2024-09-12 2 1 0 House of Reps 0 1

Thursday, 12 September 2024

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

COMMITTEES 1 COMMITTEES Appropriations and Administration Committee 1 Report 1 09:01 The SPEAKER 53517 On behalf of the Standing Committee on Appropriations and Administration, I present the committee's report No. 30: annual report 2023-24. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). BILLS 1 BILLS Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill 2024 1

Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill 2024

Second Reading 1 09:01 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill 2024 brings together two great Labor economic reforms: universal superannuation and paid parental leave. It brings together the two things that drive our government: delivering for people here and now, and building for the future. This is about a modern economy that works for modern families, and it represents another vital step forward in our government's commitment to economic equality for the women of Australia. We reflected on this commitment in the caucus room of the Labor party on Monday evening. We came together to celebrate 30 years since delegates to the 1994 Australian Labor Party National Conference took the decision to adopt affirmative action with the aim of equal representation. I spoke in that debate as a rank-and-file delegate, one of the 99 who made that decision that has made a difference to our party and, therefore, made a difference to the nation. Ten years after the great Susan Ryan gave Australia the Sex Discrimination Act, Labor took the crucial step of adopting quotas for women to be preselected in winnable seats, and every day that we come into this place we can see the wonderful, history-making consequence: Australia's first ever government made up of a majority of female members. When we look across to the other side of the chamber, we see the consequences of not supporting women to enter parliament in safe seats. Australia's first ever female majority government keeps delivering result after result. It is absolutely true that men can make decisions that benefit women as well as that women can make decisions that benefit women, but, when you have a caucus room, a cabinet and a ministry made up of equal representation, you ensure that it is never an afterthought. Gender equity in this country is front and centre. I want to see a parliament that looks like Australia and looks like the Australian people, not just in gender terms but in faith, in ethnicity and in background. That is what my government is moving towards, more and more. It makes a difference. The number of women in the workforce is at a record high. The gender pay gap has been reduced to 11.5 per cent, reduced by almost three per cent in just two years. We have established 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave because no woman should ever have to choose between her financial security and her physical and mental safety. We are lifting wages in aged care and child care, two workforces which are dominated by women. Later today, the Minister for Education will introduce into this chamber the legislation for the 15 per cent increase in the pay of early educators, an important step forward. Those people—by and large feminised work forces that look after our youngest Australians and our oldest Australians in aged care—will get not just our thanks but also the wages that they deserve, in order to show them respect and in order to make sure that those important services can attract the workers and the skilled workers that they need. We reformed the tax cuts that we inherited and made them fairer for working women. Under Labor's tax cuts, every female taxpayer got a tax cut, and nine out of 10 got a bigger tax cut because we still have that wage differential. Lower income people who will benefit from that decrease from 19 cents down to 16 cents in that first marginal tax rate—rather than the $4,500 reduction in the tax cuts that people in this parliament and other high-income earners will receive—will tend to spend more; they have a higher propensity to consume and spend it rather than save it. When we sat in cabinet, we got that analysis from the Treasury. The reason that isn't inflationary is that it will encourage more women into the workforce. It will encourage more workforce participation through working an extra day or two or re-entering the workforce earlier after having a child or after an absence from the workforce for some other reason. This is critical reform, just as cheaper child care for 1.2 million families that we have delivered is important, providing cost-of-living relief, investment in early education and economic reform that delivers for women. Making child care cheaper makes it easier for parents to return to work sooner. Doing so, of course, boosts productivity and participation. Last Friday, I announced the next step in our work to address the national challenge of family and domestic violence, a package that includes an investment of $3.9 billion in a new national access to justice partnership, the biggest single Commonwealth investment in legal assistance ever since Federation. In our first budget, we delivered the biggest expansion in paid parental leave since the previous Labor government created it. There's a pattern here. The big reforms—the big changes that take Australia forward—are done by the Australian Labor Party. In our first budget we delivered that expansion from 20 weeks to 26 weeks, a full six months. We are making paid parental leave more flexible as well, so parents can share the caring responsibilities and share the experience. Through this legislation being debated here this morning, we are adding superannuation to paid parental leave. This is what happens when women have a seat at the table and seats in the parliament. This is the progress our nation can achieve. This is how Australia can draw on the potential of all of our citizens, not just some. This is how we continue to build an economy that works for people, not the other way around. The first months of your child's life are so special—exhausting at times, but uplifting. Every day brings new challenges and new joys. You can't put a price on spending that precious time with your new bub, and you shouldn't pay a price for it, either. No mother should be penalised for taking time away from work to do the most important job there is. That is the principle behind paid parental leave and that is the principle behind adding superannuation to it. This will help narrow the gender gap in retirement savings. We know that, at the moment, that gender gap is around about 25 per cent. We also know that that has an impact on the rising rates of homelessness we've seen in older women. The sector that has seen the biggest growth in homelessness in this country over the most recent period, the last decade, is older women. The relationship between lower retirement savings and that is direct and is clear. This will deliver greater economic security for around 180,000 families this year by adding the extension of paid parental leave. Superannuation being paid will make an enormous difference. When we announced this change back in April, I, together the member for Richmond, met some new mums and their children in Ballina. It was a terrific day. It was with The Parenthood as well, led by the remarkable Georgie Dent. They spoke to me directly about what it meant. Caitlin said: It's so important that super will be paid as part of the paid parental leave. A lot of women get to retirement age, and they don't the same amount of funds as men do, and it's so important for their financial security. Ebony said: Having the super there shows that we value the role of mothers in society and acknowledge what they do is worth paying for. I can't put it better than that. This legislation affirms our government's respect for the women of Australia, and it's a renewal of our commitment to economic equality. I would have thought this was legislation that should have just sailed through the parliament—legislation that those opposite would looked at, thought about and said: 'Yes. The time has come.' But, of course, that's not the case. They still don't get superannuation and the important role that it plays in economic security. They never see an issue for which superannuation shouldn't be raided. We now hear that it should be raided for home purchases. We have had proposals that women who are the victims of domestic violence should raid their superannuation as well. Now, with this issue, we don't have them saying, 'Yes, it's a good idea that people have higher retirement incomes and that we close that 25 per cent gap in equality.' They have a range of options, but none of them are about superannuation and none of them are about higher retirement incomes for working women. They just don't get it. So ideological is their opposition to the concept of universal superannuation that they've never seen any reason why it shouldn't be raided over and over again. They apparently have a range of proposals and alternatives here—lump sum payments, extensions of terms and a range of things—all of which would destroy the very reason why this legislation is coming forward. They should go and talk to working women about why this is an important initiative. This is something that has come from women in the business community. This is something that has come from women in the union movement. This is something that has come from women in civil society and from equity advocates, but those opposite are going to, once again, try and undermine it. This is the writing of another chapter in the Labor story of fair pay, better conditions of work and dignity and security in retirement, and I'm very proud to join my colleagues in commending this bill to the House. 09:16 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston I'd like to thank all of those who have contributed to this important debate on the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill 2024. This bill is the third significant improvement the Albanese government has made to paid parental leave. Paying superannuation on paid parental leave is an important step to reducing the gender gap in retirement savings and supporting a dignified retirement for more Australians. The government has listened to calls from the union movement, the women's movement, economists and employers. We know that women make up the majority of primary caregivers in this country. We know that women with children face an average 55 per cent drop in earnings in the first five years of parenthood. We know that the effect of lower income compounds over time, increasing the gap between men's and women's superannuation balances at retirement. The data is clear: women retire with around 25 per cent less super than men. What we are doing with this bill is a making a positive investment into the future of working women. For babies born or adopted from 1 July 2025, this bill delivers all eligible parents an additional 12 per cent of their paid parental leave as a contribution directly to their super fund. This super contribution will match the superannuation guarantee rate and will include an additional interest component. It will rise with any future increases to the legislated superannuation guarantee. Around 180,000 families will benefit from the changes each year. Once the paid parental leave scheme reaches 26 weeks in 2026, based on the superannuation guarantee rate of 12 per cent, the maximum amount a family will receive in superannuation contributions is around $3,150. This bill has been warmly welcomed by parents, employers, unions and economists. It has been praised as an important step to narrow the gender pay gap and boost women's financial security, and it builds on the government's broader efforts to strengthen the superannuation system, including legislating the objective of superannuation, making superannuation concessions fairer and more sustainable and criminalising superannuation theft. I note the second reading amendment moved by the member for Deakin and wish to state clearly from the outset that the government will be opposing this. This is an underhanded move by an opposition that has spent decades trying to undermine superannuation. Their amendment mentions their old, rolled-gold paid parental leave, but it fails to mention that, when they actually had the power and were in government, they axed this idea and then turned to calling mothers 'double-dippers' and 'rorters' and tried to take away their paid parental leave entitlement instead. What they are proposing now is to encourage parents to cash out paid parental leave superannuation contributions, rather than contribute to their retirement savings, wilfully missing the intent of this bill, which is about closing the gender pay gap in retirement savings and ensuring that the government's paid parental leave is treated like any other workplace entitlement that attracts superannuation. Women deserve to retire with the same financial security as men. Under both alternative options proposed by the coalition, parents are going to be disadvantaged at retirement, thousands of dollars worse off. But there's also an equity issue, on the point of women being paid, that the coalition have missed in their proposal. Their option for a parent to take an additional two weeks of paid parental leave equates to about $1,830. In comparison, as I've stated, the maximum paid parental leave superannuation contribution will be over $3,000, and obviously this will increase over time. I don't think it was their intention, and I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, but, however you look at this, their proposal is a dud for women. Thanks to Labor's significant investment in paid parental leave, families are already receiving extra support at the time of the birth of their newborn baby, with greater flexibility, a higher income test and more weeks of paid leave. Our reforms have made the scheme stronger and more suitable for the needs of modern families, and through this bill we are not only ensuring families receive extra support at the time of a birth but also boosting their retirement incomes as well. I commend the bill to the House. The SPEAKER 53517 The question before the House is the amendment moved by the honourable member for Deakin be agreed to.    

The House divided. [09:26]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

54 AYES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. (Teller) Boyce, C. E. Buchholz, S. Caldwell, C. M. Chester, D. J. Coleman, D. B. Conaghan, P. J. Dutton, P. C. Entsch, W. G. Fletcher, P. W. Gee, A. R. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hamilton, G. R. Hawke, A. G. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Kennedy, S. P. Landry, M. L. Le, D. Leeser, J. Ley, S. P. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McCormack, M. F. McIntosh, M. I. 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) Sharkie, R. C. C. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. van Manen, A. J. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Webster, A. E. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Wood, J. P. Young, T. J. 88 NOES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Belyea, J. A. Bowen, C. E. Burke, A. S. 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. Conroy, P. M. Daniel, Z. Doyle, M. J. J. 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, R. G. Mulino, D. Neumann, S. K. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Plibersek, T. J. Rae, S. T. 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. Tink, K. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilkie, A. D. Zappia, A. 0 PAIRS

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

Third Reading 5 09:30 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston by leave—I move: That the bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024 5 First Reading 5 Second Reading 5 09:32 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I move: That the bill be now read a second time. Every day, parents trust early educators with the most important people in their world. And, every day, Australia asks early educators to do one of the most important jobs imaginable. And they deserve a pay rise. That's what this bill delivers—a 15 per cent pay rise for up to 200,000 childcare workers; a 10 per cent pay rise from December of this year and then a further five per cent pay rise from December of next year. This is important because what happens in early education and care is important. It's not babysitting. It's early education. Ninety per cent of brain development occurs in the first five years of life. Everything that you see, everything that you read, every meal, every smile, shapes and makes the people that we become. The US president often makes the point that, if a child goes to preschool, they're 50 per cent more likely to go to college or to university. That's why this is so important. It's about this. But it's also about something else. It's about respect. Early educators have been asking for this for decades. And the Productivity Commission has told us that, if we're going to build a universal early education system which makes early education and care affordable and available for more families, the first thing that we need to do is this. There are 30,000 more early educators working in the sector today than when we came to office. But we need more. And this pay rise we hope will encourage more people to stay, more people to come back and more people to think about becoming an early educator. And more educators means more children and more parents can benefit from the life-changing work that they do. This bill sets up the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers Special Account. This account allows us to deliver a 15 per cent pay rise over two years through the ECEC Worker Retention Payment Program. Let me put that in real terms. It means a typical early educator, paid at the award rate, will receive a pay rise of at least $103 a week, in December of this year, increasing to at least $155 per week from next year. That's around $7,800 a year. For a typical early education childhood teacher, they'll receive an additional $166 a week from December this year, increasing to $249 from December of next year. People who are thinking, 'I love this job, but I can't afford to do it,' will hopefully think, 'Well, now I can.' And people who've left the job and gone to work maybe at the local supermarket will hopefully think, 'I can go back to doing the job that I love.' And, hopefully, it will encourage more people to want to become an early educator. The Chief Executive Officer of Australia's largest early education provider, Goodstart, Ros Baxter, said: We expect that [this] announcement will see qualified early learning educators return to our sector, whileencouraging others to establish a career in early learning. This in turn will help make more quality child-care places available for families who need it. Community Early Learning CEO Michele Carnegie said: We expect this announcement will entice many qualified staff back into the sector. Families will see more places available and children will benefit from greater consistency of care. Early Childhood Australia CEO Sam Page said: This is a well overdue pay increase, and I am thrilled that the Government has acknowledged the professionalism of our educators … Early childhood educators play a crucial role in the learning and development of young children, and this recognition is a significant step towards valuing their contributions appropriately. And early educator Karen Moran, who I had the privilege of meeting a few weeks ago, said this: … this decision … will change people's lives. It means that early childhood educators who've been relying on Foodbank to feed their own families won't have to do that anymore. And those that work two and three jobs just to make ends meet will be able to spend more time with their families. It's also about the recognition, which is so well deserved. This legislation doesn't just deliver a pay rise for early educators, though. It also delivers cost-of-living relief for parents and carers, because, as a condition of funding the wage increase, early education and care centres will not be allowed to increase their fees by a set amount over the grant period, with that amount set at 4.4 per cent up till August of 2025. That's informed by the work that the ACCC have been doing with us—a combination of the wage price index and the consumer price index. That condition will be set out in a legally enforceable agreement between the Department of Education and providers. We will also set a cap for the following 12 months based on the work that the ABS will do. Capping fee increases provides certainty to families and will help keep a lid on fee growth. It also builds on our cheaper child care changes. The changes that we've already made have cut the cost of child care for more than one million Australian families. Those changes that began in July last year mean that a family on a combined income of $120,000 today is now paying about $2,000 less in childcare fees than they otherwise would have had to. This is also the next step in building the universal early education system that we want to create, making it more accessible and more affordable for more children and more families. We need to reform our entire education system—to make it better and make it fairer; to help more people finish school and go on to TAFE or to university. But that reform doesn't just need to happen in our schools or our TAFEs or our universities. It has to happen here as well. And this is a big part of it—helping build a bigger early education and care workforce to help build a bigger and a better early education system. In introducing this bill to the House, I want to thank the Prime Minister, I want to thank the Treasurer and I want to thank the finance minister. Their leadership has made this possible. I also want to especially acknowledge my dear friend Anne Aly, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, for her unyielding work here and for everything she is doing to build a better and a fairer early education system in Australia. And finally, I want to thank all the early educators in the gallery, but not just in the gallery—and little Archie, too, who has reminded us he is here as well—I want to thank the more than 200,000 early educators across the country for everything that you do for us. You deserve wage justice. You deserve this pay rise and you deserve this bill. I commend it to the House. Debate adjourned. Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 7

Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024

First Reading 7 Second Reading 7 09:41 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Introduction The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 will amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to protect Australians from seriously harmful online mis- and disinformation. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Online Safety Act 2021. In January 2023, the Albanese government committed to providing the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with new powers to create transparency and accountability around the efforts of digital platforms to combat mis- and disinformation on their services, while balancing the freedom of expression that is so fundamental to our democracy. This bill delivers on that promise following an extensive public consultation process on the draft legislation to ensure the ACMA powers meet community and industry expectations. The bill will increase transparency and accountability Digital platforms enable end-users in Australia and around the world to connect with family, friends, community groups and business, regardless of geographic distance. While this has brought significant benefits, digital platforms can also serve as a vehicle for the spread of misleading or false information that is seriously harmful to Australians. The rapid spread of seriously harmful mis- and disinformation poses a significant challenge to the functioning of societies around the world. Democratic countries like Australia rely on the free flow of information to inform public debate, and the integrity, diversity and reliability of information is fundamental to our democratic way of life. Mis- and disinformation about the stabbing attacks in Bondi Junction and recently in Southport, UK, are just two examples that illustrate the need for digital platforms to do more to prevent and respond to its spread. There has been a sharp increase in Australians' concern about misinformation, according to the Digital News Report: Australia 2024. This research, by the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra, shows concern has risen to 75 per cent, and is well above the global average. Similarly, the Australian Media Literacy Alliance report on adult media literacy released in August 2024 highlights that 80 per cent of Australians want the spread of misinformation in Australia to be addressed. In Australia, the digital platform industry has taken an important first step to address the threats posed by the spread of harmful mis- and disinformation online through the development of the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation. But this effort is not enough. The ACMA has continuously highlighted the need for industry to improve the quality of its monitoring and reporting against the voluntary code's outcomes, noting that a robust performance measurement framework is critical to its success. The ACMA has found that the transparency reports made under the voluntary code lack consistent, trended, Australia-specific data on the effectiveness of digital platforms' efforts to address mis- and disinformation on their services. An independent assessment of the 2024 transparency reports noted that improvement of reporting under the code stalled and that signatories failed to meet their code commitment to have internally consistent key performance indicators. In its 2023 report to government, the ACMA called on industry to take further steps to review the scope of the code and its ability to adapt quickly to technology and service changes. The code has only nine signatories—major digital platforms like X and Telegram are not signatories meaning there are wide gaps in coverage across the digital platform industry. Digital platforms need to step up to protect Australian users from the threat of seriously harmful mis- and disinformation online. This bill seeks to strengthen the voluntary code by providing a regulatory backstop. The bill will empower the ACMA to review the effectiveness of digital platform systems and processes and will improve transparency about measures platforms have in place to protect Australians from mis- and disinformation on their services. The bill will establish a proportionate, graduated and flexible regulatory framework, while at the same time safeguarding the freedom of expression that Australians hold so dear. The bill also ensures that it is digital platforms that remain responsible and accountable for the content they host and promote to Australian users. To protect freedom of speech, the bill sets a high threshold for the type of mis- and disinformation that digital platforms must combat on their services—that is, it must be reasonably verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive and reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm. The harm must have significant and far-reaching consequences for Australian society, or severe consequences for an individual in Australia. The types of serious harms in the bill are: harm to the operation or integrity of an electoral or referendum process in Australia harm to public health in Australia including to the efficacy of preventive health measures vilification of a group in Australian society on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, nationality or national or ethnic origin, or an individual because of a belief that the individual is a member of such a group intentionally inflicted physical injury to an individual in Australia imminent damage to critical infrastructure or disruption of emergency services in Australia, and imminent harm to the Australian economy. Core transparency obligations The bill will impose core transparency obligations on digital platforms requiring them to be upfront about what they are doing on their services to combat mis- and disinformation. Digital platforms will be required to publish their current media literacy plan setting out the measures they will take to enable users to better identify mis- and disinformation. This will empower Australian users to critically engage in the content they view on digital platforms, identify and respond to mis- and disinformation and to make more informed choices about how they engage with content. Digital platforms will also be required to publish their current policy approach in relation to mis- and disinformation as well as the results of their risk assessments that identify and assess significant risks relating to mis- and disinformation on their services. The bill will also allow the ACMA to create digital platform rules with additional transparency obligations, including in relation to media literacy plans, risk management plans and complaints and dispute handling processes. Information gathering and record keeping powers The ACMA will have the power to obtain information from digital platforms and make rules that require them to create and retain records relating to mis- and disinformation. This could include requiring digital platform providers to provide periodic reports to the ACMA. Information-gathering and record-keeping powers will enhance transparency and allow the regulator to track the progress of digital platforms in addressing mis- and disinformation on their services. This will set a clear expectation that digital platforms must be transparent with the Australian public. Importantly, the bill also provides protections for Australian end users. For example, the information-gathering powers will not require individuals to produce information or documents to the ACMA except where they are a platform employee, a content moderator, a fact checker or a person providing services to the provider of the digital platform. Code and standard making powers Under the bill, the ACMA would have the power to approve codes and make standards to compel digital platform service providers to prevent and respond to mis- and disinformation. A code or standard could include obligations to cover matters such as reporting tools, links to authoritative information, support for fact checking and demonetisation of disinformation. Approved codes and standards will be legislative instruments subject to parliamentary scrutiny and disallowance. These powers could be used in the event that the ACMA determines that existing industry efforts to combat mis- and disinformation on digital platform services do not provide adequate protection for the Australian community. In the event industry efforts to develop or implement an approved code have not been effective, or in urgent and exceptional circumstances, the ACMA would have the power to make an enforceable standard. This is consistent with the proportionate and graduated nature of the bill's framework. Protections for freedom of expression To ensure it strikes the right balance between upholding freedom of expression and combatting mis- and disinformation, the bill has carefully calibrated definitions of serious harms that align with Australia's international human rights obligations. The bill does not apply to professional news content or content that could be regarded as parody or satire. It also does not apply to the reasonable dissemination of content that is for academic, artistic, scientific or religious purposes. Nothing in the bill enables the ACMA themselves to take down individual pieces of content or user accounts. The bill takes a system-level approach, and digital platforms will remain responsible for managing content on their services. Importantly, the bill will enable the ACMA to require digital platforms to be tough on disinformation involving inauthentic behaviour such as bots or troll farms. This type of manipulative behaviour has been a major vector of foreign interference and is an ongoing threat to democracies across the world. Penalties, enforcement and review of the legislation The bill will enable the ACMA to use a proportionate, graduated and risk based approach to non-compliance and enforcement. This may include the ACMA issuing formal warnings, remedial directions, infringement notices, injunctions as well as pursuing civil penalties, depending on the severity of the action. Digital platforms may be subject to civil penalties of up to five per cent of global turnover for breaches of a standard and up to two per cent for codes. These penalties are high. However, they may be necessary in response to egregious and systematic breaches and failure to act. The bill requires a triennial review of the operation of the legislation. A report of the review must be tabled in the parliament and must follow a period of public consultation and an assessment of the legislation's impact on freedom of expression. In addition, the first review is also required to consider the need for a scheme requiring platforms to give accredited independent researchers access to data relating to mis- and disinformation. This is to enable time for developments in international jurisdictions to inform the appropriateness and effectiveness of this as an additional transparency measure. The bill also requires the ACMA to prepare an annual report for tabling in the parliament on the operation of the bill's framework. Consultation The bill has undergone considerable consultation, with a significant breadth and depth of engagement with key stakeholders, including from the digital platforms industry, legal and civil society groups, media and fact-checking organisations, and research and academic institutions. The government thanks these stakeholders for their important contributions to the bill, which have ensured the bill strikes the right balance between protecting Australians from serious harm and upholding freedom of expression that is so integral to our democracy. Conclusion Through this bill, the Australian government is acting to prevent the spread of mis- and disinformation and the damage it causes to Australian democracy and public safety. Australians clearly expect the government to act to address this growing problem and this is what the Albanese government is doing. The bill positions Australia to be at the forefront of tackling this growing international problem—one which threatens to undermine our civic discourse and democratic engagement and participation. This bill ensures that digital platforms are accountable for combatting mis- and disinformation on their services. The top priority of the government is to keep its citizens safe. Doing nothing to protect Australians from seriously harmful mis- and disinformation online is simply not an option. Debate adjourned. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS 10 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS Australian Defence Force: Afghanistan 10 09:56 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio by leave—In 2016, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force commissioned a judicial officer, Major General the Hon. Paul Brereton, to undertake an inquiry into events in Afghanistan. This followed rumours of serious misconduct by members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan over the period of 2005 to 2016. Between 12 May 2016 and 29 October 2020, Major General Brereton and his team conducted 510 interviews in Australia and Afghanistan, encompassing approximately 2,500 hours of testimony, which, in turn, are recorded in over 60,000 pages of evidence. These interviews were undertaken on the basis that what was said could not be used in a court of law, which Major General Brereton believed was crucial in encouraging those involved to share what they knew. The inquiry's work was thorough, forensic and remarkable. What resulted was a 3,255-page report, which has come to be known as the Brereton report. At the outset, I want to place on record the government's thanks for the extraordinary work of Major General Brereton and his team. He has provided the nation with the opportunity to do all that we can to make right a terrible wrong. Australia owes him and his team a debt of gratitude. The Brereton report concluded that there was credible information of unlawful conduct. The most disturbing of which was the identification of 23 incidents involving 25 Australian special forces personnel. These incidents related to the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by or involving Australian Defence Force members, as well as the alleged mistreatment of two individuals. The report also concluded there was credible information of a subculture of elitism and deviation from acceptable standards which was normalised over time and into which more junior personnel were inculcated. These were findings of the most serious, disturbing and consequential nature. They warranted the most serious, considered and thorough response. On 6 November 2020, the Chief of the Defence Force received the Brereton report from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force and announced the findings two weeks later. The CDF acknowledged the allegations of the grave misconduct by some members of the Special Operations Task Group on operations in Afghanistan and apologised to the people of Afghanistan and the people of Australia. The Brereton report made a broad range of findings and 143 recommendations. Defence accepted all of the Brereton report's findings. Since 2020, Defence has addressed the recommendations and implemented a comprehensive plan at a systemic, organisational and cultural level. This has occurred across the tenure of both Labor and coalition governments. The implementation of the Brereton report has essentially been bipartisan, and today I acknowledge the efforts of the former coalition government for its part in giving effect to the Brereton report. In July 2021, a dedicated team was established within Defence with a mandate to implement the recommendations of the Brereton report, to examine the root causes of the conduct identified and to develop and embed measures within Defence to ensure that reform was both effective and enduring. This team and its work were called the Afghanistan Inquiry Reform Program. The AIRP sought to address the past by taking appropriate action to deal with organisational, collective and individual responsibility for failure and wrongdoing. It also sought to prevent recurrence, by building the best possible defence organisation for the future through comprehensively understanding and addressing the heart of these failures and wrongdoings. It sought to develop the systems, culture and accountability that will ideally prevent departures from required standards in the future but, if departures do occur, to ensure that these are promptly detected and dealt with. The work of the AIRP was reported publicly on the Defence Afghanistan inquiry website on a quarterly basis. Reforms delivered by the AIRP addressed the critical issues identified in the Brereton report's recommendations. These encompassed leadership development and command arrangements; ethics, character and culture; the law of armed conflict and the protection of civilians; health and wellbeing; reporting and investigations; and information, data and records management. The work of the AIRP and all other aspects of Defence's response to the Brereton report were overseen by the members of the independent Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel, which reported to me and my predecessors on a quarterly basis. I take this opportunity to thank the members of the oversight panel for their diligence in ensuring the proper implementation of these vital reforms. Following our election in 2022, the Albanese Labor government committed to the full implementation of the recommendations of the Brereton report. At that time, there were 42 recommendations yet to be completed. In implementing the recommendations, we determined to undertake a thorough and robust process. We were unapologetic in taking the necessary time to ensure that each of the recommendations and each of the processes were fully completed. When the oversight panel needed an additional 12 months to complete its work, the government granted it. Without reservation, we adopted the work of the AIRP as our own and committed to seeing it through. Two of the outstanding recommendations of the Brereton report related to command accountability of commanders during the relevant period. The last step in closing out these two recommendations was me writing to relevant commanders about my decision in relation to medals awarded to them as part of their service during periods proximate to the incidents which are at the heart of the Brereton report. I have now written these letters. My decisions on this matter are consistent with the findings and recommendations of the Brereton report. In accordance with obligations owed to the individuals involved, including under the Privacy Act, I am prohibited from disclosing the details and outcomes. This is the final step in government action emanating from the Brereton report. Accordingly, of the 143 recommendations in the Brereton report, 139 of these recommendations are now closed. To address the issues raised in the Brereton report, an office of the special investigator was established to prepare prosecutions that might arise as a result of the findings. The Office of the Special Investigator is independent and sits within the portfolio of the Attorney-General and its work happens at arm's length from the government. The four remaining recommendations remain on hold, pending investigations by the Office of the Special Investigator. Our government recognised the utmost importance of the work of the AIRP and the oversight panel to the past, present and future of the Australian Defence Force. Delivering the recommendations to the fullest extent possible has been essential to restoring the full faith and confidence of the nation in the Australian Defence Force. The oversight panel has expressed confidence that Defence has now delivered the wideranging and complex reform plan to the level and standard required by the government. Accordingly, today I advise the House that the work of the Afghanistan Inquiry Reform Program has formally concluded and, with this, the government formally closes its response to the Brereton report. I wish to thank everyone who gave evidence to Major General Brereton's inquiry. In many cases, this involved great moral courage. Bravery comes in different forms. In speaking out, there were acts of bravery which rank in the highest echelon. All that we know and all that has since been done to address the wrongs of the past so that we can truly honour the sacred service of our Defence Force personnel are built upon the evidence which was given—the brave individual decisions to speak the truth. These people, whose names are not heralded, have changed our country for the better. Today we honour them. I also thank all of those who contributed their time and expertise to the development and implementation of the AIRP. To be clear, the work of the Office of the Special Investigator is ongoing. Any prosecutions which are pursued by the Office of the Special Investigator will take years to complete. Consistent with the approach of past governments and with our government's commitment to respecting the Office of the Special Investigator and its work, I will not make further comment on these investigations. Other work will also continue. In response to recommendations of the Brereton report, Defence has developed a whole-of-government response to compensation. The government will establish the Afghanistan inquiry compensation scheme and regulation, under which compensation claims may be managed by the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Advocate. Most significantly, while the former work of the reform program has concluded, the work of the taskforce continues and the work of transforming the culture of Defence is ongoing and enduring. It remains essential. The allegations which are the subject of the Brereton report are arguably the most serious allegations of Australian war crimes in our history. As the then CDF, General Angus Campbell said: Such alleged behaviour: profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the Afghan people who had asked us to their country to help them; it would have devastated the lives of Afghan families and communities, causing immeasurable pain and suffering; and it would have put in jeopardy our mission and the safety of our Afghan and coalition partners. …   …   … These findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. The unlawful killing of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. This will always be a matter of national shame. At the same time, the Brereton report, its recommendations and the actions of successive governments in implementing these recommendations are a demonstration to the Australian people and to the world that Australia is a country which holds itself accountable. Any prosecutions of Australian war crimes will happen inside Australia by Australian courts. In the history of human conflict, it is worth noting that this accountability is very unusual. Major General Brereton has led a process which has global significance, and this accountability is profoundly important. Service in our Defence Force has always been and always will be a deeply honourable calling. The nation owes a debt of gratitude to those who have worn and will wear our nation's uniform. For the more than 103,000 Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in that service, their names are rightly inscribed on the roll which is accorded our country's greatest honour. That we have held ourselves accountable in this moment allows Australia to continue to cherish this service, past and future. More than 26,000 Australians served in the war in Afghanistan. Bar the actions of a few, they undertook their service with professionalism, with honour and with integrity, and they should be proud of their contribution, and we are proud of them. We acknowledge the 41 Australians who died on operations in Afghanistan, and today and every day we hold their families in our hearts. We acknowledge those wounded by their service over the course of Australia's longest war and those who have felt it's aftermath. The government also recognises the heavy impact of the Brereton report on our service personnel, veterans and their families. Today's statement may raise issues for former serving ADF personnel and their families affected by the Brereton report. The government has ensured they have access to support from the Departments of Veterans' Affairs and Defence, and this help remains available. Anyone who requires assistance should contact Open Arms on 1800011046. The Brereton report and its recommendations offered a defining opportunity for Defence and the nation to do right in the face of wrong. While the journey continues, we have met this challenge. Defence is a different organisation to the one that existed at the end of the war in Afghanistan: better positioned to prevent, detect and respond to unlawful, unethical and unacceptable behaviours in the future. While today marks a significant milestone, the work of reforming the culture of Defence continues. And I want to assure the Australian people that it does so with the absolute commitment of Defence's leadership and this government. 10:11 Mr HASTIE 260805 Canning The Australian Army is one of our nation's most revered institutions. It has a proud and distinguished history. It is an institution shaped and tempered by the harsh realities of the battlefield. Indeed, the Army has been refined by war over the past century. The crucible of combat has shown that our soldiers are capable of great courage and bravery under fire. It has also shown that we can do great wrong on the battlefield. That is why the Brereton report was initiated by the former coalition government. We had to give account of the alleged wrongs committed by a small minority of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. The review found credible information that grievous wrong had been committed by some of our troops, and we've since had a public reckoning that has laid bare these troubling allegations for the world to see. The Deputy Prime Minister has covered this ground already, and I don't intend to repeat him. But today I do want to say that it is important that we learn from this tragic and bitter chapter in our military history, and I'm encouraged by the Chief of Army's latest capstone document, The Australian Army contribution to the National Defence Strategy 2024, released last week. This is a document that will guide the Army out of this valley under his leadership. It says this: There are certain aspects of war that never change. War is fought among humans for political ends. War is brutally violent and uncompromising. War is unpredictable, and impossible to control. War is a contest of wills. Wars end when the human will to fight runs out. People live on the land, and wars often begin and end on the land. I'm heartened by this intellectual clarity about war and his focus on Army's core business, for if we neglect the reality of war then we risk treating war like any other public policy endeavour, ignoring the unique moral and ethical challenges it imposes on people. The document goes on to say: Our profession is dangerous and demanding. The battlefield is the most physically, intellectually and morally demanding of environments. It challenges humanity to its core. It demands nothing less than the highest professional standards. It reminds us in this House and in the senior ranks of the Australian Defence Force that we have a special obligation to our soldiers, sailors and aviators when we send them to war—that we not only send them out to battle for the right reasons but that we also have a special obligation to remain no less engaged in the conduct of war once it has commenced. It is violent and uncontrollable, and that means we can't switch off and offer only platitudes in this place. That means we must ask the hard questions, we must have debates and we must adjust policy and strategy as the situation changes. And we must insist on accountability from those in the heat of battle as well as from those directing policy in Canberra. Our soldiers must tell the truth, and those in leadership must seek it out. If both our soldiers and our leaders had done so, we might not be in this place today. But here we are, and it has been a tough reckoning, and this week in particular has been a tough reckoning. The royal commission report has hit us hard, and the formal closure of the Afghanistan inquiry report will also be tough for many people. The Brereton inquiry was painful, as it unearthed painful truths about some of our conduct in the Afghan war. Reputations, both personal and institutional, have been damaged. The cost of war has been doubled and tripled as we've retraced painful moments. But it was necessary, for we believe in accountability and making things right when we uncover wrongdoing. To that end I'd like to acknowledge Justice Brereton and his team for their work. I'd like to also acknowledge the witnesses who struggled through painful testimony, trauma and fractured friendships to tell the truth. Theirs is a special kind of moral courage, and I want to note that in this House. I'd also like to acknowledge the many families who neither set foot in Afghanistan nor participated in an inquiry interview but carried the emotional and psychological burdens of service and were there to comfort their loved ones. The toll on families has been tremendous, and we must recognise that as we begin our journey out of the valley. I'd like to say a few things today. The first thing is on command accountability. My one point of disagreement with the Brereton report is on how far it reaches up the chain in assigning responsibility. I believe that our troops were let down by a lack of moral courage that went up the chain of command all the way to Canberra, including in this House. I want to be clear: those who are alleged to have shed innocent blood are alone responsible for that. I do not say this to absolve or condemn anyone, but those in the chain of command who saw the post-mission slide decks with the kill counts and pictures of dead individuals had an obligation to ask questions. From Tarin Kot, Kabul and Kandahar to Dubai and Canberra, those in the chain of command should have asked more questions; some may well have done that. But an earlier intervention by our political and strategic leadership may have avoided much of the pain that people have experienced in Afghanistan and through this lengthy process. My point is that leadership matters, and it starts with a realistic appreciation of the nature of war. I'm glad that the Chief of Army understands this and is leading our troops with this reality in focus. My second point is on trust. Trust needs to be rebuilt both up and down the chain. It is the foundation of the sacred compact between the Army, the Australian people and our government. It was broken and needs to be restored. The Chief of Army has made this clear. Trust also needs to be rebuilt down the chain. There were many contradictions in Australian policy that our troops had to reconcile on the ground in Afghanistan, often in morally ambiguous and demanding situations—and I say this with direct experience. It was not easy partnering with an Afghan warlord and his personal band of warriors. We did not have aligned values or a moral framework that we shared, but we had to make our policy objectives work as best we could. That had a moral impact on people at the tip of the spear. It was not easy planning combat missions where we had to make choices about whether we took our medic or EODs on the job, because of partner ratios that were imposed upon us by policymakers. It meant that, when we were determining who came on the helicopter, I had to drop off essential people in order to meet the policy objectives from our government. We assumed the operational risk and we made it work, but it is a reminder that war is not clean nor coherent, even though it might look that way in Canberra, from this House or over at Russell. Again, I want to make clear that none of this context absolves those facing allegations of grievous misconduct. Those allegations will be tested by the Office of the Special Investigator and in our courts. We must restore trust with our fighting men and women by ensuring that we do better the next time we go to war, by staying engaged, by asking the right questions and by adjusting our policy and strategy as required. We owe that to those who are willing to risk their lives defending the nation. My final point is on readiness. We must now march out of this valley and stand ready for the next challenge. To quote the Chief of Army once more: We are a fighting force, but we fight only to defend Australia and its interests. We seek no glory in combat. But every soldier trains to be an expert at it. There is no substitute for victory in warfare, and therefore we strive to be able to fracture and defeat the will and cohesion of those who seek to do our nation harm. That is the mission for Army, and it's crystal clear. We are living in a dangerous world, as the Deputy Prime Minister has said multiple times. War could come sooner than we imagine. The Middle East and Europe remind us of this harsh reality. That's why we cannot allow this chapter to denude us of our fighting power or morale. We've been accountable for the wrongs that we've done in Afghanistan, as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, and now we must look to the next ridge line. That's why the opposition leader and I conducted command reform at the Special Air Service Regiment in 2021. The regiment has grown in capabilities and size since 1964. The span of command and assets involved in special operations made it clear that the commanding officer should be a full colonel rather than a lieutenant-colonel, and AUKUS and the surge of strategic assets into Perth has validated this approach. It was also a reform made specifically in the context of the Brereton findings. We wanted to see a more senior officer with greater experience and knowledge commanding the SAS. There is no place for exceptionalism, and broader exposure to the ADF and government will give us more commanding officers aligned with our strategic leadership and perhaps avoiding the cultural failings of the period in question. I want to add that the regiment celebrated its 60th anniversary over the weekend. I was not in attendance, but I have heard good reports, and I have confidence in the current commanding officer and also in the individual who will replace him, as I know the Deputy Prime Minister does. Finally, I thank all the men and women serving in uniform today. I thank the 26,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan. I particularly honour the veterans who carry the physical and emotional and psychological scars of combat. I acknowledge their families. We look forward to working together on the next challenge, because we must be ready and we cannot fail. 10:21 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio The shadow minister and I present copies of our statements. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 I acknowledge the member for Canning's service to our nation and acknowledge all of the members in this House and those outside that serve our nation and that deliver us a magnificent country to live in. We are at our finest when we are united. COMMITTEES 14 COMMITTEES Privileges and Members' Interests Committee 14 Report 14 10:21 Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E McEwen On behalf of the Standing Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests, I present a statement representing its report in response to the matter of privilege referred to it by the House in relation to a concern notice issued to the member for Bruce. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Mr ROB MITCHELL M3E by leave—As members would be aware, on 14 August the House referred a matter of privilege to the committee in relation to a concern notice given to the member for Bruce by lawyers acting on behalf of Mr John Margerison. The basis for the member for Bruce's complaint was that it was a concern notice that foreshadowed legal action for defamation based on the material covered in a number of publications, much or all of which, the member submitted, was likely to be covered by parliamentary privilege. The publications in question were: a media release of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, two Twitter posts in the name of the member for Bruce, four Facebook posts in the name of the member for Bruce, and one YouTube video in the name of the member for Bruce. The committee was asked to consider whether the House should express a view on the matter and intervene if court proceedings were commenced, to protect parliamentary privilege, and whether the threat of legal action may constitute a contempt of the House by way of improper interference with the free exercise of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit's authority or functions, and the member for Bruce's duties may be seen as a precedent if not addressed by the House. The committee received and considered the concerns notice and the publications to which it refers. The committee notes the question of whether the publication of material is likely to attract parliamentary privilege is clearer in some cases than in others. Parliamentary privilege encompasses the special legal rights which apply to each House of parliament, its committees and its members. The powers and protections are in place to enable the parliament to carry its functions properly, including debating matters of importance freely, discussing grievances and conducting investigations effectively, without interference from government or the courts or others. In addition to the freedom of speech during proceedings and the preparation of particular documents, the law of parliamentary privilege applies to other acts, such as the properly authorised publishing of parliamentary material. If documents or other publications are covered by parliamentary privilege, there are restrictions on the legal action that could be taken in relation to both of them. There are also restrictions on the use of those publications in any legal proceedings. The committee considers that a properly authorised media release by a parliamentary committee would fall under the definition of proceedings of parliament, contained in subsection 16(2) of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. Therefore, the committee found that it is likely that parliamentary privilege would attach to the media release of the JCPAA. Any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either house of parliament in the performance of its functions or which obstructs or impedes any member or officer of such house in the discharge of their duty, or which has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results, may be treated as contempt. It is the view of the committee that the threat of legal action contained in the concerns notice, insofar as it pertains to the media release, could have amounted to a serious contempt by both Mr Margerison and his legal representatives. This would be by way of improper interference with the free exercise by the JCPAA of its authority and functions and the member for Bruce's job as the chair of the committee. During the course of the inquiry, Mr Margerison informed the committee that he had withdrawn the concerns notice given to the member for Bruce and apologised for the potential interference in the work of the parliament. Given these circumstances, the committee will not be making any formal recommendations to the House on the matter. However, given its serious nature, the committee wished to record its views on this matter—including, importantly, to stress the threat that legal proceedings based on material to which parliamentary privilege attaches could amount to a serious contempt of the House by an individual bringing those proceedings or their legal representatives. I therefore commend the statement to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 I thank the honourable member for McEwen. The member for Deakin on this matter? 10:26 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin Yes, thanks very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek leave to move the following motion: That this House (1) condemns the ongoing violence and antisemitic protests taking place in Melbourne; (2) condemns the conduct— Mr Rob Mitchell M3E That's not on this matter. Mr Dreyfus HWG That's not on this matter. Mr SUKKAR 242515 Well, I'm seeking leave to move the following motion— Mr Dreyfus HWG You've misled the House by— Mr SUKKAR 242515 No, I haven't. Mr Dreyfus HWG Mr Deputy Speaker, the member was given the call, very clearly, to speak on this matter. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 Just take a seat for a moment. Can I just ask the Clerk— Mr Rob Mitchell M3E You don't have the call to do that. You were called to speak on the matter. Mr Dreyfus HWG You were asked why you rose, and you misled the Deputy Speaker. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 Order. The member for McEwen concluded his report. I did give the call to the member for Deakin on the pretence that it was on this matter. You're seeking to move a suspension of standing orders? Mr SUKKAR 242515 I'm seeking leave to move the following motion, Mr Deputy Speaker— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 That can be done at this point in time, but the clarification that I believe that the minister was looking for, that it wasn't on this matter—I believe that is now clarified, given your opening comments. This is the time that you could move this matter. Mr SUKKAR 242515 Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It was very clear. MOTIONS 15 MOTIONS Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition: Protests 15 10:27 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin I seek leave to move the following motion: That this House: (1) condemns: (a) the ongoing violent and antisemitic protests taking place in Melbourne; (b) the conduct of protestors who yesterday threw acid, faeces, canned food and bottles at police, punched horses and destroyed property; (c) the protestors for the effect of their actions on law-abiding Victorians, including business owners who had their trade disrupted and property destroyed; (d) the protestors for their attempts to jostle and manhandle journalists; (e) the protestors for the physical and emotional toll their actions are taking on police and emergency services, men and women who have a sworn duty to protect the community and should not be subjected to this behaviour; and (f) all those who take part in, encourage, or gave comfort to the violent protests; and (2) calls on: (a) state and federal authorities to charge and prosecute all people who engage in any sort of violent protest activity to the full extent of the law; and (b) the Australian Greens to publicly condemn the actions of Victorian MP Gabrielle de Vietri, who has taken part in the violent protests. Leave not granted. Mr SUKKAR 242515 I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Deakin from moving the following motion immediately: That this House: (1) condemns: (a) the ongoing violent and antisemitic protests taking place in Melbourne; (b) the conduct of protestors who yesterday threw acid, faeces, canned food and bottles at police, punched horses and destroyed property; (c) the protestors for the effect of their actions on law-abiding Victorians, including business owners who had their trade disrupted and property destroyed; (d) the protestors for their attempts to jostle and manhandle journalists; (e) the protestors for the physical and emotional toll their actions are taking on police and emergency services, men and women who have a sworn duty to protect the community and should not be subjected to this behaviour; and (f) all those who take part in, encourage, or gave comfort to the violent protests; and (2) calls on: (a) state and federal authorities to charge and prosecute all people who engage in any sort of violent protest activity to the full extent of the law; and (b) the Australian Greens to publicly condemn the actions of Victorian MP Gabrielle de Vietri, who has taken part in the violent protests. We have to suspend standing orders. It's an outrage that leave was not granted by this government. In fact, it's quite outrageous that we have not seen any statements in this House from the government on what is happening in Victoria right now at the Land Forces expo. The Police Association of Victoria secretary described the people who are perpetrating this violence against our policemen and women as 'filthy, disgusting animals', and, on that, we entirely agree with the Police Association of Victoria secretary. Our policemen and women should not be referred to as 'animals on horses'. Protesters were chanting, 'Get those animals off the horses.' I'm here to send a message to every single man and woman in a police force around this country—and, most importantly, to those men and women who are protecting Victorians at a most critical time in Victoria—that the Australian coalition, the opposition in parliament, stands with you and thanks you for everything you are doing with these violent, radical left-wing protesters. It is an absolute disgrace that 27 police officers have been injured in my home state of Victoria by this absolute rabble who have descended on the Land Forces expo. Twenty-seven police officers have been injured, and countless other police officers have had faeces, acid and cans thrown at them when they're doing nothing more than their duty of protecting Victorians. It is quite outrageous as well that this rabble is being given aid and comfort from no less than MPs in the Victorian parliament including the Greens MP referred to in my motion, Gabrielle de Vietri. It's remarkable, quite frankly, that we have not seen a statement in this House in solidarity with those men and women who are protecting Victorians. And, let's not forget, it's not just the most amazing men and women that you can find, those in our police forces, who run towards danger and who don't run away from it when protecting Victorians, that are suffering; everyday Victorians are having their lives disrupted by this absolute rabble—or, as the Police Association of Victoria secretary refers to them, 'filthy, disgusting animals'. They are stopping everyday Victorians from getting around their city and being able to live their lives. How many people yesterday missed an important medical appointment because of this absolute rabble going on in the city? How many businesses, not just businesses in our CBD but businesses more broadly, have been affected by this absolute rabble that is occurring in our city? I can tell you that people around Australia are looking at Victoria and saying, 'That is not who we are, and that is not the sort of country that we want.' We certainly don't want that spreading from Victoria any further. That's why we need leadership from this government. We need them to actually be giving the speech that I'm giving. We would have given the government leave to do this because it is so important that we send a strong message to those men and women. Now, it's very easy for those opposite to be angry at me while our policemen and women are standing right now in the face of the fury from this absolute rabble, not to mention the police horses that are being mishandled and mistreated as well. They are there to protect Victorians and the least they deserve is some encouragement from the government that we stand with them. Well, the coalition—the opposition—will provide that sense of support to our men and women who, as we speak, will be doing what they did yesterday, supporting Victorians. It's a disgrace, quite frankly, that 27 of those men and women, the most outstanding people that you can find in our community, have been treated as human punching bags by this absolute rabble, by these 'filthy, disgusting animals', as referred to by the Police Association of Victoria. Quite frankly, I think many Australians are looking at this as a seminal moment, because, since 7 October, we have seen these radical left-wing troublemakers—rabble rousers—causing disruption to our community wherever they possibly can. This is the professional protester set. Anything they can possibly protest on they will. As one gentleman reported yesterday, who had been held up for hours in traffic, as he finally got through, yelled out the window, 'Get a job', to most of those protesters. I suspect that's the view of most law-abiding Australians who are going about their business at a time when Australians are struggling to put food on the table, to pay their mortgages, to pay their rent, to pay their electricity bills. Their businesses and their lives are being disrupted by people who are, quite frankly, sitting there living off the government and finding any opportunity to protest. Treating our most amazing men and women in our police force, in the Victoria Police, as human punching bags is an absolute disgrace. We should send a very strong message that it will not be accepted, and no more of this softly-softly business with these protesters. We all in this House defend people's right to protest. In the lead-up to these so-called protests in the last few weeks, we were assured by these disgusting individuals that they would be protesting peacefully. Well, we now know that they are abject liars at the same time. If any of them now want to claim that we saw yesterday was a peaceful protest then they are more bizarre-o than any of us could imagine. It was so far from being peaceful. We do not support violent protests like this. We will condemn it in this House. We expect, and Australians have an expectation, that our Prime Minister will stand up and condemn it in the strongest terms. The leadership of this country starts from the Prime Minister and it is a disgrace that he is being quiet. As to the coalition partner of this government in the Greens, it's quite frankly shocking to me, and I think even to those people opposite me, that an MP in the Victorian parliament—an MP!—has taken part in these violent protests. MP Gabrielle de Vietri from the Greens political party has engaged in a so-called protest that has led to 27 policemen and women being injured, some of them being hospitalised, and people chanting, 'Get those animals off the horses.' Well, I'm here to tell those 'disgusting, filthy animals'—in the words of the Police Association of Victoria secretary—that those are not animals on horses; they are the best of Australia. They are the absolute best men and women, as I said, who go out every single day and put their safety on the line to protect their fellow Australians. They should be revered. The police should not be treated as human punching bags by a bunch of rabble, by disgusting, filthy animals who are living off the government and living off the hard work of the police, quite frankly. For that very reason, it is important that we suspend standing orders and make very clear to our men and women in the police forces, not just in Victoria but throughout our country, we stand with you. You are the best of Australia and we are here in solidarity. The DEPUTY SPEAKER DZY Is there a seconder for the motion? 10:39 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra I second the motion; I support the suspension. People have the right to protest, but they have to do it peacefully. All around our country there has been a growing sense of lawlessness since 7 October. The violence involved in Melbourne's protest yesterday is shocking, and all too often governments aren't throwing the book at people who thumb their nose at the law and show no respect for their fellow Australians. Unlike yesterday, too often law enforcement officials aren't acting, because they're taking their cues from politicians who talk out of both sides of their mouths on this issue. And all too often, as yesterday, Greens MPs are encouraging or participating in such protests. Yesterday people threw acid, faeces, bags of vomit, padlocks, apples, chairs, canned food and bottles at police. They punched horses and destroyed property. They set alight plastic bins and prevented firefighters from getting to them so that chemical fumes from burning plastic would pervade the air. These are among the worst incidents, but they're not isolated. This is Australia since 7 October. The protesters get more and more brazen because too often they're not dealt with by the full force of the law. Australians are shocked by what we've seen since 7 October: the lighting of flares, the burning of flags and the chanting of slogans seeking to harm Jews at the Sydney Opera House on 9 October; the intimidatory drive-throughs in Jewish suburbs; the confrontations outside synagogues; the vandalism and firebombing of MPs' electorate offices, a straightforward terrorist act; the vandalism of war memorials; the vandalism of Jewish property, including schools, calling for death to Jews; hate preachers openly calling for the murder of Jews and vilifying Jews as being subhuman; the doxxing of Jewish creatives, artists and small businesses; a Greens MP repeating antisemitic tropes without being condemned by her own party; posters of Hitler going up all over Jewish suburbs; protests outside Jewish schools and synagogues; the violent protests at the Victorian Labor conference, which saw MPs being jostled and attacked and delayed the conference, forcing the Victorian Premier and Deputy Premier into a safe room; violent and aggressive protests at peaceful rallies against antisemitism; trespassing on and defacing the federal parliament; and our university campuses, where violence and intimidation go unchecked, where rapes are denied and where Hizb ut-Tahrir get a seat at the table. Law-abiding Australians are struggling to recognise the country they love. On this side of the House we stand with law-abiding Australians and we say this lawlessness must stop. We stand with law-abiding Australians when we say let these protesters feel the full force of the law. We stand with law-abiding Australians when we say to this government that this is a time for moral clarity; this is not a time to have a bet each way. There are two things the government can do right now. Firstly they can support the motion to suspend standing orders to bring on this very important debate. Secondly they can support the judicial inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses, because that's where the bad behaviour we saw yesterday originates. Today all of the major Jewish bodies in the country support the inquiry, none of the universities oppose the inquiry and the government's own people, like Marjorie O'Neill, the Labor member for Coogee in New South Wales, and Phil Dalidakis, the former Victorian Labor minister, are calling for this inquiry. The government's own appointed antisemitism envoy, Jill Segal, has strongly recommended the judicial inquiry into antisemitism on campuses, and she has called into question the ultimate efficacy of the government's alternative inquiry undertaken by the Human Rights Commission. I want to quote Ms Segal's powerful words. She says: … the situation is very grave and indeed much more serious and alarming than I expected. Antisemitic behaviour is not only present on many campuses but is an embedded part of the culture. Universities have not taken appropriate action to denounce and suppress it: it has become systemic. The Jewish students are traumatised and feel isolated and unsafe. They are not participating as they should in university life. They have been told by their university administration to stay home for their own safety. This normalised antisemitism is incredibly dangerous to our society as it is an attitude and behaviour that eats away at the fabric of the mission of the tertiary sector. To date university leadership is either in denial about how serious and normalized antisemitism has become on their campuses or … has failed to truly understand what constitutes antisemitism and has responded by placating activist forces. … The situation on Australian university campuses must change. She goes on to demonstrate how judicial inquiries or royal commissions bring about important societal changes, particularly in institutions like universities, which have a particular role in developing the next generation. It is for all these reasons that the suspension of standing orders must occur. What we saw on Melbourne streets yesterday cannot go unremarked by this House. We cannot continue to see the lawlessness which has pervaded our country—on university campuses, on our streets and in other places—continue unchecked. 10:44 Ms KEARNEY LTU Cooper I move: That the debate be adjourned. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the debate be adjourned.    

The House divided. [10:49]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 79 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Belyea, J. A. Bowen, C. E. Burke, A. S. 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. Conroy, P. M. Doyle, M. J. J. 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. 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. Neumann, S. K. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Plibersek, T. J. Rae, S. T. Reid, G. J. Repacholi, D. P. Rishworth, A. L. Roberts, T. G. Rowland, M. A. Ryan, J. C. Scrymgour, M. R. Shorten, W. R. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 63 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. Boyce, C. E. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Caldwell, C. M. Chaney, K. E. Chester, D. J. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Daniel, Z. Dutton, P. C. Entsch, W. G. Fletcher, P. W. Gee, A. R. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Haines, H. M. Hamilton, G. R. Hastie, A. W. Hawke, A. G. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Kennedy, S. P. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Ley, S. P. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McCormack, M. F. McIntosh, M. I. 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) Ryan, M. M. Scamps, S. A. Sharkie, R. C. C. Spender, A. M. Steggall, Z. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. Tink, K. J. van Manen, A. J. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Webster, A. E. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Wood, J. P. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.
Debate adjourned.

