2022-11-29 2 1 0 House of Reps 0 1

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

The SPEAKER ( Hon. Milton Dick ) took the chair at 12:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.

 

BILLS 1 BILLS Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2022 1

Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2022

Returned from Senate 1 Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Reform (Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer) Bill 2022, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2022, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2022 1

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Reform (Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer) Bill 2022

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2022

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2022

Reference to Federation Chamber 1 12:01 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I declare that the following bills are referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration: the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Reform (Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer) Bill 2022, the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2022 and the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2022. REGULATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS 1 REGULATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS Health Insurance (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Amendment (Indexation) Determination 2022 1 12:02 Ms KEARNEY LTU Cooper On behalf of the Minister for Health and Aged Care, I move: That in accordance with section 10B of the Health Insurance Act 1973, the House approve the Health Insurance (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Amendment (Indexation) Determination 2022 made on 7 November 2022 and presented to the House on 21 November 2022. The Labor Party has no prouder legacy than its contribution to universal health coverage in Australia. Most importantly, Labor established the two key pillars of Australia's world-class health system: Medicare and the PBS. It was also a Labor government that established the original Medicare safety net in 1984 to support individuals with out-of-hospital expenses. In 1991 we reformed the Medicare safety net to create a specific threshold for families impacted by out-of-hospital expenses. The original Medicare safety net and the extended Medicare safety net, the EMSN, are core parts of Medicare. The Albanese government is committed to protecting and strengthening our world-class Medicare system. This includes ensuring that payments made to Australians under the Medicare safety nets, specifically the EMSN, align with economic indicators and the cost of accessing health services in Australia. The cost-of-living pressures on Australians are real, and this government is committed to responsibly and sustainably relieving the pressure on Australians accessing out-of-hospital services. The EMSN provides an additional rebate for Australian families and singles who incur out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-eligible out-of-hospital services. Approximately one million people annually rely upon this to support them through difficult health situations. The Health Insurance (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Amendment (Indexation) Determination 2022, or the EMSN indexation determination, will index the fixed dollar EMSN benefit cap on 76 out-of-hospital services to provide greater support for patients who need these services and who meet the threshold for EMSN benefits. The EMSN must be indexed to ensure that patients who reach the threshold for EMSN benefits receive benefits that have been adjusted for the latest consumer price index. This is important for easing cost-of-living pressures for people dealing with already high out-of-pocket costs. The EMSN index determination will also apply EMSN benefit caps to recently listed attendance items, consistent with the general capping arrangements for a attendant services, and apply fixed EMSN benefit caps to recently listed obstetric telehealth services and obstetric ultrasound services. These adjustments to the EMSN are critical for protecting the integrity and financial viability of Medicare. The Australian government expenditure on the EMSN is approximately $600 million per year. As stewards of investment in the health system, the government must act to ensure that the EMSN is not associated with inappropriate claiming or overservicing. Maintaining universal access to health care through Medicare is a priority for this government. The EMSN indexation determination enables the benefit paid to patients to keep pace with CPI and protects the integrity of the EMSN for all Australians. Question agreed to. COMMITTEES 2 COMMITTEES Parliamentary Standards Joint Select Committee 2 Report 2 12:06 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards I present the committee's final report, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with that report. Leave granted. Ms CLAYDON 248181 As chair of the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, I appreciate the opportunity that the House is providing me to speak on this report and the codes of conduct that we have proposed. Recent reports of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in our parliament have justly shocked the nation and highlighted the need for urgent reform to ensure all parliamentary workplaces are safe and respectful places to work. Codes of conduct are a crucial part of that reform; they set clear and consistent standards of behaviour which will in turn help hold everyone to account. The Australian parliament has long sought to address the issues of codes of conduct. Indeed, our parliament has been considering codes of conduct for almost half a century. In 1975 a report on declaration of interests noted that a meaningful code of conduct should exist in the Australian parliament. In 1993, 2008, 2011 and in 2012 the Australian parliament again tried and again failed to introduce codes of conduct. The need, and the public expectation for codes of conduct, has grown over the years—and now the 47th parliament has a unique opportunity to make good on past mistakes and leave a legacy for future generations of people who work in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. With over 4,000 people working in Parliament House on any giving sitting day, and thousands more working across the country in our electorate offices supporting us as parliamentarians and our constituents, all Commonwealth parliamentarian workplaces must be safe and respectful places to work. We owe it to the Australian people and, importantly, we owe it to everyone who has shared their story of not feeling safe in a parliamentary workplace. We owe it to them to get this done, we cannot waste this opportunity. As the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, said in her Set the standard report: This is an opportunity for the leaders of our country to transform Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces to become what they already should be: workplaces where expected standards of behaviour are modelled, championed and enforced, where respectful behaviour is rewarded and in which any Australian, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status or age, feels safe and welcome to contribute. These codes are just part of the work that this 47th Parliament is doing to deliver safe and respectful workplaces. I do want to note that this week we also celebrate the passage of the first report that Kate Jenkins as Sex Discrimination Commissioner delivered to this Australian parliament, and we have now passed the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill through this parliament. That is good news, because everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace, and the fact that workplaces have not been safe and respectful for many Australians is unacceptable. But these codes of conduct now are our opportunity to ensure our workplaces are also safe and respectful places for everyone to work. The scope and responsibility of this committee was unusual in many ways. Not only were we tasked with considering how codes would work, what other jurisdictions have done and the applicability and enforcement of codes; we were also asked to draft the codes of conduct for parliamentarians, for parliamentarians' staff and for parliamentary workplaces to ensure safe and respectful behaviours. The behaviour code for Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces has been drafted to apply and be available to everyone who works in and visits our workplaces. This includes parliamentarians, their staff, departmental staff, the press gallery, our contractors, lobbyists and visitors. It is an all-encompassing code. The committee considered the sensitive nature of the issues under discussion and acknowledged that the implementation of proposed behaviour codes would impact on stakeholders in our workplaces. We also knew that broad support of the codes across the parliament was necessary to ensure that our proposed codes of conduct would help drive the long-term cultural change that we all seek to find. For this reason we ensured a wide range of consultation was available to everyone. The committee received 45 public submissions. The submissions were comprehensive and detailed, and we're indebted to the people and organisations who took the time to provide such high-quality evidence and advice to the inquiry. We held public and private hearings as well as focused group discussions over five public hearings and three in camera hearings, gathering some 40 hours of evidence from a wide range of individuals, organisations, parliamentarians and staff across Australia. The committee also provided the option for stakeholders to give their feedback by completing a confidential online survey. The committee received 547 responses to this survey. I truly appreciate the effort made by those who contributed to that online survey but also those who made written submissions, gave evidence at hearings and provided feedback on the drafts of proposed codes of conduct. I'd also like to thank the secretariat, especially committee secretary Tas Larnach, principal research officers Kate Gauthier and Chiara Edwards and senior research officer Trish Carling. I want to also pay tribute to my deputy chair, Senator the Honourable Marise Payne, and to all the committee members. I'm going to name those that I see in the chamber now. Thank you to the member for Lalor, the member for Bean and the member for Forrest, who participated each and every step in this journey. It was hard work, it was intense work and I couldn't be more grateful for the consensus way in which we took our decision-making seriously. As I said, the committee was able to reach a consensus. The fact we were able to do so should give this parliament every confidence to move forward with these recommendations. I implore the Australian parliament to take this opportunity to set in place what previous parliaments have failed to do and to adopt these codes of conduct to help shape a safe and respectful workplace for all those who work in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces across our nation. On behalf of the committee I commend this report to the parliament. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Ms CLAYDON 248181 by leave—I move: That the House take note of the report. 12:14 Mrs MARINO HWP Forrest by leave—As a member of the Parliamentary Standards Committee I too want to acknowledge what's gone into this work. Given that the chair has outlined the work, I won't go back over that. But I would like, in this instance, to acknowledge the work of the chair. The chair has recognised that there was a power of work done on this and it was intense. The reflection of the consensus that was reached is, in great part, due to the work of the chair, and I thank and commend her for that work. I also acknowledge that this is a very important report. All of us who are part of that committee were certainly impacted by the evidence that we received in its various forms. I really want to thank all of the witnesses and those who gave evidence, in any form and any submitter, for the courage they had to report to us and give us the information that we needed to come to this report and the recommendations in it. It wasn't easy for those people, at all, and we understood that, I think, as a committee. There was a very compassionate approach to the work that we undertook and an understanding of the people that we were meeting. A safe and respective workplace is certainly something that we all supported and endorsed through this report. I also want to thank everyone who was involved in this for the amount of work involved—and I think none of us underestimate what was involved—and the work that was done to establish the code itself. I want to thank everyone who was part of this, not just the chair but the deputy chair as well, Marise Payne, who did an extraordinary amount of work. None of us would underestimate the amount of work done by the deputy chair. I want to thank each of the committee members and acknowledge the amount of work, dedication and commitment they put in to get this right and to work with each other to do so. So to the other members present, I thank each of you as well for your willingness to engage and come to the best outcome that we could possibly get, one about clarity and safe and respectful workplaces through the code itself. The witnesses and submitters, I have thanked. The secretariat also had a very intense process to deal with and much was required of them, particularly in the latter parts, as we were bringing this together. I also really appreciated, as other members did, the advice we received from other jurisdictions that sought to introduce codes themselves. I found that invaluable, in my deliberations and consideration of this work. This is a significant piece of work and I really wanted to acknowledge and thank all of my colleagues and everyone who's been part of this from the beginning until this point. I thank the chair, in particular, for the work that she's done in this process. The SPEAKER 53517 In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Reference to Federation Chamber 4 12:18 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to. BILLS 4 BILLS Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 4

Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022

Second Reading 4 12:18 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and move: That this bill be now read a second time. Australia's biosecurity system is facing unprecedented and ever-increasing threats. We know all too well the threats of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease in Indonesia. In response to these threats the Albanese government has implemented the strongest ever response to a biosecurity threat in our nation's history. While the system has performed well to date, we cannot afford to be complacent. These biosecurity threats are increasing due to a rise in the volume and complexity of trade, the effects of climate change and the ever-increasing worldwide spread of pests and disease. Australia's biosecurity system must be able to adapt and respond to these evolving risks. It must be fit to meet the challenges of the next decade, and this bill will help make that happen. The measures in this bill will help strengthen Australia's biosecurity system, helping to protect our $70.3 billion agricultural export industries, protect 1.6 million jobs across the agricultural supply chain, and protect our way of life. Biosecurity risks can present in many ways at our seaports, mail centres, airports and northern coastline. In the case of foot-and-mouth disease, risks can even include the clothing and footwear of travellers. Early identification and assessment of such risks remains fundamental to a responsive and effective biosecurity system. This bill will provide new mechanisms for assessing risk and determining interventions for travellers entering Australia. This may include requirements for people to provide information about whether they have been in a high biosecurity risk location. This would allow for triaging and better-informed decisions about targeted assessment for the treatment of goods to manage and contain any potential risk. It will also provide a mechanism for implementing certain preventative biosecurity measures where biosecurity officers assess diseases or pests pose an unacceptable risk. This bill shows the government is serious. People who jeopardise Australia's biosecurity system by failing to comply with these requirements will face civil penalties of up to 120 penalty points, or, currently, $26,640. And in a new measure, those who attempt to evade biosecurity controls, for example those who deliberately conceal goods when travelling through our airports, will face even stiffer penalties including an infringement of up to $4,440. That is the largest infringement ever for a biosecurity threat and ensures the penalty fits the seriousness of the crime. These measures will provide a vital tool in managing the current risk posed by outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in our neighbouring regions. These tools will be able to be adapted to target and respond to future threats which could potentially include lumpy skin disease, African swine fever or Xylella. The bill will implement important lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will expand pre-arrival reporting requirements, to ensure our biosecurity officers have accurate and up-to-date information available to assess the biosecurity risk associated with the arrival of vessels and aircraft. Operators and persons in charge of these aircraft and vessels who do not comply with these requirements will be subject to tougher sanctions. Biosecurity is everyone's responsibility, and everybody needs to do the right thing. If they don't, the Australian public would rightfully expect that the punishment would fit the crime. This bill will step up a range of civil and criminal penalties under the Biosecurity Act. These penalties must remain an effective deterrent against noncompliance and enable a proportionate response to contraventions. These stronger penalties, in some cases up to $222,000 for an individual or $1.1 million for corporate bodies, better reflect the seriousness of any contraventions. And compared with the current penalty regime, they better reflect the consequences that noncompliance may have on Australia's biosecurity status, market access and economy. If we wish to keep Australia free from pests and diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, the Biosecurity Act must remain fit for purpose and futureproofed. This bill will help achieve this by improving the operation of the information and confidentiality provisions. It will also provide specific authorisations for the use and disclosure of relevant information, while ensuring that sensitive information is afforded appropriate protection. This bill will increase the transparency and effectiveness of administrative processes in the Biosecurity Act such as those involved in conducting a risk assessment for the purposes of making determinations or granting an import permit. It will also introduce a framework under the Biosecurity Act to provide legislative authority to the agriculture and health ministers, enabling the ability to make, vary and administer arrangements or grants for expenditure relating to biosecurity related programs—which are key in facilitating a strong biosecurity system. Another important aspect of the biosecurity framework involves the work of biosecurity industry participants, who are authorised to carry out certain activities under approved arrangements to manage biosecurity risks associated with specific goods, premises, or other things. This bill would streamline and improve the operation of a number of provisions relating to approved arrangements and compensation under the Biosecurity Act, reducing administrative costs while strengthening audit powers. Our work in strengthening Australia's biosecurity system does not end with this bill. This is the first stage of amendments the government will make to ensure our regulatory framework remains fit for purpose and ready to take on future biosecurity challenges. Having a strong and efficient biosecurity system is more important than ever as we respond to foot-and-mouth disease and other emerging diseases on our doorstep. The Albanese government will not rest while these biosecurity threats are there. We owe it to our farmers. We owe it to those who work in the food supply chain. And we owe it to all Australians to protect our food security. I commend the bill to the House. 12:25 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina The federal coalition support the passage of the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022. We support this legislation because it will amend the Biosecurity Act 2015 with measures to enhance the operation of Australia's national biosecurity framework. It will strengthen the management of risks across maritime and aviation pathways, improve the efficiency of the act, and increase a range of civil and criminal penalties for breaches of biosecurity law. Also, the passage of this bill will address recommendations made by the Inspector-General of Biosecurity, in his review of the Ruby Princess incident, and the New South Wales special commission of inquiry. Significantly, this bill is similar to legislation introduced last year by the federal coalition. The bill will increase protection from diseases and pests by implementing measures that manage the biosecurity risk from travellers, including responding to the threat of foot-and-mouth disease being introduced into Australia from the footwear and clothing of travellers. Whilst this is welcome, it is worth recognising that it was the federal coalition that called for foot mats to be installed at international airports once FMD was detected in Bali, given the increased risk from travellers. It is good that they are now in place, but the government flip-flopped about whether to install the mats in the first place, and, by the time they did, it had taken too long. In the weeks that it took for the government to make up their minds and take action, 79,374 international travellers arrived in Australia from Indonesia, with 93.4 per cent from Bali, without having to disinfect their shoes. In a positive move, this bill will strengthen pratique and pre-arrival reporting by ensuring that the pre-arrival reporting requirements of the Biosecurity Act are expanded to ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is available to assess biosecurity risk, including the human health risk of arriving vessels and aircraft. The penalties for operators and persons in charge of aircraft and vessels who do not comply with these requirements will be expanded and strengthened. The importance of having a strong biosecurity system should never be underestimated. In 2020 the value of Australia's biosecurity system was estimated to be $314 billion over 50 years. It is absolutely essential that compliance with our national biosecurity laws and framework is always maintained and that the penalties in place reflect the seriousness of the risk. Importantly, this bill will increase the penalties for those who do the wrong thing. People who put at risk Australia's biosecurity system by failing to comply with these new requirements will face civil penalties of up to 120 penalty points or $26,640. For operators, the increased penalties are up to $222,000 for an individual and up to $1.1 million for corporate bodies. The remaining measures in the bill will simplify the process for making decisions identifying prohibited, conditionally non-prohibited and suspended goods or granting permits based on risk assessments. The bill will allow the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Minister for Health and Aged Care to authorise expenditure on biosecurity related programs to increase efficiency and allow more transparency of such expenditure. There will be more-effective sharing of information with government agencies and other bodies, whilst ensuring necessary confidentiality. The bill will also improve the operation of provisions relating to approved arrangements and compensation. Overall, these are sensible measures that the federal coalition will be supporting. Australia's biosecurity system is a crucial pillar of our national defence, helping us to prepare for, protect against and respond to risks to our environment, economy and way of life. Our nation has always enjoyed a reputation for clean, healthy and disease-free agricultural production systems through our natural advantage of geographic isolation. This has also given Australian producers an edge in a very competitive international market and environment. This rock-solid reputation is not something that should ever, ever be put at risk. We need a strong biosecurity system, because in 2020 Australia's environmental assets were valued at a staggering $5.7 trillion—modelled over 50 years—and can't be replaced. Agricultural production in our nation is projected to reach $82 billion in 2022-23, supporting 1.6 million jobs through the supply chain. Before COVID-19, tourism contributed $50 billion to Australia's gross domestic product. It's important to point this out, because the health of all these sectors relies on a strong, robust biosecurity system. The coalition are proud of our track record on biosecurity, because we made it a priority while in government. I note that the member for McEwen, who's about to speak, is constructing a very important biosecurity facility in his electorate, which has made such a difference, from bees right through to larger animals and plants. That was a good investment, in making sure that the facility consolidated similar smaller facilities around the nation. It's close to Tullamarine airport as well. In 2022-23 we made more than a billion dollars available for biosecurity and export programs when in government, an increase of 69 per cent from the financial year 2014-15. In government we also increased fines for people breaking biosecurity law and partnered with New Zealand to develop world-leading biosecurity risk detection technology, such as 3D X-rays. Our measures in office ensured that Australia remained a world leader in biosecurity and agriculture, with strong controls in place offshore, at our border and within our nation. Given the increased risks at Australia's borders, with a major foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Indonesia and the threats of varroa mite and lumpy skin disease, the federal coalition will always lend our support to outcomes that will strengthen our biosecurity system. We commend this bill to the House. 12:32 Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E McEwen I rise to support the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 and the important reforms it represents for protecting our nation and our economy. As most know, Australia is acknowledged as having one of most comprehensive biosecurity laws globally, but we're experiencing ever-increasing threats to industry, jobs and, therefore, our way of life. With this bill, the government are showing that we are serious about ensuring the safety of our citizens and protecting our economy from the increasing threats of biosecurity hazards by introducing new range of civil and criminal penalties, enhancing the ability to share information, and ensuring effective and efficient processes. It provides several minor amendments to improve the management of biosecurity nationally and operational effectiveness. Importantly, it gives the government the power to make determinations in response to imminent threats, including the ability to specify entry requirements for incoming travellers and put forward more preventative biosecurity measures. This is important so that we can act immediately to prevent or reduce the risk of disease or a pest that poses a threat to our biosecurity. The passage of this bill will mean that biosecurity officers can act on any biosecurity risk that could enter Australia, whether it be by air or sea. These clearer regulations help our officers provide more-comprehensive security and are another mechanism in preventing biosecurity risk from finding a home here. This bill is a response to the rising risks seen globally, which have been a concern not only for our government but also for Australians across the nation. Take the ongoing risk of COVID-19 or the emergence of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia. In May, foot-and-mouth was spreading throughout Indonesia. This was a big risk for us as a nation, but it was responded to quickly by the newly elected Albanese government with the introduction of the Biosecurity (Foot and Mouth Disease Biosecurity Response Zone) Determination 2022. The government's response to the new dangers was credited by some as the strongest-ever response to a biosecurity threat in our nation's history. While the system has performed very well today, Australia cannot afford to become complacent. This is a bill that is going to tackle and remove any room for complacency. It will provide Australians with a system futureproofed against biosecurity threats that could hurt the livelihoods of millions of Australians. Let's not forget that here we are creating a safeguard around our $70.3 billion agricultural export industries, protecting some 1.6 million jobs across the agricultural supply chain and, frankly, protecting our way of life. If we protect our local industries, we'll also be protecting the average Australian consumer from additional costs that would come from the disruption of that supply chain. We have recently seen the importance of this. As the Whittlesea review reported earlier this year, the city of Whittlesea in my electorate of McEwen heard from the Victorian Apiarists Association Melbourne section secretary, Rob Kerr, on the cruciality of bees for human survival. He talked about the alarm of the Australian honey industry due to the emergence of varroa mite. Varroa mite is one of the main threats to the beekeeping industry globally and had previously not been detected in Australia until earlier this year. The impact of this breach in biosecurity is not only having a devastating impact on the New South Wales beekeeping industry. That, in turn, has had flow-on effects for the beekeeping industry in Victoria. The mite's entrance to Australia could affect an industry that's worth some $14.2 billion, according to the SMH, driving Australian beekeepers out of the industry and could once again put pressure on grocery prices and even bring down the quality of groceries that we have. That is as an example that shows how widespread the effects can be from an isolated breach in biosecurity and how it can influence the entire supply chain. The Age has reported the varroa mite is credited with a $200 million loss in Victoria's almond industry due to the inability to get the number of beehives needed to pollinate. This is why we must do everything we can to protect agricultural industries and the Australian economy from biosecurity hazards, which is what this bill does. We are not afraid to act to keep the Australian industry safe. We are acting to enshrine the security of industry and consumers. To do that, we are appropriately increasing the penalties for those who don't adhere to biosecurity requirements. This is important because we need to deter people from taking risks and making decisions that will endanger Australians. Biosecurity is everyone's responsibility, and everyone needs to do the right thing. If they don't, the Australian public rightfully expect that the punishment should fit the crime. This bill ensures that. If you want to ensure Australia remains free of pests and diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, the Biosecurity Act must remain fit for purpose and futureproofed. I want to highlight that this is not the only way we are protecting Australia's biosecurity interests. As a government, we understand the importance of tackling these issues in a holistic way. While we're bringing this legislation to the House—and it will go a long way to deter people and hold people and private entities to account—we are also helping the global effort to combat those diseases that affect our agricultural industries. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has been working with its Indonesian counterparts to combat the recent FMD outbreak. We are providing support through vaccines, having provided four million doses since August. Dr Chris Parker from the department says: 'Our endgame is to assist them in getting things under control so that Indonesia will be no different from the other 70 countries globally that have FMD.' This approach reduces the risk of it occurring in Australia, especially due to the amount of trade, tourism and proximity that our two countries share. This government understands the importance of handling this issue in a multifaceted way. We want to reassure the Australian public we are doing everything we can to protect Australians and their livelihoods. Every industry will benefit from the introduction of our new biosecurity laws, with the average Australian benefiting from these safeguards because protecting our agricultural industry will keep the cost of living down and keep our economy growing. We are protecting our farmers and their livelihoods with this bill. We are protecting the export industries that keep our economy moving and growing. Importantly, we are protecting Australians from the rise in costs that would happen if these diseases were introduced to Australia. We have seen the impact that an introduced biosecurity threat has had on the Australian industry through the introduction of the varroa mite, with more hives being destroyed every day as it spreads across New South Wales. We have seen the chain of impacts this has had on other agricultural industries and the economic flow-on effect that a biosecurity breach can induce. We know these threats are ever-changing and ever-growing. The Albanese Labor government want to assure Australians that we will not rest while these threats are on our doorstep and that we are moving to ensure our nation and our economy are protected. Under the Gillard government, as the member for Riverina pointed out, we built a $750 million quarantine centre. It's the most modern and up-to-date facility for plants and animals, and it actually delivers safety across the nation. We often overlook just how important these things are. But, as I mentioned with regard to varroa mite, if we don't have bees, we don't have food. That's a really big issue facing Australians. With climate change also impacting dramatically on our bee industries and bees across the globe, it's something we have to fight harder to get on top of. We should act quickly to pass this legislation so that Australia can face its biosecurity challenges stronger than ever. I proudly stand for this bill, because the Albanese Labor government stands to protect our biosecurity integrity. We are acting quickly to do all that we can to tackle this issue effectively. 12:41 Mr BIRRELL 288713 Nicholls I'm very pleased to support the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022. This bill will amend the Biosecurity Act 2015, inserting some new measures to provide for increased protection against diseases and pests that pose an unacceptably high biosecurity risk of coming into this country and spreading through our states and territories. This bill provides a regulatory framework for managing the risk, outlines Australia's international rights and obligations and contains a number of measures which have similarities with the biosecurity bill that the coalition introduced into the parliament last year. So we're supporting this legislation. Specifically, there are some key things in this legislation that allow for new measures to manage the biosecurity risk from travellers—those coming from anywhere, but particularly, with the risk that we've seen, those coming from Indonesia. My electorate of Nicholls is one of the major dairy industry regions in Australia. It produces an enormous amount of Australia's milk and a very high percentage of Australia's milk exports. Everywhere you go around Nicholls, there is a small town that has been provided for and kept going by the existence of a dairy factory. We've got Bega Cheese in Tatura—formerly Tatura Milk—Fonterra in Stanhope, Saputo up in Numurkah and, of course, Noumi in Shepparton. We've got dairy farmers producing milk every day, and there are tankers all over the place, taking this milk into these factories. They provide huge export dollars for Australia as we send the produce over. When you go into many supermarkets in South-East Asia, you can see that the Australian brand, the Australian flag on those dairy products, is extremely prominent. That's how valued our products are. We've got to protect this industry and make sure that the risk of FMD is kept as low as possible, and this bill does some good work around that. It expands the pre-arrival reporting requirements for aircrafts and vessels and makes the owner of the aircraft or vessel also responsible, not just the operator. As the member for McEwen rightly pointed out, varroa mite is a very concerning development and concerning risk for our almond industry, which has traditionally been in Griffith, the Riverina and also up in the Riverland but is also expanding into my electorate in Nicholls, up in the northern part. I think sometimes that the Australian population doesn't understand the importance of the bee. If you'd driven around my electorate a month ago, you would have seen the orchards flowering. They're cross-pollination varieties—they need bees to take pollen from one variety to another in order to fruit. So we've got to protect those bees. In my previous career I had much involvement in this. I was an agronomist, and my job was to go to orchards in the Goulburn Valley and identify pests and diseases, particularly in fruit—apples, pears and peaches. If exotic diseases that exist in other parts of the world get into Australia, we'll be in real trouble. I want to mention fire blight. Fire blight badly affects apples, in terms of crop damage and tree damage, and it also affects pears. In places where there is significant fire blight, like the United States and New Zealand, there is not a viable pear industry. Those opposite had their party room meeting this morning. I provided some apples and pears. It was some goodwill to all sides from the people of Nicholls. The member for Bean came over to me and said that it was a great initiative because everyone's looking for a 'pear' this week—boom, boom! Well done, Member for Bean. Nicholls produces 95 per cent of Australia's pears. The majority used to go to the canneries—SPC and Ardmona. We still produce pears that go there, but with new storage technologies, such as controlled atmosphere storage, we can keep the fresh product and use the logistics chain to provide the fresh product to the table, not only in Australia but around the world. That industry would be seriously threatened if fire blight were to come into this country. Many years ago when we were debating whether Australia should allow the import of New Zealand apples the people of my electorate were extremely concerned, because they felt that, if New Zealand apples came to Australia and brought with them fire blight and that got into our orchards, we'd be in huge trouble. There were fruit bins burnt in protest. It was quite a big deal. In the end New Zealand apples were brought into this country and can be imported into Australia, but the biosecurity regulations are extremely strict. We would have preferred that they weren't allowed in, but the fact that there are strong biosecurity measures in place, which I believe will be enhanced by this bill, means that we have not had an outbreak of fire blight and we continue to have a strong apple and pear industry. We're going to have some challenges in that the United States is going to want to export fruit to Australia as well. The United States has significant fire blight in many areas as well. Again we have to assess the risk. If we do let in apples from the United States—and I'm not saying that I'll be supporting that—the biosecurity measures need to be extremely strong. It is not just the orchards. You can see through the orchards the result of when biosecurity did not work many years ago. We have had incursions of oriental fruit moth, codling moth and light-brown apple moth—all of which I used to try to identify and then provide a solution for to the local orchardists. The federal coalition had a great record on biosecurity—$1.07 billion was available for biosecurity and export programs, an increase of $438.8 million, or 69 per cent of that, from 2014-15. In this year's budget that we delivered before the election we were pleased to commit $62 million to boost northern Australian frontline biosecurity over four years, including to safeguard our northern border against animal diseases, $10 million to support states and territories to undertake surveillance and control activities for japanese encephalitis virus—and that's a particular concern in the northern part of my electorate—and $20 million over three years for livestock traceability. I just want to mention livestock traceability. We need to guard against foot-and-mouth disease coming into this country with everything we can. God forbid that there is an incursion of foot-and-mouth or something similar that affects our livestock industries. We need those traceability initiatives so that we can find it, isolate it, nip it in the bud and have a system and a program that are ready to go, so it's extremely important. Last year in government the federal coalition launched Biosecurity 2030, a strategic road map for protecting Australia's environment, economy and way of life. The road map represented the great work of the former agriculture minister, the member for Maranoa, and it had five key enablers: firstly, governance, a strong commitment by governments, industry and the community to work together, and you can see that in my electorate on the fruit fly issue where there's a real community buy-in because everybody knows that, if these pests were to affect our export markets, it's not just the orchardists that lose out but all of the service industries around the orchards and the towns themselves lose out. The community gets involved, cuts down fruit trees in backyards that are not being sprayed, and the government helps to enable that. The second enabler is people. We need a workforce that has the capacity, skills and flexibility to prepare for and respond to emergent biosecurity risks, challenges and opportunities. As a graduate in agricultural science from the wonderful Dookie college, Melbourne university's agricultural campus in northern Victoria, I know that we need more people who have skills in pest identification and biosecurity measures and who understand the technology and the ways to keep our agricultural industry safe. The third enabler is technology, and we need the technology itself. With data being used more and more in different ways, we can harness that data and use it to further enhance our ability to manage these risks. The fourth enabler is regulation, having a regulatory environment that supports us to respond to current and future biosecurity challenges and opportunities. That environment needs both legislation and penalties as well as policing, and I commend the amendments in this bill. Increasing punishments for some wrongdoing when it comes to creating biosecurity risks is a further deterrent. The final enabler is funding. Obviously, we need money to do all these things. Biosecurity affirmed the coalition government's commitment to developing a national biosecurity strategy, and we took action to make that a reality. That was appreciated by the people in my electorate. It's really a bipartisan effort, and I thank those opposite for this. We all love our agricultural industries because they're so important to us. We might argue the toss on some other issues, such as water and labour, but on biosecurity we'll work constructively together to make sure that we keep our wonderful Australian agricultural industry safe. I commend the bill and the amendments it makes to the House. 12:53 Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 Lyons I thank the member for Nicholls for his contribution to the debate on the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 and for his contribution to the caucus this morning, the fruit from his electorate. We are always happy to support fruitgrowers, whether they're in National, Liberal or Labor electorates. Of course, there is broad support across this parliament for the bill before the House today and the amendments it makes. Biosecurity, as the member for Nicholls said, is a bipartisan issue. We may sometimes disagree on the margins, but on the broad issue there is unanimity. Let me be clear from the outset: there is no greater threat to Australia's agricultural sector right now than the potential for an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Foot-and-mouth is endemic across much of Asia, and was recently found as close as Bali, and it puts at risk our $70.3 billion agricultural export industries, 1.6 million jobs across the supply chain, millions of Australian cattle and hundreds of thousands of family farms across our vast country. The Australian government is determined to do all it can to keep FMD out of Australia. We have responded with strong biosecurity measures, working closely with Indonesian authorities. FMD is the greatest biosecurity threat, but by no means the only biosecurity threat that we face. Our biosecurity measures are also designed to keep out lumpy skin disease and to detect and deter a range of other threats to our agriculture and environment. The Albanese Labor government has implemented the strongest ever response to a biosecurity threat in our nation's history, and there is no room for complacency. This bill is testament to the government's commitment to protecting our shores from the spread of disease and pest risks. The bill before the House strengthens our ability to effectively manage and respond to biosecurity risks. It increases the range of penalties both civil and criminal against those whose negligence, ignorance, carelessness or hostile intent threatens our economy and our environment. We make no apologies for coming down hard on people who put Australia's biosecurity at risk. If you're the sort of person who thinks you can pack some pork in your suitcase or bring back some seeds or fruit, you are going to face a $26,640 fine. The rules are clear. There is no excuse. Every traveller is informed about their responsibilities and their obligations upon entering this country. They are given the opportunity to declare and dispose of goods that contravene our biosecurity laws. If you flout them, if you ignore them, if you think you can plead ignorance or claim you just made a simple mistake, we'll have no sympathy for you. Provisions in this bill will also ensure responsibility is imposed on operators of aircraft and ships arriving in Australian territory. Stronger penalties will be implemented, in some cases up to $222,000 for an individual and $1.1 million for corporate bodies. The message needs to get through: take biosecurity more seriously if you're coming to this country. Do more to keep Australia safe from threats. If you don't, we will come down on you like a ton of bricks. Importantly, this bill gives the minister for agriculture the ability to respond quickly and implement preventative biosecurity measures to prevent the incursion of FMD and other threats. It gives the Australian government the ability to respond adequately to the risk of FMD. We know that, when biosecurity risks reach Australia, the danger they present grow and subside depending on the response and spread occurring internationally. To this end, it is important that Australia too can respond in the same way to any risk. This bill allows that to happen swiftly. This bill will ensure that biosecurity officers will also be equipped with a strengthened legislative framework, which will allow them to respond to and manage biosecurity risks entering Australia through maritime and aviation pathways. We are doing this by ensuring that pre-arrival reporting requirements are expanded and access to up-to-date information is provided to inform the management of biosecurity risks. No matter which travel path biosecurity risks try to enter Australia, our biosecurity system will be in place to act as a strong wall and push back against the threat of disease. At an administrative level, this bill will improve the sharing and confidentiality provisions in the Biosecurity Act which will give authorisation for the use and disclosure of relevant information together with appropriate protections for sensitive information. The bill also improves the processes for managing approved importation of goods or granting import permits based on scientific risk assessments. It improves transparency and streamlines administration, ensuring the focus of all people is on directly protecting Australia, not negotiating bureaucracy. The bill also provides authority for the health and agriculture ministers to make, vary and administer arrangements or grants for expenditure related to biosecurity programs and activities. This is a significant amendment that the government is putting forward. It ensures that our biosecurity framework remains the best it can be to protect Australia, including our plant life, our animal and human health, our environment and our economy. But let me also be clear: our work in strengthening Australia's biosecurity system does not end with this bill. This is just a beginning. This is the first stage of amendments by the Australian government to ensure that our regulatory framework remains fit for purpose and ready to take on future biosecurity challenges, whatever they may be. Farmers have told us that they want more security of Australian territory. They want to be certain that the Australian government is doing everything in its power to protect them from pests and diseases, especially from FMD. I say to those farmers: this government is listening, and this government is working to keep this country safe and this country's agricultural sector safe. Having a strong and efficient biosecurity system is more important than ever at the moment as we continue to respond to the international spread of FMD and other emerging diseases that sit on our doorstep and try to breach our biosecurity measures. This amendment bill, this response from the Albanese government, is strong, but—let's be clear—it is proportionate to the risk that is posed by FMD and other diseases and pests that may threaten Australia's biosecurity. The consequences would be catastrophic if we failed to provide such a strong response. My electorate is a farming electorate. Lyons spans 52 per cent of mainland Tasmania and encapsulates the best of the best of Tasmania's farming lands. From north to south and everywhere in between, Lyons is renowned for its high-quality livestock and crops. The products we grow and produce are shipped across Australia and the world because the quality of our agriculture in Tasmania is next to none; it's world leading. We supply to the rest of Australia and the world incredible beef, dairy, lamb, wool and so much more. Tasmanian agriculture keeps people fed and housed. It puts kids in school and keeps the Tasmanian economy rolling along at a successful rate. But it is susceptible to biosecurity threats from outside Australia, such as foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, African swine fever, Xylella and other biosecurity hazards posed to agricultural industries. Wherever I go in Lyons, farmers share their concerns with me. They talk to me about the droughts, floods, bumper crops and hard times. Importantly, they talk to me about what they see is needed in agriculture and what government can and should be doing—and, just as importantly, what government shouldn't be doing—to improve the sector and safeguard it in times of great uncertainty. I'm proud to stand by my farmers and work with them to ensure that our biosecurity network is as strong as it possibly can be. I've always backed them and the sector, and I'll continue to do so, especially now when the stakes are so high. Farmers called for increased biosecurity, and the Albanese government is delivering it. Make no mistake, the Australian government is alive to the issue of FMD and other biosecurity risks, and nobody can say that our response has not been one that is thorough and of great strength. I'm heartened by the rhetoric of those opposite, because they recognise that this is a shared challenge. We offered them support for biosecurity when they were in government, and they are offering us their support today. I recall speaking to a farmer from Cressy in the north of my electorate not too long ago. He was deeply concerned about the threat of FMD, as we all are in Lyons, and asked me what would happen should it enter Australia. He was worried that the presence of FMD in one state, but not others, would lead to a blanket export ban to countries where farmers currently hold strong business and trade. You can imagine, Mr Deputy Speaker, why this is of particular interest to Tasmanian farmers. There's a view in Tasmania that, if FMD were to make an incursion onto mainland Australia, perhaps the water border around our state could lead to some level of protection for us in international markets. Of course, it's up to those international markets. If they decide that there has been an incursion of FMD in Australia, it's up to them to decide whether Tasmania should be included in any bans that they introduce. Of course, it's a big concern in Tasmania, and the No. 1 issue is not to talk about what happens if there is an incursion onto mainland Australia but to keep it off mainland Australia. That's the purpose of the bill before the House today, and that's the focus of this government: to keep FMD out of Australia. That's what we're determined to do. We want a biosecurity system that's highly secure and that keeps our farmers safe and our export economy alive and healthy, ensuring that farmers, like the one I spoke to in Cressy, are protected and their livestock and livelihoods are protected. It's what farmers in Australia deserve, and it's what the Albanese government is delivering for them. This bill will strengthen and improve Australia's biosecurity capabilities for the better. It will give power to authorities to act swiftly when required, to ensure that diseases such as FMD are kept far away from our livestock and our farms. It will protect Australia's human life, animal life and plant life as well as the environment and the economy. Importantly, it puts our best foot forward in the fight against the spread of risks into and around Australia, and it increases penalties for those who would flout or ignore our biosecurity measures. These are some of the most uncertain times and decades that we're living through, and the agriculture sector has on its side a government that is willing and ready to do all it can to protect agriculture. I thank Minister Murray Watt and the department of agriculture for their work in this area to ensure our biosecurity is kept secure. It's not an easy task given the international climate and the experience the sector is having, but Minster Watt's commitment to the portfolio is second to none, and he truly shows a high level of dedication to biosecurity and the Australian people. This is what happens when you elect a Labor government: you get a government that works day and night to protect its people, its farms and its economy. We will continue to protect and fight ardently against the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and any other biosecurity risks that are on the minds of so many in Australia today. I commend the bill to the House. 13:05 Mr WOLAHAN 235654 Menzies On this side of the House, there are 58 members of the coalition. Fifteen members are from metropolitan areas and 43 are from rural and regional areas. Those 43 members on this side have a significant depth of expertise and lived experience, but I'm not one of them. I'm one of the 15. So I rise here grateful for the input and advice that have been given from my side, but also, having sat through the contributions that have been given, I acknowledge there is clearly depth, interest and expertise on the other side, so I thank you for your contributions. When I first came with my family as a migrant to Australia, I was struck by all of the videos we saw and the forms that we had to fill in to make sure that we weren't carrying things we weren't allowed to, and I'm reminded of that every time I get the chance to go overseas—which hasn't been for a while. When we do that, we realise that we are so blessed here as a country to have the geography that we do and that we get to protect our biosecurity in this country. Of course it is about our agriculture sector, but it is also about our natural environment. That is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't happen by accident. In the age of globalisation, there are enormous risks that threaten what we have, and it's only because of our laws and regulations, and our wonderful departments and public servants who enforce those, that we have the gifts that we have in this nation. The Biosecurity Act is an act that probably very few Australians could have named a few years ago, but, since COVID, it has become probably one of the top three acts that Australians now know exist, because it loomed large over their lives, the economy and where we were going as a country. Many Australians, including me, weren't quite aware of the extraordinary powers—the emergency powers—contained within this act. And I know that's not what the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 is about, but we have just come out of that period—although COVID's not gone —when the act was doing its work. It was only in March this year that the term of those powers ended, and they weren't renewed. There is a time and a place for us to review those. When we look back at the history of this act, we see that it's an act that has had a long history that started with the Department of Health forming after the Spanish flu in 1918. Prior to 1918, all health and biosecurity issues resided with the states, but I think we could quickly realise that, when there are global threats to our health and our biodiversity at our borders, there needs to be a national approach. The Spanish flu was the great catalyst for that to happen. The Department of Health expanded into many other areas, but, through this act in its various forms, there has always been a focus on the borders and protecting what we have. Through the COVID period there were many assertions made by various people about whether the Commonwealth could intervene to stop what was being done in Victoria or in other states, and the Biosecurity Act was our 'saviour'. Some would even quote certain sections of the Biosecurity Act as a silver bullet to get what they wanted from a policy perspective. This hasn't been raised much. But I remember at the time looking at the Biosecurity Act. It's almost 700 pages, but quite early on in the Biosecurity Act, after the objects, it is quite clear that it is an act that has its foundation in the quarantine power—section 51(ix) of the Commonwealth Constitution. We should always remember that this little document, which I have here in my desk, is our guiding document and that the Commonwealth parliament can only exercise powers that are given to it in sections 51 and 52. Section 51(ix) talks about the quarantine power. That hasn't been formally defined by the High Court in any key cases, but it is not a provision for the Commonwealth to do every task. Its focus is on protecting our borders. This bill goes to the heart of that. The Biosecurity Act is our regulatory framework for managing the risk of pests and diseases entering Australian territory. In particular, it outlines our international rights and obligations. We will be supporting this legislation, as the other speakers have said, but I would like to talk about a few of the points that the bill will achieve. It will allow for new measures to manage the biosecurity risks coming from travellers, which is specifically mentioned given the foot-and-mouth disease risk from Indonesia. I compliment the 43 coalition rural and regional members who were red-hot on this issue as soon as it happened. I am pleased to see that the government has responded. In preparing for today, I was reading some of the commentary on the bill. There was a word in there that I actually had to look up. Then I noticed that there was a footnote for it. It is a key part of protecting our borders. It is this. The bill makes amendments to 'pratique'. 'Pratique' means permission granted to a ship to have dealings with a port. It's given after quarantine or on showing a clean bill of health. The bill makes amendments to pratique and pre-arrival reporting requirements of inbound aircraft and vessels and increases penalties and the scope of powers for officers. We all remember the footage of the Ruby Princess. We have had a royal commission. Commissioner Bret Walker and his team did an enormous amount of work. I think there is now a class action underway which I won't comment on. This point of entry and the practice of pratique is an important thing that protects us, whether it is a ship, plane or parcel coming here. That's contained in schedule 2. The reform for pratique provisions was about making it easier for human biosecurity officers to withhold pratique in circumstances where they suspected that a vessel had been exposed to a listed human disease. There were a number of recommendations, and I won't go through each of those, but this bill addresses that one and it is an important one. The bill will also allow for better information sharing between government agencies and other bodies. I remember watching movies in the 1980s where you would see different departments arguing with each other and saying, 'It's our turf.' It's only when you work in government—and I did in Defence and overseas—that you discover that is a real thing. It's very easy for departments to look inwards and protect their turf and have conflict with others. So wherever we as a parliament and as a government can encourage information sharing it should always be done. It's about reducing red tape. It's about putting the national interest before a department's or an institution's self-interest, and that's very important. The bill also raises civil and criminal penalties for breaches which deal with managing risks relating to goods and conveyances. It increases transparency around the process by which risk assessments are conducted. It increases efficiencies and transparency of expenditure. Finally, it improves the operation of provisions relating to approved arrangements and compensations. These are all commonsense measures, and the coalition is always been prepared to support practical and sensible legislation that strengthens our biosecurity system, particularly when it resembles a bill that the former government introduced. If I could briefly talk on the increased protections from diseases and pests, many speakers have spoken about foot-and-mouth disease and they have spoken about other areas. But it is good that protections are now in place. We note the government flip-flopped about whether to put the mats in place, and that was a practical measure that was suggested by coalition rural and regional members from the Nationals and Liberal Party, again from lived experience. That's something that many farmers know exists as an option that is available to protect our agriculture sector. In the weeks it took for Labor to make up their mind and take action, 79,374 international travellers arrived from Indonesia, without having to disinfect their shoes. The point here is that, when a risk is developing and it has been identified, we have to move quickly because time is not on our side. The more we delay, the more we dillydally, the greater the risk for our country and our economy. Our biosecurity system is a crucial pillar of our national defence. It helps us to prepare for, mitigate against and respond to risks to our environment, our economy and, indeed, our way of life. Australia has enjoyed a reputation for clean, healthy and disease-free agriculture through our natural advantage of geographic isolation. This has also given Australian producers an edge in a competitive international environment. I was struck by the percentages and overall numbers for our economy, and I'll give some of them. In 2020 the value of Australia's biosecurity system was estimated to be at $314 billion over 50 years. Many of the things that we take for granted as constants in our lives are at greater risk than ever before. Again, we have lived through recent risks, but there will be others that we don't know about, and we must be prepared to act quickly on them. Responding to a rapidly changing environment requires controls, partnerships, tools, processes and networks, and we do need a strong biosecurity system. I spoke about the estimated value over 50 years, but there are other interesting numbers. Australia's environmental assets were valued at a staggering $5.7 trillion over 50 years and are irreplaceable. Whatever side of politics you're on, we can all agree on that. Agricultural production has reached nearly $87 billion, supporting 1.6 million jobs through the supply-chain system. Before COVID, tourism contributed $50 billion to Australia's GDP, and we would all like to see tourism numbers go back up to where they were before COVID. The health of these sectors relies on a strong and robust biosecurity system. I commend the bill. 13:18 Ms McBAIN 281988 Eden-Monaro As the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories and as the local member for Eden-Monaro, I have two very strong reasons to support the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022, which will amend the Biosecurity Act 2015. We have long had the security of being an island nation, a natural advantage when preventing the entry of biosecurity hazards. But our world is rapidly changing, and we need a modern biosecurity system to keep up with the modern problems of the increased movement of people and goods. We need to ensure that we can respond quickly to threats posed by exotic pests and diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease or khapra beetle. When I visit farms in my electorate of Eden-Monaro, I see how hard our farmers are working to develop strong businesses, healthy crops and well cared for animals. Those farmers are the ones who will be hit the hardest if an exotic animal disease were to enter our country. We all recall the devastating footage of foot-and-mouth disease on English farms in 2001, and we know our close neighbours in Indonesia are battling this right now. We've lived through COVID-19, and we understand the concept of viruses moving beyond borders. Our healthy crops and valuable products rely on us preventing entry of exotic viruses, diseases and pests. This includes cropping, horticulture and livestock production, which is a major industry in Eden-Monaro, with a value of $568 million in agricultural commodities. Obviously, the threat of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease is a huge risk for our region, with over 2½ thousand enterprises carrying over 360,000 sheep and cattle, which contribute $490 million to our economy. However, horticulture, aquaculture and forestry are also vital industries that require biosecurity protections. Apples contribute over $47 million to the economy in Eden-Monaro and are also at risk from multiple pests and diseases that are currently not present in Australia. Aquaculture is a growing primary industry and one that has huge potential. Australia's reputation for producing a safe, sustainable, high-quality product is at risk from the many diseases that affect aquaculture in other countries. For example, in the electorate of Eden-Monaro, production of Sydney rock oysters is worth $13½ million at the farm gate alone. This industry is at risk of six exotic viral and parasitic diseases which are a threat to hatchery production and market access and trade. These diseases also present challenges to young mussel farms in Eden and Jarvis Bay. The softwood forests of Eden-Monaro serve the important needs of our nation for renewable products. The absence of exotic forest pests in Australia has contributed to the successful development of a softwood plantation industry. Our forestry industries also make large-scale investments which support our local economy. Our forest product industry in Eden-Monaro alone provides over 5,000 jobs. The seaweed industry, currently in its infancy, with the majority of production in the harvesting of wild kelp, is now present in our electorate as well. However, the potential for this industry is great, with a target of $10 million in production by 2025. But this fledgling industry is at risk with the threat to our native species of non-native pests and disease in seed stock. All of these businesses—both fledgling and long established—need to be protected by a strong biosecurity system. The economic success of our farms, aquaculture and forestry industries has a direct link to the success of our regional towns and villages. Our hardware shops, produce doors, cafes and small businesses rely on a strong regional economy. When our agricultural economy was decimated by drought, it rippled through towns and villages, and we need to protect our regional communities from the potentially devastating impacts of crops and industry loss due to pests and diseases. On a national scale, there is a strong economic imperative to halt any exotic disease in its tracks. The entry of foot-and-mouth disease alone could cost our economy up to $80 billion. We need to continue to maintain our natural advantage in international markets. When our products remain disease and virus free, we can move our product more easily across international borders. A strong biosecurity system means we can participate more easily in international markets. Our nation remains free of many significant diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, and we need to keep it that way. The changes put forward in this bill will ensure we have a contemporary biosecurity system that can handle the complex challenges of today. In the recent budget, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, Murray Watt, announced an increased biosecurity investment of more than $134 million. This funding will bolster Australia's biosecurity system against the immediate threat of disease, providing critical resources, including fast-tracking of $61.6 million over two years to strengthen Australia's frontline biosecurity capability, including in northern Australia, and to support domestic preparedness and biosecurity outcomes in our neighbouring countries; $14 million to continue providing support to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea to prevent, and respond to the spread of, foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease; and $11.7 million to expand our biosecurity detector dog capability at our borders by investing in an additional 20 detector dogs and handlers that will be positioned at airports and mail centres around Australia. This is a significant investment towards protecting our agricultural industry, but this only goes so far in providing protections. We also need strong legislation, as presented in this bill, to back it up. The bill before us strengthens the management of biosecurity risks posed by goods, vessels and travellers. This bill makes critical amendments to ensure we can respond quickly to concerns of disease being introduced to Australia through contaminated clothing, footwear and other goods of incoming travellers. It enables more effective sharing of important information across government agencies so that we can respond more quickly and effectively to those possible threats. The bill also creates new civil penalty provisions for persons who fail to comply with an entry requirement or a preventative biosecurity measure. This better reflects the seriousness of noncompliance and the potential impacts to our biosecurity system., I commend this biosecurity bill to the House, and it will be very important to regional communities across the nation. 13:25 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I rise to speak on the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge that I've had a significant outbreak of fruit fly in my electorate, recently, in South Australia. I really thank the people from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA for the work that they're doing to support the control of that and keep the growers in my home state well protected. I make that point because we want to acknowledge all the people that are working on the front lines in biosecurity to keep our agricultural production safe and secure. In South Australia we're very proudly fruit fly free, at times—we tend to be all the time, particularly in the Riverland—so it's been vitally important that PIRSA have done that work throughout the state of South Australia. The residents of my electorate have been extremely supportive of the need to have their fruit removed from fruit trees and to be in a position where they're losing the productiveness for their kitchens and cooking needs et cetera. We need to remove that fruit and do all we can to combat fruit fly. Similarly, our Border Force officials and all the other elements of the federal government agencies that work to keep our border secure from the risk of biosecurity incursions coming into our country do an excellent job, so I want to acknowledge them as well. We're very lucky to be a nation that has a continent to ourselves. We are very lucky because we don't have a land border, and it's a lot easier to protect a maritime border in this nation. For over 120 years, the government of the Commonwealth has done an excellent job in having a really strong and significant regime in place to ensure that we have kept out a lot of potential biosecurity incursions into our nation. We've seen what sort of impact those can have in industries in other parts of the world. We've been concerned recently about the risk of primary production industries being affected through contamination that might have been brought into this country from Indonesia, and we've always had a vigilance around other potential livestock contamination. Like many people in this House, at various times we travel overseas. Although it's quite a significant procedure that you go through when you enter this country compared to the experiences you have in travelling to other countries, from a biosecurity point of view, we're very proud of the important measures that are in place to make sure that we are protecting our agricultural industries but also our natural environment, the people of this country, our livestock, our natural habitats et cetera from the risk of being contaminated from some kind of biosecurity incursion that could come into this country through the border. We've got to be ever vigilant about this. We've always got to update our legislation and do so in a way that ensures that we're aware of what risks there are and make sure that we look for changes, from a legislative point of view, that are needed to ensure that future risks and technology are taken into account in a way that— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 The debate is now interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. Your speech was interrupted, so you will be granted leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 15 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Applidyne Australia 15 13:30 Ms SHARKIE 265980 Mayo A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Applidyne Engineering Design. Applidyne is a small engineering firm with a team of mechanical, mechatronic and electronic product design engineers. The company designs, engineers and even manufactures at small scale across many sectors, including automotive, mining, medical, consumer goods, defence and aviation. Despite their size they have been recognised as leaders in their field and received numerous professional awards for their design and engineering excellence, including the Australian design award and patrons award for their MineLab F3 Compact Mine Detector, made for the Australian Defence Force. One of their most unique engineering feats in development is a feral animal grooming trap. The trap targets feral cats, which are notoriously difficult to control, as they are very cunning and reluctant to take baits. The Felixer is now used extensively on Kangaroo Island. The traps incorporate artificial intelligence for species recognition and exploit the natural grooming behaviour of cats by spraying a poison onto their coats that they then ingest. Thank you to Applidyne director Paul van de Loo and engineers Millicent Russell and Ryan Schulz for showing me around their extraordinary facility. It's wonderful to see manufacturing still happening in South Australia. International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 15 13:31 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton Today is the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this day 75 years ago the world committed to a Palestinian state and Israel. However, 75 years later, Palestinians do not have their state. Palestinians deserve a future of hope and that their tomorrow be better than their today. Labor believe the conflict is a matter that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties. That is why we have reaffirmed Australia's previous, longstanding and bipartisan position that Jerusalem is a final-status issue that should be resolved through peaceful negotiations, not arbitrarily grasped for short-term domestic political gain. However, I know that the contention remains the building of settlements on Palestinian land. While they are benignly called settlements, under international law these settlements are illegal, and they are deliberately and strategically placed in positions to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. There is a UN Security Council resolution calling for Israel to stop these illegal settlements, but the illegal settlements continue to grow. The UN day of solidarity has been in place for nearly 50 years. Our nation voted in favour of the resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. We did this because Australia supports the resolution's reaffirmation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and recognises the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a future state. (Time expired) Dementia 15 13:33 Mr PEARCE 282306 Braddon I want to thank Leanne and David for calling in and updating me on the important work that Dementia Australia is doing. Dementia is our nation's second-leading cause of death and the leading cause of death for women. There are nearly half a million Australians living with dementia, and 1.6 million are involved in their care. Without medical breakthroughs this number is expected to double in the next 30 years. There would be very few of us that haven't watched or are watching a loved one slip away from a dementia-related disease, and critical to helping those living with dementia lead their best life is eliminating dementia discrimination, early diagnosis, community awareness and support. A little support for people living with dementia can make a big difference. Local communities play an important role to that end. Maybe we should all consider becoming a dementia friend, someone who simply increases acceptance and awareness of dementia through our everyday actions, making those with dementia feel included, feel safe and feel connected in our communities, keeping a caring eye on them. There is a free program available through Dementia Australia to get you started. Simply visit dementiafriendly.org.au and become a dementia friend today. Cunningham Electorate: His Boy Elroy 16 13:34 M 299145 Cunningham s BYRNES () (): My friend the member for Hunter sees himself as the 'Burger King of the Parliament', and I was very excited last week to purchase my signed copy of his 'Burgers of the Hunter' calendar. Despite there being some pretty good-looking burgers in this calendar, it is lacking something: it doesn't have a burger from the best burger bar in the country. That is because the best burger bar in the country is located in Wollongong, in my electorate. Last night, His Boy Elroy was named best burger bar in the country by the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of Australia. The Illawarra and the Hunter have always had a mostly-friendly rivalry, being two port cities with industrial bases and beautiful beaches—although ours are better! This award is yet another huge triumph for the Illawarra over the Hunter. I congratulate the team at His Boy Elroy—Lachlan and Selena Stevens, Maurizio Giraldi, Daniel Chin, Samantha Renko, Josh Pereira, Jessica Carman, Carl Palamara and all of their teams—on their huge win last night. The team at His Boy Elroy have built a successful business based on good service, good products and sustainable and ethical business practices. They always give back to our community through programs like the Barstool Brothers. They are part of our broader community in Wollongong and they give back all of the time. Congratulations on your success and thank you for so much that you do for us there in Wollongong. Bowman Electorate: Spirits Tax 16 13:36 Mr PIKE 300120 Bowman Redlands Coast Distillery is a family owned and run artisan craft distillery located in my electorate. After COVID let to an overnight halt to Steve Pannan's career in the entertainment industry, he took the opportunity and a great entrepreneurial risk to create a distillery. It's the sort of risk the Australian government should be immensely proud of—people of passion and vision putting up their capital and commitment to create new value for our economy. Whether it is their signature dry gin or other varieties made using local Redlands botanicals and fruits, this distillery produces some wonderful product. They also recently won the people's choice award in the trades, manufacturing and construction section at the Redlands Business Excellence Awards. The Commonwealth government should be rewarding this hard work and entrepreneurialism but, regrettably, it is the punitive nature of Australia's spirits tax regime that is holding back this emerging business and this emerging industry. Australia's oppressively high spirits tax is the third-highest in the world and acts as a disincentive to investment and job creation. While small distillers benefit from an increase in the craft distiller remission limit introduced by the former government, the government will claw back more than five times that amount through tax increases announced in the last year alone. I'm proud to have such an excellent small business in my community and I encourage the government to take a serious look at reducing excise. Eccles, Mr Lester John 16 13:38 Dr REID 300126 Robertson Lester, Uncle Lester, Ecka Checka, Big L—a man known to many and loved by all. He loved his daughter, Holly, with all his being. His wife, Karen, the centre of his world, passed years ago. His new partner, Maria, was the flame of love and light in Lester's life. He was a man of the community, a dedicated paramedic with the New South Wales Ambulance service. A consummate professional, a pleasure to work with, a man who discharged his duties with the highest empathy and compassion—these are just a few descriptions by his New South Wales Ambulance brothers and sisters. Hawkesbury River Ambulance Station, where Lester was posted during his time in the service—with my dad, in fact—is isolated and required high levels of clinical and professional independence. You spend a lot of time by yourself, and those who worked alongside Lester at the river know that it was always gratifying to have him by your side. Following his time in the ambulance service, Lester became actively involved in the Gosford Community Men's Shed. There he found not only a group of people with similar stories to himself but also a group that helped, cared and worked with each other to improve the lives of many. To his daughter, Holly, and partner, Maria, on behalf of the people of Robertson I send my deepest condolences. We wish you love and peace. Paramedic Lester Eccles, car 233: return to station. Your shift has ended; it is now time to rest. Climate Change 16 13:39 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne The laws which are meant to protect our environment are broken, but we have the power to fix them. Right now, native species are disappearing before our eyes and ecosystems are crumbling. The State of the climate report was released last week, and it confirmed that the situation is bleak. The climate crisis is caused by the mining and burning of coal and gas, yet currently the cost to our climate is not even considered when assessing new coal and gas projects. This has to change. Next week, the government is finally set to respond to the Samuel review into our broken environmental laws. The review recommended some big, urgent and overdue changes, and this is because currently our laws do more to protect coal and gas than they do to protect endangered species, the environment or our future. The most important thing our environment laws need is a climate trigger. A climate trigger would finally ensure that climate pollution is taken into account when considering approvals for new coal and gas mines. Most Australians would find it frankly outrageous that this is not done already. Right now, there are 114 new coal and gas projects in the pipeline around the country. A climate trigger is our best defence against the fossil fuel corporations, who donate millions to the major parties to profit, pollute and get their way. It's time to take the power back from the coal and gas corporations that have captured the Liberal and Labor parties, protect the environment and put a climate trigger in our environment laws to fight the climate crisis instead of fuelling it. Youth Voice in Parliament Week 17 13:41 Mr LIM 300130 Tangney I'm proud to read a speech from 16-year-old Haajrah Alam, who lives in Tangney. The speech is in response to the following question posted by Raise Our Voice Australia: 'What should Australia's new parliament accomplish?' Here are her words: Every media outlet in Australia has covered the topic of our nation's deplorable educational inequality. Having read my fair share of these reports … I've found the pattern. It always ends the same. Every piece ends with a call for an increase in political will. The political will to ensure young people are taught equally. Some young people don't have the chance for a fair go. They may live in a regional or less affluent community and attend schools needing more funding. And no matter how hard they work, they can't reach the desired benchmark because Australia doesn't seem to value an educated population. Those at the bottom somehow have further to fall than those at the top. And yet parliament has been ignoring this issue. Our system needs reform. We must ensure that those disadvantaged due to intersectional circumstances are given the attention they deserve. I want change for those to come. Thank you, Haajrah. Energy 17 13:42 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler There's a very famous quote that goes like this: Back then, government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. So said former president Ronald Reagan. We are seeing from this Labor government, no matter how many decades have passed, that it stays true today. We see reports that subsidies will now be provided for electricity and gas. We've seen this experiment in Germany, where over US$200 billion in subsidies have been given to domestic gas and electricity prices and industry. Are those opposite seriously suggesting that a third-year hairdressing apprentice paying 30c in the dollar will be subsidising companies like Visy? This is madness. The solution is more supply, yet we saw cuts in the most recent budgets—cuts to those things that will bring on gas and that will bring on more supply in Australia, particularly in Victoria, which is where the gas is needed. What we are seeing from those opposite in the media are proposals to borrow money to subsidise for high prices, because they are not willing to fix the solution, which is more supply. On the road to 'Blackout' Bowen's energy nirvana, you'd better take a candle because you're going to need one to see the footpath. That is all that will happen here: more borrowed money and more difficulty for Australians who are doing it tough. You need more supply to fix this problem into the future. Mitchell, Isabelle 17 13:44 Dr FREELANDER 265979 Macarthur Like all Australians, I rejoiced over the weekend when the Socceroos won against Tunisia, our first World Cup win since 2010. Macarthur residents also had another reason to cheer during that match, when local Rosemeadow resident Isabelle Mitchell carried out the match ball in front of millions of viewers around the world. Isabelle was selected to participate when she won a joint competition by Football Australia and Kia to carry the match ball. Out of thousands of applicants, Isabelle was one of three Australian children chosen for the tournament—wonderful news. I'm informed by her grandmother, Debbie, mother, Bec, and father, James, that Isabelle lives and breathes soccer, including at her local club, the Camden Tigers, where she plays in their under-14s squad. Isabelle represents many great things about our Australian and Macarthur communities. She is a proud Indigenous woman who is active in her sporting community and who attends her local public high school, Thomas Reddall, where I recently went to open their yarning circle. I cannot think of anyone better than Isabelle Mitchell to represent our region and our nation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and I thank her for doing so with pride and passion. We should be proud of the achievements of Australian women in the sporting world. I look forward to the success of our Matildas at next year's FIFA Women's World Cup, to be co-hosted here in Australia and in New Zealand. I'm sure that we'll see Isabelle wearing the Matildas jersey at a future World Cup, and I look forward to that with great pleasure. Western Australia: Crime 18 13:45 Ms PRICE 249308 Durack Earlier this year I wrote in the West Australian newspaper, detailing issues about the youth crime that was plaguing the north-west. Although some criticised me at the time for labelling the Kimberley 'a war zone', I continue to stand by those observations. Nearly a year on, work still needs to be done to curb the youth crime crisis, not only in the Kimberley but in many other parts of WA. It is truly heartbreaking that youth crime is still crippling many local communities across WA, and, although increased police numbers have been a welcome change, more needs to be done. The appalling handling of the Banksia Hill Detention Centre crisis by the McGowan government shows that Labor are not prepared to tackle the hard issues. Many leading advocates are criticising McGowan's recent summit as nothing more than a political stunt with no commitment to change. The quality of care in detention is one thing, but we must take action to prevent the offending in the first place. We must urgently support these families who are in crisis. We must ensure that state and federal government's youth diversionary programs are fit for purpose, and we must start to make our communities feel safe. Whether it's youth crime, our failing health system in Western Australia or a lack of public housing, our families and our communities in regional Western Australia deserve so much better from the McGowan government. Amazon 18 13:47 Dr MULINO 132880 Fraser We are in the middle of the Black Friday sales. This is an exciting time for consumers, but we should never forget the workers that make it possible for us to seek out bargain basement prices. From the day that Amazon opened their first site in Australia, the SDA and TWU have fought for workers' rights. These are highly casualised environments in which workers are under constant pressure to meet targets. 'I don't drink water when I go to work, so I don't have to go to the toilet,' said one worker. 'I feel like they resent the fact that I'm not a robot and that I'm made of flesh and bone,' said another worker. We must listen to these people. Amazon's highly casualised workplace makes it difficult for workers to unionise, but we know that a strong union presence is a key condition of job security and a living wage. Amazon all too often resists unionisation efforts. It actually advertised a job to undertake global surveillance of the union activity of the company's workers. Unions and workers around the world, including here in Australia, are fighting for fair, decent conditions. Last Friday, Amazon workers from more than 40 countries took part in the Make Amazon Pay day of action, demanding higher wages and better conditions. I support the continued actions of the SDA and the TWU in representing Amazon workers at all points of the supply chain. It's time to make Amazon pay what's fair. Grey Electorate: T-Ports Transhipping 18 13:48 Mr RAMSEY HWS Grey Last Friday, I visited T-Ports at Lucky Bay, on the Eyre Peninsula, with a couple of parliamentary colleagues. T-Ports tranships grain from a relatively shallow port using a highly manoeuvrable small ship with a single 3,400 tonne hold; it's quite a slick operation. They ship the grain about five kilometres for direct loading to ocean-going vessels of any size. The operations of T-Ports have turned the grower's path to market on the Eyre Peninsula on its head. With about 300,000 tonnes in its bunkers at Lucky Bay and another two inland sites, last year was the fourth year they'd exported 550,000 tonnes of grain. This year we'll have a record harvest on the EP, and, with the expanded bunker capacity at Kimba, they will surpass that amount. The operation has cut transport miles to market for farmers, brought new buyers to the EP and reduced travel costs. It's estimated it has been worth $15 to $30 a tonne for growers. Last year that equated to a $60 million saving for Eyre Peninsula growers. This year they're building a second port in Wallaroo. It is taking receivables now, or will imminently. It won't be due to ship until midyear, but I can tell you that growers on the mid-north are very excited at the prospect of T-Ports arriving. They spent $220 million in the local community at one business alone—Lienert Engineering in my home town of Kimba—on 17 kilometres of bunker fence. International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 18 13:50 Ms PAYNE 144732 Canberra Today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. To this day Palestinians make up 21 per cent of the global refugee population. The UN Secretary-General said: We commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at a time of diminished hope for peace. I am deeply saddened by the growing number of Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in the spiral of violence engulfing the occupied West Bank. Each casualty fuels fear and yet more violence. I urge all parties to take immediate steps to reduce tensions and break this deadly cycle. We must continue to work for a two-state solution where both Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace and security. Mohammad El Halabi was the Gaza manager for World Vision. He played a crucial role in delivering vital aid to the people of Gaza. In 2014 he was named a humanitarian hero by the UN, but two years later he was charged with directing more than $50 million in aid money to Hamas. He has spent six years in prison and he now faces another six years in prison after a largely secret trial. Independent investigations by World Vision, Deloitte and even the Australian government found no evidence of wrongdoing. In fact, World Vision has said that its entire Gaza budget during that time frame was less than the amount supposedly taken. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has now lasted over 15 years. We should celebrate the people delivering assistance. We must not forget the plight of the Palestinian people. (Time expired) Member for Whitlam 19 13:51 Mr ROBERT HWT Fadden Facing certain defeat in the Senate, the Assistant Treasurer—the Albanese Labor government's weakest link—has sensationally been forced to amend his own legislation to avoid an embarrassing loss on the floor of the Senate. Indeed, the government moved an amendment which was an exact copy of the opposition's amendment—an amendment that this government opposed on the floor and an amendment the Assistant Treasurer said he would fight to his last breath. Well, his last breath didn't last very long. In fact, the Albanese Labor government, through the Assistant Treasurer, has sought to allow some super funds to be excluded from performance tests based on faith, which will deliver lower returns on savings for Australians—upwards of $100,000 lower. This comes after an embarrassed Labor government pulled their Treasury bills out of the Senate last week and further humiliation for the Assistant Treasurer when the Prime Minister and, indeed, the Treasurer opposite had to intervene and override a deal he had done with the Greens that would have rammed through changes to banking legislation without consultation with the industry. Thank goodness, the Treasurer did intervene on his hapless Assistant Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer is Labor's weakest link. He is focused on delivering for everyone except the Australian people. He must lift his game. Crighton, Mr William 19 13:53 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter I rise to congratulate local Hunter resident William Crighton on winning an ARIA award. On Tuesday night William took out the ARIA for the best blues and roots album for his third record Water and Dust. This was his first nomination. He was blown away when his name was read out. William is an outstanding performer who literally is taking Australian music to a new level. It has been a big couple of years for this talented musician, who spent much of the year touring with Midnight Oil across Australia and Europe in their farewell tour and then embarking on his own tour, playing to sold-out concerts and festivals all around Europe. William is an incredibly talented musician in his own right, but he credits his success to the most important person in his life—his wife, Julieanne, who was also an accomplished musician. Not content with writing and performing, William and his wife, Julieanne, also run the music program at the Cessnock Correctional Centre. Congratulations on this award, buddy. It's well-deserved for all the hard work you've put in over the last couple of decades. I hope you get a bit of rest, a few tins and start the renovation on your house. I would like to respond to the member from Illawarra earlier talking about being the burger king. I congratulate the burger restaurant there, but they have to come up to the Hunter and see what the Hunter is about with the burgers in the area. Italy 19 13:54 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt It was a great pleasure yesterday morning to meet with the new Italian Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Signor Paolo Crudele, with my fellow co-chair of the parliamentary friends of Italy, Senator Raff Ciccone. My electorate of Sturt has a little over 27,000 people of Italian ancestry, which makes that the largest of any electorate in the House. I'm very proud of the Italian community that I represent and also the excellent links between Italy and Australia. A few weeks ago I attended the opening night of the annual Adelaide Italian Festival, which was another great showcase of Italian culture in Adelaide. But it also reminds us of not just the history we have, through Italian migration and Italian Australians, but the opportunities we have to continue to grow and improve our economic relationship with Italy and to look for more operations for our two great countries to do even more together in the future. I look forward to hosting, with Senator Ciccone and His Excellency, our launch event, for all those who have joined the parliamentary friends of Italy, at an appropriate time in the new year. It will be a great opportunity for us to launch a program for this parliamentary term, to continue to deepen the relationship between Australia and Italy. Albanese Government 19 13:56 Mr BURNS 278522 Macnamara I present the 12 Days of the Canberra Bubble Christmas: On the first day of Christmas, the Morrison government went splat. A Labor government was elected—thank goodness for that. On the second day of Christmas, they were in complete outrage, but, just as we said we would, we lifted the minimum wage. On the third day of Christmas, we did what was only fair: we passed our first bill to fix up aged care. On the fourth day of Christmas, in case you aren't aware, we passed another bill—this time, for cheaper child care. On the fifth day of Christmas, it was time to right a wrong; we let a beautiful family go home to Bilo, just where they belong. On the sixth day of Christmas, after 10 years of dither and delay, we passed a climate change bill after young Australians had their say. On the seventh day of Christmas, we finally made a start, advancing a referendum to answer the Uluru Statement from the Heart. On the eighth day of Christmas, as the Governor-General had us in, we learnt the former PM had appointed himself the minister for everything! On the ninth day of Christmas, after a decade where they fudged it, the Treasurer finally delivered a strong, progressive Labor budget. On the 10th day of Christmas, after all the things we saw, the anticorruption commission won't sit on a website—we're making it the law. On the 11th day of Christmas, the Liberals met their worst fears, as Victorians gave the Andrews Labor government another four years. And on the 12th day of Christmas—under Morrison it wasn't easy, but we can now all rejoice: it's Christmas, with Albanese! Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order. The House will come— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 It's a hard act to follow! Deakin Electorate: Schools 20 13:57 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin I want to draw the attention of the House, as I do each and every year, to the remarkable students in Deakin. Each year we highlight the high achievers, and those going above and beyond for their school community, through the Deakin Shield. Our school students suffered a two-year pandemic, and, as a result, it has left many of them more self-sufficient and independent than ever. The Deakin Shield recognises the valuable contribution of students from schools throughout the electorate of Deakin. Students are recognised by their schools and their teachers for a high standard in attitude and achievement, participation in all school activities with a good attitude, a full commitment to the ethos of the school, an awareness of others and their needs, and a positive contribution to the school community. Nearly all the schools within the Deakin electorate have participated in the Deakin Shield over the past 10 years, with staff selecting the successful students. The categories of winners are diverse. They include academic achievement, community service, school spirit, sporting achievement and musical achievement, to name just a few. As we commence awarding the 2022 Deakin Shield awards to students, can I congratulate, in advance, all of the winners, their families and their schools for this exceptional achievement. I wish all of our schools and their students the best of luck in the run-up to Christmas. Australian Sovereign Capability Showcase: Micro-X 20 13:59 Ms MILLER-FROST 296272 Boothby Today we welcome Micro-X, an innovative high-tech business operating out of the Tonsley innovation precinct, to Parliament House, as part of the inaugural Australian Sovereign Capability Showcase. Micro-X is a global leader in medical and security imaging products based on miniaturised X-ray technology, and they are making a huge positive contribution to those defending Ukraine against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion. Micro-X have supplied 11 of their Rover Mobile X-ray imaging systems, designed and built in Boothby, to Ukraine, and, according to a frontline anaesthetist, a single Micro-X Rover unit had taken more than 6,000 images in 45 days, with a peak 401 images in a single day. This anaesthetist said that this single mobile X-ray unit had saved several thousand Ukrainian lives. You can well imagine the benefit of 11 Rover X-ray machines to Ukraine's war effort. Micro-X's Rover Mobile X-ray units are just one example of the ingenuity of Micro-X and so many other businesses operating in Boothby. Micro-X and the Tonsley innovation precinct are at the forefront of advanced manufacturing in Australia, thanks to the Albanese government. I commend their efforts and commit to working with them to see their work expanded to more who would benefit from it. The SPEAKER 53517 In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 21 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Cost of Living 21 14:00 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the election the Prime Minister promised to make families' lives easier through cutting power bills by $275, a promise repeated on 97 occasions, as well as promising to deliver cheaper mortgages. Prime Minister, isn't it true that these promises were just ploys to win votes, and Labor have failed to deliver on these fundamental promises which impact families the most? Will the Prime Minister apologise to Australian families? Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 I'll give the call to the Prime Minister when the House comes to order. 14:01 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank very much the Leader of the Opposition for his question, which goes to whether we are making measures to improve people's living standards. The commitments that we gave— Mr Sukkar 242515 Delivering your promises! Mr ALBANESE R36 I'll take the interjection, which is another way to term it: whether we're keeping our promises. Mr Sukkar 242515 Say the number 275! The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Deakin will cease interjecting. Mr ALBANESE R36 We are keeping our promise to lift the minimum wage. We did that when we put in a submission to the Fair Work Commission, which resulted in a 5.2 per cent increase in the minimum wage. This week we will pass our secure work, better pay legislation, which is aimed at lifting wages and aimed at making sure that we look after working people. The secure jobs, better pay bill will have a number of measures in it which will make a difference to people's living standards: putting gender equity and job security at the heart of the Fair Work Commission's decision-making; banning wage-secrecy clauses; giving the commission the expertise and powers to end the historical inequality between the pay and conditions in female dominated care industries—that will make an enormous difference; expanding access to flexible work arrangements, particularly for women and others with caring or educational responsibilities. If you combine that with cheaper child care and increased paid parental leave then that will make an enormous difference. Expressly prohibiting sexual harassment in the Fair Work Act—you don't think that improves people's living standards? The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Prime Minister will pause, and I'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Fletcher L6B Mr Speaker, it's on relevance. In question time you've previously upheld a point of order because the minister's answer doesn't— The SPEAKER 53517 Resume your seat. The question included, 'Isn't it true that you made promises?' The Prime Minister is talking about his commitments. It was a very broad question and a very political question, and I give the call to the Prime Minister. Mr ALBANESE R36 It was, indeed, Mr Speaker, and I can see why they're embarrassed. They voted against all of this. They voted against bolstering the ability of workers to recover unpaid entitlements. They voted against it being against the law to advertise a job that pays below the minimum wage. They voted against that! They said, 'It's all wrong, all bad.' We're going to reform the better off overall test as well to make enterprise bargaining more attractive. We've delivered on our commitment to establish a royal commission into robodebt, and don't those over there like what's coming out of that! We're repairing our international relations, which we said we would do. They're still trashing them. They're still busy trashing those relationships, particularly in the Pacific. We've delivered already the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, and that's coming in with more than 1,000 people signed up already. We've already expanded the Commonwealth seniors health card. We've abolished the cashless debit card. We are delivering on our promises. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Groom is warned. Mr R36 We have spent six months delivering on our promises. Those opposite just stood still for a decade, and ever since then they've been coming to terms with it. The SPEAKER 53517 There's far too much noise in the chamber. The member for Groom is warned. It's only the first question. I want the House to be quiet so I can hear from the member for Hasluck. Cost Of Living 22 14:05 Ms LAWRENCE 299150 Hasluck My question is to the Treasurer. Why is it important to support Australians with responsible cost-of-living relief and to get wages moving again? Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Deakin has been continually interjecting. So has the member for Aston. When the House comes to order, we will hear from the Treasurer. 14:05 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin Thanks to the member for Hasluck for her question and for her contribution to this place as part of a much bigger and much better contingent from WA. When government changed hands in May, Australia had skills shortages, an aged-care crisis, energy policy chaos, a trillion dollars in debt and stagnant wages, and ordinary working people weren't getting a look-in. Since then, the global economy has deteriorated, and the impacts of the war in Ukraine have become more serious and longer lasting. And that's why, around the world, we are seeing higher energy prices, higher inflation, higher interest rates and the risk of a hard landing in other economies. Developments in China will weigh on global growth as well. These economic pressures come at us from around the world, but we know that they are felt around the kitchen table. Australians are paying a hefty price for Russian aggression and a decade of economic mismanagement here at home. Let me give you four facts, Mr Speaker. A decade-long policy of deliberate wage suppression delivered nominal wage growth at an average annual rate 40 per cent lower than the last Labor government before it. The average weekly disposable household income grew by just $25 between 2014 and 2020. From 2007 until the pandemic, almost two-thirds of the increase in household income per person—a key indicator of living standards—occurred under the last Labor government. Real wages are lower now than they were 10 years ago as a consequence of all this. We know we can't fix every single aspect of this overnight, but we can make a difference. That's why our economic plan is focused on responsible cost-of-living relief and getting wages moving again in our economy. We've got a policy for cheaper medicines and for cheaper child care and early childhood education. We've got a policy to train more people for higher wage opportunities. We're taking steps in the energy market in the near term but also in the longer term. We supported a minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers. We support a pay rise for aged-care workers as well, and we are fixing a broken bargaining system. All the argy-bargy in this place about industrial relations comes down to a simple difference. Those opposite think that there is never a good time for decent wages growth. We want to make it easier for people who work hard to get ahead and to provide for their loved ones, and that's the difference. That's why the election did more than put an end to a wasted decade of missed opportunities and warped priorities. It did more than end the waste and rorts in our budget. It did more than end a policy of deliberate wage suppression from the national government. It began a new and better approach to managing our economy and leading our country in the interests of our people. Cost Of Living 22 14:08 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister's broken promise to reduce power prices for small businesses and families by $275—a promise he made 97 times before the election. I also refer to the Prime Minister's broken promise to deliver cheaper mortgages, made at Labor's campaign launch. Can the Prime Minister identify a single electricity company which has reduced its charges or a single mortgage holder who is paying less than on the day the Prime Minister made these promises? 14:09 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler The whole premise of the question is wrong. But when you look at the energy crisis— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my left! Mr ALBANESE R36 They've given up on the IR. No more talk about small businesses and IR. No more forced examples coming through. They're now back onto another falsehood. This is what Kane Thornton, the Chief Executive of the Clean Energy Council, has had to say: … abundantly clear that Australia's clean energy transition has been throttled by years of policy uncertainty, with … the amount of quarterly commissioned capacity continuing the downward trend of the last few years and now at its lowest level on record … Industry confidence to invest is growing, aided by clearer and more potent policy directions across the country … Couldn't have said it more clearly. Philip Lowe, the Governor of the Reserve Bank had this to say: When we were on a different path, people were saying, 'Are they really serious?' It was damaging us. Richard Court, the former WA Liberal Premier: The past decade of energy policy has been a slow-moving train wreck. Ms Ley 00AMN A point of order on relevance: rattling off the wrong page of talking points is not answering the question: one company! The SPEAKER 53517 The Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows that was not a correct way of stating a point of order. It might have been a good grab, but it was not a point of order. I warn her that that sort of behaviour will not be tolerated for much longer. The Prime Minister is referring to energy prices. I give him the call. Mr ALBANESE R36 I was asked about power. We know from the member for Mitchell, who's had some good comments about his mate the member for Cook, that they were addicted to power, but they weren't very good at energy. They weren't very good at energy policy. That's the problem for those opposite: all about power policy; nothing about energy policy. The truth is that the cheapest form of new energy is clean energy, renewable energy, which is why our policy will put downward pressure on energy prices. When it comes to mortgages, and I know this is a really difficult concept, if you have the policy that we have, that the WA government has—and I notice Minister Cook in the gallery today. Perhaps Minister Cook could provide a workshop while he's here in Parliament House about how successful the WA program has been in providing a shared equity system for people to get into housing in Western Australia. Our Help to Buy scheme will do just that as well, because the nature of a Help to Buy scheme is that, rather than the person who has the borrowing—it's a shared scheme. (Time expired) DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 23 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Cook, Hon. Roger, Clarke, Councillor Lorna 23 14:13 The SPEAKER 53517 I formally welcome the Hon. Roger Cook, the Deputy Premier of Western Australia; and Councillor Lorna Clarke to the chamber. A very warm welcome to you both. Honourable members: Hear, hear! QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 23 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 23

Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022

14:13 Ms SWANSON 264170 Paterson My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Minister, how will the secure jobs, better pay bill help address cost-of-living pressures for working Australians by getting wages moving again? 14:13 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I thank the member for Paterson for her commitment to working people in her electorate. It's interesting that those opposite, when they want to talk about the cost of living, will never talk about how money gets into your bank account in the first place. They will never talk about what happens in terms of wages in this country. The secure jobs, better pay bill will get wages moving again, and that's why those opposite oppose it. If you put gender equality as an objective of the award system in Australia, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you improve how the Fair Work Commission considers equal remuneration and work value cases, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you ban pay secrecy clauses, that helps get wages moving in this country. The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Barker will cease interjecting. Mr BURKE DYW If you give the Fair Work Commission the expertise to be able to better determine pay equity cases, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you get rid of zombie agreements, where people are still on the same agreements that they were on when John Howard was Prime Minister of this country, then that helps get wages moving in this country. If you simplify the better off overall test to make sure that it's fair, to make sure that no worker can be worse off, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you open up bargaining, which delivers flexibility and productivity for business while at the same time delivering pay increases for workers, that's going to help get wages moving in this country. If you ban job ads—make it unlawful to advertise a job ad—for less than the legal minimum, then that helps get wages moving in this country. But we know from the shadow Treasurer that that in fact is their problem with this bill. The shadow Treasurer knows, as he answered when asked by Laura Jayes about multiemployer bargaining, 'Well, it pushes up wages.' The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Hume, on a point of order. Mr Taylor 231027 I'd just draw your attention to standing order 68. The comment that the minister just made is false. The SPEAKER 53517 The minister is reading a quote from a media report. I'll just ask the minister to clarify where he is reading that document from and continue with his answer. Mr BURKE DYW It was said on television. It was on Sky News. I can go with a different quote. In fairness to the shadow Treasurer, I'll use a different quotation that was also used on television. It wasn't the shadow Treasurer, so this one won't upset him. In a doorstop delivered in the Northern Territory a similar question was asked of the Leader of the Opposition, where the Leader of the Opposition was asked whether he had concerns about proposed changes to the industrial relations laws. He began by saying he was 'deeply concerned for businesses', and then he went on to mention why: … it's going to result in higher wages … Those opposite do oppose everything in this bill, and they oppose it for the exact reason that we support it: it will get wages moving again. Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Stop the Lies) Bill 2022 24

Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Stop the Lies) Bill 2022

14:17 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah Prime Minister, right now it's perfectly legal for political parties and politicians to lie in advertising for elections and referenda. I tabled my stop the lies bill yesterday to stop this. Will the government support regulating against misleading and deceptive advertising in election and referenda advertising to ensure a fact-based, respectful debate on the Voice? 14:17 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank very much the member for Warringah for her question, and I also thank her for raising it with me in a meeting that we held. That was very important. The member is very sincere in her strong view, which I share, that our electoral system and our democracy rely upon people being truthful and people being able to make decisions based upon the facts being there and not distorted. In particular the member has raised concern about the referendum on the constitutional recognition of First Nations people in our nation's birth certificate, our Constitution, and that is important because there has been a lot of misinformation already out there, including that somehow it would usurp the role of this parliament, even though it is very clear from the discussions and the drafts that have been put forward that that will not be the case. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Members on my left will cease interjecting. The member for Groom is on his last warning. Mr ALBANESE R36 To change our electoral system, though, is a complex and difficult task. We have the usual Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters inquiry at the moment into the 2022 election. One of the issues that they will examine is the potential for truth in political advertising laws to enhance the integrity and transparency of the electoral system. I think that is certainly something that is worthy of examination. We await that report. I had a discussion with the Special Minister of State, who is responsible for the AEC, after our discussion earlier today. He indicated to me that the AEC had expressed some concern to him about the capacity that they have to make judgements and what mechanism they would have to put in place in order to achieve the outcome that the member for Warringah seeks, which, as I say, is a very worthy one. I note that the member for Warringah and other crossbench members have raised the South Australian state laws with me, and that's certainly something worth examining. That's something that I have only had drawn to my attention this morning. It certainly is worth examining. Our democracy is precious, and it is important that, in the referendum, in particular, but in all elections and all deliberations in which the Australian people have a say, there be truth in what is put forward. We'll examine the member's propositions, but we thank her for her constructive discussion with the government. Paid Parental Leave Scheme 24 14:21 Mr LAXALE 299174 Bennelong My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How does the Albanese Labor government's investment in paid parental leave help families balance work and care and provide cost-of-living assistance? 14:21 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston I'd like to thank the member for Bennelong for his question, and I congratulate the member for Bennelong for being a strong voice for families and communities across his electorate. The Albanese government knows that improving paid parental leave is an incredibly important reform. It's important for families, it's important for women and it will deliver crucial benefits for our economy. That's why paid parental leave reform was front and centre of our first budget. Families are front and centre of this budget and of this government's agenda. We want to help ease the burden of juggling care and work, and we're moving ahead on our commitment to reform paid parental leave. This week I'll be introducing legislation into the parliament that will implement the first tranche of paid parental leave changes that we announced in the budget. Crucially, when passed, from 1 July 2023 it will give more families access to government payments, provide parents more flexibility on how they take leave and encourage them to share care to support gender equality. Then, from July 2024, we will progressively increase the scheme to six weeks, which will finish in 2026. That will give families a full six months. This is the largest expansion since Labor established the scheme in 2011. Since our budget announcement I've had the privilege of talking to many families about what these changes mean. Kiri is a working mum with two young kids, who said that the promotion of shared care in the government's paid parental leave measures would have been an enormous benefit when she and her partner were having children. She said: 'I wish that this was in when I had my two kids. I'm the main breadwinner in our family, and my husband didn't have any paid parental leave through his job, so, when we had our children, he only took a few days off.' Daniel and Amy in Mackay called the government's announcement 'fantastic', saying additional time to help couples and single parents is very welcome. They agree that the key feature to help families is the flexibility and the ability to share entitlements, as opposed to when they first welcomed their children. The government have been very clear that our paid parental leave scheme is designed to complement employer paid workplace leave schemes and will not replace them. We will never accuse parents of being double-dippers if they take both entitlements. I am proud to be part of a government that have spent every day of their first six months in government delivering for families—delivering significant reforms and meaningful policies to improve the lives of families and communities right around Australia. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 25 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS White, Ms Rebecca, Dow, Ms Anita 25 14:24 The SPEAKER 53517 I would like to advise the House that in the gallery today is Ms Rebecca White, the Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania, and Ms Anita Dow, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. A very warm welcome to you both! Honourable members: Hear, hear! QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 25 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme 25 14:24 Mr 231027 Hume TAYLOR () (): My question is to the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I refer to his comments in the media last week that the RBA governor was talking 'rubbish'. Will the minister apologise for these comments? 14:25 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong The member for Hume knows he is misquoting me, but he has got form on misquoting people. I was asked about wages policy, and it was put to me that the Reserve Bank governor had said that, if wages increase too much, that's bad for the economy. The point that I made is that the problem in Australia isn't that wages are increasing too fast; it's that they haven't increased enough over the last 10 years. They have been frozen. Furthermore, the laws which Labor has just passed, with the support of the Senate, will for the first time in 10 years give feminised industries and low-paid workers a chance of getting wage rises. What amazes me is that, when people are doing it hard in this country, as so many industries have for so long, the opposition are not only not repentant for their poor wages policy over the last 10 years; they haven't learned the lesson of the last election. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme 25 14:26 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. How is the Albanese Labor government making life-changing drugs accessible and affordable for Australians with high cholesterol and chronic heart failure? 14:26 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh I thank the member for Gilmore for her question because I know just how hard she campaigned on our promise to cut the price of medicines. Already, we are delivering on the promise that the member for Gilmore made to her community. In July, we slashed the maximum amount that millions of pensioners and concession cardholders will pay for all of their medicine needs by 25 per cent. Now, across a year, pensioners will pay no more than $4.70 per week for all of their medicine needs. In September, we cut the price of more than 2,000 brands of medicines, putting $130 million back in the pockets of hardworking Australians. On 1 January, we will deliver the largest cut to the price of medicines in the 75-year history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, putting $200 million every year back into the pockets of hardworking Australians. We are also adding more and more medicines onto the PBS. Since 1 July, already we have made 54 new or amended listings to the PBS, giving hundreds of thousands of patients access to life-saving, life-changing medicines that would otherwise be way outside the reach of ordinary Australian families. This week, we have added three more new and extended listings. On Thursday, we are extending the listing for Repatha, a medicine for stubbornly high cholesterol, to allow it to be prescribed for the first time by GPs. Ten thousand patients every year will now get access to this life-changing medicine more quickly and without having to travel to the city to see a specialist to get it. Instead of paying almost $4,000 for this life-changing treatment, they will pay just $42 and, from 1 January, just $30. On Sunday, I met Terry at the new Calvary hospital in Adelaide. Terry is just 41 and incredibly fit, but he needed an urgent double bypass last year. He's recovered really well, but he now needs to go on this drug, Repatha. Now he will be able to do that, allowing him to run in the Sydney marathon, which he is planning to do next year. He will pay just $30 for the script. Verquvo will also be listed for the first time to treat symptomatic chronic heart failure, a condition that hospitalises about 180 Australians every single day. Andrew was also with us on Sunday. He has had this condition for years and recently got much worse, to the point where he couldn't even lie down to sleep. He is now on Verquvo and will pay $6.80 instead of $1,900 for this treatment. He told me, 'We are hopeful it will boost my heart function and add years to my life.' That's what this is all about. Cheaper medicines aren't just great for the hip pocket at a time of burgeoning cost-of-living pressures; they also change people's lives. Energy 26 14:29 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How many private properties will be impacted by the construction of poles and wires across New South Wales as part of Labor's energy policy to build 28,000 kilometres of new transmission lines? 14:30 Mr BOWEN DZS McMahon I think by 'poles and wires across New South Wales', the honourable member must be referring to HumeLink. HumeLink is the link necessary to connect Snowy 2.0, which the previous government forgot to plug into the grid, which they forgot to connect to the grid. When you have a project, a good project—admittedly it's running 18-months late, but it could be running on time or later; it wouldn't really matter if it's not connected to the grid, which is what the previous government failed to do. But I always try to be fair about such matters. Credit where it's due: the former minister for energy did bring down a regulation to facilitate transmission, including specifically HumeLink. In that regulation, he said, 'Transmission is critical to deliver low-cost reliable and secure energy to consumers.' Mr Taylor 231027 Not 28,000 kilometres, buddy. Mr BOWEN DZS I'll take the interjection from the former minister, who just said, 'It's not 28,000 kilometres.' Well, he did say, on 18 March this year: Thousands of kilometres of new transmission is likely to be needed to connect new generation, and deliver reliable and affordable energy across the national market. Thousands of kilometres he said were necessary. He just forgot to deliver any. Early Childhood Education 26 14:31 Dr FREELANDER 265979 Macarthur My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How will the Albanese Labor government's plan for more affordable early childhood education help families with the rising cost of living? 14:31 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan I thank the member for Macarthur for his question and for his interest and contributions to early childhood development before coming to this place and in this place. I have to say it's rather disappointing that, in the last six months, I haven't had a single question from those opposite about our early childhood education reforms and how they help families struggling with the rising cost of living—reforms that provide cost-of-living relief for 9,200 families in the member for Macarthur's electorate. In fact, our landmark reforms provide more affordable early childhood education for more than 1.2 million families right across Australia in every electorate. That's 1.2 million families that have been struggling with the rising cost of living, 1.2 million families that have had to deal with a 41 per cent rise in the cost of early childhood education and care over the last eight years all while working under the previous government's policies, deliberately designed to keep their wages low. Families, this evening, will be sitting around the family table doing their household budget, factoring in the cost of early childhood education, factoring in all the other costs and then making a decision about whether or not they afford to work an extra day or an extra two days or an extra three days or whether that gets eaten up in early childhood education and care costs and about what that means for their household budget. The opposition might think that early childhood education is merely outsourcing parenting, but on this side of the House we know that education plays such an important role in a child's brain development as well as for our economy. The Albanese government takes the responsibility of delivering a fairer Australian society seriously, and that includes providing cost-of-living relief, that includes providing cost-of-living relief for those families that have early childhood education fees and are sitting there wondering how they're going to afford Christmas presents, how they're going to afford to pay the rent. They can have confidence that those fees are going to go down and that they can work that extra day if they so wish, that they can go back to study if they so wish and that they can take on extra hours if they so wish. They can contribute to the household budget and bring down their cost of living. They don't just provide relief to the household budget; they also help families boost their household income and enable those primary carers to go back to work if they so wish. Our investment in more affordable early childhood education is exactly the kind of cost-of-living relief with economic dividends that we need right now. (Time expired) Workplace Relations 27 14:35 Ms McKENZIE 124514 Flinders My question is to the Prime Minister. Australian families are set to be $2,000 worse off this Christmas under this government, with higher power prices, higher mortgages and families paying more at the checkout. Prime Minister, under Labor's extreme industrial relations changes, inflation will rise, industrial disputes will increase and small business will be slugged with tens of thousands of dollars in new costs. Why is this government making a bad situation worse? 14:35 Mr A R36 Grayndler LBANESE (—) (): I thank the member for her question and also for using the Leader of the Opposition's favourite phrase. What is it? 'It's going to make a bad situation worse.' He acknowledges that after 10 years in office we inherited a bad situation. That's the starting point! I thought I heard the Leader of the Opposition use that phrase, and it's the question here. How on earth, having sat in the cabinet for three terms, do you become Leader of the Opposition and say, 'Gee, it's a bad situation Australia's in!' The member is right: we did inherit a bad situation. What we inherited was a government that didn't have an economic plan for the nation or an energy plan—they had 22 energy policies and didn't deliver any. We inherited a situation where inflation was rising. Interest rates started to increase under them. They didn't have a plan to deal with skills development—during the pandemic they told everyone to leave the country and then wondered why they inherited skill shortages when the economy opened up again. All of these problems we have inherited. The SPEAKER 53517 The Manager of Opposition Business will cease interjecting. Mr R36 Skill shortages—we are dealing with that through 180,000 free-fee TAFE places next year. Low wage growth—we're dealing with that with our secure jobs, better pay bill that they opposed. And somehow they have also stated clearly in the question that wages going up will be a bad thing for the economy. What we had, with a decade of low wage growth, was a handbrake on our economy. We want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. We make no apologies for that. We want to deal with cost-of-living issues by having cheaper child care and medicines, and by lifting wages as well. People's standard of living is based upon revenue and expenditure. If you increase their wages, they're better off. That's the whole idea, but those opposite are opposed to higher wages. Those opposite concede in the question that yes, indeed, we did inherit a bad situation from those opposite. Defence 27 14:38 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. When it came to defence, the former government made announcements based on pictures and press conferences rather than substance. What will the Albanese Labor government do to ensure the professionalism and integrity of the Australian Defence Force is always the focus? 14:38 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio I thank the member for his question and acknowledge the contribution that he has made to defence policy in this country. The Australian Defence Force belongs to all of us. We seek diversity in the Australian Defence Force so that it looks like Australia, so that we can say the ADF is of us and at the same time all of us. This is why it's important the Defence Force is above partisan politics. There are a number of members of this House who have served in the ADF, and they rightly celebrate their service as part of the CV of why they are here—that's completely fair enough. There are other members of this House who've had the opportunity to see the Defence Force in action, and they've posted images of themselves with the ADF—also, completely fair enough. But when it comes to doing press releases or press conferences as the Minister for Defence or as the Prime Minister, it is so important that we do not cast a political overlay over an institution in this nation which should be sacred. That is the standard that the Albanese government will set, but that is not what we saw in the last 10 years because those opposite never avoided a press conference where they could use the Australian Defence Force as a backdrop. The low point of this was on 4 January 2020, during the biggest megafire in our recorded history, just four days after a firestorm swept through the South Coast of New South Wales. On a day on which the temperature hit 44 degrees in this town, in the midst of lives being lost and property being damaged, those opposite made a decision to call out the Defence Force to help with the bushfires, and then they produced a video which had images of the ADF. The tagline was how to donate to the Liberal Party. That was a disgrace. That was the moment which showed deep disrespect for our nation's uniform. But it made clear that the Liberals love the politics of Defence; they just have no interest in Defence policy. The Albanese the government will be very, very different. There will be no press conferences using Top Gun music. There will be no press conferences using the ADF as a prop. There will be no press conferences with party political banners and no press conferences with that tag inviting people to donate to a political party. When we do press conferences with the ADF, there will be a separation so that the messages that we have as politicians stand apart from the service that our brave men and women in uniform give to this nation. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 28 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Australian Political Exchange Council, Armenian-Australian Youth Advocates 28 14:41 The SPEAKER 53517 I inform the House that in the gallery we have a delegation from the Australian Political Exchange Council from New Zealand. On behalf of the House, I'd like to welcome you all. Mr Tehan 210911 He has a serious job he should be concentrating on. The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Wannon will come to order. I'm addressing the House and welcoming guests to the House. Show them some respect. I'd also like to acknowledge a delegation from the Armenian-Australian Youth Advocates. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 28 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE National Anti-Corruption Commission 28 14:42 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi My question is to the Prime Minister. The Senate is considering an amendment to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill to require a simple majority of the NACC oversight committee to approve the appointment of the NACC commissioner. Prime Minister, this is a good-faith and sensible amendment that will protect the independence of the NACC in the decades to come while preventing any opposition vetoing appointments. Why is this government afraid of supporting this amendment, which would guarantee that the NACC is a truly independent body? 14:43 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for her question and for her work in ensuring that Australia will have a national anticorruption commission. The member, of course, introduced a private member's bill in the last term of parliament. We tried to get it debated because the government said it had a bill, but it never introduced it. We've introduced a bill. We had an inquiry that the member for Indi chaired. We adopted the recommendations of that inquiry—all of them. You have legislation and you then have an inquiry. If you adopt all the recommendations of the inquiry, of which the member for Indi was the chair, with respect, I think we have done exactly what you should expect the government to do—sorry, you were the deputy chair of that committee. We've done exactly what came through the process of that committee inquiry, which the deputy chair of the committee would be very conscious of. What we haven't done is support amendments from various quarters in this chamber to this bill. We had a bill after we had extensive consultations, after we had a committee process, after we had recommendations and after we adopted all of them. I stand by our position. I sincerely hope the Senate adopts our position, which has been put forward. We'll consider amendments on their merits. I've had discussions with the Attorney-General and with some crossbench senators about amendments that we will support. The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister will pause. I call the member for Indi, on a point of order? Dr Haines 282335 Yes, on relevance. I'm asking the Prime Minister to go to the actual point of the amendment in the Senate around oversight and the simple majority question. I'm just seeking an explanation. The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister is in order and I give him the call. He's being relevant. Mr ALBANESE R36 The simple explanation, as the deputy chair of the committee would recognise, is that this is something that isn't a recommendation of the committee that was put forward, unanimous recommendations to this House and to the Senate. So I think, with respect to the member for Indi, given you were supported for the high office of being the deputy chair of that committee, in recognition of your genuine support for that, it did not come through as a recommendation— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order, members on my left! The House will come to order. Members on my left will cease interjecting. Mr ALBANESE R36 from the process. We have supported proper processes in order to get a National Anti-Corruption Commission which the parliament should be proud of. I look forward to it being adopted. Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Voice 29 14:46 Dr REID 300126 Robertson My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. How will an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice improve the lives of Indigenous Australians? 14:46 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I thank the member for Robertson for his question. He, like every person on this side of the House, understands the issue of equity. Life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can and should be better. The gaps in life expectancy and educational outcomes persist, and that is unacceptable. Decades of failed government policies have not worked. A voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is the best chance we have, and perhaps ever will have, to address the injustices of the past and create change that will deliver a better future—a better future that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians, on the ground, in practical ways, like health, education and housing. This isn't about more bureaucracy, this is about making sure voices in remote and regional communities are heard. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is the result of 12 regional dialogues, after all, over 1,200 attendees from right across this country. This isn't about dividing people, it's about uniting Australians, giving First Nations people a say in the matters that affect us, not being told what's best by bureaucrats. I grew up in Whitton, down in the Riverina, a small country town. I was raised by Billy and Nina. They were my great aunt and uncle. We didn't have much, and I didn't know my dad until I was 27. Billy and Nina taught me the value of respect, and being kind to others doesn't cost you anything, and that you learn more from listening than by talking. That someone with my history can stand in this place is the most unlikely thing—but not everyone is so lucky. Not everyone can have their voice heard. That's why we need a voice. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice is an idea whose time has come. The Australian people will decide this referendum, not politicians, and I have faith in the Australian people. We want to take Australia forward for everyone. We'll work with anyone who wants to take this journey forward to a better future. Energy 29 14:50 Mr 138932 Fairfax TED O'BRIEN () (): My question is to the Assistant Treasurer. In his speech introducing the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Bill 2022 last week, the Assistant Treasurer restated the government's commitment to 'lower the cost of electricity bills for consumers'. Does this mean the government is standing by its commitment to reduce household electricity bills by $275, or is this yet another cruel promise the government plans to break? 14:50 Mr JONES A9B Whitlam I thank the honourable member for his question. The Albanese Labor government stands by each and every one of its promises, and we have been working to deliver on those promises for the last six months. While this mob over here have done everything in their power to stand in our way, we have been busy doing the work to ensure that we deliver on our promises, whether it has been introducing laws to get wages moving again; introducing laws to ensure that Australians can afford to make a choice about whether they stay at home and look after their kids or go back and work another couple of days to make ends meet; or ensuring that we can put our elderly Australians in an aged-care facility and know that they will get well fed and well cared for. We have been delivering on each and every one of our promises—and in the area of energy. The fools on that side of the House come to the dispatch box each and every question time, asking their ridiculous questions, when they know that they have presided— The SPEAKER 53517 The Assistant Treasurer will take a breather. I'd like to hear from the Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order. Mr Fletcher L6B The Assistant Treasurer has form in repeatedly using unparliamentary language. He's just done it again, and he should be asked to withdraw. The SPEAKER 53517 I'm going to ask the Assistant Treasurer to withdraw and move on with his answer. Mr JONES A9B I withdraw. While this mob over here, on each and every day, in question time, have come to this dispatch box and asked us questions about what we're doing to help ordinary Australians meet their cost-of-living issues— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my left! Mr JONES A9B For nine years they presided over a wreckage of energy policies—22 energy policies, not one of them delivered. We're doing the hard work to ensure that we can get— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Assistant Treasurer— The SPEAKER 53517 And I'm going to be very clear with the member for Wannon. You don't have the call. The SPEAKER 53517 You don't have the call. I didn't hear what you said. If you're going to come to the dispatch box and yell, you'll be warned. The SPEAKER 53517 You didn't have the call, so you'll wait until you get the call and then I'll hear you. I give the call to the Assistant Treasurer with one minute to go. Mr JONES A9B If members opposite want to know why there are pressures on our power system and on energy prices in this country, they should go and grab a mirror—22 failed energy policies, not one of them delivered. We're getting on with the job of ensuring that we have an energy policy which will deliver affordable and sustainable energy in this country, and they are doing their level best, day in and day out, to frustrate the delivery of that policy. If Australians want to know why their energy bills are going up, they should look no further than that fellow over there, because there is not a man or woman in this parliament who is more responsible for the increase in energy prices than the member for Hume over there. He has— (Time expired) Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 When the House comes to order, I will give the call to the member for Parramatta. Aged Care 30 14:55 Dr CHARLTON I8M Parramatta My question is to the Minister for Aged Care. What changes has the Albanese Labor government made in its first six months to improve aged care for our older Australians? 14:55 Ms WELLS 264121 Lilley I thank the member for his question, because I know how hard he campaigned to see aged-care reform in this country. As he knows well, we inherited an aged-care system in complete crisis—one that was so bad that it needed a royal commission. This crisis is best articulated by a line from that royal commission final report that describes the attitudes of those now opposite. That report read: At times in this inquiry, it has felt like the Government's main consideration was what was the minimum commitment it could get away with, rather than what should be done to sustain the aged care system so that it is enabled to deliver high quality and safe care. The former government completed a mere six per cent of those royal commission recommendations in the time they had in office. Dr Aly 13050 What now! The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Minister for Early Childhood Education does not need to assist the chair. Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting so that I can hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Fletcher L6B On relevance: in a previous question time, you asked a minister to return to the question because they had 'a preamble'. The minister has had a preamble; she should be asked, I submit, to return to the question. The SPEAKER 53517 The Manager of Opposition Business has raised this point before. The minister is one minute in. She is talking about the changes that the government has made in the first six months to improve conditions for those in aged care, and I'll ask her to continue and draw her back to the question so she can update the House. Ms WELLS 264121 I would love to, Mr Speaker. The royal commission actually made 148 recommendations to improve aged care. The then government achieved only nine of them in 15 months to improve aged care. This lack of work, this lack of delivery and this lack of output was there despite the fact that they had three ministers in charge of aged care at the time. They had Senator Richard Colbeck, the actual minister for aged care; they had the Hon. Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and Aged Care; and they had the then prime minister Scott Morrison as the Minister for Health, undermining or presiding over the health portfolio, depending on whether or not you're a Niki Savva source. The SPEAKER 53517 I'll give the call, reluctantly, to the member for Petrie, on a point of order. Mr Howarth 247742 I have a couple of points of order, Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER 53517 One will do. Mr Howarth 247742 There are two. There is one on correct title in relation to the member for Cook. The SPEAKER 53517 Resume your seat. The minister was clear. I was listening carefully to her answer when she said 'the former prime minister Scott Morrison'. That is his title. I will give her the call to continue her answer, which will be heard in silence. Ms WELLS 264121 There are so many titles to choose from, Mr Speaker! I can see how it's confusing. The 53517 You may continue with your answer. Ms WELLS 264121 In just six months, the Albanese government has directly addressed 37 of 148 recommendations to improve aged care, compared to nine in 15 months. We have passed two pieces of reform legislation, and we have delivered a much needed funding boost for residential aged-care homes. We have increased funding by around $1 billion this financial year to fund workers to spend more time with their residents and to ensure a registered nurse is on site 24/7. In just six months, the Albanese government has strengthened provider and governance reporting requirements, bringing in greater transparency and accountability. In just six months, we've made it mandatory for providers to report how much money they are spending on food for each resident, with providers that are spending less than $10 a day being referred to the commission. One of our first acts in government was to make a submission to the Fair Work Commission to get aged-care workers a pay rise. On 4 November, just two weeks shy of our six-month anniversary, the Fair Work Commission made a welcome interim decision for an increase to wages of 15 per cent for aged-care workers involved in direct care. Older Australians—our parents, grandparents, friends and relatives—deserve an aged-care system that delivers high-quality and safe care, and on this side of the House we have been working very hard in six months to achieve it. Housing 31 15:00 Mr BATES 300246 Brisbane My question is to the Prime Minister. Fifty-five per cent of my electorate of Brisbane are renters. It is getting harder for people to find a home to rent. Individuals are forced to couch surf, and entire families are living out of their cars. We've heard about real estate agents in Brisbane advising landlords to increase rents by over 20 per cent, and the annual Rental Affordability Index out today has revealed that 58 per cent of private renters are in housing stress. Prime Minister, will you commit to putting national rental standards, including an end to no-grounds evictions and a two-year freeze on rent increases, on the agenda at the National Cabinet meeting next week? 15:00 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for his question. Yes, indeed, there are challenges of housing affordability in Australia. We accept that. What we have done is to accept responsibility for making changes that the national government can do. There is the national government; there are state governments, which are responsible for many of the issues that the member raises; and local governments are also responsible, in terms of whether they choose to support affordable housing. I've said before that, in my area, fortunately, the Labor councillors support affordable housing. Unfortunately, members of the Greens party and some others have failed to ever support any affordable housing measures, because they say that increases in density are bad. I'd encourage the member to come to the Mirvac project in my electorate which is on the corner of Marrickville Road and Livingstone Road. They can see there a great example of a project that brought an increase in density, and, with the support of the council, provided a 100 per cent privately-paid-for public library that has won awards for architecture, and not just in Australia; it is now winning some global awards as well. This is an example where the local government worked together with the state New South Wales government, because it was the old Marrickville hospital site, to get an increase in density, close to public transport, which is also allowing for an increase in affordable housing. So I'd say to the member— The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Brisbane on a point of order? Mr Bates 300246 A point of order on relevance: I understand how levels of government work. The question I asked was about renters, not housing affordability. The SPEAKER 53517 Resume your seat. That is not a correct way of taking a point of order. The Prime Minister is directly relevant by talking about affordability and housing, which was in the question. Mr ALBANESE R36 I was asked about housing affordability, and what I'm doing is pointing towards different methods whereby you can have more affordable housing by cooperation, including with local and state governments, which goes directly to what the member asked, because he didn't ask me about any actual federal government responsibility. But I'll tell you what the federal government's doing. We have a housing accord, bringing together the Master Builders Associations of Australia, and every state and territory government, including the Palaszczuk government in Queensland, with the Commonwealth, in order to promote housing development, in order to put downward pressure, in order to provide more support for affordable housing. Affordable housing is a challenge. There aren't simple, easy solutions. If there were, government would've just adopted them. What we have is a series of measures, all of which are combined to ensure that we take action to make housing more affordable for Australians. Great Barrier Reef 32 15:04 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. Queensland's Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's most magnificent World Heritage sites, sustaining 64,000 Australian jobs. How is the Albanese Labor government acting to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the threats that it's facing? 15:04 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney I want to thank the member for Moreton for his question. He's a passionate Queenslander and a passionate environmentalist, and I know he cares deeply about the reef. Nobody needs to tell the Australian Labor Party—the Albanese Labor government—that we need to protect the Great Barrier Reef. Nobody loves the reef more than Australians do, and no-one is more prepared to act and to invest in protecting the reef than we are here on this side. Mr Speaker, you might have noticed that, recently, there was a reactive monitoring mission report, which was written while those opposite were in government but released overnight. It said that the reef is in trouble because of climate change. The truth is that, around the world, coral reefs are in trouble because of climate change, but the Great Barrier Reef is one of the best-managed reefs in the world, and it doesn't require an endangered listing by UNESCO to make us, on this side, take it seriously. In fact, it's very true to say that, since coming to government—as UNESCO says—the attitudes on the Great Barrier Reef of those opposite and us on this side have been like night and day. UNESCO is keen to see real action on climate change, and that's what they've got from the Albanese Labor government: a legislated commitment to reduce carbon pollution by 43 per cent by 2030 and get to zero net emissions by 2050. We invested $20 billion in Rewiring the Nation, so we can up the share of renewable energy in our grid to 82 per cent by 2030. We have pledges on methane; action on ozone; better environmental laws; real investment to protect, restore and manage; better water quality; better relations with traditional owners who are working as Indigenous rangers to protect the reef; and action on bycatch—I actually announced another program just last week on reducing bycatch in the reef. We've got some of the best marine science in the world and will continue to share that with the world as we increase our investments. We have action on crown-of-thorns starfish, including having Indigenous rangers and tourism operators working to control crown-of-thorns starfish. It is almost half a century since Gough Whitlam's government made the Great Barrier Reef a national park, and Labor is committed to continuing to protect and restore this most beautiful World Heritage property for generations to come—for our kids and grandkids—so they can enjoy the reef just as we have. Energy 32 15:07 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Australian businesses are facing collapse due to skyrocketing gas prices. A Riverina business called Causmag, in the town of Young, not far from here, has seen its gas bill skyrocket from around $60,000 per month to more than $170,000 per month. After six months in office, why has this government refused to take appropriate steps to pump more gas into the market to reduce prices? 15:08 Mr BOWEN DZS McMahon I thank the honourable member for his question. He's right about skyrocketing gas prices; that is true. In December 2021, gas was $11.56 a gigajoule. Today, it's $20.47—all thanks to Ukraine and the illegal war by Russia. Opposition members interjecting— Mr BOWEN DZS They scoff! They were blaming the Russian war on 20 May, but apparently, on 23 May, it's got nothing to do with Russia, according to those opposite! It's got nothing to do with it! The honourable member asked us to pump more gas— Honourable me mbers interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my left will cease interjecting. Mr BOWEN DZS I'm not sure where he would have us find the gas to pump into the system. The honourable member might like to talk about what gas he thinks is lying fallow there that we can just press a button and get going. The honourable member talks about energy prices and policies to reduce energy prices, and we on this side of the House are actively working to ensure that the impacts of the Russian war do not flow through to industries and businesses in Australia. But I give credit where it's due: those opposite have been active as well. They've been promoting alternative views as well. Last week, they held a seminar about atomic energy—about nuclear energy. That was their big idea for lower power prices last week. The member for Fairfax, the shadow minister, was asked about the views of the CSIRO and AEMO that nuclear energy is the most expensive form of energy available. He said, 'Personally I don't accept those views.' Apparently, the CSIRO is wrong. The honourable member is nodding. Down at the CSIRO all those PhDs are handing back their degrees because the member for Fairfax says they're wrong! What would they know? The AEMO CSIRO found that the cost of small module reactors, which those opposite are so in love with, would cost $16,773 a kilowatt in capital cost. That would be $5 billion a reactor, and we know that they would need 80 across the grid. That would amount to $402 billion, or 17 per cent of GDP. That's their plan for lower energy costs. Now they say they want a conversation. It will be a gasbag-led recovery! Prime Minister's National Veterans' Employment Awards 33 15:11 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel. How did the recent Prime Minister's National Veterans' Employment Awards highlight the Albanese Labor government's priorities in veterans employment? 15:11 Mr K 249147 Burt EOGH (—) (): I'd like to thank the member for Solomon for his question, his continued advocacy for the veterans in his community and, of course, his service to our nation as part of our Australian Defence Force. Last Thursday night the member for Solomon joined me, along with the Assistant Minister for Defence and for veterans' affairs and, importantly, the Prime Minister, to celebrate the Prime Minister's National Veterans' Employment Awards here in Canberra. These awards are particularly special because they not only recognise the awesome work that veteran employees and businesses are doing around the country; they also recognise for the first time the contributions that veterans' families, specifically veterans' partners, make to the civilian workforce. I'd like to congratulate the Veteran Employee of the Year, Nick Elston, of GSA Management Consulting; the Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year, Garth Chester, of Valenhold; the Partner Employee of the Year, Katie Vidal, of She Maps; the Partner Entrepreneur of the Year, Kelly Willmott, of Green Fox Training Studio; the Employer of the Year Large, Cubic Defence Australia; the Employer of the Year Small, Viden consulting group; the winner of the Excellence in Supporting Veteran and/or Partner Employment award, Vertical Scope Group; the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Veteran and/or Partner Employment, Amanda McCue, of Career Swag; and, finally, the winner of the Employer of the Year Medium and Outstanding Employer of the Year, Bluerydge. The awards highlight the importance that this government places upon giving veterans the support they need in order to successfully transition out of military and into civilian life, and it highlights to all employers the benefits of employing a veteran. Veterans bring to the civilian workspace many of the skills that they've learnt in the time in the ADF: leadership, teamwork, loyalty, agility, discipline and the ability to work under pressure. Veterans' families bring not only their professionalism, planning and management skills to the workforce but they also bring their ability to work autonomously and in highly variable environments. They are all critical skills in the modern economy, all in demand by employers today. The Albanese government knows just how important a good transition is for a veteran to ensure good outcomes following their military service. A big part of that is getting into meaningful work. That's why, at the election, we committed to a $24 million veterans employment program looking to improve veteran and defence family employment prospects, improving education and backing veteran owned businesses. I want to acknowledge some of our excellent veteran-led Australian defence industries that join us in the gallery today: the Whiskey Project, J3Seven, 3ME Technology, Nova System, Omni Executive and Ex Tech. Veterans make an amazing contribution to defence industry. They know what defence personnel need in the field. Your skills mean you continue to contribute to our sovereign capability. It's all part of how the Albanese government is delivering a better future for veterans and families. 15:14 Mr JOYCE e5d New England on indulgence—Minister, I'd like to associate the coalition with the majority of your remarks, and also to note, in a serious form, the passing of Ernie Chester Walker, the last of the Rats of Tobruk, at 106 years old today. He served not only in Tobruk but also on the Kokoda Trail. May he rest in peace. 15:15 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler on indulgence—I join with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs in congratulating all those who were successful at the Prime Minister's National Veterans' Employment Awards last Thursday evening. It was a great honour to attend the awards, and it was good that the Chief of the Defence Force was there, as well as members from both sides of the House. It was a terrific evening, and I congratulate all of them. On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper. CONDOLENCES 34 CONDOLENCES Walker, Mr Ernie Chester OAM 34 15:15 Mr R36 Grayndler ALBANESE (—) (): on indulgence—I want to take a moment—and I have already notified the Leader of the Opposition of this—to pay respect to the life and service of Ernie Walker. Ernie was an extraordinary member of what is known as the greatest generation; he was one of the famous Rats of Tobruk and a veteran of Kokoda. His passing at the grand age of 106 means that the last of New South Wales's Rats of Tobruk has marched into history. Honourable members would know that 'Rats of Tobruk' was conceived by the propagandist Lord Haw-Haw as an insult because the soldiers under siege in that crucial Libyan port were trapped like rats living in holes. But the Australian forces took up the name with defiance and pride; they wore it as a badge of honour, and, in some of the darkest days of the war, their remarkable act of defiance lifted the spirits of Allied forces everywhere. Ernie was a much-loved member of the Five Dock RSL subbranch—very close to my electorate, in the electorate of the member for Reid—whose president, Robert Ridge, described it as the 'spiritual home of the Rats of Tobruk'. I've attended events at Five Dock RSL over the years. Today, in parliament, on behalf of the parliament, we honour Ernie's memory, we salute his service and we reflect on the bravery of all those Australians who have risked and lost their lives to defend our nation's freedom. Lest we forget. 15:17 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I want to join with the Prime Minister and congratulate him on his fine words in honouring an incredible Australian—Ernie Walker. Anybody who achieves 106 years has a remarkable story to tell. He died peacefully with his wife by his side, but that, of course, is a long, long way from where he spent many formative years alongside those who suffered at the hands of the Germans and those adversaries in the Second World War. There are many stories that can be recounted about different periods of our military history, but the Rats of Tobruk is one of the most significant: those Australian soldiers who survived what, at the time, was an incredible siege in the Libyan port in 1941—eight months of daily bombings and tank attacks from German and Italian forces. But, as we know, they dug in, and they fought in a way that would make our country, the Commonwealth and the Allied forces incredibly proud of what they were able to achieve. To stop the Germans from recapturing that port was a very significant point of military history. I want to offer, on behalf of the coalition, our condolences to Mr Walker's family and, of course, as the Prime Minister pointed out, to the members of the Five Dock RSL, who will be feeling his loss acutely today. The camaraderie that exists, as we know, at RSLs around the country is sincere and genuine and borne of the camaraderie that's developed over generations. Australia, as has been pointed out even in question time today, was well served in times of peace and war by the wonderful men and women of the Australian Defence Force. We pay tribute again not just to Mr Walker today but to all of those who have worn and who currently wear the uniform of the Australian Defence Force. May he rest in peace. The SPEAKER 53517 As a mark of respect to the passing of Mr Ernie Walker, I ask all those present to rise in their places. Honourable members having stood in their places— The SPEAKER 53517 I thank the House. Debate adjourned. AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS 35 AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS Report No. 7 of 2022-23 35 15:19 The SPEAKER 53517 I present the Auditor-General's Performance audit report No. 7 of 2022-23 entitled Defence's administration of the Integrated Investment Program: Department of Defence; Department of Finance. Document made a parliamentary paper. DOCUMENTS 35 DOCUMENTS Presentation 35 15:20 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Documents are tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. In addition, I table the 2021-22 report on the operation of the Aged Care Act 1997. Full details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. BUSINESS 35 BUSINESS Days and Hours of Meeting 35 15:20 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I present a chart showing the proposed program of sittings for 2023. Copies of the program have been placed on the table, and I ask leave of the House to move that the program be agreed to. Leave granted. Mr BURKE DYW I thank the House and I move: That the program for sittings be agreed to. Question agreed to. MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE 35 MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Albanese Government 35 15:21 The SPEAKER 53517 I have received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Nationals proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The Government's cruel decisions which are hurting regional, rural and remote Australia. 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 stan ding orders having risen in their places— 15:21 Mr LITTLEPROUD 265585 Maranoa On 21 May the Prime Minister made a statement that no-one would be left behind. It took less than six months to see that the cruel decisions of this government have left 30 per cent of Australians that live outside a capital city behind. In fact, it actually started before the election when they made a commitment to end the live export of sheep. Unfortunately, what this means for the people of Western Australia, the 3,000 men and women who work in the live sheep export industry, is that they have no future. They have no future when this new government says that it predicated this decision on science. The new agriculture minister says that we are shutting this industry down because the science tells us so. Explain the science and actually table the science because the science says that Australia does it better than anyone else. We have moved from a mortality methodology to an animal welfare methodology. We're the best in the world in an industry that's continuing to increase, so why take away the livelihoods of 3,000 Western Australians at the stroke of a pen? For what? To export our animal welfare standards to another country that doesn't do it as well as us? That's not common sense. But then they go further. They went further with taking away the opportunity for Australian farmers to produce. The NFF at the jobs summit identified 172,000 workers are required to get food from a paddock to your plate. The best that those opposite are prepared to provide is through the PALM scheme, and that equates to 42,000 workers. You don't need a maths degree to understand the sheer shortage that is out there across regional and rural Australia. There's no solution, just another working group with the AWU, just another talkfest without the action on an ag visa, which we signed with Vietnam. In fact, we had the opportunity to sign other countries up to give them the pathway to permanent residency, to move in what was the biggest structural adjustment in the agricultural workforce in our nation's history, one that we provided under the ag visa. We as a nation were prepared to also provide the greatest gift this country can provide to anyone around the world, a pathway to permanent residency. This pathway would bring the next generation of migrants to regional and rural Australia, to grow regional Australia and grow agriculture. But this was ripped away with the stroke of one pen, which now means that farmers and even processors right across this country are working at around 60 per cent capacity. You don't invest to plant a crop if you can't pick it. I met a farmer in Carnarvon in Western Australia. He walked away from his property because it was all too hard. He didn't have the trust and faith to put his capital out to plant a crop. He handed over his property to someone that could afford to do it, but only at 60 per cent. It was a property he was born on, a property that he had a connection to, and it was lost. It was lost in that moment because we didn't provide our farmers with the tools. That's not common sense. Every time you go to the supermarket, it's not just the natural disasters that have caused the cost-of-living pressures at the grocery store; it's man-made. It's Labor made, because of their cruel decision to rip away the ag visa and the opportunity for our farmers to have the tools to produce the food and fibre they want. But it gets worse. We've got a new water minister, and she has decided to reopen their plan, the plan that they put through this parliament. We're 80 per cent of the way through the first stage of the plan, the 2,750 gigs. The last 20 per cent of that plan can be achieved through infrastructure, so that farmers and communities don't have go through buybacks, because buybacks don't necessarily hurt farmers; they hurt the small communities that support them: the machinery dealer, the pump shop, the agronomist— Mr McCormack 219646 Hairdressers. Mr LITTLEPROUD 265585 the hairdresser, the cafe— Mr McCormack 219646 Schools. Mr 265585 the schools. The farmer gets his money. So we were on a pathway to complete that. What this government did when they created the plan is add an additional 450 gigalitres to that, but with that 450 gigalitres they had a safety net. They even put that safety net on to protect those communities so that not a megalitre of water could be taken out of those communities if it did not pass the neutrality test of social and economic benefit. That was the safety net that now this heartless government is trying to rip away from regional and rural Australia. That will see 450 gigalitres bought back, taking away the future of the basin community, taking away our food security. You need that water to produce, and there's a physical constraint even delivering it to the mouth of the Murray. It's called the Barmah Choke. There are perverse environmental outcomes if you try to force too much water down it. That's not common sense; that's a perverse outcome for farmers, for communities and for our food security, and again you'll pay for that at the check-out. But to do this, to buy back that 450 gigalitres, they're robbing all of regional Australia's future, because they took away the money to build the water infrastructure. The $4.7 billion that has been ripped away from water infrastructure money would give us the tools of the future not just in the basin but right across Australia—northern Australia in particular; whether it's Hells Gates, Urannah or even Emu Swamp dam in my electorate—with which you would continue to help and support farmers who were trucking water to their permanent plantings only less than six months ago. But they've taken that away from us—and to pay for 450 gigalitres of water? That's cruel. That's nasty. That's not what Australians do to one another. Why would you do that? To take away the future of regional and rural Australia, to give us the tools to feed and clothe you—so you understand, this has huge ramifications for these communities but also for you. But it goes even deeper than that, even just to the Building Better Regions Fund, a fund that helps little councils in remote areas that don't have the rate base to build infrastructure. I'll go my own electorate. In Winton, at my own place, is the idea that locals want to create an aged-care facility for the elderly to age in place. The closest place when you get too old in Winton is Longreach, 190 kays down the road. So you leave your family. Your family is 190 kilometres down the road. You don't get to see them every day. You won't get to see them possibly for weeks, maybe months. That's taking away the opportunity. That's the human toll of this cruel, heartless endeavour by this government to redistribute wealth and opportunity from the regions to the capital cities. We don't begrudge them that; we just want our fair share. But the human toll gets worse. We welcome the $4.7 billion in the budget for child care, but let me tell you this isn't about childcare affordability for those in regional and rural Australia; it's about accessibility. We've got families that can't go back to work, because they can't get a childcare place. I don't begrudge anyone in Sydney getting a $22½ thousand subsidy, because the cost of living in Sydney is a lot. But try getting a job in regional Australia for just $90,000, to pay for your increased cost of living, but you can't, because you can't get a place. I went to your job summit, and I welcomed the $4.7 billion. But please partition off some of that money for childcare accessibility for regional and rural Australia. Do the right thing. Understand that we have the same opportunities that those in the cities should have. Instead, it all went into reducing childcare fees in capital cities. That doesn't help us. It doesn't help young families get back into work. It's not equitable. It's not common sense. Then it gets even more sinister and more perverse. The distribution priority areas bonded foreign doctors to regional, rural and remote areas, where it was difficult to attract Australian-trained doctors. One of the first actions of this government was to expand that area well beyond into peri-urban areas of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. I can even give an example in my electorate of Mitchell: they haven't had a doctor since September. We can't compete. If a foreign doctor googles Sandford in Brisbane and Mitchell 350 kilometres west of Toowoomba, they're going to pick Sandford. That's the human toll that we face. We feel like the forgotten Australians. Australia should be better than that. The decisions of the government shouldn't cruel. They shouldn't be vindictive. They should be about making sure there's equality and equity no matter your postcode. Unfortunately, what this will do is put not just livelihoods at risk but also put lives at risk. 15:31 Ms McBAIN 281988 Eden-Monaro I find it bizarre that we've just had 10 minutes from the leader of the Nationals talking about us not delivering for regional Australia. We've been in government since May. Those opposite had 10 years: 10 years without a decent change to aged care in rural areas; 10 years without understanding that you have to invest in schools otherwise you'll end up with skill shortages across the country; 10 years to figure out you have to play a role in housing, and now we see a housing crisis around the country; 10 years to make sure that we had GPs in regional areas. They can sit here and talk about the nonsense but they had 10 years and failed to deliver. They failed to deliver and they failed to understand that regional Australia is more than just Nationals seats. It's more than just Liberal seats. There are crossbenchers and Labor members who represent regional Australia, and those opposite never got it. What regional Australia needs is something that's not a 1950s solution. Regional Australia needs modern technology. Those opposite failed to understand that in a modern society we have to deal with connectivity. They failed to build the NBN. Their record is first cutting the NBN then having significant blowouts. They said they'd build it for $29 billion, then it was $41 billion, then it was $49 billion and then it ended up at $58 billion—double the cost. They spent 10 years denying the reality of climate change and ignoring the intensity and challenges of natural disasters in rural communities. Every natural disaster funding assistance was slow, cumbersome and without the ability to build back better. Their failed $4.8 billion Emergency Response Fund didn't deliver a single mitigation project or release a cent in recovery funding in three years. It earned $800 million dollars—high-five to that!—but it failed to deliver to the people who needed it most. As I said, the state of housing across this country, especially in regional Australia, actually hinders employment opportunities. We've inherited an economy of increasing interest rates and growing repayments impacting household budgets, along with already high grocery and energy prices. They failed to understand the skills and jobs we needed for the future, they failed to see the signals that there would be a significant shortfall in workers needed across many sectors, and they failed to train that workforce. Those opposite seem to think those in regional Australia don't need government funded services such as child care or the NDIS. I was particularly perplexed when I heard Senator McKenzie on Cairns radio saying, 'If you're looking for savings, don't go after the regions—rather, look to reform the NDIS, look to reform Medicare, and get some of those structural saves.' It's beyond belief that we can suggest in 2022 that regional Australians deserve less, that they don't deserve access to those services. To top it off, regional Australia needs much more than just grants. We need transparency and clear measures, and the ANAO report said that the Building Better Regions Fund failed to deliver funding in a clear and consistent manner. Actually, the biggest failure was sending $10 million to the North Sydney Olympic Pool. It received funding via a closed invitation-only grant process. I would love to know from the Leader of the Nationals how many of his constituents in Maranoa go to the North Sydney Olympic Pool for their regional pool. No-one in Eden-Monaro thinks that their regional pool is in North Sydney. I don't know where those opposite were, complaining to their own side of government, when they delivered $10 million of regional funding to the North Sydney pool, because there are pools across this country in regional communities that do a great service. They are safe, effective ways to get kids to learn to swim. Everyone needs them. Yet in any regional community you go into they will tell you that they need money to rebuild their pool. And somehow North Sydney became the priority for the former government—no level playing field, no transparency and no consistency. We live in challenging times, we all get it. There's a global slowdown, high inflation, rising interest rates and a succession of natural disasters putting pressure on our economy. On top of these current pressures, we're working to clean up a decade of waste. It can't be done in six months. But we are doing much more than governing by press release. You can't build a road on a press release. You can't show up for a photo and not follow up with those communities. We've committed a billion dollars towards two major regional programs that will be delivered in a fair and transparent manner. The Growing Regions Program will provide new funding opportunities for social and economic infrastructure to local councils and not-for-profit organisations through open, competitive grants processes. The Precincts and Partnership Program will provide a strategic, nationally consistent mechanism for funding and coordinating large-scale projects that transform our places, benefiting communities in our regional cities and wider regional and rural Australia. Unlike those opposite, we know regional Australia will be the driving force behind our economy, particularly the renewables economy. Those opposite thought all that regional Australia needed was a cash splash. There was no vision on how to build, support and harness the value of regional Australia, but regional Australians deserve so much more than that—broad-sweeping policy that delivers and meets their needs. Investment in regional Australia is much bigger than a simple grants program. That's why there are 760 initiatives in the Regional ministerial budget statement for regional Australia and over 220 new packages on individual measures. I thank the member for Page for his interjections, because Senate estimates provided, a few weeks ago, this government, the Albanese government, is delivering $4 billion more for regional Australia. That's why we're investing $2.4 billion in funding to the NBN and delivering $656 million to improve mobile connectivity in regional and remote communities. They always talk to us about mobile funding. They always talk to us about not getting the services that those in the city get. We know the chef, the childcare worker, the fruit pickers all need a roof over their head before they can accept a job in our regions, which is why this government took up the challenge abandoned by those opposite. We have a $10 billion future housing fund, and we've implemented the regional first home buyers scheme. Already 1,000 people have taken advantage of that scheme, and couples like Abbey and Corhan near Townsville will be in their first home before Christmas. But there is so much more that needs to be done. We need stronger educational opportunities across the regions. That is why we have prioritised access to 20,000 additional Commonwealth supported places at regional universities. That's why we've invested $158.5 million worth of measures to address teacher shortages. But good regional development isn't just about investing in roads or industries; it's about investing in our people through skills and training. It's investing in services like Medicare, the NDIS and child care. We know that regional Australia bears the brunt of natural disasters, which is why we have prioritised the Disaster Ready Fund, investing up to $200 million per year on disaster risk reduction and resilience. Our regional communities tell us they want to be better prepared for next time. They don't want to build back infrastructure that continues to get washed away or burnt. They don't want the community to continue to be cut off. They want to know that we give credence to their lived experience, which is why we prioritise that. Regional Australia is at the centre of our nation's growth and at the forefront of the Albanese Labor government's agenda. Investment in regional Australia includes Powering the Regions Fund, investment in schools and universities, investment in housing and investment in health care. It's about investing in people and taking seriously place based solutions. The Labor government are saying to people, 'We will deliver for you, no matter where you live, no matter your postcode and no matter who represents you in parliament.' There has to be a clear and transparent process. The Labor government will deliver a regional Australia that can thrive in the modern world. I am so proud to be part of this government delivering for all of Australia. 15:40 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page We really saw in the recent budget the new Labor government's lack of commitment and what their real story is. I call the recent budget the no-hope, no-solutions budget. It had predictions of higher power prices and higher mortgage costs, but there were no solutions. It was a no-hope, no-solutions budget. The great disappointment in the budget obviously was the real cut to infrastructure projects and programs within regional Australia. That was a real kick in the guts obviously to regional Australia. Added to that is the insult, not necessarily to me and people in this chamber but to the people who live in regional Australia, by those opposite—and many have done it, including the now Prime Minister—saying that National and Liberal MPs in regional Australia were pork-barrelling. When we advocate for money and get funding for projects in our regions—for our bridges, roads, hospitals and sporting upgrades—those opposite insult every single person who lives in regional Australia by calling that pork-barrelling. It's an absolute insult. Rubbed into that is them pulling money from regional programs. We've seen them pull the BBRF. We saw in the budget about $9.6 billion ripped out of regional grants programs and $4.7 billion ripped out of the forward estimates for regional programs. At the same time there is the absolute hypocrisy of those opposite because suddenly they gave to Dan Andrews, for the Suburban Rail Loop, $2.2 billion of the money they ripped out of the regions. There was nothing from Infrastructure Australia on that. Not only did they insult every person who lives in regional Australia but also they were hypocrites with what they did with that. We shouldn't be surprised that they don't understand regional Australia. Regional Australians know that the government don't get them. When you look at a map of Australia, you can hardly see the red bits in the regions, because regional Australians know that those opposite don't get them. They know that the Labor Party don't get them. That is why they reject Labor and you don't see much red on the map. This actually goes back a long way. This actually goes back in the Labor Party to Paul Keating's day. Do you know what Paul Keating once said about National MPs? He said all Nat MPs want to do is build roads to nowhere. What an insult that is. He probably thought it was funny as well. That's how far this goes back with the Labor Party. They're not roads to nowhere. It was the Nationals that established the Roads to Recovery Program. We institutionalised that into spending because we know how important those roads are. They're not roads to nowhere; they're roads to our houses, our communities, our farms, our hospitals and our schools. Another program that Paul Keating and Labor would think was for roads to nowhere was the Bridge Renewal Program which we brought in when we came into government in 2013. That was another very important program. We know and hear that Labor don't get regional Australia. Obviously regional Australia understand that, too, because you don't see a lot of red on the map. The other thing I want to add is another example of this. They were talking about skill shortages and job shortages. That is hypocrisy. We as the previous government did work to bring in the ag visa program. As the Leader of the Nationals said, we have a huge shortage of workers in regional Australia. We negotiated the ag visa. We were going to roll it out through South-East Asia to get more workers into regional Australia to help. Guess what the Labor Party did on their first day? They chopped it. It's gone. They are not going to extend the ag visa program. So, again, they have no understanding of regional Australia. They don't care, and they insult us with their hypocrisy. 15:45 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore I think it is worth revisiting the last nine years under a government that those opposite led and comparing that with the last six months. What does cruel government look like? How about cutting video telehealth psychiatric consultations for regional and rural Australia? There has been years of drought, horrific bushfires, a global pandemic and flood after flood, but the Morrison government thought it would be a good idea to make it more difficult and more expensive for people in regional and rural Australia to see a psychiatrist. I can tell you right now that that was cruel. So the Albanese government reversed it. We gave people struggling with their mental health back their psychiatrists. One person in my electorate said the former government's decision put her in a dark place but that we had given her hope again. Those are real consequences of decisions those opposite made that we are correcting. What else does cruel government look like? How about neglecting older Australians living in aged care? Neglect was the title of the report from the royal commission, and it laid it directly at the feet of the Liberal government. We are putting the care back into aged care. As the member for an electorate with one of the oldest demographics in the country, I can assure those opposite that people on the South Coast care about that. We care that we will have nurses 24/7 in aged-care homes, that older Australians will have good-quality food, good-quality care and a system that gives them dignity as they age thanks to the Albanese government. What else? How about forcing people to live below the poverty line by deliberately keeping wages low and refusing to provide an adequate pay rise for those receiving government support. As an electorate with one of the highest numbers of pensioners in the country, people in our region care about this. They care that we have delivered the largest pension indexation rise in 12 years. They care that we advocated for a rise in the minimum wage and a pay rise for aged-care workers. They care that this government supports their increased wages, while the former government cruelly kept their wages low on purpose. This government is taking the needs of regional and rural Australia seriously, and we are putting them first. We have experienced a worsening GP crisis for years. Just yesterday I spoke on the bill that will help incentivise more GPs into regional and rural Australia. What is cruel is leaving whole communities without a local doctor. We are trying to fix it. What's cruel is a government watching our housing prices spiral out of control and doing nothing to fix it. It's a big job to undo this neglect, but we have started the process to build 40,000 new social and affordable homes. Our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is helping people buy a home. In fact, we have many policies that will help support local people find and keep a roof over their head. Those opposite had none. In my electorate, we are providing $40 million to help fix local potholed roads across the Shoalhaven. That is on top of the $250 million boost in the local roads and community infrastructure fund targeted at regional Australia to help local government fix our roads that are in ruins from this crazy weather. We won't call it climate change induced crazy weather because we might have to point out that the former government's refusal to take any meaningful action on climate change may have contributed to that. Is that cruel? Well, if you ask our communities suffering from a never-ending stream of climate related disasters, they might tell you a thing or two. I certainly don't think they will see help to rebuild their roads as cruel. Is it cruel to invest in life-saving cancer treatment close to home for people in the Eurobodalla, or would the Liberals prefer that people like Cathie Hurst were forced to continue travelling to Sydney or Canberra for their radiation therapy treatment, hoping they can make it home before they get sick? That's what I call cruel. In fact, I would call the New South Wales Liberals' continued refusal to support the radiation therapy centre in Moruya cruel. The failure of the former member for Bega and the failure of the former Morrison government to deliver this centre: that is cruel. Local people in my electorate can see the difference in a government that has been working every day since it was elected to deliver real, positive change in our community. We've made more positive improvements for regional and rural Australia in the last six months than those opposite have in the last nine years, and this is only the beginning. 15:50 Ms LANDRY 249764 Capricornia Labor has missed an opportunity to honour and deliver on over $9.6 billion in funding that the coalition, when in government, had committed to regional, rural and remote Australia. Labor have broken the collective spirit of regional Australians, who are living and working to put food on the table for families. I have said repeatedly that the wealth of the nation comes from the regions. It is disappointing that the Labor government have failed to recognise, when considering their first budget, the value and importance that regional Australia bring to the table. The royalties and taxes generated from coal, gas, cattle and grain pay to build roads, schools and hospitals and contribute to aged care and the NDIS. These resources are unique and distinctive to regional and remote areas of Australia. They deserve recognition for the vast wealth that they generate and contribute to this country. The regional and remote regions are deserving recipients of vital infrastructure funding because of their indispensable capacity to uphold the health of the Australian economy. This is a cruel and low blow to the hardworking communities and industries of regional and rural Australia, who quietly and without fuss work from dawn until dusk, and in some cases around the clock, to keep the cogs of the Australian economy turning. I'd like to bring to your attention vital infrastructure projects in my electorate of Capricornia that are casualties of Labor's brutal funding cuts. Rockhampton is the only major city along the east coast of Australia that does not offer alternative routes for 2,600 trucks that travel through daily. We are the beef capital of Australia and home to two major meatworks and the CQLX, the Central Queensland Livestock Exchange, a major selling centre and regarded as one of the best stud-selling facilities in the country. The Bruce Highway traverses over Rockhampton's two bridges and through the centre of the city, bringing a high volume of vehicles that compete with the local morning and afternoon peak traffic. I think I have made a clear case as to the critical need for a ring road to Rockhampton. When in government, the coalition recognised this and committed $1 billion to fund the construction of this vital infrastructure project. Another vital infrastructure project casualty to Capricornia is the Urannah Dam. The decision by the federal Labor government to take away $7 billion from water projects is a testament to their lack of practical understanding of the necessity to fund dams. Again, the coalition recognised that water security and a pumped renewable energy hydro scheme are essential to regional, rural and remote infrastructure. The Urannah Dam site presents the perfect opportunity for pumped hydro to be built. The Urannah Dam is ready to go. The coalition committed $483 million to this vital project, but Labor cut the funding to the Urannah Dam project and announced plans for a $12 billion pumped hydro renewable energy hub to be built in the Pioneer Valley. Unlike the Urannah Dam project, the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project does not have the capacity to store water and provide water security. Another cruel and reckless decision by Labor was to cut funding for the Phillips Creek Bridge upgrade. The Phillips Creek Bridge on Saraji Road is the key link between Dysart and Moranbah, north-west of Rockhampton. Mining companies in the region rely heavily on the route to get their products to market. Flooding closes the Phillips Creek Bridge periodically throughout the year, costing businesses millions and causing frustrating delays for motorists. A replacement bridge would make the highway safer, more flood resilient and keep motorists and freight moving. The coalition, when in government, committed $14.4 million to replace the Phillips Creek bridge on Saraji Road, pending a funding agreement being reached with the Queensland Labor state government. The decision to cut funding to vital road infrastructure on regional and remote roads—the pathway from the paddock to the plate—is hurting all Australians at the checkout. The coalition committed $10 million to Rockhampton Airport to help fund the construction of bay 7, a new apron that would ensure the airport continues to service locals, defence personnel and tourists, to meet future demand. The apron would allow for additional large defence aircraft to land during exercises without disrupting public transport. This investment and upgrade would provide 120 jobs in construction and 126 indirect jobs. The federal Labor government need to honour this commitment to Rockhampton Airport. It will incentivise airlines to increase commercial flights and provide more bargaining power to attract other airlines and open up new routes. The decisions of the Labor government have left regional and rural Australia behind. Why is a fight required for every cent of regional infrastructure funding, whether state or federal, that's delivered to Capricornia under Labor? 15:55 Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 Lyons I'm more than happy to speak on this matter of public importance that the Leader of the National Party has put to the parliament. I can't help but notice there is one National MP left in this chamber: the member Riverina. There's the Liberal member for Capricornia— Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 You're National Party, are you? I do apologise. On the opposite side there are two members left in this chamber who are from the regions. Compare that to this side of the chamber: the member for Hunter; the member for Gilmore; the member for Lingiari; the member for Robertson; the member for McEwen, which is outer metro; the member for Macquarie; the member for Pearce; the member for Blair; the member for Bendigo; and me, the member for Lyons. I've got the member for Menzies over there waving his hand—oh, and the member for Grey has snuck in the back. So we've got two Libs and two Nats on a matter of public importance brought by the leader of the National Party, who's not even here to hear his own matter of public importance. That's the importance the Nationals place on issues like this. They are all hat and no result—that's what they are! That speaks to the last nine years of government by those opposite. They talk a big game about the regions but they're never there when it counts. That's what we've seen in the results over the last nine years. Health is in crisis. There's been a GP crisis across regional Australia under their watch. There's been a housing crisis across regional Australia under their watch. With NBN, the digital divide got wider under them over nine years. If there's one thing that's been consistent over the last nine years, it's that too many regional electorates have been represented by National Party MPs who talk big in this chamber but don't deliver on the ground, where it counts. I'm very pleased to be speaking on this matter of public importance, and I think I'll run out of time before I get through. My mantra since coming to this place six years ago has been, 'We need to rebuild our regions,' because what I've seen consistently from those opposite is a hollowing out of our regions. I've seen the automation of services and the centralisation of services. Our regional communities are being hollowed out. People are deserting our regions. Those opposite, over nine years, did nothing. They did nothing about housing affordability; they did nothing about health access. They just sat on their hands and complained and doled out pork barrels to their mates. That's their idea of representing the regions: pork barrels to their mates. I'm proud to be part of a government that is delivering for the regions in a proper way. In my electorate of Lyons, there is much to do when it comes to rebuilding our regions, especially since, for nine long years, those on the opposite side who served in the previous government did nothing but send a wrecking ball through our regions. They destroyed local services, stripped towns bare and did nothing to attract long-term occupancy and new occupancy for homes in regional Australia. I could provide countless examples of support that's needed for GPs and medical services. In the suburb of Brighton in my electorate, and in Bridgewater, Campbelltown and Bicheno—all across my electorate—under those opposite the GP crisis got worse, and it's an issue that we have to confront and deal with. That's why we're here: to confront the mess left behind by those opposite. It's a big mess to clean up. We're up to it and we'll do it. The good news is that the Albanese government is committed to rebuilding after the destruction wrought upon the country by those opposite. We've made a start, with $1 billion to directly benefit GPs and their patients. We're working with the states and territories, primary health networks and health centres to pinpoint pressure points and ensure that the health system meets the needs of all Australians—including, and especially, those in regional and rural Australia. I also want to briefly come to the skills crisis we confront. You try and get a tradie these days. They are absolutely run off their feet—and why? Mr McCormack 219646 You're in government! Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 I'll take the interjection from the member of Riverina. We've been in government for six months, and he expects us to fix nine years of destruction in six months! We've made a good start, old boy, and you know it! 16:00 Mr RAMSEY HWS Grey From where I sit in regional Australia, all I can see is the dust from the ALP wheels as they skid back to the city. They've been in government for six months, and already they've slashed a heap of programs that were so beneficial to my electorate. In fact, I'll point out while I'm here that over a billion dollars was committed to roadworks in my electorate in the last five years, and it actually transformed that network. One of the very first things the new government did—I spoke about this issue yesterday in the House—was to draw or extend the district of workforce shortage provisions for rural doctors into the suburbs of the capital cities, for crying out loud! That has already reduced our ability to attract foreign-trained doctors into regional areas. In the area that I come from, in regional South Australia, after the announcement in the last couple of days and the news that two doctors are leaving, we will have one doctor for 7,000 people. The minister has refused to meet with the Northern Eyre Peninsula Health Alliance, which delivered a report with the $300,000 left to them by Greg Hunt to precisely address this issue—and the minister has refused to meet them. I've asked him, over six months. I gave him the report as soon as he became the minister. So there's no action from the ALP on fixing the rural doctor crisis where I come from. Even before that, the very first thing this government did when it came to power was to announce the cancellation of the cashless debit card, which, of course, started in Ceduna, in my electorate. The first signs on the streets at the moment are exactly what I warned of. The intake of alcohol has vastly increased. The gambling rooms at the hotels are full. There have been fights on the main street, and there's been an increase in all of those antisocial behaviours that the cashless debit card was introduced to address. This is an assault on regional Australia. The BBRF program—a fabulous program that delivered more than $50 million into my electorate—has been cancelled. The new government has said that there'll be a couple of new programs. I get that; that's fine. But the round 6 submissions have been in for six months; they have been fully assessed by the department; and, after thousands of hours of effort from local community groups, they've just thrown them in the bin. Some of the groups will no longer be eligible to actually apply under the new systems because the argument's moved on—the caravan's moved on. They've had to move their projects on. The record speaks for itself here. While I'm speaking of regional Australia, I might point out that, in this period, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government proudly announced some investment in regional South Australia, with $10 million for the Holdfast Bay council. Holdfast Bay, for those who don't know, is where the Glenelg tram goes to. It's the closest beach to the city of Adelaide. Another $6 million went to the Marion council, which sits right alongside the Holdfast Bay council; it starts about three kilometres out of the city. If that's regional investment, we are in trouble in regional Australia. I might point out that the last time the Labor Party were in government they had a program called Stronger Regions, and that paid for a ring route around that very remote airport of Perth, for crying out loud! We're seeing funds that we directed into regional Australia over the last 10 years being redirected away for city projects. Look at the regional airports and services in my electorate, Madam Deputy Speaker. In the March budget, delivered by the coalition government, there was an amount of $28.5 million to continue the subsidy for regional security scanners in airports like Whyalla and Port Lincoln. In this budget that's gone. That money will dry up around March next year. For the people who live in Whyalla, that's going to put $50 a seat onto a Qantas flight, and in Port Lincoln it looks like being $18. I've spoken to Qantas this week. I know the local councils can't bear the strain of that kind of imposition. It costs over a million dollars a year to run these scanners. That legislation, incidentally, was introduced by the current Prime Minister back in 2012. I told him at the time exactly what would happen if they pushed ahead with this process. The category that actually nominates these aeroplanes has changed slightly in the last two years, and now we've got this block on regional transport coming at us straight down the road. 16:05 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo While the previous government did govern, and they say they governed for the regions, they governed for their own regions; they didn't govern for all regional MPs. They didn't deliver for all regional MPs, and for their own electorates they didn't deliver or govern well. The previous speaker talked about the Building Better Regions Fund and actually was incorrect in what he told the House. In round 6 of Building Better Regions they did call for applications, and lots of organisations and councils did put in their applications, but they were never assessed by the department. The minister asked, on coming into government, and there had been no list of priorities prepared; there has been no work done by the department. The other reason why our government scrapped that fund was that, under the guidelines that were set up, it was going to be left wholly up to ministerial discretion. There was no independence or transparency and no departmental involvement at all. Being a government of good governance and transparency, our government decided that we wanted to restore integrity—the independence and the oversight. That is why that fund has ended and we announced in the budget a new fund to deliver good regional infrastructure projects—projects that are a priority for the regions and assessed by the department, not by an individual minister's wish or whim of the day. The region covered by my electorate welcomed that, because we were hurt by the previous government. The department had decided, through the community sports infrastructure fund, that a soccer field in my electorate was worthy of a grant: $500,000, or just under, to upgrade the Kyneton soccer field. It became a victim of sports rorts. Colour-coded red, it got cut from funding which went to another project in a coalition seat. That's what happened under the previous government. They didn't govern for all regions, they didn't govern for all regional Australians; they only governed for their own, and they did it badly. The previous speaker also spoke about doctors and the shortage of doctors. We too feel that in greater Bendigo and throughout my electorate. I've been speaking in this parliament since I was elected nine years ago about the growing GP crisis in our regions and the growing gap fees that are charged to patients. It didn't just happen after the May election. It's been happening for a long time in the regions. But now it's convenient for those in the National and Liberal parties to be raising it. We have a GP crisis, we have a Medicare system in crisis, we have a bulk-billing crisis, and these things started under their watch. The Labor government has a plan for rebuilding Medicare. A billion dollars has been set aside to help GPs with their clinics and to put money back into bulk-billing, and that's just the start. We recognise that to help solve the GP crisis we have to start reinvesting in Medicare. That's why we're also expanding places at universities and making sure that more regional kids get the opportunity to go to university. The gap continued to widen in terms of educational outcomes in the regions under the previous government's watch. The gap in health outcomes and life expectancy between metro and regional people widened under the previous government's watch. Life is getting harder in the regions, and it didn't just start after the May election—it started a lot sooner. We're going to be more targeted in how we support the regions. We are helping with cost-of-living pressures. We're lowering the cost of child care—a huge issue for regional parents. We're supporting the development and growth of the early childhood education workforce. A massive barrier for women in the regions is not having access to child care. It's not just about the cost of child care; we literally don't have enough educators in the regions to help educate our youngest children. There's enough space, there's room, but we don't have enough educators, so we have a plan to tackle that. I could go on and on about what our side is doing to help support people in regional Australia. What's disappointing is that, rather than realising the mistakes they made in government, the opposition have come in with this MPI to attack the good work that we've started in our six months of government will continue to do once we enter next year. 16:10 Mr WILLCOX 286535 Dawson We knew in rural and regional Australia that life wouldn't be easy under Prime Minister Albanese, but we had no idea it would be this bad. We had no idea it would be this bad and this tragic. Have a look at the first budget that has been brought down. What a disgrace! Ripping all the projects out of our region of Dawson—projects like VMR, or Volunteer Marine Rescue Whitsunday. That's headed by president Mr Mal Priday, secretary Roger Woodson and their 50 dedicated volunteers. They do a fantastic job saving lives almost each and every day. They do medevacs. They even buy their own shirts. Under the coalition, they had $420,000 that was in the budget to extend their clubhouse. They have outgrown their facilities. The Whitsundays has the highest boat ownership per capita. All they need is a little bit of a helping hand, but no! It was ripped straight out from underneath them—$420,000. Then there was the veterans wellness pledge of $5 million in the budget. That has been ripped out as well. Ms Catherine King 00AMR They're your election commitments! Mr Keogh 249147 It wasn't in the budget. Mr WILLCOX 286535 It was definitely in the budget. That was for a brand-new RSL in Mackay— Ms Catherine King 00AMR I'll hold you to account on that. Mr WILLCOX 286535 I'm happy to. There was a veterans retreat at Kinchant Dam and a veterans wellness area around the memorial pool complex in Mackay. If these people—the veterans of this Australia—are good enough to put their bodies on the line, their lives on the line for Australia, shouldn't you be looking after them when they come home? Some of these veterans have got PTSD. All we ask is to look after them and provide them with some resources to actually do that. Mr Keogh 249147 I agree. That's what we're doing. Mr WILLCOX 286535 So do it, rather than ripping it out of the budget! That's absolutely disgraceful. I don't know how you live with yourselves or sleep at night when you do that—when you're not even prepared to look after our veterans. Then there's the Proserpine P&C. We do the heavy lifting in the bush. All they're chasing is $50,000—that was in the budget—for some shade and softball. They have already raised the money for all the playground equipment—gone! You've taken away some funding from the kids! Absolutely disgraceful. We had a pledge at the Alligator Creek Community and Sports Club to provide some of our elderly people who play bowls with some shade and also to do up their clubhouse. But no—absolutely taken out as well. One of my colleagues, Michelle Landry, was speaking about the Urannah dam project, a nation-building project, before. It's 20,000 hectares of agriculture opened up on pumped hydro. Those on the opposite side are all for renewable energy, so why wouldn't you be part of that? This project is right next door to the north-south grid. You can actually put the electricity straight in. It provides water for mining, agriculture and urban use. It's wealth creation, a nation-building project, and you rip it out. But what we did get from the other side is increased cost-of-living pressures. Electricity, by their own forecasts, is going up 56 per cent. That was after they got elected on a promise of a $275 reduction in power bills. I know you don't want to know about that, you don't want to talk about that—you can't even mention the word or the number—but that is what you got elected on, and you've just walked away from it. Fuel has gone up. I've got a guy in my area that cannot afford the fuel for his trucks to keep the business going, because he can't pass on those extra costs to his customers. What a debacle the ag visa is. And thank the good Lord that you've at least let Vietnam come back in. You tried to scrap it, but you let Vietnam come back in. At least that way we can put some food on people's tables. I've never come across such a cruel government in all my life. 16:16 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter The Hunter electorate has never had it better. The Albanese Labor government has delivered for the Hunter in spades. The recent budget shows that Labor is the only party that cares for the regions, with more than $400 million of investment directly into the Hunter electorate. This is a budget that invests in the things that regional Australia need to be able to build a better future. When those opposite were in power the Hunter regularly missed out, despite being in regional Australia. Who can forget the regional grants program that saw millions go to projects like North Sydney Olympic Pool instead of electorates like mine? If that's what those opposite consider regional and rural Australia, then you can understand why electorates like mine continued to miss out under the former government. When they were found out, they tried to justify the rorting by saying that it was definitely a regional facility because people from all over New South Wales came to use that pool. I mean, come on! The Liberal Party are responsible for more cover-ups than a dodgy tattoo parlour. They have turned rorting into an art form. The former government and nappies have one thing in common: they should be changed regularly. In May, the Australian people put the adults back in charge. We're not wasting a single day in government. We've been fixing the mess that those opposite left, when it comes to grants programs. Community development grants programs were only so-called grants programs under the former government—no community organisations could apply for money and those opposite kept using it to top up the slush funds for their own electorates, like the regional ones in North Sydney. The Building Better Regions Fund—or, it should have been called, the 'Building Better Nationals' Electorates Fund'—favoured National Party electorates, and decisions were made on laws that applicants didn't even know about. Now that the adults are in charge, we have committed $1 billion in the budget, over three years, to two new regional programs. The Growing Regions Program will provide new funding opportunities for social and economic infrastructure to local councils and not-for-profit organisations through an open competitive grants process—that's right, open. Our new Precincts and Partnerships Program will provide a strategic, nationally consistent mechanism for funding and coordinating large-scale projects that will transform places to benefit communities in regional cities and wider regional and rural Australia, like the Hunter electorate. It is only the Labor government that understands the depth and diversity of regional, rural and remote Australia. We know that Muswellbrook is different from Mildura, and we never take a one-size-fits-all approach to regional Australia. That's why our budget delivers targeted investment to regional Australia, including an urgent care clinic for Cessnock—which is in the region, just in case those opposite are unaware. This is really important, as the Hunter electorate has some of the lowest bulk-billing rates in the country. We're investing over $600 million to enable infrastructure in the Hunter and regions to support new industries. There's over $268 million in funding for the much-needed Muswellbrook bypass; more than $400 million invested in the nationwide Freight Highway Upgrade Program, which is once again in the regions; hundreds of millions of dollars invested in our universities; and, most importantly, comprehensive funding for the upgrading of sporting and community facilities, like Olympic Park in Muswellbrook, the Alroy Oval precinct in Singleton, the regional skate park and BMX track in Cessnock, and Mum's Cottage and the Edgeworth Eagles facilities in Lake Macquarie. Unlike the former government, the Albanese Labor government is listening to rural and regional Australia. We know that our communities need infrastructure investment and we know that our communities need a government that is committed to the essential services that they all rely on. That's why the Albanese Labor government is committed to delivering for regional and rural communities, like those in the Hunter electorate. Those opposite continue to say that we don't look after regional and rural communities. That's a deadset lie. The Labor Party are the only ones who care for rural and regional Australia. Now that we're back in the adult seat we're making things happen again. The DEPUTY SPEA 00AMT The discussion has concluded. BILLS 45 BILLS Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 45

Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022

Second Reading 45 16:21 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat I think the member for Sturt was in continuation. He's not here, so I will sum up the debate on the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022. This bill will amend the Biosecurity Act 2015 to strengthen Australia's ability to manage biosecurity risks, such as foot-and-mouth disease, posed by goods via maritime and aviation traveller arrivals. I thank members who contributed to the debate—they were all in support of the bill. In response to the current threats, we have deployed the strongest-ever response to a biosecurity threat at our border. We've supported our Indo-Pacific neighbours, toughened our legislation, stress-tested our preparedness and aligned ourselves carefully with state and territory partners in the nation's first Biosecurity Strategy. It's worth repeating that Australia remains free of both foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, but the last few months have illustrated the need for a biosecurity system that is up to contemporary challenges. To that end I'm pleased to say that the centrepiece of our agricultural budget is an investment of over $134.1 million to bolster Australia's biosecurity system against the immediate threat of disease. Critical to implementing these measures are strong legislative powers that enable biosecurity officers to effectively manage biosecurity risks. This will be done through new measures that manage biosecurity risks arising from travellers and classes of individuals for the purposes of preventing or reducing the risk of a pest or disease, such as foot-and-mouth disease, being introduced to Australia from the footwear and clothing of travellers. The bill strengthens the legislative framework in responding to and managing human biosecurity risks. This, as I said, will be done by expanding pre-arrival reporting requirements to ensure access to up-to-date information is available to inform the management of human biosecurity risks and by strengthening penalties for noncompliance. The bill will enable more effective sharing of information with government agencies and other bodies, in line with other Commonwealth legislation, while ensuring that protected information is afforded appropriate safeguards. The bill increases the pecuniary penalties that apply to specified criminal offences and civil penalty provisions in chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the Biosecurity Act that deal with managing biosecurity risks related to goods and conveyances. These increases apply primarily to regulated entities, such as commercial importers, and to operators and persons in charge of aircraft or vessels, all of whom have a particular responsibility to know and understand their obligations under the Biosecurity Act. The increased civil penalties will serve as a deterrent to anybody considering undermining our biosecurity laws, and the criminal penalties will allow appropriate and proportionate punishment for offences under the Biosecurity Act. The process for making certain determinations relating to the import of goods, including the granting of permits, based on risk assessments will be streamlined by this bill. Other amendments will ensure transparency and efficiency of expenditure on biosecurity related programs and activities, by permitting the agriculture minister and health minister to authorise the expenditure directly through the Biosecurity Act. This bill will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of approved arrangements while also improving processes for approved arrangement administration, auditing and the consideration of compensation claims. The bill will provide for a new civil penalty provision targeting individuals who attempt to conceal goods from a biosecurity official at the border. The new penalties will be subject to the infringement notice scheme under the Biosecurity Act and serve as a deterrent to carrying out this serious behaviour that could jeopardise Australia's biosecurity status. Again, I thank all members for their contribution to debate on this bill. Passage of this bill will ensure that the biosecurity framework remains effective and responsive in protecting Australia's animal and plant health, environment and economy. This includes ensuring the biosecurity framework remains fit for purpose when responding to emerging biosecurity and human biosecurity risks. Again, I commend the bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Third Reading 46 16:26 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022 46

Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022

Second Reading 46 16:27 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank all members for their contributions to this debate. As I said when I introduced this bill, it will support students through fairer grandfathering provisions of the job-ready graduates scheme and support our rural and remote and very remote communities by encouraging doctors and nurse practitioners to provide services in those areas. The grandfathering amendments in this bill will fix some of the unfair and, I believe, unintended outcomes of the former government's job-ready graduates legislation while we prepare for a review of the entire scheme as part of the Universities Accord. The amendments make sure that honours course students who've already started but not finished their original course at the time of the job-ready graduates changes benefit from grandfathering measures. The amendments will also ensure that students whose courses were changed or cancelled by the universities are also grandfathered. The bill also puts in place a scheme for eligible doctors and nurse practitioners to have their HELP debts reduced or wiped if they live and work in rural and remote and very remote areas of Australia. Eligible doctors and nurse practitioners will be able to apply to have their debts reduced or wiped if they live and work in those areas for a period of time based on the length of their degree. Doctors and nurse practitioners in rural and remote and very remote areas will also be able to apply for a waiver of indexation on their HELP debt whilst they live and work there. Since its introduction the bill has received significant support. The Group of Eight and Universities Australia have both welcomed the measures in this bill. The Australian Technology Network of Universities described the measures for rural and remote communities as a game changer which will change lives. They estimate that the measures could save up to $70,000 for doctors and almost $20,000 for nurses in those areas. The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners said that they were delighted with those measures. I'd particularly like to use this opportunity in summing up the debate to thank the member for Indi and the member for Mackellar for their contributions on this bill. I've had a good conversation with the member for Indi, who I know is a passionate advocate for mental health services in our rural and remote communities. Mental health is such an important issue, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, and support services are not always easy to access, particularly in regional and remote parts of Australia. The member for Indi has a proud record of advocating for solutions to this problem, and I look forward to working with her on this. The member for Mackellar has foreshadowed an amendment to review the impact of these measures in three years time to help guide future initiatives. I think that a review is sensible, and the government will support that. I also note that an amendment is proposed by the shadow minister for education. As I've said, we have made a commitment to support a review and support the amendment proposed by the member for Mackellar. Notwithstanding that—and I've made this point to the shadow minister as well—I think there are some very good elements of the amendment that he is proposing, especially in the structure of a review when it's put in place, and I'm very open to working with the shadow minister on that as the bill moves to the Senate. This is a policy that we've continued from the former government, and I recognise the work that the shadow minister, the former minister of education, did in this area. Collectively, we want to make a difference here for rural and remote communities and for their access to health services. So this is an important measure to bring forward in this parliament. But it's just one measure. We expect that it will support around 850 medical practitioners a year in those areas. That's a good thing, but it's not the whole solution. It's only one step that we need to take to address access to health services in rural and remote parts of Australia. But, with the help of good people, like all members who've contributed to this debate, we can make a difference. This bill is an important step forward, and I commend it to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZY The immediate question is that the amendment be disagreed to. Question agreed to. Original question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced. Consideration in Detail 47 16:33 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I move opposition amendment (1) as circulated in my name: (1) Page 2 (after line 11), after clause 3, insert: 4 Review of Schedule 2 to this Act (1) The Minister must cause an independent review to be conducted of the operation of the amendments made by Schedule 2 to this Act, with the purpose of assessing the expansion of the policy of waiving HELP debt to additional professions of high skills need in rural and remote Australia. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the review must consider, and make recommendations to the Commonwealth Government about, the expansion of the policy implemented by the amendments to other sectors in rural and remote Australia, including the health, mental health and education sectors. (3) The review should consult widely with rural and remote communities and their health, mental health and education service providers and specifically, the following must be consulted as part of the review: (a) the National Rural Health Commissioner; (b) the Regional Education Commissioner. Timing of review (4) The review must start as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 2 years after the commencement of this Act. Review report (5) The persons who conduct the review must give the Minister a written report of the review within 3 months of the commencement of the review. (6) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister. Government response to recommendations (7) As soon as practicable, and in any event within 3 months, after the report is first tabled in a House of the Parliament, the Minister must cause: (a) a statement, setting out the Commonwealth Government's response to each recommendation included in the report, to be prepared; and (b) the statement to be published on the Department's website. This amendment, which I tabled in my second reading speech, is an important one. The coalition pioneered this scheme, which the education minister has reintroduced. It was a MYEFO measure and was specifically designed to create incentives for new doctors and nurse practitioner graduates to go and work in the regional and remote areas. It will make a difference because they're very substantial incentives, one of which is to completely waive the HECS debt a doctor or nurse practitioner has if they go and work in the regional or remote areas for a certain length of time. We were very proud to introduce that, and I'm very pleased that the government has followed through in reintroducing this measure. What this amendment does is actually call on a couple of things. Most importantly, it calls for a review to occur after two years. A period of two years is important because it gives enough time to see what the behavioural change will be from the operation of this bill in relation to the doctors and nurse practitioners. Secondly, it asks for the review team to specifically examine whether or not the measures which are proposed for doctors and nurse practitioners should apply to other professions where there are shortages in regional and remote areas. In particular, the amendment calls for an examination of other health measures—mental health in particular—and the education sector. But there may be other professions where there are shortages. In a couple of years time those shortages could be different ones, and we may want to consider providing the same HECS discounts for those professions. I think this is a good amendment, and I hope it will get support across this chamber. The other important element of this amendment is that it documents at least a couple of different groups which should be consulted while the review is underway. Those include the National Rural Health Commissioner and the Regional Education Commissioner. I notice that the member for Mackellar is also going to move an amendment, which has been circulated. It's quite similar to the opposition's amendment, but it doesn't go as far as ours. Her amendment says 'before three years', rather than 'after two'. I think two years is a more appropriate length of time after which to do that review. Secondly, it doesn't specify who should be consulted—it's an open question—whereas we think that the National Rural Health Commissioner and the Regional Education Commissioner should be, quite rightly, consulted as part of the review and should be documented in the legislation itself. Most importantly, the amendment I have moved on behalf of the opposition specifically says that the review 'must consider' the expansion of policy to other areas. The member for Mackellar's circulated amendment is blind on that question. Consequently, I would put to the member for Mackellar and the government that the amendment that has been moved in my name is a better and more comprehensive amendment. It incorporates everything that the member for Mackellar's amendment proposes but goes further. Most importantly, it specifically says that the question in relation to other policy areas and professions where there may be shortages in regional and remote areas should be examined, and that advice should be provided to the government and, indeed, to the parliament for consideration. I commend this amendment to the chamber, and I hope that it gets broadscale support. 16:37 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland We support the idea of a review. I think it's very worthwhile in making sure that the policy does what is intended and providing us with guidance, as a government and as a parliament, for where we go forward from here: if this works, what other areas might a policy like this apply to? In that respect, in the construction of the amendment that the shadow minister has put forward he mentions education. It's worth the House noting that on 1 January next year a scheme very similar to this will come into place for teachers and early educators in the most remote parts of Australia. So that's another example of where a policy like this, which waives or reduces HECS debt, is used as an incentive to encourage doctors, nurse practitioners but also teachers and early educators to work in some of the more remote parts of Australia. We have before us two amendments to set up a review. We can't support both in these places. I've given an undertaking to the member for Mackellar to support her amendment, which we will deal with after this. Mr Tudge M2Y Nimble! Mr CLARE HWL You're sounding like Malcolm! Notwithstanding that, I've made the point to the shadow minister privately, and I'm happy to say it publicly, that there is some value in this amendment. As this bill moves to the Senate, I'm very open to working with senators and also with the shadow minister himself to see what further changes we might make to the construction of a review: Should it be three years or should it be two years? Should we build in that mandatory element that the shadow minister has talked about? We're all here to try to make sure that we get good outcomes. The concept of a review is a sound one, and we'll be supporting that through the member for Mackellar's amendment that'll come before the House shortly. We won't support this amendment, but I do undertake to the shadow minister that we're very happy to work with him and the opposition as this moves to the Senate. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is the amendment moved by the member for Aston be disagreed to.    

The House divided. [16:44]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

78 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burke, A. S. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chandler-Mather, M. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Conroy, P. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Hill, J. C. Husic, E. N. Jones, S. P. Kearney, G. M. Keogh, M. J. Khalil, P. King, C. F. King, M. M. H. Lawrence, T. N. Laxale, J. A. A. Leigh, A. K. Lim, S. B. C. Marles, R. D. Mascarenhas, Z. F. A. McBain, K. L. McBride, E. M. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Neumann, S. K. O'Connor, B. P. J. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Plibersek, T. J. Reid, G. J. Repacholi, D. P. Rishworth, A. L. Roberts, T. G. Rowland, M. A. Ryan, J. C. Ryan, M. M. Scamps, S. A. Scrymgour, M. R. Shorten, W. R. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 62 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. Boyce, C. E. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chaney, K. E. Coleman, D. B. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Entsch, W. G. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Haines, H. M. Hamilton, G. R. Hastie, A. W. Hawke, A. G. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Le, D. Leeser, J. Ley, S. P. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McCormack, M. F. McIntosh, M. I. McKenzie, Z. A. Morrison, S. J. O'Brien, E. L. O'Brien, L. S. Pasin, A. Pearce, G. B. Pike, H. J. Pitt, K. J. Price, M. L. Ramsey, R. E. (Teller) Robert, S. R. Sharkie, R. C. C. Spender, A. M. Steggall, Z. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. Thompson, P. Tink, K. J. Tudge, A. E. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Webster, A. E. Wilkie, A. D. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 16:49 Dr SCAMPS 299623 Mackellar I move the amendment circulated in my name: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House calls on the Government to: (1)recognise that the financial benefit delivered under this bill, will, in many cases, not be sufficient to overcome other perceived barriers for entering the regional, rural and remote workforce; (2)acknowledge that Australia is facing a nationwide GP crisis with a workforce shortage of 11,000 GP's forecast by 2032; (3)acknowledge that not enough medical students are choosing general practice and commit to long term planning to increase the number of GP's including improving GP training programs; and (4)substantially increase the Medicare rebate for GP services, as per recommendation 6 of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Provision of general practitioner and related primary health services to outer metropolitan, rural, and regional Australians—Interim Report". I support the Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022 and the measures it introduces to abolish or reduce higher education debt in order to incentivise doctors and nurses to live and work in Australia's rural and remote areas. Rural and remote areas are facing a healthcare crisis. Patients are waiting sometimes months to see a doctor, and doctors are working up to 80 hours a week. This amendment includes a review clause to assess the effectiveness of the measure by requiring review periods, reporting and for those reports to be tabled in parliament. This is an important amendment to improve the integrity and transparency of this bill. Extinguishing or reducing the HELP debt will deliver benefits to individual Australians using taxpayer money. Under current arrangements, the HELP forgiveness would equate to a benefit of approximately $45,000 to $68,000 for students who studied medicine and nearly $8,000 for nurse practitioners. As such, we must monitor and evaluate its application to make sure that the measure is delivering the intended consequence, to make sure that it is delivering value to rural and remote communities and, in short, to assess whether it is working or not. We cannot know its effectiveness without monitoring its implementation. It has been suggested that incentives like this have been unsuccessful in the past. There is a suggestion, even in the Parliamentary Library's own Bills Digest for this bill, that the measure may be ineffective and deliver financial benefit to doctors and nurses who were planning to return to regional and remote areas anyway without bringing additional workers to the regions. This is not the intention of this legislation. I'm not suggesting that I believe this to be the case, and I support incentives to encourage doctors and nurse practitioners to move to remote and regional areas. However, what I am saying is that we won't know whether this is the case unless we track, measure and evaluate programs and their success. This is what this amendment seeks to do. We need to assess for both intended and unintended consequences. Further to this, those reviews will allow us to determine how effective this measure is and consider how the relief from HECS and HELP debt can be used more broadly for other policies, including to help manage workforce shortages in other areas. It is good practice to include review and reporting clauses in legislation to improve transparency and integrity in policy measures. This is what I seek to achieve with this amendment. 16:52 Mr TUDGE M2Y Aston I'm disappointed that the member for Mackellar did not support the amendment which I moved in my name on behalf of the opposition, because the precise issues which she raised in relation to her amendment were in relation to so-called integrity and transparency and also to examine workforce shortages in other areas. The amendment which I moved on behalf of the opposition precisely refers to those other areas to be examined to provide recommendations as to whether or not policies should be extended precisely to those other workforce areas where there may be shortages, whereas her amendment does not. Hence I made the comment before that I thought the amendment the opposition moved was a better one. Her amendment in itself also says that a review should occur after three years. We believe it should occur after two years. We suggested that it should have incorporated some consultation with particular groups—in particular, the National Rural Health Commissioner and the Regional Education Commissioner. Consequently, we will be seeking to again take up these other important measures in the Senate. 16:54 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank the member for Mackellar for bringing forward this amendment and indicate that the government will be supporting it. As I said a moment ago, having a review into a big and important piece of legislation like this is important. I also want to underline the point I made to the shadow minister, which is when the bill goes to the Senate there is an opportunity for us to try to find a bit of common ground and see whether we might make some further improvements. I'm very open to conversation about whether we build on what the member for Mackellar has put forward both in terms of time frame and identifying what other areas of the medical profession may be looked at for the purposes of policy development in the future. I recognise the member for Indi who is in the chamber. She spoke in this debate about mental health workers, and we've had conversations about that as well. That strikes me as the sort of thing that we could have a conversation about with senators when this bill is debated in the Senate. On the point I made a moment ago about teachers, it's really important that from 1 January 2023, so in only a couple weeks time, measures like this will apply to teachers and early childhood educators who work in some of the most remote parts of Australia. That's fundamentally a good thing too. I think, generally, we all agree this is good policy, and that's why the government has brought back a measure that the former government put forward. We agree with the concept of a review and want to make sure that it works because it's taxpayers' money and you want to make sure it has the impact we all want it to have. I look forward to the discussions that the government might have with the opposition and crossbench in the Senate on any further changes we may make to the review when the bill is debated in the Senate. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is the amendment be agreed to. Question agreed to. The SPEAKER 53517 The question now is that this bill, as amended, be agreed to. Question agreed to. Bill, as amended, agreed to. Third Reading 51 16:56 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 51

Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022

Second Reading 51 16:57 Mr LITTLEPROUD 265585 Maranoa The federal coalition supports the passage of the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. This bill contains amendments which will streamline administrative processes in the Australian Animal Health Council (Livestock Industries) Funding Act 1996 and the Plant Health Australia (Plant Industries) Funding Act 2002 by removing redundant provisions, adding provisions that create efficiencies and improve future levy arrangements and increasing consistency between these two acts regarding the spending of emergency response levies. Simply put, it contains measures that will strengthen Australia's biosecurity system and improve efficiencies in how it operates. Importantly, it will cut red tape for Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia. It's worth noting that the provisions outlined in the bill are identical to the legislation that was introduced by the former coalition government in November last year. This bill before the House will deliver some important improvements to two very important organisations: Animal Health Australia, AHA, and Plant Health Australia, PHA. These organisations go to the heart of a shared approach to biosecurity, with membership including the Australian government, state and territory governments and industry. Biosecurity is everyone's business, and a strong government-industry partnership is crucial to maintaining Australia's already high biosecurity status, protecting its food security and boosting our world-leading agricultural trade. Both the AHA and PHA help us to be prepared and ready to respond to any animal and plant diseases and pests. They also strengthen on-farm and supply-chain biosecurity practices and foster good partnerships. These activities minimise disease and pest impacts, assist trade, safeguard the livelihoods of producers, support industries and communities and preserve Australia's environmental health. The changes outlined in this bill will each contribute to making the AHA and PHA funding acts more efficient, effective and fit for purpose. Ultimately, the success of our national biosecurity system relies on the efforts of all parties. Therefore it is important that Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia are both able to operate as efficiently as possible. For Animal Health Australia, this bill will amend the AHA act to facilitate the finding of emergency responses other than the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement, such as the proposed Emergency Response Deed for Aquatic Animal Diseases. A power will be added to the AHA act for the Governor-General to make regulations, which is consistent with the PHA act, and redundant provisions in the AHA act that relate to honey will be repealed as honey related levies are no longer paid to Animal Health Australia. For Plant Health Australia, this bill will broaden the permitted uses for emergency plant pest response levies. This will also allow greater flexibility, meeting their biosecurity needs, while maintaining response funding for these levies. This is also consistent with the use of levies in the AHA act. Levies will be able to be spent on other biosecurity activities once financial obligations to eradication responses have been met. A power in the PHA act will be added for the security of the department of agriculture to determine that a body is a 'relevant plant industry member' by notifiable instrument, and a redundant provision in the PHA act that provides for the redirection of excess levies to research and development purposes will be repealed. Australia's biosecurity system is a pillar of our national defence, helping us prepare for, mitigate and respond to risks to our environmental economy and way of life. Australia has enjoyed a reputation for clean, healthy and disease-free agricultural production systems through our natural advantage of geographical isolation. This has also given Australian producers the edge in a very competitive international environment. In 2020 the value of Australia's biosecurity system was estimated to be $314 billion over 50 years. That's why in government the federal coalition made biosecurity a priority, with more than $1 billion available for biosecurity and export programs in 2022-23, which was an increase of $435.8 million, 69 per cent, from the $630 million expended in 2014-15. In government we increased fines and penalties for people breaking biosecurity laws. We were also partnered with New Zealand to develop world-leading biosecurity risk detection technologies such as 3D X-rays. The coalition government measures in office ensured that Australia remained a world leader in biosecurity, with strong controls in place offshore, at our border and within Australia. The Joint Interagency Taskforce: exotic animal disease preparedness report, released at the end of September, found that overall the system is strong and well prepared. It is important to keep the system strong and well supported. During the federal election we committed $10 million for a genetics gene bank to futureproof Australian agriculture, and we encourage this government to take this forward. Countries such as the United States, Germany and the Netherlands have established national livestock gene banks. It's worth recognising that many of these things we have taken for granted, as a constant of Australian life, are at greater risk than ever before. Exotic pests and diseases are spreading around the world and putting unprecedented pressure on our border, especially with a major foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Indonesia and lumpy skin disease and varroa mite. Responding to a rapidly changing environment requires the controls, partnerships, tools, processes and networks to manage current and future threats. The provisions outlined in the bill represent another step forward in further strengthening Australia's biosecurity system, and the coalition is pleased commend it to the House. 17:02 Mr JOYCE e5d New England Animal health is integral to what happens in our nation. Coming from a family where my father was a vet, I grew up with the tuberculosis eradication scheme—and that was imperative to keep our trade going to the United States. We all know about the cattle crisis back in the 1970s. I remember our family taking a truckload of cattle to the saleyards and coming back with two, and me saying, 'Well, what was the purpose of that?' Dad said, 'At $5 a head, there was no purpose in selling,' which was the reason we were there, so they purchased. It shows you how integral animal health and biosecurity are to the economy of regional areas, and it continues on. I suppose the most pressing things right now are the threat of lumpy skin disease in cattle, screw-worm fly and, most importantly, foot and mouth. If foot and mouth comes in, we have devastation across our nation, and it will cost tens of billions of dollars. Immediately, there'll be the cessation of the movement of stock, right across our nation. This comes into an act that I was a part of, the Biosecurity Act 2016. It's one of the largest pieces of legislation that has ever gone through this nation, and it may be the largest. The shutdown would mean no more transport operators, no sales for farms, no moving of earth—the construction industry, earthmoving industry, roads. Everything stops. This would be devastating not just to the cattle industry but to the economy in general. Our role is to make sure that that doesn't happen. As foot-and-mouth disease is now prevalent in Indonesia, especially in Bali—and so many people go to Bali—one of the things we have to do is inform the Australian people: if you've got a pair of thongs in Bali, with the Hindu culture and cattle being prevalent, please do not bring them back to Australia. Throw them out; you don't need them. The threat that comes with it just doesn't warrant the expense it would cause. When they talk about threats, they talk now about it being close to 10 per cent, so it's not as if it's out of the ballpark. What we also have to do is try to vaccinate. Of course, if we do that, we have to bring in a live virus, which straightaway means that you have to test the live virus and whether it's working by seeing how a beast deals with it. That calls into question whether you can call yourself foot-and-mouth-free anymore. So we actually have to go out and—as they say in the infantry—get close with the enemy. If foot-and-mouth was the enemy, we must be doing our part to control it overseas, and it would be incredibly difficult to try to control it within Papua New Guinea. There are also other things that are very important. In the past we've dealt with such things as rabbits, and successfully with the myxoma virus and later on with the calicivirus and variants of that calicivirus to try to keep at bay what was an absolute scourge of regional Australia and Australia in general. People may not understand rabbits, but luckily in Canberra you've got your own classic example. Down around the flag down there, if you want to look, there's an infestation of rabbits. It is beyond belief what you see around there. That a small part of Australia, and they were everywhere like that. When you go around—I do a lot of fencing; it's probably why my knees are shot at the moment—you see that they actually dug in the netting. How hard would that be, going up and down hills digging in the netting so rabbits couldn't get through it. This was because they tried in vain to control rabbits. Even if you have a good season like right now, you couldn't control it. This is all part of dealing with the issues in the protection of animals and animal health, issues such as strain 19 of brucellosis, dealing with live virus and also protection of the land to make sure you get better production. One of the issues of animal health that is pertinent to my area at the moment is St John's wort. St John's wort has a chemical as part of its chemistry in the time up to flowering, so that chemical builds up through the springtime. After flowering this chemical falls away again. What it does is it causes destruction of the liver, cirrhosis of the liver, and the beasts, if they've got white skin, become photosensitised, which means the white skin starts to slough off. For Herefords and cattle such as that it can cause real problems. St John's wort is now out of control, and we have to look at things such as biocontrols. That's the only way to do it; you can't get enough chemical to try to spray it—that would be impossible. You need biocontrols to try to deal with that, and one of the great biocontrols of St John's wort is the chrysolina beetle. We should be working towards how we develop this biotechnology so that we can deal with these things in a chemical-free way. That's in line with the sorts of smarts that Australia has had in the past, and there has to be an aptitude and a focus to deal with it in the future. In a similar vein are issues such as blackberries. There are a whole range of variants of blackberries. You'd think there's one, but there are probably about 13 or 14 different variants of blackberries, and trying to get a rust, which is a disease that impedes their growth—it doesn't completely kill them but certainly sets them back—would also take us away from the use of chemicals. This is what we're doing at our family's place which I manage. We're using tens of thousands of dollars of chemicals, which we spray. It doesn't matter how much you use, they always come back. It's a continual task to deal with it. If we can develop that rust, we can reduce the amount of chemicals we use. The chemistry of the pores of the blackberry plant open predominantly in wet, cool weather. In dry areas you don't get those conditions, so you need to get a variant of rust that has a more virulent pathology to deal with issues such as blackberries. Briars is another one. As a young fellow at home I remember my father going through and saying, 'There's a dead sheep'—recently dead. There's a code for it if they've been dead for too long; it's called TFG, too far gone. But you can do an autopsy on a recently dead animal, and that's what curious people, especially vets, do. My father was saying to me, 'Why did the sheep die?' and I said, 'I don't know, old age? It died of death. It's dead.' He said, 'Nothing just dies. There is not a thing on this planet that just dies; it dies for a reason, and now we have to try and work out what that reason is.' So he did an autopsy, starting at the mouth, inspection of the tongue, removal of the tongue, inspection of the brain, going down through its oesophagus into its gut, and in the end he found it. He went, 'Aha, I've got it. It's called liver fluke. This has died by reason of liver fluke. It was an infestation of liver fluke—which, of course, when you lose your liver, you lose your life.' That is one of the greatest uses of chemicals, to try and deal with barber's pole worm or liver fluke, trying to make sure that you keep these parasites at bay. The life cycle of liver fluke comes also through the process of the freshwater snail, so you have the process of a life cycle going through to the beast. We're always trying to work out a better form of chemistry. Another issue we have on farm produce is a thing called drug fastness. When you have an excessive use of chemicals, especially excessive use of antibiotics, you by its very nature start to breed medicine resistance within a herd. Especially we see it in the poultry industry. Once you get resistance then you immediately have to find another form of variant or a development of the chemistry so that it can go through its next iteration of being efficacious in dealing with the condition that is before you. These all require research. In the past we had great advances through the CSIRO. One of the things they were noted for was their capacity to develop the drugs that allowed the Australian people to have the incredible agricultural industry it has got. In closing I'd like to talk about why the agricultural industry is important. Last night I had the pleasure of talking to one of our Asian neighbours at dinner. Australia doesn't comprehend at times the geopolitical consequence of its capacity to produce food. One of the great things that people are interested in about this nation is our capacity to assist them to feed themselves. This is so incredibly important, our capacity to assist them to feed themselves. One of the issues with the protein requirements of one of our near neighbours, Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta, is if Australia didn't have the live cattle trade. One of the staples of their diet is called bakso balls. They're made of beef, and they're a part of their diet that they have every day. Of course, in the Islamic faith there are certain meats they can eat and certain meats they can't. When we ceased the live cattle trade for that short period of time, it was not just a disaster for people on the land; it sent a lot of people broke, and people who'd been doing it hardest in the remote areas who were in the live cattle trade—I'm not, but people up north are—are the ones who were smashed. I remember a lady covered in skin cancer up in the north, and she went, 'I haven't lived a really flash life; I've lived a pretty tough life, and I've done it because I believe in it. Then great opportunity came because of the live cattle trade, and for my perseverance and the privations I went through I had a chance to make a dollar'—and she did. Then she said, 'And you came out and sent me broke, shut me down. So why? Why did I live this life?' Even in Aboriginal communities—I remember speaking to Fred Pascoe. I know he got himself into a bit of strife later on. He said, 'You wanted Indigenous people to stand on their own two feet and get ahead.' I said, 'I agree with you.' He said, 'We had 60,000 head of cattle. We were making money, good money. Then you came in and closed down the live cattle trade, and now we have a major problem. So what would you prefer—that we go back to the national parks?' He was very direct with me, 'Where do you want to send us, national parks? Or do you want us to go stand in a creek or something? We actually like this industry. It actually is our industry. It actually gives us purpose, it gives us respect, it gives us position in our local community. This is it: we're in the live cattle trade.' In Western Australia they have the live sheep trade, and this is incredibly important for that. I rarely give a yell out to people of opposing political views, but I will here. Premier McGowan was strong enough just after the Labor Party won the election, when there was a discussion about banning the live sheep trade, to stand up and say, 'No, you won't.' It is emblematic of what Western Australia is. It is absolutely fundamental to how Western Australians see their industry. People who ban it are usually so far away from it that they don't understand it. A few facts: you have less chance now of a sheep dying on a ship than dying in a paddock because the technology that's going into it is always advancing, always getting better. The live sheep trade is also part of our diplomatic capacity to affect other people around us. If you go around Asia, they want to talk to you about the food that you can sell them. It means more to them than many other things we can sell them, because they can't do it themselves to capacity. They can do it some of the way, but then there are the corners that we Australians produce for, and those gives us engagement diplomatically on trade with our near neighbours. This is a very important thing that people should be made aware of: the holistic managing of that industry requires investment in the chemicals and in the biosecurity mechanisms. We have to be always reaching forward and never complacent. We have to clearly understand the realities of what we are. We are South-East Asians. We don't realise it, but we are South-East Asians. That's where we live. We have to understand the nuances and the terms of trade, and what people in South-East Asia want from us. We are also a little bit Middle Eastern because of our trade to the Middle East. We are at times very Chinese, a tiny little bit from the United States and a tiny little bit from Europe. But we have to make sure, in doing this task—which is a noble task. There can be nothing more noble than feeding and clothing people—not ripping off people by gambling on their weaknesses. Every day when I go to the paddock I think that the fruits of my labour mean that people eat and people are clothed. We raise their standard of living and give them the basic sustenance of their lives. 17:17 Mr VIOLI 300147 Casey I rise to speak in support of the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. It is of the utmost importance that Australia maintains our food security and protects our agricultural trade. The bill before us harmonises the similar Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia acts, ensuring the two acts work together to sustain the agricultural industry in Australia. This bill increases the efficiency of levy structures and spending, and subsequently improves our country's biosecurity response in the face of this threat. For many years, Australian primary industries—agriculture, fisheries and forestry trade—have asked the federal government for levies to be imposed in their respective industries. It allows industry resources to be pooled and used strategically. If not for levies, large-scale projects could never be considered, and complicated, industry-wide activities protecting all of those in agriculture could never be enacted. These projects are beyond the scope that small and rural enterprises could enact on their own, and the efficient use of levies means that all those in primary industries can not only be protected from biosecurity threats but also avoid significant pest and disease management costs to producers in the long term. But the imposition of these levies is not enough. They must be improved, restructured and reconsidered to ensure that they remain efficient and beneficial to agriculturalists in Australia. The entire process is coordinated with input from the primary industries, including whether they need a levy, how it will be charged and collected, what the rate is, and when to review the levy. The structure of the levy system is based on cost sharing. Cost sharing between industry and government allows for the strongest possible response to biosecurity risks. My uncle Sam spent decades as the president of both the Victorian and the national strawberry growers associations. Over the years we've had many conversations about the importance of levies for that industry. However, he always took the time to remind me that we should always remember that it is the farmers' money that is being spent and it must always serve their interests and be spent as efficiently as possible. Emergency eradication responses are planned and funded for, ensuring that, if an exotic animal disease or plant pest makes its way into Australia, it will be responded to promptly and accurately and it will not destroy our industries. These investments now will mean savings to Australian producers in the future, with significantly fewer disease management costs. As an example, Australia has eradicated avian influenza three times from our country. With the potential to devastate millions of poultry and even humans, Australia is thankful to have avoided the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has occurred in Asia, Africa and Europe since 2003. Past successes are not always an indicator of future successes. We must keep up with the changing landscape of biosecurity. At each and every step we must do everything in our power to minimise risks. The varroa mite has been detected on Australian honey bees. This mite is responsible for the collapse and death of European honey bee colonies wherever it is present overseas. There is currently a movement control order in place to stop the spread of this. This is just one example of the threats to our country that require government and industry partnership to ensure future success in this field. Australia is home to many world-class producers, and countries all over the world pay premiums on high-quality Australian produce. This demand exists because we have not only some of the best agricultural environments around but also the best farmers. I experienced firsthand this demand for Australian products when I visited Asia when I was responsible for exports at Yarra Valley Snack Foods. We must always continue to protect the brand equity of this country. Australia currently exports more agricultural products than it imports, with around 70 per cent of Australia's total agricultural production sent overseas. In 2018-19 the value of Australian agricultural exports was almost $49 billion. We must do all in our power to ensure that Australia remains a global superpower in this industry. Unfortunately, this economic growth would all be in vain if biosecurity threats are allowed into our country. It would be devastating for our bees, our cattle, our citrus and our fruit. Without proper protections against the dangers that exist, our industries will be significantly damaged. We saw this in Casey, particularly in the Yarra Valley, where phylloxera took hold in vineyards in 2006, defeating biosecurity measures. It impacted the industry significantly then and it still is to this day. It's causing significant economic harm to our industries and wineries in the Yarra Valley. It's so important that we protect all these industries. Moreover, this bill removes redundancies from the AHA Act relating to honey bees, with the industry no longer paying levies to the body. Consistent with a similar act for plants, the bill will allow emergency plant pest response levies to be used for anything related to plant health and biosecurity activities. This will provide more flexibility to PHA industry members in meeting industry biosecurity needs. This change is consistent with the use of the equivalent levies in the AHA Act. By broadening the range of possible levy expenditure, the plant industry will be able to devote funds to whatever is most pressing and will not be limited by predetermined limitations on expenditure. Plant industries welcome this change as it will give them greater autonomy on allocated expenditure for what is really necessary to protect their industries. Powers will be granted to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to determine that a body is a relevant member of a plant industry, and redundant provisions will be removed that redirect excess levies to research and development. As a result of these amendments, we will also see minor changes to other legislation merely to facilitate the amendments. Each of these changes will make the animal and plant funding acts more efficient, more effective and fit for purpose, serving our industries and making sure these levies are spent efficiently. Industries will be able to meaningfully contribute to the biosecurity issues at hand, saving themselves from the debilitating further costs if the protections were not to exist. The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia has been a reminder to us all of the biosecurity threats that exist and our need to be vigilant in this regard. The Biosecurity Act 2015, introduced by the previous coalition government, has facilitated a thorough response to that threat. Through this, biosecurity officers have directed all travellers from Indonesia, including Bali, to walk over sanitising foot mats, and there have been other measures, including distributing vaccine to Indonesia. I am thankful that the previous coalition government enabled Australia to be prepared in the face of such threats. My electorate of Casey is very regional. Agriculture is immensely important for us, not just for the economy but for the community and family connections that are generated and, indeed, our identity as a region. The Yarra Valley is world-famous for its established viticulture industry and produces Australia's best wines. More than 50 winery businesses call our region home and annually bring in $8.5 million of gross production. But wine is not the only agricultural industry we attract. In the 2020-21 fiscal year, Casey produced around $400 million worth of agricultural products, including strawberries, with $54 million of gross production, apples with $45 million, cherries with 18 million, nursery production with $175 million and cut flowers with $29 million. We also produce broccoli, cabbages, lettuce, herbs, capsicum, beans, tomatoes and so much more. For full perspective, there are 1.2 million apple trees in Casey. My point is simple. We all know the importance of agriculture in Australia. In my electorate, it is even more important. I am glad to see legislation fostering this in the House. This bill serves to protect the industries so important to Australia and especially Casey. I hope this bill is the first step of many towards even stronger measures cementing Australia as a top exporter of produce and meat around the globe. We have the land. We have the talented farmers. We just have to ensure the health of our produce through measures like this going forward. I commend this bill to the House. 17:28 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I rise to speak in favour of the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. As previous speakers have outlined, it's a great partnership between government and industry, where we have these schemes that put levies in place to support important industry-specific funded activities that the government can oversee. We obviously understand the principle, which is that the individual producers cannot be expected to protect themselves alone from potential biosecurity risks and other risks to them. Equally, even if they tried, it's something that we have to do cumulatively as a government. I was involved in the wool industry for a very long time. Most people will know of the Woolmark brand, which at one point in time in the sixties and seventies was the most recognisable Australian brand on the planet. I'm reliably told that a business in my electorate—Penfolds wine—is the new most-recognised brand in certain nations. Woolmark is owned by something called Australian Wool Innovation, which is one of these partnerships that puts levies in place on growers in the wool industry. I've been out of that industry for about 10 years, but that entity undertook a number of different activities on behalf of the industry as a whole. When I was there, they took in about $64 million a year, and exactly half was on the production side—both on-farm and off-farm—and the other half was around marketing and other product development and promotional activities that they would do to help expand the industry. In terms of merino wool, Australia produces about 80 per cent of the world's apparel wool, and it was in the interests of Australian producers to have a levy put on them, at the greasy wool stage, that would be collected by Australian Wool Innovation. They would then use those funds under rules governed by statute—there's an act of parliament that covers them—and they would have an industry led process to select their leadership. There was a board of representatives, and they would determine and oversee the way in which the organisation was run, what its budget was each year and how it would select the various things that it would fund. They would then execute the spend of that levy which had come from the producers, to make sure that it was being used for the best benefit of the producers. Having the industry in charge of their own levy fund was certainly something that meant there was the best chance possible of the industry supporting and backing the things that the money from their own levy was being spent on. So half of that was on the marketing and product development side, but the other half was on important measures that are not dissimilar to what this legislation goes toward: ensuring that the wool flock was safe from various threats of a biosecurity nature; investing in research and development to look at ways of improving the size and health of the flock; and looking at different techniques that could be used to help wool apply to more and varied uses, both in an apparel sense and in an industrial sense. Australian Wool Innovation was heavily involved in developing the ways in which wool would be become shrink resistant. A very famous challenge in wool is that, when washed in warm water, the wool fibre does not like to be stretched and spun into a yarn. That's not the natural inclination of a fibre of wool. It's a crimped fibre, and, without appropriate treatments, you have a situation whereby you won't have shrink resistance in the garments. Australian Wool Innovation invested money in superwash technology and in other technologies that meant we could enhance the value of the wool fibre so that it would have a more significant value for growers. That was the point of these levies: to put in place a levy on production and to use it in a way that would mean the paying of the levy would, hopefully, be less than the increase in value for the sector. The real unknowns in the sector were some of the preventative things that are envisaged within the framework that we're amending with this bill. Obviously, with a biosecurity arrangement in place to keep out potential pests and prevent impacts upon a particular sector or industry, you can never know that the preventative measures have worked but for the fact that nothing has happened to impact your industry. So when you're investing in preventative measures, as long as the prevention doesn't result in what you're seeking to prevent from occurring going ahead, then, of course, it's been a success. Prevention in my industry, the wool industry, was always very successful. The unique challenges of raising merino sheep in Australia were also ones that that levy was able to help support. It's obviously a very different climate from where the Spanish merino sheep came, and there are some different challenges with local pests and the like. Flies and flystrike, in particular, are a very significant challenge and issue in the wool industry. It's also become a significant animal welfare issue, quite reasonably, but equally it's something that has been a big challenge for the sector to tackle. Thanks to an industry levy, like the one in this bill, individual growers have been able to receive a lot of support from that body to address it. Mulesing is a well-known practice that is undertaken by farmers going back a long time in this country, because, due to the unique challenges of the Australian environment, flystrike can best be dealt with by crutching the sheep. There certainly have been developing animal welfare concerns about that practice. Australian Wool Innovation, through the raising of a levy that they receive from growers, like the Animal Health Australia levy, were able to look at a whole range of ways in which they could satisfy the important animal welfare concerns and issues that were consistently raised, not just by animal welfare groups but by a lot of participants in the supply chain, particularly out of Western Europe and North America, who were concerned about using merino wool because of the practice of mulesing. There was then this concept of a non-mulesed wool being something of value that you could advertise to animal welfare conscious consumers who would feel much more comfortable in purchasing garments with that sort of accreditation. So I really pay tribute to Australian Wool Innovation, the way in which they've been structured and the levy they raise. What this bill does, exactly in line with the way AWI operates, is to make sure that there's a really strong, healthy partnership between the government, the industry and the individual participants in the industry to help protect them and respond to emergency circumstances to safeguard and protect the industry. We in the coalition are very happy to support this bill which effectively mirrors a bill that we introduced in the last parliament—it made it through this chamber but not the Senate—and we look forward to it being able to pass before the end of the year so it can proceed to provide the benefit it's designed to provide, to the various industries that rely on it. With those words, I commend the bill to the House. 17:38 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina You learn new things every day in this job. I learned this afternoon that the minister at the table, the member for Sydney, is in fact a beekeeper, an apiarist—a farmer! I'm impressed. Indeed, that'll be the subject of future media releases, I'm sure, when I question the government about certain things agriculture related. But it is good that the member for Sydney does understand the importance of animal health, of insect health and of bees. Let me tell you, without bees, our agricultural industry would be nothing because the pollination—the process that goes on there—is crucial, essential, critical to all agriculture. I have newfound respect for the member for Sydney. I always appreciated our discussions, and, indeed, we've achieved some good things together in the space of health, and I look forward to working with her in the space of water infrastructure, which as the environment minister she's now responsible for. Australia's biosecurity system is an absolute pillar of our national defence. I'm not overstating it or overplaying it; it is our national defence. Our biosecurity helps us to prepare for, mitigate against and respond to risks to our environment, our economy and our very way of life. Australia has long enjoyed a reputation for clean, green, healthy and disease-free agricultural production systems. May that long continue, because the moment that it is put at risk—the moment it is jeopardised and falls apart in even the slightest way—is the moment that those products which proudly carry the kangaroo symbol may well be spurned by international markets. We are heading towards a hundred-billion-dollar agriculture industry by 2030. That's our goal, and it was very much the government's objective when we were in power. I know that those opposite share the same view. It's certainly shared by the National Farmers Federation. We acknowledge, as previous speakers on the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 have stated, that our farmers are the very best in all the world. Make no mistake: they know the critical importance of this bill in improving their lives, their livelihoods, the lives of their animals, and their plants—the crops they grow. Australia's biosecurity has given Australian producers an edge in what is a very competitive international environment. We need to keep that edge, and anything that we can do, say or pass in this House and in the Senate to enhance that is to be commended. That is why the coalition have said, as we've said with other legislation: 'If it's good legislation, we'll support it. We'll be very much in favour of it.' Not a lot of people know this, but even in those years when Julia Gillard was Prime Minister 88 per cent of legislation, or perhaps even a bit more, was passed in a bipartisan way. As I have for the member for Sydney, I've got the utmost respect for Julia Gillard. Indeed, she's been an exemplar in public life post-politics. A lot of people outside of parliament and some of those in the fourth estate like to make out that it's always argy-bargy and there's never any consensus or bipartisanship, but if good legislation is brought forward by the new Labor government we'll support it. In 2020 the value of Australia's biosecurity system was estimated to be $314 billion over 50 years—314,000 million dollars. That's a lot of money. Many of the things that we take for granted as a constant of Australian life are now at greater risk than ever before. Exotic pests and diseases are spreading around the world at a faster rate. This is putting unprecedented pressure on our borders. I know recently we had a foot-and-mouth disease scare. I thank the government for what it did. We did call on the government to act sooner and harder. Indeed, that outbreak in Indonesia, and people travelling to and from Bali in particular, made my farmers in the Riverina and the Central West very nervous. There were calls to ban travel to and from Bali. I wasn't against those calls, because if you get FMD in this country it's all over for many farmers. Indeed, it's all over for our abattoirs, and I've got some very big abattoirs in my electorate. I've got Chris Cummins at Cowra Breakout River Meats, the abattoir at Bomen in Wagga Wagga, abattoirs in Young and the meat-processing plant in Junee, where Heath Newton processes much of the sheepmeat that ends up on shelves throughout our supermarkets in Australia. An outbreak of FMD or lumpy skin disease or, indeed, any other disease would cause those meat processing plants to close just like that. I should have also mentioned the Barton brothers at Gundagai. I know Will Barton is so short of labour that he was on the kill room floor not that long ago. He sent me photos of himself in a white coat and all the proper protective gear. Our abattoirs, along with our farmers, are the best in the world. In my electorate, I have the two largest saleyard stock operations in Australia, if not the southern hemisphere: No. 1 is at Wagga Wagga and No. 2 is at Forbes. I was pleased as the infrastructure minister, in the glory days of Australian politics— Mr McCORMACK 219646 I got a laugh from the current minister for infrastructure, but it was true. I was pleased to provide funding for those Forbes saleyards. It meant the world of difference for them. And I know Steve Loane, who's the general manager of Forbes Shire Council but who's also had a lot to do with the stock and freight industry over the many, many years, was pleased to get that funding. We need a strong biosecurity system. This legislation further enables and enhances that, and I'm pleased that it's been brought to the parliament. I know the member for New England talked a lot in his contribution about the live trade export, and I know there are diverging views, both here and outside the parliament, about the live trade. I know, as the minister of transport, I did provide a tick-off to a sheep-carrying ship outside of the months of the year considered the best for the welfare of the sheep. Rest assured, I know those operators are under such strict and stringent conditions now that they cannot afford to not provide good welfare for the sheep. Indeed, in the system we have in place—going from paddock to plate, through the whole supply chain—animal welfare is first and foremost for our farmers. They get very upset when people suggest otherwise, when people suggest that they are not doing the right thing, whether it is sheep or cattle. Our farmers, as I say, are the best environmentalists in the world. They're the best for animal husbandry. They're the best growers of crops anywhere in the world. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of those importers of our products. I was only talking to the ambassador for the United Arab Emirates yesterday, and he talked about the great products that come from Australia. The UAE wants to import more, and that's to be admired. I know when we took government in 2013 the percentage of trade under free trade arrangements was somewhere in the 20 per cent area. When we left, it was closer to 80 per cent. The markets that we opened up—even when there were changing conditions with the Chinese market and we had to look for other markets—led to our farmers being given more opportunities and different opportunities. That's going to need to be even more in place in the future, because our markets are not assured in the geopolitical situation that we have right across the world. I'm visiting Africa next week and I'm very perturbed and confronted, as the shadow minister for international development and the Pacific, by the famine in Kenya, in Ethiopia and in Uganda. It has not been declared yet, yet tens of thousands, particularly children, have died already. This is always the case, and then they declare the famine, and then the United Nations and other NGOs act more swiftly than they would have otherwise. But this is a tragic situation, and it's largely being brought about, not by three years of drought in some of those countries I mentioned in the Horn of Africa, but by the war in Ukraine. I don't think we can quite understand fully here in Australia—we're a very lucky country—what it's like to go without food. We should thank our farmers three times a day every day. When we get food on our table, it's taken for granted. But those in Africa don't have that luxury. I know that what I'm about to see next week, on a bipartisan tour with the Save the Children fund, is going to be very distressing and very confronting. I look forward to going to the Pacific the week after, with Minister Wong, Minister Conroy and shadow minister Birmingham, to look at the situation in Micronesia and Palau and elsewhere, because, in some of those Pacific nations, they have drought. It's hard to believe that they have drought, because we are in a La Nina and it simply will not stop raining. It had rained every day in my electorate, and it actually stopped two Sundays ago—the day after my daughter Georgina's wedding. She was really happy when she had to make alternative arrangements for her outdoor wedding! It was a lovely day, though, Member for Mallee, as I'm sure you know. But the point of this legislation is important, and we need to make sure that our biosecurity system is what it needs to be and is even improved upon. I do thank the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, for bringing this forward and for his endeavours to make sure that Animal Health and Plant Health and biosecurity are what they need to be. We need to take every step, use every measure, to ensure that we stop harmful pests and diseases entering Australia, through whichever way—whether it's via cargo, sea vessels and aircraft, international travellers, post and mail or natural pathways—because our farmers expect nothing less. They deserve nothing less. And we need to do everything we can to protect the clean, green standards that have made us No. 1—No. 1 in the very best produce in all of the world. I commend the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. 17:51 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat I thank all members for their contributions on the Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022—particularly the member for Riverina, who has just concluded his speech, and the member for Sturt, who seems to be popping up on all manner of bills towards the end of the speaking list today. The Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia Funding Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 of course amends funding legislation for Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia. The bill will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of legislation dealing with the payment and use of biosecurity levies, which these organisations manage on behalf of their industry members. The bill will facilitate industry parties to future emergency biosecurity response deeds using the same levy arrangements available to industry parties to the existing plant and animal deeds. It will offer increased flexibility to plant industry members in the spending of their emergency response levies. The bill will reduce administrative burden and improve clarity by removing redundant provisions. It will simplify and give an appropriate level of oversight to the process of identifying relevant plant industry members for a particular leviable plant product. These prudent and needed changes will contribute to the ability of industries to sustainably fund their biosecurity plans, contribute to eradication responses, and, of course, ensure that Australia's biosecurity regime continues to protect Australia's unique agriculture, environment and way of life. I commend the bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced. Third Reading 59 17:54 Ms CATHERINE KING 00AMR Ballarat by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Amendment (Strengthening Land and Governance Provisions) Bill 2022 59

Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Amendment (Strengthening Land and Governance Provisions) Bill 2022

Second Reading 59 17:54 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra This bill makes important updates to the legislation that governs the Aboriginal community at Wreck Bay, which is in the Jervis Bay Territory. Jervis Bay is one of those unique places in Australia that is a non-self-governing Commonwealth territory. That effectively means it has the Commonwealth and whatever councils may exist there, but there is no territory government or state government that deals with it. The Commonwealth effectively performs the role that the state government may perform ordinarily in other parts of Australia. This bill is the result of the hard work of Ken Wyatt when he was the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Extensive consultations were carried out with the community at Wreck Bay, community consensus was reached and the bill was introduced into the parliament on 30 March this year. Unfortunately, the bill didn't pass before the election. I note the present Minister for Indigenous Australians took up the bill after the election. As the explanatory memorandum states, she asked the National Indigenous Australians Agency to carry out consultations with the Wreck Bay community to see if any further changes were required. The community preferred the bill in the form completed under Minister Wyatt, so that is the version that is brought before the House today. I want to quote from the speech introducing this bill, as the text is in the identical form. The minister said: The Australian government has worked with the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council and the broader Wreck Bay community over a number of years to co-design the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Amendment (Strengthening Land and Governance Provisions) Bill 2022. The bill will: strengthen the council's governance structures; enhance local control over decision-making; and help to enable homeownership style leases on Aboriginal land in the Jervis Bay Territory. The bill supports economic empowerment for the Wreck Bay community by ensuring people can access the benefits that come with homeownership and by reducing red tape in council administration. The Wreck Bay community is located in the Jervis Bay Territory, on the southern New South Wales coast, 126 kilometres east of Canberra. The Jervis Bay Territory was formally established in 1915, on the land of the Bherwerre Peninsula, through the enactment of the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915. Of course, Aboriginal people had been living in the area since long before that time. Middens on the Bherwerre Peninsula provide evidence of thousands of generations of Indigenous occupation of the area.During the 1960s and 1970s, members of the community advocated for the recognition of their connection to their land in Australian law. This advocacy culminated in the enactment of the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986. The act established the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council to hold title to Aboriginal land in the Jervis Bay Territory, to manage that land for the benefit of the community and to advocate for and serve the community more generally. There have been three declarations of Aboriginal land since 1987. Today, more than 90 per cent of the land in the Jervis Bay Territory is Aboriginal land owned and managed by the council. This bill ensures that the council is well positioned to hold and manage this land for the benefit of the Wreck Bay community for generations to come. The bill enhances local control over decision-making by increasing the amount the council can agree to spend under a contract without obtaining ministerial approval. This amount will increase from $100,000 to $1 million, empowering the council to pursue commercial ventures without having to navigate unnecessary red tape. The bill assists the council to issue homeownership-style leases to individuals in the community. If community members wish to do so, they will be able to take out a homeownership-style lease. This will simplify arrangements for long-term leasing and provide opportunity for community members to enjoy the intergenerational benefits associated with homeownership. The bill strengthens the council's government structures, aligning them more closely with those of comparable corporate Commonwealth entities. The powers of the council will be vested in the board; until now, the council's members have had to delegate powers to the board, creating uncertainty within the council. The board and the chief executive officer will be explicitly empowered to delegate functions and power so the council can function effectively. The bill also ensures only fit and proper persons may serve on the board and changes quorum requirements from set numbers to percentages of overall members, ensuring responsiveness to changes in overall membership numbers. Importantly, the bill updates the title of the act to the Aboriginal Land and Waters (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986. This name reflects the council's ownership of an area of the waters of Jervis Bay as well as freshwater sources across the Jervis Bay Territory. It recognises the community's strong connection to waters as well as land and the importance of the act in supporting that enduring connection into the future. The government's closing the gap commitment to shared decision-making has guided the development of this package of reforms. I am proud to say the bill has been co-designed with the council and community over a number of years. Targeted co-design sessions were held in 2020 and 2021, including with the board, men's and women's groups, subcommittees, elders, youth and the broader membership. Some reforms were proposed by the community, others were suggested by government, and every reform in this bill has been explicitly endorsed by the board. The government sincerely thanks the council for its work in the co-design of this bill. In particular, we acknowledge the leadership of Annette Brown and Julie Moore, who have chaired the council during the co-design process. The council's work honours the longstanding tradition of community service and representation in Wreck Bay. Those who advocated for land rights in the 20th century paved the way for the present generation to maintain their deep connection to their land and waters. This bill ensures that the Wreck Bay community will continue to live their culture through this enduring connection for generations to come. Those were the words of the then minister. I want to acknowledge the local member for the Jervis Bay Territory, the member for Fraser, who is in the chamber at the moment. I think he also has some responsibility for carriage of this bill. The opposition supports the bill. As I said, it was introduced in the same form by the former coalition minister. We commend the work that he's done, and we commend the work that Minister Burney has done in maintaining that work. We commend the bill to the House. 18:01 Dr LEIGH BU8 Fenner The Wreck Bay Aboriginal community has an unusual status. It's part of my electorate of Fenner, but residents do not vote in state or territory elections. This means the Commonwealth has a particular responsibility to residents of Wreck Bay. Wreck Bay is a special place. Through a dozen visits, I've appreciated the chance to work with and learn from members of the community. I thank my colleague Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, for allowing me to conclude debate today on the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Amendment (Strengthening Land and Governance Provisions) Bill 2022 on behalf of the Australian government. I thank, too, the shadow Attorney-General for his support on behalf of the opposition for these important reforms, and, as he did, I acknowledge the former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, for his work on them. I'm pleased to stand here in support of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community of the Jervis Bay Territory in their path towards greater empowerment. More than 90 per cent of the land in the Jervis Bay Territory is Aboriginal land, owned and managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council, as prescribed by the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986. I'm proud that the reforms in the bill will realise long-held aspirations of the community to make sure their land grant act is fit for purpose and serves them in the best way possible. The bill strengthens local decision-making, increasing autonomy for the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's spending. The council has the resourcing capacity and institutional knowledge to manage their affairs, so cutting unnecessary reporting requirements and moving decision-making closer to the community level will minimise cost and delays. The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's governance and corporate operations will also be strengthened and more closely aligned with those of comparable Commonwealth entities. The bill also assists the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council with issuing homeownership-style leases to individuals in the community. This means that interested community members will be able to enjoy the intergenerational benefits of homeownership. The Australian government is committed to improving housing in Wreck Bay and will continue to work closely with the council to bring houses up to standard. The Australian government is providing $5 million for urgent housing repairs and maintenance. This funding will also be used to plan for longer term options to improve housing. Minimum housing standards will be met before the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council grants any homeownership-style leases. This bill also updates the title of the act to the Aboriginal Land and Waters (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986. This name reflects the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's ownership of and strong connection to the waters, as well as land, and the importance of supporting that enduring connection into the future. I acknowledge the community, particularly the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's board members both past and present, for working in partnership with the Australian government to develop these reforms. Every reform in this bill has been explicitly endorsed by the council's board. It's an example of shared decision-making under closing the gap. I commend this bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Third Reading 61 18:05 Dr LEIGH BU8 Fenner by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022 61

Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022

Second Reading 61 18:06 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield I rise to speak on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. Community broadcasting provides a vital service in hundreds of communities across the country. According to the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, there are more than 500 community broadcast radio services across the country. Some 5.3 million Australians tune in to listen to local news, community information, Australian music and artists, local opinion and independent voices weekly. Importantly, two-thirds of these stations service regional and rural areas of Australia, connecting people and voices to vital information not often prioritised by other media services. Shout out to Triple H in my electorate. Community radio and television delivers to Australians a very powerful, highly localised voice, which is particularly important in times of natural disaster. Community radio and television in these circumstances can be a real lifeline for communities, facilitating news, information and emergency updates. Community broadcasters also assist local residents and organisations to coordinate relief efforts to get towns and suburbs back on their feet, whether it be following the recent catastrophic floods or the Black Summer bushfires. I also acknowledge and commend the work of community broadcasters during the pandemic. They were able to provide solace and timely local information at a time of great stress for Australians, many of whom were facing social isolation and suffering from a loss of connection with family and friends. This included vital information for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. When in government, the coalition demonstrated that we do have a strong commitment to supporting the valuable contribution which community radio makes to the diversity of the Australian media landscape. As minister for communications at that time, I was pleased that our government was able to provide a funding boost of $4 million per annum over two years from 2021-22 in addition to maintaining the existing funding of just over $16 million per annum in those two years, representing a total annual funding commitment to the sector of just over $20 million. The coalition also extended the licensing arrangements for Australia's two remaining metropolitan community television broadcasters—Channel 31 in Melbourne and Channel 44 in Adelaide—for up to three years, providing certainty and continuity of operations. The shadow minister for communications, Senator Henderson, recently visited Channel 31's new premises in South Melbourne, made possible because of the certainty this license extension provided. When in government, the coalition recognised that there were a number of issues with the current drafting of the Broadcasting Services Act with respect to the regulation of the community broadcasting sector and in particular in relation to community broadcasting licences administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. We began the important work of consulting with the sector on changes which need to be made. I'm therefore pleased to be speaking on this bill, which has the support of the opposition, and which is the culmination of a considerable body of work that was commenced when the Liberal and National parties were in government. Mr Tehan 210911 And you were the minister. Mr FLETCHER L6B History does record that that is correct. This bill makes a number of amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act. The bill makes it clear that the renewal of a community radio licences is not a competitive process. This provides the Australian Communications and Media Authority and community radio broadcasters with greater regulatory certainty. This also means that radio stations will have greater confidence to invest long term in their operations, services, equipment and premises, subject to radio broadcasters meeting the requisite performance benchmarks under the act. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, of course, is able to refuse to renew a licence if the broadcaster falls short of providing a service which meets community needs in the interests of all Australians. The bill makes it clear that the Australian Communications and Media Authority can provide licensees in advance with dates for the commencement of services. While this is quite a technical matter, it does mean that community broadcasters will have appropriate notice as to the date on which they are able to commence operations, providing greater operational and regulatory certainty. The bill addresses a number of concerns raised by the community broadcasting sector through their peak body, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, in relation to the allocation of temporary community licences. The bill provides that the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the ability to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licences in the one geographical area, which is an important measure in reducing confusion for listeners and regulatory complexity. This will avert situations such as that which has arisen in the Windsor and Hawkesbury area where multiple licence holders are sharing the same frequency in different time slots. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will have greater flexibility to ascertain if a temporary community licence is providing a quality service. While the bill gives support to the notion of temporary licences to allow broadcasters the best opportunity to access valuable spectrum in a fair and equitable manner and to be able to demonstrate a track record, this amendment will be important to safeguard the integrity and quality of community broadcasting services. I conclude therefore by reiterating that the coalition, when in government, demonstrated a strong track record in supporting the community media sector. I want to express our thanks to and admiration of all of those Australians who work in community television and community radio, including the many, many Australians who volunteer in those roles. This bill provides further support for community broadcasting. The opposition looks forward to continuing to work closely with the community broadcasting sector in support of the important contribution that sector makes in the life of our nation. 18:13 Mr JOSH WILSON 265970 Fremantle It's a real privilege to speak in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022 and in support of community radio. Community radio is super, super important right across this country. One in five Australians listens to community radio every week and two-thirds of community radio stations exist in rural and regional Australia. It is just such a vital part of our national cultural and communicative life, and that is one of the reasons why we're dealing with this bill now, in the first six months of this government. We have lots of big things to do. People in the community would have seen our focus on things like the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the bill to deliver secure jobs and better pay. Here we are before the end of our first year and we are going to do something about community radio because that's how important community radio is. The bill does a number of things. It improves regulatory conditions, which will allow the sector to thrive. It works hand-in-hand with the fact that we're providing additional funding through the budget, an additional $4 million that lifts the annual contribution to more than $20 million. We have established a review to look at new ways to increase the sector's sustainability. All of those things are really important. They have been identified by the sector for some time. I know that Jo Curtin, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, has said that the funding will have a really positive impact on sector sustainability and the media landscape. She said: This funding will enhance the sustainability of our sector which serves as one of the only remaining local sources of news and information, particularly in regional and remote communities. That really makes the point that it's not just the statistics that I mentioned before that make community radio so vital to the best form of community and cultural life in Australia. It is the diversity. It is the place- and community-specific programming. It is the focus on social inclusion and the way community radio is, probably as far as media outlets or platforms go, one of the most significant when it comes to covering First Nations stories and giving space to First Nations voices and First Nations languages. The fact that we have prioritised this bill in the first six months of this government is consistent with another aspect of this government, which is picking up some of the mess that was left to it. It's good that the opposition is going to support this bill, but the opposition had the opportunity to deal with funding uncertainty in the sector when it was behind the wheel and it didn't do that. The sector called on the previous government on a number of occasions to provide certainty of funding, which didn't occur. The usual four-year funding round process was changed, with an extension of only two years until 2023. You can understand that, with the nature of community radio being volunteer based and often relatively financially fragile, when you go from four years worth of funding certainty to only two years of funding certainty it is a shock to the system. That's the decision that the former government made. Under the former government, funding was going to decline. It was due to drop to around $17 million over the forward estimates under its last budget. It's only the additional $4 million that this government is providing that will in fact see funding to community radio go up to $20 million. I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of the Minister for Communications, because I know that over a long period of time she has been very conscious of community radio as a vital part of our media landscape. I think it says something about the minister and also about the government that while we look at some of the big building blocks of life and shared wellbeing in Australia we're not forgetting to pick up a whole bunch of the essential bits and pieces along the way. The Minister for Communications has a huge task to fix up the awful multitechnology NBN mess that's been left to households and businesses across Australia. She is focused on that, but at the same time she's going to make sure that we look after community radio ASAP. That's vital. In my electorate of Freo, I can cite a couple of examples. Radio Fremantle was established back in 1987. It's 107.9 FM. It's still broadcasting from Hamilton Hill. It's still run by volunteers. It's a great example of a station that gives people across my community the opportunity to come and play the music that they are interested in and conduct interviews and current affairs programs around things that are relevant to people in Fremantle, Cockburn and East Fremantle. Similarly, SportFM, 91.3 FM, in Hamilton Hill covers grassroots sports that otherwise wouldn't be covered by bigger commercial outlets. For me, personally, community radio has a very special status. It was one of the things that gave my dad the greatest joy in his life. He was involved in university radio back in the 1970s. In fact, when the University of Western Australia got a community radio licence in April 1977—6UWA, as it then was—my dad was part of a group of what I guess were probably music radicals at the time. They went to whoever was responsible at the university and asked them if they could please carve out a little bit of time, a few hours in the week, for what was called NCP, non-classical music programming, so they could play blues, jazz and other things they were interested in. 6UWA became 6UVS-FM, and ultimately, in 1991, it was restructured to be Arts Radio Ltd or RTRFM, and that continues to this day. My dad was the inaugural chair of RTRFM when it was given that new foundation for existence. The program that he was involved in, Sunday Morning Coming Down, is still a feature of RTR programming, and some of the people that he used to broadcast with are still part of that programming. It's formed a lovely continuity, I think, in community life in Western Australia and certainly in my personal life. I've also been fortunate to participate in current affairs programs, like Understorey, which is run by Adrian Glamorgan. One of the things I want to note about that is that Adrian has made a big effort to give space in his programming to issues like peace and nuclear nonproliferation, which, frankly, should get talked about a hell of a lot more than they do. This government is focused on myriad things. Some of them are big and momentous, but we are not turning our gaze from any of the shortcomings that were left to us by the former government. We're not turning our gaze from any of the key features of community and cultural life that desperately need a helping hand if we're to have a diverse media landscape—a media landscape full of all of the colours, flavours and voices that make Australia such a wonderful place—so I'm very glad to support what we're doing with respect to community radio. 18:21 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I rise in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. It's been said that community broadcasting is a thing of the past—that commercial radio, podcasting and music streaming services have filled the gap. Don't get me wrong; I don't mind listening to Sam and Ash on Hot 91.1 or Todd and Sami on 92.7 MIX FM. In fact, I love Todd and Sami. All those four guys are fantastic, and they do a great job for our local community. I use all sorts of streaming platforms, like ABC NewsRadio. I wish NewsRadio would fix their platform, though, because sometimes it's a little bit dodgy. I need to be careful, on this side of the House, about owning up to the fact that I use the ABC streaming service, but it's true—I do. I'm here to say that community broadcasting on the Sunshine Coast isn't just carrying on; it is absolutely thriving. The main community radio station on the Sunshine Coast—I know you'll never guess the name correctly, Mr Deputy Speaker—is Sunshine FM. This is a terrific radio station. Many on the Sunshine Coast don't know this, but it is in fact the No. 1 radio station on the Sunshine Coast by listenership. It's not a commercial broadcaster, not the ABC, not triple J or Double J or anything like that; it's a community broadcaster. Sunshine FM takes about 35 per cent of the radio audience on the Sunshine Coast, despite a narrow target market of what they describe as 'more mature folks'—perhaps like you and me, Mr Deputy Speaker Goodenough! They're reaching 40 per cent of listeners over 40 and 52 per cent of listeners over 65. They attract 10 per cent more than the best-performing commercial broadcaster and almost 300 per cent more than ABC Sunshine Coast. That number has only grown, despite the resourcing, personnel and broadcast consumption challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sunshine FM is the only community broadcaster reaching numbers into six digits across the region. I give a big shout-out to Chris Wordsworth, who is one of the executives there; Lynda Prout, who is on in the mornings; and Trevor Young. Lynda Prout—has she got a voice for radio. When I speak to her—and it is regularly—I often comment that she has got the best voice for radio. I always like to pump up her tyres a little bit. I pay tribute to them for their hard work, tenacity and passion for the Sunshine Coast. They play great music as well. When you add the other community broadcasters to the mix—and we have a lot of Christian community radio stations on the Sunshine Coast who broadcast to not just South-East Queensland but the Pacific—they account for 46 per cent of the total radio broadcast market. In speaking to this bill I reflect on the vital role played by Sunshine FM and the various community broadcasters on the Sunshine Coast. Community broadcasters have long been raising concerns with the approach of the Australian Communications and Media Authority in their granting of licences and their management of compliance and assessment. As a result of these changes, community radio broadcasters will enjoy more certainty around what is required of them and existing broadcasters will be supported with a clearer, more flexible and more streamlined renewal process. One of the biggest frustrations for broadcasters is that each time they're required to renew their licence they are essentially treated as new applicants. This fails to reflect their hard work and years of community service. It also adds an excessive and unnecessary burden on largely volunteer organisations whose personnel and resources are more often than not stretched. Broadcasters have also raised concerns about ACMA's uneven and unclear approach to licensing, compliance and assessment. While the existing legislation gives some direction, it is in no way exhaustive or prescriptive. This bill replaces the old provision for the refusal of renewal applications for a community broadcasting licence with a provision that is far clearer about that discretion vested in ACMA. Under the new provision, ACMA will retain its ability when considering applications for CBL renewals to consider six key criteria. The first key criterion is the extent to which the service would meet the existing and perceived future needs of the community within the licence area of the proposed licence. The second key criterion is the nature and diversity of the interests of that community and the extent to which the proposed service or services would provide material of local significance. The third key criterion is the nature and diversity of other broadcasting services available within that licence area. The fourth key criterion is the capacity of the applicant to provide the proposed service or services. The fifth key criterion is the concentration of licences or control of multiple licences in one person or service. I note that there has been a change of deputy speaker because you wanted to come in to listen to this speech about community radio, as well you should— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 I specifically asked for this roster. Mr WALLACE 265967 The sixth key criterion is the undesirability of the Commonwealth, a state, a territory or a political party being in a position to exercise control of a community broadcasting licence. These criteria aim to ensure that community broadcasting reflects the needs and wants of the local community. Like any other registered organisation or not-for-profit, they also require services to demonstrate their impartiality, independence, utility, uniqueness and capacity to deliver. They also make clear that the process is not commercial and competitive in nature but, rather, aimed at supporting broadcasters whose work and content supports and serves the community in which they operate. The bill goes some way to addressing the frustration that many community broadcasters feel in having to meet often complex compliance obligations without the resources of commercial stations, bearing in mind that many of these community radio stations are staffed almost entirely, or very significantly, by volunteers. Currently, when allocating new licences, the date of allocation is the date on which ACMA has irrevocably decided to allocate the licence. I repeat: irrevocably. There is no room for change. It's a burden imposed on organisations without the resources and staff of commercial broadcasters. It means that broadcasters who may have very limited advance notice to prepare their station for broadcast lose out on the use of their broadcasting spectrum, reducing the effective duration of their licence at their own cost. This bill aims to change that. It allows successful licensees to work with ACMA to plan and make necessary arrangements for broadcasting before their licence comes into effect. This is about ACMA, as a regulator, partnering with the community broadcasting sector instead of penalising without regard for the shifting nature of volunteer and community engagement. Under the new provisions, licensees seeking a renewal of their community broadcasting licence may now, in exceptional circumstances, lodge late applications for renewal before their current licence expires. By removing the automatic refusal and allowing for some leniency, these community-run radio broadcasters have a little bit of wiggle room to meet their obligations, seek additional support and assess their capacity at the time of renewal without losing five or more years of hard work. Our volunteer organisations, particularly in regional Queensland seats like mine and yours, Mr Deputy Speaker, face constant volunteer shortages, transient teams and high rates of turnover. It's hard enough to get someone to come and work for money at the moment, let alone to get them to come and volunteer. By granting this little bit of grace, we can give them a fair go when they may need it most. In conclusion, these changes may not seem terribly significant to the vast majority of us in this place, but to the thousands of Australians across the country who volunteer and work in community broadcasting and, more particularly, to the thousands—in fact, millions—of Australians who rely upon community broadcasting for their music and news this is just so very, very important. This bill could mean the difference between their station existing in five years or not at all. For the millions of Australians who listen to community radio, including the roughly 149,000 on the Sunshine Coast, this bill ensures that they'll have access to good music and local content for many years to come. I commend the bill to the House. 18:34 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie A lot has been said in support of this very important part of our media landscape, the community broadcasting sector. It's particularly important to me. I started out in community radio as an 18-year-old. I met my husband at community radio many, many years ago. I don't even want to tell you how many years ago that was! What's more, it also sent me on the path of being a broadcaster—a radio journalist—and it was my stepping stone to working for Mike Carlton and 2GB when I started out in radio. So I have nothing but praise for the changes that are in this bill, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022, to help strengthen what we have. It's become even more important to have community broadcasting, with the lack of diversity that we see in our mainstream broadcasting these days. I wanted to provide that context for it. I think that's why it was disappointing, in the last nine years or so, to see the uncertainty that community broadcasters faced under the former government. There were calls for stability and certainty of funding, and those were not heeded. So I'm delighted to see support from those opposite for these measures. Community broadcasters do an awful lot for their local communities—for us, it has been through bushfires, through floods and through COVID. They were, for some people, the lifeline and the link to what was happening elsewhere in the local community. And all they got from the former coalition government was a lot of uncertainty. During the pandemic, they were ignored when they called for sustainable funding, and you can imagine the challenges they were under during that period. Instead of granting the usual four-year top-up funding, for some inexplicable reason the coalition only gave the sector two years of funding, which was due to run out next year. Like a lot of things this government has done, it expires next year. Community broadcasting relies on just over $20 million a year to maintain existing services and supports. Under the former government, funding was due to drop to around $17 million over the forward estimates. Our budget commitment will maintain community broadcasting funding so the sector can continue to support their communities with local news, emergency broadcasting and local content—including, of course, Australian music and local music. The Albanese budget of 2022 includes an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the community broadcasting program from 2023-24. It takes that funding program to over $20 million a year. I note these comments from Jo Curtin, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, who said the funding will have a positive impact on sector sustainability and the media landscape: This budget acknowledges the essential role community radio plays in an increasingly concentrated media environment. This funding will enhance the sustainability of our sector which serves as one of the only remaining local sources of news and information, particularly in regional and remote communities. It's certainly a very, very much needed voice in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains in my electorate. I have spent a lot of time working with Community Broadcasting Association of Australia over the last few years because of a circumstance that I will describe and which this bill will address, and I was pleased that Jon Bisset, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, has also welcomed that funding. It's funding certainty for over 350 community broadcasters, so a small amount goes a really long way in community radio. But what we faced in the Hawkesbury is one of the issues being addressed in this bill, and that is the issue of temporary licences. Many years ago, back in 2017 or thereabouts, there was a decision made by ACMA to take away a permanent licence and turn it into a temporary licence. Initially, we started out with a few different organisations sharing that licence spectrum. We got to the ridiculous situation, though—after ACMA's failure to really tackle what was going on and work toward a permanent licence—where we'd ended up with seven temporary licensees. That meant they got one day a week of broadcasting. That has been an impossible situation for them to be in, and it has been a really challenging period of time. Only in the last week has a decision been made to allocate a permanent licence in our area. That licence has been granted to Pulse FM Radio, and I congratulate them on getting that licence. I also want to acknowledge the disappointment that the other temporary licensees had. There are now many broadcasters who are very disappointed that they won't be getting the permanent licence. We've talked about the volunteers. Those volunteers put their heart and soul into community radio. I want to thank them for what they've done, in keeping issues that are important on air, in keeping the airwaves alive through a very difficult process, over many years. I look forward to there being a real sense of inclusion and to those who want to broadcast in the Hawkesbury getting the chance to do that. We have a wealth of radio talent—an absolute wealth of it—and I really hope there are opportunities for all members of the community who'd like to make a contribution through this medium to do it. What is so pleasing about this legislation is that it gives ACMA the discretion to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licences that can share a particular frequency. It has always been the policy intent of the act to enable temporary licensees to share frequencies, to assist with the sustainability of the community broadcasting sector and management of the spectrum, but when you get to a position where you're giving seven different organisations a day, it does not serve your community or those broadcasters. I welcome this legislation. That's one example of some of the things it will address. I look forward to both the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains having a very vibrant, inclusive community radio sector, because our community needs that voice. 18:41 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper I'd like to start by acknowledging the variety, breadth and passion that our community radio stations offer right across the country, particularly in my electorate of Cowper. Before the horrible days of social media and Facebook, community radio was one of the very few platforms to give a real hyper local voice to those under-represented by the media, and they proudly continue to do so. I listen to my community radios quite often. They provide the chat and content that appeals to sometimes niche markets that their commercial counterparts can't attach a price to. It's that invaluable feeling of connection to their community that they really offer, which those commercial stations don't. In my electorate I have stations like 2AIR and CHY FM in Coffs Harbour—and a big hello to Angie Vaughan. You do an absolutely wonderful job there. We also have Tank FM in Kempsey—gidday, Damo Batty. There's 2bbb in Bellingen and Dorrigo, and Rhema FM in Port Macquarie. And I have special mention to OneMob Radio in Gumbaynggirr Country at Coffs Harbour. They officially commenced their digital platform in 2020. If I can digress, I mentioned Tank FM in Kempsey and Damien Batty. Damien moved to Kempsey with his wife and daughter recently. He is an Afghan veteran. He did a couple of tours over there as a medic. He served his country proudly. I would like to thank him personally for his service to our country and the freedoms that we enjoy today. But he's immersed himself into the Kempsey community through community radio, and that's exactly what these stations do. They're community people. They're normal people. They're the people you stop and talk to every day in the street. I will talk about the volunteers later, but I think it's fantastic that someone like Damien, who has been embraced into the Campsie community, who has given so much to our nation, can walk through that door and be embraced by those who run our community radio stations. I was also very excited to see that 2NVR in Nambucca Valley was a finalist in this year's CBAA Community Radio Awards for best radio program, excellence in sports programming, and outstanding station. That's fantastic recognition for the whole team. I acknowledge the role that each of these stations played during the natural disasters over the last four years. During the drought they provided localised weather reports and updated conditions, and also promoted the hay drives throughout the country regions—where they were going to be, how the fodder was coming in, who was doing it and how to get access to that. During the fires—we had severe fires, losing a couple of hundred houses—they directed people to safety and kept the community up to date with stories from the residents that otherwise wouldn't have been heard. I mean no disrespect to the commercial stations, but they just do not have that message out there. They're pre-programmed, commercialised and based on money; these community radio stations are there for the community. They simply hold up a mirror to our collective grief and also hope and determination for all our communities. This continued through COVID. We were all locked down at certain stages, and many people, particularly elderly people, were stuck at home with nobody to talk to. So it's almost like having a friend in your house that you're listening to. You're listening to conversations. It kept many of our marginalised and lonely people company over that two-odd-year period. To our community radio stations, I genuinely say, for your unwavering service to our community, thank you. I mean that. You have been there for our communities, so thank you. I've been privileged enough to be interviewed through our local community radio and their DJs in my tenure as MP for Cowper, and I really enjoyed it. The conversations that you have with the volunteers is different to what you might have on the ABC or Triple M or 2GB radio stations. It really is a testament to the engagement that each station inspires in their audience. I send a special thank you to Richard Laxton from 2NVR, Amber and Zoe on The A to Z of everything on CHY FM, and Denise Anderson from 2HC for their camaraderie—although I do note that Amber and Zoe, who are only 18, had me on the radio station for 45 minutes one night talking about driving habits. In relation to this bill, I was pleased to see it introduced into parliament. These stations have existed to provide clarity to their listeners, and it's only fitting that we as a government provide clarity around the renewal of the community radio licences that enable these stations to broadcast. The bill clarifies the renewal process for community radio licence is not a competitive process, but that ACMA can still refuse to renew if the radio service does not meet general community needs—I note that this would be an exception rather than the rule. We know how good our stations are. Thankfully, due to the support and calibre of the stations, I would expect that it is not something that they'll face or have faced to date, but the sentiment is appreciated. I was pleased to note that the bill also allows ACMA to provide licensees with advance dates of commencement of services so they can prepare to start on that date. That's common sense. You wouldn't open a business without knowing what date you were aiming at and being able to prepare for it, so why should a community radio station be any different? It allows them to prepare, particularly for the station's marketing platforms and the accrual of talent and volunteers. Another key amendment provides ACMA with the ability to limit the number of temporary community radio licences in the one area, reducing confusion for listeners and operational and regulatory complexity for station organisers. These amendments are strongly supported by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, and I, too, agree with all of them. I should note that this bill and the subsequent budget presented by the new government in October continues the momentum provided by the coalition to community broadcasting. In the 2021-22 budget, the coalition provided a funding boost of an additional $4 million per year over two years. This was in addition to the existing funding of just over $16 million per annum, which we continued to provide from 2021 to 2022, bringing the annual funding to over $20 million for those two years. I note that the new government has opted to continue this funding into 2023 and 2024, and I thank them for that. In conclusion, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, and I thank the many volunteers. I note that, when we have the opportunity through community grants and volunteer grants—and I know most members do this—we always keep a keen eye out for our community radio stations, because we know that they run off the smell of an oily rag. But they do so through volunteers, and I thank all those volunteers. They do so because they love what they do, they love their local areas and they know they're providing that service for the community. They're a voice, a connector, a mirror and also a comfort for many, particularly in regional and rural Australia. I hope to see this proud tradition in their communities continue for many years to come. 18:51 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore I am glad to rise tonight in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. This bill gives community radio stations greater clarity and certainty in applying for community broadcasting licences. It gives regional communities like ours on the New South Wales South Coast more local content and more local voices on our airwaves. Anyone who has ever listened to community radio will know what a fabulous job it does, often with volunteers and passionate people dedicated to sharing the stories of their community. Not only this; it is often an opportunity for local artists to practise their craft and reach new audiences. Firstly, the government has worked across the sector to fix some of the barriers that were in place for new community radio stations to get off the ground. This bill will clarify that the renewal process for community radio licences is not a competitive process. So, when ACMA is considering a renewal application, it will only consider the current radio service and not a proposed new station. This gives certainty to existing licensees while preserving ACMA's ability to refuse to renew a licence if it is found that the current licensee is not providing a radio service that meets general community needs. Secondly, the bill will allow licences to be allocated in advance, providing prospective stations with notice to prepare broadcasting infrastructure and content programming before the commencement date. This amendment will give prospective stations the time needed to plan and prepare so that they can start broadcasting with their best foot forward. The bill also improves the administrative efficiency and flexibility of the licence renewal process. In my electorate, we are blessed with some truly fantastic community radio stations. Since 1984, there has been Triple U FM in the Shoalhaven, covering a stretch from Gerringong to Termeil and out to Kangaroo Valley and areas east of Robertson. The show broadcasts from the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, so I regularly enjoy chats with Carol and Jane to discuss all things politics and community. I also chat with Chance and Bec when they're broadcasting their brekky show from Bomaderry but also when they're out and about in their HEV van. There's the Bay & Basin Community Radio, a program of the fabulous Bay & Basin Community Resources, which has been operating since 1991 with the aim of helping people thrive in their communities. I've always enjoyed a catch up with Marilyn, and even the Sanctuary Point Public School has a regular spot. In the southern part of my electorate there is 2EAR FM, Eurobodalla Access Radio. Disko Pete and I enjoy a regular chinwag about the news of the day and what's happening locally. 2EAR FM studios are based in sunny Moruya—as they say, 'Yes, we are broadcasting in paradise!' The local community was absolutely devastated when during the 2019-20 bushfires 2EAR FM's main link antenna on Mount Wandera was destroyed by the bushfires on New Year's Eve. We all breathed a sigh of relief when transmission was back up and running in February 2020—just another reason why I'm so delighted that the Albanese government is fireproofing the Mount Wandera tower to try to avoid the loss of crucial services like this. During the bushfires community radio and all of our radio stations literally saved the lives of local people. They were there on the ground telling the stories of people who were experiencing the bushfires in real time and giving information about where the fire was, where to get help and what was happening. I want to thank each and every broadcaster, volunteer and community member who helped get us through that immensely difficult period. I have mentioned a few of the presenters across these stations, but there are so many more that it would be impossible to name them all. But your commitment to our community and your passion in delivering local voices, fun local content, music, entertainment and more is so incredibly valued. That brings me to our newest community radio station in my electorate, Kiama Community Radio. Their story most recently really shows why this bill is needed and why it will make such a positive change to our community radio stations. Kiama Community Radio started in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They wanted to make sure that the Kiama community was connected, so they began by producing community based podcasts while building their studio and training their live presenters, all while waiting for their community broadcasting licence. Their motto is: for the community, by the community. I was pleased to provide them with a $4,601 volunteer grant earlier in the year to help them purchase some live-streaming equipment. I got to check out their studio and have a bit of fun with the presenters, just what it's all about. It's a labour of love by president David Toohey and others trying to build to a live broadcast service, but today Kiama Community Radio is still podcast based because they have been unable to obtain a community radio licence. After applying to ACMA for a community broadcast licence, David was told that they should instead look to 'piggyback' on the services of other community broadcasters outside the area. They were told to provide Kiama content to other community radio stations and ask them to broadcast it for them. But other broadcasters were unwilling to provide them with airtime and wouldn't alter their programming to include content based outside of their target area. Kiama Community Radio is the first of its kind, dedicated to the community, from Gerroa in the south to Minnamurra in the north, Foxground, Jamberoo, Carrington Falls and the upper Kangaroo Valley. They work to give their community a voice, and when I met with them earlier this year their podcasts had been downloaded over 4,500 times. But they wanted to reach a larger audience and, for that, they need a community broadcasting licence. I hope that this bill will help to support Kiama Community Radio and others like it around the country in their efforts to obtain a community broadcasting licence. Clarifying that this is not a competitive process, providing certainty and clarity to those applying for licences and reducing the administrative burden will help to support volunteers and community broadcasters all over Australia. The Albanese government is committed to supporting the long-term sustainability of the community broadcasting sector. We have provided an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the Community Broadcasting Program, taking its annual funding to over $20 million a year. This bill is the next step in providing certainty for community broadcasters and ensuring that local listeners like those on the South Coast can hear their voices and their stories told by local people. Once again, I want to thank all of our local community radio providers, presenters, volunteers, listeners and everyone who engages with this really important local content. I support this bill wholeheartedly. 18:59 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein Community radio is an essential element in the jigsaw that makes up our media landscape, offering diversity through a range of voices at a time when there has been disturbing concentration in the mainstream media. As the minister has noted, more than five million people, one-fifth of the population, tune in to the more than 450 community owned and operated radio stations around Australia every week. The details are even more impressive. Close to 700,000 community radio consumers listen to nothing else—not commercial radio, not the ABC, not SBS. The sector argues, therefore—with ample justification I believe—that it provides a voice for communities that are underserved by mainstream media. Notably and importantly this includes communities in rural and regional Australia, Indigenous communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the LGBTIQA+ communities and people with a disability. Thirty per cent of community broadcasters are Indigenous stations. Community broadcasters were also among the unsung heroes of the pandemic and the Black Summer of 2019-20. They provided essential information targeted at local communities throughout the worst of COVID, helping connect people most isolated throughout the lockdowns. During that awful bushfire summer more than 80 community radio stations offered emergency broadcasts specific to the communities they served. They may well have saved lives. I've said before that I'm deeply concerned about the impact on our democracy of the reduction of media diversity in our country. In my own electorate of Goldstein there are now no community newspapers, for example. Community radio station Southern FM does a great job keeping the community informed and entertained. I have regularly appeared on its programs to keep the Goldstein community informed of the actions that I am taking in this place. Having so few local outlets though raises concerns. What we see in Goldstein is repeated across the country. Many local government areas, especially in the country, are effectively news deserts, with no local outlets at all. Community radio strives to fill that void. An in-depth study by PEN USA found that, as communities lost their local news outlets, local corruption increased and the quality of spending decisions by local government was eroded. I doubt that it's a different story in our own communities here in Australia. According to the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, more than 250 media outlets across the country closed between the beginning of 2019 and March this year—nearly 70 per cent of them were in regional Australia. The transfer of the ownership of APN to News Corp led to more than 100 local print newspapers being shut down. At the national level, News Corp has a 59 per cent share of the metropolitan and national print media market by readership, Nine newspapers have 23 per cent and, in WA, Seven West Media has a print monopoly. Our metropolitan media outlets no longer have the staff or the corporate knowledge to enable them to effectively report on a regular basis on local councils and their decision-making. Local reporting from reporters with experience and with local knowledge is I think an antidote to dodgy decisions by local authorities. The fact that they're being observed and their decisions are being scrutinised is often enough to stop them thinking they can get away with it. We should not, therefore, underestimate the value of community radio as an incubator and a launching pad, nurturing the arts and journalism. Here's just the most recent example. Allison Langdon, who is taking over the helm of A Current Affair, began her career as a teenage volunteer presenting programs on 2WAY FM on the New South Wales North Coast. As a matter of fact my story is much the same. I began as a uni student producing and presenting news on 5UV, the University of Adelaide's community radio station, and ended up Washington bureau chief for the ABC. Without that experience and opportunity I wonder whether I would have ever gone on to a three-decade career in journalism. Community radio has also been critical in the blossoming of Australian music over the decades. Gotye, Courtney Barnett and Dan Sultan are just a handful of the most recent examples. It's highly unlikely that they would have gone on to national, let alone international, success without the support of community radio. Dealing as it does with regulation and licensing, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022 may seem like a niche piece of legislation, but it has important implications for the security, diversity and expansion of community radio, and therefore for the diversity of our media landscape. I commend the bill to the House. 19:05 Ms BYRNES 299145 Cunningham I speak today in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. This bill will help community radio stations by providing greater clarity and certainty for community broadcasting licensing processes. There are more than 450 community owned and operated radio stations in Australia, attracting more than five million listeners each week. One of these stations is the Illawarra's very own Vox FM, which has been serving the community for over 25 years. For anyone travelling through the region, you can tune in on 106.9. Earlier this year, they were the winners of the Community Group of the Year award at the Wollongong 2022 Australia Day Awards. The team at Vox FM are a dedicated group of volunteers, and I served on their donations committee for a period of time before running for parliament. The station is run by an amazing group of people with Lilian Wings as president, John Clare as vice president, Judy Clare as treasurer, Barrie Keenahan as secretary and four directors: Reetu Verma, Joe Patterson, Ben Hession and Jacqui Preedy. Their presenters are: Monday Breakfast, Billy Harvey; Side By Side, Eric Davies; Grapevine, Dr Reetu Verma; Afternoon with Allan Bird; Vitamin Dee, Dee Milenkovic; Monday Drive, Judy Clare; Tuesday Breakfast, Dee Milenkovic; Carmel's Collection, Carmel Collins; Through The Past Darkly, Tim Brosnan; Headway, Tony S and Allan H; Smooth Connection, Sylvia J; Tuesday Drive, Peter Blom; Wednesday Breakfast, Matt Ball; Ease Away With Barrie K, Barrie Keenahan; Greenacres, Dan and Ian; Wednesday Drive, Sylvia Jones; Thursday Breakfast, Sean O'Neill; Fascinating Rhythm, John Fox; Heroes and Friends, Neill Hawes; Health Nuts, Liz Bowswart; Frank's Selection, Frank and Faye Costello; Thursday Drive, Jacob Henson; Friday Breakfast, Kevin Barron; My Generation, Lilian Wings; Mid-Morning Music, Elaine Hart; It is Well With My Soul, the Anglican Church; and Friday Drive, Des Mott. I want to thank the board and the many volunteers who keep this station running. Your work for our community is so important, and we are so lucky to have such dedicated and experienced people running the show. Community radio fulfils many important functions for the regions they serve, especially in a country as culturally diverse as Australia. Many multicultural community groups use our local Vox FM to connect. Our region's diversity is one of the things I love most, and our diversity is reflected in the Vox FM's programming. A few months ago, Vox FM started a new Arabic program with Gus, and it has proven to be a big hit with the community. This service that community radio provides for groups who might otherwise be excluded from mainstream media outlets cannot be understated. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending Vox FM's member appreciation day with Lillian, Barrie and many of volunteers who run the station. It was a fantastic community day, with good food, music, dancing and even a paper-plane throwing competition—although I came second last. Last Saturday, I also attended their annual Christmas party hosted by Vitamin Dee, and it was a great to be able to thank the volunteers for all of their hard work at the end of another hard year. I was also recently interviewed on Vox by Dan and Ian from Greenacres Disability Services. Dan and Ian host their show every Wednesday from 12 to 1 pm, and they've been on-air since 2014. We spoke about the NDIS and their personal experiences of it in the Illawarra. They pulled no punches with their questions, but they were very fair, fun and professional. It was an honour to be invited onto their program. Vox FM was a source of critical information during the recent floods, and they shared important health information. During the pandemic, they frequently provided the community with updates and Illawarra-specific information. They also support other local community groups, helping them to advertise fundraising efforts and events. Stations like Vox FM, and the people involved in them, really do help to make the communities they are in more connected and vibrant. That is why this bill is so important. We need to keep community radio alive. The first measure of this bill clarifies that community radio licence renewal is not a competitive process. This is in line with the original intent of the act; however, it needs to be explicitly stated. The bill will also clarify ACMA's powers when allocating the new community broadcasting licences and temporary community broadcasting licences. This amendment will allow new stations to have advance notice to set up the infrastructure and station programming, providing these stations with the best possible start. The third change gives greater flexibility to ACMA when determining if a temporary licensee is not providing a quality service and clarifies the considerations that ACMA should be giving when allocating new licences. The intent of the temporary licensing scheme is to give aspiring broadcasters fair and effective access to the spectrum. This will remain unchanged. The bill also allows ACMA to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licensees that can share a particular frequency. It was the original intent of the policy to allow temporary licensees to share frequencies, but ACMA should have the ability to set a limit if necessary. ACMA will also be able to introduce deadlines for late applications to the community broadcasting licensing process. Finally, the bill will enable ACMA to delegate the decision to commence the community broadcast licence application process for administrative purposes. Current arrangements regarding decisions to allocate a community broadcasting licence to a particular applicant remain unchanged. I'm speaking today because I want to see Vox FM operating well into the future, bringing our community together and broadcasting our voices across the region. The Albanese government's budget in 2022 includes an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the community broadcasting program from 2023-24, taking total annual funding for the program to over $20 million. With this bill the Albanese Labor government is helping to keep community radio alive for more than five million current listeners. For Vox FM and the Illawarra community this will be a welcome suite of reforms, and it is for this reason that I commend the bill to the House. 19:12 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I rise to speak in favour of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022, and I eagerly anticipate its passing because, as other members have outlined, we all have important community radio stations in our electorates that are providing excellent services for the dedicated listeners that they have. Earlier, during 90-second statements, I talked about the very proud Italian community that I have in my electorate, and I made the point that the recent census confirmed, once again, that my electorate has the largest number of people of Italian ancestry of any electorate in the country. That very strong community is very well served by, in fact, two community radio stations in Italian language—Radio Italiana 531 and Radio Italia Uno. For my sins I am lucky enough to be interviewed on a semiregular basis on both of those stations, as are politicians of all persuasions in South Australia—state, federal and local. It's really important to understand—and I was discussing this with the Italian ambassador yesterday morning—that one of the issues that we have with the great generation of migrants who came from countries like Italy after the Second World War is that they are now entering the twilight years of their lives and are particularly needing and availing themselves of the aged-care system. There are some significant language challenges with CALD communities—certainly in my electorate. The Italian language is the first language in many homes, and many people have elderly Italian parents or grandparents who perhaps live with them or are now in aged-care facilities, and who have always had Italian as their primary language. Sometimes with the onset of older age, and particularly with issues like dementia, some of those who did have English lose that English, and the Italian language, in the case of my community, becomes their only language again. It's very important that we've got and are resourcing services to support people who find themselves in that circumstance, so the two Italian language community radio stations provide that connection. It is a real significant access for those to be able to turn on the radio any day and listen to local broadcasting in Italian language, talking about issues that are contemporary to the day and geographically relevant to South Australia, rather than listening to other Italian language news services, which they do as well and it is very important that SBS and others provide, that might be giving them news from Italy and continental Europe. They want to stay connected to the South Australian community and hear about important issues and things that are happening locally, whilst equally having that service provided in the Italian language. It's also very significant for when residents get to the point at which they can't necessarily participate physically in certain community activities, and in my Italian community, obviously, significant religious festas within the Catholic Church are very important to them, attending both the services and the associated festa when they celebrate the various saint feast days and other significant religious ceremonies. Both of the Italian language radio stations always make sure they broadcast from those events both the services themselves and the other formalities and of course commentary of what's happening through the day. It keeps a really important connection for those who are no longer in a position to physically attend, because of frailty, some of those events—that they have access to them. As I point out, I've had the opportunity many times and always take the opportunity, when it's offered to me, to go in and be interviewed by them. My Italian is not suitably broadcast quality, but they're very good at translating—well, I wouldn't know, of course, so I assume, when what I say is being translated, it reflects accurately what I've said. It also gives an opportunity for those listening to call in, talkback, very interactive, and they have the opportunity to put questions to me, as a federal representative, as they do with many other Labor members that are equally as dedicated and make sure they take opportunities to go in there—state members, local government members. Those stations are a really great example from my community of community radio providing the type of service that is so treasured and critical in my community. Other members have shared already in this debate exactly the same sorts of stories, and it really does underline the breadth of community connection that they provide. It obviously is very different, depending on the community. I've talked about a particular important language service that is provided through my community radio. Other country members in particular have talked about the services that are provided where it would just mean there was no access to that same sort of information if it weren't provided through community. This bill is a very sensible set of minor measures that just give a lot more certainty to those radio stations. It puts them in a position where, with a lot of things that were really practice—and it never was intended by government to abandon that practice—this makes it a lot clearer in the legislation that any risks that they could have been nervous about regarding their licences, reapplying for them, having to compete for them et cetera are not going to be undertaken by government. There was never an intention to do that, as has been made clear, but this just changes the legislation to make sure that it removes all doubt. We know how hard the people that run these types of organisations work. They are out raising money all the time because, of course, being community stations, they need to raise money. They get a lot of sponsorship from the community. They get a lot of support. They are staffed by volunteers. They tend to remunerate almost no-one in the business. A lot of people are very dedicated to being in there, to keep them ticking over. It's going to be a challenge for some into the future. My Italian stations are a good example. They need people with the time, language capability and technical skills et cetera to be able to fill the seven-day-long time slots, and they need all the support they can get. They are very happy being self-sufficient, the ones I mentioned in my electorate. They get a lot of great support. But we need to make their life as easy as we can, and this certainly goes directly towards that. It takes away some uncertainty, giving them some security, not having them worried or anxious about these issues. When they're having their monthly board meetings and talking about their challenges and opportunities, we don't want them to be consumed by or concerned about any issues on the longevity or future of the regulatory regime within which they operate. By making these changes, I'm very confident we'll achieve some greater peace of mind for the people who do excellent work in running these community radio stations. With that contribution, I commend the bill the House. 19:21 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon Community radio is a grassroots institution that underpins our freedom of speech, which is so essential to our democracy. In the Northern Territory, as in other regional, rural and remote areas, it's the heart of local communities and the essential way that people learn about what's going on and connect with others. Sometimes, it's the only way to connect. That's particularly true of emergencies, where people are so dependent on radio for information. But in all cases it fosters that sense of real connection. It helps people share local news, stories, voices and music. It celebrates the best of our diverse and multicultural society, and every week five million listeners tune in to 450 community owned and operated radio stations around the country. That is massive, when you consider that Sydney's 2GB, which is popular with some and influential, gets about 600,000 listeners a week. Community radio gets almost 10 times that audience. Community radio is especially significant for 1.4 million listeners from non-English-speaking backgrounds who listen to broadcasts in over 100 languages. That's why I'm so very proud that on 13 May this year the Australian Labor Party committed to give the community broadcasting sector greater funding certainty. That was prior to the election. Now the ALP is in government and will deliver. That's exactly what we have done here. The government is giving the community broadcasting program an extra $4 million a year in ongoing funding, which will take annual funding to over $20 million per year. We're also reviewing the long-term sustainability of the sector to help it thrive and endure into the future, and that is what this bill is all about. We're going to make the renewal process for community radio licences a non-competitive process, to cut the red tape for operators. That means the regulator, ACMA, will prioritise the current operator's renewal application over a proposed new radio service. This will give certainty to those existing licensees, while allowing ACMA the ability to refuse to renew a licence if the licensee's radio service is not meeting community needs. They'll need to be held accountable to their communities. We want listeners around Australia to have continued access to high-quality and locally relevant news. Community broadcasters faced uncertainty under the former coalition government, which ignored their calls for stability and funding. After all community radio broadcasters did for Australians through the bushfires, floods and the COVID pandemic, all they got from the former coalition government was a big shrug. The former government ignored the sector's calls for COVID crisis funding during the pandemic. I'm happy to be corrected, but I'm informed that that is the case, and that is pretty deplorable. They ignored their calls for sustainable future funding. Anyone would think that they didn't want to hear the voices of Australian people in places like the Northern Territory. These were perhaps marginalised people, perhaps people who needed a voice, perhaps First Nations people that needed a voice and asked for a voice—that want a Voice. But they've been ignored, because 'others know better'. In this case, instead of granting the usual four-year top-up funding, the coalition only gave the sector two years, which was due to run out next year. The committed funding was due to drop to around $17 million per year over the forward estimates. Those are real cuts in the funding for community radio. But why were they cutting funding from this vital sector that their own members have just said is so important to the cohesion of their community? Why were they doing it? It's hard to reconcile why any political organisation would seek to cut the voices of Australian people. Community radio exists precisely so that they have a voice. It assists them in being heard and celebrating their connection as part of our multicultural community. The Labor government's budget commitment will maintain community broadcasting funding so that the sector can continue to support communities with local news and emergency broadcasting, which are so important all around the country. That's true of the Northern Territory—the Top End—as we go into cyclone season. Local content celebrating those local voices of Australian music is also so important. In my electorate, in Darwin and Palmerston, we have high-quality and much-loved stations such as Territory FM 104.1, which is an amazing station. It's broadcast out of Charles Darwin University campus. On a Sunday night, they have a wonderful program where different multicultural organisations get to talk to people in their language, celebrate things that have been happening in the community and make sure that the members of that multicultural community are heard and understand what government, through broadcasting, is saying. Local community radio is the vehicle for important information, sometimes life-saving information, to get from subject matter experts to their communities. We take our hats off to Territory FM. A survey in 2016 found that it reached 51 per cent of all people in Darwin, and it has very much been listened to widely over the years. In September it was rated the No. 1 radio station in Darwin overall for the 40- to 65-year-old demographic. Darwin's 97 Seven FM is a Christian community radio station that's doing great work in Darwin and Palmerston, but their reach also extends past Humpty Doo. Then we have First Nations Radio on 94.5 FM, which was formerly Radio Larrakia. It's an Aboriginal community radio station broadcasting from Darwin that reaches the township of Jabiru out in Kakadu. It provides a great service, and they're a culturally appropriate broadcaster. They observe Aboriginal cultural protocols, which underpin everything they do. I think a lot of people will be hearing on First Nations Radio about the developments down here around who is supporting a Voice for First Nations people and who is not. For people in Arnhem Land there is Yolngu Radio. There are other stations that have Kriol language and provide that service so that people in the remotest areas of the Territory, including the homelands, can hear what's going on. I also want to give shout-outs to CAAMA Radio in Alice Springs and to TEABBA, and to Katherine FM and Gove FM, all of whom keep their communities connected and informed. I want to give a big shout-out to all those community radio stations and those that I may have missed in the Northern Territory, who every day are making sure Territorians—whether you're a First Nations Territorian or whether you've just arrived from overseas—are understood. That's why it's so important that we protect and develop our community radio stations. They truly are the heart of communities across our country, and we on this side of the House support them very much. Debate interrupted. ADJOURNMENT 73 ADJOURNMENT North Sydney Electorate 73 19:30 Ms TINK 300124 North Sydney Today, as I reflect on the past five months, I'd like to thank my community of North Sydney for continuing to work with me to help change the climate here in Canberra. The result of the May election sent what I think we can all agree was a clear message to our federal government. The people of North Sydney, and indeed Australians more broadly, want their leaders to do better. They want inspiring and courageous leadership and a national government prepared to coordinate across state borders. They want to see appropriate federal stimulus, be that financial, intellectual or human capital. Australians want to see our country investing in building new skills, capabilities and innovative industries to succeed in today's high-tech, rapidly decarbonising world, as well as investing in our people and communities. Australians want to address longstanding structural issues to ensure all Australians, be they young, old or anything in between, can continue to live in a lucky and progressive country. Since August, our North Sydney voice has been heard clearly here in parliament in areas as diverse as faster action on climate, integrity in politics, the more humane treatment of people seeking asylum in Australia, and, ultimately, greater accountability in how our government allocates our public money. During this time, I've been honoured to work as North Sydney's representative in this House, pushing the government to ensure the legislative proposals not only meet the needs of my community but also are thought through, beyond the immediate, short-term positive headlines. Ultimately, North Sydney has played an active role in shaping current government policy for the better. For example, in the recent Fair Work bill, after consulting with the people of North Sydney, I moved an amendment, which was supported by both the Labor and Liberal parties as well as my crossbench colleagues, to ensure those at the decision-making table are representative of the whole building industry, not just big unions or large construction companies. My amendment ensured that small- and medium-sized builders will now have a voice at the National Construction Industry Forum, and that the work of that forum will be publicly accountable through the publishing of a communique within 14 days of their meetings. Last week, I also moved amendments to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill which advocated for stronger mechanisms to watch the watchdog. Sadly, there will always be powerful interests seeking to persuade the government of the day to downgrade the effectiveness of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. There is an opportunity to do something unprecedented in this place through the establishment of a truly independent commission. The amendment I moved sought to deliver this by appointing an independent chair of the oversight committee. I've advocated for these changes since my very first meeting and conversation with the Attorney-General many months ago. I'm heartened that the argument for this amendment continues in the Senate. If it happens, the people of North Sydney can be proud of the role that we played. Today, we saw the tabling of the report of the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards' inquiry into a parliamentary code of conduct which now, together with the corruption commission, will help change the culture for the better in our federal politics. Our parliament has been considering a code for almost half a century, with a report in 1975 noting that a meaningful code of conduct should exist in the Australian parliament. Since then, many members in this place have tried and failed to introduce one. At the last election, people made it clear they expect and demand a higher standard of conduct from their MPs. As a member of the committee which developed the draft code, I'm proud to say we've now finally delivered. Earlier this year, one of the first pieces of legislation North Sydney engaged in was the Climate Change Bill. During this debate I was driven to take the politics out of climate policy. I advocated for a multipartisan approach for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee which reflected the new balance of power across the parliament, and for increased integrity and independence for the Climate Change Authority. The initial draft that was shared with me as a member of the crossbench relied heavily on putting parliamentary and public trust in the climate change minister to do the right thing. But the truth is: that's simply not good enough when it comes to legislating positive change, and so I worked with the minister to move the amendments that we were advocating for. Looking towards 2023, I'm committed to working for an enduring legacy: one that is in place long beyond any electoral cycle and regardless of who is in government. Both in the immediate future and over the longer term, the government must place faith in the institution of our parliament and the diversity of the community representatives that are here. Be a government that is prepared to lead rather than control. As 2022 ends, I look forward to working with everyone in this 47th parliament to deliver on our community's ambition, faster climate action, a return to integrity, realisation of gender equality, a re-gearing of our economy so that it's future-ready, and a better, fairer way forward for all. Albanese Government 74 19:35 Ms COKER 263547 Corangamite The Albanese government hasn't wasted a second on its first six months in power. A cracking pace has been set, with about 30 bills passed through parliament under our government. We have also delivered a responsible budget, and returned civility and stability to parliament. There have been several milestone pieces of legislation which particularly stand out for me. All of them a tick boxes against issues people in my electorate of Corangamite raised with me in the months leading up to the federal election. All of them deliver against election commitments. The Albanese government takes seriously its commitments to the Australian people. An especially a proud achievement for the Albanese government has been making workplaces safer from sexual harassment. The passage of the anti-discrimination and human rights Respect@Work legislation will have profound benefits for many people—mainly women—right across the nation. Sexual harassment is not inevitable; it is preventable. Now we have legislation that progresses gender equality by ensuring women are able to earn a living in safe, sexual-harassment-free workplaces. The legislation follows the recommendations of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, a task left unfinished in the former coalition government. Among other reforms, the new laws place positive duties on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation. It also strengthens the Australian Human Rights Commission with new functions to assess and enforce compliance. Over the past five years, one in three people experienced sexual harassment at work, with women experiencing higher rates of harassment than men. The Respect@Work legislation ensures everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace. T fact that workplaces have not been safe or respectful for so many Australians is unacceptable. This is a government that listens to women and acts. Another early achievement of the Albanese government was the landmark climate change legislation. It ensures Australia's emissions reduction target of 43 per cent and net-zero emissions by 2050. For almost a decade under coalition governments, Australia stumbled from one policy to another, and our economy and communities missed out on billions of dollars in public and private clean energy investment. This much-overdue legislation provides the energy policy and investment certainty needed to foster economic growth and opportunity in a decarbonising global economy. The legislation ensures a whole-of-government approach to driving down emissions and accountability through an annual update to parliament. How refreshing will that be? Although it is yet to pass through parliament, the establishment of a National Anti-Corruption Commission will deliver a core commitment to the people of Australia. We said we would tackle corruption and restore trust and integrity in federal politics. Where the Morrison government failed to act, the Albanese government is acting. We are creating a powerful, transparent and independent body to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the entire federal public sector. As a former journalist, I am pleased to say the legislation will also provide strong protections for whistleblowers and exemptions for journalists to protect the identity of sources. The Albanese government is also moving to legislate for secure jobs and better pay for Australian workers. For nearly 10 years wages were kept low as a deliberate design feature of the previous government's management of the economy. Insecure work was encouraged, with no regard to households crying out for security. Labor's bill, currently before parliament, is about making a choice—a choice to get wages moving and end the era of deliberate waged stagnation. It's a choice to act to close the gender pay gap and take long-overdue steps to put gender equity at the heart of our workplace laws. We have already increased the minimum wage and secured a 15 per cent wage rise for aged-care workers. It will take time for this bill to result in improvements in workplaces and pay increases in the pockets of Australians, so we cannot waste a moment in passing it. Cheaper child care, cutting the cost of medicines and expanding parental leave are other significant reforms. Few new governments have achieved as much in such a relatively short time as the Albanese government, but there is so much more to do. The next parliamentary year will be just as busy. The people of my electorate of Corangamite and people right across the nation can be assured that we are doing our best. (Time expired) Energy 75 19:40 Mr RICK WILSON 198084 O'Connor I rise today to commend the Parliamentary Friends of Nuclear Industries co-hosts, the member for Lyne, Dr David Gillespie, and the member for Kennedy, Mr Bob Katter, on hosting an excellent forum on Thursday and Friday of last week. Thank you for assembling an incredible program of esteemed experts on the cutting edge of nuclear energy research and development—engineers, scientists, economists and lawyers all dedicated to helping inform and facilitate Australia's transition towards a sensible mix of power generation that will support our growing energy needs long into the future. O'Connor is a vast and diverse electorate spanning over 1.1 million square kilometres. It includes areas critical to Western Australia's energy production, like the coalmining town of Collie, which is preparing to transition to a post-coal future, and hubs of renewable energy projects, like the coastal town of Esperance, home to one of Australia's first commercial wind farms at Ten Mile Lagoon, which is still in operation. As these wind turbines reach their end of life, the Esperance community is moving towards a new, integrated power solution which combines a four-megawatt solar farm of 8,900 photovoltaic panels and two 4.5-megawatt turbines backed up with a four-megawatt battery and a 22-megawatt high-efficiency gas power station. My electorate also has immense mineral resources—gold, critical minerals like nickel and lithium, and uranium deposits—much of which lies beyond the reach of Western Australia's current electricity grid. Our miners are looking for solutions to their future energy needs. I recently attended a meeting of O'Connor local government authorities, many seeking to help deliver energy solutions for their regional and remote communities and for the energy-intensive businesses that reside within their shire boundaries. One CEO raised a proposal for his local government authority: an array of solar panels that would cover an area of some 15,000 square kilometres. Another CEO raised concerns about the whole-of-life cost of renewable energy and the disposal of batteries and renewable components. Many of these matters were covered in detail by many of the eminent professors, academics and other energy specialists at last week's nuclear energy form. The consensus was that small scale modular nuclear reactors, SMRs, were a logical, zero-emission, small-footprint solution that could fit Australia's dispersed energy needs. SMRs can provide reliable base load-power supplemented by renewables like solar and wind. SMRs connected to a conventional transmission line would create enough power to not only meet today's domestic and industrial energy needs but also support the proposed expansion of mining and processing activities well into the future. Small nuclear reactors are already a way of life in many developed and developing countries. Speakers like Robert Parker, founder of Nuclear for Climate Australia, described the journey of Canada's expanding nuclear power using SMR technology. As a Commonwealth cousin with similar culture, laws, physical landscape and federated political system, Canada presents an opportunity to collaborate on energy systems for climate change mitigation. Today, energy prices for families in Canada are close to half the price Australians are paying. South-East Asian neighbours such as Japan, India and Korea are expanding their nuclear energy capacity. China is planning to build 150 new reactors in the next 15 years. Lawyer Helen Cook, who has advised on nuclear projects across the globe, detailed how Australia needs to start now to explore nuclear power optionality. The entire process can take around 10 years and we are already far behind the 50 nations currently in train to procure SMRs. Professor Tony Irwin addressed some of the safety fears that many have, walking us through spent-waste options, which also included reprocessing and supersafe storage. Adjunct Professor Ian Wilson gave us insight into the delicate art of balancing the grid, where fluctuating sources of energy like wind and solar create over saturation or undersupply, requiring supplementation by an energy source that can ramp up and down. Dr Robert Barr, of Electric Power Consulting, walked us through the cost of different energy options, including 63.8 cents per kilowatt hour for 100 per cent renewables only during winter compared with 27.9 cents per kilowatt an hour for an 83 per cent nuclear option. In closing, Dr Robert Parker summarised that rushing to failure with 100 per cent renewables is not an option. We need to fix all generated types to achieve low-cost, low-carbon generation, and there will be no net zero nuclear. I look forward to the next step of this process, which will include community engagement across my electorate to receive feedback from my constituents. (Time expired) Albanese Government: Employment 76 19:45 Ms FERNANDO 299964 Holt The Albanese Labor government was elected on the promise of delivering a better future for Australian workers, who bore the brunt of nearly a decade of neglect. As a union organiser in my former life, I'm proud to support a government which set out on delivering this promise from day one. Among my first votes in this esteemed chamber was supporting the passage of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022. During the two decades I was involved in the union movement, family and domestic violence was a recurring issue among my colleagues and members. It is sad that many of them too often had to face the difficult choice between earning a fair day's wage to support themselves and their family and taking time to recuperate from the trauma they faced at home. It is not a choice any individual should be making, particularly in a modern, progressive and equal society like ours. Every Australian deserves to live free from violence and every Australian deserves to be treated with care and dignity. The 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave enshrined in legislation will provide significant relief to everyone suffering from difficult circumstances at home. It will give them the critical time they need to address their family situation and take steps towards protecting themselves. In the very same week, the government also introduced legislation to introduce Jobs and Skills Australia, enacting a key election commitment to adopt a collaborative approach between trade unions, employer associations and training providers. This new statutory body will provide much-needed independent advice on a range of current, emerging and future workforce skills and training issues. Its advice to government will help inform the policies and programs to ensure Australia's training system delivers the skills that workers need to provide them with the job opportunities they seek. As demonstrated by the family and domestic violence act, gender equity is a cornerstone of this government's priorities. This has been demonstrated time and time again since taking office, most recently with the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022. The passage of this bill means Australia will have a significantly strong and clear legal regulatory framework relating to sexual harassment. It's a crucial step forward in implementing the government's commitment to preventing sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. Most importantly, the bill introduces a positive duty to employers and businesspersons to take responsible and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environments and victimisation in the workplace. The splendid work of this government, delivering for Australian workers, is vastly boosted by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. This landmark legislation makes sure the Australian industrial relations framework keeps workers at its front and centre and is designed to modernise Australia's workplace relations systems and get wages moving again. The bill promotes job security and gender equity, improves workplace conditions and protections, and restores fairness and integrity to the bargaining system and our fair work institutions. A key objective of the bill will help close the gender pay gap by prohibiting pay secrecy clauses that are often used to conceal them and making gender equity an essential objective of the Fair Work Act. Similarly, it will enshrine job security as an object of the Fair Work Act to make clear its importance in the workplace relations system. Secure, well-paid jobs are a fundamental part of Australia's social and economic fabric, and this government will not allow a weakened and watered-down industrial relations system to exploit Australian workers. I commend the work of the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Tony Burke, the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, and the Minister for Skills and Training, Brendan O'Connor, for being unwavering in upholding this government's commitment to improving the lives of every Australian worker. Flinders Electorate: Infrastructure 77 19:50 Ms McKENZIE 124514 Flinders The people of Flinders contact me about many issues, but the most prominent and persistent issue since the election in May has been the state of our local roads. For years, the intersection of Jetty Road and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway in Rosebud has been a treacherous headache to navigate for both locals and visitors alike. The former coalition government committed $75 million as far back as 2019 to build an overpass at this intersection, address the pedestrian safety concerns and address the lack of noise mitigation for properties which abut the freeway. But there has been no progress. In 2021 the Victorian Department of Transport conducted community consultation for the proposed upgrade through a traffic survey which attracted over 1,100 responses. The feedback showed very strong support for the upgrade, as well as the need to improve safety measures and decrease congestion along the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, between Jetty Road and Boneo Road in Rosebud. Over 65 per cent of respondents reported they had experienced poor or very poor traffic flow along the freeway, over 90 per cent of respondents supported the upgrade, 70 per cent of respondents felt that safety conditions on the freeway were poor or very poor and approximately half of all respondents highlighted the lack of sufficient walking and cycling infrastructure, including paths and safe crossing opportunities. In the lead-up to Saturday's state election in Victoria Liberal candidate for Nepean, Sam Groth, committed a total of $175 million to complete the overpass. But from Labor, we heard crickets, so now this essential project hangs in the balance again. Another set of troublesome roads and long-fought for upgrades are the intersections of Forrest Drive and Uralla Road with the Nepean Highway. In the 10 years leading up to March 2020 there were 11 reported crashes at the Nepean Highway and Uralla Road intersection, of which five resulted in serious injuries. During the same period there were six reported crashes at the Nepean Highway and Forrest Drive intersection. Tragically, one person lost their life and three people were seriously injured, and these figures do not account for the daily near misses and close calls. The previous coalition government fully funded the $20.5 million for the upgrade of these two intersections back in 2019, initially with a $10 million commitment that was later doubled. The Forrest Drive upgrade is currently expected to commence construction in early 2023. However, the Uralla Road intersection has no start date in sight. In recent parliamentary sittings I was grateful for the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government to discuss the road and rail projects in Flinders from previous budgets, which have been in part funded, in the case of Jetty Road, and fully funded, in the case of addressing the dangerous intersections of Forrest Drive and Uralla Road where they meet the Nepean Highway. I also raised the Frankston to Baxter rail project, for which $225 million was provided in the 2018-19 budget as a result of the advocacy of former member for Flinders, Greg Hunt, and indeed former member for Dunkley, Chris Crewther, who hopefully will be declared the member for Mornington later this week. This project would duplicate and electrify the current diesel V/Line service, opening a pathway to future upgrades of the Stony Point Line and offering better connectivity and opportunities for residents across the Mornington Peninsula. This project also has the backing of my neighbouring member of parliament, the member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, and the Prime Minister himself who passionately endorsed the project back when he was shadow infrastructure minister. Indeed, you can still find his proud press release on his website. Extending the train line requires both federal and state government funding, and the Andrews Labor government is yet to commit to the project. In the last election, the state Labor government showed no sign of putting any priority on the needs of the Mornington Peninsula, and without their support these projects will not go ahead. The benefits of all three projects are significant. They will improve motorist and pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and connectivity and allow my constituents to get home sooner and safer. As the population of the peninsula increases, somewhere in the middle of December, from around 130,000 to 250,000, these projects are needed more than ever. I will continue to fight for these projects, directly advocating to the minister and the Victorian state government, together with my state counterparts, and hold the Albanese government to account. Macarthur Electorate 77 19:55 Dr 265979 Macarthur FREELANDER () (): My Macarthur electorate is a great electorate, and I've lived and worked in the area for over 40 years now. My Macarthur electorate is now the biggest electorate in the country by population. We have—at last count—over 142,000 electors, and we're increasing by approximately 1,200 electors every month. Suburbs have developed that were once farms. Names that you may not have heard of before, like Willowdale, Gregory Hills, Gledswood Hills, Oran Park and Arcadian Hills, are all new suburbs full of young families with children. Unfortunately, we have a state government that has failed to provide infrastructure to these rapidly developing suburbs. I was really happy to be with the New South Wales opposition leader, Chris Minns, the shadow education spokesperson, Prue Car, and the Labor candidate for the seat of Camden, Sally Quinnell, on Sunday for the announcement by Chris of a new high school for the Gledswood Hills area. This was a massive announcement for us because Gledswood Hills and its neighbouring suburb Gregory Hills were previously farmland that the New South Wales government allowed to be developed. Schools were promised 10 years ago, but they just haven't happened. That may not mean a lot to someone who lives in one of the inner suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne, but if you live in Gregory Hills and you want your child to go to school there you'll know that they can't. In an area that has virtually no public transport, they have to be bussed to the next suburb. That has severe impacts on families. That means that the parents have to drop the child at school and pick the child up from school at either Camden or Narellan. Children with special needs are often bussed many, many kilometres away. That has severe impacts on the family. It may mean that one parent can't work full time—that one parent has to either work only part time, work school hours or even give up work altogether. I have been petitioning the state government for years and years to provide schools—nothing. The nearest school to Gregory Hills is Oran Park Public School. It was built for a maximum school population of 600 kids. It has 1,400 kids and 46 demountable classrooms. They've only just put in a high school, which is already oversubscribed, so many children in the suburb can't go to high school there because it's too small. There are demountables on what were supposed to be playing grounds, so the kids don't actually have areas to play on. There are new suburbs occurring all the time, like Wilton and Appin, that just don't have the schools, the police stations, the fire stations or the health services, yet the state government has just announced a plan to put over 20,000 new houses in the area. There is no infrastructure, no public transport and no rail line. It's a long way to the one hospital in the area, in Campbelltown. There's very little in the way of other supportive health services and not enough community nurses. The police station is miles and miles away. Yet the state government turns a blind eye to this. It is disgraceful. I am really looking forward to the election of a Minns Labor government next year because Chris Minns knows the importance of providing infrastructure in these newly developing suburbs. I'm not opposed to development. I know that people have to live somewhere. I know that some of these developments are quite good in terms of housing and roads, but there is no public infrastructure in terms of schools, health care and police stations and no infrastructure in terms of recreation facilities. There is very little open parkland. Housing blocks as small as 250 square metres, without a house on them, cost over half a million dollars. This is unaffordable for many people, so they have to rent. The rents have gone up a lot, and yet they have no infrastructure. It's a travesty of what development should be, and it's time for a change. NOTICES 78 NOTICES Presentation 78 NOTICES 78 NOTICES Presentation 78

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ) took the chair at 15:59.

