2021-02-04 46 1 5 House of Reps 0 1

Thursday, 4 February 2021

The SPEAKER ( Hon. Tony Smith ) took the chair at 09:30, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.

 

COMMITTEES 1 COMMITTEES Intelligence and Security Joint Committee 1 Membership 1 09:31 The SPEAKER 00APG I have received a message from the Senate informing the House that Senator Paterson has been appointed a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. BILLS 1 BILLS Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Student Assistance and Other Measures) Bill 2021 1

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Student Assistance and Other Measures) Bill 2021

First Reading 1 Second Reading 1 09:32 Mr COULTON HWN Parkes I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill amends the Student Assistance Act to make it more consistent with the social security law in relation to tax file number collection and information management. The proposed changes, most of which involve machinery and technical amendments, are needed to improve the effective administration of Abstudy and the assistance for isolated children (known as AIC) schemes. These amendments do not place additional administrative burden on recipients. Abstudy helps Indigenous Australians to undertake study and training, from secondary school through to postgraduate study, many from remote areas, with study, living, and travel expenses. Many of these students must move away from home to study and the Abstudy scheme provides Indigenous students with financial assistance to do so. In 2019-20 the Australian government invested around $322 million in the Abstudy scheme. In 2020, around 27,000 students were assisted through the Abstudy scheme. AIC is an ongoing scheme that provides assistance to isolated families whose children cannot attend an appropriate state school due to geographic isolation, disability or other special needs. In 2019-20, the Australian government invested around $83 million in the AIC Scheme assisting around 13,000 students. The Abstudy and AIC schemes are administratively based programs. While the Student Assistance Act provides the legislative framework for Abstudy and AIC matters relating to tax file numbers and information management, the schemes operate in accordance with their respective policy manuals and guidelines. The primary changes to the Student Assistance Act address an anomaly where all people in receipt of Abstudy or AIC benefits, including primary school children, are required to provide Services Australia with a tax file number. The bill will remove this anomaly. The proposed amendments will align with the provisions applied to youth allowance and Austudy recipients by the Social Security (Administration) Act.This will mean that a tax file number will only be required when a person's income is being used to assess eligibility for Abstudy or AIC benefits. For instance, when assessing means tested boarding allowances for a student aged under 16, only the tax file number of the parents applying on behalf of the student will be required. For the AIC scheme, the tax file number of the student will never be required. In aligning with the social security law, the proposed amendments will also enable a person to request that the Commissioner of Taxation provides Centrelink with their tax file number directly for the purpose of AIC and Abstudy. This will reduce red tape and will mean that when a person does not know their tax file number they can make a request for their number through Centrelink. In summary, this bill strengthens the Student Assistance Act relating to Abstudy and the AIC schemes and provides clarification around the definition of social security law. It will reduce unnecessary red tape around the provision of tax file numbers and help the machinery of Services Australia function more efficiently. This bill strengthens our student support system so that it can focus on the important task of ensuring that Indigenous students and isolated students from across Australia have the opportunity to gain a first-class education. Debate adjourned. COMMITTEES 2 COMMITTEES Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights 2 Report 2 09:37 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Human rights scrutiny report: Report 1 of 2021. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Mr PERRETT HVP by leave—I am pleased to table the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights's first scrutiny report of 2021. As usual, this report contains a technical examination of legislation with regard to Australia's obligations under international human rights law—that is, flowing from treaties that the nation has ratified. In this report the committee considered 19 new bills and 191 new legislative instruments. The committee is seeking further information in relation to three new bills and has concluded its examination of three bills and six legislative instruments. In this report, the committee has concluded its consideration of the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court Amendment (Fees) Regulations 2020. This instrument increases the application fee for migration matters in the Federal Circuit Court by 483 per cent, increasing it from $690 to $3,330. The committee noted that such a significant increase could limit the right to access to justice, but considered that the fee waiver and exemption provisions—which could be 50 per cent or even down to zero—were sufficient to safeguard against an impermissible limitation in practice. However, Labor members have issued additional comments with respect to this Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court instrument. Labor members have noted that the court's migration division determines important matters of law in cases including claims for asylum due to religious persecution or claims for asylum due to torture and many other cases. The decisions the court makes have life-changing consequences. In some circumstances a practical denial of access to this court could be fatal for the applicant. Labor members are very concerned that raising application fees for migration matters in the Federal Circuit Court by such an extraordinary amount will deter applicants and prevent, in a real and practical sense, access to justice for those litigants. In addition, in this report, the committee issued concluding comments on the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020. The committee notes that the cashless welfare scheme limits several human rights, including the right to privacy and social security and including equality and nondiscrimination, and considers it unclear that the measure permissibly limits these rights. In particular the committee notes that the results of evaluations of the cashless welfare scheme raise significant questions as to whether it has been effective in achieving its stated objectives. Further, the committee considers that questions also remain as to whether the continuation of the cashless welfare card in trial or in an ongoing form constitutes a proportionate means by which to achieve the objectives of the scheme, noting, in particular, the difficulty for participants to be able to exit the program. The committee further notes the cashless welfare card disproportionately impacts on Indigenous Australians. Forty per cent of cashless debit card participants and 81 per cent of income management participants in the Northern Territory and Cape York identify as being Indigenous despite making up less than four per cent of the Australian population. The right of Indigenous peoples to be consulted about measures which impact on them is a critical component of free, prior and informed consent. The committee considers that questions remain as to whether the consultation undertaken in relation to the cashless debit card could be said to meet the requirements necessary to demonstrate that affected Indigenous participants were given the opportunity to provide their free, prior and informed consent to this measure for the purposes of international human rights law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I encourage all parliamentarians to carefully consider the full report. With these comments, I commend the report to the chamber. BILLS 2 BILLS Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020 2

Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020

Second Reading 2 09:41 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway I rise to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020, and I move: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House: (1) notes: (a) that despite the Coalition's promise to deliver a second-rate NBN for $29.5 billion, the cost is now forecast to be $57 billion; (b) despite the Coalition promising every Australian would have access to a minimum NBN speed of 25 megabits per second by 2016, up to 238,000 premises in 2021 still cannot get this minimum speed; (c) the shambles that is the deployment of HFC technology; and (d) that after spending seven years and $51 billion on the NBN, the Coalition Government has begun an embarrassing backflip from copper to fibre; and (2) calls on the Coalition Government to reign in its technological incompetence across every aspect of the NBN." The context of this bill, as set out in the explanatory memorandum, is that incorporated developers are currently prohibited from selling or leasing a new building lot or building unit if fibre-ready facilities have not been installed in proximity to the dwelling. This prohibition does not apply to unincorporated developers, as there had been legal uncertainty about what heads of power were available to the Commonwealth to regulate these entities. The purpose of this bill is to address the lack of enforcement tools and penalties when unincorporated developers fail to install fibre-ready duct and pipe infrastructure in new housing developments, unlike incorporated developers, who are subject to enforceable regulation. Without the necessary telecommunications pit and duct infrastructure, new houses cannot be connected to the National Broadband Network or other fibre telecommunications networks, and clearly this is not an acceptable outcome. Moving into a new home or estate is both an exciting and a stressful process. There is the excitement of starting afresh and, of course, the stress of sorting out any problems that arise. Very rarely, if ever, do Australians move into a new home and find that no-one has bothered to install the requisite electricity infrastructure. That scenario would strike us as somewhat ridiculous and effectively render the home unusable. Appropriately there are obligations on developers and planners to ensure such circumstances cannot occur. In the year 2021 we should find offensive the notion that some estates and developments are still being built without the most basic telecommunications pit-and-pipe infrastructure being installed. Regardless of whether this is intentional cost cutting by providers gaming the system or an unintentional lack of coordination around the provision of infrastructure, this is not a scenario federal or state governments should tolerate, given broadband is an essential service and our regulations have to treat it as such. It is important to note that the sizeable majority of developers do install pit-and-pipe infrastructure. However, complaints received from the occupants of some new developments indicate that some developers do not install pit and pipe. These are typically small and frequently unincorporated developers. It has been estimated that between 3,000 and 6,000 homes are built in Australia every year without pit and pipe, leading to delays and additional costs for the occupants of these newly-built premises. This amounts to an estimated one to 1.5 per cent of new houses every year. Fibre-ready facilities are key enabling facilities for the installation of fixed-line telecommunications networks. Such networks are increasingly important in allowing people in Australia to engage in the modern economy, with their importance underlined by the need for many people to stay, work and study at home because of the impact of COVID-19. People taking possession of new homes or businesses expect ready access to modern telecommunication services, but if fibre-ready facilities have not been installed there may be delays before such services are available and significant retrofitting costs. As a general rule of thumb, it is estimated to cost a developer between $600 to $800 to install pit and pipe during the construction phase of a new development project, and the developer can recover this cost when a property is sold or leased. These developments typically occur in broadacre estates and in the outer suburbs when new land is available. In some instances, it occurs when multiple dwellings are built on land that has been subdivided. However, if a developer fails to initially install this infrastructure, it typically costs an estimated $2,100 to remedy, depending on the amount of civil works required to retrofit pit and pipe, and delays can take months. This leads to waste, inefficiency and immense frustration for homeowners, home occupants and consumers, who rely on fast and reliable connectivity. In addition, the homeowner often faces the burden of fixing the problem and having no access to fixed-line broadband whilst this is done. In 2010, the Telecommunications Act 1997 was amended so that incorporated developers were required to install pit and pipe before selling a building or face a penalty. However, I understand provisions were not extended to unincorporated developers at that time due to the uncertainty within government agencies and the department about whether a Commonwealth head of power existed for unincorporated entities, which typically fall under the jurisdiction of the states and territories. Labor understands the department sought and received updated legal advice and no longer holds the same concern. What is clear is there must be incentives and penalties such that all developers take this obligation very seriously. Since 2011, the states have had an opportunity to provide these safeguards, but some states and territories have not taken adequate steps to address the non-supply of pit and pipe in new developments and consequently the issue remains persistent, albeit on a small scale. The bill before us proposes to amend part 20A of the Telecommunications Act to strengthen requirements for the installation of fibre-ready ducts in new property developments by extending to unincorporated developers the existing arrangements and penalties that currently apply to incorporated developers. The practical application of the act is that developers will have to install the necessary pit and pipe or risk a sizeable fine. It is largely up to the Australian Communications and Media Authority how it chooses to enforce the act. When the regulator is made aware pit and pipe hasn't been installed it has the ability to tell the developer to install or retrofit the required infrastructure; otherwise, the ACMA can take them to court under the act, where the developer faces a fine of up to $50,000. We have been advised this framework allows flexibility to be exercised for a graduated form of enforcement, where the developer is given an opportunity to remedy their non-compliance by retrofitting the required infrastructure. While states and the territories may not prefer the approach of federal regulation, some jurisdictions of these have failed to adequately address this issue themselves. And if the Commonwealth has a head of power to make a solution available, it is the view of Labor that this should be exercised. For these reasons, Labor will support passage of this bill. The proposals are sensible, and I hope and expect the introduction of these obligations will have a positive impact for the segment of households and families who are forced to deal with the frustration of basic infrastructure not being installed to their new residents. Over the years, my electorate office has assisted several constituents caught in this issue and, let me say, the process is quite messy in the absence of a clearly defined safeguard. I do genuinely hope the passage of this bill brings us very close to eliminating the number of instances where this problem arises altogether. While Labor is prepared to support the passage of this bill, let me be clear about what we will not give this government a leave pass on—that is, spending $57 billion on a second-rate copper NBN. If you want the Oxford definitions of 'incompetence' and 'waste', look no further than the Liberals, this hapless Minister for Communications and their technological omelette known as the NBN multitechnology mix. Let's do a quick go of the litany of failures. It is over budget. The Liberals, with great fanfare standing alongside a hologram of Sonny Bill Williams, promised they would deliver the NBN for $29.5 billion. It now costs $57 billion, nearly $30 billion over budget. We then have copper failing to deliver minimum speeds. The Liberals promised every Australian would have access to minimum speeds of 25 megabytes per second by 2016. We are now in the year 2021, five years on, and these minimum speeds are still not being delivered over the copper NBN network. According to reports, up to 238,000 households still cannot access minimum speeds, which are actually a requirement of both Australian law and the NBN Statement of Expectations. Then we have the fact that they have purchased enough copper to wrap around the planet Earth. This Liberal Party, the same Liberal Party who are on track to amass a trillion dollars in debt, have used taxpayers' money to purchase over 49,000 kilometres of new copper for the NBN. That is enough copper to wrap around planet Earth and then some. I have even heard they maxed out the copper supply in Australia, and they had to start importing copper from Turkey and Brazil. If you are a global copper trader, the Morrison government is your best friend. Then we have the HFC mess. Who can forget when Malcolm Turnbull and now Minister Fletcher said that the HFC technology would be the great game changer? It most certainly did change the game, but for all the wrong reasons. Never has the rollout of network technology in Australia been such an utter shambles. The NBN HFC rollout is the most uneconomical and, arguably, the most unreliable in the entire world. There is a good reason why the former NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow wanted to toss the entire HFC footprint in the bin, and there is a good reason Mike Quigley and his management team also rejected the use of HFC when Labor was in government. After talking it up as the best thing since sliced bread, the Liberals had to scrap the Optus HFC network because it was not fit for purpose—a total humiliation. Then they had to pause the rollout of the remaining HFC network some years later because the technology was so unreliable. Turning on your vacuum cleaner was enough to cause the internet to drop out. Just this week, we found out that NBN Co will pause activations on the HFC network because they've run out of chips for their modems. What a mess. No wonder Launtel, a Tasmanian ISP, wrote a blog last week referring to the HFC as a 'dog's breakfast' and singling it out as the most unreliable technology on the NBN network. This brings me to the performance of NBN during lightning storms. We've been getting reports from the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury regions and parts of greater Sydney and outer Melbourne that fibre-to-the-kerb modems on the NBN have literally been getting fried during lightning storms, with some households requiring up to six modem replacements and technicians having to visit their premises each time. There has been an unacceptable lack of transparency on this issue, but, from what we understand, lightning is causing a voltage surge down the copper line and into the modem. The Liberals had one job: to not stuff up fibre to the kerb like they stuffed up everything else. This entailed ensuring the electronics and vendor equipment used to deliver the service were fit for purpose and had adequate surge protections. If storms are capable of blowing up six consecutive NBN modems, then something is not right. To sum all this up, we have a copper network that is so defunct it still can't deliver the minimum speeds required by law. We have an HFC network that is arguably one of the biggest and most expensive telecommunications debacles in the entire history of the world. We have modems blowing up because of lightning surges down copper lead-in cables. Do it once, do it right and do it with fibre. Had the Liberals simply followed this path, Australians would have a faster and more reliable network at far less cost to the taxpayer. It's little wonder we have a dud NBN today, whose cost is forecast now to reach $57 billion—that's $30 billion over budget—and whose rollout is running more than four years behind schedule. It is no wonder that the Liberals now find themselves backflipping on copper towards the original fibre-to-the-premises plan. It only took them seven years, $50 billion and a worldwide health pandemic to realise that fast and reliable internet might actually be a good thing. The SPEAKER 00APG Is the amendment seconded? Mr Conroy 249127 I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak. 09:54 Mr RAMSEY HWS Grey After listening to the shadow minister, I must say that was a very glass-half-empty summation of the National Broadband Network. We have actually come a very long way here in Australia. I don't want to spend the whole of my allotted time going back through a potted history of this, but when we arrived in government the contractor that had been engaged to roll out the National Broadband Network in my home state of South Australia had actually gone through the hoop, as they had also done in Western Australia. The place was in shambles. It was the incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who originally said he would roll out a National Broadband Network for $4 billion. In that period, $2 billion was actually collected that had been set aside in the Telecommunications Future Fund for future telecommunications purposes in regional Australia. There have been a lot of cost blowouts along the pathway. It's been left to this government to pick up the pieces and plough on and get this job done. The NBN is largely complete now. Certainly it is complete in my electorate of Grey, where around 50 per cent of premises have access to the National Broadband Network. Other premises, for all kinds of reasons, have not made that move yet. Some were happy with the arrangements that were in place before, and some are happy with receiving their network connection via their mobile phone services. There are a plethora of things in that space. Of course, as this rollout has gone along, the technologies have been moving very quickly. We are all watching very carefully what is happening with the rollout of the 5G network, which is, of course, another private network which will be competing at the top end. There's a lot of interest in my part of the world in the launch of a new satellite system. New low, polar-orbiting satellites are likely to provide yet another platform for the distribution of telecommunications across the world. Perhaps in the next six, eight or 10 years that technology may even fill in all the spots where we have mobile phone difficulties now. It is a fast moving space. There's a lot of investment that is at risk here and, as always, there is the risk of technologies being overtaken in time. There are no simple answers when it comes to rolling out the NBN network, but I'd have say that in my electorate it's been pretty successful. I think you can probably monitor the way government policies and achievements are interacting with the community by the feedback that comes into our local members' offices. I can certainly tell you that in the early days of the NBN rollout we were getting a lot of people contacting my office, particularly from the areas where satellite is the platform that provides the connection to my constituents. But, as the satellite has improved its performance and as the size of the packages have been ramped up and prices have come down, I get less and less contact, almost on a daily basis. We are just not hearing the general public complaining about the NBN. So when I hear the shadow minister stand up and list her grievances I wonder how hard she had to work to find them, quite frankly, because it isn't the kind of feedback I'm getting at ground level. I think part of the skill of being a member of parliament is being able to assess public opinion by the feedback you're getting in your offices. Neither am I hearing it being raised around party room backbench committees as one of the key problems that we're facing with telecommunications in Australia. More often than not, we are still discussing black spots when it comes to mobile phone networks. That seems to be of more interest to my constituents than their ability to connect to the internet. The Isolated Children's Parents' Association, an organisation that I've had quite a bit to do with on an ongoing basis, have reported that people's lives have been changed by the satellite connections that are now available for School of the Air students. That's a great development. Even when I was in opposition I said that the purchase of the two new satellites specifically for the purpose of rolling out the NBN to remote Australia was one of the real pluses of what the previous administration, the Labor Party, had done. I thought that was the part of the NBN network they actually did get right. It was delivered pretty much on budget and on time and, after those teething problems, has really been put to work. Coming to the essence of the legislation before us today, the amendment, I have had contact over time with people who have purchased land in new developments only to find that it's their job to get the NBN connected. Why on earth wasn't the hardware already in the ground so they didn't have to go through the expensive process of bringing it a long distance to their block? Of course, the existing legislation allows for incorporated bodies—these are the larger developers—to be caught up in the compulsion to do so. But there is the smaller end of the game—the unincorporated, somebody who might have a block. It might be a builder who has a block of land and decides to subdivide it into five or 10 different allotments and then starts selling them off and perhaps putting spec homes on them. This has been a hole in the system, so it makes sense that we should move at this time to fix up that anomaly. Anybody buying a house in a greenfield site would expect, almost without asking the question—in fact, certainly without asking the question—that they would have reasonable access to the NBN network. So buying their land only to find out that they might be challenged with laying a kilometre of pipe work to get it to their block comes as an enormous shock. It's something that needs to be fixed, and I congratulate the minister for getting on with the job. Really, it's the nuts and bolt of government. Now, the opposition have moved an amendment to this, but, when push comes to shove, I expect that they will support this because it makes sense. Their amendment is couched more in terms of scoring a political point. I guess that happens on a regular basis in this place, but actually we should focus on what it is we're trying to achieve here. I'm pleased with the changes. I think it will do what it needs it do. I'm pleased with the NBN rollout. I'm pleased that it's largely complete across Australia. I'm certainly pleased that it's complete across my patch, and there have been announcements made for the upgrading of both Whyalla and Port Lincoln to a fibre network in the parts of those cities that are requiring higher speeds. That was always a likely development of the rollout of the NBN. Rather than poke fibre down every road, as had been the initial plan, the plan is actually to upgrade the sections when the need is identified. On any level, overbuilding for something that may never be used because it may be superseded by a later technology has some risk in it, and we've managed to avoid those risks. I think that, given the state of the rollout that we faced when we came to government, our government has made a very fair fist of getting the NBN network rolled out across Australia. I'm pleased with it. I'm pleased with this legislation. I'm very happy to support it. 10:03 Mr HUSIC 91219 Chifley There was some advice or an observation given by the member for Grey to the effect that we would support this resolution because it just made common sense. I want to pick up on that commonsense element. Instead of the coalition deciding, for political purposes, to up-end the whole model of the NBN rollout as it was put out back in 2010, it would have made common sense to fibre up all premises. It would have made sense not to buy enough copper to wrap around the globe just in an effort to differentiate themselves politically on the issue of the NBN. It would have made common sense if, all for the sake of political expediency, the coalition had decided not to treat as second-class citizens—which many in Western Sydney have felt themselves to be—all those residents who have been lashed onto an HFC network that doesn't deliver. And it would have made sense if they'd done this right the first time and not spent billions and billions on top of what they'd already committed, in the end flying the white flag and admitting they had stuffed this up and, in the process, slowed down the rollout, cost us more and delivered a worse product to us. It would have made utter common sense if the coalition had done it right the first time, and they didn't. As has been highlighted by the shadow minister in the amendment to this bill, we are absolutely making the point that this should have been done right the first time. They promised to deliver this second-rate NBN for $29½ billion; now it's forecast to be nearly double that, at $57 billion. What happened with the rollout is an unbelievable waste of money. As the amendment indicates, they promised that every Australian would have access to a minimum NBN speed of 25 megabits per second by 2016. Up to 238,000 premises in 2021 still can't get that minimum speed, despite what was promised. As the amendment indicates, we had the shambles of the deployment of the HFC network, and, after spending seven years and $51 billion on the NBN, the government has now had to do this embarrassing backflip from copper to fibre. This has been the problem with the way that the coalition has approached politics for the last 10 years. There was such a massive reaction to this issue. I think even the coalition were caught by surprise at how many people reacted to their decision. It wasn't met with relief by the broader public; it was met with astonishment, and rightly so. In 2010, the coalition knew they'd stuffed up the rollout of broadband in this country. Under the Howard government, nearly 20 plans failed. When Labor announced in opposition and then in government that we would roll out fibre, the coalition saw how popular that was. They went out of their way not to absolutely oppose the NBN but to kill it by stealth; they basically bear-hugged it and choked it to death. This was the way they undertook their opposing view of the NBN. They tried to use HFC to buy in more copper; they tried to do anything other than what Labor did—it was just for the sake of politics. Too many public policy issues in this country have been driven by the coalition's desire to make itself look different, not to support stuff that's common sense, as the member for Grey said—which the government now tells us is common sense and which we should support. At the time, we said it made perfect sense. We didn't just rush this in. We knew that people expected a modern network that would support the growth of the economy, that would deal with the growth of data use and that would deliver what people wanted. We said all of that back at that time, and they said, 'No, we've got a better way.' But it wasn't a better way, and they knew in their heart that it wasn't a better way. They believed that all these things would happen, and they didn't. All we've seen from the fibre-to-the-node prospect that the government put forward is it inching closer and closer to households to deliver exactly what we said: fibre would go up a street and right into a home and would deliver a modern communications network that families and businesses could rely upon. And they refused to do it. On this issue, on climate change, on fiscal policy, and on debts and deficits—all the stuff that you hear conservatives go on about and say, hand on heart, that they believe in and think they've got an alternative—they never have an alternative. They always mislead the public with the positions that they take. They think they can do things differently, and they always crab walk to the commonsense position in the broader public that everyone knows has to happen. Everyone knows that we should have delivered on fibre. Everyone knows what they were doing when they were wheeling out their debt trucks and going all over the country politicking. Everyone knows that these people couldn't deliver. In fact, the debt and deficit ballooned under their watch. Everyone knows we should be getting to a smarter point on climate change and finding better ways to generate energy without having the emissions growth that we've seen and that we should start tackling. They always said they could do better, and they never could. We have been victim to the coalition's politicking, the hard Right in their party room and the way they've gone about. We waste all this taxpayer money, we waste all this time and we see ordinary members of the Australian public being forced to suffer the political games of the coalition. The NBN is an absolutely classic example of that. This mob opposite doesn't care about the Australian public. What they care about more than anything else is power, and the way to get power is to score those political points, and it doesn't matter who suffers as a result. They wasted nearly double what should have been spent on the NBN. When you look at the time we lost and the opportunities that were forsaken as a result of it, you see that it is an absolute shambles, and they should be held to account for it. It is the job of Labor to keep reminding the public that, when it comes to delivering for the Australian people, the coalition is more interested in delivering for themselves—delivering themselves into power so that they can sit in the plush seats, do nothing and waste taxpayer money. The ordinary people of the country have to pay the bill for it. I'm absolutely happy to support the amendment moved by the member for Greenway, the shadow minister for communications, because it is an opportunity for us to point these things out. In my neck of the woods, in Western Sydney, I have residents who live around Colebee who, many years ago, were able to benefit early through a fibre-to-the-premises deployment undertaken by Telstra. At the time, this fibre-to-the-premises deployment delivered great download speeds and, because of the configuration, upload was better than what was available at the time. But developments have accelerated and now people are able to find much better ways of getting upload speeds that meet the modern requirements of the community. However, that Velocity network has not kept pace with consumer expectation. In my area, I have had constituents approach me, concerned about the fact that they've got only one network that they can rely upon. There's very little competition and choice to go to alternative providers. The only technological choice that they've had is to rely on 4G or 5G. And, while these networks do provide a better service, they cost a lot of money if you want to access them. For a lot of people in my area, relying on a mobile network to manage their data needs is just unrealistic, and it's too expensive, frankly—they just can't pay for it. Especially through the pandemic, people have been working at home a lot more. People in the IT sector have much higher requirements, not just for downloaded data but for pushing it out, and they need the network to be capable of managing that. They just can't use a mobile network, and it's just not realistic to advise them to use a 5G network to do that, even though it's being rolled out in our area and people are very happy, in many respects, with that rollout. I've been at Telstra to do something about this issue for some time, and I have to express a bit of surprise that, apparently, in the last few months, they've decided to sell their Velocity network. It would have been good to have known in advance that that's what they were doing. They've now onsold that network to someone else to manage. I want to give voice to the concerns of my constituents and their absolutely reasonable expectation that they would have a modern fibre network in their area that could meet their needs and, importantly, that they could have choice. For many years, particularly in the telecommunications sector, consumers have had the ability to choose a provider that satisfies what they want and meets their quality expectations. They should have that choice. They've only ever had Telstra. Telstra has provided a good service for many years, and I speak as someone who lives in that area and has had that service provided. But other consumers who live in that area have had a different opinion. It is absolutely their prerogative to make a choice, but they haven't been able to. So we will wait to see what the new owner of the network in that residential estate will be able to do with the network. On behalf of the people that I represent in my part of Western Sydney, it is important that I flag to the House that they need, and understandably expect, more. They should see a better network. They should see that it moves with the times. They should see that an investment is made to ensure that their expectations on upload speeds can be met so that they can work from home, they can do their job and they can contribute. The network as it stands at the moment did a great job for many years; it can't provide it anymore. We do need to see that. The reason why it's a problem is that, with the network as it stands at the moment, NBN would either purchase it outright and upgrade it at some point in time or stick with it. Either way, it is going to require some sort of build, some sort of upgrade, and it may present, potentially, some sort of inconvenience to residents that have relied upon that Velocity network for some time. People in the Colebee area need to be given a clear signal: What's going to happen to the network? Will there be an upgrade? Can they expect better service? When will this happen? What disruption will there be? I think the residents of the area have been very patient and very decent about it, but they are right to expect a better deal, and they haven't been getting it so far. It would have been great if residents in our area had got the NBN sooner. It would have been excellent if they had got that purchase between Telstra and the NBN done sooner, so that we had seen a potential upgrade years ago. It didn't happen. There's no point crying over spilt milk. The biggest signal I want to send is: enough is enough. Colebee residents have been patient. Colebee residents have been able to use that network up until this point, but they do, rightly, expect a better network, and it should be delivered to them. 10:16 Ms SHARKIE 265980 Mayo I rise to speak in support of the Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020, which extends to unincorporated developers the requirement for incorporated developers to install functional fibre-ready facilities on building sites. It's worth pointing out that the majority of developers do the right thing, but some don't. According to government, there are around 3,000 premises a year that are sold or leased without the pits and pipes for telecommunication cabling. Some of these premises have actually been in my electorate—not many, but, for those who have saved up to buy their first home or even their retirement home, the additional expense of having to spend thousands to connect it to telecommunications is distressing and, for some, something that they just can't do. While I've not experienced the same level of stress, I do appreciate the frustration. When I opened my satellite office at Victor Harbor some 18 months ago, the NBN infrastructure was not installed. We had to wait six months to connect telecommunications to the premises, and the contractors had to dig up the footpath. I'm advised that the cost to a developer of installing pit and pipe during construction is estimated to be between $600 and $800, yet the average cost to a new homebuyer of retrofitting pit and pipe is estimated at $2,100. That figure can easily climb to thousands of dollars if more civil work is required. Most states and territories have planning requirements for pit and pipe. Tasmania and South Australia do not, and they have had time to rectify this. This legislation partly addresses that oversight. The message now needs to go out to unincorporated developers. Australians consider telecommunications to be an essential service in their homes, almost as important as water, sewage and electricity. In fact, in my electorate and many other electorates declared high bushfire risk, when the power is switched off on a catastrophic fire danger day, having access to telecommunications is considered to be critical for public safety. Two areas in my electorate—Kangaroo Island and the Adelaide Hills—were devastated by the Black Summer bushfires last fire season. Just last week, another heavily populated area of the hills—bounded by Cherry Gardens, Mylor, Bradbury and Echunga—was on fire and facing the prospect of a major disaster when they were saved by the wettest January day in South Australia's recorded history. When I went to the community fire information meeting at Echunga Football Club, my community wanted to know why they lost mobile phone coverage and internet in the early hours of the morning, when the situation was critical. It's hard to explain to people making life-and-death decisions that the mobile network is not covered by the Universal Service Guarantee, that batteries run out of power and that, if you have fibre-to-the-node NBN, you will lose phone and internet access as soon as the power is switched off. Since being elected to office, I've strongly advocated on behalf of my community to find solutions. I've introduced private members' bills that led to policy change so that when new base stations are funded under the Mobile Black Spot Program at least 12 hours of battery life is provided. And I've advocated for the continuation of the Mobile Black Spot Program, a bespoke solution to the Cherry Gardens area, which isn't eligible for black spot funding, even though access to mobile and internet is extremely poor. I also continue to advocate for copper network replacement and upgrades to areas in my community where they cannot get their landline to work, their fire damaged landline replaced or their fibre-to-the-node service to deliver a minimum of 25/5 standard because the copper is so degraded. These issues affect the copper network inside and outside Telstra's responsibility. Telstra receives $230 million a year to maintain the copper network, outside of the NBN fixed-line footprint. They have less to maintain, so my question is: what do they do with all of that money? Why, a year down the track, do I still have constituents in bushfire affected areas without landlines who have been warned that they may never have their copper replaced? I also question how much of the billions announced in NBN Co's latest corporate plan is going towards upgrading old and degraded copper in their fixed-line footprint so premises can actually receive the minimum NBN standard. It would be interesting to know if NBN actually received a detailed assessment of the copper it inherited in the fibre footprint when it was handed over from Telstra. I'm advised that NBN Co expects to provide additional detail on the upgrade criteria for fibre-to-the-node areas in the first quarter of this year. My electorate is a region with one of the highest percentages of satellite. There are nearly 2,000 premises, in the hills within 25 kilometres of the Adelaide post office, that have been allocated satellite. Satellite is a technology that is much maligned, and early experience of satellite didn't help its reputation. But I do appreciate the chagrin of many in my community who live within a 20-minute commute of the major capital city and yet can only access satellite, which has always been described as the technology of remote Australia. Telecommunications is an essential service. Western Australia is battling its own bushfire disaster right now, and the hearts of all Australians are with them as they are caught up in this catastrophe. Based on previous experiences from bushfires in my community and in the communities around our nation, I know that poor and failing telecommunications will be a perennial complaint. The government is acting to make telecommunications more resilient, with the $37-million Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters package, but more needs to be done. We need longer-lasting batteries on our mobile phone towers, and we need to continue to address mobile phone black spots and find bespoke communications solutions for different communities. Through my advocacy and the advocacy of the state government member for Davenport, Stephen Murray, we have secured funding to upgrade a mobile phone infrastructure that's going to be erected on a new NBN wireless tower in Cherry Gardens. We cannot guarantee that the telecommunications won't fail or be destroyed by major disasters, but we can work together to make our infrastructure more resilient. I commend the bill to the House. 10:23 Dr MULINO 132880 Fraser I rise to echo the sentiments of the shadow minister for communications and the member for Chifley, who spoke earlier and very eloquently on the Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020. As they've indicated, this bill does put forward provisions that are, in a sense, a sensible step forward. But in another sense there's a profound irony to this bill, a profound irony that even nonexperts in telecommunications, engineering or economics would very quickly grasp. This bill is basically making the point that, if there is a new development, it would make sense to install pit and pipe at the point of construction for a cost of around $600 to $800 rather than failing to do that and going in and rebuilding the construction at a significantly higher cost of, on average, as I understand it, $2,100. Any of us who have undertaken any kind of minor repairs around the house or a renovation or built anything from scratch understand, at a very basic level, that, if you're going to do something, do it right the first time. It always costs more to come in after the fact and re-engineer something. So, at this very basic, household level, I think any of us understand this very basic concept. It is scary that those opposite don't understand the profound irony in bringing to this place a bill which reflects that very basic concept, when we have seen on a national scale the politicisation of a project which had broad support across telecommunications experts, across engineers and across the economists who looked at the business case of this project. We have failed to do at the national level what makes so much sense at the household level. At the national level we didn't do what makes common sense and build the thing correctly from the start. At the national level we've had a government in power for a scarily long period of time—they are well into their third term—that, time and time again, has grasped for any way to differentiate from what was a very sensible path forward. We have seen the government grasp for any way to undermine the project that they inherited, to change direction even when it flew in the face of expert advice. I won't go off into the many other areas of policy where this government has flown in the face of expert advice—that is something we've talked about at considerable length already this week and will continue to. But in this area it is absolutely tragic that, because of this government's pig-headedness and its politicisation of this project, we as a nation have done exactly the opposite of what is such common sense at the household level. So yes, when it comes to a new household development we support doing the low-cost solution—building it right the first time. We implore the government, even after their many botched attempts to change direction for political reasons, to take the advice from this point forward and invest in the NBN for the benefit of the nation in the least cost and highest output way. I understand that, as the shadow minister for communications, the member for Greenway, mentioned earlier, around 3,000 to 6,000 homes are built in Australia every year without pit and pipe. That is unacceptable. We support regulatory measures that will reduce that number, of course we do. As I said, there is some irony in this government's bringing this bill to this place and pontificating about the need to do things right the first time. In supporting this bill, we will also continue holding the government to account for its many macro failings when it comes to the NBN over the past decade. It has spent tens and tens of billions of dollars more than was necessary on what is in practice today a far, far less effective telecommunications network then it ought to have been. Let's go back to the vision of the NBN. The NBN was about Australia embracing the digital future. The NBN was about Australia taking advantage of all the productivity benefits of the digital opportunity for the benefit of today's and future generations. What were the values, the guiding principles that underpinned our response to that? One was access for all, one was opportunity for all, and one was improving quality of life. Those guiding principles were for access to telecommunications, for access to all of the productivity benefits for the opportunity for business growth and for quality-of-life improvements to be shared across the country, no matter geography, income level or background. Those were the underpinning principles. This bill reinforces some of the key failings of this government's approach, because it is exactly the kinds of people who are most adversely affected by these kinds of situations—those people in outer suburbs and in regional communities—who are failing to get their house built correctly the first time. These are exactly the kinds of people who would have benefited from a stronger adherence to those guiding principles of access, opportunity and improvements in quality of life for all. It is exactly the people in these new communities—outer suburban communities, regional communities—who are missing out because of this government's implementation of the NBN. There were long-term trends underway in our economy and our society that boosted the case for the NBN: the fact that our economy was becoming more digital, the fact that telecommunications between people and between businesses was becoming more important, the fact that sharing huge amounts of data was becoming important and that video was becoming so important. These trends were underway long before the NBN was commissioned by the Rudd and Gillard governments and were a key rationale for it, and that was the opportunity we wanted to take advantage of. Of course, what we've seen in this COVID era is an acceleration of a lot of those trends, and that is what we often see during times of economic disruption. In the case of health we've seen the move towards telehealth. In the case of education we've seen an acceleration of the trend towards remote education. This has reinforced the importance of the NBN but it has also, tragically, reinforced the failings of the government's approach. Connection between businesses has never been more important, and the NBN, as a fundamental utility in our society, is akin to the payment system and its relationship to the financial system. It is absolutely imperative that we get it right. So many businesses in Australia need to connect remotely, not just to consumers within Australia but globally. COVID has shown the importance of those connections. It has also shown the remarkable opportunities there are, and this NBN, as botched by this government, is not giving our businesses the opportunities they deserve. There's of course the absolute need for communication access for social purposes, for people to be able to communicate with family and other loved ones and friends around the country and the globe. It's needed for telehealth, as I mentioned earlier, for remote education and for so many other services. The NBN is going to underpin access to so many services for so many people. But, again, this bill highlights how the government has botched it for so many people: people in the outer suburbs, people in regional communities—people who aren't getting access. These are often people who are the most isolated to start with. And of course there's working from home. It is again something that was already happening in our society, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated that trend. This government's botched implementation of the NBN has reduced the opportunities for many, particularly those who were already the most disadvantaged, particularly for those who were already the most isolated. We know that too many Australians have been left digitally isolated by this government's approach to the NBN. Before the pandemic struck, the ABS estimated there were up to 1.3 million Australian households not accessing broadband at home. That's not a random scattering of households across the country, it's not just 1.3 million households here and there; that's 1.3 million households that would be disproportionately from low-income areas, outer suburbs and regional areas. These are the people who needed the NBN the most. This government's botched implementation has left them isolated. There are many households not using ADSL, many not using the NBN and many not using wireless broadband. We can go back to the very start of this government. I quote the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Abbott: 'The government is going to invest $43 billion worth of hard-earned money in what I believe is going to turn out to be a white elephant on a massive scale.' So he was a climate denier and also a digital denier at the time. That really underscored the approach that the government have taken throughout. They never embraced this project with any enthusiasm. To the extent that they have implemented this project, it has always been with an eye to the politics. It has always been with an eye to differentiating it from the project they inherited, but without any rationale on the basis of economics, engineering or telecommunications expertise. That's why, time and time again, they've botched it. That's why this project is running tens of billions of dollars over budget yet is underperforming for so many Australians who are most in need. I don't have time to run through the many technical aspects that the shadow minister ran through so well in her contribution—as indeed did the member for Chifley—but, as they both alluded to, never before have copper traders had it so good. It's an interesting point of contrast with the 18th century Royal Navy, which pioneered the use of copper sheathing to protect the underwater hulls of ships from salt water and biofouling. What we have when it comes to case studies of the use of copper is the 18th-century Royal Navy, in the 1700s, trying to improve ships and protect them from salt, and the Morrison government in 2021. I'll leave you to guess which of those was at the cutting edge of technology and which of those was not at the cutting edge of technology. It is an embarrassment that we are world-leading purchasers of copper wire. The solution was clear almost a decade before this government came to power. They changed direction not for any good policy reason but for politics alone. The shadow minister talked at length about the HFC disaster and the multiple backflips we've seen by multiple ministers in that space. And of course there are modems and lightning surges, and the list goes on and on. We can run through all of those technical deficiencies, but, without surprise, we end up with a cost blow-out of tens of billions of dollars and many hundreds of thousands of Australians who don't have access. There are many hundreds of thousands of Australians who can't get the minimum speeds this government promised. Many hundreds of thousands of Australians who are already isolated are missing out on the opportunities this government should have realised and should have given them. It's a shame this government can't see the profound irony of this bill. This bill is trying to remedy the situation at the household level. Of course it makes sense if it costs $800 to build a connection at the point of construction to do it when you're building a new house and not a year later when it costs $2,100. It's a profound irony and a profound tragedy for our country that this government can't see that the same argument applies nationally. If you're going to build the NBN nationally, do it right the first time. Don't spend a decade grasping for political changes for the benefit of the minister's media releases in a way that's going to cost tens of billions of dollars extra and reduce the functionality. This is a classic case of what applies at the household level applies to the bigger picture. At the household level if you do it right the first time you avoid, on average, an extra $1,300 in costs. Unfortunately, at the national level the additional costs, both in terms of lost opportunity and extra expenditure, have been far more than $1,300. 10:37 Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 Lyons I'm pleased to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020. The purpose of this bill is to address the lack of enforcement tools and penalties when unincorporated developers fail to install fibre-ready duct and pipe infrastructure in new housing developments. I'll be pleased to speak to the shadow minister's second reading amendment further on. This bill seeks to amend part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 to extend the current regulations for incorporated developers to all developers. These regulations were originally introduced in 2010. It's now 2021. There was some uncertainty at the time about how regulations could be applied to unincorporated developers, so they were left out. We're 11 years down the track and we still have the problem. The infrastructure department now has updated legal advice that confirms this regulation is applicable to unincorporated developers. It's now time for us to ensure the standards for 21st century infrastructure are consistent and up to date. Without telecommunications pits and ducts, new houses cannot be connected to the National Broadband Network or other fibre telecommunications networks. While most developers do install pit-and-pipe infrastructure as standard practice, some smaller unincorporated developers do not and have not been compelled to do so. Under the 2010 regulations, incorporated developers must install this infrastructure or they will face significant fines. This bill seeks to extend these regulations and penalties to all developers. It has been seven years into the term of this government before action has been taken. Under the current piecemeal regulation, the government estimates that around 3,000 new homes are left without this infrastructure every year, which is around 1½ per cent of new homes. Now, 3,000 new homes nationally in the scheme of things is not many in toto, but that is of small comfort to those 3,000 homeowners, many of them young people, who discover they don't have NBN infrastructure preinstalled in their new homes. Just imagine the situation. You've got your new home, you're excited, you've shaken hands upon signing the mortgage, you've made the commitment. You've bought the new home. You move in with your partner, unpack the boxes and unpack the TV and the computers, plug everything in, ring up your ISP and say, 'I want the NBN connected,' and they say: 'Sorry, no way. It can't be done, you don't have the NBN connected in your new home, in your new suburb, in your new estate.' You say: 'What? This is a 21st-century home. How can I not have the NBN connected or preinstalled?' 'It hasn't been done.' 'Well, how do I do it?' 'It's going to cost you 2½ grand—$2,100—and we'll be there when we can.' So, weeks or months after moving into your new home, you finally get the NBN. There are no connections at home until they get around to it. It's just disgraceful. But this has been the situation under seven years of this government, and it is only getting around to fixing it now. Furthermore, it costs the developer between $600 and $800 to install the necessary infrastructure during the construction phase. It's a cost that they can easily recover from the purchasers. If you're buying a new home in a new estate for between $350,000 and probably $550,000 or $600,000, depending on where you are, $600 or $800 on top of the mortgage isn't going to break the mortgage. It's amortised over the life of the mortgage. It's not difficult to do and it's cost-effective for the developer. They can get the trenchers in and use the excavation materials to get it all done in one go. If the home's built, the gardens are landscaped and everything's in, the walls are plastered up, and then they come in to do the install of the infrastructure, it's costing that homeowner—as well as the inconvenience—more than $2,000 to have that work done. And they can't put that on the mortgage. They've got the mortgage there. The $2,000 has to come out of their wages, out of whatever savings they've got. I tell you what, Mr Deputy Speaker, young homeowners who have mortgages these days of $500,000 to $600,000 don't have a lot of money in savings, on the flat wages they've suffered under this government. So finding $2,000 for an NBN connection is no easy task. It's an unnecessary burden that could have been easily fixed and which should have been dealt with years ago, but, as is so often the case with this government, why deal with a problem when it can be put off into the never-never? Access to the NBN is a critical part of modern life, especially after a year when we have seen the importance of being able to work and study from home and when, increasingly, a lot of employers, if not directing their staff to work from home, are certainly encouraging it because they have seen the cost benefits that arise. Connecting all new homes to NBN infrastructure as a standard element of the building process will ensure that the quality of housing is improved, over time, with the latest technology. We know it will cost more in the long run for both homeowners and governments if this infrastructure is not installed at the construction phase. The member who spoke before me, Dr Mulino, made the very good point that there's a metaphorical link between what's happening here with homeowners and what should have happened with the NBN on the national level originally. Do it once, do it right, do it the first time. My office has dealt with many, many NBN complaints since I was first elected in 2016. Too many times I have had to go in to bat for my constituents because no-one would take responsibility for the lack of necessary infrastructure. A lot of the complaints I've had to deal with have been about the fixed wireless network—the lack of coverage and the poor response rates. But, as new estates are being built in my electorate, I am getting requests for intervention on matters such as this. Councils say they are powerless to act; developers shrug their shoulders and say they're acting within the law; and ministers give my office the run-around. Meanwhile, it's new homeowners who suffer, having to shell out north of $2,000 for what should have been a $600 or an $800 addition amortised into a 30-year mortgage. So, to highlight just how important it is that all developers are required to install the pit-and-pipe infrastructure, I'd like to take a moment to tell you about one of my constituents, Alex. Alex first contacted me in August 2018. He'd purchased a new home in a development at Longford in Tasmania's Northern Midlands. In March 2018, shortly after moving in, Alex realised the developer had not connected the NBN to his new home, so he contacted my office to ask about the process to get the infrastructure installed. Alex discovered that the entire subdivision, not just his own home, had been completed without the necessary infrastructure for NBN internet connection—a connection desert in the Northern Midlands, about 25 kilometres south of Launceston. And, in the middle of Launceston, thanks to Launtel, which is a Launceston based company, they get one gigabit—one gigabit! And you know why? Because, when Labor was in government, Launceston got fibre to the premises. So, in Launceston, one gigabit fibre to the premises is possible; 25 kilometres south, no internet at all, because for seven years this government failed to ensure that developers must provide internet connection to new housing estates. What's worse is the properties in this subdivision have been advertised as being NBN connected. After several months of chasing up this issue, work finally began on the pit and pipes in September. As you can imagine, digging up the entire subdivision and laying the appropriate cabling was a messy, disruptive and lengthy process—not to mention entirely avoidable if the developer had installed the necessary infrastructure from the start. In mid-October, six months after Alex purchased the property, the work was finally completed and the NBN wiring was finally connected. I've got to say that, unfortunately, again, under this government, it's not fibre to the premises; it's fibre to the node. But it's better than nothing. That's six months of frustration, delays and costs that could have been avoided if the developer had just done the work in the first place. This is the exact scenario this bill does seek to fix, albeit seven years late. We are happy to support it. To date, my office has assisted at least five homeowners who had purchased property in this subdivision, some of them waiting more than a year before being able to get an internet connection because the necessary infrastructure had not been preinstalled. Buying a new home should be a time of excitement, not frustration and disappointment. Under the act in its current form, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, as the regulator, will warn incorporated developers about the penalties if they have been found to have failed to meet their obligation to install infrastructure. ACMA will allow them to remedy the issue by retrofitting the infrastructure; otherwise, they get to take the developer to court, where they face a fine of up to $50,000. It would be interesting to know how many fines have been issued and whether any incorporated developers have in fact failed to follow this direction. This system ensures that the incentives for developers are in place while also allowing for a graduated system of enforcement, with the possibility of a mutually beneficial solution before penalties are applied. So this bill will extend this structure onto unincorporated developers, to cover all new developments and take the burden of NBN coverage completely off homeowners. Homeowners should not have to worry that their new home does not have NBN installation. It should just be a given. This bill underwent an extensive consultation process in September 2020, resulting in the approval of important stakeholders such as NBN Co, Telstra, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, various consumer groups and the planning department of Western Australia. Additionally, the Housing Industry Association and the Urban Development Institute have said they could accept this bill, if considered necessary. That's nice of them! This bill is necessary. Australia is a modern country and we need modern infrastructure to support our growth in the 21st century. The nature of work and study is changing. We need to make sure we're at the forefront of this innovation. Our nation has already taken a massive hit from this government's complete bungling—bungling on a massive scale—of the National Broadband Network rollout. It's difficult to speak about the magnitude of the incompetence of this government when it comes to the National Broadband Network: $57 billion and four years late! They are billions—thousands of millions—of dollars over budget, and, even when it's complete, it's going to be second-rate. They haven't got fibre to the premises for 93 per cent of Australian properties, which Labor would have had—for less money. It's a complete mishmash of technologies. They've bought enough copper to wrap around the globe—think about that—to lay underground to provide NBN services that are fit for the 20th century, not the 21st. This isn't just about watching faster Netflix or making sure you've got 4K HD TV reception. This is about business; business needs 21st century speeds. We're in a global competition and we're now behind the pack because of this government's rank incompetence on telecommunications. Our international competitors, across Asia and Europe and increasingly across the Americas, have got world-class fibre networks, and this government has riddled us with copper. It's an absolute disgrace, and they just shrug their shoulders. They think: 'What we've got is good enough. We're proud of the fact that the rollout's nearly complete.' Despite thousands of homes not being connected, they're pretty happy with it. They think it's good enough. It's not good enough. Business says it's not good enough and, in fact, the government have conceded that it's not good enough because they're now spending billions of dollars trying to go back and retrofit fibre in places where they put copper last year. They laid copper just a few months ago, and that's got to be ripped up and replaced with fibre. That's how incompetent they are. Unfortunately, that cost, in many cases, will be borne by businesses and home owners. Australians at the retail end are paying the price for this government's rank incompetence on telecommunications and broadband. What we've now got in the ground would have been world-beating in the 1970s. If you're wearing a brown suit and flares, you would be pretty happy with copper in the ground. But it's no good for the 21st century. The bill before us will ensure that NBN connection infrastructure will be incorporated into new housing as standard practice, and Labor does support that. But we will not give this government a free pass on the complete bungling that it's made of the NBN. It should hang its head in shame at the way it has consigned this country to decades of catch-up. We are way behind the eight ball when it comes to telecommunications, and this government has put us there. They should be held responsible for every business failure, for every business that doesn't get ahead because of their poor telecommunications record, and they should be ashamed of themselves. 10:52 Mr KATTER HX4 Kennedy It's sometimes good to come into the House, which I'm not noted for, and listen to speeches, because I didn't know we were using a lot of copper. As a copper miner and an owner of copper mines, I'm disappointed to hear that, but my knowledge of optical fibre would lead me very strongly to endorse the remarks of the previous contributor to this debate. We really do need optical fibre. We're getting plenty out of the electric cars and that sort of thing, so we don't need to be in the communications system. This leads me to saying that I owned a moderately remote, very large cattle area, some 250,000 acres of country, and we had the flying doctor radio network—God bless John Flynn and Alfred Traeger for that. You would have to say, 'Over' every time you finished a sentence and then you would say, 'Over and out' when you finished your phone call. Of course, everyone could listen in. Then we had the party line, as it was called, which was copper wire, and everyone on the party line could pick up their telephone and listen in to your conversation, which was very, very unfortunate at times. Then we moved onto what I think were called DRCs, digital remote concentrators, and then another form. We had four changes in technology in the space of 20 years, and these were complete changes in technology. One moves forward with fear and trepidation, but I want to emphasise to the House: you have presided over the sale of every single asset owned by the Australian people. You sold them off without any consultation with the Australian people. Michael McCormack's seat was held by Kay Hull and she had the courage to walk across the floor— 10:59 The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E The member for Kennedy will refer to members by their proper title and also remember— Mr KATTER HX4 I don't know the name of the electorate which they represent, so— The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E 'Deputy Prime Minister'—you can use that title. Mr KATTER HX4 I have no alternative. She is not in this House now, so I can use her name. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E No, you can't refer to the current Deputy Prime Minister by their name; you have been here long enough to know that. Mr KATTER HX4 I am talking about Kay Hull. She is not in this place, and I have no alternative but to use the name Kay Hull and I don't want to fight with you about it. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E Well, you won't because you will sit down. Mr KATTER HX4 You are one of the people who sold off— The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E The member for Kennedy is going very close to reflecting on the chair. I know— Mr KATTER HX4 I am very close to reflecting on the chair; you're dead right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E Be quiet and listen for one second. You referred to the current Deputy Prime Minister by his name. If you can't remember what you said 30 seconds ago, for that I'm sorry. But when you're in the chamber you refer to members by their correct title. Mr KATTER HX4 I will refer to the Deputy Prime Minister's predecessor and I will use her name, Kay Hull. I hope that pleases you, having taken up the time of the House—not me, yourself, Sir. She crossed the floor because she said the Australian people own Telstra, not this government. They do not own it; the Australian people own it. If you want to sell Telstra then the Australian people should have a say; they're the shareholders. It is their taxpayers' money that provided that service and built that service for the Australian people. She was dead right. It would just be wonderful if a few other people in this place had the courage of their convictions to do what she did on that occasion and acknowledge that you have sold off every single asset. You have sold off the Commonwealth Bank. You have sold off Qantas. You have sold off the railways. I can't think of anything that hasn't been sold. There are three exceptions and it's very important they go on the record. The NBN—all of you may be forgotten but Kevin Rudd will never be forgotten because Kevin Rudd delivered to the Australian people one of only three assets they now own. The NBN is a priceless asset. So he will go down in the history books and the rest of us, I submit, will not. When you talk about Chifley, you will recall the Holden motor car, you will recall the Snowy Mountains and you will recall—I am not going to go through everything; you can read my book, Mr Deputy Speaker. The DEPUTY SPEAKER M3E I doubt it. Mr KATTER HX4 It is $39 at every good book store. Let me return to the subject of this—telecommunications. Ahmed Fahour was put in charge of Australia Post and paid himself $11 million in his last year. Before I exposed that salary to the House and the fact that he sacked 2,000 employees, I might point out that the Labor government hadn't opened their mouths about the sacking of 2,000 employees, possibly because there were about 50,000 of them sacked under Labor governments in Telstra and probably 100,000 sacked in the railways throughout Australia. We never sacked a single railway employee when we were in office. That is the essence of what we're talking about here. The remarks by the previous speaker—that we're not going far enough with this—are acceptable remarks. If you say the cost is astronomical, well, it was exactly the same when Chifley put in the telephones: it was $25 million, and the budget of Australia was less than $25 million at the time. Don't quote me on those figures, but I think you will find they are roughly right. I'm switching tack completely now. As to what we're talking about today, if you say the current services are adequate, I say they are grossly inadequate. In Normanton and Mornington Island and all of the Gulf country—and there are 5,000 or 6,000 people living in the Gulf country—their services vanish completely every time we get a cyclone. Since we get a serious cyclone once every two years, there is a very serious risk to the enjoyment of life, for the sake of a better word. Everything comes to a halt when the telecommunications system goes down, and it goes down in every cyclone. In fact, in some storms it goes out. Our ability to fix it up is very, very limited indeed. I asked John Nelson, one of the leading cattlemen in Australia, about the first thing he would do if he were the boss of Australia, and I was quite amazed when he said 'telecommunications'. The band speed just drives you off your head. The mayor's wife at Burketown—I don't like using her name without her permission—is constantly advocating the need for faster speeds and greater bandwidth for people living in remote settlements in Australia. There are mining settlements, there are tourism settlements, and there are cattle stations; there are 101 people in this sort of situation in Australia. If we do nothing good in Australia, one thing we have done well is The Ghan—the taking of the railway system right out into the middle of nowhere—and the taking of the telegraph system right out into the middle of nowhere. We've prided ourselves on that, but we're now falling right behind the eight ball. You can't cash your cheque in places like Dajarra, because there's no EFTPOS there. The services are so limited, and the modern day and age require these services. People work a hell of a lot in plastic magic rather than cheques, and it becomes a very serious problem if your telecommunications system goes out. I ran out of cash during Cyclone Larry and I was hungry. It was the second day and I hadn't eaten very much. People won't take a cheque these days, and of course I couldn't use my plastic magic. So I simply had to go hungry. One of my Sikh friend's family were good enough to take me in that night and feed me. Otherwise, I would have just had to go hungry. There were an awful lot of people in Innisfail and the greater Innisfail area that went hungry when the telecommunications system went down, and there were very serious threats to life and limb. A tree falls across the road, and a bloke driving a motorbike at a very low speed comes over the crest and hits it. He's got serious brain damage. There are no telephones to communicate to anyone that he's in this situation. He waits for a car to come along, and, of course, by the time he gets to hospital, he's nearly dead. That actually occurred. In summary, I wasn't aware of the use of copper. I'm not a cattleman; I'm a copper miner. That's my trade. That's who I am. Before I went into parliament, I was mining copper out of my own mines that I found and prospected myself with my partner. The necessity for optical fibre is absolutely essential. We should be making optical fibre here in Australia. We have the best silicon deposits in the world at Cape Flattery and numerous areas north of Cape Flattery—the very far north-east coast of Queensland. We can produce silicon at one-tenth the price that our competitors can produce it at. I was with the great Sir Leo Hielscher. Two of the four biggest bridges in Australia are quite rightly called the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. Bjelke-Petersen gets all the credit for the building of Queensland, but I think half that credit should always have gone to Leo Hielscher. Speaking to him the other day in the presence of my parliamentary chief of staff, he said, 'They are exporting bauxite from the new mine in Cape York.' He burst out laughing. My chief of staff was looking at me. He said, 'What's the significance of that?' I said, 'Because when the Japanese came in and said that they were going to export bauxite, and they thought we'd think that was wonderful, Leo Hielscher laughed and kept laughing.' He said, 'You will not export bauxite from Queensland; you will export aluminium from Queensland!' Would to heaven this place was run by Sir Leo Hielscher! 'You're not taking the bauxite; you will take aluminium.' They said, 'What about the cost of electricity?' He said, 'We'll complete Gladstone next year, and we will have the cheapest electricity in the world, because we have a reserved resource policy that coal is free.' Gladstone was fired on free coal. It was the biggest power station in the world, so its economies of scale were beautiful. We had a working station at a place called Collinsville. It had 200 employees, and it was putting out 200 megawatts of electricity. Gladstone put out 1,400 megawatts of electricity and only had 200 employees! So the wage structure was nil; the coal cost was nil, because under the reserved resource policy the coal was free; and, of course, it was a massive economy of scale, a massive power station. When it was built, it was the biggest power station in the world. So we could provide the Japanese with the cheapest electricity in the world, which meant they would have the cheapest aluminium in the world. But the current government in Queensland, of course, like every other government in Australia, including the government in this place, has allowed the product to go out of this country completely unprocessed. And it'll be to the shame of this place. I've written a history book. It was published by Murdoch Books. They're the big boys on the block when it comes to publishing. You've got to be pretty good to get a book published with Murdoch press. But I won't go into all the ins and outs of it. You write the history of the nation. You put in Ben Chifley, because he gave this country 26,000 houses, built after the war to mop up unemployment. He gave this place a telephone in every house. He gave this place the Holden motor car. He gave this place the Snowy Mountains Hydro. An opposition member: Hear, hear! Mr KATTER HX4 Don't say 'Hear, hear!', mate. Your mob in this place gave us absolutely nothing, with the exception of Kevin Rudd, who was stabbed in the back by a lot of people on the Labor side of this parliament. That's the best example. I was quoting Chifley, but I don't want you saying 'Hear, hear!' as if you have the same policies as him. You have the complete opposite policies to him. Your government sold off almost every asset that the people of Australia owned! (Time expired) An opposition member interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZP The members might like to take their continued conversation outside. 11:08 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield The Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020 will improve access to telecommunications in new developments. Access to telecommunications underpins modern economic and social life. When people move into new houses or business premises, they expect that the developers will have arranged access to telecommunications. Since 2011, the Telecommunications Act has required developers that are constitutional corporations to install what are called 'fibre-ready facilities' in proximity to new developments. These are essentially pits and pipes that house telecommunications cabling. Most developers do the right thing and install the pits and pipes. However, there has been a small but persistent failure by some unincorporated developers to install the facilities. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications estimates that up to 3,000 premises each year are being sold or leased without pit and pipe. The impact on people moving into these new houses or business premises can be significant, in terms of restricted access to telecommunications, reduced social and economic participation, retrofitting costs and sheer inconvenience. This bill extends the arrangements that currently apply to incorporated developers to unincorporated developers. It will mean that people who occupy new premises can have greater confidence that appropriate pit-and-pipe facilities have been installed, in turn giving them ready access to telecommunications regardless of whether the developer is incorporated or unincorporated. I thank members for their consideration of this bill. The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZP The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Greenway has moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question. A division having been called and the bells having been rung— The SPEAKER 00APG For the information of members, in the Federation Chamber the chair has a light to tell them whether it's a division or quorum that has been called in the House. I've just been advised that during this division it was showing a quorum. What we might do is open the doors, there being no objection, and ring the bells for another four minutes.

