seen neglect. The ABS demonstrate that public sector engineering work is now down by more than a fifth since the end of the former Labor government. Recent reports on the state of Australian infrastructure make for troubling reading. I am thinking in particular of Infrastructure Australia's recent report. They are troubling reading in terms of the scale of the challenge—a challenge which has been compounded, not alleviated, by the inaction of this government. We see the cost of underinvestment in land transport approaching $53 billion by 2031. Much of this cost is the cost of congestion inhibiting productivity growth in our major cities. This government has no answer to that. One of its first actions was to abolish the Major Cities Unit. Whatever the new Prime Minister says, it is clear that he has abandoned cities; he has abandoned urban policy. Glossy brochures entitled Smart cities do not make up for the failure to act, the failure to invest, the failure to focus on those investments most calculated to boost productivity and sustain our living standards into the future. The member for Grayndler, the Leader of the Opposition and all of us in the Labor team are up for the challenge of investing in productive infrastructure at large and, in particular, in my home state of Victoria. Victoria comprises about a quarter of Australia's population but is receiving only about eight per cent of this government's infrastructure investment. This is despite the extraordinary growth that is taking place in my home town of Melbourne at the moment. This is extraordinary growth which would have been supported by investments such as federal Labor's roads package and, in particular, road projects like the O'Herns Road interchange, which would support the sorts of values the member for Forrest was talking about: access for products distributed from the Melbourne markets to overseas and interstate markets. The O'Herns Road interchange has a business case that stacks up but is being ignored by Minister Chester, ignored by this government. The Melbourne Metro project could have been underway but for the blinkered ideological refusal of the former Prime Minister to fund urban public transport. Of course, the new Prime Minister, the member for Wentworth, is very happy to be identified in selfies on public transport, but when it comes to funding city-shaping, congestion-busting infrastructure he is nowhere to be seen. He speaks of City Deals, but let's be clear about this: his City Deals are not genuine partnerships between different levels of government—they are merely devices to dedicate funding to marginal seats. And what an impact that had in the last election! In conclusion, I look to the end of this motion before us, which says that we should congratulate the government for having a national economic plan that backs growth in our cities and regions. Sadly, the government needs to be condemned for its failure to have such a plan, and in particular for its neglect of residents in Melbourne and the growing suburbs that make up Melbourne's north in the Scullin electorate. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 260805 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. National Stroke Week 144 12:45 Ms VAMVAKINOU 00AMT Calwell I move: That this House: (1) recognises that: (a) National Stroke Week:    (i) will take place from 12 to 18 September 2016; and    (ii) seeks to raise awareness about the need to prevent stroke in Australia; and (b) the Stroke Foundation encourages all Australians to:    (i) understand the symptoms of stroke and know what to do if one occurs;    (ii) make healthy lifestyle choices which will reduce the risk of stroke;    (iii) assist in raising awareness in their local communities; and    (iv) get regular health check-ups; (2) notes with concern the financial and emotional burden which stroke has on the Australian community; (3) acknowledges the: (a) important role of families and carers of stroke victims; and (b) valuable contribution of the Australian health system in preventing and treating stroke; (4) congratulates the bi-partisan efforts made by previous governments; and (5) confirms the need for continued action to reduce the prevalence of stroke in Australia. It is a pleasure to be moving this very important private member's motion today, because it addresses a very significant health issue in our community, which so often goes unattended and sees people suffer, often unnecessarily. I want to begin by informing the House that in this parliamentary term I will be taking over from the recently retired member for Shortland as co-convenor of the parliamentary friends of the Heart Foundation and Stroke Foundation. I would like to thank my friend and former colleague, Jill Hall, the former member for Shortland, for her tireless work in the years that she held this role. She brought a passion and commitment which I think is going to be a hard act to follow. However, I will certainly strive to emulate her strong advocacy and practical efforts in ensuring that raising awareness of heart disease and stroke remains a high priority in this place. I also look forward to working with my co-chair, the federal member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry. I am extremely pleased to be part of this collaborative approach and I look forward to working closely with both the Stroke Foundation and the Heart Foundation to develop new ways in which parliament can help promote the prevention and better management of cardiovascular disease through the activities of the friendship group. I was also pleased to meet this morning with Professor John Kelly, the CEO of the Heart Foundation, and Ms Sharon McGowan, the CEO of the Stroke Foundation. I look forward to working with them as well. It is the suddenness and often randomness of heart attacks and strokes that is most striking and devastating for sufferers and their families. This story is all too familiar, and today my thoughts are also with my good friend, the Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport, the Hon. John Eren, who on Father's Day suffered a heart attack himself. John, who is painfully recovering well, was on his way to visit his own father when he began experiencing sharp chest pains. He took swift action, driving straight to the hospital, where he indeed suffered a heart attack and was immediately rushed into surgery and attended to. I want to pass on my thoughts and best wishes to John and his family as he makes a full recovery and returns to work. I also want to commend him for his quick thinking and fast action, because timing can make all the difference when it comes to a stroke or heart condition. Twelve to 18 September is National Stroke Week. During this week we will all play a role in raising awareness about strokes. Too many people in our community are unaware of the signs of a stroke. Too many people who suffer strokes endure longer recovery periods, more damage and, unfortunately, even death because they did not seek medical attention urgently and when most needed. In the time that I am speaking in this House a person suffering from a stroke will have lost almost 10 million brain cells, and only five minutes without oxygen—the length of my speech—can cause permanent brain damage. Therefore, recognising the signs of stroke and acting quickly is extremely important. To help with this, the Stroke Foundation is promoting the simple-to-learn and remember four-point test known as the FAST test. F is for face: the first thing you need to think about is, 'Has my face drooped?' A is for arms: can I lift both my arms? S is for speech: is my speech slurred? Finally, T is for time, because if any of these signs are present time is critical and people are urged to seek attention, and those who are in the presence of someone who may be having a stroke are urged to seek medical attention immediately. This very important message must be promoted in the wider community, including and especially in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, such as my own constituency in Calwell, to ensure that the public are able to recognise the signs, seek help sooner rather than later and, therefore, minimise the damage which a stroke can cause and, ultimately, maximise the chance of recovery, which may result in the passing of someone. Stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. Some strokes are fatal and others can cause permanent or temporary disability. Stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. One in six Australians will have a stroke in their lifetime, yet only 50 per cent of Australians know the sign of a stroke. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 260805 Is the motion seconded? Mr Irons HYM I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 12:50 Mr ALEXANDER M3M Bennelong I would like to thank the member for Calwell for raising this important debate today. National Stroke Week is an important time to raise knowledge about the disease that can result in stroke and education that can save lives. I will highlight some of the shocking statistics around strokes in Australia. Every 10 minutes someone in Australia suffers a stroke. Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and leading cause of disability. In one week there are almost 1,000 cases. In 2015 alone, there were over 51,000 incidents of stroke in Australia. All up, nearly 12,000 people will die this year from stroke and two-thirds of those who survive will be disabled. Stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. Almost 440,000 Australians live as a survivor of stroke and the number grows every day. This is predicted to increase to over 700,000 within the next 15 years. In practical terms, this means that one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. More than just statistics, these people are someone's wife, husband, daughter, mother, father, son, sister, brother, partner or friend. Behind the numbers are real lives. Sixty-five per cent of those people living with stroke also suffer a disability that impedes their ability to carry out daily activities unassisted. There are thousands of carers around the country devoting their lives to improve the standard of living for people who have suffered a stroke. The friends, families and carers are not accounted for in these figures, but their lives are undeniably and irreversibly changed. This is the story of stroke in Australia. It touches millions of lives in cities and towns from the country to the coast. As the member for Bennelong, home to the Australian headquarters of many global pharmaceutical companies, I am very familiar with the work done to treat strokes and to look after the ongoing care of people who have suffered a stroke. Some of these companies have invested significant resources into stroke research and the development of breakthrough medicines that give stroke suffers a much higher rate of recovery and a better quality of life than the previous ancient treatments. This week has one overriding purpose: to raise awareness of strokes and the ability to recognise if someone near you is—or if you are, in fact—having a stroke. As with many deceases, early diagnosis can make a huge difference in a person's ongoing quality of life. There is a simple acronym to help recognise the symptoms and it is worth repeating. The FAST test is an easy way to remember and recognise the signs of stroke. FAST stands for face, arms, speech and time to act. Using the FAST test involves asking simple questions. Face: check their face; has their mouth drooped? Arm: can they lift both arms? Speech: is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? Time: time is critical. If you see any of these signs, call 000 straight away. This test has been promoted by the national Stroke Foundation since 2007 and has had some real success in raising awareness of the symptoms to watch out for. Importantly, the state which has spent the most on large public awareness programs is regularly shown to have the best awareness of the signs of stroke in Australia. Furthermore, independent analysis of Melbourne ambulance data has identified increased dispatches for stroke in the month following each FAST campaign push. Stroke awareness campaigns work and can save lives. This brings us back to National Stroke Week—this week. There is a lifesaving message here. Sadly, many people miss out on accessing lifesaving treatment as they do not get to the hospital in time. Knowing the signs of stroke and calling 000 as soon as one strikes is crucial. Surviving strokes is common, but the subsequent quality of life is dependent on how quick the diagnosis is and how quickly you receive care. This Stroke Week is expected to see thousands of activities across Australia, from fundraising to education and awareness activities. It is also a perfect time to have a health check. Crucially, it will support this simple message: act fast. If you think you or a loved one are having a stroke, I urge you to take this action. I commend this motion to the House. 12:55 Mr GEORGANAS DZY Hindmarsh I rise to strongly support this motion moved by the member for Calwell regarding this week being National Stroke Week. Despite significant progress in treatment strategies over the past two decades, stroke still remains the most common cause of disability worldwide and is responsible for the third-largest number of deaths. It is clear that, even though, as we have heard from the other speakers, great advancements and achievements have been made in the treatment of strokes and public awareness, there is still a lot to do. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure that we make people aware of what the signs are et cetera. That is why it is so important this week to recognise and support the work that is being done by the national Stroke Foundation through initiatives such as National Stroke Week. While we do so, we must also acknowledge the many other bodies that aim to promote stroke awareness, as well as our fantastic doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and health workers. And, of course, we cannot forget the carers who so often do an amazing and difficult job looking after family members—partners, kids, parents et cetera. The Stroke Foundation work tirelessly in the areas of research, prevention and education. For example, they promote healthy lifestyle choices which will reduce the risk of stroke, encourage regular check-ups and assist people in raising awareness in their local communities. This is important because all the research tells us that many strokes can be prevented. The Stroke Foundation also focuses on helping all Australians understand the symptoms of stroke and to know what to do if one occurs. The national Stroke Foundation runs a number of activities to promote such messages, including through this week the National Stroke Week. National Stroke Week takes place this week, starting on 12 September and running right through to 18 September. This is the week that we will be focused on raising the awareness of stroke. Anyone can get involved. Free resource packs are available to support workplaces, community groups, pharmacies and health professionals who are organising activities for National Stroke Week. This can perhaps include organising an awareness activity at your workplace, fundraising for the Stroke Foundation or hosting a health check. It is a fantastic way to engage in a fun way with your workplace, sporting and community friends and get a really good message out there about stroke prevention. I cannot stress enough how vitally important getting this message out there is. As we heard earlier from the other speakers, taking immediate action when stroke is suspected is vital. A stroke is a brain attack and is always a medical emergency. Speedy action influences not only the treatment path for a person having a stroke but also their recovery. During a stroke, as we heard earlier, 1.9 million brain cells are lost per minute. This is why the Stroke Foundation organises a range of activities to get those messages out there and show people how important it is to act fast.' FAST' is the acronym that we heard earlier which teaches the most common signs of stroke—face weakness, arm weakness and speech difficulties—and prompts people to act fast. This is a handy and easy-to-use guide that can significantly raise awareness of stroke, stroke prevention and, ultimately, survival. Other programs are Know your numbers and Australia's Biggest Blood Pressure Check. They aim to raise awareness of people checking their blood pressure and work in partnership with pharmacies to have community health check stations and information available. The Stroke Foundation also produces a range of education and information resources about stroke awareness and prevention that health professionals can provide to their patients or community, as well as dedicated seminars for health prevention. Stroke remains the second biggest killer in Australia—after coronary heart disease—as well as being the leading cause of disability in Australia. We all have a responsibility to do something about this. In 2012, there were over 50,000 new and recurrent strokes. That is one every 10 minutes. In 2012, there were 420,000 people living with the effects of stroke, and 30 per cent of those people were of working age. For all these reasons, I commend the Stroke Foundation for their great work and encourage as many people as possible to get involved in National Stroke Week. 13:00 Mr IRONS HYM Swan It was a privilege to second this motion which was brought to the chamber by the member for Calwell, and I do appreciate her raising this. Acting Deputy Speaker Hastie, I am sure that you, as a recently elected member, will have the Stroke Foundation knocking on your door at some stage, as they did when I first became the member for Swan in 2007. At that stage, they were working from a very small office in the bowels of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. They had one little office and one person and they were unfunded. Since then, they have become part of the national identity, with people being made aware of stroke awareness week and stroke around Australia. It is also interesting to note that this is timely as, unfortunately, on Saturday my mother-in-law suffered a massive stroke. My wife, Cheryl, is now in Melbourne by her bedside sitting with her to comfort her and be with her. Hopefully, she will get through this particular episode. I would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Austin Hospital who are looking after her and doing a magnificent job. I am sure that all my colleagues in the parliament wish Cheryl and her family the best. It is a timely reminder that stroke affects one in six people. Examples like that remind us all that we have to be vigilant and careful and make as much out of National Stroke Week as we can. I am not going to give a personal medical history, but—and, Acting Deputy Speaker Hastie, you might not believe this—at one stage in my life I was a smoker. In 2002, after visiting my GP and deciding to give cigarettes away, my doctor put me onto some Cartia. I said, 'What are you giving me these for?' He said, 'These are to help prevent you having a stroke.' I said, 'Why's that?' He said, 'You've got a history of stroke in your family'—which I do have. I said, 'Why didn't you give them to me before?' He said, 'If you're silly enough to smoke, I wasn't going to give you something that was going to have a negative effect.' It is a timely reminder that our health is up to us. It is our own responsibility and a matter for self-determination in regard to how many times we visit the doctor. I visited my doctor last week and had another check-up between sitting weeks of parliament. It reminds us all how important National Stroke Week is. I have an office staff member who woke up in the middle of the night and found himself slurring. He got his wife to take him to hospital, and he had had a ministroke. Last year, my brother woke up at three in the morning and recognised the symptoms because our family has a history. He got his daughter to take him to hospital and was able to recover from it immediately. He had to have two operations on the veins in his neck, which is apparently a highly dangerous operation, to clear out the 90 per cent blockages that he had. Stroke is something that we can prevent by carefully looking after our own health. It is interesting to note that they have talked about the symptoms. As we have said, National Stroke Week takes place from 12 to 18 September 2016. It seeks to raise awareness about the need to prevent stroke in Australia, encourages all Australians to understand the symptoms of stroke and encourages healthy lifestyle choices and regular check-ups. Stroke remains one of Australia's biggest killers and the leading cause of disability. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer, as we heard from the other speakers. As we said, according to the Stroke Foundation, one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. I am not sure how many people here know, but I know immediately of six people who have had strokes. It is probably the six degrees of separation again: we know more and more people, as we get older, who have had a stroke. I am in the category: after being in parliament with the member for Moreton for seven years and the pressure I have been under from him, I could be a big candidate for a stroke—but do not take that personally, Member for Moreton! A stroke happens when the supply of blood to the brain is suddenly interrupted. Blood may stop moving through the artery because of a clot or plaque, or even because the artery has broken or burst. When the blood stops flowing, the brain does not get oxygen and the brain cells in the area die. While some cause temporary disability, others cause permanent damage, and often strokes can be fatal. Some symptoms may last up to 24 hours and others can disappear within seconds. The Stroke Foundation notes that, the longer a stroke remains untreated, the greater the chance of stroke-related brain damage. Again, I applaud the member for Calwell for bringing this to the chamber, and I ask that all Australians make sure that they make themselves aware of National Stroke Week. Thank you. 13:06 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle I too thank the member for Calwell, my colleague, for bringing this motion before the House today and during the important National Stroke Week. I do wish her very well in her deliberations as our new co-chair of the parliamentary group focused on stroke and heart disease. She will be a tremendous leader in that regard, I have no doubt. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Australia; every 10 minutes someone has a stroke. That is around 1,000 strokes a week and 50,000 a year. Stroke kills more women, as we have heard, than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. It affects young and old, men and women. Remarkably, in 2012, the total financial costs of stroke in Australia were estimated to be $5 billion. This is set to grow exponentially in the coming years, as there are predicted to be 709,000 people living with the effects of stroke by 2032. This week is National Stroke Week, and the National Stroke Foundation is asking Australians, amongst other things, to better understand the impact that time has on stroke and stroke recovery. Stroke attacks the brain at an alarming rate. Just one minute can equate to 1.9 million brain cells lost, so a speedy reaction influences not only the treatment available to a person having a stroke but also their recovery. I want to use this opportunity to speak of an often invisible aspect of the disease, and that is rehabilitation and assistance services for stroke survivors and their carers. Once a death sentence, in a span of just a generation stroke has gone from being a fatal event to being a treatable disease. It is now a disease of chronic disability, with 65 per cent of the 440,000 stroke survivors in Australia needing assistance to carry out daily living activities. Yet a staggering 80 per cent of those survivors have unmet needs. Family members and carers of people who have suffered a stroke in Newcastle tell me that there are significant gaps in transitional care, intensive rehabilitation services and adequate support services, particularly for those wishing to remain living at home post stroke. I recently spoke to a constituent of mine who relayed to me the difficulty that she and her sister had in accessing services and support for their mother. Their mother, Mary, is a strong and fiercely independent woman. However, after she suffered a stroke this independence was lost overnight. Not surprisingly, Mary's family were determined to provide her with every opportunity possible to regain her independence and dignity. Mary's daughters described to me in shocking detail the struggles they had to endure just to get their mother access to what most would consider the most basic of post-stroke rehabilitation. They were told their mother was too old and that rehabilitation was really only for minor stroke sufferers. It was also suggested that institutionalisation might be the easier option for the family—that they should not bother pursuing any sort of recovery. Thankfully the sisters refused to accept such low expectations of their mother's capacity for rehabilitation. When they took Mary home they found that there was little support and, particularly, little access to those home-based rehabilitation services that they so much needed. The family said that at the time when they were most vulnerable and most in need there was not the financial support or assistance, help and guidance available. Undeterred, however, they continued their search and fight for optimum treatments—often at great personal and emotional cost. They self-funded the physio and speech therapy that their mother required. Their sacrifices yielded profound results for Mary. She has made remarkable strides towards recovery. She is talking again, beginning to walk on her own and undertaking a whole range of activities in the house, including personal care. Her quality of life is improving every day. I tell this story to argue for a change in the way that we view stroke sufferers, because it is a treatable disease. I call on everybody, including the government, to redouble our efforts in terms of prevention, research and treatment, and to recommit ourselves to addressing the unmet needs of stroke survivors and their carers in Australia. 13:11 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I am pleased to rise to support this motion. I congratulate the member for Calwell for bringing this motion before the House. The statistic that shocked me most when I was looking into strokes was the fact that one in six people in their lifetime will suffer a stroke. One in six—that is someone's sister, brother, wife, husband, son, daughter or even us. When you look at any group of 100 Australians, to think that one in six would suffer a stroke is shocking. We know the numbers. In 2015 there were 50,000 new and recurrent strokes. That works out to be 1,000 for every week or one every 10 minutes. This debate goes for half an hour. In that half an hour there will probably be three strokes around our country. In 2012, nearly 130,000 or 30 per cent of stroke survivors were under the age of 65. It is not just the elderly; it is across many age spectrums. We know that stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men that prostate cancer. We know there are currently about 440,000 Australians living with the side effects of stroke, and by 2032 that is predicted to reach over 700,000. Sixty-five percent of those living with a stroke suffer a disability that impedes their ability to carry out their daily living activities unassisted. Then there is the cost of strokes to the economy. In 2012 that cost was estimated to be $5 billion. There is an estimated $94.3 billion burden of disease costs for strokes, which is comparable to the $41 billion burden of disease costs that Deloitte Access Economics estimated for anxiety and depression. Strokes do affect many people. I have experienced it in my family. A few years ago my father suffered a stroke. I came to pick him up from his house. As you do when you are very close, you often look at each other and you don't even have to say words to each other. We jumped in the car. We turned the radio on and listened to the radio. We were driving off and all of a sudden I mentioned something to him about one of the topics that was on the radio. He spoke back and I knew immediately that his voice was that of a little child. He had suffered the drooping of the mouth. He had suffered the classic symptoms of a stroke. We were already in the car, so I did not know whether it was best to pull over to the side of the road and call an ambulance or to keep going to the Campbelltown Hospital, which was about five or 10 minutes away. I elected to keep driving. I dropped him off in the emergency section at Campbelltown Hospital. I would like to say what wonderful work the staff did there in admitting him quickly, recognising the symptoms and getting him straight in to some treatment. But the difficulty we had was that we were unable to ascertain when the stroke had actually occurred. We did not know whether the stroke had occurred a minute before he hopped in the car, an hour before he hopped in the car or sometime the previous night, and that, of course, affected the treatments. It is important when we see these numbers that are affecting our society. We know that, the quicker someone can get to hospital, the greater chance they have of having the effects minimised. The FAST program which the National Stroke Foundation does is: Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped? Arms Can they lift both arms? Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? Time Is critical. Something like this—the costs to the individual citizen and the cost to our society—also shows why we have to keep on growing the economy, why we have to keep allowing the private sector to increase wealth in this economy, and why we have to manage it well, because we need to put more research dollars into treating stroke, we need to put more into rehabilitation or treatments, and we need to put more resources into prevention. But that is why our job here is to make sure we spend every dollar wisely, to grow that economy, so that we can put more into things that really count. I thank the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 260805 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Domestic and Family Violence 149 13:16 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton I move: That this House: (1) notes that Women's Legal Services Australia and 90 other organisations concerned with family violence wrote to all political leaders in May 2016 calling on them to put safety first in family law; (2) recognises that: (a) unrepresented litigants have been an increasing feature of the Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia for many years; (b) due to the cuts made to Legal Aid funding by the Government, the number of unrepresented litigants continues to increase; (c) unrepresented litigants are entitled to cross-examine the other party to test their evidence in a trial; and (d) where a victim of family violence is subjected to direct cross-examination by their abuser, the:    (i) victim can be severely traumatised;    (ii) quality of the evidence given to the court can be compromised;    (iii) perpetrator can use the court process to further abuse the victim; and    (iv) victim may discontinue the proceedings because they are unable to endure the cross-examination; (3) further notes that the Opposition took to the election a commitment to protect victims and survivors from being personally cross-examined by alleged perpetrators; and (4) calls on the Government to immediately act to protect victims of family violence by introducing amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 to ensure that victims of family violence are not directly cross-examined by their abusers during court proceedings. I am pleased to move the motion circulated in my name calling on the Turnbull-Joyce government to act to protect victims of family violence from being directly cross-examined by their abusers during court proceedings. Imagine for a moment, Deputy Speaker, that you are the victim of an assault. Imagine that your fear of the person who assaulted you is so powerful that you feel physically ill when you are in their presence. Now imagine that, in order to protect your children, you will have to face direct questioning from the person you are most terrified of, sometimes about the most intimate aspects of your life. This is the situation for hundreds of parents every year going through our already-stressed family courts. Who could blame these parents if the prospect of facing their abuser is so terrifying that they walk away from getting the justice that they and their children deserve? Women's Legal Services Australia is the peak body of a network of community legal centres specialising in women's legal issues. There are 15 members, stretching the length and breadth of Australia. Women's Legal Service Queensland is located in Moreton, and I know the great work they do every day for women all over Queensland, and I acknowledge Angela Lynch and her colleagues from this service. Women's Legal Services Australia are champions for many women's legal issues. For some time they have been calling for changes to the Family Law Act to protect women from being directly cross-examined by their abuser. During the election campaign Women's Legal Services Australia, along with more than 90 other organisations working with victims of family violence, sent an open letter to all political leaders calling on them to put safety first in family law. One of the five steps in the Safety First in Family Law plan is to: Reduce trauma and support those who are most at risk of future violence and death. I am proud that Labor took to the election a commitment to amend the Family Law Act to protect victims of family violence from being directly cross-examined by their abuser. The work of family violence organisations like Women's Legal Services tells us that victims of family violence often feel that their former partners use the court system to continue the abuse. Victims can be retraumatised from the experience of direct cross-examination by their abuser. The evidence given to the court through direct cross-examination can be compromised, affecting the ability of the court to make safe and effective orders. Some victims feel pressured into agreements that may be unsafe or unworkable in order to avoid being directly cross-examined. This is a very serious issue. In a submission to the Law Council of Australia in October 2015, Women's Legal Services Australia detailed feedback from a survey they had conducted. The survey asked women what their experience was of being personally cross-examined by their abusers in the family law courts. Three women were so traumatised they were suicidal. Three women were physically ill before their court appearance and during the process of cross-examination. One woman was violently ill on the side of the road on the way to court, causing her to be late and the court date vacated. One woman had to be medicated just to physically make it into the courtroom and was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The words used by the respondents to the survey to describe their experience included 'fear', 'anxiety', 'debilitating', 'worst nightmare', 'humiliating', 'degrading', 'horrific', 'horrendous', 'intimidating', 'belittled' and 'unjust'. Unlike the many problems the Turnbull-Joyce government face, this is a problem with a solution. Labor took to the election a policy to amend the Family Law Act to provide protection for victims of family violence facing direct cross-examination by their abuser, including providing legal representation for both unrepresented parties where that is necessary. This election commitment was costed at $43.2 million over four years. That is just over one-quarter of the cost of the $160 million needed for the government's divisive marriage equality plebiscite. The Turnbull-Joyce government should act immediately. Victims of family violence and their children are suffering every single day that this government does not act, unfortunately. I do not pretend for a second that implementing this policy would solve all of the complicated problems around family violence. There is still much more to do. It is always messy when love turns to hate—or even worse. Family violence is a difficult policy area, not only because it is emotive but also because it crosses over jurisdictions. The resultant disjointed system sometimes leaves victims fallen between the cracks. Under the guidance of Mark Dreyfus, the shadow Attorney-General, Labor took to the election a range of policies that would assist in addressing this scourge of family violence. I would welcome the Turnbull-Joyce government implementing these Labor policies. I am sure that victims of family violence do not care who fixes the system; they just want to make sure that it is fixed. I commend again the great work of Women's Legal Service Queensland in my electorate and of others throughout Australia for the great work they do in saving people's lives. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 260805 Is there a seconder? Ms Butler 248006 I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 13:21 Mr BROAD 30379 Mallee I commend the member for Moreton for bringing this matter to the parliament. The first point is that we are talking about it. If we are going to change attitudes, we need to be talking about issues of family violence. Tim Watts, the member for Gellibrand, the very charming member for Canning and I intend on forming 'parliamentarians against family violence in the 45th Parliament'—three young men out there saying that this needs to stop, that the family unit needs to be a place of refuge and that people should be able to feel safe in their family home. We championed it in the last parliament and we will continue to champion it. There are some things that cross many borders and many political lines, and dealing with family violence should be one of those. This is a very interesting and quite detailed pathway forward, and I think it is something worthy of due consideration. I am a strong believer, of course, in putting the fence around the top of the hill, which is addressing attitudinal change, particularly in our young men. One of the things that I have done in my own electorate is distribute 15,000 '100 ways to praise a child posters. What I am trying to do is instil in our young girls, particularly, a sense of self-worth. This is a challenge I am going to put out to Australian fathers: one of the key roles of a father of a daughter is to instil a sense of self-worth into their daughter. That is one of the best ways they can protect them from a violent relationship, because a sense of self-worth means that when that bloke comes along who does not value them and treats them poorly, they will say, 'To hell with that; I can do better than you, sunshine,' and move on. I think that attitudinal change, where we change our young women to know what they should look for in relationships and we change our young men to value women and see them as someone's sister or someone's daughter and to value them for their worth, contribution and intellect, is a societal change we need to instil. That is the first step to addressing family violence in Australia. But, unfortunately, we also need the ambulance at the top of the hill. We also need to have good law enforcement. That is why we fought very hard to implement Australia-wide intervention orders. That was something that was very relevant in my electorate. A woman could feel protected under the Victorian policing law, but when she crossed over the Murray river, only 300 metres, she was not protected under law. I am very pleased that COAG is working to bring that to fruition. Better legal protection does need to be implemented. I am disappointed that, in the 2014 budget, our government tried to pull back on that legal protection and support for victims of family violence. I am quite pleased that the electorate of Mallee, and Mildura in particular, is one of the 12 trial sites across Australia that is using a case-managed service to deal with family violence, so that if a woman presents in a hospital as a clear victim of family violence they can come to her. They are case managed and then we can put police and support services around that, and I think this is a step forward. I am very interested to hear how this trial goes. A trial, like anything, is never going to perfect, but it is going to have some lessons. I think there also needs to be a look at particularly what the member for Moreton has brought to the discussion today. It is inappropriate for a woman who is going through a court case to be cross-examined by her ex-partner. That is completely inappropriate, and it does not provide a supportive network, because, whether we like it or not, not only have we removed that offender from the chance to physically harm, that offender usually has quite an emotionally hold over that victim and we need to make sure that we are supporting that victim as we move forward. Of course there needs to be integrity in the legal system. Of course we need to make sure that the judge and those making the discussions feel that they can make an informed decision, but I think there is a lot of merit in what the member for Moreton has brought here today. The fact that our parliament is talking about this is fantastic. The Parliamentarians against Family Violence Friendship Group started in the 44th Parliament and I intend