 BILLS 19 BILLS Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 19

Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

First Reading 19 Second Reading 19 10:54 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs I move: That this bill be now read a second time. In my first speech to federal parliament in 2008, I said that: Tolerance lies at the heart of our Australian multiculturalism. It is a vital democratic value. Tolerance of others—tolerance of different cultural and religious values and tolerance of different political positions—produces inclusiveness and not division. It enables harmonious communities and peaceful political debate. Unfortunately, a tolerant society is not something we can take for granted. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in hate speech and other hateful conduct that urges violence against individuals and groups within our society. This can be seen in the rise of antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric following the terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023, the testimonies of those who appeared before the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, and the oppression and abuse faced by those in the LGBTIQA+ community. Global events, such as the conflict in the Middle East, have resonated in Australia and will continue to do so. As reflected in the Director-General of Security's decision to raise the national terrorism threat level to probable on 5 August 2024, these dynamics have raised the temperature of the security environment. As the director-general noted, there has been a normalisation of provocative and inflammatory behaviours contrary to community standards and liberal democratic values. There is a direct connection between inflamed language, inflamed tension and violence. No one in Australia should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe. The legislation I am introducing to the parliament today responds to the increasing prevalence of hate speech and hateful conduct in our society. This conduct cannot, and will not, be tolerated. The Albanese government is committed to the safety and security of the community. It is our responsibility as a government, and as a parliament, to use our collective voice to send a clear, unambiguous message in response: threats of violence and urging violence against groups, whether distinguished by their race or religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality, or who they are, are not acceptable. This is criminal behaviour and should be treated as such. Robust debate must remain a feature of our democracy. Australia's vibrancy as a nation comes from the diversity of opinions and beliefs that are held across our community. We will not always agree with each other, and, at times, we may find the views of others distasteful. However, there is a threshold for a democratic society where conduct becomes unacceptable and must be addressed. Conduct that urges or threatens the use of force or violence against individuals or groups in a manner which impacts their enjoyment of fundamental human rights and participation in society is not a legitimate expression of opinion. Robust discussion of diverse views and opinions is a necessary part of a vibrant and effective democracy, and these thresholds are not always straightforward to define in legislation. This bill has been carefully considered to target the most serious forms of hate speech, namely the urging or threatening of force or violence against groups. The government supports a referral of this bill to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. The committee process will be an opportunity for all members of the public to engage with these issues. I look forward to hearing and engaging with the views that are expressed, including on the significant harm and serious vilification being experienced by those in our society. In this term, the Albanese government has already taken significant steps to address displays of hate, including by creating new offences for publicly displaying Nazi and terrorist organisation symbols, giving the Nazi salute, and trading in items bearing these symbols. When I introduced that legislation to this House, I committed to acting if more was required to protect Australians from hatred. Today, the government is acting to further protect the community from the harm caused by those who foster extremism, hatred and violence. This bill expands, and builds upon, existing legislative protections against hate speech and extremism. These protections will support law enforcement's ability to intervene early to prevent acts of violence. They will better enable our law enforcement agencies to disrupt, investigate and protect against the harms caused by those who foster hatred, extremism or incitement to violence. Amendments to offences for urging violence against groups or members of groups The bill will strengthen existing offences in sections 80.2A and 80.2B of the Criminal Code for urging violence against groups or members of groups. These offences currently protect groups distinguished by race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin or political opinion. The bill will expand the list of groups that these offences protect to include groups distinguished by sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status and disability. The bill will also strengthen these offences to capture circumstances in which a person intentionally urges force or violence and is reckless as to whether the force or violence will occur. The bill will also remove the availability of the good faith defence. There are no circumstances in which urging force or violence against a targeted group or its members can be done in good faith. Criminalising threats of force or violence against groups or members of groups The bill will establish new criminal offences for directly threatening force or violence towards a group, or member of a group, that is distinguished by race, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, national or ethnic origin or political opinion. The new offences will address a gap in Commonwealth laws by providing law enforcement with the capacity to address conduct which involves a direct threat from one person to another. This differs from existing offences, which apply where a person urges another person to use force or violence against a group or group member. There will be no defence of good faith for this offence. Threats of force or violence cannot be done in good faith. Amendments to offences for publicly displaying prohibited symbols The bill will amend the existing offences in sections 80.2H, 80.2HA and 80.2K of the Criminal Code. These provisions make it an offence to publicly display prohibited Nazi and terrorist organisation symbols or to make Nazi gestures in specified circumstances. This includes where the display of the symbol or use of the gesture is likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a member of a group distinguished by race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion or national or social origin. The bill will expand the list of groups which these offences protect to include groups distinguished by sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. The amendments accord with Australia's international human rights obligations and complement existing civil protections in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Conclusion As the Prime Minister recently reminded us, words matter. Violent and extremist rhetoric seeks to create a wedge between us. Mutual respect and understanding holds us together—a recognition that each of us is entitled to the same respect, dignity and opportunities. How we protect minority groups, and how we treat those that are different to ourselves, is a measure of our society and a measure of our humanity. This bill strengthens protections for all Australians against the harm caused by those who foster hatred and extremism. Australia's diversity is our great strength. With these laws, we are sending a clear signal to those who seek to divide us. There is no place in this country for hate speech and other hateful conduct that urges or threatens violence against others. For those who have faced hatred and violence simply for being who you are, we stand with you. The Albanese government is acting to keep you safe and ensure you are free to live your lives without fear. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 21 First Reading 21 Second Reading 21 11:05 Mr DREYFUS HWG Isaacs I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Introduction The digital economy has unleashed enormous benefits for Australians. But it has also increased the privacy risks we face through the collection and storage of enormous amounts of our personal data. The Privacy Act 1988 represented the first time that a comprehensive, integrated set of legal rules protecting interests in privacy existed in Australia. On introducing it, Attorney-General Lionel Bowen told the parliament that 'enormous developments in technology for the processing of information are providing new and, in some respects, undesirable opportunities for the greater use of personal information.' In that respect, little has changed. Evolutions in technology and the way people use it continue to vex those who share information online, and those charged with regulating it. It is essential that Australians are protected by a legal framework that is flexible and agile enough to adapt to changes in the world around them. The Privacy Act has not kept pace with the adoption of digital technologies. The vast data flows that underpin digital ecosystems have also created the conditions for significant harms—like major data breaches that have revealed the sensitive information of millions of Australians, exposing us to the risk of identity fraud and scams. Strong privacy laws and protections are critical to building public trust and confidence in the digital economy, and driving the investments needed to keep people's data safe. The right to privacy is a fundamental human right. As Sir Zelman Cowan said in his 1969 Boyer Lectures, a person without privacy is a person without dignity. We must be vigilant in ensuring that evolving technology does not erode our ability to protect information about who we are, what we do and what we believe from being misused. The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 is a significant step forward for Australian privacy law. It begins the much-needed work of updating our privacy laws to be fit for purpose in the digital age. With this bill, the Australian government is taking the next step to ensure Australians' privacy is respected and protected. It implements a first tranche of agreed recommendations of the Privacy Act review, ahead of consultation on a second tranche of reforms. It also delivers on a commitment made by the Albanese government following the National Cabinet held in May to address gender based violence, by outlawing the practice of 'doxxing', or the malicious release of personal data online. Schedule 1 of the bill will amend the Privacy Act to enhance its effectiveness, strengthen the enforcement tools available to the privacy regulator and better facilitate safe overseas data flows. It will require the development of a children's online privacy code, streamline information-sharing in emergencies and following eligible data breaches, and increase transparency when entities are automating significant decisions which use personal information. Schedule 2 of the bill will introduce a new statutory tort to provide redress for serious invasions of privacy. Schedule 3 of the bill will amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 to introduce new criminal offences to target the harmful practice of doxxing. Schedule 1—Privacy Act amendments If I could turn first to schedule 1, the Privacy Act amendments, schedule 1 begins the work of bringing Australia's privacy protection framework into the digital age. The amendments reaffirm the government's view that entities have a responsibility to protect Australians' personal information and not treat it merely as a commercial asset. Children's privacy While all Australians face privacy risks in the online environment, children are particularly vulnerable. For many Australian children, social media has been part of their lives from the time they were born. They have never lived in a world without it. It's been estimated that by the time a child turns 13, around 72 million pieces of data will be collected about them. This bill will require the development of a children's online privacy code which will apply to social media and other internet services which are likely to be accessed by children. The children's online privacy code will specify how these entities must comply with privacy obligations in relation to children. The code will align to the extent possible with similar codes in like-minded countries, such as the United Kingdom. The code will be developed by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which will be provided with $3 million in funding over three years to do this important work. Information-sharing declarations after data breaches and emergencies Cyber incidents are growing in number, speed and sophistication. Data breaches are exposing millions of Australians to the risk of fraud, identity theft and scams. This bill will promote the importance of implementing technical and organisational controls—such as encrypting data and training staff on data protection—to address information security risks. It will also support more effective responses to data breaches by introducing eligible data breach declarations. A declaration will permit the sharing of personal information following a notifiable data breach for the purpose of preventing or reducing the risk of harm to individuals. Sharing information under these circumstances will enable entities such as banks to act quickly to prevent the misuse of compromised credentials. Safeguards are included to ensure that a declaration can only be made for a purpose that is related to preventing or reducing a risk of harm to individuals arising from a misuse of personal information from the eligible data breach. An eligible data breach declaration can be issued quickly and will make clear the kinds of personal information that may be shared, and with whom they may be shared, which may include state and territory agencies. Similarly, emergency declarations made under the act permit personal information-sharing following disasters or emergencies to support response efforts, including to assist affected individuals. The bill will require emergency declarations to specify the kinds of personal information, types of entities permitted to share information and the purposes for which it may be shared. These changes will ensure that individuals' privacy is protected while also addressing their broader interests, and will support enhanced coordination with states and territories in emergencies and disasters. Overseas data flows The flow of information across national borders is critical for international trade and services in a globalised world. To support the free flow of information with appropriate protections, the bill provides for countries with substantially similar data privacy laws to Australia to be prescribed. Businesses and individuals will be able to have greater confidence that personal information will be kept safe. This will also reduce costs for business when entering into contracts and agreements with overseas entities. Enforcement Effective enforcement of the Privacy Act is essential to protect Australians' interests. This bill expands the suite of regulatory powers available to the Information Commissioner to effectively enforce the act, and provides a broader range of enforcement options available to do so. This will include new civil penalties and infringement notices for less serious privacy breaches. To investigate potential privacy breaches in an increasingly complex digital landscape, the Information Commissioner requires modern investigative powers. This bill provides the Information Commissioner with additional powers, including for search and seizure, which may be exercised under warrant when investigating breaches of the act, and scalable enforcement options. The bill will empower a court to make appropriate orders where it has determined that an entity has breached a civil penalty provision, which may include compensation for loss or damage suffered. Effective privacy protection requires proactive regulatory action. This bill also strengthens the Information Commissioner's capacity by expanding monitoring and assessment functions. The bill also introduces new public inquiry powers which will enable the Information Commissioner to inquire into specified matters as directed or approved. This will enable the Information Commissioner to keep closer oversight of threats to privacy, including issues of a systemic nature, as they emerge. Automated decision - making The safe and responsible development and deployment of automated decision-making presents significant opportunities. These systems have the potential to increase the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of decisions, and they present opportunities for improved outcomes in health, environment, defence and national security. The bill will provide individuals with transparency about the use of their personal information in automated decisions which significantly affect their interests. Entities will need to specify the kinds of personal information used in these sorts of decisions in their privacy policies. Importantly these requirements will apply to decisions that are wholly or substantially automated, ensuring that the new requirements cannot be avoided by 'tokenistic' human involvement in a decision-making process. Schedule 2—statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy A statutory tort applying to breaches of privacy has been talked about in Australia for a long, long time—as early as 1969, when Sir Zelman Cowan, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England, endorsed legislation to create an actionable right to seek redress for breaches of privacy. There is currently no tortious right of action for invasion of privacy under the act or any other Commonwealth, state or territory statute. The creation of a statutory tort was recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its 2014 report Serious invasions of privacy in the digital era, which I commissioned in 2013. It has been recommended by many other inquiries before and since. In its 2014 report, the commission stated the creation of a statutory tort would 'fill an increasingly conspicuous gap in Australian law, helping to protect the privacy of Australians, while respecting and reinforcing other fundamental rights and values, including freedom of expression'. Schedule 2 to the bill will provide a new statutory cause of action, or tort, for individuals who have suffered a serious invasion of their privacy. This will include an intrusion on a person's physical privacy, so the tort will complement the Privacy Act, which focusses on the narrower concept of information privacy. There are parts of our lives that we reasonably expect to be able to keep to ourselves. The freedom to enjoy a private and family life, and express ourselves and our beliefs in safety, is critical to our wellbeing and dignity. Ensuring that individuals have a clear right to seek a legal remedy against people or entities who seriously invade their privacy is a key part of ensuring that our privacy laws keep pace with community expectations and advances in technology. Schedule 2 to the bill provides that an individual has a cause of action for serious privacy invasions, either by an intrusion upon the individual's seclusion—for example by physically intruding into their private space—or by misuse of their information, in circumstances where the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy. A plaintiff will have a cause of action without having to prove that any damage arose from the invasion of privacy. The damage or harm a plaintiff suffers will be a relevant factor in assessing the seriousness of the invasion, and the remedies that may be awarded. For a claim to succeed, the plaintiff will need to demonstrate the public interest in protecting their privacy outweighs any competing public interest raised by the defendant. In addition to the public interest balancing test, a range of defences will apply, including where the conduct of the defendant was required or authorised by law or was necessary because of a serious threat to life, health or safety. The bill will provide specific exemptions from liability under the tort, including for journalism, enforcement bodies and intelligence agencies. These exemptions are important to protect press freedom, and ensure that legitimate activities of government can be delivered effectively. The journalism exemption provides that invasions of privacy which occur in the course of the collection, preparation or publication of journalistic material, by a journalist, their employer, or someone assisting them, would not be liable under the tort. The bill requires that to be considered a 'journalist', the person must work in that professional capacity, and be subject to applicable standards of professional conduct or a code of practice. The journalism exemption also operates in addition to the requirement that a court balance the public interest in the plaintiff's privacy with other public interests. This may involve consideration of the public interest in freedom of the media, or freedom of expression. A court will have the flexibility to choose the remedy or remedies that are most appropriate in the circumstances. This may include compensation for non-economic loss or an order requiring the defendant to apologise to the plaintiff. Schedule 3—doxxing criminal offences Schedule 3 of the bill will amend the Criminal Code 1995 to create new criminal offences targeting the release of personal data in a manner that is menacing or harassing—a practice known as 'doxxing'. The prevalence of social media and online platforms has rapidly increased the capacity of malicious individuals to obtain personal data, and to release that online—either to the public at large on social media platforms, or to their associates on forum and messaging platforms. Doxxing exposes victims to significant and enduring harm, including public embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, discrimination, stalking and identify theft and financial fraud. It can lead to threats to a victim's life and safety, and the lives and safety of their families and friends. It can inflict significant and lasting psychological harm. Doxxing is a form of abuse that can affect all Australians but is often used against women in the context of domestic and family violence. The creation of this offence also responds to a recent, shocking incident of a group who were targeted with doxxing on the basis of their religion. The bill creates a new offence that applies where a person: uses a carriage service to make available, publish or otherwise distribute the personal data of one or more individuals; and the person does so in a way that reasonable persons would regard as being menacing or harassing towards those individuals. The new offence will carry a maximum penalty of six years' imprisonment. The bill also introduces a further offence, with a more serious maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment, where a person or group is targeted because of their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, nationality or national or ethnic origin. The government recognises that there are circumstances in which people legitimately publish and distribute personal data, including individuals' names, contact details and movements. The new offences will apply only where a reasonable person would consider the conduct to be, in all the circumstances, menacing or harassing, to ensure that legitimate conduct is not inappropriately criminalised. 'Personal data', in the context of these new offences, means information about an individual that enables them to be identified, contacted or located. This includes their name, photograph, telephone number, email address, online account, residential or work address, and place of education or worship. This definition recognises that doxxing can occur in a number of different ways. The Albanese government is committed to the protection of Australians from online harm, and these new offences will ensure that perpetrators of doxxing are held to account. These new offences will complement work that is underway across government, to strengthen online safety for all Australians. This includes the takedown powers of the eSafety Commissioner, the Cyberbullying Scheme and the Adult Cyber Abuse Scheme under the Online Safety Act 2021. Conclusion This bill is an important first step in the government's privacy reform agenda, but it will not be the last. Over the coming months, the Attorney-General's Department will develop the next tranche of privacy reform for targeted consultation, including draft provisions. The government is approaching this important reform work carefully, to ensure increased privacy protections are balanced against other impacts, and that we deliver the fairest outcome for all Australians. After many years of inaction, this Labor government is committed to genuine privacy reform. The Australian people expect no less—for themselves and their children. I commend the bill to the House. I also commend the team from the Attorney-General's Department, who are here in the chamber to hear this second reading speech, for their excellent work on the reform process for the Privacy Act, and I thank them in advance for the further work that's to come. Debate adjourned. Treasury Laws Amendment (2024 Tax and Other Measures No. 1) Bill 2024 25

Treasury Laws Amendment (2024 Tax and Other Measures No. 1) Bill 2024

First Reading 25 Second Reading 25 11:26 Mr JONES A9B Whitlam I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today, we're taking steps to ensure that our tax system is simpler and fairer. Schedule 1 to this bill, which has four schedules, improves the integrity of the foreign resident capital gains withholding tax regime. Foreign residents, like Australian residents, are required to pay capital gains taxes on the sale of their Australian real property assets. However, there's an incentive for foreign residents to not lodge a tax return to avoid this liability. The current withholding regime has been in place since 2016 as an integrity measure against this—ensuring a 12.5 per cent down payment on any CGT liability at the point of sale, for asset sales above $750,000. However, where CGT liabilities are greater than 12.5 per cent, there remains an incentive for foreign residents to avoid lodging a tax return in order to sidestep their tax obligations. The amendments implement the government's 2023-24 MYEFO measure to increase the withholding tax from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent and removes the $750,000 threshold. These changes help to level the playing field between Australian and foreign investors, by ensuring foreign investors selling a real property asset (such as a residential property) are subject to the same overall tax obligations as Australians, and better aligns a foreign resident's CGT liabilities with their likely real capital gain. We're also making our tax system simpler for Australia's small businesses, because we know that small businesses are at the heart of our economy. They're run by hardworking Australians who are used to overcoming challenges to keep their businesses growing. We'd like their tax returns to be one less challenge. The changes in this bill will make it easier to manage their tax affairs so that they can get back to the business of running their businesses and looking after their families. Currently, businesses need to make a declaration each time their tax agent lodges their single touch payroll data on their behalf. We're changing that. Through schedule 2 of this bill we will allow a business to make a standing declaration to their agent that covers multiple lodgements, for up to 12 months, on the employer's behalf. This simple change simplifies the process, saving time and cutting unnecessary red tape. The next schedule to the bill extends the time that small and medium businesses have to self-amend their tax assessments from two to four years. Currently, if a business realises they've made a mistake in their tax return after that two-year window, they are forced into a formal objections process that can be time-consuming, complex and, often, costly for them. By extending the self-amendment window, we're giving businesses the flexibility to fix their errors, helping them stay compliant with their tax obligations. Finally, schedule 4 to the bill delivers on the government's election commitment to cut paperwork and reduce the time small businesses spend doing their taxes. The law currently requires the tax office to process certain refunds as soon as practicable, even when valid bank account details aren't available. This often results in the tax office sending refunds via cheques. These can be delayed or lost, sometimes never cashed, and what we want to do is change this. These changes will allow the tax office up to 90 days to gain valid bank account details before processing certain tax refunds. The greater use of electronic funds transfers to bank accounts will facilitate faster, safer and cheaper payment of refunds. The changes in this bill are sensible changes to improve the integrity of our tax system, cut red tape and make our tax system more accessible for Australian businesses. Full details of all the measure are included in the explanatory memorandum. Debate adjourned. Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 26 First Reading 26 Second Reading 26 11:32 Mr WILSON 265970 Fremantle I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today the government is proud to introduce the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024. The bill is accompanied by a primary legislation package that implements the Guarantee of Origin scheme, including two additional bills, namely: the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024; and the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024. The bill establishes two certification streams: the Product Guarantee of Origin; and its companion, the Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin. They are a crucial component of the $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia program. It is important that this bill is brought forward now. This is a decisive decade for achieving Australia's prosperous, responsible and sustainable industrial evolution. The global transition to net zero is under way. Countries need more clean energy, and they need to achieve the decarbonisation of products and processes across the full breadth of our economies. In other words, the world needs what Australia has as our national strengths. From critical minerals to wind and solar resources, to our highly skilled workforce and our innovative business culture. From that foundation of strength, our nation can leverage this transition and realise our potential as a renewable energy superpower. We have abundant clean energy resources. We can unlock crucial investment in these industries with the best supportive framework. This bill creates that framework. It will form the emissions accounting backbone for Australia's net zero industries. In order to remain competitive in new and emerging domestic and global markets, Australian producers will need to account for the emissions embedded in products. Under this voluntary scheme, the foundational certification will enable Australian producers to demonstrate the emissions intensity credentials of low-emission commodities. Over the last decade, demand from competitive businesses across the economy for renewable electricity certificates has grown, supporting investment in new renewable energy projects. Enabling this growth will further accelerate emissions reductions. This bill provides for a nationally consistent certification mechanism that is backed and administered by the Australian government. This bill is just another way that the Australian government is providing Australian businesses and investors with the regulatory certainty needed to support and encourage investments. It builds on and complements the important initiatives this government has already put in place to secure Australia's low emissions future—such as the Capacity Investment Scheme, the reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism, and the Future Made in Australia agenda. The Product Guarantee of Origin scheme will issue digital certificates that allow producers, exporters, and consumers to prove where a product was made. The certificates will also verify the emissions intensity associated with a product's production, transport, and storage. The certificates will be used by other Australian government initiatives to verify emissions including the proposed Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive, unlocking additional support and other opportunities for industry participants who opt into the scheme. These certificates will first be issued for production of hydrogen, and expand in future to products such as low carbon liquid fuels and green metals. The Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin certificates will provide information on when, where, and how renewable electricity was produced. The existing Renewable Energy Target (RET) has played a significant role in accelerating the generation and use of renewable electricity in Australia for 25 years, but it is due to sunset in 2030. The Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin in this bill is designed to operate alongside the RET, creating a seamless transition for its users beyond 2030. For example, it expands the RET's design strengths as an effective certification framework, while expanding its scope and flexibility to respond to an evolving market. It expands the types of electricity certified as renewable in Australia. It will also certify electricity dispatched from storage, electricity for international export, and 'below-baseline generation'—in other words, it allows certification of electricity generation from renewable energy facilities regardless of their age, which is a marked change from the operation of the RET. It facilitates the buying and selling of certificates to make credible renewable electricity use claims. It also enables certificate demand and value to be market-driven by voluntary purchases. Each of the certification streams have been designed to address the needs of both producers and consumers of low-emission products and of renewable electricity. Through extensive consultation, the bill has incorporated industry feedback on the design and operation of certificates. I do want to acknowledge that, as with all significant reforms, this scheme has come forward through the very hardworking application of public servants in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water over the last four years. Each of the certification streams—the GO and the REGO—will be administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, promoting market confidence in their integrity. The regulator will publish the certificates on a public register. The government will further consult with stakeholders on subordinate legislation setting out the details of the Guarantee of Origin scheme following this bill's passage. The government is committed to launching the scheme in 2025 and all of the stakeholder engagement has emphasised the importance of delivering the GO and REGO framework on that timetable. It is a tight timeframe, but we are prepared and ready to achieve it. Australia can only reach our decarbonisation goals through the development of new industries and by unlocking new export and trade opportunities. This bill will position Australia as a high-quality and high-integrity supplier of renewable electricity and low-emissions products. It will promote new investment and innovation. It will increase Australian exports and Australian jobs. It is a critical piece of the work needed to continue Australia's leadership in tackling dangerous climate change and in achieving our potential as a renewable energy superpower. Debate adjourned. Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024 28 First Reading 28 Second Reading 28 11:40 Mr WILSON 265970 Fremantle I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I am pleased to introduce the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024. This bill supports the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024, which establishes the Guarantee of Origin scheme. The Guarantee of Origin scheme will provide the emissions accounting backbone to support the development of Australia's low-emissions industries and to succeed the accreditation and certification scheme provided under the Renewable Energy Target arrangements, which come to an end in 2030. The scheme will help Australia to leverage the transition to net zero emissions and realise our potential as a renewable energy superpower. The scheme sets up a nationally consistent, government led framework that will help Australian producers to account for the emissions embedded in their products to remain competitive in new and emerging domestic and global markets. The independent Clean Energy Regulator will be responsible for administering the Guarantee of Origin scheme. Their knowledge and experience in administrative processes and systems will ensure the efficient establishment and operation of the Guarantee of Origin scheme. The scheme provides a certification framework for voluntary participants from a diverse variety of sectors such as manufacturing and electricity generation. It will also require the regulator to maintain a public register of information that records certificate information as well as certain details on facilities that are registered under the scheme. This bill helps ensure that the activities of the Clean Energy Regulator in administering the scheme will be fully cost recovered. Cost recovery fees allowed for by the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 will offset the cost of delivering services that benefit an individual scheme participant. Cost recovery allowed for through this bill will also offset the cost of delivering services that broadly benefit scheme participants and that cannot be collected as a fee for a service that benefits an individual participant. This bill enables the regulator to effectively and efficiently administer the Guarantee of Origin scheme on a financially sustainable basis. This will help ensure the timely commencement of the Guarantee of Origin scheme, which in turn means that Australian companies will benefit as soon as possible from the opportunities that the scheme provides. Debate adjourned. Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 28 First Reading 28 Second Reading 28 11:44 Mr WILSON 265970 Fremantle I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I am pleased to introduce the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024. This bill supports the operation of the Guarantee of Origin scheme being established under the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024. The Guarantee of Origin scheme will provide the emissions accounting backbone to support the development of Australia's low-emissions industries and to succeed the accreditation and certification scheme provided under the Renewable Energy Target arrangements, which come to an end in 2030. The independent Clean Energy Regulator will be responsible for administering the Guarantee of Origin scheme. Their relevant knowledge and experience, including through the existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and Large-scale Renewable Energy Target, will ensure the efficient establishment and administration of the Guarantee of Origin scheme. This bill makes minor, technical amendments relevant to the functions of the Clean Energy Regulator—namely, changes that are proposed for the: Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011; National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007; and the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. The bill updates the Clean Energy Regulator Act to provide authority for the regulator to perform functions for the Guarantee of Origin scheme, as outlined in the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024. This ensures that existing administrative powers and obligations on the regulator are maintained for the new scheme. Audits are a core assurance mechanism within the Guarantee of Origin framework and will perform a key role in effective implementation of the scheme. They ensure the scheme operates with integrity so that certificate information can be trusted. The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act will be amended to extend its existing audit framework to include audits for the Guarantee of Origin scheme. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act to ensure certification of electricity from energy storage systems is consistent with the guarantee of origin bill. These changes reflect the critical and growing role of battery storage in today's electricity market, and make sure that renewable electricity in these systems can be appropriately certified. The amendments in this bill will ensure the timely commencement of the Guarantee of Origin scheme, which in turn means that Australian companies will start benefiting as soon as possible from the opportunities that the scheme provides. Debate adjourned. DELEGATION REPORTS 29 DELEGATION REPORTS Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia 29 11:48 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to Malaysia from 19 to 22 November 2023, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report. Leave granted. Mr NEUMANN HVO I'm pleased to present the report of the parliamentary delegation to Malaysia. The delegation comprised of me, as leader, the member for Moncrieff, the member for Tangney, the member for Indi, the member for Durack and senator for Western Australia Senator Fatima Payman. We visited Malaysia from 19 to 22 November last year. Our visit was the first visit to Malaysia by an Australian parliamentary delegation since 2019 and the first after Malaysia's national elections in November 2022, which resulted in the formation of a new multiparty government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The main objectives of our visit were to reinforce the value and importance of Australia's relationship with Malaysia and the strong multipartisan support for Malaysia within the Australian parliament; hear about the priorities and policies of Malaysia's new government; and explore how the Australian and Malaysian parliaments can continue and enhance our cooperation. The visit was brief but worthwhile. We were honoured to attend Malaysia's parliament and meet with both the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. We spoke with two parliamentary committees and other MPs and senators, and engaged in a range of discussions with ministers, deputy ministers, officers, officials, academics, business leaders and community representatives. We were struck by the breadth and strength of the ties between the two countries. The relationship between our countries is warm, strong and stable. Healthy and growing two-way trade and investment bring benefits to both countries. There is scope for further growth in various sectors including food and agribusiness, information technology, cybersecurity and renewable energy. The people-to-people links are most positive and enduring. We met with many Malaysian alumni of Australian universities who now hold senior positions in the Malaysian government and business. We spoke with them at length. They spoke warmly of their time here in Australia and of their enduring friendships. We also met some of the Australian New Colombo Plan scholars who are now studying and working in Malaysia and building the next generation of personal connections. Under the Anwar government, Malaysia's undertaking a program of reforms to strengthen democratic institutions, including its parliament. Parliamentary reforms under consideration include reinstatement of an independent parliamentary service and a permanent committee system. We've already provided support for Malaysia with this institution strengthening program. The delegation discussed progress and challenges concerning these matters with a range of interested parties. While recognising the importance of locally owned solutions, the delegation strongly encourages the Australian government and parliament to remain open to providing further assistance and advice as and when requested to support the success of these worthwhile initiatives. I'd like to extend our thanks to the many Malaysians we met and spoke with during our visit. I'd also like to thank the then acting high commissioner Simon Fellows, second secretary Gabi Brand and other staff of the Australian High Commission in Malaysia for their support and assistance. Of course, I'd also like to thank Shennia Spillane, the delegation secretary who accompanied us, for her outstanding professionalism, valuable cooperation and sage advice. Many thanks, Shen. I commend the report to the House. BILLS 30 BILLS Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 30

Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023

Report from Federation Chamber 30 11:56 The SPEAKER 53517 The question before the House is that the bill be read a second time.    