The House divided. [11:20]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 63 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Haines, H Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Katter, RC Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.
Original question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.

 Third Reading 18 11:23 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. MOTIONS 18 MOTIONS Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry 18 11:23 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I seek leave to move the following motion: That the House: (1) notes:    (a) today marks two years since the release of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry's final report,    (b) this Prime Minister voted against that royal commission 26 times,    (c) two years after its final report only 27 of the royal commission's 76 recommendations have been implemented,    (d) the government has even abandoned the very first recommendation the royal commission made to keep responsible lending laws in place,    (e) this Prime Minister and this government have let down the victims of financial services misconduct; and (2) calls on the Prime Minister to implement the recommendations of the royal commission. Leave not granted. Dr CHALMERS 37998 I move: That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Rankin from moving the following motion immediately: That the House: (1) notes:    (a) today marks two years since the release of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry's final report,    (b) this Prime Minister voted against that royal commission 26 times,    (c) two years after its final report only 27 of the royal commission's 76 recommendations have been implemented,    (d) the government has even abandoned the very first recommendation the royal commission made to keep responsible lending laws in place,    (e) this Prime Minister and this government have let down the victims of financial services misconduct; and (2) calls on the Prime Minister to implement the recommendations of the royal commission. When it comes to rorts and rip-offs in the banking system those opposite are always on the side of the big banks. 11:26 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie I move: That the Member be no longer heard. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the member for Rankin be no further heard.

The House divided. [11:30]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 61 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 56 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Katter, RC Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 11:33 The SPEAKER 00APG Is the motion seconded? 11:33 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam The Liberals back the banks; Labor backs the people. You should stick to your election promise— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Whitlam will resume his seat. The Leader of the House. 11:33 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce I move: That the Member be no longer heard. A division having been called and the bells having been rung— Mr Burke DYW (In division) A point of order, Mr Speaker. Often if a member does not say they second a motion at the start of their speech, you have a chance to draw their attention and say, 'No, you need to say that.' Before you'd done that, the Leader of the House moved that the member be no further heard. That means that if this motion is carried, and it looks like it's going to be carried, the House still has to be invited for there to be a seconder for this motion, because that question has not yet been resolved. The SPEAKER 00APG The Manager of Opposition Business brought this to my attention as I— Mr Hunt interjecting— Ms Catherine King interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Member for Ballarat and the Minister for Health! The Manager of Opposition Business is right. The closure motion was moved quite quickly, and the member for Whitlam had not seconded the motion. In the past where I've felt that that was wilful, I've let the motion lapse. I don't believe it was wilful on this occasion. The question, really, is whether the division should be proceeded with. My view is that it shouldn't, and then we simply call the division off and I'll call for a seconder for the motion. So we'll call off the division. Mr Burke interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Yes. If the division is called off, the member for Whitlam is still able to jump and second the motion. I hope he's been listening, because if they're not the first words that come out of his mouth, it's not going to end well. We'll call off the division, and I will ask whether the motion moved by the member for Rankin is seconded. 11:37 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam I second the motion. Labor backs the people; Liberal backs the banks. We should implement the results of the— 11:37 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce I move: That the Member be no longer heard. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the member for Whitlam be no further heard.

The House divided. [11:38]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 61 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 56 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Katter, RC Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 11:40 The SPEAKER 00APG The question now is that the motion moved by the member for Rankin be disagreed to. 11:41 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio Two years of ignoring the banking royal commission. All talk, no action— 11:41 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce I move: That the question be now put. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the question be now put.

The House divided. [11:42]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 61 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 56 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Katter, RC Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 11:43 The SPEAKER 00APG The question now is that the motion moved by the member for Rankin be disagreed to.

The House divided. [11:44]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 62 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Haines, H Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 54 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 BILLS 24 BILLS National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020 24

