2021-08-26 46 1 7 House of Reps 0 1

Thursday, 26 August 2021

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

 

BILLS 1 BILLS Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Facilitation) Bill 2021 1

Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Facilitation) Bill 2021

First Reading 1 Second Reading 1 09:32 Mr WYATT M3A Hasluck I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill will facilitate the implementation of certain aspects of the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme, a redress scheme for the stolen generations survivors who were forcibly removed as children from their families in the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory prior to their respective self-government, or the Jervis Bay Territory—as announced by the Prime Minister on 5 August 2021 as part of the Commonwealth's Closing the Gap implementation plan. The establishment of the scheme represents an important practical step forward to healing this country and reflects our government's commitment to our nation's journey to reconciliation. The scheme will operate from 1 March 2022 to 30 June 2026, and will be open for applications between 1 March 2022 and 28 February 2026. The scheme will provide to eligible participants: A one-off redress payment in recognition of the harm caused by forced removal. A one-off healing assistance payment in recognition that the action required to facilitate healing will be specific to each individual. The opportunity, if they choose, to confidentially tell their story about the impact of their removal to a senior official within government and receive a face-to-face or written direct personal response acknowledging the harm caused by removal. The scheme adopts a survivor focused and trauma informed approach. This means access to the scheme will be simple, and support, including free legal and financial advice, will be available to scheme applicants. In line with the survivor focused approach of the scheme, this bill will facilitate the delivery of certain aspects of the scheme by ensuring that participants in the scheme will not be adversely affected by receiving a redress payment. This will be achieved by providing that receipt of a redress payment does not: affect a participant's access to, or eligibility for, any pensions, payments, benefits or services provided by the Commonwealth; or require the repayment of an amount to the Commonwealth. The bill also ensures that the payment is absolutely inalienable, which, among other things, means the Commonwealth cannot set off the amount of the redress payment determined under the scheme against amounts owing to the Commonwealth by the participant. The bill will be supported by the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2021. These bills will: support the survivor focused and trauma informed approach of the scheme, support intergenerational healing, ensure eligible participants receive the full benefit of their redress payment, and will positively impact the health and wellbeing of stolen generations survivors, their families and communities. With many stolen generations survivors being of an advanced age and suffering life-threatening illnesses, the imperative to act now has been brought into sharp focus. I am pleased to introduce this bill so that the Commonwealth can facilitate steps towards healing. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2021 2

Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2021

First Reading 2 Second Reading 2 09:36 Mr WYATT M3A Hasluck I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This is a companion bill to the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme (Facilitation) Bill 2021. This bill will facilitate the implementation of certain aspects of the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme, a redress scheme for stolen generations survivors who were forcibly removed as children from their families in the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory prior to their respective self-government, or the Jervis Bay Territory. The scheme adopts a survivor focused approach and the redress payments under the scheme are in recognition of the harm caused by forced removal and are aimed at healing. As such, this bill makes amendments to various Commonwealth acts to ensure that eligible participants will receive the full benefit of their redress payment and that receipt of the payment does not adversely affect income testing for other Commonwealth payments or benefits. Amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 and the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 will ensure the redress payments are exempt from the applicable income test under those acts. Amendments to the Bankruptcy Act 1966 will ensure that the redress payment is quarantined from the divisible property of a bankrupt and the recipient can fully benefit from redress payments provided under the scheme, regardless of their circumstances. Amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 provide that any redress payments made under the scheme to a person will be exempt from income tax, and not be subject to capital gains tax. These amendments will also prevent a redress payment from being considered in income testing for some other Commonwealth payments and benefits. This bill also makes amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. These amendments facilitate access to protected information, which will be used in limited circumstances in administering the scheme. For example, to verify the identity of applicants to the scheme, it may be necessary to crosscheck identity information provided by applicants with information held by the Department of Social Services or Services Australia. At all times, the protections applying to social security protected information continue to apply. These amendments: support the survivor focused and trauma informed approach of the scheme, support intergenerational healing, ensure eligible participants receive the full benefit of their redress payment, and will positively impact the health and wellbeing of stolen generations survivors, their families and communities. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. National Health Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2021 2

National Health Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2021

First Reading 2 Second Reading 2 09:40 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill ensures the government can continue to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters. These vaccines will provide protection to Australians, reducing the risk of severe disease and hospitalisation from COVID-19. This bill also ensures the government can invest in viable treatments for COVID-19, providing further protection for Australians against COVID-19. Finally, this bill allows for the purchase of consumables necessary for the delivery of these vital vaccines and treatments. The cabinet will retain its role in the consideration and decision of COVID-19 vaccine, consumables and treatment purchases. This bill confers a spending power on the minister for health to enter into arrangements and make payments to ensure Australia can secure COVID-19 vaccines and other related goods. Following a cabinet decision to purchase a relevant item, the minister for health will exercise the spending power under the new provision. This ensures that payments can be made in a timely manner upon execution of advance purchase agreements with vaccine and treatment manufacturers. The amendment provision is time limited and will sunset on 30 June 2022. Debate adjourned. Health Insurance Amendment (Enhancing the Bonded Medical Program and Other Measures) Bill 2021 3

Health Insurance Amendment (Enhancing the Bonded Medical Program and Other Measures) Bill 2021

First Reading 3 Second Reading 3 09:42 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Australian government recognises the unique challenges facing the health system in the regions and is focused on improving the capacity, quality, distribution and services to meet the needs of families and communities. The 2018-19 budget $550 million 10-year Stronger Rural Health Strategy continues to give doctors more opportunities to train and practise in regional, rural and remote Australia, and incentivises nurses and allied health professionals to participate in multidisciplinary, team based primary care. After the first two years, more than 700 additional GPs and 700 additional nurses are now working in regional and remote areas. Building on and supporting the implementation of the Stronger Rural Health Strategy, the government has announced a further $123 million health workforce reform package in the 2021-22 budget to ensure the health workforce is available to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians. The government funds a broad range of programs to train, attract and retain medical professionals in rural communities. This includes the statutory Bonded Medical Program—the program—which commenced on 1 January 2020. The program provides a Commonwealth-supported place in a medical course at an Australian university in exchange for participants completing a return of service obligation (ROSO) working as a medical practitioner in a regional, rural or remote community. The program aims to deliver high numbers of vocationally recognised general practitioners and specialists to areas of workforce shortage. In addition to accepting new student participants every year, the program allows participants of legacy schemes—the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship (MRBS) Scheme and the Bonded Medical Places Scheme—to opt in to the program. Participants from these legacy schemes are attracted to opt in to the program because it provides more flexible options to undertake and complete their Return of Service Obligation. In addition, the Return of Service Obligation—generally three years—is less than what would otherwise be required under the legacy schemes. The Health Insurance Amendment (Enhancing the Bonded Medical Program and Other Measures) Bill 2021 (the bill) provides additional flexibility to support the ongoing administration of the program. The proposed amendments will address unintended consequences in the interests of participants and will also support achievement of the program's objectives. The proposed amendments to the Health Insurance Act 1973 will introduce additional administrative flexibility into the program. Amendments will allow a person to cease to be a bonded participant—and effectively exit the program—in the event of their death or if the secretary determines that exceptional circumstances apply to the person. The amendments also provide greater flexibility to provide some long-term legacy scheme participants—who would otherwise not be able to complete their return of service obligation in the 18-year period allowed—an extension of time to complete their return of service obligation under the program, if needed. The bill will also ensure that the administrative penalty applied under the program—when bonded participants fail to give information or documents to the department within prescribed time frames—is appropriate and proportionate in the circumstances. The bill also provides for the more appropriate administration of breaches of legacy Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship contracts. It will allow for the waiving of amounts owing to the Commonwealth accrued by Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme participants due to minor or inadvertent breaches of their contractual arrangements. It will also establish discretionary authority as to whether a person—having breached their Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship contract with the Commonwealth—should be subject to a ban period during which a Medicare benefit is not payable in respect of a professional service rendered by, or on behalf of, the person as a medical practitioner. Overall, the bill enhances the Bonded Medical Program in the interests of participants. It allows for more appropriate and efficient administration of bonded programs and above all, to meet and support the needs of a modern workforce—a workforce of medical professionals providing crucial health services in regional, rural and remote Australia, at this critical time. Debate adjourned. National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2021 4

National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2021

First Reading 4 Second Reading 4 09:49 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2021 will amend the primary legislation for the National Redress Scheme for institutional child sexual abuse (the scheme). The amendments form part of the government's initial response to recommendations from the Final report: second year review of the National Redress Scheme (the review) undertaken by Ms Robyn Kruk AO. The amendments build on and support the purpose and operation of this important scheme. The scheme was established in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the royal commission) in its 2015 Redress and civil litigationreport. The scheme was established by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Act 2018 (the act), and will run for 10 years until June 2028. The implementation of the scheme was an acknowledgement by the Australian government and state and territory governments that sexual abuse suffered by children in institutional settings was wrong, a betrayal of trust, and should never have happened. The scheme recognises the suffering survivors have experienced and accepts that these events occurred and that institutions must take responsibility for this abuse. The scheme is an important step towards healing and provides a monetary payment as a tangible means of recognising the wrong survivors have suffered; access to counselling or psychological services; and a direct personal response from the institutions responsible where a survivor wants that to occur. Over the past three years, the scheme has secured the participation of all states and territories, and as of 13 August 2021, 508 non-government institutions are participating in the scheme. This means the scheme now covers approximately 66,400 sites across Australia. In addition, over 6,100 payments totalling approximately $519 million have been paid to survivors to date. The government remains committed to encouraging all institutions named in applications to fulfil their moral obligation to join the scheme. Institutions are able to join the scheme throughout the life of the scheme, maximising access to redress for survivors. However, for those institutions that choose not to join the scheme, the government has introduced financial consequences, in order to encourage those institutions to join. This includes institutions being restricted from accessing future Commonwealth grant funding and possible loss of their charitable status and associated tax concessions. The Australian government also remains committed to the continuous improvement of the scheme. A range of administrative improvements have been made since the scheme's inception. Earlier this year the parliament passed legislation to address minor and technical issues with the operation of the act and addressed unintended consequences or oversights in the initial drafting of the primary legislation underpinning the scheme. These changes did not change how survivors or institutions deal with the scheme. The intention was that substantial changes to the scheme would be best pursued following the second anniversary review of the scheme. This would ensure that any major changes to the scheme would reflect survivor and other key stakeholder voices. It is essential that the needs of survivors are being met; that the scheme is operating effectively; and that the unique and evolving challenges in administering such a measure are being addressed. The scheme's legislation requires that a review of the operation of the scheme be undertaken following the second and eighth anniversaries of the scheme. The Final report:second year review of the National Redress Scheme, presented byMs Robyn Kruk AO, makes 38 recommendations to increase access to redress and improve the scheme's operation, making it more trauma informed, efficient and ultimately more survivor focused. In undertaking the review, survivor voices were front and centre and Ms Kruk consulted extensively with survivors, advocacy groups, support services, institutions and Commonwealth and state and territory governments. I want to thank Ms Kruk, on behalf of the government, for the significant work that went into the preparation of the review report. The government also thanks the survivors and other stakeholders who contributed their experiences and feedback to inform the review. The Australian government recognises the views of survivors and other key stakeholders, and has listened to the concerns raised and recommendations for improvement. This is why we are prioritising initial action on 25 of the 38 review recommendations in full or in part and investing over $80 million over four years in the 2021-22 budget to support implementation of these recommendations. The government released its interim response to the review in June 2021 and we plan to provide a final response to all of the review's recommendations in early 2022. This bill makes the first tranche of legislative changes giving effect to a number of review recommendations. The measures in this bill are relatively straightforward, however will make genuine improvements to the operation of the scheme, will ensure the scheme is more survivor focused and enable fairer outcomes for survivors. In line with the scheme's governance arrangements, all state and territory governments have agreed to the amendments in the bill. This bill will achieve its intended outcomes and improvements to the scheme through progressing the following amendments to the act. Advance payments The bill introduces an advance payment of $10,000 for priority redress applicants while they are waiting for their redress outcome. The advance payments will be available for elderly applicants, who are aged 70 years and over, or 55 years and over for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander applicants, or applicants who are terminally ill. This measure reflects recommendation 4.2 of the review. Given the nature of institutional child sexual abuse, the government is aware that survivors may not come forward to seek redress for some time and may be elderly or ill when they apply to the scheme. There is a risk that survivors may pass away before receiving their redress outcome and any acknowledgement of the abuse they experienced as children. The purpose of the advance payment is to provide these applicants with a form of recognition for their abuse early on in the redress application process. To assist survivors, they will not need to apply for the payment. Rather, the scheme will identify eligible applicants for the payment after receiving a valid redress application, or at any time during the application process, and will then offer the advance payment to the survivor. The amount of the advance payment will be deducted from the survivor's final redress payment amount. Whilst the Commonwealth will initially fund the advance payment when it is paid to the survivor, the amount will be recouped from the institution or institutions found responsible for the abuse of the survivor. There is no net change to institutions, and no changes to current processes for institutions. While a person's application will not be assessed by an independent decision-maker at this point, the scheme will look at general scheme eligibility factors. Where it is later determined that a survivor who received the advance payment was not in fact entitled to redress (for example, where the institution named by the survivor in their application as responsible for the abuse does not join the scheme), the Commonwealth will not seek to recover the payment from the survivor. In these cases, survivors will be permitted to keep the advance payments and it will be funded by the Commonwealth. This acknowledges that a person may have applied in good faith, is elderly or terminally ill, and there could be additional trauma placed on the survivor in recouping the payment. However, where an applicant receives the advance payment as a result of providing false or misleading information to the scheme, funding would be recouped and there are existing provisions to enable this to occur. Similarly, if a person later chooses to withdraw their application or decline their final redress offer, they will be required to repay the amount of the advance payment. The advance payment is a component of a final redress payment, and is not in addition to, or a separate part of redress. This expectation will be made clear to applicants before they accept an advance payment. Indexation of relevant prior payments This bill amends the date used for the calculation of indexation for prior payments from the date the determination on an application is made, to the date the application is submitted to the scheme. In line with recommendations of the royal commission, relevant prior payments an applicant has previously received from a responsible institution are taken into account in determining the final redress payment. The payment is indexed to account for inflation, with the indexed prior payment amount deducted from the applicant's final redress payment. Currently, a person can be disadvantaged due to the time it takes to process their application, including where an institution has not yet joined the scheme. By changing the date at which indexation is calculated to be the date an application is submitted, it will ensure that the time taken to process an application does not negatively affect the amount of their final redress payment. This change reflects recommendation 4.5 of the review, which suggested removing indexation or, if that was not supported, applying it at the date of application. Importantly, these changes will not impact the liability for institutions, with the Commonwealth funding the increase to the redress payment. The change to the calculation date for indexation will apply to all applications made to the scheme. This includes all applications that have been finalised before the commencement of this measure. Extending review and acceptance periods The bill introduces flexibility to extend the period a survivor has to consider and accept an offer of redress and the period to seek a review of a redress offer. This measure makes technical amendments to the act and addresses known anomalies in the initial drafting. Currently, if an applicant has not accepted an offer of redress or requested an extension within the six-month acceptance period, the offer is taken to be declined. This restriction results in survivors being unable to access redress, given that they can only apply once for redress. The bill introduces the ability for the scheme operator to extend the acceptance period after their six-month acceptance period has expired, where needed to ensure the scheme is survivor focused. Further, there is currently no ability to extend the period a person has to seek a review of their offer of redress. A review must be requested within six months of receiving their redress offer. This is problematic, particularly where a survivor has requested their acceptance period be extended prior to it expiring. In these circumstances, whilst the survivor has additional time to consider and accept their offer, they are unable to seek a review of the offer in this period. This is not trauma informed or fair for survivors. Aligning the review and acceptance period will provide administrative flexibility to ensure no applicant inadvertently loses the ability to access redress or to procedural fairness due to the unintended restricted drafting of current provisions. It will apply to all future and past applications. Remove statutory declaration requirement for applications The bill will remove the current requirement for redress applications to include a statutory declaration. Removing the requirement aligns with recommendation 3.6(c) of the review and will make the scheme more trauma informed and efficient and may mean more survivors access redress. Currently, redress applications are required to be accompanied by a signed and witnessed statutory declaration in order to be considered valid. This requirement has proven to be onerous for survivors, particularly vulnerable survivors. Many survivors consider the requirement questions the integrity of their application and they have concerns for their confidentiality. The requirement risks survivors not coming forward to access the redress they deserve. The requirement to comply with the statutory declaration requirement was temporarily removed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as it become particularly difficult for survivors to comply with, particularly elderly and ill survivors. However, this was time limited and did not address the wider problems with the requirement. Social distancing restrictions continue to be felt as a result of COVID. Removing the requirement will not lessen the requirement for applicants to be honest when applying for redress. In addition, institutions will continue to have the opportunity to comment and provide information on redress applications via the request for information process. The scheme will still be able to appropriately deal with fraudulent applications. Section 28 of the act states that civil penalties apply where a person gives false or misleading information, documents or statements to the scheme. The Criminal Code also contains provisions to address fraudulent applications and false or misleading information or documents provided to the scheme, which are punishable by imprisonment of 12 months. Payment by instalments This measure will enable the ability to pay the redress payment and counselling and psychological care payment in instalments, if requested by the applicant. This would not change the amount of redress a person is entitled to, it would merely provide options for an applicant to determine how they wish to receive their payment. Currently redress is paid as a lump sum, with the average payment amount of around $85,100. The royal commission suggested that some survivors might experience difficulty receiving lump sum payments that are much larger than the amount of money they are used to handling. Recommendation 4.4 of the review also recommended that payment by instalments be considered as an option for paying redress. Electing to receive their redress payment in instalments will provide survivors with more control over the management of their finances as the number and frequency of the instalments will be agreed between the survivor and scheme operator. This measure will not impact institutions responsible for the abuse. Institutions will be required to pay the entire amount of the redress payment to the Commonwealth as per the existing invoicing arrangements. The Commonwealth will arrange to make the payments in accordance with the agreement reached with the individual applicant. Summary and exclusions from t ranche 1 In summary, this bill makes legislative changes in order to implement initial action in response to the review. This reflects the Australian government's commitment for continuous improvement of the scheme and shows we have listened to survivors and other stakeholders. The Department of Social Services is working to have administrative arrangements in place to support implementation of advance payments and payments in instalments as soon as possible. Extending the review and acceptance period will commence on royal assent, and all other measures will commence on proclamation to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to support their implementation, noting all measures will be treated with urgency. In addition to the measures in the bill, some actions do not require changes to legislation. For instance, the government is working to respond to recommendation 3.9(c) of the review, which recommended that the Australian government strengthen consistency and integrity in decision-making. The government is progressing a range of action in respect of this recommendation, including simplifications to the application form and letters, provision of increased support to survivors to engage in a direct personal response, and introduction of more personalised and meaningful engagement with survivors in the early stages of application and throughout the process. Importantly, this bill reflects initial action and does not mean other recommendations will not be considered. Rather, the remaining recommendations, many of which constitute major changes to the scheme, require further detailed development work and consultation with stakeholders. The government will continue to progress consideration and consultation on these issues over the coming months and plans to release a final response to the review in early 2022. The review recommended expanding Funder of Last Resort arrangements. As previously announced, the government supports expanding Funder of Last Resort provisions to cover defunct institutions where there is no government responsibility for abuse and to cover existing institutions that do not have the financial capacity to join the scheme. This change requires agreement from state and territory governments, and I'm working closely with my state and territory colleagues to progress this measure. I am aware that some stakeholders suggest that the maximum redress payment be increased from $150,000 to $200,000, consistent with the royal commission's recommendation. The maximum payment of $150,000 was the amount supported by states and territories in the establishment of the scheme. It balances the need to recognise the wrongs suffered by survivors while encouraging institutions to participate and to continue participating in the scheme. The current average payment amount of around $85,100 is actually higher than the average payment of $65,000 that was suggested by the royal commission. It is important to note that the independent review did not make a recommendation to increase the current maximum redress payment to $200,000. Ms Kruk concluded that increasing the maximum payment could have significant negative impacts on survivors, institutions and the scheme. This includes risks to institutions that have predicated their participation in the scheme based on the $150,000 cap leaving the scheme or refusing to join the scheme, which would be detrimental to survivors. Rather than increasing the maximum payment, which was not a review recommendation, the government is of the view that energy and resources should instead be directed at changes to the scheme that will improve the integrity, fairness and access. The government is pleased to outline the important measures in this bill and will continue to work hard to implement the review recommendations and improve the scheme for the benefit of survivors. Debate adjourned. COMMITTEES 8 COMMITTEES Public Works Committee 8 Approval of Work 8 10:09 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston On behalf of the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment—Macquarie Island Research Station Modernisation Project. The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is proposing to redevelop the scientific research station and associated infrastructure on Macquarie Island, which has operated continually since establishment in 1948. The redevelopment also includes the renewal of field huts, which are dispersed across Macquarie Island, and the decommissioning and removal of redundant assets. The project will address hazards to the use and operation of the research station associated with the poor conditions of the existing assets, address high-risk issues associated with the siting of facilities, and reduce ongoing operating costs by rationalising and consolidating similar functions. The estimated cost of the works is $59.8 million, excluding GST. The project was referred to the Public Works Committee on 23 June 2021. The committee has recommended that the House of Representatives resolve, pursuant to section 18(7) of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, that it is expedient to carry out the project. Subject to parliamentary approval, construction is expected to commence in early 2022 with an expected completion date of mid-2028. On behalf of the government, I would like to thank the committee for undertaking a timely inquiry, and I commend the motion to the House. Question agreed to. Approval of Work 9 10:12 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston On behalf of the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Department of Home Affairs—101 George Street, Parramatta fit-out. The Department of Home Affairs is proposing fit-out works as part of its consolidation of leased office space in Sydney. Home Affairs currently occupies three buildings in Sydney—two in the central business district and one in Parramatta. The leases are due to expire in 2022 and 2023 with no options to extend. Under the Home Affairs Sydney precinct strategy, the consolidation of these three sites into 101 George Street, Parramatta will provide operational efficiency, will provide flexibility to allow for changing and future business requirements and will reduce overall property operating costs. The estimated cost of the works is $25.2 million excluding GST. The project was referred to the Public Works Committee on 12 May 2021. The committee has recommended that the House of Representatives resolve, pursuant to section 18(7) of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, that it is expedient to carry out the project. Subject to parliamentary approval, fit-out works are expected to commence in November 2021 and are scheduled to be completed in mid-2022. On behalf of the government, I would like to thank the committee for undertaking a timely inquiry, and I commend the motion to the House. Question agreed to. Reference 9 10:14 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston On behalf of the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, the following proposed work be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for consideration and report: Department of Defence–Facilities to support LAND 19 Phase 7B Short Range Ground Base Air Defence—RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. The Department of Defence is proposing a project to provide new facilities and infrastructure works at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, to enable the 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery—the regiment—to support new air defence capabilities. The project will replace the existing portable laser-guided surface-to-air missile system operated by the regiment with a significantly larger and more capable vehicle based air defence system. New working and support facilities at RAAF Base Edinburgh will replace the regiment's existing facilities, which are not fit for purpose and would not enable an acceptable operating level to be achieved for the new air defence capability. The total estimated capital delivery cost of the project is $213.9 million. The works must be referred, considered by and reported on to both houses of the parliament by the Public Works Committee before work may commence. Subject to parliamentary approval, the construction works are expected to commence in late 2022 and scheduled to be completed by late 2024. I commend the motion to the House. Question agreed to. Reference 9 10:16 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston On behalf of the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, the following proposed work be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for consideration and report: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority—Transformation of Reef HQ Aquarium. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is proposing upgrade works to transform the national education centre for the Great Barrier Reef, Reef HQ Aquarium, into a global destination of excellence in tropical coral reef education. The proposed works are part of a keystone project within the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area and support the Townsville City Deal. The proposed works will provide visitors with a range of immersive experiences and revitalised exhibits, including educational activities, hands-on experiences, on-site diving programs, scientific demonstrations and the use of interactive technology. The works will be conducted concurrently with renewal works that were approved by the Public Works Committee in June 2020. The total estimated cost of the project is $40 million excluding GST. The works must be referred, considered by and reported on to both houses of the parliament by the Public Works Committee before work may commence. Subject to parliamentary approval, the construction works are expected to commence in March 2022, with completion at the end of 2023. I commend the motion to the House. Question agreed to. Law Enforcement Committee 10 Report 10 10:18 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the following reports: Examination of the Australian Federal Police annual report 2019-20, and Vaccine related fraud and security risks. Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e). Mr CONAGHAN 279991 by leave—I have presented the report of the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement's examination of the 2019-20 annual report of the Australian Federal Police. The committee thanks the AFP for once again providing an informative report outlining the work undertaken during this reporting period. The committee acknowledges the significant efforts of the AFP during 2019-20 in addressing new challenges that arose directly from the COVID-19 pandemic whilst also pivoting to new ways to undertake ongoing work with the limitations imposed by adhering to COVID-19 safety. The impact that the AFP had on assisting Australia to remain relatively stable during this time cannot be overstated. The positive impact of the AFP during these very uncertain times has been noted by the committee in its other more in-depth inquiries into specific crime trends, and it certainly comes through in the progress report contained in this latest AFP annual report. The committee made specific recommendations within its report regarding how the AFP could provide a deeper dive into its reporting of its performance framework. This recommendation was carried over from the committee's examination of the previous annual report, and our current report notes the AFP has already started investigating how to improve measurements such as its return-on-investment matrix. The committee looks forward to future annual reports which incorporate these new ways of analysing and measuring the impact of AFP work. The committee commends the AFP for the establishment of the Sensitive Investigations Oversight Board, to improve assurance that sensitive investigations remain independent, and notes that it also improved the effectiveness of the investigations themselves. Mental health has been a focus broadly within our nation, and this is reflected within the AFP. The committee commends the AFP for responding to recommendations of recent reports into mental health in the AFP as well as for including information in the current annual report on steps being taken to support the mental health challenges inherent in the work being undertaken by AFP staff. I thank the AFP commissioner and officials for their valuable assistance to the committee, and the committee looks forward to continuing the examination of the work of the AFP through the upcoming review of the 2019-20 annual report. I also presented the interim report of the law enforcement committee's inquiry into COVID-19 vaccine related fraud and security risks. This inquiry builds on the committee's final report, tabled in June this year, on its inquiry into COVID-19, criminal activity and law enforcement, which investigated crime trends, including organised crime and fraud, resulting from the pandemic and the measures taken to combat them. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic there were significant concerns from government and health authorities that organised crime groups may create a market for illicit or fake vaccines or undertake fraud using people's uncertainty or desire for vaccines as the bait. Unfortunately, the impacts of the pandemic, such as people working from home and being increasingly online, have increased both individuals' and businesses' susceptibility to fraud. Fraud is not just an issue for individuals and businesses through the risk of losing money; fraud can also undermine the efforts of governments to respond quickly in crisis and emergency response situations, and can reduce the public's confidence in genuine communications from government and health practitioners. The committee is pleased to report that, at the time of writing, Australia has not seen the anticipated levels of scam and fraud activity related to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. This is largely due to the no-cost nature of the government vaccine program. But it is also due to the early, strong and coordinated action from law enforcement agencies across Australia, under various jurisdictions, working collaboratively with health agencies in developing, implementing and protecting the vaccination program. This report affirms several of the recommendations made in the earlier inquiry into COVID-19 crime trends but also makes a new recommendation relating to combating vaccine misinformation as well as ensuring that Indigenous and culturally diverse communities are supported with up-to-date, accurate and trusted information about the effectiveness of Australia's COVID-19 vaccination program. The committee felt that this was necessary to combat the effects of misinformation which is leading to vaccine hesitancy and encouraging people to engage in acts of resisting lawful health directions. However, while the levels of fraud have not, to date, been as high as feared, the committee remains concerned about ongoing risks in this area, including that vaccine certificate fraud may arise in the future as governments look more and more to mass vaccinations as the key defence against coronavirus. The committee has determined to publish its current findings with this interim report so that the inquiry can remain live to review ongoing developments in relation to vaccine and vaccine-related fraud and security risks, including the issue of vaccination certificates in the event that it becomes more relevant to the Australian context. A final report of this inquiry will be prepared and tabled in due course. The SPEAKER 10000 Does the member for Cowper wish to move a motion? Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Yes. I move: That the House take note of each report. The SPEAKER 10000 The debates are adjourned, and the resumption of the debates will be made orders of the day for the next sitting. Reference to Federation Chamber 11 10:26 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper I move: That the orders of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to. Treaties Committee 11 Report 11 10:26 Mr TIM WILSON IMW Goldstein On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's report, incorporating dissenting reports, entitled Report 193: Strengthening the trade agreement and treaty-making process in Australia. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Mr TIM WILSON IMW Further remarks may seek to be offered by the chair of the committee, the member for Wentworth. The SPEAKER 10000 I call the member for Wentworth. The member for Wentworth is not there. I call the member for Curtin. Human Rights Committee 11 Report 11 10:27 Ms HAMMOND 80072 Curtin On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present the committee's report entitled Human rights scrutiny report: Report 10 of 2021. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Ms HAMMOND 80072 by leave—I'm pleased to speak to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights 10th scrutiny report of 2021. As usual, this report contains a technical examination of legislation with Australia's obligations under international human rights law. In this report, the committee has considered 18 new bills and 234 new legislative instruments. It has commented on four new bills and five new legislative instruments and concluded its consideration of two bills and 16 legislative instruments. For example, the committee has commented on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Bill 2021. This bill would increase from 500 to 1,500 the required minimum numbers of unique members for non-parliamentary political parties in order for them to register for federal elections. By amending the registration eligibility requirements for a federal non-parliamentary party, this measure could potentially engage and limit the right to freedom of association and the right to participate in public affairs. The committee is seeking further information as to the objectives sought to be achieved by this measure and whether it constitutes a proportionate limitation on these rights. The committee has also commented on one new bill and two new legislative instruments that introduce measures relating to migration. In particular, the committee is seeking further information regarding the human rights compatibility of measures that would increase the newly arrived residents waiting period to four years for social security payments and concession cards, increase the fee by 64 per cent for applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of certain migration decisions, and enable the Minister for Home Affairs to publicly list employers who it is considered pose a health and safety risk to working holiday-makers. Further, the committee has commented on a new legislative instrument that removes an automatic exemption from the overseas travel ban for Australian citizens and permanent residents ordinarily resident in a country other than Australia. While this measure may promote the rights to life and health as intended to help control the spread of COVID-19, it may also limit the rights to freedom of movement, privacy, equality and non-discrimination. The committee is seeking further information to assess the human rights compatibility of this measure. I encourage all parliamentarians to carefully consider the committee's analysis. With these comments, I commend this report to the chamber. BILLS 12 BILLS Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 6) Bill 2021 12

Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 6) Bill 2021

Second Reading 12 10:31 Mr VASTA E0D Bonner I rise today to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No.6) Bill 2021. It is a bill that seeks to amend a number of streamlining and integrity measures for energy retailers and other liable entities, as well as those part of Australia's growing franchising sector, and it seeks to improve the visibility of superannuation assets during Family Court proceedings. This is to be enacted through five schedules. Australia is a world leader in renewable energy investment and our government is committed to working to ensure renewables are more reliable. We are investing in further transmission projects and strengthening the grid to enable electricity to be more accessible and affordable nationwide. Schedule 1 to the bill continues our momentum. As has always been the case with the Renewable Energy Target scheme, energy retailers and other liable entities are required to surrender large-scale generation certificates or pay a shortfall charge. This measure will clarify the operation of income tax law for energy providers. It provides certainty that energy retailers and other liable entities will not be charged tax on the amount of shortfall refunded. It will ensure that the market for large-scale generation certificates works as it has been designed to, meeting targets for clean energy while minimising costs for consumers. Schedule 2 makes amendments to Australia's franchising sector. The government introduced the mandatory franchising code in 1998. Since then, it has been revised a number of times to address issues in the sector. This bill throws down the gauntlet to establish a more effective enforcement regime for Australia's franchising sector. With thousands of franchise brands in Australia and the hundreds of thousands of people employed by them, this bill will also encourage greater compliance with industry codes of conduct. It will see an increase in the maximum penalty amount that can be imposed for breaches of provisions across all industry codes. This is critical to keeping franchisors accountable and it is critical to eradicating poor conduct. The maximum civil precautionary penalty amount will be increased from 300 to 600 penalty units and, for breaches of the franchising code by a corporation, the maximum civil penalty available will be the greater of $10 million. This is three times the benefit obtained from the contravention of the code or 10 per cent of annual turnover. Sufficient penalties allow the ACCC to protect prospective or vulnerable franchisees against exploitive behaviour by franchisors. These are necessary measures to ensure our local franchises can be successful, reach their potential and deliver for the members of the community who are choosing to put their money behind them. They are necessary to ensure that franchisees and their staff feel supported and safe going to work. This is clearly a ripple effect from the top down, and that is why we aren't holding back on putting strict measures in place. Then there is schedule 3, which delivers on the government's 2019-20 budget commitment to reduce red tape and costs for affected superannuation funds. This bill intends to remove a redundant requirement for certain superannuation trustees to obtain an actuarial certificate when calculating exempt pension income, where the fund members are fully in retirement phase for the entire income year. This measure benefits self-managed superannuation funds and small, APRA-regulated funds. Schedule 4 of the bill will strengthen the industry codes framework by providing legal certainty. It clarifies that industry codes can validly confer powers and functions on third parties to the commercial relationship between industry participants. This will reduce legal costs for the Commonwealth and avoid potential challenges against the validity of code provisions that confer powers and functions on third parties. Finally, there is schedule 5. This schedule includes some major amendments to improve the visibility of superannuation assets during family law proceedings. This measure will allow more couples who are separated to divide their property on a just and equitable basis. Separation can be a very difficult process and can cause significant distress for those involved. Women are often the ones who make work related sacrifices to raise their family in the best, most nurturing environment possible. They are often the carers and the ones who reduce their work hours to spend more time at home with their children. This impacts the amount of superannuation that they can accrue. For those going through the separation process, it can put them in a vulnerable position for their future, especially if they have dependants. Findings suggest that amongst separating couples there are low levels of awareness of their own superannuation entitlements and those of their spouses. This is particularly true for women, and our government is committed to improving the economic security of women. That is why this schedule implements the measure 'improving the visibility of superannuation assets in family law proceedings', which was announced as part of the government's Women's economic security statement2018. These amendments provide the legislative basis for an information sharing mechanism to allow separated couples undergoing family law proceedings to apply to court registries and request superannuation information about the other party that is held by the ATO. Parties will then be able to use this information from the ATO to seek up-to-date superannuation information from their former partner's superannuation fund. These amendments will make it harder for parties to hide or underdisclose their superannuation assets in family law proceedings. They do this by reducing the time, cost and complexity for partners seeking this vital information. Unfortunately, the separation rate of Australian couples is an increasing statistic. These measures are, more than ever, critical to ensuring the superannuation of parties is properly considered during the separation process. These measures deliver fairness and they help alleviate the financial hardship that we recognise so many experience as they navigate through this time. It is clear this is a comprehensive bill and it is one that provides certainty and security to more Australians thanks to these five targeted schedules. I certainly commend this bill to the House. 10:39 Mr HILL 86256 Bruce I won't keep the House, or the member for Bennelong, very long; I just want to make a few remarks. The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 6) Bill is an important bill, and I endorse the remarks of previous Labor speakers. Especially important is schedule 5, an amendment to the Taxation Administration Act and the Family Law Act to provide a new mechanism to share superannuation info in family law proceedings. As we've been hearing from all speakers, including government speakers, that was a measure the government committed to in 2018. It's an urgent measure, yet it's taken the government three long years to get around to legislating it, again evidencing their lack of real commitment and urgency to advancing issues that affect women. It's welcome that it's in this bill and it needs to get through quickly. I want to make a couple of procedural remarks. Two of these schedules in this bill were previously introduced in the Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No. 4) Bill. When that bill left this House and went to the Senate, Labor supported amendments regarding the grandfathering of arrangements for certain large private companies in relation to tax transparency. For seven or eight years now the government has been trying to hide the tax affairs of large private companies. Labor's got a pro-transparency, pro-disclosure approach, so we supported successful amendments regarding this. The government, of course, wanting to protect these large private companies and keep their tax affairs secret, refused to progress the bill. Some of those schedules are back here, in this bill, but now with something more urgent, which is schedule 5, which will be of benefit and is of import to women. There's the risk, when the bill leaves this House with everyone's support, that the same thing will happen again. There's also the risk that senators, in particular, Green senators, may pull a little parliamentary stunt, which they've been doing, and tack on another amendment relating to JobKeeper transparency. So I want to send a message to the Senate: don't play games with this bill. This bill contains an important measure, schedule 5, that would allow people, usually women, going through divorce proceedings to get proper information about their spouse's superannuation to allow for a fair division of property and to stop tying up the court's time. It's an urgent measure. The government should have done it three years ago, but it's finally getting around to it. Labor supports tax transparency, but this is not the bill for independent senators and particularly the Greens stunt party in the Senate to play parliamentary games with. Labor has moved amendments to require the publication of names of every firm who received JobKeeper where they had an over $10 million turnover. That's our position. Wherever we can we move those amendments, and I commend the member for Fenner, sitting right there, for his work to expose the government's rorts and waste—billions of dollars of JobKeeper paid to profitable companies. The Australian taxpayer should see that list. In the US and the UK, with similar schemes, their taxpayers know which companies got that public support. But the question is: How do we best achieve that? How do we force the government to do that? I say again to the Senate: be careful not to delay urgent bills with juvenile parliamentary tactics. We saw this recently with another bill with the Greens and the crossbench in the Senate. They moved an amendment supporting disclosure of JobKeeper, the policy I just outlined, but they moved it on an urgent bill which was providing money to support people in lockdown. In the Senate, Labor supported the amendment for transparency in JobKeeper payments, but when it got back to the House the government wouldn't support it. We were not going to block that bill and fall into a silly parliamentary trap that the Greens and the crossbench thought they were setting for us. If we'd agreed with what the Greens and the crossbench were doing, there would have been businesses and individuals across the country in lockdown with no economic support. It's a silly game to wedge Labor, and the whole point of it really is to spread rubbish on social media trying to pretend that Labor doesn't support tax transparency. Twitter lights up. Facebook lights up. The juvenile Greens go home thinking they've had a good day out at the parliament and they've achieved something. We need to be really clear: there are urgent bills and there are not urgent bills. Supporting women to get proper information about their spouse's superannuation when they're going through divorce is urgent. It was urgent three years ago; it's more urgent now. Supporting businesses and people doing it tough in lockdown to get money in their pockets and economic support, that's urgent. It was urgent last week and it had to get through. This is not the bill for more silly Greens' stunts. Where Labor sees an opportunity, we'll move amendments for tax transparency. We'll move amendments to force the government to put out lists in public of which companies with a turnover of over $10 million got JobKeeper. We'll do that, we did it last week on another bill and we'll continue to do that, but this is not the bill for parliamentary games. This place is not student politics or whatever sandpit the Greens like to think they're playing in. It's not to create memes to wedge Labor and get people all angry on social media. This is the parliament. This is a serious bill. It needs to go through this House and go through the Senate unamended. Thank you. 10:45 Mr ALEXANDER M3M Bennelong [by video link] I rise today to discuss a disparate collection of issues included in this Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 6) Bill 2021. I must apologise for the chaos of the upcoming speech finding a narrative thread through the topics of renewable energy, industry codes of conduct, superannuation and family law. It's not an easy process. But this is the joy of treasury law amendments. I suppose there is a certain comfort to know that, as the delta variant threatens the world, half our population remains in lockdown and uncertainty is spreading faster than COVID, tweaks to treasury laws continue. That's the ultimate sign that democracy is plugging along; we are reforming processes and making things imperceptibly better. While I'm a fan of vision and broad, sweeping plans for this great nation, we know that it is evolution—not revolution—that provides the most sustainable changes. Consider the Porsche 911, for instance. These amendments today will probably be pushed off the front page by the opening of the Paralympics, but without them this country doesn't work as smoothly or as well in the future. In these amendments are some really important reforms. Take schedule 2, which protects franchisees against franchisors and ups the penalty from $133,000 for breaches of the code of conduct to a maximum penalty of $500,000. When corporations breach the code, the maximum civil penalty available will be the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit obtained from contravention of the code or 10 per cent of annual turnover. This is not small change. These enhanced penalties are important to combat the significant harm that can be caused to small businesses and franchises by overbearing franchisors. Sufficient penalties allow the ACCC to protect prospective or vulnerable franchisees against exploitative behaviour by franchisors. The last 18 months have brought unprecedented difficulty for our small and medium businesses through bushfire, disease and lockdown. To face pressure from franchisors at this time would be terrible, not to mention unethical. This reform here strengthens the support for small businesses at a time when they need all the support they can get. Schedule 1 also sounds Byzantine but will offer huge benefits to this country. As has always been the case with renewable energy target schemes, energy retailers and other liable entities are required to surrender large-scale generation to pay a shortfall charge. Should businesses later surrender outstanding certificates within the allowable time frame, they receive a refund of the shortfall charge. This was intended to provide flexibility to help these businesses manage the costs of complying with the scheme. Today, we're ensuring that energy businesses will not be taxed on the amount of shortfall charges refunded. It will cost $70 million over the forward estimates, but for this we will get simplicity in tax treatment, which will encourage investment. This will ensure the market for large-scale generation certificates works as intended, meeting targets for clean energy while minimising costs for consumers. We know we have a long way to go to ensure we have a fully renewable future. It won't happen by wishful thinking. But we also know that huge leaps have been made in renewable energy sources over the past few decades, many of which—especially in the field of solar panels—have happened here in Australia. We have the technological prowess to curb our emissions strategy, and further breakthroughs are made every day. Outside of the CSIRO, it is not the government that makes these breakthroughs. What we can do here in government is facilitate these breakthroughs and incentivise their adoption. Inventing solar panels and batteries is far more interesting than facilitating the tax laws to incentivise their take-up, but the former is not as successful without the latter. This amendment today is one of the many steps we will take that will never be seen and will never be celebrated but without which this country would not see the climate reforms that we need to see if we're going to succeed in our fight against climate change. Schedule 5 represents another small change, with huge implications. This schedule implements the improving the visibility of superannuation assets in family law proceedings, a measure that was announced as part of the government's Women's economic security statement 2018. These amendments provide the legislative basis for an information-sharing mechanism to allow separated couples undergoing family law proceedings to apply to the Family Court registries to request superannuation information of the other party that is held by the Australian Taxation Office. Parties will then be able to use this information from the ATO to seek superannuation information from their former partner's superannuation fund. These amendments will make it harder for parties to hide or not disclose their superannuation assets in family law proceedings by reducing the time, cost and complexity for a party seeking information about their former partner's superannuation. Improving the accessibility of superannuation information will support more separated couples to divide their property on a just and equitable basis. This underreporting has been going on for decades and often impacts women more than men, meaning they are locked into financial hardship after they leave a relationship. We also know that financial uncertainty is one of the many factors that can keep women in abusive relationships longer than they should be. These changes will hopefully go some way to alleviating this fear in some cases. This schedule also goes to a broader problem about women's superannuation. It has been well reported that many women have far less superannuation than men—a product of lower wages and time taken off for family reasons. Separations with inadequate division of superannuation can compound this problem and can lead to real poverty for women in later life. This bill will not solve the problem of women's lower levels of super. That is a massive problem, with resolutions that lie across corporate Australia and in cultural norms about family. But this amendment will provide a small change that will make a start towards evening up this ledger. Schedule 3 tackles the red tape in superannuation funds, removing the redundant requirement for trustees to obtain an actuarial certificate when calculating exempt current pension income where the fund is fully in the retirement phase and for all the income year. This measure benefits self-managed superannuation funds and small APRA regulated funds. Finally, schedule 4 will strengthen the industry codes framework and provide legal certainty around the conferring of powers between industry participants. This one sounds particularly arcane, so I'll leave it at that. What do each of these have in common? Each of these schedules represents a small change against a big problem. None of them will be a total solution, but each of them is a part of an answer. And when these small changes meet others that have happened, and the two come together, big things will happen. 10:53 Dr LEIGH BU8 Fenner The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 6) Bill 2021 is, as the member for Bruce has said, an urgent measure which will bring on important changes to allow greater transparency of superannuation holdings in family law proceedings. Like the member for Bruce, I urge the Senate not to attach amendments to the bill that would slow its passage. Labor takes the same approach to this bill that we took to a bill that went to the Senate in the last sitting period which related to support for people in lockdown. At the same time, we have the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Bill 2021, which was recently considered by this House and is now under consideration by the Senate. But when the government realised there would be support from Labor and the crossbenchers to amend that bill so as to require the reporting of every JobKeeper recipient that had a turnover of over $10 million, they filibustered the debate and took the bill off the Notice Paper. What have the Morrison government got to hide? Why are they hiding from the Australian people how taxpayer money was spent? This wasn't Liberal Party money; this was taxpayer money. We know that some $13 billion went to firms with rising earnings. If you're in Britain or the United States or New Zealand, then you get to see how your government spent wage subsidy support. That information is available through downloadable spreadsheets and searchable databases. In those countries taxpayers know precisely how their equivalent of JobKeeper was spent. But here there is none of that transparency. It's only through reporting through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that we know about the JobKeeper receipt for listed firms. But among unlisted entities we know very little, and that is why this transparency amendment is so important. The government is pursuing 11,000 people through Centrelink debt notices based on their having received JobKeeper in the work they were doing, affecting their eligibility for the pension—people like Jan Raabe, who I spoke about in the House in the last sitting period—yet it won't allow the Australian people to know how JobKeeper was spent. Labor will fight for transparency against this cowardly government that, rather than support a transparency amendment in the Senate, has taken the bill off the Notice Paper and is running for the hills. 10:56 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne Firstly, I would like to thank those members who have contributed to this debate. Schedule 1 to the bill amends the income tax law to ensure that no tax is payable on refunds of large-scale generation certificate shortfall charges. This measure will clarify the operation of the income tax law for energy providers and ensure that the taxpayers who receive a refund of shortfall charges are not inadvertently disadvantaged. This will enable the market for these certificates to work as intended, meeting targets for clean energy whilst minimising cost impacts for consumers. Schedule 2 to the bill establishes a more effective enforcement regime to encourage greater compliance with the franchising code by amending the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to increase the maximum civil pecuniary penalty available under the code to the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit obtained from the contravention of the code or 10 per cent of annual turnover. The maximum civil penalties that can be applied to industry codes generally will also be lifted from 300 to 600 penalty units, or $133,200. Schedule 3 to the bill removes a redundant requirement for superannuation trustees to obtain an actuarial certificate when calculating its exempt current pension income when all the fund members are fully in the retirement phase for their entire income year. This measure will reduce costs and simplify reporting for affected superannuation funds by streamlining an administrative requirement for the calculation of exempt current pension income. Schedule 4 to the bill will strengthen the industry code's framework and provide legal certainty by clarifying that industry codes can confer powers and functions on third parties to the commercial relationship between industry participants. Schedule 5 to the bill improves visibility of superannuation assets during family law property proceedings. This schedule amends the Family Law Act 1975 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to allow parties to family law proceedings to apply to Family Court registries to request information from the Australian tax office that will assist them to identify their former partner's superannuation interests. Parties will then be able to use this information provided by the ATO to seek up-to-date superannuation information from their former partner's superannuation fund for use in these family law proceedings. These amendments will reduce the time, cost and complexity for parties seeking accurate superannuation information, supporting more separated couples to divide their property on a just and equitable basis. I commend this bill to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Whitlam moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The question now is that the amendment be disagreed to. Question agreed to. Original question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Third Reading 16 11:01 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2021 16

Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2021

Second Reading 16 11:03 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne The Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2021 removes the lower age eligibility restriction from the Dental Benefits Act 2008 to allow eligible children under 18 years of age to access the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. This amendment will expand the number of children who are eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Scheme by around 300,000 per year and will cost $5.4 million over four years. The Child Dental Benefits Scheme has been in operation since 2014 and, over that time, has provided over $2.3 billion in benefits and delivered more than 38 million services to over three million Australian children. The Child Dental Benefits Scheme plays an important role in promoting the oral health of Australian children by providing access to dental benefit services up to a cap of $1,013 in benefits over two calendar years. The Child Dental Benefits Scheme helps children build good oral health and habits through to adulthood. The Child Dental Benefits Scheme is available in both the private and public sectors to support the broadest range of service provision, choice and access to services in a range of settings and locations. The government will continue to work with private and public providers to improve the delivery of dental services to Australia's children. I thank the members for their contribution to the debate on this bill. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 The original question was that this bill be now read a second time and to this the honourable member for Ballarat has moved an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. So the immediate question before the House is that the amendment be disagreed to. Question agreed to. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 The question now is that this bill be now read a second time. Question agreed to Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced. Third Reading 17 11:05 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021 17

Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021

Second Reading 17 11:07 Ms MADELEINE KING 102376 Brand [by video link] Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker Claydon. It's very good to see you again, and I look forward, of course, to seeing you again in person when we are able to. Today I am speaking in support of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021. From the outset, I will be clear: Labor does support this bill. This bill seeks to broaden the range of transactions that Export Finance Australia can finance by enabling it to make equity investments. As an open trading nation, Australia has been among the architects of, and a beneficiary of, the multilateral rules based trading system that has operated for decades, and Australian businesses have benefited from these rules to support export growth. As businesses have benefited, so too have the people of Australia, as there are an increasing number of job opportunities in those export related industries. On average, Australian businesses that export hire 23 per cent more staff and pay 11 per cent higher wages than non-exporters. In 2019-20, Export Finance Australia supported 136 Australian businesses with $1.1 billion in support, enabling $2.5 billion of export contracts which supported just under 10,000 jobs right around this country. Australian businesses from all sectors of the economy have been the beneficiaries of Export Finance Australia's support to grow their exports, and I'm going to take the House through a few examples of the companies and businesses around this country that have had support from the EFA which has benefited us all. Australia is a world leader in both mining and what's known as METS, or mining, engineering and technology services, and EFA is assisting Australian companies to sell this expertise all over the world. A company known as RUC Mining utilised EFA support to support their underground coppermining business expanding into the dynamic South-East Asian markets. After securing a contract in one of the world's largest copper deposits in Mongolia, the Australian company needed special hoists, known as winders, that are used to raise and lower conveyances within the mine shaft. Australian banks had little appetite finance equipment for use offshore, and Mongolian finance had steep interest rates. Fortunately for this company, AEC Mining, EFA was available and worked with this company and granted them a US$12 million loan. This assisted AEC Mining to grow their workforce from 120 workers in 2004 to over 2,000 today. In renewables, Australia supports Australian businesses on the cusp of the booming international demand for renewable energy exports—for example, Altus Renewables, which produces and markets biomass based fuels, converting wood based waste into densified wood pellets and absorbents for domestic and industrial use. Around 95 per cent of Altus's operations are export facing. After securing a contract with a Japanese buyer last year, Altus Renewables turned to EFA to support the upgrading of its facility for greater capacity and to enable it to complete the construction of a dedicated storage and export facility at the Port of Bundaberg. Then there's Western Australian company Biogass Renewables, which specialises in the construction and operation of bioenergy plants using a technology known as anaerobic digestion, in which the plants convert organic matter, like food and agricultural waste, into biogas. This can then be used for electricity generation and heating and can even be converted to natural gas. One of Biogass Renewables's upcoming projects is to install an onsite biogenerator for a major Australian grain business, enabling that business to generate their own electricity and expand their operations to increase their exports. Though Biogass Renewables aren't a direct exporter in this project, their work is a critical part of their customer's export supply chain. So EFA is providing this innovative company with a performance bond and warranty bond totalling A$850,000 to provide securities under the construction contract. It's a very practical means of an Australian credit agency providing support for an emerging industry that is helping global supply chains for other Australian industries. In the areas of pharmaceuticals and science, as well as general chemistry research, Export Finance Australia's contract loans have enabled Perth based Epichem to expand and grow its business workforce and capabilities. I visited Epichem in May of this year. The CEO, Colin La Galia, kindly showed us around his laboratories and technology park in Bentley, where he oversees an amazing workplace culture, with hardworking, friendly and enthusiastic staff working on the cutting edge in entrepreneurial pharmaceutical development. Epichem carries out a vast range of services, including custom synthesis and analytical services as well as technical problem-solving for scientific and chemically related problems. Epichem's customers range from small operators to large multinational pharmaceutical companies in over 35 countries, yet it operates out of a couple of small laboratories in Bentley, Western Australia. Over 80 per cent of the business's revenue is derived from an international customer base made up of many well-known pharmaceutical companies, biotechs and research organisations, as well as some not-for-profit NGOs. The laboratory I visited in Bentley was in part financed by an EFA export contract loan of $750,000. That lab is now double the size it was and I'm sure it will continue to grow, and it will all be because of that initial kick-starter loan that EFA was able to provide where others were not. Another beneficiary of Export Finance Australia has been local Australian designers seeking to enter the global market—for example, jeans company ThreeByOne, which comprises three high-quality brands: Neuw Denim, Rolla's Jeans and Abrand Jeans. These brands are sold in stores across the world, including Canada, Japan, Norway, the UK, and the US, and through online retailers like ASOS and boohoo. With global expansion has come higher demand to keep stock on hand, putting pressure on their working capital. So Export Finance Australia provided ThreeByOne with a $2.5 million export line of credit to support their expansion overseas. With the finance able to cover the cost of stock, the brand can continue to focus on building their presence in the global market. The company has since doubled its USA business in the last 12 months, with this trend projected to continue. It's a great Australian business success story—and in fashion, which is not something I speak about much. Congratulations to all those involved in these projects. Another local brand Aje was in high demand overseas, but the company couldn't finance its move into the international arena without affecting the cash flow of its Australian business. In just over a decade, the company has grown its retail presence locally from one store in Noosa in Queensland to more than 20 stores across Australia, one store in New Zealand and an online platform, ajeworld.com.au. EFA provided Aje with a $350,000 small business export loan to ensure that the cash flow of its Australian business was uninterrupted and that it could fulfil its export orders. This enabled Aje to strengthen relationships with existing buyers and reach new customers in the UK, US and Asia. And, can you believe it, Deputy Speaker, Adrian Norris, co-owner of the company, came across the EFA and its services via a newspaper article! It's good to see print media doing what it needs to do, and to see advertising within print media by EFA and others doing its job and bringing greater awareness of what's available to new and emerging export industries and their ability to access funding through Australia's export credit agency. We know that Australia is renowned for its agricultural exports, so it goes hand in hand that Export Finance Australia would also support this integral industry in our economy. One beneficiary of EFA is Australian Organic Meats, AOM. This is a Queensland based exporter of premium quality, grass-fed, certified organic beef to wholesalers worldwide. Founded in 2011, AOM is a partnership between two longstanding traditional organic farming families, the Tully and O'Leary families, which each have over 100 years of farming history in Australia. AOM's key export markets are the Middle East, Asia and the US, with export sales making up around 80 per cent of the company's revenues. The high cash-flow nature of the business means it's important to have a substantial forward finance strategy in place to meet any growth in demand. Given the significant working capital required to meet increased demand from its distributors, AOM needed additional finance to manage this preshipment phase. Export Finance Australia provided a $500,000 export working capital guarantee to help AOM, enabling it to borrow the additional working capital. More opportunities to export Australian goods and services to the world means stronger Australian industries, and that means more jobs for more Australians. The current lack of an equity investment power restricts Export Finance Australia to a narrower range of transactions. An equity investment power will complement its existing suite of financing powers, comprised of loans, guarantees, bonds and insurance. The amendment outlined in the bill before us today, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill, will align Export Finance Australia with export credit agencies in other countries like the USA, China, Japan, Canada and South Korea, and also with other Australian government financing agencies like the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The kinds of equity investments that it will enable are matters such as shareholding in companies and in unit trusts, and participation in partnerships and joint ventures. This increased financing power will be used to support important infrastructure investments in the Indo-Pacific or export-linked projects in Australia, similar to the ones I mentioned earlier. This bill will also give legislative effect to the government's decision to provide Export Finance Australia with the ability to offer guarantees for overseas infrastructure transactions without needing to provide a loan for the same transaction. This improves the flexibility and efficiency of EFA and the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, which oversees infrastructure financing activities, particularly in the Pacific where transactions may be most appropriately financed in local currencies. Export Finance Australia providing a guarantee for another lender's loan in the local currency is an effective way of facilitating local currency borrowing, and this will inject finance directly into emerging economies in our region. EFA's equity investment power will also be available to the AIFFP, which relies on EFA's governing legislation for delivery of its loans. Importantly, the bill has appropriate safeguards which constrain government spending in this arena. Any equity investment will be on EFA's national interest account, which requires government approval. EFA's other account, its commercial account, will remain unable to be utilised for equity investments. There will be no legislated cap on equity stakes; however, every transaction will require ministerial approval. I will reflect for a moment on how this bill may assist our investment in the Pacific. The government has claimed that the bill will support Australia's economic engagement with the Pacific and Indo-Pacific. In 2019, EFA was granted wider powers to support financing infrastructure in the Pacific in line with the government's so-called Pacific Step-up initiative, which we know has broadly failed to make a meaningful impact and has simply taken resources away from South-East Asia. We are yet to see a step change in EFA's operations following this. Officials argue that this is the nature of inherently long-term infrastructure projects. But we do know of an undersea cable in Palau, wind farms in Vietnam and an airport in Fiji which have all been beneficiaries of the EFA's increased pivot into the Pacific. Despite the talk about a Pacific step-up and engagement in our region under Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia is more dependent than ever on China for our exports and export related jobs, and, in fact, we depend on the Chinese market more than any other country in the world. At the same time, Australia's economic relationships with some of our other most important neighbours, including India and Indonesia, have gone backward, and backward by a long way. When it comes to the Pacific, the Prime Minister's delivery has fallen well short of its announcements. The Prime Minister announced the $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific back in 2018. Now, 2½ years later, that facility has provided less than $90 million of the proposed $2 billion in Pacific infrastructure financing. With this government it's all talk, no action and all announcement, no delivery. The same could be said of this part of the EFA's remit into infrastructure funding in the Pacific. It surely must be a national priority to make sure it happens. This change enabling equity investments will be part of that, but this is many years later than when this initial $2 billion fund was promised. Our relationships with the Pacific and across the Indo-Pacific must be nurtured through years of hard work, relationship building and resources on the ground and not just hot air from a do-nothing, announcement-loving Prime Minister and his government. Labor will support this bill, as I've said, because we support Export Finance Australia and the work it does and has done over many years. We support's Australia's economic engagement in the Pacific and the Indo-Pacific. We support emerging exporters, and equally we support those exporters that are having difficulty finding finance for their novel ideas that, with the support of EFA, turn into established businesses that provide jobs. Labor knows that helping Australian businesses and growing emerging economies in our region is in everybody's interest. With that, I will conclude and confirm that Labor does support this bill. 11:23 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton [by video link] I speak today on the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021 and do so from Sunnybank on Yuggera and Turrbal lands. I particularly thank the member for Brand for her very comprehensive presentation of the Labor support for this bill. We support this bill because it will give Australia's export credit agency, Export Finance Australia, or EFA, a new equity investment power and the ability to provide standalone overseas infrastructure guarantees. Importantly, it will allow EFA to make investments in a broader range of infrastructure projects and at an earlier stage of development. Providing EFA with the ability to make equity investments, the bill brings EFA into alignment with its international and domestic peers, including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Canada. These boosted financing powers will be used to support important infrastructure investment in the Indo-Pacific and export link projects here in Australia. In evidence to the Senate committee inquiring into this bill, DFAT and EFA assured committee members that there will be constraints on equity investments, in particular that they would be considered only for significant transactions that support Australia's national interests—something which has particularly come into focus during these COVID times, when we work out what our sovereign capacity is. Other constraints on the equity power by way of a direction from the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and an updated statement of expectations to EFA will include that equity investments will be limited to the National Interest Account—that is, the Australian government, not EFA, will make the final decision on equity investments; equity investments will be limited to a minority interest, unless there is a compelling reason otherwise; equity investments should be $20 million or higher, unless there is a compelling reason otherwise; EFA will bring forward proposals only where other financing options are unavailable or inadequate; EFA will ensure that equity investments have appropriate exit arrangements and target commercial rates of return; and EFA will encourage participation from the private sector and like-minded governments and multilateral bodies. These constraints will be important to ensure that EFA is not crowding out private finance but instead is filling a gap in the market. I say this because, obviously, the price of capital is at an historic low, with the lowest prices in terms of borrowing money since the first Sumerian hung out their lending shingle. Nevertheless, the mainstay of EFA's support to Australian exporters and for overseas infrastructure development in the region will continue to be debt solution, like loans, guarantees, and bonds. EFA plays an important role in supporting Australian businesses. In 2019-20 it provided $1.1 billion to support 136 Australian businesses. In turn, this enabled $2.45 billion of export contracts, supporting around 10,000 jobs in Australia. I know how important it is to support Australian export businesses, having previously been deputy chair of the Trade Sub-Committee in the 45th Parliament. I know that exporting Australian businesses hire 23 per cent more staff. I know that exporting Australian businesses pay 11 per cent higher wages than nonexporters. This is very significant when the nation has effectively had a pay freeze for about eight years under the coalition government, and some sectors are actually going backwards. So Labor well understands that we are a trading nation. The more opportunities our businesses have to export goods and services to the world, the stronger Australian industry will be, and obviously that means more jobs for our people. The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade completed an inquiry into this bill and recommended that it be passed. However, their report highlighted some key issues raised by stakeholders. Some were concerned that financing infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region would not take into account the priorities of the recipient country. I know that, fundamentally, the Morrison-Joyce government does not believe in stakeholder consultation—certainly not thorough stakeholder consultation. They have an arrogance that would make the Queen of Sheba blush. The Prime Minister has his nose so high in the air, he can see his own derriere on occasion. Further to this dearth of consultation, I note that a joint submission to the committee by Jubilee Australia Research Centre, the Australian Conservation Foundation and ActionAid Australia argued: Infrastructure investments in the Indo-Pacific region should be led by the priorities of the relevant country, not by the national interest of Australia or the commercial interests of Australian businesses. Australia’s Pacific neighbours have clear priorities for infrastructure investment, and supporting these initiatives should be prioritised. The committee noted that DFAT has commissioned Mr Stephen Sedgwick AO to conduct an independent review into the infrastructure investment operations of EFA. This review was announced following the 2019 amendments to the EFIC Act to enhance EFA's ability to finance infrastructure projects. One of the terms of reference of that review is to consider the operation of EFA's overseas infrastructure financing functions and the extent to which it has supported the government's aims and the infrastructure needs of our Pacific neighbours. This is basically about whether Australia is being a good neighbour. And that's crucial for our safety. Our Indo-Pacific neighbours are right now charting their recovery course from COVID-19 through economic constraints and development changes. Some have been buffered by isolation, while many have been buffeted by the crash in tourism. Australia should strive to be a partner of choice for our crucial and important Indo-Pacific neighbours. We should listen to their concerns, understand their recovery efforts and support them with actual resources, not hollow words and a $12 billion cut to aid. We as a nation are not doing enough in our patch. The coalition speaks well but acts poorly. Frances Adamson, a former top diplomat who is very well respected, noted in her farewell address that our development program needs to match the tough competition for influence that's taking place right now in our region. This is a national security issue, but what have the Morrison government—or the coalition government, to be fair—actually done? They've cut $12 billion of development assistance. That means we've sliced off about $12 billion pieces of influence in our region. There is no such thing as retrospective goodwill in diplomacy. It's always what's happening now. The milk sours very quickly in the tropical sun, and, when you mix that with sour grapes, well, obviously nobody wants to drink that foul brew. This lack of vision by the Morrison government is leaving opportunity to wither right before our eyes, particularly while there are other state actors active in our region. This is in sharp contrast to how Labor has always thought about foreign policy, right back to Gough Whitlam. Labor has always emphasised the need to face up to the realities of the world and the world that we live in. In his first overseas visit as Labor leader, the member for Grayndler travelled to Jakarta, our close neighbour. That was a clear recognition that Australia and Indonesia, along with other ASEAN partners, share a deep interest in regional stability, sovereignty and prosperity. Think of all those markets right to our north. Labor understands that these relationships take work—showing up matters, as does not snubbing our neighbours or having a meal while they're talking. Most recently we've seen the Morrison government's short-sighted treatment of Afghan civilians who worked alongside Australian soldiers and our diplomats—the people who wore Australian uniforms to keep Australians safe and put themselves in harm's way, or those community activists, or women, or people concerned about security, who put their hands up and stood up and were then told, 20 years after they stepped forward, that we're stepping out. I'm grateful for those that have been brought to safety, obviously, but the Morrison-Joyce government should have acted sooner. It's too little, too late. In February last year, former President Trump was putting in place the first plans for the US withdrawal. He was sitting down, negotiating with the Taliban in February last year. That's when we should have been starting to make preparations. The government should have acted sooner than they did. Labor has been calling for the fast-tracking of this process to bring these Afghan civilians to safety for many, many months, even when we pulled our diplomatic staff out of Kabul. The Morrison government has been incredibly short-sighted. It is in our national interest and it is in the interests of our troops and veterans to make sure we bring these brave friends, these brave allies, to safety. Neglecting the people that risked their lives for us will irreparably damage our ability to recruit local staff in future conflicts or in peacekeeping operations in the Indo-Pacific and all around the world. The message will be out there that when the going gets tough, Australia will desert you. That is not the Australian way of diplomacy. The efforts of Australia to retrieve these people are poor in comparison to the efforts of other countries. It's first and foremost about being a good friend, a good neighbour and a good ally, come the tough moment. Our national security is also inextricably linked to our economic security. The Assistant Treasurer, in his second reading speech on this bill, noted the importance of Australia's export sector. He said: … Export Finance Australia supported 136 Australian businesses with $1.1 billion in support, enabling $2.45 billion of export contracts which supported just under 10,000 jobs in Australia. I absolutely agree with supporting the export sector. I'm almost as enthusiastic as the member for Brand when it comes to trade—but not quite! Sadly, my focus is always on our fourth-largest export industry, which was recently our third-largest export industry—that is, education. Overseas students and universities have not been supported by the Morrison-Joyce government; in fact, it has totally neglected this sector. The Prime Minister was so intent on not supporting universities that he changed the rules three times so that universities could not receive JobKeeper. We've lost 17,000 to 19,000 jobs and all that expertise. The minister spoke of job opportunities for export businesses. That's true, but, conversely, without support and with no international students, we've seen over 17,000 jobs lost and hundreds of courses cut. Just this week, the Australian newspaper—that great ally of the Labor Party!—reported that the teaching of Asian languages in universities is in freefall. Deakin University professor Ly Tran said: This underpins a crisis in national capacity building, affecting our future trade and engagement within the Indo-Pacific. How can we speak to our neighbours if we don't share a language with them? Professor Ly Tran says there are strategic languages identified by the Australian government—Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian and Hindi—because they're crucial to Australia's economic, social and political prosperity. But universities have already closed some of these key language programs. Swinburne University of Technology has closed its Chinese and Japanese programs. The University of Western Sydney has closed its Indonesian programs. The La Trobe and Murdoch universities both announced last year that they would axe their Indonesian programs, but, thankfully, they've had some temporary reprieves. Australian students will be the drivers of Australian trade and exports in the future, particularly the children of the diaspora from these countries. Professor Ly Tran says: A critical element in lifting Indo-Pacific knowledge for young Australians is opportunities to engage with and learn about Indo-Pacific cultures and languages at home. It's short-sighted for the coalition government to neglect universities. It's short-sighted to let key language courses close because of a lack of support during a pandemic. Yet they have given billions and billions of dollars—almost the same amount we have spent in the defence budget—to profitable companies. For international students who come to Australia to learn, guess what? They become our best ambassadors. It's like they're working for DFAT for free on behalf of our nation when they return to their nation. International education brings more to Australia than the $20 billion that the Mitchell institute estimates will be lost if international students do not return for another year. Prime Minister Morrison should be doing more to support our fourth-largest export industry, instead of waging some sort of crazy cultural war on universities because of something that happened to him when he was studying geography—I don't know! Maybe that's a topic for another speech or perhaps a royal commission under an Albanese government—just kidding! I commend this bill to the House. 11:38 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah [by video link] I rise today to speak on the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021. This bill will make changes that affect Export Finance Australia, known in short as EFA, and the provision of financial assistance it is tasked with undertaking. The role EFA plays in supporting Australia's exports industries is probably not well enough known by Australians. Formed in 1991, EFA, previously known as the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, is Australia's primary overseas export credit agency—and keep in mind that these are Australian public funds that are being lent. Export credit agencies like EFA are common in other jurisdictions, and they act as an intermediary between national governments and exporters to issue export insurance solutions, guarantees for financing and loans. Export credit agencies often lend far more money than commercial banks and offer long-term, low-interest debt that makes a project much more bankable. According to EFA, it offers loans, bonds, guarantees, project and structured finance and information for exporters. EFA works with governments, small and medium enterprises and larger corporations to take on export opportunities and develop infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. EFA provides, on average, $572 million a year in financial assistance for Australian exporting companies and has up to $1.2 billion in capital at any one time. This is a significant sum for a government agency. The changes included in this bill will allow EFA to make equity investments to support infrastructure investments in the Indo-Pacific or export linked projects in Australia. The bill will also give power to Export Finance Australia to offer guarantees for overseas infrastructure transactions without needing to provide a loan with the same transaction. These changes come just after the government made similar changes to the governance structure and functions of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, the NAIF—a similar agency that gives financial assistance to organisations with the aim of facilitating economic development in northern Australia. Call me slightly cautious, maybe, but I think there are similarities in these changes. I don't dispute the efficacy and necessity of export credit agencies like the EFA; however, we need to be very cautious about whether these changes will increase the risk exposure of EFA through making equity investments. If investments do go badly, then it's the Australian taxpayer that could be left with the losses of an investment. An independent review by reviewer Stephen Sedgwick AO of the financial powers of the EFA is actually currently underway. I would suggest that it would be prudent for the government to consider the final recommendations of that review before it pushed ahead with the proposed changes. Those recommendations would limit poor outcomes and bad policies with, ultimately, public funds. We're already $1 trillion in debt, so we must be prudent in managing our finances if we're to recover, and we have to be especially watchful so that taxpayer money does not go to stranded assets or failing industries or to worsen what we know are the costs coming from climate change. According to the Global Energy Monitor, over $100 billion of shareholder value could be lost in stranded assets just for gas. That doesn't include other fossil fuel assets like coal. I support the role of the export credit agencies in principle. However, EFA, like many other export credit agencies, has a very troubled history with fossil fuels. Australia and the world are at a crossroads. Only a fortnight ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a summary report on the latest climate science and projections. The International Energy Agency and the United Nations have said that getting to net zero emissions as fast as possible and before 2050 will require wrapping up any subsidies or supports offered with fossil fuel developments. Unfortunately, export credit agencies have been providing large amounts to fossil fuel developments. Some estimates are that, between 2016 and 2018, G20 countries provided some $32 billion in support for fossil fuels through export credit agencies, and Australia is no exception. In Australia, you may be aware, finance in general is drying up for fossil fuels. This trend has even been the subject of committee inquiry in this parliament. Investors don't want to touch carbon assets in a carbon constrained world. You only have to look in the media in any given week and you will see super funds, asset management businesses, institutional investors and the like all announcing net zero policies and divestment from any funding of fossil fuels. As a result, it is now public finance—public funds from export credit agencies like EFA—that is stepping into the gap to prop up these projects. Where private money doesn't want to go, we are risking public money. Within Australia, three of the top seven lenders to LNG projects between 2008 and 2019 were overseas export credit agencies. So, when we talk about subsidies, let's be very clear that it is fossil fuels that are getting government subsidies. Australia's own EFA is currently giving fossil fuel developments their last line of help and lease on life—but I don't hear that coming from any speeches made in the chamber today. Between July 2009 and June 2020, EFA provided over $1.5 billion in financing for fossil fuel projects. Renewables received only $20 million. So, $1.5 billion for $20 million in the same period—that is, 80 times more being funded for fossil fuel projects. Projects like the Gladstone LNG plant received a $254 million loan, the Ichthys LNG project was refinanced with $164 million in support, and the Wiggins Island coal export terminal received a loan of $124 million. The Wiggins Island coal export terminal, in particular, has been a diabolical investment. Three project partners have gone bankrupt, costs have blown out and investors lost billions in shareholder value. Yet EFA is lending. Transparency is a major issue. This may be only the tip of the iceberg, but we will never know. There is a real lack of transparency around the EFA's operations, especially with regard to environmental and social matters. Jubilee Australia has identified over 100 transactions between 2009 and 2020 with companies involved in fossil fuels, but the projects and the purpose of the funding is unclear. EFA has an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act for its commercial and national interest accounts. That means that large transactions of public funds cannot be evaluated by the taxpayer. In 2011, the UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights, Dr Cephas Lumina, was concerned about this practice and said that he 'fully supports the view that the absence of transparency requirements raises serious questions about the agency's accountability to taxpayers and to citizens of the developing countries where EFIC supported projects'. Dr Lumina was ultimately of the view that 'EFIC should be required to publicly disclose information concerning its activities,' and I absolutely agree. The Productivity Commission in 2012—some nine years ago—recommended that freedom of information exemptions should be revoked, stating at the time: … the FOI Act exemptions reduce the ability of the public and the Australian Parliament to examine facilities for their environmental, social and human rights impacts. EFA being exempted is also completely out of step with other jurisdictions in Australia. For example, both the United States and the United Kingdom do not provide blanket exemptions to their export credit agencies. Australia must follow suit. The taxpayer has a right to know about where and when money is being spent. For this reason, I will be proposing amendments during the consideration in detail phase of this bill to, firstly, prohibit the EFA further financing of fossil fuels projects; and, secondly, remove the exemption from Freedom of Information for EFA's commercial accounts. This is public money and should be open to scrutiny. I very much call on the members of parliament, the government and the opposition, Labor, to support those amendments because they are vital to ensure proper scrutiny over those funds. If the coalition and Labor have the temerity to tell the Australian people that they are committed to climate action, then they must walk the talk and end EFA's fossil fuel spending spree. It is time for decisive action. We deserve accountability and transparency on where public funds are going. The latest IPCC report was a red alert for all of us. It would be simply hubris for both the government and Labor not to listen. We all need to ensure that EFA's actions are actually able to be seen by Australians. We need those FOI exemptions to be revoked and we need to ensure this public money that is lent via EFA is actually to the benefit of Australians and future generations. There must be sound investments, and that cannot be to continue lending and supporting extending the life of fossil fuel projects. 11:49 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne I thank members for their contribution to this debate on the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) Bill 2021. These amendments will support infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific and export linked projects in Australia as well as provide enhanced financing capabilities to the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, further supporting Australia's Pacific Step-up. The bill maintains Export Finance Australia's robust processes for assessing commerciality, risk and environmental and social impacts. Furthermore, Export Finance Australia's partial exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act will provide certainty to its customers and other financial institutions that their sensitive, commercial, financial and other information will remain confidential. The government wants to ensure Export Finance Australia has the tools it needs to continue supporting Australian export trade and overseas infrastructure development. The amendments will bolster Export Finance Australia's ability to support Australia's national interests and priorities. They will enhance Export Finance Australia's capabilities and will complement its existing suite of financing powers, comprised of loans, guarantees, bonds and insurance. However, the equity investment will be used sparingly where there is a national interest case. Debt solutions, like loans, guarantees and bonds, will continue to be the mainstay of Export Finance Australia's support to Australian exporters and for infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific. The bill will boost Export Finance Australia's important role in supporting Australia's economic growth and facilitate stronger links between Australian businesses and the Indo-Pacific region, while maintaining its robust processes for assessing commerciality, risk and environmental and social impacts. I commend this bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Consideration in Detail 24 11:53 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi by leave—on behalf of the member for Warringah, I move amendments (1) to (3) together: (1) Title, page 1 (lines 1 and 2), omit "Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991", substitute "law relating to the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation". (2) Page 7 (after line 16), at the end of the Bill, add: Schedule 3 — Fossil fuels Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991 1 Subsection 3(1) Insert: fossil fuel-based infrastructure: (a) subject to paragraph (b), includes infrastructure for: (i) the extraction or transportation of fossil fuels; or (ii) fossil fuel-based electricity generation; and (b) does not include electricity transmission infrastructure. fossil fuels includes any of the following: (a) coal; (b) oil and other petroleum-based products; (c) natural gas; (d) products, by-products and wastes from extracting or processing fossils fuels to which paragraphs (a) to (c) apply. 2 Subsection 3(1) (definition of Northern Australia economic infrastructure ) Repeal the definition, substitute: Northern Australia economic infrastructure: (a) subject to paragraph (b), has the same meaning as in the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016; and (b) does not include fossil fuel-based infrastructure. 3 Subsection 3(1) (definition of overseas infrastructure development ) After "of infrastructure", insert "(other than fossil fuel-based infrastructure)". 4 Before section 81 Insert: 80A Prohibition on assistance for fossil fuel-based infrastructure (1) Assistance must not be provided under this Act if the assistance is for purposes relating to, or is expected to result in, the development of fossil fuel-based infrastructure. (2) It must be a condition of any assistance provided under this Act that the assistance not be used (whether directly or indirectly) for the development of fossil fuel-based infrastructure. (3) Assistance includes a guarantee, indemnity, loan, insurance, reinsurance, financial service, financial product, subsidy or investment. (3) Page 7 (after line 16), at the end of the Bill, add: Schedule 4 — Freedom of Information Act 1982 Freedom of Information Act 1982 1 Division 1 of Part II of Schedule 2 (item dealing with Export Finance and Insurance Corporation) Omit "4 or". 2 Application of amendments The amendment made this Schedule does not apply to documents brought into existence before the commencement of this item. 11:53 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah [by video link] These amendments will improve the functioning of the EFA by prohibiting taxpayer handouts to fossil fuel projects overseas as well as improve EFA's transparency and accountability. Taxpayer money should not be wasted on assets that will be stranded, especially as we get close to $1 trillion in public debt. Agencies like EFA should also be transparent with the public about their activities and if they are making potentially loss-making investments. Regarding items 1 and 3, research conducted by Jubilee Australia has found that over a hundred potential fossil fuel transactions could not be properly identified due to poor disclosure requirements for EFA and an inability to FOI documents because EFA's commercial and national interest accounts are exempt. Further, it's the purpose of this bill to allow the ability for EFA to make equity investments, which will increase the risk profile of transactions. And we get the compounded effect of riskier investments with a lack of transparency. The Australian people have no idea where money has been going. Potential losses are being incurred in their name. Any changes to equity investment ability must, therefore, be matched with corresponding changes to transparency provisions. To promote transparency, removal of the FOI exemption was a recommendation of the Productivity Commission in their 2012 review of the operations. As a reason for this, the Productivity Commission stated: … the FOI Act exemptions reduce the ability of the public and the Australian Parliament to examine facilities for their environmental, social and human rights impacts … Items 1 and 3 of these amendments will, therefore, amend the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to remove the freedom of information exception provided to part 4 of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991. After commencement of the bill, around 90 per cent of the transactions would be able to be FOI'd under this change. This is an important amendment. Importantly, the exception of part 5 of the EFIC Act, national interest accounts, remains in force, which would still provide important national security safeguards. Part 4 of the EFIC Act will also still be protected by existing FOI safeguards under sections 33 and 47 of the FOI Act. The Australian public have no idea of the true extent of money being spent on fossil fuels through EFA. They deserve to know. It is simply remarkable that the EFA has operated in the dark for this long. Items 2, 3 and 4: we are experiencing rapid, alarming warming that jeopardises Australia's safety, security and future prosperity. It is clear from the recent IPCC report and from the advice from the International Energy Agency that we must rapidly transition away and stop funding fossil fuels. Item 2 will, therefore, introduce a third schedule to the bill and introduce a definition of 'fossil fuel based infrastructure' and 'fossil fuels'. Item 2 substitutes the definition for 'northern Australian economic infrastructure'. Items 23 and 24 make clear there will be prohibition any assistance, direct and indirect, given by EFA for fossil fuel based infrastructure. That includes guarantees, indemnity, loans, insurance, reinsurance, financial services, financial products, subsidies or investment for the purpose of supporting extraction, transportation of fossil fuels and energy generation. We must stop our fossil fuel spending spree, and these amendments will do just that. I call on both sides of the House, and in particular the opposition, Labor: if you are genuine in your commitment to transitioning to low emissions and dealing with the IPCC's very real warning then we cannot continue to fund fossil fuels. 11:58 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi There is no doubt export finance is an important foreign relations and trade policy lever. Indeed, if we use our export finance regime effectively it can be a tremendous force for good. In principle I don't oppose the idea of expanding the mandate of Export Finance Australia to make equity investments in strategic projects abroad in the national interest. We should do this as a leader of the region. What I do oppose, however, is direct public investment in foreign fossil fuel based infrastructure. The world is experiencing rapid and alarming warming that jeopardises our safety, security and prosperity. Countless other nations know that export finance must be used to lead global investment in the clean energy transition, instead of wasting it on soon to be stranded fossil fuel assets. It's the last thing that Australian taxpayers need. It is the last thing our partners in the region need. When introducing the bill, the minister said: This reform will align Australia with other countries, like the USA, China, Japan, Canada and South Korea, which are already making equity investments in our region to support their development and commercial objectives. Well, this is not entirely true, Mr Deputy Speaker. Many of these nations have also taken proactive measures to prohibit export finance agencies investing in fossil fuels. President Biden has directed the US export credit agency to identify steps through which the United States can promote ending international financing of carbon-intensive fossil fuel based energy. The UK government banned its export credit agency from funding any new coal and gas projects, in line with the urgent recommendations of the International Energy Agency. South Korea has committed to end public financing for overseas coal-fired power plants, and, just this year, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK launched the export finance for the future coalition, with each country committing to massively increased support for sustainable projects and to assessing how to best phase out export finance support to oil and gas industries. That's what export finance leadership looks like. This bill will punish regional Australians twice: first as taxpayers who'll see their contributions to the public purse wasted on foreign fossil-fuel subsidies; and, second, as bystanders who'll have to see billions of dollars in foreign investment in renewables in their own backyards draining out of their towns and offshore. This is not how this equation should be. That's why I introduced the Australian Local Power Agency Bill 2021, which would require any new foreign-owned large-scale renewable energy project in Australia to offer the local community a chance to co-invest up to 20 per cent in that project. The House Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy will hold a public inquiry into that proposal tomorrow, and I encourage all MPs in this place—especially those who represent regional electorates—to tune in and hear what regional Australians are calling for when it comes to foreign investment in renewables. These detailed amendments would stop us from making more of a mess than we already have. It's time for solutions, and I commend these amendments to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER HK5 The question is that the amendments be disagreed to. Question agreed to. Bill agreed to. Third Reading 26 12:02 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. BUSINESS 27 BUSINESS Rearrangement 27 12:03 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer I move: That order of the day No. 4, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to. MOTIONS 27 MOTIONS Afghanistan 27 12:03 The DEPUTY SPEAKER HK5 I call the member for Berowra in continuation. 12:03 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra [by video link] In 2007, Jason passed the gruelling SAS selection course. Jason was trained to fight on land, water and air. The following year, during a parachute course, he broke his leg doing a jump. One of his mates recalled: 'Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself, he'd go down to the local shooting club in Perth every day. That was the type of person he was.' In April 2010, Jason deployed to Afghanistan with his unit as part of Operation Slipper. On 13 August, Jason was part of a five-man patrol that had been involved in a disruption operation in northern Kandahar province. Towards the end of the operation, the patrol was faced with crossing a river before reaching their extraction zone. At 6.30 pm, as the Australians made towards the crossing point, they passed a dense thicket of vegetation along the riverbank. Without warning, the patrol came under heavy fire from a concealed weapon at close range. Jason, who was in the middle of the patrol, took the full force of the opening salvo. Despite wearing a helmet and body armour, multiple machine gun rounds pierced his side, and he fell immediately. His patrol mates reacted instantly, running 20 metres across open ground to come to his aid. One member of the patrol remained with Jason, his equipment and clothing being hit by enemy fire multiple times. From this exposed position, he fired on the enemy, killing the machine gun. This allowed another member of the patrol to move forward to help him move Jason and begin first aid. Despite their best methods, Trooper Jason Brown was dead. Two members of the patrol were subsequently decorated for gallantry. One received a Commendation for Distinguished Service, and the other received the Star of Gallantry, Australia's second-highest award. Jason Brown was the 18th Australian of 41 to make the supreme sacrifice in Afghanistan. His body was repatriated to Australia, and his funeral was held two weeks later with full military honours at the Queen of Peace Church in Normanhurst, the same church where he'd been baptised and confirmed. Jason's uncle, Father Paul Fitzpatrick, celebrated mass, and more than 700 people attended. Jason Brown was one of the many Australians who served in Afghanistan. For their service, our soldiers received commendations, medals and awards for gallantry, including four Victoria Crosses. I honour the service of our forces and thank them for defending our values and being prepared to serve and put their lives on the line for the cause of freedom. I also want to acknowledge the diplomats and aid workers in the AFP for their service too. While Afghanistan is in for some dark days, the service of our troops gave the Afghan people for the first time a taste of peace, stability and freedom, an education for women and girls and a series of opportunities that would never have been available to them. Whatever the Taliban may do, they cannot take away the ideas and knowledge that have been planted into the minds of the Afghan people. They will not be able to stop the quiet fluttering of the flag of freedom in the hearts of ordinary people. Last week, I met with nearly two dozen members of the Afghan community from my electorate and across Sydney to discuss the crisis on the ground in Afghanistan. The group I met with, Lobby for Afghanistan, is made up of leaders and professionals from all walks of life, led by my friend Nasiba Akram. Nasiba made a home in my constituency after being forced out of Afghanistan after the communist coup in 1978. She was a member of the Afghan foreign ministry, working for their minister's office, when the Marxists overthrew the government. Nasiba has not only built a life for herself here but spent decades helping others do the same, assisting hundreds of new families to settle. She established a number of services to provide Afghans with education and access to mental health support as well as legal and social support as they try to build their lives in Australia. The discussion with my Afghan community was wide-ranging. We discussed increasing humanitarian visas and vital aid and for the treatment of women by the Taliban to be condemned in international fora by our government. Some participants also asked the Australian government not to recognise the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. Australia has been a steadfast contributor to the war in Afghanistan. I take our responsibility and our continuing obligation seriously. I support bringing the Afghans who assisted us in our work as locally engaged staff and their families to Australia to keep them and their families safe. Since 2013, we've granted more than 8,500 visas to Afghans under Australia's humanitarian program. That includes 1,800 visas to locally engaged staff and families. Around 640 locally engaged employees and their families have been granted visas to settle here over the last few months, and more than 500 have already arrived. The ADF has deployed more than 250 personnel and up to five aircraft to support efforts to evacuate Australians and visa holders from Afghanistan. Last night, around 1,200 people were evacuated on six Australian flights. They included Australians and Afghan nationals. In total, around 4,000 people have so far been evacuated on 29 flights in eight days, 639 of whom are already here, including 220 who arrived today. The Prime Minister has announced that an initial 3,000 humanitarian refugee places will be allocated to Afghan nationals. We anticipate that this initial allocation will increase over the course of the year. Australia will prioritise the offshore Afghan nationals within our humanitarian program in the year ahead. Despite the challenges faced, I want to end with the optimistic words of recent days from the US President who led the operations in Afghanistan in 2001. President Bush said: Like our country, Afghanistan is also made up of resilient, vibrant people. Nearly 65 percent of the population is under twenty-five years old. The choices they will make for opportunity, education, and liberty will also determine Afghanistan's future. As Dr. Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan Institute of Learning, which has opened schools for girls and women around the nation, wrote this week: "While we are afraid, we are not defeated." She added, "Ideas do not disappear so easily. One cannot kill whispers on the wind. The Taliban cannot crush a dream. We will prevail, even if it takes longer than we wanted it to." 12:09 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney [by video link] Of course, I'm supporting the motion moved by the Prime Minister and supported by the Leader of the Opposition. This is an alarming and difficult time for the people of Afghanistan, for the Australian-Afghan community and for our defence personnel who served in Afghanistan. The scenes of people fleeing through the streets trying to approach the airport in Kabul and trying to board planes have been distressing and disturbing. So many Australian-Afghan community members are worried about what will happen to family and friends that they are in touch with in Afghanistan. Of course, their fear is understandable. The last time the Taliban were in charge in Afghanistan, we saw all types of brutality and oppression, particularly for the women and girls of Afghanistan, ethnic minorities and anybody who opposed the Taliban rule. The women and girls of Afghanistan have seen some real improvement in the 20 years since the Taliban was last in charge. We've seen rates of high school education increase by 600 per cent. We've seen women's life expectancy increase from 56 to 67 years. We've seen mortality during childbirth fall to a third of its previous level. More women are in paid work, in the public service and also in the Afghan parliament where they made up, until the Taliban was back in charge, more than a quarter of the Afghan parliament. We saw those improvements in the last 20 years and we see that the improvements are very tenuous now. We don't know whether the Taliban will keep their promise to respect the rights of Afghan women. I think anybody who watched the way they ruled last time would be sceptical on this matter. There's still so much that needs to be done to achieve true equality for Afghan girls. Too many are still not in formal education. The progress that has been made has to be protected. It's no wonder that so many women and girls are fearful for their safety under the new regime. It's very important that the international community continues to do what it can to support the protection of human rights in Afghanistan, including the rights of women and girls and including, of course, the rights of ethnic minorities, religious minorities and those who disagree with the rule of the Taliban government. It's important to soberly reflect on the way the withdrawal happened and what it means for the reputation of Western powers, including our very good friend and ally the United States, the NATO countries and others who still have personnel in Afghanistan that they're trying to get to safety now. It's important for us to think about whether the manner of this withdrawal has a long-term impact on geopolitics, not just of the region but also, more broadly, closer to home for us. However, we have an immediate responsibility to think about the way we help and support the Afghans who helped and supported our people when they were in Afghanistan: our soldiers, aid workers, diplomats and the Federal Police. Former prime ministers and members of parliament have all spoken about the need to help those who helped us. There's a moral obligation that's obvious here. People risked their lives and risked the lives of their families to help Australians when we were on the ground in a very dangerous place. We have a responsibility to help and protect them in return. But there's another reason that it's important for us to do this. Our soldiers will be engaged in future conflicts—maybe next year, maybe next decade; we don't know when the next conflict like this will occur—and in those conflicts, when they happen, we will need to rely on local people to act as interpreters and security guards and to work with our people on the ground. The way we now look after the people who looked after Australians will really affect the way people are prepared to help us and our soldiers in the future, so it is important that we do everything we can to get people safely out of Afghanistan. We know that the humanitarian component of Australia's immigration intake wasn't reached last year, won't be reached this year and is unlikely to be reached next year. We need to make sure that we can safely bring people who assisted Australians in Afghanistan and their families here to Australia. In Australia we have the luxury of not having to risk our lives when we disagree with our political opponents. That is not true of Afghanistan. We know there are people who need Australia's assistance and protection, or the assistance and protection of the international community—people like Malalai Joya, who has visited Australia in the past. She was elected to the Afghan parliament as a young woman who was outspoken, standing up for the rights of women and girls, criticising the war lords and their brutality. Having been elected to the Afghan parliament, she was then banned from the parliament for being so outspoken. What people like Malalai Joya face in Afghanistan today does not bear thinking about. We have nothing in our political system that allows us to comprehend the sort of fear that critics of the Taliban would be feeling right now. I want to finish by speaking for a moment about the Australians who fought in Afghanistan. We know, of course, that 41 made the ultimate sacrifice, and their families, friends and comrades will be thinking about them at this time. But all of the Australians who served overseas with honour, representing their country in working with the international community to provide a better future for Afghanistan, would be having a very difficult time of it at the moment. We have not done nearly well enough in looking after our veterans when they have returned from conflicts, including Afghanistan. This has been a war fought by professional soldiers a long way away, and for some Australians that has meant it has been out of sight and out of mind. For those who served and for their families, it's been constantly in their minds, not just in the last few weeks, as the situation there has worsened, but for many years now. We need to do much, much better in supporting our veterans when they return and in supporting their families as well. 12:18 Mr SHARMA 274506 Wentworth It's an honour to speak in support of this motion, put forward by the Prime Minister, which reflects on the commitment and sacrifice that Australians have made in Afghanistan over two decades. Each of the Australians who has served there—and we've had around 40,000 Australians who have been through Afghanistan, either in uniform, as defence personnel, or as civilians—has given something of themselves to help build that new nation; to help make it a better country; to help create opportunities for young women and girls to express themselves, reach their own conclusions, study, educate themselves, and do many other things besides. Today in particular I think of those many thousands of Australians who have served and given something to that country. Some of them, of course, had to make the ultimate sacrifice. We lost 41 Australian lives in Afghanistan, and we should reflect upon each of those sacrifices and honour the memory of all those who were killed. Even among those who served and came back alive, a lot still carry the scars from their time in Afghanistan and the memories of what they saw there and what they experienced. I know this would be a particularly difficult time for many of them, soldiers and civilians, who gave of themselves to help build up that country. To have seen the country going backwards at an alarming rate over the last few weeks must have been particularly distressing. I visited Afghanistan in 2011, only the one time, with then Prime Minister Julia Gillard. I was an official with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. We flew in from Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE on a C-130. We visited the Australian contingent at Tarin Kowt. That was when we were in charge of one of the provincial reconstruction teams. We met with the soldiers. We met some of the civilians. We met some of the tribal leadership in Tarin Kowt. Then we flew on to Kabul, where we met with then President Karzai in the palace. We were also briefed by General John Allen, who was the head of the NATO International Security Assistance Force at the time. I recall that it was obviously still a tense time in the country. Even then, the Taliban remained a presence. There was a green zone inside Kabul and blast walls and patrols on the street. But there was certainly an optimism in the air amongst the leadership that we met with and amongst some of the new figures about the future that they were building in Afghanistan and the opportunities that they would have in that country. It's very sad to have seen the events of the last few days and the last few weeks and to know that those people and those individuals, some of whom we met then, will have seen much vanish before their eyes as military reversals on the ground have laid the pathway for the Taliban to re-establish themselves as the governing authority in Afghanistan. I was opposed and remain opposed to the US decision to withdraw its presence from Afghanistan. I think it was a poor decision. It was also poorly executed. Most obviously, it's undermined civilian rule in Afghanistan, but, more importantly, I think, it's also sent quite a damaging signal to US allies around the world. Whilst reflecting on Afghanistan, though, we should also reflect on the fact that we achieved a great deal. Al-Qaeda was rooted out of Afghanistan. Afghanistan was no longer an incubator or an exporter of terrorism to the rest of world, as it had been most dramatically in 9/11 but also, even before then, with the bombings at the US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in 1998 and the attack in the Gulf of Aden on the US naval presence there. All of these things emanated from Afghanistan and al-Qaeda's presence there. Our intervention in Afghanistan prevented al-Qaeda from regrouping and from launching further attacks against us elsewhere around the world. In addition to doing that, we helped create a more modern and tolerant Afghanistan, one where women and girls could be educated and go to school, one where people could play or listen to music. They could practice arts, consume culture, make their own life decisions, receive a formal education, be involved in cultural activities and any number of other things—vote in elections, of course. They could express themselves freely, join an independent media organisation, publish opinion pieces in newspapers and record podcasts. We helped to make all of those things possible in Afghanistan, and I think we should look back proudly when we reflect on those achievements. People say, and there were many in America who were saying, that the purpose of our mission in Afghanistan was not about nation building, and that is true to a degree. We can never create a nation. Ultimately, the people of that country have to build and secure that nation for itself. But while Afghanistan was never going to be a model liberal democracy, and certainly it would take generations for that to be the case, nor did it have to become a brutal theocracy. By withdrawing a presence that was modest by international standards, was sustainable, both politically in Washington and on the ground in Kabul, and was one where lives were not being lost—no NATO personnel had been killed in over 20 months in Afghanistan—I fear that we have accelerated the return of a brutal theocracy in Afghanistan. Some people have also characterised this as a forever war; well, I don't buy that characterisation. I don't accept it. I think if it was an enduring commitment, the shape and nature of that commitment would obviously change over time, as it should. And the United States and its allies have made enduring commitments to a number of countries around the world for decades. The United States retains a sizeable presence in South Korea—tens of thousands of service men and women—a sizeable presence in Japan, and a sizeable presence in Germany. These commitments have lasted upwards of seven decades and have involved countless personnel. But it's what an enduring commitment looks like. In the Sinai Peninsula, US personnel and a US mission continue to serve in monitoring and ensuring compliance with the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Sometimes an enduring commitment is what's needed to stabilise a situation around the world, and sometimes there is a value in equilibrium and a modicum of stability, even if you're never going to obtain perfection. I think that's an enduring lesson of statecraft, and one that, unfortunately, this US administration did not heed in its decision. But we are where we are today. I want to reflect on the current challenges in Afghanistan. Obviously, our priority right now, in the immediate moment, is to get as many Australian nationals and permanent residents and their family members, and those who served or worked with the Australian presence in Afghanistan to safety. And over the last week since 18 August we've been successful in evacuating almost 3,700 people. Even overnight, on four ADF flights and one New Zealand Defence Force flight, we were able to get almost a thousand people out. Beyond that, since April we've been able to resettle and remove 400 of our locally engaged staff, people who worked with the Australian mission in Afghanistan, and we've removed 1,800 of those people since 2013. Of course, beyond that we've had a broader humanitarian commitment to resettle Afghan people, and we've resettled almost 8½ thousand since 2013. It's important the commitment endures beyond this, but, regarding the air bridge in Kabul, the Taliban have given every indication that, come 31 August, they expect the presence of Western countries in Kabul airport to be finished. So this is a limited operation. We're obviously doing as much as we can in the time available to us, and given the very challenging security circumstances that we face, but, beyond that, we will have to make—and I'm pleased we will make—an enduring humanitarian commitment to Afghanistan to resettle refugees and people who are fleeing Afghanistan, people who will undoubtedly have a well-founded fear of persecution. I lastly want to reflect on and thank the many personnel who are in Kabul, in the region and in Canberra, who are right now working around the clock tirelessly to allow us to conduct this operation in incredibly trying and difficult security and other circumstances. We have people from the Australian Defence Force, we have people from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we have people from the Department of Home Affairs, we have people from the Australian Border Force—all of them working exceptionally hard right now to do the right thing by the people we are helping and to honour our obligations as a nation, so that we can acquit ourselves with honour by helping as many people to safety in the very limited window that we have available. Deputy Speaker, allow me to acknowledge and thank all of those who are involved in this operation for their service. 12:28 Dr FREELANDER 265979 Macarthur On the motion moved by the Prime Minister on Afghanistan, I want to thank him and the Leader of the Opposition and all those who have spoken on this matter. We have a very vibrant Afghan population in my electorate of Macarthur. I've helped train a number of medical students who have come from Afghanistan or whose family has. For over 20 years we have had quite a large Afghan population; in fact, for a number of years one of the local chicken shops was run by a professor of English literature from Kabul University. My heart goes out to them. My office is doing all it can, working with Minister Payne and DFAT to do what we can to support our Afghan friends and their relatives. For me, this present situation is a very terrible repeat of what happened many years ago, with the end of the war in Vietnam. I was actually in Afghanistan in 1973-74 as a medical student for a brief period of time. I had taken some time off university and, with the help of Tom Stapleton, who was a professor of paediatrics at the University of Sydney, I got a job working with UNICEF to set up immunisation programs in the subcontinent, following a large refugee population moving down the east coast of India after the split of Pakistan into Bangladesh and Pakistan. As part of that, we were setting up immunisation programs, mainly for children, through UNICEF. I was based at the BCB Medical College in Orissa, on the east coast of India. We were providing immunisation programs throughout the subcontinent. We briefly went to Afghanistan and met with some of the Afghani leadership. It was a time when the Prime Minister was Daoud Khan, who was part of the Afghani ruling family; he had broken with them, abolished the monarchy and set up a quasi-democratic Afghani government, which, for students of history, fell when he was assassinated in 1978. That led to the present Afghani war or Afghani insurgency, whatever you like to call it, which has gone on for almost 50 years since the fall of the Daoud government. Professor Das was the leader of our delegation when we went to Kabul. I was quite optimistic about being able to help with immunisations for common childhood illnesses like measles, diphtheria, tetanus, polio—all those things—because we'd had some success in India itself, in Bangladesh and also in Pakistan. I remember, as we were flying into Kabul, talking to Professor Das with some degree of optimism, and he said: 'Well, don't set your hopes too high. This is a very difficult place to work in.' And it made me realise, and he explained to me, that Afghanistan was not one country; it was a feudal area ruled by a whole range of different ethnic groups. There are over 20 ethnic groups in Afghanistan. There are the Pashtuns, the biggest group, from which the Taliban are derived, and they rule certain areas. There are many others, from Turkmens to Tajiks to Hazaras. People are loyal to the leadership that will protect them, and many of those relationships have been built up over hundreds of years. How we deal with them is a matter of what the local warlords want, and that doesn't change. What happened was that the immunisation supplies were basically left at the airport until they were no longer useful, because UNICEF had a policy then, as it does now, of not paying bribes to politicians et cetera to use their services. So they were wasted. We tend, from the West, to see Afghanistan as one country, but it is clearly not. What has happened in Afghanistan is very similar to what happened in Vietnam, with flawed military intelligence, flawed local intelligence and overoptimistic estimates of what could and couldn't be achieved. I remember General Westmoreland, in Vietnam, giving very optimistic assessments of how the war was going in his time there, and even afterwards, just before the Fall of Saigon, still being optimistic about how local governments could maintain nationhood in the face of local insurgencies. A similar thing has been repeated in Afghanistan, with some rapidity and very poor responses—too little, too late. We're seeing that play out now. I want to give credit to all our armed services personnel who fought and who worked in Afghanistan, because I think what they did, their legacy, will live on. I certainly think that their efforts were not in vain and are not in vain now as they work to evacuate as many people as they can. I want to thank those who are there and all those personnel from DFAT who are working tirelessly to get as many Australians and people who supported Australia as possible out of the country. Of course, they are really dire circumstances, and my heart goes out to the Afghan people and all those who are suffering. I hope we can continue to provide support and I hope that we accept as many refugees as we possibly can. I want to point out what a great support to the Macarthur community our Afghan citizens and those of Afghan origin are. I've seen many of them grow up and go through university. One, who went through our medical school, at the moment is training to be a neurosurgeon. Many others are doing medicine or law, or are teachers and nurses—they're doing a whole range of jobs in our community. What we're seeing unfold is, of course, a tragedy. It is far too soon to be making any judgements about the effects of our presence in Afghanistan. I think, like Vietnam, the true effects will not be known for decades afterwards. I certainly will not be saying that our efforts were pointless, because I don't believe that's true. I think that the deaths of those 41 soldiers were not in vain. What they were able to demonstrate to the Afghan people is that there is a better way and there is a better life. I know that it doesn't seem now like that is playing out, but I think, in the future, they may well have made a very big difference. We have shown in particular that the education of women is a very important thing. We have shown the Afghan people that there is a better social way of living, and I hope very much that that will sow the seeds of something better in the future. At the moment, it doesn't look like it, and my heart does go out to all those suffering in Afghanistan. I know there will be suffering to come. I personally do not believe any of the Taliban's statements that they are a more progressive party now than they were in the past. I don't think there is any evidence for that at all, and I'm very concerned about what is going to happen in Afghanistan. It's important to remember that what happened in Afghanistan was, as far as we can see, supported by other countries in the area. That leads me to a great deal of concern about what's going to happen now. I acknowledge the difficulties that everyone is facing. Our brave men of the Defence Force are presently in Afghanistan, and I thank them so much, as I've said, for their service and what they are doing. I just hope that what they are doing now can lead to more people getting out. We have a real moral obligation to all of those who have supported us. I hope that none of our servicemen are hurt either physically or psychologically in that process. We have a lot to thank them for. 12:38 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina Brave Burnie boy Cameron Baird was the fourth digger to receive the Victoria Cross for Australia during Operation Slipper. He was the 100th Australian VC recipient. There would be no ceremony at which he would have the highest honour for gallantry and valour pinned to his chest. There can be no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends, and this is what Corporal Baird did. His VC was posthumously awarded. I remember, all too well, when then Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the fact that Corporal Baird would receive this honour. Corporal Baird's parents were sitting just here, to my left. Afterwards, a long line of MPs went up to thank Doug and Kaye Baird for the service and sacrifice of their loved son. I well remember, through her tears, his mum saying to one of my colleagues: 'No—thank you. Thank you for giving us the honour of having our son represent his nation.' Corporal Baird's actions on his fourth tour of duty—think of that, his fourth tour of duty—in Afghanistan are as courageous as any in that long line of khaki stretching back to Gallipoli and beyond. There has been a lot of commentary, given the human tragedy unfolding in Kabul over the past week or so, about whether the lives of Corporal Baird and 40 other Australians were lost in vain. But perhaps it's not for the media commentators in the safe sanctity of their television studios, or anyone else for that matter, to have that final say. It probably should be more up to the family and friends of those who laid down their lives for their friends to have that view. I phoned Doug Baird this morning, as I did back on 17 April, the day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan. Doug Baird, who's become a friend of mine, said it was a sombre experience. He said: If my son's life has helped others to have a better life, to have a more secure environment, to protect the interests and freedoms and democracy of Australians, then that's a price he was willing to pay. To that end, he was very thankful for the Prime Minister making that announcement back in April but also very thankful for the fact that people are saying to him, 'Thank you for your son's service.' I also messaged Mark Donaldson, another VC recipient. He's also a mate of mine and he's one of the lucky ones who came back. He's now doing some great work with Boeing and some great work with veterans. He often gathers with his friends and his former comrades to talk about their service in Afghanistan, that troubled country. And today, as we reflect on the service and sacrifice, on the blood shed by Australians and others in Afghanistan, we say thanks to those brave men. And we should say thanks, each and every day, not just on Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, not just on Anzac Day, but every day. We should always remember what they have done for us. Corporal Baird went through Kapooka. It's the recruit training centre for the Army in my home town of Wagga Wagga. There is a trophy which is given at each march out, in his honour, to the most outstanding soldier. Doug Baird said he looks forward, when COVID restrictions ease, to coming to Kapooka and attending one of those march outs. We should be very proud of those men and women who march out of Kapooka. Another who has done just that is Corporal Daniel Keighran VC, who now serves in the Australian Army Reserve, posted to Army headquarters. He was on the ABC's Q&A last Thursday, and on the program he gave some timely insights, including this: … as a veteran myself serving, I know there's a lot of hurt in the veteran community right now. Let me say that your service absolutely was worthwhile in Afghanistan. I know, myself, doing two tours, spending some 16 months outside the wire, as they say, I was fortunate enough to see that change. From my first tour in 2007 to 2010, I saw the change in the smiles on the faces of the kids from going from where they were in 2007 to 2010. The uniforms, the infrastructure projects—there was a real sense the country was turning around, without a doubt. So it is quite disheartening, I know, as a veteran that has served with the Afghan National Army, that has fought beside them, that has lost mates on the ground over there, fighting for human rights, to see the scenes that are coming out of Kabul and Afghanistan now. So, for those veterans, my message to you is pretty simple: 'Hold your head up high, you should be proud of what you achieved.' Darren Chester, member for Gippsland, former veterans' affairs minister, was also on that program. He talked about the need, the necessity, for veterans to reach out to those various services that are available—Open Arms, counselling for veterans and families on 1800 011 046, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072, a free and anonymous counselling line for current serving Australian Defence Force personnel, veterans and their families. When people call Safe Zone Support it's up to them to decide how much information they want to disseminate or not. The member for Gippsland also said: … no Australian veteran, no serviceman or woman who served in Afghanistan, should feel anything other than pride in their mission that they were endeavouring to fulfil. They acted enormously with great integrity, with humility, with compassion, and also had to do a very difficult job, and they should be proud of what they did in their efforts to secure some form of peace in Afghanistan. He talked about the dedication of our diggers and others that served in their role. He said: They were looking to secure whatever an Afghanistan form of peace might look like. But, whether it was an intelligence failure over the last few weeks, or whatever has occurred, the military clearly wasn't capable of withstanding the Taliban, and the speed with which the country was overrun, I think, took everyone by surprise. And those scenes at the international airport, and the scenes we've been seeing on our news all this week would be disturbing for a lot of veterans. So I'd encourage you to make sure you reach out to your mates. Call a few mates, see how they're travelling. I've had the chance to talk to a couple of family members who lost loved ones, both in Afghanistan, but also post the war – people who lost the battle at home – and they're feeling pretty bruised by what they're seeing on the news, and it's just important that people do reach out and support each other if they're having difficulty at this time. They are fine words and they were eloquently spoken by the former veterans' affairs minister—and certainly by Daniel Keighran, VC, and also by Doug Baird. He spoke to me this morning about the quickness—that was the word he used—of how the Taliban has resumed control in that country. We know that the situation in Afghanistan is evolving rapidly. It's changing by the hour. It's volatile. It's dangerous. I want to thank those current men and women in uniform who are doing what they can, on the government's instruction and at the Australian people's request, to go in and save what they can and to attempt to get as many Australians and others out as they possibly can. We acknowledge the more than 40,000 Australian Defence Force personnel and civilians who served in Afghanistan, who must be watching on with horror, as we all are, at the scenes that are occurring in Kabul, in particular. As the PM has said, Australia, working with others, sought to make a failed state a functional state. We call on, of course, the Taliban to cease all violence against civilians and to retain the rights that women have and have because of the efforts of our diggers. We say again to our diggers, to our brave men and women, thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for what you have done in making Afghanistan a better place, and we hope that troubled country can find some peace into the future. 12:48 Mr HUSIC 91219 Chifley [by video link] I'm grateful for the opportunity to follow the member for Riverina, who gave the parliament a very clear and, I thought, a very important contribution in respect of the contributions made by fellow Australians, particularly in our defence forces, in helping rebuild Afghanistan and playing a part in providing security there. They did so at high cost, with a number of ADF personnel having lost their lives there. Forty thousand made a contribution, as the member for Riverina indicated. We here in Australia are obviously conscious of that contribution, but I think there are, in watching what's happened in Afghanistan, a lot of questions that have been raised, some that should be answered at another time. In particular, after a 20-year engagement in that country the question of how things have got to this is probably the thing that stands at the front of a lot of people's minds. Answers aren't necessarily ready to be put forward at this point in time, given that the focus is on saving a lot of people. It is difficult, as someone who has vocally and openly supported the engagement that we made as a nation in Afghanistan 20 years ago in the aftermath of September 11, with the priority to track down those who had aided, abetted, encouraged and, in fact, planned other terrible events—notably through al-Qaeda, who had set up a presence deep in Afghanistan and needed to be tackled. It was important for us to deal with that, but it was also important to provide longer-term security and help for Afghanistan. Besides Australian defence personnel, there were a lot of people in the NGO community who had worked with local communities in various parts of Afghanistan to try and restore life, improve the quality of life for people there. Given that long contribution, to see where we've got to now is not only difficult for veterans here who are having to watch what has occurred in a country where they have made a very noble and important contribution but difficult for other Australians as well who had done likewise. As someone who represents nearly 1,500 people of Afghan heritage in my own electorate, I appreciate the impact on Afghans here in seeing what's happened over there, plus the wider concern in the broader community about what's gone on and a feeling that we have not acted, which is often the case, quickly enough, surely enough, comprehensively enough to help friends out, particularly Afghans who, in Afghanistan, risked a lot to help us. It is important to point out that they undertook work with Australians, either in the ADF or elsewhere, at great personal risk. We've all been taught to back people who had backed us, to help those who had gone out of their way to help us. I think that is the big thing that a lot of Australians cannot fathom, that we have been slow, in particular the government has been slow, to act on this. They may emphasise now how quickly they have moved, but this has been a situation that's been developing for some time. Regardless of politics people have called up politicians, in particular former prime ministers of both political persuasions, and urged this government to act much more forcefully, and with greater energy and speed, in particular to help those who had put themselves in harm's way. It's been enormously frustrating and concerning that that was not taken up earlier. Now we are playing catch-up when other nations have moved a lot more forcefully to address this situation. In trying to extend assistance to Afghans in that country right now who are trying to flee, the way in which it has been made difficult for them to do that, based on some of the approaches used by this government and its arms, at various points in time—it had been noted, for example, yesterday that Afghan interpreters, who've worked with Australian soldiers, were told by Australian officials to send their visa application in the post when they needed to be evacuated. I don't think anyone out in the broader community would think that that is a satisfactory or a proper way in which to assist people in such a life and death situation. There certainly wasn't a need for this when the US government stepped up and evacuated some of these families. People are having to wait extraordinary numbers of hours outside Kabul airport to try and get assistance—as has been raised in the last 24 hours As I said, the impact of this is being felt by people in our area who are gravely concerned about the situation. I've received hundreds of contacts from people locally who have raised their concerns about what has gone on. On the weekend I hosted an online forum with people who had contacted me locally, many from the Afghan Australian community, joined by the shadow minister for home affairs, Senator Keneally; SydWest Multicultural Services CEO Elfa Moraitakis and the Mount Druitt Ethnic Communities Agency manager, Daniel Gobena. We all heard from residents about the fears they had for safety of family in Afghanistan who are around the airport and trying to flee the country. One constituent shared the story of her brother, who used to work with the Afghan government and who was killed recently by the Taliban. Her family had to flee and are trying to find a way to get here safely. Another shared her story about her mother and sister. Her sister had worked as a midwife in the US aid program and they applied to come to Australia. But because, sadly, her mother passed away during the application process the department rejected the application as the mother was the main applicant and the sister was the secondary applicant. This doesn't take away from the situation that her sister faced in Afghanistan, but it highlights the serious flaws in the way in which we process some of these visas and the application system which basically surrounds it. This resident is still willing to sponsor her sister but our government has not been as helpful as it could be there due to these processes. This is the frequent concern that is being raised by my constituents of Afghan heritage who are trying desperately to save their families. They want processes that are easy to navigate and where they don't have the bureaucratic run-around. Some of them are concerned, for example, that if there is one error in their form then the form and the whole process is reset and they're forced to go to the back of the queue as a result of something which could be addressed quite easily and which would literally be a life-and-death decision for some people. That is what their concern is if they're forced to go back. They also want all Afghans to be treated equally. There are Afghans of various backgrounds within that nation who have made a contribution and are expecting that we would have their backs when they had ours. We should certainly make sure in the way that's done that we don't have an overly bureaucratic, red-tape-laden approach to the way in which people can apply to flee. We should be doing more to help out in that way. The other thing that I'm very concerned about is the fact that we don't have any sense of how the 3,000 places that have been set aside in the current humanitarian intake were determined, when other nations are clearly stepping up to do more. While I'm heartened to hear that the Prime Minister said he would be willing to acknowledge that this is not a floor but that it can be lifted up, I think the key will be not only to provide additional places but, as I said, based on what I'm hearing from Afghan Australians, that the process is not overly difficult. What we also don't need to hear, quite frankly, are some of the things that suggest why that assistance hasn't been provided. For example, in the last week there was the suggestion made by the Minister for Defence that some Afghan interpreters weren't assisted because there were concerns that they might be part of some sort of terrorist group or have some sort of terrorist question mark hanging over them. If there is proof of that he should step forward with it. We've had episodes in times past with suggestions that people fleeing persecution are doing terrible things, or might be in the process of doing terrible things, and where that simply was not sustained. Anyone who looks at the history of the scandalous 'children overboard' saga would know that we do not need speculation made by people in significant positions in government. They should have evidence based ways in which they make those claims and back them up. We don't need that type of rhetoric ramped up and used at such a difficult time. People should be using their heads a lot more clearly. We owe it to people who helped us to help them out in their time of need. People do not need to be given the run-around; they should be backed up, they should be supported and we should do what's right. We should not be seen as a nation who, when people help us, aren't there to help them. That is my big concern coming out of this. For people in my constituency: I will absolutely speak up for them. We will work to help them wherever we can and we hope that the federal government does the same. 12:58 Mr RAMSEY HWS Grey I think that our withdrawal from Afghanistan was very well highlighted or described by the Deputy Prime Minister when he spoke in this place, I think it was two days ago. He said that we should never forget why we went there. We went there after the two planes were flown into the World Trade Center and another one into the Pentagon. We went there to protect Australian lives after the nightclub bombings at the Sari nightclub in Bali and other attacks right around the world. And, while the world has not been all sweetness and light in the period since we went to Afghanistan, there has not been an expansion and an explosion of those types of terrible, random terrorist attacks, so we largely have achieved exactly what we went for. We stayed longer and attempted to build a successful, democratic society in Afghanistan. That has proved more difficult. Certainly, there have been great improvements in lifestyle and in opportunity, particularly for women but not only for women. It's quite some time since I was in Afghanistan; I was there in 2012, and I'll come back to that in a moment. But, when we look at the deeply disturbing pictures coming out of Kabul at the moment, we can see in the backdrop that there is ample evidence of a very civilised and successful lifestyle that has been occurring over the last few years. When we see the photos of people working at the fronts of the shops and painting out images of what is now the past regime, we can only reflect on the fact that those images are so much like the ones that we see around us in successful societies like Australia. So we have achieved so much. I did have an opportunity to go there—I think, without looking at my records, in 2012—as part of the Australian defence exchange. We landed in the United Arab Emirates. We were at Al Minhad—which is being used again now, and is still used by Australian forces—where we were briefed on going into a battle zone. We went to Kandahar, which was one of the large international bases there. I am reminded that, at the time, it felt a little bit like a Star Wars episode inasmuch as there were people from nations all over the world, such was the scope of this international intervention. And, of course, we went to Tarin Kowt, which was, largely, the Australian base. It was there that we had an opportunity to speak on an intimate basis with those who serve in our defence forces. By and large, it was a volunteer operation in the forces. Those who were there were there by choice, and it wasn't hard to find volunteers in the Australian defence forces to go there. One young trooper described the situation to his father—a friend of mine, who was a diesel mechanic. His father was a bit put back by the idea that his son was going to Afghanistan. His son said: 'Dad, it's like this. You're a diesel mechanic. You're trained to work on engines. How about if, when you'd finished your training, they'd said that you weren't allowed to work on engines. I'm trained to defend our nation. I trained in the Defence Force. This is what I trained for.' So many of the people that I spoke to on an individual basis said: 'This what is we are. This is what we do, and we are pleased to be here for Australia.' Many, I must admit, in the Regular Army said: 'I'll only be doing one tour, if that can be the case. I wanted to come here and see what it was like and test myself. I'm pleased I've done it, but maybe I won't put my hand up the next time.' By comparison, when we met with the special forces—in this case, the commandos—it surprised me how many times some of them had gone there. Some had done five tours. It is a concern to me that somebody would go in and out of a battle zone on such a regular basis and then be expected to reintegrate into our regular society when they come back to Australia. This is why we need to take continuing care of people. There have been enormous advances in managing Veterans Affairs even over the time that I've been in parliament. There is much more care and consideration, and much more effort is going into tracking these people and staying in contact with them after they've come out of a battle zone like Afghanistan. The numbers tell us that we can still do a lot better. And, particularly as we are speaking about Afghanistan today, I remind all of those veterans who have served in that arena: if you need help, that's what Veteran Affairs are there for. If they don't answer your call, call people like Rowan Ramsey or your member, and we will make sure that they listen to you. In fact, I was speaking to a veteran only in the last 48 hours who had not received the service he thought was due to him—not an Afghanistan veteran, but certainly somebody who had spent a long time in the Australian forces. That is our duty. John Howard said recently that there's no hierarchy of sacrifice, and he's completely right. The moment that our defence forces sign on to go and serve, they know that they may be called upon any time to do so. On Afghanistan itself, and the evacuation at the moment, it's no surprise and no secret that nations, including Australia, were ill prepared for the rapidity of the fall of the former regime. But we have risen to the case, and the Prime Minister has reported that over 4,000 have now been evacuated. I think that's a sterling effort. There will undoubtedly be more, and we will try to assist in any way we can in the future. To all those who have helped with the coalition forces in Afghanistan and, particularly, helped with Australian forces, I wish you well, and I wish all those who have served in Afghanistan with Australian forces well. I thank them all for their effort, for their sacrifice, for their contribution. And to those families who have lost loved ones there, the whole nation thanks you. This is a sombre time for us all, as we recall how and why we exist as a democracy and what we need to do to help others around the world. 13:06 Mr STEPHEN JONES A9B Whitlam Before I prepared my remarks this morning for this debate on Afghanistan, I had cause to give a phone call to Warrant Officer Class 2 Brian McGrath—or Brian, as I generally refer to him—a good mate of mine who resides in the suburb of Dapto in my electorate. He is quite an extraordinary character. He did the reverse of what many do. He joined as a Reservist at the age of 30 and then enlisted as a full-time member of the Australian Army some years thereafter. I want to thank him for his service. He did his tour of duty. He's a sapper, and it was his job to train those who were arriving in Kabul in explosives and the risks of explosives. I have no doubt that the work he was doing kept many Australian men and women alive. So, I thank Brian. And I'll start by thanking the 26,000 other Australians who served their country by serving in the ADF in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. I also want to honour the ultimate sacrifice made by the 41 Australians in uniform who sacrificed their lives on our behalf in Afghanistan. We cannot begin to contemplate the grief that their families share and that is revisited on occasions such as this. It's going to be a very tough couple of weeks for the families of those Australians. But we do in some small way share the loss that their families, friends and comrades feel today. Afghanistan was our longest-running war and in many ways our costliest. We measure that cost not just by the lives of the 41 Australians lost on the front line of the conflict. There are also those soldiers who survived their tour but lost the battle at home, and there are those who continue to live with post-traumatic stress disorder. I'd like to pay tribute to organisations like Open Arms and Soldier On and encourage any of our ex-service men and women to reach out to them. They're doing a great job—a much-needed job. But the fact is that we're not doing enough to support our veterans on their return home. As a nation we were too slow to recognise the burden they carried on their return and were too slow to respond. But in counting the cost of our involvement in Afghanistan we cannot look only here at home. Civilian deaths are estimated to be at least 50,000 people, including may women and children. There are also about 70,000 Afghan National Army members and local police who lost their lives during the 20 years of conflict. In a country of 39 million people, 120,000 dead is a huge number. As many here in Australia wonder whether the cost was worth it, now that the Taliban are back in power, I'd like to think that the families of those 120,000 people in Afghanistan are asking the very same question. Tragically, we're not yet in a position to judge the final cost of this war and our involvement in it. The chaotic and deadly scenes we've seen in Kabul over recent days will add to the toll. I'd like to pause at this point to honour the excellent work that has been done by our ADF forces and diplomats, the men and women, as they work under unimaginable pressure to bring as many people out of Afghanistan as possible. They've been hamstrung by a government that was not on top of the situation early enough, but their work is important and dangerous and we support them. The long-term cost is going to be very hard to judge. There's little reason, on the evidence, to trust the Taliban when they say that they have changed, but we live in hope. The days of Afghan women in parliament and Afghan girls attending high school seem to have tragically come to an end. Reasons will be raised about the West's commitments to the people of Afghanistan in the face of our withdrawal after such a swift return of those we sought to oust. While the invasion of Afghanistan was absolutely justified by the 9/11 attacks, America and her allies must confront questions about the misery that was to come for two decades that followed. Objectives became opaque and resources were spread too thin. Once the initial operation to remove the Taliban had succeeded, we saw the limits of our efforts in a foreign state building. Australia was dragged into the quagmire and so was the Afghan population. Two decades of significant advances in human rights and basic infrastructure were achieved. This is not nothing. I saw this for myself when I visited Kabul in 2018. The advancement in education and basic human rights for women was significant and heartening to see. But the Taliban have shown patience can trump military might, and those advances are now all but lost. Much of our presence in Afghanistan was justified by the need to deny safe haven for international terrorist groups. Any success that we may have claimed on that front has now been reversed as well. The Taliban's stunning victory will inspire jihadists around the globe. Islamic State and al-Qaeda both have presence in Afghanistan from which to rebuild. Nothing can make this right, but we can make it worse. If we fail to keep our word to the brave Afghans who drove our men and women around, interpreted for them, worked in our embassy or otherwise helped, our mistakes will be compounded. We must bring them out of Kabul and to safety. This is now a matter of national security. It is also a matter of national honour. There's more that we can do. Around 4½ thousand Afghans already live in Australia on temporary protection visas, many from ethnic minorities that would face certain death at the hands of the Taliban. Their families still reside in Afghanistan. We must demonstrate to them and to the world that we will never force them back to Afghanistan. We must give them immediate and permanent protection. This is now the only good thing that can come from the fall of Kabul and the 20 long years of much sacrifice of Australian lives and effort since our first involvement in this long bloody war. I thank the House. 