The House divided. [11:56]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 83 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Belyea, J. A. Bowen, C. E. Burke, A. S. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chaney, K. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare, J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Conroy, P. M. Daniel, Z. Doyle, M. J. J. 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, M. M. H. Lawrence, T. N. Laxale, J. A. A. Le, D. 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. Neumann, S. K. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Plibersek, T. J. Rae, S. T. 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. Vamvakinou, M. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 60 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. Boyce, C. E. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Caldwell, C. M. Chandler-Mather, M. Chester, D. J. Coleman, D. B. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Entsch, W. G. Fletcher, P. W. Gee, A. R. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hamilton, G. R. Hastie, A. W. Hawke, A. G. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Kennedy, S. P. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Ley, S. P. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McCormack, M. F. McIntosh, M. I. 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) Sharkie, R. C. C. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. van Manen, A. J. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Watson-Brown, E. Webster, A. E. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Wood, J. P. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

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

 Consideration in Detail 31 12:01 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne by leave—I move Australian Greens amendments (1) to (3) on the sheet revised 10 September 2024 as circulated in my name, together: (1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 3 (lines 20 to 23), omit the item. (2) Schedule 1, items 4 to 6, page 4 (lines 1 to 9), omit the items. (3) Schedule 1, Part 2, page 5 (lines 1 to 8), omit the Part. At the moment, everyday people are in the grips of a massive cost-of-living and inequality crisis that they didn't cause, but they are the ones who are suffering as a result of it. People can see this. People are skipping meals to pay the rent. People are going to free meal services because they can't afford to pay their mortgage. People are forgoing essentials because life is getting too hard. It's not getting too hard for the big corporations and the big banks who are making massive profits off the back of people's pain, but it is getting incredibly hard for people, and the housing crisis is breaking people. In the middle of this crisis, there are two ways of dealing with it. There are two ways of dealing with the fact that prices are soaring and putting people under enormous pain. One way is the Labor and Liberals' way, and that is to use everyday people as cannon fodder in the fight against inflation. Labor says, 'We will let big corporations charge as much as they want for whatever they want and make excessive profits, and we won't tax them.' Labor says, 'We will let landlords keep putting up the rent by unlimited amounts.' Labor says, 'We will let the big banks make massive profits off the back of people's pain,' and Labor says that they will not stop price gouging at the supermarkets and will let the supermarkets charge whatever they like. If all of that pushes inflation up, then Labor says, 'We'll let the RBA, the Reserve Bank, deal with it.' The problem is the Reserve Bank's really only got one tool at its disposal at the moment. It can put interest rates up or put them down. And, when Labor leaves all the heavy lifting to the Reserve Bank, of course they put up interest rates. Labor then claims, 'Shock, horror—we didn't know you were going to do that,' when the Reserve Bank has done exactly what Labor asked them to do, because Labor has left all the inflation heavy lifting to the Reserve Bank instead of taking on the big corporations who are price gouging and putting up prices, which is driving inflation. The problem is, if, like Labor, you leave everything to be Reserve Bank when the only tool that you've got at the Reserve Bank is a hammer, then every problem looks like a mortgage-holder-sized nail, and, as a result, people are being smashed and asked to fix a problem that they didn't cause. Higher mortgages, higher rents and higher prices at the supermarket are all avoidable if the government has the courage to step in and do something about them. There is an alternative way of dealing with the crisis that we find ourselves in, and that is tackling the problem at its source. We could pass laws to stop price gouging, to stop the supermarkets charging outrageous prices for products that people will then have to put back into their trolley when they get to the checkout because they simply can't afford it. We could cap and freeze rent increases. The Reserve Bank itself says that soaring rents are one of the main drivers of inflation. So why don't we stop rents going up so much to the point that people are now skipping meals to pay the rent or that many people in this country are just one unfair rent increase away from eviction? Not only would that make people's lives a lot easier and ensure that people don't have to worry about whether or not they're going to have a roof over their heads but it would also help tackle inflation. What you could also do once you've stopped the price gouging is stop the excessive profiteering of the big corporations. Make them pay their fair share of tax on their excessive profits, and use that to address some of the massive cost-of-living pressures that people are under. This is an alternative way of tackling inflation. And then you could also step in and use the power that you've got to say: 'No, Reserve Bank; stop raising interest rates, because we're doing something different instead.' Stop asking everyday people and mortgage holders to pay the price to fix a problem that they did not cause. That would be an alternative way. It requires a bit of guts to take on the big corporations, but it is what everyday people in this country want. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, the government should be putting its hands on the steering wheel and pulling whatever lever it has got rather than taking this hands-off approach and then acting shocked when the Reserve Bank does exactly what it's asking it to and keeps lifting interest rates. There is an alternative way of tackling this massive cost-of-living and inequality crisis that is gripping people, an alternative way that doesn't ask people to pay the price for a problem that they didn't cause: take on the corporations, stop the price gouging, stop rents going up by unlimited amounts, stop the interest rates going up to the point that is pushing people and the economy to the wall, and make the big corporations pay their fair share of tax. If you do all of that, you don't need to lift interest rates and you stop rents rising, because you tackle the problem at its source. One of the things that Labor and Liberal love to say is: 'We can't do anything about this, because it is all in the hands of the independent Reserve Bank.' That is pantomime politics, because they are saying through legislation, 'We want you, the Reserve Bank, to put up interest rates.' Labor is saying, 'We're not going to stop prices soaring out of control,' and then—shock, horror!—the Reserve Bank does exactly what the government is asking it to do. It is not an accident that the Reserve Bank is raising interest rates to the point that it is smashing people and starting to smash the economy. It is Labor's strategy for tackling inflation when there is an alternative right before it. This suggestion that there's somehow nothing the government can do about it—the lie is given to that by this very legislation. What this legislation shows and what this amendment seeks to fix is that existing within current legislation is the power for the government to step in right now and stop interest rates from going up. The government has the power under this legislation to stop it happening right now and to do all of those other things that would tackle inflation and stop inflation without hurting everyday people. Yes, it would hurt the big corporations and their profits a bit, but it would help everyday people. That's an alternative way. But, to do that, you have to step in and pull the levers that you've got and stop pretending that you've got no power to fix problems. Australia is facing some very big problems at the moment, and what we need are politicians who are prepared to get in, intervene and tackle those problems at its source, rather than saying, 'Hands off. I'll leave it all up to others, even if it means that people are pushed to the wall.' Do you know what the consequence of this is? The logical consequence of Labor's policy—of outsourcing the inflation fight to the Reserve Bank and then pretending there's nothing they can do about interest rates—is having officials say to you, 'Well, you could always sell your house,' because you can't afford the interest rates, or, 'I'm sorry; I understand that some people might lose their homes as a result of this.' That is just the logical consequence of Labor and the Liberals' approach to tackling inflation. What we're seeking to do with this amendment is to say, 'Let's keep the power of the government to step in where there's a crisis,' because we say now is a crisis. And no-one fronted up before to say, 'This power of the Treasurer should be gotten rid of.' It's there for a reason. It's there to stop people being crushed by this system that allows the big corporations to make massive profits off the back of people's pain and then push people into homelessness or being forced to sell their houses, on the advice of the government-appointed Reserve Bank governor. That is what we are facing in this country at the moment. And it will be said, 'Oh, no, we couldn't interfere with the decisions of the Reserve Bank because that would have flow-on consequences.' Well, the consequences are happening now. Can I say: if Australia was known as a country where the government was prepared to stop the Reserve Bank smashing the economy and instead it stopped the big corporations' price-gouging and ensured that everyone in this country had what they needed to live a good life, this would be a place that people wanted to come to from all around the world. You would have people coming here, you would have investment coming here, because we would be known as a country that puts people before the profits of the big corporations. Right? That is what is at stake here. Don't get rid of this power. Don't get rid of the section 36 power that would allow the government to say to the Reserve Bank: 'Stop funnelling so much money into the pockets of wealthy property investors and inflating house prices. Put it into productive areas instead.' Let's get our hands back on the steering wheel. Let's pull the levers that we've got, to stop people sinking even further in this housing crisis that is just breaking people. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 I thank the member for his contribution. During the contribution, the member used an unparliamentary comment. Before I move on to the amendments, I would just ask you to withdraw that part of the comments. It's a longstanding— Mr Bandt M3C I'm not sure what it was, but, to assist the House, I withdraw. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230531 I do appreciate the member for Melbourne for that. The SPEAKER 53517 The question before the House is the amendments moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens be agreed to.    

The House divided. [12:16]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

6 AYES Bandt, A. P. (Teller) Bates, S. J. (Teller) Chandler-Mather, M. Sharkie, R. C. C. Watson-Brown, E. Wilkie, A. D. 69 NOES Ananda-Rajah, M. Archer, B. K. Belyea, J. A. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Daniel, Z. Doyle, M. J. J. Dreyfus, M. A. Elliot, M. J. Fernando, C. Fletcher, P. W. Freelander, M. R. Garland, C. M. L. Gee, A. R. Georganas, S. Giles, A. J. Goodenough, I. R. Gorman, P. Gosling, L. J. Haines, H. M. Hill, J. C. Howarth, L. R. Jones, S. P. 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. McBride, E. M. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mulino, D. Neumann, S. K. O'Brien, E. L. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Rae, S. T. Reid, G. J. Repacholi, D. P. Roberts, T. G. Ryan, J. C. Ryan, M. M. Scrymgour, M. R. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Vamvakinou, M. van Manen, A. J. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilson, J. H. Wood, J. P. Zappia, A. 0 PAIRS

Question negatived.

12:23 The SPEAKER 53517 The question before the House is that the bill be agreed to.    

The House divided. [12:23]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

 82 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. Ananda-Rajah, M. Belyea, J. A. Bowen, C. E. Burke, A. S. Burnell, M. P. Burney, L. J. Burns, J. Butler, M. C. Byrnes, A. J. Chalmers, J. E. Chaney, K. E. Charlton, A. H. G. Chesters, L. M. Clare, J. D. Claydon, S. C. Coker, E. A. Collins, J. M. Conroy, P. M. Daniel, Z. Doyle, M. J. J. 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. Khalil, P. King, C. F. King, M. M. H. Lawrence, T. N. Laxale, J. A. A. Le, D. 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. Neumann, S. K. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. Phillips, F. E. Plibersek, T. J. Rae, S. T. 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) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 59 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bandt, A. P. Bates, S. J. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. Boyce, C. E. Broadbent, R. E. Buchholz, S. Caldwell, C. M. Chandler-Mather, M. Chester, D. J. Coleman, D. B. Conaghan, P. J. Coulton, M. M. (Teller) Dutton, P. C. Entsch, W. G. Fletcher, P. W. Gee, A. R. Gillespie, D. A. Goodenough, I. R. Hamilton, G. R. Hastie, A. W. Hawke, A. G. Hogan, K. J. Howarth, L. R. Joyce, B. T. G. Kennedy, S. P. Landry, M. L. Leeser, J. Ley, S. P. Littleproud, D. Marino, N. B. McCormack, M. F. McIntosh, M. I. O'Brien, E. L. O'Brien, L. S. Pearce, G. B. Pike, H. J. Pitt, K. J. Price, M. L. Ramsey, R. E. (Teller) Sharkie, R. C. C. Stevens, J. Sukkar, M. S. Taylor, A. J. Tehan, D. T. van Manen, A. J. Vasta, R. X. Violi, A. A. Wallace, A. B. Ware, J. L. Watson-Brown, E. Webster, A. E. Willcox, A. J. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Wood, J. P. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.
Bill agreed to.

 Third Reading 35 12:26 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023 35

Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023

Report from Federation Chamber 35 12:27 The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the bill be now read a second time. A division having been called and the bell s having been rung— The SPEAKER 53517 As there are fewer than five members on the side for the noes in this division, I declare the question resolved in the affirmative in accordance with standing order 127. The names of those members who are in the minority will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced. Consideration in Detail 35 12:32 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill and an addendum to the explanatory memorandum. I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (27), as circulated, together. Leave granted. Mr MARLES HWQ I move government amendments (1) to (27), as circulated, together: (1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 1, column 2), omit "6 months", substitute "12 months". (2) Clause 5, page 6 (after line 27), insert: defence staff member means any of the following: (a) the Chief of the Defence Force or the Vice Chief of the Defence Force; (b) the Chief of Navy, the Chief of Army or the Chief of Air Force; (c) a member of the Permanent Forces (within the meaning of the Defence Act 1903); (d) a member of the Reserves (within the meaning of the Defence Act 1903); (e) the Secretary of the Department or an APS employee in the Department; (f) the Head of the Australian Submarine Agency or an APS employee in the Australian Submarine Agency. (3) Clause 5, page 8 (line 23), omit the definition of ionizing radiation, substitute: ionising radiation: see subsection 15(3). (4) Clause 5, page 9 (line 14), omit the definition of non-ionizing radiation, substitute: non-ionising radiation: see subsection 15(4). (5) Clause 5, page 11 (after line 7), after the definition of relevant person, insert: spent nuclear fuel means nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor core and permanently removed from the core. (6) Clause 7, page 13 (line 17), omit "or disposed of". (7) Clause 7, page 13 (line 19), after "under construction", insert "or being disposed of". (8) Page 14 (after line 4), at the end of Subdivision A, add: 8A Prohibition on storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel that is not from an Australian submarine (1) Nothing in this Act is to be taken to authorise the following: (a) the storage in Australia of spent nuclear fuel that is not from an Australian submarine; (b) the disposal in Australia of spent nuclear fuel that is not from an Australian submarine. (2) The Regulator must not issue a licence in respect of an activity to which subsection (1) applies. (9) Page 14, after proposed clause 8A, insert: 8B Prohibition on certain kinds of construction, etc. (1) Nothing in this Act is to be taken to authorise the construction or operation of any of the following: (a) a nuclear fuel fabrication plant; (b) a nuclear power plant; (c) an enrichment plant; (d) a reprocessing facility. (2) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a nuclear power plant (however described) that is related to use in an AUKUS submarine. (3) The Regulator must not issue a licence in respect of the construction or operation of a plant or facility to which subsection (1) applies. (10) Clause 15, page 17 (line 5), omit "ionizing", substitute "ionising". (11) Clause 15, page 17 (lines 10 to 12), omit "ionizing" (wherever occurring), substitute "ionising". (12) Clause 15, page 17 (line 13), omit "ionizing", substitute "ionising". (13) Clause 15, page 17 (line 16), omit "non-ionizing", substitute "non-ionising". (14) Clause 15, page 17 (line 19), omit "Ionizing", substitute "Ionising". (15) Clause 15, page 17 (line 23), omit "Non-ionizing", substitute "Non-ionising". (16) Clause 43, page 46 (line 4), before "the power", insert "if the inspector is reasonably satisfied that securing the thing under section 42 is not sufficient in the circumstances—". (17) Clause 91, page 87 (lines 13 to 23), omit the clause. (18) Clause 98, page 91 (line 7), after "question", insert ", giving the information". (19) Clause 109, page 97 (lines 19 to 21), omit subclause (3), substitute: (3) A person must not be appointed as the Director-General or the Deputy Director-General if, at any time during the period of 12 months ending at the start of the proposed period of appointment, the person was a defence staff member. (3A) A person cannot hold an appointment as the Director-General or the Deputy Director-General at any time when the person is a defence staff member. (20) Heading to Division 5, page 104 (line 1), omit "and immunities", substitute ", immunities and protection". (21) Page 104 (after line 24), at the end of Division 5, add: 121A Offence for obstructing, hindering, intimidating or resisting a member of the Regulator, etc. A person commits an offence of strict liability if the person obstructs, hinders, intimidates or resists any of the following in the performance of their functions or the exercise of their powers under this Act: (a) a member of the Regulator; (b) a person assisting an inspector. Note: The offence of obstructing a Commonwealth public official may also apply (see section 149.1 of the Criminal Code). Penalty: 60 penalty units. (22) Page 105 (after line 15), at the end of section 123, add: (3) If the Director-General gives the Minister a report under subsection (1), the Minister may give a copy of the whole or any part of the report to the Minister or Ministers administering the following Acts: (a) the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987; (b) the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998. (23) Page 105 (after line 15), at the end of Division 6, add: 123A Reporting certain nuclear safety incidents (1) This section applies in relation to a nuclear safety incident that results in: (a) the death of, serious injury to, or serious illness in, an individual; or (b) a serious environmental incident. (2) If the Director-General becomes aware that a nuclear safety incident has occurred, the Director-General must notify the Minister as soon as possible about the incident. (3) The Director-General must also cause a report about the incident to be tabled in each House of the Parliament no later than 3 sitting days after the Director-General becomes aware of the incident. (4) The notification under subsection (2), and the report under subsection (3), must include the details of any actions that have been taken by the Regulator or a licence holder in response to the incident. (5) A report under subsection (3) is not required to include information if, in the opinion of the Director-General, the inclusion of the information may prejudice the security or defence of the Commonwealth. (24) Clause 124, page 106 (after line 15), after paragraph (d), insert: (da) the establishment of a Ministerial advisory committee; and (25) Page 112 (after line 17), after Division 2, insert: Division 2A — Advisory committee 140A Establishment of advisory committee (1) The advisory committee is established. (2) The function of the advisory committee is to advise the Minister in relation to the following matters: (a) the operation of this Act, having regard to the objects set out in section 6; (b) the suitability and efficiency of the measures specified in this Act, or adopted under or for the purposes of this Act, to ensure the independence of the Director-General, the Deputy Director-General and members of the Regulator; (c) the performance of the functions of the Regulator, the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General; (d) the suitability of any arrangements or requirements specified in this Act, or adopted under or for the purposes of this Act, for ensuring nuclear safety; (e) the nature and efficacy of the Regulator's consultation and cooperation with other persons or bodies; (f) such other matters as the Minister directs. (3) The advisory committee consists of such persons as the Minister from time to time appoints to the committee by written instrument. (4) The Minister may give the advisory committee written directions as to: (a) the way in which the committee is to carry out its functions; and (b) the procedures to be followed in relation to meetings. (5) A member of the advisory committee is to be paid such remuneration and allowances (if any) as the Minister determines in writing. (6) The office of member of the advisory committee is not a public office within the meaning of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973. (26) Clause 143, page 114 (line 3), before "The Governor-General", insert "(1)". (27) Clause 143, page 114 (after line 7), at the end of the clause, add: Prescribing area to be a designated zone (2) Before the Governor-General makes or amends regulations for the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(c) prescribing an area to be a designated zone, the Minister must: (a) cause to be published on the Department's website a notice: (i) setting out the boundary of the area proposed to be prescribed to be a designated zone; and (ii) inviting persons to make submissions to the Minister about the boundary of the area proposed within the period specified in the notice; and (b) consider any submissions received within the period specified in the notice. These amendments address the recommendations of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee. The government has also initiated amendments to the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023 to strengthen the new regulatory scheme, reflecting additional advice and recommendations from experts and stakeholders since the introduction of the legislation in November last year. These amendments underscore the government's commitment to ensuring the bills establish a robust, effective regulatory framework to maintain the highest standard of nuclear safety for decades to come. We welcome the broad and constructive engagement across the parliament and the public to contribute to delivering a regulatory outcome that supports the nuclear powered submarine program while protecting the public environment and Australia's security. Amendment (1) extends the commencement provision from six months to 12 to ensure an orderly transition to the new regulatory framework and to provide additional time for public consultation on the draft regulations. Amendments (2) and (19) strengthen the independence of the regulator by providing that a person must not be appointed as the director-general or the deputy director-general if, at any time during the previous 12 months, the person was a Defence staff member. These requirements are intended to be considered in the context of the individual as well as the totality of the experience, competence and independence of the director-general and the deputy director-general. This will include the secretary of the Department of Defence, the Chief of the Defence Force and ADF service chiefs, the head of the Australian Submarine Agency, and APS employees of the Australian Submarine Agency and the Department of Defence. Amendments (5), (6), (7) and (8) make clear that nothing in the bill authorises the storage or disposal of spent nuclear fuel that is not from an Australian submarine, including but not limited to US or UK submarines visiting or on rotation in Australia. While the government has been clear that Australia will be responsible for managing only its own spent nuclear fuel, which isn't expected to occur until the 2050s, this amendment puts the matter beyond any doubt. Amendment (9) makes clear that the legislation does not allow for civil nuclear power activities and does not displace Australia's longstanding moratorium on civil nuclear power. This amendment also make clear that the bill does not authorise the construction or operation of certain facilities, including nuclear power plants that are not related to an AUKUS submarine and will not undertake enrichment or reprocessing of nuclear material. Amendment (16) constrains the power to seize a thing in clause 43 in the bill to instances in which the power to secure it would not appropriately manage the situation. This is in response to concerns raised by the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee. Amendments (17) and (21) insert a new offence provision for obstructing, hindering, intimidating or resisting a member of the regulator or a person assisting the regulator in the performance of its functions. The offence in clause 91 has been removed to avoid duplication. Amendment (18) clarifies that an individual is not excused from giving the information required under the bill on the ground of being able to claim privilege against self-exposure to a penalty, other than a penalty for an offence. Amendment (22) allows the Minister for Defence to share any reports given to the minister by the director-general of the regulator, with the minister for industry and science and the minister for health and aged care as the ministers responsible for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 respectively. This will provide for greater information-sharing and will support nuclear safety best practice across Australia's nuclear science and regulatory community. Amendment (23) will require the director-general of the regulator to notify the minister of the occurrence of certain nuclear safety incidents and table a report about the incident in each of the parliament within three sitting days. The reports would not be required to include any detail which, in the opinion of the director-general, may prejudice the security or defence of the Commonwealth. This amendment addresses differences between the bill and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 around incident notification. Amendments (24) and (25) establish a ministerial advisory committee to provide the minister with a further source of expert technical advice on the suitability of this legislation, nuclear safety and the performance and independence of the regulator. This will strengthen the quality of advice and accountability of the new regulatory framework. Amendments (26) and (27) will require the minister to consult on the boundary of any future designated zones before regulations may be made or amended prescribing that designated zone. This would not apply to the Osborne designated zone or the Stirling designated zone, which are already established in the bill. These requirements are not intended to constrain the Minister for Defence from conducting any additional consultation or notification they feel is necessary. The remainder of the amendments moved today are minor, technical or drafting amendments. I commend the amendments to the House. Question agreed to. Bill, as amended, agreed to. Third Reading 38 12:39 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023 39

Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023

Report from Federation Chamber 39 12:45 The SPEAKER 53517 The question before the House is that the bill be now read a second time. A division having been called and the bells having been rung— The SPEAKER 53517 As there are fewer than five members on the side for the noes in this division, I declare the question resolved in the affirmative in accordance with standing order 127. The names of those members who are in the minority will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Third Reading 39 12:46 Mr MARLES HWQ Corio by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time. BUSINESS 39 BUSINESS Rearrangement 39 12:46 Mr GILES 243609 Scullin I move: That business intervening before order of the day No. 4, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to. BILLS 39 BILLS Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024 39

Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Second Reading 39 12:47 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne Young people are getting screwed over by the cost-of-living crisis. Rising rents, supermarket price gouging and mounting student debts are all making it harder for young people to keep their heads above water. University students are graduating with bigger and bigger debts that grow every year and that take longer and longer to pay off. Most people in this place went to university for free but they're more than happy to sentence people to decades of debt. People are now choosing not to go to university because they'll be saddled with these mammoth debts until their 40s or their 50s. Next year, for the first time ever, arts degrees will cost more than $50,000 under a Labor government. You have Labor to thank for that. With this bill Labor want you to think that they're doing something about it. They want you to think that they give a stuff about these massive debts that young people are being saddled with when, in reality, the Labor government's plan to provide student debt relief will still see student debts rise by 11½ per cent in their first term. That's an 11½ per cent increase to people's student debts under Labor. They're gaslighting you. Under this bill student debts will continue to grow, and young people will continue to struggle under the weight of the cost-of-living crisis. Here's an idea: wipe student debts and make TAFE and university free. One in three big corporations pays no tax in this country. Let's make them pay their fair share of tax instead of asking students and people who graduate to go even further into debt. The student debt system cannot be fixed, because student debt should not exist. In a wealthy country like ours, if we make the big corporations pay their fair share of tax, then we can make higher education free. It is beyond doubt that the massive debts that people are under are making the cost-of-living crisis worse. They're locking people out of the housing market. They're causing people to delay having families and they're crushing people's dreams of going to university. We are going to see student debts rise 11½ per cent in Labor's first term. They're saying, 'We'll take $3 billion off the top of that while debt grows to $78 billion.' Three billion dollars is peanuts at a time when one in three big corporations in this country pays absolutely no tax at all. When students who have graduated end up paying more tax than a multinational, something is seriously wrong in this country. Instead of whacking students with $50,000 for an arts degree under Labor, why don't we go to those big corporations that are making massive profits off the back of people's pain and ask them to pay their fair share of tax. Until we do that, we risk becoming a society where the gap between the haves and the have-nots is just going to keep growing and growing. We are becoming a society where even if you do all of the things that are asked of you and all of the things that they say are the right things—study hard, get a job, try to find a house—you're always going to be behind because you have graduated with a massive debt. Your wages aren't enough to pay for the soaring rent increases because Labor backs unlimited rent increases. If you do manage to find a house to buy, which is out of reach for most people including many graduates at the moment, you end up with a massive mortgage. Mortgages have gone up $1,400 a month under Labor. We are becoming a society, under this government, where no matter how hard you work—even if you do all the right things—you are never going to be able to get ahead. The Liberals are just as bad because they are the ones that increased the cost of going to university, which Labor has backed and kept with $50,000 arts degrees. These little tweaks—these bandaid answers—from Labor just don't touch the sides. In fact, people are feeling absolutely betrayed. This isn't going to provide any cost-of-living relief right now at all. People thought, when they saw the headlines, 'There's going to be a change to student debt.' People were excited and thought that maybe there would be some relief. But it's not making a difference to the struggles that people are going through right now. It is more gaslighting. We have an alternative in this country. Instead of asking everyday people like students, graduates and everyone who has done the right thing to pay more, we could ask the big corporations to pay a bit more because—do you know what—the share of national income going to corporate profits has never been higher than under Labor at the moment. Corporations are making massive profits. The banks are making huge profits. Rents are skyrocketing so property developers are doing incredibly well. Instead of reining that in and saying, 'Maybe we shouldn't be giving $175 billion to wealthy property investors that are denying renters and graduates the chance to buy their first home,' Labor is saying, 'We are just going to let the student debt pile keep growing and the cost of doing an arts degree go up to $50,000.' We are becoming the kind of society where people will stop going to university because they are worried about ending up in a lifetime or decades of debt. That is where we are at now. Astoundingly, earlier today in the Federation Chamber, I heard the Labor member for Higgins warn students not to toy with going to university because debt is dangerous. She said: 'Watch out; you might end up in debt.' Labor is now warning people against going to university because they might end up in huge amounts of debt. That is not the kind of society that we should be living in. We have an alternative in this country. We could stop giving billions of dollars in handouts to wealthy property investors that are denying renters and first home buyers the chance to buy their first home. One in three big corporations pays no tax in this country. If we say to these big corporations that are making billions of dollars profits—we're talking about excessive profits, multibillion-dollar profits—'You have to pay extra tax when you make above-normal profit' then we would have enough money to do things like wipe student debt and make education free in this country. It is a matter of choice. Labor and the Liberals back the big corporations. They take donations from the big corporations. They back a system where one in three big corporations pays no tax and they back a system where big corporations can put up the price of everyday essentials as much as they want and can make massive record profits and then ask everyday people to pay for them. I am really proud that my dad was the first person in his family to go to university. He went and studied social work and he was able to do it because education was free. The people in this parliament have enjoyed free education and now they are saying not only to people like my dad but to everyone else out there, 'If you want to go into an arts degree, it will be $50,000 under Labor.' That is what they are saying. Other degrees can cost even more. But meanwhile, they are happy to let the big corporations who pay no tax off the hook. They are happy to say to big multinational gas giants, 'You don't need to pay tax.' But to students, they say, 'We are going to warn you against going to university. We are going to warn you off it because it is going to cost $50,000 and if you can't afford it you shouldn't go.' That is the official Labor position that we heard in the chamber earlier today. The Greens think we can be a different kind of country. We can be a wealthy country where you are not turned away or warned away from going to university or TAFE because of your income or because of your family background, where you are not put off having a family because you are in mountains of debt as a result of having gone to university, where you are not struggling to make ends meet because you are paying off your university debt at the same time as dealing with another massive increase from your landlord because Labor backs unlimited rent increases. We want the society where everyone in this country and their kids are able to go to university regardless of how much they earn and know they are not going to be saddled with such a big debt that it affects their decisions about whether to have a family or find a home, and we can do that. It is within our grasp. All we need to do is make these big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of tax. Yes, those big corporations making massive profits are going to have to pay a bit more, but, as a result, everyone else will be able to have what they need to live a good life, including being able to go to university for free. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, one of the best things that we could do to relieve the pressure that people are under is to wipe student debt, and, again, we can afford to do that if we make these billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax. That is the kind of society that I want. That is the kind of society that most people in the country want, not one under Labor or Liberal where it is $50,000 to get an arts degree. 12:59 Ms SITOU 298121 Reid I sat through a lot of what the member for Melbourne has just said about university education and I agree with him on the points of how important it is for the individual and for our society that we do get more people educated. We know the jobs of the future will require us to have more skills. The point where he and I probably differ is around how we pay for it. The idea of free tertiary education for all is perhaps a very good debating point that one can make in a debating society, but I live in the real world, where I recognise that, when university was free for all—when it was totally funded by the government—it was only there for a select few. When we had HECS come in, it meant that we were able to open up the possibility of university education to more and more people. That's the difference between his point on this and the point that I am making, which is HECS is that balance between asking people who are going to benefit from a university education to contribute to some of that education and having government help support them through that education. That system has meant that thousands and thousands of people who would have been locked out of a higher education have now had the benefits of it because they've been able to contribute to it as well as get government support for it. I think that is the right balance, because, as an individual who does get a degree, you do benefit financially from that degree—your earnings are higher—but, as a society, we also benefit from you being more educated and contributing to our country. My parents, when they came to this country, had very limited formal education. They had the equivalent of about a year 8 education, so they were laser focused on the education of my brother and I because they recognised that having a good education would unlock so many opportunities for our family in this country. Certainly, the education that my brother and I received at university—we were both first in our family to go to university—was pivotal to ensuring our success here and that our family was able to thrive here. I agree with the member for Melbourne on his point that young people are now being saddled with bigger and bigger debts. The way to solve that is not to take out HECS entirely—a system which, for the most part, has been working to help educate more and more Australians—but to improve HECS and to improve how we calculate the indexation on HECS. I look at my own electorate of Reid, where we've got one of the highest number of university educated residents in all of Australia. About 75,000 people in Reid have a university degree. That number is possible because of HECS, because there is this co-contribution from the student who benefits from it as well as support from the government. We know that the fluctuation in indexation using CPI has had a huge impact on the debt of young people getting degrees. With this bill is ensuring that we are indexing HECS in a way that is going to be fairer and more affordable. I think what the education minister is doing here is saying that, yes, you do need to contribute to your education, but we do want to make it fairer. We do want to make sure that times of high inflation don't result in your debt increasing dramatically. What the education minister is doing here is using whichever is the lower of the wage price index and the consumer price index as the measuring stick of how indexation on your HECS debt is calculated. I think this is the fair and right approach to be taking. We are, as a government, totally committed to giving our university and TAFE sectors the lifeline that they need, because, under those opposite, these sectors were neglected, and, at some points during the time when those opposite were in power, totally abandoned. We saw that particularly during COVID, when they changed the rules for JobSeeker twice, explicitly to exclude those who worked in the university sector. As a result, we saw the biggest number of job losses that that sector has ever seen. Estimates are that about 15,000 people lost their jobs. We on this side of the House believe that our society benefits when we have a strong tertiary education system. That means a strong university sector and a strong VET and TAFE sector as well. These measures here are all about trying to strengthen our university sector to make it more accessible to students, particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds. I have seen firsthand the transformational change that a university degree can offer people. I saw that in my own life and also in the lives of my friends and family who were able to benefit from a university degree. It meant that they could get jobs that were well paying and jobs that really helped them find fulfilling career paths. With this measure, we are going to be wiping $3 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians. This is a message to young people from this government that says: we recognise the challenges that you are facing at the moment with the cost of living and we recognise the challenges that you have faced being saddled with increasing debt as a result of your university degree, but we are making practical changes to ensure that we can fix that. This is a much-needed change. I want to give examples of what this will mean for an average student in Reid. After the 2023 indexation, the average student HECS debt in Reid would have been about $32,700, but the change that we are making for that student with that debt means that they are now going to get about $1,400 back because of the change in the indexation. That's going to be a significant saving to that student. This is something that I'm really proud to back because it acknowledges that young people are doing it tough at the moment and that as a government we are trying to do everything we can to support them and their ambitions. Importantly this bill also has something that so many students who are currently doing social work, midwifery, nursing and teaching degrees have welcomed, and that's the Commonwealth prac placement. Those students who are going to be entering professions where we desperately need more workers are now going to be paid while they are doing their prac. The day that this measure was announced, I went out to the Australian Catholic University campus in Strathfield in my electorate. I met with a range of teaching, nursing and midwifery students, and they were so grateful for this change. Some of the stories I heard were incredibly moving. I spoke to a teaching student who was in his final year. Unfortunately he won't benefit from these changes, but he told me that many of his cohort, who loved teaching and loved the idea of going into this profession, simply couldn't finish their degrees, because they weren't able to support themselves through the prac placements. They were suffering a financial hit. They weren't able to pay the bills or pay the rent, so they had dropped out of the degree. That was really sad to hear. This change means that more of the students can complete their degrees and then go on to become teachers, nurses, midwives and social workers. I heard from a mother of two. She decided to go back and do a nursing degree later in life. She did that because of the incredible care that she had received at hospital when she had had some miscarriages that had had a big impact on her wellbeing and her physical health. She really wanted to give back to the community and say thank you to those nurses who had helped to look after her, so she went back to study nursing. She said that she has had to rely on her parents to help her financially during her prac placements because, again, she wasn't able to financially afford the bills or afford to pay for all the things that her young family needed. With prac placements, eligible students will be able to access up to $319 a week, which is similar to a Commonwealth youth allowance payment. She says that that will give her greater financial independence and will mean that she'll be able to finish this degree and look after her family. These are just some of the stories that I've heard, but I know that so many of my colleagues have met with many of these students and heard firsthand the difference that these Commonwealth prac payments will make. In fact, I'm now meeting with other students—pharmacy students and engineering students—who hope that these prac placement payments will be expanded to their degrees as well, because those are professions where we desperately need more people. Ultimately what these measures say to young people in our community is that we know that it has been a real struggle for you and that the cost of living and the debt that you are saddled with as a result of these degrees have been really challenging, and this is one part of the work that we are trying to do to help support you. But it's not the only thing. Certainly, young people were at the very core of our focus when we made the changes to the stage 3 tax cuts, and 99 per cent of those young people who are gen Z and 97 per cent of millennials will be better off because of the Labor government's changes. Again, this is another example of the Labor government putting young people at the very centre of the work that we have been trying to do. At the university level, we're trying to make sure that we lift the minimum wage, because many young people are working in hospitality or as early childhood educators. So we want to make sure that their wages are lifted. We wanted to put them at the very core of our focus when it came to tax cuts as well, and they are the main beneficiaries of the tax cut changes that we made. I know that young people have been struggling for a long time. This is a government that is listening and making practical changes to try and make your lives a little bit easier. 13:13 Ms SPENDER 286042 Wentworth In Australia we believe that each generation should leave the next generation better off. I think this is something that is deeply, deeply held, and something that, as a parent, I hold in particular. But I spoke recently to a young man in my electorate, a young man called Hugo, and he highlighted to me that the feeling at the moment among young people is that that is just not happening. He said: 'I feel like I've done everything right. I worked hard at school. I worked hard at uni. I've got a good degree and a well-paying job, but right now I'm saddled with $50,000 worth of HECS debt and I do not believe I'll ever be able to afford my own home.' Recent conversations with people like Hugo have made me question whether Australia is on the right track in terms of making sure each generation is better off than the previous generation, and I don't believe that we are. The bill that is before the House, the Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, will make some small steps towards rebalancing these challenges, but there is so much more to do. The bill introduces a number of changes proposed by the Universities Accord, and in particular it will introduce changes to the HELP indexation scheme to make study more affordable. It will also change funding arrangements for practical placements, an acknowledgement that not all Australians are in a position to take unpaid work. I'm really proud that this bill is here in front of the House, and I'm really proud of the role that I and many on the crossbench have played to get it here. Over a year ago, I and others went to the education minister and really highlighted the deep concerns that we had about the indexation of the HECS debt for young people. I had spoken to many people in my electorate and also members of my team who talked about how difficult it was watching their HECS debt go up by seven per cent a year because of the high inflation. This was meant to be an interest-free loan, and, actually, the rate that they were paying was significantly higher than the mortgage or loan rates that were being offered by the banks. It felt so terribly unfair at a time when young people are struggling with higher education costs than previous generations, rent difficulties and the prospect of not being able to really stand on their own two feet and eventually own a home themselves. We wrote to the minister. We raised these issues with him repeatedly. We asked him questions in question time. A colleague of mine Monique Ryan put forward a petition on this topic which got, I think, hundreds of thousands of signatures in support. It isn't just the students concerned about this; it's their parents, grandparents and the whole community who are concerned. There's a real sense that the community is concerned that young people are falling behind, and it is up to us in this parliament to do something about it. I am very pleased that the government eventually committed to these changes and has finally introduced this bill to parliament, but I want to acknowledge, as we go through the detail, that there is much more to be done. I will continue to pressure the government to change the date of HECS indexation to account for the compulsory repayments throughout the year, to update the potential guidance for the treatment of HECS by banks and to remove the highly problematic Job-ready Graduates scheme introduced by the former coalition government. I will also continue to advocate for measures that ensure that universities remain a safe and inclusive place for all. Australia has a proud history of educational equity. While university is not free, initiatives such as the HELP scheme and caps on course fees for domestic students enable relatively equitable educational attainment, certainly, compared to some of our peers. We also have a high-quality education system that blends theory and practice. In many degrees, this involves integrated work placements that ensure our graduates obtain the skills they need to excel in the jobs of their chosen field. This is because we recognise the importance of good quality education in our evolving workplaces. Jobs and Skills Australia expect that the share of new jobs requiring further education beyond high school to increase from 70 per cent to 90 per cent over the next decade. We also recognise the role that education plays in access to social mobility and greater opportunity for all. But affordability of education is becoming a barrier. The HELP scheme is a critical part of our education system, and it's not perfect by any means. Many of the three million Australians with a HELP debt still face a number of financial barriers. It's not just a deterrent for those deciding whether or not to undertake further studies at the completion of their schooling; it's also a deterrent for the people for whom cost is a determining factor against further postgraduate study or upskilling or reskilling as mature-age students. Either way, the impact of debt on decision-making limits individual economy-wide workforce potential and contributes to skills shortages of the future. The average time to pay down a HELP debt now is 10 years, and the existence of this debt has implications for access to other credit, particularly mortgages. Homeownership among young people is plummeting, mostly as a result of inadequate supply that has been driving the prices up. But it's also because students are going to university and accruing student debt as well as setting back the timing to join the labour force and buy a home. Homeownership for those aged 25 to 34 has declined approximately 20 per cent in 40 years. I want to take a pause here because I think we need to recognise why there is so much anger and concern not only amongst younger generations but also frankly the whole community. The point is that this generation of young people who are finishing school, going to university or going to work are the most educated young people we've ever had. They have put more into their studies and more into being ready for work than any generation that we've had before, but, at the same time, they are less likely to reach the goals in things like homeownership than previous generations have. So they've got this effort in, and they are not getting the reward out. This is the fundamental imbalance that we have right now, and this is what we in this parliament need to address and need to address urgently. This comes back to why this bill is important but why this bill is only a small part. The HELP indexation model worked reasonably well in a low-inflation environment. But, when we had a high-inflation environment, with inflation at 7.1 per cent, newly graduated Australians had their HELP debt increase by thousands of dollars quite literally overnight. It increases the financial strain on graduates but also has the impact of deterring others from pursuing higher education altogether. The changes to the HELP indexation, which tie indexation to the lower of either the consumer price index or the wage price index, will provide protections to students so that, in times like these, their debt will not increase above their wages, and I think this is absolutely critical. I want to also acknowledge the youth action committee in my community of Wentworth. Previously we asked Wentworth if there were young people out there who wanted to join a youth action committee. We have been overwhelmed by the response, and I've been overwhelmed by the strength of that youth action committee. One of the issues that my committee wants to focus on and is focusing on right now is financial literacy for young people, particularly around HELP or HECS debt, because they recognise that so many people go into university without actually understanding what they're signing themselves up to. This is of huge concern for young people as they move further through their university education. I want to say congratulations to the youth action committee on the work that they are doing. It is really important. I'm very proud that you're also advocating for this legislation and for the changing of the indexation of HELP debts, and I'm very proud to be able to stand up and support it today. I'd now like to move on to practical placements. Prac placements are an integral part of many academic programs, providing students with invaluable real world experience. However, the requirement to undertake unpaid placements often presents a significant barrier for students, particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds or those who might not have the support of being able to live at home. Professions that rely most on unpaid prac placements are also in the care and teaching sectors, which have a disproportionate number of female enrolments. Students shouldn't have to choose between gaining essential experience and meeting their basic living expenses. This bill will ensure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, can benefit from the same opportunities to gain practical experience. This is not just about supporting individual students; it's also about ensuring that our future workforce is diverse, skilled and capable of fully contributing to our economy and society. For the same reason, I support the intention of this bill to fund more enabling courses that help people prepare for undergraduate studies. These courses particularly support those from disadvantaged backgrounds and mature-age students, for whom there are greater barriers to obtaining a university degree. While I support this measure, analysis by Andrew Norton shows that a fixed funding cluster will impact different disciplines differently, with degrees such as science taking a substantial hit under the proposed system. This will require monitoring, since the policy will rely on universities to cross-subsidise these courses to avoid having the opposite effect of fewer places in certain fields. While the measures introduced under this bill represent progress, there are still significant bugs in our education system that work against the outcomes we seek of equity, fairness and even safety. Firstly we need to have a smarter system that accounts for the pay-as-you-go contributions people make to their HECS debt throughout the year to avoid indexation on debts they have already paid. This was recommended by the University Accord but was left out of this legislation. This could be as simple as changing the date of indexation from 1 June to after the deadline of individualised tax returns. Similarly the treatment of HELP debt by banks excessively impacts a person's borrowing capacity. Currently the APRA guidance for HECS is one sentence long and requires HECS to be treated the same as other types of loans including buy-now pay-later loans. This is despite the fact that HECS repayments are income dependent, unlike other forms of credit. The Australian Banking Association has said that it would be open to considering HECS debt differently, but, until prudential guidance says otherwise, its hands are tied. We need to get rid of the Job-ready Graduates program put in place by the former government, which is inherently unfair, not to mention completely ineffective. Attempting to funnel students into certain occupations through jacking up their fees on underappreciated courses and skill sets, such as art degrees, is highly problematic. Second lastly, I think we need to increase the number of courses that are covered under the prac payment. I note that psychologists are not covered under these prac placement payments, and, with a significant shortage of psychologists and counsellors in our community right now, this is an area where the government should be moving, because it would make a significant difference. Finally, we need to put in place measures, as the government has just announced this week, that ensure that education institutions are safe places for all. Recently, I've spoken to parents who've told me their children are no longer attending university in person because of abuse and intimidation—particularly, these are Jewish students. I've also spoken to women who have been assaulted on campus, and I was very proud to stand yesterday with the STOP Campaign, who are really the people who drove the changes and the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman. It will help prevent violence against women on campus, but it should make a difference to many other students as well. I look forward to working with the government over the coming weeks to ensure that the new bill introduced this week contributes effectively to that objective. 13:26 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie I am really pleased to be standing to support a piece of legislation, the Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, that is going to make a tangible difference to people who have made the decision to go to university to further their education. With that decision come costs that they pay, not only in the debt that they accrue but also in the sacrifices they make in terms of earnings, and this bill will go some way to supporting people and encouraging them in that decision. The first change that we're making in this bill is around HECS, or HELP. We're making it fairer for everyone who has a HECS or HELP debt—some people still call it HECS; we know it's also HELP—and we're wiping around $3 billion off that debt, and that's for about three million Australians. For someone with an average HECS debt of $26,500, this means that their debt will be cut by about $1,200. Students, or people who are former students—because you carry your HECS debt with you for some time—have told me how pleased they are to see that move. The second step is that we are, for the first time, introducing a Commonwealth payment to support students doing their prac. Now, the start of this is going to be for teaching students, nursing students, midwifery students and social work students when they have to do their mandatory placements. This Commonwealth prac payment will ease the burden on them. Now, no-one's suggesting it's an absolute quick fix, but we know that many students have to give up their normal paid work to do their full-time placements—and not just for one week; we're talking about doing that for multiple weeks at a time. This is one way to alleviate that burden and help them get through what, in itself, is a challenging thing—to take that learning you've done and put it into practice—without having to worry as much about the financial impost and loss that you have. For a lot of people, these prac placements are so challenging that they actually choose to delay their degrees and not complete them, or to take much longer to do them. We need the jobs that they're doing: we need teachers, nurses, midwives and social workers, so those are the groups we're starting with. But I really look forward to the success of it, so that we can have more of it to come. The third thing in here that is going to change people's lives is the fee-free uni-ready courses. I spoke to a young woman called Amy who is doing one of these, and she says that the ability to access this course is the difference between her choosing to take a risk on furthering her education or just saying, 'Nup, it's too scary.' Let me tell you what other students have told me about the changes. Natalie, a Hawkesbury local and teaching student at Western Sydney University, said, 'This will be incredibly helpful for me, my levels of stress and my bank account,' so it's a win all round for her. Rebecca, who is also studying teaching, said that, as a young person, she was praised for taking up a profession that was so desperately needed, yet she was thanked with a debt and full-time work with no pay, and she says, 'I no longer have to fear this, under a Labor government, and I'm receiving the support that all education students deserve.' A nurse, Abby, from Faulconbridge is so glad to see the introduction of the paid prac for students. She said she was lucky to be living with her parents at the time, but she knew many people who had to do their prac and then do their own paid work. These are good changes. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 74046 The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 46 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Bonner Seniors Expo 46 13:30 Mr VASTA E0D Bonner The Bonner Seniors' Expo is just around the corner, and I can't wait. My electorate of Bonner is home to some wonderful community organisations dedicated to improving the lives of our seniors. In fact, every year locals tell me that they had no idea about some resources they can access as older members of our community. We have government services, innovative business and dedicated not-for-profits. Bonner really does have a lot to offer those who are a part of, care for or work with senior Australians. That's why I host the annual Bonner Seniors' Expo—to bring together those who provide and benefit from these resources. This year, we have an exciting lineup of over 50 vendors across a range of topics. If there are any organisations still interested in having a stall at my expo, please email me. We have limited places left, but I would love to include as many people as possible. In addition to vendors, we have expert speakers, live entertainment and delicious refreshments to ensure this year's expo is the best yet. There might even be a fashion show in the works! This year's Bonner Seniors' Expo will be held at the Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre on Thursday 3 October. It will run from 9 am to 12 pm and is sure to be an informative, social and, most of all, fun morning out. Thank you to Piccardi Fry Lawyers for their ongoing support. Melbourne: Protests 46 13:31 Dr ANANDA-RAJAH 290544 Higgins Democracy has ground rules. Peaceful protest is one of them. The protesters in Melbourne are living in an alternative reality where no wars exist, where all disputes are settled over tea and scones, where acts of violence like people being butchered in their homes are met with a slap on the wrist. There are more wars now than in any time in human history, and they are more protracted. This coincides with more people living under authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes and fewer living under open democracies. As global conflict worsens, some want us to shut down our defence industries. What do they want to defend Australians with? Sticks and stones, or perhaps horse poop, bricks, battery acid or verbal abuse? The presence of a Greens MP at the protest says it all. Laid bare is there their extremism and incitement to violence. The fingerprints of the Greens are all over this and should give pause for anyone considering voting for them at the next election. We have enough extremists on the streets. We don't need any more in this House. Yesterday was proof that they are true to their colours as a party of protest. While the Libs said, 'Get a job,' I say get a job that builds bridges and strengthens democracy, because we have enough voices driving us into corners. What we need to do is meet in the middle. Volunteering 47 13:33 Mr VIOLI 300147 Casey My community is so fortunate to have dedicated volunteer first responders who give their time to keep our region safe, and their commitment to keeping the community safe was shown just recently during severe storms. Our amazing SES volunteers were out at all hours of the night for multiple weeks, assisting with trees down, residents in trouble and other damage across our region. A special thanks to the Emerald SES, Upper Yarra SES, Healesville SES and Lilydale SES, who, together, went above and beyond to keep our community safe. They were also supported by the CFA. So thank you to the SES and CFA for being there in our time of need. It has been an honour to attend many local CFA annual dinners to acknowledge their dedication to protecting our home and pay tribute to their amazing service. In the past few months, I've had the opportunity to join the Belgrave, Chirnside Park, Lilydale, Monbulk and Mooroolbark CFAs to thank them and all their brigades across Casey for keeping our community safe. As we begin spring, it is crucial to begin preparing for summer. It's so important that we all plan and prepare, and now is the time to start cleaning up your property and discussing your household fire plan. One of the things that makes me so proud to represent Casey is our ability to stick together, and we'll continue to do that by supporting our volunteers. Women in Parliament, Community Services: Wages 47 13:34 Ms BELYEA 309484 Dunkley This week marks 30 years since the ALP adopted affirmative action to ensure our caucus has equal representation in government. As a result, Australia now has the first ever female-majority government, delivering result after result for women, including cutting the gender pay gap to a record low of 11.5 per cent; expanding paid parental leave—and we'll soon be adding super to it—and establishing paid family and domestic violence leave, because no woman should ever have to choose between her financial security and her physical and mental safety. Labor is delivering for women. On Tuesday this week I was pleased to meet with community and disability sector workers, supported by the mighty Australian Services Union. We talked about the need to fix the SCHADS award to ensure workers' pay reflects their roles, skills and expertise. Community and disability workers are the backbone of our community sector workforce. They have historically been feminised industries and for too long have been undervalued in their remuneration. I support the ASU's push to change the SCHADS award, to fix the classification structure and close the loopholes, ensuring community, housing and disability workers get what they deserve for the incredible work they do in our communities. Labor Government 47 13:36 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne It feels like a running joke. Every time that Labor make a promise it's only a matter of time before they break it. At this point, the list of Labor's broken promises feels longer than the wait for new Rihanna album. It feels longer than the line for a coffee at a Melbourne cafe on a Monday morning. It feels longer than the awkward silence after admitting to a film bro that you haven't seen The Godfather. If walking backwards were an Olympic sport, Labor would take the gold. Since coming to power in 2022, they've walked back from banning gambling ads, making our environment laws stronger, protecting queer students and teachers from discrimination in schools, preventing cuts to the NDIS, recognising Palestine as a state—and the list goes on. They were even going to walk back plans to include gender and sexuality in the next census but folded after pressure from the community. It feels like a running joke, but the joke isn't on Labor; it's on the people who are now suffering thanks to Labor's cowardice. What's the point in governing if you walk back from everything that matters? Australians deserve better than a government that will promise one thing and then, when push comes to shove, go to water. At the next election, we can't keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. Nothing changes if nothing changes. If you want change, you have to vote for it. Labor Government 48 13:37 Ms FERNANDO 299964 Holt Holt is a wonderful electorate, where many move to the outskirts of Melbourne to pursue the Australian dream of owning a home and raising a family. This dream is fundamental to Australians and it is at the heart of our Labor government's priorities. Labor is the only party that truly supports families in suburbs like Hampton Park, Narre Warren South, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, all of Cranbourne and all of Clyde. Since day one, we have pursued policies that support new families, including our reforms to paid parental leave. It was first introduced by the Gillard Labor government, and we have now extended it from 20 to 26 weeks. We are also adding superannuation to paid parental leave to ensure that mothers who take time off from work to raise their children aren't left behind in retirement. Last year, we reduced the cost of childcare for 96 per cent of families, and now we are delivering a 15 per cent pay rise for every childcare worker across the nation. This is our way of saying thank you to all childcare workers for the effort you put in to raising our kids. This is why Labor governments are about putting families first. Goldstein Youth Forum, Climate Change 48 13:39 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein The young people of Goldstein want climate action. Last week, a group of 22 year 6 students from seven schools across Goldstein came together for my Goldstein Youth Forum, in a mock sitting at the Victorian state parliament, to debate and vote on the issues they're most passionate about. We discussed smoking and vaping, racism, homelessness and the future of our planet. Debate on climate change was intense but, unlike what happens in this place, consensus was quickly reached: 'Everyone knows about it but isn't doing enough,' and 'Students are doing as much as we can but we know it's not enough.' This week, in the lead up to the next COP summit, I met with an inspiring group of youth leaders from UNICEF, Plan International and the Earthly Institute who voiced their concerns about the future of our climate. Young leaders want the government to take action to mitigate the impact of climate change, to support the transition of developing nations and to show leadership by hosting COP31. We have a duty to protect and preserve the planet which future generations will live in, and I very much thank the young people for their time and their diligence, and, especially, for being a part of my youth forum and for helping to speak their truth in this chamber. Early Childhood Education 48 13:40 Ms PAYNE 144732 Canberra Like most parents, when I first put my son into early childhood education, I was a little bit anxious, but I quickly saw the great benefits and got to meet the incredible people who work as early childhood educators, looking after the youngest Australians. I used to have terrible trouble getting my children to have their naps, and to get my son to have his nap I used to push him in the pram or even take him for a drive in the car, often sitting in the car with him and until it was time for him to wake up. So when it was time for him to be in early education and I said, 'I don't expect you to be able to do it,' because they don't have access to these things, I was amazed when his educator Delia would sit with him, rocking him until he fell asleep, and then sat there for his whole nap. To me, that story always tells me what a special kind of person goes into early childhood education and what we've experienced the whole time in our journey with it. Yesterday, Sarah sent me an amazingly, beautifully written story about my daughter setting up a teddy bear hair salon at their centre. I'd love to name all the other educators there, but I can't. This is why these incredible workers deserve a 15 per cent pay rise, and I am so proud that our government is delivering it, because, for too long, early childhood educators have not had the recognition they deserve or the pay they deserve. That's the really important part—they deserve more than our thanks. They have such an important role in our society in shaping the young minds and the futures of Australians. Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition: Protests 48 13:42 Mr CHESTER IPZ Gippsland There were disgraceful scenes on the streets of Melbourne yesterday where rioters pelted Victoria Police with rocks, with horse manure and with acid, and this must be condemned by all Australians. Victoria Police serve under the motto of 'Uphold the right.' That means to support and maintain law and order, and to help set standards of behaviour that all normal people expect in a peaceful society. Victoria Police's role is to ensure a safe, secure an orderly society by serving the community and upholding the law. I stand with Victoria Police. Turning the streets of Melbourne into a battle zone was the outcome the extremists wanted, but they won't win the war against our democracy if we remain united against these anarchists. I stand with Victoria Police and I condemn the rioters for their actions in Melbourne yesterday. Claiming to be anti-war campaigners and then violently protesting against a defence convention—the hypocrisy of those thugs and cowards needs to be called out in this place and in the state parliament. Victoria Police have every right to counter their attack with reasonable force. It seems all sides of politics agree with me, except the Greens. One Greens MP actually attended yesterday's protests, and there hasn't been a word of criticism of the rioter's actions by either the state leader or the federal leader of the Greens. It's no surprise that the Greens' response to yesterday's violence was to call for an investigation into Victoria Police's handling of the incident. I stand with Victoria Police. Woy Woy Peninsula Community Child Care 49 13:43 Dr REID 300126 Robertson I rise to acknowledge Margaret McGrath, who after 40 years of service to the community is retiring from Woy Woy Peninsula Community Child Care. Established in 1977, Woy Woy Peninsula Community Child Care is one of the longest-running childcare centres on the Central Coast. It is a not-for-profit, community based, cooperative childcare that supports local families by providing excellence in early childhood education. Margaret's journey with them began with them in 1982, when her own children attended the service, and it was then she served on the cooperative board of management and was an active parent member. Margaret joined the staffing team in 1994 as a clerical assistant, and in this role she became an instrumental part of the centre and local community. During her career, Margaret was responsible for enrolling 3,654 children into child care, and she treated each child and their families with care, attention and compassion to ensure they felt welcomed and nurtured and that the transition into child care was smooth. Over the years, she effortlessly adapted to new accounting systems, funding agreements and financial requirements, but it was her warmness and welcoming nature that greeted everyone as they came through the door that made her beloved of the families and staff alike. I'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge another staff member, Amy Mills, the manager of the centre, who recently moved on to a new role after 18 years of service to the Woy Woy and Umina communities. Amy is a dedicated, compassionate and committed manager, who not only navigated the centre through the difficult times of COVID but always ensured that no child was left behind and created a caring learning environment to give them all the best start in life. Water Polo 49 13:45 Ms WARE 300123 Hughes I rise to speak about the tremendous game of water polo. This coming Saturday is National Water Polo Day. Water polo is essentially soccer played by seven players per team in a swimming pool. Many within my electorate of Hughes play water polo, which is enjoying a growth following the successes of our national teams in recent years. At our most recent Olympics, for example, the Stingers won a silver medal and our Sharks finished eighth overall. Our local community was represented by Hughes resident Milos Maksimovic in the Sharks team. Last week, I met with players and the executive of the Sutherland Shire Water Polo Association for their come-and-try day. I give a shout-out to President Michael Wirth and all the players, including Ashlee Rider from Heathcote. The association is celebrating 60 years, has 300 players and is rapidly growing. There are both competitive and social competitions for players aged as young as five right through to 75. Our local competitive teams are the Waratahs, Arctic and Gunnamatta, and we now have two social teams entering the competition, Shire and Bundeena. The association has a strong and proud tradition of producing many representative players, including Olympic players. Recently, the association was successful in obtaining one of my volunteer grants and purchased much-needed equipment and water polo balls. So I say to all those that love swimming and want to play soccer in the water: give water polo a try. Labor Government 49 13:46 Mr BURNELL 300129 Spence It's as simple as this: Labor governments deliver for the women of this country. We're seeing that yet again in this place as this government continues the Labor legacy of delivering better working conditions and better pay for everyday Aussies. That comes in the form of a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators, putting more money in the pockets of workers in a sector that heavily relies on the tireless efforts of women across the country, because those workers deserve it. Those women build our nation's future every single day they walk into the centres at Hillbank, Evanston Park, Paralowie and beyond, both in my electorate and across the country. They told us that this pay rise needed to come—and it was delivered, under this Labor government. Many of those workers will continue to earn more from Labor reforms too, because members on this side of the House are adding super to paid parental leave—building on a key reform under Labor in the past, for the good of working people both now and in the future, and helping level the playing field for women across the country. Despite the efforts of the opposition, Labor governments will never stop addressing gender inequality. Labor governments will never stop improving working conditions. Labor governments will never stop helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. Crowley, Mrs Trudy 50 13:48 Mr WILLCOX 286535 Dawson Trudy Crowley was a warrior. Having been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016, she was appalled to discover the lack of support and information available to patients. She found this totally unacceptable and completely outrageous. This was the drive behind her strong advocacy and her determination to make it less painful for those on the same journey. Trudy brought the fight to the halls of Parliament House, and it's because of her that today the pain is a little less for those suffering from this horrific disease. Her mantra was: 'Ovarian cancer may be a silent killer, but I'm not going to be silent about it.' Sadly, in 2018 the world lost our warrior Trudy. But her legacy lives on within the Trudy Crowley Foundation. Last week Trudy's angels, as we like to call them, held their fifth annual soiree in Mackay. Every year this event just gets bigger and better, and it brings together happiness within the whole community. I would like to pay a special mention to the board—Pauline Townsend, Jacquie Camilleri, Luke Phillips, Damian Crowley, Sonia Crowley and Aggie Murphy—and Trudy's son Levi. To the volunteers, thank you so much for your time and effort, and well done to everyone who was part of the soiree for making this year's a huge success. Early Childhood Education 50 13:49 Ms RYAN 249224 Lalor It was in the dark days of the pandemic and those dark days of opposition where we could in our communities just try and support people, particularly our essential workers, those people who fronted work every day during a pandemic and risked catching the menace COVID-19 themselves to look after some of our most vulnerable, that we had lots of conversations amongst Labor MPs about the care economy and about how little we as a society valued our workers in early education and in aged care. Today feels like a really special day to see the 15 per cent wage rise legislation in the parliament today for early educators. It feels like we're closing that loophole, with a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers and now a 15 per cent pay rise for early educators to be delivered. It feels like we're sending a really strong message to that feminised workforce in the care economy that their work is valued, that we know that without their work our society functions less well, that we know and we acknowledge that during the pandemic their efforts made it possible for our society to continue. Afghanistan Inquiry Report 50 13:51 Mr WOLAHAN 235654 Menzies I rise to speak about the closure of the Afghanistan Inquiry report, which serves as a bookend for a press conference that started on 19 November 2020 by the Chief of the Defence Force. I speak as someone who had the privilege of leading a commando platoon in combat in Afghanistan. Like the shadow Minister for Defence, who lead a troop in Afghanistan—that is an honour that we will both take with us for the rest of our lives. Nothing will ever compete with that. As a commander, you are judged by the successes and failures of the team you lead. As a commander, you cannot bask in the glory of your soldiers' bravery and wash your hands when things go wrong. We are a democracy, and we are willing to risk and, if needed, lose our lives to defend that idea. But being a democracy means we hold ourselves to account to the highest standards. In doing so, I reject the idea that everything that happens in war stays in war. That is when we find out who we really are. And I reject the notion that holding ourselves to account makes us weaker. It makes us stronger. There is a criminal process. There is an administrative process. But there's also a moral process. And some commanders we can ask, 'Was that leadership distinguished?' If it wasn't, those medals should be returned, and any senior officer can hand their metal back any time. Early Childhood Education 50 13:52 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo Like the member for Canberra, my two children have also been engaged in early childhood education. My two are still engaged, both here at the Parliament House centre and at our centre in Bendigo. Like the member for Canberra and every other parent in this country with children in ECEC, their educators have been with my children at every one of those milestones, from toilet training to language, to developing those skills required to enter into primary school. Our educators are truly extraordinary in the way that they prepare our littlest Australians to be ready for school. Yet, for far too long, they've only been paid award rates or just above. They have not received the pay equity that they deserve for the important job that they have. That is why on 8 August it is our government that announced that we would increase the pay of our early childhood educators by 15 per cent. Today it is our government that introduced the bills, the legislation, to pay these pay rises. From December this year, these educators will start to receive this pay rise. This is a workforce that is 96 per cent women, and we are standing with them and saying, 'We don't just thank you; we will see you rewarded and paid what you're worth for the work that you do in early childhood education.' Live Animal Exports 51 13:54 Mr RICK WILSON 198084 O'Connor Today's West Australian front-page headline, 'Labor's war on the West', absolutely nails it, calling out the devastating effects that Labor's nature-positive bill and IR laws will have on WA. This follows last week's front page, 'Silent on the lambs', which called out Labor for bringing their cabinet to WA minus the agriculture minister. Labor's live sheep export ban continues to wreak fear and uncertainty across regional WA but faces a wall of silence from Minister Collins. The Prime Minister claimed that he had met with sheep farmers from Kalgoorlie, but the Goldfields has been devoid of sheep for decades. WA's grassroots industry movement Keep the Sheep has again made the pilgrimage to Canberra for a chance to be heard. On Tuesday they joined their eastern states' counterparts, converging on the nation's capital to protest this Labor government's anti-agriculture agenda, at the national ag rally. Coalition leaders, MPs and senators showed up en masse, but I did not spot a single Labor parliamentarian. Truckie and face of Keep the Sheep, Ben Sutherland, led a convoy of heavy vehicles thousands of kilometres from my electorate of O'Connor. The project coordinator, Paul Brown, amassed a 'Farmy Army', whose Keep the Sheep message was prominent in the crowd. Meanwhile, their e-petition has collected over 100,000 signatures and their fundraising efforts have broken through $600,000. Keep the Sheep's message to the government is simple: reverse the live export ban or pay the price at the next election. Early Childhood Education 51 13:55 Mr RAE 300122 Hawke The Albanese Labor government is beefing up wages for early childhood educators by funding a big, fat 15 per cent pay rise. I know the opposition seem to be a little sensitive about that description, so I'll choose my words carefully here! We've all felt the heavy weight of the impact that early education workers have on our families. They are critical to our kids' development. Today we're making sure that their super-sized value is paid fairly. We're delivering a whole buffet of reforms to the early childhood education sector, cutting the fat off fees, widening service availability and expanding enrolment. Since we came to government, the early childhood education workforce has piled on 30,000 more workers. We'll continue to retain and attract workers to the sector by ensuring that they are paid properly. Labor know that keeping heavy downward pressure on costs is crucial for families, so we're capping fee increases to child care to lighten the load. This is a humongous win for workers and parents and will help ease the cost of living for families. Labor's priorities have substance; they're calorie dense. Wages are up, and costs are down—with fries on the side. It doesn't get much better than that. Those opposite want people to work longer for less—a bald prospect. But I know Australians would flip the bird at that idea. Instead, thanks to the Albanese Labor government, Australians are earning— (Time expired) Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition: Protests 51 13:57 Mr WOOD E0F La Trobe As a former Victorian police officer, I stand with all my former colleagues. The protests yesterday were absolutely disgusting, and no police member, whether they be a father, mother, son or daughter, should go to work and ever be treated like that. When it comes to this, one of the reasons the protesters do this is to put claims against Victorian police members, who are protecting our community. I urgently call on the Allan government to put legislation in place to indemnify police. There were three groups of protesters yesterday: pro-Palestinian protestors, the Extinction Rebellion and Greens supporters—a combination of freaks, ferals and absolute idiots. How can the Victorian Greens now put a motion forward to put the Victorian police to an anticorruption commission inquiry? It's disgraceful. The Greens believe it is okay for a female police officer from the Mounted Branch have manure thrown at her. How disgusting is that! Other police members had acid thrown in their face, and 35 police members in total were assaulted. It's absolutely a crying shame to see this happen in Victoria. Also, to the PM, please condemn the Greens for their action, support Victoria Police and their families and refuse to take preferences from the Greens before the next election. (Time expired) Labor Government: Gender Equality 51 13:58 Ms MILLER-FROST 296272 Boothby In May 2024, the gender pay gap in Australia dropped to 11.5 per cent, the lowest we've ever had in this country. The gender pay gap has a very real effect on the lives of women. We know women retire into poverty, we know women are a growing cohort of the homeless population and we know women without financial resources are less able to escape family violence. The Labor government's lowest ever gender pay gap didn't happen by accident. It is due to deliberate strategies of this government to address inequality in all its forms: the changes to the tax cuts that meant 100 per cent of women got a tax cut, with 90 per cent getting a better tax cut than what was planned under those opposite; and the rise in the minimum wage, with 15 per cent pay rises for aged-care workers and now for childcare workers. Women in this country retire with an average of 25 per cent less superannuation than men. This is directly linked to women's homelessness and poverty, because time off work to care for children means a superannuation contribution gap. Our bill to pay superannuation on paid parental leave is specifically to address this shameful statistic—25 per cent—and so it was shocking to see those opposite move an amendment to directly undermine women's financial security, to directly ensure that women continue to retire into property with 25 per cent less superannuation than men. It isn't good enough, and every one of you who votes for it— (Time expired) The SPEAKER 53517 In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 52 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Albanese Government 52 14:00 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson My question is to the Prime Minister. Under the coalition, interest rates went up once; under your government, they've gone up 12 times. The Business Council warns Labor's economic credibility is on the line. Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for Labor's bad decisions over the last two years, which have taken our country in the wrong direction and hurt Australian families? 14:01 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I will take responsibility for Australia's economic performance since I've been Prime Minister and since the Treasurer has occupied the Treasury benches. I'll take responsibility for the fact that Australia has faster economic growth than Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. I'll take responsibility for the fact that Australia has a lower unemployment rate than the G7 countries Canada, France and Italy and the same as the United States. I'll take responsibility for the fact that we have faster economic growth than Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the UK—that is all seven G7 countries—and that Australia has a higher participation rate than Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. And I'll also take responsibility for the fact that we, unlike every single G7 nation, have produced budget surpluses. All of them are in deficit, as we go forward. I will also take responsibility for the fact that we have delivered a tax cut for every taxpayer, and those opposite said that we should take that to an election. I'll take responsibility for the fact that, next week, we might find ourselves being in a position of having one million jobs created on our watch since we came into government. I'll take responsibility for the fact that we have put in place cost-of-living measures, including our power rebates for every household—not one lot of it but two—both of them opposed by those opposite. I'll take responsibility for the fact that, if you're a pensioner, you can get cheaper medicines as a direct result of the policies that we've put in place. I'll take responsibility for the fact that over half a million Australians have benefited from fee-free TAFE and that 1.2 million Australian families have benefited from cheaper child care. That's what I'll take responsibility for. The fact is that, at a time when there is global inflation and many countries have gone into recession, we have kept Australia in the black, that we have kept our economy growing, that we have kept jobs being created, that wages are rising and that we want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn—the precise opposite of what those opposite want. The SPEAKER 53517 Before I call the member for Corangamite, the member for Deakin interjected nine times during that one answer. We are not going to have continual interjections from individual members across the chamber. This has been happening far too much all throughout question time. The member for Deakin will leave the chamber under 94(a). The member for Deakin then left the chamber. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Minister for Housing is now warned. If I'm taking action on a member, it is not the time to interject. Aged Care 52 14:05 Ms COKER 263547 Corangamite My question is to the Minister for Aged Care. How will older Australians benefit from the Albanese government's once-in-a-lifetime aged-care reforms? 14:05 Ms WELLS 264121 Lilley I thank the member for Corangamite for her question. For the past two years, the Albanese government has had its shoulder to the wheel, lifting the standard of aged care. We've delivered a 15 per cent increase to the minimum award wage for more than 250,000 aged-care workers, with more to come, and today there is a registered nurse on site in aged care 99 per cent of the time. Older Australians are receiving an additional 3.9 million minutes of care every single day, and today we announce a $5.6 billion package that will make sure older Australians have access to the aged-care services they need and deserve. Our reforms will help 1.4 million Australians stay in their home for longer, through a new program, Support at Home. Today we will introduce our new rights based aged-care act. This is what ambition for aged care looks like. Our new Support at Home program, starting next year, will help more older Australians stay at home. Support at Home will cut wait times to receive in-home aged-care services. It will deliver more tailored support, increasing levels of ongoing care from four to eight. It will ensure faster access to assistive technology, like walkers and wheelchairs, and it will increase the maximum support available from $61,000 to $78,000. Support at Home will offer a temporary boost through more transitional assistance, and it will provide temporary access to palliative care. After the Treasurer handed down the 2024 budget, I travelled to North Queensland to meet with aged-care recipients and the workers who care for them. I met Patricia and her in-home carer, Chinatsu, at her home in Woree, about 15 minutes outside of Cairns. Patricia relocated from Adelaide with her late partner Charlie in 1988. They moved into that home a week after arriving, and she's lived there ever since. Since Charlie passed away, Patricia has remained independent in her home with the support of Chinatsu, who visits for two hours a fortnight for domestic assistance and a chat. When I asked Patricia what her plans for the future were, she told me firmly: 'This is my home. I'm going to keep living here.' Patricia, today we are making that possible. The reforms we announce today will create better and safer care for Patricia and for all older Australians. Today we answer the question the royal commissioners could not agree upon: how do we make aged care equitable and sustainable? Today we announce a new foundation for aged care that makes financial sense and makes sure older Australians will have access to the services they need and deserve. Renewable Energy 53 14:08 Mr LITTLEPROUD 265585 Maranoa My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. How many hectares of native vegetation are designated to be cleared to develop the 60 renewable energy projects you announced in question time yesterday? 14:08 Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Sydney I want to thank the Leader of the National Party for that question. I want to say that it's obvious that it depends on the renewable energy project itself as to how much vegetation would have to be cleared. In some cases, very little vegetation will be cleared. If we're talking about— Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Well, it depends on the project. There are 60 of them right across the country. But I can understand why the Nationals are so sensitive about this. While they were in government there were 22 separate energy policies, and they didn't land a single one of them. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! I want to hear from the Leader of the Nationals on a point of order. Mr Littleproud 265585 Mr Speaker, that was a very tight question. I seek your ruling. It was a very specific question about the number of hectares in the announcement made yesterday. There was no compare and contrast. It was a very tight question. I seek your ruling, Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER 53517 I want to make sure the minister is adhering to standing orders. She wasn't asked about any other alternative policy. She won't be able to compare or contrast. I can appreciate the leader would like a figure or a number, but, as I have said time and time again, I can't compel the minister to give a specific number or figure. She'll need to remain relevant to the questions about the native vegetation schedule that has been cleared, or the number that has been cleared and the measures mentioned in her answer in question time yesterday, and not a lot of other topics can be brought into the answer. She has the call. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M We're working with proponents on all of these projects to minimise any impact on matters of national environmental significance, and that would include land clearing where it's necessary. But it's interesting that the Leader of the Nationals is only interested in land clearing when it comes to renewable energy projects. He's not interested in land clearing if it's a mining project, he's not interested in land clearing if it's a housing project, and he's not interested in land clearing when it's the shadow Treasurer poisoning grasslands with his company's— Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my right. The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Hasluck will leave the chamber under 94(a). The member for Hasluck then left the chamber. The SPEAKER 53517 We're not having interjections when I'm taking points of order. Rules apply to everyone inside the chamber. The opposition manager on a point of order. Mr Fletcher L6B Standing order 91(c) says that a member's conduct is disorderly if the member wilfully refuses to conform to a standing order. Now, you've given the minister a very clear direction in terms of relevance. She's flouting that direction, and I submit to you that she's in breach of the standing orders. The SPEAKER 53517 I'll hear from the Leader of the House. Mr Burke DYW To the point of order, at the exact moment that the opposition manager the rose to his feet, the minister was talking about land clearing. It was an exact example of land clearing. Mr Tehan 210911 Mr Speaker— Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Members on my right. The member for Wannon is entitled to raise a point of order. Mr Tehan 210911 Thanks, Speaker. The minister also made an unparliamentary slur against the shadow Treasurer, and I would ask that she withdraw that. Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The shadow Treasurer will not be baited by any interjections. I'll deal with this matter. I assume it was about the remark regarding the member for Hume. I'm just going to ask the minister to withdraw that comment and confine her remarks—to assist the House—to the question she was asked. She's entitled to talk about land clearing and native vegetation, but I'll be listening very carefully to make sure she is being directly relevant. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M I mean, native vegetation does include rare grasslands— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Just pause a moment. To assist the House, I've asked the minister to withdraw. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M To pay respect to you, Mr Speaker, I do that; I withdraw. The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Wannon, I'll handle this. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M I withdraw. The SPEAKER 53517 Thank you. The minister will continue to be directly relevant. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Mr Speaker, I've got a great quote here from the Leader of the Nationals about clearing— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! We're going to do this the right way, but if this continues on for too much longer we won't be taking points of order. Question time can't descend into this behaviour. The member for New England on a point of order. Mr Joyce e5d I wonder if the minister would be able to table the document that was handed behind the dispatch box to the Prime Minister to her. The SPEAKER 53517 Resume your seat. Is the minister reading from confidential documents? Ms PLIBERSEK 83M It's a confidential document, Mr Speaker, but there are some elements that I would like to share with the chamber, if that's okay. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the Opposition and members on my left are going to remain silent. The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M One of them is a quote from the member for New England: 'We've made massive investments into renewable energy; I made sure it happened.' Another is from the member for Maranoa: 'We actually want Maranoa to become the renewable energy electorate. Western Downs Shire is screaming at me to become the renewable energy shire of the country with solar and wind.' We've got another one from the member for Farrah: 'I'm so proud that the biggest renewable energy producer is right here in Yenda.' The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Leader of the Nationals will cease interjecting. The minister has to return to the question. Ms PLIBERSEK 83M Each one of these projects required some land-clearing. If the projects are good project then they go ahead. That's how we make decisions. (Time expired) Aged Care 55 14:16 Ms MILLER-FROST 296272 Boothby My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government securing a better future for older Australians? 14:16 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for Boothby for her question and for her passionate advocacy for people in aged care and in other social services, prior to her entry into the parliament as the member for Boothby. Today we are putting the care back into aged care. We are announcing the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years. At the heart of our government's aged-care reforms are a simple set of principles providing dignity, choice, respect and quality of care to older Australians. More Australians are living longer, and that is a good thing, but I know that older Australians also worry about going into aged care, and I know that their kids and grandkids do too. This is about caring for the generation that cared for us. Older Australians built this country, and they deserve to have dignity and respect in retirement. That's why, in previous aged-care legislation, we have ensured that now nurses are back into nursing homes 99 per cent of the time. There are some 3.9 million minutes of additional care for residents every single day as a result of the reforms that we have put in place. As a result of the reforms that we've announced today, with bipartisan support—and I thank the opposition for their construction engagement on these issues—there are around 1.4 million Australians who will benefit from a new Support at Home program by 2035, helping them remain independent in their homes and their communities for longer. The feedback that all of us have had from family, from neighbours and from the communities we represent is that is overwhelmingly what older Australians want—to retain that connection with their home. These changes will result in some $5.6 billion being invested in a reform package that includes extra money for the Support at Home package. It comes into effect on 1 July next year. There are changes to improve the funding, viability and quality of residential aged care, including support for regional aged-care facilities. There are new laws to protect older Australians in aged care. Reforms like this don't happen every day. We know that we have an ageing population—the IGR report indicates exactly why this is a big challenge. Previous governments haven't been able to get this done; we are getting this done, and it is in the interests of older Australians and those of us who one day—every Australian, we hope—become older Australians. We all have an interest in getting this right, and that's why this is such critical legislation. (Time expired) Albanese Government 55 14:19 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne My question is to the Prime Minister. Emissions are now higher under you than when Scott Morrison left office. You have broken promises to protect people against discrimination and to recognise Palestine. You have said you will gut your own weak environmental laws but you won't ban gambling ads, cap and freeze rent increases, end tax handouts to wealthy property investors or stop supermarket price gouging. Small targets won't fix Australia's big problems. Does the Prime Minister understand why so many people are disappointed in Labor? The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Minister for Financial Services will cease interjecting. There was far too much noise when that question was being asked. The Prime Minister has the call. 14:20 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I think Australians understand that I lead a government that gets things done, that makes the difference, unlike the Greens political party, who are quite happy to have members of parliament attend demonstrations that are violent, that throw things at police, that engage in disruption. The big difference between a party of government and a party of protest is that we are responsible. We work through issues constructively across this chamber in order to make a positive difference. What my government has been able to do, unlike many governments right around the world, is see us through really difficult economic times while making sure that we put that downward pressure on inflation, while we are also looking after people on the way through. My job is also, as a Labor Prime Minister, to support jobs, and some 980,000 of them have been created since we came into office. The other thing we have done of course is increase wages. Increasing wages is making a difference including for aged-care workers, for childcare workers. That legislation was introduced here earlier today. When it comes to gender issues, we have the lowest gender pay gap on record. We have engaged in our childcare reforms, paid parental leave and super on paid parental leave, making a difference in those areas. We have introduced and started the National Anti-Corruption Commission, something that was promised by previous governments but never done. On housing, we have a $32 billion Homes for Australia plan, some of which is still being blocked by the Greens and the coalition in the Senate. We will wait and see how they vote next week. We are dealing with the immediate pressures which are there whilst also having a plan for the future that includes taking advantage of the global transition to net zero that is so important. We have a 43 per cent reduction target by 2030 that is legislated and net zero by 2050 that is legislated. But you don't get there by hoping and wishing. You get there by having serious policies that drive the change through; hence, the Safeguard Mechanism, the capacity scheme, the National Reconstruction Fund. All of these programs are making a difference as we go forward. That is how you take advantage. Making sure communities are not left behind is why we have the net zero authority as well, making a difference, so that we train Australians for the jobs of the future. Aged Care 56 14:23 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair My question is to the Treasurer. How will the Albanese Labor government's aged-care reforms deliver better care in a more sustainable way? 14:23 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin As you know, the member for Blair is a wonderful Queenslander and a terrific local member, and I'm grateful to him for the question. To keep the Queensland theme going, I want to pay tribute to the aged care minister for the absolute mountain of work she has done to get the point we have got to today, with the help of the health minister, the Prime Minister, the finance minister and everyone on this side of House and indeed across the parliament. It's a very good thing that Australians are living longer and healthier lives, and this is how we fund the care that Australians need and deserve as they age. It's about better care for more people in a more sustainable way. We are very conscious here of our intergenerational responsibilities. If you look at the intergenerational report, it tells us that, over the next 40 years, the number of people over 65 will double and the number of people over 85 will triple. Any serious government needs to take this challenge and this opportunity very seriously. Government spending in aged care over that period is expected to double as a share of the economy, and that makes it one of the fastest growing areas of government spending in the budget. There are five big areas of government spending: aged care, health care, NDIS, defence and interest costs. What this government has shown is a real willingness and a real ability to deal with some of those structural challenges in the budget—the NDIS, defence, interest costs and, today, aged care as well. We're turning those big Liberal deficits in the near term into Labor surpluses, at the same time as we deal with some of the big structural pressures in the budget as well. The announcement today, made by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Aged Care is all about improving aged care and strengthening the budget at the same time. It is a step change in care, and it is a structural reform to the budget at the same time as well. The net impact of the changes that the minister has announced today is a $930 million spend over four years and a $12.6 billion save over the course of the next 10 years. Aged-care spending will continue to grow but at an average of 5.2 per cent, not 5.7 per cent, over the decade, and it will moderate as a share of the economy as well. This is all about making sure that we can provide much better care to many more Australians as they age and live longer and healthier lives and making sure that we do that in the most responsible and sustainable way that we can. This is a very important economic reform that has been announced today. It will make the budget more sustainable, but, much more important than that, it will mean that we can afford to provide the care that older Australians need and deserve as they age, and I pay tribute to the minister, the government and indeed the parliament for agreeing to this important progress. (Time expired) Economy 56 14:26 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume My question is to the Treasurer. Last week the Treasurer accused the RBA of smashing the economy, and the national accounts revealed productivity going backwards, real disposable income collapsing and Australians paying more tax and more for their mortgages after 18 months of household recession. EY chief economist Cherelle Murphy said, 'This is the worst possible combination of statistics.' Will the Treasurer take responsibility for Labor's bad decisions over the last two years, which have taken our country in the wrong direction and hurt Australian families? 