National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020

Second Reading 24 11:47 The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZP The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Barton has moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. If it suits the House, I will state the question in the form that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question. 11:47 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon I want to acknowledge again the member for Barton and the other contributors to this debate who have spoken on this very important issue. I rise to speak on the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020. Back in 2014, more than six years ago now, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse travelled to the Northern Territory. They went to hear evidence from surviving Aboriginal people who had, as children, been housed at the Retta Dixon home in Darwin. These were mixed-race children that the government had forcibly taken, the Commonwealth had forcibly taken, from their families as part of the stolen generations and institutionalised between 1946, when the home opened, and 1980, when the home was shut down. The centre was run by AIM, formerly the Aborigines Inland Mission, now the Australian Indigenous Ministries—same acronym, AIM. The royal commission heard horrific, appalling evidence of abuse by the adults employed by AIM to run the Retta Dixon home. These were adults who were charged with caring for these children that had been taken from their mothers. I outlined some of that evidence in previous speeches. What I want to say is how incredibly brave the witnesses, the survivors who came forward, were to detail what they had endured. It was unspeakably difficult for them to do that after decades of living with the shame and with the silence. I want to take a moment to pay tribute to the dozens and dozens of other victims who we did not hear from at the royal commission but who suffered all the same. They too were incredibly brave. They are survivors. It hardly needs saying, but I'll say it anyway: they did not deserve any of it. None of it was their fault. They were betrayed at every level by the adults around them and the church and the government systems that were supposed to support them. What happened to these children is unforgiveable. It has been 40 years since Retta Dixon was shut down. It has been almost 80 years since it was opened. In that time, many former residents have died. They died waiting for an apology, an acknowledgement that what was done to them—the abuse—was wrong. They died waiting for redress. Seventy-one victims came to private settlement following a class action taken against AIM, but many others missed out. It has recently come to light that, AIM, the organisation that ran the Retta Dixon Home, to its credit, has tried to join the National Redress Scheme, but it has been barred from doing so by the Department of Social Services, which says the group doesn't have enough money to pay out potential claimants. That's bad enough, but, on top of that, no funder of last resort has been identified for Retta Dixon Home survivors. That means that no state or territory government, nor the Commonwealth government, has stepped up to guarantee that any compensation payments ordered through the scheme be fulfilled. That means that those brave survivors have been left in administrative limbo. We have agreed that they deserve to be paid compensation, but there's no-one there to compensate them. How can this be happening? It is not right; it is clearly not right. The federal government, the Commonwealth, administered the Northern Territory from 1911 to 1978, so the Commonwealth is responsible for what happened to these children during that time. It's really as simple as that. The Commonwealth must be the funder of last resort in the Northern Territory. The federal government has failed to properly manage the implementation of the National Redress Scheme, and survivors are not applying; they're missing out and facing even more distress as a result. The Commonwealth, the federal government, those opposite, have failed to step up and ensure that governments at all levels are funders of last resort when the offending institutions cannot pay or no longer exist. There are at least 10 Retta Dixon Home survivors who are now in this limbo, and that is just a handful of the people that we could help, that we should help. They are getting on in their years now and some of them are sick. We must urgently establish an early payment scheme for elderly and ill applicants to address issues with delays so that people do not die while they are waiting for this decision. This has already happened for far too many. I have written to the Prime Minister about this and haven't had a response. I recently met with Eileen Cummings. Eileen is the chairperson of the NT Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation. She is a remarkable and tenacious woman. She was taken from her family as a young child and almost totally lost her Aboriginal identity. She lost her parents, her siblings, her cousins. She lost her connection to her country and all the associated learnings that go along with that. Eileen has worked tirelessly with other members of the stolen generations, giving them support and advice. She deeply understands intergenerational trauma and has done so much work to try to reduce that. Eileen was taken to Croker Island in the Northern Territory, not to the Retta Dixon Home that I have been speaking about. But of course she's very familiar with the Retta Dixon Home due to her work with NT Stolen Generations. Eileen took me out to the Retta Dixon site in Darwin the week before last. It's adjacent to Bagot Road—members would be familiar with it—a major arterial road that takes you from the airport into the city. To the untrained eye, it just looks like a vacant block. Sometimes I do roadsides from that block. I always stop at the stone and the plinth to remember all those young children who suffered so much. Thousands of Darwinites drive past the site of the home every day and most likely have no idea of the horrors that were perpetuated there. But we all have a responsibility to know, and I believe this is also part of the truth telling that we desperately need in our nation. Now that we know, we can't turn our backs on the people we've let down—and we have let them down terribly. It's beyond time to acknowledge that fact and to begin compensating as best we can. As I said to the Prime Minister in my letter to him, facilitating the redress of the Retta Dixon survivors would, in the big scheme of things, be a small but incredibly significant and appropriate step towards acknowledging their hurt and suffering. It would be in line with the acknowledgement and substantive response afforded to other Australian victims of institutional child sexual abuse. These children suffered the same hurts, and they deserve the same compensation. Compensation offers both symbolic and monetary meaning for the victims. It may help them, their families and their communities to deal with the ongoing disadvantage that they're grappling with. It may help them, their families and their communities deal with the ramifications of intergenerational trauma. It may even offer them, at this late stage in their life, some sort of closure. Surely, Madam Deputy Speaker Bird, they deserve that? So I'm asking, as the federal member representing Darwin, the place where these young children were taken and where many were abused, that they be respected and that the Commonwealth fulfil its obligation. Just imagine the hurt. Just think of being taken away from your mum and brought up by people who abuse you and those around you. Just imagine that for a second, and then imagine the effect on all the relationships you then have in your life. Imagine the strength of those people to survive. Why are they still waiting for the Prime Minister to just acknowledge their hurt and suffering and say, 'Yes, the Commonwealth took these children away; the Commonwealth is responsible to step in as a funder of last resort'—to simply accept that responsibility, show some leadership and get it done. (Time expired) 11:57 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in November 2012 and established in January 2013. During the five-year course of the royal commission, it handled over 42,000 calls and almost 26,000 letters and emails, and it held just over 8,000 private sessions with survivors of child sexual abuse. The final report of the royal commission, comprising 17 volumes, was delivered to the Governor-General in December 2017. I'm proud of many of the things the Gillard government achieved, but I feel that the royal commission will be shown to be one of that government's more important initiatives, an initiative that should have lasting benefit for the Australian community because it revealed the most appalling of crimes—crimes that had been hidden for decades behind walls of secrecy and cover-up. So it is of great concern to me that the great work carried out by that royal commission and the bravery of the thousands of survivors who came forward to give evidence to it are being betrayed by the Morrison government. Every day, more Australians are discovering that this Prime Minister runs a government that is heroic when it comes to announcements and hopeless when it comes to delivery. In the context of the Redress Scheme that the current bill deals with, this means that we have a government that is happy to make announcements about how it respects the findings and recommendations of the royal commission into child sexual abuse and about how the government supports justice for the survivors of those terrible crimes. However, when we look at the Redress Scheme this government set up and how it actually works, it's clear that survivors of child sexual abuse have been hung out to dry by a government that has every interest in self-promotion and not enough interest in delivering justice for the survivors of childhood sexual abuse. While this situation is appalling, it is, sadly, unsurprising. Boastful announcements with hopeless follow-up is how the Morrison government operates, and a very clear link can be drawn with what the Morrison government has done with the banking royal commission, conducted by the eminent lawyer and former High Court judge Ken Hayne. To begin with, the then Treasurer Mr Morrison and his Liberal crew fought against that vitally necessary royal commission tooth and nail, voting against its establishment 26 times, desperate to stop the inquiry. The then Treasurer described it as 'hot air' and 'a stunt' and declared to his lasting shame that such an inquiry was 'nothing more than a populist whinge'. Subsequent reporting about what went on inside Mr Turnbull's government—that was before the current Prime Minister knifed Mr Turnbull to take his job—revealed that the current Prime Minister was the last to hold out in cabinet, trying to shield the big banks from scrutiny. Looking back now, that isn't at all surprising. We can now see that cover-up is this Prime Minister's first instinct whenever there is a hint of crime, corruption or other wrongdoing by those with power. Of course, the reverse is true for the working poor—you only have to look at the cruel and unlawful robodebt fiasco to see how willing this Prime Minister is to pursue those who can't fight back. Whether it's sports rorts, dodgy land deals for Liberal donors or the use of forged documents by one of his ministers, Mr Morrison's approach to crime and corruption is always the same: deny, distract and cover up, and, above all, never take responsibility for anything. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 Order! The member for Isaacs will resume his seat. The assistant minister on a point of order? Mr Howarth 247742 The member's been here a long time, and three times he's referred to the Prime Minister by an incorrect title in the last two minutes alone. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 241590 I thank the assistant minister. I would ask the member for Isaacs, who is well aware of the standing orders, to refer to the Prime Minister by his correct title. Mr DREYFUS HWG Of course, when public pressure could no longer be resisted and the Liberals faced the prospect of a backbench revolt over the cover-up scheme it was running for the big banks, the government, finally, grudgingly, agreed to hold a royal commission into the financial services industry. And, as the horror stories of industrial-scale rip-offs and rapacious behaviour by unethical banks unfolded before Commissioner Hayne, the crocodile tears started flowing. 'Oh, how could we have known?' cried the Liberals! And after Commissioner Hayne delivered his report in February 2019, the Morrison government received it with furrowed brows, promising to act on the deeply concerning findings and recommendations for reform that it contained. Yet, now, almost two years after the Prime Minister committed to implementing all 76 recommendations of the banking royal commission, the government has still only implemented barely a third of them while it delays and waters down others. Yet again, Australians can see a prime minister who loves to stand before the cameras to make grand announcements concocted by his marketing team but who afterwards quietly slides away from taking the action he promised and, as we saw just this morning, shutting down any criticism or any debate of their failure to implement the excellent recommendations of the Hayne royal commission—which brings me back to the current bill and the scheme it seeks to amend, the National Redress Scheme. In September 2015, the royal commission released its report on Redress and Civil Litigation. This redress report was an interim report, but it set out the commission's concluded view on the question of redress. It was an unusual device, but it should have worked. Regrettably, it didn't. The commission issued that interim report more than two years ahead of its final report because, as it said in the report: By reporting as early as possible on these issues, we are seeking to give survivors and institutions more certainty on these issues and enable governments and institutions to implement our recommendations to improve civil justice for survivors as soon as possible. In keeping with this sense of urgency, one of the recommendations in the redress report was: The Australian Government should determine and announce by the end of 2015 that it is willing to establish a single national redress scheme. The report also said that the national scheme should be: … ready to begin inviting and accepting applications from survivors by no later than 1 July 2017. It is deeply regrettable that this Liberal government showed no real interest in doing the work required to establish a national redress scheme. This is demonstrated by the fact that it did not fulfil the royal commission's recommendations and deadlines. There was total silence from the government. Meanwhile, the survivors of child sexual abuse waited anxiously for justice to be done at last. Some of them have now died waiting. This is a tragic demonstration of the adage that justice delayed is justice denied. Finally, on 1 July 2018, a year after the deadline set by the royal commission, a redress scheme was at last established, in response, once again, to growing public pressure. While we supported that scheme at the time it was established, we also expressed a number of very serious concerns about its design. Sadly, those concerns have been borne out, and, while it makes a number of technical and minor amendments to improve the scheme, this bill clearly does not go far enough. The very first recommendation of the royal commission's redress report is titled 'Justice for victims'. It is important that we do not lose sight of this fundamental point. The redress scheme must be about delivering justice to survivors of the heinous crimes committed against them. That first recommendation states: A process for redress must provide equal access and equal treatment for survivors—regardless of the location, operator, type, continued existence or assets of the institution in which they were abused—if it is to be regarded by survivors as being capable of delivering justice. Recommendation 2 sets out three foundations by which the proposed redress scheme would provide justice. It states: Appropriate redress for survivors should include the elements of: a. direct personal response b. counselling and psychological care c. monetary payments. The primary concerns we in Labor have about the Redress Scheme the Morrison government has set up relate to the failure of the scheme to properly provide for the second and third elements of the scheme recommended by the royal commission. There is not enough time today for me to discuss all of the significant failings of the Redress Scheme this government administers and what needs to be done to improve it, but I want to make it clear that we are moving amendments to encourage the Morrison government to provide a better response to survivors of childhood sexual abuse by making a number of significant changes to the scheme. I'll briefly outline some of the changes that we are calling for. First, we are calling for the maximum payment to survivors to be increased to $200,000, as recommended by the royal commission. The royal commission made this recommendation after careful deliberation and extensive evidence regarding the appropriate monetary payment that would provide tangible recognition of the seriousness of the hurt and injury suffered by a survivor. While payments under the Redress Scheme are not meant to be compensatory in the same way in which damages from a civil claim against an abuser would be, I note that survivors of the most heinous forms of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts have been recovering in excess of a million dollars in civil actions against their abusers. These are, of course, in civil actions. The Redress Scheme is designed to serve a different purpose. In this context, the decision of this government to reduce the maximum amount of redress payable to survivors of the most serious forms of child sexual abuse to $150,000 reflects not only a failure to adhere to the recommendations of the royal commissioners but also a deep meanness of spirit. How is it that this government had no problem finding over $80 billion to give to big businesses in tax cuts and could pay $30 million to a donor for land at the new Sydney airport site worth $3 million but says it has no choice but to short-change the survivors of childhood sexual abuse? We're also calling for the Redress Scheme to be amended so that it provides necessary ongoing psychological counselling and support for survivors of abuse. Recommendation 9 of the redress report of the royal commission stated that: 'Counselling and psychological care should be available'—and this was the commission's phrase—'throughout a survivor's life.' Recommendation 11 deals with the need for ongoing care by explicitly stating: Redress should fund counselling and psychological care as needed by survivors rather than providing a lump sum payment to survivors for their future counselling and psychological care needs. The Redress Scheme established by this government directly contradicts those explicit recommendations of the royal commission and instead provides for a lump sum payment for counselling and psychological services. This is cause enough for concern, but of even greater concern to us is that the maximum amount of the lump sum payment that will be available is $5,000. To put this amount in perspective, the Australian Psychological Society's current recommended schedule of fees sets the standard fee for a 45- to 60-minute consultation at $260. That means that a survivor who received the maximum redress payment for counselling and psychological services and who paid a standard fee to a psychologist for individual sessions would be able to pay for 19 sessions with a registered psychologist. The royal commission consulted extensively with survivors, their families and mental health experts in making its recommendations, and—given that it has recommended the need to provide for psychological care on an ongoing basis, when it is required, for the rest of a survivor's life—it is very concerning that a decision has been made to instead provide a lump sum payment of only $5,000 for a lifetime of psychological care. That is 19 sessions only, even for survivors of the worst kinds of child sexual abuse, to support their mental health for the rest of their lives. Of course it's true that some survivors may not seek psychological support at all, but some survivors who will make claims for redress will need far more than the $5,000 on offer under this scheme. Some may still be teenagers, with many years of psychological struggle ahead of them. In ignoring the explicit recommendations of the royal commission for lifetime care in this context, the government was obviously not informed by any kind of medical evidence or concerns for the mental health of survivors. It's my sincere hope that this government recognises the many failings of the redress scheme it administers and makes further amendments beyond those contained in this bill, to ensure that the scheme delivers justice for survivors. In conclusion, I reiterate that, while holding a royal commission can provide a powerful means to inquire into an injustice or other matter of great public importance that would otherwise remain hidden, just as important as holding that inquiry is how the government responds to its report and recommendations. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of the banking royal commission, many of the recommendations of which the Morrison government is doing all it can to delay, undermine and ignore, and it's also true with this royal commission's report. (Time expired) 12:13 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah I rise to speak on the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020. The National Redress Scheme act commenced on 1 July 2018 in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. We cannot go further in talking about this bill without reminding ourselves of some of the very telling paragraphs of the report and some of the shocking stories and events that were brought to light by that royal commission. The sexual abuse of a child is a terrible crime. It's the greatest of personal violations. It's perpetrated against the most vulnerable in our community. The executive summary of the royal commission is titled 'A national tragedy', and that is what we must take note of. The sexual abuse of a child is a fundamental breach of the trust that children are entitled to place in adults. It is one of the most traumatic and potentially damaging experiences and can have lifelong adverse consequences. The royal commission found that tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused in many Australian institutions. We will never know the true number. Whatever that number, it is a national tragedy perpetrated over generations within many of our most trusted institutions. The sexual abuse of children has occurred in almost every type of institution where children reside or attend for educational, recreational, sporting, religious or cultural activities. Some institutions have had multiple abusers who sexually abused multiple children. It is not a case of a few rotten apples. Society's major institutions have seriously failed. In many cases, those failings have been exacerbated by a manifestly inadequate response to the abused person. The problems were found to be widespread and the nature of the abuse so heinous that it is difficult to comprehend. The report and the inquiry found that a failure to act will inevitably lead to the continuing sexual abuse of children, some of whom will suffer lifelong harm. That harm can be devastating for the individual. It's also a huge cost to the entire Australian community. Many survivors will require help with health, particularly mental health; housing; and other public services. That is why it is so vital that the government act with haste in implementing all recommendations but also ensuring that the Redress Scheme addresses those so vulnerable within our society and the need they now have. The proposed amendments to be made to this bill clarify the operation of the certain provisions and improve the administration of the scheme, and I support these amendments. But I note that the second anniversary review of the scheme is currently underway, led by Ms Robyn Kruk AO, who has a strong record in addressing institutional challenges with sexual abuse. That review is due for completion, and I understand from the minister's office that they expect to receive the report by the end of February. Whilst I appreciate that the government is awaiting the outcomes of that review before making broader changes to the operation of the act, there have been a number of reviews and recommendations from the Joint Select Committee on the Implementation of the National Redress Scheme that warrant expedited action. We have an amendment before the House that, in fact, seeks to put that into effect. Some of these recommendations are captured in the amendment prepared by the honourable member for Barton and will be considered in the consideration-in-detail stage. I'd like to address some of those briefly. An amendment to section 116A seeks to legislate that institutions who do not participate in the scheme be named after six months. This is already government policy, and, to date, they have been consistent with adhering to that policy. But I am a supporter of legislating this policy provision to ensure that it is not likely to change this policy and to ensure consistency throughout changes of ministers and government. I also note that the amendment circulated is worded in such a way that the minister must develop a position on each of these provisions within 90 days of the commencement of the provision. I support the proposal to increase the cap on payments under the scheme from $150,000 to $200,000. This is consistent with the findings of the royal commission and provides greater compensation to victims of child sexual abuse. I also support the end of indexing of relevant prior payments. At present, the most vulnerable victims who settled or were paid off years ago have their eligible compensation reduced by the indexation of that initial payment. This reinforces the psychological issues suffered in their initial compensation case and reduces the compensation they are now eligible for under this scheme. This is inequitable and challenging for the victims, and I support an end to that indexation. Another amendment is to ensure that, where doubt exists about the purpose of any prior payment, we should err on the side of the victim and that that is a sensible and an appropriate response. This amendment is particularly relevant to the members of the stolen generation. Some have received small sums of compensation for their treatment. However, the purpose of that compensation is unclear. As such, if there is evidence of child sexual abuse, those prior payments would not be considered for the purpose of compensation. I strongly encourage the government to consider the implementation of an advance-payment scheme for applicants who are ill, elderly or nearing the end of life. Scotland have established an advance-payment scheme, and it has been shown to be operating effectively. That is just one example the Australian government could look to. This is a compassionate response to provide closure for those who have suffered as a result of institutional abuse, in advance of them passing away or reaching the end of their years. The advance compensation may be smaller than that received upon the full completion of an application, but it is important to provide closure and to treat these applicants with compassion and an acknowledgement of the likelihood that their application will be successful in time. The amendment would ensure that, in the event an institution no longer existed or did not have the capacity to pay because they had shifted money around or tried to make corporate changes to their structure to avoid liability, the government would become the funder of last resort. This is important for victims of these institutions. It would mean that institutions that refused to participate, or that restructured their affairs to avoid participating, would be forced to contribute to the scheme—for example, through a levy. For instance, this would capture organisations like Jehovah's Witnesses, who are allegedly restructuring their affairs to avoid liability as well as flat out refusing to participate. Another amendment provides for ongoing psychological support, not just more one-off payments which are as small as $1,250. In light of the severity and the scope of the incidents of sexual abuse that were found by the royal commission, it's clear that those small, one-off payments will not be sufficient. Some of these amendments would see the assessment framework changed so that the impact of abuse is properly recognised, in line with the recommendations of the royal commission. Currently, it's an arbitrary process which assigns small caps on how much can be paid for the impact of abuse. These caps are adjusted by the type of abuse, not the severity of its impact. This, I would argue, is not giving due regard to the impact and the consequences of abuse. I commend the member for Barton for the amendments. I have had discussions with the minister's office and the member for Barton's office in seeking to understand the motivations and the situation between the two. Whilst I would normally be in favour of waiting for the outcome of the review, it's clear that some of these amendments are needed now to ensure victims of sexual abuse receive the compensation and assistance they need without delay. This is a tragedy; we all recognise that. We do need to act. So I commend the bill and the amendment to the House. 12:22 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume I thank members for their contribution on the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020. This bill will amend the primary legislation for the National Redress Scheme for People Who Have Experienced Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. This bill will increase the efficiency of this scheme for its remaining eight years of operation and assist in finalising outstanding applications. The amendments address minor and technical issues with the current operation of the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Act 2018 and will address unintended consequences or oversights in the initial drafting of the primary legislation underpinning the scheme. Consistent with the survivor focus of the scheme, survivor groups support the passage of the bill, as does the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. All jurisdictions have supported the progression of the bill in accordance with the scheme's governance arrangements and are required to be consulted on and approve all future changes to the redress act, due to the cooperative basis under which the scheme operates. Regarding the amendment moved by the shadow minister, I acknowledge our shared desire to continue to improve the scheme. This bill adds to the strong improvements the Morrison government has already made to the Redress Scheme. The government has remained committed to improving the scheme and encouraging all named institutions to join. Already the government's progress is working. Pleasingly, 191 institutions have joined the scheme in its third year of operation. This number has been contributed to through the use of naming and shaming of recalcitrant institutions. The government has already implemented measures to name and shame institutions which fail to sign up to the scheme and financial penalties for those who fail to join the scheme. These two levers come into force six months after the first meaningful contact with an institution, once named. The Morrison government has also commenced the legislative two-year review. It's currently being undertaken by Robyn Kruk AO. The report has a focus on all aspects raised in the shadow minister's amendments and incorporates extensive consultation with survivors. The report will be made public. Changes of this nature would also have to be endorsed by the redress board, comprised of state and territory ministers, meaning that the amendments would be unlikely to be able to be implemented regardless of their passage through this place. As such, the amendments will not be supported for these reasons. I also wish to table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum that responds to concerns raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills. The government thanks the committee for their comments. The Morrison government remains committed to improving the Redress Scheme. I commend the bill to the House. The SPEAKER 00APG The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Barton has moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question before the House is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question.

The House divided. [12:30]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 63 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI Morrison, SJ O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharkie, RCC Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 56 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 12:34 The SPEAKER 00APG The question now is that this bill be now read a second time. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Consideration in Detail 31 12:35 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I move opposition amendment (1) circulated in my name: (1) Schedule 1, page 15 (after line 13), after Part 6, insert: Part 6A — Naming and shaming non - participating institutions National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Act 2018 48A At the end of Division 3 of Part 5 - 1 Add: 116A Naming and shaming non - participating institutions (1) This section applies to a non-government institution if: (a) either: (i) an application made under section 19 identifies the institution as being involved in the abuse of a person; or (ii) information given in response to a request under section 24 or 25, in relation to an application made under section 19, identifies the institution as being involved in the abuse of a person; and (b) the application has not been withdrawn under section 22; and (c) the institution is not a participating non-government institution. (2) If the institution refuses to participate in the scheme, the Minister must publish a notice stating that, despite the matters mentioned in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b), the institution refuses to participate in the scheme. Institution has 6 months to becoming participating after first application etc. that identifies institution (3) The Minister must not publish a notice under subsection (2) in relation to the institution until the end of 6 months after the first time subparagraph (1)(a)(i) or (ii) applies in relation to the institution. This amendment will introduce a requirement that the minister name any institution that refuses to join the Redress Scheme within six months of an application for redress being received. I acknowledge that this is the government's policy and that the government made a change late last year to allow for the removal of an institution's charitable status after six months if it does not join the scheme. It is a change that was made after significant pressure from survivors and from Labor. But this is not guaranteed; it requires proactive management by the government. I have no doubt that the minister will do the right thing here. However, the naming of redress dodgers should be something that is automatic and guaranteed. This amendment should be supported by the government. It is in line with their position. It is simply unacceptable that institutions do not attempt to join the scheme. They have a moral duty: participating in redress is part of an institution's social licence, and any organisation that does not participate should face the full glare of the Australian community. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that amendment (1) be disagreed to.

The House divided. [12:40]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 62 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI Morrison, SJ O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 58 NOES Albanese, AN Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Perrett, GD Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 14 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Byrne, AM Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 12:44 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton by leave—I move opposition amendments (2), (3), (7) and (9), as circulated in my name, together: (2) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 200 Increase in cap on redress payments (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to increase the $150,000 cap on redress payments to $200,000. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have the cap increased as mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. (3) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 201 Ending indexing of relevant prior payments (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to end the indexing of relevant prior payments. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have indexing ended as mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. (7) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 205 Psychological counselling and support (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that necessary ongoing psychological counselling and support is given to persons who are entitled to redress under the scheme. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have psychological counselling and support given as mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. (9) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 207 Review of determinations cannot reduce payments (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that a review of a determination under Part 4‑1 cannot reduce the total amount of redress under the determination. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to ensure that a review of a determination under Part 4‑1 cannot reduce the total amount of redress under the determination; or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. All of the amendments that Labor will be moving today have been deliberately structured to give the government flexibility and latitude, and that's a very important point, despite the fact that you all just voted against your own policy. They give flexibility to negotiate with the states and territories to make the changes that are needed to the scheme, and the latitude to implement the change in the most effective way. It also means that the government can respond in a way that takes the findings of the two independent yearly reviews into account. What we're really calling for here is leadership, national leadership, across the states and territories and a clear commitment from the government to bring the scheme back to what the royal commission recommended. There is absolutely no reason for the government not to support these amendments. They require the minister to report to the parliament within 90 days. That's the latitude and flexibility with which, and the spirit in which, we move these amendments. All of us here owe it to survivors to get this right and not simply say that it is all too hard. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the amendments be disagreed to.

The House divided. [12:50]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 54 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 12:52 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I move opposition amendment (4): (4) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 202 Deducting prior payments—safeguards (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that prior payments are deducted from redress payments only if, and only to the extent that, it is proven that the prior payments are relevant prior payments. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to ensure the result mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. This amendment will make sure that payments made in the past for other purposes are not taken from redress payments—for example, to the Stolen Generations. This would mean the scheme would give survivors the benefit of the doubt, and this is only fair. 12:52 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I am speaking in support of the amendment. Yesterday, the Prime Minister tabled a document concerning who was representing the ministers in the other place. We have significant amendments about something that has a level of bipartisan support. If the government is going to oppose all of these amendments, whoever was yesterday said to be the minister representing the minister in the other place should at least give a reason why you're opposing these amendments. What we're talking about here are people who have been dying before they get the payments. We're seeking to have a mechanism so they get some money before they're dead, after they have gone through this. We don't know if you are going to vote against it because we haven't had the vote on it yet. But, whoever on that side represents the government on this issue, if you are, give us a reason why you're opposing the amendment, or, if you're supporting it, give us a reason why you agree with it. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that amendment (4) be disagreed to.

The House divided. [12:58]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 12:59 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I move opposition amendment (5): (5) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 203 Advance payment scheme for elderly and ill applicants (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken so that, in appropriate circumstances, redress is payable to elderly or ill applicants in advance of their applications being approved. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have redress payable as mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. To me, this is one of the most important amendments. Many people who are survivors of child sexual assault are old and unwell, and many have died waiting for their payment. An early payment scheme is working well in Scotland. It would not cost more. There are no cost implications. It would just give people recognition and peace of mind at the end of their lives. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 72184 The question is that amendment (5) be disagreed to. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on both sides, standing order 94(a) applies even when the division bells are ringing. The question is that amendment (5) be disagreed to.

The House divided. [13:04]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 13:07 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton by leave—I move opposition amendments (6) and (10) as circulated in my name: (6) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 204 Funders of last resort guarantee (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that, for each non‑government institution that: (a) is responsible for the abuse of a person; and (b) is not a participating institution; and (c) either:    (i) is a defunct institution; or    (ii) because of the institution's financial situation, cannot participate in the scheme; there is a government institution that is liable for what the non‑government institution would have been liable to pay in relation to a person had the non‑government institution been a participating institution. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to ensure the result mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. (10) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8‑2, add: 208 Requiring non ‑participating institutions to contribute to scheme (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that: (a) redress is payable under the scheme even if the institutions responsible for the abuse are non‑participating institutions; and (b) non‑participating institutions that refuse to participate in the scheme despite being capable of doing so are required to contribute to the scheme, in relation to abuse for which they are responsible, to the same extent as participating institutions; and (c) in particular, attempts by non‑participating institutions to evade their obligations in relation to abuse, such as by restructuring to shield assets, are not successful. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to ensure the result mentioned in subsection (1); or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. Amendment (6) will make sure that no-one misses out on redress. If an old organisation that has folded no longer has any links to a continuing organisation, or if an organisation generally does not have the resources to participate in the scheme, government should make sure that the redress is paid as funder of last resort. Amendment (10) requires non-participating organisations to participate. This amendment will make sure that, if an organisation refuses to participate in the scheme or deliberately restructures their assets so as to appear they can't participate, the government will be able to get funds from the organisation by order to pay redress. This could take the form of a levy or collection through the tax system. It is unacceptable for organisations to refuse to participate or hide assets, and they must pay redress to those they have hurt. 13:08 Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E McEwen This is one of the most serious issues we can face in this parliament—supporting the victims of child sexual abuse. The government should come here and actually answer the question of why they're refusing—not sitting during divisions and saying, 'We've made a decision, bad luck, get on with it and stop wasting the parliament's time.' It's one of most important things we can do. So my challenge to the government is: stand up and defend your decisions. Why are you going against the royal commission? And why are you going against these very reasonable amendments? The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that amendments (6) and (10) be disagreed to.

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

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 13:14 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I move the final amendment in my name, opposition amendment (8): (8) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8-2, add: 206 Better recognising the impact of sexual abuse (1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to have the assessment framework better recognise the impact of sexual abuse. (2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on: (a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have the assessment framework better recognise the impact of sexual abuse; or (b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister’s reasons for this. (3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days. (4) In this section: action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law. This amendment is about recognising the impact of abuse. This would require the impact of abuse to be better recognised. Survivors have told me about the cruel and arbitrary matrix which links payments for the impacts of abuse to the nature of the abuse. This needs to change so that payments for abuse are calculated independently, as recommended by the royal commission. The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the amendment be disagreed to. 13:15 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I move: That the member for Fadden be heard now. The SPEAKER 00APG Yes, I think that's in order. The question is that the member for Fadden be heard now, so I need to put that question. All those of that opinion— A government member interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG I've got to put the question, yes. Sorry, I've just erred there. I'm going to reverse it so we don't need to swap sides; I'm anticipating there'll be a division. The question was that the member for Fadden be heard; it should be 'not heard'. Yes, that's right. Let's do it that way. The question is that the motion be disagreed to.

The House divided. [13:20]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.

 13:26 The SPEAKER 00APG The question is that the amendment be disagreed to.

The House divided. [13:26]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 60 AYES Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KL Archer, BK Broadbent, RE Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hamilton, GR Hammond, CM Hawke, AG Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI O'Brien, T O'Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T 55 NOES Bandt, AP Bird, SL Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, TM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Chesters, LM Clare, JD Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Khalil, P King, CF Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBain, KL Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O'Connor, BPJ O'Neil, CE Owens, JA Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Watts, TG Wilkie, AD Zappia, A 16 PAIRS Andrews, KJ Wilson, JH Bell, AM Wells, AS Buchholz, S Perrett, GD Coleman, DB Aly, A Evans, TM Bowen, CE Hastie, AW Gorman, P Hogan, KJ Butler, MC Howarth, LR Claydon, SC Hunt, GA Hill, JC Landry, ML Keogh, MJ Marino, NB King, MMH Morrison, SJ Albanese, AN Morton, B McBride, EM O'Brien, LS Thwaites, KL Thompson, P Payne, AE Wood, JP Vamvakinou,

Question agreed to.
Bill agreed to.

