2022-12-15 2 1 0 House of Reps 0 1

Thursday, 15 December 2022

The SPEAKER ( Hon. Milton Dick ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.

STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 1 STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER Arnold, Constable Matthew, Dare, Mr Alan, McCrow, Constable Rachel 1 09:01 The SPEAKER 53517 In light of the recent tragedy in Queensland I wish to make a statement at the first opportunity in the meeting of this House. On Monday, two police officers reported for duty and they never came home. Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our community safe. They served with honour and bravery. To the neighbour Alan Dare, who also tragically lost his life: you'll be remembered as a hero. To the families and friends of the victims and the police community as a whole: this House is grieving with you. We are indebted to our police officers and emergency service personnel who, every day, go to work, risking their lives to serve and protect our communities. I understand it is the wish of the House, following the bill debate today, to have a condolence motion, moved by the Prime Minister with the Leader of the Opposition, reflecting on this tragic event. There will be an opportunity of course for all members to contribute to this motion. As a mark of respect to the memory of Constable Matthew Arnold, Constable Rachel McCrow and Alan Dare, I ask all members present to rise in their places. Honourable members having stood in their places— The SPEAKER 53517 I thank the House. AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS 1 AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS Reports Nos. 8 to 9 of 2022-23 1 09:02 The SPEAKER 53517 I present the following Auditor-General's Audit reports for 2023: No. 8 of 2022-23 entitled Audits of the financial statements of Australian government entities for the period ended 30 June 2022 and No. 9 of 2022-23 entitled Management of cyber security supply chain risks: Australian Federal Police, Australian Taxation Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Documents made parliamentary papers. BILLS 2 BILLS Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2022-2023, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2022-2023, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2022-2023, Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Amendment Bill 2022, Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2022, Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2022, Income Tax Amendment (Labour Mobility Program) Bill 2022, Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 3) Bill 2022, Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022, Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2022, Maritime Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022, Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Special Operations and Special Investigations) Bill 2022, High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022, Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2022, Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022, Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022, Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022, Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022, Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022, National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022, National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022 2

Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2022-2023

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2022-2023

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2022-2023

Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Amendment Bill 2022

Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2022

Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2022

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2022

Income Tax Amendment (Labour Mobility Program) Bill 2022

Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 3) Bill 2022

Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022

Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2022

Maritime Legislation Amendment Bill 2022

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

Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Special Operations and Special Investigations) Bill 2022

High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022

Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2022

Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022

Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022

Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022

Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022

Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022

National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022

National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022

Assent 2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Rearrangement 2 09:03 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the arrangement of business for this sitting being as follows: (1) a Minister presenting the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022; (2) following the Minister's second reading speech, debate continuing immediately; (3) the time limits for the second reading debate being 10 minutes for the Minister and first Opposition speaker, and five minutes each for all other Members; (4) the bill proceeding through all stages without interruption; (5) the second reading debate concluding no later than 11.15 am, and questions being immediately put on any amendments moved to the motion for the second reading and on the second reading of the bill and any message from the Governor-General under standing order 147 being announced; (6) if required, a consideration in detail stage of the bill, with all government amendments to be moved together, all opposition amendments to be moved together, and any crossbench Members' amendments to be moved as one set per Member, with: (a) one question to be put on all government amendments; (b) one question to be put on all opposition amendments; (c) separate questions to be put on any sets of amendments moved by crossbench Members; and (d) one question to be put that the bill [as amended] be agreed to; (7) any question provided for under paragraph (6) being put after no more than 10 minutes of debate on each set of amendments, unless a Minister sets a further period of debate; (8) at 12 noon, any remaining questions required to conclude consideration in detail being put with no further debate; (9) when the bill has been agreed to, the question being put immediately on the third reading of the bill; (10) following the third reading of the bill, a Minister moving leave of absence for all Members; (11) following resolution of the leave of absence motion, a condolence motion being moved and debated on the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare; (12) at 1.30 pm, or when no further Members rise to speak, if earlier, provided that a message from the Senate has not been received in relation to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, the House suspending until the ringing of the bells; (13) the condolence motion on the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare, standing referred to the Federation Chamber; (14) when received if the House is sitting, or upon resumption of the sitting after a suspension, any message from the Senate relating to the bill being considered, and no further business being considered, after which the House immediately adjourning until 10 am on Monday, 6 February 2023; (15) the only business to be conducted during this sitting being as provided in this motion; (16) standing orders 31 and 33 being suspended for this sitting; and (17) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister. This motion will provide for the arrangement of business in the House for today's sitting. There will only be two items of business for today: the first, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, which the Treasurer will introduce immediately after the passing of this motion, if it passes; the second, as the Speaker has foreshadowed, a condolence motion relating to the brutal murders on Monday of Queensland police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare. The proposed motion allows for debate on the energy price relief plan bill until midday today, which is the latest we can pass the bill in order for it to be before the Senate when the Senate begins sitting at 1 pm, as it is scheduled to do. I want to thank members of the House who have engaged so constructively with the government in relation to both the substantive legislation we are here to debate but also the procedural arrangements that are contained in this motion to facilitate passage of the bill and provide the Australian community with the price relief that it so desperately needs. The arrangements in relation to the bill will be as follows. The Treasurer will introduce the bill. The second reading debate will continue immediately after the introduction of the bill. The Treasurer and the first opposition speaker will be given 10 minutes to speak. All other speakers will be given five minutes, to allow for as many speakers as we can get through in the allotted time. If the second reading debate hasn't concluded by 11.15 am, all remaining questions to complete the second reading will then be put. If the second reading is agreed to, we will move immediately to consideration in detail, with amendments being moved and dealt with as follows: one block for the government, one block for the opposition and one block per crossbench member. The question will be put on each block of amendments after 10 minutes of debate on each block, and, if consideration in detail has not concluded by 12 midday, all remaining questions to complete the passage of the bill will be put. As I've indicated, we will then move to a motion moved by the Prime Minister relating to the deaths of the young Queensland police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, as well as Mr Alan Dare. It's anticipated that that motion will be followed by the Leader of the Opposition, and other members will then be able to give statements to that motion until 1.30 pm, at which time the motion will be referred to the Federation Chamber for further statements when we come back next year. When that motion has been dealt with at 1.30 pm, the House will then suspend until the ringing of the bells. The House will remain suspended while the Senate considers the energy price relief plan bill. If there are no Senate amendments to the bill, the House will resume after completion of the Senate debate and then immediately adjourn. If the senate does amend the bill, the House will resume to consider any Senate amendments to the bill and, after that, will then adjourn without debate. We don't undertake this process lightly. It's not done lightly. It's done against the backdrop of the most serious global energy crisis the world has seen at least since the mid-1970s, an energy crisis driven by a brutal invasion by Russia of Ukraine, and an energy crisis that is playing out in every single economy on the face of the planet. We might, over the course of today or this motion, argue the political toss, but I think every single member in this House knows how hard this crisis is hitting our nation, hitting Australian households, hitting Australian manufacturers and hitting other Australian businesses. We have the clearest advice that, if the parliament does not act now, prices will climb even higher and households and businesses will suffer even more. As members know full well, this parliament is convening to action a plan that was negotiated with state and territory governments exhaustively over many weeks and agreed last week at the National Cabinet meeting on Friday. It was agreed by all National Cabinet members, Liberal and Labor alike, as important and urgent, involving complementary action, particularly by the Queensland and New South Wales governments, one Labor and one Liberal, both containing the black-coal generators in the National Electricity Market, including action by the New South Wales parliament. It's a plan that the energy agencies have been involved in intimately and have advised all of us is needed urgently, particularly because the default market offer is in its final stages of preparation. The Australian community now rightly expects us to do our job and to deliver the plan that was agreed at National Cabinet. The Manager of Opposition Business has put about a slightly different view over recent days. He says he wants a committee not to deliver the plan; he wants a committee to muse on this, to consider it further and maybe to return to it in February when, as we know, the default market offer will already be locked and loaded. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, at least on this side of the House, given the former government failed to land a single energy plan from 22 different attempts. That will not be our approach. This plan has been worked through exhaustively, agreed by all state and territory governments, Labor and Liberal alike, and now it needs to be implemented. We cannot let the nation continue to be held hostage to the coalition's internal divisions on energy policy, which have paralysed the energy transition for a decade. Recalling parliament and dealing with a bill in a single day is not usual. We understand that. The Prime Minister and his National Cabinet colleagues have stressed that this extraordinary global energy crisis requires extraordinary, determined and urgent action. But, as those opposite know, this procedure might be unusual, but it is far from unique. Last parliament, 19 different bills were introduced and passed through both houses of parliament in a single day. A number of them, admittedly, were related to the COVID response, and we supported that. But those opposite will remember that one of them dealt with that hoary old chestnut, a favourite of the coalition, the Australian Building and Construction Commission. It was introduced and passed through both houses of parliament in a single day. In the parliament before that, four bills were dealt with—introduced and passed through both houses of parliament—in a single day, as the Prime Minister reminds me, one of them dealing with strawberry contamination. But, interestingly, one of those bills, in 2019, was also about energy assistance. That was a bill to introduce one-off payments to help concession card holders and pensioners with energy prices. That was not to deal with a once-in-a-generation global energy crisis, mind you; instead, it was to get something through in time for the member for Cook to call a general election—always playing politics, always dealing with these things for partisan advantage instead of the national interest. Australia needs this bill passed urgently. The Australian community expects the parliament to do its job and to implement the Australian government's side of the bargain struck at National Cabinet last week. This motion will ensure that we do just that. 09:12 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield I move, as an amendment to the motion moved by the minister: That all words in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (11), (15) and (17) be omitted and the following be inserted: (1) new paragraph (1A) as follows: "that as the first priority for the House there be a condolence motion in relation to the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare"; (2) at the start of paragraph (1) as follows: "as its second item of business,"; (3) new paragraph (3) as follows: "that the question on the second reading of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 not be put until such time as every other Member wishing to speak on the question has spoken for up to 15 minutes as provided for under standing order 1"; (4) new paragraph (4) as follows: "that any question put during the consideration in detail stage of the bill not be put until such time as every other Member wishing to speak on an amendment has spoken for up to five minutes as provided for under standing order 1"; (5) new paragraph (5) as follows: "that Question Time be conducted from 2 pm to 3.30 pm or until such time as 22 questions have been asked and answered, whichever is first"; and (6) new paragraph (6) as follows: "that after Question Time or when no further Members rise to speak, if earlier, provided that a message from the Senate has not been received in relation to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, the House suspending until the ringing of the bells". The opposition is moving this amendment for very important reasons. The first element of this amendment is that, as its first priority, this House should be dealing with a condolence motion on the deaths of Queensland police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare—that we ought to spend our time on that as our first priority, reflecting the priorities of the Australian people, before we then turn to the other matters that the government has brought before the House. There is no other word for it; the government's approach to this bill has been absolutely appalling. It is seeking to treat this parliament as a mere rubber stamp for the executive government. Let's be clear just how bad this process has been. This government came to power with a promise to reduce energy prices by $275. For more than six months it did nothing to give effect to that promise; indeed, in its own budget it said that electricity prices would go in the opposite direction and increase by 56 per cent, and gas would go up by 44 per cent. This government did nothing during parliament's scheduled sitting period, which concluded on 1 December, more than six months after it came to government. It sat on its hands for six months. Nothing for six months, and now all of a sudden this is urgent. All of a sudden we had the Prime Minister announcing that parliament would be reconvened to consider this bill. He said that it was urgent, but of course the details of the bill were not provided. The bill was not provided until 8.45 pm last night. We know from the Prime Minister's own announcement that the details of reductions or rebates in relation to consumer electricity bills will not be finalised until National Cabinet meets in March next year. And, of course, we've got the other element, involving empowering the minister to make a code, and of course this raises very significant issues to be considered by every member of this House of Representatives. Every one of the 151 members of this House of Representatives is required to turn their mind to this issue. What process has the government followed to allow members of this House to turn our minds to this issue? The bill was provided to the opposition at 8.45 pm last night. This is an absolutely appalling process. No time to weigh up the complex issues, no time to seek feedback from affected stakeholders, no time to get advice from independent experts. Let's just remind ourselves what the normal process is in this House. The normal process is that a bill is introduced by a minister, and then there is at least a week allowed before the bill goes to a second reading debate. Very often, on an issue like this, there would be a parliamentary committee inquiry by either a Senate committee or a joint committee. All of that is a very good reason. It is to allow time for issues to be examined and considered, and for affected stakeholders and citizens to put their view. That is the way that a parliament in a liberal democracy should work. This is not the Russian Duma. This is not a rubber stamp on executive government, but that is how it is being treated by this government. Of course, they are also proposing incredibly short time periods. Our amendments to this suspension of standing orders would at least allow for normal times for the second reading debate and for consideration in detail, as compared to it being dramatically compressed and guillotined in the appalling process that this government has now that this government has now proposed. This takes the House of Representatives to a new level as a rubber stamp on the actions of the executive government. There are very serious issues that the parliament needs to consider here on the merits of the bill before it. What is the nature of this unprecedented intervention in a market? What will be the implications for perceptions of sovereign risk for those wishing to invest in Australia? What will be the implications for future investment in the resources sector and across the broader economy? What will be the implications for the supply of gas, and whether these measures will in fact reduce supply and do the exact opposite to what the government is claiming it is aiming to achieve? These are important questions, and the way the government is asking the parliament to consider these is to produce a bill at 8.45 pm last night— Ms Catherine King 00AMR You got a draft on Friday! The SPEAKER 53517 The minister for infrastructure will cease interjecting. Mr FLETCHER L6B and ask this House to vote on it by midday today. That is an appalling process. The SPEAKER 53517 The minister for infrastructure will be warned if she continues interjecting. Mr FLETCHER L6B The answers to these questions are not yet known, and that is why this parliament has a well-accepted method for dealing with complex issues. Of course it can be done in a rapid fashion, but what this government is proposing is absolutely ludicrous. We might all remember when the Prime Minister and the current Leader of the House, when in opposition, used to talk about how important the role of parliament is. This is what the Leader of the House said in 2019: 'There is a process that happens with legislation that, I have to say, does matter.' It does matter that members have the opportunity to read legislation, a very sound point which this government is now completely ignoring. What did the Prime Minister say in March in Tasmania? He said: In terms of legislation that comes before the Parliament, quite often, it's just aimed at dividing people and being tricky . And I call it 'wedgislation' rather than putting the national interest first. … I want proper processes. I want to consult people. That is what this Prime Minister said in March of this year before he was elected. He is doing the exact opposite with the appalling, atrocious and ill-considered process that this government is using to deal with this bill. That is why we have put this set of amendments to the motion to suspend standing orders that has been moved by the acting Leader of the House. The set of amendments that we have moved would allow for a proper second reading debate, a proper consideration in detail. It is still a process that is very far from adequate but it would at least make some improvements on what is an atrocious and cavalier way to ask this parliament to deal with matters of great complexity; matters that go to confidence by investors; matters that go to whether, in fact, this bill will work to achieve its outcome, its objective, and there are very real reasons to doubt that it will do that; it will in fact have the opposite effect. These are the kinds of matters that the parliament should be considering. The process being carried out here is atrocious; it is the precise opposite of the rhetoric that we heard from the Prime Minister and the Labor Party prior to the election, and that is why we have moved amendments to the motion to suspend standing orders in the form that we have. The SPEAKER 53517 Is the motion seconded? 09:22 Mr HOGAN 218019 Page I rise to second the motion for these very important amendments. This is the most hypocritical, deceitful government we have seen in this country in decades. Pre-election, as the Manager of Opposition Business just said, the then opposition were going to have a new parliament. It was going to be more transparent, it was going to be more democratic, processes were going to be followed properly, and how hypocritical has that been? The first thing this government did when they came into this chamber as the government was change the standing orders to basically gag debate. That was one of the first pieces of legislation that they changed, to gag debates with a new standing order, which they have used on multiple occasions. The other thing that the government have done at great expense is today. Look at the process today. This is exceptionally important legislation. These are fundamental changes to the way certain parts of our economy and the energy market operate. As the Manager of Opposition Business said, no-one saw this legislation until eight o'clock last night. There is confusion even within the government ranks about how this legislation is going to work, and we come in today at great expense and we are going to get gagged after two hours. This is not a proper process. I say this especially to the crossbenchers and I say this especially to the Teals, who say that they were voted into this chamber to for more transparent and better parliamentary processes in this chamber: I can tell you right now, if you support what is before the parliament today and do not support these amendments, you are not about more transparency. You are not about better processes. You are not about second reading processes. You are about gagging debate and that is what you will be supporting if you don't support our amendments. The questions about the legislation are profound. The deal done with the Greens, no-one understands. How is that going to work? Worse than that, even worse than this government gagging the debate in this chamber, is they have been deceitful to the Australian public about what they were going to legislate. Look at the IR legislation—very important legislation. Did they ever mention that before the election? No, they never spoke to the Australian people, to Australian businesses and to Australian workers about the legislation that they were going to introduce into this chamber as one of the first things they did. Now, of course they didn't do that; they were paying back their union masters on that as well. Again, that wasn't about transparency. There was no transparency to the Australian people about that process. There was no transparency about what their agenda was on that as well. To go back to the legislation we're talking about today, the legislation the government is looking to pass today needs a larger debate and a longer debate than a couple of hours. We have a lot of history in this country—I'm old enough to remember how well the interest rate caps worked in the Australian financial markets back in the 1980s, when that failed the capital markets. How well did the wool floor price work back in the eighties when they were trying to put a cap on the price of wool? That failed as well. There is great debate that needs to happen on this legislation. There is potential for market failure because of this. This will have great ramifications for investment into the energy markets in Australia, especially the gas and coal markets. This potentially has great ramifications for the prices of Australians' energy bills as well. And the best the government can give this chamber is two hours to debate it. It's a shame on the process of the parliament. I finish by making an appeal to the crossbenchers and the teals. As I said earlier, you came into this chamber promising greater transparency, better process and to give this chamber more chance to debate and have a say on legislation. If you support this bill today and do not support our amendment, you are hypocritical to the reasons that you got voted into this chamber and are basically just kowtowing to those opposite. I stand strongly to support the amendment as put by the Manager of Opposition Business. 09:27 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I want to very briefly speak to the crossbench in relation to what I think is a very important element of this particular amendment, and that is that, given the tragedy that we have seen in Queensland and given the precedence of what has taken place here in this parliament over a long time, I believe that the most important element of business before the House today is to conduct a condolence motion now. There is no attempt to delay the bill; I'm happy to give every commitment that the time lines will be met. But the precedence of this House and the way in which this House has conducted its affairs in the past—and I conveyed this to the Prime Minister yesterday—is that this House should deal with the most important matter before the House, and that is to recognise the tragic circumstances in Queensland. This is not a delaying tactic; we give that undertaking. I would ask the teals to consider that element of the amendment, which I put to them most sincerely. I think, out of respect to the circumstances and to the loss of life there, this House—as a matter of precedence, and given the way in which this House has conducted its affairs for a long time—should deal with that element of business as a priority before other business comes on. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the amendment to the motion be disagreed to.    

The House divided. [09:32]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 81 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chandler-Mather, M. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. 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. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Murphy, P. J. 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. Scrymgour, M. R. Shorten, W. R. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 45 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chaney, K. E. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hastie, A. W. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McKenzie, Z. A. 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) Scamps, S. A. Spender, A. M. 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. Willcox, A. J. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 09:36 The SPEAKER 53517 The question now is that the motion be agreed to.    