14:27 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I'm asked about pressures on families and on Australians. When we came to office, real wages were going backwards, and now they're growing again. I'm asked about productivity. Those opposite oversaw the weakest decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years. I'm asked about tax. Those opposite wanted to go to an election because we wanted to give a tax cut to every single Australian taxpayer and not just some Australian taxpayers. Whether it is living standards, whether it's productivity or whether it's tax, those opposite have a shameful record—an indefensible record—when it comes to those things that were core to the shadow Treasurer's question a moment ago. The SPEAKER 53517 The Treasurer will pause. The member for Hume on a point of order? Mr Taylor 231027 Yes; on relevance. The Treasurer is a serial offender. There was no compare and contrast in that question. As I said, he is a serial offender, and we ask your ruling on this. The SPEAKER 53517 The Treasurer has been using the question to show the difference between what the government has done, and the question was about taking responsibility for Australia's direction and putting pressure on Australia's families. It does make common sense that the Treasurer would be talking about— Mr Taylor 231027 There's no comparison. The SPEAKER 53517 Let me finish—where Australia is now and where it was in his opinion, about what the differences are. But he won't be able to have his entire answer about that. If he does, he won't be able to give the full answer. The Treasurer has the call. Dr CHALMERS 37998 I get it: I'm asked about productivity, living standards and tax, but the shadow Treasurer doesn't want me talking about productivity, living standards or tax! I'm asked whether I take responsibility for the government's part in the fight against inflation, and I do. I've said that, I think, on each occasion—each question time during the course of this week—and I say that again. I take responsibility for our part in the fight against inflation. That means taking responsibility for the fact that, when we came to office, inflation was 6.1 per cent—in the year we were elected, it was 7.8 per cent. It's half that now. I take responsibility for our part in that effort. I take responsibility for turning two big Liberal deficits into two big Labor surpluses, and I'll tell you, by the end of the month, how big that second surplus is. I take responsibility for almost $80 billion in savings. I take responsibility for the fact that we've banked and not spent almost all of the upward revision to revenue. I take responsibility for the fact that the Governor of the Reserve Bank has herself said the couple of surpluses that we've already delivered are helping in the fight against inflation. I take responsibility, along with the Prime Minister and my colleagues, for the cost-of-living help that we are rolling out to people right now. I take responsibility for the fact that, despite the opposition of those opposite, every Australian taxpayer is getting a tax cut. I take responsibility for the fact that every household is getting energy bill relief. I take responsibility for the fact that early childhood education is cheaper, medicines are cheaper and real wages are growing again. I take responsibility for our part in the fight against inflation. We are making progress, but we know that people are still under pressure. That's why it beggars belief that those opposite don't support help with the cost of living and want to pull another $315 billion out of an economy which is already weak. Cybersafety 57 14:31 Dr CHARLTON I8M Parramatta My question is to the Minister for Communications. How is the Albanese Labor government addressing the need to protect young Australians through limiting access to social media, and what other measures are being considered to make online environments safer for children? 14:31 Ms ROWLAND 159771 Greenway I thank the member for the question. This is a very important issue. As I said yesterday, many parents are telling us they need help, and that's what our legislation is about. Our message to parents is clear: we have your back. But I do acknowledge the valid points, raised by experts, that we cannot stop there and we need to take forward a range of reforms in regulating tech companies to make their services safer. As I said yesterday, we will consult. Understandably, there's a wide variety of views, but, as a government, our objective is clear. Restricting children's access to social media is not a magic pill to address all online harms, and our actions to improve online safety are not 'set and forget'. We have taken a comprehensive approach, as a government, to tackling online harms for all Australians. Earlier this year, I amended the basic online safety expectations, requiring platforms to place the best interests of the child at the centre of their products and services, and this has already empowered the eSafety Commissioner to issue notices to the platforms on the number of children using their services and the age assurance measures they have in place. We have provided funding so previously neglected initiatives on media literacy are now available in schools across Australia for free. Minister Rishworth and I delivered an Australia-first dating app industry code to improve the safety of Australians using those services. The Attorney-General is driving reforms to tackle hate speech and bolster privacy protections, particularly for children, and has criminalised the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfake pornography. The Assistant Treasurer is delivering vital reforms to make digital platforms accountable for protecting Australians from scams. The Albanese government's systemwide approach is what is needed to tackle the harms facing Australians, particularly young people online, and it's why I brought forward the statutory review of the Online Safety Act by a full year. Though it only came into force in January 2022, I was compelled to expedite this because it was clear our laws were not keeping pace with emerging technologies and associated harms. It's examining how we can make online spaces safer and ensure that the eSafety Commissioner has the power needed to keep Australians safe. The Albanese government will not resile from holding big tech to account and keeping Australians safe online, particularly our most vulnerable. We are live to these issues right across government, and we are delivering to make the online environment safer and better. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 58 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Parliamentary Delegation 58 14:34 The SPEAKER 53517 Before I call the shadow Treasurer, I'm pleased to inform the House that present in the Speaker's gallery today is a parliamentary delegation from the national assembly of Vietnam, led by the Vice Chairwoman, Her Excellency Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh. Welcome to you all. Honourable members: Hear, hear! QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 58 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Interest Rates 58 14:34 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume My question is to the Treasurer. Does the Treasurer take responsibility for 12 interest rate increases? 14:34 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin He forgot one! Interest rates started going up on the watch of those opposite. Isn't it interesting that he forgot the first one! I don't think that was an accident. He was hoping that nobody noticed that interest rates started going up on their watch. The SPEAKER 53517 Order, Leader of the Nationals. Dr CHALMERS 37998 They started going up on their watch because when they were in office inflation was 6.1 per cent, and it was rising. That's why interest rates started going up, when he was the most embarrassing member of a bad government. The SPEAKER 53517 The shadow Treasurer on a point of order. Mr Taylor 231027 On relevance, that was very deliberately a very, very tight question, which he has been completely unwilling to engage on and be even slightly relevant towards. The SPEAKER 53517 The Minister for Industry and Science will cease interjecting. The Treasurer has been talking about interest rates. He wasn't asked about interest rates before. He was talking about the last 12, but he's less than one minute in, so I'll ask him to return to the question. Dr CHALMERS 37998 Interest rates, which began rising before the change of government, are putting substantial pressure on people. That's a point that I've been making since the middle of the year. Mr Taylor 231027 You've had 12. Take responsibility. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Hume has asked his question. I ask the member for Hume to cease interjecting through this answer. Dr CHALMERS 37998 Those opposite might not think that's the case, but the interest rate rises, which began before the election, are putting substantial pressure on people. We understand that. That's why we take so seriously our responsibilities when it comes to the fight against inflation. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Barker is warned. Dr CHALMERS 37998 As I said a moment ago, our part of the fight against inflation is making sure that we get the budget in better nick, making sure that as we roll out this substantial and meaningful cost-of-living help that we do it in the most responsible way and that we invest in the supply side of the economy as well—in housing, skills, energy and Future Made in Australia. Those are our responsibilities. The Reserve Bank have their job to do, and I have my job to do. As the Reserve Bank governor has said on a number of occasions now, we've got the same objective, but we've got different responsibilities. I think that's self-evident. The SPEAKER 53517 Order, I'm going to ask for the assistance of the Leader of the Nationals as well. Dr CHALMERS 37998 When it comes to the pressures that people are under, whether it's the consequence of persistent inflation, the global economic uncertainty or the impact of the rate rises which began before the election, we know that people are under pressure. More than acknowledging that, we're doing something about it. It beggars belief that the whole parliament doesn't agree that people deserve and need some help with the cost of living. We're rolling out tax cuts, energy bill relief, cheaper early childhood education and cheaper medicines. We're getting wages moving again and helping people with their rent because we do take responsibility for our part in the fight against inflation. We recognise the Reserve Bank's got their job to do. We've got a different job to do. We've got the same objective, which is to get on top of this inflation challenge which was already galloping when we came to office. One of the consequences of how seriously we have taken it, working with the bank, is that inflation has halved since the year we came to office. Paid Parental Leave Scheme: Superannuation 59 14:38 Ms PAYNE 144732 Canberra My question is to the Minister for Social Services. Why is paying superannuation on paid parental leave so important for supporting parents with a new baby and closing the gender gap in retirement savings? What has been the response, and how does this differ to other approaches? 14:38 Ms RISHWORTH HWA Kingston I would like to thank the member for Canberra for that question. I know that she has been a passionate advocate for paid parental leave for so many years. Today, the House passed an important reform that will boost superannuation balances of parents and help close the gender gap in retirement savings. In fact, women retire with 25 per cent less superannuation than men, an estimated $51,000 less on average according to Super Members Council. We know that women who have lower superannuation at retirement can, in some cases, face a higher risk of homelessness and a higher risk of income instability. As the women's economic taskforce put it, women too often pay the motherhood penalty when it comes to retirement savings. Labor's plan to pay superannuation on paid parental leave will help address this inequity, and the bill passed in this House today is a positive investment in the future of working parents. I've been asked what the responses have been to our plan to add superannuation on paid parental leave. Georgie Dent from The Parenthood said that our plan to pay superannuation on paid parental leave was a 'game changer' for families right across Australia. Bran Black from the Business Council of Australia said: Adding superannuation contributions to the government payment is the right thing to do for both women and the economy. The Australian Council of Social Service's chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, said: Policies that bolster women's financial security make social and economic sense. …   …   … Every single dollar added to someone's superannuation account matters. While the response to Labor's plan has been widely welcomed, equally the response to those opposite's plan to attack women's retirement savings has been damning. On the opposition's proposal, the Super Members Council said: It sends a deeply concerning message to mums that they should sacrifice their future financial security to meet daily expenses. The ACTU president, Michele O'Neil, said: No Australian should have to trade off supporting their babies now and feeding themselves in old age. But it really does feel like groundhog day when it comes to those opposite. It's just another day of wrecking and negativity when it comes to superannuation and when it comes to paid parental leave. The SPEAKER 53517 The Manager of Opposition Business will cease interjecting. Ms RISHWORTH HWA It is disappointing but not surprising. It is only Labor that is on the side of new parents and is ensuring Australia has a strong, flexible and equitable paid parental leave scheme. (Time expired) Albanese Government 59 14:42 Mr VIOLI 300147 Casey My question is to the Treasurer. Cecil from Badger Creek, in my electorate of Casey, contacted me about his gas bill and said: 'Just received our gas bill—double the price, now $582. How does this PM in Canberra think pensioners are going to stop from freezing?' Will the Treasurer take responsibility for Labor's bad decisions over the last two years which have taken our country in the wrong direction and hurt Australian families? 14:42 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I hope he told Cecil that every time we've put forward cost-of-living relief those opposite have opposed it. I hope he was upfront with Cecil about that. I hope that, when Cecil was telling him these very real concerns that Cecil has about the cost of living, he told Cecil that only this side of the House are trying to help him and that side of the House are trying to stop us providing cost-of-living help. While he was at it, I hope he told Cecil that, in the $315 billion that the shadow Treasurer says is overspending, there's pension indexation. I hope he said to Cecil, 'Look, we know you're under cost-of-living pressure, but the shadow Treasurer, in the blue team in parliament in Canberra, wanders around the press gallery saying that pension indexation is overspending and that it's part of the $315 billion that those opposite describe as too much spending in the economy.' The difference between this side of the House and that side of the House is we're trying help Cecil. And, every time we try to help Cecil, those opposite try to stand in the way. Every time we point out to the parliament and to the people beyond the parliament that the $315 billion those opposite want to cut would do untold damage to the pensioners of this country—including, by the sounds of it, Cecil—and every time we say that those opposite need to come clean on these cuts, Cecil should keep an ear out. He should keep an ear out for when those opposite come clean about the impact of their cuts on his household budget. This side of the House, the Labor side of the House, is trying to help him. That side of the House is trying to harm him with $315 billion in cuts, including the indexation of the pension. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 We need a reset after that! When the House comes to order, we will hear from honourable member for Aston. Early Childhood Education 60 14:45 Ms DOYLE 299962 Aston My question is to the Minister for Education. Why is the Albanese Labor Government delivering a pay rise for early childhood educators, and what has been the response? 14:45 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank the awesome member for Aston for her question. Early educators up in the gallery and right across the country are some of the most important workers in this country, but you wouldn't know that from what they're paid. This morning I introduced legislation to help change that, legislation to increase what they're paid by 15 per cent: a 10 per cent pay rise from December this year and a further five per cent from December next year. We've got 30,000 more early educators in Australia today than we had two years ago when we came to office, but the truth is we need more. This 15 per cent pay rise will help everyone that does this essential work now to keep doing it but will also, hopefully, encourage people who love this job but felt like they had to leave it because they couldn't afford to keep doing it to come back and do this again. Mr Speaker, in your electorate, Jessica, who works at Goodstart in Bellbird Park, said this morning, 'Now that this pay rise is coming through, I can actually stay and do what I love: teach children.' And that's what this is. It's not babysitting; it's education. It's teaching our children. The SPEAKER 53517 Order. The minister is going to pause. The member for Cowper has been interjecting all throughout question time. I'm not sure why. He's now going to leave the chamber under 94(a). The member for Cowper then left the chamber. Mr CLARE HWL This is also important economic reform because more people like Jessica means more children and more parents can take advantage of the life-changing work that they do. This is a pay rise for people like Jessica but, more than that, it is also a price cap to keep prices down for more than a million families right across the country. It's the first step that we need to take to build a truly universal early education system. Soon I'll release the Productivity Commission's final report on this. More than that, this is about respect: respect for these workers in the gallery today and right across the country, respect for mums and dads and the decisions that they take and respect that the Liberal Party finds hard to must. Last time we did this, they didn't just oppose it. They didn't just vote against it. They actually condemned it. This time, when we announced this pay rise, they said that it would destroy the family unit. Paying people like Jessica, some of the most important and underpaid workers in this country, more should be backed, not bagged. That's what this does; it is a pay rise for workers like Jessica and price caps for parents. If that's not legislation that the Liberal Party should back, I don't know what is. Universities: Fees 60 14:48 Dr RYAN 297660 Kooyong My question is to the Minister for Education. Minister, the Morrison government massively increased the cost of arts, business and law degrees from $16,000 to $51,000 and $85,000 for a combined degree. At the time, Labor said that this change would make it harder and more expensive for young people to get an education, and the Universities Accord agreed. When will this government address the unfair cost of university degrees? 14:49 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank the member for Kooyong for her question. I know how passionate she is about this issue and, more broadly, how we build a better and fairer education system in this country. You're right: the Universities Accord made specific recommendations about this and made the point that the former government's Job-ready Graduates program had failed, and it made recommendations about how to address this. I've announced that we will establish an Australian tertiary education commission that will help to steer reform here, which includes the setting of course fees. I'm consulting with the university sector and the broader community at the moment about how we establish that Australian tertiary education commission, and its roles and responsibilities. I hope that directly addresses the question that you have asked. The Universities Accord is a blueprint for reform of higher education for the next decade and beyond. It's bigger than one budget, but we've bitten off a big chunk of it in this year's budget—about 29 of the 47 recommendations in full or in part. That includes wiping $3 billion of student debt for more than three million Australians. It includes introducing, for the first time ever, paid prac financial support to help teaching, nursing and social work students with the cost of living while they do the practical part of their degree. It also includes—and I know you know this, because you've been a champion of this—the establishment of a national student ombudsman. University should be a great place where you learn new skills, get the qualifications you need to succeed and make new friends. But we've seen too much evidence of when terrible things happen at university, where the system fails—where, when the worst happens, universities don't respond properly. That's what that legislation that I introduced yesterday is all about fixing. For too long, universities haven't done enough and governments haven't done enough, and that's what that legislation I introduced yesterday is about trying to fix. Early Childhood Education 61 14:51 Mr RAE 300122 Hawke My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How does the Albanese Labor government's commitment to a 15 per cent wage increase support Australia's early childhood education and care workforce? 14:51 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan I thank the member for Hawke for his question and for his continued advocacy for early childhood education and for early childhood educators in his electorate. Significant. Momentous. Historic. Monumental moment. A lifejacket. Proof that early learning matters. Life-changing. These are just some of the words that early childhood education, and early childhood education advocates, have used to describe the Albanese Labor government's 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood educators. For too long, early childhood educators have been fighting for respect, for fairness and for a world-class early childhood education and care system. When I was first elected in 2016, I, along with many of my colleagues here, signed a pledge to properly value the professionalism and the highly skilled work that early childhood educators and teachers do. Today this government announced legislation to lock in this commitment; to recognise and pay a workforce that has been taken for granted and neglected for far too long. This means that 200,000 early childhood workers across Australia will have at least $100 more a week in their pay packets by the end of this year. By the end of next year, that's going to be $150 more in their pay packet. It means they'll have a liveable wage—a liveable wage. Jessica, a passionate early childhood educator said: 'This pay rise means early childhood educators won't struggle to get by. We'll comfortably know that we can pay the bills and put food on the table. It means proper recognition.' Leanne, a 19-year veteran of the sector said: 'To be recognised as professionals and to have a wage that reflects that is a huge step forward not only for educators but for children and their families. It means that, along with this government's tax cuts, early childhood education workers will be able to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. It means we can build a strong and stable early learning workforce and achieve that vision for a universal early childhood education and care system that is affordable, that is accessible and that is inclusive for every child in Australia.' This is what the children of Australia deserve. It's what the families of Australia deserve, and it's what the Albanese Labor government is delivering. Albanese Government 61 14:54 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer My question is to the Treasurer. Joe Massih owns a furniture shop in the Treasurer's electorate of Rankin and told the Australian he believed the RBA might need to raise rates further to get on top of inflation. He said 'the Treasurer should not be spending more money'. Will the Treasurer take responsibility for Labor's bad decisions over the last two years, which have taken our country in the wrong direction and hurt Australian families? The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Banks is warned. The Treasurer has the call. 14:55 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin Yesterday I was saying to the infrastructure minister and the defence minister, 'I really hope they ask me about the front of the Australian.' I didn't think that I would be this lucky, but it turns out that, a day later, I am. They're asking me about some wonderful people in my local community: Joe, Mabrouk, Kate and my great friends Nicky and Tyson. The story was on the front of the Australian yesterday, and I welcome the interest from the Australian. I welcome the visit. They spoke to some of the business leaders and business owners in my local community. I want to say to each of them, all five of them, and to every small-business person in my electorate: I'm proud to represent you. The issues raised by Joe, Mabrouk, Kate, Nicky and Tyson were issues that are raised with us right around Australia right now, and they are part of the motivation—they are part of the inspiration—for the cost-of-living help that this government and this prime minister are rolling out. Because, unlike those opposite, we don't hear that people are under pressure and then ignore their very real needs and concerns. When we hear that people are under pressure, we act to do something about it. We give every taxpayer a tax cut. We give every household energy bill relief and a million small businesses energy bill relief, which those opposite don't support. We make early childhood education and medicines cheaper. We provide help with rent and we get wages moving again. So, yesterday, I didn't think that they would ask me what my message would be to those wonderful people in my local community. The other thing that I would say to those wonderful people, if I may, particularly to my great friend Nicky Pati, to Tyson and to all of those people, is thank you. Thank you for your leadership in our local community. I'm asked about those great friends in the Australian yesterday. I want to say this about Nicky—I want to tell the whole House about Nicky—because he rang me yesterday mortified that he had somehow given a different impression to the impression that he wanted to give. But I reassured him that, if those opposite read to the end of the story—and it doesn't appear that they have—this is what Nicky said about me and the state treasurer of Queensland: 'How good is it? Two Logan boys are running the finances for the country and Queensland. They understand…they see the struggle,' he said. 'I know Jim and Cameron are doing such a great job… those two boys, two big bosses, are doing the best they can to ease the cost of living for people.' I say to you, Nicky—and there's a red hot chance that he's watching from Spasifik barbers in Kingston in my electorate—'How are you doing, Nicky? Thanks for the kind words.' Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order, members on my right! The Treasurer will cease interjecting. The SPEAKER 53517 The Member for Hume and the Member for O'Connor, clapping is highly disorderly. If this continues, people will be removed immediately. Wages 62 14:58 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government helping to deliver pay rises for Australians? What threats are there to people's pay? 14:59 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I thank the member for Hunter for the question because, from the moment the member for Hunter arrived here, he was asking for us to legislate for workers in his area to be able to get pay rises. Once we had legislated, he started asking questions about what those pay rises were that had been delivered. What's changed this week, as of the Leader of the Opposition's speech yesterday, is now we're not simply talking about pay rises that have been delivered; we're now talking about pay cuts that are being threatened by the Leader of the Opposition. So I can say to the member for Hunter that the speech yesterday referred specifically to the pay rise that Danielle, who I previously referred to and who works at the Mount Pleasant mine, has received. When people go back to their electorates they can explain that someone like Danielle is now being promised at the next election that, if the Leader of the Opposition is in government, she would get a $33,000 pay cut, because the same-job same-pay provisions that he referred to in his speech yesterday are the only reason she got the pay rise. The Leader of the Opposition, on the plane home this afternoon, might be able to explain to the flight attendants, who don't just provide a service role but are also trained in safety—flight attendants play a really important role on the plane—that the pay rises that they're just finding out about through the Fair Work Commission are now promised to be pay cuts that the Leader of the Opposition is taking to the next election in his industrial relations policy. So, for those people who were employed as labour hire and were being paid $16,000 less than the people they work side by side with, the Leader of the Opposition as of yesterday is now taking to the election a promise that their pay will be cut by $16,000. It's not only people affected by the same-job same-pay provisions. People might remember that the secure jobs, better pay bill dealt with multi-employer bargaining. The speech yesterday had a direct attack on and a promise to get rid of multi-employer bargaining. People who are involved in air-conditioning systems around the country, the sheet metal workers, have now received a 26 per cent pay rise in their enterprise agreement. The Leader of the Opposition is promising to get rid of the principles that have caused that to be the case. He goes to the next election promising a pay cut for those people working in air-conditioning. We've had the exact example today of the early childhood educators. Their pay rise process started with multi-employer bargaining. This Leader of the Opposition goes to the election wanting to cut their pay. Social Media 63 15:02 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein My question is to the Prime Minister. Mental health organisations like ReachOut, headspace, Alannah & Madeline Foundation and others say an age ban on social media won't work, that it may cut young people off from support and expose them to new harms. EU countries have moved on big tech's algorithms, while Australia falls behind and constituents in Goldstein and across the country battle everything from misogynistic content to gambling and eating disorder triggers. Why doesn't the government properly deal with this and make social media companies take responsibility for their algorithms? 15:02 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for Goldstein for her question. I know she is genuine about her concern on this issue and on issues of youth mental health, body image and eating disorders and social media and its impact. In particular, I would like to acknowledge her genuine and tireless engagement with the very broad range of stakeholders, including young people themselves, on these issues. I also acknowledge the member's joint report with the Butterfly Foundation, which I've had a look at, from May 2024, and the member for Goldstein's roundtable—it would appear from the photo—here in Parliament House, in order to engage directly about these issues. I do note though that recommendation 10 of the report recommends very clearly that social media platforms be required to have accurate age verification for all accounts and clearly articulate what these are and measure and report on their efficacy. The people that I've engaged with, that the Minister for Communications has engaged with, that members of cabinet and members of our government have engaged with, and the parents on the sidelines of football games and netball courts on the weekend and the parents talking after school are all really concerned. They want their young ones off their devices and onto those footy fields and tennis courts and into those swimming pools—whatever it is. They want their young people, their children and their grandchildren, for that matter, to have real experiences with real people. That is why we have taken the decision that we have. On the matter of algorithms that the member raises, our statutory review of the Online Safety Act, led by Delia Rickard, is currently looking into algorithms and will recommend systems that empower them and will report next month. The review is a broad-ranging examination of the effectiveness of the act and will consider whether additional protections are needed for harmful online material. We've brought forward this review because we recognise the need to keep up with changing technology and keep up with emerging harms. In the meantime, we've funded and commenced a new phase of our Stop it at the Start campaign to tackle online misogyny. We've also established a joint select committee into social media to continue the important policy development work. I know that this is an issue that concerns every member of this parliament, and, more importantly than that, I know that it concerns every parent out there. This has been raised with me over recent years more than any other issue, and that is why my government is determined to act and to get that action right. That is why we're doing the trial that was funded in the budget in May. Energy 63 15:06 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is the Albanese Labor government putting downward pressure on energy bills, and how does this compare to other proposals? 15:06 Mr BOWEN DZS McMahon I thank my honourable friend for her question and for her leadership in one of Australia's great energy-producing regions and her leadership here in the House. We know that we need to put downward pressure on energy prices because Australians need that. That's why they need the energy bill relief that was in the last budget and the budget before. That energy bill relief is of course included in the $315 billion hit list that the shadow minister for finance put out earlier this week. She actually called it a Ponzi scheme. That's what the opposition thinks of energy bill relief for Australians, which they are receiving on their bills today. They're receiving that relief now. We're also building cheaper, reliable renewable energy across the country. Last week, when I was in Collie, when I was in Bunbury and when I was in Traralgon, I was able to announce progress with six new four-hour batteries, which will support a million houses across the national energy network, and new renewable energy and a big pipeline in Western Australia. I'm asked by the honourable member what proposals we rejected. I'm going to use the term proposal lightly because we don't really have a detailed policy proposal from the Leader of the Opposition. Eighty-five days ago he put out seven sites with no details, no costings and no information. Eighty-five days ago we saw seven nuclear reactor sites released. But I do have news for the House. I've got big news for the House: there's more information coming. On the 23rd of this month the Leader of Opposition has a big speech. What's the big title of the speech to inspire the Australian people about his alternative energy plan? It is: 'A nuclear powered Australia—could it work?' I table the Leader of the Opposition's speech. I'm always happy to help. It's a fair question well asked, to give credit where it's due. But I suggest this: it might be time for the Leader of the Opposition to stop asking questions and maybe start answering a few, like how many hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money will it cost? Will it be costed by the Treasury or the Parliamentary Budget Office as it should be? Can they produce more energy than is currently produced by the coal-fired power stations they seek to replace, because nuclear uses a lot more water than coal and they said they won't use any more water than coal? What will be the impact on bills? Will it be $200, $400 or $1,000 as various experts have said? How will the opposition build these nuclear plants when the transmission lines are already full of energy and they say they won't need any transmission lines? These are the real questions the Leader of the Opposition should be answering when he gives his big speech on 'A nuclear powered Australia—could it work?' I'll give the Leader of the Opposition this final tip, as this is the last sitting day before his speech: the answer is no. Mr Albanese R36 I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper. DOCUMENTS 64 DOCUMENTS Presentation 64 15:09 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Documents are tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. Full details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. BUSINESS 64 BUSINESS Rearrangement 64 15:10 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent: (1) a Minister immediately introducing without notice a Bill for an Act about aged care, and for related purposes; (2) at the adjournment of the debate on the motion for the second reading, the discussion of a definite matter of public importance commencing; and (3) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister. Question agreed to. BILLS 64 BILLS Aged Care Bill 2024 64