 Third Reading 45 13:29 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 45 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Nelson, Mr Jagamara 45 13:29 Mr SNOWDON IJ4 Lingiari Central Australia and the Northern Territory have lost a remarkable community leader with the passing of Jagamara Nelson, who died at Yuendumu last Sunday afternoon surrounded by his family. He was a very close friend of mine for over 35 years. He was a consistent source of advice and support to me over that time. Born in 1940 at Mount Doreen cattle station, he moved with his parents to Yuendumu around 1946. In 1959 Jagamara finished his primary education at Yuendumu, did an apprenticeship as a mechanic and later became a teacher, starting at Darwin and working at Yuendumu, before becoming a worker with the outstation movement as an assistant community adviser. He played footy and was a mainstay of Yuendumu Sports Weekend. However, it is for his skills as a Warlpiri interpreter from his earliest days with the land rights movement that he is most well known. He was a true leader of enormous stature, great intellect and knowledge; a strong voice; and an absolute believer and advocate for truth telling and the recognition of Aboriginal rights, and land rights in particular. He was a fighter to the end. I met him just before Christmas, and he said he hoped that those following in his footsteps would continue to protect knowledge, country and culture. He'll be sadly missed. He was a leader of outstanding significance to the whole of the Northern Territory community. Moore Electorate: Road Infrastructure 45 13:30 Mr GOODENOUGH 74046 Moore I rise to inform the parliament of the urgent need for additional funding to upgrade busy local roads in Perth's northern suburbs, improving road safety. Flynn Drive, east of Wanneroo Road, servicing the Neerabup industrial park, which is steadily developing into a major employment hub providing up to 20,000 local jobs for residents in the Joondalup region, requires a major upgrade costing approximately $20 million. There is synergy in the growth of Joondalup as a thriving central business district with the development of the Neerabup industrial park as the nearest commercial and industrial hub, with both precincts located within a 10-kilometre radius. Busy local intersections are also in need of traffic management treatments, including the Walter Padbury Boulevard junction with Hepburn Avenue, requiring up to $3 million in roadworks. Further north, traffic works at the busy Forrest Road and Marmion Avenue intersection at Padbury have been costed at $770,000, with similar works at the nearby Coral Street and Marmion Avenue junction in Craigie costing $490,000. The Gwendoline Drive junction with Ocean Reef Road at Beldon, adjacent to the Belridge Shopping Centre, also requires road upgrades, including a continuous cycle lane, expected to cost $695,000. (Time expired) Werriwa Electorate: New Year Celebrations 45 13:32 Ms STANLEY 265990 Werriwa The Christmas and new year period was particularly challenging for greater Sydney, with several clusters of COVID-19 requiring the rethink of Christmas and new year plans. I'd like to congratulate Liverpool City Council and Mayor Wendy Waller for their foresight. Even before that round of restrictions they had organised a COVID-friendly fireworks display. The event could be seen from all over the council area and attracted thousands of viewers across the electorate. The fireworks were launched from several points, high into the sky. At the family friendly time of 9 pm I was lucky enough to be able to see them from my backyard, with a nearly 360-degree view. Liverpool were the only council in Sydney to provide residents with a safe and responsible fireworks display that could be enjoyed from the comfort and safety of their own backyards. The show featured aerial shells and wired effects and maximised the visibility for all to see within the firing site, well clear of people's homes, and the soundtrack to accompany the fireworks was broadcast on local radio 2GLF. There was an incredible response from the community, with positive comments from residents, as well as me, as we all had the pleasure of viewing the amazing display from home. We will need to continue to do things differently as we endure this pandemic. This is one example of how we can adapt and keep our community together but also distant. Congratulations to Liverpool City Council, Mayor Waller and everyone involved in the event for making it a resounding success. Therapeutic Goods Administration 46 13:34 Mr LAMING E0H Bowman Back on 15 June 2020, Apple submitted an application for an irregular rhythm notification feature on their Apple Watch, and I'm glad that a couple of days ago that was finally approved. The irregular rhythm notification feature is used on the Apple Watch and has been a source of consternation for many people wanting to see that facility activated. It's now on the therapeutic goods register, and we understand that entry will occur imminently. I note that the ECG component has not yet been approved, but I hope that that's also expedited by Apple to ensure there are no further delays and that Australia is treated like other nations that have the Apple Watch and those facilities available. It's shown a real health impact anecdotally in a number of cases where the IRN feature has led to people presenting with clinical issues that otherwise would have gone undetected, but of course we have to be assiduous in our assessment of software that is acting as a medical device, in particular when the manufacturer of both the device and the software are the same entity. Where there's a single listing, in some cases the manufacturer of, say, the camera or the device is different to the producer of the software, and that can sometimes necessitate more than one submission to the ARTG. In this case, picking up atrial fibrillation is a net benefit. We know that Europe is still dealing with some new classifications of the app, but, in the interests of avoiding further unnecessary delays, I'm glad that the TGA moved yesterday. Hennessy, Mr John 46 13:35 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton Today I rise to speak on the legacy of John Hennessy. John was the General Secretary of the NSW Teachers Federation from 1990 to 2002, one of the longest-serving general secretaries. He died late last week at home in Wolli Creek, in the Barton electorate, at the age of 78. John began his teaching career in the Riverina area and then taught on the north coast. In '76 he became one of the first country based organisers of the federation, being based in Lismore. In '90 he was elected as general secretary, serving until 2002. John is remembered in the federation as a caring, compassionate and committed union organiser and for what he believed in strongly, and that's union rights and fundamental human rights. In the words of the current general secretary, John Dixon: 'John was a passionate supporter of the struggle of Indigenous rights and Indigenous education. As general secretary he always ensured that the federation's resources were generously deployed and that the federation's Aboriginal education officer was strongly supported.' I really am very proud to be able to say that John was a proud constituent of mine. He was also an official visitor with the Department of Corrective Services for several years. Vale, John Hennessy. Your legacy will live on. Reeve, Mrs Mary Jo 46 13:37 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra I rise to pay tribute to Mary Jo Reeve, who passed away on 25 January. Mary Jo was an essential part of the Beecroft community for a generation. She's well known for the restoration of Booth Park in Beecroft. Mary Jo and her husband, Professor Tom Reeve, moved into a white house beside Booth Park, with an Australian flag flying for 60 years. The park had become a dump for unwanted fridges, old stoves, car parts and general rubbish. It was overgrown by privet, blackberry and lantana. Mary Jo became the unofficial caretaker, working to enable sport to be played again in the park. She also paid children to help her weed and plant shrubs. She provided afternoon tea for those who didn't have mums at home and listened to them do their spelling homework. As the years passed, her labours extended into the land surrounding the oval. Her philosophy was that every Australian should be responsible for some patch of the country and that, if you create beauty, people will also see and nurture the beauty. I spent a couple of hours with Mary Jo and Tom a few years back and enjoyed her sparkling intellect and her passion. Mary Jo was a local identity, passionate about the community, and a regular attendee of the civic trust meetings. She never hesitated to speak up for the community, whether to stop a redevelopment or to pressure the council to improve civic amenities. I want to extend my condolences to Tom and her three children and four grandchildren as we remember her as somebody who transformed Beecroft, was a great community identity and had a wonderful and engaging mind. Telecommunications 46 13:38 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore Fixing the mobile black spots on the South Coast is a critical issue for people in my electorate. Mobile black spots along our highways are putting lives at risk. It's a fact. During the bushfires, hundreds of cars were stranded in these black spots with no means of communication. Once again, this past weekend, the Batemans Bay community has been rocked by another fatality on the Kings Highway, at Clyde Mountain. A neighbour was forced to wave down passing cars because she couldn't call for help. This is not good enough. This stretch of road is notorious, and we know the poor reception makes it more dangerous. In 2018 the government said it would fix the mobile black spot on Clyde Mountain, but here we are in 2021, still waiting—promises are made and then broken. As late as October we were told it would be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, only to be told in December that it would now be the first quarter of 2021. But how can we trust that? The government needs to get serious about fixing the mobile black spot on the Clyde Mountain. We have had enough of the delays and the excuses. I again ask the minister: when can we expect this black spot to be fixed? Our community deserves the government's serious and immediate action to fix this problem now, before more lives are tragically lost. Diong, Mr Nathaniel 47 13:40 Ms LIU 282918 Chisholm As the local member for Chisholm, meeting the people who make Chisholm a better place is truly one of the best parts of my job. That's why it was such a pleasure to attend the annual civic awards ceremony at Whitehorse City Council on Australia Day. These awards are designed to recognise and promote the efforts of people and organisations that make worthy contributions to our community. I congratulate all award recipients, but I make special mention of one—Nathaniel Diong, Whitehorse Young Citizen of the Year. Nathaniel founded the Future Minds Network, which is a startup that teaches young Australians the skills to gain employment and tackle the problems of tomorrow. Since Nathaniel founded the network—when he was just 16 years old—over 11,000 students from 50 cultural backgrounds have completed his programs. With the COVID-19 pandemic widely acknowledged to have disproportionately impacted our younger Australians, it is so heartening to see a local initiative geared towards getting young people into work and preparing them for the future. Well done, Nathaniel. I wish you every success in the future. COVID-19: Hotel Quarantine 47 13:41 Mr KATTER HX4 Kennedy We've called upon the government to look at Dunk Island. The present quarantine areas are in the rabbit warrens of the great cities of Australia. The last place on earth you should put a potential COVID patient is in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, and yet that is what the Queensland government are doing. They have their quarantine station in Brisbane. Dunk Island is currently uninhabited. With a little bit of money spent, there would be 100 rooms. It employed 200 people at the tourist resort. There's no-one at the tourist resort now. It could be used tomorrow. With 60 demountables we could put 1,000 people a month through. We could bring 20,000 stranded Australians back to Australia. They could have a nice holiday in what was one of the world's leading tourist resorts—and the current owners would like it to again be that. They would like to get it working. It is an uninhabited island. That is where you put people who may have COVID until you are absolutely sure that they haven't got COVID and then they can move in Australia. In the meantime they are at a beautiful North Queensland tropical island tourist resort. What could be better? (Time expired) Barrenger, Mr Michael Francis 47 13:43 Mrs ARCHER 282237 Bass As a proud member of the George Town community I'm pleased to stand here today to recognise Michael Barrenger, a much-loved member of our community, who recently received the Citizen of the Year Award from the George Town Council. Michael has been an active member of the community since he first moved to the town 37 years ago. He joined the George Town Rotary Club for a number of years and restarted Apex in George Town. George Town RSL has also been very fortunate to have Michael involved. Although beginning his career as a sheetmetal worker, Michael has given 44 years of his life to the Tasmanian Ambulance Service. Michael started off as a volunteer during his spare time and went on to gain accreditation and become an intensive care paramedic. As stated by the George Town Council: His is a face that the George Town community has come to know and respect. A face that has given comfort to families in their worried times, who has helped young couples see new life enter the world and has dealt with things we dare not to think of. As someone who has been in an ambulance a few times with Michael as the attending paramedic, I can attest to his wonderful comforting nature. Indeed, he also came to my rescue a few years ago when I had a bad fall while working in my local hotel. Though off duty, he was there in a flash to render assistance. Michael, our entire community is proud to call you our own. We're thrilled to see your dedication and service to our town recognised in this way. Royal Adelaide Hospital 47 13:44 Mr ZAPPIA HWB Makin At a time when obesity is increasingly becoming a serious national health issue, with over two-thirds of adult Australians being obese or overweight, the South Australian Marshall Liberal government has closed the obesity clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, leaving people who had been waiting years for an appointment stranded. Without warning, people had their scheduled appointments cancelled, some not for the first time but after previous cancellations. Just as frustrating, they have not even been provided with any advice about when the obesity clinic will be reopened or what alternative services are available to them. For morbidly obese people, medical help is critical and specialised care such as that provided by the clinic is needed. That is why there is such a long waiting time for services at the clinic. But rather than improving the service, the Marshall government closed it down, using, as I understand it, COVID-19 as the excuse for doing so. I've written to the South Australian health minister about this matter. I now call on the Marshall government to not turn its back on people with life-threatening obesity but to make available the urgent medical services they need and to reinstate the obesity clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital or, at the very least, reinstate the services at another location. Lindsay Electorate: Education 48 13:46 Mrs McINTOSH 281513 Lindsay The Prime Minister this week announced a plan to the nation to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic safer and stronger. A key part of this plan is creating more local jobs, with a focus on making sure Australians are being educated and trained in the skills they will need to take on the jobs of the future. My focus for this year is to encourage our kids in Lindsay to prepare for these jobs in emerging industries such as space, engineering, IT, manufacturing and much more. Ian Palmer, CEO of the Schools Industry Partnership and a member of my advancing manufacturing task force, said that employers are starting to rebound and that the market is starting to rebound. There are new and emerging jobs in aged care, health, science and technology, and young people should have great optimism that there'll be many rewarding careers available in the future. They really should be investing in this and preparing for that now. The hardworking, aspirational families and businesses in my electorate of Lindsay know that we have the potential to drive Australian manufacturing. Once again, to achieve this we need to train and educate our kids in the jobs of the future. I'll be working hard to make sure that our community is making the most of the Morrison government's support to make Lindsay an even better place to live, work and study. Pensions and Benefits 48 13:47 Ms RYAN 249224 Lalor While many in my community have seen through a long lockdown in Victoria, working from home without the loss of a single dollar to their family income, lots of Australians, lots in my community and lots around the country have been left behind by this government, left behind at every turn. Those in the university sector, those in the aviation sector, those in the local government sector and visa holders have been left to live on air and a dream, and it continues. This government will cut JobKeeper across the board while there's still critical need in regions around Australia, particularly among those reliant on international tourism, which is not coming back online. This government has let down the 928,000 over-35s who are looking for work, cutting them out and deliberately excluding them from the hiring subsidies. This government will cut JobKeeper. It will return it to $40 a day while two million Australians are looking for work or for more work. Until he concedes that he has left behind people who are still struggling, this Prime Minister needs to stop pounding the drum about a recovery. With the Australian Labor Party, they'll have someone on their side. Hallett, Ms Angelique 48 13:49 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax Every single night across this nation there are children who are forced to flee their homes because of domestic violence. This scourge of humanity touches every pocket of our community. On the Sunshine Coast alone there are about 450 children that flee every single year, often without so much as one possession, not even a favourite toy. Of course, what these kids need is love and hope, which brings me to the organisation Loving Hope Bears. This is an organisation that allows community members to help fund the purchasing of teddy bears. Anyone with little kids knows the importance of a teddy bear and how precious it can be. You can imagine how important it is for those children who are going through such strain and trauma. The founder of Loving Hope Bears is Angelique Hallett, who I'm delighted to say recently was announced as the Sunshine Coast young citizen of the year. The leadership she, as a young woman, provides is quite extraordinary, and to her I say not just congratulations but indeed a very big thank you. National Broadband Network 48 13:50 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie Another week and another storm, and that means Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury people with fibre-to-the-curb NBN had the heart-stopping experience of once more wondering whether their NBN box will get fried. From Lapstone to Hazelbrook and in parts of the Hawkesbury like Bowen Mountain, Glossodia and Pitt Town, there have been hundreds of residents with fibre to the curb who've had to have NBN boxes replaced by technicians. More and more people are on to their third or fourth box and some are on to their seventh or eighth. NBN won't tell us the numbers, nor the cost of sending out technicians to all these homes, and they rarely allow anyone to keep a spare box for the next time. I'm told by people in Redfern and Mona Vale—in the electorate of the minister for communications, or close to it—that it's happening there too, but there is no end in sight. NBN tell me that they know the problem is something to do with the white box in the home and the node at the curb. Yes, even I know that. But they don't mention the copper wire, first used in 1881, one of the best conductors of electricity, that runs from the curb to the home. NBN do say they're looking for an answer and need to consult local and international lightning experts. This week my neighbour lost her third NBN box, and this response from NBN won't give her or anyone else confidence. Until there's a solution, every storm means people have to race to unplug connections. It means the loss of internet for homes and businesses. The minister needs to act. Flynn Electorate: Overseas Australians 49 13:52 Mr O'DOWD 139441 Flynn I rise today to talk about the Queensland Labor government's plan to relocate overseas Australians to quarantine places in my electorate of Flynn. I must agree with the member for Kennedy, Mr Katter, who just made a 90-second statement, on his proposal to move these repatriated Australians to an island off the Queensland coast. That would be far better than moving them to Gladstone. Gladstone's rural communities, such as Calliope, are very vulnerable. They lack hospital infrastructure if there is an outbreak. Gladstone has a level 3 hospital. As it is, my constituents find it very difficult to access health services now, without a pandemic. We currently have to wait three weeks to see a GP. The resources and mining sector has scheduled maintenance for this year. The Calliope mining camp is used to accommodate these workers. We can't have a mix of repatriated Australians and workers in the same camp. Going on the Queensland government's past performances, if there were a positive case, they would soon lock down the whole town of Gladstone, which would cripple industries like the cement industry, the aluminium industry and the gas industry as well as the power station and the port. It can't happen, which is why I say, 'No, no, no.' Lunar New Year 49 13:54 Mr GILES 243609 Scullin The date of 12 February marks the beginning of the year of the ox. The second animal of the Chinese zodiac, the ox denotes the hard work, positivity and honesty that will be manifested in all of us. As someone born in the year of the ox, I find this very encouraging and, hopefully, auspicious. The lunar new year is a chance for people to join with family members and celebrate over meals as we welcome new beginnings and honour the wisdom of ancestors. The lunar new year celebration is a great reminder of the many cultures and traditions that make us who we are as Australians today and, equally importantly, who we might be. Our diversity makes us stronger, and Asian Australians have made a vital contribution to Australia over many generations. This is something that we should always recognise—from the first Chinese migrants who arrived in the gold rush to the international students who have transformed our cities and suburbs and through the particular challenges of last year, from which we have come through stronger, together, whilst not forgetting the concerns we have seen expressed in today's Scanlon research. But I say now, on behalf of the Labor Party, happy lunar new year, everyone, and may the Year of the Ox bring you good health, good luck and prosperity. Barker Electorate: Australia Day Awards 49 13:55 Mr PASIN 240756 Barker Every year on 26 January, Australians reflect on what it means to be Australian. For me, Australia Day is a reminder of the tremendous freedoms we enjoy and how lucky we are to live in the greatest country on earth. I'm pleased to inform the House that five residents from my electorate of Barker were awarded Medals of the Order of Australia, including Frank England, Wendy Gaborit, Helen Sandow, Robert Sloane and Alison Stillwell. Other awards included the Emergency Services Medal awarded to Mr Antonie Poel and the Australian Corrections Medal awarded to Ms Alicia Murphy. Australian Citizens of the Year in my electorate included Chris Tugwell, Bill Gransbury, Rodney Hancock, Dulcie Hoggan, Jon Thurlow, Amanda Carter, Denis Roberts, Ivan Smith, David Kimber, Clarissa Martin, Lachlan Johnson, Bruce Clayson, Rhonda Burleigh, Sue Zwar, Mariska Hawke, Greg Moore, Emma Vasek, John Fenton, Sue Webber, Keith Harkness, Kevin Poole, Angela Thomkinson, John Scarvelis, Megan McWaters, Andrew Grieger, Muriel Knutsen and Jeremy Levins. To everyone recognised this year by the various Australia Day awards, thank you for your service to our nation. You're a credit to both yourselves, your family and the broader community. Child Care 50 13:56 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston We all know that this government likes to talk up a big game. When they launched their new childcare system in 2018, they did turn up the dial on the spin machine to full speed. They called it an historic once-in-a-generation reform. There were a lot of glossy brochures telling families how much they would save and that families had never had it better, and with warnings that childcare centres would be named and shamed for hiking fees. It's only been 2½ years and the verdict is in: their new system is already busted. In the last week, new data has been released which exposes the Morrison government's spin as empty and hollow. The Productivity Commission has just released data that shows a 21.7 per cent rise in one year in the number of parents who aren't working because of childcare costs. There are now more than 90,000 parents not working because of out-of-control fees under this Liberal government. The data also shows childcare costs rose by 5.6 per cent between 2019 and 2020, and it's supported by the latest inflation data from last week. This shows that out-of-pocket costs in Brisbane, Sydney and Darwin are now higher under this Prime Minister's system than they were under the old system. It's become a bit of sport to watch the education minister have to update his lines, but the government shouldn't need any more proof that their system is busted. Braddon Electorate: Housing 50 13:58 Mr PEARCE 282306 Braddon A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of attending Devonfield Enterprises' official opening of their new fully accessible homes in Spreyton. Devonfield is a fantastic not-for-profit organisation, a registered provider under the NDIS, who work tirelessly every day to meet the needs and goals of people with a disability. Mr Speaker, I wish you could have been there. It was a day of celebration, of unrestrained joy as these new residents unlocked their new front doors and entered their brand new homes. This is accessible housing done right. This is the NDS at work. I had a chance to catch up with three of the new residents, Rodney Atten, Michael McGurk and Andrea Hanson. The trio have been best mates for years, and now they'll be roomies in one of these new beautiful homes. This will be life-changing for Rodney, Michael and Andrea. They are now living independently with their friends and in the community while still having access to the support and services that they need. This is how it should be. So congratulations to Devonfield chair, John Blyth; CEO, Tanya Kingshott; and everyone at Devonfield for making this vision a reality; and to the local builders NAK Building Group and architect Lachlan Walsh for giving our region this suburb complex. The SPEAKER 00APG It being 2 pm, the time for members' statements has concluded. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 50 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Workplace Relations 50 14:00 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is to the Prime Minister. How will the Prime Minister's industrial relations changes, which allow the wages of workers to be cut, help the economic recovery? Won't his changes just make things worse? 14:00 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook No. That's the answer to the question. The Leader of the Opposition is engaged in a desperate overreach. That's what he's engaged in. I tell you what our plans are doing: they're putting people back into work. Whether it's the plans that we want to put in place to make sensible changes that actually help businesses to employ people; whether it's changes that are actually building the skills of the Australian workforce; whether it's the revitalisation of the Australian manufacturing industry, which is the technology roadmap, some $18 billion invested over the next decade that will transform the global economy, working with other partners around the world—all of these things are reducing the cost to households by reducing their tax burden. And it's not just for individuals but also for businesses going out there, taking risks to put Australians back into work. We're cutting red tape and seeing the transformation of the digital economy in Australia, which is so critical. The instant expensing— The SPEAKER 00APG The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order? Mr Burke DYW It's on direct relevance, Mr Speaker. The question is already broad. It refers to the industrial relations changes. I'm not surprised that the Prime Minister doesn't want to refer to the industrial relations changes, but he has to to be relevant. The SPEAKER 00APG I'll just say that I take the point the Manager of Opposition Business is trying to make. The question was about industrial relations, but it also, I think, broadened the scope for the answer with the words, 'Won't they make things worse?' And I think the Prime Minister's entitled to talk about the government's approach on workplaces and jobs and what the government's priorities are. So I think he's in order so far. Mr MORRISON E3L When you give them a one-word answer, they don't like it; and when you give them an expansive answer, they don't like it either! The answer is what the Australian people are seeing from this government on the economy: putting people back into jobs. The only job those opposite are focused on at the moment is the job of that man right there. Australia-United States Relationship 51 14:02 Ms HAMMOND 80072 Curtin My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the importance of the Australia-US relationship and how the further deepening of our alliance will provide greater certainty and stability in the region, and aid our continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic? 14:03 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I thank the member for her question. This was a very warm and engaging call that I was able to share today with President Biden. That is something I'm sure that all members of this House would welcome, given the importance of the Australia-US alliance. I also thank the Leader of the Opposition for his courtesy today, which enabled me to have that call uninterrupted by the various divisions in parliament. I thank the Leader of the Opposition. The relationship we spoke of today that both the President and I steward—as prime ministers and presidents have done, particularly over these last 70 years of the ANZUS relationship, from all sides of politics—is one that the President described as 'the anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, both now and into the future'. That is very true. Today we were able to once again affirm our commitment to that all-important alliance, not just for Australia's security, not just for peace in the region—all of this so essential—but for the ongoing prosperity of our peoples, both here and in the United States. We affirmed our commitment to the many ways we work that relationship, whether it be defence and security or intelligence, but particularly through our multilateral engagements—whether it be through the Quad, whether it be through the Five Eyes relationship, whether it be, indeed, through the G7+ dialogue that is becoming larger, or in the many other forums in which we engage, working together on the COVID response, the economic recovery, in both countries and around the world and on global and regional security, here amongst our ASEAN partners and the Pacific nations of our region, with whom I engaged yesterday and the day before; the multilateral institutions and the reforms, whether it's at the World Trade Organization or so many other places—working together, as liberal market democracies, to advance our shared world view as to how the world will recover from this pandemic. And achieving a net zero technology pathway is what we discussed, understanding that technology was the way to achieve this in the many partnerships we can engage in together to advance that technology agenda that will be transformational. The Biden administration's technology outlook, when it comes to reducing emissions and doing so in a way that preserves jobs, is shared by this government, and it overlaps, and that's what was said during the campaign, and it is now what we're realising, and I look forward to doing this. But ultimately, Australia's relationship with the United States is a sovereign one, and it's one that looks to the United States, definitely, but it's never one that leaves it to the United States. Our relationship with the United States is one of an equal partnership, of shared views, and one that has had a profound positive influence on the peace and stability and prosperity of our region. The SPEAKER 00APG The Leader of the Opposition? Mr Albanese R36 Mr Speaker, just briefly, on indulgence: on behalf of this side of the House, we very much welcome the election of President Biden and his administration and we look forward to a strengthening of the relationship between our two great democracies. Workplace Relations 51 14:06 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is addressed to the Prime Minister and I ask: how can the Prime Minister claim his industrial relations changes don't allow for cuts, when the cuts are right here in schedule 3 part 5 clause 19 of the Prime Minister's own industrial relations legislation that is before this parliament right now? 14:06 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce They're simply not, and that provision doesn't do what the Leader of the Opposition is saying before the House that it does do. And, being asked by the opposition a form of question which falsely puts something that the bill does, it is useful to look at the things that the bill actually does and which are all opposed by members opposite. An opposition member: No. Mr PORTER 208884 The bill imposes— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order? Mr Albanese R36 Yes, Mr Speaker: there have been a number of questions here this week, as you'd recall, Mr Speaker; here we have clarified: schedule 3, part 5, clause 19—we had down to the paragraph in the legislation that this question's about. The SPEAKER 00APG I'd just say: you need to state what the point of order is. I'm assuming— Mr Albanese R36 It's on relevance. The minister can't talk about every other clause; he has to talk about this clause, which is the better off overall test. The SPEAKER 00APG Yes. I just— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG I would like to rule on the point of order. Unlike the last question, there's not any tolerance in this. The minister has been asked about a specific clause and he needs to confine himself to that. I mean, obviously, as he started the answer he dealt with the matter very directly, but the Leader of the Opposition is right—it's not about any other clauses and doesn't enable him to do that. The minister has the call. Mr PORTER 208884 I can reiterate that what the Leader of the Opposition contends could occur in that clause cannot occur, will not occur and does not occur now, with precisely the same drafted protections that Labor put into the act. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my left! Members on my left, when we've had a specific question, the Leader of the Opposition's raised a point of order and I've asked the minister to answer the question directly, a wall of noise is just going to result in a whole series of ejections from the chamber. Economy 52 14:09 Mrs McINTOSH 281513 Lindsay My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on how the Morrison government's strong economic management is ensuring our economy is not only recovering but is now gathering pace? 14:09 Mr FRYDENBERG FKL Kooyong I thank the member for Lindsay for her question and acknowledge her experience working in the not-for-profit sector before coming to this place and for working with those on this side of the House to deliver tax cuts to more than 80,000 taxpayers in the electorate of Lindsay. Yesterday, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia gave a very significant speech at the Press Club. He said that the economic recovery was happening 'earlier and stronger' than first forecast. He talked about the strength of the housing market. He talked about the strong rebound in retail sales. He talked about strong employment growth, and he said that the Reserve Bank's forecasts have been updated so that they now expect GDP to be back at its pre-COVID levels by mid this year, six to 12 months earlier than first forecast. In fact, their forecasts today are much better than their most optimistic scenarios in August of last year. This comes after other important economic data. Ninety per cent of the 1.3 million Australians who either lost their jobs or saw their working hours reduced to zero at the start of the pandemic are now back at work. We saw quarterly growth in the September quarter at its highest level since 1976. And we have seen consumer confidence and business confidence get back to their pre-pandemic levels. This week we saw consumer confidence go up—earlier this week; 16 out of 20 weeks—and today I can report to the House that business confidence is up by 22 points and that the capital expenditure expectations of business are now the highest in a decade. That is the good economic data that is showing that the economic recovery is underway. When I had the opportunity to visit the electorate of Lindsay, I met with many businesses that have graduated off JobKeeper. More than two million Australian workers and 450,000 businesses have graduated out of JobKeeper, as the economic recovery is underway. So, while some in this place might want to talk down the economic recovery, and some in this place might want to talk down JobKeeper and the significance of it, the fact is it has helped build a bridge to the other side of this crisis. There is a long way to go. But, as the governor said yesterday, you wouldn't want to be in any country but Australia, because we are very well placed on both the health and the economic front, and that has been due to the work of 25 million Australians and the unprecedented economic support from the Morrison government. This government, under this Prime Minister, is focused on delivering more jobs, and that is exactly what we are seeing in the Australian economy. Workplace Relations 52 14:12 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is to the Prime Minister. I again refer to his industrial relations legislation and, in particular, to schedule 3, part 5, clause 19. If the Prime Minister suspends the better off overall test, doesn't that mean that workers don't have to be better off overall? An honourable member: It's not complex! 14:12 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce It is complex for the Leader of the Opposition! Let me read for all members of the House what clause 19 actually says in black and white: 'After "FWC may" (first occurring), insert "also".' Wow! He cannot even get the right clause. He simply— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister will resume his seat. Members on both sides will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order? Mr Albanese R36 The minister is misleading the House. Clause 19— The SPEAKER 00APG No, you need to state the point of order. Mr Albanese R36 He can't just stand there and make things up, Mr Speaker. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Treasurer will cease interjecting. We'll get to you, Member for Clark; I won't forget. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question. On how the minister answers it, I need to ensure they're relevant to the question, but I can't vet all statements for accuracy. In fact, I don't have a role in that. I just simply need to make sure he is being relevant to the question, and I think he was being relevant to the question. The Leader of the Opposition, on a further point of order? Mr Albanese R36 On a point of order with regard to relevance, and it goes to this— The SPEAKER 00APG But you've just had a point of order— Mr Albanese R36 No; it wasn't on relevance. The SPEAKER 00APG What was it on? Mr Albanese R36 It was on accuracy. The SPEAKER 00APG Well, there isn't one. Mr Albanese R36 You've now said I can do it on relevance. The SPEAKER 00APG No, no. I showed great leniency in assuming it was on relevance. There is no point of order on accuracy in answers. Mr Albanese R36 And you ruled that out of order. The SPEAKER 00APG I didn't rule it out of order; I took it as a point of order on relevance. Mr Tim Wilson interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Member for Goldstein! I'll hear from the Leader of the Opposition, without interruption. Mr Albanese R36 In order to be relevant, the minister has to refer to the clause which is in the question, which says: The FWC may approve the agreement under this section if the agreement is not a greenfields agreement and the FWC is satisfied that: it is appropriate to do so taking into account all the circumstances, including— And then there are four separate sections and a part (b). He has to refer to that, because that is what I quoted in the question, not whatever it is that he's going on about in order to make a point and avoid the substance of the cuts by the suspension of the better off overall test. The SPEAKER 00APG The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The minister has the call. Mr PORTER 208884 I do see what the member is getting at. There are two clauses that work in tandem. Those words that he just read are there. They say— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister will pause for a second. Members will cease interjecting. I want to make it very clear I'm now issuing a general warning. With everyone listening: if you are ejected for interjecting, don't be surprised. The minister has the call. Mr PORTER 208884 The provisions would amend section 189 of the Fair Work Act, which was put into that act by members opposite, which has a protection around the BOOT test which says that any decision of the Fair Work Commission could not be contrary to the public interest. Those words, which you put into the act—indeed, which were just read out by the Leader of the Opposition—are the same protections precisely replicated by the words that would be inserted by this government in this bill. Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme 54 14:17 Mr WILKIE C2T Clark My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, I'm aware of allegations that TT-Line, a Tasmanian government business, is ripping off consumers by not passing on the federal government's $6 million temporary increase to the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme, known as the Bring Your Car For Free promotion. Yes, vehicle charges have dropped. But, at the same time, it seems TT-Line is jacking up passenger and cabin fares, so it can cost more to sail with a car than it did before the promotion. This would be state sanctioned misuse of federal funding, a rip-off and another blow to the Tasmanian economy and tourism sector. Prime Minister, will you do something about this? Will you investigate the matter urgently? 14:17 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I thank the member for his question. The pandemic, as he and I both know, severely impacted the number of people travelling across Bass Strait to Tasmania. At one point 85 per cent of passenger travel on the Spirit of Tasmania was cancelled. As a result of that, the Deputy Prime Minister, in working with the Tasmanian coalition MPs and senators—in particular, the members for Braddon and Bass; I commend them for the great work they've done here—as well as the Tasmanian Premier and his government, and the Tasmanian tourism sector, announced further support through the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme. We did that on 7 January this year to encourage more Australians to travel to Tasmania. This support consisted of $6 million to increase the rebate and make it free to take a car or a motorbike across the Bass Strait—a saving of $240 for return passengers. The rebate was to apply to a new booking for travel from 1 March until 30 June, or until funding was exhausted. I'm advised that, when travellers book their ticket, the rebate automatically applies to the purchase price of the ticket. I will ask the Deputy Prime Minister to add further to the answer. 14:19 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina I thank the member for Clark. Member for Clark, if you have any specific allegations in relation to this that you would like to be investigated, I would be very, very happy to look at them. On 7 January I announced— Mr Marles interjecting— Mr McCORMACK 219646 I'm happy to see members in my office. I do that all the time, Member for Corio—yours, ours—to get things done. That's what the parliament's for; you may not know that. On 7 January I announced the full subsidisation of the cost, as the Prime Minister said, of transporting a standard car or bus across Bass Strait under the existing Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme, which has been successfully operating since 1996. COVID-19, of course, has significantly affected tourism in Tasmania and the number of passenger vehicles travelling across Bass Strait, which is why we've committed $6 million to bring more travellers to Tasmania, providing the kickstart to 2021 that Tasmania so desperately needs. I met with Premier Peter Gutwein the other day whilst I was in Tasmania. Of course, I had representations from the members for Bass and Braddon and from our senators as well in the other place, who very much advocated this. Tourists who arrive on the Spirit of Tasmania stay longer, spend more and disperse further throughout Tasmania's regions. I know you would appreciate that as much as any member in this place, Member for Clark. While sea arrivals account for only 12 per cent of all visitors to Tasmania, they contribute 20 per cent of all annual visitor spend. But, I say again, if you've got any specific allegations, I'd like to hear them. Infrastructure 54 14:20 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister inform the House how the Morrison-McCormack government's continued investment in regional infrastructure is creating stability and a stronger Australia as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic? 14:21 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina I do thank the member for Mallee for her question. She, like every member on this side of the House, and one in particular on that side of the House, knows full well the importance of the rollout of infrastructure in creating jobs—and more on that little thing later. As part of the government's— Honourable members interjecting— Mr McCORMACK 219646 I'll keep you in suspense! As part of the government's $110 billion infrastructure pipeline—that is supporting 100,000 jobs—we have, in the member's electorate of Mallee, and in Wannon, invested an additional $200.2 million to undertake the next stage of the upgrade and standardisation of the Murray-Darling Basin freight rail network. This project will see the standardisation of the railway line between Mildura and Geelong, two very vibrant places that we want to be even better. Mr Marles interjecting— Mr McCORMACK 219646 The member for Corio agrees with me now. This additional funding would not have happened without fierce advocacy of this project from the member for Mallee and the member for Wannon. The remediation works will create significant economic activity along the line, supporting local businesses and local procurement—so important—and creating a thousand additional jobs. Now, these types of jobs in regional Australia have significant flow-on right through the local economies, and that's what we're doing with every part and portion of our rollout of infrastructure over the next decade. That's what we are providing. The extra funding includes $5 million for planning the next stages to fully standardise the Murray-Darling Basin network—$5 million for planning—and that's going to be critical too. I absolutely call on the Victorian government to join us in the completion of this vital project. It is crucial that a reliable rail network be available to officially move this grain. And the member for Mallee knows just how diverse what is going to be transported is—grain, as I say, mineral sands, fruit and vegetables, wine—to encourage more of that freight off the road network and onto the rail network. But, when you are talking infrastructure, you do get support from different quarters and allies from places and people that you would not expect. Certainly, that was the case when four days ago I saw a tweet from none other than the shadow minister for infrastructure, supporting what we are doing as part of rail in Victoria. Wendouree Station now has a second platform—all part of Victoria's regional rail revival. 'New infrastructure,' she declared, 'for regional communities'—and here's the punch line—'great to see!' It is great to see, Member for Ballarat. It is fantastic! Opposition members interjecting— Mr McCORMACK 219646 I'm getting a clap from the member for Sydney. She loves the Victorian rail upgrades too! Of the $601 million for the Ballarat upgrade, $503 million is coming from the Liberal and Nationals government. And I know all members opposite love it! (Time expired) Workplace Relations 55 14:24 Mr BURKE DYW Watson My question is to the Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations. I refer to his previous answer where he said that the words in the amending bill and the act were precisely the same. Does the Attorney-General realise that, if the words were exactly the same, it wouldn't be an amendment? Why is the government trying to use the pandemic as cover for a pay cut without being upfront with the Australian people? The government is suspending the better off overall test. That allows workers to be worse off. 14:24 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce The words are exactly the same. The words 'would not be contrary to the public interest', which is the singular purposeful test and safeguard, are precisely the same. That provision, section 189, which members opposite inserted into the Fair Work Act, which, in emergency situations, allows— Mr Albanese interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. I'm not going to hear from the Manager of Opposition Business yet, because the minister is not even 30 seconds into this answer. But I'm listening to the minister very carefully. The minister has the call. Mr PORTER 208884 The point of the members opposite seems to be that, in the Fair Work Act, there is an existing section, section 189. It is headed: 'The Fair Work Commission may approve an enterprise agreement that does not pass the BOOT'. It's to be used in emergency circumstances. It was put in the Fair Work Act by members opposite. Their killer point is that, in our bill, we're maintaining it and maintaining the protection for the purposes of an emergency, such as COVID, and that no agreement could be approved by the Fair Work Commission if it were contrary to the public interest. The Fair Work Commission has to make a decision that any change is in the public interest. If the change is contrary to the public interest, it would never be approved. That's the test that you put in; that's the test that we support. In the circumstances of COVID, we think that's a sensible test. COVID-19: Vaccines 55 14:26 Ms FLINT 245550 Boothby My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister please update the House on Australia's vaccine rollout and on what the Morrison government is doing to protect Australian lives and livelihoods and create a stronger Australia? 14:26 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I want to thank the member for Boothby, in particular for her advocacy for a national stillbirth action plan, along with members right across both chambers. I would also acknowledge the member for McMahon. There are many people contributing to an extremely important outcome to save lives. Savings lives, of course, is what our COVID response has been about in Australia—all of the work being brought together by so many people not just across the chambers but across the country. Today, we've seen one community case; around the world, 439,000 cases. Today, fortunately, we've seen no lives lost, as was the case right throughout January. Sadly, almost 14,000 lives have been lost around the world, and over 400,000 lives have been lost around in the world in January. Against that background of a pandemic which is wreaking enormous damage, the vaccine becomes critical globally and in Australia. Shortly before question time, I was delighted to join the Prime Minister, along with Professor Brendan Murphy, the head of the Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group on vaccines, to announce that Australia had purchased an additional 10 million doses of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. The option of additional doses was built into the contract when we prepared and developed it. The advice on vaccine purchasing, which we have followed throughout, came from Professor Brendan Murphy's team, with Professor Paul Kelly, the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Allen Cheng, the Deputy Chief Health Officer in Victoria, and many other distinguished leaders in Australia. We exercised that option once the approval was given by the TGA, as was always the plan. Throughout this, we have been working to a plan on containment and capacity. Within the capacity element, we have been working on the vaccine's strategy. That strategy has now seen us acquire 150 million doses—three times that needed to vaccinate the whole of the population with a shot on two occasions. That is now 20 million Pfizer doses, 53.8 million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses, 51 million Novavax doses and 25½ million doses through the COVAX facility. Significantly, we have followed that advice. It's very important that we continue to do that, based on the best expert medical recommendations to the government. We'll continue to do that. I also have advice today from both Pfizer and AstraZeneca that we remain on track for the rollout commencing in late February and early March respectively, and this will help save lives and protect lives. Workplace Relations 56 14:30 Ms KEARNEY LTU Cooper My question is to the Prime Minister. First, the government pretended that its industrial relations changes did not allow for pay cuts. Then it briefed the media that the part of the legislation that suspends the better off overall test would be dropped. Now, it's back to denying the cuts exist. Rather than denying the truth, why doesn't this government either defend the pay cut or drop it? 14:30 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce There is no such thing. Honourable members interjecting— Mr PORTER 208884 They laugh as if they have been very convincing today. They haven't been at all convincing, because you can't convince people of things that are not correct. What I can do is talk about what the bill does do. It is a bill designed not to ensure that people have less—rather, that people have more. Everything in this bill is designed to ensure that people have more money, more wages and better conditions. Let's have a look. The Labor Party have made a decision—and that's inside their ambit—to oppose the bill in its entirety. What does that mean that Labor are opposing? Labor are now opposing tougher civil penalties to stamp out wage theft. If you're a worker who has been the subject of underpayment, you are supposed to believe that the Labor members are on your side, except that they are opposing tougher civil penalties to stamp out wage theft. Labor are opposing the institution of the first ever Commonwealth criminal penalty for wage theft. That's what their position on this bill is. Labor will oppose creating a new small-claims stream for the recovery of wage payments. The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Cooper, on a point of order? Ms Kearney LTU I have a point of order on relevance. We asked a very specific question: rather than denying the truth, why doesn't the government defend the pay cut or drop it? I didn't ask anything else about the legislation. The SPEAKER 00APG But the question, if I may say so, wasn't as tight as an earlier question from the Leader of the Opposition. It did have a lot of commentary in it. That's why it allows the minister to range more widely. He's on the topic of the piece of legislation you asked about, so that's why he has more latitude on this occasion. Mr PORTER 208884 The bill doesn't take pay from people; it has the first ever criminal penalties to ensure that people get their money back. Not that long ago, the member for Watson said, 'Vulnerable workers getting their money back quickly has to be the highest priority.' Well, here's the bill that strengthens the civil penalties. Here's the bill that has criminal penalties for wage theft. Here's the bill that sets out a new small claims tribunal. These are all things that they said that they support, all things that the union movement asked for, and now all things that they're opposing. The bill, in its present form, ensures that people get paid properly and that there are proper offences if they're not paid properly. It ensures that wages will increase. It ensures that jobs will increase. It ensures, just as the member for Watson wanted, that vulnerable workers getting their money back quickly has to be the highest priority. Indeed, it was reported in the media—this morning, I believe—that the Labor Party's opposition to the entirety of the bill was just something that they were willing to do and they would accept there would be some collateral damage. They were the words of a Labor member quoted in the newspaper. So if you're a worker who has been underpaid, if you want the protections in this bill of tougher civil penalties and of a criminal offence against wage theft and if you want a small claims tribunal to get your money back quicker, you are now the Labor Party's collateral damage in their desperate strategic move. (Time expired) Australia-United States of America Relationship: Defence 57 14:34 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra My question is to the Minister representing Minister for Defence. Will the minister outline to the House how the Australia-US relationship, through our defence cooperation, is creating a stronger Australia and stability and certainty in our region? 14:34 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I want to say thank you very much to the member for Berowra for his service on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. He contributes an enormous amount to the security of this nation through his work on that committee, and I commend all people from both sides of the House on the work of that PJCIS. As all Australians know, the National Security Committee has met constantly over the course of the last 12 months, not just to deal with the COVID pandemic and to try and keep Australians safe. We've made a number of decisions, including closing our borders, which have resulted in us being able to work closely with Health to deliver the best possible outcome for the Australian people. We've dealt with issues around counterterrorism. We have dealt with issues around cyberattacks on Australian businesses and families. But we have never ever taken our eye off the ball of keeping Australians safe by making sure that we have the appropriate compacts, friendships and alliances with those nations which are most important, not just for our country but also for our region and indeed for the rest of the world. There is no more important alliance than between our country and the United States of America. The work that we do with the United States is incredibly important. The intelligence that we receive, the intelligence that we provide to the United States and the way in which we work with our Five Eyes partners help keep Australians safe. It has done it for generations and it will do it for generations into the future. It is why the Prime Minister's call this morning with the President of the United States, President Biden, was so important; it underscored that relationship. Mr Biden is an exemplary friend of Australia and the work that the Prime Minister's put into the relationship over the course of the last few years has been quite remarkable. It has built us into a position where we are able to provide support to troops coming into Darwin. We have even been able to do that during the course of COVID because the way in which our troops are able to work with their American colleagues is incredibly important. I know that Minister Reynolds had a very important and productive discussion with her counterpart, the new Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, last week and underscored what are the three key priorities for the alliance defence cooperation in 2021 and they are as follows: progressing bilateral force posture initiatives to contribute to regional security; enhancing our regional activities to contribute to a region that is secure, prosperous, inclusive and rules based; and deepening our technology and industry cooperation to ensure the alliance maintains its capability edge. This is an enduring alliance that so far has lasted seven decades and it will continue to go from strength to strength. By sharing our values, our interests and our security with the United States, we can provide the best possible opportunity to keep Australians safe. Workplace Relations 57 14:38 Mr GEORGANAS DZY Adelaide My question is to the Prime Minister. According to the government's own fair Pay Calculator, under the Prime Minister's industrial relations changes, a butcher working part-time, Thursday to Sunday, could lose nearly $7,000 a year from their take-home pay. Why is the Prime Minister abandoning these workers? 14:38 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce That calculator simply does not produce that result. It simply does not produce that result. That is absolutely nonsensical. This bill does a range of things with respect to underpayments to make sure that people get paid. It makes enterprise agreement-making quicker and faster. It works on ensuring that part-time permanent employees can get shifts and get paid more in circumstances where they're not presently getting shifts and being paid more. This bill provides the first consistent, strong pathway to permanent employment from being a casual, and these are all things that Labor now oppose. As it was put in an article by Mr Phillip Coorey: One Labor source said if these provisions became "collateral damage" then so be it. So provisions that would ensure that people who are underpaid get protected, that's collateral damage now, is it? A small claims tribunal to ensure that people get paid properly becomes collateral damage. Changes designed to give permanent part-time employees the option to work extra shifts and earn more money if they want to, that's collateral damage now, is it? You now oppose ensuring that there is a consistent strong pathway for an employee who wants to move to permanent employment from casual employment exists. And that is collateral damage. You could have looked at this bill like you would look, for instance, at a menu in a Chinese restaurant. You could have looked at it and looked at the things that you say increase the ability to get back wages where people have been underpaid, to get more employment for people who are on part-time contracts, to get proper penalties for wage theft, to make enterprise agreements simpler— Mr Butler HWK Mr Speaker, I have a point of order on relevance. There was a specific instance raised by the member for Adelaide. The minister is now ranging across a whole range of different areas that don't deal with this butcher situation and a $7,000 pay cut. The SPEAKER 00APG Deputy Manager of Opposition Business, the minister certainly did briefly stray into other business, but he's now certainly on the subject of pay. I think he's entitled when he's asked a question that asserts the government is cutting pay to be able to talk about what his policy approach is with respect to pay as it relates to the legislation. Mr PORTER 208884 One thing this legislation does is make enterprise agreements and bargaining in enterprise agreements simpler and faster than at the moment. Why does that cause increased pay for people? The average weekly earnings for people on enterprise agreements is $1,331 and for those on awards it is $789. So the more people we can get covered by enterprise agreements, the more that they will get paid. That used to be your position. The member for Watson said: Bargaining is much harder at the moment and taking much longer than it should. Policies that get bargaining moving again are going to be really important … I don't think anyone says that every rule that is there at the moment should remain unchanged. What they now say with respect to bargaining is that every rule that does exist at the moment should remain unchanged. They totally reversed their position because they want to avoid what they call collateral damage. There's one piece of collateral damage that they are trying to avoid and that's with respect to the Leader of the Opposition. (Time expired) Defence Industry 58 14:42 Mr CONNELLY 282984 Stirling My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. Will the minister outline to the House how the Morrison government's investment in our defence industry is supporting Australian jobs and ensuring a strong Australia as we come back from the COVID-19 recession? 14:42 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack I thank the member for Stirling for his question and acknowledge and thank him for his outstanding service to our Australian Defence Force. I also thank the thousands of men and women just like him who have also put on the uniform to keep Australians safe. The Morrison government's $270 billion investment in defence capability is supporting thousands of Australian jobs right across the country, in the city and, more importantly for me personally, in the regions as well. Because of the actions we took in 2020 our defence industry is stronger than ever. Not only are we surviving but we are thriving, and we should all be immensely proud of that. Today our government announced that we will build a new fleet of military vehicles. These vehicles can travel on land and water. This is under the new $800 million upgrade to Army's amphibious vessels. It's replacing the vessels we used in the Vietnam War, so it's quite historic. This project, like all defence industry projects, means more jobs for Australians and more opportunities for Australian businesses to help deliver the capabilities for our Defence Force. Also today I, together with the member for Herbert, very proudly announced that Townsville is set to be the home of a new military combat training centre. The centre will train soldiers in driving, gunnery and tactics of operating our current and future armoured fighting vehicles. Today we announced that we are going to invest $30 million to build this centre, which is the first phase. Construction is to start this month, and the project will be completed mid-2022. North Queensland businesses, together with subbies, will be able to help the managing contractor, St Hilliers, to deliver this job, supporting some 110 jobs. Ninety-eight per cent of the work on this project will be sourced locally. As you can imagine, that is music to the ears of the local Townsville tradies. This is just another great example of the Morrison government backing Australian jobs and regional businesses to help deliver essential capability for the Australian Defence Force. To make sure that we are doing everything we can to keep Australians in jobs, especially during this COVID time, our government has, since March last year, fast-tracked $21 billion worth of invoices to defence suppliers. This has been extremely welcomed by the defence suppliers, who have told us categorically that this has kept Australians in work, not only in the cities but in regional Australia. Mr Speaker, I think you can see that we're not slowing down. We're getting on with the job. We're supporting jobs and defence industry in the bush and in the city. (Time expired) Mr Gosling interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG The member for Solomon will leave under 94(a). Member for Solomon, just before you leave, this is the second occasion upon which you've been asked to leave under 94(a) for interjecting, and you've interjected again as you were leaving the chamber. That normally would result in a naming offence. The member for Solomon is on very thin ice. The member for Solomon will leave the chamber and will not behave in that way again or he will be named and, if that motion is carried, he will be ejected for 24 hours and, as far as his colleagues are concerned, will have wasted about 10 minutes of question time. The member for Solomon will leave immediately. The member for Solomon then left the chamber. Workplace Relations 59 14:46 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio My question is to the Prime Minister. I have here an email from Andrew Burnes, CEO of Helloworld Travel, asking employees to accept pay cuts from the end of March when JobKeeper ends. Is this just the first round of Morrison pay cuts? 14:47 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I haven't seen the correspondence to which the member refers and I'd be happy for him to provide it to me. As people in this place know, but, more importantly, as those around this country know, the JobKeeper program has been the game-changing program that has kept hundreds of thousands of Australians in work. In fact, it has saved 700,000 jobs. On top of that, as we have said from the outset, the JobKeeper program was proportionate, it was temporary and it was targeted to ensure that Australia came through the worst period of the pandemic. As we have transitioned the JobKeeper program from its very significant levels of uptake early in the pandemic, we have always recognised that we have been moving towards other forms of support—in particular, in terms of the travel agent sector, with some $128 million, as the minister reminds me, of direct support to travel agents, because we understood the very specific challenges that travel agents have faced. I thank all of my colleagues who, on behalf of those jobs and those small business people in their electorates, have raised those issues with me and with the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment at the time, now the Minister for Finance. We crafted a package to provide very direct support, and that has been our approach throughout this pandemic. Throughout this pandemic, our approach has been to understand where the need was and to target support to that, but to do so in a way that respected taxpayers' money and understood that these transitions would have to occur, because you cannot run the Australian economy on taxpayers' money forever. Throughout the last year, during this pandemic, those opposite, the Labor Party, have had an each-way bet on the pandemic response. With one side of their mouths they say they're with us, and with the other side of their mouths they seek to undermine the effort. Our government has been consistent and honest with people and has delivered support that this country has never seen before. It has saved jobs. It has gotten Australians back into work. Some 90 per cent of the jobs that were lost throughout the COVID-19 recession have returned to the Australian economy. Our plans are getting people back into work. They're going to keep getting people back into work. It is a difficult time for Australians all around this country, and they know they have had our support. Higher Education 59 14:49 Mrs WICKS 241590 Robertson My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's 100,000 additional university places will help Australian school leavers to get the skills and qualifications they need to get a job during the COVID-19 recovery and create a stronger Australia in 2021 and beyond? 