13:14 Mr GEE 261393 Calare I rise to support this motion and to recognise the many contributions of the members of this House, including those contributions from members who are veterans and have served our nation in uniform. It's almost 20 years since the shocking attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Images that were broadcast in real time around the globe were seared into the minds of a generation. I don't think any of us will ever forget those haunting scenes. I can still remember watching them like it was yesterday. At that time, al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan and working closely with the Taliban. The terror that was unleashed on that day in September posed a real threat to the security of the world, our region, and our nation. With freedom in peril, Australia stood up to defend it, just as we have always done. The ANZUS treaty was invoked for the first time in our history and NATO declared those attacks to be taken against all member countries. It's also important to recall that on 17 September 2001 the parliament and this House came together in a sombre session to support Australia's commitment to take action against terror and those responsible for the atrocities. Operation Enduring Freedom commenced on 7 October when the United States and allies conducted military operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Afghanistan. Australia and its allies were united in our fundamental beliefs in freedom and the fight against terror. On 22 October the first contingent of the Special Forces Task Group was officially farewelled in Perth as they departed to assist our partners and allies on the ground as part of Operation Slipper. At the time, Afghanistan was a hotbed of terrorist organisation and training. And over the ensuing two decades, the men and women of the ADF helped put an end to that and, in so doing, made Afghanistan and the world a safer place. We will never know how many acts of terrorism and murder were prevented through their efforts. Last week I called together members of the veteran and defence community, including ex-service organisations and those who served in Afghanistan, to hear their views on supporting veterans affected by the tragic unfolding events there. The younger veterans who served in Afghanistan were united in their view that they were highly successful both militarily but also in making life better for the people of Afghanistan. As one veteran said, 'Every single one of us that went knows the difference we made on the ground when we were over there.' The men and women of the ADF can take great pride in their achievements. They were respected by our allies, feared by our enemies and greatly appreciated by the people they gave so much support and assistance to. Our Australians played a critical role in the reconstruction task force. They helped build schools and medical centres and ran clinics. They also helped ensure that the people of Afghanistan were able to access electricity, that girls were given an education, and that women were given a chance to work and have a career for the first time. This is the story that our veterans want told. They want their families to know, they want their friends to know, they want all Australians to know what they did there. Children of our veterans should be very proud of their mothers and fathers and know that their service was with courage, honour and dignity in the finest traditions of Australia's armed services and that their service meant something and that it did make a difference. Nothing more could have been asked of our Afghanistan veterans, and nothing more could've been asked of Australia. The events unfolding in Afghanistan are grim and tragic. I know I join many others in this House in hoping that freedom's light will find a way to keep shining in some way, in some form, in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan who worked so hard to build a future for their families and their country deserve our support. As of today, some 4,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul by Australia in the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances. We will soon be leaving Kabul, but Australia's efforts to help those in need and fear will not end with the airlift. Supporting our veterans at this time is crucial. At my direction, the Department of Veterans' Affairs has been contacting the families of Australian Defence Force members who lost their lives in Afghanistan as well as any veterans the department is aware of who could suffer adversely as a result of what is currently happening there. So far the Department of Veterans' Affairs has contacted over 320,000 veterans and their family members to let them know support is there if they need it. I urge anyone who served in Afghanistan or their family members to reach out for that help, for that support, if they need it. It's there 24 hours a day, seven days a week through Open Arms on 1800 011 046, or, if you would like to remain anonymous, you can call Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072. And there is something that all of us may be able to do. If you know a veteran, please give them a call to say g'day. Pick up the phone in this difficult time. Take the time to check in on a mate and see how they're going. A friendly voice over the phone can make all the difference, especially in this time of isolation and lockdowns. There were 39,000 veterans who served in Afghanistan, and we have ADF personnel in harm's way in Kabul as we speak. To the men and women of the ADF and our veterans, we want you to know how proud Australia is of your service. We want your families to know how grateful Australia is to them as well. The sacrifice that family members endure for our country is enormous too, and it needs to be acknowledged by this House and our nation. Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney lost his life 11 years ago while helping a mate, fighting the Taliban at a place called Derapet. He was a husband and a father of two who never got to meet his son Noah. It was during that action that Corporal Dan Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross. Jared and 40 more of our fellow Australians lost their lives in Afghanistan. To Jared's wife, Beckie, and all the family members of Australia's fallen, who will always carry that grief and loss, our hearts go out to you today. Australia will never forget you or those you loved so much and what they did for our nation. Lest we forget. 13:22 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie The crisis in Afghanistan can only be described as heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking for the people of Afghanistan, for the families in Australian Afghan communities, for the women and girls now facing the prospect of a cruel regime and for Australia's friends, the Afghan staff who supported our military and our diplomatic operations for more than 20 years. There is great relief that the Australian Defence Force has been able to carry out some rescue missions, taking Australian citizens and visa holders to safety, and Labor strongly supports these efforts. Our thanks go to the personnel and the officials from the departments of foreign affairs, home affairs and defence, who are on the ground and have assisted. Nonetheless, it's obvious to all that these efforts should have been scaled up sooner. The Morrison-Joyce government's actions, while saving the lives of some people, are leaving others at great risk. As usual, it's the bare minimum coming too late. I think it's really important to try and paint a picture of some of the people who are still in Afghanistan or who have managed to escape. I'm going to share stories that were shared by the member for Bruce. He told of Razia, an Australian citizen who fled from the Taliban 14 years ago. Her mum and sister are still in Kabul, not even able to leave their home to get food. They've been waiting four years for the Morrison government to process their visas. He also shared the story of Ali, another Australian citizen, who was in Kabul with his pregnant wife and two-year-old Australian child. He was there because he's been waiting three years for the Morrison government to process his wife's visa. Even though it was finally granted last week, Ali was beaten trying to get to the airport. The positive news is that he has made it home as one of those rescued. These aren't isolated cases. These Australian citizens and people who have been given visas should have been out of Afghanistan; they should not have still been in Afghanistan. They should have been out months ago, if not years ago. You have to wonder why it takes, on average, 43 months for people from Afghanistan to be granted a spouse visa when it takes seven to nine months for Americans or western Europeans. As we discuss Afghanistan, I want to acknowledge the people who stood with Australia. For many months, veterans, former prime ministers and Labor have been calling for urgent action to fulfil our obligation to Afghans who've put their lives and their families lives on the line to support our mission. I can assure veterans that Labor will always stand by the people who stood by them. When people in my electorate contact me about individual cases, every one of them makes me want to bring that person home. James, who worked in Afghanistan as part of an international project cataloguing artefacts damaged by the Taliban, fears for the lives of Afghanis who worked alongside him and other Australians in various capacities, as one of them said in an email to him in the last couple of days, 'Now my life here is under threat, as I worked with some foreigners; I really fear for my life and my future.' It's just as simple as that. It isn't good enough for the Prime Minister to say, 'We wish it were different,' as though he has no power to change things or to have done things better. He is responsible for those lives, and some of those lives will be lost because he failed to bring these people to Australia sooner. The response by the government of 3,000 visas—not new visas, but through our refugee quota—is too little. This is a time for urgency and simplicity. Labor's been calling on the Morrison-Joyce government to fast-track this process for months. Mr Morrison should have been working with coalition partners and arranging evacuations months ago. The procrastination is risking lives. In 2008, in similar circumstances, when Iraqis were being given visas to Australia, there was a bipartisan effort to send a team of government officials overseas to assist them in completing applications. Former Prime Minister John Howard is right when he says that the Morrison government is hiding behind narrow legalism and shirking our profound moral responsibility. To those who have no heart and want to turn acts of compassion that other Australian governments had no problem doing into something that is isn't, I want it to be very clear: every case must be considered on its individual merits, including security considerations. But the Morrison government's delayed response pales in comparison to what other countries see as the right thing to do. I want to turn to the emails and conversations that I've had with Australian veterans who served in Afghanistan. The members for Solomon, Canning and Herbert in this place need to be acknowledged for their efforts. There's no doubt that they and other personnel who served helped create an environment where Australian support made a difference in people's lives, particularly in women's lives. Under the Taliban in the 1990s, women were unable to be in public other than in the presence of a man. There was forced marriage, not of women but of girls as young as 12, and teenage girls were denied an education. We know that Australia's presence in Afghanistan helped change that. In recent years, we've seen almost 40 per cent of eligible girls in Afghanistan in high school and 100,000 head to university. That was unimaginable 20 years ago. The life expectancy of women has increased by a decade. These are changes that Australians helped make. That change in education levels can't be undone for that generation, and that gives me hope. To the veterans, the 39,000 who served, and their families, to the families of the 41 who lost their lives in Afghanistan, and to people like Paul, who lives in my electorate, I say that the way that you've impacted women's lives is just one of the ways that you've made a difference. You helped create a safer place for those women and their families, and we are proud of that. I'm very pleased to see the increased support that's just been offered by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. I would urge veterans who need to reach out to open your arms to counselling or reach out your member. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D Order! The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 40 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Rifi, Dr Jamal 40 13:30 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Dr Jamal Rifi is well known to most members of parliament. He is a national figure and a local hero. He has led the push in my part of Sydney for information about COVID-19 in community languages. When government facilities were falling behind in providing my part of Sydney with testing and vaccination, he converted most of his front yard and the car park for his surgery into a testing and vaccination clinic. He has provided my community with a strong voice and strong actions which save lives. I was shocked to hear this week that a military court in Lebanon has sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. I am grateful to the shadow minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, for having raised this with the government and appreciate that the minister is investigating this. It seems the reason for the sentence, where he was completely denied procedural fairness, is his work with Project Rossana. The objection is because Project Rossana sees cooperation between Muslim doctors like Dr Rifi and Jewish doctors like Dr Ron Finkel. Let me be clear, there are Palestinians who are only alive because of this work. There are ventilators in the West Bank and Gaza because of this work. Dr Rifi has defended the health of people who live in my part of Sydney and of those who live in Palestine, without fear and with total dedication. I urge every member and all Australians to stand in solidarity with Dr Jamal Rifi. He is one of us and one of the best of us. Patterson, Ms Lakeisha (Lucky) 40 13:31 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I want to give a big shout-out today to our wonderful young Australian, 23-year-old Lakeisha 'Lucky' Patterson, who won gold in the S9 400 metres freestyle last night in Tokyo. When Lucky was born she had a stroke, which left her with cerebral palsy. She was raised by her beautiful mum, Sherryn, and her two sisters. She is proof positive that it's not what happens to you in life that matters; it's how you respond. For treatment, she starting swimming at the age of five. At 14, she watched the Paralympics in London and decided then and there that that was her destiny. Four years later, Lucky had qualified and had swum at Rio, where she bagged six medals—two gold, three silver and one bronze—and two records. Lucky lives in constant pain, so much so that she has nerve-blocking injections into her spine because she can't take painkillers as a result of ASADA rules. Each day, Lucky swims three kilometres in the morning and three kilometres at night, and last night, as I said, she won gold for Australia in the 400 metres freestyle in a time of four minutes, 36 seconds and 68 hundredths of a second, beating her opponent from Hungary by just one one-hundredth of a second. Congrats and thanks for being such a great mentor to my daughter Sarah, who coincidentally turns 19 today. Happy birthday, Sarah, and thank you, Lucky, for being an inspiration to our country. Member for Dawson 40 13:33 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat Recently, the member for Dawson stood in this House and like so many of his ilk sought to co-opt the meaning of the Eureka Stockade for his own political purposes. The member sought to use the diggers oath to justify the self-indulgent and dangerous antilockdown and antivaccination protests. The member might not understand this, but the diggers did not stand together to defend their right to undermine health advice. They did not stand together to spread a deadly virus, and they certainly didn't stand together against mask wearing and QR check-ins. How deluded can you be? The diggers stood together to put the proposition very clearly that there should be no taxation without representation. They put the proposition for male suffrage and the right for men without property to stand for parliament—a privilege that the member for Dawson constantly demeans and abuses. Don't degrade the memory of these Ballarat diggers. Peter Lalor, the leader of the stockade, lost his daughter to tuberculosis. He watched her die from a lung infection. His son then went on to become a doctor. He probably would have followed the health advice. I know that times are tough right now, but the way to get through them is not through division and protest. If the member for Dawson wants a flag to rally around, he should go and find his own, because this one is taken! COVID-19: Vaccination 40 13:35 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee [by video link] As of yesterday, we have delivered 18 million doses of the vaccine across the country, including over 6.16 million in the last 28 days. This means that more than 55 per cent of the eligible population is protected by their first those and that over 32 per cent of the eligible population is protected by both doses. These numbers are immensely encouraging and they will continue to increase, with more young people keen to be vaccinated. People want their lives back and they are stepping up to make sure it is sooner rather than later. Under the national plan, hitting the 70 to 80 per cent targets will mean that we can start claiming back our freedoms. But it will also, inevitably, mean more case numbers. Once we reach these targets we must not be intimidated by rising case numbers. Our focus needs to be on hospitalisations and managing this virus like any other infectious disease in our community. The fact is that we cannot continue to live under lockdowns, particularly in regional areas. Our children are missing school, our businesses are struggling and our health and wellbeing are suffering. The national plan is our vehicle and the vaccines are our fuel on the road back to normal life. We need to trust this process for the good of our nation. COVID-19: Young People 41 13:36 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills [by video link] Our first big night out with friends; that first camping trip; that first overseas trip; that first day of uni, or of TAFE or of starting your first job; those rites of passage such as 16th, 18th and 21st birthdays; the last days of school, year 12 graduations and schoolies; or simply just catching up with friends—all those moments that, dare I say it, older Australians look back on fondly—are, for a generation of young Australians, moments missed and lost. Dreams have been put on hold, sacrificed to keep all of us in the broader community safe. Too rarely has the impact of COVID-19 on young people been properly recognised. Young people are less likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 but they have felt the full impacts of this pandemic nonetheless. Young people were the first to lose their jobs. They have endured the biggest disruptions to their education in modern history, not to mention the overwhelming mental health impacts of lockdowns. Young workers are also the least likely group to have received financial support for their lost work. But I am continually amazed by the perseverance and optimism of young people. They have come in droves to get vaccinated as soon as they have become eligible, doing their bit to increase our vaccination rates and to get us out of lockdowns. So I want to thank all young people in my electorate and around Australia for doing their bit—for getting vaccinated and for all their sacrifices that have kept us all safe. Central Coast 41 13:38 Mrs WICKS 241590 Robertson [by video link] I want to update the House on our fight to have the Central Coast declared as a standalone region, with Gosford as our capital city. That's because while the Central Coast has been classified as a region for years now, for too long we have been lumped in, up to twice as often, with other regions compared with being considered as our own standalone region—this includes, for example, the start of the Greater Sydney lockdown. I am pleased to advise that recently the Central Coast was redefined by the New South Wales government to be part of regional New South Wales for the purpose of the lockdown. That means that, while these restrictions will remain in place until at least 10 September, if case numbers on the Central Coast remain low and health advice allows it our region could potentially come out of lockdown with the rest of regional New South Wales sooner, rather than with Greater Sydney. I really do want to thank the 13½ thousand people across the Central Coast who signed our petition to have the Central Coast declared as a standalone region. It's a really important step forward to ensure that we are considered as a standalone region by all levels of government and all departments and agencies for all purposes. The Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister has agreed to our request to have the federal Deregulation Taskforce look into the impact of the many classifications of our region at a federal level, and I've also written to the New South Wales Premier requesting that the state government conduct an inquiry along similar lines. It's way past time. The Central Coast— (Time expired) Eden-Monaro Electorate: COVID-19 41 13:40 Ms McBAIN 281988 Eden-Monaro [by video link] Today, those in regional communities across New South Wales would have heard the news that we have to remain in lockdown until 10 September, on the back of over a thousand cases announced today—news that I think we knew was coming but which we hoped wouldn't happen. Some of us have never seen a positive case of COVID-19 in our communities, for some it will be more than a year since they last saw a positive case, and for others it comes on the back of positive sewage samples in their communities. I've spoken before in this chamber—although this is the first week that I've had to do so virtually—about the compounding impact of disasters on the Eden-Monaro region. We've had 28 declared natural disasters and now, effectively, four border closures. I implore leaders not to give analogies about this pandemic that compare it to bushfires. It is nothing like a bushfire and it hurts people directly impacted by it to call it one. It is another disaster, that's for sure, and for some it will have dire consequences, but it is a disaster in its own right. The hard part for so many of our communities is that this pandemic is keeping people apart when they should be coming together to support each other from other disasters. That's what they want and that's what they deserve. For all the families at the moment doing the learning-from-home juggle while trying to work, I know it's hard. You can get through this, and we can get through it together, and on the other side we will be stronger. (Time expired) Fabian, Mr Garry 42 13:41 Mr TIM WILSON IMW Goldstein It takes an extraordinary individual to turn tragedy into teaching. That is why we celebrate the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Verdienstorden, being awarded to South Caulfield resident Garry Fabian. Resulting from the Nuremberg Laws, Garry's family migrated between Germany, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and Moravia to avoid persecution. When he was eight years old, he and his family were interned at the Theresienstadt ghetto for three years until the camp was liberated in 1945. Of the 15,000 children interned, only 150 survived. Two years later, his family emigrated to Australia. Yet, despite the horror, over 30 years Garry returned to Germany to educate the next generation on lessons of the past. His mission has been to build bridges of understanding between generations. In 2002, he published his autobiography, A look back over my shoulder, narrating a life deeply affected by the Holocaust but not defeated by it. Congratulations, Garry. your exceptional resilience inspires all of us and your efforts to ensure history's lessons do not befall another generation are a critical part of building a better future for all. Greenway Electorate: COVID-19 42 13:43 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway [by video link] Western Sydney, including my electorate of Greenway, is struggling as a direct result of the Morrison government's failure to plan for and manage the COVID-19 pandemic. They failed to secure our borders with fit-for-purpose quarantine facilities. Then they failed to secure enough vaccines. September is nearly upon us, yet we still don't have a genuine plan for Australia's reopening when we reach 70 to 80 per cent vaccination coverage. The Prime Minister needs to explain what the Doherty modelling means on the ground for when we reopen. A vaccination target is no substitute for laying out a plan to manage the lifting of restrictions as best we can. Reports today say that Westmead and Blacktown hospitals are already setting up makeshift triage units and are diverting patients to other hospitals to manage the surge of COVID-19 patients. Where's the plan for how our frontline health workers are going to cope when we reopen? What's the plan to manage the case load in hotspot areas like mine, with persistent high rates of infection and where hospitals are already under strain? What's the plan for vaccinating the last 20 per cent of people who need protecting? Why is there still no plan for the vaccination of all children aged 12 and over? My deepest thanks go to all our frontline health workers, who are doing such a massive job in such trying conditions. These workers, as well as the people of Western Sydney, deserve a Prime Minister who provides a real plan for our reopening, not someone who always does too little too late when it comes to keeping Australians safe. Afghanistan 42 13:44 Mr ZIMMERMAN 203092 North Sydney [by video link] Three hands united together with a texta tick on the back of each was the photo in my text messages this morning. These were the hands of a mother and her two young children at Kabul airport, and the ticks signified they were good to go on one of the Australian evacuation flights. Many of us here have been called upon to assist those whose lives were imperilled by the Taliban takeover—in my case, including this young family and many more, and I can't overstate how joyful it was this morning to receive that message that they were safe. Through their messages and their photos, we've been able to share a glimpse of their struggle to escape. I've seen their despair, with so many false starts and the chaos that surrounds Kabul's airport. I've also seen their incredible courage and endurance. The international operation in Kabul has been extraordinary, and I'm so grateful for the efforts of the ADF, DFAT and Home Affairs in supporting the evacuation of over 4,000 people. Our involvement in Afghanistan means that we have a special connection to its people. For 20 years, we provided some hope to Afghanis for a better future. Now we will need to do so again but in a different way. We will need to generously help refugees to resettle from Afghanistan, including those most vulnerable—including women and children and ethnic minorities, and the Afghan LGBTI community. We have the examples of the numbers we were able to support during the Syrian refugee crisis. In the weeks, months and years ahead, we can and must offer new hope to those who are at risk of losing so much. Indi Electorate: Tourism Infrastructure 42 13:46 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi Today I raise a glass to the people championing a vision for north-east Victoria, to put the Prosecco Road redevelopment on the map. Yesterday, the plans were tabled at the Rural City of Wangaratta Council, outlining the many and varied benefits to flow from this proposal. The Victorian government kickstarted works last year, and momentum continues to grow for this game-changing regional development. The families of the King Valley pioneered prosecco: Dal Zotto, Brown Brothers, Chrismont, Pizzini and Sam Miranda are among the masters of Australian prosecco. Their world-class wines are mainstays at special occasions across the country. Yet the King Valley remains a hidden gem, and more's the pity. It's too good a secret to keep bottled up. It's not just about wine either. For cycle tourism, the opportunities are huge. Widening the Wangaratta-Whitfield Road will open up Pedal 2 Prosecco beyond the hard-core cellar-door and lycra-clad enthusiasts to a whole new market. We know that domestic tourism will be a major part in our economic recovery, and we want the Prosecco Road ready to go, for lockdown-weary Melburnians and Sydneysiders, for romantic escapes, for meditative retreats—and hey, for a girls' getaway weekend. Imagine if there were a regional activation fund to do just this. I've taken the case to the Treasurer, and I'm looking forward to meeting the minister for tourism in the coming weeks. Let's discuss it over a glass of King Valley bubbles. Opportunity is bubbling over like a glass of sparkling— (Time expired) Tokyo Paralympic Games, Taylor, Ms Tyan 43 13:47 Mr ALEXANDER M3M Bennelong [by video link] Much like the majority of this country, I'm currently in an area affected by lockdowns. We can only go out for an hour. We can't see our friends and family. We're all restricted in our actions. We all know that we need to do this to keep everybody safe, but even the good reasons behind this lockdown don't make it any easier. So, on behalf of the locked down, the couch bound and the bored, I thank all the athletes from the Olympics who kept our spirits up through August and the athletes from the Paralympics who are starting their journeys this week. The Paralympics are always very exciting. Watching people who not only have had to survive difficulty but push themselves to become world-beaters is inspirational. This year, these incredible athletes will not only inspire us; they will keep us motivated and optimistically connected to the outside world and engrossed in their competing in Japan. In the last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bennelong local Tyan Taylor, a three-time Paralympian and member of the Australian Belles goalball team. Tyan is an inspiration. When not an Olympian, she works with Blind Sports Australia to promote the sporting opportunities for people with limited vision. So thank you to Tyan and the hundreds of Paralympians with her who are keeping up our spirits and teaching us all how unconquerable the human spirit is. It's a lesson we need now more than ever. Shortland Electorate: COVID-19 Vaccination 43 13:49 Mr CONROY 249127 Shortland [by video link] The suburb of Windale is 10 minutes from my electorate office. It's a special place. I had a street stall there just a few weeks ago. It is also one of the most disadvantaged communities in all of New South Wales. It has a high number of First Nations Australians, an elderly population and, very concerningly, a vaccination rate lower than surrounding suburbs. A unit complex there is in hard lockdown because one of the residents has contracted COVID and was infectious whilst in the community. There is an urgent need for a coordinated response from the Commonwealth and state governments to respond to this situation, much like the response in Walgett in western New South Wales. Windale is a resilient community but no community is resilient enough to fight COVID on their own and that's why my state colleague, the member for Charlestown, and I are calling for an urgent pop-up vaccination clinic for the suburb. However, we've been told that this is not possible because NSW Health does not have enough Pfizer vaccines. My constituents, those ones in Windale, some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia, see the Prime Minister and Premier every night saying, 'Get vaccinated.' Well, Prime Minister, there are not enough vaccines for Windale and it's your fault. My community is exposed due to your incompetence. My community's health is compromised. The lockdown in my region has been extended by another two weeks because of your incompetence. Prime Minister, you had two jobs: secure enough vaccines and have a national quarantine system, and you failed at both. Higgins Electorate: Level Crossings 43 13:50 Dr ALLEN 282986 Higgins The Glenferrie Road level crossing in my seat of Higgins is dangerous and congested. I know because I lived along the railway line when my family was young. With railroad, trams and pedestrians all passing through this intersection it is an accident waiting to happen. Each peak hour cars are backed up in both directions as parents rush to get their kids to local schools. Boom gates are down for 20 per cent of peak hour. It is a major inconvenience for local commuters. In 2013 a VicRoads study prioritised it for urgent removal. The state government has refused to act. In 2019 the Morrison government committed a massive $260 million to remove the Glenferrie Road level crossing. It has also provided $8 million to the Victorian government to develop a business plan for its removal. My community and I have been waiting for release of the business plan findings for many months now. I've written to the state transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, reminding her of our significant financial commitment to this level crossing removal and requesting the delivery of the business plan we have already funded. The time has come. Enough is enough. We need community consultation and we need a solution. Release the business plan, Dan, and let's get the job done. COVID-19: Quarantine 44 13:52 Mr DICK 53517 Oxley The people of Australia have called on this government to act on their constitutional responsibility to deliver effective quarantine. I, along with the federal Labor leader, have called on the Prime Minister to do his job and build a regional quarantine solution for the people of Queensland. But we have seen time and time again that this government has a habit of acting too little too late. The lack of action has put Australian lives in danger and half the country in lockdown. Australians are in lockdown, because this Prime Minister has bungled the vaccine rollout and has refused to deliver purpose-built regional quarantine that he is constitutionally responsible for. Today the Queensland government has stepped in and done what the Prime Minister should have done months ago. They will be building a major regional quarantine hub at Wellcamp, just outside Toowoomba. Construction has kicked off today. If the Prime Minister had done his job many of the outbreaks and subsequent lockdowns that Queensland has faced may have never happened at all. I thank Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Queensland government for doing what the Prime Minister should have done. This government needs to finish the vaccine rollout stronger than they started and they must deliver regional quarantine solutions to ensure Australians get out of lockdowns and stay out of lockdowns. It's time this Prime Minister stopped blaming everyone else and started doing his job. Menzies Electorate: Broadband 44 13:53 Mr ANDREWS HK5 Menzies I rise to relay some good news for some 2,345 businesses in the Menzies electorate which will benefit from cheaper and faster broadband with the NBN Co announcing the establishment of a business fibre zone at Eltham. This new zone will allow local businesses to access fibre with speeds up to one gigabyte per second, enabling a range of new business opportunities that previously weren't possible. This, of course, has the potential to revitalise and reshape the region, with services now being available that weren't in the past. Access to high-speed internet will allow local businesses to grow and thrive, break into new markets and secure long-term growth potential. This announcement means an additional 60,000 eligible businesses across the nation, taking the total number of businesses within a business fibre zone to 850,000, of which nearly 300,000 businesses are in regional Australia. What would be the very best of news for businesses, both in my electorate and right around Australia, would be the end of these lockdowns and the opening up of the country. We're not going to eradicate the COVID virus, but we can manage it, and if we manage it that means the regaining of freedom for individuals, for workers and for businesses right around this country. NT Working Women's Centre 44 13:55 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon A petition has launched today calling for the federal government to commit to stable, ongoing funding for the NT Working Women's Centre, which I'm very pleased to support. Those opposite cut the centre's funding, and it's been hanging on by a thread all year. Thanks to the NT government stepping in with emergency funding, the centre survived, but if it doesn't get more it'll have to start sacking its staff. The Respect@Work report by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins recommended that the federal government provide increased recurrent funding to working women's centres to help vulnerable workers who experience sexual harassment and expand the centres into every state and territory. Despite those opposite saying they would implement all the recommendations, there was just $100,000 in the budget for the NT Working Women's Centre. They need $900,000 each year to fully represent vulnerable Territory women, which they do under the excellent leadership of director Nicki Petrou. This government should be investing in jobs, but instead it's defunding organisations that support workers. When women are respected and do well, the flow-on effects benefit us all: the community and the economy. I encourage all to support this petition. The links can be found on my Facebook page. Afghanistan 45 13:57 Mrs ARCHER 282237 Bass Last night I spoke in this place about the situation in Afghanistan and the impact on the Afghan community in northern Tasmania. As always, my words in this place reflect the views my community has shared with me. I've been heartened by the community response to the plight of those in Afghanistan and those who have had to flee. I've had many letters and emails of concern. One of those was an email from Alison Jales, a teacher from Glen Dhu Primary School. Alison's class held a special day last week to show their support for all the Hazara families at their school who have friends and families in Afghanistan. The students wore the colours of the most recent Afghan flag and learned that Afghanistan has had 33 flags in the time that Australia has had one. They created posters with messages of support. Alison's class read the story of Malala and heard about her fears for the education and safety of girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Included in this email were very thoughtful letters to me from students expressing their support for the right for all girls in Afghanistan to go to school and for Australia to provide support to Afghan people. I want to say to Jack, Annabel, Jackson, Dexter, Bronte, Dylan, Evelyn, Erin, Isla, George, Ollie, Noah, Arthur, Bree, two Elizas and two Ellas: please know that I have read all of your letters and that your voice is important. COVID-19: Vaccination 45 13:58 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle On Tuesday in question time the Minister for Health and Aged Care announced a new disability vaccination hub would be opening in my electorate of Newcastle next Monday. This was welcome news given the appalling rates of vaccination for people with disability and their carers, disability support workers and aged-care workers in Australia. Let's not forget this Prime Minister's promise that these priority 1a and 1b people would be vaccinated by Easter. Guess what? It's now August. Aged-care and disability support workers and NDIS participants are desperate to be vaccinated, Prime Minister, but you failed to secure enough vaccines, leaving vulnerable people in my community unprotected. With less than two business days now before the new disability vaccine centre is set to open, Novocastrians have been left completely in the dark. I've reached out to the minister to seek details about the location, operating hours and booking processes of the clinic, and confirmation of vaccine eligibility. Surely this should be public information, but there's been absolutely no word from the minister. There's been absolute radio silence. The Prime Minister was wrong when he said it's not a race, because it always was a race, and now that the government finally accepts that it is a race their response is always too little, too late. The SPEAKER 10000 In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 45 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE COVID-19: Prime Minister 45 14:00 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the delta strain which emerged in India in October and was wreaking havoc by April, so deadly that the Prime Minister told returning Australians they'd be locked out or locked up. Delta leaked from hotel quarantine into Melbourne in early June. On 24 June, the Prime Minister said, 'I commend Premier Berejiklian for resisting going into a full lockdown.' With more than a thousand cases today, why won't the Prime Minister accept responsibility for the consequences of his actions? 14:00 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook Over the course of these past 18 months, going back to the very commencement of this pandemic when Australia moved before most other countries did—in fact, almost all—and declared the pandemic before the World Health Organization had even done it, we closed our borders. We brought the country together. We put in place a system with the states and territories which saw 423,000 people arrive and some 4,200 cases kept within quarantine over that period. That's been an extraordinary job by those states and territories. We agreed at that time to put that into place—a program very similar to what New Zealand has, and Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and other countries continue to use those mechanisms—because, in a pandemic, you need to be able to adapt and you need to put situations in place that enable you to cope with what was an incredible surge. And what was the result of all of those efforts—the economic supports of JobKeeper and the cash flow boost, and all of those measures over many, many months? The result has been that 30,000 lives have been saved in this country, a million people have got back to work, our economy remains resilient and, importantly, Australians can now look forward with hope, with the national plan that says at 70 per cent and 80 per cent they will be able to live with the virus. The SPEAKER 10000 The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order—if you can state the point of order. Mr Albanese R36 Yes, Mr Speaker, on relevance. I went to the delta strain and the fact that it's been around since last October and the Prime Minister's comments. The SPEAKER 10000 I have to say that that's certainly a very long preamble—and it's okay, I don't need a reinterpretation—with a sort of open-ended question as an accusation. I think the Prime Minister is starting to drift off onto the more general topics, but I'm listening to him. Mr MORRISON E3L Well, Mr Speaker, I would say quite specifically that the national plan, framed by the federal government, supported by the national cabinet and agreed in July and in August, in the heat of the delta strain, sets out the plan that enables Australia to live with this virus. The Leader of the Opposition makes reference, of course, to the delta strain in India. I remember that the Leader of the Opposition was not terribly supportive of the government's moves at that time to ensure that the delta strain did not come through at that time. I remember the critical comments being made by members of the Labor Party about the strong stand the government took. But I am used to that, Mr Speaker. So we will stick with the national plan. We will continue with the national plan, which will enable Australia to go forward with confidence and with safety and ensures that we can live with this virus into the future. COVID-19: Vaccination 46 14:01 Dr ALLEN 282986 Higgins My question is to the Prime Minister. Australians, including my electorate of Higgins, are coming forward to be vaccinated in record numbers. They want to see the implementation of the national plan so we can get past the lockdowns we have endured over the last year and a half. Will the Prime Minister please outline to the House how this national plan, informed by world-leading scientific, health and economic advice, will work to ensure we can live with COVID-19 and reopen Australia? 14:04 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I thank the member for Higgins for her question and I thank her for her continued advice over the course of this crisis, over this more than 18 months. I have found her to be a great source of advice as we have moved through this pandemic. The national plan, as the member rightly refers to, gives Australians the confidence and hope that they need to open safely at 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates amongst the population over 16 and, importantly, to stay open and to ensure that we live with this virus. That's what the national plan set out achieves. That plan was developed and agreed to over many months, going back to as early as March and February of this year, and the work that has been brought together, the best scientific health and economic advice, is the platform and the basis for this plan, which can give Australians confidence that this can be done safely. This plan differs from many other approaches in any other country. It continues to show that Australia is making our Australian way through this COVID-19 pandemic, an Australian way that has saved 30,000 lives and put a million people back into work after last year's COVID-19 recession. This plan is not about a freedom day. There's no special virtue in a calendar. This plan is based on vaccination rates and it's based on a careful staged reopening in phase B and phase C at 70 and 80 per cent vaccination rates. Nor is it an eradication strategy. It's a plan that accepts and acknowledges and understands that COVID zero as a future plan is not sustainable and is not realistic, as other countries are beginning also to learn. It's a plan that is clear eyed about the risks. It's a plan that is very careful to ensure that it has the flexibility to deal with vulnerable populations, I'd say especially our Indigenous populations, to deal with the challenges and to ensure we're preparing for that time of phase B, particularly in our public hospitals. It's also a plan that recognises that vaccinated Australians, because they present a lesser and lower health risk to themselves and their community, can be exempted from many restrictions that otherwise will need to apply. It's a plan, at current rates of vaccination, that means that the 70 and 80 per cent targets that are set out in that plan are achievable this year. They are achievable when we know 335,000 doses were administered yesterday, and soon one in three Australians will be fully vaccinated. Our plan sits along our absolute commitment that we will vaccinate children between 12 and 15 and we'll be announcing further plans on that after it's considered by the National Security Committee of cabinet. It's a careful plan. It's a safe plan. It's the right plan for Australia. COVID-19: Morrison Government 46 14:07 Mr DICK 53517 Oxley My question is to the Prime Minister. Last year the Prime Minister said Australians needed to come out from under the doona. Now he says to Queenslanders and Western Australians we need to come out of our caves. If the Prime Minister had done his job on quarantine and vaccines, half the country wouldn't be in lockdown. Why doesn't the Prime Minister stop ridiculing Queenslanders and Western Australians and accept responsibility for the health and economic crisis he helped to create? 14:07 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I made no such reference to Western Australians or Queenslanders. I made no such references at all. What the member opposite is saying is completely and utterly false. They either support the plan or they don't. They either do or they don't. And, if they don't support the plan, then at what rate of vaccination do they believe that Australia should open again? They either support it or they don't. Perhaps they're having an each-way bet on it. I don't know. But what I know— The SPEAKER 10000 The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order? Mr Burke DYW On direct relevance: there are many things that can be relevant to this question, but it doesn't ask about alternatives. It doesn't invite commentary on the opposition. It doesn't invite him to have some argument with an imaginary friend, as he's doing now. The SPEAKER 10000 The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister certainly wasn't asked about alternatives, but when the question is framed with the preamble that it was I think the Prime Minister is entitled to respond to the accusations. I think he's entitled to do that, and I'm going to keep listening to the Prime Minister. Mr MORRISON E3L I was simply trying to make an explanation. To use an analogy from a children's animated movie which I've enjoyed with my children on many occasions, it's a pretty simple story, and it basically says this: that at some point, as a nation, all of us have to be clear that we have to move on and live with this virus. Like the young female character in that movie—she decided that she wanted to go and face the future and go out there and deal with the challenges in the world, and she brought her whole family with her. And there was a sequel to that movie, and that says something. There's a lesson in that—that is, when you embrace these things, when you prepare for the future, when you move forward. That is the encouragement that I'm giving Australians. That is the plan that we've set out. Those opposite might not share my view, but I know that our national plan will give Australians the hope and confidence that will not only lift vaccination rates—because we need to see those vaccination rates lift in Queensland and Western Australia. We certainly need to see that. I'm sure the member would agree with me on that. We need to target those communities that aren't getting vaccinations as quickly as we're seeing in New South Wales and Tasmania and the ACT and the Northern Territory. And one of the reasons that the national plan is so important—and that we say to those who are getting vaccinated—is, when you get vaccinated, in phase B and phase C, you will have exemptions and you will be able to do things, as vaccinated persons, because you've taken the decision to ensure that you're less of a public health risk than others. The national plan, which I was explaining using that analogy, gives people that confidence. It gives them an incentive, which lifts vaccination rates and gets all Australians to where we want to be. COVID-19: Regional Australia 47 14:11 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on how rural and regional communities are playing a significant role in the Morrison-Joyce government's national plan to achieve a safe pathway out of the COVID-19 pandemic? 