The House divided. [09:36]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 81 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chandler-Mather, M. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. 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. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Murphy, P. J. 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. Scrymgour, M. R. Shorten, W. R. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 45 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chaney, K. E. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hastie, A. W. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McKenzie, Z. A. 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) Scamps, S. A. Spender, A. M. 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. Willcox, A. J. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 BILLS 9 BILLS Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 9

Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022

First Reading 9 Second Reading 9 09:39 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill and this government recognises that Australian households and businesses are confronting unsustainable, unacceptable energy price rises. We respond today with urgent, targeted, meaningful action—to take some of the sting out of these price rises, and to provide direct energy bill relief. And in doing so, we reject the fib that a functional and fair gas market must also mean the hollowing out of our manufacturing industries, or the destruction of jobs, or the sacrifice of living standards. It cannot mean that. We will not let it mean that. The government respects the important role that the gas industry plays in our economy—and the role it's playing in our transition to net zero. We support a strong industry that delivers returns on investment and an economic dividend to the Australian people—because it is an Australian resource. Gas companies have the right to make a profit, and we want them to. They have a job to do, and we have a job to do as well. It's our job to find a reasonable and balanced, commonsense solution to these extraordinary events. To defend our national economic interests. And to protect the welfare of the Australian people. Australians are paying a hefty price for more than nine months of Russian aggression in Ukraine. And nearly nine preceding years of energy policy chaos here at home. The costs are very clear. Electricity prices are rising by 20 per cent this year—something the previous government knew about but kept hidden from the people. Without intervention, next financial year retail gas prices are expected to increase by a further 20 per cent, and electricity prices by a further 36 per cent. That's why urgent action is needed—including through this legislation. And when we vote today, every member of this place will make a choice. To help Australians with rising energy bills—or to make it even harder for them. To save Australian jobs—or to surrender them. To support Australian manufacturing—or send it to the wall. Today, in this place, the opposition will be voting for higher energy prices and for no assistance for households and small businesses. The Albanese government has made a different choice. We choose to protect households and small businesses. We choose to defend our local industries. And we choose to save local jobs. That's why we must pass this bill, and pass it today. The bill contains two schedules. One directly addresses gas prices. The other provides direct assistance to struggling households and small businesses. Schedule 1 amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to create an enabling framework for two new instruments—to be implemented through regulation. The first will enable the Treasurer to make an emergency order for a 12-month price cap on new contract sales of gas by producers, sourced from developed fields in the east coast wholesale market. This is designed to provide short-term relief from the current energy crisis. The legislation contains a sunset clause so that the power to make these orders ends 12 months after the commencement of any order made—or, if no order is made, 12 months after the commencement of the bill. Through this instrument, the government intends to implement a temporary price cap of $12 per gigajoule. The ACCC has identified this price based on the costs of production and a reasonable return on capital. And it is still a high domestic price by historical standards. In 2021, the ACCC found that there were 289 domestic offers made by producers and retailers. With 96 per cent of offers below $12 per gigajoule, and the average price $9.20 per gigajoule. The bill also includes measures to detect, deter and address any noncompliance with the price cap. For transactions that fall under the scope of the emergency price order, prices above the cap will be subject to enforcement action. The price cap will be reviewed in mid-2023, to ensure it is having the intended effect and to consider whether adjustments are needed. The second instrument allows for a mandatory gas market code to be prescribed to address systemic issues in the market. The purpose is to ensure that a fair and transparent process applies in the negotiation of gas contracts. A code can prescribe matters including negotiations between suppliers and buyers, as well as addressing and resolving disputes. Through this instrument, the government will introduce a mandatory code of conduct for the wholesale gas market—as we said we would. The code will be an enhanced version of the existing voluntary code, based on the advice of the ACCC. This includes strengthening requirements for transparency and reporting, pricing, negotiation timeframes, and dispute resolution. The code will include a longer-term reasonable pricing provision, again on the advice of the ACCC. And this is based on the clear expectation that the price of Australian gas for Australian customers should have a connection to the cost of producing it, allowing for a reasonable return on capital, rather than being solely subject to the war-time whims of the international market. For the first 12 months of the code, while the emergency temporary price cap is in place, the reasonable pricing provision will only apply to gas outside the scope of the price cap: gas contracted for delivery later than 2023, or from currently undeveloped fields. After this, the reasonable pricing provision will apply more broadly to the types of contracts previously covered by the cap. It will remain in place until the ACCC advises the government that domestic gas prices better reflect the cost of production, and that there is adequate supply at these prices. Importantly, the code will include a dispute resolution framework, including binding arbitration. The government will consult on the mandatory code in the coming months ahead of its commencement in early 2023, including on the most appropriate way to define reasonable pricing. Schedule 2 amends the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 to introduce a new type of payment to the states and territories, in order to provide temporary and targeted relief on energy bills for eligible households and small businesses. The bill provides for an appropriation of $1.5 billion to be paid to the states and territories for this purpose. The states and territories will jointly fund the bill relief, and they will administer the payments through the new funding agreement. The relief will be applied to energy bills, rather than as direct cash payments to households. It's written in black and white—this legislation will take some of the pressure off power bills. The measures in this bill are crucial components of the government's broader Energy Price Relief Plan—which also includes action to limit coal prices, and investments in cleaner, cheaper, more reliable, increasingly renewable energy for the future. This is a plan agreed by National Cabinet—endorsed by every Premier and Chief Minister, from both sides of politics, and we thank them genuinely for their cooperation. They, like us, know that action is needed now. Our collective measures to address gas and coal prices are estimated to reduce the impact of forecast electricity prices next financial year by 13 percentage points and reduce expected inflation in 2023-24 by around an estimated half a percentage point. And our direct assistance will provide hundreds of dollars of energy bill relief in addition to these measures. And that's what this choice—this coming vote—really comes down to. Higher power prices or lower power prices? Relief on energy bills, or no relief for energy bills? Protecting Australian industry and jobs, or leaving Australian industries and jobs swinging in the breeze? On this side of the House we believe that Australian households and small businesses deserve this support. We believe that Australian manufacturing deserves a future. And that's what this legislation is all about—support for them, certainty, security for families and pensioners, for small businesses and for big manufacturers. This bill is in the national interest—for all Australians. And that's why we commend it to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier, the debate will continue. The question is that this bill be now read a second time. 09:49 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson We're here today because, at the last election, on 97 occasions, the Prime Minister looked the Australian public in the eye and said that he would reduce power prices by $275. There was no asterisk. There was no fine print. There was no qualification. It was a clear and fundamental commitment and promise made to the Australian public. Mr Speaker, it wasn't made just as a throwaway comment or on a whim; it was made deliberately to mislead the Australian people. That's the reality. The problem is that the Prime Minister, since the election, has not mentioned that figure on one occasion—not on one occasion. Australians who voted for this Prime Minister at the last election did so believing that he was going to honour his word. They did so because they knew the pressures that existed in their own household budgets. They knew the pressure on all of the elements to their small business budget. They thought that they could believe and trust this Prime Minister. As it turns out, the government now have had six months since the election in May to outline their plan, in the budget in October and in the six weeks since the budget. There is no plan. Let's be very clear about it: the government have no plan. There is no plan that has been worked on over the course of the period since they won the election. And they need to be honest with the Australian people. They've thrown around this figure of $230, a new figure that they've created. They've walked away from that within only a matter of days, because the modelling hasn't been done. As it turns out, what they're actually promising, what they're saying to you—and this is quite cute, when you analyse what the government are proposing here—is that your bills will go up but not by quite as much. So there's no promise that bills will go down by $275 or, indeed, by $230. The government predicted in their October budget that your electricity prices would go up by 56 per cent and your gas prices would go up by 44 per cent. As it turns out, they're going to deliver that and more. And it's not as a result of what's happened, tragically, in Ukraine. The Prime Minister made the promise to reduce power prices by $275 on 27 occasions after Russia went into Ukraine. The opposition at the time, the now government, were fully aware of the prevailing conditions. They can't say they were blindsided by the war in Ukraine and the broader turmoil in Europe. They can't say that they weren't aware of the predictions around energy and economic policy in broader Europe, North America and Asia. The Prime Minister knew exactly what he was saying but he had no intention of delivering on it. What he was after was your vote. What happened was that he got your vote and now he has left you and your family behind. That, Mr Speaker, is something that people can reconcile and they can deal with over the course of the next 2½ years. But what's happening now is that the government have flown every kite over the course of the last couple of weeks. They've spoken about increasing taxes, a super profits tax, weighing into the markets and imposing other draconian measures. They quickly cobbled this together because they had a deadline of last Friday, when the premiers and chief ministers were coming together. They had to thrust something before the chief ministers and premiers. They were essentially putting this plane together on the runway. There was no forethought and consideration that could give us any faith in the model they were proposing. The Prime Minister said, as has been pointed out in this debate already, that he wanted a new approach to this parliament. In fact, he was very clear in his own language on 25 March this year, when he said: In terms of legislation that comes before the Parliament, quite often, it's just aimed at dividing people and being tricky. And I call it 'wedgislation' rather than putting the national interest first … I want proper processes. I want to consult people. Well, we received, and the crossbenchers received, the bill that's before the House today at 8.45 last night, 12 hours before this debate. They still can't tell us who will be targeted in the $1.5 billion package. They can't tell us the definition of small business. They can't tell us whether the money will be inflationary, so that people will end up paying more in their interest rates as a result of putting this money into the economy. They can't provide any modelling, because the modelling hasn't yet been done. How does the Prime Minister reconcile his statement on 25 March and his conduct this very day in the parliament? The fact is that it can't be reconciled, and the Australian public understand that the reckless approach of this Prime Minister is at odds with his statements and the commitments that he made to the Australian public only this year. He should be marked down for it. I have been in this parliament for a few years. It's obvious I wasn't here during the Whitlam period in the 1970s. I was only born in 1970. I might look much older, but I wasn't here during the Whitlam period. But I have read a lot about the Whitlam period—the uncertainty, the dysfunction, the difficult approach to legislation, the lack of consultation and the intervention in markets—and we know how that ended. But I was here during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. That is seared in my memory, and it is seared in the memory of many Australians. I can tell you that what we're seeing play out here smacks of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years of dysfunction. It was difficult to take the title of the worst minister during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. This was a contested space. I have to say that this was a contested space. It was a contested space because there was a great deal of dysfunction not just from Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, not just from the then Deputy Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, but from many ministers. None were worse, Mr Speaker, than this man over here, the member for McMahon, the shadow energy minister. He presided over Fuel Watch and Grocery Watch. He was the shadow Assistant Treasurer. Mr Speaker, he is taking this government and our country down a dead end. Mr Speaker, that's the— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 Leader of the Opposition, I am just going to interrupt you. You continue to call me 'Mr Speaker', and I've given it a long rein. You need to use my correct title, and you need to use correct titles when referring to other members of this place. Mr DUTTON 00AKI That is a very valid point, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am sorry that I haven't addressed you with the correct title. Madam Deputy Speaker, the reality is that he took the title as the worst minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. It's a badge of honour, too—I understand that—because he has completely zero self-awareness. The fact is, Mr Speaker, that there is a broader issue taking place here. An intervention into the markets has already seen companies withdraw effort. If we restrict supply of gas into the market then we're going to see prices increase. That's what this government is sowing the seeds of. They don't realise it yet. They are excited about their win. They have the support of the Greens. When the Labor Party and the Greens come together on economic policy, you know that trouble is on the horizon, Mr Speaker. You know that power prices under this government will continue to go up and up. You know, Mr Speaker, that the uncertainty that they are creating in the marketplace will mean a reduction in investment. You know that, Mr Speaker. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 I am not 'Mr Speaker'. Mr DUTTON 00AKI We want to firm up those renewables and we don't want the lights to go out. Mr Speaker, we don't want there to be a lack of stability. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 Leader of the Opposition, please refer to me— Mr DUTTON 00AKI Madam Deputy Speaker, we don't want there to be a lack of energy in the system that drives manufacturers offshore. We don't want that. But I can tell you that this government is taking our country down that path. If you switch off the old system before the new system is ready, you are going to have a situation as was experienced in California, Germany and elsewhere long before the Ukraine war was a reality. We have to recognise that this is a half-baked policy by the government. I move the amendment standing in my name in relation to this bill: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "the House declines to give the bill a second reading and: (1) notes the Prime Minister’s failure to deliver on his promise to reduce electricity prices by $275; (2) notes that Prime Minister has instead delivered the most expensive average wholesale electricity prices on record, with electricity prices set to rise by more than 63 per cent and gas prices to rise by 40 per cent over the next two years; (3) notes that after six months of doing nothing to bring down power prices and provide cost of living relief, the Government is attempting to rush through legislation without any consultation; (4) notes the Government continues to ignore expert advice that this bill will destroy investment confidence in Australia’s energy sector, leading to higher prices, job losses and blackouts; (5) criticises the Prime Minister and the Government for putting the energy security and economic prosperity of Australia at risk; and (6) criticises the Prime Minister and the Government for the contempt that they have shown the Australian Parliament during this legislative process". (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 Is the amendment seconded? Mr Fletcher L6B I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak. 09:59 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I want to thank members and senators for returning to parliament today to vote on our plan for energy price relief for Australian industry and business, for Australian manufacturing, for Australian jobs and for Australian families. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 is important and it is urgent, because after a wasted decade of denial and delay; after a wasted decade of neglecting the national energy grid and attacking renewables; after a wasted decade that cost Australian jobs, robbed us of investment, damaged our international reputation and left us vulnerable to global shocks, there is not a day to waste when it comes to securing more affordable and reliable energy for Australia. Last Friday at the National Cabinet, every premier and chief minister signed up to the four key measures in this relief plan, including the New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet, and Premier Rockliff of Tasmania. I thank all of the premiers for their support. The four key measures are: (1) a temporary cap on the price of uncontracted gas at $12 per gigajoule for 12 months; (2) a 12-month price ceiling on domestic coal of $125 per tonne in New South Wales and Queensland, and Premier Perrottet, when I spoke to him last night, indicated that New South Wales will be recalling their parliament next week to legislate it; (3) $1½ billion in targeted bill relief for businesses and households most in need, delivered through reduce measures in bills in order to put downward pressure on inflation; and (4) long-term action to secure our energy future, including the new Capacity Investment Scheme, and the continuing rollout of projects under our Rewiring the Nation fund. This plan is a combination of immediate action and future reform. It recognises the challenge of here and now as a result of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. We need to act now, though, to deal with this crisis, to keep Australians in work, to support families, but also to look to the medium term to make sure we do secure our energy future. That's what we'll be doing—making sure that the cheapest and cleanest form of new energy, renewables, are able to power into the grid through the projects that we announced and will continue to announce around Rewiring the Nation. Together with the National Reconstruction Fund, this is also about making sure that we can make things here again—advanced manufacturing. Apparently, those opposite want us to have acted quicker but also to be slower at the same time. Having had 22 policies in government but not landing one of them, they now want us to have no policy also. They were addicted to power, but they were hopeless on energy. They rushed around, passing in a day legislation about strawberries that was never used, but they did nothing to help people with their power bills. The only time they acted with urgency was to cover up the 20 per cent increase in power prices and to keep it a secret until after the election. Now they're seeking to stand in the way of this urgent action because they imagine that somehow it serves their political agenda. Well, the choice for this parliament today is very clear: you can vote for this plan and vote for lower power prices, or you can vote against it and vote for higher prices. You can vote for this plan and stand up for jobs, for industry, and for households, or you can vote against it and stand with companies banking record profits and sending them offshore. That's the choice. Vote for this plan and be part of the solution, or vote against it and be part of the problem. The opposition will be held to account for their decision. We know where we stand. We stand for Australian manufacturing and we stand for Australian households, and this legislation will support both. That is what this bill will do. In government those opposite failed over a decade to deliver a coherent energy policy. We on this side of the House are acting with urgency to deal with the challenge which is there, and that is why it has the support of every premier across the country and the Labor Party. I also thank those in the crossbench who are providing— (Time expired) Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The House will come to order. There is far too much noise. The SPEAKER 53517 The Minister for Climate Change and Energy! When I say I want the House to be quiet, I mean it. 10:05 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume There is a very simple test for this legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022: will Australians' bills in the coming months and years go up or down? That's the test. There is no other test. The energy minister himself has admitted that bills are going up. The Treasurer himself has admitted in his budget that they're going up by 56 per cent. We now learn that he thinks that they're going to go up even more. The Prime Minister himself, having committed 96 times before the election that he was going to— An honourable member: Ninety-seven times. Mr TAYLOR 231027 Ninety-seven times—I stand corrected. I'll take that interjection. The Prime Minister said 97 times before the election that the $275 decrease in electricity prices was going to happen. Having said that all those times, he hasn't said it since being elected—not once. Those opposite are going to fail their own test. This legislation fails every test of good government and good policy. It's been a shambolic process with shambolic legislation and will deliver shambolic outcomes. It defies the basic laws of economics. The process itself, as I said, has been shambolic. After promising not to waste a day in office—that's what they promised—over six months they've been floating a thought bubble on a daily basis. A new thought bubble even came out in the last two days from the Prime Minister, and he had to pull back from it. He was running around the press gallery, making sure that he was corrected on what he had said himself. This is poorly thought through with no consultation and, sadly, we only received the legislation at 8.45 pm last night. This is a diabolical intervention in the gas market. It's one of the largest and most significant government interventions we've seen in a market in decades. We've seen it in other countries like Venezuela and elsewhere in this sort of time frame, but not here. They present the bill at 9.45 pm the night before, expecting the parliament to support it the very next day. The hypocrisy is astounding. I think it's important that this place here note what the Leader of the House had to say in 2019, when he was Manager of Opposition Business, about how this place should work: There is a process that happens with legislation that I have to say does matter. It does matter that members have the opportunity to read legislation … That came from those opposite. That's what they said. The Prime Minister had a lot to say about this sort of thing before the election as well. On 25 March, on Tasmania Talks, the Prime Minister said: 'I want proper processes. I want to consult people.' But, six months in, this is just another one of the long list of broken promises from those opposite. So flawed is this bill that even government ministers are confused about it. Yesterday, in a press conference, the minister for energy made a bit of a blunder. In answer to a journalist, he said: You don't have a Code and a cap at the same time, right. But we know this is wrong. Do you know how we know this is wrong? Because the government was calling around the press gallery moments later to correct the minister. If even the ministers who are supposed to be responsible for this bill don't understand it, how can it possibly be a good piece of legislation? The government's legislation will give unprecedented powers to control the Australian energy sector—the great confidence that we have in the Treasurer that he is going to be able to deliver the gas at a price that all Australians can afford, because he will be the Hugo Chavez of this government, delivering the gas for the Australian people. But it extends well beyond the 12-month price gap. It extends well beyond that. For years we can expect this. We've heard the industry experts say things like—this is Credit Suisse—'The damage has already started: nearly all gas contracting has shrivelled up in the last few days.' Supply matters, you know. Energy analyst Mark Samter—very highly respected—said this is 'the single worst piece of energy policy I have seen anywhere in the world in almost 20 years looking at global energy markets'. That was about this policy, from this minister. The reality is: this bill fails on every test of good policy and good government. (Time expired) 10:11 Mr BOWEN DZS McMahon Every time a member of parliament walks into this chamber to vote, they make a choice and they indicate their priorities. Today government members and other members who'll be voting for the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 make their priorities and choices clear. We stand for electricity prices not being elevated by the war in Ukraine. We stand for gas companies being able to make a fair profit but not an unfair, elevated profit off the back of the war in Ukraine. This bill will cap gas prices at $12 a gigajoule. Ninety-six per cent of gas in 2021 was sold for less than $12 a gigajoule. The average price was $9.20. That was a fair price. The gas companies were not complaining. They were making decent profits. Since then we have seen those prices skyrocket. This is Australian gas, under Australian soil and Australian seas, and Australians have a right to it at a fair price. That is the fundamental principle that the House has to decide today. The government's position is clear. The crossbench's position is clear. And, frankly, the opposition's position is clear as well. Their talking points could have fallen off the back of a truck from a gas company. It is their right to do that, but we have a different job. We respect the job of gas companies to maximise their profits. It's our job to protect the Australian people and act in the national interest, and that's what we are doing today. We will not stand by and see manufacturers in Western Sydney, or anywhere across Australia, pay the price of Putin's war in Ukraine. We will not do that. And, from this day forward, whenever the opposition say they stand for jobs or stand for industry, their hypocrisy will be called out. Whenever they talk about energy prices, their hypocrisy will be called out. Today the opposition will vote against lower energy prices. They will vote against the impact of the price rises being mitigated by this bill. They will vote against that, and they will be reminded of it constantly, because their priorities are clear. They do not regard this as a situation where the parliament should come together and act in the best interests of the nation. We've just been through a health pandemic, and the Labor Party, as the opposition, acted constructively. We engaged. We even supported things we didn't 100 per cent agree with, because it was the right thing to do for the nation. We are now facing an energy pandemic, and the culprits of 10 years of denial and delay are not interested in engaging. We've heard a lot about the bill and when the opposition got the bill. The Leader of the Opposition came out and said this plan was a catastrophe before he'd seen a press release, let alone a bill. When the Prime Minister and the premiers reached agreement, the Leader of the Opposition came out and said that this was a catastrophe—before he'd seen a bill, before he'd seen a press release. The shadow minister, on Sunday, said, 'I've been through the bill, and it's a monster and a disaster.' The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday, 'I haven't seen the bill,' and 'I'm against it.' They're either against it because they've seen it and they don't like it or they're against it because they haven't seen it. Just pick an alibi and stick to it. That's my advice to the opposition. Pick a lane and stick in the lane. They can't do that. They're not up to the job. The government's position and priorities are clear, and so are the opposition's. I commend the bill to the House. 10:14 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax It was at about this time last year, in December, in the lead-up to Christmas, that we had the now Prime Minister and the now minister do the big reveal to the Australian people about Labor's energy policy in government. What they promised ahead of Christmas last year was a reduction in household power bills of $275. But there was a catch to that: you had to vote for the Labor Party. If the Labor Party were to come to power, they would deliver a reduction in household power bills of $275. It's no surprise, therefore, that, here we are, one year later, in the lead-up to Christmas—again, it is December—and they have a big, grand announcement: yes, they're going to reduce your power bills again. The difference is that the Australian people now know that this government is inept and is incapable of delivering on its promise of lower power bills. The opposition will absolutely disassociate itself from the energy plan that Labor seeks to enshrine in law today with the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022. We will only stand by the households of Australia and the businesses of Australia. We have done that in government. We've done that in opposition. What the government seeks to do today in this plan is to put in law a justification for increasing household power bills. By their own numbers, the plan behind this legislation will increase power bills for Australian households by up to $700 by next financial year. Be very clear about this: behind all of their sales messaging, the numbers they themselves produce say that this plan will increase Australian household power bills by up to $700. That's the substance of what they propose. Now, add that to the promise of a $275 reduction and you have a nearly $1,000 difference between what the Australian people expected from this Labor government and what, in fact, they are delivering. Australian households will be nearly $1,000 worse off because of this government and their legislation today. Now, if we stick to facts, they know very well that on this side of the House, the coalition side, prices came down. In the last term of government alone, household prices came down by eight per cent. For businesses it was 10 per cent. For industry it was 12 per cent. And what's happening under the Labor Party, this inept party that pretends the invasion of Ukraine happened only under their watch? Prices are going up. And what's their plan moving forward? Does any Labor Party MP really believe power prices are coming down? I'm looking now at the minister. Minister, are power prices coming down? I can't hear you, Minister. You know the truth. Your plan is going to see household power bills go up by nearly $800—at least $700—by the next financial year. This is your plan. We disassociate ourselves from it. It's also a plan that seeks to kill off an Australian industry, the gas industry—an industry one of whose major projects, the Kurri Kurri project, this minister decided to call BS. The minister is trying to take gas away from that project. This is a government that has taken out of its budget $50 million for exploration for gas and another $50 million for pipeline infrastructure for gas. It is a parliament that's discrediting carbon capture and storage that would assist gas. It is a government that has taken gas out of the capacity mechanism. This is a government that is on the attack against the very transitional fuel that the ACCC says we need more of, the very fuel that the Energy Security Board says we need more of, the very fuel of which the market operator says: 'It's the only way to get to net zero. You need it.' But they're trying to kill it off because they have an ideological zeal to kill off this industry, and they do so with the greatest overreach of government power we have seen. This is all about ensuring that the government themselves can intervene in a marketplace and can say exactly who should trade with whom. They will have the ability to tell one company to turn down its energy to save energy, because they know that by putting a price cap on this they are going to decrease supply and increase demand, and their way of solving that problem is a mandatory code that would give them the power to instruct an industry at the micro level. It sets a dangerous precedent for what is otherwise a liberal democracy. 10:19 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne Coal and gas corporations are driving the cost-of-living crisis, they are driving the climate crisis and it is time to stop them. In just one year, 27 gas corporations made $77 billion in revenue and paid not one dollar of tax. Coal exporters have made $45 billion in profit; meanwhile, everyday people's power bills keep going up. It is time to hold these greedy coal and gas corporations to account. Today is the beginning of the end for gas. Greedy gas corporations have been taking this country for a ride, making record profits, often getting their gas for free and putting people through enormous cost-of-living pain. Gas is expensive, it is unhealthy and it is polluting. Gas is as dirty as coal. Gas is not something to transition to; it is something we need to move away from. I thank the government for committing to a significant package next year that will make it easier for people on low incomes, people in public housing, renters, to do the things that will cut their power bills and give them healthier, cheaper, more affordable homes to live in. If we do this package right, it will make a big difference to people on low incomes and it will mean that they not only have a few hundred dollars extra in their pocket to deal with the cost-of-living crisis this year but they will have it year after year after year into the future, and that's what this is about. What is also clear is that, under the legislation that we are passing today, the government now has the power to freeze power bills. The Greens have been pushing for a freeze on power bills at precrisis levels for two years. This legislation will give the government the power to freeze power bills. It is not good enough to watch forecasts that power bills might go up by 47 per cent over the next couple of years. We know now that we can stop it. Government can step in and stop those price rises. If we are going to be giving compensation to ensure that people's power bills don't go up, which we support and were the first ones out there calling for it, let's freeze power bills at precrisis levels and put a windfall tax on those greedy coal and gas corporations to pay for it. It is crystal clear from now on that power prices do not need to rise by $1. We can use the powers in this bill to make sure that happens. I move the following amendment to the second reading amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition: That all words after "the House" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "agrees to give the bill a second reading and: (1) notes that this legislation gives the government the power to stop power bills rising at all and to freeze electricity bills at pre-crisis levels; (2) calls on the government to immediately use those powers and address the urgent cost of living crisis by freezing electricity bills; (3) does not consider it acceptable that electricity bills are set to rise by over 20% while coal and gas corporations keep getting subsidies and don't pay their fair share of tax; and (4) considers that any price rise from here on in is squarely the government’s responsibility". The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 Is there a seconder for the amendment? Mr Chandler-Mather 300121 I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. 10:23 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield This bill is a con. What Australians were promised 97 times was that they would have lower power bills; $275 lower was what they were promised. But what the government has now brought forward, after more than six months of dithering and delay, is a bill that does not deliver on its promise. On its face, even if you take at face value what this bill claims to deliver, all it will do is mean that the big price increases in gas and electricity, which the government itself has projected in its budget papers—44 per cent increase in gas prices, 56 per cent increase in electricity prices—will be slightly less big. That's it. They promised—they took to the Australian people a promise—that power prices would go down. They put a specific number on it. They repeated it 97 times. And now they bring forward a bill which doesn't say that power prices are going down. It doesn't say that power prices are going down at all. If you take it at face value, all it does is to say that the very big increases in power prices which this government has projected in its budget might be slightly less big. They promised $275 down, and now they say: 'Great news, Australian people. It's not going down; it's going up. But celebrate, rejoice, because it's going up by slightly less than the unbelievably big increase it would have gone up by otherwise, according to our own budget papers.' That is the great plan from this government. But of course, embedded within this is a price cap mechanism which would win the Jim Cairns award for best economic policy—Jim Cairns, Treasurer in the Whitlam government. This is Whitlamite economics. It will harm investment. It will constrain supply. It will mean, over time, therefore, higher prices and lower supply. That is the great risk of what is being done here. Even if we take the government at face value, even if we assume that they genuinely want to deliver an outcome, the big problem here is that the policy tool, the policy mechanism, they are using is one that will have the opposite impact of what it is they want to achieve, because these measures, which will deter investment and raise concerns about sovereign risk, will mean, in the future, lower supply and, therefore, higher prices. The economics of this are very, very clear. Of course, concerns about this are only compounded by the truly appalling process that has been used, with a bill—that, in its final form, was released to the opposition at 8.45 last night—being rammed through this House and a vote to be called on at midday. This is entirely at odds with good public policy making. I saw the Minister for Industry and Science trying to draw an analogy with the news media bargaining code—a very successful piece of policy delivered by the previous government. But let me remind the House what exactly happened and the process we went through. We commissioned a detailed report from the ACCC, the digital platforms review. We accepted the recommendations at the end of 2019. We announced in 2020 that it would be a mandatory code. We released a detailed exposure draft in the second half of 2020. There was a parliamentary committee over the summer of 2020-21. And, only after that detailed and good process, legislation was introduced on 9 December 2020, and we had the parliamentary debate in February 2021, only after going through a proper process: an exposure draft; a bill introduced; a parliamentary committee. That is the way that a responsible government deals with significant interventions in the market. It is precisely the opposite of what this ramshackle mess of a government is doing today. 