14:50 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I thank the member for Robertson for her question and for her incredible advocacy for the University of Newcastle, and particularly the Central Coast campus based just near her electorate. From this year, Australian school leavers will be able to benefit from the government's Job-ready Graduates Package. This is a package which is aimed at giving more opportunities for young people to do a course and to then get a job. There are many components to this particular package. First, there will be 30,000 more universities places in 2021 and 100,000 additional places over the decade. There is $903 million of investment to support that. Secondly, we've actually changed the prices of some of these courses so that people are encouraged to do the degrees and the courses which have the best shot at leading to work at the end. You'll find, for example, that science, engineering and IT have gone down 18 per cent in price this year compared to last year. Nursing has gone down 42 per cent this year, and agriculture and maths are down 59 per cent in price this year. All up, students who enrol this year—60 per cent of them—will be paying either less or the same amount this year compared to what they would have paid last year. Of course, there's no charge upfront for those students. We've already seen the results of these price changes, with early application data showing more people are, in fact, enrolling in teaching, agriculture and nursing—good results. For regional students, who I know many are concerned about here, and those students who live some distance away from a university campus, we're making it easier for them by introducing a new $5,000 tertiary access payment to help those students get to a campus if they live more than 90 minutes away from one. Again, that's about creating opportunities for those students to be able to take up those courses. Finally, a real innovation—and I commend the minister for trade for this package—is the new, additional 50,000 short courses, six-month courses, specifically for those people who may have lost their jobs last year during the pandemic, to quickly upskill, get a qualification and then be able to get back into the workforce. This is an incredible package: $1.5 billion worth of investment and 150,000 opportunities for people in Australia. Ultimately, that will lead to more jobs, which is what this government is all about creating. Workplace Relations 60 14:53 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is also to the Minister for Industrial Relations. It follows the previous question from this side and refers to a letter from Helloworld management to an employee calling for them to agree to a five-figure wages cut, which says: 'To accept the proposed adjustment to your remuneration, please sign below and return.' Is this consistent with your former finance minister's view that low wages growth was a deliberate feature of your economic architecture? 14:53 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce (): Like the Prime Minister, I've not seen that correspondence, but what I can say, definitively, is that there is nothing in the government's industrial relations reform bill which would allow for a process such as that which has been described. Environment 60 14:54 Mr SHARMA 274506 Wentworth My question is to the Minister for the Environment. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison government is caring for our country by continuing to protect and enhance our natural environment, including through safeguarding our biodiversity and iconic species and working to ensure a stronger Australia in 2021? 14:54 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer I thank the member for Wentworth for his question and acknowledge the keen interest of his constituents in this important policy area. The Morrison government is committed to safeguarding Australia's unique natural landscapes. We all have a role in caring for our country, be it on land or sea. Since 2014, we've supported thousands of local community projects throughout Australia, planting trees, cleaning up waterways and creeks, rebuilding after natural disasters—protecting, improving and repairing our environment. When it comes to our most iconic species, people think of the koala, and I know that the koala is loved nationally and internationally. I want to reassure the House that the recent $18 million package to support this furry marsupial is progressing well, with 60 experts meeting this week and enthusiastically helping us to design the next step. We will see habitat restoration, the first ever national koala census and ways of treating koalas to keep them healthy. People are keen and caring and want to be part of this commitment. Recently, I was in Tasmania with the member for Bass, meeting with her land managers and natural resource management groups about the eastern barred bandicoot. This is a perfect coming together of farmers and conservationists, and, again, it's a $1.7 million investment. It is simple, practical actions that can make a difference. Farmers were learning how to mow grass differently and make hay differently so that they don't run over this small marsupial. One year on from the Black Summer bushfires, our $200 million investment in habitat and wildlife recovery is seeing results. As areas recover, volunteers are out there on their hands and knees pulling out weeds, helping build barriers against feral pests, putting up nest boxes, collecting seeds and playing the role of citizen scientists by tracking where plants are growing and where animals are coming back. Over a million hectares of feral animal control has been undertaken. Seven thousand hectares of weed control and over 700 hectares of erosion control have been completed. I want to thank all those community groups out there caring for our country. The strong track record of coalition governments also includes protection of our oceans: cleaning up discarded fishing nets, those walls of death with the bycatch that suffers; the work we're doing with the Great Barrier Reef—$1.9 billion of investment; the real outcomes when it comes to taking plastic litter out of our oceans; cleaning up our beaches; and making sure that communities are as involved as they want to be. Be it on land or at sea, we're taking practical—(Time expired) Workplace Relations 61 14:57 Mr BURKE DYW Watson My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. I refer to his earlier answer where, in referring to the bill before the parliament, he said, 'It ensures that wages will increase.' Which clause does that? 14:58 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce A variety of clauses ensure changed circumstances that will lead to greater jobs growth and greater wage growth. Let's go through them. If you have penalties to stamp out wage theft, people will get more money because they get their wages back. If they have a small claims tribunal to get back their wages, they have more money because they get their wages back. If we encourage enterprise bargaining and enterprise agreements where people, on average, get paid much more than they do on awards, and we move people from awards to enterprise agreements, then they get paid more money. If you are a part-time worker at the moment who is not being given extra shifts because the employer can't do that under the current prescriptive arrangements in your award, and you get extra shifts, guess what? Your wages go up. You can go through a whole range of provisions in this bill, and what you will see is that they are designed to increase jobs growth, increase wage growth and ensure people actually get remunerated according to the terms of their agreements and have a proper mechanism of recourse if that doesn't happen. All of these things that ensure that people have better conditions and better wages, you now oppose. You now oppose provisions that, for the first ever time, ensure a consistent, strong pathway from casual employment to permanent employment. How many times have members of this House and people outside heard about members opposite bemoaning casualisation? They are finally presented with the firm, consistent pathway for a casual employee to become a permanent employee, and what is their answer to that? Their answer to that is to consider it collateral damage in some global strategic move that they've got on to oppose entirely a bill with clauses that help casual employees and that help permanent part-time employees. But, somehow, they think global opposition will help the one job they're trying to save, which is that of the Leader of the Opposition. Multiculturalism 61 15:00 Dr MARTIN 282982 Reid My question is to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. Minister, today the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute's 2020 mapping social cohesion report was published. Will the minister please update the House on the Morrison government's response to this report and how our government's policies are geared towards creating a stronger Australia? 15:00 Mr HAWKE HWO Mitchell I want to thank the member for her very important question, especially considering she represents a very successful multicultural community in the inner west of Sydney, including some 20,000 Chinese-born Australians in her community. She does a great job in government advocating for them. Today the government welcomes the Scanlon Foundation report, a very comprehensive and impressive report, which updates us regularly about how we are going as a society. The report this year shows us that Australians in some of the most difficult circumstances we have seen in a generation are more united and more optimistic about how our society is going and our future. This is important because we've seen societies across the globe challenged this year. As the Prime Minister said at the beginning of the pandemic—great upheaval, great things will be confronted and many challenges will have to be faced. What's pleasing about the results we see in today's report is that we have increased trust in one another as Australians and we have seen people come together, which has been a priority for the Morrison government—keeping people together. The report shows strong support for Australian multiculturalism—84 per cent, up four per cent from last year's report. Seventy-one per cent of Australians now believe immigration makes us stronger and 83 per cent agree that immigration is good for the Australian economy. I'm sure all members of the House would agree with me that these are fantastic results for Australia during a very difficult year. In spite of the pandemic, we've seen increased economic wellbeing amongst Australians as well. This is in response to the government's comprehensive economic package that we have seen during the pandemic—JobKeeper and JobMaker. And 73 per cent of respondents, in spite of the many challenges that Australians have been through in terms of their jobs and economic circumstances, have reported that they feel satisfied or very satisfied with their financial situation. It's important that we've all stayed together. This year, of course, what's important out of this report is that we keep staying together, and the Morrison government will be speaking again about social cohesion as a priority this year. Our policies are designed to keep us all together. If you look at these results, you can see that, when we have been through the bushfires and when we have been through the pandemic, Australians have actually come together in a way that we should all be celebrating. When you look ahead this year you see we still have many challenges to face. I know all members here will look at the Scanlon report carefully, will take the good out of this and will recognise our society is better placed than everyone else because of the attitudes of all Australians. I want to thank all those Australians who have helped each other this year, who have looked after their neighbour, who have looked after their mates, and who have not only ignored the negative commentary and the divisions that we do see around the globe but focused on what makes us Australian—those Australian values of looking after each other. Workplace Relations 62 15:03 Ms McBAIN 281988 Eden-Monaro My question is to the Prime Minister. Labor used the government's own fair pay calculator to show the Prime Minister's industrial relations changes will hurt cooks, pharmacy assistants, shelf stackers, aged-care workers, disability carers, car park attendants, hairdressers and butchers. Why won't the Prime Minister tell the truth and admit he is changing the law to allow wages to be cut? 15:04 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce It is because the government is not doing that. The thing about calculators is that they don't measure the honesty of the user. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 00APG Members on my left. Mr PORTER 208884 The way that calculators work is that they don't measure the honesty of the user, so a user can sit there and pretend that certain things exist or that certain conditions exist, or assert a change in a bill that isn't there, or pretend that something's going to happen that clearly isn't going to happen. They can pump that into the calculator, get a result that they want and bring it into parliament. The bill clearly does not do what the members opposite say it does. A person on an award will benefit very greatly from this bill if they're part time because, in instances where they now can't get extra work, they will be able to get that extra work and be paid more. The bill is designed to, and does, achieve the effect of more job growth, better wages and better conditions. It doesn't do what you're saying, and the honesty of those inputs into the calculator is clearly wanting. COVID 19: Vaccine 62 15:05 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne My question is to the Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government. Could the minister outline the steps that the Morrison-McCormack government is taking to ensure the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and how this rollout will make Australia a stronger nation? 15:05 Mr COULTON HWN Parkes I would like to acknowledge the member for Lyne and recognise his long career as a medical professional looking after regional Australia. The first thing we need to acknowledge with the vaccine rollout in Australia is that it is safe. The scrutiny that the vaccines have gone through to gain approval in Australia through the TGA is second to none anywhere in the world. The second thing is that everywhere in Australia will be covered. Regardless of whether you live in a regional centre or a more isolated community, everyone will have access to the vaccine. It will be done in an orderly manner, with different demographics prioritised. Many members might be aware that a few days ago the state governments announced their hubs for the storage of the Pfizer vaccine across the country. They are merely storage and distribution hubs. When that vaccine is thawed, it will be distributed right across the network. The priority will be frontline health workers and then, through another arrangement that the Commonwealth has with a logistics and delivery company, the other priority will be aged-care residents and aged-care workers, along with the disability sector. Then, as production ramps up—and we are, indeed, in a privileged situation in this country as we will be manufacturing our own vaccine—it will be rolled out across the rest of Australia. As we've relied on the health networks across Australia during the last 12 months to keep the government informed and the community supported through the coronavirus pandemic, so we'll be going to GPs, community pharmacies, the local primary health networks, state government health networks and Aboriginal controlled health networks. In some cases in the smaller communities, it may involve flying squads coming in to set up clinics to deliver it in those areas. To enable it to happen, the government is already training a surge workforce so they can go out to these areas. Over the next weeks and months the entire population will be covered. The people who will be doing this are the same people who have kept us safe for the last 12 months. Because of the health professionals—the nurses, the doctors, the pharmacists and others—who have looked after us, regional Australia is possibly the safest place in the world to have been in the last 12 months. Those of us here also have a role to play. We need to make sure that this rollout happens smoothly. If any issues come up, please contact us. (Time expired) Workplace Relations 63 15:08 Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E McEwen My question is to the Prime Minister, in the hope that he'll answer one. According to the government's own fair pay calculator, under the Prime Minister's industrial relations changes, hairdressers working part-time Thursday to Saturday could lose more than $3,000 a year from their take-home pay. Why is the Prime Minister punishing Australians who are just trying to get ahead by allowing cuts to their take-home pay? The SPEAKER 00APG Before I call the Prime Minister, I say to all members, particularly the member for McEwen, obviously, that if any commentary such as that included in his question with respect to the Prime Minister answering the question occurs again, the question will not go ahead. The Prime Minister has the call. 15:09 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook It is because I'm not. Closing the Gap 63 15:09 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Will the minister outline how the Morrison government's new national agreement on Closing the Gap changes how the government works with Indigenous Australians now and into the future and how this will help to build a stronger nation? 15:10 Mr WYATT M3A Hasluck I thank the member for Sturt for his contribution in this parliament and his interest in Indigenous matters. The Closing the Gap strategy is something that both sides of this chamber have had a significant role in in the various positions that we've held within this place. But what's different is the Prime Minister and I had a discussion. What we said was that we want to have the peak organisations sit and negotiate the new agreement. Fifty-one peak Aboriginal organisations sat with state officials, ministers for Aboriginal affairs and the Commonwealth and negotiated each target. Each target was negotiated on the basis of: what is the best outcome that we will get and achieve in closing the gap in so many areas? These reforms will embed joint decision-making, building the capacity of Aboriginal community controlled health organisations. We're focusing on transforming mainstream government agencies and, in addition, developing and using data to make informed decisions at the local level. This year, for the first time, every state and territory government—through a process in which the ministers for Indigenous affairs agreed, national cabinet agreed and state and territory cabinets also endorsed—agreed that each of their jurisdictions would report on the targets for Closing the Gap in each of their parliaments. We've never done that before. It has been only the Commonwealth that has reported. This is a substantial shift, because those four embedded reforms now form the basis for the way in which state and territory governments will work with Aboriginal people at the local level, at the jurisdictional level. The Commonwealth will remain committed to ensuring that we achieve a process, because we know that when Indigenous people are involved we see better outcomes. We see participatory decision-making. It's a quantum shift from where we were. I acknowledge that Kevin Rudd started the process of closing the gap. What we've ensured, and the Prime Minister made reference to it in his speech at the National Press Club, is our continued commitment to embed this so it doesn't matter who is in government; we continue the practice of involving Indigenous Australians. By doing that, we've got a better chance. Having 51 peak Aboriginal organisations negotiate every target with the layers of government was interesting. But it was also a power of strength at the end when we all sat together and endorsed the agreement, because there was common commitment from everybody that we would work together to achieve better outcomes. Mr Morrison E3L Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the NoticePaper. DOCUMENTS 63 DOCUMENTS Presentation 63 15:13 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce A document is tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. Full details of the document will be recorded in the VotesandProceedings. MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE 63 MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Workplace Relations 63 15:14 The SPEAKER 00APG I have received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The need for secure jobs and secure pay. I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places. More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places— 15:14 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler This week we have seen the competing priorities of Labor and the coalition on full display—a coalition obsessed with politics, a coalition obsessed with looking after its mates, and a Labor Party that is on the side of the Australian people. We have raised issues which will impact every Australian worker: the cuts to JobKeeper, the cuts to JobSeeker, the cuts to wages, the cuts to superannuation. Labor is focused on ensuring that we don't just try to fix some of the things that have been destroyed by the pandemic but also emerge stronger and more secure. How do we reconcile the fact that, just as the pandemic has shown the strength of Australian society and Australian values, Australians have looked after each other, looked after their neighbours, looked after their communities and looked after people they've never met and will never meet, with the fact that the government continued to just look after their mates. Just as we have seen that strength in our society, we seen some of the weaknesses that are in our economy: the fact that vulnerable workers were the first to be put off, that whole segments missed out on any support and that Australia's figures for deaths of people in aged care as a proportion of fatalities that have occurred during the pandemic are the worst in the world. Seventy-five per cent of those who lost their lives were aged-care residents. That is worse than anywhere in the world, and this government is in charge of aged care. Of course, we've seen this week how they walk away from their responsibilities. Today they walked away from responsibility for their own legislation. We asked very specific questions about the clauses there that will get rid of the better off overall test. If you get rid of or suspend the need for workers to be better off overall, what do you think is going to happen? What's the whole objective there? The minister stood up and pretended that clauses that are there across a full page in the legislation aren't there. He said, 'It just says "Insert"', and then didn't read all the clauses that are there, which include, of course, the provision that any business that can say it was impacted by COVID-19 can benefit from these provisions. Guess what? Every business has been impacted by COVID-19. Every citizen in the world has been impacted by COVID-19. But they can't even lie straight over there. Disingenuous, duplicitous, devious: that's what characterises them. They're not economic managers. They're just economic with the truth. We on this side are on the side of Australian workers when it comes to job security. We will be saying to the Australian people: 'We're on your side when it comes to dealing with rising inequality. We're on your side when it comes to dealing with childcare costs. We're on your side when it comes to dealing with opportunity. We're on your side when it comes to dealing with the challenge of climate change.' Those opposite are led by a man who is characterised by his avoidance of responsibility. He's not on the side of Australians when it gets tough. He goes missing in action. He went missing during the bushfires. Remember that quote: 'I don't hold a hose, mate'? That's what he said. It's the same approach that he's had to the pandemic, when it comes to things that he is specifically responsible for such as aged care and our international borders. Forty thousand Australians remain stranded overseas in spite of the fact they were promised they'd be home by Christmas. On aged care, they still don't have a plan. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety says that. The Prime Minister is not on Australians' side when it comes to the cost of living. Childcare costs are due to increase this year by four per cent under the design of the system that the Prime Minister created when he was in charge of that area. And we know that working Australians are particularly in the gun. They speak about things like casual employment. Someone who wants to make themselves a permanent employee can't go to the Fair Work Commission. They have to go to the Federal Court. You can imagine it, can't you: your casual employee out there—classified as casual, being in an irregular job due to the very nature of it—thinking, 'I'll go lawyer-up and go down to the Federal Court.' I mean, these people opposite are so out of touch! Of course, with their wage cuts they want to hit you in the present. With their war on super they want to hit you in the future. We know that from the former finance minister Mathias Cormann, who says low wages growth is 'a deliberate feature of our economic architecture'. You can see whose side they're on if you compare their attitude towards the former finance minister, who's after a job overseas—we hope he gets it; we on this side back Australians—and has been flying around Europe in a RAAF jet. An opposition member: With 40,000 stranded! Mr ALBANESE R36 With 40,000 Australians who can't get home. They say they care about Australian jobs. Ninety thousand jobs in manufacturing have disappeared on their watch—90,000! They dared the car industry to leave—dared it to leave! And when you look at whose side they're on—something this Prime Minister used to talk about—just have a look at the way they deal with vulnerable Australians, who have been hit-up for robodebts and have had to pay back $1.2 billion. If you overestimated how much Centrelink should pay you, you got letters threatening you with jail. You got followed up. Compare that with JobKeeper. If you're a business that overestimates the drop in your income and your profits go up, guess what happens? You can keep the money. An opposition member: Pocket it! Mr ALBANESE R36 You can keep the money—you can pocket it—and you can give it as bonuses to executives. In other parts of the world this doesn't happen. Robodebt, or similar things, have happened overseas. The Dutch government resigned just recently over this sort of scandal. The Reserve Bank yesterday spoke about JobSeeker and how we should lift it beyond $40 a day. They said it was 'a matter of fairness'. What did those opposite do? They sent out 'freedom boy' to attack the Reserve Bank and say it wasn't their responsibility. The fact is that what we see from their side is that they're consistently looking after their mates: sports rorts; Paladin contract; $78 million to Webster Ltd, more than double the valuation for buying up water; the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, $444 million; the Leppington Triangle, $30 million; Helloworld, the scandal that we saw today. We see funding given to the Liberal Party's pollsters to do research—private research—that the government then hide from the Australian people. We see trillion-dollar debt with no legacy from it. We hear a whole lot of announcements but see very little delivery. It is all smirk and mirrors from those opposite, Mr Speaker. What we need in Australia is a government as good as the Australian people themselves, a government that is truly on the side of working people, that's on the side of families who are dealing with the cost of child care, that's on the side of Australian communities that need appropriate infrastructure and investment, that's on the side of Australians who want to lift their standard of living. In the alternative that we'll be presenting in the lead-up to the next election we'll be doing just that. We'll be saying to Australians: you need a government that is on your side, not a government that's on its own side. 15:24 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie I say to the Leader of the Opposition: if you want to be on the side of the Australian people during this global pandemic, you should support our legislation that will help more people into work, reduce underemployment and reduce casualisation. Australians can have confidence in the Morrison government. We have a plan. As we've shown through the pandemic, with the support of the Australian people we have been able to regrow jobs, boost wages and enhance productivity. We have supported secure jobs and secure pay so that Australians can buy their first home, can raise their families and can plan for their retirement. Today I was talking to one of the staff in this building. She is right now buying her first home. I am so pleased for her. That's what we want to see for all young Australians—more people getting into their own place, having secure jobs and not being reliant on government. We've heard the fear campaign from the Labor opposition right through question time this week, during this very tough time not only around the world but in Australia. In the same way Australians have so successfully approached the pandemic, it is a fact—and the early signs are encouraging—that, over the last seven months, 748,500 jobs have returned to the economy. That is just fantastic. I thank all those employers who employed those almost 750,000 people. I believe we can do a lot more. There's more to be done. The unemployment rate is down from 7½ per cent in July last year to 6.6 per cent in December. Employment has increased by 50,000 people and the participation rate is at a record high. More people are wanting to participate in the workplace right now. With wage subsidies and the Morrison government's JobKeeper, the government kept over 3.8 million Australians in work and a further 117,000 people in training. But of course there is more to do. The government are constructive and pragmatic, and when it comes to industrial relations policy we will continue to work together to bring people together and not divide them, like those opposite. When I was a small business owner I had never had a government job or worked in any form of government. I had always worked in small business. I understand how businesses and their employees are being turned upside down. An opposition member interjecting— Mr HOWARTH 247742 I say to the member opposite: when we're talking about employment one of the benefits of having been a small business owner is that it gives you a good understanding of what those employers want. I'm confident that we know what the problems are. By listening to Australians, not just in my electorate but in all of our electorates, it gives us a much better understanding of what Australians want. The government's IR reform, as the Attorney-General outlined today, does address a lot of the issues that we're seeing in our economy right now and in the industrial relations system that the Labor government put in through the Fair Work Act. The reforms will not only support wages growth and help to regrow jobs lost in the pandemic but tackle the broader issues like underemployment, job security and underpayment of wages. I want on the record that these are the things that those opposite say that they care about but won't even vote to support in this legislation. We'll remind the Australian people. The Leader of the Opposition says, 'Leading into the next election we'll put forward our platform.' We'll remind the Australian people what the opposition are doing—not supporting job security and not dealing with underemployment and the underpayment of wages. These are things that the opposition say they care about. Labor's enterprise bargaining system has failed to drive wages and productivity growth. We had hoped that in 2021 we would see the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party adopt a more mature approach to industrial relations, but, by opposing the government's IR reform bill, Labor are against stamping out wage theft. They're against it. They're going to vote against it. They're against supporting vulnerable workers getting their money back quickly when underpayment occurs. They are against a quicker enterprise agreement approval process to help deliver pay rises more quickly. This is important stuff. This is what I and the Minister for Education and Youth, who is here, will be talking about with people in my electorate and right around the country as we talk to people as we recover from this pandemic. Sadly, the outright lies from those opposite about the government's industrial relations reforms show they remain hopelessly fixated on playing politics. The crossbench often like to talk about donors and so forth—here's a great example of those opposite receiving cash from donors and just basically listening to what they want them to do. Just oppose it—oppose everything we want to do, because you don't think it's right. But what we're actually seeing here, from talking to people, are some issues in the industrial relations system that could be improved, which will help so many more people into work in Tasmania, in Queensland and in New South Wales. In my own electorate of Petrie, throughout the crisis, I've been out there talking to local businesses—people like the INTERSPORT franchise at Peninsula Fair Shopping Centre, which is owned by Martin and Sarah—and listening to their concerns and how they can employ more people. That's why, as Australia recovers from COVID-19, the Morrison government is working in an extensive consultation process together with industry and unions to find solutions and to provide certainty for business—pathways to full-time and part-time employment, not just casual employment, because the way the industrial relations system is right now encourages small businesses to keep putting on casuals. They pay a flat hourly rate—yes, it's with a 20 per cent loading, but if you've got someone in permanent part-time and they're doing 20 hours, Monday to Friday, in businesses, and the employer says, 'Can you do an extra five hours this week?', under Labor's system, if they're on $30 an hour, you've got to pay them $45 an hour. No wonder they're saying, 'Look, it's easier just to leave them on casual rates.' This will actually help underemployment and reduce casualisation. The Leader of the Opposition and members opposite talk about this, but there's no action. I was today also talking to Ben from Plungie pools, a brilliant Brisbane manufacturer. Plungie pools is manufacturing in Queensland, and they are doing well. They're a pool-manufacturing business in the heart of Queensland, where it's warm and all families and individuals love to swim. They are award winning in the modern manufacturing process and in making pools affordable for all Australians because, rather than concrete pools which take three months to build, the pools are all premanufactured and they can be delivered on the back of a truck. Their innovation has led to them exporting to New Zealand. It's led to them exporting to Japan and the Pacific islands. They employed just over two people two years ago, and now they have 25-plus staff and, as well as being a pool company, they are partners with Wagners concrete, to help make the pools. They also employ some 50 other people indirectly, through subcontractors and builders. They're actually hiring six new people right now. If you're looking for work, go to plungie.com. The Morrison government's programs have supported Queensland to having the strongest employment of all states and territories. And, through the Morrison government's $74 billion JobMaker plan, we are putting skills and jobs front and centre of our economic recovery. It builds on the significant first steps to reform our training system that we have already taken. I'd say to all members in this place that we have a responsibility this year to get out and sell what the Australian government is doing if it's helping individuals in our own electorates. That doesn't just include government members; it includes crossbench and opposition members. This JobMaker plan will help so many young people, and we know that, if they do not get back into work, if they're on welfare for a few years, they can often be on it for life. Now is the time to promote what the Australian government is doing, and, in a bipartisan way, members opposite can do that. The JobTrainer fund and the JobMaker hiring credit are both good incentives for people. HomeBuilder, of course, has been a big success to date as well. I was talking to another manufacturer in Brisbane today. They were telling me that manufacturing has been reshored to Australia in the last 12 months more quickly than in the previous five years. Australians are seeing a global disruption, and people do not want to experience this again. Businesses right here in Australia are now involved in advanced manufacturing. If there are teachers out there that have students, there is an opportunity to say to them, 'Why don't you consider a career in manufacturing?' For students that are, perhaps, great at arts, there are jobs there in industrial design and engineering as well, where they can get involved in the manufacturing process. The Morrison government cares about Australians and, in the next 12 months, in the lead-up to the election in May 2022, will be reminding them about those opposite and their lack of support during this pandemic. (Time expired) 15:34 Mr HUSIC 91219 Chifley One of the things that's very noticeable about this government is that every time there is an issue or a problem—something that needs to be sorted—the quickest thing they do is pull out a stat or a bunch of money that they just throw at the issue. They think that, by virtue of doing that, the problem is solved. It's millions of dollars here and millions of dollars there. Then we have this barrage of statistics that's delivered to us throughout every question time. The worst person is the Treasurer, who's like Siri after a sugar hit. It's constant, one stat after another stat after another stat, in the hope that that flurry of activity, in itself, will mean that the Australian public will think everything is sorted. But there's never any real moment when we can go beyond the shine and the sheen, look at the actual people who are affected and face the fact that there are these big problems that continue to persist in this country and that serious effort needs to be put into looking after the people who have been worst affected through the course of the pandemic. Here is a stat: two million Australians are without work or are seriously underemployed. They don't have enough hours or get enough pay through their job to ensure that they can pay their bills. These are serious stats. As much as those opposite talk about how much they help people out, they turn their backs on one million casual workers in this country by refusing to extend JobKeeper to them. If you are someone who is well connected—like, maybe, someone in Premier Investments who can pick up the phone to a treasurer and complain about the need for assistance—you can get JobKeeper, then get an exec bonus after getting JobKeeper, have that bonus and refuse to pay it back. But a casual worker is denied that. A dnata worker is denied that. A council worker is denied that. All these Australians missed out. We have the minister for education here. There are 17,000 jobs in universities that have gone. They are gone because the government wouldn't provide support to universities through JobKeeper. Amongst young people there is 14 per cent unemployment. Youth unemployment is a massive issue, and people are still affected. Millions are working without paid leave. The government like touting all those figures, but they have not dealt seriously with those people. After all the pressure that businesses and the people who work with them have faced, unemployed people are still suffering and waiting for some sort of support. But they're being told that JobKeeper, no matter what, gets cut in March and that we won't see JobSeeker lifted seriously, as so many people have been saying needs to happen. That's not happening. The only solution that this government can come up with is to pull the lever that they always pull, which is: you've got to cut someone's pay; you've got to cut someone's conditions. The deal from conservatives always says that if you want to survive you've got to lose; you have to cut back something that you rely upon so as to be able to make it through. Wrong! This is the typical conservative lever that says you have to lose your conditions, you have to lose your rights and you have to cop a pay cut. When we point it out and we demonstrate, through their own mechanisms, that that is happening, they come up with all sorts of bald-faced lies to say that that's not the case. It's just not right. Then, when we refuse to back the hack of wages that we're seeing, they suddenly say, 'But what about all the stuff we want to do on wage theft or all the stuff we want to do on casualisation?' How long have we been saying that wage theft has to be dealt with and taken seriously in this country? What do they do? At the point at which it should be dealt with, they tuck behind it stuff that they should have done ages ago. They should have dealt with wage theft. They should have dealt with casualisation. Then the only way to get anything done on those issues is by seeing a pay cut or a cut to conditions. No! We're not trading one thing for another. We're not trading off protections against wage theft. We're not paying for them by cutting someone's wages or cutting someone's conditions. This is not the deal we are signing up to. Australians need a genuine government with a PM that genuinely cares about them. They deserve a secure job and a pay rise, not a wage cut. They don't need the same old conservative play that cuts wages and cuts jobs. 15:40 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page When the pandemic hit not just Australia but the globe 12 months ago, we were going into uncharted waters. A lot has happened over the last 12 months with the stimulus spending the government's done. It is quite interesting how things have evolved and how things have been different in different countries and certainly different regions of the country. I am pleasantly surprised that one of the major issues facing my community and many communities in regions around the country is we don't have enough workers. I see the member for Mallee and I know this is an issue for her as well. There are many small businesses in my community—hospitality, retail, tradies, the ag sector—that just can't get enough workers into our region. That is a pleasant surprise. As I said, at the start of the pandemic, we didn't know how this would roll out. I speak to a lot of my regional colleagues. I can't talk as confidently about cities, but the biggest issue we have at the moment in a lot of regions is our workforce and the fact that we need more workers. Part of it has been that there's been an unprecedented flood—I don't think it is just in Australia but around the world—of people leaving cities and going to regional areas. We desperately need more workers across all sectors because more people have moved there and an increased demand has been seen in housing prices and rentals. People have been flowing to regional areas and there has been unprecedented demand. Deloitte said three or four weeks ago that, both on the health front and the economic front, there is no better place to be in the world right now than Australia. It is because we have done well on the health front, so the pandemic has affected us less than other countries around the world. The shutdowns and what have you have been less in Australia than in other countries. That has flowed through and meant that the economic front and jobs front have been more secure here in Australia than elsewhere. On the economic front, the government have done an unprecedented stimulus spend. We did that unashamedly. Around the whole country for that first five or six weeks, around the month of April, there were many businesses forced to shut down. People could not go to work, through no fault of their own. That was when we did a lot of stimulus spending—the JobKeeper plan—and a lot of other things. On every statistic since then—we had a lot of forecasts from the Treasury and RBA—we should be celebrating because of the Australian public adhering to social distancing and hand hygiene and everything else we asked. Because the Australian public has done so well, every economic forecast or health forecast that we had back then we have bettered. The unemployment rate never rose to the levels that were forecast. The growth in employment, the growth in consumer confidence and the growth in everything that you want have actually been better than we've forecast, and that is all down to the wonderful effort of the Australian public. But it hasn't happened by accident. This has not happened by mistake. It has happened because of the parameters that we have set as a government. I know there were statistics spoken about back in the budget. You'll never hear a lot of this from the other side, but eight out of 10 jobs are in the private sector, so everything we had in the budget was to help them. Those opposite often aren't happy with tax cuts. A tax cut is a wage increase. A tax cut is more money in your pocket. A tax cut is the same as a wage increase. We have cut taxes to millions of Australians, and you know what? That's a wage increase. Tax cuts are a wage increase. Opposition members interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 72184 Members on my left. Mr HOGAN 218019 I don't think those opposite understand it. We gave 11.5 million Australians last year in the budget a wage increase by giving them a tax cut. That is what we were focused on. The other thing we did was introduce the JobMaker Hiring Credit. We want small businesses to have the confidence to go out and employ people, especially young people, and that is why we brought in the JobMaker Hiring Credit. The other thing we did was introduce the tax incentive and instant tax write-off to encourage private business, who employ eight out of 10 Australians, to feel more confident to invest, and that again has been a huge hit. I thank the Australian public and I thank Australian businesses. We are doing much better than we thought we would—one by government policy and one by what businesses are doing in Australia. 15:44 Ms COLLINS HWM Franklin What a defence of the government and their lack of action on jobs in Australia today. We had four minutes attacking the Labor Party and one minute talking about what the government might actually be doing. Perhaps it's because the government is doing so little that that's the way the member opposite decided to go. When you've got over two million Australians currently unemployed or underemployed, surely the government needs to do more than it is doing. Surely the government is saying, 'What else can we do to build our economy, to grow the pie, to help Australians get out of what was a recession? How are we going to do that post pandemic? I know—the answer is a pay cut, clearly, for all those workers that are already in low-paid jobs that actually helped us get through the pandemic: the retail workers, the aged-care workers and the childcare workers.' To the people on the frontline that were doing the hard work during the pandemic, you're saying, 'It's all okay now; now's the time for a wage cut.' It's not okay. It's not okay for those Australian workers. We say to those Australian workers that, when it comes to cutting wages, we're on the side of the workers, while the government can stay on the side of the big businesses and the people that want to cut workers' wages. That's where they've always been. Every time they're in government they take every opportunity to try and sneak in a wage cut to workers. Every opportunity, they try and find a way: 'Here we are—why waste a pandemic? Let's see if we can get workers' wages again.' They keep doing it. Every time they're in government they find an excuse to do it. An opposition member: It's in their DNA. Ms COLLINS HWM It's absolutely in their DNA; it always has been in their DNA. When it comes to my home state, we know that JobKeeper ending is going to have a big impact. We know that industries in my home state are still struggling. They're not getting the international visitors and they're not going to for some time. We know there are fewer interstate visitors than there could be because of people's uncertainty about travel in Australia today. Indeed, just this week the tourism sector said that the parts of the tourism sector most reliant on international travel, such as tour companies, conference and convention centres, and those geared towards business travel are continuing to struggle. They are concerned about JobKeeper ending in March, and so they should be. There are thousands of Tasmanians still reliant on JobKeeper today. David Peach from the Launceston Chamber of Commerce said: 'This is our new normal There's a possibility, a case, for selective and tested continuation of JobKeeper for some industries.' Perhaps the government should listen. Perhaps there is a need for some assistance to go to some of those industries that are still struggling. They are struggling in my home state of Tasmania and they are struggling in other parts of the country, particularly in the regions. The minister comes in here and says, 'The biggest issue in regional Australia is workers—we can't get enough of them.' Perhaps the government should have done something about the Seasonal Worker Program and stopped the fruit from rotting on the farms in Australia today. To date, $42 million of fruit and produce is rotting on farms because they didn't do their job. They knew for a year. When this pandemic started, they knew that this would be an issue. They are in charge of quarantine; they are in charge of the Seasonal Worker Program. What bit of the equation doesn't add up? Their lack of action—that is the only thing that has stopped the Seasonal Worker Program and got fruit and produce rotting on people's farms today. It is because of them. Then we get to JobSeeker—the thing that is supporting low-income and vulnerable Australians. We had the RBA say yesterday that it needs to be lifted because it's a matter of fairness. What we saw during the pandemic, after we put a lot of pressure on the government, was some support for those people on JobSeeker—some initial support and some substantive support on top of that payment. That's slowly being taken away, and that will finish at the end of March too. The government have been very clear that they have no intention of extending this. We have heard from people about how it's going to impact. Everybody in Australia today—everybody except the government—says that that payment needs to be increased from its base level. It's going to impact in communities like mine in Tasmania and it's going to impact the industries that we were just talking about that are still reliant on JobKeeper. The thing about people on JobSeeker is that they spend every single cent they get, because they have no choice. They have to spend it just to survive. They cannot survive without the additional support that the current payment is providing to them. We've had even the member for Bass and the member for Braddon agree with us. The member for Bass has been out there and she's actually said that the JobSeeker payment is too low and needs to increase. (Time expired) 15:50 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I rise to speak on this matter of public importance. I have to say I was quite surprised when I saw the topic, because, yet again, it's the opposition kicking an own goal. Before I start really getting into this, I do want to send a huge shout-out to my youngest daughter, Sarah, who did her first day of work today. She started her first job today. Well done, Sarah—really, very good. We're very proud of you. An honourable member interjecting— Mr WALLACE 265967 No, that's not right. There are green shoots in our economy that we are experiencing right now. I listened to the Governor of the Reserve Bank's speech to the National Press Club yesterday and I could hear from my parliamentary office the collective groan from all those opposite when the Reserve Bank governor was talking about how we are starting to get on top of this economic crisis that we've been in—that things are getting better. All those opposite wanted to say, 'Oh no, we don't want to hear that good news.' They just want to keep talking down the economy. That's all they want to do and they'll keep doing it. Since the pandemic hit, we have seen 785,000 jobs return. Ninety per cent of people who were unemployed, or who had their hours reduced to zero—90 per cent—are back at work. This is exactly why those opposite continue to kick own goals. I know it hasn't been a particularly good week for them. I know it hasn't been a particularly good month for them. They can't even get points of order in question time ruled as in order. These are exciting times, difficult times, but we are seeing some definite green shoots in our economy. We've seen Australian job advertisements, measured by the ANZ, rise by 9.2 per cent in December. That's 4.1 per cent above pre-pandemic levels in February. We don't hear those opposite make any mention of that. We don't hear any mention of that, and it's a real shame. We're talking about jobs, and one of the things I was before I came into this place was a carpenter and joiner and a builder. This government has overseen a tremendous program called HomeBuilder. HomeBuilder has not only presented the opportunity for tens of thousands of Australians to buy their own first home but saved the jobs of hundreds of thousands of men and women working in the building and construction sector in this country. Those opposite don't give a hoot about men and women working in the building and construction sector, particularly the residential sector because there are no unions operating in the residential sector. But HomeBuilder has saved the building industry. The work done by the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs and the families of those workers. What did those opposite say when HomeBuilder was first announced? 'It'll never work. That won't work'. They sat there and talked in question time, day after day, about how HomeBuilder was going to be a flop; it was never going to work. HomeBuilder has been a stunning success, and all congratulations go to the Treasurer, and particularly the Assistant Treasurer for the work that he has done. The work that he has done has saved livelihoods and, quite frankly, saved a lot of my old mates in the building industry—yes, my old mates in the building industry. That's the building industry that those opposite would have no idea about, the residential sector, because the unions aren't involved in the residential sector. You're only interested in sectors where there are unions. An honourable member: You've got no idea! Mr WALLACE 265967 Well, you just wait and see. The unions are operating in sectors, like the industrial and commercial building sector. The same CFMMEU that pays $5 million a year to the Labor Party— (Time expired) 15:55 Ms O'NEIL 140590 Hotham I'm very pleased to make a contribution after a somewhat unedifying contribution from the member opposite, who's normally, I must say, very polite. Without a doubt, the Australian government's most important economic responsibility is to improve the living standards of its citizens. Indeed, the members gathered behind me here are very proud to come from a political party where that is our central goal. We are here, all of us in this parliament, because we have electorates of people who desire to live a better life in this country. Our job, our reason for being as members of parliament, is to give them the tools and resources they need to create opportunities for their families and improve their living standards. Our record is something that we, as Labor people, are so incredibly proud of. If we look at the period of time between when Bob Hawke was elected as Prime Minister in 1983 and when Julia Gillard left office in 2013, the average living standards of Australians more than doubled. One of the things that we are most proud of about that period of growth in our country is that that happened across the income spectrum. So, yes, wealthy people in Australia improved their wealth over that period, but, most importantly, the poorest people in our country doubled their living standards. Now, that is a Labor legacy that everyone on this side of the House is very proud of. I want to talk a little bit about the contrast with the last eight years. What we hear every day in this parliament from those on the other side is hubris and spurts of anger and enthusiasm about economic issues and what brilliant economic managers they regard themselves to be. But what do the facts tell us about this? The Australian Bureau of Statistics collects data every two years that tells us about the disposable income of Australians across the income spectrum. What that shows, very sadly for the member for Aston, is that, over the last eight years in this country, the living standards of the average Australian family have gone backwards. After all the talk that Australians have heard about how brilliant these people are at managing the economy, we've had a growing economy where ordinary people are going backwards. I ask you: what is the point of economic growth if the families that we represent are actually becoming worse off over time? But that is exactly what is happening. Why are we seeing this change in how our economy's going? We hear a lot about jobs, jobs, jobs in this parliament from both political parties—and that's a very important part of economic growth—but what we don't hear enough about is work, work, work and wages, wages, wages. This is the fundamental problem facing our country and our country's economy. If you go back to the time of Hawke and Keating, the problem was jobs. Once you were in a job, things were going to be okay for you and your family. But the truth is that today there are all sorts of ways that employment has changed that mean that someone in our community, in our electorate, can have a job and are still not able to put food on the table for their families. This is not a small problem that affects just a few people here and there in our electorates; there are two million Australians who either have no work at all or are working but do not have a job that supports their family's livelihood. Those more than a million people in Australia who are underemployed are not just looking for an hour or two of work here or there. On average, those people are searching for 15 hours more work a week. What we're seeing is millions of Australian households falling short by hundreds of dollars a week to buy school shoes and books for their children, to put food on their table and to get insurance for their home—and all those other essential things that we, as members of parliament, are responsible for ensuring our constituents are able to do. One of the facets of this very important problem is that employers in this country have found some very dodgy ways to get away with not abiding with conditions that workers in Australia have fought for, for many years. One of the examples I want to point to is the gig economy. We hear nothing on the other side of the House about the changes in employment and how they're affecting people's lives. But I wonder if those opposite realise that there are a million Australians today who are getting all or part of their income from the gig economy. The way those arrangements are structured means that many of them are not making minimum wage; they don't have proper insurance; they pay for their own uniform and for their own equipment. All these things that the union movement fought—for decades and, sometimes, for more than a hundred years—to secure for workers have been just dispensed with, because these companies find it, perhaps, an irritation to pay their employees properly. Well, this is the sort of thing that Labor is focusing on, because we are on the side of these people who we know are struggling out there. On the other hand, we have a government that, instead of trying to fix the problem for people, is actually trying to cut their wages. So that's the difference you've got: they want to cut wages; we want to stand with ordinary Australians in helping them to a better life. 16:00 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee Well, we have been through a year like no other, and Australians have experienced vulnerability in a time that has never occurred before. The need for secure jobs is a matter of great importance, which is why I'm happy to rise today to speak to the Morrison-McCormack government's outstanding track record in securing jobs for Australians, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. As things return to normal, albeit COVID-normal, the federal government is focused on economic recovery through job creation. Several measures announced in the 2020 Commonwealth budget aim to create jobs and to get Australians back into work, and recent figures demonstrate our recovery is well underway. I'll just give some jobs data. At the onset of the pandemic, the effective unemployment rate rose to 14.9 per cent. The unemployment rate now is 6.6 per cent. Around 90 per cent of the 1.3 million people who lost their job or were stood down on zero hours in April are now back at work. Seventy-one per cent of the increase in employment this month was in full-time jobs—35,700 of them—with the remaining 29 per cent part-time: 14,000 jobs. In total, 784,000 jobs have been created since May, recovering 90 per cent of the 872,000 jobs lost between March and May. Fifty-four per cent of the total increase in employment has been for females. Youth employment has risen by 240,000 persons, making up 31 per cent of the total increase in employment since May. Employment increased for the third consecutive month in Victoria, and employment in the state is now at its highest level since March. Employment opportunities are also growing in Mallee, I'm pleased to say. Data from the education, skills and employment department known as the Internet Vacancy Index displays vacancies for jobs on popular employment websites. It shows that, prior to COVID-19, there was an average of 600 jobs posted online; that dropped to 418 by the month of May. In November 2020, there were 757 jobs advertised online—and seasonal workforce vacancies and needs are not part of that number. Young people remain the most heavily impacted cohort, with employment for this group at 4.7 per cent lower than in March 2020. We know from previous recessions in Australia that it takes a long time for young people to move off the unemployment queue and back into work, up to 15 years from the last recession. These points demonstrate why getting young people back into work is so important—hence the JobMaker hiring credit for jobseekers. Two hundred dollars a week is available to each employer and eligible additional employee aged 16 to 29 years, and $100 a week for eligible additional employees aged 30 to 35, and that's why those ages have been chosen. One billion dollars in the JobTrainer Fund will be focused on assisting people to retrain and reskill in the face of expanding labour markets. It aims to rapidly provide more Australians free or low-cost training places and courses in areas of identified need. $1.2 billion has been invested by this government to subsidise apprentices and trainees, and it's called Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements: 50 per cent wage subsidies for all businesses to take on new apprentices and trainees between 5 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. I'm really pleased to say that many businesses in Mallee are making use of this subsidy, including the Mildura Truck Centre, who were able to take on several new apprentices, thanks to the subsidy. I've also recently heard from Robin Kuhne from Workforce Partners Australia about this fantastic program. Workforce Partners Australia partners with businesses in Mallee to assist them to employ new apprentices. They employ apprentices who are contracted out to other employers to provide agile support to industry. Workforce Partners Australia has supported the commencement of 65 new apprentices that will be eligible for the wage subsidy. That's 65 young people getting a start in their career, and numerous businesses growing as a result. Workforce Partners Australia covers three of the biggest towns in Mallee and the three where the skills are most needed: Mildura, Swan Hill and Horsham. Robin said the fantastic thing about the subsidy is that employers are looking to employ two apprentices instead of one, because of the subsidy. (Time expired) 16:05 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam There is nothing so dangerous as a government so convinced that they've got the next election in the bag that they've stopped listening. They've stopped caring. They're running around slapping themselves on the back. In fact, they're so busy slapping themselves on the back that to the average worker it feels more like a slap in the face. They're so happy with themselves that they can't see what's going on. Two million Australians are either out of work or looking for more work, because the number of hours they're getting is not enough to put food on the table. Casualisation is at record highs. One in five Australian workers is in insecure work. And didn't we see the consequence of this in the midst of the pandemic! We saw workers without rights, without job security and without support from this government. They're so happy with themselves, so blind to the circumstances affecting one in five Australians, that they have absolutely no answers to their predicament. If the only tool you have, as the cliche goes, is a hammer, then every problem in the world looks like a nail. The problem with this government is that every worker, as far as they're concerned, is a cost, and therefore the only way to increase employment is to cut costs—to cut wages. That is literally what their plan for a post-pandemic recovery looks like: 'Somehow, if we cut workers' wages, we'll create more jobs.' We look at workers differently. We look at workers as having families and bills to pay. We look at a worker as somebody with aspirations for a better life. We understand that if you cut that worker's wages then everybody is worse off. We think that the answer to this economic malaise that we are in is a wage boost, not a wage cut. If there is one group of workers that sits firmly inside the blind spot of this government, it's older workers—those workers aged between 55 and 65. They were doing it tough before the pandemic. Life has got worse under this government. If they have a job, it's less secure. If they're out of work and on unemployment benefits, their payments are about to get cut. This government has no answer for older workers. In fact, every single one of their policies seems to be aimed at making their situation worse: their rights at work cut, their jobs more insecure. They thought they had till age 65 to put away retirement savings. This government is going to cut their super, making it harder for them to provide self-sufficiency in their retirement. One in five Australians— Mr Falinski interjecting— Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B This bloke over here laughs; he thinks it's funny that one in five Australians— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 72184 The member for Mackellar. Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B between the ages of 55 and 65 is on either an unemployment benefit, a carer's benefit or a disability benefit. If they're on the unemployment benefit, there's a one-in-three chance that they've been sacked—that is, they're not unemployed voluntarily; they have been sacked, and it takes twice as long for them to find their way back into the workforce, if at all. This mob over here looks at them and calls them shirkers. They think they're bludgers, sitting on the couch Netflixing. That's the way they see these workers. We see them as lost potential. We want to get them back into a decent job so they can work for the rest of their working lives. If they're on a disability pension, again, this mob sees them as shirkers. They've probably had a job their entire life. Working in manual work has its toll on the body—the back's gone, the knees are gone, perhaps they can't work outside because they've now got so many skin cancers their body is not up to it. This mob sees them as shirkers, with not an answer in the world for them. Perhaps it's a life tragedy—a partner gets injured, a child with a disability, a partner with a disability who is the carer for their partner. This mob? Not one answer for them. This is the situation, and they are blind to it—not an answer in the world. (Time expired) 16:10 Mr YOUNG 201906 Longman Thank you to the Leader of the Opposition for allowing me this opportunity to again talk about how the federal Liberal-National government has helped this great country bounce back from the devastating COVID-19 global pandemic. When the pandemic first took hold in early 2020, this government took action, putting the health and wellbeing of residents at the forefront of decisions. We also introduced a range of measures to minimise the impact of this global pandemic on local jobs, measures like the HomeBuilder grant and the JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs. The pandemic has taken a toll on many businesses across the country and across the world. In my electorate of Longman, I've heard from employers whose incomes were wiped out overnight. As we continued to protect the lives of millions of Australians, jobs were lost. But the impact of those job losses would undoubtedly have been far worse than it would've without the federal government's JobKeeper program. Fast forward to 2021, and the pandemic rages on around the world. In fact, it's much worse today than it was in early 2020. This is an important point to remember: the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging out of control around the world. Here in Australia, thanks to our geographic location, our international border restrictions and our world-leading contact tracing systems, we have been able to weather the storm better than many other countries. We are indeed bouncing back from the devastating impact of the pandemic that still rages around the world. In fact, of the 1.3 million people who lost their job or were stood down on zero hours, 90 per cent are now back at work. I recently spoke with the owners of one of the fantastic local companies in my electorate of Longman, Allan Sandilands from Taipan Hydraulic Hose Systems, who told me that several of his staff members had recently purchased land and were building their first homes. Allan also told me that this would not have been possible if not for our government's HomeBuilder grants. This is proof that our government's initiatives have not only kept people in jobs but helped create the economic conditions so that young Australians like those at Taipan in Caboolture feel secure enough in their jobs that they would make the biggest investment in their lives—to buy their first home. This is why I'm so proud to be part of this Morrison government—when I hear stories like these in my electorate that demonstrate how we are making a positive difference in people's lives. Across Australia, the labour market has continued to exceed expectations and even beat the RBA's upside scenario published in August 2020. Peak unemployment appears to be behind us, and the unemployment rate at the end of 2020 was 6.6 per cent. When the coalition came into government in 2013, the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent and rising. In February last year, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the unemployment rate was 5.1 per cent and falling. At the end of 2020, given everything this nation had weathered during the previous eight months or so, the unemployment rate was 6.6 per cent and falling. Employment had increased by 50,000 persons and the participation rate rose to a record high of 66.2 per cent. Seventy-one per cent of the increase in employment during December comprised full-time jobs, equating to around 35,000 jobs. The remaining 29 per cent were part time, around 14,300 jobs. Across Australia, 784,000 jobs have been created since last May, recovering 90 per cent of the 872,000 jobs lost between March and May. Though, when it comes to unemployment, my home state of Queensland is falling behind the rest of Australia. Just two weeks ago Queensland recorded Australia's highest unemployment rate, sitting at 7½ per cent for December. Nationally, as I've already stated, the unemployment rate in December was just 6.6 per cent. In terms of our industrial relations policy, our measures are designed to regrow jobs, boost wages and enhance productivity. Our industrial relations reforms have been presented after extensive consultation with both employee and employer groups. Our reform package addresses known problems with our industrial relations systems and the Fair Work Act. These reforms will not only support wages growth and help regrow the jobs lost to the pandemic; they tackle underemployment, job security, underpayment of wages and enterprise bargaining in order to drive wages and productivity growth. When it comes to this matter, when those opposite speak I can smell a lot of smoke. There seem to be a lot of pants on fire. The truth is these reforms will give businesses the confidence to invest more and create jobs. That is the bottom line. Unfortunately, many in this House have never been an employer or been on a minimum wage as an employee. I have been both. I can tell you from personal experience that the majority of small-business owners understand the value of their employees and go over and above to pay above any award. I personally received that as an employee, and I have employed this practice as an employer. Employers like Taipan hoses, which I spoke of earlier, employed an agreement manager who employed— (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 265991 The discussion has concluded. BILLS 73 BILLS Customs Amendment (Product Specific Rule Modernisation) Bill 2019, Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020, Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020 73