14:11 Mr JOYCE E5D New England I thank the honourable member for her question. I note the work that she has been doing with her community, especially with pharmacies, which have become so vital in making sure we have a safe plan to take the Australian people back to their liberties, back to their freedoms, away from the frustrations they are now dealing with—which we understand and empathise with and want to make sure that we can move quickly on, but as safely as we possibly can. We know that this job in pharmacies, with Pisasale's Robinvale pharmacy, Mildura's Chemist Warehouse, Kaniva Pharmacy and Guardian Pharmacy Maryborough—all these pharmacies in the member for Mallee's electorate have been vital have been a vital componentry of being able to bring forward vaccination to people in the remote areas and the regional areas of our nation. I'd also like commend the work done by the member for Cowper, who has been instrumental in driving forward this agenda, and also note the work done by a local pharmacist in his area, Judy Plunkett. Judy was absolutely instrumental in coming forward with a plan for us, so that we could add to our plan for the nation. We have in regional areas 4.6 million doses that have now been administered: the first dose to nearly 3 million and a second dose to 1.7 million. Even in my own area in the hills behind Tamworth and Danglemah, people are saying, 'I'm going down to get vaccinated.' They're booking into the pharmacy and they're going in, getting vaccinated and coming home. The question I ask them is, 'Well, how hard was that?' And I've heard: 'It's not hard at all. You just turn up, they vaccinate you, and off you go home.' AstraZeneca, I have to admit, was the vaccine they use. We have trials ahead of us and we have difficulties ahead of us, and I was talking to the member for Nicholls, just prior to being here, about the work he's doing in Shepparton to keep his community safe and to get them back to work, and also to the member for Parkes, who has been absolutely at the forefront of looking after the people of Brewarrina and Walgett and Dubbo, making sure that he does the right thing to keep them safe and take them, with our plan, to an area where they are safer where they are back to work. There is also the Royal Flying Doctor Service going to Eromanga, Jundah, Sweers Island, Kununurra, Warlpiri country, Peppimenarti—making sure that we go to the edges of our nation, this vast continent. And in this vast continent we are going to every corner to look after the Australian people, to get them to the other side of this pandemic—to give them back their liberties and give them back their freedoms, deal with their frustrations, and hand them back the Australia that they were born to. COVID-19: Quarantine 48 14:14 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler Today, the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced that construction has begun on a fit-for-purpose quarantine facility at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, one that will be up and running before the end of the year. No less a document than the Constitution tells us that quarantine is a Commonwealth responsibility. Isn't the only reason that Queensland has been forced to go it alone because the Prime Minister wouldn't do his job? 14:15 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook No. COVID-19: Aged Care 48 14:15 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Minister, in three weeks time, on 17 September, residential aged-care workers cannot work unless they've had a vaccination. In my electorate, government data shows that one in three aged-care facilities have had less than 50 per cent of their staff vaccinated. This is alarming. Residential aged-care workers were meant to be at the front of the queue. Regional age-care services already struggle to find enough staff and we're heading towards a catastrophe. How will you fix this before 17 September so that our regional aged-care residents can be safe and cared for? 14:16 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I want to thank the member for Indi. In fact, there has been extraordinary progress with the vaccination program in our residential aged-care facilities, both for our residents and for our workers. For our workers, the figure is now 76.9 per cent of workers. That's a consistent figure across the country in this process that we're seeing. Right now, these programs are in place across the country and they include general practice access, state clinic access, Commonwealth vaccination clinic access and specialist hubs. And then, in particular, we also have inreach access. At this point in time we have a thousand on-site self-vaccination clinics which are either completed or underway. We have 670 self-vaccination clinics which involve our providers, and I have used the example of TLC, led by Lou Pascuzzi in Victoria, which has been a national leader on that front. We've had over 585 Commonwealth inreach clinics in residential aged-care facilities, and all of these are ongoing. Those could be by GPs or they could be by Commonwealth clinics—there are over 2,255 worker vaccination clinics. These programs are continuing, and I went through this only yesterday with Operation COVID Shield with Lieutenant General Frewen. Their advice is very clear: they believe that they will be in a position to make sure that there is specific access, even though all workers have already had access through the general national program, and they are confident that we will be able to ensure that every worker who seeks to be vaccinated is. As we saw only yesterday, there was a near five per cent jump in that rate in one day. So we're continuing to see very high take-up. I do want to thank these workers. They have helped to save lives and protect lives right through the pandemic. On the one hand we now have a 76.9 per cent vaccination rate for residential aged-care workers, and we also have a rate amongst the actual residents themselves now at 88.6 per cent. So that is continuing to grow; even though it's at an extraordinarily high level, it's continuing to grow. One of the things that's doing that is that we are going back and back again to families or to residents, where they're in the position to make the decision for themselves, to encourage them, to provide information and to support them on this. These two things are working together to protect residents right around Australia. It explains the difference in outcomes between the terrible and catastrophic tragedies and loss of life that we saw in Victoria last year and the vastly different situation amongst residential aged-care facilities in New South Wales. Together, saving lives— (Time expired) COVID-19: Economic Recovery 48 14: Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher My question is to the Treasurer. With over $311 billion in direct economic and health support already committed and a rapid vaccination rollout underway, will the Treasurer remind the House how the Morrison government is ensuring our economy remains resilient and ready to bounce back when living with COVID becomes a reality? And is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies? 14:19 Mr FRYDENBERG FKL Kooyong I thank the honourable member for Fisher for his question, and I acknowledge his experience as a builder and as a barrister before coming to this place, and as a strong advocate for small businesses across the electorate of Fisher, and, indeed, for the $600 million support package for Queensland businesses that we have provided in partnership with the Queensland government. Everyone in this House is aware of the real challenges the Australian economy and indeed the Australian community are facing right now. Businesses are closed, kids are not at school and families are apart. Recognising those challenges, the Morrison government is providing an unprecedented amount of health and economic support, including income support, for those who have lost hours of work, of up to $750 a week, and business support across every state and territory—fifty-fifty partnerships, with those state and territory governments in partnership with the federal government, to ensure that small- and medium-sized businesses get the assistance that they need. This is helping to build the resilience of the Australian economy—an economy that has seen one million jobs created since May last year and an economy that has seen the unemployment rate fall to 4.6 per cent, a 12-year low. I can inform the House that today business investment numbers came out for the June quarter, and they showed that business investment was up by 4.4 per cent. Importantly, non-mining investment was up by six per cent and is now up 15 per cent for the year—the strongest growth in non-mining investment in more than 13 years, as programs like our immediate expensing initiatives are helping to incentivise businesses, even during these challenging times, to invest. Farmers are buying new harvesters. There are new forklifts for new factories, like the Kenworth truck business that I visited in Bayswater, in the member for Deakin's electorate, strongly supported by the member for Wright, where they had 1,300 staff producing Australian-made Kenworth trucks. They've taken on nearly 300 new staff in just the last 12 months alone, and they have 160 separate suppliers employing another 10,000 people. The immediate expensing provisions, our business investment incentives, are producing real results for our economy. But we must stick to the plan. The plan agreed by national cabinet, at 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates, will see our economy open up and more jobs be created. COVID-19: Hospitals 49 14:23 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway [by video link] My question is to the Prime Minister. How many hospitals in New South Wales are unable to accept ambulances carrying COVID patients because they are stretched beyond capacity? How many COVID patients are being forced to take long journeys in ambulances from Western Sydney to the North Shore? Eighteen months after the pandemic began and almost a year after the delta strain emerged, why has the Morrison-Joyce government left Western Sydney so vulnerable? 14:23 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook The minister for health may wish to add to that answer, but the specifics of those matters we'll refer to the New South Wales government. If we can provide a specific response to those matters, then of course we will. But what I will note is that the federal government, through the National Health Reform Agreement, has ensured that funding for New South Wales hospitals has grown from $4.3 billion in 2012-13 to $8 billion in 2019-20. That's an increase of some 86 per cent—an 86 per cent increase in the funding support that is coming from the federal government that is going into New South Wales hospitals. Under the new National Health Reform Agreement, the Australian government will provide $41.2 billion between 2020-21 and 2024-25 for New South Wales public hospitals. In the most recent financial year, in 2019-20, the Australian government made a $1.1 billion funding contribution to New South Wales for health and hospital costs through the National Partnership on COVID-19 Response. So, in direct response to the COVID threat, right across New South Wales hospitals we have already put in $1.1 billion to support them in that effort. In 2020-21 and 2021-22 we estimate a further $1.4 billion going to support the New South Wales health system and New South Wales hospitals. In March of last year we established the private hospitals guarantee, and in New South Wales right now private hospitals have already provided more than 300 nurses to support the New South Wales public health response, and they have also made 19 private hospitals available to the New South Wales response. I'd be grateful if the member could convey that to her constituents—the significant support being provided to New South Wales hospitals right across the state and specifically in Western Sydney as well. 14:25 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders To add to the Prime Minister's answer, one of the things that we prepared for right from the outset was the strengthening of the hospital system across the country. We increased the ventilator capacity to 7½ thousand. In New South Wales that's approximately 2,000. At this point in time, New South Wales has 44 patients, I understand, on ventilation. I'd need to check whether that number has changed in the update today. In particular, as the Prime Minister said, probably the most fundamental thing, apart from building the ventilator capacity, providing surge workforce capacity, bringing workforce back in and adding workforce training, was creating the private hospitals guarantee. That guarantee was to make sure that we had a national partnership where those workers were available to assist the public health system. That's exactly what's happening now. As the Prime Minister said: 19 hospitals, 300 workers already provided, many more available. Afghanistan 50 14:26 Mr SIMMONDS 282983 Ryan [by video link] My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister please outline to the House how Australian Defence Force personnel are continuing to bring Australians and Australian visa holders back from Afghanistan? 14:27 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I thank the honourable member for his question and for the commitment that he has to the many veterans and serving members of the ADF who live in his electorate of Ryan. The Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera, of course, comes within his electorate, and he is a regular visitor to and great supporter of the defence personnel that work and live on that base. As Australians are witnessing, the security situation in Afghanistan is dire, and it's deteriorating. That's certainly been the story of the last 24 hours. The positive of the last 24 hours is that, working in particular with the New Zealand and UK partners—our friends, our cousins—and the United States, we have evacuated approximately 4,000 people in total now, on 29 flights, since last Wednesday, 1,200 just in the last 24 hours. I want to say thank you very much to the RAAF and to the air force from New Zealand for their assistance. The logistics on the ground, the sharing of intelligence, and the way in which they work would make all Australians proud. But this is a very difficult situation. We do have credible threats and intelligence in relation to planned terrorist attacks at the airport, in that vicinity. There has been advice issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and ourselves that people should not gather at the gates at the airport, that they should move immediately from that area, and that they shouldn't be in areas of large gatherings. That's the very clear advice to all of those people. The focus for Australia now is to make sure that we can provide support to those people that we have based in AMAB, the base that we have in the United Arab Emirates, where people are staging before they come to Australia to settle and to start a new life that once they could never have dreamed of. The fact that we have, through the Australian Defence Force and the work of DFAT, Home Affairs and others, been able to provide that opportunity is a great credit to our country and many others, including those that I have spoken of in my answer today. I do want to thank again the special forces, the commandoes, those that have been deployed from Lavarack Barracks out of Townsville, and the SAS. Our country is incredibly well served, and has been for many, many decades, by the regiment and the work they do in keeping Australians safe. The heroics that have been displayed by all our personnel in Kabul are quite remarkable and have resulted in, frankly, a much better situation and outcome than we could have envisaged. There is always more to do, but I thank them and their families for their sacrifice in having the uncertainty of their loved ones being away at this very difficult time. 14:30 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler on indulgence—I join briefly with the minister in paying tribute to all our servicemen and women, and wish them a safe return. COVID-19: Hospitals 50 14:30 Mr HAYES ECV Fowler My question is to the Prime Minister. Why are ambulances being forced to wait with COVID patients for hours on end, parked outside Sydney hospitals, because these hospitals are being overwhelmed? What responsibility does the Prime Minister take for leaving our hospital system unprepared 18 months into this pandemic? 14:30 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I respectfully note to the member that there are challenges around the world. As we know, there have been over 700,000 cases in the last 24 hours and 14½ thousand lives lost. The global pandemic was something that, as the Prime Minister noted, we acted on early. We began to prepare our hospitals for it at the earliest time. In particular, not only did we declare this to be a disease of pandemic potential on 21 January 2020; we began the work to prepare both our public and our private hospital systems from the outset. That included the acquisition of ventilators. That included the acquisition of masks, gloves and gowns. We've already acquired 500 million masks, and we've made 94 million of those available through the National Medical Stockpile. In terms of ventilators, there is 7½ thousand capacity around the country; New South Wales is over 2,000 capacity for ventilators. In particular, though, the thing which we thought was fundamentally important was to create a national partnership to support our hospitals. That national partnership was, I believe, almost unique in Australian history; I'm not aware of anything quite as comparable around the world, although there have been some very good partnerships with regard to public and private hospitals. The private hospitals viability guarantee is designed to create a partnership where over 57,000 nurses and over 100,000 staff are available in times of surge. That has now been invoked in New South Wales. That was created to assist in precisely this moment—planned, prepared and now enacted. As the Prime Minister said, the first 19 hospitals from the private sector have already been included within it. It was enacted at earlier times last year. It has been reinvoked now. Those 19 hospitals have so far been tasked by NSW Health to provide 300 nurses. Beds, ventilators and staff are all available under that guarantee. Additional hospitals are also available. So it was foreseen; the plans and preparations were put in place. It was used during the course of last year. It provides a surge capacity for any aged-care residents which also need additional support outside of an acute care setting, and then, ultimately, it provides nurses, staff, beds and ventilators to assist any public health system anywhere in Australia at any moment where they may have a crisis because of COVID. Afghanistan 51 14:33 Mrs WICKS 241590 Robertson [by video link] My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister please update the House on the Morrison government's continuing assistance to help resettle Afghan nationals, and can the minister outline how the government also continues to ensure the security of our borders? Mr Hill 86256 You could have processed their visas years ago! The SPEAKER 10000 The member for Bruce will leave the chamber under 94(a). Mr Hill 86256 You're killing my constituents! There are thousands of Australians waiting for visas who are only there because you didn't process them! The member for Bruce then left the chamber. The SPEAKER 10000 I will come back to that after question time. The minister has the call. 14:34 Mrs ANDREWS 230886 McPherson Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the member for her question. While the situation in Afghanistan remains unpredictable and dangerous, our work continues. It's not just in Kabul; it remains an around-the-clock effort here in Australia to support all of those people who are working day and night to assist with the evacuation of people from Afghanistan. Overnight, we have airlifted about 1,200 people from Kabul, bringing to about 4,000 the number of people we have assisted to evacuate from Kabul. This has been, without a doubt, the largest humanitarian airlift operation in our history. It is an urgent and a dangerous mission, and it's one that has been conducted and that is being carried out under the most challenging of circumstances. I do want to thank those people who have worked so hard in such challenging circumstances to do all that they can to bring people out of a most desperate situation. The government is doing everything it can to remain focused on facilitating further departures from Afghanistan of people who wish to leave, including under our humanitarian program. We have already allocated 3,000 places to Afghan nationals to come here under our humanitarian program. That is a floor, not a ceiling. We will be doing everything we can to support minorities; to support women and children; to support those people who have links to Australia; and to support those people who have shown a commitment to Australia. Those people can be assured that we are doing absolutely every single thing that we can do to support them. Of course, let me say this: the integrity of our migration process and our borders is absolutely essential for community safety and confidence. Our Australian Border Force officials have been working very hard on the ground, conducting the security checks that are needed. Those checks are being undertaken because we have a responsibility, as a government, to make sure that we are keeping Australians safe and secure. And we will continue to make sure that all the appropriate checks are conducted on all of these people we are bringing here, to support Australia. I think that it's fair to say this government has demonstrated over many, many years how seriously we take border security, and I do thank all of the people who have supported the government and who continue to work to make sure that we keep our borders safe and secure. COVID-19: Quarantine 51 14:37 Mr GORMAN 74519 Perth [by video link] My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that, a week after announcing an MOU with the Western Australian government to build a quarantine facility at Jandakot Airport, and a day after asking parliament to authorise the works, the facility has now been canned in favour of a new site which is highly contaminated with PFAS? Eighteen months into a pandemic, isn't this a farce? 14:38 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook I note that the Bullsbrook quarantine site is also supported by the Western Australian government. In forming that MOU to develop the facility on that site, and prior to selecting the site at Bullsbrook, an independent feasibility study from the engineering and design firm AECOM was undertaken, finding that the site was safe and suitable. The site is approximately three kilometres from the operational Pearce RAAF base. COVID-19: Vaccination 52 14:38 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra [by video link] My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister please update the House on how GPs and pharmacies across the country are contributing to the record number of vaccinations being administered every day, like Dr Magda Campbell from MC Family Medical Practice in my electorate of Berowra? 14:39 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I want to thank the member for Berowra not just for his question but for his passion for mental health and for suicide prevention and his focus on his community during this very challenging time. As I mentioned earlier, this pandemic continues to rage around the world, with over 700,000 cases in the last 24 hours and 14½ thousand lives lost. Those figures remind us of the global challenge. Against that background, Australians have been stepping forward, There have been 335,000 vaccinations in the last 24 hours—a rate which means that we are now vaccinating on a higher seven-day rolling average than at any time in the US or the UK rollouts. At the heart of that have been our GPs and our pharmacists. Our primary care deliverers are approaching 10 million vaccinations—the lion's share of now over 18 million vaccinations. They've worked in difficult circumstances. They've changed their hours and opened their practices, and they have helped save lives and protect lives on a grand scale. Our pharmacies and our GPs did this through all of the phases. All of those people employed in that work have been absolute heroes. What we see now is that 55.2 per cent of eligible Australians have had a first vaccination, and the majority of them have done it through our primary care networks. Magda Campbell, the founder of the MC Family Medical Practice, has been in business, I believe, for over 35 years. As a consequence of that, she's been passionate about supporting her community. Over 2,300 vaccines have been delivered through this one practice alone. Equally, the TerryWhite pharmacy in Hornsby has stepped up recently and entered the program and delivered over 250 vaccines already. And those two businesses are emblematic of over 5,200 general practices and over 2½ thousand pharmacies—a number which will grow, by the end of this week, to 2,900 pharmacies. All of these practitioners are committed to supporting Australians. What we've seen is healthcare workers who have helped deliver, as part of the 6.7 million vaccines administered in the last 30 days. Melbourne, Adelaide, Wollongong—the full populations of those all done in the last 30 days. Our GPs and our pharmacists have been at the heart of it. We thank them. We honour them. COVID-19: Vaccination 52 14:42 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat My question is to the Prime Minister. When will all 12- to15-year-olds in Australia be fully vaccinated? Will the Prime Minister commit to including them in the 70 and 80 per cent thresholds? 14:42 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook As I've already foreshadowed, 12- to 15-year-olds in Australia will be vaccinated. The plan for the vaccination of 12- to 15-year-olds will be addressed by the national security committee on COVID this afternoon. At that meeting, we expect to receive the final advice from ATAGI that is necessary to enable that process to commence. General Frewen has been preparing that plan in anticipation of that, and we'll make further announcements after that process has been completed. The national cabinet will be meeting tomorrow. I'll have the opportunity to inform them of those arrangements, and they will, of course, have an important involvement in that process in relation to 12- to 15-year-olds. The Doherty institute, which has provided the scientific modelling that has formed the basis of the national plan, has made it very clear that they have not considered it necessary to include 12- to 15-year-olds in the overall vaccination targets, but that does not mean that they shouldn't be vaccinated. Of course they should be vaccinated, and the government will ensure that they are vaccinated. That is very important. I have two daughters aged 12 and 14, and I think it's very important that they become vaccinated, and they will be. There are 1.2 million children in the cohort of 12- to 15-year-olds who will need to be vaccinated, and, as I have already mentioned today in question time, 1.9 million vaccine doses were administered in just one week, so it is entirely possible. Ms Catherine King interjecting— Mr MORRISON E3L I note the interjection from the member for Ballarat. The answer to her question is contained in the advice provided to the government by the Doherty institute. If she wants to take issue with that advice, then she can. But we are going to continue to act consistent with that advice because we believe that that advice has been incredibly helpful in framing the national plan. I want to make it very clear to the parents of Australia that the government will be ensuring that we vaccinate children aged 12 to 15, consistent with the very clear medical advice that we will be receiving, and we'll be doing that as an important priority, together with the vaccination of the broader population. The minister for health may wish to add to the answer in the very little time remaining. Ms Catherine King interjecting— The SPEAKER 10000 The member for Ballarat is now warned. 14:44 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders To address the issue directly, as responded to by Professor Sharon Lewin, the head of the Doherty institute, in her interview on 23 August, only a few days ago: 'The additional benefit of 12- to 15-year-olds is not great in reducing transmission. We know that in 12- to 15-year-olds COVID is a nasty illness and we don't want children to get it, but very few children end up with severe disease or in hospital. That doesn't mean that 12- to 15-year-olds shouldn't be vaccinated. Yes, they should. Will they make a big difference to the modelling or opening up the plan? They don't make a big difference.' That was in response to the exact question posed by the opposition. That's why they have provided the advice to the government that the correct national cohort is 16-plus. Ms Catherine King interjecting— The SPEAKER 10000 The member for Ballarat has been warned. She's been asked to cease interjecting about 10 times. Do you want to walk or— Ms Catherine King interjecting— The SPEAKER 10000 Yes, I am. You can leave under 94(a). The member for Ballarat then left the chamber. Energy 53 14:46 Mrs McINTOSH 281513 Lindsay [by video link] My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Securing our energy supply will provide certainty for businesses and households across Australia, including in my electorate of Lindsay. Will the minister please update the House on how sticking to the national plan helps continue the important work the Morrison government is doing to ensure that all Australians have access to affordable and reliable energy? 14:46 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume I thank the member for Lindsay for her question and for her relentless advocacy for manufacturing in western and south-western Sydney. She knows that the 900,000 Australians who work in manufacturing, many of whom are in western and south-western Sydney, rely on having access to affordable, reliable energy for their jobs. That's why the Morrison government is taking the lead, alongside the states and territories and alongside the Energy Security Board, to make sure we have an electricity grid that is fit for the future. As the member knows, we are seeing record levels of investment in renewables in this country: seven gigawatts last year alone and 6.3 the year before that. Seven gigawatts constitutes more than four large coal-fired power stations—in a single year. We have the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world: one in four houses in Australia; 8½ thousand houses and businesses in the member for Lindsay's electorate. This investment in renewables is bringing down emissions fast, but it is also creating challenges, because our manufacturers, our households and our small businesses need to know, when they flick the switch when the sun has gone down, that the lights will still go on. Sadly, in recent years, we haven't seen the investment in dispatchable capacity that we need. Indeed, it has been 12 years since there has been an investment in dispatchable capacity in New South Wales. We've seen what happens when there isn't enough investment in dispatchable capacity, or when there's a premature closure. In Victoria, when Hazelwood closed, overnight we saw more than a doubling of wholesale electricity prices. We can't see a repeat of that, and that's why the reforms to the National Electricity Market put forward by the ESB are an opportunity to ensure that Australia's electricity system is fit for the future. It'll ensure that we have enough dispatchable capacity, alongside those record investments in renewables, with investment in generation, like gas and pumped hydro, and in batteries coming into the market at the right time. A critical element of the full recommendations is a capacity mechanism. Energy markets around the world—a large proportion of them—use capacity mechanisms, and that's why we've seen strong support and a welcoming of these recommendations from companies like EDL, ENGIE, the Australian Energy Council and many other experienced players in the industry. On this side of the House, we are absolutely committed to the affordable, reliable energy all Australians need, particularly those 900,000 Australians who work in manufacturing. COVID-19: COVIDSafe App 54 14:49 Ms COLLINS HWM Franklin My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. The health minister said the Morrison-Joyce government's COVIDSafe app has not been used to identify a single contact during the Sydney outbreak. Would half of Australia be in lockdown if the government had an app that worked and hadn't wasted millions of dollars on an app that doesn't? 14:50 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders No, I don't accept the proposition of that question at all. Very significantly, what we know in relation to the app is that it played a very important part in identifying in New South Wales, at this stage, across Australia as at 18 August 2021, 792 COVIDSafe users who have tested positive for COVID-19. It has resulted in more than 1.65 million digital handshakes being uploaded to the data store, and 2,829 potential close contacts have been identified. In addition, New South Wales has successfully accessed the app to identify around 81 close contacts, including 17 contacts that were not identified by manual contact tracing. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 10000 Members on my left! The member for Franklin has asked her question. Mr HUNT 00AMV As we know, any single case can lead to many others. So it's has played an important role. Defence Industry: Employment 54 14:51 Mr PEARCE 282306 Braddon My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. Australia's defence industry is a significant and important contributor to our economy. It helps create thousands of jobs across the country, including jobs for our veterans. Will the minister inform the House how sticking to the national plan will continue the Morrison government's efforts to support Australian jobs in defence industry? 14:51 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack Can I thank the member for Braddon for his question and acknowledge his service to the nation and also acknowledge what a terrific advocate he is for defence industry not only in Braddon but also across the whole of Tasmania. Repeated lockdowns and border closures have placed massive challenges on businesses across Australia, including our defence industry businesses. Defence industry relies upon the movement across states and territories of essential equipment and supplies and also expert personnel to ensure that we build up our defence capabilities to keep Australians safe. Over the last 18 months, my priority has been to ensure that we've kept the wheels of defence industry turning. From the latest data that we have, Defence's annual spend on capability has contributed more than $29 billion to the broader national economy. With our defence spending supporting over 100,000 jobs right across the country in multiple industries, it is not just the defence industry that gets this impact. It has flow-on effects by enabling businesses to grow and to be able to expand their services and also to employ more Australians. The key to building on this success is the national plan announced by the Prime Minister and endorsed by the national cabinet. The national plan does provide that pathway, brighter times for businesses and families across the nation. It is a tremendous confidence booster for defence industry. It tells those thousands of companies, those small manufacturing companies across the suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney, and also those giant naval operations in South Australia and Western Australia, that Australia is ready to go. Companies can now start to have hope for the future. They can now start to think about, 'Am I going to take on another couple of employees?' They are going to start to dust off that expansion plan. They are going start to think about, 'Shall I put my hand up for that next defence industry contract?' At the heart of the national plan is our drive to accelerate and roll out our vaccinations right across the country. Honestly, we would all agree that Australians have been quite remarkable, rolling up their sleeves and just being determined to do their bit, and I say: well done to Australians. To Western Australians, I say: let's show a little bit more of that sandgroper competitive spirit, and please roll up your sleeves a little bit quicker. We're currently sitting at the bottom of the league ladder, and that is not good enough. Today I released a terrific video highlighting the many great naval shipbuilding jobs that are available in Western Australia right now, which are made possible by our government's record investment in shipbuilding. The theme is Work Where You Live. I encourage anybody who's listening to please think about joining such an exciting industry, called our naval shipbuilding industry. COVID-19 55 14:54 Ms STANLEY 265990 Werriwa My question is to the Minister for Health. On 24 June, the minister told the House that having no Australian in ICU due to COVID was a real measure of the government's success. Today there are more than 120 COVID patients in three states in ICU. Isn't that tragic figure a measure of the Morrison-Joyce government's failure? 14:55 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I say to the member that there are in fact 131 Australians in ICU. Each one of those lives is fundamentally important and each is a life for which we fight. As I said earlier in question time, the global pandemic has reached over 700,000 cases and taken 14,500 lives in 24 hours alone. It's approaching 4.5 million lives. Officially around the world, as the World Health Organization has said, the real figure is probably between two to three times that. We're not immune from a global pandemic, a global pandemic that sees our great friend and neighbour New Zealand in a nationwide lockdown right at this moment. But what we have done as a nation is save over 30,000 lives. On an average comparison with the OECD and the tragedy and the lives that they have lost on a per capita basis, that figure is 45,000 lives saved in this country when we look at it by comparison with our other great friends, the United States and the United Kingdom. So many nations have suffered so badly. We're not immune but what we have done as a nation has ensured that we have saved lives on a grand scale. But every day in a pandemic which has raged around the world and which has ravaged communities, we have to be aware that this is now a pandemic which has become endemic. That means it has embedded itself globally, on all the advice we have, from epidemiologists around the world. That means that we have to have all of our rings of containment—borders, testing, tracing, distancing and vaccination. To see vaccination rates in the last 24 hours at 335,000, to see over 18 million vaccinations and to see a figure amongst our elderly of over 86 per cent and 86.2 per cent for our over 70s and 88.4 per cent in our residential aged-care facilities is to see protection in action, to see these things which have saved lives and protected lives. All of these elements have come together to ensure that we have a response which has saved, as the Prime Minister has so often said, over 30,000 lives by comparison with our OECD partners and the tragedy that they've faced. It's an ongoing task for the globe, and I think we have to be honest that this is a global pandemic that has become endemic, that has embedded itself around the globe. But we will continue to fight to save every single life. COVID-19: Education 55 14:58 Dr MARTIN 282982 Reid My question is to the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. Will the minister inform the House how the Morrison government is sticking to the national plan and protecting Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through support for children learning from home? 14:58 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield I thank the member for Reid, who of course brings distinguished academic and professional experience to this matter as a highly psychologist but also as a mother of several children studying at home. My 12-year-old son is studying at home. I know many of us in this chamber have children studying at home, and around Australia millions of children are studying at home. We are all so proud of our children for the way they're dealing with this challenging time—and it is challenging. Last week I had the chance to speak to two groups of classes by Zoom at St Ives High School and Barker College, in my electorate, and saw them getting on with their education. We all want to get to a point where education can return to more normal modes of operation. But, in the meantime, that internet connectivity is so important. What's also so important is that we are protecting the safety of children online, because there are dangers online, and we need to guard against them. That's why our government has had a focus on online safety since coming into government in 2013. We established the world's first eSafety Commissioner. We established a cyberbullying scheme to remove harmful bullying content from social media platforms. When an Australian child is bullied online, the eSafety Commissioner is there to help—esafety.gov.au. Trusted eSafety providers endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner are delivering education programs in Australian schools—850 sessions to over 120,000 students in just three months last year. We're not stopping there, having just taken through the parliament our tough new Online Safety Act to keep children and other Australians safe online. Keeping children safe online when they're studying is so important, but what's also critical when you're learning or working from home is having a good broadband connection. If we had stuck with Labor's plan, which we inherited when we came to government in 2013, up to five million fewer premises would be connected to the NBN today. Labor's failed NBN had barely 50,000 premises connected to the fixed-line network when we came into government. We've got on with getting out the NBN, which is so important for allowing children to study from home. Today, 8.26 million premises are connected. Labor barely managed to roll out 50,000 premises in the six years that they were in government. They did a hopeless job on the NBN rollout. Let's just be thankful that they're not responsible for the vaccine rollout. COVID-19 56 15:01 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister act on the constructive proposal Labor outlined in the 2020 budget reply and establish an Australian centre for disease control so that Australia adopts international best practice and is much better prepared for future pandemics? 15:02 Mr HUNT 00AMV Flinders I note that the member has put forward the American model and the European model. The results in those countries through the course of this pandemic—and I think this is a very important moment to reflect on—have been vastly different to those which occurred in Australia. In the United States, we have seen over 600,000 lives lost. In the UK, we are seeing, tragically and agonisingly, almost 100 lives lost a day at this point in time. In the United States, there are almost 130,000 cases a day. We respect their approaches, but we have followed the Australian way. The Australian way has saved lives and protected lives. Compared with those two nations, which have the model that the Leader of the Opposition has advocated, we have saved 45,000 lives. Forty-five thousand Australians are with us today who, if we had taken the approach of those other countries, would not be here. Do we believe that the Australian system has served Australia well? Yes, every day. Are we working through the national cabinet? Are we working through the AHPPC? Are we working through the scientific and technical advisory group? Are we working through ATAGI and the Therapeutic Goods Administration? We are. But the models upon which the ALP is basing its approach for Australia are models which most agonisingly have led to or been part of a process which contributed to catastrophic loss of life, not in the thousands, not in the tens of thousands, but in the hundreds of thousands. The point is that those structures did not protect those societies. What we did is embed the Chief Medical Officer of Australia inside the National Security Committee and the national cabinet, and the National Incident Centre which radiates out from that. We created an Australian model, which led to results which are profoundly different. So I have to remind the opposition that, in the end, in this global pandemic, we have had struggles and challenges. We are not untouched, but this pandemic has wreaked havoc on a scale we have not seen in 100 years, and we have been mercifully spared from so much of that, but there is much more to do. COVID-19: Regional Australia 56 15:05 Mr O'DOWD 139441 Flynn My question is to the Minister for Regional Health. Will the minister update the House on the progress the Morrison-Joyce government is making in rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines to regional, rural and remote Australians and, in particular, the effects of the Royal Flying Doctor Service? 15:06 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne First of all, I'd like to thank the member for Flynn for his question and compliment him on the amazing service he has delivered to the good people of Flynn over his career in parliament of 11 years. Congratulations. As he'd know, in his home town of Gladstone there are several different community-based sites where he and his people can get a vaccine. But, out in the far west and in other rural, regional and remote seats nearby in Queensland, they would have to depend on the Royal Flying Doctor Service to deliver not only the technology but the vaccine service, and they've been doing a sterling job. In the good member for Leichhardt's electorate, just in the last three weeks, 1,400 people have received a vaccine in some of the more remote Indigenous shires like Coen, Lockhart River, Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama. In the north-west, the Flying Doctor service turned up to vaccinate many more, but there was a lot of vaccine hesitancy. They brought mental health staff with them, had sausage sizzles, educated people and addressed their concerns. They've gone ahead in leaps and bounds. They've been around the state: Ravenswood, Birdsville, Mount Surprise, you name it. All these remote places are on the plan for the Flying Doctor service. In the Northern Territory, they're ramping up now to deliver 15,000 vaccines across 172 clinic sites. Everyone knows about the situation in the north-west of New South Wales. The good member for Parkes has been at the forefront there, and he realises how important the Flying Doctor service is. They're based in Broken Hill, where not only have they been delivering vaccines—they've brought another 8,000 vaccines into the north-west of the state—but they have been involved in actually vaccinating 3,048 people themselves in the last couple of weeks. They flew in advanced teams, because they go by road as well as by air. They deliver medical services, dental services and health services, but they've stepped up to the mark and are delivering vaccines in the far-flung places of Australia. This big, wide, brown land is covered by the Flying Doctor. That's why they have such an amazing rapport with everyone. In Walgett, Wilcannia, Bourke and all those places where the outbreak is, they've been involved. Whether it's point-of-care testing or delivering extra shots to Broken Hill or to Bourke and Walgett— Dr Freelander interjecting— The SPEAKER 10000 The member for Macarthur. Dr GILLESPIE 72184 In Armatree, they had 40 people booked to turn up. When they knew it was the Flying Doctor, it became 198. So, grey nomads, you'll be able to get back out into Western New South Wales. To the people in Western New South Wales, know that the Flying Doctor has your back and you can resume your way of life. COVID-19: Vaccination 57 15:09 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Just 18 per cent of First Nations Australians are fully vaccinated; just half of aged-care workers are fully vaccinated; just 28 per cent of NDIS participants are fully vaccinated; and less than half of the disability workforce are fully vaccinated. Eighteen months into this pandemic, why are so many vulnerable Australians so at risk, particularly given the Prime Minister said so many of these groups would be fully vaccinated by Easter? 15:09 Mr MORRISON E3L Cook Three hundred and thirty-five thousand doses of the vaccine were administered yesterday. That was a record for this vaccination program in Australia, and that included the groups that the member has referred to in his question. Those groups, again, which he has referred to, and others, are: aged-care residents at 88.6 per cent on their first dose and second dose is 84.1 per cent; aged-care workers are at 76.9 per cent on their first dose and 54.5 per cent on their second dose; disability care residents are at 68.4 per cent on their first dose and 53.8 per cent on their second; and disability care workers are now also over 50 per cent, with 58 per cent on their first dose and 39.1 per cent on their second dose. And, importantly, of those who are over 70—the most vulnerable in our population—some 86.2 per cent of them are now vaccinated on their first dose and just shy of 60 per cent, 59.9 per cent, are on their second dose. In the vaccination program in Australia this past week there have been 1.9 million doses in the course of the week. On a per capita basis, that is stronger than anything we saw in the United Kingdom, the United States, France or other places on their best weeks—on their best weeks! We know that that vaccination program will continue to move forward in the months ahead and move into those communities where the vaccination rates are still below where they need to be. But the program will ensure that they do reach those communities. It's up to every single member of this House to ensure that we're doing every single thing we can to promote that vaccination program in their communities—to create confidence in that program so that people will come forward and access that program. In states where they're lagging they should encourage them to go and get vaccinated. In many of those states that is often because the level of COVID has been so low. That's particularly, I'd say, in Indigenous communities, where the Minister for Indigenous Australians has been doing such great work to encourage them. That's because when they have seen COVID start to come into their communities they have become aware that simply being remote does not make them immune. When we have seen that occur then we've seen those vaccination rates rise. That vaccination program, its success and its rate of vaccination that we're seeing now, will be, I believe, based on the rates we're achieving now—the 70 and 80 per cent rates under the national plan—very achievable. Those rates are very achievable this year, and that gives Australians hope. That gives Australians great hope that the national plan—the safe plan; the Australian plan being done the Australian way—to give Australians hope for their future is rolling out across the country. I want to thank the government members for their great support of that plan and for promoting it throughout the country, and I encourage all members to do the same. (Time expired) COVID-19: Indigenous Australians 57 15:12 Ms FLINT 245550 Boothby My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Would the minister please update the House on the progress of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in remote Indigenous communities and the importance of working in partnership with community leaders to counter misinformation online and to ensure high vaccination take-up? 15:13 Mr WYATT M3A Hasluck I thank the member for Boothby for her question and for her strong leadership in this House. I will share with you the number of first doses that Indigenous Australians have received now: over 200,000, or 34 per cent, and 108,000 have received their second dose, at 18 per cent. But the most interesting one is for those with an unknown address: 5,707 have come in to have a vaccination and 2,699 have also joined that process. One of the challenges that we're still having is the misinformation that is online. Even when we speak in this chamber, our people listen to what is said in some of our speeches. I had one who asked me if there was a shortage of vaccines and doses—that was because they had heard one comment. So we have to ensure that we stand with our Indigenous leaders to make sure of the work they're doing. They're working their backsides off to get people into clinics, into vaccination points, into GPs, into the ADF, into the AUSMAT teams and with the RFDS. Where there are shortages—if there are any at all, like that which the member for Newcastle, who I will compliment, raised with me this morning—I'll follow those through. It is better that those opposite talk to us so that we can deal with these matters. Even with Wilcannia, there were messages saying there were food shortages. What's interesting in the Wilcannia news is this: A coordinated effort between the Local Emergency Management Committee, Aboriginal Affairs, Maari Ma, REDI.E and Central Darling Shire Council will see food deliveries to households in Wilcannia. …   …   … On Saturday, 566 food hampers were distributed with 173 personal hygiene hampers going out. So what we're doing is we are coordinating, through leadership at the regional level, the level of engagement to ensure that people have the vaccinations. Our vulnerable community has had support. I will compliment all members in this chamber, because there are many on the other side who have gone out and talked with Aboriginal organisations and supported them. We need to continue to make sure that our efforts are parallel with Indigenous media. What we do know is our people listen more to Indigenous media than they do to mainstream, because that's where they get the cultural messages, they get messages in language, and they get it in plain speak, which gives them the assuredness that what's being offered is there and it's real. So I would ask all of us in our electorates to talk to Aboriginal organisations to see what support they need and provide that level of support. (Time expired) Mr Morrison E3L Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper. The SPEAKER 10000 Just before people depart, when I ejected the member for Bruce under standing order 94(a), his behaviour on leaving was completely unacceptable. I won't repeat everything he did, other than to say that when members are asked to leave under 94(a) they need to do so immediately, without comment or abuse to anybody. I said at the time I would deal with that at the end of question time, and a number of matters I weighed very quickly on that. I'm not going to wait for the member for Bruce to finish his one hour and come back to the House. The course of action I'm taking, I'm making very clear, is I'm going to name the member for Bruce now, and the matter will be dealt with one way or another by the House, then we can get on with the business of the day. I name the member for Bruce. 15:17 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I move: That the member for Bruce be suspended from the service of the House. The SPEAKER 10000 The question is that the motion moved by the Leader of the House be agreed to.