to champion it through the 45th Parliament. I think we, as Australians, needs to remember that the home is a refuge, that women and families should feel safe and that we will continue to fight for this on both sides of the parliament. I am very pleased to speak on this bill. 13:26 Ms BUTLER 248006 Griffith Women who, having left an abusive relationship, are facing family law proceedings in court deserve to be treated with respect and afforded justice. There are processes in the family law courts that are at risk of being misused by abusive ex-partners. That needs to change. Labor has a policy to chance court procedures to make them fairer in cases where violence is a feature. The Turnbull government should get on board with our policy. Going through family law proceedings is hard enough for anyone. Violent is a feature in 41 per cent of cases in the family law courts, according to Family Court of Australia Chief Justice Diana Bryant. When violence is a feature, litigants are also alleged victims. The impact of those circumstances on the people affected should be considered to make sure that victims are able to get a fair go. When an abusive former partner is unrepresented he can personally cross-examine a woman in court instead of having a lawyer do it. Lawyers are professional advocates with legal and ethical responsibilities to the court and the parties. Unrepresented former spouses are not, or at least not to the same extent. They do not have the same obligations as professional lawyers. Being questioned by someone who used to try to control you or who was physically violent towards you can be confronting. It can change your demeanour, and it can intimidate you out of saying things that you might otherwise have said. Those things can affect the evidence that you give and they can affect the court's assessment of your credibility. In October and May, Women's Legal Services Australia called for cross-examination reform, among other things, to make family law proceedings safer. I am meeting with WLSA and Rosie Batty tomorrow to hear from them on how to put safety first in family law. Cross-examination law reform has to be part of making family law proceedings safer. As I said, Labor has a policy to reform cross-examination. Before the election, the member for Moreton and I, along side Angela Lynch from Women's Legal Service Queensland—who is here today—announced Labor's commitment to changing the rules so that judges would consider whether unrepresented litigants should be required to get a lawyer rather than doing the cross-examining themselves. We committed to more than $40 million in additional funding for legal aid to allow that to happen and, to make sure the victim is not disadvantaged because her ex has a lawyer, that legal aid support would be available for her to get a lawyer too. This policy would help victims; it would help perpetrators and it would help those who deny the violence as well, because they would have legal assistance in their situation. The Liberals should get on board with this policy. Sadly, when Attorney-General George Brandis was asked about cross-examination reform during estimates, he refused to agree to it. Since then, consistent with his position at the time, the Turnbull government has failed to commit to this reform. I call on the Turnbull government to commit to reforming cross-examination so that perpetrators of violence can no longer personally cross-examine their victims in the family law courts. Women who, having left an abusive relationship, are facing family law proceedings in court deserve to be treated with respect and afforded justice, as I said. It is wonderful that there has been so much bipartisanship in this place in relation to ending domestic and family violence. It is, of course, wonderful to hear the member for Mallee speak. He was an excellent co-convener of Parliamentarians against Family Violence last year, as were the others that he mentioned, including my colleague and friend the member for Gellibrand. We have had very broad cross-party support in this place for moving to end violence against women and their children, and there has been cross-party support for the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, which is about halfway through—it ends in 2022. There is certainly more to be done when it comes to reforming justice. Of course, in family law proceedings that means many things. Cross-examination reform is not the only reform needed. For example, we need to do something about the fact that the Federal Circuit Court, which takes about 90 per cent of first instance family law proceedings, is underresourced. There are not enough Federal Circuit Court judges for the case load that they have, and the consequence for parties is that there are significant delays in family law. The blowout of cases going to final hearing is something that the member for Mallee and many parliamentarians are aware of. That is why Labor was so firm in the election period in committing to additional Federal Circuit Court judges, because we believe that that needs to be addressed urgently. Of course, once you have more resources of judges in the Federal Circuit Court, you can move to helping make sure that all the actors in the court system—the judges, the registry, the Family Court report writers—have the information available that they need so that they can ensure that they understand the complexity and nuances of violence, what it does to relationships and its interaction with family law proceedings. That needs to happen. People who are before the courts deserve justice. We should make sure that processes cannot be misused. I call on the Turnbull government to get on board the cross-examination reform. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 260805 The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Sitting suspended from 13:31 to 16:00 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 152 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS Canning Electorate: Battle of Long Tan: 50th Anniversary 152 16:00 Mr HASTIE 260805 Canning On 18 August I had the privilege of attending the Vietnam War commemorative service held at the Mandurah War Memorial in my electorate of Canning. Of course, 18 August marks the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, in which elements of the 1st Australian Task Force defeated more than 2,500 North Vietnamese and Vietcong in a close-quarters fight in the middle of a rubber plantation. It was a significant victory over an enemy who had intended to inflict an early blow upon the Australian forces in Phuoc Tuoy province. It was significant because it was the moment that the Australians asserted their dominance over that province for the rest of the war. Eighteen Australians made the ultimate sacrifice at Long Tan—18 young Australians who gave their life in the service of this country. Present at the service in Canning last month were members of the Mandurah Murray Vietnam Veterans Group. This upstanding group of citizens have led the charge in raising the Peel region's level of recognition and commemoration for the service made by Vietnam veterans. Like them, I believe that we must be vigilant in the honouring of our veterans. The manner in which we remember and care for those who have served this country shapes the future that we leave our children, and so I intend to continue to honour them into the future. Moreton Electorate: Tarragindi Bowls Club 152 16:02 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton Yesterday I attended a community barbecue organised by the Annerley branch of the Australian Labor Party with the member for Griffith, Terri Butler, the Minister for Energy, the Hon. Mark Bailey, and also Councillor Steve Griffiths, and we were also joined by the Tarragindi Residents' Alliance. Many people turned out to enjoy this community barbecue, but the No. 1 issue of concern for many of the people at the barbecue was the fact that there is a planned six-storey—effectively seven-storey when you include the parking—development to take place in suburb of Tarragindi, in an area that is zoned as parks and recreation by the Brisbane City Council and currently occupied by the Tarragindi Bowls Club. Tarragindi, Deputy Speaker—you wouldn't know it—is a place of tin and timber, of detached dwellings, of Queenslanders, of character housing, of rolling hills and lots of vegetation, so for the dense apartment dwelling to be constructed would be a complete break with the character and the Brisbane City plan for this area, and so I am calling on the local councillor Krista Adams to do what she said she would do before the recent council elections, and do what she can to oppose this monstrosity which does not fit the character of Tarragindi at all. Bonner Electorate: Dementia Awareness Month 153 16:04 Mr VASTA E0D Bonner Today I rise to speak about fantastic initiatives in my Bonner electorate to increase support in the community for people living with dementia and for their carers. As you are aware, this month is Dementia Awareness Month. In Australia over 350,000 people are currently living with dementia. It is important to let these people and the people who care for them know the community supports them and their needs. That is why I want to bring attention to what FSG Australia is doing in Wynnum to help people with dementia. FSG is working hard to establish initiatives that will help build a dementia-friendly community in Wynnum. Just recently, I had the privilege of attending their first dementia-friendly community cafe. It was great to see this friendly group of carers and people with dementia come together in support of each other. It is important to raise awareness and understanding of this condition that affects so many in our community. My staff recently took part in FSG's dementia education and training program, and many thanks must go to Ray Haggarty from FSG for running this excellent program that provides individual carers and their families with education, training and support. Training sessions are available to local businesses and groups, and I encourage those interested to sign up. Moreton Electorate: CresWalk2016 153 16:05 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton On Sunday 4 December, Father's Day, I went along with my son, Stanley, and a couple of his friends to participate in the Crescents of Brisbane walk on the banks of the Brisbane River. CresWalk, which is a walk organised by one of the Islamic communities in Brisbane, is about communities reaching out, doing some exercise and having fun. It is an event that I did not win. Some people raced through; I just walked at a sedate pace, although I would point out that in years gone by, when I participated in this, with my son, Stanley—he is 11 years old now so I do not think I could put him in a pram—in the past, I have won the pram and wheelchair section pushing him, three years in a row. On the weekend, it was great to do it on Father's Day with Stanley, although I should point out that he seemed to be more interested in collecting Pokemons rather than actually participating in the walking part of it. But the reason I wanted to stress this was that, unfortunately, we have some people from Queensland, elected representatives, who are focusing on the Islamic community talking up fear and division, rather than the reality of the Islamic community in Queensland. They are hardworking taxpayers doing their bit for the community, and I particularly commend all those from the Crescents of Brisbane for their great work with CresWalk. Page Electorate: Woodenbong Central School 153 16:07 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page Today I would like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the outstanding achievements of students who attend, or have attended, Woodenbong Central School. Woodenbong Central School has enrolments of 174 students from years K to 12 so it is quite a small school but that has not stopped some of the achievements of its students. There are a number, whom I want to mention today, who have represented Australia in their chosen sporting fields. There is Remy Leonard who, this year, represented Australia in archery. There is Shallin Fuller who has been selected in the under 17 Australian touch football team and there is Katelyn Grimmett who has been selected in the Australian under-21 touch rugby mixed team. There is also Sherentai Hippi who has previously been selected in the Australian under 19 Futsal team. I would also like to mention that fantastic achievements from students at this school are not only limited to sporting endeavours; they are also able to claim success in the arts. This week Jemimah Williams and Jennifer Williams will have the honour of performing at the Sydney Opera House in Pecan Summer. On behalf of our community, I would like to extend our congratulations to these students on the wonderful successes that they have achieved. Canberra Electorate: Australia Day Celebrations 153 16:08 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra Canberra's Australia Day celebrations have attracted tens of thousands of attendees and millions of viewers in every year since 2004. So I was shocked when the National Australia Day Council cancelled the public Australia Day concert and decided to move the award ceremony indoors to the Great Hall of Parliament House. At the moment the concert is held outside Parliament House every year, and the award ceremony is also held outside Parliament House and is open to everyone. I was shocked not just by what the decision meant but also by what it would represent, because Canberra is more than this Parliament House. It is where the nation tells the story of its history, it is where the nation sets its course, and it is where we grieve for those lives lost in defence of this great nation, a great nation represented and served by a great city. I understand that the National Day Australia Council has promised to work with the ACT government to stage a major public event in Canberra for Australia Day, but it is not clear what form this event will take. So I have written to the Prime Minister to seek clarification, because denying Canberrans admission to the central Australia Day function is akin to denying all Australians a place at the celebrations thrown in their honour. An invite-only Australia Day celebration is un-Australian. Swan Electorate: Roads 154 16:09 Mr IRONS HYM Swan I would like to speak about one of the infrastructure achievements in my electorate of Swan, which is the Gateway WA project. This year, in April, the Prime Minister came to Perth and announced that the project had been completed almost a year ahead of schedule and also well under budget. Since coming into parliament in 2007, one of my biggest priorities has been improving the road network in my electorate of Swan. The Gateway WA project was a $1 billion upgrade of five major highway interchanges that surround Perth Airport and the Kewdale-Welshpool industrial precinct. The project was supported by both sides of parliament but put at risk by Labor's proposal to only fund the project through their extremely unsuccessful mining tax. To secure the project funding and to ensure the road safety of my constituents and the greater Western Australian population, I worked with the opposition at that time to secure a coalition commitment to complete the Gateway WA project without a mining tax. At its peak, the project employed more than 1,000 construction workers, who were involved in the construction and upgrade of five main interchanges, the widening of Tonkin Highway to six lanes between the Great Eastern and Roe highways and upgrading Leach Highway between Tonkin Highway and Orrong Road. Gateway WA has not only eased congestion but improved safety and effectively created an increasing demand for traffic in that area. It is a great project and I thank all those who helped on it. Moreton Electorate 154 16:11 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton In my role as federal member, occasionally I get some curly phone calls coming through to my office. I received one the other day. Obviously, being in a marginal seat, I always do what I can to help the people who make contact, whether it be about a local government issue, a state government issue or, more often than not, a federal government issue. Recently, my office was contacted by Robert Reid, who had concerns about something which is a little esoteric. Robert Reid has been in Australia for 50 or 60 years, but he came from Scotland, so he has a particular interest in things from Scotland. Robert wished to talk to me about the fact that the city of Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane but that references to his full name, Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, a Scottish name, have been dropped. Robert was most keen to see what I could do to make sure that this Scottish connection was not dropped. I met Robert at the RSL at Corinda. We had a beer together and I said that I would see what I could do. I know some Makdougalls and I know they are proud of their Scottish links. Robert Reid has been in Australia since 1970. He came from a little town near Glasgow and is very proud of his Scottish connections. So I will do what I can for Robert Reid to make sure Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane's name lives on. (Time expired) Corangamite Electorate: Avalon Airport 154 16:13 Ms HENDERSON ZN4 Corangamite It is my great pleasure to rise today to celebrate a wonderful announcement for our region. Cotton On, an incredible company employing in excess of 20,000 people around the world and some 1,500 people in Geelong, has formed a partnership with Avalon Airport to construct a $40 million distribution centre at Avalon. I am very proud of the Commonwealth's role in making this happen. Under our government, some 12 months ago we finalised the Avalon Airport master plan through the Department of Defence, because this is land owned by the Department of Defence and leased to Linfox. It is estimated that, by 2026, 750 direct jobs and 1,100 indirect jobs will be created at this new industrial precinct. As David Fox said to me the other day, he believes that this is going to be an epicentre of thousands of jobs. There are many other companies who are now also interested in establishing themselves at Avalon, and of course we are so proud that we made the commitment to put Avalon into the regional package. That now opens the gateway to international flights into our region, which is an absolute game changer for jobs, for tourism in our regional economy and, frankly, for tourism in Australia. So it is a very proud day. Congratulations to Avalon and congratulations to Cotton On. Canberra Electorate: Tuggeranong United Football Club 154 16:14 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra On Saturday night I had the great honour and privilege of attending the Tuggeranong United Football Club presentation night, which was also a celebration of its 40th anniversary. The Tuggeranong United Football Club has grown to such an extent that they have five presentation nights now, from the juniors right through to the seniors. The event on Saturday night was the event for the seniors. It was a terrific night attended by hundreds of Canberrans. It celebrated Tuggies serving 40 years of service to the Tuggeranong Valley, as well as introducing Canberrans and people in the Tuggeranong Valley to the love of football. Forty years ago, this was a club that had very humble beginnings. But it has launched the careers of Socceroos, it has launched the careers of Matildas and it has launched the careers of FIFA referees. Over four decades, it has also given the opportunity to thousands and thousands of Canberrans to stay fit and active, to get engaged in team sport and, as I said, to learn the love of football. The club runs from juniors through to seniors and masters. It has a very active program for young Canberrans. I want to take this opportunity to commend the club for pioneering girls' and women's football here in Canberra. There was a great deal of resistance early on, and in the 1980s they achieved that goal— (Time expired). Internet Content 155 16:16 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie Last week, I met a very passionate woman named Liz Walker. Liz is helping families locally and around Australia start a conversation with their children in schools about pornography and the potential effects, like social or sexual pressures, that pornography may have on young children. As more and more children grown up with a smartphone in their hands, or a tablet, internet safety is a very real issue for many people. The internet is an incredible resource, with 90 per cent of Australian parents agreeing their children benefit from being online. Yet 60 per cent say their child is exposed to risk from being online, with the greatest risk being accessing inappropriate content. It is very important