Customs Amendment (Product Specific Rule Modernisation) Bill 2019

Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020

Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020

Returned from Senate 73 Designs Amendment (Advisory Council on Intellectual Property Response) Bill 2020 73

Designs Amendment (Advisory Council on Intellectual Property Response) Bill 2020

First Reading 73 COMMITTEES 73 COMMITTEES Environment and Energy Committee 73 Report 73 16:16 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax On behalf of the Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy, I present the committee's report entitled Tackling the feral cat pandemic: a plan to save Australian wildlife, together with the minutes of proceedings. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 by leave—When the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay, it brought with it a lethal predator that has wreaked havoc on Australian native wildlife ever since, and that predator is the cat. Cats have been the major cause for the extinction of 25 Australian mammal species since 1788, and a contributing factor to the extinction of a dozen more animals. Seventy-four mammal species, 40 birds, 21 reptiles and four amphibians are under threat from the predation of cats—in particular, feral cats. Australia has approximately 2.8 million feral cats that live, breed and hunt in the wild. They kill over three billion native Australian animals every year. I will say that again: the 2.8 million feral cats in Australia kill over three billion native Australian animals every single year. This equates to the average cat killing around 1,100 animals annually. Those numbers are truly horrific. One of the great tragedies of last year's Black Summer bushfires was the loss of wildlife, with estimates of between a billion and three billion animals perishing. It puts this problem in perspective: feral cats do even more damage to Australian wildlife every single year. Do feral cats need to be culled? Yes, they absolutely do. But it is going to take some time before we have the technology to rid these lethal carnivores from our natural environment at scale and in an affordable and humane way. That is why we need a new national conservation mission, a mission which is the centrepiece of the report that I table here today in this chamber on behalf of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy, a report that follows our inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia. The new national conservation mission we're recommending to government is called Project Noah—think Noah's ark and you'll get the gist. Project Noah is aimed at expanding Australia's network of predator-free fenced areas and islands. It would bring together the expertise and resources of governments, communities, the private sector and philanthropic groups to protect threatened native species from the predation of feral cats and other predators. If government adopts such a proposal, the committee's hope is that it embarks on this mission with ambition so safe havens can be introduced across a range of ecosystems across the country. Project Noah, it has to be said, is not a silver-bullet solution. However, it is an important part of what needs to be done. So the inquiry's report also recommends a suite of other measures, including a body of work that needs to be conducted, a reset of Australian government policy planning and resourcing and new strategies for management and control, also of domestic cats. When it comes to the body of work that needs to be conducted, the committee's view is that such work needs to focus on understanding cat impacts and the need to develop nationally consistent definitions for feral, stray and domestic cats. Further research matters include the prevalence, impact and control of cats; emerging technologies and emerging methodologies, including gene drive technology; management of cat-borne diseases; and the relationship between cat predation and habitat degradation. When it comes to a reset of the Australian government's policy planning and resources, we make these recommendations in relation to Australia's feral cat problem, including the new iteration of the Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats; a revised threatened species strategy, including new targets for culling feral cats; and consideration of reform opportunities identified through the review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. When it comes to new strategies for the management and control of domestic cats, the committee's views include consideration for measures that increase support for desexing domestic cats, registrations and microchipping, a consideration of night curfews and a national cat-ownership education campaign. This has been a fascinating inquiry, and I for one was absolutely shocked at the magnitude of the problem. I go back to the starting point of my speech in this House, which was of the three-billion-plus native Australian animals killed on an annual basis by feral cats. Let those numbers sink in. Let's remember cats are not native to Australia. They came to Australia upon European settlement. But they continue to threaten Australian species, which is why such action is required. But it's not just the action of culling, as important as culling is; it's important that we keep our eye on the endgame. The endgame isn't the culling; the endgame is the protection of our threatened species, which is why, while we do cull, we need to also keep focused on the protection of those species. There's been an enormous amount of work put in by so many people who made submissions and witnesses who came forward. I want to thank them for their contributions to the inquiry and thus the committee's deliberations. I also want to acknowledge my fellow committee members. Our committee, of course, includes people right across the chamber—members of the Liberal Party, the Labor Party, the National Party, and, of course, the crossbench. When you talk about issues in environment and energy, sometimes you don't get unanimity, but so stark is this problem of feral cats in Australia, and so practical the solutions can be, that, indeed, we did have a true unity of purpose and unanimity among the committee. And I thank my colleagues for their assistance throughout the process. I also want to acknowledge the secretariat that once again served our committee, and therefore the parliament and the people of Australia, with great professionalism. We could not have done the job without their support. And so, today, we table this report and we do so asking the government to give serious consideration to the recommendations made by this committee. There are a lot of things that are on the government's agenda. But a feral cat can kill 1,100 or more animals every single year—plus, if a feral cat's average life is five years, that's 5,500 animals that a single feral cat could kill, which is why we do need to take action. We are hopeful that Project Noah represents a new, innovative idea, and there are people in this country who are already creating safe havens for our native species, and we need to keep them protected. So it is with that that I urge the government to seriously consider the recommendations in this report so we can address that urgent threat that feral cats pose to Australia's wildlife. I therefore commend this report to the House. 16:27 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam by leave—This is something we should be able to work together on. We have a significant problem with feral cats in this country—6.3 million of them. If you think about that, it's the equivalent of just about every person in Sydney having their own cat. These are cats out there in the wild, killing our native animals and creating biosecurity risks. It's something we need to be able to deal with. There are 3.2 billion animals slaughtered every year by this feral cat menace. At the beginning of the global pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, I was advocating job creation programs which were focused on dealing with the feral animal problem. I was advocating to the government that here is a perfect opportunity for us to do something that will have a lasting impact on our environment while keeping people in work and perhaps providing people who've been out of work with valuable job skills. I had in mind the excellent Indigenous rangers program. This is a program which has created over 2,100 jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout the country. Their job, quite simply, is working on country and providing custodianship of land, including the mitigation of bushfire risks, biosecurity risks and improving land and land management practices. On the eradication of feral animals, we've been focused on cats, but let's also say something about feral horses, an issue very close to where we are, and the member for Fenner will be able to attest to this. It would be good if we could get a bipartisan position on this. I think the Liberal and the Labor parties could agree; the National Party appears to be divided on this issue in New South Wales. We have a significant issue with feral horses in this country. As the member for Sydney was saying, if we call them 'brumbies', they are kind of cute and part of our heritage. If we call them 'feral horses', we can focus on the problem—the devastation they wrought on our environment. We have got a problem. We have a challenge with unemployment as well. Let's put our minds together. As the old saying goes: kill two birds with one stone when dealing with feral pests in this country. 16:30 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax I move: That the House take note of the report. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 265991 The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of date for the next sitting. Reference to Federation Chamber 75 16:30 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to. ADJOURNMENT 75 ADJOURNMENT Superannuation 75 16:30 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney The Liberal Party's war on superannuation never ends. Sometimes it is guerrilla war, sometimes it is a war of attrition, but right now it is outright hostility. Mr Falinski interjecting— Ms PLIBERSEK 83M You hear it for yourself from those interjections, Mr Deputy Speaker. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 265991 The member for Mackellar will not interject while he is leaving the chamber. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Ever since Paul Keating introduced superannuation, those opposite have never grown out of wanting to fight against superannuation. They have never given up on their dream of dismantling super in this country. The Prime Minister now wants to use COVID as cover to do the things he's always wanted to do. You see it with cutting wages, you see it with destroying secure work, but you see it also with superannuation. He's wanted to sneak through those wage cuts to attack old enemies, to weaken job security and to cut the universities while he's at it. All of these old Liberal dreams are assembled together. This agenda is being snuck through under the cover of COVID. When the pandemic arrived, the Prime Minister encouraged people to drain their superannuation accounts just to survive the lockdown. As everyone predicted, this has decimated super balances around the country. As a result of the early release scheme, nearly one million workers under the age of 35 have either closed out their accounts entirely or have less than $1,000 in savings. For young people, this will be devastating in retirement. If a 30-year-old withdrew $20,000 over the last year, as they have had the opportunity to, at a conservative rate of five per cent a year interest, that would have compounded to $110,000 by the time that person reached the age of 65. At eight per cent, you're talking about $300,000 lost from retirement incomes. That is the magic of compound interest for you. What the government has done here is ask young people to fund the stimulus that our economy needed. Yes, our economy needed stimulus, but how is it fair to have a 30-year-old shop assistant doing the heavy lifting with stimulus? Not content to drain a million accounts, the Prime Minister's now backing away from the legislated cuts in super, the cuts that he's already promised. He's got COVID as cover to try and do this. As things stand, the median superannuation account at retirement is $183,000; less than that for women at $118,000. It is not enough. But think about this jump from 9½ to 10 per cent. What does it mean for employers? It means about $7—maybe a bit less—for someone on the median wage. It's shocking how little it is and to what lengths those opposite will go to stop that modest increase in superannuation for an ordinary working person. But when we get to 12 per cent, what will the difference be? A 30-year-old on the median income will be over $100,000 better off by the time they retire. Those opposite say 'You have to choose between wages or super.' The truth is they actually don't want you to see an increase in either. They don't want you to have better wages. They don't want you to have better super. They don't want you to have either. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott said you have to choose between super and wages. He promised wages would go up when he froze super. In fact, we've had seven years of no wage growth. Wages didn't go up after that promise. We know that cutting super won't produce higher wages. The government are suggesting that people tap into the value of the family home when they retire to tide them over and to make up for this decline. They're talking about reverse mortgages. The minister for superannuation suggests that that's a great idea. I don't know if people have looked up the reverse mortgage product that the minister for superannuation is recommending to Australian families. They're charging 4½ per cent interest. You can go to the bank and get a loan for less than two per cent. The government want you to tap into the value of your home and then they want to charge you 4½ per cent per annum for the privilege of doing it. They want to cut your super now and leave you poorer in retirement. It's a disgrace. Insurance 76 16:35 Mr CHRISTENSEN 230485 Dawson There's a perfect storm of discontent brewing in North Queensland as councils, economic development groups, community leaders, small business owners, those with strata units and householders cry out for a real solution to the insurance crisis that they face. The storm has been brewing for many years, but, if you'll pardon the analogy, it has now hit the category 5 cyclone level as some businesses face insurance premium hikes of almost 200 per cent in one year and other businesses cannot get insurance at all. About three weeks ago I met with local government, business and tourism industry representatives from Cairns right down the coast to Rockhampton to hear their concerns and to advocate for a united call to action to secure a solution for what is a clear case of market failure. That solution is the establishment of a reinsurance pool. I've highlighted horror insurance examples here before, but here are a few of the latest. A 72-year-old pensioner living in a modest three-bedroom house in Townsville has just received his insurance renewal and it has jumped by 29 per cent. His yearly premium is now $2,200, an increase of $500 from his last year's premium of $1,700. His house did not flood during the Townsville monsoon event of January 2019 and he has not made a claim in the last 12 months, yet this pensioner is expected to find another $500 a year to continue insuring his house. A Whitsundays couple with a modest three-bedroom home in Jubilee Pocket have seen their insurance increase by 37 per cent in the past two years. They bought their home in 2000 and have never made a claim, not even during Cyclone Debbie, and yet they now face a premium of $3,554 a year. The figures get even more frightening when we look at resorts and units. A small holiday resort with 28 rooms in a Mackay beach suburb have seen their premiums jump by 191 per cent in 12 months, from $68,000 last year to $198,000 this year. That small business owner is faced with a bill for another $133,000 a year. When it comes to strata, the premiums are off the charts. Operators in Airlie Beach with 25 apartments spread over seven buildings have seen their premiums rise by 420 per cent over the past 14 years. That's an increase of $4,000 per unit. The insurance bill has gone from $20,000 a year to $104,000 a year. Then we have the many examples of businesses, clubs and other strata apartments that simply cannot get insurance at all. I've talked to the operators of commercial hotels and community clubs and the owners of apartments who can't get a provider to insure them because of their location. It's discrimination by postcode. This is a real problem for those with a mortgage because it is a requirement of their bank that they have adequate insurance. Body corporates are also facing difficulties because Queensland law requires a body corporate to have adequate insurance to trade. The Queensland government has had to take the step of inserting a clause into legislation so that body corporates can apply for an exemption to the law. The Palaszczuk Labor government could also provide some immediate relief by abolishing or reducing stamp duty. This is, in fact, one of the top recommendations in the ACCC northern Australia insurance inquiry report. As I met with mayors, CEOs, councils, tourism bodies and business development groups throughout the north last month I found huge support for a federal government backed reinsurance pool. Many of these organisations from Rockhampton to Cairns have relayed that information to the government in their prebudget submissions. The Townsville Chamber of Commerce has pointed out that insurance is an essential service and has called on the government to expand the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation remit to include northern Australia and the natural events of cyclones and floods. Another submission, from the Greater Whitsunday Alliance economic development group, points out that the situation is unsustainable and adds to the cost-of-living burden of residents in the region, potentially deterring new business and industry investment. I also welcome the Insurance inquiry report of December 2020, from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. Ombudsman Kate Carnell rightly states: There is market failure that will have extreme consequences for the Australian economy if left unaddressed. Her report recommends the expansion of the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation to provide reinsurance for all natural disasters for commercial property insurance. We even have one insurance company calling for a reinsurance pool. In their submission to the ACCC's Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry, Allianz Australia predicted a saving of more than 50 per cent on premiums for a standard North Queensland home if a reinsurance pool were to be established. While there are a number of measures that will help with addressing the high cost of insurance in the north, there is one clear solution which must be instigated. The united call from the north is: we need a reinsurance pool. Child Care, Workplace Relations 77 16:40 Ms RYAN 249224 Lalor I rise tonight, as the member for Lalor, representing a community that has the highest number of families using early education and child care and out-of-school-hours care—the highest number in the country. That's not a surprise. We're a growth area where affordable housing attracts young families, either as a place to make their first purchase or as a place where rents are affordable. They get work, hopefully in our community or close by, and settle in to raise their families. Child care and the cost of quality child care and early education is a cost-of-living issue for the locals that I represent in this place, and I'm really pleased to say, as a member of the Labor team, those on this side of the House, that we have a policy that can change the lives of the people with young children in my electorate. That's because we have a policy driven by making child care more affordable and ensuring its quality. We know today that we have report from the Productivity Commission that tells us, alarmingly, that the number of parents who say they're not working mainly due to the cost of child care in this country has skyrocketed. It has risen by 23 per cent. Ninety-one thousand parents say they are not taking employment because of the cost of child care. The member for Kingston, as announced by the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, on budget reply night, has an answer to this. Our policy will ensure families are able to go to work. It will ensure mums in my community are not penalised for taking a fourth day of work if they're already working. It will ensure 97,000 parents are able to access child care more cheaply. This is an incredibly important issue. I would encourage those in my community to go to Labor's website www.childcarecalculator.com, plug in the figures and see for themselves the difference that our policy could make to their cost of living. It will give them a sense of wellbeing about their capacity either to afford the house they so desperately want to purchase or to pay the mortgage on the house they have purchased in our community. I want to thank the member for Kingston for her work in this area. Of course, there's another way that families could afford early education and child care more readily, and that would be if wages hadn't been suppressed in this country for the past eight years. As the costs keep going up, there's only one answer, which is either that something happens to drive down costs or wages increase so people can afford those costs. Under this government, as its own ministers have said in the past, keeping wages low has been part of its economic plan. Now that hardworking Australians have got us through the pandemic, the Prime Minister has shown what the Liberals have always worked towards, and that is a pay cut. We dealt with this in question time today, and there was a lot of dodging and weaving and there wasn't a lot of answering of questions. But we know that, unhappy with just a wages freeze for eight years, they now want workers' pay packets to go backwards. I can't say how disappointing this is. Every day we have watched essential workers get up and go to work and put their health and their family's health on the line to get us through a pandemic. Every day we have watched this. What's the reward? The reward is that this government, ideologically driven, wants to see their pay packets cut. There is no avoiding this. It is an absolute truth. We know that this government has been shirking its responsibilities. We know they don't want to take responsibility for what happened in aged care. We know they don't want to take responsibility for quarantine. We know they didn't want to take responsibility for pandemic preparedness. But will they take responsibility for what they're planning now, for what is in this legislation? What we need from this government, what we need from this Prime Minister, is less smirk and more work and putting Australian people first. Australians will have an Albanese Labor government that will look after them. (Time expired) City of Stirling: Australia Day 78 16:46 Mr CONNELLY 282984 Stirling Australia Day is a moment, a day, when we stop and we reflect on our shared history and we look forward into the future for our shared vision of Australia's future. This Australia Day, again, I joined the City of Stirling for their citizenship ceremony and the citizenship awards presentation. I'd like to thank Mayor Mark Irwin; and CEO Stuart Jardine, who was surprisingly dressed down for the occasion—he had a suit on but no tie; none of us had ever seen him like that; he must have been going to the beach afterwards, I suppose, it being Australia Day—and also the Stirling Lions, who put on breakfast for everyone. Every year I'm blown away by some of the stories we hear of these award winners. Let me touch on them now. The Community Citizen of the Year award winner is Gary Hale. Gary has dedicated a significant portion of his life to community sports, including Marist Auskick and the Raiders basketball club. Most notably, through his hard work and determination, Gary built the Woodlands softball club from 15 members to 200 members, and the club now boasts 17 teams and has players at both state and national level. All this has been achieved by Gary whilst he has also been working full-time. The Senior Community Citizen of the Year is Kaye Liddelow. Kaye is a long-time community advocate for groups right throughout the northern suburbs. She has been a fixture in groups including the Mirrabooka community choir, Illawarra Primary School board and the northern suburbs reconciliation action group. In 1985, Kaye helped form the Balga Action Group to reduce crime in the area, and this group has remained instrumental in the urban renewal of the area over subsequent decades. A retired career teacher, Kaye is also a member of the Teacher Flying Squad, which fills vacancies in teaching in schools in regional, remote and rural areas at very short notice. The Young Community Citizen of the Year winner is Akash Parekh. Akash is an active and a passionate young member of our local community. He's involved in the Stirling Youth Advocates and has key roles in the State Park Festival at Carine, and the Chills with the Stirling Youth Advocates panel discussion. Akash's civic duty extends to mentoring at his local school and volunteering at Scitech Science Centre. The Active Citizenship Award winner is the Good Chat Foundation. Founded by Kelly Bergsma, the Good Chat Foundation aims to improve community mental health and youth therapy outcomes through community sport. Through local clubs and teams, young people are provided with mentorship and guidance to assist them with their mental health challenges. As citizens of Australia, we share a belief in parliamentary democracy, in the rule of law, in living peacefully and in respect for all. We also believe in the importance of giving back—giving back to our local communities, our neighbours, everyone who is in need. So, in addition to the award winners above, I want to acknowledge that there are a great deal of Western Australians right now displaying these very qualities, as our state deals both with bushfires to the north-east of the metropolitan area and with a COVID lockdown which is still underway. So I take this opportunity to particularly thank the firefighters, SES personnel and other emergency services responders, many of whom are volunteers, for their unwavering dedication to their fellow Western Australians. Their sacrifice has saved lives, saved homes and saved livelihoods. Our thoughts are with them as they are with those in our community who have lost their homes to the fires, and we remember that when there's an emergency in a state or territory in Australia it is also an emergency in Australia, so it's wonderful to see defence assets moved from one side of the country right to the other to assist in battling these bushfires. I thank also Western Australians in the Peel, Metropolitan and South-West regions for doing the right thing in lockdown. Because of your efforts, we've now gone four days with zero cases of further community transmission. It's an outstanding effort and another great example of Australians looking after their neighbours, their mates and their country folk as well. I'd like to finish on a message of hope, to reiterate what we've heard from the Minister for Health today in a briefing from the Therapeutic Goods Administration this morning, which is that there are about 140 million doses that are locked and loaded and ready for delivery to Australians to help vaccinate us against coronavirus. We can have confidence in the TGA's assessment process, and by vaccinating ourselves we help also each other in the way that all Australians do. COVID-19, Abdallah, Mr Antony, Abdallah, Ms Angelina, Abdallah, Ms Sienna, Sakr, Ms Veronique 79 16:51 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway As we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic the challenges we face are great, and there is the big question: How do we recover in a way which acknowledges that behaviours have changed and, accordingly, so too must the policy settings? It's not good enough for us to assume things will go entirely back to the way they were, because they simply won't. Analysis from Infrastructure Australia's report Infrastructure beyond COVID-19 shows that, unsurprisingly, the pandemic has changed work patterns, with more people working from home and regional centres. Interestingly, there has also been a 200 per cent increase in net migration from capital cities to outer metropolitan areas. While I welcome the fact that more Australians are appreciating the value of outer metropolitan communities like mine, given they are such great places to live, work and raise a family, we do need to be honest in our assessment that without appropriate infrastructure investment the quality of life for residents will rapidly deteriorate. For example, the pandemic has seen a considerable increase in the registration of secondary cars, which is up by 35 per cent, linked at least in part, no doubt, to directions to avoid public transport if possible. Coupled with the view that areas like Greenway are desirable for growing families, an increase of this kind will cripple many suburban roads that were never intended to support heavy traffic. That's why projects like upgrades to Bandon Road in Riverstone are so essential. They mean less time on the roads for local commuters, more time with loved ones and jobs in our local community, so they are an all-round winning scenario. But we also need to acknowledge that the economic uncertainty and pain caused by this pandemic will not end simply with the rollout of the vaccine. Without JobKeeper the unemployment rate at the height of the pandemic would have been close to 12 per cent, with youth unemployment certainly much higher. Wage subsidies have been essential in weathering this storm, but turning them off too early could have a detrimental impact on consumer confidence and economic activity. The feedback I'm receiving as a local member is that the jobs that are returning are increasingly insecure and casualised. I was speaking on the phone just yesterday to a young woman from Quakers Hill in her late 20s. I could hear the sheer despair in her voice as she was telling me about how she worked in the gig economy as a delivery driver. Before the pandemic hit she was looking at starting her own business. In her words, the pandemic has simply destroyed her. The utter desperation in her voice was palpable. This government isn't helping, with its proposed industrial relations changes. My colleagues in Labor and I have set a very simple test. We will only support industrial relations changes if they deliver secure jobs with decent pay. The Prime Minister's industrial relations brainchild fails that test. Hence, we will fight it every step of the way. The fact is this Prime Minister has a bill before the parliament to cut your pay. For the remainder of my time, I would like to pay tribute to four angels who will forever watch over the Abdallah and Sakr families: Antony, Angelina, Sienna and Veronique. A year ago an unthinkable tragedy ripped away the lives of these angels. An entire community—indeed, an entire city and nation—grieved with them. None of us could imagine the terrible heartache, the loss and senselessness of this tragedy, and the outpouring of emotion was profound. But it wasn't just the collective sense of grief which moved so many people; it was the way in which Danny and Leila Abdallah, in Leila's words, 'chose forgiveness and love over hatred'. It was a moving tribute to four beautiful, innocent children who have changed our world in ways they never would have dreamed. The date of 1 February is national I4Give Day, acknowledging their legacy and encouraging us all to live lives of forgiveness and compassion. A year ago in this place I quoted Mr Abdallah when he spoke of being a part-time worker and full-time father. He truly moved me, and I know he moved many in this parliament. He did so again this week when he said: … I am in pain. My days are empty. My heart is aching. Tears of hopelessness visit me each day. I am dying on the inside and it's hard to take much more. But— I forgive myself and I forgive the offender for the greater good of my family … and I promise you if my children were here today they would say, 'Dad, forgive him.' Rest in peace Antony, Angelina, Sienna and Veronique. Agriculture Industry: Employment 80 16:55 Mr DRUM 56430 Nicholls We have this opportunity to bring to the forefront of the mainstream press the disaster going on within the fruit industry at the moment. Right now, we have fruit that is literally rotting and falling from the trees because we simply cannot get the workers that we need into Victoria. This is simply because the Victorian government hasn't wanted to act in this area. Other states have been able to liaise and work with the federal government to bring overseas workers in. We've had about 10 months of warnings from the industry, from local members, from local farmers and from the VFF. The NFF have made it abundantly clear to Daniel Andrews and his Labor government in Victoria that we had a serious issue coming to hit us in around January and February of this year—and in March and April. National cabinet has put this on the agenda. The Prime Minister raised this with the Premier of Victoria. Following that, on 11 December, we had the Premier of Victoria go public with the concept that, yes, he needed to get in 15,000 to 20,000 workers if he was going to avert this disaster. What has he done since then? He's done absolutely nothing. It's been the greatest act of inaction that I've ever seen from public leadership, and the cost of it is going to be immense. Right now, farmers are actually picking their own fruit because they can't get others to come in. What they have to do is leave a certain amount of fruit on the tree, so they're picking the very best of what they can and leaving fruit that's actually high quality but is not as good as the rest. So they pick the very, very best and they move on to the next tree, leaving perfectly good fruit, incredibly valuable fruit, on the tree to rot and fall on the ground. As an aside—an area that I hadn't thought of—we are having this incredible quest in the Goulburn Valley to stay on top of Queensland fruit fly. Queensland fruit fly will spread, but if anyone lets their fruit rot on the ground—even in a small orchard in the city, let alone thousands of tonnes of fruit rotting on the grounds in the orchards—it's going to create a near impossible problem for us in future years to get back on top of Queensland fruit fly. We are effectively talking about 50 per cent of all of Victoria's fruit being harvested from the Goulburn Valley, and we've always known that we have this unhealthy reliance on overseas workers to get the fruit off. So we put in place a whole range of incentives that, hopefully, might attract a few more Australians to do this work, even though deep down those of us who live in the area knew this wouldn't be very successful. Our predictions were about right; it wasn't very successful. All of a sudden the reality hits, and, again, the Victorian government refused to act. What we have now is the announcement last week that they're going to bring in 1,500 and, from the question in the parliament this week, they're not even sure in which month. It's likely to be around the middle of the year, at best, that they get these 1,500—not 15,000, but 1,500—workers in, when this disaster will all be finished. It is quite unbelievable to think that we have been able to work cohesively with Queensland, where they have brought workers in from the Pacific islands. They are going to put them on farm so that they can quarantine on farm. They are bringing people in from countries that are clear of the virus and putting them on farm to quarantine while they can get the crops off. The Northern Territory have brought Pacific islanders in to help with the mango harvest. They put them into Howard Springs to ensure that they could quarantine there, and then they're bringing them onto the farms to work. The federal government has done everything it possibly can to facilitate those states that have wanted to actually work with the government to get something done about this problem. The Victorian government simply won't pick up the phone on this issue. They are simply putting their heads under the doona and hoping this problem goes away. The member for Tasmania, Julie Collins, who is the shadow minister for agriculture, rose this week to somehow or other try to blame the federal government for this incredible disaster. All I can say is that Julie Collins also hasn't actually rung any of the federal ministers to try to alleviate this problem. House adjourned at 17:01 NOTICES 80 NOTICES

Thursday, 4 February 2021

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Zimmerman) took the chair at 10:00.