10:28 Mr WILKIE C2T Clark I support the government's energy package. In fact, I go so far as to applaud the government for standing up to the petulant, greedy and selfish coal, gas and oil companies that want business as usual. But I regret to say that there is one glaring omission in the government's energy package, and that is some sort of windfall tax or super profits tax to do something about the outrageous profits being posted by the coal, gas and some oil companies on account of the war in Ukraine—because that's right: these companies, including Australian companies, are shamelessly profiteering off a war in Ukraine at the expense of Australian consumers. And let's not forget who owns the oil, the gas and the coal. Australians own that resource—it's our resource. It's not the private property of BHP or Woodside or Shell or Santos or Exxon. It's our property. Sure, we want these companies to make a reasonable return on investment, but we cannot continue to accept them gouging and profiteering off the misery of the Ukrainian people. To give you a sense of the scale of this, Santos's global 2022 half-year results show an underlying profit of $1.267 billion, up 300 per cent. And Australia's Santos stated last week that third quarter revenue jumped over 88 per cent to a record high, with reported revenue of $2.2 billion. Moreover, it said its average realised LNG price rose 61.8 per cent from the previous quarter. Shell has adjusted global earnings of $9.5 billion in the third quarter—more than double from the same period last year. Woodside's production for the third quarter increased 131 per cent, to 51.2 million barrels. And, due to higher gas prices, its revenue jumped 272 per cent, to A$9.3 billion. Exxon has experienced its highest global quarterly refining since 2008, and earnings jumped from $17.9 billion in the second quarter to $19.7 billion in the third quarter. And BHP's June financial report states: BHP delivered strong operational performance and disciplined cost control to realise record underlying earnings of US$40.6 billion and record free cash flow of US$24.3 billion. How much more evidence do we need that the coal, gas and oil companies are making a fortune out of the suffering in Ukraine and using the war in Ukraine shamelessly as an excuse to gouge Australian consumers and to virtually steal from Australian consumers the resources that they own? I call again on the government to introduce a windfall tax or a superprofits tax—call it what you want—a tax on companies in this country that earn a super-return on their investment and to use that increased revenue to pay back to the community, to pay to disadvantaged people, people on low incomes, the very people in my community who are turning off their heaters, not cooking on their gas cooktop, turning all their lights out at seven o'clock at night. I'm sick of hearing stories of people in one of the richest countries in the world who are going without food to pay their power bills, who are going without their prescription drugs to pay their power bills, who are going to bed at dark wrapped up in two doonas because they can't afford to turn their heating on. That is in one of the richest countries in the world, when these oil, gas and coal companies are making profits like this, and governments aren't doing anything about it. That's what's needed. Everything that the government is currently doing is good, but they've got to go much further and tax any Australian company—or, more importantly, any company operating in Australia, including foreign companies. When they are making a record return on their investment, make them pay the tax that they owe the Australian people. 10:33 Mr PIKE 300120 Bowman I feel a bit like I'm in the twilight zone. I've only been here for six months. I haven't got the experience of some in this chamber, but I never thought I'd see the day when the federal government would seek to legislate to enable price ceilings that will lead to supply shortfalls or run roughshod over parliamentary scrutiny in this manner. This bill will do nothing to resolve the central issues which are resulting in higher energy prices. At best, it is a bandaid solution. But the true intention, I believe, is absolutely clear. This legislation is designed to kill Australia's gas industry. On Monday, the Prime Minister said the legislation would be available well in advance of this debate. The opposition—and I know the crossbenchers as well—only received this bill at 8.45 pm last night. This morning, the government has restricted debate. The expectation that the bill is going to be released, passed in this chamber, passed in the other chamber and be back here for amendments, I'm sure, within 24 hours, is absolutely ridiculous. The government has provided stakeholders with just five days to provide feedback on the imposition of a gas price cap. No real consultation has taken place on this bill. This bill is dripping with constitutional concerns, and I can absolutely predict that the High Court will be taking a very close look at this rushed legislation before too long. The government's decision to recall parliament is a very costly exercise. If they had their act together, we could have definitely dealt with this matter in the last sitting week when we had to return to the address-in-reply because we'd run out of things to do in this chamber. This is an absolutely cynical move from the government to staple the relief measures to one of the most radical market interventions in Australia's economic history. The coalition support targeted and temporary cost-of-living relief. We want the bill split to stop this reckless intervention going forward while allowing struggling Australians to get the support that they need. We've been here every sitting day since the election calling the government to account for their solemn promise to reduce household energy bills by $275. This wasn't a fleeting promise. This wasn't something the Prime Minister said in error when under the pump at a press conference. This was a promise made 97 times prior to the election. But then, after the election, we got the truth. In the October budget Labor predicted that after two years of their policies, electricity prices would go up by 56 per cent and gas up by 44 per cent. Having now seen their policy, their approach to this issue, I think that these predictions will be woefully underdone. The provisions in this bill reach far beyond a 12-month price cap. The government's legislation will give it unprecedented powers to control the Australian energy sector. It delegates power to the Treasurer to make broad ranging regulations to control pricing, contracting and purchasing activities in the gas market. Any economics student could tell you what the impacts of price ceilings are. It is one of the most fundamental principles of economics. Every school of economic thought holds that price controls affect supply: price floors lead to a surplus; price caps lead to shortages. Only the Albanese government could come up with a solution to gas shortages that makes the shortage worse. Therein lies the inherent public policy challenge here: the government don't understand the problem, so how can we expect them to develop a solution? They've had six months. They've promised it. They said it was coming. It was coming and so was Christmas. Hence the rushed, panicked, eleventh-hour response that we are seeing from the government today. The gas industry is of critical importance to the people in my electorate. Queensland has a strong gas industry that employs many people within my electorate of Bowman. This industry is already reviewing its current and future investment in gas projects. The headlines over the last week from different gas companies outlining their expected response to these changes are quite staggering. MST Marquee analyst Mark Samter described this move as the 'single worst piece of energy policy I've seen anywhere in the world in almost 20 years looking at global energy markets'. At a time when the government should be supporting new supply, they are doing the exact opposite. They are cutting funding to develop new gas basins and upgrade critical infrastructure that will get the gas to where it is needed. The legislation is rushed for what amounts to one of the largest interventions in the Australian economy. In fact, Australia hasn't legislated a price ceiling on a mineral commodity since 1944, back when we chose to partake in a global effort to stabilise the gold price. Mark my words: this will lead to a gas supply crisis in Australia, and those who've introduced this legislation and those who vote for it will be held responsible. 10:38 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah I welcome the relief provided to energy consumers through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022. The war in Ukraine has generated an energy crisis that the government does need to address, and I do find the self-righteous indignation of the coalition speakers before me about government intervention in the private market slightly ironic. It is something to behold. The war in Ukraine commenced before the election, and no step was taken by the previous government to ensure some kind of insurance against volatile energy prices. But also, during the last parliament, there was no hesitation to intervene in the market with policies such as the big stick legislation to threaten energy producers if they switched to clean energy. I think what's also really important to remember is that we have an energy crisis that is the result of 10 years of failure to accelerate a transition to renewable energy. Previous coalition governments did everything they could to put a handbrake on Australia's transition, and we are paying the price. It failed to put any protections in place to protect domestic prices and Australians from variable international energy price rises. Australians should not be paying international prices in domestic markets for their own resources. As a result, Australian households and businesses have already been left exposed to this year's 20 per cent energy price rise, and there are predictions of a further 36 per cent energy increase next year. So I support the government intervening. The bill will cap gas prices to $12 a gigajoule in the domestic market for new gas contracts for the next 12 months. It gives the government the ability to implement a mandatory gas industry code of conduct, which I would say is well overdue. It provides for $1.5 billion of assistance to those on income support and other tax benefits as well as to small business to assist with power costs. I urge the government to come forward with the detail in relation to that as soon as possible. The bill does not touch coal prices. The $125-a-tonne cap on coal prices will be implemented by state governments. Whilst the bill does not provide for compensation to fossil fuel companies directly for any loss or damage as a result of the intervention directly, I question whether state governments will later be compensated by the federal government. We must ensure a sensible transition away from fossil fuels. I don't support any further subsidies or compensation to coal. We must use this crisis to accelerate the transition to being energy independent, using energy sources that are price stable—that is, solar and wind. The goal of this bill, to keep electricity prices down or to avoid the further increase that is anticipated, is important. The 20 per cent rise already this year has put so many households and businesses to the edge. We also need to be mindful not to create a policy that creates further inflationary pressure. It is a very complex and difficult balance that needs to be reached. Providing direct assistance to those who need it most by providing relief for power bill shock without adding to inflation has to be the goal. Is it the best way to achieve that objective? I'm sure, with hindsight, we'd be able to see that other things could have been done or done better. I would question whether a direct price cap is the most effective solution. A windfall profit tax, raised already in this chamber, would be a neater solution more aligned with free market economics and would increase government revenue. Our exports of coal have declined during this period due to high prices, while the value of our exports has almost tripled. The tax revenue has not been commensurate to that rise. Many other countries, including the UK, have imposed windfall profit taxes on fossil fuel exports at this time. Australia should follow suit and get the compensation we deserve from our resources to assist with the transition away from fossil fuels. We must improve the state of the budget and provide greater levels of relief for cost of living. I question some of the assumptions underpinning the 12-month sunset. This assumes that the global energy market will return to a more stable position as a result of the war in Ukraine ending in the next 12 months. I would be curious to know who has that crystal ball. Does that mean trade with Russia will automatically return to normal at the end of hostilities? There are a lot of questions. But, overwhelmingly, on balance, it is important that we intervene. I commend the government for intervening to ensure that the price rises anticipated for next year do not occur. That is why I will support this bill. But I urge the government to undertake ongoing consultation and to commit greater resources to accelerating the transition to cleaner forms of energy. 10:43 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022. My first message is to my constituents. We will see in coming weeks that whoever the delegated Labor senator is will claim that I voted against support for those people who can't pay their bills. But the reality is I am voting against the Australian taxpayer subsidising the biggest gouger and the biggest profiteer in the electricity network in this country—that is, the Queensland Labor government under Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Even the Fin Review has said they are taking $5 billion in profits out of the electricity network. They own 70 per cent of the generators—nearly all the transmission. Where I come from, they set the price. The easiest way to get prices down for the people I represent is for Queensland Labor to stop taking so much money out of what should be a service provided by them to people who cannot pay their bills. Like many other members, I have people who are living in their cars. They cannot pay their power bills now. We don't use a lot of gas where I come from; it's relatively limited compared to other parts of the country. But the idea that the state government would take so much money from the network and now be propped up by a decision in this place, by the Australian taxpayer, is, in comparative terms, equal only to the crazy policies of Victoria's Labor government, where they haven't developed any gas. The Australian taxpayer will now be propping up those policy decisions by Premier Andrews in Victoria, because they are running out of gas. Even Labor's own consultation documents say that this will not apply to the Victorian spot market or the Sydney and Brisbane spot markets because it will, in bureaucrat-speak, 'impact the availability and supply' and they may well run out. Mr Deputy Speaker, how is it possible in this country that we could even be in this position? It is because of the very poor decisions of the states, who have constitutional responsibility for onshore resources. I come back to the coal proposal in Queensland. Guess what? The Queensland Labor government own most of the mines. In fact, the forecast price, if you take an estimate, is under $30 a tonne. That is how they can make so much money out of the network. I'll come to some quotes. Here's one from 31 October: It would have been the easiest thing in the world to borrow more money and spray more cash around but that wouldn't have been right or responsible. My job is always to prioritise what's right and responsible and affordable, and not just what's popular. Guess who that was, Mr Deputy Speaker? That was the Treasurer, on 31 October. Last year, Mr Deputy Speaker—as much as I hate to quote myself in this place—in answer to a question from the member for O'Connor on 23 November, I said: If we look at what has been put forward by the Labor Environment Action Network, they want to get rid of gas stoves and gas heaters. They want to get rid of gas water heaters … In a point of order, what did the member for Watson, in his previous role, say? He said: He is not going to alternative policies at all. He is going to wild fantasies that he is making up. Well guess what's happened this week, Mr Deputy Speaker? The wild fantasies have come true. The wild fantasies are reality. The wild fantasies are Labor policy. They are saying to the Australian people, 'You will have to retrofit your kitchen if you have a gas stove or a gas hot water system.' This is the crazy policy of a green Labor government. They have no idea what it costs for an individual in an existing house to do this. It is tens of thousands of dollars. Not only that; it will drive up demand on the electricity network. If it's driven high enough—if you combine it with Labor's policy for EVs, where the forecast is a potential 60 per cent increase in demand—you then have to upgrade the entire network, in subdivisions, in local substations and in transmission. It is tens of billions of dollars! Not only that, but in one fell swoop, in six months, this Labor government has destroyed Australia's reputation as a safe place for investment. We have had tens of billions of dollars worth of investment in the resources sector. They made decisions based on the playing field at the time. Not only have those in government shifted the goalposts; they've shifted the entire stadium and put it somewhere else. These are companies that have finance agreements and contracts. They have shareholders. They have to report, in terms of their requirements, to the ASX and ASIC, along with everything else they have to do. That is now in tatters. The federal Labor government are worse than the Whitlam government. In fact, what we now see in Australia is that we simply won't get gas anymore. We will not be using gas, because of the decisions of this government. 10:48 Dr RYAN 297660 Kooyong The high prices for gas in this country have been attributed to the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The government proposes a temporary price cap on uncontracted gas in the wholesale market from the currently operational fields. We know that this is a really small part of our total gas market. The government is also proposing a much-needed mandatory code of conduct in relation to the market. The reality is that Australians are struggling with record electricity prices despite the fact that this country is swimming in gas. We have no shortage of gas; we have a shortage of decent regulation. Since 2006, the Western Australian domestic gas reservation policy has delivered gas for $5 to $7 a gigajoule. We in the eastern states are being suckered. We allow more than 70 per cent of our east coast gas to be exported, and then we pay inflated prices for the residuum. Since 2015, the ACCC has repeatedly, in report after report, documented the high level of market concentration through direct interests, joint ventures and exclusivity arrangements. We're the world's third-biggest exporter of fossil fuels, but our small businesses are going to the wall. Separate to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, the government hasn't ruled out compensation to coal producers over the proposed capping of coal prices at $125 a tonne—this on top of the $11 billion a year that we already spend to support fossil fuel companies. This bill will take $1.5 billion of our taxpayers' money and give it to other taxpayers to help them pay their crippling electricity bills. We're still propping up fossil fuel producers at taxpayers' expense rather than imposing export caps or higher taxes on export revenues to compensate the domestic users. In this bill, we're committing to pay up to $12 a gigajoule for gas despite 90 per cent of our contracts for gas in 2021 having been less than that. The industry was happy to sell at $9.20 per gigajoule just over a year ago. The price of extraction and production of gas has not increased in that period. We would pay less for our gas if we had an appropriate reservation system for our domestic demands. We should be taxing what are effectively war profits for gas exporters, not Australians already struggling with inflation and cost-of-living pressures. Let's not forget that through this legislation we will still be paying too much for our own gas, and our taxes will be going to help other taxpayers and probably to prop up the coal industry as well. This is an imperfect intervention. We still need to have the courage and the vision to take control of our own future. This bill is only a very small step in the right direction. We are still paying too much for gas. We do not have clarity and transparency on the basis for this gas pricing cap. So I move the amendment circulated in my name in the interests of greater transparency around this very important issue: That the following words be added after paragraph (4): "and (5) calls on the Government to produce the ACCC report and any other supporting evidence which the Government cites as the basis for establishing this domestic gas price cap of $12/gigajoule". The DEPUTY SPEAKER 74046 Is there a seconder for the amendment? Ms Daniel 008CH I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak. 10:52 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie As the member for Petrie, do I think that this bill from the Albanese Labor government, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, will lower gas prices or electricity prices for the people of Petrie? Not a hope in hell. There is no way that this will lower prices for those people struggling with the increased inflation and increased cost of living since the Albanese Labor government came to power. We've seen prices go through the roof. We have seen eight interest rate rises, with mortgage payments absolutely doubling and in some cases tripling. So people are struggling, and this government here and this Prime Minister have come in at the last moment and just recalled the parliament, which won't help people at all. The fact that we're here today so this bill can be rushed through with barely any oversight or any chance for the opposition to actually read the bill is a disgrace. It's a little bit like a child who comes in to their parents with an assignment the night before it's due, trying to sticky-tape something together to submit the next day. This is not good legislation—not to mention it's costing over $1 million to recall the parliament for this one day. Actually, it's not even one day; it's less than three hours between nine and 12 before they do it. The Treasurer obviously delivered a budget in October. We were down here just two weeks ago with 151 members in this House and 76 senators. They could have done that then. They could have done something in the budget. But no. They recall the parliament at a cost of over $1 million and allow less than three hours debate. So I have no faith at all that what this government, the Albanese government, is doing will help the people of Petrie—no faith whatsoever. The other thing is that this is really all about saving the Prime Minister's face. The Prime Minister promised 97 times before the last election, in May of this year, that he and his government would reduce power prices by $275. Ninety-seven times he promised that. It wasn't a slip of the tongue. On 5 December 2021, Mr Albanese promised that an Albanese government would reduce power bills by $275. On 17 February 2022, it was promised that an Albanese government would reduce power bills by $275. The current Prime Minister, on 3 April 2022, promised again that he would reduce power prices by $275. On 18 May, only three days before the election this year, he promised that he would reduce power prices by $275. And since he was elected in May? He can't mention it once. Not once can he mention that he will reduce power prices. The Treasurer delivered a budget in October, and that budget said prices would go up by over 50 per cent in the next two years. What that means is that, for people back in Queensland, back in our electorates around the country, their power bills are increasing; their gas prices are increasing. When they're throwing a shrimp on the barbie this Christmas and they go down and grab a SWAP'n'GO cylinder, the prices are going up. Dr Chalmers 37998 We call them prawns here, mate. Mr HOWARTH 247742 Not according to Hogan—it was 'throw another shrimp on the barbie'—but thanks, Treasurer. It would be nice if you could lower power prices and do something about it in the budget, rather than recall parliament, at a cost of over a million bucks. This is a big issue, because what it shows is that the Prime Minister can't be trusted. This is a broken election promise, and the Albanese government cannot be trusted, and the people of Queensland need to know that. The other thing is that, if you reduce power prices for 10 million households by $275, that is a $2.75 billion reduction. But, instead, we're getting increases in power prices by 50 per cent. And now the government is bringing in some package that we know nothing about that will invest $1½ billion—so less than $2.90 a household per week—and we don't even know where it's going. Is it going to the states? Is it going to all households? How will that actually reduce power prices? The reality is that it won't. What will happen is that power prices will increase by 50 per cent in the next two years, and do we really believe that somehow they will then decrease by 50 per cent because of this legislation that will be passed today, with the support of the Greens? No. Labor need the support of the Greens in the Senate, and they have done a midnight-hour deal with the Greens to actually get this legislation through. This is not good for the people of Petrie at all. I'm concerned that what you'll see for the people of Petrie, the people of Queensland and the people of Australia is increased power prices despite this bill being rushed through, recalling the parliament at a cost of over a million dollars. 10:57 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein Prosperity is defined as economic wellbeing for everyone, not just a handful of greedy multinational gas companies who are exploiting both an Australian resource and a war for profit. That is why we are here today—because Australian consumers need people to fight for them in this House, to ensure that households and businesses can keep the lights on and keep people employed. To those householders in Goldstein, small business operators and manufacturers who I have spoken to about this over the last few months, you have brought us here today. These multinational companies could have read the room and come to the table in good faith. Instead, they chose to profiteer while Australians struggle with energy prices dictated not by the ample supply here in Australia but by international markets under Russian influence. I first raised the need for action last June, advocating for a windfall tax. Multinational fossil fuel companies operating in Australia will make a gross profit of up to $140 billion this year from Australian gas and coal. Still, today, the gas companies shriek about how unfair it is that gas prices will be capped at a reasonable level, and yet, at $12 a gigajoule, the profit across the spectrum of Australia's gas fields will sit at somewhere between $4 and $8. In Western Australia, gas companies have continued to make a handy profit since 2006, when that state introduced its gas reservation policy, even with prices in the $5 to $7 range. So spare me the performative histrionics. Arguably, setting a price at $12 is too high and will slow down our transition away from gas, because it will artificially make it too profitable, just like the war. Indeed, 70 per cent of east coast gas is exported, and there's much continuing export profit to be made. Allowing Australian manufacturers to access energy at a reasonable price will not break these companies, which operate in an anti-competitive way as an effective cartel in the way that they control production and fix prices. The game is up. These companies should be careful of crying wolf, as they continue to make windfall profits from their export product and pay next to no corporate tax. It may be the week before Christmas, but I am pleased to be here to represent my community on this issue. As the Australian Industry Group told me in a letter: The combination of actions chosen by the Federal Government, while far from perfect, is likely to be helpful overall in reducing energy affordability pressures on industry and households over the next few years and improving the long-term position of energy users. I agree: this is imperfect and will, at best, stop prices from skyrocketing further rather than bringing them down. It's time to get as many households as possible off gas. I look forward to discussions with the government to revolutionise household energy use so our communities are not beholden to global companies who have shown little care for the Australian people, the Australian economy or the Australian environment. I will support this bill. 11:01 Mr WILLCOX 286535 Dawson Where is the $275 reduction in household electricity accounts promised by Labor on 97 occasions leading up to the federal election? Since Labor being elected, this has not been mentioned once. Now, with a looming energy crisis, electricity costs are set to rise more than 56 per cent. Labor's appalling solution has rightfully received an outcry from our community. This is why some have labelled their set of measures and rhetoric a 'declaration of war' on the coal and gas industry. The industry groups they are combating are the same bodies that have helped Australia narrowly miss out on blackouts. Their cooperation and their input is vital. The Prime Minister and his government have repeatedly ignored warnings from energy operators, doubling down on this rushed policy that we are debating today. Their approach is anything that doesn't mess with their renewables pipedream. Mark Samter of MST Marquee, who has been analysing global energy markets for over 20 years, described it as the 'single worst piece of energy policy'. Let's go to the root cause of the issue. This is a supply-and-demand issue. If there is an oversupply, the price goes down. If there is an undersupply, the price goes up. We have an undersupply. We need more energy put into the grid, not market intervention that destabilises the entire industry and casts further doubt over Aussies' household bills and the certainty of even keeping their lights on. We don't want to end up in a situation where we are rationing gas because of the shortages that will occur when there is not enough gas being produced. In Australia, we live in a market based economy. No matter its ideology, the government simply must respect the market influences that drive profit and generate national wealth. This market based economy also produces the products that we need. In this case, it's gas. The Labor government are more concerned with demonising the coal and gas industry and the companies that generate great wealth for our nation. I am urging the government to set its focus on energy solutions that actually work. Credit Suisse energy analyst Saul Kavonic puts it perfectly: Now that Labor has violated industry trust, they are going to see how hard it is to keep the lights on without industry cooperation. He goes on: Any collapse of the heads of agreement is a sign that industry cooperation cannot be assumed any longer, raising the prospect of a 'Bowen blackout' before the next election. With Labor, there is no certainty for business or for future investment. If we do not have energy at the right price in Australia, we're going to drive industry offshore. We don't want to do that. It's not right for the Australian people. The risk to Australia is enormous. If manufacturing industries decide to move offshore because it is easier to do business or if companies decide not to invest in Australia then we will have a situation where we lose jobs, and people will lose their incomes. That is not something that can easily be undone if it can be undone at all. But the economic uncertainty continues. Already energy shares are declining. People are not willing to put their money behind the government's decision. Our major producers are forced into a position where they have to reassure their investors that it is still a good idea to invest. Since the Prime Minister announced he would introduce price caps, nearly all gas investment has dried up. Investors have withdrawn their funding on new developments. Without these new developments, the country will be left without long-term supply. The Labor government are messing around with free enterprise by imposing price controls. We should heed the lessons of history. Price controls have been enforced numerous times and have only proved to be detrimental to the economy. Australians deserve a long-term plan, not a panic reaction that is laced with nice sounding words but, beneath the surface, lie very dark consequences. Labor is about to get a major lesson in how free markets work and, unfortunately, Australians will be the collateral damage, paying the price for their ignorance. (Time expired) 11:06 Dr HAINES 282335 Indi Power bills make up a big part of household budgets in Indi. Our weekly median income is just $736, almost $70 less than the Australian average. That is why I welcome a cap on gas prices at $12 a gigajoule for 12 months. I welcome this bill. But make no mistake, this is still a very high price to pay for gas, arguably too high. But we know that, without this intervention, gas prices will continue to increase. It is not just households; local manufacturing is particularly hard hit by these costs. VitaSoy has operated for 21 years in Wodonga and recently experienced massive sales increases. It employs well over 100 people. To meet this demand, it expanded the workforce, but the high gas prices have caused serious concern for this important manufacturer. VitaSoy tell me a cap on gas prices is a positive for Australian manufacturers like them. This bill also establishes a mandatory code of conduct, which may set a reasonable pricing framework for gas, and I strongly support this. I look forward to seeing the detail once the consultation is complete. Importantly, today we are legislating appropriations for $1.5 billion of targeted relief for households receiving Commonwealth social service payments and some small businesses, and this will be very welcome to many of my constituents. I am very encouraged by the government agreeing to develop a package for the next budget that will assist households and businesses move towards electrification, with the focus on low-income households through no-interest loans. For some time, I have been calling for exactly this policy. But the government must also make it cheaper and easier for everyday Australians to buy a home battery. In the last parliament, I introduced the cheaper home batteries bill, which would bring home batteries into the already existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Incentive Scheme. Independent modelling showed this could triple the number of batteries in Australian households within three years. The government must get on and do this. Likewise, the time is now for the Commonwealth to scale up support for community owned renewable energy. Across regional Australia, there are incredible examples of communities working together to own and share renewable energy, and there is genuine opportunity right now for government to review how ARENA can assist these groups. I welcomed the conversation I had with the Minister for Climate Change and Energy about exactly this not long after the election, and I remind him of that now. Let's scale up community energy. I support this bill today, but we all know that this is a temporary measure in a time of crisis. The recently announced Capacity Investment Scheme is encouraging, because the real work now is the rapid scaling-up of renewable generation, storage and distribution. In doing that, we must maximise the opportunity for investment that creates new skills and new jobs, especially in regional Australia, where most of this energy generation will occur. I commend this bill to the House. 11:10 Mr THOMPSON 281826 Herbert The people of Townsville, in my electorate of Herbert, are doing it tough, with cost-of-living pressures that have continued to rise. I support targeted, appropriate cost-of-living relief, but this policy and this bit of legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Pain) Bill 2022, have everything mashed in together. Six months into this new government's first term, the lack of action on issues that affect the money in people's bank accounts, their grocery shop, their fuel bill and their power bill is having an impact on their everyday life. The very fact that we are here today on an unscheduled sitting of parliament to solve such an important problem is an example of this government's chaotic approach. There have been weeks and weeks of parliamentary sittings since the election, and days when we ran out of things to debate, and suddenly we're back here, on a whim, to sort out a problem that has been developing for months. I don't have any problem with travelling to Canberra to debate important issues. That's what we're elected to do. And, as has been said this morning, the opposition absolutely supports targeted and temporary cost-of-living relief. We always have. But it's this chaotic, knee-jerk, thought-bubble approach that needs to stop. This unprecedented market intervention is going to mean long-term pain for the people of Australia. Power prices are to increase. The Australian Energy Regulator released its State of the energy market report for 2022 in September this year, three months ago now. The report noted that wholesale electricity prices across much of the NEM remained relatively low and rose rapidly, to record highs, in all regions in May, June and July 2022. We've seen this government be asleep at the wheel. This issue is not a new one, and this solution that we're debating today is rushed and not considered. The legislation was only provided to the opposition at 8.45 last night. But the Labor Party already had support from the Greens, who had not seen the legislation—sight-unseen support from the Greens—because that's their coalition, the Labor and the Greens government. As the Reserve Bank governor, the Secretary of Treasury, energy market experts and others have made clear, the answer to Labor's energy crisis is more supply. Getting more gas into Australia's domestic market will reduce electricity prices and inflation. Instead, we have a situation where we're talking about not just short-term price caps, which will give long-term powers to control the Australian energy sector; the government says the bill aims to create an overarching framework to enable the government to regulate the gas market. It delegates powers to the executive, including public servants, to apparently enable regulation of most aspects of the gas market—for example, wholesale and retail activities, domestic sales and exports, and both the prices and the amount, timing and location of gas to be supplied and other contract terms. These powers would be relied upon to introduce a yet to be developed mandatory gas industry code of conduct. This is a move that has been labelled reckless, free market intervention and destructive legislation, with the stakeholders saying that the only thing this policy will achieve, if implemented, is less Australian gas production in 2023 and beyond. That sounds a lot like less supply to the market, not more. And the criticism doesn't stop there. Another expert has stated: 'We are concerned that the interventions— The SPEAKER 53517 It being 11.15 am, the debate is interrupted in accordance with the resolution agreed to today. The original question was that this bill be now read a second time, to which the honourable member for Dickson moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. Subsequent amendments have been moved by honourable members. So the immediate question is that the amendment moved by the honourable member for Kooyong be disagreed to. Question agreed to. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the amendment moved by the honourable member for Melbourne be disagreed to.    