that we talk to our children about internet safety. I encourage parents in my electorate of Petrie to check on their kids whilst online every now and again to make sure that they are safe, playing age-appropriate games and viewing age-appropriate websites. There is some great information for parents at esafety.gov.au, so go onto this website and learn about the different techniques. I would encourage children to talk to a trusted adult, if they see something that they do not think is okay. Thank you to Liz and the porn harms kids network for the work you do in our communities. Workplace Relations 155 16:17 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton On Friday 9 September I was joined by eight other Queensland MPs and senators in hearing from the CPSU members who are taking part in industrial action where they are trying to strike a deal with the Turnbull-Joyce government. I heard from Juanita from the DPS, Ed from Border Force, Erica from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Brett from the ATO, Renee from the federal courts, Sean from the Bureau of Meteorology, Paula from Veterans' Affairs, Daniel from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Wilson from Border Force, Chris from the ATO, Elaine from Centrelink and many others about the way they have been snubbed by their minister, and the Prime Minister, in terms of striking a deal on wages. The essence of enterprise bargaining—which has been around since the nineties—is that you must be able to actually sit down and negotiate. The government seems to have taken the attitude that they do not have to treat these hardworking public servants, who are already under stress because so many of their colleagues have been sacked or because of cuts. There is a tax on their conditions. They have rejected the offers of the government. Yet still Minister Cash treats them with absolute contempt and should be condemned by the Australian people for her treatment of these hardworking public servants— (Time expired) Macedonia 155 16:19 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes Last week, it was a real pleasure to be invited to the Macedonian embassy in Canberra to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that nation's independence. It was known previously as 'the Socialist Republic of Macedonia' and was part of the old Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 16 April 1991, the Macedonian parliament adopted a constitutional amendment removing the word 'socialist' from the official name of the country. Shortly after, on 7 June of the same year, the new name 'the Republic of Macedonia' was officially established. On 8 September 1991, the Republic of Macedonia held a referendum in which 95.26 per cent of the public voted for independence from Yugoslavia under the name 'the Republic of Macedonia'. It seems a shame that Australia is one of the few nations that does not recognise that name. Currently, over 135 countries have recognised Macedonia under its constitutional name, including: the USA, Canada, the UK, Russia, China, India, Indonesia and many others. I understand there are sensibilities in the Greek community about that. If 'Macedonia' was a good enough name for a republic and the Macedonian people wish to call themselves and be known as Macedonia, it is up to Australia to honour and respect their wishes. Melbourne Electorate: Schools 156 16:21 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne Schools in my electorate are bursting at the seams. At North Melbourne Primary School, classes are being taught in the corridors because the classrooms are too full. Teachers are sharing classrooms at the Carlton Gardens Primary School, and for weeks earlier this year the children were using portaloos. Teachers in this school are outstanding, and they work hard for the kids in their care, but their jobs are made much harder by the successive failures of governments to plan ahead for inner-city Melbourne school needs. Many of these kids in these excellent schools are travelling from Docklands in the CBD because governments have failed to provide a local city school for city kids. More and more young families are moving into these areas, but the provision of vital community infrastructure such as quality public schools is not keeping pace with that growth. It is projected that, on current trends, within 15 years there will be a shortfall in the area of around 4,800 primary school enrolment places and around 2,000 secondary school enrolment places. Parents in Docklands were promised a school years ago but have been left waiting by successive Liberal and Labor state governments. My colleague in the Victorian parliament, Ellen Sandell, and Greens councillors Cathy Oke and Rohan Leppert have joined with parents to push hard for a new school—a city school for city kids. Parents, teachers, experts and the Greens all agree: it is time for action. Now all that is needed is for the Victorian Labor government to finally respond to community pressure and build a new school for Docklands. Hewitt, Sir Neville 156 16:22 Ms LANDRY 249764 Capricornia I rise to pay tribute to respected Queensland National Country Party stalwart Mr Neville Hewitt. Mr Hewitt passed away in Rockhampton, aged 96, on 19 July. With his passing, Central Queensland lost one of its great political characters from the past century. Neville Hewitt, originally from Theodore, played a pivotal role in representing various parts of Central Queensland for the National Country Party, later the National Party, in state parliament from 1956 to 1980. He represented the seat of Mackenzie, which was later renamed Auburn, until the seat was abolished and absorbed into the Callide and Fitzroy electorates. Mr Hewitt was one of Queensland's longest-serving ministers for water resources. According to the Queensland Country Life, during his tenure as minister nearly all of Queensland's major dams and weirs were built. In the city of Rockhampton, the Neville Hewitt Bridge across the Fitzroy River, known affectionately as 'new bridge', was named after him while he was still alive. This fact demonstrates the sense of esteem with which Neville Hewitt was regarded by the Central Queensland community. Up to 36,000 vehicles cross the bridge in the city each day. Vale, Neville Hewitt. Canberra Electorate: Wanniassa Preschool 156 16:24 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra Yesterday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of attending the Wanniassa Preschool Family Fun Day, another 40th birthday celebration. The Valley is turning 40! The preschool is part of the Wanniassa school network that essentially runs from P right through to 10—the junior school and the preschool, as well as the senior school. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the P&C. It is a small P & C—four fabulous women—so it is a quality not quantity P & C. But they put on a great day. There were cakes stalls and the sausage sizzle, of course, as well as a whole range of other activities for the people who attended. There were former teachers and former students. One of the highlights of the day for me was cutting the glorious cake that had been produced and donated by one of the mothers. The cake featured the Rainbow Unit, which is the Wanniassa preschool. The Rainbow Unit consists of the penguins, the turtles and the dolphins. The beauty about this preschool is that it is the Rainbow Unit for many reasons, one of which being that it has a Koori preschool as well as a preschool for other students. It was just a wonderful day. Again, I congratulate and thank the P & C. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the Tuggeranong United Football Club life members who made Saturday night such a great night. Fisher Electorate: Small Business 156 16:25 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher As a parochial adopted Queenslander, I am proud to say that my electorate of Fisher on Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast is home to some very innovative and forward-thinking small businesses. One such business is Aussie Red Crab. Based at Mooloolaba, Aussie Red Crab operates 12 fishing vessels and employs nearly 30 staff. It is the world's leading spanner crab exporter, currently exporting its famous Fraser Island spanner crab brand to China, Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Earlier this month it was my pleasure to host the Hon. Steven Ciobo, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, in Mooloolaba and introduce him to the manager of Aussie Red Crab, Mr Jason Simpson. Jason took us on a tour of his processing facility, and it is easy to see why his company has enjoyed such success. Its success has not come by chance but rather through the pursuit of excellence and an understanding that only through sustainable business and environmental practices can the company continue to employ locals and export the premium Fraser Island spanner crab to the world. Increasing trade opportunities is at the heart of the Turnbull government's plan to create jobs and support economic growth. We continue to pursue an ambitious free trade agenda to open new markets and export opportunities for Australian businesses, including those on the Sunshine Coast, just like Aussie Red Crab. Moreton Electorate: Yeronga Meals on Wheels 157 16:27 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton On Thursday, 8 September, something momentous happened in my electorate: we said goodbye to a legend. At the AGM for the Yeronga Meals on Wheels, the president of nine years, Audrey Wise, stepped down after great service to a wonderful support for my community. I remember Audrey Wise from the AGM back in 2007, before I was elected. I went along to the AGM with the local state member, and Audrey said, 'This could be interesting,' because at the time the board of the Yeronga Meals on Wheels wanted to close down the service, which would have left many people in my area without meals. So Audrey said, 'No, we can actually run this. With the new board and a bit of invigoration and some volunteers, we can run it.' Since then, in the last nine years, they have served and saved countless lives and helped many people out. While we are mentioning Meals on Wheels, I would like to point out that on Wednesday, 31 August, when we were last in parliament, my office assisted the Sunnybank/Salisbury Meals on Wheels with trying to break a record. People from my office—Lee Lani, Norma Todkill and Sasha Marin—went out and served meals for the day, helping out in what had been planned to be a Guinness world record attempt. HMAS Tobruk 157 16:28 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman I want to recognise all of the Australians who have served on the HMAS Tobruk, which was commissioned back in 1981. Obviously based on the Round Table class of the Royal Navy, it was purchased at that time for around $59 million. Now, of course, we are looking at decommissioning this wonderful vessel, and I would strongly recommend that that occurs in the Moreton Bay region off the coast of Brisbane. This is the hub to Asia. Brisbane airport is the hub for every major city in Australia. If it comes down to a return on investment for the significant cost of decommissioning, then it needs to be somewhere near a large capital city. I would strongly urge the Minister for Defence and the state of Queensland to contemplate sinking the HMAS Tobruk close to Brisbane, just 30 minutes from an international airport and the potential for thousands of people every year—not just Australians but tourists from all over the world—to have a world-class facility in crystal clear waters. There is low current and high visibility. There is no better place for the HMAS Tobruk than off the coast of North Stradbroke Island in the appropriate location. We have seen how HMAS Brisbane, back in 2004-05, transformed tourism and boosted diving. We have the support of Diving Queensland, and everyone knows that there is no better place to dive in this great nation than Queensland. Melbourne Electorate: Spirit of Moonee Valley Awards 157 16:30 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne Today I want to tell parliament about the recipients of the Spirit of Moonee Valley award for their work in the community—particularly Farah Warsame, Adrian Salvatore and Ruth Cook for their work in my electorate of Melbourne. Farah, who I have had the pleasure of working with closely for a number of years, is a leader in the Somali community of Victoria, which, through community and afterschool programs, has become a voice for the community in Melbourne. Farah is also the president of the Flemington Eagles Soccer Club, helping African youth engage through sport and helping the wider community come together. Adrian, as well as being a medallist at the Victorian Special Olympics, has worked as an ambassador for the Ascot Vale Special School, which educates local children with intellectual disabilities. Adrian has also used his sporting experience in the community, acting as a volunteer assistant coach for Kelly Sports, providing sport as an extracurricular activity for young Victorians. Ruth is a Flemington local and a leader at the Canterbury Street Stables Playgroup, which, through their many recreational activities and programs, is helping to make a safe and supportive community for parents in the area. Before parliament resumed I took a Wednesday or Thursday morning off and took my one-year-old daughter down to the playgroup with Ruth, and I can tell you that the work she does as a volunteer pulling that together makes a massive difference for the parents and kids in our local area. I would also like to mention the names of others listed for the award: Citizen of the Year Jonathan Tarascio; Mary Cahill for contributing to the Essendon Historical Society; Helen van den Berg; Elizabeth Vescio; and Russell Mogg for his contributions. Flynn Electorate 158 16:31 Mr O'DOWD 139441 Flynn I wish to speak today on the privilege of being elected for a third term representing Flynn. I would like to thank my family, friends and supporters for their steadfast assistance through the marathon campaign. I am sure all re-elected MPs would testify to what a marathon it was. To be elected once is a great honour, but to be elected for the third term is very special to me. Whilst this is my sixth year in the job, I am still hungry to continue my fight for Flynn. The fire has not gone out. The Central Queensland economy is doing it tough at the moment, with job losses in the resources industry. New jobs are needed now more than ever. I am determined to see my election commitment projects completed as soon as possible to help drive the local economies of CQ—projects like the CQ University Gladstone campus upgrades and upgrades to the Capricornia Highway from Emerald to Rockhampton. I also intend to see action on two Queensland roads that are very important to the economic multiplier in road projects—they are the Dawson Development Road from Springsure to Tambo and the Mundubbera to Dalby road, which carries produce from the North Burnett area into the Toowoomba airport. It is produce that can be flown from that area into Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Korea and Japan the very next day. (Time expired) Canberra Electorate: Mawson Hindu Temple 158 16:33 Ms BRODTMANN 30540 Canberra Yesterday I had the honour of attending the Mawson Hindu temple. It was a first for me in terms of going into the temple. I have been to events there, but it was my first experience of the temple. It will not be the last. The temple was holding a very beautiful service—a Ganesha Visarjan Puja and Homan. More than 200 community members attended that function—babies, children, right through to elderly Indian Canberrans. It was a wonderful and deeply spiritual event. The Puja was honouring the god who is the god of benevolence and new beginnings, the obstacle remover, the great lord Ganesha. I am a huge fan of lord Ganesha. I have an image of him in my parliament house office and I have little statues of him in my home and electorate office. He is the obstacle remover. I want to thank the community for inviting me and making me feel so incredibly welcome. It was a deeply spiritual event, and I felt very welcome and at home there. In closing I want to thank Krishan Aggarwal. The temple is his brain child. I send my condolences to him, as he recently lost his wife after 52 years. Exercise Northern Shield 158 16:34 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack I am very pleased to speak about the Exercise Northern Shield 2016 which occurred in Broome and Derby in my electorate over the past fortnight, finishing up last Friday. The Exercise Northern Shield 2016 was an Australian Defence Force program that saw Army, Navy and Air Force personnel from all around Australia deployed quickly in response to a simulated security threat. I am very impressed that the Turnbull government has had such a great initiative in regional Australia but particularly that it was held in my electorate of Durack. This year's event was not the first time that the Exercise Northern Shield was held in the north-west, with Learmonth being home to the event only last year, further illustrating that the north-west is indeed a Defence priority. The Northern Shield involved a wide range of capabilities and equipment from the different areas of the ADF. I know many people from the north-west, particularly Broome and Derby, were absolutely thrilled to view the event firsthand. There were 1,200 ADF personnel who participated in this year's event, with personnel coming from bases all around Australia, such as Darwin, Townsville, Sydney and Canberra. I thank Colonel Andrew Abbott and his team for the briefing they provided me in Derby last week. I am particularly proud of the Broome and Derby communities for their very warm welcome to the exercise participants, which I have no doubt contributed to the success of the event. The communities and I, however, have one complaint: we would have liked them to stay longer! World Arts and Multi-Culture Incorporated 158 16:36 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton I recognise that one of the best parts of this job is being involved in a citizenship ceremony. On Saturday, 27 August, at 10 am—not at 9.59 at night at 10.01—the World Arts and Multi-Culture Incorporated hosted a citizenship ceremony at the Comfort Inn and Suites at Robertson Gardens. I was lucky enough to be the presiding officer. I have been involved with many other World Arts events. I am always comfortable when going to such events because I know that Lewis Lee OAM will be the MC. When Lewis Lee runs an event, you know it will go like clockwork. He is the voice at the front of a large group of volunteers, and I commend all of the volunteers from World Arts for the great work that they do in the community on the south side. I was at another one of their events on Saturday night as part of the mid-Autumn moon festival. But this citizenship ceremony, like every other one that Lewis Lee and World Arts have hosted, was wonderful. People came from all around the world with lots of different stories, but their value as Australians and their contribution to Australia was affirmed and recognised. I would hope that all Queensland MPs and senators would recognise the great contribution that multiculturalism makes to Australia. (Time expired) Netball 159 16:38 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin Netball is a rapidly growing sport in Australia where we continue to produce some of the world's best players. In the eastern region of Melbourne alone, there are around 20,000 registered players, with this figure growing each and every year. For many years now, the HE Parker Reserve in my electorate of Deakin has served as a hub for those players and the clubs that they represent from across the region. Given that the entire facility is currently outdoors, scheduled games are often delayed or cancelled altogether due to weather related reasons. I was therefore very pleased earlier this year to welcome the Prime Minister to HE Parker Reserve for the Melbourne East Netball Association's grand final day where we announced that a re-elected coalition would provide $10.5 million for a new regional indoor netball centre. The new centre will be home to the MENA and the Ariels Victorian Churches Netball Association. It will feature four indoor courts, including a show court with a capacity to seat 500 people. Amenities at the new stadium will include four unisex change rooms, two unisex umpire rooms with a toilet and shower, office space and a first aid room. I really want to take this opportunity to thank for her tenacious work the President of the Melbourne East Netball Association, Kylie Spears, who has worked with me for the last 3½ years to secure this funding and to deliver a world-class netball facility in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. (Time