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 82 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS COVID-19: Income Support Payments 82 10:00 Ms BIRD DZP Cunningham I've only got a short time to address the House this morning, so I want to take the opportunity to make a call to the government to consider very carefully its response to the COVID pandemic in many regional areas, such as mine. Obviously, in my area, a lot of industry sectors have been affected by the impacts of the COVID response—a response we all, quite rightly, support—and there are a lot of businesses and workers in my area who have been relying on JobKeeper. I particularly think of industry sectors that are very important in my region—our university and the tourism and hospitality sectors. I'm very critical—and I've made this point many times—that the university sector was left out of the JobKeeper program. I think that was a very short-sighted decision. This was also the case for many in the entertainment industry. We have local performances and festivals, and many local artists, who are very important in our local community, obviously were not able to work for much of that period of time but were excluded from JobKeeper. So I still maintain that, in the way that JobKeeper was implemented by the government—after being extraordinarily reluctant to even introduce it, even though the Prime Minister now touts it as one of the most amazing responses to COVID—there were sectors that missed out and they're still struggling. It's also the case that many that were able to access JobKeeper are not yet in a position to see that taken away. I have had conversations with tourism industry operators and agents, in particular, who actually ended up having more work, not less, but it wasn't remunerated work. They were trying to help people who needed refunds and travel arrangements organised and so forth. So I would really plead with the government to seriously consider, before we get to the end of March, those sectors which will have ongoing impacts in a region like mine, to protect those jobs and those small businesses. I would also say that one of the important things that needs to happen in your local community when you don't have international visitors coming is to keep domestic spending up. That means that the government needs to look at the JobSeeker rate, it needs to look at the cost of child care for families, and it needs to reconsider its industrial relations changes. We cannot have a proposition that this parliament looks at changes that mean people's wages are cut at a time when our local businesses and our local community are relying on that discretionary spending from locals to keep those businesses afloat and keep those jobs in place. We cannot leave people behind. We must be on their side, and I call on the government to consider these matters seriously. Forde Electorate: Australia Day Awards, Rotary Australia and New Zealand: 100 Years of Service 82 10:03 Mr VAN MANEN 188315 Forde One of the great things about Australia Day is the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of those people in our community who are doing wonderful and amazing things. It was my privilege to spend Australia Day meeting a variety of people across the electorate of Forde who give their time and energy for the benefit of others. It was a very special day for the City of Logan at their Australia Day awards ceremony, and I want to extend my congratulations to the following award winners: Anita Anderson, who won the Citizen of the Year award; Julia Thottunkal, who won the Young Citizen of the Year award; and Robert Haberle and Takisha Lyons, who both won the Spirit of Logan awards. Anita founded the Springwood charity A Touch of Hope, which provides food, clothing and household items for those in need. Julia volunteers with many organisations, including the Asthma Foundation, the Queensland Cancer Council, the Smith Foundation and others. Takisha is the co-founder of Diversity with Dance, which has developed inclusive dance programs for our migrant communities. Robert works with Be an Elf Charity, which provides gifts for vulnerable youth at Christmas Day and other times throughout the year. I also had the pleasure on Australia Day of joining the Rotary Clubs of Beenleigh, Logan and Loganholme to help them commemorate Rotary in Australia and New Zealand's 100 years of service. Rotary serves many communities here and overseas. The current campaign, 'Don't Throw in the Towel,' deserves special mention because it benefits three causes at once: the environment, animals and people in need. The campaign saves end-of-life hospitality towels from going to landfill by donating them to vet clinics, homeless organisations and other community groups. This is one of many great initiatives. However, in my view Rotary's greatest initiative remains its PolioPlus program, a program with the worldwide goal of getting rid of polio. I want to commend Rotary for all their hard work and wish them well in their centenary year. Finally, I want to pay tribute to Gary Aldridge who lives in Bethania. Mr Aldridge was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to war veterans and their families. He joined the Navy in 1959 and served in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Borneo and Malaysia for nine years. Since leaving the Navy he has spent his life fighting for the rights of veterans and until recently he was the Greenbank RSL Sub-Branch president. Mr Aldridge's sacrifice is not only confined to his RSL work; he's been fighting a significant health crisis, throat cancer, over the past three years as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. Our communities are far richer for the care and support we give each other, and it's these amazing people and many others across our communities that make them what they are. Maribyrnong Electorate: Live Events 83 10:06 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong Maribyrnong is the ground zero of the live event industry in Australia, and the live event industry in Australia has been terribly hard hit by COVID-19. In my own electorate we have music festivals like Laneway and the Big Day Out. We host the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, the Moonee Valley Racing Club and the race that stops the nation, the Melbourne Cup. The live events industry is doing it hard under COVID. Many people have been affected by COVID. Many people have been affected negatively, but none harder than the live events industry. They need government assistance and they need it now. Everyone in Australia wants to return to normal; however, we can't do that until the job is finished, and in live events the government has not finished the job. JobKeeper must stay. I want to talk, therefore, about a remarkable and concerning report in the last 24 hours from the Save Victorian Events lobby group, who've surveyed hundreds of companies in the live events area—audio, technicians, the rigging, the expo, the exhibition hire, the conference event organisers—and 150 companies turned around the results I'm about to read out within 24 hours. Things are desperate. What it revealed is that, from April to December 2020, the income of live events was down 85 per cent. The forecast between January and June of this year is that income will be down 76 per cent. The forecast from July to December 2021 is that it will be down 67 per cent. Some 95 per cent of these companies are receiving JobKeeper. JobKeeper has been good. It enabled 44 per cent of companies to keep all of their staff on and another 44 per cent of companies to keep some of their staff on, but the survey shows that if JobKeeper ends on 31 March 46 per cent will need to let staff go and 39 per cent of live event companies will, in fact, shut their doors—85 per cent of live event companies will be negatively affected by the end of JobKeeper. I call upon the government with this dramatic new research from the Victorian live events sector to keep JobKeeper going. The live events industry employs hundreds of thousands of people. It generates tens of billions of dollars a year for Australia. This is an industry too important to be simply thrown on the scrap heap. I say to Mr Morrison on behalf of hundreds of thousands of people working in the industry and millions of Australians who attend live events every year: please, Mr Morrison, do not confuse stubbornness with leadership. There is no disgrace in amending your views as you find that facts present new information. Stubbornness is not leadership. The live events industry is a fundamental part of the Australian economy. We can't get back to normal until the job is finished. JobKeeper needs to be kept going. Manufacturing 83 10:09 Ms LIU 282918 Chisholm Last week I had the great pleasure of visiting the Box Hill headquarters of one of Australia's fastest-growing and most-promising healthcare companies, Planet Innovation. This incredible local company creates breakthrough medical products that transform lives and industries and have a positive impact all around the world. Planet Innovation has a portfolio of businesses but also partners with world-leading international organisations to help them create and bring to life their own game-changing innovations. The company specialises in manufacturing diagnostic products. But, during the pandemic, it pitched in to make ventilators too, contributing in an important way to our COVID response. In recent weeks, the importance of Australia's sovereign vaccine manufacturing capacity, through CSL, has been widely acknowledged. The same can be said—and indeed must be said—for a range of other vital medical products, although there has undoubtedly been less coverage of this in the media. The manufacturing capacity of local companies like Planet Innovation is crucial to our nation's wellbeing and is certain to remain so, with the potential to help so many Australians in the months and years ahead. Our medical technology industry is truly world-leading. Thanks to the Morrison government and, in particular, the work of my good friend the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews, we are well-placed to seize on major opportunities for future growth, investment and jobs in this area. The 2020-21 budget includes an investment of $1.5 billion over four years through the Modern Manufacturing Strategy to assist Australian manufacturers to scale up, compete internationally and create more jobs. The strategy backs our national manufacturing priorities. Thank you to co-CEOs Stuart Elliott and Sam Lanyon, general manager of manufacturing, Colin Porter, and marketing director, Roger Langston, for inviting me to see firsthand, and hear about, all that you have accomplished. I look forward to seeing more of what you will achieve. COVID-19 84 10:12 Mr ZAPPIA HWB Makin There is widespread agreement that Australia has managed the COVID pandemic better than most countries. It is a view now supported by several studies that compared the COVID response across the world. Notwithstanding those assessments, and despite Australia's enviable position, the fact remains that many Australians have been financially and emotionally devastated by COVID-19. Lifelong jobs have come to an end, businesses have closed, life savings have been lost and lives have been shattered. Many of those affected have never before faced a similar situation, nor do they qualify for any government assistance. Some have never found themselves unemployed or without income. These are people who, through no fault of their own and without warning, now find themselves in need of assistance but with no clear sense of where to turn or whom to turn to. Some government departments, private businesses and volunteer community groups have responded with considerable understanding and compassion. They all deserve our praise and recognition. One of the sectors that has also been quietly delivering extensive support services to those in need is the religious charity sector. In recent years religious organisations have been widely criticised, and even vilified, for their failings or the conduct of some within their ranks. Yet, at a time when those sectors have faced their own difficulties and with their own viability threatened by COVID, many church based charities have continued to provide support to desperate people walking through their doors. They do so by providing clothing, food, shelter and mental health assistance—regardless of the background of the person or where they come from. With little publicity or public recognition, these church based charities have become a safety net for so many people who fell through the gaps and had nowhere else to go. They do so through the work of tireless volunteers and the generosity of their church congregations. In my own region I see their community work firsthand, and I've noted the increasing demand being placed on their services. Yet they still strive to do more. So today I take this opportunity to acknowledge and say thank you to all of the local church charities in the region I represent for their support to individuals and families over the past year. Their efforts have not only made a difference to so many lives, but have also contributed to Australia's proud global standing in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Defence Industry 84 10:15 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt It was my great pleasure to be invited by British Aerospace to attend on Friday 18 December a great milestone in the Hunter class frigate program, the future frigates for the Royal Australian Navy: the first cutting of steel at the new Osborne South shipyard to construct the prototype blocks that over the next 12 months or so will be used to prove up the shipyard in order to commence the first-of-class frigate, which hopefully will commence in about 12 months time and possibly even later this year. We hoped this milestone would be reached in 2020. Obviously, COVID led some to believe that there could be delays. That would have been understandable but disappointing. Thankfully, it wasn't the case. I'd like to start by paying great tribute to Craig Lockhart and the team at the BAE Osborne South yard for meeting that milestone. It's really important that this project stays on track, and of course it has. It was a very impressive experience to share with them. I think most experienced shipbuilders, when they've gone to that yard, have said that in many ways it's the most technologically advanced on the planet. Certainly the sister shipyard in Govan, Scotland, which I had the good fortune to visit some years ago—many of the Scottish shipbuilders who have come down to be part of the Type 26 program don't want to leave. They can't believe the luck of those working on this program in Australia to have such a modern shipyard built by Australian Naval Infrastructure, a government company that is also building the Osborne North yard for the submarine program. The milestone was very significant. I think that we will see the most technologically advanced, capable, on time, on budget program the Royal Australian Navy has ever received, all being built not far from my electorate in Adelaide. Walking among and talking with a lot of the workforce there, I found that nearly half of them seem to be constituents from my electorate of Sturt. This program is providing employment opportunities across metropolitan Adelaide and across the nation. A lot of companies from around Australia are involved in the supply chain. This $35 billion program is part of a $90 billion shipbuilding undertaking in my home city of Adelaide for decades to come. It's exciting. We're engaging with school groups and the training sector to make sure that the workforce we need is going to be there. There will be thousands of jobs coming through this program and others. It was great to be there and share in that milestone. I look forward to many more milestones with BAE into the future, as I'm a great supporter of the program and the industry capability that they are developing. New South Wales: Bushfires 85 10:18 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie In November, $177 million of federal New South Wales funding for bushfire recovery projects was announced. It turns out that just one per cent of the funding went to Labor state seats—a blatant bias, not based on where the bushfire impact occurred. My seat was the litmus test for this fast-track round of funding, and the Berejiklian and Morrison governments failed that test. The Hawkesbury side of my electorate, a state Liberal held seat which had 73 per cent of its area burnt and a $33 million economic impact, got $4 million for very worthy projects. The Blue Mountains side, a Labor state seat with nearly 50 per cent of its area burnt and around a $66 million economic impact, received nothing. The state member for Blue Mountains, Trish Doyle, was not consulted on what projects might be ready to go. By contrast, the state member for Hawkesbury, Robyn Preston, was clearly part of what was otherwise a very secretive process. The Morrison government has outsourced the decision-making to John Barilaro and the New South Wales Liberals and Nationals. Just like they've outsourced border control, just like they outsourced aged care control and protections during COVID, they've outsourced this distribution of federal funds. There was a report commissioned and paid for by the federal government, at a cost of more than $100,000, to provide data to help fairly distribute funding. It was paid to Peter Crone, a former Liberal staffer, who was hand-picked by the Prime Minister's office. Was the data passed on? Was it ignored? Who knows. But let's look at the comparison. The Snowy Valleys, with a 37.9 per cent burn scar, received 12 separate grants, totalling $32.9 million. Tamworth, with a 6.3 per cent burn scar, got $275,000. The Midcoast, with a 23.6 per cent burn scar, got more than $8 million for the refurbishment of a sports stadium. We don't begrudge this funding for regions, but the Blue Mountains, with a 50 per cent burn scar, got not a cent. It is just wrong! They were ready-to-go projects. The list released by Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill shows 24 projects, worth around $5 million—projects that would have helped the communities of Blackheath, Bell and Mount Victoria, which directly suffered fire damage, and the businesses who took such a massive economic hit. There is no explanation for why these were ignored. The New South Wales government has a track record of rorting public funds, and the Premier is unapologetic about allegations of pork-barrelling, saying, 'It's not an illegal practice.' With federal complicity, the state Labor seat in my electorate is treated so differently from the state Liberal seats. That is not a way to recover from bushfire. The Morrison government have had a hands-off approach during the bushfires, and now they've got a hands-off approach when it comes to recovery. This is the Prime Minister who said, 'Whatever it takes.' Well, it's going to take intervention with the New South Wales government to make sure the deal is fair. Ryan Electorate: Roads 85 10:21 Mr SIMMONDS 282983 Ryan I rise today to talk about an issue that's causing much concern in my local community. The state government has proposed a new school at Indooroopilly, a primary school on the site of Indooroopilly State High School, likely a vertical school. Whilst I support the commitment to reduce overcrowded schools in our growing area, the lack of community consultation and the lack of planning have, understandably, created much concern amongst locals and for me. Traffic congestion is a serious issue in the western suburbs. That's why I have secured funding for much-needed road upgrades and will continue to fight for more. It is baffling that the Labor state government would propose a school without a plan for the increased traffic and congestion issues that it will bring to an area where there are already four schools operating in very close proximity. Residents are also justifiably concerned about the safety of our children, particularly around the already congested drop-off and pick-up zones and on the routes where kids walk to school, as more congestion, we know, leads to rat-running around suburban streets. After speaking with local residents to share these serious concerns and others, I wrote to the education minister, Grace Grace, to request an urgent meeting with me and local constituents so that she could hear these concerns in person, as part of the consultation process she is meant to be undertaking. She declined. She refuses to meet with me, as a local representative, and she refuses to meet with local residents, despite undertaking a consultation process. It's a slap in the face to these local residents. It's a sign that she doesn't have the answers and it shows a total contempt by the Labor state government for our area, for local residents and for the legitimate concerns that they hold. It shows that the consultation process being undertaken by the Labor state government is a farce, from beginning to end. Minister, you must be held accountable for the announcements you make. Why don't you come to the school drop-off and see for yourself? Do some due diligence with me and the parents. It's not good enough; building a new school can't be simply a tick-and-flick or a media release during the recent election campaign. To deliver such a vital piece of infrastructure requires well thought-out planning and conversations with the local community. The state Labor government has ignored the western suburbs for decades. They don't acknowledge the growing traffic congestion. They have us sitting in traffic instead of at being home with our families. Nor do they invest in reducing the dangerous bottlenecks, which are a constant concern for locals to navigate. The federal government and I have committed literally hundreds of millions of dollars to fix traffic congestion in the western suburbs. But, where it requires support from the state Labor government, that funding is still sitting on the table because ministers like Grace Grace and Mark Bailey won't return phone calls or letters or engage with the local community. My local community knows it's not good enough. Sullivan, Mr Jonathan Harold (Jon) 86 10:24 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I rise today to pay tribute to my friend and former colleague Jon Sullivan. Jon Sullivan passed away just a couple of weeks ago, on 17 January, aged just 70. It was a privilege to serve alongside Jon in this place. He was a nice bloke. He was committed to his electorate. He was passionate. He was a person of ideas. He was someone who entered federal parliament after having a career in the Queensland parliament as the member for Glass House. Even though he was born in the Illawarra in New South Wales, he was a passionate Queenslander. He always stood up for his electorate. He was elected in 2007 with a quite extraordinary swing—a double-digit swing of 10.6 per cent, which is something that not many people can say. He continued, whilst in that electorate, to be a strong advocate to me as the then Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development for projects like the town centre in Caboolture that was transformed, for upgrades to the Bruce Highway, including the Gateway Upgrade North project in order that people could get home quicker to that area, and for taking traffic off the roads with the expansion of the rail network, which would indirectly benefit his electorate through the Redcliffe rail line, which was first promised in 1895, but it took a federal Labor government, working with the state Labor government and the Moreton Bay Regional Council in his electorate, to deliver it. During his term in this place, he served on the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Committee and always played a constructive role. Jon was passionate about the arts. The community where he continued to live is a very creative one. I continued to have contact with him at the Woodford Folk Festival—a magnificent gathering. Unfortunately, it was unable to be held this year because of COVID. But you'd run into Jon, who was always there to hear the great Bob Hawke, who appeared there each and every year. He was a good mate of Kevin Rudd, who helped recruit him as the candidate for the seat. Kevin knew him from his time running the Queensland Premier's department and being chief of staff to Wayne Goss. Kevin said this: 'Jon was a quintessentially good man. His care for his community and his fellow human beings was as deep as it was real. There was not an element of fakery about him.' May he rest in peace. I send regards to his wife, Carryn, and we, on behalf of the whole of the parliament, wish her well. Brisbane Electorate: Australia Day Awards 86 10:28 Mr EVANS 61378 Brisbane The Australia Day honours list is a chance for us to reflect on the contributions and achievements of some of our local residents. Sport plays a big role in the Brisbane lifestyle. Cricket, in particular, is on every Brisbane resident's mind at this time of year, and the $7 million of funding that our government contributed to build the National Cricket Campus in Brisbane is about building even stronger institutions and traditions in that sport. Last month, I was pleased to see that Brisbane resident Greg Chappell MBE has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to the traditions of cricket. In the corporate world, Dr Sally Pitkin, whom I know well through her work in a major arts organisation, has been awarded as an Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to business, corporate standards and the advancement of women. In academia, Emeritus Professor Kay Saunders was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to tertiary education, as both an academic and an author, as well as for her service to the community. Another Brisbane sporting legend, Tony Joseph, was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to sport and rugby league, as well as his work in the fruit and vegetable industry. Brisbane resident Donald Barrett was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to tertiary education and academics. And Judith Bell was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for her dedication to the administration of justice and the visual arts. It's also inspiring to see the work of Brisbane medical researchers being increasingly highlighted on the world stage. In that spirit, Dr James McGill has been appointed as Member of the Order of Australia for his service to medicine and medical education. We also give thanks to Brian Hollins, John Tyquin and the late Mrs Diana Dick, all of whom are recipients of the Order of Australia medal for their dedication and service to our community. We thank them, because Brisbane is very fortunate to have great charities, groups and people committed to community service and a better society. A big shout-out also goes to Norm Shrubsole for his service to the community through his many years of tireless volunteering and his leadership with the Brisbane Bardon Lions. I'd also like to mention the Vasile brothers, Wesley and Tudor, who get all of us running every year in Brisbane at the walk for the Mental Awareness Foundation. They received the Lord Mayor's Spirit of Brisbane award this year. I'd like to also extend our congratulations to Gordon Buchanan, who received the Public Service Medal for his contribution to the transport sector in Queensland, and Roberta Embrey, who received the Australian Corrections Medal. On behalf of our entire Brisbane community, congratulations and thank you to all Brisbane recipients as well as all award recipients in the Australia Day honours list. Gellibrand Electorate: Australia Day Awards, Ovarian Cancer 87 10:30 Mr WATTS 193430 Gellibrand Last month, two members of my community were awarded Australia Day honours, and I would like to offer my congratulations to them here. George Said was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to our community in Hobsons Bay. George is a well-known and well-loved figure in our community, and he has a truly inspirational story. In 1956 George fled Egypt for Britain during the Suez Canal crisis and eventually came to Australia in 1962 via the '10-pound Pom' scheme. When he arrived in Altona, George says that he was the only Greek in Altona that could read and write English. He took that as a duty and an obligation. Again, he has given decades of long service in building the Greek Orthodox community. We've been talking a lot about the importance of community throughout the COVID pandemic in Victoria and the need to know your neighbour, and George has been a champion of this for decades. The community in my electorate has a very strong community vibe, and it's thanks to people like George, who decided 15 years ago that people should know their neighbour in Hobsons Bay. He started the Seaholme Sustainability Street to bring neighbours together and to help improve the local environment at the same time. George knows the importance of community, and it's fitting that he's been recognised for it. George is one of those citizens that members of this parliament would be well aware of. He just seems to be everywhere in our community. His service to multiculturalism and the community in Hobsons Bay will long outlive his time on this earth. Another very worthy recipient was Williamstown local Paula Benson, who was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to people living with ovarian cancer and for business. Paula is a tireless advocate in fighting ovarian cancer and will be very well-known to many members in this building for her Teal Ribbon Day breakfasts. Paula was one of the 46 per cent of women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and reached the five-year survival point. It's because of this that she dedicated her time and expertise to helping fight the deadliest female cancer, which kills one woman every eight hours. She served Ovarian Cancer Australia in many board roles from 2007 to 2018, after her own battle with ovarian cancer, including a seven-year stint as its chair. During her stewardship, Ovarian Cancer Australia achieved remarkable things, including developing and implementing Australia's first national action plan for ovarian cancer research, and securing government funding for prevention and awareness programs. It's fitting, then, that I make this speech during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which Paula instigated. Thanks in no small part to her efforts, Ovarian Cancer Australia announced this month that researchers believe they are closer than ever to finding a cure. I encourage everyone in this chamber to help her raise awareness for ovarian cancer this month and to support Ovarian Cancer Australia's efforts. Congratulations to Paula and George for your highly deserved recognition in this year's Australia Day awards. The whole community of Melbourne's west thanks you for your service to our community and the nation as a whole. Western Australia: Bushfires 87 10:34 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce Residents throughout parts of my electorate are currently facing two emergencies: the first is obviously a COVID-19 lockdown, and the second is a bushfire emergency. The bushfire has, sadly, so far destroyed more than 70 homes and burnt through 10,000 hectares. I want to take this opportunity to offer my personal and the parliament's thoughts and deepest sympathies to those who have lost their homes and those who have been affected by the fire. Our community here and around Ellenbrook and my electorate are, sadly, all too familiar with the devastating impact of bushfires. Just over a year ago in my own home suburb of Yanchep, a fast-moving fire burnt through about 13,000 hectares, and last month a fire tore through areas of Mundaring and Chittering, the same areas that are now again under threat. The present fire has, very sadly, devastated picturesque national parks, local businesses and family homes, and the destruction has fixed the attention of the wider Western Australian community, as people watch from COVID-19 lockdown. My staff and I have spent many years working at our electorate office in Ellenbrook, an area under threat from the fire. Obviously, we've gotten to know all of our local community, and there are people who have become close friends—people like Justin and Hayley at the Hen, who kindly hosted an event with the Prime Minister in 2019; Mel and the staff at Laneway Seven, the local cafe, who are champions of the JobKeeper initiative and also good friends who look after us as we work in Ellenbrook; Beryl Eissens and Graham Dore from Ellenbrook Community Radio, who've kept us informed over the years. They're just a few of the incredible members of our community. They've all had to evacuate their homes, and I hope that they can return as soon as reasonably possible. The fire has brought out the best in our community, though. We've had strangers offering their homes as safe havens, and local cafes and eateries providing free meals to evacuees. The Bap sent me photographs last night of 350 hot meals that they provided to volunteers yesterday. Despite the stories of destruction and devastation, it's those sorts of accounts of kindness in the community that really leave an imprint on our consciousness. I'd very much like to thank the City of Swan mayor, Kevin Bailey—who is a great bloke—and his local government team for activating the City of Swan's emergency plan and for their remarkable work in supporting and uniting the community. Of course, there are hundreds of firefighters who have been working day and night to protect lives and homes. Sadly, several firefighters have been injured in service of their community. We wish them a speedy recovery. To all of our emergency personnel, who have a hard day ahead of them today: we thank you for all your efforts. Finally, for those individuals most affected, it's a useful time to note that the federal government has activated the disaster recovery allowance payment. The recovery payment will support those who need it, with $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children. More information on how to claim is available on the Services Australia website. Those claims can be made, and I understand money is flowing today. As we continue through the fourth day of this bushfire, the communities are still under very significant threat. The advice is clear: listen to the emergency services personnel, stay up to date with changing condition and do whatever you need to do to protect yourself and your family. We will all get through this. JobKeeper Payment 88 10:37 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo JobKeeper, we know, was a temporary payment that was supposed to be there to get us through the pandemic. We're not through the pandemic, and, as we learnt overnight, we are still very much in the fight of our lives to prevent the further spread of the pandemic. What that has meant is that restrictions will continue to be imposed intermittently upon our communities, yet this government is seeking to wind up the JobKeeper temporary subsidy for businesses and workers throughout our electorates. I'm calling on the government today to keep the JobKeeper payment going in the industries that are still affected by restrictions, which are necessary to keep our communities safe. In my electorate, I'm continually being approached by businesses. I'm approached by businesses in the entertainment and arts sector, by catering businesses, whose entire business comes from the events that we have in our city, and by businesses that provide AV equipment for those city events. In Greater Bendigo and Central Victoria, we are home to a number of wonderful festivals, which have been cancelled for a second year in a row. We know this is the right thing to do because we are in the middle of a pandemic. As the organisers—who are volunteers—say to me, they know it is right to postpone the Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Festival again, for a second year, and to postpone our Easter festival, but they're worried about the impact that closing down these events will have on the businesses in our area. I have businesses that are involved in international travel, travel agents who are screaming out, saying that they want to do the right thing. They have credits for their customers, which are being carried over, but they may not be here this time next year to see their customers use those credits, because JobKeeper is ending. There are businesses involved in aviation—contractors—providing services to the aviation fuel industry and the baggage industry, who say that they may be forced to wind up if this government doesn't extend JobKeeper. We're calling on the government to work with the industries that have been affected by restrictions. We are not through this pandemic. The slowing of the rollout of the vaccine means that we will be in this situation for longer. They need to keep the JobKeeper subsidy going to keep these businesses and workers connected. We don't want to see businesses close because this government withdrew support too early. We don't want to see these workers lose their jobs because this government withdrew support too early. I urge the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to change their rhetoric on this, to keep these people connected to these local businesses and help them get through this pandemic all the way through to the other side. Page Electorate: Australia Day Awards 88 10:40 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page I'd like to acknowledge this year's winners of Australia Day awards in Lismore. The Citizen of the Year award went to Dr Ian Cappe for his significant contribution to health services in our community. The Aboriginal Citizen of the Year was awarded to Ros Sten. Ros is currently the Aboriginal community liaison officer with the Richmond Police District. She's a wonderful person with a wonderful heart. The individual award for services in the community went to Fred Hoskins for his contributions to his Wyrallah community, in particular the school, church and local hall. Fred is an absolute gentleman and it's a pleasure to know him. The group award for services in the community went to the Lord's Taverners Northern New South Wales branch, who do a great job. The arts and culture award went to John Devoy for an amazing 40 years of contribution to Lismore's annual eisteddfod. The last one is an emotional one. It's the Lismore sports team of the year award. It went to the Lismore Rugby Club under-18s team. Towards the end of the 2020 season the team tragically lost two mates, Eddie Allen and Jaylan Stewart. They were lost in separate accidents. Eddie was a current player and Jaylan had previously played for the team. I knew both these boys and their families. It was a tough time for the whole community. The rugby boys played the grand final for Eddie, and they won. A few weeks later, post Jaylan's passing, the league team played for both Eddie and Jaylan, who were team mates. It was a very emotional award for the team to win, for the boys, their families and community. I congratulate all winners. I'd like to acknowledge this year's winners of Australia Day awards in the Clarence Valley. The Citizen of the Year went to Hayley Talbot. Among many things that she does in our community, Hayley provides a free volunteer and safe space in Yamba where young women are encouraged to call in and enjoy a safe and relaxed place. She's a great advocate and an inspiration for many in our community. The Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Kalani Ives. Kalani is 15, and she is a volunteer lifeguard. She's training hard to compete in an Ironwoman competition. She has a long list of achievements last year, which include state and country championships. Scott Campbell received a Local Hero award for his extraordinary work during the recent bushfires. He went above and beyond helping community members, which almost cost him his life. The community achievement group award went to the Nymboida recovery team. This remarkable group formed within days of the Nymboida fires, which destroyed over 90 houses. They created a hub which provided emergency accommodation, water, food and garbage disposal services. They were an inspiration to many. Congratulations to all those deserved winners. I'd like to acknowledge this year's winners of the Australia Day awards in Richmond Valley. It was held in Coraki, on the river there. It was beautiful to be there that day with my wife, Karen. The Citizen of the Year went to Paul Bengtson for his impressive record of service to the community, with a swimming club, the Men's Shed, Legacy and the St Mary's parents and friends. The volunteer award went to Stuart Holm. Stuart is a great advocate for Coraki. The Young Sportsperson of the Year went to Lachlan Coe, who has excelled and gone to national level within his age group. COVID-19: Income Support Payments 89 10:43 Mr BURNS 278522 Macnamara Unfortunately this pandemic is not over, and unfortunately the federal government is withdrawing support and withdrawing the JobKeeper support way too early, right now, for businesses across the country. As we woke up this morning in Victoria, we were confronted with the really difficult and frustrating news that there was a health worker, someone who was working in the hotel quarantine system, who had contracted this virus. My thanks and the thanks of the Victorian people go to that worker, who did the right thing and got tested straightaway and who has been extremely helpful and provided all the information for our contact tracers. Our thanks, of course, go to the huge public health team that has immediately snapped into action and is doing all of the contact tracing work in Victoria at the moment. They have dealt with outbreaks before, and they will throw absolutely everything at this current situation. Victorians can be confident that we have an outstanding team, led by Jeroen Weimar, Brett Sutton and Allen Cheng—outstanding Victorians who will do everything they can to minimise the amount of transmission of this virus. But it is another stark reminder that this pandemic is not over, that coronavirus is still rampant not only in this country—via those coming from overseas—but across the world and that, until we eliminate this virus everywhere, we haven't eliminated it anywhere. The other thing we know is that vaccines will likely have an effect on transmission. The news out of AstraZeneca overnight that there will be a reduction in the rate of transmission is very encouraging but it will not eliminate transmission of this virus. Therefore, we need to remain vigilant. We need to make sure that the footing on which we are managing this pandemic remains. What does this mean for businesses? What does this mean for those in the events sector, the arts and entertainment sector, the university sector? It means we need to continue supporting them throughout this entire pandemic. It does not mean that we should pull support from them while the pandemic is still going on. Frankly, it is a reflection of the way in which this pandemic has been managed of late that the state governments have been left to tidy up the contact tracing and quarantine and the federal government has stood back. Contact tracing is the responsibility of the states but, frankly, quarantine is the responsibility of the federal government; it is not just the responsibility of the state government. And supporting businesses through JobKeeper and JobSeeker is absolutely the responsibility of the federal government. Unfortunately, this pandemic is not over. It is still with us. For months and potentially years ahead we need to be supporting businesses throughout. We cannot and should not be pulling JobKeeper, and I call on the federal government to stop the cut to JobKeeper in March. Foster, Senior Constable Kelly 90 10:46 Mr GEE 261393 Calare Our nation owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Senior Constable Kelly Foster. I make this statement in our parliament today to ensure that her name, her dedication to duty, and her extraordinary service above self are remembered forever. Kelly Ann Foster unexpectedly and tragically lost her life while trying desperately and valiantly to save the life of another while canyoning in the Wollangambe Canyon at Mount Wilson on 2 January 2021. It was a tragedy that shook our communities and our country. In Kelly Foster, we lost a true Australian hero that day. Kelly was awarded the National Police Service Medal, the National Medal, the New South Wales Police Medal and a Commissioner's Unit Citation in recognition of her involvement in the Lindt Cafe siege. We all remember those scenes in Martin Place and the work of our brave police and emergency services officers. Kelly worked as an intelligence analyst in the State Crime Command Real Time Intelligence Response Team, supporting the Property Crime Squad and Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad and the Major Incidents Intelligence Cell. This involved 24/7 real-time tactical and operational support to frontline police who were responding to the most serious incidents. She received all of this in just a decade of policing. It is little wonder that she was awarded the Commissioner's Sesquicentenary 150 years in Policing Citation four years into her career. Her service record contains myriad complimentary remarks from the wider community in appreciation of her work. It is a record of service in the finest traditions of the New South Wales Police Force. In May 2020, Kelly took the opportunity to continue her policing career in Lithgow. She would often comment that it was an honour to serve the Lithgow community and she relished the opportunity to return to operational policing. Her colleagues speak of how profoundly she cared for others and how much they respected her and enjoyed working with her. Kelly's recent funeral in Lithgow was a deeply moving farewell that told the story of a remarkable Australian woman. Kelly will forever be remembered for her dedication, professionalism, compassion, love and extraordinary courage. On behalf of the Australian parliament, I extend my heartfelt condolences to her family—her partner, Gavin; her mother and father, Marilyn and Terry; her sister, Lee; and her brother, David—and to her extended family, friends and colleagues. We are very grateful for Kelly's service to our region, our state and our country. Whenever any of us needs any inspiration to do better, to go further or to do greater deeds, all we have to do is think of Kelly Foster. She will never be forgotten. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 203092 I thank the member for Calare. I'm sure all members of the House would share the sentiments you have just conveyed to the parliament today. Refugees, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy 90 10:49 Ms KEARNEY LTU Cooper I rise today to send my best wishes to the refugees who were recently released from places of detention in Melbourne. After eight years of horrendous detention at the hands of this Liberal government, I was so thrilled that these people are experiencing the simple joys of seeing the night sky and getting a meal in a restaurant. I know their journey isn't over. They remain on bridging visas, creating ongoing stress and anxiety, and so many people are only just now getting the proper medical treatment that they have been waiting for. To all of those who spent years demanding their release, who spent weeks and days out protesting their incarceration, well done. I know our community is already wrapping around this group, providing housing, friendship and support. Thank you. Of course, the Minister for Home Affairs tried to spin the release of some refugees as merely a cost-saving measure. If that is the case, I call on the minister to release the beloved Biloela family who are currently detained on Christmas Island at a cost of $27 million. There are still so many refugees locked up, because this government prefers to punish people rather than find safe, permanent homes for them. Indefinite detention is a national shame and it must end. I would like to congratulate the new shadow minister for climate change and energy, the member for McMahon. In his first week he has proposed a jobs and emissions compact to urgently tackle climate change and create thousands of decent jobs. Labor knows that the science is clear: our planet and its environment will not survive if the climate emergency continues its current trajectory. Recent reports have again made this very clear. The member for McMahon has said that the world is changing, and this means that many communities, especially those that rely on carbon-intensive industries and exports, will come under pressure. There needs to be investment in these people, their regions and their communities, leaving no workers behind. It's a once-in-a-generation economy-wide reform and we, Labor, are the only party who is up to this enormous task, who is ready to take it on. Climate change is the No. 1 issue for my constituents in Cooper. I know that, and they let me know that very, very clearly. I'm looking forward to welcoming the member for McMahon to Cooper so he can hear firsthand from my community, from our community, how we can work together on Labor's plan to tackle the climate emergency and make sure that all communities actually benefit from the changes to come. Employment 91 10:52 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie I'd like to take this opportunity to say how honoured I am to continue to serve the people of Petrie and the community that I grew up in in a place that I love. It's a great responsibility that's been placed on me by local people, and I'm thankful for that. I'm also thankful this year to be serving as the Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services throughout 2021. We really want to help Australia's youth and all people find work throughout 2021. As a father of three boys, one of whom has just finished high school and entered the Australian Defence Force this year, I care for their futures as every good parent does. Do they have nice friends? Are they happy? Are they being cared for? Are they on the right path? And will they find a good secure job in the future? One of our most important roles is to maintain a strong economy that fosters opportunity and optimism for business, creativity and entrepreneurship that will support our young and older Australians. Mueller College at Rothwell in my electorate of Petrie has an aviation school where the students learn how to fly planes. When I visited they were building the wing of an aircraft and learning how to use the actual tools of aircraft mechanics. When I visited the Grace Lutheran College students, they showed me their inventions of dropping a parachute on an egg out of the sky from a drone without breaking it into their hands. Our youth think big and think laterally, and it's awesome. In some of the other schools in my electorate that I've also recently visited like Aspley State High School and Clontarf Beach State School I've seen the same vision in students. As Australia recovers from the global COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the skilled workforce has never been more important, especially in Deception Bay and Margate where I know our youth unemployment is higher. That's why the government's $74 billion JobMaker plan puts skills and jobs front and centre of our economic recovery and builds on the significant first steps we have already taken to reform our training system. Of course, it's not just government; people employed in those suburbs of Deception Bay and Margate: get alongside people that are looking for work. If you know someone who's unemployed, talk to them and give them tips on how they can get a job and how they can connect with people. I have done that through my JobSeeker boot camp, from my own experience of running a business with 20 staff, where I bring the unemployed in, connect them with employers and give them great tips on how to stay in work. The Bracken Ridge and Redcliffe TAFE colleges and the Australian Trade College at Scarborough will directly benefit as well from the Morrison government's $7 billion investment to keep apprentices in jobs. All these opportunities will be rolled out in 2020-21. I look forward to working hard for the Australian people. Oxley Electorate: Australia Day 91 10:55 Mr DICK 53517 Oxley Australia is made up of people from many cultures and backgrounds, representing nations from all around the world. The values shown to each and every member of our society through mutual respect and care unite us as a nation. I am proud to represent the electorate of Oxley, in the south-west of Brisbane and Ipswich suburbs, as it reflects the diversity of our nation, with around 50,000 people born overseas. On 26 January, Australia Day, I was honoured to attend a number of citizenship ceremonies around the Oxley electorate and welcome people from across the globe into our Australian family. I want to make special mention today of all the organisers, volunteers and community groups that help run our citizenship ceremonies. These unsung heroes are the people who give up their public holiday, don't take the day off, and give back to so many in our community to welcome so many people to our community. The early ceremony I attended was hosted by the Jindalee Rotary Club, a terrific Rotary club that does so much great work not just on Australia Day but right throughout the year. I joined our state member for Mount Ommaney, Jess Pugh, and the local councillor for the Jamboree Ward, Councillor Sarah Hutton, at the Jindalee Bowls Club, where we heard the inspirational story of guest speaker Duku Fore. A big thank you to Margaret Tiller—I think one of the best MCs going—Scott Taylor and the entire Jindalee Rotary Club for another Australia Day to remember. The events that followed included a ceremony at the mighty Blue Fin Fishing Club, a ceremony hosted by Inala Lions Club—a club that I am proud to be a member of—and officiated by local councillor Charles Strunk. I want to recognise Les Josiah, John Moynihan and former councillor Les Bryant, who offered their support for the day. In the afternoon I joined Ipswich City Council Mayor Teresa Harding, Councillor Sheila Ireland, state member Jim Madden and my friend and colleague Shayne Neumann MP to celebrate many more new citizens to the Ipswich and surrounding districts. Later in the afternoon, I joined Councillor Nicole Johnston, Councillor Steve Griffith and hundreds of locals at Club Oxley, a great local bowls club, who each year—and now in its 10th year—put on a big family fun day for Australia Day. It's a pool party on the green at the bowls club. It is one of the biggest events in my calendar. Thank you to all the volunteers, and welcome to all of those new citizens calling Australia home. We welcome you and we love having you in the Oxley electorate. MOLLER, Mr Ross Ronald 92 10:58 Mr ENTSCH 7K6 Leichhardt I rise today to pay tribute to and remember a good friend and giant in the Cairns business community who recently passed away. Real estate veteran and community leader Ross Moller passed away suddenly last month at the age of 66. Ross started his career as a real estate agent in 1989 and went on to become a leading auctioneer and principal. He went to build up one of Cairns's most successful real estate business in the inner-city suburb of Edge Hill. His LJ Hooker office was frequently lauded for its results both locally and nationally within the group. I was fortunate enough to have known Ross for the best part of four decades. I first met Ross during the 1980s when, in a life before politics, I was selling real estate with the Freeman Corporation and he was working as the manager of former real estate financing company, Mercantile Credits—AKA the Bunnies—and we did a lot of business together during that period of time. However, Ross was more than simply a businessman. He absolutely will be remembered for his tireless, passionate and unwavering dedication to the Cairns community, whether it was in his capacity as President of Cairns Amateurs, as a Taipans board member, as an executive of REIQ for our region or on various community and advisory committees that he was involved with. Ross's positive contribution to our community is without question. He was part of our city's fabric. Ross Moller was a true gentleman and an all-round great bloke. His sudden passing has affected many people in my community, myself included. I think the Cairns Regional Council mayor, Bob Manning, summed it up perfectly when reflecting on Ross's life, saying: He was always aware of the community he lived in, and he was a contributor, not a taker. Ross's memorial service was held last Tuesday. Unfortunately, I was here and unable to attend, but my beautiful wife, Yolonde, represented us there. She told me it was an amazing celebration of a fantastic and wonderful life well lived. He was very much appreciated by our local community. Ross is survived by his wife, Despina, and children, Nadine, Ben and Nick, and of course all of their families. I have to tell you that it was an absolute shock when we learnt of Ross's passing. He was certainly taken well before his time. Unfortunately, that tends to be the case of the very good and the very special people in our community. In closing, I'd just like to say to Ross: rest in peace, mate. You will be very, very sorely missed, but I can guarantee you, mate, you'll never, ever be forgotten. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 203092 In accordance with standing order 193, the time for constituency statements has concluded. CONDOLENCES 92 CONDOLENCES Anthony, Rt Hon. John Douglas (Doug), AC, CH 92 11:02 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I rise to speak on this condolence motion for the Rt Hon. John Douglas 'Doug' Anthony, who passed away in Murwillumbah on 20 December 2020 at the age of 90, just 11 days before his 91st birthday. I'd like to acknowledge Doug Anthony's dedicated service to our nation, firstly as Australia's longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and, of course, his service to our New South Wales North Coast community as the federal member for Richmond from 1957 to 1984. Last week's state memorial service at Tweed Heads really did outline Doug's extensive political career, with the highlight being, of course, that what he's most remembered for is the fact that, when he was Acting Prime Minister, often over the summer holidays, he ran the country from his caravan at New Brighton. It certainly was a different time, and many people reflected on the fact that he did run the country from the caravan. What was overwhelmingly evident in all of the reflections at the service was Doug's love and commitment to his family, to the land and, of course, to the Tweed. Doug Anthony served as Deputy Prime Minister for nine years, but he was first and foremost a son of the Tweed. Whilst many have spoken about Doug's lengthy political career, for my contribution I'd like to focus on his community involvement and his generosity. Born, raised and having lived in Murwillumbah, Doug was an integral part of our community and even more so after his retirement in 1984. It's also very important to note that Doug Anthony was a strong supporter of the republic campaign in 1999. In fact, I first met Doug at this time, when, as a group of local mothers with their young children, we were invited to a media event at the Anthony's Murwillumbah home, 'Sunny Meadows'. The event was to highlight the very important reasons to support an Australian head of state. Doug was rightly and fiercely passionate about the need for Australia to become a republic and he campaigned strongly right throughout this time. One of Doug's greatest legacies is of course the Tweed Regional Gallery. Doug and his wife, Margot, very kindly donated a portion of their land at Murwillumbah to build the new Tweed Regional Gallery, which opened in 2004 and is now a world-renowned art gallery that we're incredibly proud of. Later, in November 2011, Doug joined me at the announcement that the then federal Labor government had committed $1 million to build the Margaret Olley Art Centre at the Tweed Regional Gallery. This centre is remarkable. It's a recreation of parts of Margaret Olley's famous home studio and Doug, Margot and everyone in the community were very excited about it. The Anthonys were good friends with Margaret as well. The centre features original architectural elements such as windows and doors, and the interiors are filled with so much furniture and more than 20,000 items that Margaret Ollie had collected over many, many years, all meticulously moved up to Murwillumbah for the wonderful centre that it is. It is truly remarkable, and I know that Doug and Margot were incredibly proud of it. It's a wonderful asset. The Tweed Regional Gallery director, Susi Muddiman, recently said: Doug was a wonderful supporter of the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre. …    .    . Doug and Margot's donation of land from their farm—the spectacular site where the Gallery is now situated—will forever shine as the ongoing legacy of Doug's extraordinary commitment to enriching the lives of so many Australians. He will be greatly missed. The other community involvement I'd like to highlight is Doug's generosity in relation to the Wedgetail Retreat community hospice in Murwillumbah. The hospice started with a dream to fulfil the community need for an inclusive, specialised palliative care facility in our region. It was a wonderful vision led by Meredith Dennis, the fantastic president of the Tweed Palliative Support group, a multi-award-winning charity that started in 1998, who provide free support and services for palliative care for patients. Meredith and her team were so committed to finding premises to open a 24-hour hospice to provide palliative care services and they found the perfect site in Murwillumbah; however, it cost $1 million, and there was no capacity for the group to access the money needed to buy it. Doug Anthony kindly offered to lend the $1 million at a very, very low interest rate, but on one condition: he requested that this act remain anonymous. It's only recently become widely known that Doug was the original benefactor to Wedgetail Retreat. The group then paid back the loan in full in 5½ years through donations and fundraising. Of course both Doug and Margot were very much involved in assisting them and Margot is a patron of the organisation. Along with many people in the community, they were very proud in 2015 when the doors opened to Wedgetail Retreat, New South Wales' only 24-hour palliative care community hospice, where patients and their families are welcomed into a friendly homelike environment in a beautiful rainforest setting. Nurses and trained volunteer palliative carers offer a person-centred approach to caring for patients and their loved ones. The vulnerable and disadvantaged are cared for free of charge. Clients and families sometimes donate funds to assist with ongoing operational costs. This is a unique and remarkable hospice and, as Meredith Dennis recently told me, the fact is Wedgetail would never have happened without Doug's generosity, and we thank him for that. Doug Anthony was a man committed to his family and committed to the land, and that was clearly evident in all of the stories and reflections we heard at the memorial service. Of course, at this sad time, our thoughts are with his lovely wife, Margot, the true love of his life; and their children, Dugald, Jane and Larry, and their families. As the current member for Richmond and on behalf of our North Coast community, we say farewell to the former member for Richmond, Doug Anthony, son of the Tweed. May he rest in peace. 11:09 Mr FRYDENBERG FKL Kooyong It's my honour to follow those eloquent words from the member for Richmond paying tribute to a great Australian, Doug Anthony, acknowledging his love of family and his service to the community. This place is meant to epitomise the very best of our country—people who come here motivated by public service, people with experience from all walks of life. Doug Anthony represented the very best of us and his contribution was significant—like that of his father, like that of his son and like that of all members of the Anthony family. He served in the parliament for 26 years, which saw him serve with five Australian prime ministers and seven Liberal leaders. With the loss of Doug Anthony, we have lost one of the last remaining links with the Menzies government. Upon his retirement, Doug Anthony said that a person leaves politics through defeat, disgrace, disability, death or by decision. He clearly chose the last of those—he left by his own decision—and not many people in this place can say that. Doug Anthony made an enormous contribution to public policy. One key area— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 11:11 to 11:49 Mr FRYDENBERG FKL As I said, it's my honour to speak in tribute to a great Australian, Doug Anthony. His many public policy contributions included those in the field of trade. He was a strong proponent of Australia's trading position, building on the foundations and following in the footsteps of Sir John McEwen. Whether it was in the resources and minerals sector or the Japanese beef market, whether it was building new links to new markets in the Middle East and Korea or whether it was extending our existing relationship with New Zealand, he made a massive impression in the field of trade. As the Minister for the Interior, his contribution was also significant. He was at the helm when Lake Burley Griffin was filled. He commissioned the construction of Anzac Parade. Famously, he moved the statue of King George V from the front of Old Parliament House to the side so there was an uninterrupted view from Capital Hill to Mount Ainslie. I don't think that was a sign of where he'd be on the republic debate, though. He was also one of the first people to purchase a house in the satellite town of Woden, and he was intimately involved in the decision to build this House, the new Parliament House, where we stand today. Doug Anthony was somebody who was friendly and likable. He was described as not being a hater. He could play his politics tough, as a boy from the land no doubt could, but he was also very, very much respected by both sides of the political divide. John Howard, in speaking at Doug Anthony's funeral, spoke fondly about the man. He described him as 'an enormous force for stability and common sense'. Once, when interviewed by John Howard back in 2016, Doug Anthony recalled a story about how he used to love listening to the speeches of Sir Robert Menzies. He said he'd always go to the chamber to listen to Menzies because the speeches were interesting. One day, Menzies was speaking in response to the Labor Party's criticism of the budget. The Labor Party had torn the budget to pieces. 'I knew Menzies was coming on to speak and I made my way to the chamber. Just as I got there Menzies was tearing Calwell to pieces, and I thought, "How can he make such a great speech without notes? If I could make a speech half as good as that I'd be very happy."' Later that night, at one o'clock in the morning, there was a party in McEwen's office, and at that party there were members of staff of Sir Robert Menzies. Doug Anthony went up to one of them and said: 'I was listening to your boss tonight. Gosh, he made a great speech; it just was so easy!' And this young woman replied. 'So easy? I was up till four o'clock last night writing every single word of that speech.' Doug Anthony said that taught him a lesson: if you're going to make a good speech, you've got to work on it yourself; you can't just make it up on the spot. Doug Anthony told the story about how, in his words, he never intended go into politics in the first place. 'In fact, I was badgered into it,' he said. For someone who was badgered into politics, he's left a lasting legacy and the deepest of impressions. He said at his press conference upon retirement: 'I'm retiring because I believe it is the right time. I think I have made my contribution, to the best of my ability, to the public life of this country.' Whether you're a National, a Liberal or a member of the Labor Party, we're all Australians, and when a great Australian such as Doug Anthony passes, we come together to acknowledge his love of family and his contribution to country. May he rest in peace. 11:55 Ms LANDRY 249764 Capricornia I, too, would like to associate myself with the remarks of the previous speakers. In December we mourned the loss of one of the National Party's great sons and a stalwart of Australian politics, Doug Anthony. What a remarkable legacy he has left our nation—Australia's longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the Nationals for 12 years, a federal minister for 16 years, and the member for Richmond for 27 years until his retirement in 1984. Throughout his life he was a tenacious and powerful voice for the millions of Australians who live in our regional, rural and remote communities. I would like to take this opportunity to join with my federal colleagues to reflect on his life and his career. John Douglas Anthony was born in 1929, the son of Hubert Lawrence and Jessie Mary Anthony, in Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales. His passion and talent for politics seemed to have been in his blood. His father was first elected to federal parliament in 1937 and was a minister in the first Menzies government, and, of course, Doug's son, Larry Anthony, continued the family's political legacy by being elected as the member for Richmond in 1996. Doug was educated at Murwillumbah secondary school and The King's School in Parramatta. He went to attend the Queensland Agriculture College with a mind to working on his family's dairy farm. With his father's untimely passing in 1957, he decided to stand for the seat of Richmond. He won the by-election convincingly and was duly elected to federal parliament at the young age of 27. Looking back, his achievements in agriculture and trade are legendary. In his first appointment as Minister for Primary Industry, he was instrumental in establishing the Australian Wool Commission. Importantly, he introduced wheat quotas as a way of limiting overproduction following a decline in prices. This was addressed by encouraging the Australian Wheat Board to open flour mills overseas. When Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and the coalition formed government in 1975, Doug was given the role of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Overseas Trade, and the Minister for National Resources. He understood very clearly the enormous benefits that trade would bring to the agriculture and mining industries, which would in turn benefit all of rural Australia. During his time as trade minister, Doug secured tremendous results. He negotiated the trans-Tasman Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, which remains a benchmark for international trade partnerships. In 1979, he was the first Australian senior minister to visit the Middle East and led the way in forming a bilateral science and technology agreement with Saudi Arabia. This was the first of several important trade related agreements that soon followed across the region, including with Iraq, Iran and the Gulf States. The outcomes that Doug Anthony secured for regional Australia continue to stand strong. He was devoted to ensuring the people who lived in the bush had a fierce advocate in government and someone who would always have their backs. Doug made it his life's work to ensure that regional Australians were not just listened to but were front and centre for all decisions made by government. I had the pleasure of meeting Doug on several occasions, and he was a true gentleman. Simply put, he represented the core values that underpin the National Party—a man of integrity, decency and unbreakable resolve. Of course, during the years that he was Acting Prime Minister, over many summers in the late seventies and early eighties, Doug Anthony will always be famous for running the nation out of his caravan on the North Coast of New South Wales. By the time he retired from politics in 1984, it was clear Doug was leaving behind a tremendous career and an enduring legacy of achievements and an example that we all aspire to. Throughout his whole life, he ensured that regional Australians had a voice—a real voice, a powerful voice. As we honour Doug's memory, my thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Margot, and their children, Dugald, Jane and Larry, and his entire family. He was a true giant of the National Party and Australian politics. With his passing we have truly lost one of our greatest, and he will be sorely missed. 11:59 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne I feel it's a great honour to rise and pay tribute to the life of a wonderful man who made an indelible mark on this world. As the ancient Greeks used to describe good, upstanding men as 'good and beautiful', or kalos kagathos, surely Doug Anthony was a great man. I had the privilege of attending his memorial service, and the thing that struck me was the affection and the admiration his family, his family's family, his grandchildren and his friends had for him. All had a huge affection for Doug, the man. Many people focus their whole life on their career, but it was quite obvious that his family was as much his career as his political career. He certainly had a rich life. He wasn't a one-trick-pony politician. He lost his mother when he was six or seven, went off to boarding school and lived with his father—who was the member for Richmond before him—at the Kurrajong Hotel. I met him at a couple of dinners when I first joined the party and in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I think the last time we sat together was at the Lismore Town Hall for the launch of my good friend and colleague the member for Page's election campaign. There were some very interesting stories. During his time living in the Kurrajong with his father when he was a young boy, not only did he roam the corridors of Parliament House but he also met pretty much every Prime Minister from Billy Hughes onwards. By the time he left, he had met and known personally about 11 prime ministers, which is quite an achievement. His political legacy is quite astonishing, with 27 years as the member for Richmond and 10 years as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the party. I grew up in Queanbeyan as a young child—Queanbeyan has always lived in the shadow of Canberra, but that wasn't always the case; Canberra was quite small when we were growing up—and I remember that the mayor of Canberra was the Minister for the Interior, who ran the National Capital Development Commission. I remember all the local controversy. His name, Black Jack McEwen, featured at kitchen table conversations between my mother and father, who were opinionated about politics. That name came up often. Because Doug was the Minister for the Interior, he was like the mayor of Canberra. We didn't have self-government then. So he really had a local mark. He was involved in the wool floor price scheme, the Wheat Board and quotas, as was mentioned by the member for Capricornia, the New Zealand and Australia free trade agreement, which then evolved into the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, trade with the Middle East and also resources. He was there at the double dissolution. He came and saw off Gough Whitlam. He served with various prime ministers. He served with Menzies, Fraser, Gorton and Holt. He had been through an amazing period of national public life at the highest levels and also institutionally. But, as I said, he wasn't a one-trick pony. He was a trained professional in agronomy and agriculture. After he left, he went back to agriculture—in pork, dairy, beef and, I understand, cotton. He was a director of a mineral exploration and gold mining company. He—along with Margot, who was a trained concert pianist who performed overseas—was quite a philanthropist. He and Margot bequeathed land, on the family farm, to the Tweed Heads Regional Art Gallery, overlooking the most spectacular views of the Tweed River. You could say he was a true renaissance man. But his political career didn't define him. He was a knockabout fellow, highly intelligent, very disciplined and, by all accounts, a very good leader. He was firm when he needed to be, he could win an argument and he was prepared to take an argument up and fight for it, to argue the case and win, which is one of the great skills of politics. When I was growing up, as a teenager my political consciousness came to light through public affairs and a fascination with history. I was in high school when the double dissolution happened. Doug Anthony inspired me. I had a medical career for 33 years, but my interest in politics resurfaced 33 years later. As I said to Larry Anthony, Doug was a role model and the main reason I stuck with the National Party. My family background was on the land. As I was growing up, Doug Anthony was seen as being more important in discussions than even Menzies, Fraser or Gorton—everything was referenced back to Doug. I thank Doug for his legacy. When he passed, a bit of the National Party and a bit of that slice of life in Australia passed with him. We are all very sad. I would like to salute him and thank his family for sharing his wonderful life with the nation of Australia and the National Party. Vale Doug Anthony. 12:06 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page Doug Anthony is a hero of mine and of many people I know. He was a true legend. I have the good fortune to live in the region that Doug represented. The parliament was expanded in 1984. Before that, the seat of Richmond took in many areas of the current seat of Page. When I walk around my region, people still talk about Doug very fondly—the great person he was, the great politician he was and the great representative he was. I personally come across Doug quite a number of times. As a middle-aged man and an MP, whenever I came across Doug I still felt almost like a teenage boy. I'd be patting my hair down and straightening my coat, because I truly felt that I was in the presence of a legend. He had a very easy smile. He was always very interested in how things were going for you. He had a great love for people and he had a great love for people who had followed in his footsteps and been of service to their community. I loved a line of his that was mentioned at his memorial service last week: 'If you smile at the world, the world will smile back.' That was a lovely motto of his that was said about him last week. I'm a proud Nat—and the forerunner of the National Party was the Country Party—and I know that you too have a great fondness for the Nationals, Mr Deputy Speaker. We have been around as a political party for 100 years. The UAP was the bigger party within the coalition. There have been other minor parties like the DLP and the Australian Democrats. There are parties that have come and gone while the Country Party and the National Party have been around—and we have certainly been written off a number of times. Doug Anthony and people like him—the way they did the job, the way they represented their communities, and what they handed down to the people who followed after them—are the reason we are here. Doug stands tall within our party, within our movement, along with the likes of 'Black Jack' McEwen and Earle Page. They are giants of our party, they are giants of our story and they are the reason we are still here. What an amazing story the Anthony family is. The Anthony family isn't just an amazing Australian political story; it is an amazing Australian story. We heard people talk about the family at the memorial service last week. Doug's father, Larry, served at Gallipoli. He came back grateful to be alive—like every person who came back from there alive. From all accounts, he was a very gritty and determined banana farmer. He became very successful at his pursuit, which led him to get involved in the political movement of what he needed to protect. He was a successful dairy farmer. He started representing, and looking out for, farming and agricultural pursuits and, as we know, ended up being the member for Richmond for a long, long time. We all know about Doug's childhood, roaming around Parliament House and the Kurrajong Hotel, meeting all the Australian political luminaries at the time and experiencing the history of Australian politics. It's an amazing Australian political story, the Anthony story, in the sense that we have had three members of the Anthony family as ministers within the respective governments that they represented. Doug was a minister in the Menzies government, as was his father and as was his son Larry. As has been said, he was the leader of our party. He was Deputy Prime Minister and leader—he was leader for 13 years and Deputy Prime Minister for nine years—serving with three prime ministers. He was the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister we've had. He was a force, a lot of people say, and I think we still do, more often than not. A lot of people say that, within the Fraser government, Peter Nixon, Ian Sinclair and Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister certainly punched above their weight and got results. They were very highly regarded within that coalition government and made sure it was a successful government. I was taken with a couple of things that were said at his memorial service last week, because he was—I think the member for Lyne mentioned this before—a political warrior and he didn't shy away from any belief that he had or anything that he thought he needed to advocate for his community or, indeed, our country as a minister or Deputy Prime Minister. I want to quote two things that he said when he joined the parliament and when he left. When he joined, he said, 'We may disagree with a member's political views, but don't let that not prevent us from being friends. I certainly hope I shall be friendly with political allies and political foes as well.' When he bowed out in 1983, he said, 'I have never tried to build any deliberate enemies, although I'll play politics with anybody and I hope honourable members will, but I hope that we can all be fair with each other.' I think that's a great attitude to go into politics with. While we may sit here—and let's not shy away from this: this is a very partisan place and it should be—this is a place where we debate and argue about the values and things that we need to progress our country, in many different ways. So I don't think we should ever shy away from the combativeness of this place, but I think, behind that, we are all human beings. We are all in this with good intent, and, if you can go away from the chamber and go elsewhere in this house or building and still have respect for each other and the differing views that we have, then it's a better place. The thing, again, that struck me at the memorial service last week was Doug retired at 54. I'm older than 54 already; I probably don't look it to you, Deputy Speaker Zimmerman, but I am. So, of course, he had a whole life once he left. There were some very moving tributes from his children, Larry, Jane and Dugald. A number of his grandchildren were there and what came across was that none of his grandchildren ever knew him as a politician. They were wandering around the region and everyone talked about their grandfather, and they said, 'That's Pop. He's a great guy.' They never knew that part of him, growing up as children. A number of them said, as young adults, they started to do their own research and understand the political lion that he was. A number of them spoke and a number of them performed musical items, but you could see they all had a great love for him. The romance he had with Margot is well documented, about how he pursued her for years before she agreed—a great romance, as Larry said, that never died. His children loved him. It was obvious his grandchildren all loved him very much because they just knew him as Pop, a guy that loved them and had time for them when they'd hang out with him on the family farm. There was another lovely tribute. His birthday was on New Year's Eve. When he turned 70—from memory, it was going into the year 2000—he had a big party. Doug didn't mind a party, but he gave every single one of his grandchildren what he called a confidence coin. If you go onto ABC iview and watch the memorial service, his daughter, Jane, talks about this and what he wrote. He wrote a message to all of his grandchildren when he gave them what he called the confidence coin on his 70th birthday. The essence of the confidence coin was this: believe in yourself. Don't be too cocky, but believe in yourself. And people who have false confidence, if they lie, cheat and they do those types of things, will always be found out. But he said life is a wonderful thing to grasp. Believe in yourself and have that self-confidence. If you ever doubt yourself, take this coin out and say, 'I've got Pop's confidence coin.' Again, it was a great privilege to be at that memorial service last week. It was a great honour to be there and to get an insight into part of his life that we don't know. When we go to someone's funeral or memorial service, you'll always hear things about their personal life that you didn't know. He was a giant within the movement of the National Party and the Country Party. It was a privilege to be there and a privilege to know him. May he rest in peace. 12:15 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler I acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues through this debate, an acknowledgement of the great contribution of Doug Anthony. On 28 January we did bid farewell to a giant of the National Party. Certainly there have been any number of contributions about what he's done for our nation; for regional Australia; the famous caravan. But I want to speak about character. Genuinely, Doug Anthony was a quintessential Australian. He was a man who had character, and that shone through at the memorial service last week. There were images of Doug at the beach with an Alvey reel and a bamboo creel and a surf rod and a dog. I know that half the people who might be listening to this broadcast probably don't know what a bamboo creel is. He was quintessentially Australian, taking time to go fishing, to spend time with their families, to teach and provide knowledge and wisdom to their grandchildren. I think that really shone through at the memorial service, not only last week but in all the contributions that have been made here in this parliament. He was a dairy farmer. He was a lifelong supporter of the National Party and a giant of our party. For me, my experience with Doug Anthony, as someone who doesn't come from a political background or a political family, as someone who was a child through the 1970s and 1980s, was with DAAS Kapital, the Doug Anthony All Stars, that famous comedy group who were always out there on the cutting edge, tearing apart pretty much everyone in public life. Last week at the memorial, there was a clip played. It was an interview between the former ABC interviewer Libby Gore, the members of the Doug Anthony All Stars, and a live cross via satellite to none other than Doug Anthony. Libby Gore opened with a question and said, 'So, Mr Anthony, what do you think of the Doug Anthony All Stars?' And with a straight face, very, very calm, he said, 'I think they're the world's greatest plagiarists.' I think that was a real reflection on the character of the man that was Doug Anthony: 'the world's greatest plagiarists. I want to acknowledge the contribution of Larry last week. There are very few things in life more difficult than doing a eulogy not only for a family member or friend but for your father. Larry spoke incredibly well, in my view. At the memorial, he spoke about his father's humble upbringing, the influence of his wife, Margot, and how she shaped his political views. I get that. It happens to me as well. My wife will often say to me, 'Well, at work they talked about this, this and this, and you've got this, this and this wrong.' I've got to say that probably 10 times out of 10 she's right. It's good to have that level of support, and I'm very pleased that it was there for them. He also said, 'My father did not directly seek power. The power and responsibility came to him, and he discharged this with enormous capacity, enthusiasm, energy and wisdom.' Larry said many of his father's qualities were passed on from Doug's own father through the battles that he had to endure during two world wars. But what grounded him was Margot, his farm, his family and his local community. His son said he believed and hoped that Australia is a better place because of Doug Anthony. We know that Australia and the Nationals are all better because of Doug's contribution. It was a great turn-out at the memorial service. I travelled with former senators Ron Boswell and Mike Evans, both of whom are well known to the people in the room. I certainly got a lot of stories on the road from Brisbane down to the service and back. But I think also of the contribution of John Howard. At 80, with no notes, he went straight to the lectern and delivered from the heart. He remembered Doug Anthony as a man defined by strength and decency, an emissary for the producers of Australia throughout a nearly three-decade career. John Howard said he was a man who respected the importance of the coalition. He didn't bully people, but the strength of his personality and the strength of his arguments won through. I couldn't agree more with the former prime minister's comments. Doug Anthony is one of the great Nationals. He is a great loss to his family, to Australia and of course to our great party. Doug Anthony is someone that we should all look to emulate in this place. We should all look to the history and the lessons that he has provided for us. I say: vale, Doug Anthony. May you rest in peace. We send our condolences to his family and friends. 12:20 Mr DRUM 56430 Nicholls It is with a heavy heart that we have the opportunity in this House to pay tribute to the great Doug Anthony. I do so largely on the fact that I have a very strong working relationship with his son, Larry. I have enormous respect for Larry. Here is an opportunity to share someone's thoughts who grew up in a non-political house. My own father had such high regard for Doug Anthony. He was the voice of reason and the Leader of the Country Party for so many years. This man, with the voice of reason, now has his character exposed as someone who had a loving relationship with his wife and with his children. He lost his mother at a very, very young age and therefore went on the adventure of a lifetime with his dad, who was a Gallipoli and World War II veteran and then a politician. Young Sir Doug headed off to parliament, lived in the Kurrajong and used Old Parliament House as his playground. It's quite a story when you see all of this come together. Doug Anthony was a genuine farmer with a genuine love of the land. He started careers, on the land with dairy and then moved to beef cattle. It brings together a bigger picture. I would like to put on the record that, at a very, very young age, whilst we weren't in a political family, we did have incredible respect for the Leader of the Country Party over those years. History now shows the support that he was able to give Black Jack McEwen. He was able to strive to make the decisions that have actually had long-lasting impacts on this great country. It's great to see that Doug Anthony has been acknowledged genuinely as a man of purpose, someone who didn't necessarily seek the office of the parliament, but the death of his father more or less thrust him onto the political stage at the age of 27. There are stories around running the country from a caravan and stories about having bedtime stories read to him by John Curtin. It makes for a man of humility. It's an enormous story of a genuine icon of the political landscape in this country. It's not that this man was all nice, all friendly and so forth. It's been pointed out that, when the issues needed to be debated, when the points needed to be made, this man was also fierce and unwavering in his thoughts. What an incredible setting. We can now look back and reflect on all of the various leaders that came together and how he was able to perform in the role that he had. The accolades keep coming back to the strength he was given by his wife of so many years. It is just incredible that he was able to run the country as the stand-in Prime Minister, the Acting Prime Minister, over the summer months, and effectively did that from a little shack on the beach and then did it from a caravan, in the early days without a phone and later with a phone. It certainly goes to an era that is very hard for us to understand today, when all of our leaders are effectively working 24/7. I want to pay tribute to Larry and his siblings. To have three generations of Anthonys to represent their electorate in this parliament is something that's very, very special. Larry Anthony did all of this and retired by the age of 54. I have a belief that you can always tell a lot about an individual from what they do post parliament. Doug Anthony, along with his wife, was certainly a continuous contributor to his community outside of parliament for the many, many years he was in great health. I think that's a great record for him to have. I would like to, again, send my wishes to Larry and his family and to acknowledge that we really have lost one of the great political leaders of our lifetime. 12:25 Mr JOYCE E5D New England Right from the outset, I'd like to confer my deepest sympathies to Margot, to Dugald, Jane and Larry and to the grandchildren. I was speaking with William at the service. This is the family who has, as part of its legacy, one of the giants of Australian politics. I'd like to convey a story. A lot of work went into the creation of the single desk. It was National and Country Party policy and it was driven hard. At the time, when Prime Minister Billy McMahon decided that he was going to get rid of the single desk— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Federation Chamber adjourned at 13:14