The House divided. [11:20]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

76 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Chalmers, J. E. Chaney, K. E. Clare J. D. Collins, J. M. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Fernando, C. Fletcher, P. W. Giles, A. J. Goodenough, I. R. Haines, H. M. Hastie, A. W. Howarth, L. R. Husic, E. N. Jones, S. P. Kearney, G. M. Keogh, M. J. Khalil, P. King, C. F. King, M. M. H. Landry, M. L. Laxale, J. A. A. Leeser, J. Leigh, A. K. Lim, S. B. C. Marino, N. B. Mascarenhas, Z. F. A. McBain, K. L. McBride, E. M. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mulino, D. Neumann, S. K. O'Brien, E. L. O'Connor, B. P. J. O'Neil, C. E. Pasin, A. Pearce, G. B. Phillips, F. E. Pike, H. J. Pitt, K. J. Plibersek, T. J. Ramsey, R. E. Reid, G. J. Rishworth, A. L. Roberts, T. G. Rowland, M. A. Ryan, J. C. Ryan, M. M. Scamps, S. A. Scrymgour, M. R. Shorten, W. R. Smith, D. P. B. Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Thompson, P. Thwaites, K. L. Tink, K. J. Tudge, A. E. Wells, A. S. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, J. H. 5 NOES Bandt, A. P. (Teller) Bates, S. J. (Teller) Chandler-Mather, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wilkie, A. D. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to

 11:30 The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the amendment moved by the honourable member for Dickson be disagreed to.    

The House divided. [11:30]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 84 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chandler-Mather, M. Chaney, K. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. 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. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Murphy, P. J. 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) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Tink, K. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 40 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hastie, A. W. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McKenzie, Z. A. O'Brien, E. L. Pasin, A. Pearce, G. B. Pike, H. J. Pitt, K. J. Price, M. L. Ramsey, R. E. (Teller) Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. Thompson, P. Tudge, A. E. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Willcox, A. J. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

 11:33 The SPEAKER 53517 The question now is that this bill be now read a second time.    

The House divided. [11:33]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 85 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chandler-Mather, M. Chaney, K. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. 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. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Murphy, P. J. 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) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Tink, K. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 40 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hastie, A. W. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McKenzie, Z. A. O'Brien, E. L. Pasin, A. Pearce, G. B. Pike, H. J. Pitt, K. J. Price, M. L. Ramsey, R. E. (Teller) Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. Thompson, P. Tudge, A. E. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Willcox, A. J. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