expired) Melbourne Electorate: Moon Festival, Melbourne Electorate: Bilingual Education 159 16:39 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne My electorate is home to large Chinese and Vietnamese communities, who have made a massive contribution to Melbourne. Many members of the community are this week celebrating the Moon Festival, what in the Northern Hemisphere is the Mid-Autumn Festival. To all people celebrating this important festival, I extend my warmest wishes. I would like to inform the parliament about one particular celebration in my electorate. Abbotsford Primary School last week held its annual Chinese Moon Festival, an important event for families and friends of the school. Students displayed art work, performed dances and held a lantern parade around the school grounds. All year levels participated and the event was MCed by the students themselves in three different languages. Greens councillor Amanda Stone and candidate Matoc Achol attended the celebration. They told me how much fun the event was and how impressed they were by the school community. As I stand here to congratulate the Abbotsford Primary School community on this wonderful celebration, I would like to take the opportunity to inform the federal parliament about the success of the bilingual school programs at Abbotsford Primary School and Richmond West Primary School, which is also in my electorate. Students at these schools take part in fully immersive bilingual education with classes in English, Mandarin and, at Richmond West, Vietnamese. These are innovative programs that are leading the way for language education. I am delighted to see students in my electorate learning and developing the language skills that strengthen both our local community and equip young people for success in the future. I would like to acknowledge the work of principals Latham Burns and Paul Ledwidge in making this success possible. These schools are a great example of how diversity makes our community a better place for everyone. Rural Newspapers 159 16:41 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker I rise to acknowledge the important role that rural press has for rural communities. My electorate of Barker is over 60,000 square kilometres and encompasses a large variety of regions, people and, accordingly, press. From The Border Watch in Mount Gambier to The River News in Waikerie, the importance of a local voice, focusing on local issues, is very important to rural and regional Australians. Rural and regional Australia needs a strong voice. In many local communities that is provided by the newspaper and, sadly, it is the only press voice in too many cases. It is to this effect that I would like to congratulate The South Eastern Times of Millicent on celebrating 125 years of distinguished service to the community. The South Eastern Times, formerly the Millicent Times, has now chronicled the lives of the citizens of Millicent and their surrounds, their businesses and their community with distinction for 125 years. I commend the current team at the paper, JL 'Fred' Smith—or, as he is known to me, 'comrade'—and Raquel Mustillo, who are continuously and diligently on the hunt for stories that will reflect Millicent and the south eastern community in 125 years' time when they celebrate the paper's 250th anniversary. The community of Millicent is very fortunate to have such a rich and permanent record of its history. I congratulate all associated with the The South Eastern Times over its 125 year history and their hard work, dedication, professionalism and contribution to their community. National Rugby League 160 16:42 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton As we come into the National Rugby League finals time, I want to particularly pass my best wishes to the Queensland teams that are left in that competition and pass on my condolences to the Titans, who were unlucky in their game against the Broncos. Surely, it was one of the toughest decisions by referee that I have seen for many, many years. But it was good to see Queensland teams there. Obviously, there will at least be one Queensland team surviving after the Broncos play the Cowboys. I am looking forward to a good game of football. As a Queenslander, I approach rugby league pretty simplistically, in that I look at Queensland teams first and then the other teams. I do wish Cameron Smith and the other people involved with the Melbourne Storm all the best in the finals as well. On behalf of my sister, Megan, and my brother, David, who I was with on the weekend and who are mad Canberra Raiders fans, I guess I recognise their strange alliance to Canberra even though they are from Brisbane! I wish Canberra all the best in finals season as well. Hopefully, there will be at least one Queensland team in the grand final and I look forward to that Queensland team being successful. Gilmore Electorate: Rural Fire Service, Gilmore Electorate: Batemans Bay Indoor Aquatic Centre Committee, Battle of Long Tan: 50th Anniversary 160 16:44 Mrs SUDMALIS 241586 Gilmore Last election, Gilmore changed and now includes Batemans Bay. Recently, I had the opportunity to take part in a number of local events. Firstly, the opening of the Runnyford Rural Fire Service shed, which was unexpectedly very crowded, with many local and regional representatives attending the shed. It seemed as if it was in the middle of nowhere, but do not ever say that to a Runnyford resident! The Batemans Bay aquatic centre committee held a dry swim day, with races and activities on the rugby field, as they actually do not have an aquatic centre. The day was designed to raised community awareness of the benefits that will be available with an aquatic centre, apart from fitness and swimming squads. These include hydrotherapy, aqua aerobics, learn to swim for young children and water activities for residents with a disability. Carolyn Harding was the MC and ringmaster and was dressed fully in theme, with her swimming gear, spangled top hat and life ring. Many others came along with their flippers, snorkels and masks. Brad Rossiter, our famous local fundraiser—especially for kidney disease awareness—and I were rescued by members of the Broulee Surfers Surf Life Saving Club as we walked the 50-metre pool. Everyone helped to make this a great day, including the police, firemen, SES and ambulance teams who gave children rides on their drivers' seats. Finally, the 50th commemoration of Long Tan day was incredible, with a choir from Vietnam, an amazing crowd of veterans and community supporters, and a great rendition of hymns and the national anthem by the Batemans Bay U3A Singers. Thank you to Juro Bjaniak, who gifted me his singing tie, which I proudly wear today. (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 00AMT In accordance with standing order 193 the time for constituency statements has concluded. CONDOLENCES 160 CONDOLENCES Cameron, Mr Eoin Harrap 160 16:46 Mr PYNE 9V5 Sturt I am very pleased to stand on the motion of condolence in relation to Eoin Harrap Cameron, who was the member for Stirling from 1993 to 1998—a short career of about 5½ years. But he left an indelible impression in those 5½ years on the parliament, on me and on the Liberal Party. Eoin Cameron served for too short a period of time. He lost in 1998 in the election where about 16 of my colleagues did not come back—the GST election—and he got elected in the 1993 election, which was the one that supposedly could not be lost but we did lose. And in those 5½ years—I was elected in 1993—Eoin Cameron and I became very, very good friends. Eoin Cameron had tremendous faults, and he was quite unabashed about his many faults. One of his faults was he liked to have a drink as early in the day as possible, and question time created quite a difficulty for Eoin Cameron because he could not have a drink until question time was over. His office was about three down from mine, and as a new member at the age of 25 I was easily led astray by Eoin Cameron. He would like to have a drink straight after question time. I would be able to hold off until at least five o'clock because, as a 25-year old new member of parliament, I felt it was wise to be as good as possible. It did not always turn out that way, as many of my colleagues will tell you. I was not always as good as possible. But he and I shared a lot of laughs in his office with his wonderful wife Wendy and several of his children. He had three children, I believe, and two of them were quite present here in Parliament House during various stages of his career. I am quite sure that Wendy was here to make sure that he was as good as he possibly could be in the circumstances where he was used to being a very free agent. Politics does not encourage free agency, and Eoin Cameron was a very outgoing, exciting, amusing, larger-than-life, funny character who knew when to be serious and knew when to be fun, could see the difference between right and wrong and would call it out for what it was. It made him much loved as a radio announcer in Perth, where he had a sparkling career, always rating highly, always saying things that people were not supposed to say. I do not know how the ABC management coped with Eoin Cameron. He would have been constantly being counselled, I am sure, by the ABC management for his startling admissions. He particularly enjoyed telling stories about himself and against himself and against his family, and if you were fortunate enough to become a close confidante he would also breach all of your confidences as well. I learnt that pretty early, so I tried to be reasonably discreet, because he would repeat things that I had said to him, years afterwards, on radio—to my acute and excruciating embarrassment. And then he would email me and tell me he had just done so, which would elicit a great laugh from me, because I knew that Eoin Cameron had an absolute heart of gold. He overcame amazing difficulties in his life. He was raped by the headmaster of the Catholic school when he was 12 years old, at Mount Gambier. Before that he had been a stellar student, and after that his academic record collapsed and his confidence collapsed. His sporting ability, which he had had in great spoonfuls, disappeared, and he left school at the age of 14 and essentially rebuilt his life over a long period of time. He also had bipolar disorder, which in politics can make for interesting moments for whoever might suffer from that particular affliction. He put his bipolar disorder down to being raped as a 12-year-old. I do not think the drinking helped, though. I think that might have added to the sometimes erratic statements he would make. But he was such a good friend, and when he opened his office in Perth I made the crazy decision to fly to Perth and back in the same day, which I have never done since and which I did not realise at such a young age was of course a crazy plan. But I did it just because I wanted to be at Eoin Cameron's office opening, because he was such a good friend, and he was a tremendously amusing person, and I love to have people around me who make me laugh. And you were always laughing when you were in Eoin Cameron's company. He did not stay in parliament long enough really to reach ministerial rank or even shadow ministerial rank, but he was a great member for his electorate; he was loved in his electorate. Unfortunately he lost in that swing against us in 1998, and he was as blunt with his constituents as he was with the people who would ring into his radio program for years. He would write letters back to his constituents that would peel the paint off the walls, about how well they had done in their lives and basically what we now call First World problems. He would ask them to put themselves into the shoes of people who had nothing or who were homeless or who were struggling for a particular reason, without jobs—things that we would never write to constituents. And he would show me his letters with great pride and say: 'I really gave it to this person! They wrote to me with this ridiculous complaint about something very minor.' We have all been there and felt that we would like to write those letters, but we have never actually put them in black and white and sent them to the constituent, but he would do so, because he just loved to tell people what he really thought. He had a terrible row with Noel Crichton-Browne towards the end of his political career and decided that Noel Crichton-Browne should not be supported by the Liberal Party. And because he had such a firm belief in it, nobody could convince Eoin Cameron that this was a bad decision for his own political survival—because actually he did not care about his own political survival; he cared about representing his constituents, he cared about saying what he really believed and trying to make a difference. I think he returned happily to ABC Radio in Perth, where he worked for many, many years after that. I cannot tell some of the riotous stories he told me about being a radio announcer, because these things should not be repeated! Eoin Cameron would have repeated them, for sure, but I will not do so. I will miss Eoin Cameron. I did stay in touch with Eoin Cameron after he left politics and as recently as this year, which in our business is not something that happens that often. Lots of people come and go through political careers and political lives and you do not necessarily stay in touch with all the people you served with. I had a great regard for Eoin Cameron and his wonderful wife, Wendy, and his whole family. He had a larger than life family. He was one of 10, and they were all big and loud like Eoin—well, the men were, anyway; I will not comment on the women. I wish his family my deepest condolences. I did want to mark the occasion of his passing by commenting on my high regard for Eoin Cameron in the House. I thank the House. 16:54 Mr KEENAN E0J Stirling I very much enjoyed listening to the memories of the member for Sturt about my predecessor in the seat of Stirling, Eoin Cameron. Unfortunately, I did not get to know him very well personally. He was my Liberal predecessor in the seat, there was a Labor member for six years between us, and by the time I ran for the seat of Stirling he was already back on ABC radio and was not available to play a big part in the campaign. Some of his family members helped me out, particularly his son, Ryan, and his wife, Wendy, who I had a very high regard for. Unfortunately, I cannot give you the sort of personal memories that the member for Sturt has and I am sure the member for McMillan will also be able to share with the House. I think that the member for Sturt captured a lot of what I know about Eoin, which is that he was a man who was absolutely larger than life. Certainly, some of those stories about his interactions with constituents have come back to me as the member for Stirling some six years after he left parliament, because they are enormously entertaining. Clearly he was somebody who really broke the mould for politicians. I think the member for Sturt was correct in saying that he was not that fussed about being a good politician in that sense. He wanted to represent his constituents, but he would do things that most of us, I think, would look askance at. He was true to himself whilst he was here, and he is remembered as a man who had enormous integrity whilst he was here and the fact that he stuck to his independent views and was very much his own man. Of course, that happened at a time when there was a lot of internal division within the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party. It is a very happy family now. It is hard to remember when we look back, but the battles there were, quite frankly, vicious, and it was a very difficult time for members of parliament who essentially were dividing on one side or the other. Eoin did spend a lot of time in his final couple of years engaged in that, particularly with what was known as the anti-Noel Crichton-Browne forces. It is hard to remember what they were arguing about now, but at the time it was certainly a very vicious battle. John Howard, who was Prime Minister at the time, remembered him as somebody who was his own man in every respect. He said that he was a strong Liberal who was loyal to the party but he was not a person who could be taken for granted and he always brought an independent view. The opposition leader at the time, Kim Beazley, said that he was a good politician who did not like being one much. As the member for Sturt has mentioned, Eoin left school at the age of 14. The member for Sturt mentioned something that Eoin spoke about publicly, quite recently and very movingly, and that was the sexual abuse that he suffered as a young person. Anybody who listened to those stories when he was on the radio would have found it absolutely harrowing, but he used what must have been an incredibly painful and difficult period of his life for good. He was very strong supporter of the work of beyondblue. As the member for Sturt mentioned, Eoin suffered from bipolar disorder himself, and others in his family subsequently suffered from bipolar disorder. He was a great advocate of the causes of mental health, and he did not mind sharing his own intensely personal and painful experiences in pursuit of that goal of advocating for mental health. I have great regard for him for that. I listened, not as a friend of his but as somebody who has listened to his radio program, and he was very up-front about the horrible things that had occurred to him. He was trying to use that terrible experience as a force for good. He did overcome many challenges in his life, including sexual abuse and the subsequent depression and bipolar disorder than came along with that. He was a very passionate person, and he shared those painful aspects of his life—all aspects of his life—on the radio. He was very much a personality in Perth. He was very well known for the way that he conducted himself on the radio and for the sorts of relatively outrageously things that he would do on radio, but, of course, that endeared him to his listeners very heavily. His listeners thought that he was straight talking and honest. He was renowned for his awful taste in music, including an enduring love for Dusty Springfield. Mr Pyne interjecting— Mr KEENAN E0J Shared apparently with the member for Sturt. He was never short of an opinion on his radio show. Of course, he was absolutely never afraid of speaking his mind, and he was not remotely concerned about who he would offend in doing that. He will be sadly missed. I am sorry that I did not get to know him better. Unfortunately, it was just not the way that it was. We did not cross paths as often as I would have liked, but I do wish his family all the best. I offer them my sincere condolences, particularly to Ryan and Wendy, who I got to know a little bit, but also to his daughters, Jane and Jacinta. He was grandfather to Jeorgia, Cameron, Sophie, Lachlan, Eugenie, Flynn, Milla and Sadie and, of course, to his surviving siblings as well. We send them our deepest condolences for somebody who, unfortunately, left us far too soon. 17:00 Mr BROADBENT MT4 McMillan Well, Wendy, if you are watching, this is for you. I appreciate the words of both our ministers speaking on Eoin Cameron. I have most recently had contact with Eoin, and Christopher is right. We were both defeated in 1998, Eoin and I, and out of that forum I do not think we carried on a relationship. But once you have loved somebody—and when I first met Eoin and his wife I loved them on the spot, both of them, just loved them. We met in a street in Perth, and I was with Bruce Baird, and I recognised Eoin. I jumped to my feet, I hugged him and I sat down, and he was gone. Bruce said to me, 'Who is that?' and I said, 'What are you on about? That is Eoin Cameron.' To me, he was larger than life but to others—you are right, Christopher—they come into this place, they speak and they are gone. My first moment of Eoin Cameron was when I was in my office and this voice came on to speak in the parliament. I was just stopped in my tracks—this beautiful voice. I thought, 'Who is that?' There have been three voices in this parliament—David Jull, Ian Sinclair and Eoin Cameron—and whenever they spoke you just had to listen to the depth and melody of the voice that just commanded the room. Unbelievable. There was another very unusual thing about Eoin Cameron, and it was that Petro liked him. Petro did not like many people, Petro Georgiou. I thought that if Petro likes this guy and he is a friend of the member for Sturt, he cannot be all that bad. I was included, then, in their get-togethers and dinners. He was just amazing to be around. I have read his book Rolling into the world, Wendy. The first time I read it, I cried and laughed and cried, and I would have killed this kid. If I had been his father, I would literally have killed this kid and everybody who travelled with him. What they did to their father—I have electric fences at home; you have to be careful with electric fences. One of the stories told was that their boys turned it off, wrapped it around the bumper bar of the Vanguard, which was the family car the time, flooded the whole area around the Vanguard with water, and then turned it back on for their father to walk across to the car, hit the car and be thrown back. Another time, you know how delicate dairy cows are—you know, Kevin. They got four penny bungers stuck above the driveway. They planned to wait until the cows, which their father was herding up, were in the driveway and then blow them up in the middle—I was trying to read this last night, coming in, and I was just so embarrassed because I was in tears laughing at what this fellow got up to as a youth. Yet he achieved so much in his life—his compassion for issues, for people, for little people particularly, for people who could not speak for themselves, his love for his wife and his family. The whole issue of family was played out in every moment of his life. We hear people say, 'I'm retiring to go home to my family.' You think yeah, yeah, yeah. You have just been fired or thrown out or lost your preselection or dudded or something. This guy actually lived his life in regard to his family. Throughout his book he talks about the importance of family and how he revered his elder brother, and how he tormented his younger sisters and what he did to them. One day, they were throwing stones at their baby sister as they were going to school—disgrace!