The House divided. [15:21]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

 25 AYES Andrews, KL Archer, BK Conaghan, PJ Dutton, PC Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Haines, H Hunt, GA Joyce, BT Kelly, C Ley, SP Morrison, SJ O'Dowd, KD (teller) Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Tudge, AE Wyatt, KG 14 NOES Albanese, AN Burke, AS Collins, JM Dick, MD Freelander, MR (teller) Giles, AJ Hayes, CP Jones, SP Leigh, AK Payne, AE Smith, DPB Stanley, AM (teller) Templeman, SR Zappia, A 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

15:22 The SPEAKER 00APG With the result being in the affirmative, the member for Bruce is suspended from the service of the House for 24 hours. DOCUMENTS 59 DOCUMENTS Australian National Audit Office 59 Presentation 59 15:23 The SPEAKER 00APG I present the annual report of the Australian National Audit Office for 2020-21. Document made parliamentary paper in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 28 March 2018. MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE 59 MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Morrison Government 59 15:23 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 impact of the Government always acting too little, too late. I call upon those honourable 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— 15:23 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler Oscar Wilde once noted, 'It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you place the blame.' He must have been anticipating Scott Morrison as Prime Minister, because that's what we see, time and time again. The first phase is complacency: you deny a problem exists. Then it goes to crisis management, once a problem becomes a major one, but then you respond with too little, too late. The third phase is that you blame someone else. He wants to be the Prime Minister, but without the responsibility. For this Prime Minister, his heart isn't in the job—just his ego. For this Prime Minister, every job is too big and every response is too small. In particular, that's been the case over the two big jobs this year: quarantine and vaccines. But there's history. There were the bushfires and the 'I don't hold a hose, mate' moment, where he refused to take action and refused to even meet with the experts prior to that bushfire season. There was the reported sexual assault just metres from his office, and he says that, for two years, 'No-one told me,' and there was an inquiry by his former chief of staff into what his own staff knew, but we haven't seen that yet; it remains hidden, and it was initiated months ago. And, of course, on climate change we once again see no leadership, no energy policy, no response. Tragically, we saw it being played out in Afghanistan, where the Australian embassy closed in May and people were left behind. There are so many people—we don't know how many—who will be left behind and we won't be able to get them out, with tragic consequences—real consequences for real people. He is a Prime Minister who, in his own smug mind, is Superman, for whom scrutiny is kryptonite—a Prime Minister who is addicted to spin and is truth-hesitant. He began his media conference today by saying: Today has been another day of hope. It's a day of 1,000 cases in New South Wales and three more deaths! But we don't talk about that. We pretend that it's nothing to do with the failure of the vaccine rollout and the failure in building purpose-built quarantine. And there's the fact that the Prime Minister congratulated the New South Wales Premier on staying open. People are tired and angry. More than a year ago, Labor argued daily that vaccinations were the key. We said that you have to do five or six deals, that we need more vaccines from more suppliers more quickly. We were dismissed and were told, 'No—Australia is at the front of the queue,' when it was obvious we were running last in the developed world. We were then told it was not a race. The delta strain emerged in India last October and was wreaking havoc by April. Australians were told that if they tried to return home they would be locked out and they would be locked up—sent to jail for trying to return to their own country. One Australian actually survived India without getting COVID but caught it in hotel quarantine in Adelaide, which then led to the Melbourne outbreak in early June. The current outbreak began in Sydney, but, in the Prime Minister's response on 24 June, he said: I commend Premier Berejiklian for resisting going into a full lockdown. This week, though, we've seen the Seinfeld reset, as Premier McGowan called it—a reset trying to look for difference where there is none; a reset by a Prime Minister who is the gaslight on the hill. The fact is that the national plan was signed off by every state premier and every territory leader, and the national plan has details in it that the Prime Minister thinks no-one can actually read, even though it's on an A4 bit of paper. He pretends that there is opposition to opening up when it's safe, but no-one wants the sorts of constraints that are around our economy—nobody. What people want is to be able to see their family and they want to return to life as normal, but when it is safe. He talks up Team Australia, but then he seeks to divide. Team Australia's coach seeks to blame the team. He calls Western Australians and Queenslanders 'cave dwellers'. He sent out Senator Bragg—what an appropriate name that is—to say that Western Australia has 'no plan to manage the pandemic'. Oh, yes? WA is likely to get the grand final. They're going about their way of life because their Premier has kept them safe, in spite of the fact that this government and the minister at the table spent taxpayers' money backing in Clive Palmer— An opposition member: A million dollars. Mr ALBANESE R36 A million dollars of taxpayers' funds, some of which went to Clive Palmer. Let me say this very clearly: I'm on Mark McGowan's side; Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister, was on Clive Palmer's side. When he was pulled up on this, the Prime Minister yesterday, on 6PR, said: ... the Premier made very good contributions to that— that is, the national plan— So, you know, I think sometimes people try to make a bit more of a disagreement than there actually is ... He actually said that! He was talking about his imaginary friend, because he's talking to himself—like he does at this dispatch box all the time—the imaginary friend! He's standing out there, creating this division, seeking to divide Australians, telling Western Australians and Queenslanders they are 'cave-dwellers', but then saying, 'Oh, no; some people just try to make out there's a bit more of a disagreement than there actually is.' It was an extraordinary performance—of course, cheered on by some in the press gallery. The reason we are in lockdown is the failure on vaccines and quarantine. Today we saw a real leader, Premier Palaszczuk in Queensland, going it alone to build the Wellcamp facility—a site that I visited two months ago. The fact is, the only hole he has dug is the metaphorical one we are in as a nation. Not one hole's been dug for one quarantine facility, for one bed, in this country. And the fact is that the consequences are devastating: over a thousand new cases today; lives lost; health damaged; lessons missed by our children; families separated; mental health impacted; small business devastated; our hospitals at breaking point in New South Wales. People do need hope, but they need hope based upon facts. They need foresight, not spin. Throughout this pandemic, Labor has been constructive. We put forward constructive ideas for vaccines. We continue to put forward constructive ideas about quarantine facilities. We put forward constructive ideas about wage subsidies—including, of course, what led to JobKeeper. We put forward the $300 cash incentive, to provide both a reward and an incentive for people to be vaccinated—immediately dismissed by this Prime Minister, without giving it a second's thought. Well, Telstra are giving their employees $200; Qantas are providing frequent flyer points; the New South Wales government is teaming with sporting teams to provide incentives. But there's no vaccine for being unfit to provide leadership—no vaccine for that. This Prime Minister of course, we know, stood in the Prime Minister's courtyard next to Malcolm Turnbull, and there he was asked if he had ambition for leadership, and he said, no, he didn't; he was ambitious for him—his mate. Well, that's the one commitment he's made that he's kept, because he does have no ambition for leadership. He waits until there's an absolute crisis before he acts. He never comes out of his own cave until there's an absolute crisis, and we've seen it over and over again. We saw it with bushfires. We saw it with the March4Justice, where all he had to do was walk a short few metres—but he couldn't do that. We see it with the rollout of the vaccine and with the failure to build purpose-built quarantine. We see it with the deception that he comes up with each and every day, never accepting responsibility. Everything is always someone else's fault. Well, if he doesn't want to lead, there are people on this side of the House prepared to do so, because Australia needs a government that's as good and strong as the Australian people themselves, not someone who presides over issues by not acting until there's an absolute crisis and then having a response that is always too little and always too late. (Time expired) 15:33 Mr MORTON 265931 Tangney It's a funny thing, saying you're constructive; it's another thing actually to be so, and what we see from those opposite, particularly the Leader of the Opposition, is a claim of being constructive but actually demonstrating, throughout this pandemic, the complete opposite. You cannot say you're constructive when you have worked against this government and against the Australian people, who have absolutely contributed to Australia's success in dealing with COVID-19. Australia's vaccine rollout is hitting its stride: yesterday, a record-breaking day of 335,000 vaccines administered in Australia; a million doses every four days; 18 million doses in total. Over 86 per cent of Australians over 70 have received their first dose, and over 59 per cent are now fully vaccinated. Fifty-five per cent of Australians over 16 have had their first jab, and almost a third are fully vaccinated. Australians are currently getting vaccinated faster per capita per day than the speeds that we saw in the United Kingdom. There are over 9,000 Commonwealth supported vaccination facilities. I was thinking about this in context, and it was pointed out to me, just as I was walking in here—it reminded me of something my family found very entertaining, when I was starting to speak: One of my first words was in fact 'Donald's'; I was able to spot a McDonald's, even around corners! Mr Porter 208884 You'd never guess! Mr MORTON 265931 You'd never guess, Minister! But if you think about how many McDonald's there are in this country, and you times that by 10, you see that for every one McDonald's there are 10 vaccination places where you can go to get vaccinated. That is the achievement of this government—to make sure that Australians have access to vaccinations. There were delays at the start of our vaccination rollout. I think it's very important to put them in context. I've said before here at the dispatch box that yes, the vaccination program in Australia started two months or more after the UK or US started theirs, and I think that's entirely reasonable. I wonder if those opposite are suggesting that it shouldn't have. Let's look back at that particular time. At the time emergency approval was given in the UK and the US for the use of vaccinations, the UK was averaging 14,656 COVID cases and 452 deaths a day. At the same time they gave emergency approval for the vaccine in the US, there were 215,000 cases in the US and, sadly, 2,500 deaths a day in the US. Remember those photos of those pine coffins being buried in Brooklyn, and how sad that was? No wonder emergency approval was given for vaccinations in those countries. It's very clear that the TGA took a more cautious approach, a safer approach, an approach that was supported by this government. In the first week of December 2020, when emergency approval was given for those vaccinations, Australia experienced 74 new cases of COVID—all in hotel quarantine—and, sadly, one single death. So I understand why. I understand that our success in dealing with COVID meant that we didn't initiate our vaccination program in an emergency situation like other nations. But I tell you what: we've more than caught up to where we would have expected to be otherwise. We always knew that, as a result of the delays and supply issues we experienced, we would have to backend our vaccination rollout. Today, for every one McDonald's there are 10 vaccination sites. That is an amazing effort of the governments of Australia, and that is why Australians, together, are achieving the successful vaccination rates we're seeing. It's also important, I think, to make sure that we put COVID, tragically, in the context in which we live in the world. We know there have been 213 million cases of COVID and that that's resulted in 4.4 million known deaths. In the last seven days, tragically, our neighbours to the north, Indonesia, have experienced 7,111 COVID deaths. The United States has experienced 6,517 COVID deaths. We have seen 787 COVID deaths in France, 597 COVID deaths in the United Kingdom and, tragically, 14—likely 15 today—COVID deaths in Australia. But in Ireland, Israel and Germany, their death rate from COVID has been 20 times higher than Australia's. In the UK, Italy and the US, we've seen death rates 50 times the rate of Australia's. The Leader of the Opposition, in talking about the MPI today, about 'too little, too late', reflected on the government's efforts in Afghanistan. I think that was a disgusting political slur in relation to the efforts of our ADF members and our public servants from a variety of different agencies in responding to the evolving, volatile and dangerous situation in Afghanistan. Sure, you can have a crack. In a democracy you would expect that leaders of the opposition would, but it should be acknowledged that overnight 1,200 people were evacuated from Kabul on six Australian flights and one New Zealand flight, working together, including with Afghans, other nationals and Australians, meaning in total 4,000 people have been able to be evacuated as a result of the operation, including 29 flights over the last eight days. The Prime Minister alluded to this in his press conference. The challenge that was facing Australia in relation to the evacuation continued to grow as more Australians in Kabul registered for support and the ADF, the Australian government and the hardworking members of the Australian Public Service, particularly those who were in country, have responded to that admirably. At this point I think it's very important that we do acknowledge the 40,000 Australian Defence Force personnel and honour the 41 soldiers who died and those soldiers who were wounded and continue to feel the effects of their service. We pay tribute to their sacrifice. Moving forward the Australian government has announced 3,000 initial humanitarian places. The Prime Minister has made it very clear. We anticipate this initial allocation will increase over the course of this year. There's something about this government: it does what it says it will do, and it does it and it achieves it. It doesn't set lofty targets with no particular plan or proposal in order to meet them. We actually set reasonable targets that we can meet with our plans. We go ahead and achieve them. We overachieve them and we intend to do the same here. We shouldn't forget that this is on top of the 8½ thousand Afghans Australia has already successfully resettled in Australia since 2013. In relation to the economic supports that we're providing the Australian people, at a very difficult time, we can be very proud. I am very proud in my responsibilities as the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service. I'd like to commend and thank those hardworking members of the Public Service, who have come from a variety of different portfolios, agencies and departments, who have gone to support their fellow public servants at Services Australia to support Australians in need. We have seen 1.74 million Australians receive at least one COVID-19 disaster payment. That actually represents 2.83 million claims that've been granted across those three different payments. With the COVID disaster payment, which assists Australians who need financial support in the event of a Commonwealth hotspot, there was a total of $4 billion paid out in that particular stream alone. We have seen the $200 income support payments to recipients who've lost at least eight hours of work—149,000 claims have been received, paid to 120,000 individuals there as well. We have seen the pandemic leave payment put in place, which is an agreement with the states and territories for those who have to self-isolate, quarantine or care, and 45,000 claims have been received and paid to 39,000 individuals for that particular support. Of course, we acknowledge and thank the Australian taxpayer, without whom we would not be able to make these contributions. We thank and acknowledge the hard work of the Australian Public Service who, in a variety of areas, in every corner of this country, are working to support their Australians in need. This government is responding to the evolving situations both with COVID and in Afghanistan at moment. All we see offered by those opposite is constant criticism. They stand at this dispatch box and because some focus group has said that the Leader of the Opposition needs to say how constructive he is—well, I tell you what, the best way to actually do that is to demonstrate it, not to come into the chamber and, after demonstrating anything but being constructive, just claim that you are when you're not. 15:44 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair [by video link] Unfortunately, this government's approach can be summed up as too little, too late with almost every issue it deals with, large or small, crisis or otherwise. There have been contemporary elusions to cartoons and comedies during our recent political discourse. All too often, the Morrison-Joyce government reminds me of the legendary British comedy Yes, Prime Minister. At first I couldn't work out whether our Prime Minister is more like the fictional prime minister Jim Hacker or his permanent secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby. I wasn't too sure at first. Certainly the Prime Minister has all the vices of Jim Hacker, but none of his virtues. But I've concluded that our Prime Minister is more like Sir Humphrey Appleby, coming up with ways to do nothing, invariably ignorance and then inaction, inertia and idleness—denying that problems exist, or pivoting from them, and then, when it becomes unavoidable, rewriting history. It's all spin, spin, spin. But there are dire consequences to this approach. In the area that I represent, as the shadow minister for veterans affairs, the government's belated response to holding a royal commission into veteran suicide is one such occasion. Veterans, their families and Labor have been calling for a royal commission. It took until April this year for the government to announce a royal commission. Tragically, during the war in Afghanistan we lost 41 lives. We've lost more to veteran suicide during that time. And reports are that more than 35 defence personnel and veterans have taken their lives up until June this year alone. Let's not forget that, despite this epidemic of veteran suicide in recent times and the loud calls from the royal commission and from veterans and their families, the Prime Minister consistently and stubbornly refused to act. Then, in a marketing exercise, all spin—obviously to placate veterans and their grieving families—he announced, guess what? A national commissioner—better than a royal commission, he said. Now he's sacked the national commissioner, the legislation is stuck in the Senate and he has no plans to appoint a new national commissioner. It was only when faced with a backbench revolt through a bipartisan motion in support of a royal commission that he was dragged kicking and screaming into a royal commission. Look at what we're seeing unfolding before our eyes in Afghanistan. We thank the ADF personnel and the public servants who are doing their very best to get people out. But, guess what? The Prime Minister—warned for months by veterans, senior defence personnel, Labor and others to take action, get the interpreters, get the Afghans who aligned their interests with our interests out of Afghanistan, when other countries were airlifting their nationals and airlifting the Afghan interpreters who were helping their people—refused to act. Now our dedicated diplomats and dedicated ADF are hastily organising evacuation. We thank them for it. It's been left to veterans and advocates like Glenn Kolomeitz and others to work with people on the ground, desperately trying to get people out. And look what's happened today in my home state of Queensland. This morning the Queensland premier took action on quarantine—a federal government responsibility—because this government won't act. Premier Palaszczuk announced she would build a 1,000-bed, purpose-built dedicated quarantine facility at Wellcamp Airport, near Toowoomba, to be operational by the end of the year. Why? Because the project was rejected by the Prime Minister, because he reckons he couldn't get enough planes large enough to fly there—not good enough. He claimed it isn't suitable or accessible to the Toowoomba hospital. I bet he's never been there. Then he claimed it is a desert. Little did he know that Canberra is more arid than Toowoomba, and Wellcamp is less than 150 kilometres from Brisbane by road and less than a 40-minute flight from the Brisbane hospital. This government just can't seem to get it right, whether it's on vaccination or quarantine. The Morrison government needs to act and get this right. But constantly we get marketing, spin and 'Look over there!'—again and again and again. It's not good enough. It's always too little, too late, whether it's veterans issues, vaccination or quarantine. It's time for the Prime Minister to be the Prime Minister, not the prime procrastinator. Do your job, Prime Minister. 15:49 Mr PORTER 208884 Pearce With respect to vaccinations, we're now at 18 million doses. That's 55 per cent of the Australian population with one dose and 32 per cent of people over the age of 16 who are fully vaccinated, and the rate—the pace—of vaccination is now surpassing the best measure of the pace of the vaccination program that ever existed in the United Kingdom or the United States. We're now exceeding the highest daily averages ever achieved per capita in the UK or the USA. If the proposition from members opposite is that that is somehow too slow or too little, then, obviously, they have got to suggest the way they would make that faster, or more. At least, to the credit of the Leader of the Opposition, he did put up a way. There has been one suggestion that has come from members opposite and from the Leader of the Opposition as to how they would speed up that vaccination process—which is now faster per capita than it ever was in the UK or the US—and that was, as described by the Leader of the Opposition, the idea of an incentive of $300. An incentive is a very simple concept. It's very easily defined. It's a thing that motivates someone to do another thing. It's a very standard definition in economics. And there are two golden rules about incentives. First, you have to design them very, very carefully to make sure they don't have the opposite effect, that is, that they don't slow something down or demotivate people from doing the other thing. But, even before you get to that, the golden rule in economic management and economics about incentives is that you shouldn't pay someone to do a thing that they've already done—pretty simple stuff. The one proposal that the Leader of the Opposition has offered as to how you would make the vaccination rollout faster—noting that it's already faster per capita than it ever was in the United States or the United Kingdom—is this $300 incentive payment. The major problem with it is that it breaks both of those fundamental rules in economics about incentives. Essentially, it is a proposal to pay people to do things that they've already done. When you look at the scale and pace of the vaccination rollout now, that not only would have represented a complete lack of confidence in the Australian people to do what they're doing now, which is the right thing for public health and themselves and their family and community—getting vaccinated—but it also would have represented a waste of money on a scale that Australian public finances would never have seen before and that you could not possibly imagine. Since the start of the vaccine rollout over 6.5 million people have been fully vaccinated. These are people who have already done the right thing. The Labor policy, the Leader of the Opposition's policy, of $300 per head for those people would have represented $2 billion of wasted taxpayers' money that could have been spent on other things, mental health or whatever it is that you think is important—and there are many of them. Since the announcement of the $300 incentive, which was on 3 August—that is, in the last 23 days—there have been 2,487,000 Australians fully vaccinated. If you were to pay them $300 to do the thing that they've already done, that would cost $746 million. That is $746 million of taxpayers' money to pay people to do a thing that they have already done. Yesterday, 152,996 Australians became fully vaccinated. If Labor were in government, and had the chance to institute the policy that they describe as constructive which is actually idiotic, yesterday they would have paid $46 million in one day—to pay people to do something that they had already done. That would represent one of the most shocking wastes of taxpayers' money, and it gives you precisely the idea that you need as to how the pandemic would have been managed under members opposite. In public health particularly, it's been shown that incentive programs, for instance, for donating blood, can actually have the opposite effect— An opposition member: Titmuss! Mr PORTER 208884 It can actually have the Titmuss effect; you've got it! When a journalist asked the Leader of the Opposition: 'How did you settle on this $300 payment? What is underpinning the advice?', he said, first, 'We gave consideration to it'—well, that's good to know!—and, second, 'It included consulting some economists'—that also is good to know—and, third—inspiring confidence—'I studied economics at university'. If you had, you wouldn't have come up with this. 15:54 Ms McBRIDE 248353 Dobell [by video link] I'm sure local people on the Central Coast, stuck at home, waiting to be vaccinated and teaching their kids from home, would have welcomed the economics tutorial from the minister. At a time when 15 million Australians are in lockdown and people are losing their jobs, the minister is lecturing them about the golden rules. Businesses are hitting the wall, schoolkids are struggling to learn from home and many people, including some of the most vulnerable, are struggling to be vaccinated. And why? It's because of the failure of the vaccine rollout and quarantine. As a pharmacist and the local MP, I am deeply concerned. Australians living with a disability are a high-priority group and were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Easter. It's now the end of August, and just over 28 per cent of NDIS participants aged 16 or older have been fully vaccinated. Of the 27,000 people with a disability, identified in the government's highest priority group, slightly more than half have been fully vaccinated and 67 per cent have been given one dose. It's not good enough. It's unfair and it's unsafe. This week the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Senator Reynolds, would not guarantee that everyone with a disability would be vaccinated by the time we reach the 70 to 80 per cent vaccination target, leaving people with a disability, some of whom are the most vulnerable Australians, as potential cases or carriers. Why hasn't the Morrison government done more to protect people with a disability, including in the electorate I represent on the Central Coast of New South Wales? On 4 June, the minister for the NDIS, Minister Reynolds, announced a disability vaccination hub would be set up on the Central Coast that same month, but three months later there's still no hub. Then on Tuesday the Minister for Health and Aged Care told parliament he now expects two hubs on the coast to open in September. While this is welcome news, the government should have acted when they said they would and set up a disability vaccination hub in my electorate back in June. Vulnerable people in my community and across Australia deserve better. First Nations Australians have also been left behind by the Morrison government during this pandemic. Vaccination rates among First Nations communities are critically low. Only 18 per cent of First Nations Australians have been fully vaccinated. This number should be much higher this far into the rollout. And now we're seeing the situation in western New South Wales getting worse. The Prime Minister said First Nations Australians would be a priority for vaccines. They were supposed to be at front of the queue, but they're not. They are being left behind, at risk and exposed. There are so many vulnerable Australians who are desperate to get vaccinated, but they can't because the government didn't secure enough supply for all Australians soon enough. Every day my office is overwhelmed by desperate people wanting to be vaccinated, but they can't get an appointment. What do I tell Bobbie, who is living with frontotemporal dementia, when she tells me she misses hugging her grandchildren because we're in lockdown? What do I tell Jennifer, who is struggling to get by, as her work is impacted by COVID, at the same time as she is teaching her kids from home, when she asks me, 'When will school be back?' What do I tell Lisa, who had to shut her business with two hours notice nine weeks ago, when we have been told today we will be in lockdown until 10 September? What do I tell Megan, a local schoolteacher who can't get a vaccine, after we've had outbreaks in two local schools? What do I tell Brad, a local GP, who tells me general practice is in crisis, or Sandy, a community pharmacist, who is having to dispel misinformation on a daily basis, who tells me, 'It's too little too late, and the damage is done'? How can the PM justify pharmacists not being properly paid for the work they're doing during the pandemic? What do I tell my niece Maria, who's two and who's lived in the pandemic most of her life, when she speaks to me on Facetime and asks, 'Are you still in lockdown, Aunty Emma?' What do I say to local aged-care workers who were turned away from the vaccine hub and told they were the federal government's responsibility? The Prime Minister says he's got a national plan—that it's a careful plan; it's the right plan. Well, tell that to the people in my community. Spreadsheets and phases, with missed deadlines and redirected vaccines don't make a plan, and they've left my community exposed and at risk. Right now, fewer than one-third of Australians are fully vaccinated, and half of the country is in lockdown, including the Central Coast. We've been in lockdown for the past nine weeks, and we've just been told today we have to spend another two weeks, at least, in lockdown. We keep hearing the way out is through vaccination, but how can we get vaccinated when there is not enough supply to go around? This government failed to secure enough vaccines for all Australians from the beginning. This government has left our community at risk and exposed. This Prime Minister won't accept responsibility for anything. It's always someone else's fault—it's the state premiers—and when he finally acts, it is always a case of too little, too late, leaving communities like mine overlooked, at risk and vulnerable. The Prime Minister said the vaccine rollout isn't a race, but it is. Clearly, with this government it's always too little, too late. (Time expired) 15:59 Dr ALLEN 282986 Higgins 'Too little, too late'—what a joke! There has been significant investment in our health and COVID response, and it has been delivered in such a way that I think people will look back and say it has been quite extraordinary. Let's start with the concept of 'too little'. COVID health funding has been quite extraordinary in the last 18 months. We've guaranteed funding for health and Medicare. Importantly, we introduced the telehealth measure to ensure people could see their doctors without the risk of COVID. It helped take the pressure off our PPE early in the COVID pandemic and it was a clever way of making sure that our doctors weren't getting sick. It was an absolutely brilliant stroke and it has resulted in 71 million telehealth visits. It has completely transformed medical care, and I think it will be a legacy for many years to come. We've invested $1.5 billion in COVID related health services, including testing and tracing, respiratory clinics and telehealth. We've invested $20 billion in the vaccine rollout and to strengthen our health system in response to COVID. We've further invested a record $2.3 billion in the mental health and suicide prevention package in the budget, and that's because we understand the shadow pandemic of this COVID pandemic. We understand these rolling lockdowns have had a significant impact on Australians. There will be more headspace centres to support young Australians, Head to Health clinics for those aged over 25, and greater access to medical professionals through Medicare. I'm absolutely proud that there's going to be a headspace opening in the Higgins electorate in the coming months. But, more than that, we've increased Medicare funding from $19 billion per year in 2012-13 to $30 billion in 2020-21, going up to $33 billion in 2024-25. Bulk-billing rates were at a record high, 88.7 per cent, for the period from July 2020 to March 2021. So not only is there more funding but we're making it more affordable for patients, so that they can get the help they need, and more accessible through telehealth. We have also delivered significant reforms to private health insurance. This has been incredibly important as people have had to face an economic downturn. More than that, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, has worked very hard to ensure agreement across the private and public health systems so that there can be movement of patients between these incredibly intertwined healthcare systems. And he prepared last year, increasing intensive care beds from 2,200 to 7,500 in case we had an outbreak that we were unable to contain and that would overwhelm our intensive care units. That preparation happened at speed, so to talk about too little, too late is a complete joke. But let us turn to the 'too late' aspect. When we think about the vaccine preparation that our government had very early on, you would think we were on different planets. Last year, Australia entered into five separate agreements—five!—to secure more than 195 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. That was if they were proven to be safe and effective, because of course we're not going to roll out a vaccine that's not safe and effective. The UQ investment, which was a great investment because it was going to be an Australian invention, unfortunately fell over. Opposition members interjecting— Dr ALLEN 282986 I don't think the members opposite, including the member for Macarthur, could possibly expect that we would roll out an ineffective vaccine. But it is true that the Australian government has invested $5 billion in these five agreements, including for Moderna, which is coming very soon. The Pfizer vaccine went through a world-class TGA approval, which was on 25 January 2021, after a rigorous assessment and approval process. Australia didn't cut corners when it came to safety. It was the same with AstraZeneca. We knew that we needed to be careful about our international supply. We knew from PPE and testing last year, when there was a secure supply issue, that we needed to manufacture right here. That is actually not something with which we have full agreement from the other side. The Leader of the Opposition has been repeatedly invited to encourage take-up of AstraZeneca, and he has failed to do it. So if we are to say someone has been 'too little, too late', the Leader of the Opposition has something to answer for. But there are members on the other side who have actually supported the AstraZeneca rollout, and they include the member for Maribyrnong, who has been very clear in his support for the AstraZeneca rollout. He understands that we've got to talk up our vaccine, not talk it down. 16:04 Dr FREELANDER 265979 Macarthur Too little too late. I don't really want to go to the vaccine rollout or the hotel quarantine, which have been botched by this government. The fact that in New South Wales we've now got over 1,000 cases a day due to failures in hotel quarantine is demonstrably the reason we are in so much trouble and the reason it's too little too late from this government. What I want to talk about are the things that have happened since my time in parliament with this government. Let's talk about aged care. I was on the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport and we did an inquiry into aged care. We delivered our findings—the member for Makin can back me up on this—which showed the terrible state of aged care in Australia. An ageing population, the lack of resources, the reductions in payments and the reduction in-home care packages were leading to absolute tragedies occurring. Yet this government had to be dragged kicking and screaming into having a royal commission. They didn't want one. According to them, everything was fine; there was no problem—'Let's not do anything about it.' That was until the Australian public kicked up such a fuss that we had to have a royal commission. And look what it found: neglect, lack of investment, lack of understanding and absolute tragedies—thanks to this government. Let's talk about robodebt, shall we? In my electorate, we had people suicide because of the stress that robodebt was putting them under. They were being treated like serfs, like slaves, in a system that failed to take into account their own specific difficulties, that made them pay money that they didn't owe and that forced them into absolute penury where they couldn't afford to put food on the table. Yet this Prime Minister and this government refused to recognise that there was a problem. And I say shame on you—the whole lot of you. You stood there and you let robodebt destroy the lives of people and put some of the poorest people in this country under unbelievable stress. And you stood there and you did nothing, with the Prime Minister saying: 'Nothing to do with me; it's just the system. Let's just punish these poor people.' Absolute tragedies. Let's talk about health care. The member for Higgins says, 'All's fine here; look at the great things we have done.' I have petitioned this government since I came into parliament to do something about the recruitment of doctors, particularly GPs, in outer metropolitan and rural and regional areas. Time and time again—as recently as two weeks ago—I have written to the government, through the health minister, about the difficulties in my area in attracting general practitioners to provide basic health care for my constituents. Some of the poorest constituents in the area, in particular in some of the new suburbs, can't get access to general practitioners and, therefore, are using the local hospital as their general practitioner, which puts even more pressure on one of the main hospitals having to deal with a major outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. Yet there's been no response. I think in the end they will have to act because it's obvious that our health services are completely overwhelmed at the present time. But so far this government, through the health minister and the Prime Minister, has done nothing. We have huge waits for elective surgery, and we have people who can't get in for psychiatric care and mental health care, yet this government does nothing. Let's talk about the environment, shall we? Since I came into parliament I have written time and time again to this government—to the now Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, when he was Minister for the Environment—about the plight of the koalas in my electorate. You are all aware that I constantly talk about the koalas in my electorate. They are the only disease-free urban population of koalas in the country. They will be extinct in the next few years because this government has refused to do anything to protect them. It is a great shame. My constituents are watching their local koala population become extinct. There has been continued habitat destruction, yet this government does nothing. Too little too late. Shame on the lot of you! (Time expired) 16:09 Mr ENTSCH 7K6 Leichhardt I rise to refute the claims by those opposite. This motion is utter nonsense. Our government certainly has an enviable track record—before and even during this pandemic. Right through this pandemic our government has not shied away from tough decisions. We have pulled together and coordinated unprecedented economic support for Australian businesses, families and individuals. We've risen to the challenge, despite what the Labor Party might allege. It's incredibly easy to criticise from those benches over there; they have no responsibility. They screech and they throw stones but not for the benefit of Australians; rather, for their own pursuit of political opportunism. I'll be the first one to acknowledge that things could have been done better or differently, of course. We know this, but the benefit of hindsight makes everybody an expert on past events. The fact is Australia is one of the safest places in the world during this pandemic. So we are not going to spend time beating ourselves up about this or that, because we know that we need to keep moving forward. In doing so, we learn and improve and ensure that Australia and Australians make their way out of the pandemic. The recovery is already well and truly underway. Those opposite can say what they like, but the key programs and funding initiatives that have underpinned our country's resilience during this incredibly difficult time speak for themselves, and the numbers are very clear. JobKeeper helped 3.8 million people in their jobs. JobSeeker has helped 1.5 million without work. Cash flow boosts supported over 800,000 businesses and not-for-profits. HomeBuilder has supported some $33 billion in construction activity. JobTrainer has created more than 450,000 new training places to upskill jobseekers and new people, and there's been over $30.2 billion in health related COVID expenditure. There are many other initiatives as well, like the zookeeper and aquarium support package and a whole range of other things that have been absolutely critical in supporting businesses during this difficult time. I'm sure it will probably pour some cold water on Labor's framing of these issues, but it's important to recognise that as a result of our government's management there are more people in work today than there were before the pandemic hit Australia. It might not suit their narrative, but this is, in fact, the reality. Those opposite love to criticise the vaccine rollout. They keep saying, 'You should have ordered more Pfizer at the beginning.' This is Labor's trusty and favoured use of hindsight and through it they will magically solve all of our problems! In reality, if Labor could manage to think back in time, clearly they would remember that not all the nations who committed to Australia to provide the Pfizer vaccine came through with their obligations. It's also worth reiterating just how geographically diverse our nation is. The logistics of getting Pfizer out to every corner of Australia should not be understated. You have to store and transport this vaccine at -70 degrees Celsius. It might have been alright for metropolitan Australia, but I can tell you that in the regions like mine you don't have that kind of infrastructure and it's not something that you can a fix overnight. So, at the time, AstraZeneca was by far the most appealing option. We have sovereign manufacturing capabilities. The choice was obvious. We acted on the best information and advice at the time, and we deployed a strategy that would work for Australia and under Australian conditions. To criticise in retrospect the things that were not in the government's control is simply an intellectually dishonest political exercise. Instead of taking every opportunity to play politics on the pandemic, those opposite should try to be more constructive with their critiques of government. Maybe they could even provide something useful for consideration. What a welcome change that would be! In doing so, it might do them well to think back to their own record in government. I'm sure some of them would rather forget those comprehensive failings, but I must say I for one am glad that that period of Australian politics is well and truly consigned to the history books. Once again, this motion is nonsense. Those opposite need to take a long hard look in the mirror before they start legitimately criticising our government. Our credentials are clear, and we will continue to chart a course out of this pandemic—and we'll do it for all Australians. (Time expired) 16:14 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle In times of crisis, communities need leadership. True leadership is about stepping up and taking responsibility. It's about taking action when problems arise and it's about planning for the future, but we know this is not this Prime Minister's modus operandi. We've seen zero commitment for national leadership from this Prime Minister over the last three years, let alone in the eight very long years of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments. The Prime Minister won't accept responsibility for anything. It is always someone else's fault. I'll give this to him: he is consistent. He's constantly ducking, weaving and denying responsibility every time that something goes wrong. It's a well-worn pattern of behaviour. When the Prime Minister sees a problem, his first instinct is to pretend it doesn't exist. When the problem eventually becomes an emergency, he's always there to blame someone else. And, when all else fails, he just starts making stuff up; he gaslights the Australian people. Whatever the response, the Prime Minister is always too little and too late on the scene. This year, the Prime Minister had two jobs: vaccines and quarantine. He bungled them both. He's totally botched the vaccine rollout. He might as well have rolled out the red carpet for COVID to enter into regions like mine in Newcastle and the Hunter. If he were any kind of leader, purpose-built quarantine facilities would be built by now. We are, like, twenty months down the track from when we first started talking about these issues. But, no, this Prime Minister just leaves it up to the state premiers to pick up his slack, and thank goodness they have. I must congratulate Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who today announced that she will press ahead with building a new purpose-built quarantine facility near Wellcamp airport in Queensland. And she'll go it alone, because she can't afford to wait another day for this dithering Prime Minister to get on board. The delta variant is highly infectious and dangerous. We cannot expect tourist hotels to double as biosecurity zones. Any one of the 27 leaks from those hotel quarantine places should have been proof enough of this government's failed approach. Section 51 of the Australian Constitution makes abundantly clear that quarantine is a Commonwealth responsibility. There's no ambiguity about this, but still this Prime Minister does nothing and accepts no responsibility, always ducking, weaving and denying any responsibility. Let's have a look at just some of those matters that the Prime Minister has failed to act on. We all recall those terrible summers when bushfires raged through our nation, scorching the earth and inflicting so much pain and suffering on so many communities, but this Prime Minister refused to take a meeting with the 23 fire chiefs of this nation, who were the most experienced and knowledgeable people he could turn to. What did he say to us, at the end, when push really came to shove and he'd been caught out having a holiday in Hawaii while the nation was burning to a crisp? He gets home, tries to save his bacon and says to the journo, when pushed, 'Well, I don't hold a hose, mate.' That was it. Well, that is going to be the defining moment of your prime ministership. Here we are, almost a decade into this government, with zero progress on climate change or anywhere near a nationally agreed energy policy. This is a Prime Minister who expects us to believe that he knew nothing of incidents that were happening in this very workplace—the Australian parliament—that his staff had nothing to say to him of a sexual assault, even after two years. The March4Justice, which you refused to go and attend; the cuts to all of the National Women's Alliances that were undertaken; and the refusal to actually adopt all recommendations of the Respect@Work report will remain your defining features. (Time expired) 16:19 Mr CONNELLY 282984 Stirling I rise to begin my comments by talking about cow farts. I know that may seem a little bit of an odd thing to talk about—I can see the quizzical look on your face there, Deputy Speaker Wallace—but, firstly, it matches the rather pungent and stinky nature of this suggestion that the government is operating with something other than speed and accuracy. So back to these cows! There's an organisation called Sea Forest which has been working for a number of years now with the CSIRO. They've discovered that there's a special type of seaweed which, if added to feed for cattle, reduces the amount of methane they expel by 99 per cent. If this were in place in Australian industry on a large scale, it would be the equivalent of taking 100 million cars off the road—that's more than double the amount of cars which exist and are in use in Australia today. I know that the member for Braddon is cheering along here and seeing these great sorts of crossovers between environmentally friendly policies, the intelligence of world-leading scientists and, of course, our wonderful agriculture industry, of which the member for Braddon is a key sponsor. This also sits against our more general approach when we look at climate change. Here, again, it's a government with a very clear plan and very clear targets—targets which we're meeting. We met and in fact beat our 2020 target and are on track to meet our 2030 target—a target which those opposite have not even established. Our technology road map includes an investment of $20 billion in new and emerging technologies by 2030. There are some great stories in place already. We've seen a 20 per cent reduction in emissions, which is more than for New Zealand, Canada and the United States, and we've seen the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world here in Australia. So there are some great things which we should celebrate and not denigrate—as those opposite too often do. I'll move on to something else that's a little bit stinky as well and mention fish. I mention fish because the sovereignty and security of fisheries in our Pacific region are something which our neighbours hold vitally dear, as do we ourselves. It's a surprisingly lucrative industry, particularly for our Pacific neighbours. Those fisheries are absolutely relied upon as the lifeblood of their economies and their societies. That's one of the reasons we're so committed to supporting the defence and sovereignty of our whole region. This ties into our defence budget. Whilst we saw Labor, those opposite, slash the defence budget to 1.56 per cent of GDP—the lowest level since before the Second World War—this government is increasing spending on defence by $270 billion over the next 10 years. The Guardian class patrol boats, which are being built by Austal, a wonderful Western Australian company, form an important element of the way in which we will support our regional Pacific brothers and sisters, to help ensure their own security and sovereignty over those fish stocks. I'll switch targets and expand a little more on our economic agenda. We're absolutely continuing to stimulate our economy. One of the elements of that program is the $110 billion which this government is investing in infrastructure right around the country. As we talk about the economy, and within the context of the pandemic, it's also important to acknowledge the great success of the JobKeeper program. Frankly, I'm sure that members on both sides of the House are like me and colleagues, who have had so many people come up to express appreciation for the JobKeeper program. So many in my electorate, like El Greco Cafe, Cordingley's Surf Shop and many other businesses, have said, 'Vince, this enabled us to keep our doors open,' and, indeed, it saved 3.8 million jobs. We also saw the cashflow boost—again, over 800,000 businesses and not-for-profits benefited there. The HomeBuilder program was initially labelled as a fizzer by those opposite—I think they hoped it would be! But of course it wasn't, with around $33 billion of activity now in the residential construction sector. (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 265967 The discussion has now concluded. COMMITTEES 69 COMMITTEES Implementation of the National Redress Scheme 69 Membership 69 16:24 The DEPUTY SPEAKER 265967 I have received a message from the Senate informing the House that, contingent on the resignation of Senator Siewert as a senator, Senator Rice has been appointed a member of the Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme. BILLS 69 BILLS Electoral Legislation Amendment (Counting, Scrutiny and Operational Efficiencies) Bill 2021, Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Bill 2021, Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021, Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Governance and Other Measures) Bill 2021, Customs Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021, Customs Tariff Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021 69