 Consideration in Detail 27 11:36 Ms TINK 300124 North Sydney I move the amendments circulated in my name together: (1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 12 (line 24), omit "12 months", substitute "18 months". (2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 12 (line 25), omit "12 months", substitute "18 months". (3) Schedule 1, item 2, page 12 (line 28), omit "12 months", substitute "18 months". These are quite extraordinary times that we find ourselves in, and it's unfortunate that this is being pursued so close to the end of the year. Let's make no mistake: we're here today due to a sustained and consistent failure of past federal governments to look beyond the immediate political term and identify and navigate significant reform to bring our country to a better place overall. The blame cannot merely be shifted offshore to a Russian war. With that said, the legislation we have before us today, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, is the instrument that is being offered and, given its potential impact and operation, it's important that it's properly scrutinised. Concerningly, from looking at media reports, it appears that many Australians may be falsely led to believe the reason this legislation is so urgent is that it is seeking to deliver cost relief for Australians prior to Christmas. The truth of this legislation is that this is not the case. The legislation we are discussing today will affect the market price available for gas and coal from mid-Q1 next year, with any impact not felt until Q2 2023. This legislation enables the flow of dollar-matched funds from the federal government via state governments to the energy providers themselves, with the end effect being the creation of an ecosystem where, rather than seeing a reduction in their bills, consumers will feel no increase or no additional pain. Fundamentally, it's akin to paying off one group to try and soften the effects on another. Sadly, the issues we are facing are not ones that were unexpected. Speaking on behalf of the people of North Sydney, I say we're disappointed that we find ourselves at this time of year trying to rapidly and critically review a significant piece of legislation, with very little time to fully consult with those who need to be recognised as being most impacted. When it comes to the views of the people of North Sydney, though, I can confirm that residents are worried about the rising cost of energy bills, they overwhelmingly support a windfall profits tax on fossil fuels, they do not support any compensation flowing from the government to gas or coal companies as part of this package, and they have huge enthusiasm for using this opportunity to fast-track the renewable rollout. This legislation will create a situation where the federal government is working with the eastern states in a dollar-matching scenario to effectively subsidise the cost of energy in a number of areas. Exactly how this will be done is still largely unknown, as the processes around distribution will be left to the state governments. I am moving these amendments today to extend the gas market energy price order from 12 months to 18 months to enable small to medium-sized energy providers to have the certainty they need to secure favourable contract terms. Ultimately, the most important way we can reduce emissions across our country is to have residents and businesses buy their electricity from retailers of renewable electricity. The reality is that these are the providers driving rapid transition to true green energy for households. At present, smaller electricity retailers who try to do the right thing by contracting their supply from renewable generators are being impacted by the wholesale price rises, and a number have stopped taking new customers. While the proposed legislation goes some way to addressing this, by lowering wholesale prices for renewably backed small to medium-sized electricity retailers, the 12-month cap on gas prices creates too much uncertainty for them to reliably negotiate commercially competitive binding contracts. Setting the cap to 18 months would provide sufficient time for small retailers to have long enough price certainty to lock their hedge contracts and deliver lower costs for consumers. This will help keep small retailers in the game for market diversity and consumer choice. Ultimately, the number of unknown factors relating to this legislation is still significant, and when looking at it objectively we must recognise this is yet another example of short-term problem solving rather than significant, long-term positive reform. In the longer term, for us to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, we must do everything we can to transition as quickly as possible away from fossil fuels. This is an opportunity for the government to look more holistically at the role fossil fuels play in our society and for us to move away from them. As a final cautionary note, I would also like to sound the potential for this intervention to be used as a cover for faster approval for new coal and gas projects, as has been the case in New South Wales. In the case of the amendment I'm moving today, my support for this bill is given on the condition that it does indeed enable us to transition more quickly to a renewable and sustainable future, and it should not be mistaken for support for propping up industries of the past like coal and gas. We must remain squarely focused on an orderly and ambitious transition to a clean energy future. 11:41 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I want to acknowledge the engagement by the crossbench and also the amendment just moved then by the honourable member. I also want to say a couple of things about the amendment moved earlier on by the member for Kooyong. The government won't be supporting the member for North Sydney's amendment, but we do have the opportunity with the six-month review of the $12 temporary cap to make sure that it's working as intended and that we've got the time frames right. Obviously around that time, as we review that cap, we will engage with the member and with other interested parties to make sure that the cap is working as it's intended. I want to thank the member for Kooyong for the conversations that we've had about her helpful suggestion that the ACCC make public some of the advice that we've received about the arrangements for the gas industry. We weren't able to support it in the second reading amendment stage a moment ago, but we will look to provide some information from the ACCC to the public and to the member so that people can consider that on its own merits as well. I'm in discussions with the ACCC right now about the best way to facilitate that. Thank you to the member for Kooyong and the member for North Sydney for the suggestions that they've made, and also to everyone involved in the debate so far. I'm aware that this isn't a summing up, but this is the best opportunity to provide our view on a couple of the amendments that were made. Obviously it's become clearer in the last little while that what the opposition intends to do is abandon the workers, industries, pensioners and small businesses of this country. Shortly, when the bells ring, those opposite will be voting for higher energy prices and for no household assistance for Australian families, pensioners and small businesses. The position that we heard put by those opposite is riddled with ridiculous contradiction after ridiculous contradiction. At the same time, simultaneously, those opposite have said that we should have moved quicker on this but that we're moving too fast and it needs to go off to a committee. They've said that they oppose it because they didn't have time to read it, and at the same time they're saying that they oppose it because they've read it. They come up one after another after another and say prices are too high, but they refuse to do anything about it. It is one ridiculous contradiction after another. That is for just one reason: all these excuses, all these alibis, are all about covering up for a decade of policy failure that continues today and that has the member for Hume's fingerprints all over it. The decade of failure we've seen from those opposite has left us more vulnerable to these kinds of shocks we're seeing in the international energy markets. With their vote, and with their failures over a decade in government, they have left Australians and Australian industries more vulnerable. It is left to us, working with the crossbench, to ensure we are doing what we can to take some of the edge off these high and rising prices. Let's be clear: the Australian people expect us to act in their interests here, and they are watching. They will know who stood up for them in this place today, and they will know who sold them out. Opposition members interjecting— Dr CHALMERS 37998 A reminder to members who are interjecting that Hansard records the names. The people will know who stood up for Australians and their industries and who didn't in this place today. We know that this is a complex issue. Some of the issues in the energy markets have been building for some time, and they've been exacerbated by a war in Europe; everyone knows that. The solutions are complex as well, if we're frank about it. But the proposition for this parliament is very simple today, and the clock is ticking on those opposite. We can support energy bill relief, or you can oppose it. We can protect our manufacturing industry, or you can destroy it. We can save Australian jobs, or you can surrender Australian jobs with your vote today. We stand for families and pensioners, for Australian industries and for Australian jobs. Let's get this to the Senate and let's get this done. (Time expired) The SPEAKER 53517 The time for this debate has concluded. The question is that the amendments be disagreed to. Question agreed to. 11:47 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume As I said earlier, this has been a shambolic process from those opposite. It is shambolic legislation, with shambolic ministers, and it will deliver shambolic outcomes. I am going to spend a moment talking about some of those outcomes. Hugo Chalmers, over there, is going to have complete control— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Hume will refer to members by their correct title. Of all people, he knows that is the rule in this place. Mr TAYLOR 231027 It is an absolutely important rule and it should be applied consistently; I agree. The Treasurer, over there, will be given autocratic powers under this legislation. Right at the heart of that is an aggressive price cap. But the bad news for the Treasurer is history, application and the theory all tell us that aggressive price caps are bad for consumers and make customers worse off. Let me take those opposite through the theory, the application and the history on exactly this issue. I go right back to macroeconomics from the 1980s, with this University of Sydney textbook. I will point out that the Minister for Climate Change and Energy was there, educated perhaps with this textbook by Jack Hirshleifer, back in the 1990s, as was, ostensibly at least, the Prime Minister. On page 231 there is a wonderful exposition of aggressive price caps. The textbook says: 'Supplies will be lost, leaving less available for consumers.' It goes on to say: 'The cumulative effect may be a breakdown of legitimate trade', and then it goes on to document that this will make consumers worse off, not better off. When we look at history, we see exactly this. Of course, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In the 1970s, the US president, Nixon at the time, imposed a 90-day price cap. It was a complete disaster, triggering stagflation. It was ultimately a disaster within the US economy. Gough Whitlam sought to replicate that in 1973 and took it to a referendum, and the Australian people rejected it. They rejected it because queueing up to get your petrol, being rationed, was not what they wanted. Ultimately, the costs to consumers were higher than was worthwhile to the Australian public. Those opposite are failing to listen to experts and the industry about what will happen as a result of this legislation. I look at one of the industry players, who said on 12 December in the AFR, 'This reckless free market intervention by the government will divert investment away,' and, as a result, reduce supply. Now, what happens when you reduce supply? Prices go up for consumers. What's remarkable about this legislation is that, with this autocratic legislation they—including the Treasurer there—are controlling the price from the producers, but they're ignoring the consumers. There's no impact on bringing down prices for consumers in this legislation. It's all about their disdain for the producers. Let me talk a little bit more about what some of the other producers have said. Meg O'Neill, the CEO of Woodside, one of the major producers of gas, in the Bass Strait, has said it will 'make it difficult for industry to economically invest' to deliver supply. That's what she said. The supply is simply not going to be there. She goes on to say that 'the unprecedented market intervention announced risks driving investment out of the system'. We've heard Credit Suisse say in recent days: The damage has already started: nearly all gas contracting has shrivelled up in the last few days. This is my question to the minister. The media release stated that the average Australian family 'would be $230 worse off next year if we do not take action'. What modelling was undertaken by the Treasury to provide this figure? Will the government commit to tabling that modelling? 11:52 Ms SPENDER 286042 Wentworth I rise in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022. I rise in support of this bill because I think families and businesses in this country are hurting, and they are hurting because of a war overseas, and that has driven a fossil fuel price crisis. I do not like to intervene in markets. I don't genuinely think that's the role of government. But in this case I think we have been left with no choice. I feel that, while I have concerns about the bill, it is appropriate in terms of not raising inflation and not interfering with our overseas contracts. I support the amendment the Greens have put forward to make sure that we invest in household electrification and moving our families in Australia off fossil fuels. My question really is about what we're going to do in the long term. Australia is currently running a capital account deficit. This is something that hasn't really happened for 50 years, and this is a time when we need an unprecedented investment in capital. And we need to find a long-term way to manage our resources and our energy markets so that companies have the certainty to invest, so that our communities are protected from price spikes in the future that are driven by external circumstances such as wars, and, also, so that our community benefits from increased prices when they happen and they're unexpected. This is a long-term question in front of the parliament, and that is a question that I put to the Treasurer. 11:54 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax In light of the lack of detail and of advance notice of this bill, there are any number of questions that need to be answered. I'll start with this one, if I may. In situations where gas demand is forecast to exceed available supply, who decides who gets $12 gas and who goes without? Which minister or department will be responsible for making that decision and on what basis will it be made? Further, will gas power generation be prioritised, or will the lights be allowed to go out? Another question goes to the confusion caused by the government between the various documents associated with the bills. The consultation paper on the Treasury website says the Western Australian gas market will be excluded from the price cap. Which section of the primary legislation excludes Western Australia from that price? Further, on this issue, how can Western Australia be excluded from the price cap under section 53ZG of the primary legislation? Further, how does section 53ZZ(2) not directly conflict with section 53ZG of the primary legislation? Further, does the bill or an instrument made under it prohibit a gas user from buying gas on a long-term contract and subsequently exporting it? Does the bill or an instrument made under it prohibit a gas user from buying gas on a long-term contract and subsequently reselling it in the spot market? The media release of 9 December from the Prime Minister stated: The Commonwealth Government will partner with States and Territories to deliver targeted and temporary relief on power bills to eligible Australian households and small businesses that are customers of electricity retailers. My question is: what is the mechanism for this? Also, will a small business with a turnover of $50 million benefit from energy price relief under this bill? Will a small business with 25 staff benefit from energy price relief under this bill? How many small businesses in Queensland will benefit from energy price relief under this bill? Will a small manufacturing business in Queensland employing 15 staff and with an annual energy consumption of 102 megawatt hours benefit from energy price relief under this bill? All of these are questions you would expect the minister to be able to answer, and I will close early to give him the opportunity to do so. 11:58 Ms WATSON-BROWN 300127 Ryan This week the phones and emails in our Ryan electorate office have been running really hot with people truly distressed about huge cost-of-living pressures. Steep rises in energy bills are a significant challenge. People are absolutely desperate for relief. People are in real pain, so let's be crystal clear about where the problem lies and who has been causing this pain. As so many other speakers have said today, coal and gas corporations have been driving up these prices, profiteering off war and making exorbitant profits from the suffering of everyday Australians. The government have been talking about handing out compensation for what is, in reality, to them, a very modest price cap. I call this out as nothing other than using our tax dollars as charity for big corporations, and that's ridiculous cruelty. These coal and gas corporations made $152 billion this year in exports. They don't need to be rewarded with the extra cash; everyday Australians do. The people of Ryan are calling on the government to be sensible about and responsive to this and to look after people rather than the interests of their mates in the fossil fuel industry. Here's what the people of Ryan think we should do instead. We should institute a windfall tax on the excessive profits of coal and gas corporations. We should be using that money to cap people's power bills at the level that they were before the war in Ukraine. We should be bringing energy retail back into public ownership so that there aren't energy retailers making these huge mark-ups by selling on energy—our energy—that they don't even produce. We should be expediting the transition to a clean energy economy so this doesn't ever happen again. On a broader level, the fact that the government is finally capping prices on domestic coal and gas shows just how possible it is for the government to actually take more control over an essential service like energy. This year has actually put a big question mark around the way we run energy as a market based system meant to deliver maximum profits even to government corporations, rather than run it based on delivering people's needs. The SPEAKER 53517 The time for this matter has concluded. The question is that the bill be agreed to.      

The House divided. [12:04]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

85 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bowen, C. E. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chandler-Mather, M. Chaney, K. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Daniel, Z. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. 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. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Murphy, P. J. 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) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Tink, K. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 41 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Birrell, S. J. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Fletcher, P. W. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hastie, A. W. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McKenzie, Z. A. 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) Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. Thompson, P. Tudge, A. E. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Willcox, A. J. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.
Bill agreed to.