—and she cut her lip on one of the stones they threw at her. This got back to the father at the house. She ran back to the house and told Dad. Dad came up to the bus, got the two boys off the bus, belted the living daylights out of them and then put them back on the bus, which did not do their egos much good. In the book, he touches on what happened to him at the school that was inappropriate, but he goes further later on. I did not know he was bipolar. I saw a parliamentarian actually doing what a parliamentarian should do and representing his constituents in a manner that had a lot to emulate. He was a member of parliament and I have read a couple of his speeches, especially about his near accidents flying in and out of Perth and what he did with aircraft controllers and the issues surrounding that. It did not matter what the issue was, he was passionate about it. I am only sad that I was not a participant in hearing his radio programs or seeing some of the things that the minister knows about but will not tell us. I think he has done a disservice to me, to those gathered in this room and to Wendy and the family by not telling those stories, but I have worked it out. It may bring the minister into disrepute, because he was probably naughty enough to be a participant in some of the pranks that were played or some of the things that happened in Eoin's career! In reading Mr Cameron's maiden speech, he had a great dream for the nation to be the nation he wanted it to be. He wanted us to ensure that we handed on to the next generation greater opportunities than they had been given themselves. The member for Sturt mentioned that Eoin's grades went from very good grades to crashing and then him leaving school at 14, but that did not seem to be an impediment. He describes his first job, which he decided really was not for him. It goes on to say how many jobs he had before he settled and got into radio and did the things that he did. But this is the most important thing. If we measured our lives in laughter and fun, I would have to say that Eoin Cameron lived six lifetimes in one. If life were measured in laughter and fun, this man lived six lifetimes in one. We have a lot to learn from that. I was absolutely saddened to hear of his death because he was my age, and I have a long way to go. I am sure he had a long way to go too. I have to say to you, Wendy: do not think we are not sad, because we are. I think this is a very sad time, especially when you read the obituary. '"Great shambling ratbag" changed lives' is the headline of his ABC obituary. We are sad. This is a sad time—a sad time for you and your family and, as the minister pointed out, for all your children and grandchildren—but you will have memories that other, lesser mortals will never have because of who he was, what he was and the things that he did. You know, one of the hardest things you could possibly do in life is to be courageous enough and brave enough with your own experience to share it with an audience of hundreds of thousands around Perth and millions around the world, where you actually change the lives of people. He did it in the House, because he changed my attitude—and Petro's and Christopher's and probably lots of others—just from that short time we spent with him. Wendy, to you and all yours, thank you for the very short time you gave him to this nation as a parliamentarian. Thank you for the way that you offered him to the public through his radio program—great memories. Thank you, Wendy. Thank you, family. Vale Eoin Cameron. 17:10 Mr ANDREWS HK5 Menzies I associate myself with this motion and with the heartfelt comments of my colleagues in relation to the sad death of Eoin Cameron. I had the great pleasure of serving in this place with Eoin whilst he was here. He was both a larrikin and a caring, committed and passionate representative of his electorate. He was also a wonderful member of a family whom he cared about so much. I remember some years ago reading his biography, which the member for McMillan referred to, Rolling into the World,and learning so much about his earlier life, which I had not known whilst he was here in the parliament. To his wife, Wendy, and to all the other family members, I offer my condolences as well and join in this motion. The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZY I too would like to add my condolences to Wendy and the family. I met Eoin back in the early 1980s. He was a constituent of mine as well. He lived very close by. As we all know, he was larger than life. He managed to take out the most prominent fence within South Perth a couple of years ago, and everyone knew Eoin Cameron had done it. I met him in the eighties through the famous North Cott family, the Russells. He taught me quite a few things on the one night that I spent with him. He also taught me the art of imbibing. He was very good at that. My condolences to Wendy and the Cameron family. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS 164 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS National Security 164 17:12 Mr ANDREWS HK5 Menzies Australia faces a series of strategic challenges over the next couple of decades. These include the interactions of the great powers—namely the United States, Russia and China in particular. These also include the diffusion of Islamic terrorism in our region, the continuing conflict in the Middle East—including in Afghanistan—the unpredictability of North Korea and, indeed, the risk of a failed nation state in our more immediate region. While an attack on Australian territory is unlikely in the foreseeable future, it is a fact also that the military forces of many countries in the Indo-Pacific are being significantly modernised and expanded. Historically, as nations prosper they upgrade and improve their defence forces. For example, it is estimated that in 20 years time half of the world's submarines will operate in the Indo-Pacific. Cyber, surveillance and ballistic missile systems are being developed rapidly. In addition to modernising our standard military resources, such as ships and planes, Australia must keep pace of these developments if we are to retain our military edge in the future. In this contribution, I wish to mention just one of these challenges, and that is the ongoing threat of Islamic terrorism. The threat or spread of Islamic terrorism to the Indo-Pacific remains the most significant immediate threat to our regional security. The attacks in Jakarta, following previous assaults in Bali and ongoing incidents in Australia, point to a challenging future. The confluence of the release, from Indonesian jails, of many JI adherents over the coming year and the return of foreign fighters from the Middle East to the region—indeed with the declaration of an offshoot of the caliphate by forces in the southern Philippines and elsewhere in South-East Asia—points to what Prime Minister Lee of Singapore identified as an 'emerging hazard'. It is a view shared by defence ministers throughout the region and heightened by more recent events. While security and intelligence services, including in Australia, have been proficient, the task of detecting and preventing every planned attack is impossible. Good luck as well as good intelligence gathering have been important in the task to date. But we are also witnessing the increase in smaller, previously unknown groups and self-radicalised individuals, making the task of security agencies even more difficult. These developments have led to greater regional cooperation in our area. They also reinforce the imperative of defeating the terror at its source, especially in the Middle East. Australia has understood historically that the spread of Islamic terrorism is a global threat. That is why we committed to the US-led coalition in Iraq with the second-largest military presence after the US, operating air strikes, refuelling, and command and patrol activities in the air, as well as training Iraqi forces, mainly at Taji. However, it is effectiveness, not numbers, that ultimately counts in this war. The notion that ISIL is weak and contained and that the assault upon it is proceeding very well is misplaced. Yes, territory has been regained, but the tentacles of ISIL and related groups continue to spread elsewhere. That is why America's acceptance of the advice of its military commanders that more had to be done to win the war and to expand the coalition involvement is significant. US Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, told the congress in December 2015 that special forces would be utilised in direct action against ISIL in both Iraq and Syria. During testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary Carter said: This is an important capability because it takes advantage of what we're good at. Its goals would include freeing hostages and capturing leaders of ISIL. Military chiefs urging the expanded response also knew that elite agile special forces would assist in better identifying targets for air strikes, whether by crude or drone aircraft. While the coalition pursued its then approach, Ramadi fell to ISIL—proof that the enemy was stronger than had generally been considered before that. Yes, Ramadi was reclaimed by the Iraqis, but it should never have fallen in the first place. While it remained under the black ISIL flag, it was a daily reminder of the ineffectiveness of the then strategy. For a long time the only real success in Iraq was by the Kurds in the north, who, rather than flee, stood and effectively fought their enemy, Other success was largely by the Iranian backed militia forces, which have little sway in the Sunni regions to the west of the country. Taking back Ramadi pales into insignificance to the task of defeating ISIL in their strongholds of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. In both cities, ISIL is embedded into the local population, making air strikes more problematic. The new strategy that Secretary Carter announced in December 2015 recognises the limitations of the earlier approach. It also reflects the successful strategy that General Stanley McChrystal executed in Iraq over a decade ago. Under his Joint Special Operations Command, the identification of high-value targets was pivotal in the success of that campaign. The US has now recognised that advise and assist and building partner capacity activities to train the Iraqis are insufficient to defeat ISIL. It is conceded that special forces and related personnel can play a much more important role fighting ISIL, not just in training the Iraqi army. As part of the coalition against ISIL we should welcome this new strategy and continue to assist as we do in its execution. The measures announced by the Prime Minister should enable better targeting of ISIL by our forces, which in turn will assist in the fight. But let us not be sanguine. We are engaged in a years- if not decades-long conflict from which we cannot withdraw. World security and peace depend on our continuing efforts. I commend the motion. 17:18 Mr CRAIG KELLY 99931 Hughes I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this motion regarding the national security statement, especially in light of the incident that we had in Minto in south-west Sydney, not far from my electorate, only yesterday. And I acknowledge the new member for Macarthur here in the chamber with us. I understand that Minto actually is in your electorate, Sir. Minto is a suburb that I am quite well acquainted with. My parents shop there regularly. It is an area in south-west Sydney that I have travelled through often. And to have a terrorist incident such as what we saw, so close to home, is something that is quite distressing for many of us who live in south-west Sydney. What do we actually know? We know that the police allege what happened, who the victim was, who the perpetrator was and why this happened. We know that the victim was a 59-year-old Aussie bloke, as typical as you could get—a Parramatta supporter, someone who loved his Rugby League and who had been brought up most of his life living in the area. It is alleged that he was stabbed multiple times in the body, the neck and the hands, and that several of his fingers were actually cut off and the bones were protruding. We have seen the pictures of the bloodstained floor in the hairdressing salon to which the victim fled. We have seen pictures, which I understand will be shown on TV tonight, of the attacker with a large knife belting on the door yelling, 'Allahu Akbar. Someone is going to die today.' What has also been reported is that the alleged attacker was someone who grew a hatred of Australia. It is reported by one of the media outlets today that this gentleman, as far back as 2013, exhibited a hatred of Australia, allegedly because of our involvement with America in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and he had actually gone on a bizarre rampage with a large pair of scissors, cutting down Australian flags that people were proudly flying in their backyards. What can we do to try and change people's perspective? What could have been done so that this young man would not have gone down that road? I can think of one thing: we need to be clearer and we need to be louder in our speech that we are proud of our nation. You can see by this person's actions and his statements that he actually developed a hatred for Australia, a nation that had given him every opportunity, a nation that provides relief to refugees from around the world, a nation that we should all be very proud of. Yet he grew such hatred that he was able to commit this barbaric act. I think we need to emphasise some things more and more. Firstly, when we talk about our military's involvement, our Australian military forces are something we should be very proud of. Never in our history has our military gone into a conflict for conquest or territory. We have always gone into war to protect the rights and freedoms of others. That is why we were in Afghanistan and that is why we were in Iraq. We are still in Iraq today to give freedom and opportunity to others. We should emphasise that. Secondly, we should emphasise the important things about Australian values. We give freedom and opportunity to everyone irrespective of their race, their nationality or their religion. We only have to look at that acceptance in Australian society today: people of the Islamic faith are captains of industry, they run some of the largest corporations in our nation, they can become media personalities and famous TV presenters, they can be selected in our national sporting teams, they represent all levels of government from our local councils to our state politics and even here in our federal parliament. This is something we should be immensely proud of and something we should continue to talk up. We should also be proud of our flag. To think that someone would run around with a pair of scissors and be so disturbed they would try to remove flags from peoples houses! We should be proud of our flag; we should be proud of our traditions; we should be proud of our heritage. We should be proud and we should never fail to talk up how proud we are and how good our nation is. That does not mean we do not criticise when things go wrong. But we cannot have people, and there is a growing number of them, who try to demean and attack our nation and talk it down at every opportunity, because that is manna for these terrorist organisations who recruit these disturbed individuals and get them to commit these terrible atrocities. I call on all members of parliament here, when they are in the community and have the opportunity, to talk up our nation. Explain to our students in our schools the wonderful achievements that we have done, because ultimately that is the best defence that we have against localised terrorism and incidents like the one we saw in Minto in Sydney only on Saturday. Debate adjourned. GRIEVANCE DEBATE 166 GRIEVANCE DEBATE Veterans 166 17:25 Mr BYRNE 008K0 Holt I rise tonight to address an issue which has increasingly concerned me and many within my community and was exemplified by an excellent investigation by Ruth Lamperd in the Herald Sun on 14 August 2016. Ruth's article included the damning claim that 41 veterans—those who have served our country—have so far committed suicide this year, which is equal to the number of Australians killed in 13 years of combat operations in Afghanistan. The investigation suggested that young Australian veterans have returned to civilian life with depression and anxiety issues and post-traumatic stress disorder but have struggled to find assistance. I know that, in light of this investigation, the Australian government and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs have undertaken a review of suicide and self-harm prevention services available to veterans and to ADF members. Let me make it clear—and I am sure this sentiment is echoed by those that sit in the chamber with me tonight—to any young Australian veteran who is listening to this speech tonight—I know a couple are—that in your heroism we see the enduring spirit of our country, Australia. I believe our nation has a sacred obligation to our veterans. So, just as you serve to protect us, we are obliged to take care of you and your families when you come home. As a legislator, I deeply feel that this pledge has not been fulfilled. If you look at this report, 41 veterans have taken their own lives. This year, a register that people have kept conservatively estimates that there have been 295 military or ex-military suicides from the start of 2000. It leads me to wonder: did those people feel supported by our country when they came home? In one instance, I was appalled—and remain appalled as a legislator and as someone that knows the individual in question—to hear that the DVA is making a concerted effort, by setting a case precedent, to remove special forces allowances that form part of an incapacity payment for our special forces, by the establishment of a case precedent for an injured commando soldier covered under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. It is in the case—and we cannot name this person—WFLT v Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. It is rather Orwellian in terms of the latter. The case has been classified, and that is why I will not read that person's name into this place, but the Afghanistan veteran commando we have to call WFLT appears to have been singled out by the DVA as the only medically discharged commando who is not able to work. He is being refused the allowance as part of his incapacity payments. In addition, the DVA is running the case in an extremely adversarial manner and belittling the veteran's service to the point where he required hospitalisation to prevent suicide on the fourth day of the hearing. Any fair-minded person in this place listening to that—particularly given that I know the service that this individual has given to his country, I know how he was injured, and I know he rightly asked for some form of compensation. I also know, but cannot say in this place, what was said about this veteran's service that led him to think about committing suicide on the fourth day of the hearing into his compensation claim. It says a lot about the maladministration of justice for veterans in our country. I will keep on coming back to this particular case. It is clear to me, as you probably gathered, that I find this disturbing. After