Electoral Legislation Amendment (Counting, Scrutiny and Operational Efficiencies) Bill 2021

Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Bill 2021

Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021

Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Governance and Other Measures) Bill 2021

Customs Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021

Customs Tariff Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021

Returned from Senate 69 DOCUMENTS 69 DOCUMENTS Member for Clark 69 Presentation 69 16:25 Mr BURKE DYW Watson by leave—Pursuant to the agreement with the government, where for crossbench members where currently there's no pairing arrangement the issue has been raised that they want to have how they would have voted formally incorporated into the parliamentary records—so there's an agreement that if they provide letters to either myself or the Leader of the House they will be tabled—I table a voting intention document from the member for Clark. Member for Melbourne 69 Presentation 69 16:26 Mr BURKE DYW Watson by leave—I table a voting intention document from the member for Melbourne. MOTIONS 69 MOTIONS Afghanistan 69 16:26 Mr ANDREWS HK5 Menzies I rise to begin some comments, given the time of the day, on this very significant motion moved by the Prime Minister, and to indicate to the House my support for the motion. I do so as one of just a handful of members who were here in this place when this country made its commitment to a military engagement in Afghanistan some two decades ago, and I also do so as one of the few who have carried the portfolio burden for the defence of this country. I acknowledge, in that regard, the current Minister for Defence, the honourable member for Dickson, and indeed the member for Hunter, who was also the Minister for Defence during some part of this engagement in Afghanistan. I want to express at the outset our enormous gratitude to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have served in Afghanistan and, indeed, more broadly in the Middle East. Afghanistan has been Australia's longest military engagement, stretching over some two decades, far longer than those which we usually refer to—namely the First and Second World Wars—and far longer than Vietnam, Korea and other engagements in which Australians have been involved. Some 39,000 Australian personnel served in Afghanistan. As we know, tragically, 41 of them were killed; their names were read into the Hansard record by the Minister for Defence in his contribution to this debate. In addition to those 41 brave Australians, countless more were maimed and wounded, and hundreds, if not thousands, of families have been affected by their period of service in that country. This was not just an engagement in which Australia or the United States were involved; it also became an engagement in which the forces from NATO were involved. Our defence men and women served alongside defence men and women from many countries in Europe as well as from the United States of America. And we should never forget why we went there. I say this in the context that four in 10 Australians today either were not born at the time this military engagement began or were aged less than 10. In other words, almost half of Australians alive today would have no or very little recollection of why we went to Afghanistan in the first place. We should always remember the circumstances of 20 years ago, as to why we did that. I will return to that when this debate continues on another day. Debate interrupted. DOCUMENTS 70 DOCUMENTS Member for Mayo 70 Presentation 70 15:28 Mr BURKE DYW Watson by leave—I table the voting intentions of the member for Mayo. ADJOURNMENT 70 ADJOURNMENT Paterson Electorate: COVID-19 70 16:30 Ms SWANSON 264170 Paterson [by video link] Today we've seen a new low for my home state of New South Wales, with more than 1,000 people being detected as positive with COVID-19. It is now time for the state government to admit they got it wrong. Premier Berejiklian has failed the people of New South Wales and she failed them when she ignored advice to lock down Sydney. The Premier continued to refuse to share the details of what public health experts suggested when the delta variant was first detected in New South Wales. She needs to come clean on the details of this advice. We know the Prime Minister didn't want her to lock down Sydney, as he lauded New South Wales as the gold standard when they didn't lock down and other states had. Now we're seeing the consequences of this selfish decision on the people of New South Wales and also on the people of regional New South Wales, such as in my seat of Paterson, where people are largely doing a fantastic job of following the rules, yet they keep being impacted by the people of Sydney coming to the Hunter and doing the wrong thing. Even the head of our local district health service said, 'This must stop.' Please, for the sake of us here in the Hunter, and for your own sake, stay at home. Stay in Sydney. Do not come. You are not welcome at this time. We will welcome you with open arms when the time is right, but, at the moment, please, stay at home. Stay away.' The Premier has experimented with our state at a terrible time. The delta variant should never have been allowed to spread so vastly across New South Wales, but it did, and, day after day, we watched as the Premier tried to float soft lockdowns and alternative approaches. She wouldn't even say the word when she knew the solution was right in front of her. The New South Wales Liberal government won't share the advice from the experts because they know they ignored it. We've watched people's lives and livelihoods being gambled away with unnecessary delays. The people of New South Wales have been guinea pigs of the delta variant because of the coalition's complacency. Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who undoubtedly has worked so hard, has sadly let pride get in the way, and she's been aided and abetted by an incompetent Prime Minister. Let's face it, the government can trot out all the excuses that they like and say that everyone's wise in hindsight. We were saying to them 12 months ago, 'Please order enough vaccines. Make sure we've got enough deals on the table.' We were prompting them and they kept saying, 'We're at the head of the queue. We have the deals locked in.' I still remember the health minister standing at the dispatch box saying we were going to be okay and it was fine. Well, you know what? It wasn't fine and now the people of my electorate are feeling this very acutely. Our nation's largest economy is hurting due to the Morrison and Berejiklian governments' continued failure on vaccine rollout, quarantine and economic support. You can forgive some teething issues, but this government is out of excuses as we have lived with COVID for the past 18 months. The buck-passing has to end. The failure to act has fostered an us-and-them mentality, when people in the regions feel so let down. This is at a time when we need to encourage people to come together and have that great Australian value of mateship, with all of us being in this together. We're now constantly being told: it's us versus them. Well, that's just not good enough. It shouldn't have been necessary to go through what we've gone through in these highly populated areas in New South Wales, but now they are requiring more resources. I want to send a shout-out to the year 12 students, who have had two years of interruption to their HSC preparation. They're missing school; they're missing their friends; their mental health is in a terrible state. We need to do more, and this government is completely responsible for what happens to these emerging adults. It's so tough on them. And I would say to the government: come on—give these year 12 kids a break, give the people in the regions a break and do the right thing. Step up. Show some leadership, Prime Minister, and do the right thing by the people of the regions of New South Wales, right now. (Time expired) Tasmania: Renewable Energy 71 16:35 Mr PEARCE 282306 Braddon Good news from the great state of Tasmania today—and, in mentioning Tasmania, I'd like to point out to the House that Tasmania makes up just one per cent of Australia's landmass. We receive nine per cent of Australia's rainfall, but we have 26 per cent of Australia's fresh water in storage. We store this water in our 54 Hydro dams, which were created as part of the hydro-electric scheme in Tasmania—some, more than 100 years ago—on which we have 30 power stations, currently generating clean, green, renewable and dispatchable energy for the great state of Tasmania. In fact, they generate up to 80 per cent of Tasmania's energy requirements, and they're doing so right at the moment. The remainder comes from our thriving renewable industries, with technologies such as wind and solar. We even have wave trial technology on the King Island coastline, to determine whether that will be a viable complement to our already great suite of renewable generation equipment in Tasmania. Tasmania has already achieved 100 per cent renewable status. In fact, we're making more renewable electricity in Tasmania than we know what to do with. Right at the moment, we are transmitting 436 megawatts of clean, green, renewable energy across Basslink, our 500 megawatt connector between Bell Bay and the mainland in Victoria, and that energy is going into firming—filling up the gap that is left by Australia's great rise in renewable technologies per se across the NEM. Tasmania is doing its bit with dispatchable energy, and there are not many states that can say the same. Our state government has ambitiously set a target of 200 per cent renewable energy by 2040. The reason for that is: in Tasmania, we believe that we can provide a viable income source, a revenue source, for the state, as well as providing that dispatchable energy, that firming, to fill up that great gap that is left by our rise in renewables and our phasing from fossil fuels. In order to transmit that energy from Tasmania—in fact, from our proposed site of Cethana, on the north-west coast of Tasmania—we are going to need a second Bass interconnector. That will come in the form of Project Marinus, which is a dual, 750-megawatt high-voltage DC cable which will connect the north-west coast and the synchronous/asynchronous converter there with the opposite in the Latrobe Valley on the Victorian side. This great cable will enable Tasmania to turn the Cethana hydro power station into a Battery of the Nation generator. Deep storage, and long-term deep storage, is what we're talking about here. Again, this will provide eight to 10 hours of 750 megawatts plus of clean, green, hydro energy to the mainland. As well as that, it will allow those other great technologies we have in the state, such as wind and solar, to grow to sufficient mass to get over the fiscal threshold of making their businesses more viable, and then we can branch out into other technologies. We've got this in place already in Tasmania, and the state government is kicking this along, full force, with our hydrogen production. We already have proponents on the ground down there going through R&D processes in order to ensure this occurs. As the federal government, we've backed this in. Project Marinus is a $4 billion investment in the national electricity grid, and the federal government has contributed $93.9 million into the R&D and R&A progression of Project Marinus. In order to project this into the national electricity grid, we've provided $60 million to the special-purpose vehicle which is the government mechanism and the coordination function, the conduit between Hydro Tasmania, TasNetworks and the national electricity grid. Above all, we're doing our bit in Tasmania. Our energy generation at the national level must be efficient, environmentally sound and cost effective, but, above all, it must be reliable. I can assure Australia and I can assure the NEG that we are reliable in Tasmania with hydro. COVID-19: Dementia 72 16:40 Ms McBRIDE 248353 Dobell [by video link] Dementia targets us all. There are more than 470,000 Australians living with dementia and over 1.6 million Australians involved in their care. In the electorate I represent on the Central Coast of New South Wales, some 6,000 people are living with dementia and 20,000 are involved with their care. Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia, behind heart disease, and it affects one in 10 people aged over 65 and younger people too. Every day, another 250 people are diagnosed with dementia and, tragically, another 36 die. But underneath these statistics are the people, the people who live with dementia, their carers, and their families. Living with dementia has only gotten harder during lockdown. The impact of the lockdown on people with dementia has been significant, especially when it comes to social isolation. According to Dementia Australia, the lack of engagement during lockdown can lead to a greater loss of cognitive function and, over time, people living with dementia won't be able to regain those losses. They are people like Bobby from the Central Coast. Bobby was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2016. For Bobby, dementia means living in a constant state of frustration and grief and losing a sense of self because she can't do the things she used to do. Lockdown has been difficult for Bobby. She said: 'My greatest fear is that if I'm not doing what I love, which is volunteering and doing advocacy for dementia, I will lose those skills. Social isolation is worrying because of communication. I'm losing that daily interaction and the ability to engage in small talk. I'm lucky that I have some technical skills, so I can participate in things like Zoom meetings, but for others who don't have those skills the impact of lockdown is much harder.' Bobby has also told me that she misses hugging her grandkids. But it's not just people living with dementia who are being impacted by the pandemic; it's their carers too. Carers have been doing an incredible job throughout lockdown, and their role has been made much harder, with in-home support and day programs being wound back or closed because of COVID. Carers keep people at home so that they can stay in familiar places longer and in communities for as long as possible, but they're feeling isolated from friends and family, alone, and sometimes vulnerable. I spoke to Michelle, an aged-care manager I know well on the Central Coast, who told me lockdown is having a profound effect both on people living with dementia and on those who love them. She told me today: 'Living with dementia—in this current COVID climate that has closed respite centres—is leaving people without the mental stimulation they need, causing them to become socially isolated. People with dementia are withdrawing from family and friends and are ultimately seeing a progression of their cognitive issues. It is causing enormous stress for carers and, in some instances, mental health issues as well. Carers are exhausted'. So many Australians are affected by dementia, and my family is no exception. I lost my grandma to dementia when I was in my early 20s, and I lost my dad to younger onset dementia when he was just 68 years old, which inspired me to start the Grant McBride Memory Walk & Jog back in 2018. I wanted to help to raise awareness about dementia, especially dementia in younger people, and to help pave the way for a better future. That first year we had over 350 people join and we raised $20,000 for Dementia Australia. It was an incredible effort from our community. We had another great turnout in 2019, with so many generous donations. Melbourne Cup winner Geoff Corrigan and his wife, Sue, donated $50,000 to the foundation in memory of his own father, Bill, who had Alzheimer's disease for the final six years of his life, and in memory of my father, one of his close friends. Last year we hosted a virtual event because of the pandemic. It was heartwarming to see so many people getting involved, even though they were stuck at home and couldn't meet up in person. This year will be the fourth memory walk and jog on the Central Coast and, just like 2020, we'll be hosting the event online due to COVID restrictions. The event will kick off on 25 September during Dementia Action Week. I'm encouraging all locals and people across Australia to get behind this important cause. Living with dementia is hard, but in the middle of a pandemic it's become even tougher for so many people living with dementia and their loved ones and carers. People living with dementia and those who care for them are even more isolated, and they need our support more than ever. They are some of the most vulnerable people in our community, living in residential aged care or at home. They are separated from loved ones and separated from the human connection that helps to keep all of us together and safe. In this really tough time, close to home and around the world, let's help to raise awareness and reduce the stigma. Let's try to raise vital funds for Dementia Australia so they can continue their fight. Dementia touches us all. Let's make it a better future for everyone. Internet Content 73 16:45 Mr SIMMONDS 282983 Ryan [by video link] Nobody who ever walks into the ACCCE leaves unchanged. The ACCCE is the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, and to walk into that centre and see the work that the AFP officers do to protect our kids profoundly changes somebody, I have to say. The commitment of these AFP officers to tracking down online predators is equal to the government's desire to protect our kids. These predators stalk the dark web like someone stalks a dark alley in real life. They use the dark web because it provides anonymity. It provides them an area where they can anonymously conduct their nefarious activities, whether that is targeting an ex-partner through a form of coercive control, whether it's preying on young kids or whether it's organising drug shipments as part of an organised criminal gang. The powers that have now been passed by the parliament through the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill change all of that. This government, the Morrison government, was not prepared to see these dedicated AFP officers, like the ones who operate in the ACCCE, operate with one hand tied behind their backs. Far from it, with these powers we are giving them an edge on the criminals, so that Australian families know that they are safer with this coalition government; they are safer because the AFP has these powers. Up until these powers were granted, if these dedicated AFP officers in the ACCCE were portraying themselves undercover on the dark web to infiltrate paedophile networks, and if they were able to identify and arrest somebody within these networks, they would then have to beg, cajole, ask really nicely and say 'pretty please' to take over the accounts of these horrible, heinous criminals so they could arrest their criminal accomplices. No more. These powers, specifically the account takeover powers, allow AFP officers who arrest a high-value target, such as one operating within a paedophile network, to take over their account without having to ask them, and then to take on their identity online so they can identify the associates and criminal accomplices who are part of that paedophile ring. This government has put in the hands of hardworking and dedicated AFP officers an incredibly powerful tool to protect our kids. These keyboard creeps are not just trying to take advantage of our kids. These keyboard creeps are also operating things like remote access Trojans against their ex-partners. These are programs that they install on an ex-partner's computer so they can see every keystroke. They can get banking passwords and take over their banking accounts. They can turn on their camera and monitor what their ex-partner is doing. They can look at diary entries. They can look at their entire life, basically. Up until now, while the AFP could infiltrate somebody who was selling a subscription to these kinds of programs, there was little they could do to disable the program on the thousands of computers that it could possibly be installed on. Now, thanks to the data disruption warrant, another tool that was put in place and given to AFP officers by this government, they are able to go onto the servers hosting these criminal programs, delete them and stop them working on the thousands of computers that they might otherwise be infiltrating without those people even realising it. Again, it's about giving the AFP officers an edge on the criminal gangs so that Australians know they will be safer because of the powers that the government has put in place for AFP officers and because of the work of those AFP officers. The other big challenge is the anonymising technology that the organised criminal gangs employ. You saw that during Operation Ironside, when they used the encrypted phones and the AFP officers were able to hack that network. The new network activity warrants will allow the AFP to far better track those networks through that anonymising technology so that they can further disrupt those organised criminal gangs who pedal drugs and misery and heartache to Australian families. As the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I know how important these powers are, and I know how much they are valued by AFP officers, who are doing great work to protect Australian families. I know they will make Australian families safer because of these powers that the Morrison government has put in place. Health Care 74 16:50 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston [by video link] Timely access to high-quality, affordable health care should be available to all Australians. This is an issue that has been plaguing my community for some time, because many cannot get in and see a doctor. I've raised this many times over my years as a member of parliament, and it seems now to be falling on deaf ears with this government. I am very pleased that Labor has been able to get a Senate inquiry up that will look at the acute GP shortages in places like my electorate. This inquiry will investigate the critical lack of doctors across outer metropolitan, rural and regional Australia. Whether it's hospital care, or specialist care or being able to get in to see your local GP, it's incredibly important to be able to access these services in a timely manner. The southern suburbs of Adelaide are facing a shortage of GPs, and that is preventing many of my local residents getting the basic health care they need—not least during a global pandemic, when access to affordable and timely health care has never been more important. I hear time and time again from local residents that they are waiting too long to get an appointment with a regular GP, and many doctors in the southern suburbs are stretched so thin that they have been forced to close their books to new patients. Over 300 residents in my community have signed a petition in just a few short weeks, calling on the federal government to address the GP shortage in the southern suburbs. This is just some of the feedback I received from local residents about their frustration in trying to book in with a GP. Gary from Old Reynella shared his experience of having to wait up to two weeks. He pleaded with the government, saying, 'More GPs are desperately needed.' Milton from Reynella East wrote: 'I have to wait up to two weeks. This is not good enough. We should not have to wait two weeks to see a doctor.' Shirley shared her experience: 'I have to wait at least three to four weeks for an appointment. I feel sorry for our overworked doctors.' Constance from Morphett Vale said: 'Sometimes I've waited up to three weeks or more. I have heart failure, lung failure and kidney failure. I feel very afraid, and I'm unaware when I need to access a doctor at very short notice, so please help us in the south.' Susan from Moana said she had to wait—unbelievably—a month to see her GP. She also said, 'There is a desperate need for doctors in the south.' These are just some of the voices of the thousands of residents in my community who desperately need better access to basic health care. It's not just patients who are crying out for help; it's GP clinics as well. There are multiple suburbs across the south that have been classified by the federal Department of Health as areas of workforce shortage for GPs, yet due to a bureaucratic line on a map these GP clinics are not able to access the programs that they say would help them recruit new doctors and healthcare professionals. It is nonsensical and completely appalling that these clinics sit in areas of recognised workforce shortage but cannot access the programs to help them address this problem. That's particularly so when we're relying on these same overworked doctors and overstretched GP clinics to help get vaccines into arms as part of the government's vaccine rollout. Maybe if they had paid a bit better attention over the last long eight years of being in government and ensured that our primary healthcare system was well resourced and well staffed then we wouldn't see the bungled vaccine rollout that we have now. The lack of timely access to local doctors has flow-on consequences to the whole health system. A family from Aberfoyle Park contacted me to share their experience of when they were forced to call an ambulance after being unable to see a doctor. After calling triple 0 for an ambulance, the family was left waiting for two hours for an ambulance to be diverted from the city. The family advised me that this isn't the first time. Our healthcare system is in crisis. We need a government that will resource our primary health care properly and ensure that residents can see a doctor. (Time expired) Afghanistan 74 16:56 Dr ALLEN 282986 Higgins I rise to speak on the very volatile and dangerous situation that has been evolving every day in Afghanistan recently. The situation stands as one of the most unpredictable foreign affairs issues in recent history and, of course, the top priority of the Australian government is to ensure a safe departure of Australian citizens and visa holders. But, further to that, we have a broader responsibility to Afghan nationals who seek humanitarian support. Since 18 August we have supported the evacuation of around 4,000 people from Kabul, including nationals from Australia and New Zealand as well as visa holders and foreign nationals. This is one of the largest evacuations in living memory. One thousand, two hundred people were evacuated overnight on six Australian and one New Zealand flight, with two more transfer flights to Australia today. The support of the ADF and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in working together with our partners and collaborators has been simply extraordinary. Over the last 20 years, Australia has been a steadfast contributor to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and we have made significant progress in these efforts. In this fight against terrorism more than 40,000 Australian Defence Force personnel and civilians have served. I want to honour and acknowledge those 41 soldiers who died, and include the many Australians wounded in attacks. Some of these wounds will never heal, nor will the emotional scars of the loved ones who feel the pain acutely. We must surround them with our support, our care and our admiration. Australia, and my constituents in Higgins, feel so strongly about improving education and employment opportunities for the people of Afghanistan, particularly for the women and children. Certainly, Australia has been an active participant in achieving this goal. Unfortunately, now Afghanistan faces a political and, potentially, a humanitarian crisis, which does put these achievements at risk. We've all been shocked by the recent events in this one last week in Afghanistan. I'm sure that many members in this House have been approached by their constituents about what we can do. The compassion of the constituents of Higgins has been clear to me, with hundreds of emails and phone calls to my office expressing their concern for the Afghan people. We've heard of numerous examples of families and children feeling threatened by the Taliban forces intimidating them. I am pleased to say that we have had success in this endeavour, with some of these individuals now on their way to Australia as we speak, and I thank the constituents of Higgins who have worked so hard to bring these cases to our attention, and to the department—to DFAT—for working closely with my office on these matters. We have been working with DFAT to ensure that these vulnerable Afghan citizens are processed and settled as a priority, while sheltering in Australia's protection. I was particularly very grateful in the last week for the hardworking ministers, particularly Senator the Hon. Marise Payne; the Hon. Alex Hawke and the Hon. Karen Andrews, who are the ministers for foreign affairs, immigration and home affairs respectively, and for their staff and offices for the incredible work that they have been doing. I know they've been working night and day and that they've had texts, emails and phone calls all through the night. I have actually received photos and texts from people on the ground in Kabul; it's been a frightening experience for those people who are navigating their way through and their path to safety. Knowing that the Australian Defence Force has been on the ground supporting them has been incredible for them. I'd like to say thank you to the ADF for their continued and brave efforts in a very rapidly-evolving situation. It does remain extremely dangerous, but I'd like to acknowledge the significant issues that they have had to face in this very difficult time. Nonetheless, we remain focused on the safe evacuation from Afghanistan of as many as possible during this very difficult period. While we know this volatile situation will continue to evolve for many days to come and, potentially, for many weeks, we must stay focused on the goal of bringing these vulnerable people home. And we must never forget the good work that we've achieved over the past two decades and the reasons why we were there. To that end, we must not forget the service of our ADF personnel and their agencies, and also the fact that the people in Afghanistan have had improvements to their lives. They've gained increased access to basic health care and electricity; they've had reduced maternal mortality rates; there have been rises in life expectancy; and there has been the participation of women in politics and girls attending school. House adjourned at 17 : 01