 Third Reading 32 12:07 The 53517 SPEAKER (): The question now is that this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. BUSINESS 32 BUSINESS Leave of Absence 32 12:08 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh I move: That leave of absence be given to every Member of the House of Representatives from the determination of this sitting of the House to the date of its next sitting. Question agreed to. Rearrangement 32 12:09 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh I move: That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the resolution agreed to today being varied as follows: paragraph (12) omit "1.30 pm" and substitute "3 pm". This motion takes account of the very long speaking list that has emerged on the motion of condolence that the Prime Minister is about to move. This motion is moved with the support of the opposition, I understand. Question agreed to. CONDOLENCES 32 CONDOLENCES Arnold, Constable Matthew, Dare, Mr Alan, McCrow, Constable Rachel 32 12:09 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I move: That the House record its deep regret at the death on 12 December 2022 of Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold and Mr Alan Dare, place on record its acknowledgement of their bravery and sacrifice in the line of duty, and tender its sympathy to their families in their bereavement. Monday 12 December should have been an ordinary summer's day on the Western Downs, a day of warmth under that big blue sky, a day of peace. Instead, that quiet was shattered by the gunfire of an atrocity—a vicious and deadly ambush that has stolen lives, broken hearts, devastated a community and shocked our nation. On Monday afternoon, four Queensland police officers from the Tara police station, all still just in their 20s—young people, serving their community; a rich and full life ahead of them—were sent out on what was supposed to be a routine check, just an ordinary part of the job that they were so proud to do. But the property they were visiting was no normal home or farm. It was, unbeknownst to them, a fortress and an armoury. As the Queensland Police Commissioner, Katarina Carroll, has said, they did not stand a chance. Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were murdered. Constable Randall Kirk was shot and wounded, and Constable Keely Brough assumed that she, too, would die, either shot by her pursuers or burned alive when they set the grass that she was sheltering in on fire to try and drive her out. Constable Brough grabbed her phone to seek assistance for her colleagues. And then she texted her loved ones what she imagined would be her final goodbyes. Even then, surrounded by danger and death, her first thought was for her fellow officers. It is a miracle that Keely survived. Tragically, Alan Dare did not—a neighbour who came to the property's front gate, driven by that great Australian instinct to help; an innocent Australian who paid for his kindness and concern with his life. Police officers in regional Australia are servants of the community and they're part of its fabric. I've been speaking with the mayor, Paul McVeigh, and also I've had discussions with the local MP, the Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, about the nature of their communities. Over 200 Tara residents gathered at their police station to observe a minute's silence for Matthew and Rachel. The Queensland Police Union chief executive, Ian Leavers, said, 'In Chinchilla, they've run out of flowers.' They are such close-knit and caring communities, and the loss of these lives has fallen hard on a great many people. The community are gathering. The community, tomorrow night, will hold events in both Tara and Chinchilla. I'm advised by the mayor that they are taking measures, such as the local car wash donating every dollar that goes through there to the families. The community are donating, everything from sausages and other food through to beverages, so that they can gather together to mourn together. Locals have been saddened by these deaths and shocked by such a senseless atrocity; an act of violence and bloodshed so sudden, so cold, so alien to the community and country they know and so far beyond rational comprehension. Part of the responsibility that all of us have is not just a solemn duty of remembering and honouring those who were killed; it is examining what drove their killers and finding a way to draw that poison out of our nation. Our nation mourns with all those who loved Matthew Arnold, Rachel McCrow and Alan Dare. We know that for their families this Christmas there will be a place at the table not taken, an empty space of grief and loss that the years will never be able to fill. To those families we say again today: Australia mourns with you. We mourn also with the bigger community and the larger family to which all police officers, past and present, belong—including, I want to note, the Leader of the Opposition, who served as a Queensland police officer—because we understand that every death in the line of duty strikes at the hearts of all of those who serve and casts a shadow over all those who wait for their loved ones to come home from work. Mr Speaker, it is true that every police officer knows the risks that they face in their life of duty. They are all too aware of the dangers, yet they do their job each and every day regardless. They do it for us, for our communities, for our nation. That is courage. It is public service at the highest level. Today, and every day, we pay tribute to each and every one of the police officers who serve us and protect us. Last night the Attorney-General and I went to the Police Memorial here in Canberra, which overshadows the lake, to lay a wreath of respect with, as well, the Acting Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Ian McCartney, who's here with us today. I welcome you, sir, and I thank you and all of your fellow officers for your service. I also acknowledge that joining us in the gallery today are Acting Deputy Commissioner Lesa Gale and Acting Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto. Mr Speaker, we grieve for Alan Dare. And we grieve for Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, who have paid a price that no-one who puts on the uniform should ever have to pay. We can never count the true cost. We can never repay the full debt. All we can offer is the humble thanks of a grateful nation and the heartfelt condolences of the Australian people. With honour they served. May they rest in peace. 12:17 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I join with the Prime Minister in his fine words and acknowledge that in the gallery today, representing the police family, are Acting Commissioner Ian McCartney, Acting Deputy Commissioner Lesa Gale and Acting Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto. In the aftermath of a tragedy we reflect on what we've lost and what we've learned. Constable Rachel McCrow was sworn in as a police officer last year. Her friends said she was a person with a selfless nature and a genuine care for others, a person who always went above and beyond and took pride in her job. Constable Matthew Arnold was a triplet. His former principal said that he was a talented athlete and that he'll be remembered as a man of service, integrity and compassion. Alan Dare was due to celebrate his 26th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. A resident of Tara described him as a kind man who looked after disadvantaged teenagers. Constable McCrow, Constable Arnold and Mr Dare meant so much to so many. For those many, of course, there will be much pain and sadness, now and enduring. Those of us who didn't know Constable McCrow, Constable Arnold or Mr Dare will continue to hear about their lives and their deeds in many tributes. Our nation, clearly, has lost three wonderful Australians, three people who embodied compassion, commitment and courage during their lives and in their final moments. Certainly those are qualities that we will remember, and which we will revere. It's those qualities which will continue to inspire confidence in us to confront evil, wherever it lurks. I want to also acknowledge and pay tribute to Constable Randall Kirk and Constable Keely Brough. As the Prime Minister pointed out and others have said, their bravery, their composure and their quick thinking in extreme has helped save their own lives, as well as others, in calling for backup. We certainly wish Constable Kirk a speedy recovery from his wounds. At the National Police Memorial here in Canberra, there is a walkway, and engraved into that walkway are the words of loved ones, fellow officers and community members, in memory of those they lost. This is one tribute: 'She had special qualities of reliability, of dedication and community spirit;' and another: 'That man was a godsend to the area; it needed someone just like him.' Whilst those words speak to specific individuals, of course they also capture the ethos of Australia's law enforcement community. Australians have always been able to rely on those who wear a uniform at the state and federal levels. They go into the line of fire and into danger zones so that we don't have to. I hope that the virtues displayed by Constables McCrow, Arnold, Kirk and Brough continue to inspire the next generation of young police officers. I want to acknowledge the work of Commissioner Katarina Carroll and her bravery, her leadership and her inspiration. Equally, I want to acknowledge the contribution and the support of the Queensland Police Union, headed by Ian Leavers, and the associations and the federation, which do great work around the country in providing that day-to-day support and the support in years to come. The depravity of this incident is what has struck hardest. On 29 September, many of us went to police memorials around the country for the commemoration day, to mark those who had lost their lives in the service of their state or the Commonwealth—every one them a tragedy. But, in this instance, what has hit hardest across the country is the execution style and the complete disregard for the human beings these officers were—the premeditated nature of the attack and the callous lack of heeding the pleas that would have echoed in between the gunshots. I want to acknowledge the work of all of those who attended the scene, including forensics officers, Special Emergency Response Team officers and the many police officers who will be scarred from this experience. By chance, as I returned from Toowoomba earlier this week, we came onto the highway to go to Brisbane, and the motorcade was there, carrying the bodies of the officers, with the highway blocked as they moved down to Brisbane to the John Tonge Centre. It was a reminder of the good and the bravery that they displayed. I want to thank the Prime Minister for the condolence motion today. I say thank you to all of those who provided support and comfort to the families involved and all of those who have attended police stations. There are many reports of local communities, particularly in western Queensland, running out of flowers, and the tributes will continue for some time to come. Our thoughts are also with the officers of the Tara and Chinchilla police stations, the Queensland Police Service more broadly and the Wieambilla community, represented ably by the Leader of the Nationals here today. This is particularly difficult as we head into Christmas. We should all spare a thought and a prayer for those who have lost their lives and for those who continue to serve over Christmas to keep our families and us safe. 12:26 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs I rise today to join the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and all members of this House to express my deepest condolences to the families of Constable Matthew Arnold, Constable Rachel McCrow and Mr Alan Dare, three people who went to help others and lost their lives in a cold-blooded ambush—three lives cut short, three futures denied, three families left heartbroken at a time when families across the country are preparing to join together to celebrate Christmas. For these three families, there will be an empty seat and grief instead of celebration. We think of their loved ones who grieve their loss. We grieve with them. The police involved in this tragedy were dedicated members of the Queensland Police Service. Any police officer will tell you they are members of the broader police family, and there is no police officer unaffected by this tragedy. Today we pay tribute to those who responded to this terrible attack with quick action, kindness, grace and compassion. This includes the police officers and other first responders who arrived at the scene ready to help. The communities of Weiambilla, Tara and Chinchilla have suffered an unspeakable tragedy. We will stand with them. Today we recognise and honour Constable Randall Kirk and Constable Keely Brough, who, in the face of grave danger, survived, demonstrating extraordinary bravery and ensuring their colleagues could be retrieved. They will walk through life with the scars and memories of that day. We will walk with them. Like so many Australians do every day, Mr Dare went to check on a neighbour, thinking he could lend a hand in their time of need. No-one should meet their fate when going to the aid of others. We must never accept that police attending a property or a neighbour coming to offer help will be met with such violence, such brutality. The response from the community, the outpouring of love, the way we've come together, shows Australians never will. Yesterday evening I was honoured to join the Prime Minister and the acting Federal Police commissioner, Ian McCartney, to lay a wreath at the National Police Memorial in Canberra. I acknowledge Acting Commissioner McCartney, who joins us today, representing all Australian police. The National Police Memorial is simple, unobtrusive, and a place of contemplation. It sits just across the lake from here, a wall of touchstones bearing the names of officers who've died in the line of duty. Sadly, the names of Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow will now be added to the long list of fallen officers. As I stood with police officers paying their respects, I reflected on the fact that each of these brave men and women accept the risk of danger every day. They and those who love them know there may be a day they won't come home from work, and yet, each day, they get up and put their uniform on. Despite the fear, the pain of losing colleagues and the worry of their loved ones, they continue to protect and serve their communities. We honour Constable Arnold and Constable McCrow, alongside all those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. We also honour Mr Dare, who went to his neighbour's property to see if he could lend a hand. This has been a sad week. The House joins as one in grief to mark these three brave Australians. 12:30 Mr LITTLEPROUD 265585 Maranoa I thank the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, not just as the member for Maranoa but as a boy from Chinchilla. The innocence of this nation but also of two small western Queensland towns was shattered on Monday, when four officers—two from Tara, Constable McCrow and Constable Arnold; and Constables Brough and Kirk—left their stations on a routine job, with pure intent to serve their community, and they were met with malicious intent, with a vile outcome that has shattered the innocence of two small country towns, the likes of which we have never seen before and something we hope we never see again. The bravery of Constables Brough and Kirk in the line of fire—being able to escape a situation they weren't prepared for; they had no intelligence that it was coming—is something that mere mortals would find hard to comprehend: to see two of their colleagues slain in cold-blooded murder. It is one of the most vile acts I have seen and heard about to those who are prepared to put their lives on the line for us. As a society we are better than that—and we are, and our communities are. While this is a stake to the heart of two small country towns, it's not the end. In fact, it has only solidified the strength, solidified our reverence for those that serve our community—because once you become a country copper you become a part of the community. There is a sense of protection by our police in the bush because, in our hour of need, we know that they are there to protect us, isolated from much of the rest of the world. And so they are one of us, and to have this happen in these communities with that reverence for those that serve us—the most exalted position, above politicians, above mayors—is something that has torn our community and rocked our community to the core. But I'm proud of the fact that our community wrap our arms around those that continue to serve us, but also around Alan Dare's family. A husband, a father, a grandfather, who yesterday with Kerry celebrated 26 years of marriage—26 years together, living a peaceful, happy life, but doing what we all do in the bush: when someone needs help, you step up. And Alan Dare, with another neighbour, stood up. They went to help a neighbour. They walked into the line of fire. He paid the ultimate price. His family has paid the ultimate price, along with these two brave constables. I'm proud of my community. It has already raised $56,000 to help the Dare family in whatever small way that is. Whatever outpouring we can show in a monetary sense or whatever, our community is there. And for these officers our community is there. For these families, we have no words. There's no explanation for this. You cannot explain the inconceivable—the vile actions of these individuals. What we have to take strength from and believe in as a community and as a country is that their legacy, their honour, is that we as custodians of this great democracy and this great country and our great communities will come together and solidify around the loss, the huge loss, that these families now face. In our part of the world, you're only classified as a local if you're born in these towns and live there all your life. But, to Alan, Rachel and Matthew: you're now locals. You're now the greatest locals we've ever had. 12:35 Ms O'NEIL 140590 Hotham Firstly, to the member for Maranoa: on behalf of all of us in the chamber and on behalf of all of our communities, we express our deepest sorrow to you, as a representative of your area. This is a horrible incident, and I truly am sorry. The PM has shared some beautiful words with the chamber. To hear that there's a town that's run out of flowers—I think that says it all. There is something very, very special about the kind of community that we see in country Australia. You've spoken very movingly about how this will affect the people who live there, Member for Maranoa. Can I say to the Leader of the Opposition: we have plenty of arguments in this chamber, but today we're all on the same side of politics. I just want to acknowledge to the opposition leader that we all see and understand how much this will affect him personally. We thank you for your service in uniform to your community. Our country today is in mourning. We've lost two brave young people who put on a uniform to serve their community. We've lost a member of the public who died undertaking his own act of bravery. We've got two police officers who are injured and traumatised. These were heroic Australians doing heroic acts, who have, in three instances, lost their lives. To lose your life in the service of your community—without question, this is a tragedy for our country. Our hearts go out, particularly, to Queensland police, who are now investigating a horrible crime that has occurred and are in the process of mourning two of their members. Policing is difficult, dangerous work, and I'm very grateful for the service of those officers around this country. We heard the Attorney-General express the government's thanks to the police officers who are here in the chamber, and I extend my grateful thanks to them too. The Queensland police will, of course, lead an investigation into what has occurred and do the very important and diligent work of ascertaining what the motivations for violence were in this case. I would say to the country: we need to allow the police some time and space to do that work. Australians should know that their security agencies are actively considering the implications of this matter for the national security of our country—the implications of online radicalisation, misinformation and violent extremism. There is a lot of media reporting and speculation about what motivated these three people to perform the despicable acts of violence that they did. A lot of what comes out in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy is incorrect, and we need to pause a little bit here before we get into the discussion about what's happened. It's really important that we let law enforcement and national security agencies do their job. Once the picture does start to clarify, it is likely that radicalisation will form a part of it. Radicalisation is not new, but it is absolutely clear from events here and around the world that conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation—problems as old as time—are being turbocharged by technology into terrible acts of violence. They are presenting a new kind of threat to our national security. There will be deep and very important policy questions for us here as a parliament in thinking about how our country prevents and deals with acts of violent extremism, but today is not the day for those discussions. Today is a day for grieving, and, again, I express my deepest sympathies for all of those who are affected by this horrible act of violence. I'll say briefly, too, in my role as a local member, just how much I'm thinking of the police officers who protect the community in Hotham that I live in and love. The work you do is so important to our community, and we are thinking of all of you who are protecting us during this difficult period ahead and through into Christmas. 12:39 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I rise in support of this motion led by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. It is times like this when we come together as a parliament, and I want to acknowledge the heartfelt speeches all members have contributed to this motion but particularly that of the Leader of the Opposition; as a past serving police officer, you know this better than just about anybody else in this place. I also acknowledge other members in this place who have served wearing the uniform. We acknowledge here today the deaths of Constable Rachel McCrow, age 29, and Constable Matthew Arnold, age 26. No person should go to work and not come home, whether that be on a building site or, in this case, on a farm in the western Darling Downs. When I heard the news coming through on Monday night, I, like most of us, experienced a great sense of grief and despair. I put something up on Facebook and was flooded by responses from everyday Australians and Queenslanders—good people who refuse to acknowledge that this is not what we are as Australians. Members of the Queensland Police Service—17,000 members—form a community of 66,000 police officers around this country who go to work every day to serve their communities, to serve us. They know that, like members of the military, one day they may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice, but, of course, none of them would ever expect to do that. But they do it. They join up. They do it to protect us as citizens. As we remember Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold—and also Alan Dare—today, we remember their sacrifice. We remember the sense of service that they gave and that their colleagues continue to give. We remember their other colleagues Constable Keely Brough and Constable Randall Kirk, who was wounded. We will never understand the unspeakable grief that those survivors will be living with for the rest of their lives, nor will we understand the grief of the scenes-of-crime officers, the SERT officers and the other officers who came and retrieved the deceased. These men and women in uniform run to the sound of trouble when most of us would run away. I want to acknowledge Commissioner Katarina Carroll. I want to acknowledge the work that has been done by Ian Leavers, a great Queenslander and a great contributor and representative of his colleagues in QPS. I want to say to Australians and Queenslanders and members in this place who have served in uniform: if you have an interaction with the police, whether it be today, tomorrow or next week, please acknowledge them for the service they have performed and continue to perform. Acknowledge them and thank them for their service. We thank our military and our veterans, as we should, but we rarely thank our emergency service workers. Our emergency service workers, sadly, see so much carnage, whether it be on the roads or in domestic violence or, in this case, worse. We need, as an Australian community, to throw our arms around them and, as an Australian community, let them know that we love them and care for them, and thank them for their service, and that we will help support them in any way we can, whether that's in Tara, Chinchilla, Maroochydore, Alexandra Headland—it doesn't matter where it is in Australia. Go up to a member of the QPS or a police service today—or an ambulance or a firie—and say, 'Thank you for your service. Thank you for putting your life on the line every single day of your working life so that we can have better lives as Australians.' 12:45 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair Most Australians from a young age are familiar with the police, from Adopt-A-Cop in our schools, to Anzac Day services and parades, Neighbourhood Watch and Crime Stoppers. They see their local police officers, clubs and associations at their fetes, festivals and faith based groups. They are respected. They're not a force but a service, and with honour they serve. Australians in regional areas are used to young constables being transferred to their communities. The community embraces them. The local community becomes their community. Tara is like so many country Queensland towns which service remote and even more remote areas like Wieambilla. For all Australians, but even more so for regional Queenslanders, decentralisation means that the bonds of friendship and feeling are more intense. The recent events are shocking, incomprehensible—a monstrosity, a barbarity beyond any form of sane understanding. Four young police officers were doing what they were expected to do and what they were trained to do, to follow up a missing persons report—to be ambushed and executed in cold blood is beyond words. This was senseless slaughter. A neighbour was doing what any good neighbour does, seeing if he could help—a good Samaritan act—and yet he was gunned down without mercy. Our hearts, deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the grieving family and friends of the two brave police officers slain: Constable Matthew Arnold, 26 years of age; and Constable Rachel McCrow, 29 years of age—younger than my daughters, lives cut down short. I pay tribute to those police officers for their service, and I grieve for their families. I pay tribute to the serving police officers, Constable Randall Kirk and Constable Keely Brough. How they'll ever get their lives back is beyond belief. Their lives will never be the same. I pay tribute to Alan Dare, whose neighbourly instinct led him to try to help, and he, tragically, was murdered. I pay tribute to the specially trained tactical police officers who showed immense courage and yet terminated the lives of the murderous trio. They risked their lives, and the bullet holes in the armoured police vehicle show that it was under a tremendous hail of bullets that they retrieved the bodies of their comrades slain. Bridges in Brisbane's central are coloured in the blue and white of the Queensland Police Service. The sight of those colours on a uniform of an officer of the Queensland police during cyclones, bushfires and floods is always comforting to Queenslanders, particularly regional Queenslanders. Flowers and tributes, from Tara to Brisbane and around Australia, have been laid at police stations and elsewhere—outpourings of sympathy and grief. In November 2018, I joined so many at the official opening of the new Queensland Police Memorial located in Brisbane's City botanic gardens, a place of reflection for family members, colleagues and the community to honour and pay their respects to fallen Queensland Police Service members, the first of whom was killed back in 1861—over 150 since then. Very sadly, the names of the fallen from the Tara station will be added, by necessity, and it's fitting to do so. Each year, in each federal electorate around the country, services of remembrance and commemoration are held for officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice. It's done on National Police Remembrance Day, which started in 1989. I want to thank the extraordinary performance of Queensland Police Commissioner, Katarina Carroll, and the senior ranks for the support they've show the Queensland police community in the last few days. I extend my deepest sympathy to them. I extend that sympathy to the Queensland police officers in my electorate, in Ipswich, the Somerset region, and base at the Karana Downs police station as well. I've pay tribute to the outstanding performance of the General President and CEO of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leavers—someone known to many in this chamber, across the aisle. He is deeply respected. His work, and the work of his union members and their senior ranks, has been exemplary. I contacted Ian and asked him what I could say on his behalf. I couldn't think of a better thing to say than his own words in the statement he released from the union on the day of the tragedy: The events of today remind us that our job as police is always dangerous. It never stops, and it comes at a heavy cost to us all. It is also a stark reminder of what we risk every day… We know that when we leave home to go to work each day, there are never any guarantees we will come home at the end of the day. These officers' lives have been cut tragically short for one reason and one reason alone, for simply doing their job, and we Queensland police remember and honour them. These are great words, but simple words, from Ian Leavers. Ian and his team have wrapped their loving arms around the Queensland police community and their loved ones. I thank Ian and the union leadership for their empathy and ongoing commitment to their colleagues, fallen and alive. It has been exemplary. The union has a memorial fund and Ian has asked me to let the public know that that memorial fund has been set up so people can donate funds. All the funds will go to and assist the families of Matthew and Rachel. I would encourage the public to do so. There is an old saying in St John's gospel which states, 'There is no greater love than this: that someone should lay down their life for their friends.' The words are ancient but their relevance is contemporary. These police officers have given their lives in the service of their community, their state and their country. They paid a price they should never have had to pay. The least we can do is follow their example and support their colleagues, support their family and support their friends. They were doing their jobs but they were heroes. They will rest in peace but not be forgotten. 12:52 Mr LLEW O'BRIEN 265991 Wide Bay It is with a very heavy heart that I rise to speak on this condolence motion and pay tribute to those who were involved in this terrible event. As a former Queensland police officer, it truly is a tragedy. On 12 December 2022 four police officers attended a property at Wieambilla, south of Chinchilla, in response to a request for assistance with a routine missing persons inquiry from New South Wales. They got there at 4.30 pm and faced a hail of bullets. Two of the officers were struck down almost immediately, whilst the others were able to make a retreat. Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow were both murdered in what appears to be a calculated ambush. Constable Randall Kirk was shot in the leg and managed to retreat. Constable Keely Brough took cover in nearby bush. I just will say, in relation to Constable Brough, what you must've gone through in those hours before backup arrived would've been horrific. You acted with the highest degree of bravery. I pay tribute to your actions. Alan Dare, a neighbour who came, as has been said here, to do what Australians do was also gunned down. The loss that his family are feeling right now is equal to any. I pay tribute to him and acknowledge that loss. Mr Speaker: … police are the public and the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. They are the words of Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern-day policing, and they are as relevant in 2022 as they were in the early 1800s when he said them. As a former country cop before coming into this place, they're extremely relevant. You're a part of the community. You keep order. You help people. They rely on you and you rely on them. That's policing in Australia, and I think that is part of why this has struck so deep. Attacks like this, they attack the very fabric of who we are. Yes, there's a tragic, tragic loss of life here, but when citizens turn on each other in this way it's us turning on us, and it's horrible. We have to do everything to work out why and make sure it doesn't happen again. The police that were attending, those officers that we're paying tribute to today, they were going there to help. They were going there on a missing persons job, a simple callout. You're going there to make sure someone's okay. That is what you are going there for, to find them and say: 'Are you alright? Someone's worried about you. There's a call that has been made to police.' That's what they were going there for, to help. Unfortunately, one of the people that they were going to help had very different intentions, and that's what we've seen play out. As a former policeman, I've received a lot of messages over the past few days from colleagues, members of the community expressing their grief, horror, anger and sadness, but one thing they all, without exception, have said is this just doesn't happen in Australia. This is not Australia. And that is so true. We see this in other parts of the world, not Australia. I pay tribute also to the bravery of the local police who, after receiving the information that they were heading into a situation where their lives would be put on the line and they would more than likely be shot at, went in there. They hoped to rescue Matthew and Rachel. They did retrieve them but, unfortunately, they did so under a hail of fire. To them I say: you are heroes. That's a word that's bandied about a lot these days, but you truly are heroes. To the Special Emergency Response Team that goes out there with the very, very real and difficult job of stopping threat: I commend you for your performance and your duty. It must not be easy to know that when you are called out there is a strong chance you are going to have to take the life of another citizen. That's a heavy, heavy job. They are also unsung heroes a lot of the time, and I pay tribute to them for stopping that threat and containing it. A terrible, terrible job to have to do, but they did it. I also pay tribute to Ian, and his team at the police union, they're there in the good times and they're there in the bad times. I know, from my experience as a cop, I relied on the Queensland Police Union for their support, and they're doing that now. I commend that; I commend them. A total of six people were killed on that day: two police officers, one innocent neighbour and three offenders. Two other young police officers suffered injuries, no doubt that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. In conclusion, I honour Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow—they made the ultimate sacrifice. I extend my deepest sympathies to their families. I also pay tribute to their colleagues, the first responders who attended and all those involved. 13:01 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I rise today with an extremely heavy heart and a heart that's been rocked by the tragedy that we have seen out of Queensland this week. The fact is that a national tragedy occurred on Monday 12 December 2022, and the lives of two bright and promising young Australians were cruelly ripped away from all of us. I honour the fallen—to remember Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow—and recognise the hard work and dedication of their colleagues Constable Randall Kirk and Constable Keely Brough. I share in the collective grief of our nation and of our parliament, and extend my heartfelt sympathies to our wider police family. Police know that there's a risk when we walk out the door, and we know that this risk can have a catastrophic impact on the lives of those we love and who love us. Yet, in spite of this, police turn up. They show up at the worst times in people's lives, and they do what needs to be done. Police officers care and are very compassionate. They share of themselves and do their best to see everyone, including themselves and their partners, make it home safe at the end of the day. There are families across Australia today who have witnessed the worse nightmare of policing families coming true—the fear that the person our families know to be strong and dedicated could be so cruelly taken away, that there'd be a gaping wound open in the lives of those we love and all that potential can be taken away so quickly. To Dr Judy McCrow, Samantha McCrow and your families, to Sue Arnold, Hayley Arnold and James Arnold and your families, I share and see your grief and grieve with you. Your families have paid too high a price for the safety of the community and the tragic loss of your loved ones will not be forgotten. I also acknowledge the grief of the community and particularly the loss of Mr Alan Dare, a neighbour executed cruelly. To Kerry, Corey and Renee, I extend my deepest sympathies and condolences. A horrific attack on the way of life all Australians hold near and dear has occurred. The facts of this situation have played across the news over the last few days. What we know now is at the confronting situation that the police faced, being called out to what would be a routine job, and then to be ambushed and killed in this way; it was just horrific. Constable Matthew Arnold was sworn in as a police officer in March 2020 and Constable Rachel McCrow was sworn in as a police officer in June 2021. Both of them began their careers in the Dalby division, before moving to the Tara police station. Matthew was a triplet and brother to James and sister Hayley. He was a talented sportsman, who proudly gave back to his school, St Laurence's College. We just cannot imagine the pain that Sue Arnold and the rest of Matthew's family must be going through at this time. Matthew was a proud graduate of St Laurence's College, graduating in 2013. He left the school with a Sportsman of the Year Award and continued to serve the school community as a coach to students since graduation. He exemplified giving back to the communities that cared for him. I know and I understand he brought this compassion and community focus to his time as a serving police officer in Dalby and Tara. Rachel McCrow understood at a personal level the great personal fulfilment that comes from serving others. Her mother, Dr Judy McCrow, is a dedicated nurse and passionate academic who has given so much to the community. Together with her sister, Samantha, Rachel too was on the path of continuing that community service. A kind and supportive family member and friend, Rachel always stood resolutely and bravely for what she believed in, and she inspired others around her. I am told that for Rachel going above and beyond was normal, and she applied herself with such diligence and dedication as a police officer. She was warm and supportive and had all the skills that we need in the police who serve our community. Rachel's humanity shone through as a police officer, and she gave so much of herself to get the very best results. The grief that has poured forth from across the nation for Matthew and Rachel is a testament to the remarkable young police officers that they were. That their lives and their great promise have been cruelly cut short is a tragedy that no-one should have to experience. I know that everyone here in this place mourns for these lives cut short and mourns for the families who somehow must have to carry on. As a former Queensland police officer, I mourn for my former profession and colleagues. Two bright and dedicated Australians took up the role of police officer, and they brought their vigour, their life experience and their understanding of a new generation to the profession. They aspired to serve their community. The loss of that opportunity, for the Queensland police and indeed for the Queensland community is another layer to the absolute tragedy that has occurred. Their loss is something that the whole wider police family mourns very intently. It's a miracle also that constables Randall Kirk and Keely Brough survived this atrocity, and I think we are all overwhelmed and inspired by the actions they took in what were extremely difficult circumstances. Make no mistake: this was an execution planned by calculated monsters, and in the face of that horror, Randall, Keely, Rachel and Matthew rose up and paid a terrible price. The scars from this event will carry through the lives of the Queensland community, the Queensland police and indeed across the nation for many years to come. I also want to acknowledge the 16 brave officers who rallied to protect the community and defend their colleagues. From what we know, the circumstances that greeted them were confronting and horrific, and these police did what needed to be done to keep each other and the community safe. I especially want to acknowledge Constable Keely Brough and the courage she displayed under the most difficult of circumstances. We know that Keely desperately wanted to join the police service and worked incredibly hard to get there and join and serve. In this situation, when faced with brutal murderers and fearing for her own life by fire, by a deadly rain of bullets, she was able to provide intelligence and relay information to her colleagues. I want to acknowledge her actions and wish her a speedy recovery. In her first eight weeks as a police officer Keely has been faced with huge adversity and has risen to the challenge in the eight weeks she has been in the police. Constable Randall Kirk was shot, and his body was impacted by shrapnel. I understand he has left hospital and has been reunited with his wife, Breanna, and their young daughter. Randall and Breanna are expecting another child in January, and we wish them all the very best. Randall was shot and managed to make his way back to the car and get to safety. Like Keely, he continued to provide assistance and pass on information and raise the alarm with his colleagues. The pain that he must have been under is incomprehensible, and in the face of such adversity he rose with such bravery to continue to do what was best for everyone involved. I also want to acknowledge everyone at the Queensland Police Union, particularly president Ian Leavers, for their ongoing support of their members, especially at this time. In this place, we must continue to reflect on this tragedy and we must indeed lead the mourning in our nation. We must never forget, and could never forget, the sacrifices. We must never forget their families and the fundamental way those families' lives have changed forever. We must always reflect after these instances and ensure what must be done to prevent these tragedies from happening. We have a duty to ensure an Australia that is safe from such extreme violence. I pass on all my condolences to family and friends and to the wider police family, and I acknowledge all of the speakers here today. I ask everyone to continue to be mindful and reflective in the coming days. 13:11 Mrs ANDREWS 230886 McPherson I'd like to start by acknowledging the contributions of those who have already spoken here today. There have been some incredibly moving contributions by members in this place, but, in my view, none more moving than those of members who have spoken and have drawn on their experience as serving members, previously, of police forces. I thank them for their contributions but I also thank them for their service. I would like to say at the start that these people put their lives on the line every single shift, almost every single day, and I know that many of those people would take action during the times they are officially off duty. These are the people we call when the people across the road are beating each other up. They're the people we call when our next-door neighbour's house has been broken into. They're the people we call when there's been some sort of accident and emergency. They turn up, and they put in their absolute best to help other people. As a nation, we cannot be more grateful. Earlier this week, tragedy struck a small town in western Queensland. It shocked not only the people in those communities but communities right around Australia. What appeared to be a very routine call to check on the welfare of an individual ended in absolute tragedy. The police officers that turned up were out on a very routine call, doing their jobs. They went to work that morning and they never came home. Twenty-six-year-old Constable Matthew Arnold and 29-year-old Constable Rachel McCrow lost their lives. They didn't deserve this and their families didn't deserve this. These were two young people doing their jobs, going about their work. They did not deserve what happened to them that day at all. Their families deserve our support not just now but on an ongoing basis. Fifty-eight-year-old neighbour Alan Dare went next door to help a neighbour. He went there genuinely trying to help. He didn't come home either, and he was within days of celebrating a very significant anniversary. He didn't deserve exactly what he got for reaching out to try to help a neighbour who he thought needed him. My very heartfelt condolences go to his wife and his family. As a nation, we thank him for doing his best to try and help someone else. He will never ever be forgotten for what he did to support people who he felt were in need and who repaid him in an absolutely appalling manner. Today we pay tribute to Alan Dare, and we also pay tribute to the officers who lost their lives when they were out there doing their job and, in the course of their duty, protecting our community and keeping us all safe. To them, I say that their sacrifice will never, ever be forgotten, and to their families and to their friends, I say that we will never forget them and their contribution. As we have heard not only here today but through all of the reporting, there were two other police officers, who bravely managed to escape the line of fire to raise the alarm with their colleagues. One of those was also shot. It's a very, very timely reminder for us of the risks that our first responders—in this case, police officers—take when they enter circumstances and they are not expecting the outcome of being faced with a series of gunshots going their way. A team of four Queensland police on that day attended the call-out, which was originally requested by New South Wales police, and just two of those officers made it out that day, but they were able to raise the alarm. For those two officers, 28-year-old Constable Randall Kirk, who was shot, and 28-year-old Constable Keely Brough, their lives and the lives of their families and friends will be changed in a way that very few of us in this place could imagine. I recall hearing the words of the Queensland Police Commissioner, Katarina Carroll, shortly after the tragedy and after she had surveilled the open area where this tragedy unfolded. She said those officers 'didn't stand a chance', and it seems as if that was very much the case. The same evening, members of the special emergency response team, who specifically deal with high-risk incidents, killed the three armed offenders after a stand-off that lasted for hours. Monday night's operation was the most high-profile engagement in that unit's history. Those officers entered into a crime scene where some of their police colleagues had been brutally executed, and they spent six hours trying to secure the area. And they did, and I thank them for their efforts. To the families, friends and colleagues of all of those who have been impacted by the tragic loss of life, we send our thoughts to you. There are absolutely no words to convey how you must be feeling at this time, and you will carry that pain with you for years to come. I urge you, if you have been affected in any way, to take the time that you need to get the support that you need. I understand that the police family is banding together and providing as much support as they possibly can, and I know that there are mental health organisations, such as Fortem Australia, who are able to provide much-needed support to our first responders. I am very acutely aware that the police investigations are underway. There's a lot of discussion and a lot of commentary about what contributed to the actions of the three individuals that chose to execute police officers and their neighbour, so I won't comment on that. I will allow the law enforcement agencies to do the work that they need to do to uncover the reasons behind this particular action. In my time as the Minister for Home Affairs, I had the opportunity to work very closely with the Australian Federal Police and to work very closely with some of their officers, who I have enormous respect for, and I cannot thank them enough for the work that they do. They often have to pay a very heavy price, as we've just seen happen in western Queensland. Each day that they go out to work, there is always that risk that they may not return home. That is a big risk that they take to keep all of us safe, so I thank them, and I thank their families, for everything that they have done to support us. I know from my various discussions with the Australian Federal Police Association that there is still work that we can all be doing to support our officers in the work that they need to do—the support that we need to provide to them. So I am determined to continue to advocate for more support and better conditions for those who serve our community in this way. We owe them a debt of gratitude, especially those who have paid the ultimate price for their service, such as what we have been speaking about today. Those individuals have paid such an enormous price, as have their families, and they deserve our support. To the many police families across the nation, please know how much you are loved and appreciated by us. I thank you for your service. 13:19 Mr LIM 300130 Tangney No-one should ever go to work and not come home—no-one. The atrocity that happened to four of our young, capable, dedicated police officers, who had committed themselves to serve our community, should never have happened. My heart aches for the two police officers and one member of the public who have passed. My thoughts are with the officers who survived this tragedy, who will bear this burden and experience from the line of duty. To the families and friends and community of those impacted: I'm so sorry for your loss. This should have been a simple call-out to seek a missing person. I too responded to this call many times during my service as a police officer. I will not speak the name of these animals that these officers were there to seek, as they do not deserve the acknowledgement in this House. But the sole fact that this act of murder was made on police officers doing their job and on a concerned neighbour disgusts me. Life is precious. Cherish it, and your loved ones. Today I wish to pay my respects to those who have passed in this tragedy. To Constable McCrow and Constable Arnold: thank you for your service. May peace follow you in your next journey in life. To Alan Dare: thank you for your concern for our brothers and sisters in blue. May you rest in peace. To all my brothers and sisters in blue: I wish you all well. May you all be happy and peaceful. To all my brothers and sisters in blue: we all appreciate your service to our community. Thank you very much. 13:22 Mr THOMPSON 281826 Herbert Queensland police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and civilian Mr Alan Dare—with honour they served. Alan responded like any mate, any neighbour, would—to check in to see how his neighbour is travelling, see if they needed a hand, and he was gunned down. He was set to have a wedding anniversary, his 26th wedding anniversary. Constables Rachel and Matthew—killed in the line of duty. Police officers see tragedy every day on our roads, responding to incidents, but every morning they get up and put on their uniform, to protect us and to look after us. These tragedies simply should not have occurred. There has been an outcry, and people want to pay their respects to our slain police officers as well as to Alan. In Townsville, many people went to the QPS headquarters there, as well as to different police stations, to pay their respects, to say, 'Sorry for your loss.' This shouldn't have occurred. It absolutely should not have occurred. To all the police around the nation: thank you for everything that you do. You keep us safe, you help us, you are there at public events, you are there when your community needs you—and we're there for you now, in this moment of absolute tragedy. I have a message from a lady in Townsville. She is known as Nanny Jan. Nanny Jan sent me a message about Constable Rachel McCrow. She said: 'Rachel was a recruit here in Townsville that I had the pleasure of looking after at the lodge. I was employed as a caterer there and called her group of recruits my babies, which made them chuckle. Rachel was the one most turned to for guidance during their stay there. She would email the whole group to make sure they picked up their takeaway lunches if they wouldn't be returning for lunch. Amongst many other things, she was just pure class and always presented herself in the best way. I remember hugging her when she had completed the course and saying, "Just keep safe." She was so proud and happy to have become a police officer. My heart just breaks for her family and all the recruits that trained with her. I know they'd be heartbroken. They were a very close, amazing group of young people; I'm blessed to have crossed paths with them. Love to them all, Nanny Jan.' This is just one message, out of many that I have received, speaking about the constables who were killed, as well as Alan. This has deeply affected every single police jurisdiction here in Australia and in New Zealand. Tuesday was a day of mourning, where people were walking in and out of QPS headquarters and police stations around the country in tears, together in solidarity. Those who have been to and been involved in critical incidents can feel that true vulnerability and terror they would have felt. Our police officers' thoughts go to them, wishing to be with them at that time. That split second between life and death, that last stop—that's what the thin blue line is. Police, and specifically the QPS, will still go out on their jobs and have that feeling now of vulnerability—second-guessing. The tragic circumstances always happen when you least expect it, but that uniform, which means the world to our police, in this vile act has become a target. Police do this job because it's a calling, a wanting to help, a love for their community. I'm so sorry, to the families of Rachel, Matthew and Alan. This tragedy has broken the hearts of all Australians. Thank you to the SERT that responded and put down hard these vile scumbags who murdered our police officers, as well as the civilian local, and let this serve as a warning to everyone who thinks ill of or wants to do ill to our police or to the civilian community. There will be a response, and there will be a response by highly trained, highly capable people that put the community first and that will respond. It's a sad day in Australia, and this day will be remembered. I am so sorry for the loss to the police, for your brother and sister, as well as the civilian who was also killed. 13:29 Ms WELLS 264121 Lilley Australia is in mourning, monstrous violence ripping Queenslanders from life and away from their families. Three lives were taken without remorse, and three brave people are now deceased due to the actions of monsters. On behalf of my Lilley community on the north side of Brisbane, I rise today to pass on our deepest condolences to the loved ones of Constable Matthew Arnold, Constable Rachel McCrow and Alan Dare. For Matthew and Rachel, with honour they served. For Matthew, Rachel and Alan and their families, we are so sorry. While the worst of humanity was on display on Monday night, so too was incredible courage. Surviving constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk showed rare bravery to help police find evil, while injured themselves and while under attack. Bravery was exhibited too by 16 Queenslanders, 16 members of the special force team who were shot at as they tried to retrieve the bodies and rescue Constable Brough. We run from danger; police run towards it. These police officers, knowing that their colleagues had been brutally murdered, ran into danger and spent six hours securing the area. We thank you. We would like to recognise their efforts and the efforts of their team, of the Queensland police more broadly and of all the officers across the country today who continue to serve despite mourning their colleagues, their brothers and sisters in blue. I would particularly like to thank Sergeant Jodie Murray, who does a fantastic job representing the Queensland police in our local community, and all the exceptional men and women at Boondall police station, Sandgate police station, Stafford police station, Carseldine police station, Hendra police station, the Chermside police beat and the rail station squad at Northgate. We owe all officers a debt of gratitude. When you go to work you should be able to come home safe. We must not take for granted how dangerous a police officer's job is. Every day they put their lives on the line to protect ours. We must not forget the sacrifices made by Constable Arnold, by Constable McCrow and by a good neighbour, Alan Dare. I thank the House. 13:31 Mr BUCHHOLZ 230531 Wright I rise today to honour the memories of Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow. I also acknowledge the death of Mr Alan Dare, a kind neighbour who attended what he thought was a neighbour in distress only to be killed by the same brutality that cut short the lives of Constables Arnold and McCrow. I know every member of this place will agree that it's a miracle that Constable Keely Brough and Constable Randall Kirk escaped this extreme act of violence with their lives. I want to pay my respects to Rachel's family and particularly to her mother, Dr Judy McCrow, and her sister, Samantha McCrow. I cannot fathom the grief that Judy, Samantha and the rest of Rachel's family are feeling at this difficult time. Similarly, I want to acknowledge and pay my respects to Matthew's mother, Sue Arnold, his sister, Hayley Arnold, and his brother, James Arnold. The loss of a son and a fellow triplet is a tragedy. The bonds that unite our families are so precious, and their destruction is an unbreakable crime. Dedication and service are attributes that fuelled Rachel and Matthew through life, and I am not surprised to know that both of them were called to serve the community as police officers. Constable Arnold was sworn in in March 2020 and Constable McCrow was sworn in in June 2021. They both began their careers in the Dalby division before moving to Tara police station. Rachel McCrow graduated from Genesis Christian College in 2010 and has been described by her friends as someone who was most determined to serve the community and work tirelessly for the people of Queensland. I acknowledge her service today and lament the outstanding career that was cruelly taken from her. Matthew Arnold graduated from St Laurence's College in 2013 and was a dedicated and talented athlete. Matthew was awarded the Sportsman of the Year award in 2013 and has continued to give back to the St Laurence's community as a coach since graduating. Each and every Australian who is drawn to serve our community as a police officer understands that there are risks associated with the work they do. However, what occurred on Monday 12 December 2022 stands as a stark reminder of the extreme risks police undertake every day for the peace and wellbeing of our community. Rachel was kind and warm, and she used her effervescent personality to connect with others and make people feel seen and heard. These are powerful attributes, and ones that are essential in a healthy police service. Matthew was a compassionate and dedicated man, who, above all else, exemplified service. He was a devoted brother and a son, who freely gave back. Matthew brought his compassion to the work that he did every day as a police officer, and the outpouring of grief from the community of Tara recognises these attributes. The monsters who committed these heinous crimes have taken from our community the types of people that we desperately need in policing, those people who will dedicate their lives to keeping our children, our streets and our communities safe, and who use their charisma and professionalism to reach across the divide that separates all of us and bridge the gap with professionalism and humanity. Everything I know about Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold says they fit the bill. They, along with Keely and Randall, were young police officers at the start of their careers, undertaking vital services our regional communities need. The police service is the only 24-hour service that most communities in our regional centres have. They don't have ambulance services at night in the smaller communities, so the police become the linchpins. People like Rachel, Matthew, Randall and Keely are the new faces who serve and protect our remote communities; who bring their training, their life experiences and their enthusiasm to communities; and who build relationships that last a lifetime. The impact of fresh faces and new lives in our regional communities is an injection of vigour. The history of Queensland is filled with stories of young constables who move to regional communities and bring their passion, their vigour and their new perspectives to enrich the lives of the communities that they serve. Communities like Tara, Dalby and Chinchilla are better for the service of young men and women like Rachel, Matthew, Randall and Keely, and I join with those communities that are in shock and are grieving at this time. I want to acknowledge the amazing work of Ian Leavers, the Queensland Police Union president, after being called back from a break that he was on and having only recently had an election for the Police Union presidency, which was uncontested—evidence of the work that he does representing his members. I want to acknowledge the advocacy from him and his team in keeping members of this parliament up to date with the proceedings as they've unfolded. It was harrowing to hear of the bravery that Constable Randall Kirk and Constable Keely Brough undertook in the line of duty. Both officers went above and beyond to support their colleagues in this horrific circumstance. I want to acknowledge, and echo the words of, the Queensland Police Commissioner, Commissioner Katarina Carroll, and say that I am extremely grateful that Keely and Randall escaped with their lives. To Commissioner Carroll, I ask that she pass on my appreciation to the tactical response team that neutralised the situation. It was an amazing task, and they're heroes in the making. Keely's bravery was exceptional. As she hid from the psychopaths determined to kill her, she continued to relay intelligence and prepared herself for the end. I cannot comprehend the enormity of such a situation and the breadth of the emotion that must have fuelled Constable Brough. Constable Brough rose to the challenge and relied on her skills and tenacity to survive and support her colleagues. I want to acknowledge Constable Randall Kirk and wish him a speedy recovery. Randall was shot and managed to get away to his vehicle under heavy fire. Similar to Constable Brough, Randall continued to assist his colleagues. Randall and his wife, Breanna, are young parents, and they're expecting their second child as early as January. I want to join with Constable Kirk in sending my prayer to the police families at this difficult time. Our community stands with police every single day. This place has provided the laws and the mechanisms to make our communities safer. State politicians can pass laws, but we rely on the bravery and dedication of each and every police officer to enforce those laws and to ensure that the community stays safe. Today in this place we can speak words and shed tears. Today we remember and mourn the young lives full of promise that have tragically been cut short. We must not, in this place or as a nation, forget this tragedy. Each and every member of this place owes the memory of Matthew and Rachel and the dedication of Randall and Keely our attention and respect. In the months and years to come, we must remember this moment and protect those that protect us. In closing, I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the local police men and women that serve in my electorate, particularly Sergeant Peter Boyce, my local senior sergeant, and the team that diligently work with him. I honour them as my local police establishment. I honour every police officer that serves. With honour they serve. 