raising this matter—which has been raised separately by this person's advocate with Senator Jacqui Lambie, and which has been raised with my office separately by the individual in question—I am concerned that this veteran, who killed for this country and was prepared to die for his country, stands to lose $750,000. I further note that if the precedent is set and applied, every SASR and commando officer under 35 years old who cannot work due to their service will lose something roughly like a million dollars in compensation. Multiplying this case across the multiple deployed special forces community, we could potentially be talking about the removal of possibly $500 million to our veterans in compensation. There is a word for that. It is often used in this place. It is called a scandal; it is called a national scandal. This very fine individual, who I am honoured to know, who is called WFLT in this place now, also believes that the DVA has singled his case out in the hope of beating him in court so that they can remove the allowance from all injured special forces officers and save around $6 to $10 million a year. This individual has also stated—in his words, because I asked for his words so that I could read them into this House—that there are no common forms or one-stop shops for his era of Defence members who are covered under all three acts. In his words, everyone is looked at in isolation, claims officers are only conversant in their legislation and no-one can advise how a decision under one act impacts you under the other acts. This one case clearly shows how veterans are being treated right now by the DVA. We should be supporting our veterans, not forcing them through a four-year legal battle where they stand to lose $750,000 rather than being paid what I believe is the appropriate compensation and not forcing them to comply with three separate acts. Why should three separate acts prevent people from getting support? We need to take a different approach. The DVA should exist to support our veterans and not to make life difficult. In the words of those returned service people, it should also create a new mental health service, as too many veterans still struggle to get the care that they need. When you have an urgent need for mental health care, you should be able to get the services you need when you need them, particularly when you have been serving your country. In the words of these veterans, they feel that after World War II Australia truly valued our veterans by establishing the gold health care card, which entitled veterans to first-class health care. Australia understood that those Australians who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation should be rewarded with certain privileges, such as first-class health care for the rest of their lives. We still have the gold health care card. Now, there is apparently a white card and an orange card with reduced privileges and a complicated system for submitting claims with the Veterans' Affairs, because there are apparently too many veterans who are suffering. They have to fight for their privileges rather than being granted them. We must make changes. I am also aware of the limited time that I have. There are many other things that I could say. On a more positive note, I want to talk about some great work that is being done by some outstanding veterans. In the electorate of Holt, there is a group called the Young Veterans RSL, which was started up by Chris May, Sven Thompson and Scott May. The Young Veterans RSL started when three mates and fellow veterans realised there was a lack of social welfare groups providing activities for the growing number of young veterans and ex-serving Defence members across Australia. According to one of these men, Chris May, who is one of the founders: Young Veterans will enable those people affected by war, to return to activities they have not conducted since their enlistment into the services. It will provide a means for today’s veterans to openly discuss their individual war experiences in the hope that it will assist them, and other veterans, into reintegrating into the civilian population. The Young Veterans RSL carries out some amazing activities which raises funds and increases awareness of the contribution made by our veteran community. The Young Veterans are also attempting to raise funds to rehabilitate, retrain and re-educate Defence personnel when they leave the Defence forces. Last year, in conjunction with Dandenong RSL, the Young Veterans RSL purchased three ex-Defence Land Rovers—I have seen a lot of them—and drove them from the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilsons Promontory, to the northernmost point of our great country, which is the tip of Cape York. The Young Veterans have visited many schools and engaged as many RSL sub-branches along the way. They are wonderful young men. There is another event that will be coming up very shortly, which is the Land Rover Outback Challenge. The members of that veterans' RSL team include Mathew Keene, Navy, retired; Millyssa Johnston, RAAF, current; Scott May, Army, retired; Shane Dixon, Army, retired; Kathryn Batham, Navy, retired; and Jye McManus, civilian. I wish you all the best for the Outback Challenge. There is one thing in particular that my friend who I mentioned earlier on said on the worth of this organisation: Many veterans who are medically discharged and are unable to work have lost all sense of purpose and dignity and struggle to feel accepted in today's society. Hence why suicide is high. If I hadn't found Young Veterans RSL I may have taken my own life. I cannot work, I struggle to socialize or hold a relationship and my interaction with young veterans RSL is all I have. What has happened to this man is an outrage. It must be stopped. DVA must be stopped from persecuting someone who is prepared to lay his life on the line to protect our country. Telecommunications 168 17:35 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker I rise today to talk about mobile phone blackspots in my electorate of Barker. As you know well, Deputy Speaker Hogan, good mobile phone coverage is essential for economic productivity, not to mention safety, in rural and remote communities. My electorate spans some 60,000 square kilometres. It is, necessarily, sparsely populated in many areas but is, of course, a hub of economic activity. The flows and benefits of this high level of agricultural productivity are clear but, sadly, the existence of all too many mobile phone blackspots operates as a significant handbrake to that productivity and the dividends that can be derived for my electorate, for both the individual and the state. Further, these blackspots pose significant safety risks to those who work alone or in small teams, particularly those who work alone and in small teams in very rural and remote locations. Sadly, this cannot necessarily be remedied by private telecommunication companies, as many of these blackspots are simply uneconomical to service. It is for that reason that our government, over the course of the 44th Parliament and now in the 45th, has committed a total of $220 million in public funding to the Mobile Black Spot Program. This is funding that will supplement and encourage investment in this critical technology in these remote and sparsely populated areas. Why then am I speaking in a grievance debate on this matter? Sadly, due to the lack of investment by the South Australian state government in round 1 of the program, my beloved state received only 11 of the new towers—133 fewer than New South Wales and only 11 of the 499 allocated nationwide. To put it in local terms, in round 1, we identified 174 blackspots in Barker. After the completion of round 2 and the allocation of sites, 172 of those sites will remain unserviced. That is a disappointing result by anyone's measure, but when I look over at my Victorian colleague in the seat of Mallee and I see that he has 22 of his sites serviced I have cause for concern. My constituents, like me, are looking for the reason. The reason is a clear and concise one. This program called for a co-contribution from state and local governments. In the case of New South Wales, the New South Wales government contributed $24 million to the program. As a result, they attracted 144 sites. Victoria contributed $21 million to the program. They attracted 110 sites. Queensland contributed $10 million to the program, attracting 68 sites. Western Australia contributed $32 million, attracting 130 sites. So the question you might ask is: in light of those contributions by the other mainland states, what did the good state government of South Australia do? They made a zero sum contribution—not one zack. As a result, South Australia predictably received the minimum number of allocations—that is, 11 sites. Hence my electorate got the paltry sum of two. As a result of this, the member for Grey and I lobbied the state government, indicating to them that we were confident that we could persuade our colleagues here in Canberra to open up round 2 of the program. We were successful in doing that. Round 2 of the program was announced a significant time ago, taking the round 1 Commonwealth contribution of $100 million and adding to it an additional $60 million. What has the South Australian state government done in relation to round 2? You would think they would have taken the lead from those successful states in round 1—New South Wales, $24 million; Victoria, $21 million; Queensland, $10 million; and Western Australia, $32 million. You would think they would take the lead, and take the lead they have. They have managed to rummage around in the treasury on North Terrace in Adelaide and found the princely sum of $2 million. That is $2 million against a background where New South Wales contributed $24 million, Victoria contributed $21 million, Queensland contributed $10 million and Western Australia contributed $32 million. And it is against a background where it is clear to any of us involved in this issue that those states are going to make similar contributions. In punting parlance, those states have got to double down. When they do, the South Australian state government contribution of $2 million will, sadly, once again result in the South Australian community missing out on an allocation of mobile phone towers. I have said it is $2 million, and $2 million it is. But of that $2 million sum you will be surprised to learn that only $1 million is new money. $1 million of it is coming from an existing regional development fund. So the people of South Australia, particularly residents in Barker, who are enjoying the benefits of our rollout of the NBN have been coming into my office and saying, 'Why is it that I can access data in this very regional and remote area but I can't make a mobile phone call from the paddock?' I say to them the answer is clear. They need to speak to the relevant minister in the South Australian state government, Kyam Maher, and tell him that a $2 million contribution to this program is not only insufficient but quite frankly disrespectful. I should say that I failed to get his ear after making repeated requests to meet with him to talk with him about this issue. He hails from Mt Gambier, my home town, so I was disappointed that a local would not pick up the phone and take my call. If they fail to get Minister Maher's ear, they should pick up the phone, write an email or pen a note to Premier Weatherill. I understand that Premier Weatherill is in a very difficult position. His government has been in government for some 13 years. The South Australian economy, sadly, is tanking. We have unemployment a whole two percentage points above any other state in this country. The funds are hard to locate. They are building a new royal Adelaide hospital which is going to be the most expensive building on the face of the earth per square metre. They are off to the Supreme Court to argue about when they can access the building in proceedings vis-a-vis the joint partner development. Things are difficult in South Australia—I understand that. I understand that money is tight. But, quite frankly, I am sick and tired of the Wetherill government taking it out on rural and regional South Australians. It is the politics of punishment. There is no other way to describe this. They know that electorally they cannot be harmed in the country. They hold one seat outside of metropolitan Adelaide. But that is not the test of a good government. That is not the test of a premiership. Premier Weatherill needs to govern for all of South Australia, and that includes, in my case, the 120,000 or so people that live in the electorate of Barker. They deserve, as do other rural and regional constituents across the country, to live in areas that are serviced by mobile phone towers. My concern is that, once round 2 and round 3 of this program are complete, the problem will be resolved in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia—across all other mainland states. All that will remain will be mobile phone blackspots in South Australia. If that comes to pass, as is my clear and present concern, this will cease to be a national issue. It will be an issue only for South Australians living in rural and regional communities, and I fear that, electorally, we will not be able to resolve this issue. So I call on Premier Weatherill and Minister Maher to think again about their contribution to the Mobile Black Spot Program and up it significantly. (Time expired) Parramatta Electorate: Parramatta War Memorial Swimming Centre 169 17:45 Ms OWENS E09 Parramatta In the local council elections on Saturday, it is probably fair to say that candidates of the Liberal persuasion came in for a bit of a drubbing. I have noted Barnaby Joyce, the Deputy Prime Minister, laying that down to the dogs. But I would like to point out to our colleagues in the state parliament that there is much more going on in our local community than that. There is a sense of arrogance by the Baird government when it comes to the development of our communities, the selling off of public land, the selling off of our green spaces, the demolishing of community facilities, the handing over of land to UrbanGrowth, which is the development arm of the state government, to do pretty much whatever they want in parts of our community that we see great value in—our heritage areas, our green spaces et cetera. The biggest issue I have with it is the extraordinary lack of community consultation of any kind when the state government decides to sell off, in the case of the heritage precinct in North Parramatta, land that has been in public hands for 220 years. It is being sold to developers for high- and medium-density development. The Parramatta pool was built with community donations in the fifties and sixties as a war memorial pool, but it is one of the best pools in New South Wales and a pool that has one of only two Olympic diving towers in Sydney. It is about to be demolished to expand the stadium, again without consultation. I want to focus on just that decision today because I know that in my community there is a great deal of concern about this decision. Parramatta pool is a post-Second World War pool. When city council, through Alderman Mobbs, resolved to determine the level of interest in a local Olympic swimming pool, it was resolved in the affirmative. A committee was formed in 1956 and raised the money to build that pool. It was well and truly built by the community. It is known by the local swim clubs as one of the best pools in New South Wales. It is 10 lanes wide and it is Olympic standard. That means you can set a record in it. You can warm up in two lanes while the other eight are training. It contains a water polo pool and, as I said earlier, one of only two Olympic diving towers in the entire Sydney region. It is incredibly valuable and people elsewhere in Sydney are jealous of the Parramatta pool. It is an outdoor pool that is incredibly well used. Last summer, on one particularly hot day, 1,300 people passed through the gate in that one day—and that is not counting the New South Wales under-18 water polo championships, which were taking place on the same day; that is just the people who came in to use the main pool. It is an incredibly popular pool that averages, even in winter, some 1,500 people a week and trains hundreds of kids in how to swim and in lifesaving, in a community where many of our newer migrants do not know how to swim. It provides an incredibly important service. It is also a pool that was built on land that was given to the people of New South Wales. It was part of Governor Macquarie's Domain. It is one of the oldest dedicated parks in the world for public use, and this little bit of land that the pool is on was carved out of the trust and is leased from the trust for the purposes of this pool. It borders a World Heritage listed building in Old Government House, which is the original government house of Australia, because, as I said, it is in the Governor's Domain. There are conditions that any building that takes place within the sight lines of that world heritage building conform to the heritage requirements of that building. All of those things seem to have been pushed aside by the state government in the decision to abolish this pool. Also ignored was that Parramatta Council, not knowing that it was going to be abolished, quite recently put in $7.8 million to upgrade the pool, including new filtration systems for four pools—because it does have four—new entrance, change rooms and kiosks, major repairs to the Olympic pool, bench seating for 460 spectators, making it a truly remarkable facility. We were originally given warning that the pool might be demolished when we saw the North Parramatta heritage precinct plan some two years ago. This showed a rezoning of the pool and eight-storey buildings on its location. But the state member, Geoff Lee, assured us it was a typo and that nothing was going to happen. Then we heard that the pool might be demolished, and UrbanGrowth assured me that the entire planning for the pool was delayed, it was put off, it was not going to happen and they would deal with it later. Meanwhile, the plans were already up on the government website. The state member was still saying that there had not been any firm plans, yet the community consultation, as such, had already taken place by then. To give you the full picture, the community consultation was two fan forums on 18 January and 9 February for representatives from NRL teams the Bulldogs, who are Canterbury, not Parramatta; West Tigers, who are Campbelltown and Leichhardt, not Parramatta; Parramatta Eels, who are, yes, Parramatta; Western Sydney Wanderers, who are also very strong in Parramatta; and Football Federation Australia. So when they consulted about ripping up this extraordinary facility, this pool used by 1,300 people on one day last summer, when they considered taking more land from the Parramatta Park Trust, one of the oldest designated parks in the world, when they considered building a stadium taller than the tree lines, which would not conform to the heritage requirements of a world heritage site, they decided they would consult the fans of football teams. That is important to do, but it is not the only consultation you would have, particularly since the Parramatta Park Trust Act requires that consultation take place. It requires that any use of trust land have extensive consultation, and that was the full extent of the consultation. Even taking the trust issue out, even taking out the issue that it is on public land—which has been public land since the days of Governor Macquarie—that is not community consultation. That is not consulting your community about their views on a $300 million stadium. It is $41,000 per extra seat, because we have a stadium there at the moment. They will be demolishing that stadium. We will be without a stadium for two years, and then this $300 million stadium will go up on what is currently the pool. There has been no community consultation to speak of in that decision. While we love the Eels and we would not turn down a new stadium, nobody has discussed with the community why you cannot have both. Yet we have a state member once again saying, 'We'll talk to council. The state government should contribute to a new pool. We have no location for it.' They are discussing it apparently. Meanwhile, in the state parliament, Stuart Ayres, the relevant minister, when asked at senate estimates recently, made it totally clear that he did not believe it was the state government's responsibility to fund a new pool. We have one of the best pools in New South Wales—a CBD pool, by the way. It is half a kilometre from the CBD. You can walk to the Parramatta pool in your lunch break and train. I used to do it in the morning when, even in winter, we had cold outdoor showers. I am one of the tough people that has trained at the local swim club at Parramatta