STATEMENTS 83 STATEMENTS Parliamentary Standards 83 15:59 The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 I call on the member for Bruce to make a statement in relation to an incident in the Federation Chamber yesterday. 16:00 Mr HILL 86256 Bruce All feedback is a gift, and I've had some feedback, and I'd therefore like to withdraw the use of the term 'grub'. I just indicate that it was something I was not aware is now considered unparliamentary, given it has been used for centuries and considered parliamentary. But, in our new higher-standards environment, in future I will refrain from personalising the use of that commonly used term and restrict myself to observing grubby behaviour as opposed to passing judgement on the character of someone. Thank you for the opportunity to withdraw that term. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 I think the Federation Chamber appreciates the withdrawal. CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 83 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS Boroondara Hard Rubbish Rehome 83 16:00 Dr 297660 Kooyong RYAN () (): Over the past fortnight, I've been contacted by several Kooyong residents who have been alarmed and distressed to hear that REDcycle has paused its operations and about the allegations that it has not been appropriately recycling soft plastics. Jacqui wrote: 'The announcement that REDcycle [is] pausing operations this week is a sad day for the environment.' She worries, appropriately, that the news will affect consumer confidence in recycling efforts. Meg tells me: 'It's a little like the straw that breaks my back,' and 'I hope the government can begin to make strong climate policies.' This is precisely what two innovative and enterprising members of my Kooyong community have done. It gives me immense pride to bring to parliament a story of two inspiring women from Kooyong, Catherine Krestyn and Jennie Irving, who identified a clear need and a gap in what governments at all levels provide in terms of education, facilities and services for people to be able to live sustainably, and who decided to fill that gap themselves by creating the Boroondara Hard Rubbish Rehome. The core business of Boroondara Hard Rubbish Rehome is to support a local, circular economy. Founded by five members in early September 2022, its membership is already close to 2,000 and is growing by over 100 a week. These 2,000 'rehomies' are working together to rescue good items from hard rubbish piles so they don't get sent to landfill but are instead rehomed. The items rescued are rehomed with individuals but also given to a range of community groups, for programs supported by a number of Rotary organisations and animal welfare groups, for families fleeing domestic violence and for the Pacific Island Labour Mobility scheme. The BHRR is committed to documenting what is diverted to landfill. Jennie and Cath weigh and catalogue everything they rescue from the hard rubbish. To date, they've diverted more than 3.7 tonnes of goods from landfill, rehoming those across our community. They're also re-educating and reframing the discussion around hard waste into one about redistributing resources—whether this involves re-using, repurposing, recycling or repairing—through the correct channels. This is a key part of our circular economy. I had the honour of being supported in my run for office by Cath and Jen. They volunteered on my campaign. They ensured that all waste created by the campaign was carefully sorted and sent to the appropriate recycling, composting and rehoming schemes. My heartfelt congratulations go to Cath and Jen and all of our rehomies for bringing this very powerful grassroots initiative to life. They're building a positive, respectful community within a community. I commend to the House this volunteer-driven grassroots initiative bridging the gap in recycling services. Norah Head National Surfing Reserve 83 16:04 Ms McBRIDE 248353 Dobell Deputy Speaker, you might have noticed that I'm a little bit sunburnt today. That's because I spent most of the weekend out in the sun, sand and surf in my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The Central Coast is home to more than 40 beaches, stretching along almost 90 kilometres of stunning coastline, including Soldiers Beach at Norah Head. I'm proud to say that, after longstanding efforts from our community, Norah Head has now been declared a national surfing reserve. The Norah Head National Surfing Reserve stretches between Hargraves Beach and Pelican Point. This unique coastline is home to nine beach breaks, three bomboras and two reef breaks. It has nurtured state and national champions on both short and long boards, and it's now the first national surfing reserve on the Central Coast of New South Wales. On Saturday, I was delighted to join the people who made this happen, when I visited the Soldiers Beach headland for the official dedication ceremony and the unveiling of the new plaque, designed by Steve Curran. I would like to acknowledge the Norah Head Surfing Fraternity, Soldiers Beach Surf Life Saving Club, the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve, Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, Aunty Bronwyn Chambers and her grandson, Jack, Norah Head Women in the Waves, Norah Head Sporties, Marine Rescue Norah Head, Central Coast Council and the Norah Head National Surfing Reserve Committee for their hard work and dedication to this effort on behalf of our entire community. I would also like to give special thanks to Debbie McGuigan and Jill Secomb. They describe themselves as just two old ladies, but, without their passion and vision, this project wouldn't be a reality today. The past few years have been tough for our community, and the COVID-19 pandemic presented further challenges in our efforts to secure national surfing reserve status. In a coastal community like ours, the beach is like a second home. I can remember going to Soldiers Beach for morning surfs before school with my dad, Grant, and my brothers. There's nothing like jumping on your board, diving headfirst into the surf and having the cool waves crash around you. As Debbie's McGuigan's late husband, Barry, put it: 'It's ever-changing, pleasant, addictive and exciting. It's pleasant when there's a small wave and you can try your moves. It's exciting when it's big and you've got to survive.' Norah Head's national surfing reserve status means so much to so many people in our community—a community of surfers, swimmers, beachgoers and people who care deeply about our natural environment. Our coastline and our beaches are sacred and we must protect them for the future. I hope, and I know it's our community's hope—and I mention David Harris, the member for Wyong, who has been a strong supporter of this project as well and who joined me on the weekend—it's our hope that the declaration of a national surfing reserve at Norah Head will inspire locals and businesses alike to share, respect and preserve our pristine coastline now and into the future. (Time expired) Deakin Electorate: Infrastructure 84 16:07 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin The former coalition government invested significantly in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and, indeed, those investments continue to this day, even after six months in opposition. We see major community works continuing at the Dorset Recreation Reserve, which will be one of the best soccer facilities in Australia, I would argue, let alone in the eastern suburbs. I know the Croydon City Arrows and our local Burmese community are very excited about the Dorset Recreation Reserve. We've just completed the Ainslie Park Pavilion as well which was funded by the former coalition government, supporting the East Ringwood Junior Football Club and Ainslie Park Cricket Club. They're enjoying their new rooms which we built in partnership with Maroondah City Council. We've also just completed Cheong Park for the South Croydon Cricket Club and South Croydon Football Club—another much-needed upgrade. Finally, this week we saw the lights being turned on at Reilly Street and Wantirna Road, with the signalisation ensuring much more safety not just for vehicles but also for pedestrians. They are just the tail end of a huge number of projects delivered for the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. But what we've seen since the election, and particularly since the budget, is the government ripping out and cancelling projects in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It's quite shameful to see Labor again punishing the eastern suburbs. Of course, this federal government cut the $4 billion which was available and on the table for the East West Link which would finally have brought an improvement on traffic on the Eastern Freeway. Had the project not been cancelled by Labor, we'd already have the East West Link. It would have been built. We wouldn't have wasted $1.3 billion to cancel the contract. Instead, the Eastern Freeway in peak hour more resembles a car park. To make it worse, the government cut train station car parks at Heatherdale and Heathmont—some $34 million—with 700 car parking spaces to be constructed. We know, from the car park that we built at the Croydon station in my electorate, that these are very popular and that they alleviate congestion and ensure that people are able to more easily access public transport. There's nothing more frustrating than arriving at a station in the morning, and not being able to get a car park. Shamefully, we saw the government cut $50 million from the upgrade to Dorset Road. Dorset Road is an increasingly busy arterial in my electorate. The $50 million upgrade, so crucially needed for residents, not just in Croydon but throughout the eastern suburbs, was cancelled by Labor. We have seen since the election the eastern suburbs being punished with these projects being cancelled. We fought so hard for them and we'll keep talking about them and fighting for them into the future. National Skin Cancer Action Week 84 16:10 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh Last Sunday at the Grange Surf Life Saving Club in my electorate I was delighted to launch the government's $10 million national skin cancer prevention campaign over coming summers, to be delivered in partnership with the wonderful Cancer Council of Australia. Unfortunately, our culture of fun in the sun here in Australia has resulted in thousands of Australians being diagnosed with skin cancer each year, among the highest rates in the world. That's why this cancer is sometimes called our national cancer. Tragically, skin cancer claims the lives of more than 2,000 Australians every single year. That's a number we're determined to reduce. The campaign begins this week and is built around the well-known sun smart messages we are all familiar with. With over exposure to UV radiation causing 95 per cent of melanomas, Australians are reminded to use the five forms of sun protection whenever the UV level is three or above: slip on sun protective clothing, slop on broad spectrum water resistant SPF30 or higher sunscreen, slap on a broad-brimmed hat, seek shade and slide on sunglasses. This is a really important campaign. It's particularly important to get the message out to men, because almost twice as many men as women die from melanoma every single year. New research from the Cancer Council shows that fewer than half of Australian men actively seek shade to protect themselves and fewer than a third regularly use sunscreen. This new research tells us that more needs to be done to remind people of those easy steps that we can all take to reduce our risk of skin cancer every day. I was joined at the launch by John Clements from Adelaide, a survivor of skin cancer himself. He said at the launch, 'I grew up in a time when no-one knew better. We'd run around on the beach with just our bathers on, trying to get a tan. My life and that of my two brothers would have been much better had we covered our skin up. I was a bit blase about my health back in the day, like a lot blokes, and now if I am out in the sun at all, I make sure to protect myself.' John and I exchanged stories of being young in the seventies and eighties and lying out in the sun with baby oil or coconut oil on ourselves, actually seeking to fry and tan before we knew what we know now about the cancer risks. Sun protection saves lives, and the Albanese government will continue to work with our expert partners to save as many Australian lives as possible from this, the most preventable of all cancers. As we approach summer, it's important we all protect ourselves from the sun and reduce our risks of skin cancer by following those five easy steps from the Cancer Council. Petrie Electorate: Curtin, Dr Kerrin 85 16:13 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie Today I'd like to talk about someone who's very important to the people of Petrie, in particular the people in the postcodes of 4017, 4034 and 4036, and someone I've known since I was three years of age. The person I'd like to talk about today is my GP, my doctor, Dr Kerrin Curtin, also known as Kerry Curtin. Not only is he my GP but he's been the GP for literally thousands of people in the Bracken Ridge, Bald Hills, Carseldine and Brisbane City Council region. Dr Curtin grew up in the Petrie area, in Moreton Bay. He graduated from the University of Queensland back in 1971 with a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery. For over 50 years, he has worked as a GP. He first opened his own practice in Bracken Ridge way back in 1975 and, for more than 40 years, he worked there before selling the practice and moving to SmartClinics at Carseldine. He's married to Nicole and together they've had three children. One of his daughters, Dianne, is a doctor, and they have six grandchildren. He's got a great bedside manner. Not only is he a good doctor but I remember when he was younger he'd ask me about my work, what I was doing. He'd talk about when he had time off and when he was off to Fraser in his Landcruiser. Today, of course, it's all about his grandchildren and making sure he's looking out for them and helping them. Franka, who's been one of his long-term workers at Bracken Ridge and now at Carseldine, said: 'Dr Curtin is just a fantastic GP. He will do anything to make sure his patients receive quality and thorough care. He has always worked very hard and puts in long hours to make sure that no-one that needs his care is missed. He takes care of his staff and has always been a good boss.' Melinda, who is the practice manager at SmartClinics, Carseldine, said: 'Not only is he a great GP, but he is a great friend and a great colleague, and we all want that in our work colleagues. He's a lot of fun. He's knowledgeable, always considerate and all-round a great guy.' The relationship, as you'd know, between GP and patient is one that is fundamental to good long-term health care. I can attest to having the same GP since I was a doctor. He's been a brilliant GP. Not only has he helped me; he's helped many people in my electorate. I want to thank him for working for so long. He could have retired years ago. In the new year, he'll be switching to part time, but he will certainly be missed when he retires. I want to speak on behalf of everyone and say thank you, Dr Kerrin Curtin. Mental Health 85 16:14 Ms BYRNES 299145 Cunningham Last month, I had the honour of hosting a local year 10 student, Dakota Montgomery, for work experience in my Wollongong electorate office. Dakota was professional, punctual, a hard worker and a problem solver. She is also a passionate advocate when it comes to children's mental health, and she has prepared this speech for me: Being an adult we are extremely aware of how mental health can affect day-to-day life. Emotional, psychological, and social well-being are all factors that associate with an individual's mental health. It affects how a person acts, feels, and how they think, as it helps a person react to stressful situations and choices made. As adults, parents, and children we are taught the effects this has on the brain. While adults suffer with mental health a lot, I think sometimes we forget that kids nowadays are also experiencing this just as much but aren't as recognised. Around 1 in 7 children aged from 4—17 have and are experiencing health disorders in Australia. The three common disorders are ADHD, anxiety, and depression. This can be influenced by family circumstances, life events and school life, being one of the most common as school can involve stress, bullying, anxiety and depression. There can be many cases that involve a child's mental health getting the better of them, making them believe that life would be better if they took matters into their own hands, which isn't the case. Children can feel as if they are not wanted around others or not loved by those they are to call family, when in reality sometimes that isn't the case. Please understand that a child's mental health is just as important as an adult's, and help them to know that they are and always will be wanted and loved. These are beautiful and heartfelt words from an amazing young woman who has a huge future ahead of her. Dakota's mum, Kylie Montgomery, is also a fierce advocate for mental health. I first met Kylie during the marriage equality campaign. Her passion and enthusiasm for social justice resonated with me, and we're now quite good friends. Kylie is a cake maker and decorator by trade and operates her own small business called One Cake Down. After a personal loss in Kylie's family, in October she dedicated all of her profits from the sale of 'off cut boxes' to a local mental health charity and social movement called #talk2mebro. The offcuts from Kylie's amazing cakes go into fully recyclable packaging for an amazing dessert in many different flavours, and all funds go each month to a different charity. Kylie raised $500 to support #talk2mebro and has been tirelessly advocating for them in the local media and on her own social media. To the entire Montgomery family, Dakota, Kylie and Talyn, who is a member of the 26 Army Cadets Unit in Wollongong, thank you for all that you do in our community. The world needs more people like you! Parliamentary Friends of the Space Industry 86 16:19 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I'm very pleased to join with my colleague the member for Adelaide in forming the Parliamentary Friends of the Space Industry. The space industry is an exciting, vibrant sector which is going to grow exponentially in the years ahead. We've held two events in the last week. In fact, I've literally just come from one—the Pyne & Partners Tastes of Space event here on level 2. Last week, the industry association also held an event. It's been a great opportunity for the member for Adelaide and me to bring representatives from the industry into the building to meet fellow members of parliament who have an interest in this industry and talk to them about what their needs from government into the future are. The most obvious one, which I think we'd all agree with, is that they really want all of us to work together as members of parliament to back their industry and, hopefully, have consistency of policy and approach from all of the major parties in this building. I certainly think we have a high likelihood of that being the case. There are some things that we argue about in politics, quite rightly. We should have our debates. But the future of the space industry is one that I'm sure we can very much form a unity ticket on. The opportunities are enormous, but the consistency of government policy and decisions in that area needs to be maintained with as little disruption as possible. So the member for Adelaide and I are both very committed to being a part of achieving that consensus and also being a conduit for the industry to bring issues into this building—whether directly to the executive government or to other parliamentarians—not just on what their legislative needs might be but also on developing a greater awareness amongst our leaders here in this building about this sector and where they're heading into the future. There are literally tens of thousands of jobs to be created in the space industry; there's no dispute about that whatsoever. It's going to be the fastest-growing industry sector in our economy, something to be really excited about and an opportunity to be shared throughout the nation—although, obviously, the member for Adelaide and I are very jealously looking for as much benefit as possible for our home state, South Australia. Given that we have the Space Agency headquartered there and given the opportunities that flow out of defence procurement into space, we are hopeful of a very significant benefit to the South Australian economy. But the opportunities will be there throughout the country. It will be an enormous outcome for the industries that get the benefit from the technology that space brings. So I'm thrilled that we've formed this group, and I look forward to being a part of raising their issues and awareness in this building into the future. Parramatta Electorate: Soccer 86 16:22 Dr CHARLTON I8M Parramatta People from across Australia have caught World Cup fever, and, while we all cheer on the Socceroos halfway across the globe, I'm reminded that Australia's global success is built on the foundations of local soccer. Parramatta has a thriving local soccer scene. It's home to the Granville & Districts Soccer Football Association. Founded in 1900, Granville is the oldest football association not just in Australia but in the entire Southern Hemisphere. Today, over 6,000 girls and boys are registered players. It boasts a terrific array of clubs, including Rydalmere, Dundas, Merrylands, Holroyd and the Granville Waratahs. Parramatta is also home to the Parramatta Eagles, also known as Parramatta FC, the local representative pathway into elite football. Formed in 1956, it has helped make Parramatta the nursery of football talent it is today. In fact, Mitch Duke, who scored the winning goal against Tunisia on Friday night, started out his career with the club. Much of the success of local football in Parramatta is thanks to the dedication of volunteers and club presidents. They've given their time and devoted decades of their lives to build these sporting clubs up and to foster the communities around them. I want to pay tribute to Noel Dona, president of the Granville Waratahs. Noel has dedicated decades to helping young girls and boys reach their potential in the sport—and, if Noel's football success isn't impressive enough, he also does a killer sausage sizzle. I also want to pay tribute to the President of Rydalmere FC, Peter Basha. In July Peter invited me on a tour of their facility, and what really resonated with me was the sense of community that had grown up around the club and around the sport. The club has become a place where families have dinner, where locals have a drink and where friends come to celebrate their birthdays and other community milestones. This strong sense of community, fostered by people like Noel and Peter, is what helps make local football so special. And at 2 am on Thursday morning, as Australia faces off against Denmark in our must-win encounter, I'll be proudly cheering the Socceroos on alongside the thousands of people who play football at one of the many great clubs across Parramatta. Wannon Electorate: We've Got You 87 16:24 Mr TEHAN 210911 Wannon I rise this afternoon to commend two local families from south-west Victoria, the Barkla and McConnell families, who have set up an organisation called We've Got You. It is to help and support those who have been through child bereavement and, in particular, perinatal loss. These courageous families have suffered, but they have set about ensuring that others don't have to suffer as they did. They lost young ones and weren't provided with the necessary support, the necessary counselling and the necessary space to be able to deal with the perinatal loss that they faced. So what they've done is to set up an organisation called We've Got You to raise funds to enable others who suffer a similar loss to get the support that they need at that time. They've raised funds and set about asking the local hospital, South West Healthcare, to provide a room for those who suffer perinatal loss so that they have the space to be able to deal with the loss that they've encountered. They've also raised funds so that they can begin an information campaign for those wonderful nurses, midwives and everyone else who provides help and support in the hospital or outside the hospital so that they can provide the assistance, the services and the information to those who suffer perinatal loss. They are remarkable families, and I've had the honour and privilege to meet with them and to be in an ongoing discussion with them as they seek to ensure that others—and, sadly, there will be others—who suffer a loss similar to theirs will have the space and the room to be able to do deal with that loss. We will also ensure that those who provide the much-needed support and counselling services know and understand the loss that will be felt and how best to support those families in their time of need. I commend them for what they have done and continue to do on behalf of the south-west community. Bendigo Electorate: Medicare 87 16:27 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo About 17,000 patients at the Bendigo Primary Care Centre in Bendigo—that's how many they have on their books—received worrying texts and emails last week. These emails and texts advised them that the clinic was moving from its bulk-billing method for all patients to the private billing for fee service model, meaning that people would have to pay a gap fee. Immediately my office started to receive calls, and I want to thank all those who reached out. It's heartbreaking to see our biggest bulk-billing clinic in Greater Bendigo—and, in fact, in my electorate—go down this path. For so long they had held out. One by one other clinics in the area, because of rising costs and because of the impact of the previous government's decisions around Medicare, had gone down to the private billing model. It had put lots of pressure on those left in the sector. We have had another bulk-billing service, the Tristar service, go broke as well, as a result of the previous government's actions on Medicare. What did the previous government do to create this? One measure that created such a problem for our GPs was that they froze Medicare rebates, not just for one year but for many years. In fact, it started in 2014 in their first budget, and every year GPs did not receive an increase. The freeze ended in the May budget of 2020. It took a pandemic, essentially, for the freeze to come off and for GPs to get an increase. But it hasn't made up the difference. The cost to GPs to deliver services has become harder and harder, and I do feel for a lot of our GPs who are overworked, who are struggling to keep up with patient loads as more and more GPs drop out because of the system. Many GPs in regional areas are essentially a small business. They rely upon a Medicare rebate to help cover the costs. I say to all the GPs in my area: I know that it's tough, but please hang in there. This government has a plan. This government is going to invest $1 billion into Medicare: $750 million to look at rebates in Medicare and $250 million to help you with your practices. To the patients and to their clients: I say hang in there. It will get better because we are working to improve the system. It's going to take time, but this government, the Labor government, believes in Medicare. We will reinvest and rebuild Medicare—not like the previous government, who left it in ruins. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded. STATEMENTS 88 STATEMENTS Australia: Floods 88 16:31 Mr BIRRELL 288713 Nicholls I'd just like to update the chamber on where my electorate is up to. It has been a really tough time for the people of Nicholls. There was a huge rain event in the catchment of the Goulburn River around Eildon Weir, which was already full, and around that area. Obviously the catchment was already charged and the soils were full of water, so any rain that fell ran into the river and this caused a serious swell which hit the town of Seymour very hard. There was some flash flooding in the lower parts of Seymour that damaged houses and businesses. I toured Seymour shortly afterwards with Minister Murray Watt, local representative Steph Ryan and Jaclyn Symes, who is the Attorney-General in the Victorian government. We talked to business owners about what had happened. We tried to give them some comfort that we were all working together, across party lines, to make sure that they were looked after. The water then moved downstream—slowing down, but also rising as it picked up more water from the catchment. As it got to Murchison it reached almost record highs and inundated many businesses and houses, including Murchison Wines—a wonderful business. It didn't quite get to the cellar door, but it did get into where their barrels are kept. Also, some of the businesses around Nagambie were badly affected. There were some heroic actions taken that I'd like to talk about. There are a lot of racing studs around Nagambie and a lot of foals were picked up by the water. Very courageously, people went out in little tinnie boats and pulled foals into the boats and took them to safety. The way communities come together and help each other and show enormous bravery in these situations, towards people but also towards animals and livestock, is to be commended. What happened also was that the junction of the Broken River and the Goulburn River at Shepparton—both rivers received huge amounts of rainfall at the same time and they peaked at the same time, which affected parts of Shepparton quite badly. I do want to reflect for a moment that there are some new estates, including one called the Boulevard Estate, in Shepparton. This estate was designed very recently by Spiire. The Spiire team worked with the developer to realise the value of this block of land. It was low-lying and subject to flooding, but they were able to create higher and better land, increasing the size of the development by 250 residential lots, and undertook a complex draining analysis to assist a rezoning request. What all that means is basically that the water filled up the streets but didn't inundate the houses in that area, whereas in some of the older estates the houses were inundated. So I think we've got a lot we can learn about design and being able to make sure that there's somewhere for the water to go in these places that's not into people's houses. But the water did move over and badly affect Mooroopna. Mooroopna is on the other side of the Goulburn River from Shepparton, and the water hit many areas of Mooroopna very badly. It was devastating to see the impact and, as the water receded, just how much had been destroyed. I'll explain in a moment where I was, but it's very difficult to go into people's houses in those circumstances and see children's toys and personal items ruined and to help take them out of flood affected houses. I want to mention and commend the Mooroopna Football Netball Club, which got almost 300 volunteers to come together with utes and cars with trailers. The council opened up the tip for free, and the people who were going through the devastating process of taking destroyed goods out of their houses—in some cases needing help to do that—and putting those goods on the nature strip, at least, had their neighbours coming along and picking them up and taking them to the tip. It was one less thing those people had to worry about. It was a great example of communities coming together. I was involved in that and very proud to be involved in that with the Mooroopna Football Netball Club. The ADF did an amazing job also, so I thank them. I also want to thank an organisation called FoodShare. We actually gave a grant to them that prior to the election that wasn't signed off on, but the current government did sign off on that, so I thank them for that. FoodShare delivered parcels of food to people who weren't able to get out of their houses because of the floodwaters—an amazing community response. The Goulburn River's only just dropped below minor flood level for the first time in months. That was on Sunday, and it's hoped that it will stay that way so we can allow people to recover and the water continues to recede from some of the estates that have some inundation. It's hard to compare one bad region with another bad region, but I have to say that the town of Rochester was devastated by the flooding. This time it was a different river, the Campaspe River, over to the west of my electorate. It's absolutely devastated by the flooding. The river broke its banks. Rochester had been through this in 2011 and it had rebuilt. This flood was worse. It broke the banks, rose and went through the CBD of the town. Over 90 per cent of the houses were inundated, and we're still working through trying to find how we house some of those people. I would like to pay tribute to, among the many people in Rochester, local champion Leigh Wilson, who has been working with the community to advocate for their cause—I'm in constant contact with him—and has been that person who checks that everyone's okay and who helps coordinate the effort of recovery for people. The house of Leigh's own mother, 83-year-old Lorraine Wilson, was also inundated. It was quite a sight to see her trying to pick up photos of her late husband from the fifties that had been swept away in the floodwaters. Not only did it affect the township of Rochester; there were also some farms significantly impacted, including one farm in Nanneella that I visited with the shadow minister for agriculture, the member for Maranoa. It was just a beautiful farm. He had lucerne ready to go, he'd laid down straw in the barn, the cows were so well housed and the pastures were perfect. It had been such a good year, and then this water came through and took that all away, and the rebuild for him is very difficult. I told you about the junction in Shepparton before. The junction in Echuca is the Campaspe and the Goulburn, so, when that happened, the floodwaters rose in Echuca. They had more time to prepare, and they quickly put up a makeshift levee bank. It was quite controversial, because there were some houses that needed to be on one side of it, but, touring it with the Campaspe Shire Council, it does appear that that levee did work. Even though there were houses that were inundated, it did protect a lot more. That effort and that quick thinking and that quick decision-making is to be commended, though I know that there are some people who have got some concerns there. I would just like to say that I'm a new member to this place and I came up here to work constructively with everyone and to represent my people as best I could, and the assistance that I've gotten from the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Watt, and— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— CONDOLENCES 89 CONDOLENCES Durham, Ms Judith, AO 89 16:53 Ms 102376 Brand MADELEINE KING (—) (): I rise today to pay tribute to Judith Durham and to extend my deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones. Born in July 1943, she was lost to the nation on 5 August this year. Few Australians have had their voices heard around the world in the way that Judith did. At a time of great social and political upheaval Judith's voice was something that all generations were able to appreciate and enjoy. She was an extremely talented and accomplished woman who took the sound of Australia to the rest of the world as the voice of the Seekers. Judith's father was a World War II navigator and pathfinder and Judith, too, would play the role of pathfinder for many Australian who would follow the seekers over the coming decades to find success in the UK and America. They blazed a path that would later be trodden by the likes of the Easybeats and ultimately Australian megagroups like INXS and AC/DC. Both have origins in Western Australia, of course, and I can't not mention that. The modern Australian music industry has so much to thank Judith Durham for. Judith was a classically trained singer and pianist. After school she met Athol Guy, who invited her to join with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger to sing in the then unknown harmony and folk group the Seekers. Like so many Australian acts, the Seekers sailed to the UK as the onboard entertainment aboard a cruise ship, thinking that their adventure would last no more than a few weeks. But in 1965 their song 'I'll Never Find Another You', recorded at Abbey Road Studios, was a No. 1 hit in both the UK and Australia. The Seekers were named Best New Group at the Top of the Pops awards. It was their greatest hit, 'Georgie Girl', that saw them become the first Australian group to reach No. 1 in the USA. The song would also be nominated for an Oscar. They were the first ever group to reach No. 1 on the UK charts with their first three singles, a record that was never matched by the likes of Michael Jackson or Madonna. Judith married her musical director, pianist Ron Edgeworth, and they performed around the world. After Ron tragically died of motor neurone disease in 1994, Judith became patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Australia association and worked tirelessly in promoting the charity. In 1995, Judith was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to music, a much-deserved recognition of her contribution to music in Australia and around the world. The significance of Judith Durham's contribution to the cultural life of this country cannot be overstated. She carried the early sounds of a nation finding its voice to the rest of the globe, and her passing is a great national loss. 16:56 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I too rise to pay tribute to Judith Durham AO following her sad passing a few months ago. I'm very wary about not being insulting to those in the chamber who are slightly older than me, but when I think of Judith Durham I think of a different era to my own. The DEPUTY SPEAKER C2T I warn the member for Sturt! He's reflecting on the chair! Mr STEVENS 176304 But it is one of great nostalgia—perhaps more my parents' era than my own. But I also think that, if you're watching any reflections on that period of time in this country, the soundtrack has to be the Seekers playing in the background. I've inherited many of my father's poor attributes, and one is a great passion for music and music history. I grew up with the music of the Seekers and other music from that era. The first thing I always reflect on in relation to the Seekers is that before the Seekers we had some excellent musical talent in this country but it was still international music, particularly from America and the UK, that substantially predominated here in Australia. You see footage of the rare Hollywood celebrity or British music act that would come to Australia, and everyone would, of course, flock to hear the concerts and even to see them driving past, as when the Beatles came anywhere in the country. Adelaide has the same story as anywhere else about the city effectively coming to a standstill because that group—an excellent group but also one that had come across the tyranny of distance to Australia—was so excitingly embraced by the people. So in my view—a lot of people would perhaps dispute this and talk about other great entertainers from that era or just prior to that era—it is fair to say that the Seekers were the first truly globally successful Australian music group, particularly in the market of all markets, the United States. In their era, in the sixties, when you look at some of the competition they had, the fact that they were making it onto the charts and topping the charts at times shows that they absolutely were trailblazers—led by the great Judith Durham, of course, and her beautiful, beautiful vocals and also the lovely character and presence that she had on stage with her voice and, of course, the way in which she conducted herself at a time when a lot of musicians and entertainers were deciding to misbehave rather than behave to get attention and perhaps to meet the zeitgeist of being a rebellious entertainer in the 1960s. Judith Durham was a brilliant entertainer but also someone that genuinely made all Australians proud as she—with the Seekers and through her solo career—pursued and achieved such success and, of course, always came home to Australia and absolutely loved Australia. I think it was 1966 or 1967 that the Seekers jointly were the Australians of the Year. That, I think, is a fitting accolade and a demonstration of just how significant they were in our society at the time. The passing of Judith Durham really is the ending of an era. But it's also such a spectacular legacy that she leaves behind. All of us can hum many a Seekers song that she sang. They, of course, have been so enduring, well beyond the period in which they topped the charts. It is fitting that we've taken this opportunity, and I certainly join with other members, to pay tribute to her life achievements and to acknowledge and mourn the passing of Judith Durham. 17:01 Mr GORMAN 74519 Perth On 5 August 2022, we lost an icon of Australian music in Judith Durham AO. Born in Essendon to William Cock and Hazel Durham, she grew up between Victoria and Tasmania. She received formal training as a pianist from the University of Melbourne conservatorium. She began her singing career at 18 years of age out of sheer persistence. She frequented the Memphis Jazz Club and asked week after week to get on stage. The bandleader would tell her, 'Come back next week.' So she'd come back next week, and again she'd be dismissed—'Come back next week.' She kept going to that jazz club week after week, until finally they let her on stage. Then, after having rejected this amazing singer for so long, everyone in the room was blown away by her voice. She met her lifelong friends Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley in 1962, and they became the Seekers, releasing their debut album in 1963, Introducing the Seekers. Their recording of 'Waltzing Matilda' reached the Melbourne top 40. They saw enormous success with songs such as 'I'll Never Find Another You', 'A World of Our Own', 'The Carnival Is Over' and 'Georgy Girl'. I need to note that, of course, their song 'I Am Australian', which still blasts out on my television screen on ABC Kids on a regular basis, causing half my household to break out into song, is still a favourite of many. One of the things that I want to share with the parliament today is that one of the unexpected outpourings of love for Judith Durham that we saw was the number of letters that were sent to the Australian government in good-hearted advocacy saying that 'I Am Australian' should be considered as our new national anthem. Now, that is not going to happen. We will not be going to a vote for a new national anthem, but I did have the joy, on behalf of the Prime Minister, of responding to hundreds and hundreds of letters from people who shared their love of this incredible Australian musician and the music that captured so much of this nation. Again, I thank everyone who wrote in with their good-hearted suggestions on that particular topic. Every one of those songs that I just mentioned sold over a million copies. Selling over a million copies of a song, particularly a song written in the sixties and released in Australia, is an incredible achievement for an Australian musical outfit. In 1968, another first—yet to be replicated—was that Durham and the entire group of the Seekers were named collectively as Australians of the Year. It was the eighth year of the Australian of the Year awards, and it is still to this day the only time that a group has received the Australian of the Year award. I'd just say, particularly with the Special Envoy for the Arts here, that the musicians of 2022 need to lift their game! But it is fitting that such a brilliant musical team got that award recognising their great contribution to Australia. Durham also had wonderful success as a solo artist, sharing that part of her musical journey with her husband, Ron Edgeworth. We saw some 2,000 people gather for her state memorial service, which included musical tributes from everyone from Dami Im through to the Wiggles. Her older sister, Beverley, recounted: We'd sing together early in the morning and my father would have to come in and say, 'That's enough. Your mother can't sleep. Her Seekers bandmate Keith Potger said: You're not really gone, because your picture is on my wall and your boundless spirit and love will be in my heart forever. Bruce Woodley told of Durham's struggles battling a serious lung disease through most of her career: Her bravery and single-mindedness in overcoming the enormous physical obstacles that life threw at her has always been an inspiration to me. And indeed it has been an inspiration to many. We saw the Seekers play a previously unreleased song, 'Carry Me'. Athol Guy said of the song: It is now our collective gift to share with you tonight as we celebrate Judith's magnificent gifts to us all. May it carry her safely on the rest of her journey. I think we can all echo those sentiments. 17:06 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina A beautiful person, a beautiful voice—Judith Durham was a great Australian. She was a beautiful Australian. I've given up counting the number of times I've sung 'Georgy Girl' to my daughter, Georgina. I still do and always will. I know how much she and the rest of my family love Judith Durham, perhaps because of that song. But Judith Durham gave so much to so many for so long. Her death, at age 79, was mourned by people right across the nation. She was a fantastic singer, songwriter and musician. I know when Keith Potger visited Forbes for Australia Day celebrations in 2019 he spoke lovingly and fondly about Judith. And Athol Guy and Bruce Woodley will never forget the vibrance, the energy and the beauty she brought to the Seekers. The Seekers—what a great group! In 1962 they were one of the first bands with their mix of music to top the charts and to do so well in the UK and elsewhere. We mourn Judith's loss because it brings an end to a great era. We know how much she was mourned at the state memorial service held in September. It concluded with a special recording of 'Carry Me', a new song by the Seekers, due for release late this year to celebrate the band's 60th anniversary. Just think about it—six decades of performing. Mrs Marino HWP Extraordinary. Mr McCORMACK 219646 It is extraordinary, Member for Forrest. The band shared this song, 'Carry Me', that Bruce Woodley had written two decades ago. It was just fantastic. And, of course, there is 'I am Australian'. Who in this chamber, who across Australia, hasn't teared up about that song? It is emblematic of us all. It is emblematic of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, of migrants to this nation. It speaks to the heart of Australia like no other song. Tributes were paid to Judith Durham from such luminaries as Paul Kelly. Of course, we all love Paul Kelly—especially as we prepare for Christmas and making gravy!—but in his recorded tribute at the state funeral he said: But behind that sweetness and gentleness there was a hidden steel and a strong independent mind. She quietly and firmly went her own way, danced to her own drum. Truer words were never spoken. Her sister, Beverley Sheehan, said in her tribute at the Hamer Hall memorial: Judith's joy for life, her constant optimism, creativity and generosity of spirit were always an inspiration to me. Indeed, they were an inspiration to all of us. May she rest in peace. 17:09 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie I grew up listening, firstly, to my mum's records, sitting cross-legged on the floor. At some point I was allowed to put the vinyl on the record player myself, when I could be trusted not to drop the needle too hard. The Seekers Sing Their Big Hits, the record that came out in 1965, when I was two, was one of the very first records I listened to. A black-and-white photo of them in full voice was on the cover, with a red edge around it. It still brings back memories. It had a lot of content very suitable for small children: 'Waltzing Matilda', 'Lemon Tree', 'Morningtown Ride'. It also had 'A World of Our Own' and 'I'll Never Find Another You'. I played it, sang along to it and learnt the early principles of harmony from Judith and the boys, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy. But it's 'Georgy Girl' that I remember hearing on the radio and loving the beat and loving the tune. At the time I had no understanding that these songs were breaking ground internationally and putting Australian voices on the world stage. I just liked to sing along. My husband was much more aware of their stature than I was. At around the same time he was part of the Navy band that performed on stage with the Seekers at that famous 1967 Myer Music Bowl performance. I think it's the biggest audience he's ever performed to, immortalised as it was in the Guinness Book of Records the following year as the biggest concert attendance ever in the Southern Hemisphere. Given the influence of Judith Durham on my early musical life, it was a real privilege to represent the Prime Minister at the Victorian state memorial in her honour. What a celebration of Judith Durham's life it was, with recognition from the Victorian governor of her impact on the music scene. We gained insights into the health challenges that Judith had faced, with such good humour, throughout her life, and also her determination, kindness and generosity. Athol, Keith and Bruce all demonstrated the affection that they had for Judith and their union. If you hadn't shed a tear before hearing them speak, this part of the night probably tipped a lot of people over. Judith's nephew, Tony Sheehan, shared a story about the singer's determination to perform at a jazz club as a young teenager. Apparently she'd turn at the same jazz club, week after week, and the band leader kept saying, 'Come back next week.' When he finally allowed her to perform, you have to wonder how hard he kicked himself for not having said yes a whole lot sooner. Perhaps there's a message there for young performers and bookers alike. The musical tributes were exceptional: Professor Deborah Cheetham, Vika and Linda Bull, and David Campbell, with his backing singers providing the harmonies that echoed the harmony the Seekers were so adept at. Dami Im performed, accompanied by Chong Lim and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. It was a beautiful night. But perhaps the most personal performance was 'Jelly Bean Blues' from Judith's big sister, Beverley Sheehan, accompanied by the Syncopators. The whole evening was a very Melbourne tribute but had the heart of the whole country there to thank Judith's family for the musical gift that she gave the nation. Vale, Judith Durham. Newton-John, Dame Olivia, AC, DBE 92 17:14 Ms MADELEINE KING 102376 Brand I rise today to celebrate and recognise the life of an Australian icon, Dame Olivia Newton-John, AC, DBE. Born in England in September 1948, Olivia Newton-John moved to Melbourne when she was five and made Australia her home. Later in life, she moved to the United States of America and was sadly lost to the world earlier this year in August. In addition to being one of this nation's greatest musical exports, Oliva was also a well-known animal rights and environmental campaigner and a breast cancer awareness advocate. Olivia was Australia's sweetheart. Olivia was an Australian icon who captivated the globe. Her first big break was appearing on a local pop talent TV program in 1963. Slowly growing renowned, she would tour the UK and perform throughout Europe. Olivia achieved breakthrough fame in her role as Sandy in the 1978 hit film Grease. With John Travolta starring in the role of Danny, Grease was a smash-hit musical that is now loved by many generations. The soundtrack to this film spent 12 weeks at No. 1, and I doubt there is a high school in this country that hasn't staged Grease the musical. I certainly remember it from my high school days at Safety Bay Senior High School. I didn't perform, because I don't perform, but I do remember attending. I know that it's a hit among the high school musical circuit. Olivia was the second woman to have two hits in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, with the tunes 'Summer Nights' and 'Hopelessly Devoted to You'. The Newton-John-Travolta duet 'You're the One that I Want' was one of the top singles of all time, selling more than 15 million copies. Throughout her career, Olivia Newton-John won four Grammy Awards, along with a multitude of other awards for her musical and acting career. She had global sales of more than 100 million records. A life of such remarkable achievement, Olivia Newton-John also suffered tremendous tragedy. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, and she dedicated herself to raising awareness and promoting treatments while offering endless love and support to others struck by the same illness. In 2008, Olivia led a group of cancer survivors on a trek of the Great Wall of China, raising more than $2 million for charity. Through her tireless campaigns, she would eventually raise almost $200 million in funds to fight cancer. She opened the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne in 2012. Today, this centre provides cancer patients with the emotional support they need and provides a focus on wellbeing throughout treatment. Olivia Newton-John Battled cancer three times and, ultimately, succumbed to the disease this year, but, through all of these battles, she continued to advocate for others. It is important that we recognise the achievements of Dame Olivia Newton-John in this chamber not as just fun and an important one of Australia's entertainment acts but also one of this nation's great campaigners. In fact, she has been recognised around the world. In 2019, she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, and, in the same year, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2021, the Japanese government awarded her an Order of the Rising Sun, a very rare accolade in Japan for a foreigner. Her musical and acting legacy will, of course, last forever, in school musicals, in Grease, and the frequent re-running of that musical, seemingly every six months, maybe more often on television, the movie in which she starred, a movie that can be quite challenging in terms of how it depicts relationships between teenage women and men in the late 1950s in the United States. But the soundtrack remains supreme. ONJ was, of course, more than Sandy in Grease. She was a talented artist, an amazing campaigner for animal welfare and an advocate for cancer victims around the world, particularly in Australia. The loss of Olivia Newton-John is not just a loss for us as Australian fans but a tremendous loss for her family and friends. It's a loss to the whole world. Vale Dame Olivia Newton-John, AC, DBE. 17:18 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt I rise to speak on this motion of condolence on the death of Dame Olivia Newton-John. It's fitting serendipitously that this motion is being debated just after we've talked about the passing of Judith Durham. In many ways, Olivia Newton-John replaced Judith Durham as one of the great Australian female singers and entertainers of the seventies, just as Judith Durham was of the sixties. As the previous speaker mentioned, I totally agree that she's a lot more than just being Sandy in Grease, but, first and foremost, that is certainly how so many tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people came to know her. One of those curses for any Australian who travels to America is that Americans think there are about 30 to 40 people who live in Australia, so they will often ask the question: 'You are from Australia. Do you know Olivia Newton-John or Paul Hogan?' Well, Paul lives three houses down but Olivia is two streets over in the one suburb on continental Australia. Her passing to me came as quite a shock. I very much regret that a few years ago I missed the opportunity to meet her when she was in this building. A lot of members will remember that she was here and attended question time, doing the great work she was doing to raise awareness in this building, like she raised so much money for cancer treatment. Of course, she succumbed to her long, long battle with cancer, tragically, but the legacy she leaves behind in this country around awareness and resourcing is truly spectacular. She was a very famous Australian but we do not merely remember her as just someone who was a very successful musician and actress, though she was. She chose to use that success to make a really significant difference in our society in Australia and, frankly, around the globe. It is a tragedy that she passed much sooner than any of us would wish, but the legacy she leaves behind is one of many lifetimes of contribution. So with those words I pay tribute and reflect and, of course, mourn the passing of Dame Olivia Newton-John. 17:21 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie I have spoken in this place about listening to my parents' records in my early years. Olivia Newton-John's album was one of the very first that I bought by myself. In 1977 her greatest hits album was released and, at the age of about 14, it was not long before I owned it. I did not realise I was listening to a crossover of country and pop but I loved those songs. I still know most of the lyrics to 'Something better to do' and 'Sam' and 'Have you never been mellow' and 'I honestly love you'. These were the songs of my teenage years and I can picture myself sitting in the sunroom of my Strathfield home singing away, sadly not nearly as tuneful as Olivia herself. And then, of course, a year later Grease was released, an eye-opener solidifying in my teenage brain that Olivia was an absolute hero and star. The thing about the songs of your teenage years are that they return to you at different times and at different points throughout your life. As I would spend hours on the road in the mid-1980s heading between Canberra and Sydney I would rotate through music new and old, and Olivia ended up on a cassette tape, one of those mix tape with my favourites. A three-hour-plus drive provides a lot of time to sing along. So my tribute to Olivia Newton-John is a huge thank you. Thank you for being the soundtrack to heartbreak and joy, to homesickness and adventures. It was not until I came to parliament, though, that I met Olivia in her role as an advocate for better support for cancer sufferers. She used her own experience and her own money to further that cause. She was a compelling campaigner and leaves a huge legacy for this work. From her young days to her later years she was always such a proud Australian, and I loved that she never lost her Aussie accent, even though she was an international star. She loved this country and we loved her. Rest in peace, Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE. 17:24 Ms BELL 282981 Moncrieff Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE was born on 26 September 1948 in Cambridge England to Bryn and Irene. She was the youngest of three children with Hugh, her brother, and Rona, her sister. Olivia was five years old when her family emigrated to Melbourne on the SSStrathaird. Olivia wanted to be a vet but doubted her ability to pass the science exam and turned instead to our other interest, performance. Olivia's first solo album was If Not for You in 1971, and it peaked at No. 14 on the Australian charts and No. 158 on the US Billboard 200—quite an achievement. Her second album, Olivia, in 1972, had more success overseas, with the song 'Let Me Be There' earning her a Grammy for best country female and an Academy of Country Music award for most promising female vocalist. In 1974, Olivia represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Long Live Love'. She placed fourth, after ABBA, who won with 'Waterloo'. Olivia's stardom would only grow, skyrocketing after she appeared alongside John Travolta in the cult classic Grease in 1978. I was 10 years old in 1978, and I'll talk about that influence a little bit later. Her most famous song was 'Physical', selling 10 million copies and earning her another Grammy. As we know, Olivia faced a long battle with cancer, becoming one of Australia's most high-profile campaigners for the advancement of cancer research and treatment following her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1992 at the age of only 44. Cancer would return in 2013 and again in 2017. She was a pioneer in the cancer field and her legacy will continue in the work of world-leading research, treatment and care. Olivia founded the Olivia Newton-John Foundation to fund research into cancer therapies and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre, the ONJ centre, in Melbourne to support people on their journey with cancer. Olivia Newton-John was made a dame in the Queen's New Year Honours list in 2020 in recognition of her services to charity, cancer research and entertainment. She leaves behind her daughter, Chloe, and her husband, John Easterling. In 1978 I was 10 years old, and I vividly remember the impact that Olivia Newton-John—or Livvy, as Australians fondly called her—had on me as a young girl from a low socioeconomic background living in South Australia. To see Olivia Newton-John, with her curly hair and her leather pants, transform from Sandy, the girl next door with her hair in a ponytail, into a superstar up on the big screen was something of an inspiration—not just for me but for young girls across the country and, indeed, across the world, ultimately. Songs like 'Hopelessly Devoted to You', 'Sam' and 'I Honestly Love You' were songs that inspired me during high school to actually become a singer, and I enjoyed a career as a saxophonist, as many in this place know— Mr McCormack 219646 And a good one. Ms BELL 282981 thank you; I'll take that interjection—and, of course, a vocalist. A lot of that was largely due to the inspiration of Olivia Newton-John. She was someone that everybody wanted to be near. She was someone that everybody wanted to be like. The songs that I outlined were those that I diligently learned in my singing lessons every week, making sure that I could belt out Olivia Newton-John's 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' at school concerts—of course, in the music room at lunchtime on the piano. To this day, I still do have in my office at least half-a-dozen Olivia Newton-John songs and a piano, so I invite any of my colleagues to come in and have a bit of karaoke—even you, Member for North Sydney—and sing 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' in my office. But those memories of Olivia—as a superstar, as a singer, as the girl next door, as a role model—remain. She had such a massive impact on me—and on my sister as well, who was older than me at the time, and on our young lives and on what we wanted to do with our lives. Olivia was a fierce advocate for cancer, and I realised a childhood dream when I met her in September 2019 when she came to this place, Parliament House. We were able to meet her in the Dame Dorothy Tangney Alcove and talk with her about her cancer research and about how much money and energy she had put into that for others. She was a kind soul. She was a talented woman. She was a much-loved mother and wife. She will be sadly missed. She was a movie star. She was a singer. But most of all she really was Australia's favourite daughter. Olivia's been part of our lives for as long as I can remember—I was inspired by her as a young girl. She means different things to so many different people around this country but she will always live on in our hearts forever. Vale, Olivia Newton-John. 17:29 Mr GORMAN 74519 Perth On 8 August 2022, Australia and, indeed, the world learned of Olivia Newton-John's passing. While we recognise her great contribution as an Australian artist, she was an Australian artist who had an impact the world over. Born in Cambridge, England, she emigrated to Melbourne as a young child. I learnt when researching this that she went to primary school with Daryl Braithwaite, another Aussie talent. It was in these early years of Aussie education that she was drawn to performing, and so many of us are so fortunate that she was. Her talent took her across Europe with a range of different joint and solo acts. It was in 1978 that she took the role of Sandy in the film adaptation of the musical Grease. That changed her life, and it changed cinema. It was also such a huge moment for Australians, seeing an Australian accent in a big-budget blockbuster film. Grease became the biggest box office hit of 1978. The soundtrack was arguably even bigger. Then, from that film onward, Olivia's image was known across the world. Her musical career then transitioned in the 1980s. Xanadu, the musical fantasy film which draws strong opinions in this place, baptised the decade in that year of 1980. It was one contribution. But it was the breakthrough double-platinum album Physical which really cemented her status as an international pop icon. She managed to get that song banned by two Utah radio stations during the peak of its popularity. Artists have to try a lot harder to have their music banned today. She was a well-known Carlton supporter. Clearly, one of her proudest achievements was to perform at the 1986 VFL grand final between Carlton and Hawthorn. Then her life changed again in 1992, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She would take that in her stride and become known globally as an advocate for people affected by breast cancer. In large part, she drove large investments in breast cancer research. She knew the grief, she knew the illness and she connected so deeply with many Australians who were going through that grief and illness themselves. Again, she touched the lives of so many, but, in particular, she touched the lives of people here in Australia. I just want to share a few of her reflections on some of those iconic moments I mentioned. When talking about the success of Grease she said: 'The young kids are rediscovering it every 10 years or so, it seems.' That definitely has been true over the 44 years during which that film has been out in the public, and I'm sure that, in the future, every 10 years or so, that film will continue to be rediscovered. People will read it in different ways from how it was read when it was first written, but it still is one of those great, iconic musicals with a uniquely Australian flavour. On her illness, she reflected: 'My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new, healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritise my life.' And, again, prioritise her life she did. She chose to be an advocate for people who were experiencing illness. She chose to advocate for recognising that we could do so much more for those who are suffering from breast cancer. She chose to advocate that that doesn't have to be the norm and that, through research and through investment—philanthropic, business and government—we can start to shift the dial on that disease that still, to this day, affects too many. 17:34 Mr McCORMACK 219646 Riverina Back in 1981, when I got my first car, it was a little blue Gemini four-cylinder. My wife, Catherine, often reminds me that, but for her, I'd still be driving it. That's probably true. But I wasn't happy with the Holden Gemini's sound system, so I got an equaliser put in and it used to pump out the tracks. And I had some tracks. I had some cassette tapes in that car. I had Back In Black by Acca Dacca—AC/DC. I had Ol' 55. In fact, I also had the greatest hits of Olivia Newton-John. I can remember singing along with those songs, both in the car and at home with my sisters Denise and Robyn, who just loved Olivia Newton-John. And didn't we all? And why wouldn't we? She was a beautiful, beautiful person. She was born in Britain, but we certainly adopted her. We certainly loved her—as we should. And who will forget Sandy in Grease? What a great movie. What a great musical. Indeed, John Travolta, upon Olivia's death, said: My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John! I can remember when Olivia came to parliament. She was sitting there in question time and I was answering a question. I was being given what for by those opposite—probably the member for McEwen was the loudest. I leaned across to the dispatch box and said, 'Have you never been mellow?' Of course the next day I got criticised in various mainstream papers for, 'Who uses the word mellow?' Olivia Newton-John used that word, and she sang it beautifully. She sang everything beautifully. Vale Olivia Newton-John. 17:36 Mr GEORGANAS DZY Adelaide On 8 August all Australians mourned the very sad passing of Olivia Newton-John, and I'm sure we all continue to miss her. She touched every Australian's life. She was an Australian icon. She died after a long battle with cancer. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 1992. Since then, she'd been a tireless fighter. She not only fought the disease privately, but put her dedication and fame into raising awareness and better cures for cancer. Aside from bringing us endless joy, as we just heard the member for Riverina remind us about, with her music, films, smiles—how can you forget the movie Grease, and some of her songs as well. Olivia Newton-John was a tireless campaigner and a tireless fundraiser, especially in health and cancer research. She also launched the Olivia Newton-John Foundation to advocate for kinder treatments for cancer, including using everything from plant based treatments, research et cetera. She also lent her name to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute based at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. This foundation aims to help people live better with cancer and to defeat it. I had the honour of visiting this research centre in Melbourne a few years ago, when I was chair of the health and ageing committee, through the request of one of their directors that I met here while Olivia was here promoting the cancer research centre. I received an invite and saw firsthand the great work that they do. They work so hard to discover and develop breakthrough cancer therapies, and are treating people here in Australia—and all through Olivia Newton-John's tireless work to get this centre up and running. It provides the best health outcomes for patients. At this institute, researchers work just metres away from where people receive treatment. So you've got the research centre and the hospital where people receive their treatments is right next door, so there is a connect between the researching and the people seeking this treatment. This means that these scientific discoveries are rapidly translated into breakthrough clinical therapies. This was Olivia's vision, to give kinder treatment to people with cancer through research, through ensuring that every facility that may have been required by people that were receiving treatment for cancer was at their fingertips. I remember walking through and it was like a family atmosphere. It was a centre that was set up with kitchens, lounges, libraries—a whole range of things—so when people were there receiving their treatment they felt at home. There was space for family members as well. Speaking to some of those patients that were there, they couldn't speak highly enough of Olivia and the research centre. Olivia Newton-John was a tireless supporter of this foundation and of people living with cancer. She was also an activist for environmental and animal rights causes, so she was an inspiration to so many of us, whether it was through her movies or through the songs that she sang or through her advocacy for cancer research—she inspired all of us. She was known for her energy, kindness and commitment to improving the lives of people living with cancer, and this was a source of light, encouragement and hope to many. When we heard people speak about Olivia Newton-John, the words people used over and over were warm-hearted, enthusiastic, dedicated, committed, full of energy, positive and joyous. In an interview she gave in 2022 she said: I'm healthy, I'm strong … I think it's very important to keep that positive message in your head. You know, if you have a difficult moment, music is always a great healer. I couldn't agree more. I had the honour and pleasure of meeting her, as many people in this place did, when she visited our parliament to promote her cancer research. I spoke to her on both occasions and found her to be very humble and she basically gave you all the time in the world to have a discussion. I remember mentioning to her that we had a mutual friend in Adelaide, another actor, Chantal Contouri, who was very good friends with Olivia, and Olivia asked me to pass on her regards. When I did, no-one could speak highly enough of her. I know that she will continue to bring joy and happiness through her music, through her videos and through her movies. Vale, Olivia Newton-John. STATEMENTS 96 STATEMENTS International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 96 17:41 Ms TINK 300124 North Sydney Last week we observed the United Nations 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign against what is, sadly, the most pervasive human rights violation worldwide. This is a topic that's important to my community of North Sydney and to me personally as a woman, a mother, a sister, a friend and a proud citizen of our nation. Australia is often recognised as an international leader in women's rights. In 1902 we became one of the first countries in the world to grant women the right to vote. In 1924 we elected our first woman to parliament: the iconic Edith Cowan. In the 1970s, under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, we passed a series of legislative reforms to improve women's access to contraception, equal pay, early childhood education and divorce which, ultimately, laid the groundwork for the fairer society we see today. We have fought to promote and defend women's rights on our own shores, as well as advocated for women's rights overseas, through our foreign aid programs, peacekeeping contributions and engagements with bodies like the United Nations. Despite our ambitions and some progress towards equality, the reality is that we still have a long way to go. Statistics show that gender based violence in Australia is widespread. Fifty-three per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment. Take a moment to look around this room or to think about the women that you know. That means that over half of us have been made to feel unsafe or humiliated by unwanted sexual advances and behaviours. This reality is staggering. Disturbingly, the normalcy of this type of behaviour has often made it more difficult than necessary not only for it to be called out but even, at times, for it to be recognised. From my own personal experience, I know the feelings of self-doubt and shame that come when you're faced with harassment or abuse. The immediate question that is all too easily asked is: 'What did I do to deserve this?' And the damage in this mindset or this frame of mind is that it often melts across generations. So it is that mothers pass it on to daughters and mothers pass it on to daughters—thus, abuse has intergenerational consequences. This is compounded by the capacity of people to now harass and bully with impunity via social channels—something that has become far too frequent an occurrence since I took on this role. We know that not all disrespect to women results in violence, but all violence against women—indeed, all violence—starts with disrespect. As a public figure, I've now been subject to gender based bullying and harassment online, as I suspect many of my colleagues have. I believe we'd all be subjected to a similar daily barrage of abuse from cowards hiding behind their keyboards. But even knowing this as I took on this role, some of the messages that I've received during this time have been truly breathtaking, with one of the more recent—and I'll apologise in advance for offence—saying, 'You fucking ugly big nosed slut. And you're a fat cunt. Climate change is bullshit.' Public awareness of sexual violence has grown in recent years, thanks in part to brave women like Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins and Chanel Contos, who have opened up about their experiences and inspired others to do the same. In the words of the indomitable Grace Tame: When we share, we heal, reconnect, and grow, both as individuals and as a united, strengthened collective. History, lived experience, the whole truth, unsanitised, and unedited, is our greatest learning resource. It is what informs social and structural change. It was Brittany Higgins's courage that resulted in the Jenkins review, whose recommendations are now playing out in the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 that passed the Senate last week. A survey conducted as part of that review found that one in three people working in this building had personally experienced sexual harassment at work and that over half of us had experienced at least one incident of bullying, harassment or assault. Those numbers are absolutely unacceptable, particularly when you consider the example we are setting in this house for workplaces around the country. As the highest office holders in the land, federal politicians must be held to the highest standards. We in this chamber must take the lead in putting an end to gender based violence in Australia with our words, thoughts and deeds by working with specialist organisations, states and territories to support and protect vulnerable women; strengthening our justice system, responses and services; and identifying and addressing problematic cultural norms that still stand in the way of true equality. The war against gender based violence has many fronts, and I'm proud to represent a passionate and compassionate electorate that is contributing significantly to positive change. In 2016, a group of North Sydney residents came together to open Mary's House, a dedicated women's shelter for victims of domestic violence. As the shelter puts it: Mary's House is symbolic of the community's commitment to say no to domestic violence, to reduce risk of harm from domestic violence and save lives. Most recently, I met with the organisers of a new grassroots effort to teach hairdressers how to recognise signs of domestic violence and help victims get the support they need. As many of us know, hairdressers not only cut hair but sometimes also fill the role of de facto therapist and confidant for women visiting the salon. This makes hairdressers uniquely well placed to help educate the community about gender based violence and support potential victims of abuse. It's a brilliant idea. The Northside Baptist Church and Crows Nest Centre, who are spearheading this effort, deserve all our thanks. I spent much of my career working with advocacy groups towards a better, fairer, kinder society for all. I've seen the tremendous impact community led initiatives like Mary's House, the Delvena Refuge, Northside's hairdressers education campaign and others like them can make to individuals in our society. Truly, people can do amazing things when we are united behind a common purpose. Today, as we observe the United Nations 16-day campaign, we in North Sydney call on our fellow Australians to unite against gender based violence. Violence against women is a scourge on our civilised society. It's time to push forward to end violence against women and girls, here and everywhere. 17:48 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan Before I begin my speech, I'd like to acknowledge all of my sister survivors-victims out there who are living with or recovering from family and domestic violence, and I want to take time to also pay my respects to all the women and children that we have lost—far too many. A home is supposed to represent a place of warmth, comfort, affection and security, but we know that for many people in Australia their home is a place of violence, a place of cruelty and a place of abuse. Last Friday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and it marked the beginning of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence and Western Australia's 16 days in WA campaign to stop violence against women. I've been incredibly honoured, over the years, as many women from across Australia have confided in me. They have opened up to me and shared their most vulnerable selves with me, discussing their experiences of being a survivor, their experiences of supporting a relative as that relative flees a violent situation or their experiences assisting a survivor as they reassemble the fragments of their life. In every story, I can feel the pain and I can feel the sorrow all too keenly. But I also know that there are many, many, many more stories out there—untold stories belonging to those who are still in danger and who may never make it to safety. For too long, domestic violence has been a taboo topic in our society, but we can no longer deny that it is part of everyday life for millions of individuals. Too often here in this country, we've looked at other societies and we have had a habit of using the status of women as a yardstick of progress—measuring ourselves against those women in Iran or in other societies where perhaps they don't have as many freedoms or as much equality as we have here. But we need to stop doing this because the fact is that domestic violence in Australia is alarmingly common. Given that we are saying goodbye to an average of one woman every 10 days, it's time to stop and think about just what it is within our own society that is perpetuating these high rates of domestic violence. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns only intensified violence, with an increased severity or frequency of violence, because survivors and perpetrators spent more time together and because of the pressures of economic hardship. But I also want to discuss the enormously harmful impacts of domestic violence on all members of the household. It is not the case that children are simply exposed to domestic violence when they reside with families. Rather, they are survivors in their own right. There is rarely a situation in which children and teenagers are exposed to domestic violence without also being substantially affected by this violence. There is enough research out there about the impact of domestic violence on the development of children and young people. Yet children are often treated only as witnesses but not victims of domestic violence in and of themselves. We need a trauma informed approach to healing for both the mother and the children who are escaping family and domestic violence. Indeed, homelessness is one of the most visible effects of domestic violence on young people. A recent report by Mission Australia estimates that around 80 per cent of homelessness among young people is due to domestic violence. Domestic violence, when it occurs between intimate partners carries more victims than just those who are involved. We need to recognise that children in domestic violence situations and young people in domestic violence situations are also victims and are also living with domestic violence. When I think about the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, I think that it's apt that we start talking about these things and that we start talking about the impact on children. Perhaps, controversially I'm also going to say this: I think we should stop talking about domestic violence as being about respect because I can tell you now that my ex-husband—my first husband—respected the women that he worked for. He was perfectly capable of showing respect to the women that served him in the shops and the women that he worked with, and the women that he encountered in his everyday life. It's not about respect; it's about power. It's about time we start calling out domestic violence and the origins of domestic violence and why it occurs and speak about it in those terms. For all of those women out there who are living with the impacts of domestic violence: I hear you, I see you, I know you. I know what it's like to live with that trauma. I know that you carry it around with you no matter how far you've gone and no matter how far you've come in your life. I often describe it as a tiny little broken bone, a crack somewhere in your body, that you carry with you. You don't always feel it, but you always know it's there. That's the impact of the trauma of family and domestic violence, and it's a lifelong trauma. I've had women in their seventies come and talk to me about the violence they suffered 30 or 40 years ago. I've had women teenagers and women in their twenties come and talk to me about the violence they are suffering now. In closing, I'll say that I'm proud to be part of a government that takes domestic violence seriously. I'm proud to be part of a government that has a vision to eradicate violence against women and children in a generation. I'm proud to be part of a government that has recognised intersectionality in our plan to eradicate violence against women in that generation. The fact is, and the statistics are, that women of colour are less likely to be believed when they report violence and are more likely to be victims. I want to put out a message that, if anyone out there listening needs help or support or if they know anyone who does, there are services available, so please reach out. Reach out to 1800RESPECT, Kids Helpline, Crisis Care, the Women's Domestic Violence Helpline and many more. Violence against women needs to stop, and we all have a part to play, every single one of us, men, women and children. But it won't stop if we don't talk about it. So let's use these 16 days of activism to talk about it. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 176304 Before we proceed, I didn't want to raise this to break the rhythm of your address, and I fully respect the context of your remarks, but you did make two unparliamentary remarks. Could I ask the member for North Sydney to assist the House by withdrawing those? Ms Tink 300124 I do withdraw them. I did share them with the intent of being accurate in what was said to me, but I do understand the need to withdraw them. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 176304 Thank you for your assistance. Are there any statements? I call the member for Wentworth. 17:57 Ms SPENDER 286042 Wentworth It is a privilege to speak on this motion today, but I think we would all prefer to live in a world where such motions weren't necessary, a world where violence against women wasn't such a widespread danger. But we don't live in that world, and we won't live in that world until we change our culture. This is a global problem, but violence against women is tragically common in Australia. The Bureau of Statistics has found that one in three Australian women, 15 years or older, has experienced physical violence—one in three—and one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence. We've all heard stories from our friends and our families. We know how prevalent it is. We know that the majority of this violence is the product of men who are known to the victim. I represent the community of Wentworth in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. We are a relatively wealthy electorate, and many people wonder if this is a problem in our community. It is a problem in our community. I have spoken to the commander of the police in our community, who says that 50 per cent of police time in our area is spent on domestic violence. It is everywhere, in every part of this country. I also want to acknowledge the work that some incredible people have done, particularly activists like Grace Tame and Chanel Contos, who is also from my electorate. They have done so much to share their stories and shine a light on a shameful part of our culture and how prevalent these issues are in our community, particularly among younger women. Like so many people in Wentworth, I have read their stories and the stories of others they have shared, and it has broken my heart. It is simply overwhelming, but I deeply admire what they have achieved. They have put a spotlight on something we have ignored for far too long, and they've driven real change. Grace Tame bravely led the way in changing the laws in Tasmania so that survivors could speak out. Chanel Contos led the way in changing the laws in New South Wales to require affirmative consent and to embed consent education in schools. Both are continuing to drive vital changes in our laws. But it's not just changes in our laws we need. We need changes in our culture, our attitudes, our behaviours, our values and the power-imbalance between men and women in this country. We can start with the little things such as the language in our classrooms, our locker rooms and especially in our parliament. It's small but it matters. It matters because small things lead to big things. Children learn from what they see and hear. If they see disrespectful attitudes, they will think that's what is acceptable and that is how they will behave. We also need to improve the education of our children so they understand respect and consent from an early age. We teach young girls to support each other, to be careful and to defend themselves because they have no choice, but let's make sure we're teaching the young boys the attitudes and behaviours that will make them responsible members of the community. With strong, positive role models, I believe this is possible. Everyone should see themselves as role models for young people in their lives. Men who are caregivers, teachers, coaches and others in similar roles have a special responsibility to teach boys how to handle their emotions in a mature, constructive way. This won't solve violence against women today, but it is a really important step. It is also absolutely critical that we acknowledge the impact of the economic imbalance between men and women and the impact that that has in terms of violence against women. We must empower women economically because that is about empowering women in terms of power, and that makes a difference in terms of violence against women. I acknowledge the government for their work on increasing parental leave and I strongly advocate that we make sure that this ensures that men take up a significant care role within their families because it is absolutely critical for men to play that role, but also for women to be, and continue to be, economically empowered. It is absolutely critical. There is so much more that we need to do. The work of Grace Tame, Chanel Contos and many others show us that change is possible and change can be achieved. So much has changed in the last five years because of strong female leadership from across the community, particularly women of all ages who are standing up, and wonderful services like the Bondi Beach Cottage which provides the grassroots services that are so critical for those in need. I'm sure much more will change in the next five years. It has to. 18:02 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I too would like to start by recognising all the victims-survivors. I would also like to acknowledge all of the other speakers from across all the different parties who have risen to speak on this very important issue: the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The Albanese government and, I know, all members of this House—this entire parliament—are absolutely committed to women's safety. The fact is that women's safety is a national priority. This is a commitment I know we all share. We're all committed to ending violence against women and children in one generation. We know that every 10 days one woman dies at the hands of a current or former partner. We know that each week police across the country deal with 5,000 incidents of domestic violence. This is something that I know as a former frontline police officer, having attended hundreds of domestic violence incidents and seen firsthand the tragedy and horror that it brings. Ending violence against women and children is everybody's responsibility and it is, indeed, everybody's business. Last Friday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. These 16 days really are a time for the world to unite and raise awareness, and call for the prevention and elimination of gender based violence. We must all be speaking out. This parliament, our community, family, friends—everyone that we know must be talking about this issue. As the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, I am proud that we, as a government, as a parliament and as a nation are taking action towards ending violence today and every day. In line with this year's theme for the 16 days of activism, 'UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls', I implore everyone to unite and collaborate to make that change. Together, we can all work to achieve that end. It is very important for anyone listening or reading this later on that, if you or someone you know is impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence, you can call 1800RESPECT, which is 1800737732, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Of course, if it's a life-threatening situation, call triple 0. Reach out. Get some support. As I said, for our government, women's safety is an absolute national priority. Recently, we launched the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. The 10-year plan outlines our shared vision to end gender based violence within one generation. The plan is a strong commitment to 10 years of sustained action, effort and partnership across governments and the sector, working towards eliminating all forms of gender based violence. And, of course, we work very closely with all of the states and territories as well. Everyone is on the same page. This plan, this 10-year plan, is underpinned by four very important pillars: prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing. What that means in practice is that we need to stop the violence before it starts. We need to work with those people most at risk of experiencing violence and also with those who may be prone to using violence. We must provide support, most importantly, for the victims-survivors in the short term and the long term. The national plan recognises that trauma informed and person centred approaches are needed to address a lot of the barriers to recovery and healing and to minimise the possibility that victims-survivors will be retraumatised and harmed when using services and systems. They need to be getting the correct support when they need it. The national plan also provides clear indicators to track our success to support and help in reducing the prevalence of violence. To support the implementation of the plan, we have made the vitally important step of appointing the very first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, who has an extensive history in the community sector and is very widely respected. Micaela Cronin has just started in that role, and the commission that she will lead will provide a formal mechanism for consultation with victims-survivors and will work to create a supportive and structured approach to engagement at a national level. It's these voices, the victims-survivors' voices, that will help to inform priority for policy, research and data collection. The fact is victims-survivors have to be at the absolute heart of the solutions. We know that effective solutions can only be achieved and developed with the people that are most impacted by them. The commissioner will also promote coordination across state and territory jurisdictions and the sector more broadly to highlight service gaps and areas of greatest need and to enable a system that works together to provide that holistic support. This, really importantly, includes the development of consistent definitions for improved reporting, data collection and evaluation frameworks. Through all of this, the commissioner will be able to monitor and measure the progress of the national plan. Of course, as well, the Albanese government's recent budget committed $1.7 billion in funding for initiatives to support the implementation of the national plan. Really importantly, we're delivering on our election commitment of just over $169 million over four years for 500 new frontline community-sector workers. These workers will provide support to those experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence right across the country. These new workers will particularly meet service gaps, especially in our rural and regional areas. We know how important it is. Often people in regional areas are very isolated, so we want to make sure that support is there for them. This $1.7 billion package also works to address the structural issues that contribute to violence against women. Some of the things we need to address include housing, women's economic security, access to child care, paid family and domestic violence leave and, of course, respectful relationships and consent education in schools. All of these are vitally important. In addition to our 500-worker commitment, as I said, that we made during the election and are now delivering on, the women's safety budget package gives $100 million for crisis and transitional housing options, because we need to have more options for women and children who are experiencing domestic violence and also for older women who are at risk of homelessness. We need to have that crisis accommodation in place. We also have additional funding for the escaping violence payment program. As part of that package, some of the key priorities that we are addressing include a commitment to an investment in consent and respectful relationships education. We need to have that in our schools so at a young age people become aware about this issue and about the need for respectful relationships. We have our commitment of over $42 million to address sexual harassment at work by implementing the recommendations of the Respect@Work report and a commitment to support the implementation of our landmark paid family and domestic violence leave, which is so important. This 10 days will ensure that no individual should have to choose between having a job and leaving an abusive relationship. We're very proud to be delivering on that as part of our absolute commitment to women's safety. As I and many speakers have said, ending violence against women and children is everybody's responsibility and it is indeed everybody's business. In line with the theme of the 16 days of activism, I implore everyone to keep talking about these issues, to keep raising them. For those who we know are victims, encourage them to get support. We have to all work together to this end. We do. We have this strong commitment to eliminate violence against women and children in one generation. I know that everyone, as I say, from all sides of this parliament shares that commitment to working towards that goal. We have to achieve it when we look at those statistics, when we look at one woman dying every 10 days at the hands of a current or former partner. When we look at police attending the 5,000 incidents per week, we have to have this change. We have all put of these measures in place since we have been elected. This is a national priority for the Albanese Labor government, and I know that our commitment is shared by everyone throughout this House. 18:11 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper I acknowledge the contribution from the member for Richmond and acknowledge her service in the police force previously. I'd like to start by commending the work that has been achieved to date by both the Minister for Social Services and the shadow minister for child protection and prevention of family violence. Thank you for your continued commitment and for the heartfelt statements that have been made by each of you in this place to date. Hearing the similar goals of policies and planning benchmarks provided by each as we work towards eradicating this scourge from Australian society concisely reaffirms the bipartisan approach that is already in place and must continue to drive meaningful change. We, as a collective government, must be decisive, evaluative, reflective and realistic in our goals, and appreciate that truly moving forward requires generational change. As we plan the next year, three years, 10 years, we must judge each step against a longer term commitment: I appreciate that the current government has the same noble intentions as the one that preceded it and a strong desire to move the dial further. A simple fact that I know that we all appreciate is we cannot buy our way out of this endemic. Every dollar we spend in aid of this cause needs to drive societal change and a systematic evolution of how we, as a community, deal not just with violence against women but with all family and domestic violence. Since accepting the role of shadow of assistant minister for the prevention of family violence, I have met with dozens of organisations not only from within my electorate but also broadly across Australia who currently provide services and support for victims of family and domestic violence and, in some cases, for perpetrators. I have listened to and consulted with these organisations who span the pillars of the recent plan, from prevention to early intervention, response and recovery. While I have significant firsthand experience from my years as a police officer and then a prosecutor, there are many challenges and nuances faced by each organisation at each stage of the family violence journey that I now better appreciate. One particularly vivid analogy that I was presented with earlier on and which subsequently resonated with many of these providers was the feeling of being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. As an example, the New South Wales police have attended over 140,000 domestic violence incidents each year for the past three years. This equates to one call to the police every four minutes in my home state. In one particular township within my electorate, I've heard from the providers that domestic violence response contributes up to 50 per cent of their workload. In regional and rural areas as a whole, incidents of domestic violence and subsequent court orders are significantly higher per capita than in their metro counterparts,. To illustrate this, in 2021 there were over 2,300 domestic violence orders granted in the Mid North Coast and Coffs Harbour areas, a rate more than double that of Greater Sydney. When looking at statistics such as these, I'm saddened and equally disgusted. I am also determined to ensure that, as parliamentarians, we are paying enough attention to prevention and early intervention. I absolutely recognise the very real and immediate need to provide response and recovery services and to invest in appropriate housing and support measures for those already in the cycle. I personally worked with local and state governments in my first term to provide a great example of this in Kempsey, where the old ambulance station that was no longer in use is now being repurposed into 26 apartments to be used for crisis accommodation along with 24-hour on-site support and youth facilities. It's overdue and critical infrastructure that I am extremely proud to have played a part in. But I recognise that a lot of funding is back-end loaded and, without adequate resourcing and effective programs for prevention and early intervention, we will perpetually be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, spending infinite time and resources on response rather than providing a pathway or guide rails for respectful relationships and attitudes towards women. I have said before, and continue to say, that I am committed to working with any individual, organisation or party who dedicates themselves to ending violence against women, children and families. We owe it to our communities and we owe it to our future generations. This generational change must start with the saturation of education: education in schools, education at home, education at work—in sporting clubs, businesses and industry—not just for six months, not for a year but year after year until the message is heard and listened to and the language and the actions of respect are the norm rather than the exception. And I look forward to working with my colleagues across the floor. 18:17 Mr BURNS 278522 Macnamara I rise to speak on this important recognition on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. As those who have spoken before me have expressed, domestic and family violence is a national crisis and a national shame. One in four women have experienced family violence and one in five women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Australian police deal with a domestic violence matter every two minutes, with an estimated 657 domestic violence matters, on average, every single day of the year. These are shocking statistics but they are not just numbers. These women are our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, friends, neighbours and colleagues, and they all have the right to be safe and to live free from violence and fear. I recently came across a comment from the CEO of Respect Victoria, Emily Maguire. This is what Emily said: Violence against women is preventable, and it's a challenge that belongs to all of us … An important piece of the puzzle is men supporting each other to break down outdated stereotypes about gender, masculinity, and what it means to be a man. I would like to do my part to end men's violence towards women and children, as a political leader and as a man, and that's why I'm taking up Emily's call to action. To date our public conversation around violence, perhaps understandably, has focussed on a crisis response, and the onus has been on the victim-survivor to leave the violent relationship. And in response to this public conversation we often hear the words 'not all men'. Well I've never met a domestic violence frontline worker or victim-survivor who has claimed that all men are bad and perpetrate violence. That is not what they are advocating for. But all men do have a responsibility to help change the culture that allows this gendered violence to occur. As Tarang Chawla, an advocate whose sister was murdered at the hands of her partner, said: If we have a room of 10 men, and one of them is a potential killer, and the other nine men there are silent, they might as well not be there. We must address this gender inequity together. We must end a culture where women are mistreated and discriminated against based on their gender. I feel this and I am committed to this, not just because I am the father of a daughter but because, quite frankly, it's just the right thing to do. Almost a decade ago under a Labor government the prevention body Our Watch was created. This is the proud legacy of some amazing women, including Julia Gillard, Jenny Macklin, Julie Collins, Kate Ellis and Tanya Plibersek. I recommend you visit Our Watch to find resources for how you can help change the culture and prevent men's violence against women because we all have a responsibility to educate ourselves, to call out poor behaviour, to reflect on our own actions and to listen to the women around us. I would like to conclude by saying that if you or someone you know is experiencing violence you can call 1800RESPECT. For counselling advice and support for men who have anger, relationship or parenting issues you can call the Men's Referral Service on 1300766491. We have set a goal to eliminate violence against women over a generation. That is an ambition I share, and as a man I am pledged to support the strength, the courage and the work of Australian women seeking to achieve this important goal. It's time to end this national shame. 18:22 Ms MILLER-FROST 296272 Boothby Last Friday, 25 November, marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. I would like to thank Minister Rishworth and Assistant Minister Elliot for marking that occasion with statements in the House and commend them on their ongoing work towards eliminating violence against women. In Australia, one woman dies every 10 days at the hands of her former or current partner. One in two women will experience sexual harassment in their lifetime—that means 50 per cent of all adult women you know have experienced, may currently be experiencing or will experience sexual harassment. And every two minutes in this country police deal with a domestic or family violence matter, but let's call them what they are—assaults. While it is true to say the violence against women happens across every community in Australia, across every demographic and every postcode, we know that some women are more likely to experience violence. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 11 times more likely to be killed due to family violence than non-Indigenous women. And women with disability are more than twice as likely to experience domestic or family violence than those without disability. Compounding social disadvantages also play a role in increasing a woman's risk of experiencing violence. But let's be clear: there are no excuses, there are no reasons. Violence is never acceptable. Last month the Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, released the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. Importantly, this government, along with all states and territories, has committed to a shared goal of ending gendered violence within a generation. This is a very ambitious goal, there's no denying it, but it's critical. Women and children have a right to feel safe in our communities, and that's why we're investing a record $1.7 billion towards that goal. Our national plan involves actions that could be structured into four broad domains. Prevention: we will work to change the underlying social drivers of violence by addressing not only the attitudes, but also the systems that give rise to violence against women and children—to stop it before it starts. Early intervention: we will focus our efforts on identifying and supporting individuals who are at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating violence. And, to be clear, we do need to work with perpetrators and those at risk. Response: we will continue to build on, and improve, services and supports to support victims-survivors experiencing violence, such as crisis support and police intervention and a trauma-informed justice system. Recovery and healing: the plan has a focus on reducing the risk of retraumatisation and supporting victims-survivors to be healthy and safe, and to recover from trauma in terms of both the physical and the mental, emotional and economic impacts of violence. The national plan also works in collaboration with our implementation of the recommendations of the Respect@Work report—which passed parliament last week—because women should be safe in the workplace as well. And, of course, there is the 10 days of paid domestic violence leave because a woman shouldn't have to choose between her job and her safety. Boothby is filled with wonderful women's organisations. These groups often do unrecognised work, providing safe places, resources and other supports and awareness raising, for women in our community. I particularly want to acknowledge the Zonta Club of Adelaide Hills. Zonta are participating in the 16 days of activism campaign, which calls for action against one the world's most persistent and insidious human rights violations: violence against women. Zonta in the Adelaide Hills are holding displays in community settings which highlight the importance of stopping violence. They are providing local businesses and offices, including my own electorate office in Glenelg, with posters. Ours is proudly displayed in our office in Boothby. I spent my last three years of high school education at an all-girls school. It's the sort of school that does high school reunions. The 10-year reunion was about careers and marriages and how lucky and happy we all were. The 20-year reunion was about children: every one a gifted student. The 30-year reunion, sadly, was about divorce. Then the true stories came out: the woman whose first marriage lasted three months because her new husband broke her leg; the woman who endured a 25-year marriage of financial and social control, threats and violence, followed by a couple of years of abuse via the legal system; the woman whose ex-husband kept driving past her house, years after their separation, knowing that that was enough to terrify her after decades of conditioning—just knowing that he was somewhere nearby; and the woman who was too frightened to leave, knowing her husband had the financial wherewithal and contacts to take the children and leave her destitute. These were secrets that had been kept for years. There were women and children living in fear and misery; women thinking it was only them having that sort of experience or conditioned to think that it was because of them—that it was their fault; women terrified to leave because they knew it would anger him; and women terrified to stay because it was only getting worse. Sometimes family didn't even know. Sometimes they did know, but they didn't support the woman to leave. Working in the homelessness system and in women's health and safety services, I saw women from all walks of life. Domestic and family violence was very often a part of how they had become homeless, and sometimes it was years after the actual experience of violence, because the trauma that comes from experiencing violence stays with you. The trauma that comes from being psychologically manipulated, being belittled and undermined, being isolated from family and friends and being financially manipulated has lifelong impacts. Homelessness, joblessness, poverty and loss of family are just some of those impacts. No-one deserves violence, and no-one should expect it or have to live with it. This must end. There is no place in our society for violence against women, and that's why I'm proud to stand here today to recognise, on behalf of the people of Boothby, the government's support for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. GRIEVANCE DEBATE 103 GRIEVANCE DEBATE Environment 103 18:29 Mr KATTER HX4 Kennedy I represent four of the six biggest rivers in Australia. The Mitchell River, which is bigger than the Murray-Darling, is one of those rivers. The Murray-Darling feeds 60 million people. Therefore, these four rivers could feed some 600 million people. Two billion people go to bed hungry every night. We celebrate the birth of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ in a few weeks time, and he came down here and told us that we have responsibility to our fellow man. We have a responsibility to other people. He made it pretty specific that 'other people' didn't mean the bloke next door; it meant the bloke over on the other side of the planet, possibly. So you can see the immorality—apart from any other consideration, just the immorality of that. For those who love nature and have a great interest in it—people like me—my wife has planted over a thousand native trees on a block of 10 acres that had two giant gullies and 400 chinee bush and rubber vine—they're terrible introduced species—and a little bit of wire grass, about that high. It was a barren, degraded, degrading block of land. Now it has over a thousand trees. It has buffel grass and Urochloa so dense you can hardly walk through it. Three or four kangaroos have taken up residence. About 23 birds come and go. You can see them from the back porch. We have a responsibility to make nature and the planet better. It is not good enough for us just to stand aside. You know, the greenie element always amazes me. They somehow think that if you leave it alone it'll all be wonderful. Well, that's not how the world works. I'm sorry. Birds fly in from Asia. They bring seeds with them. They drop the seeds. The natural erosive cycle in northern Australia is that we have three or four months of what we call the wet season, and the sky falls on us for four or five weeks of those three months. We don't have rivers; we have a flood plain, and then we have nothing. We have an empty riverbed—an empty flood plain. But when that massive flood occurs, as it does every year, the wet, normally driven by a cyclonic depression, rips and tears and rushes on its journey to the sea, taking massive amounts of topsoil with it. In other words, we have a natural cycle of erosion. God has gifted us this wonderful, beautiful place, and he would hold us responsible, as does the rest of the world. Even if you don't believe in God or hereafters or anything, surely you feel that you have a responsibility to the planet. The great Ernie Bridge was the first First Australian in Australian history to become a cabinet minister. He had his wonderful 'Bridging scheme', similar to the Bradfield scheme in the east coast states. The 'Bridging scheme' was to take a little bit of the water from where we have this massive rainfall in northern Australia. Ernie Bridge had a wonderful quote. He said, 'All we are saying is that our giant rivers, on their rush and roaring and ripping to the sea, pay a small tribute to those people that live along their banks'—and, I might add, a small tribute to improving our natural wonderland. That requires dams and weirs. I'm most certainly not a fan of Cubbie Station, I can assure you, but, if you go there, they get 10,000 hectares of water and there are kangaroos and birdlife everywhere. If you put water in a barren wilderness, you create a wonderland of nature. I must comment as I go past on this that we are now having increasingly angry confrontations with developers—sharks and spivs—that are up there selling windmills. Well, windmills are a wonderful thing at a place like Hughenden with fantastic wind and no nature to disrupt, but you do not put a chain of windmills right alongside some of the last remnant jungle on earth, and yet that is what is happening. So here's me attending greenie meetings, objecting. To quote the professor that gave the leading address at the first demonstration against the windmills, he said, 'What is actually happening here is that our beautiful nature wonderland is being turned into an industrial wasteland,' and that's a good call. With a few thousand million dollars, we can give you something like $30 billion a year in revenue. And that's not a figure plucked out of the air. Sixty per cent of Australia's agriculture comes from one river, just from one river—the Murray-Darling river. It brings in $60 billion a year! Well, I've got six times that amount of water in just four rivers in the Kennedy electorate, and there's not a single farm anywhere in sight. Yes, there is—there are five farms producing about $2 million, I suppose, or maybe $3 million a year. The rivers are fenced off. The stock are not allowed near them because they're alive with crocodiles, so they're not even used for that purpose. If animals go there, because of what we humans have done, there is now a proliferation of crocodiles. They weren't there before. They are there now. That is the fault of humans—that's just one example—because we're talking about nature here. If you start fooling around with nature, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. Now, the dingoes, the goannas and, most of all, the human beings hit the crocodile eggs. I have seen First Australians raid the crocodile egg nests. We human beings came in: 'Oh, we know everything about everything. Oh, we're going to protect the crocodiles.' Well, we did. Now what has happened is you've knocked nature completely out of balance. You removed the three natural predators, and the crocodile numbers are now exploding. All the natural predators were removed by us foolish humans interfering. See, you don't want to interfere. Let me return to the possibilities. There is barrenness, erosion and 20 million hectares of invasive, prickly acacia trees—20 million hectares of beautiful natural wonderland that has been destroyed by just one invasive species. We can replace that with a beautiful nature wonderland, and that's what we're asking for here—that and a great wealth for our people and the feeding of a couple of billion people on the planet that go to bed hungry every night. Cunningham Electorate: Community Services 104 18:38 Ms BYRNES 299145 Cunningham I rise tonight to talk about some of the fantastic local organisations from my electorate and the work that they do to support our community. The Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra, known to most of us in the Illawarra as the MCCI, is a non-profit charity that supports people from diverse backgrounds in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, as well as the ACT and surrounding regions. With nearly 200 staff and volunteers speaking over 40 languages, the MCCI delivers a range of services including aged-care services, youth development programs, stakeholder engagement, and community volunteering and training services. Popular services include a weekly multicultural social football, a beach water safety and awareness program and a weekly women led cooking circle. SCARF, a local organisation that recently merged with the MCCI, offers programs to help refugees start a new life in Australia by navigating the practical and personal challenges of settlement while building a sense of belonging. SCARF utilises friendship based support, with their programs delivered by more than 150 local volunteers who create a special dynamic of help that is offered between friends and neighbours rather than between a caseworker and a client. It delivers tailored training workshops to help build an understanding of the refugee experience and equip participants with a broad range of cultural skills. One of the popular programs provided is a driving mentor program, which addresses barriers such as not having access to a car, a licensed driver or important information about licensing and road rules. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending the Accelerate HER networking event at the Wollongong Youth Centre as a mentor. Accelerate HER is a little bit like career speed dating. Young women from CALD backgrounds meet with mentors from various different backgrounds and industries. While I was there, I met two amazing women, Justine and Grace. Accelerate HER supports young women from multicultural, refugee or similar backgrounds in realising their aspirations by connecting them with industry professionals. The program enables the development of networks and pathways into their chosen professions and helps empower their future ambitions. Lead the Way is a new youth leadership initiative in the Illawarra region that will help develop the next generation of social cohesion community champions. Lead the Way seeks to inspire and empower young women to exercise practical leadership, taking action for themselves, their families and their communities. Lead the Way is a collaboration between the Illawarra Women's Health Centre, the University of Wollongong, the Duke of Edinburgh program and the MCCI. The program combines elements from leadership and personal development and wellbeing initiatives to help young women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds build social cohesion, community resilience, youth wellbeing, and strengthen their identities. Lead the Way supports young women to make successful life transitions, pursue their dreams, form new support networks and be active members of the community. The program follows a strengths based and youth led approach that is trauma informed and culturally sensitive. With help from the community, it promotes personal development, furthers participants' education and skills, improves physical and emotional wellbeing and creates community engagement activities. To do this, the program is designed to build on the inherent strengths of the participants, their identities and their life experiences as migrants and former refugees. By using structured activities, they prepare young people to have the confidence and practical skills they need to exercise leadership and agency. The program also helps build community connections and create strategies to help prevent the emergence of racism and violence and to help young people respond to these threats when it's needed. Justine was one of the wonderful women I met during the program. She moved to Australia from the Philippines at just eight years old and now considers Australia her second home. She said: 'I was raised in an environment that only had enough, but my childhood was a happy one. It was this environment that shaped who I am today, and I am proud to be able to call myself a Filipino.' She also said: 'After hearing about all the new and interesting places we will be able to go, I became very eager and excited to join the Lead the Way program. The women running the program are very friendly and welcoming. The program makes it possible for me to talk to people who really understand and support me. Having their own real-life experiences, we can relate to each other's struggles. I am excited to work towards my Duke of Edinburgh Award, which will help me in my future careers and teach me independence and consistency.' She went on to tell me that the program makes it possible for her to talk to people who both understand and support her because of their similar shared life experiences and struggles. She explained to me, and I quote: 'The Lead the Way program has taught me many team building and leadership skills and has pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I have been able to build my confidence, meet new people who are supportive and successful, and I have been able to gain new experiences going to many different supportive communities.' When she was asked how she would describe these programs to other multicultural young women, she said that it was a wonderful opportunity to connect with people who have gone through similar difficulties and experiences. The programs have made it possible to explore new activities and pathways that she would not have been able to experience otherwise. It was those environments that eliminated the fear of trying something new by building a support network and by encouraging her to put herself out there. In the end, the experiences were a good way for her to make friends and just have fun. Grace is a Congolese woman who also takes part in the Lead the Way program. Grace grew up in Kenya and moved to Australia five years ago. Since arriving in Australia, she has been an active participant in the Lead the Way program and she also attended the AccelerateHER networking event. Grace discovered the program through her school and found it to be an excellent way to interact with individuals from all cultures, bringing them together and helping them understand one another. Additionally, it was an excellent curriculum with a variety of talents to give. Grace ascribed great value to the program for helping her learn leadership and communication skills, as well as assisting her in her preparation for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. It also provided several opportunities to engage in other activities, including volunteer work and supporting her education about various aspects of other cultures. When asked if she would also recommend the program to other young women, she said that she wants to advise them to participate in the program if they ever get the chance because it offers a lot of chances and a variety of talents that they might not otherwise have. Additionally, it's a good day to spend with your friends doing other things outside of school while not attending class. I am in awe of the amazing work of so many people in our community. From the services provided by organisations such as MCCI and SCARF to the AccelerateHER and Lead the Way programs, there is so much on offer to help build a stronger community in our region. One of the many great strengths of my region is its long history of migration, multiculturalism and diversity. Over the years we have seen many new migrant communities call the Illawarra home, and I love being able to represent a diverse electorate that is teeming with such a rich cultural history. My mum immigrated to the Illawarra herself after leaving Holland when she was in primary school without any English language skills. She would go on to meet my dad and start a family in Woonona. But I am so proud that organisations such as the MCCI and SCARF are at the forefront of ensuring that all of those who choose to call Australia home are welcomed and supported. Every day you can see the impact that these services have on our community in bringing us all together. I know the values that these organisations hold around equal opportunity and inclusivity are not just the core of my beliefs and those are my community but this new Labor government. Setting the standard for how Australian should treat each other and how we should welcome new communities must start from the top, and it is so great to have a government that leads with respect back on our side of the chamber. I know that I have barely scratched the surface of the incredible number of programs available in my community. Thank you to everyone who supports our community and thank you for making me so proud to call the Illawarra home. I would also like to thank Francesca Lambert, a work experience student from the Australian National University, who spent last week helping out in my parliamentary office and helped to put this speech together. It is fantastic to see more young women taking such an interest in politics and it was an absolute delight to have her as part of our team. Another quick mention tonight goes to Louis and Elizabeth at the George Cross Falcons Club at Cringila in the member for Whitlam's electorate. The state member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, and I attended the club on Saturday night, where we saw an amazing show by Elvis impersonator Paul Fenech. This show provided so much joy to the Maltese community in the Illawarra. The electricity in the air was palpable. They all had a fabulous time at this event. I just wanted to thank Louis and Elizabeth and their team of volunteers who worked so hard to provide services and support for our Maltese community. I thank them so much for their time and effort. Queensland Government, Queensland: Native Title 106 18:48 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie Today I rise to add my theory of disgrace and disappointment at the decimation of koala habitat at Ray Frawley Fields, Elizabeth Avenue at Clontarf. The eucalypt trees were cleared for the pedestrian overpass across Elizabeth Avenue. Since the Queensland government has cleared these trees we have already had one koala die and another one displaced. On Wednesday 30 March, some eight months ago, I attended a meeting with the state member for Redcliffe and Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads representatives and residents Phil and Susan Johnson, also local environmentalists, and also a representative from Clontarf state high. During that meeting on 30 March, I asked Transport and Main Roads for one other road safety project where state and federal funding could be spent—just one. Road safety is very important. You would think that, in a seat the size of mine, which is three times the size of a state seat—or anywhere in Moreton Bay—the Queensland government would have a road safety project other than this pedestrian overpass, which the community doesn't want. Do you know what the answer was? No. Nothing. There was not one road safety project that could be done in 18 months. This shows that the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey, has no ability to forward plan, which we have also seen in Griffin, where 100 or so homes are being resumed to make way for Bruce Highway upgrades that were also unplanned. The story there, of course—and you'd know this, Mr Deputy Speaker Young, in Narangba in your own electorate as well—is that homeowners in Griffin were building brand-new homes, and the day they got the keys they were getting a resumption notice. Minister Mark Bailey has clearly failed there. He's clearly failed with saving these eucalypt trees in Clontarf as well. During that meeting, state MP Yvette D'Ath, local residents and I left where we were originally meeting at the old fire station on Oxley Avenue and went down to Ray Frawley Fields and looked at where the overpass would go. We worked out that, if this project must go ahead because they had nothing else, at least half of the eucalypt trees could be saved. That was a commitment by the state MP. But what has happened is that the lot have been bulldozed. There's one left in the middle, just sticking out. Everything else is gone. Clearly, state MP Yvette D'Ath took this information on board and she said it could be done. The Transport and Main Roads representatives said it could be done. So you can imagine my surprise when I returned home from the sitting week last week to find that pretty well all the trees at Ray Frawley Fields have been knocked down and removed. The reality is that this overpass does not have the support of the community, who are concerned about koala habitat and tree removals. There are a couple of Facebook pages that have been set up: Stop Clontarf Overpass Action Group, as well as Pristine Peninsula. Sue Johnson said: 'We feel deceived. I am angry that, despite being declared endangered, the law is not protecting our koalas from having their homes and breeding corridors destroyed—and, in this particular case, for the sake of a pedestrian overpass for which funding was rushed through without any supporting data and ignoring community requests for alternative safety upgrades.' At the time, I said to the state MP and TMR representatives, 'Why not build it at Hercules Road? There have been a lot of people contacting me about that school.' But they said they couldn't do that, nor could they do one other road safety project. So it went ahead. The trees were supposed to be preserved. They were all knocked down as well. There has been a failure by the state government here—by the minister but also by the state MP. Les Barkla, another resident, has sent me questions for the state government, which I forwarded to the state opposition. He said that Department of Transport and Main Roads officers advised the state and federal MPs and the community at that site meeting that some trees would be retained. Exactly, Les. He also said: 'DES also stated in a letter of 13 June 2022 to a local resident that the position of the overpass had been selected to retain as many of the local street trees as possible.' Well, guess what? The lot got knocked down. Les says that DTMR plan graphics show trees on site post completion. That's in the drawings. His question to Minister Scanlon in the Palaszczuk government was: why were these trees removed and why wasn't temporary fauna exclusion fencing installed to protect local endangered koalas? I'll write to them, Les, but it really is a failure of the state Labor MP Yvette D'Ath to do her job properly. I'm sorry, but there's no other way to describe it. Her electorate is a third the size of ours, being federal MPs. It's a simple thing: if you say you're going to save a few trees, save a few trees; don't have your state department bulldoze the lot. We had the death of a koala that was squashed on the road the day after the trees were bulldozed, and another one was displaced, so I can understand why residents are upset. I would like to bring to your attention the current issues around active native title applications that cover the Moreton Bay region in our area and Noosa and Sunshine Coast. The area that I represent in the Moreton Bay region is Gubbi Gubbi land. Since the Native Title Act was passed in 1993, there have been 14 native title applications submitted within the Moreton Bay Regional Council area. The most recent application was filed in 2018. Queensland South Native Title Services, known as QSNTS, is a government funded organisation that is providing legal representation to native title applicants. The current claim that QSNTS are representing on Gubbi Gubbi country has many flaws. This has been pointed out to me by Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo—a group that you would be familiar with, Deputy Speaker Young, as the member for Longman—who are Gubbi Gubbi traditional owners and a not-for-profit organisation that do a great job teaching Aboriginal language and Indigenous language in schools. They have been active members of our community for many years and their members have brought this concern around native title claims to my attention. The current claim in Moreton Bay before the Federal Court has seven applicants. It is unknown how these seven people were selected from a large group of descendants. Members of Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo Group have told me that they don't represent all traditional owners of the area but note that the seven applicants for the latest native title claim were not chosen through a formal election process, which is usually standard practice. QSNTS appear to be cutting corners to increase their chances of increasing their quota of native title claims that get passed in the Federal Court. Members of the Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo Group have said the seven applicants represent only themselves and their children. They do not represent all the traditional owners in the area and, therefore, should not be making decisions on behalf of others. They seem to care more about making money than upholding the original purpose of native title which is hunting, fishing and camping on country. Three of the applicants are known to live in Cherbourg, which is on Wakka Wakka country, so they are trying to make decisions for country they don't live on. Another tactic to generate money from native title claims is to obtain compensation payments off small pockets of freehold, unallocated state owned land. For anyone who inquires to the Queensland government or council to purchase freehold land, they are referred to contact the registered native title applicants to negotiate a price for the sale, because the land is subject to a native title claim. The sale price is essentially compensation money that will go to the native title applicants post sale if they surrender their native title rights to the area of land. It is ironic that, when there is money involved, all of a sudden these native title applicants come out of the woodwork and claim compensation over the smallest pockets of land. According to Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo, this is nothing more than a cash grab by some in the Indigenous community under the guise of native title and land rights. For example, this scenario is happening in Scarborough on the Redcliffe Peninsula, for three lots of land each of only 143 square metres in total. The way it works is that you can have freehold land that you want to buy from the council or the state government—a very small piece, just a couple of square metres—and they say, 'No, go and talk to these people because there's a native title claim over it,' They say, 'That'll be 50 grand'—tens of thousands of dollars for a small lot of land. This is unacceptable. The Moreton Bay region is a major urban landscape with high density of houses, commercial buildings and roads. It is the reality that the current state of the area and native title activities to fish, hunt and camp on Gubbi Gubbi country are limited due to urbanisation. Therefore, native title in this area is plain exploitation, according to the Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo Group, and I am calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the native title system. Mitochondrial Donations, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Middle East 108 18:59 Mr ZAPPIA HWB Makin In April this year, parliament passed the Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve's Law) Act 2022, otherwise referred to as Maeve's law. The passage of that legislation gave hope to families faced with debilitating and even life-threatening disease, through the advancement of mitochondrial donations. That hope drew on similar legislation passed in the UK in 2015, which allowed for the study and testing of mitochondrial donation under strictly regulated conditions. Similar research was proposed here in Australia, where we have some outstanding medical research centres. In speaking to the legislation during the parliamentary debate, I referred to concerns that had been raised by the Robinson Research Institute in Adelaide about the procedure. I also noted that, since 2015, the UK research had provided no update on the effectiveness of mitochondrial donation. Last month three Australian medical researchers—Paul Komesaroff, Ian Kerridge and Robert Norman—had a paper on mitochondrial donation published in InternalMedicine Journal No. 52, explaining the possible risks and highlighting the need for more research. I quote from their paper: It is universally recognised that the stakes are very high: If the technology were to turn out to be unsafe, profoundly harmful consequences could result, such as the transmission of the very conditions that were sought to be averted, the creation of new, previously unknown diseases and the introduction of novel forms of mitochondrial dysfunction with effects impossible to predict. Moreover, such adverse outcomes would not only affect the individual produced, but would likely also be transmitted to succeeding generations. Obviously, under such circumstances, the implications for this entire field of research could be disastrous. I haven't read the full article, but, based on those comments, it is clear that much more research is required. I draw this matter to the attention of the Minister for Health and Aged Care so that parliament can in fact deliver on the hope that Maeve's law provided to those families looking for a breakthrough in responding to mitochondrial disease by funding the research that is needed. Without that research, we cannot put Maeve's law into effect and we cannot provide that light at the end of the tunnel for all of those families that were so much hoping that this would be a path forward for them. The other matter that I will refer to is that today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The 29th of November has been marked as such for a long time. It was first established by a UN resolution in 1977. The day draws attention to the struggles for recognition of the Palestinian people and the creation of a separate Palestinian state. Despite 139 countries now recognising the state of Palestine, after decades of negotiations and conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian issue remains unresolved. Eight million Palestinian people continue to live in Israel-occupied territory and refugee camps in neighbouring Arab states. Simultaneously, the Palestinian people face everyday struggles for survival, the loss of land, human rights violations and oppression. In September this year the UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese—of all names!—released the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. In the report, there is clear evidence that the struggles of the Palestinian people continue. Paragraph 6 says: Since 1967, the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has been steadily deteriorating, primarily as a result of gross violations of international law, including racial segregation and subjugation by the occupying Power, Israel. This has taken various forms: draconian restrictions on Palestinian movement inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territory; repression of political and civic participation; denial of residency rights, status and family unification; dispossession of Palestinian land and property; forcible transfers; unlawful killings; widespread arbitrary arrests and detention, including of children; the obstruction and denial of humanitarian aid and cooperation; the denial of ownership and access to natural resources; settler violence; and violent suppression of popular resistance against the occupation. All together, these practices constitute collective punishment of the Palestinian people. As I said, the full report contains a lot more information with respect to the special rapporteur's findings, which were then presented to the UN. But the reality is that all of those matters, I believe, are well known and have been known for years and years. The reality is also that the Palestinian people continue to struggle, despite a promise or a belief in their mind, some 75 years ago, that they would be provided with statehood. Whilst Israel has been able to achieve that, the Palestinian people still have not. So today, on the day that is marked as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I again bring this matter to the House's attention. I note that today in this house there was a meeting of people that have an interest in this issue, and I don't believe I have come to this house and attended what I'll call a briefing session on this matter with as many people as were there today. It's clear that world opinion and even opinion here in Australia is shifting towards the acceptance of Palestine as a people that deserve to have their own statehood. It is something that I believe should be allowed to happen sooner rather than later. In a similar vein, the people of Kurdistan face very, very similar situations. They, too, do not have a state of their own. They have their lands, but their lands are surrounded by Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Armenia. They don't have statehood. As a result of not having statehood, they also do not have a voice in the UN. They do not have a voice on the world stage in so many different places. At the same time, their people are also being subjected to all sorts of hostility from surrounding countries. Their incarceration rates are much higher than in other places. Along with those incarceration rates, many death sentences are handed down. The constant attack on their lands is not only resulting in them losing their lands but also resulting in the loss of hundreds and hundreds of lives. The Kurdish people have also come to this parliament and sought to at least have a friendship group established from within parliament so that they, through that friendship group, would have a voice to this parliament and beyond. Without that, like the Palestinian people, they are also being left out there in a position where they have real issues ahead of them, they are confronted with discrimination and oppression every single day of their lives, and they have no forum and no voice through which they can raise those issues. So I say today, as we reflect on the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, people around the world deserve to have the same opportunities that we have in Australia, and if we can assist that happening in any way, we should be doing that. Vocational Education and Training 109 19:08 Mr GOODENOUGH 74046 Moore In contributing to this grievance debate, I rise to inform the parliament of the urgent need for federal funding to improve and expand vocational education and training opportunities in my electorate. At a time when our economy is facing a shortage of skilled labour, substantial investment is required to train our youth to become productive members of the workforce. Strong population growth is occurring in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth, so it is imperative to develop new training facilities close to residential areas. Engaging with young people and providing the right opportunities and pathways to enter technologically advanced industries will benefit the local economy. The College of Electrical Training in Joondalup is an award-winning industry training centre operated by the National Electrical and Communications Association. The college is in its early stages of planning a new innovation centre. This state-of-the-art facility will provide courses of study in the new technologies relevant to apprentices of the future, including advanced batteries, hydrogen cells, robotics and automation. The innovation centre will be based in the Joondalup innovation and learning precinct, which is already home to the emerging cybersecurity industry in WA. It is encouraging that industry recognises the need to address acute trade shortages now, which will soon be critical as we move towards a renewable energy future. Additional federal funding is required to provide local vocational education and training facilities based in Joondalup for our residents which will help develop the highly skilled workforce of the future. I look forward to working with the City of Joondalup and the Joondalup Business Association to secure the much-needed investment in training facilities for our regional city. I wish to acknowledge the contributions of NECA CEO, Carl Copeland, and Steve Hall as they and their team push the boundaries to meet the needs of their industry. They have briefed me about the proposal to develop an innovation centre to provide a pathway for high school students to enter the industry. Funding is required to assist in the construction of the centre. Whilst NECA has purchased the site, an additional $15 million is required to complete the project. The proposed innovation centre will not only provide an introduction to a career in the industry, but also allow a transition from middle school to pre-apprenticeship in school pathways. These pathways lead to electrical trades and are expected to provide employment to approximately 160 school leavers each year. With industry training spaces for the post-trade market, these are the types of projects which will bring real world experience to the post-secondary school training environment. For many years, the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects has been highly regarded by parents as being the key to their children's future careers. Despite this, commencements of the trades have not kept up with the demands of industry. While trades have been the traditional pathway for the less academically inclined, the requisite knowledge and skills required for trades have increased. With a focus on new energy apprenticeships, the electrical and associated trades now demand a clearer path from years 7 to 12. Decisions made in middle school can impact greatly on a school leaver's readiness for STEM careers. Apprentice completion rates clearly show that ill-prepared or uninformed decisions before an apprenticeship commences will have a detrimental impact on completion. Many school graduates are exiting the school systems with minimal, if any, experience using hand tools, applied engineering or mathematics. While becoming steadily more demanding from a STEM perspective, the trade profession is still one of early starts, physical activity and greater dangers. The school education system is not adequately providing the career pathway options available to students in STEM streams. Experienced centres such as Scitech in Perth are used to ignite the mind and passion for STEM in the middle school student. The government has acknowledged the significant demand for workers, as outlined in its Powering Australia proposal, due to the current skills shortage. From rewiring the grid to solar banks and community batteries, every one of these initiatives require highly skilled and trained electricians. A new energy skills program to ensure training pathways are fit for purpose should lead to 10,000 new energy apprentices. The government needs to plan for the future by investing in the training facilities required to develop a highly skilled workforce required by emerging industries. For instance, the green hydrogen industry is expected to provide sustainable employment for more than 30 million people worldwide by 2050. Green hydrogen requires electrical workers across every step of the process. Add to this BESS, BEV and PHEV battery technologies, and the demand for electrical workers will only increase. Australian Industry Standards, the skills organisation responsible for the electrotechnology package, notes that the workforce size will grow by over 24,000 by 2026, with the renewable energy sector to employ over 44,000 people by 2025, many of these in regional Australia. This growth in the workforce starts with school leavers, to ensure we have a sustainable future. I wish to place on the parliamentary record my strong support for $15 million in federal funding to enable the College of Electrical Training to construct the new innovation centre on its site in Joondalup. I have previously informed this House about the need to attract more technologically advanced industries to the city of Joondalup. These new businesses will be able to collaborate with institutions within the Joondalup Learning Precinct and innovation hub, thus providing more opportunities to work locally for our highly skilled workforce. The Joondalup innovation and learning precinct is already home to Edith Cowan University, the North Metropolitan College of TAFE, the College of Electrical Training, the Cyber Security Training Centre and the Western Australia Police Academy. Investment in the new NECA College of Electrical Training innovation centre will add to the world-class vocational training and educational precinct by focusing on higher education opportunities already available and expanding collaboration, advocacy and resource sharing. I call upon the Albanese government to favourably consider the proposal by the College of Electrical Training and NECA to develop an innovation centre in Joondalup and provide the necessary $15 million in federal funding for its construction. Investing in training facilities today will develop the skilled workforce of the future, adding to the productive capacity of our economy. The youth of the northern suburbs of Perth and in my electorate of Moore, will benefit significantly from access to educational opportunities close to home. Health and Aged Care 110 19:17 Ms THWAITES 282212 Jagajaga In May the government asked Australians to give us the opportunity to deliver a better future for all of them, and Australians were clear, when they voted our party in, that they were looking to our government to fix a number of outstanding challenges that communities like mine are facing. I am very clear that some of the biggest challenges that my community and, I think, communities around the country are facing are in our health system, where we look at the impact of Medicare having been underinvested in and having been undermined for almost a decade. Another challenge is our aged-care system, where for too long the care of older Australians just has not been what it should be. Older Australians should absolutely have dignity in their lives, and for too long that has not been the experience of people in the aged-care system. I've certainly heard from so many people in my community about their concerns about what's happening in aged care. People have come to me and said that they weren't sure whether, if they didn't go in every day, their loved one would be fed. I've had people come to me and say how unsure they were about whether their loved one in aged care was getting the appropriate medical care—the GP only came once a week, there wasn't a nurse there and it was unclear what sort of support was being offered. Of course, having a loved one in aged care is difficult enough without having these extra worries on your mind. So our government has absolutely made fixing aged care a priority of the work we are doing, because we know that all Australians should have confidence that, in their old age, they will be able to live with dignity. That is a fundamental right for them. So we're determined to reverse the neglect of the previous government, and we're committed to putting security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care. Aged care will remain a top priority for our government. I am particularly proud to be part of a government that's committed to putting nurses back into the aged-care system. As I said, it is a concern a number of constituents have brought to me that they're just not sure what medical care is there. They come in in the morning and ask, 'Well, why wasn't this addressed overnight?' The reality was that there was just no one there to address it. So having qualified nurses in our aged-care homes 24/7 is going to be a game changer. It's not easy. Of course it will take us some time to get there and to make sure that this reform is put in place in a way that is sustainable and implementable. But I am absolutely confident that we are doing the work we need to do to make sure that older Australians in aged care are getting that standard of care that they should. The Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022, which passed parliament in October, as well as having that requirement to have a registered nurse on site from 1 July 2023, means that those people will get that immediate clinical attention when they need it, leading to fewer unnecessary trips to hospital. Again, hospitals in my area are very much overstretched at the moment, so the more we can provide this care in nursing homes and aged-care homes, before people need to go to hospital, the better it will be for all of us. Of course, the new Australian National Aged Care Classification funding model started from 1 October this year, and this new model will provide more funding for residents in residential care, with an uplift of nearly 13 per cent more funding than the previous model, as well as more equitable care funding to providers that better matches the needs of residents and the levels of care they receive. This means that carers will have more time to care for older Australians—an average of 35 additional minutes per day compared to current levels. One of the things I hear constantly in my community is that people are very much concerned that, while they respect the aged-care workers who are working so hard to provide care to their loved ones, they just don't have the time. So this will help with that problem. Of course, we're also working to get aged-care workers the pay rise that they so richly deserve and need. Outside of aged care, our government is also aware of the cost-of-living pressures facing older Australians. Earlier this month, we increased the threshold for the Commonwealth seniors health card. This is one way we are supporting older Australians. The annual income thresholds will increase to $90,000 to singles, up from the current level of $50,761, and $144,000 for couples, up from the current limit of $92,416. This delivers on an election commitment we took to older Australians, ensuring that more people—and I know people in my community are pleased about this—will qualify for the Commonwealth seniors health card, and that will make a real difference. Alongside this, I am very proud that our government is making medicines cheaper from the start of 2023. People in my community will absolutely benefit from that at this time when, again, we know the cost-of-living pressures are a real thing. To have that safety net in place and to know that your medicines will be cheaper will be a big thing for people in my community, particularly for older people in my community, who I know have been struggling with the cost of medicines. One of the biggest issues that my constituents are bringing to me at the moment is an issue around GPs in the community. Certainly in the past few months I have had a number of people come to me and say: 'The last bulk-billing doctor in the area just shut down. There's nowhere we can go anymore to get bulk-billing services'. This is of real concern, obviously. Our system is built on Medicare being there for people when they need it and on access to a GP being affordable. It's a problem that our government inherited, because the previous government neglected Medicare. They failed to do the work they should have done to make sure that this absolute plank of our health system, the bit that's holding it all together, was as strong as it should be. We're now in this situation where, in communities like mine, people are starting to wonder: 'Will I be able to get in to see a GP? If I do get in to see the GP, will I be able to afford to see the GP?' This is not the health system that our country wants or deserves, so I am very pleased that the health minister recognises the seriousness of this situation and that our government is doing everything it can to start working on this problem that we've inherited from a decade of neglect and a decade of a government that just didn't value Medicare and hasn't done the work to make sure our GPs are set up in our communities. So we've started on the important work with the appointment of our Strengthening Medicare Taskforce, which is a group of experts and other representatives who will be looking at these issues around improving patient access to GPs, access to nursing and allied health services, affordability issues and the management of complex cases. This is really critical to our health system locally and across the country. We're investing $750 million to implement the highest-priority reforms that are recommended by the task force. We really do want people to see improvements in our health system as soon as those recommendations can be made and implemented. Of course, in my local community, I am very pleased that we have a commitment to have a Medicare urgent care clinic established. I know that our local hospital, the Austin Hospital, does wonderful work but they, like hospitals around this country, are overstretched. When I talk to them and talk to the nurses who work there, they just keep raising with me that their emergency department is just absolutely always at a level of busyness they've never seen before. And they know that, if we are able to take some of the pressure off those EDs—by getting our GP system functioning so that people know they can go to a GP, including this Medicare clinic that we will establish, for some of those issues that they're currently going to emergency departments for—that will absolutely make a difference to those people. I really want to highlight how critical this issue of fixing our health system is to my community and to communities around the country. I know that GPs are such an important part of our health system, and our government knows this and that is why our government is investing in Medicare. We are doing everything we can to work out what's gone wrong over the past decade, to look at the impacts of the previous government freezing the Medicare rebate for six years, ripping billions from health care and, of course, seeing gap fees skyrocket. That is not the country we should live in. Health care in this country must be affordable and it must be accessible for all. Making sure that we have a strong Medicare system and strong local GPs is a big part of that. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 249710 There being no further grievances, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:27