13:41 Mr G 245392 Solomon OSLING () (): I rise to join the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and all members to honour and pay tribute to the heroic Queensland police officers Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, and Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, who so tragically lost their young and promising lives when they were murdered in a siege on Monday. Sue Arnold, Matt's mother, said the words could not express her devastation and that he had been due home this week for a break. Rachel was remembered as someone who volunteered to assist disadvantaged young people by helping them drive safely while she was herself training to become a police officer. I also wish to pay tribute to the brave Alan Dare, who put himself in harm's way to investigate a fire on his neighbour's property. He went to see how he could assist. Al's stepson Corey said that he often helped anyone and everyone, even at risk to himself, and he never asked for anything in return. The Queensland Police Union praised Al as 'a good neighbour going out to do the right thing'. I want to pay tribute to those who survived this horrific incident, constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk, and to all the first responders who will live with this tragedy for the rest of their lives. Whether they wear the police blue or Army green, whether they are paramedics or firefighters, or whether they wear a uniform of any other colour, our first responders meet danger head on at great risk to their own lives. I send my family's and my community's deepest condolences to the families, children and loved ones of the victims. In his statement, the Northern Territory Police Association's president and CEO Paul McCue said: … our hearts are breaking for our Queensland colleagues. …   …   … This incident highlights the volatile, dangerous nature of policing, and the bravery of every police officer who puts on their uniform every day not knowing what they'll face. The Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said, 'Our Police put their lives on the line to protect us, not to be harmed.' NT Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Kate Worden rightly said that no-one should lose their lives just for doing their job. I call on all members to support these families this Christmas. The Queensland Police Union has established a remembrance fund for Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow. There is also a GoFundMe page set up for Alan Dare's funeral. Those details are online, and I urge all who can to make a contribution. Finally, thank you to all who serve and protect our community, and thank you in particular to their families. I wish you all a blessed Christmas with your loved ones. You are in our thoughts, in our prayers, and in our hearts. 13:44 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne My thoughts go out to those who've lost their lives: Constable Matthew Arnold, Constable Rachel McCrow and Alan Dare. We've seen in the days since this horrific tragedy how the loss of these lives have devastated the communities of Wieambilla, Chinchilla and Tara. Those small and close-knit communities are now reckoning with not just the loss of some of their own, but also trying to grapple with the shocking circumstances in which it occurred. My thoughts go out to those who knew and loved those killed on Monday, and also to constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk. Our community owes first responders a debt of thanks. Every day the nation's paramedics, police and firefighters go into unpredictable and dangerous situations. And in this place we often only reckon with that danger when tragedy occurs. The prospect of arriving at a missing persons call only to be met with gunfire is utterly gut-wrenching. Everyone deserves to be safe at work. The bravery of Alan Dare must also be acknowledged. When he heard gunshots on his neighbour's property, he ran towards the danger in hopes of lending aid, despite the danger. For this brave and selfless act, he lost his life. And while the exact circumstances of Monday are still being worked out, what we know so far is extremely worrying and points to a growing trend of extremism. In the last couple of years we've seen the terrible impacts of conspiracy theories laid bare. In Melbourne, paramedics have been attacked because of disinformation about vaccines. We've seen people in rallies opposed to the pandemic response bring a noose to the front of parliament. While the more visible parts of the pandemic health response are now winding down, we continue to see some people push division based on disinformation and conspiracy while we know that, so far, this tragedy appears to be another example of how this harms our community. In coming to grips with this shocking event and the horrific loss of life, my thoughts are with the victims' families and their communities, and I hope it serves as wake-up call to those who would sow the seeds of conspiracy and division. 13:47 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton Late on Monday night, when my wife and I were reading about what had occurred on that property in Wieambilla, my first thoughts turned to that community. I know the area, having grown up in St George, and that sort of small country Queensland town. As a kid growing up in St George I used to go and play rugby league in Tara and Chinchilla, so the area between those two towns I know well. I've driven through there plenty of times. Tara was our closest opposition at only 280 kilometres away. And then later, when I worked as a lawyer, a lot of my clients were in that area. In fact, I'm sure I would have been the solicitor acting for a lot of the blocks in that area. If you know that country then you know it's tough country. It's sandy country. It's cypress pines. It's pretty lean territory. I see the member for Hinkler nodding over there. It breeds some tough people. Nevertheless, it's a small rural town where you know your neighbours, where you bump into each other at the local store. Later that night and then the next day, as more news came through around the specifics, my heart sank and my thoughts turned to the families and colleagues of the officers killed—those young constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold. Rachel is from the north side of Brisbane. I particularly want to mention Matthew, from the south side. He attended St Laurence's College, which my son graduated from this year. Matthew's grandparents go to the same church as me at Saint Pius on the south side. And Matthew particularly, as a triplet—you think of all of his siblings, those grieving families and friends, those young lives needlessly ended at just 26 and 29. They, along with constables Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, were bravely just doing their job as police officers, as so many speakers have mentioned before; doing something that police do in communities all over Australia every single day. It was strange that there were four people, one car from Tara and one car from Chinchilla, turning up at the same spot. So often police officers in country Queensland are doing jobs on their own—just one officer turning up to do a job. It just so happens that four turned up on this day. They put their lives on the line every day, every time they stop a car or turn up at a rural property. Police and their families know that when they leave home to start work there is a possibility that they may not return home. But still, this is so tragic. Constables Kirk and Brough were shot and shot at. They will have to deal with seeing their colleagues murdered and also what they've had to experience for the rest of their lives. Thank goodness we weren't in a time of drought and that there was plenty of grass in that sandy country so that that young officer was able to find enough cover, even though they did try to burn her out of that area. I know that all the police and their families are still in shock at what happened. Even just talking to the local police in Sunnybank yesterday, this really has touched the policing community and all Australians. It is the sort of incident we never want to see in Australia, the stuff of a whacky Waco in the wild west or some Mexican gang war, not in a friendly Queensland bush. With that in mind, I want to thank the police who bravely turned up, contained and managed the subsequent operation. While their comrades' blood was still soaking into the soil, they turned up and ran towards the danger. I thank them for their bravery. I can't imagine how that must have felt, going out there in that helicopter and going into a situation like that after the deaths of two of their colleagues. Their professionalism and dedication to their job are a credit to them and appreciated by all Australians. The names of Constable McCrow and Constable Arnold and the tragedy of two young lives lost while at work will be remembered by Queensland police, Queensland and Australians forever. I also want to mention Alan Dare, the good Samaritan, the good neighbour, not someone with a weapon. He was just armed with what every Australian in the country wants to be, which is to be a good neighbour. Alan lived on the neighbouring property. As I said, I know that area well. A lot of battlers who move to that part of the world may come from Western Sydney or may come from the western suburbs of Brisbane after looking for a second chance, perhaps after a marriage breakdown. These blockies are looking for a chance in life. I don't know Alan's story, but it sounds like he was a great neighbour. We've heard reports of Alan being a good, responsible neighbour, wanting to check on the welfare of his neighbours when he noticed the fires on the property. As the member for Melbourne said, he was moving towards the danger when he heard the gunshots. That is the country way, which is the true code of the west. Sadly, Alan didn't know the full extent of what was happening in his quiet part of Queensland. He didn't realise that a pocket of evil had come into his part of paradise. But all he would have been thinking was, 'I'd better go and check and make sure my neighbours are okay and see whether they need a hand,' because that is what good people should do, what good people did do, and what good people will do again. But tragically for Alan and his loved ones, he was never able to return to them and his home after being murdered, shot in the back—what a dog act! He didn't get to celebrate his wedding anniversary. In the last part of my speech, I particularly want to call out this rise that we're seeing in terms of conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, sovereign citizens, and the purveyors of hate and misinformation who cultivate some of these things. I'm not jumping to a conclusion to say that this is what happened here, but I am seeing it on the rise. People in the police service and people who work as magistrates tell me that there is a rise in this sort of misinformation. In particular, while I'm here in Canberra, in this building, call out the politicians who harvest mistrust as part of their business model, who go on Sky After Dark and dog whistle or dog trumpet these conspiracy theories and these shadowy conspiracy theory groups who are actually praising these killers of police officers and encouraging others to take up arms. We need to shine a light on that behaviour. Hitchens's razor states: What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. So I urge those people who start to go down these rabbit holes to instead go to your libraries. Don't do your own research. Have your information created by a professional—someone we call 'a librarian'; look it up—not by an algorithm that has clickbait outrage as a business model. I don't want the cookers and antivaxxers, or sovereign citizens or conspiracy theorists—I know they're negative terms, but these are difficult times—sentenced to jail or anything. I actually want them confined to their local libraries under the supervision of a good librarian who helps them find accurate information. Don't go down the rabbit hole; come out into the sunlight. It is where evil withers. Lastly, I particularly want to put on the record my condolences for the lives of the brave Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold, and the kindly Alan Dare. May they rest in peace and their memories be cherished forever. 13:55 Mr PITT 148150 Hinkler Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, was sworn in as a police officer just in March 2020; Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, sworn in just last year, in June 2021. Both started their careers in Dalby before being transferred to Tara—and, as the member for Moreton has outlined, it's pretty tough country. In fact, it's pretty wild country. But no-one ever thought that it was murderous country, where such treachery would occur. To Alan Dare, 56, who responded in a way that pretty much everybody I know would have in regional Australia—they simply would have gone to have a look at what was going on to see if they could provide assistance. It's as simple as that. You would not even give it a second thought; it's just what you'd do. It is second nature. To Constable Randall Kirk, 28, who was shot in the leg and escaped; to Constable Keely Brough, 28, who ran into the bush, hid and called for backup—she had only graduated eight weeks ago—what a remarkable story and a remarkable response. Both of them are from Chinchilla police station. I want to give a shout-out to our colleagues in this place—the member for Wide Bay, Llew O'Brien; the member for Cowper, Pat Conaghan; former senator Barry O'Sullivan; the former state member for Bundaberg, David Batt; and many others—who I know have served in the police force and ended up in this place. I know that, for them and for all of the police family, this is an incredibly difficult time because every single police officer knows that this could be them. Today, tomorrow, next week, next year, it could be them. Their families know it could have been the call that they got. To my own father-in-law, who has been gone for a very long time, a lifer in the police force—one of their more troublesome children. We know that simply the work that they do creates such challenges—PTSD, mental health, problems with the drink and all of those issues that happen at home because of their service to their state, to their country and to their community. And yet we know that Constable Arnold and Constable McCrow will never get that opportunity. They will never go through those stages of life for many of them, whether it's children or grandchildren, or the tough times, the good times or the not-so-great times. Unfortunately, their lives have been taken, and they will never get that experience. Ian Leavers, who is known as a very straight shooter in Queensland—he's incredibly frank; I've had a number of discussions with him over the years—walked straight up to a microphone and called this out for what it was. It was pure, cold-blooded murder, and it is a terrible reflection on our society that this has even happened. How could this happen? We need to do better. We all need to do better. So those two individuals, who will never grow older, whose families will never have that experience with them over time—we all go through difficult circumstances, but they will never even get that opportunity, and I think that is just such a terrible outcome. All the police in Tara and Chinchilla in Queensland, whether they were in the response forces, whether they are paramedics who responded—we know they will see this into the future on many, many nights. But the police force now has so much better support, much better opportunities for the people who serve, to manage those difficult issues. I had the great good fortune to do some training with the Police Service many years ago, and the piece that stuck with me was not about investigation techniques, which I still recall; it was the police psychologist, who said, 'Every single one of you is a bucket that slowly fills, and eventually you will spill over.' And they've got to manage those challenges. I know, even for our serving members in this place who've come from the police force, it's a very, very difficult job to do, to run into danger, to deal with such incredibly hard and tough decisions. Along lines of the contribution from the member for Moreton, I do want to talk about the impact of social media. There will be significant investigations into this tragedy, and I'm not reflecting in any way on the particular circumstance that have happened near Tara this week. But, quite simply, disinformation, fake news and, most particularly, anonymous accounts—we cannot let these continue. The idea that you can go online and be anonymous and say whatever you want—that's not free speech. This is your real life. It is where you now live. It is not something for which you should be protected. If you have something to say, you're welcome to say whatever you like, but you should have your name next to it. And it impacts our entire society, from young children who get harassed, all the way through to adults, to businesses, to individuals that use it to influence people in a particular direction. I think it reflects poorly on all of us that we have not managed to deal with fake accounts on social media. We should once again stand up to the Facebooks, the Twitters and the Instagrams of the world and tell them it is not acceptable. This is where we live. It is our real life. It's not part of some fake universe. It has direct impacts, and those impact, in a lot of cases, have terrible outcomes. I think it's something we on both sides of the parliament should focus on. It is to my great disappointment that when we were in government we did not fix this, and it wasn't for a lack of trying, I have to say. To come back to the condolence, to all of our police forces, to all of our police families, to their families, we know that you serve with great honour. We know that our society in many cases do not treat you with the respect that you deserve. But know that the overwhelming majority of the Australian community stands with you. They stand with you. Whilst, in this place, words are all we have, words are never enough, but it is what we can contribute. Vale to those two officers; vale to Alan Dare. May you rest in peace. Thank you to those who were injured. 14:02 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney I join the parliament today in honouring the memory of three brave Australians: Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold, and Alan Dare from Wieambilla, Queensland. Our hearts go out to all of those who mourn this terrible loss—the families and loved ones who have lost a piece of their heart; the friends who are grieving their beloved mates; everybody in the communities around Chinchilla and Tara, who have been shaken by this awful atrocity; and so many Australians in every part of Australia. I particularly want to acknowledge the constituents of the member for Maranoa. The member spoke very movingly about the people in the community that he represents that are affected by this tragedy, and I hope that he will convey to his electorate, to the people that he represents, the feelings of the whole of this parliament about the senseless loss of life that has just occurred. Rachel McCrow, Matthew Arnold and Alan Dare were killed in cold blood, without warning, without reason, without mercy, and well before their time. The police officers who arrived at the farm were doing their job on a very ordinary Monday afternoon, chasing up a missing person case. A few concerns had been expressed about someone who'd been out of contact. It was a very routine sort of visit. They were ambushed by cowards while serving in the line of duty. As the president of the Queensland Police Union said afterwards, 'They didn't know what was coming.' Police officers understand danger. They know they work in a hazardous profession, that every room they walk into carries some risk. Sometimes that risk is physical. Sometimes it's psychological—the work that is done by police officers investigating child abuse online or sexual assaults or murders; this is the worst of human behaviour. The risks are both physical and psychological. But no-one should expect something like this, something so senseless, on a standard Monday afternoon at work, especially when they were just going to help. They were doing a welfare check. Constable McCrow and Constable Arnold were at the start of what should've been very long careers. They were popular in the community. They were popular with the kids in the local schools, who could see that they were good people with kind hearts. They were taken down in the prime of their lives, with so much left to give, so much left to do and so much love in their lives. I want to acknowledge the other officers who attended the scene, Constable Keely Brough and Constable Randall Kirk. They were taken to hospital with injuries and are also victims of this tragedy who should be remembered. I am sure that their injuries will last well beyond the time they spend in hospital—for many years to come. That's true of everybody who has attended the scene of this crime. I also very much want to honour the memory of Alan Dare. We raise our kids to help. We think that if we have the opportunity to help we should do it. Alan Dare was a good Samaritan who saw smoke across his property and his first thought was, 'I need to go there because maybe someone needs my help.' As his family remembered, Alan was someone who would assist anyone and everyone and who would never ask for anything in return. According to his stepson: 'He went to help the neighbours because he thought there was a fire and he heard bangs. Maybe the house was on fire.' There is something so particularly cruel about Alan Dare's death, an act of kindness met with an act of depravity. May the memory of his goodness outlive any infamy attained by the extremists who killed him. In my electorate there's an auditorium with a basketball court and it's named after Peter Forsyth, who was a police office killed in Ultimo. It was an absolutely standard part of his day. He stopped a suspected drug dealer. He lost his life in 1998. Every time I walk past that auditorium, which is almost every weekend, I think of Peter Forsyth and his family and think about their lives now, still missing their loved one. If you look at the national police honour roll you will see these faces—so many of them so young—of police officers who have died far too early, while serving their country and serving their community. You will see face after face after face representing family after family after family, community after community. Especially as we approach Christmas, we think about them and their families and the empty places at those tables. We think of families missing their loved ones. I join all Australians in remembering all of those lost in the line of duty and in particular the three courageous citizens that we remember today: Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold and Alan Dare. A few others have pointed out that it is in the very nature of police work, and other first responders, that they run towards the danger that we all run from. It reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen song 'Into The Fire' that he wrote about the firefighters who ran into the World Trade Centre after the 9/11 attacks. He wrote, 'May your strength give us strength. May your faith give us faith. May your hope give us hope. May your love give us love. I need you near but love and duty called you someplace higher.' I think about those words in respect of these tragic deaths. May they rest in eternal peace. 14:09 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan I too rise here in this place to give the condolences of myself, of my family and, indeed, of all the constituents that I represent in the electorate of Cowan on the tragic loss of Constable Matthew Arnold, Constable Rachel McCrow and Alan Dare. Indeed, all of Australia is shocked and saddened by this absolute tragedy. I know that, for police families, the pain of this tragedy will be acutely felt. We are a police family ourselves—my husband, David, was a police officer for many years. My stepdaughter, Tiana, and her partner, Mackenzie, only just this year graduated from the Police Academy in Western Australia, and they're now policing together in Carnarvon. They are the same age as Constable Rachel McCrow. Like Constable Rachel McCrow, when they graduated and left the academy and took on their first job at the station in Canarvon, they were filled with hope, filled with pride and filled with passion—passion for their work as police officers to serve and to protect: to protect their community and to serve their community. I remember that day that they graduated and attending the graduation ceremony, up at the WA Police Academy, and—apart from my husband beaming with pride that his daughter was following in his footsteps as a police officer— the pride on the faces of each and every one of those graduates that day, and on the faces of their families, was something to be seen. You could feel it in the air—it was palpable; you could touch it—that these people, many of them young people, had chosen a career where they put their lives on the line each and every day in order to serve and to protect the community. It is something really quite extraordinary, as well as being very inspiring, I must say. I know that families out there who are policing families will have seen this tragedy and, like us, they would have thought, 'What if that was my daughter?' or 'What if that was my son?' In the same way that we held each other and thought but didn't quite speak the words, but we knew that we were both thinking, 'What if that was Tiana and Mackenzie?' They're the same age as Rachel McCrow—probably graduated at the same time. Some other members today have commented on this, and I think it's worthy to also comment that this is a sad but very timely reminder about how vigilant we have to be about violent extremism and the rise of violent extremism in Australia. It is a reminder of how important it is that we are able to identify individuals who are down that path towards violent extremism, who are becoming operative, and to intervene. Like many Australians, I've been reading the reports coming out, and some of the coverage on the backstories of these perpetrators—whose names shall not be spoken—and it's very clear to me, as somebody who was a professor in this field, and who studied in this field, that their trajectories were very typical of a trajectory to violent extremism. Human behaviour is quite simple, really. Human behaviour is actually quite predictable. There are warning signs, and, from the reports that I've read, there were warning signs with these perpetrators. We have to get better at recognising those warning signs. We have to get better at intervening early. We have to get better at early identification. And all of us have to take more seriously the warning that our security agencies have been giving us about the rise of violent extremism in this country. On a final note, I just want to reiterate just how deeply this tragedy, this loss of three lives—two very young lives, Constable Matthew Arnold, just 26, and Constable Rachel McCrow, just 29; and Alan Dare, who valiantly, as the member for Sydney mentioned, ran towards danger, being a good neighbour, a good Samaritan. Those three names will live on in our memories. They are more than just statistics. They are more than just numbers. We will remember them for the courage they showed, for the bravery they demonstrated and for the tragic way in which their lives were drastically cut short. May they all rest in peace. 14:15 Mr TEHAN 210911 Wannon I join with all those who have spoken on this motion in paying my respects to Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold and Alan Dare, and also with all those who have expressed their commendation to Constable Keely Brough and Constable Randall Kirk for the bravery they showed in standing up to this evil. In particular, I pay my respects to the Leader of the Opposition for his fine words on this motion. What came through to me from the Leader of the Opposition's words was very much someone who had been part of the police family. The emotion that he showed and the deep sorrow that you could see he felt, as all of us feel, was very much because he has been part of that police family. For anyone who has been a member of a family that has suffered grief and loss, the sorrow is immeasurable and unquantifiable. I think we saw that from the Leader of the Opposition, and I say to him: thank you for your fine words in this parliament today. I also say, as someone who grew up on a farm, that I know many Alan Dares. The way he responded fits a pattern that I've seen so often of those people on the land reaching out and doing what they think is their duty—that is, to go to help those who are in need, whether it be through fire or anything else. To Alan Dare: thank you for what you did, and my deepest sorrow to you and your family. You did what many people on the land do out of absolute natural instinct—that is, to go to help and support others. To the two constables who were there and have survived: my deepest appreciation for what you did, the bravery that you showed and also the healing that will be required for both of you in being able to come to terms with what happened. I'm sure I speak for everyone in this parliament when I say we stand with you in making sure that you understand that what you did demonstrated the utmost bravery. You will be in our thoughts and in our prayers as you recover from this evil act you have witnessed. To all those who have had to respond: our thoughts and prayers are with you. There is no crime scene that any of us would want to have to go to, to take the evidence and to deal with the scene. To those who have had to do that: thank you for what you do. To the country communities who are being impacted by this, Tara and Wieambilla: our thoughts are with you. As someone who represents small country communities, I know that this evil will bind you together and make you stronger. The stories of how you're already coming together are quite inspirational, and I'm sure that you will continue to be there to support the families and to support the police going forward because that's what small country communities do. I have no doubt that this will make you stronger, and we're very grateful for that great aspect that country communities have in that regard. To the police that look after all of the communities in my electorate, thank you. I know some of you personally. I have the great pleasure to call some of you my friends. I've been thinking of you over these last few days, because you go about your jobs in just a normal fashion, like how all of us go about our jobs, but you do put your lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe. It's times like these when I think we all need to say thank you for your service, and thank you for the duty that you carry out. I'm sure I can say this on behalf of all the communities in my electorate: thank you for keeping us safe, and thank you for being prepared to put yourself on the front line in service of our local communities. At times of grief like this, it's very hard to understand how you can make anything of it other than to be absolutely appalled at what has occurred and at the evil that has taken place. But we do have to learn from incidents like these. We have to make sure that we're doing everything we can as a society to stop them happening and to make sure such evil and hatred cannot continue in our communities, and that's a battle that obviously needs to be waged over a period of time. But we've also got to make sure that we stand with those communities that have been impacted by this and make sure that we support them in the medium and the long term to ensure that they have what they require to get through this. They will come together, these small communities, and they will obviously be brought together, and that will strengthen them. But we still also have to make sure that we're there to support them. We've got to make sure that these lives are remembered because those who put themselves in the line of duty do so with a sense of selflessness that we need to recognise. We've got to make sure that the losses that occurred here—three lives, two of them in their 20s—are remembered, because it is absolutely vital that we do. If we don't remember them, and if we don't remember their duty, then we do them the gravest disservice that we could possibly do to them. The memorial to the police here in Canberra is a great way for us to do that, but I think, also, what each and every one of us in this nation needs to do whenever we see police officers who are out on the beat, doing their bit to keep us safe, is say hello, acknowledge them and thank them for what they're doing. In that way, in small part, we're also thanking Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold for what they did and for their service. When you come across someone who is going beyond the call of duty to help and support someone, thank them, and make sure you stop and acknowledge it, because in that way you'll be playing a little part in remembering the great legacy of Alan Dare, the farmer who went to help others, and will also be helping to support Keely Brough and Randall Kirk for their bravery, and helping their recovery. Debate adjourned. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 00AMT In accordance with the resolution agreed to today, the order of the day stands referred to the Federation Chamber for further debate. Sittin g suspended from 14:25 to 17:05 17:05 The 53517 SPEAKER (): In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier today the House stands adjourned until Monday 6 February 2023 at 10 am. House adjourned at 17 :0 5