pool for many years when it was outdoor showers in winter and cold water. It is much better than that now. It is a CBD pool, which is one of those incredibly rare things in our city centres. I know Sydney CBD has several pools, but in places like Parramatta it is a rarity. If you take it away we will not get it back. In spite of the rhetoric of the local member, who talking about how he is talking to council and trying find a new location, there is no money from the state government. When they do talk about a new location, they talk about putting it in another part of Parramatta Park. So taking another bit of green space, another bit of open space, taking 7.9 hectares out of Parramatta Park as it is now—including the carpark to the north, the stadium, the pool, the carpark to the south and west, and the training oval, taking all of that—and building a big stadium, and then taking another bit of land and another bit of the park to build a new pool for which there is no funding. This is not the way state governments treat local residents. People in Parramatta know their own community. They know it. They know what we need. They know what we value. We do not need a state government that is so arrogant that it thinks it can walk into a community without consultation and make a decision to take away basic infrastructure without replacing it, without community consultation. I urge the state government to consult seriously with the local community about their needs and rethink the demolition of the Parramatta pool. Durack Electorate 171 17:55 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack I am pleased to rise today to outline some of what I want to achieve for my electorate of Durack this term and what I have achieved since I was elected as the member for Durack three years ago—not quite, actually. The prime reason I ran again as the Liberal for Durack was because I wanted to build on my good start. As people in this chamber may recall, I initially ran for the seat of Durack because I wanted to improve the quality of people's lives throughout the electorate. Durack, which is the second largest electorate in the world and largest electorate in this country, spans over 1.6 million square kilometres and includes over 300 towns and communities, from the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne to Mid West as well as a very large chunk of the Wheatbelt, which is having a sterling year this year—thank the lord. Durack is home to some of the most rural and remote towns not just in Australia but around the world. With remoteness comes great isolation and many social issues that are attached with isolation. The World Health Organization believes that by 2020 depression may be the second leading cause death, which is incredibly alarming for someone who represents such a large regionally focused but incredibly isolated electorate. The Turnbull government, as we know, is renowned for being proactive on a number of important economic issues, and we have heard that more recently with regard to innovation, science and technology. But what I particularly want to talk about today is that we are also focusing on other more important issues such as mental health. In the lead-up to the federal election in July, I campaigned on setting up a headspace for the Pilbara. I know I do not have to tell you, Acting Deputy Speaker Irons, that headspace is an incredibly important and incredibly valuable organisation which assists young people between the ages of 12 and 25 with their mental health, physical health, work and study, and also provides drug services and other more work-related services. In my electorate the two headspace centres—one in Broome and one in Geraldton—are both having a great impact on those towns but also on the region more generally. In the weeks leading up to the recent campaign, I travelled the Pilbara to cities and towns like Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman and Dampier, and over 200 people signed my petition to the government to open a headspace in the vast and isolated region of the Pilbara. The support I received during this mini campaign was overwhelming from mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, grandparents, friends and colleagues, who were all in complete support of my aim to have a headspace type of facility for the Pilbara. They all know young people who have been impacted by mental health issues and all want to lend their support, and for that I will be eternally grateful. When I met with people seeking support to have a headspace type of centre in the region, it reminded me that this is exactly why I decided to run for parliament—to improve the quality of people's lives so that they may have an opportunity to be the best that they can be. I am very proud of this government has made funds available to improve the quality of mental health services throughout regional Australia. I am very pleased to say that the youth organisation YIC, Youth Involvement Council, which is based in Port Hedland has some space in its beautiful new building. I had the pleasure of going there a couple of months ago for the opening of that. They have expressed some interest in accommodating headspace and, for that, I am very grateful as well. It would be terrific if we could just pull that off together and I am certainly working on that. I am very pleased to advise the House that I am one step closer to getting such a headspace centre opened in the Pilbara. I am due to meet the primary health network who is ultimately going to be the funder of such a service. I do not want to understate this: opening a headspace in the Pilbara region will have a profound impact on the young people's lives in the region, and also impact on their families' lives as well, with the potential to improve the culture that exists in the region. There were several election promises I made during the election campaign which I will work hard to ensure are delivered across Durack. Local drug and alcohol rehabilitation services will be boosted in Durack. As I announced in May, my electorate will share in some $20 million for improved drug rehabilitation services. This is part of this government's plan to combat the ice scourge across Australia. It is, as you know, is part of the government's National Ice Action Strategy that we announced in December. The Turnbull government's commitment to regional, rural and remote Australia is unrivalled in Australia's history. Only members on this side of the chamber understand the importance of regional, rural and remote Australia, and only members on this side of the chamber respect and deliver for regional, rural and remote Australia. I would like to give a couple of good examples of that. Earlier this month I confirmed the 11 heavy haulage safety upgrades which I had discussed during the course of the campaign. It is a long list, so if you could just bear with me, but it illustrates our commitment to improving the quality of roads in regional Australia. They include: the construction of a truck bay north of Northampton on the North West Coastal Highway, the construction of a truck bay area south of Geraldton, the construction of two designated truck rest areas with sealed surfaces and litter bins suitable for all weather conditions on the Midlands Road, the construction of two designated truck rest areas with sealed surfaces and bins on the Northam Pithara Road, widening the Ballidu-Pithara carriageway to eight metres sealed on a 10 metre formation to meet RAV 7 standards, the construction of a new road train assembly area adjacent to the town of Port Hedland's zoned area, the construction of six truck bays on the Great Northern Highway between Wubin and Kumarina, providing a truck rest area at the Calingiri-Wongan Hills Road, the construction of a sealed 250-metre heavy haulage bay with shelter to accommodate three or four triple road trains on the Goldfields Highway between Leinster and Wiluna—I know they be very happy to hear about that—and the installation of ablution facilities and formalising of a rest area on Nameless Valley Drive. Just in case you are wondering, yes, that is a real name of a road. Finally, there is upgrade of Harbour Road, including the reconstruction of subgrade and a pavement overlay linking the North West Highway to Carnarvon. It is a very long list, but all are very important. I can tell you that this infrastructure, of course, supports the local communities, supports the small businesses, in many cases supporting the farmers as well and, of course, tourists alike. We heard from the previous speaker about the importance of a community pool and I, too, have my own community pool story. Community pools, as we know, are important amenities for those of us in country Australia. The government recognises that. 'Hear, hear,' I say. That is why we are investing over $249,000 in the Halls Creek Aquatic and Recreation Centre. This investment will lead to the installation of a solar panel system which will lead to significant savings—you probably know there is a lot of sunshine in Halls Creek—and this is estimated to save over $30,000 a year. This will allow the centre to invest the savings to provide free entry for school children, which I think is a fabulous initiative, and to extend the centre's opening hours. This is terrific news for people in Halls Creek and also the surrounding towns. Additionally, I have secured $3 million towards the Geraldton Cathedral Precinct Project. The Geraldton cathedral is one of the top 100 cathedrals in the world, and this funding will ensure the completion of the project. The Geraldton cathedral is one of the great attractions in the Mid West in my electorate of Durack. I want to acknowledge Bishop Justin Bianchini for his dedication to this project and who, by the way, was my local parish priest when I was a child growing up in Kalgoorlie—which is by the by, just a little side story. He remembers me not so fondly, apparently. There has been a whole raft of achievements over the last three years, a few that I would just like to mention now. One is the Karratha Arts and Community Precinct, which is going to go ahead with a $10 million grant from the federal government. I am particularly proud of that, because in that community, I can tell you, there is nowhere a small girl could even do a ballet concert, so this is going to provide just an ordinary, regular type of infrastructure that most other people take for granted. So, I am very proud of that. In that precinct they will have a state-of-the-art library, a multifunctional theatre, a modern outdoor amphitheatre and a war memorial with great facilities. I am very honoured to have been re-elected as the member for Durack. I am 100 per cent dedicated to this electorate. I am determined to make it the best regional electorate in which to live, work and play. As the local member I offer a personal approach, together with a proven track record, to serve and deliver for our electorate of Durack, and long may I continue to do so. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 218019 I thank the member for Durack and appreciate her passion for her community. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder 173 18:05 Mrs SUDMALIS 241586 Gilmore I, like many others, when first coming to this House was completely bemused by the acronyms of the vast array of medical, educational and social issues that had not yet become part of my everyday life, although I was familiar with many that had already been on my local radar in one way or another. At some stage I heard this weird term—it sounded like 'FASDA'—but I never thought of it again until Dr Sharman Stone spoke to me about its meaning. Since then I have become acutely aware of the impacts of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD. Last Friday was the ninth day of the ninth month, the international awareness day for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Some will ask, 'Well, why is that so significant?' This has been a journey initially begun by the adoptive and foster parents of children with behavioural characteristics that were completely misunderstood as a disability rather than just the outward behaviour of naughty or uncontrollable children. These caring parents were concerned that drinking while pregnant, as an issue, was not gaining the momentum that was needed. These original advocates could not increase the awareness of the potential damage to a growing fetus from alcohol consumption quickly enough. Then one day a thought was born and shared: what if, at the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month of the year of 1999, we asked the world to remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should remain alcohol free? And what if we also asked the world to remember those millions of people who will never fulfil their genetic potential because of prenatal alcohol exposure? At this magic minute in history, could we begin to change the world? So, on this significant day, 9 September, I was asked to open a local forum in Nowra that was organised by Pam Arnold of the Nowra Family Support Service. Following Pam's acknowledgement to country, I spoke to the participants and acknowledged that while we absolutely respect the guardianship of our land by the First Australians we also need to develop a sense of guardianship for all children in Australia, including the strengthening of our social responsibility of raising awareness of the potential impact of alcohol consumption on unborn children. So, what exactly is this disorder? When a mother is pregnant, if she drinks alcohol there is a chance that the alcohol will pass through the placenta and affect the developing fetus. Sometimes this consumption can negatively affect the growing baby, either cognitively, behaviourally or in their neurodevelopment. The symptoms are highly individual, making diagnosis extremely difficult. Fetal alcohol syndrome is widely recognised to be the most extreme condition on the spectrum. Sadly, there is no cure, although if it is correctly diagnosed and then good management strategies are put in place then the impacts can be reduced for the life of that individual. The current research does not indicate whether there is a safe level of consumption, so the general advice is not to drink alcohol when you are pregnant. And there of course lies one of the problems: falling pregnant is not an event that is always planned. In rural and country areas, drinking and other drug consumption can sometimes be viewed as a recreational activity. Nonconsumption of alcohol during pregnancy would be greeted with the comment, 'You've got to be joking!' The research, however, is showing that binge drinking is particularly harmful, and it happens way too often. Many times conception actually occurs under exactly those circumstances. In May this year, an Australian FASD diagnostic instrument was listed as being available. It is described as a screening tool. The screening tool does not diagnose FASD; it simply identifies people who are at high risk of FASD, who would then be recommended for a diagnostic assessment. This is a major step forward, particularly if we can use the screening process with young children and then use intervention and management to assist them and their families. Some of the characteristics include low birth weight, smaller than average head circumference, internal organs such as the heart or liver being defective, external birth defects of the ears or the eyes, decreased muscle tone, uncoordinated sucking reflex and delays of gross and fine motor skills. Sometimes there are notable facial indicators, but in 90 per cent of affected babies that is not the case. FASD is often referred to as the invisible disability, frequently going undiagnosed. Other cognitive or neurodevelopmental indicators could include poor impulse control, inability to predict outcomes, slow auditory pace and deficits in spatial awareness. It really is important to acknowledge that these are symptoms and not behavioural problems. They are indicators of permanent and unchangeable brain damage and not always within the control of the child. By looking at such events in a child's life and perhaps learning of their mother's pregnancy behaviour, we may discover a completely different way of helping these affected children. This really is something we should check early for the sake of our children and our educators who may be struggling with children who are not conforming to the usual patterns of development and learning. I am greatly concerned that this disorder is by its very invisibility a creeping and growing problem, especially where we cannot convince our girls and young women that drinking alcohol and growing a baby in your womb are activities that really should not be done together. But, further to that, I have concerns about the way alcohol use is spreading across society, both here and across the globe. As I opened the forum on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Nowra to mark this international day of awareness, I remembered my time volunteering in India. When I first went, more than 20 years ago, I loved to see the roadside chai stalls, and especially to watch as they cooled the boiled milk pouring from the stainless steel cup to the shallow dish from a high outstretched arm's length, which is quite a feat of skill, pouring from one vessel to the other. However, over the years these chai stalls have gradually been replaced by carts selling alcohol. I shudder to think what that means for future generations of children in developing nations, as this change is not limited to India; it is an increasing consumption item in many places around the world. The growing use of alcohol in Australia and its impact on newborn babies was the subject of a parliamentary inquiry resulting in a report titled The hidden harm, and then in June 2014 the government released the National Strategy to Tackle Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, allocating $9.2 million to begin the battle with what is, in some of our Australian communities, the highest incidence of FASD or FAS harm in the world. Babies whose mothers consume alcohol when they are pregnant may be born with a range of these irreversible disabilities. I wish to work with my local advocacy teams and support services to examine which strategies are working, what else should be done and what are their priorities. Have we made any headway in the journey of reducing the incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder? It is important to get feedback from those very service providers who are directly working in the field and can give very strong, relevant and meaningful advice as to future and better directions. Another team member from the Nowra Family Support Service, Liz Payne, said fetal alcohol spectrum disorder was only recently being diagnosed in Australia. Studies have shown that some women consume large amounts of alcohol without any noticeable effects on their babies, and yet for others there are effects after just a few drinks. Liz Payne said it is like playing Russian roulette with your baby. Really, there is no safe period; it can happen to anyone at any time. There is a lot of misdiagnosis in the system. Many people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders end up in jail because they never change, and some are now raising their own children with ongoing issues surrounding drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is not something that can be cured, but it can be managed, provided we know of its existence. Staying away from alcohol during pregnancy is the key. Families and friends can also play an important role in supporting pregnant women by joining them in giving up alcohol during their pregnancy. This year's federal budget allocates an additional $10.5 million over four years to continue the FASD Action Plan, which identified priority areas for action to reduce the impact of the disorder across Australia. I take this opportunity congratulate the Nowra Family Support Service for their initiative in this very important community program of change. Now is the time to work together to raise awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome and its effects on families and the wider community. As the federal member for Gilmore I support our government's effort and continued funding of the FASD plan and welcome any assistance it will provide to such services as those provided by the Nowra Family Support Service. This booklet and these coasters are examples of raising local awareness. The idea is do not drink alcohol when you are pregnant. I look forward to seeing the positive results of this funding both locally and nationally, and I commend the hard work of our local service providers in the electorate of Gilmore. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 218019 There being no further grievances, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Federat ion Chamber adjourned at 18:15