Aged Care Bill 2024

First Reading 64 Second Reading 64 15:11 Ms WELLS 264121 Lilley I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Introduction The final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was a damning assessment spanning five volumes, summed up in one word: neglect. The report illuminated a systemically failing system where treating older people without dignity was normalised. The report highlighted a sector mired in crisis due to a lack of ambition. Most Australians were shocked by the findings of the royal commission. Commissioners pulled the curtains back on a macabre theatre left to decay in the dark despite best efforts of brave advocates. But others weren't surprised by its findings at all—the final report validated their trauma and painful lived experiences in black and white for all to read. The royal commission delivered a stern rebuke. It said we, as a nation, had let older people down. And yet it wasn't just about the past or the present. It was also about the future: tomorrow, next week, 20 years from now, and beyond. Since the final report was tabled three years ago, 136 recommendations of the royal commission have been addressed—58 of which are directly addressed today, as part of this bill. This moment marks the most impactful aged care reform in 30 years. Today, we address recommendation 1 of the royal commission— Today we introduce a new rights-Aged Care Act to replace the Howard-era, 1997 Aged Care Act. A New Act to put older people, not providers, at the centre of aged care. Reform to date Since the election of the Albanese government in 2022, we have worked hard to fulfil the mandate delivered by the royal commission. The very first act of the 47th Parliament was passing aged care legislation responding to the royal commission. Its passage delivered a new funding mechanism for residential aged care, a sector-wide code of conduct, an expanded serious incident response scheme and stronger provider governance. The implementing care reform amendment came shortly after, delivering greater transparency, capping home care fees and most importantly, putting nurses back into nursing homes. The creation of an Inspector-General of Aged Care reinforced the Albanese government's commitment to being open with the Australian public about how aged care is administered and how it is being reformed. It demonstrated that we are holding ourselves to the same high standard that we expect of the sector. We made aged care more transparent with star ratings for residential care, empowering older people and their families to make informed decisions. The addition of the Dollars to Care program to star rating profiles holds providers accountable for how they spend their budgets. And… my proudest achievement to date as the Minister for Aged Care—the Albanese government's $11.3 billion investment in a historic pay rise for aged care workers. These reforms have had tangible impact on the lives of older people and the friends, families and workers who care for them. Right now, there is a registered nurse onsite in aged care 99 per cent of the time in Australia. Older Australians are receiving an additional 3.9 million minutes of care every single day—1.7 million of which are delivered by a qualified, registered nurse. There has been a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of residents experiencing polypharmacy, antipsychotic medication use, falls that result in major injury, use of physical restraints, significant unplanned weight loss and consecutive unplanned weight loss. Trend analysis for the most recent quarter shows that for the first time the prevalence of one or more pressure injuries is declining over time. We're also seeing improvements in the star-ratings data, with fewer one- and two-star ratings and more four- and five-star ratings. This is incredible progress, and I want to particularly thank the aged-care workers who have delivered this care. But there is more work to do, and our mandate continues. Since 1997, aged care has been in a slow state of evolution. Some changes have been far-reaching and others incremental, but Jim Carey, a 94-year-old aged-care resident and member of the Council of Elders, said last month: When you're building something, the first thing you need is a good foundation, and right now aged care doesn't have a good foundation. And Jim's right; aged care doesn't need a renovation—it needs a revolution. Person- c entred aged care The primary focus of the 1997 Aged Care Act is the funding and operation of aged-care providers. It lacks purpose, values and mission, and it lacks a focus on people. As the minister responsible for one of the few service-delivery portfolios in the federal government, I believe that's what aged care should be about: people. We all have at least one person that immediately comes to mind when aged care comes up in conversation or on the news—a grandparent, a loved one, a neighbour, a friend. I think about the residents that I used to care for and the women who were my colleagues when I worked in aged care as a uni student: Peg, who wanted prunes every morning as her first course of breakfast; Daisy, a resident who lived in the secure wing and had a cat that she lovingly looked after; Sharon, who ran the kitchen while I pushed around the tea trolley; Nia and Iris, who used to do the 5am-to-1pm shift and then rush off to get their kids from school; and Margaret, Sandra and my mum, Deb, who worked in the office doing admin and rosters, and, because of staff shortages, had me do physio and diversional therapy But the 1997 act does not take into account the lives of people like Peg or Daisy or Sharon or Nia or Iris or Margaret or Sandra or my mum. In fact, it barely mentions people at all. That ends today. The new rights-based Aged Care Bill we are introducing puts older people, and the services they need, front and centre. It promotes positive attitudes towards aging. It empowers people with choice and control in the planning and delivery of their care. It builds trust and confidence with strong regulation and complaints mechanisms that prevent mistreatment, neglect, and harm from poor-quality and unsafe care. The cornerstone of this bill is a statement of rights, underpinned by Australia's obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The statement of rights outlines what all Australians can, and should, expect from aged care: person-centred care that is culturally safe and trauma aware; dignity and respect; individuality and diversity; independence; choice and control; dignity of risk; and privacy. The rights of older people will be embedded in care delivery, in the way workers are trained and in the way people talk about the care they receive. We heard that rights need to be enforceable—but also balanced. Including a statement of rights in this bill is not about opening the litigation floodgates; it's about empowering older people to have conversations about the dignified care they deserve. Under this bill, providers must take all reasonable and proportionate steps to act in accordance with the statement of rights. This is backed up by an enforceable registration condition that will make sure providers have practices in place to deliver care consistently with the statement of rights. In plain English—if a provider breaches the rights in this bill, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will have tough enforcement actions at its disposal. The bill also introduces a new model to embed supported decision-making across the care system. Supporting older people to make decisions for themselves for as long as possible is at the heart of this bill—recognising that in a system that prioritises dignity and respect, the will and preferences of older people must always come first. As Rosemary, an 84-year-old aged-care resident, said: We are still people even though we are in aged care and we have the right to live our own lives and be treated with respect and dignity. The rights in the new Aged Care Act will give me more autonomy over my decision making and my daily life. We have been contributing members of Australian society all our lives and we don't suddenly become inanimate objects when we enter aged care. Duty of care In my previous job as a workers compensation lawyer I represented people who had been injured at work, and at the foundation of every claim was a simple legal principle: employers owe a duty of care to their employees to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. It's a duty created to protect workers, because the inherent power imbalance between employer and employee can lead to physical and psychological injury. The royal commission was clear about the need to create a duty of care for providers, which will hold them and the people in positions of leadership accountable when things go wrong. In line with their recommendations, this bill includes new duties on providers and a limited group of people in leadership roles. The duties mean that providers and responsible persons must not act in a way that puts older people in their care at risk or actually causes more harm. The duties are carefully targeted towards the most egregious conduct. Leaders who fail to fulfil their duty of care without reasonable exception will face significant civil penalties. Good people who understand the responsibility that comes with caring for older people should in no way be deterred from taking on positions of responsibility because of these new duties. Access The bill brings together the complex, multiple entry pathways criticised by the royal commission with a single, culturally safe entry and assessment pathway. Assessment will actively involve older people in discussions about the services they need. The bill continues our mission to take younger people out of aged care and into accommodation that meets their needs. Right now, there is no statutory age minimum for aged care. The result is that aged care has become a system of last resort. We've seen younger people who aren't able to get the care they need elsewhere relying on residential aged care as a safety net. This bill seeks to legislate, for the first time, a requirement that makes it clear that aged care is for people aged 65 years or older. For First Nations people and those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and aged over 50, aged care is still available when all other options have been considered and that person chooses to enter aged care. Stronger regulator and independent complaints commissioner A strong, capable and world-class aged-care regulator is essential to ensure the sector can uphold best practice for older people. The royal commission was critical of weak and ineffective regulatory arrangements that paid lip-service to delivering high-quality care. Weak regulation lets down older people, who fall through the cracks, and also stunts providers. As a first step, the Albanese government brought forward the capability review of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to ensure the regulator has the right foundations, resources and support to meet its responsibilities now and into the future. Of the 32 recommendations, 31 have been completed or are underway and the final will commence in 2025. Today we are introducing a strong regulatory model that increases rights and protection for older people. The new regulatory powers will ensure voices of older people and their advocates will be heard without fear of retribution, safeguarded by powerful whistleblower protections with financial penalties. It will strengthen the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and empower it to act to maintain the integrity of the aged-care system. For providers, the new regulatory model explicitly outlines what obligations they have and how they'll be assessed against them. It will educate and support providers to continuously strive towards delivering high-quality care with new graded assessments and longer registration periods to encourage excellence. For older people and their family members, carers and advocates, and for workers, today we introduce a new statutory complaints commissioner with powers and responsibilities independent of the regulatory commissioner—a voice to raise issues, to have them heard and taken seriously, with the expectation that providers will work to address them or face serious consequences. Workforce It isn't just older people receiving aged-care services or aged-care providers that will be affected by this bill; it will also affect the aged-care workforce. Among the many dark themes that emerged from the royal commission was that workers are systemically underpaid and undervalued. Low wages and poor employment conditions meant that the sector struggled to attract and retain well-skilled people. That and the unacceptable staffing levels have led to substandard care. A prejudicial bias became ingrained in our society which said that some work is inherently worth less because of the types of people doing it. This is arguably no more evident than in aged care, a system carried on the shoulders of women and migrants. One of the hallmarks of the Albanese government's approach to aged care has been to recognise the value of all aged-care workers. The significant improvements we've made over the past 2½ years would not have been possible without the skill, care and tenacity of our aged-care workers. Without them we have nothing—workers like Emma, Nicole, Teresa and Suzanne from the United Workers Union; Catherine, Sriti, Raju and Lobsang from the Health Services Union; Jocelyn, Sue, Donna and Michelle from the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation. I want to thank these workers, and the hundreds of others who I have met in aged-care homes and in the parliament to hear their stories and learn about their experiences of how our reforms are actually rolling out on the ground. I see you, I hear your feedback, and that's what I'm doing about it. First, the bill prioritises the training of well-skilled and empowered workers to deliver high quality care, including specialised dementia care. Second, the bill introduces new worker screening measures—an important step towards professionalising the workforce through positive registration. Third, the strengthened quality standards require providers to engage with workers at a service level on workforce planning and delivery of care. Fourth, the bill is mindful to ensure that the Statement of Rights is balanced with the rights of aged-care workers to have a safe and respectful workplace. Support at Home We know older Australians want the freedom, support and choice to remain in home and with the community that they love. Our $4.3 billion investment in Support at Home will deliver better and more tailored support to more people. Support at Home will cut wait times to receive in-home aged-care services. It will deliver more tailored support, with eight levels of ongoing care instead of four. It will ensure faster access to assistive technology, like walkers and wheelchairs, and increase the maximum level of support available from $61,000 to $78,000. Support at Home will offer a temporary boost in funding available to those who need restorative and allied health support to help them stay at home after an incident. And it will provide palliative care support to ensure older people can spend their final weeks at home, surrounded by their community and loved ones. It's not an understatement to say that this will change lives. Take someone like Val Fell, a 93-year-old dementia advocate and proud member of the Australian government's council of elders. Earlier this year, Val was admitted to hospital after she fell ill. When she was ready to return home, she was incorrectly told by the hospital that she could only get an ACAT assessment if she was moving to residential aged care and that she could only get temporary support at home if she kept her PIC line in. In total, Val was in hospital for three weeks before she was discharged through the 'hospital at home' program. And after she was discharged her daughter moved in with her to provide her additional support. That happened to Val—a fierce and articulate woman who understands the aged-care system. If it can happen to Val, it can happen to anyone. Support at Home will cut the time that Val has to wait for in-home support. Val will have access to restorative support, including a 12-week program guided by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Our reforms will create better and safer care for Val and for every older Australian. Aged - care finances These reforms are important, and to deliver them, we need a sustainable funding system. The time to act is here, our population is ageing. In the next 40 years, the number of Australians aged over 65 is expected to more than double, with those aged over 85 expected to triple. The great unanswered question from the royal commission was how to make aged care equitable and sustainable into the future, a question governments so far had been too scared to examine—until now. Last year, I assembled the Aged Care Taskforce to review funding arrangements for the sector, and develop options for a system that is fair and equitable for every Australian. For the first time, older Australians, consumer advocates, unions, provider representatives and experts in economics, finance, public policy, ageing and aged care and First Nations came together. And in their final report, released earlier this year, they recommended that Australians make a reasonable means-tested contribution to the cost of aged care. These reforms, based on the recommendations of the Aged Care Taskforce, deliver a fairer aged-care system, and foster quality and innovation. Some things won't change. The government will remain the major funder of aged care. There will be no new taxes or levies. There will be no changes to the means testing of the family home. And older people with low means will still be supported to access the care they need. But some things will change. The government will now fully fund all clinical care, while older people make contributions towards services that they have paid for, or been responsible for, their entire lives, such as gardening, cleaning and personal care. In Support at Home, you will no longer have to pay a flat weekly fee, you will make a contribution towards services categorised as 'everyday living' or 'independence'. The amount you contribute will be based on the pension status and means test and you'll only contribute to what you use. In residential care, those residents who can afford it will now make contributions towards the hotelling supplement and non-clinical care based on a means test. Accommodation pricing will also change. There will be an increase to the maximum room price, daily accommodation payments will now be indexed so their true value doesn't diminish, and people who pay with refundable accommodation deposits will pay a two per cent retention from the principle deposit for a maximum of five years. This will ensure residential aged-care providers can attract the investment they need to keep current facilities open, improve quality, and build new homes. A lifetime contribution cap for care costs will apply across the aged-care system. No-one will contribute more than $130,000 to their care costs—whatever their means or duration of care. And the 'no worse off' principle will provide certainty to people already in or assessed as needing home care or already in residential care that they won't make a greater contribution to their care than they have already planned for. Last June I said we needed to be ambitious for aged care. This bill delivers that ambition and, for the first time, delivers a sustainable aged-care system where older Australians have more choice about where and how they age, and one where providers are able to invest and build for the future of aged care. Concluding Remarks To conclude, I cannot overstate the importance of this moment and the task that this parliament has before it. This bill has the potential to provide a new and enduring foundation for the Australian aged-care system from 1 July 2025, and for years to come. From then on, aged care will put the rights of older people first. The new Support at Home program will support all of us to live independently, in our own homes, for as long as possible as we age. The aged-care system will be fair and financially sustainable, with those who can afford it making contributions towards the cost of their own care. Older people will be cared for by skilled workers who are properly respected and fairly paid. This bill puts high-quality, safe and compassionate care and services first. It implements a system of caring for older people living with dementia that incorporates contemporary, evidence based, care. And it delivers our election commitment for better, more appetising, and more nutritious food underscored by new food standards. But we cannot realise this potential if parliamentarians do not come together and pass this bill. I would like to conclude by thanking the many advocates who have contributed to the development of this legislation. In particular, I would like to thank: The Members of the Aged Care Council of Elders The Council of the Ageing and Older Person's Advocacy Network The United Worker's Union, the Health Services Union, the Australian Nurses & Midwifery Union and the Australian Nurses Union and the Australian Services Union The Aged & Community Care Providers Association The National Aged Care Advisory Council The Department of Health and Aged Care's expert advisory panel, consumer and sector reference groups And the members of the Aged Care Taskforce. In preparing this bill, the government considered over 320 submissions, 800 surveys and 14,500 separate points of engagement through webinars, workshops and round tables. Thank you to the older Australians, carers, workers, unions, providers, advocates and other experts who helped us get to this incredibly important position today. Debate adjourned. MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE 70 MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Cost of Living 70 15:33 The SPEAKER 53517 I have received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The collapse in living standards under this Government. I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places. More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places— 15:33 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson If you were at home today tuning into question time, you would understand from this Treasurer that there's nothing to see in relation to problems that families and the economy are facing at the moment. You would have heard from this Treasurer, today, that he was prepared to take the responsibility for decisions that he says have been taken that have been beneficial to the Australian people, but he produced no evidence of that. What we saw from the government today was significant hubris, a government which is telling the Australian people 'there's nothing to see here'. These are families that have faced, over the last two years, 12 interest rate increases. People are paying a thousand dollars more for their electricity bills. Their insurance premiums have gone through the roof. People are paying more and more and more when they go to the supermarket, when they go to the butcher's and when they go to the fruit shop. And this Treasurer and this Prime Minister today tried to tell the Australian people: 'There's nothing to see here; the job's done. Be grateful. Be grateful for what this government has done for you. Be grateful that over the last two years in real terms your wages have gone backwards. Be grateful for the fact that you're paying more for your mortgage.' The Treasurer gets up and says, 'It's okay, because we've passed on savings to families and we've somehow made the situation much better.' They haven't. This government couldn't be more out of touch. There are families at the moment who are taking their kids out of schools because they can't afford to pay the fees. There are families across the country and there are pensioners across the country who could not afford to heat and eat—they can do one or the other, but they can't do both—over winter. We know that there are families who are in distress and have gone onto payment plans with energy companies, and this Prime Minister and this Treasurer make no mention of that whatsoever. There are people who are in discussions with their bank right now to work out how it is they're not going to be sold up by the bank because they're missing their mortgage repayments. The Reserve Bank governor has pleaded with this government to stop spending as much money in the economy as they do. What the Australian government—the Albanese government—wants people to believe is that getting $10 from this government somehow is going to compensate you for paying $100 more each week to the bank in increased mortgage rates. The interest rates in Canada and in New Zealand have already come down, and you would have expected that interest rates would already have come down in this comparable economy as well. But they're not going to, because the Reserve Bank governor has warned the Prime Minister and the Treasurer that the path this government has put us on is not sustainable. Let's be clear about it. The first responsibility of the government is to keep Australians safe. This Prime Minister has failed that first test. The next test is to make sure that you do no harm and you take care of Australians and help them through their lives. This government is making it harder and harder and harder for Australians, particularly those on fixed incomes—pensioners and self-funded retirees and people who are on part pensions. Small-business owners across the country are feeling the pain as well. When you look at your electricity bill tonight at home and ask yourself, 'How on earth are we going to pay this bill?' or when you look at your insurance premium and say, 'How on earth are we going to pay this bill?' it's small-business owners who are saying the same thing. People who have got small stores that hold their goods in cold storage—their electricity bills have gone through the roof. In some cases—as we've moved around the country, there have been endless examples of this—those bills haven't just gone up by $1,000; those bills have gone up by tens of thousands of dollars in some businesses. Can those small businesses, because their overdrafts now have gone up to double digits under this government, afford to absorb that cost? No, they can't. They can't, because they're paying more and more for every input cost. This is why, when you go to the supermarket, when you go to the butcher or when you go to the fruit shop or wherever it might be, people are paying more and more for groceries. We know that inflation is running at 3½ per cent, it's persistent and it remains well above the two to three per cent target range. We know that, on comparative inflation, Australia's core inflation is 3.8 per cent higher than in the Netherlands, higher than in the United Kingdom, higher than in the United States, Germany, Spain, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Italy, Canada, France and the entire Euro area. And yet this Prime Minister and this Treasurer in question time today say to you that there's nothing to see here, that you've never had it better, that since the Albanese government has been in power over the last two years it has never been better. Well, I've got a wake-up call to this Prime Minister and to this Treasurer: get out of this parliament, and go and speak to average Australians in the suburbs. Go and speak to people who are having their houses sold up. Go and speak to people who are in the manufacturing industry. Under this government over the last two years, there's been a threefold increase in the number of manufacturing businesses that have closed their doors. Now, Australians aren't consuming less. Those businesses have gone to Malaysia. They have gone to Wyoming and elsewhere around the world, where it's cheaper to produce because there's a government there delivering an energy policy—for example, in Ontario, with the use of 70 per cent nuclear power in the system, they're paying one-third the electricity cost that we are in our country. We're importing those end products, those finished products, back into Australia at a higher cost with more emissions, and Australians have lost the jobs and economic productivity. And yet the Treasurer says, 'Nothing to see; you've never had it better.' We know that the government's renewables-only energy policy is contributing to inflation. We know this because people see it in their power bills. The independent Energy Regulator is saying to the Australian public—this is not someone employed by the Liberals or by the National Party; this is somebody who is an independent statutory officeholder, telling the Australian people that we're going to have blackouts in this country. We're going to have brownouts. There will be rationing of power. There will be continued growth in the cost of electricity, and Australian families can't afford three more years of this government. That much is obvious. Australians are barely holding it together at the moment in terms of their own budgets, and all this this Prime Minister and this Treasurer can offer is more of the same. And it's not just in relation to economics and not just in relation to security. This government goes from one issue to the next where they frankly don't have a clue how to manage issues or how to resolve problems. They have a situation at the moment where they are absolutely obsessed with the Greens party's policies, philosophies and approaches. It means that every decision they're taking is based on how they can win votes or hold votes from the Greens in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney. What is happening here is that those people are being treated more fairly, it seems—or they are certainly being prioritised—than people in regional areas and people in outer metropolitan areas. We've seen it in relation to the agricultural sector. Farmers have marched on this parliament for the first time in 40 years during the course of this week. We've seen it in relation to the mining sector. The mining sector is here in town this week, and they are belling the cat here. They are absolutely clear about the fact that this Prime Minister and the Minister for the Environment and Water have taken decisions which have detrimentally impacted the mining sector. Without that money from the mining sector, we don't have schools been refurbished in this country. We don't have new roads being opened in capital cities. Without the WA economy doing well, the whole Australian economy is suffering. When we say to the Australian public, by way of this very important debate today, that the collapse in living standards under this government is real, it is real. Australians are feeling it, and that's why they're losing faith in this Prime Minister. That's why this Prime Minister's numbers in every poll that you look at at the moment are through the floor. Australians aren't stupid. They're not going to accept the hollow assurances from this government, and this Prime Minister and Treasurer should stand condemned. 15:43 Mr HILL 86256 Bruce I'm not really sure what that was. It was kind of all over the shop. It felt like his heart wasn't in it. It had the normal kind of expected, de rigueur division, complaint and signature negativity—not as much nastiness as we might be used to. It did sound like he had a bit of a cold! But I would say it's not consistent with the Leader of the Opposition's 'smile a bit more' strategy—'try to make people think you're a little bit nicer!' He's going to have to run back to the office and work a little bit harder on that. But maybe it's for another purpose. Maybe that little rant was for his TikTok account. That's right: the Leader of the Opposition, the guy who spent years huffing and puffing and railing at young Australians for scrolling down their TikTok, has got amongst it. He's actually joined TikTok. He was talking about the numbers. I had a look—well, I got my staff to have a look because it's not in my parliamentary phone; let the record show—and at 3.19 pm this afternoon, one week in, the Leader of the Opposition now has 26 followers on TikTok. You can find him under the category of hashtag #rwnj, hashtag #desperate, hashtag #nasty. But I'll give him a little tip—I'm very popular on TikTok; I've got 145,000 followers—you've got to put your heart into it. You've actually got to mean what you say. I know it's Thursday at the end of a difficult week, and I'll start on a conciliatory note. It gets a bit testy on Thursdays; it gets a little bit testy in here, but this is astounding—miracles do happen. The opposition actually brought forward a topic for debate of some relevance to Australians. After month after month after month of studiously avoiding asking questions about the economy and about the cost of living—they talk about any topic except the cost of living and the economy—they've shown a little bit of interest this week. I'll give them that. They're kind of getting back on the game. They weren't very good at government; from what we've seen in the last two years, they're not very good at opposition. They're certainly not very good at being the alternative government and actually having any policies, but they're starting to figure it out. You've got to at least pretend to care about the things that Australians are worried about. Let's be very clear: the government's No. 1 priority is helping Australians doing it tough with cost-of-living pressures. It's coupled with the core economic challenge of getting inflation down. I had a community morning tea last week and was talking to people, mainly older people, who know what inflation does to an economy. Left unchecked, inflation destroys the incomes, savings and wealth of ordinary, everyday Australians. Actually, the people with a lot of wealth do really, really well in an inflation crisis. The people that the opposition represent—their core supporters—actually do really well in an inflationary crisis because their assets go up in value. But everyday Australians take a hit. But they don't want to ask about—I still haven't heard a question on it this year—the tax cuts. They don't want to talk about the government delivering two back-to-back surpluses, the first time that's happened in this country for nearly 20 years, putting downwards pressure on inflation. They don't want to talk about the $300 energy rebate going to every household and to small businesses across the country. They don't want to talk about the progress that we're making with Medicare bulk-billing and restoring bulk-billing. For the first time in a very long time, we've seen bulk-billing rates rise—they don't want to talk about that. They don't want to talk about cheaper child care. They certainly don't want to talk about fee-free TAFE. They said fee-free TAFE was a waste of money. Well, try telling that to the now more than 500,000 Australians who, in the last two years, benefitted from Labor's fee-free TAFE. They don't want to talk about cheaper medicines, the 60-day scripts. Now, I'll make a little confession. My daughter doesn't really think that much of politics. She keeps a bit of an eye on it, but she actually called me on this one last year. She rang me and said, 'Dad, you've finally done something useful.' I said, 'Oh, what's that, darling?' She told me that these 60-day scripts, which put downwards pressure on and cut the cost of medicines, benefit her. It's not just older Australians; she's on lifelong blood thinners for DVT. There have been hundreds of millions of dollars saved, but they don't want to talk about that. But, of course, if you want to talk about the standard of living or the cost of living, it's not just money out; it's also money in. That means wages. In their time in government—in nearly a decade of decay, division, dithering and dysfunction—they had a deliberate policy. Their deliberate policy was to oppose wage rises at every turn and keep wages low. When the now Prime Minister was asked in the election campaign—the journalist thought it was a gotcha question—'Will you support a $1 rise in the minimum wage?' he said, 'Absolutely.' The former prime minister and this rabble over there dithered for a couple of days till they realised maybe that actually wasn't a very good idea. The government is getting wages moving. If you want to talk about the cost of living and the standard of living, then getting wages moving is key. The government has backed minimum wage rises for 2.6 million low-paid workers—a third consecutive pay rise, opposed by those opposite. The caring professions and the gender wage gap in particular are a real focus of the government's work, as is backing wage rises for aged-care workers and backing wage rises for early childhood workers. But I do give them credit. In that whole wasted decade, they did actually achieve something. One of their policies worked. Real wages went backwards in their decade in office, and they can't blame COVID. That's the thing. They can't hide behind the pandemic and say, 'It's all because of COVID.' Between 2013 and 2019, before the pandemic, real wage rises were, under their watch, 0.7 per cent lower. In their first six years in government, they sent real wages backwards. That was their deliberate policy, and they achieved it. They were punting for the wooden spoon in the OECD. They almost got there. They were in third-last place, on their watch, out of 35 OECD countries. So it sets up a very clear contrast, doesn't it? The government, Labor, wants Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn. The Liberals, the opposition, want Australians to work longer for less. I'm really happy to talk about the economy and the cost-of-living pressures that all Australians are feeling. I see it in my community in Bruce, which borders your electorate, Member for Isaacs. The human diversity in my part of Melbourne, south-east Melbourne, is our defining characteristic. It's one of the most multicultural places in Australia, with people from more than 150 countries, speaking more than 200 languages, and with more than 100 faith traditions every day. Go to the Dandenong Market. You'll see the whole world there. As a government, our No. 1 priority is delivering cost-of-living relief for every Australian—and I mean every single Australian. My new role in the ministry, looking after citizenship and multicultural affairs, means that I get out right across the country now and talk to every Australian—every kind of Australian, not just the Bob or the Karen or the Russell or the Anne or the other Anglo folks that the coalition always talks about, such as the Cecil. We had Cecil today—safe Cecil. 'We'll give Cecil another run.' It is something curious that I've observed over quite some time now about those opposite. In question time, the opposition often ask ministers about people they claim to have heard from in their electorates, raising an issue. 'Fred from my electorate says you're awful. What do you say?' 'Jane, from a microbusiness in a small town in my electorate, says everything is terrible and it's all your fault. Why are you so bad?' It is that kind of vibe. But it's funny how they never seek to raise an issue on behalf of Mohammed or Mateo or Mozhgan or Chen or Amrit or Ezekiel or Leila or Dikran. Do Australians from non-Anglo backgrounds not exist in coalition electorates, or do they never go and talk to those people and hear about their cost-of-living pressures? Maybe they just don't speak up to them. Could it be that they just make up their fictitious questions from constituents and never think of non-Anglo Australians? Hmm. Every single time they come in here and tell stories, it's always people with Anglo-Celtic names that they're raising. Have a look. But, in talking about cost of living and standards of living, I want to be very clear. When it comes to modern multicultural Australia, it's always important to remember that we have far more in common than we have difference. Everyone cares about a strong economy. Everyone is getting a tax cut because of this government, and it was the right thing to do. We took a political whack to the head earlier in the year when we made that decision to restructure the tax cuts and push more money to low- and middle-income earners. Under their proposal, low- and middle-income earners would have got nothing, while all the benefits went to high-income earners. What's their policy on that now, I wonder? Does Bob or Russell or Anne or Cecil or Mohammed or Mozhgan or doing-okay Dylan get a tax cut still, or are you going to roll them back still? Is that their policy? We'll see. Inflation, though, is trending down, and that benefits every Australian. Everyone cares about Medicare—our universal health system. It's something people new to this country find miraculous and become rightly proud of. That's a Labor legacy. No-one comes to this country wanting to be poorer. Everyone comes to this country wanting a better life for their kids through education. I hear this day in and day out in my electorate, every weekend, when doorknocking, out on street stalls or going to events. I actually go doorknocking because it cheers me up. It's a bit like going to the gym sometimes. Getting there's a little bit hard, but then, once you're there, it's actually pretty good. It cheers me up because you actually talk to normal, everyday people. You get outside your toxic emails and the social media bubble. The government is on the side of every Australian getting a fair go. Of course, if the opposition were fully upfront in this debate, they'd tell their fake constituents that they've opposed every single cost-of-living measure that the government has put forward over the last two years to make their lives better, whether it's tax cuts, energy rebates, pay rises for low-income workers or, now, the Future Made in Australia policy. (Time expired) 15:53 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie Well, more drivel from the member for Bruce. This guy continues to play the class clown. Here we are, talking about the collapse in living standards under this government, and he starts saying that we only mention Anglos. Maybe he should have mentioned Zahid Safi, who's the Liberal candidate for Bruce running in his seat against him, who was born in Afghanistan. This guy failed to mention Zahid, the Liberal candidate who wants to take him on. Instead, he goes on about Peter Dutton's TikTok account. I'll tell you what: Zahid Safi has 280 likes on his Facebook. So if you want to criticise him, Member for Bruce, come back down and do that. You want to talk about Anglos and all the rest of it. Maybe what you, Assistant Minister—and well done on your promotion—and all of those opposite should be doing, including the minister with his back to the dispatch box, is concentrating on the living standards that have fallen in Australia over the last two years. If you think about what's happened for people in the gallery, for people in my electorate, for people right around the country, just two years ago people did have a lot more money, a lot more disposable income. Right now, since this government was elected, living standards have fallen through the floor. You just have to look at what the assistant minister said about what this government, the Albanese government, is somehow going to do to help with the cost of living. What did he mention? He mentioned tax cuts and he mentioned a $300 electricity rebate. What he failed to tell you is that the Prime Minister, prior to the last election, promised the stage 3 tax cuts that the coalition had legislated and that they, at the time, had approved: 'My word is my bond. I won't change them.' And then he went and changed them, and now they want credit for it. They wouldn't even be delivering tax cuts if it wasn't for the coalition. Then he mentioned a $300 rebate but failed to tell you that the Prime Minister had promised a $275 reduction in your electricity bill. I haven't met anyone around the country yet who's had their electricity bill fall by $275. So what have they done? They've said, 'We'll give you a $300 rebate, a one-off thing for one year,' but your electricity bill has been continuously going up. People in my electorate have written to me. Carol from Mango Hill asked, 'When is Labor going to stop wasting money on renewables, which in most cases are worse for the environment, and start investing in our own resources?' Today, the minister for the environment was asked about the environmental damage that has been done by resource projects around the country, and all she could say is, 'Oh, in some cases, there's a little bit,' or, 'We're working with people to prevent environmental damage.' Sandeep from Griffin said, 'The cost of living is impacting everything, especially interest rates.' But what does the Prime Minister get up and say in parliament today? At 2.21, he said, 'Australians understand that I lead a government that gets things done.' But what are you getting done? What are you actually getting done, besides higher mortgages, higher rents, higher insurances and less disposable income? I mean, he spent $500 million on a Voice—and ran around for months carrying on about it—that 68 per cent of the country voted no to. Not one state voted for it. That was his priority in the last two years, not the people of Petrie that I represent or Australians right around the country. The Treasurer was just as bad. At 2.37 today, the Treasurer was asked about interest rates, and what did he say? There have been 12 interest rate rises in a row under them, but he focused on the coalition and said, 'It started under you.' We had one interest rate rise in nine years. In two years, they've had 12 interest rate rises. For someone with a mortgage of $730,000, it's gone up by $30,000 in interest. They carry on about women going back to work. No wonder they're going back to work. Their mortgage has gone up $30,000! This isn't just the case in Petrie. It's right around the country. I'll tell you what really illustrates how bad this Albanese Labor government are and what an appalling job they're doing with the collapse in living standards, and that is the level of homelessness right around the country. Anywhere you go at the moment, you will see more and more rough sleeping. Statistics don't lie. Under the coalition government, rough sleeping fell at the last census. Under this government, it's doubled. It's gone through the roof and it will continue to get worse. Homelessness is up, cost of living is up— (Time expired) 15:59 Mr GEORGANAS DZY Adelaide Listening to the last two speakers from the opposition, all we heard were lots of things about the cost of living. It's true that it is tough out there at the moment, and I speak to lots of my constituents about it, but I haven't heard any solutions. All this week and all this year—in fact, for the last two years—those opposite have been very good at raising the issues but not giving us solutions. Governing is a lot more than just whingeing. We know that Australians are doing it tough. I was out last week. I held four street-corner meetings. We did doorknocking and telephone polling. People are telling us that it's tough out there—it's extremely tough. That's why the priority of this Labor government is to ensure that we can assist those people and that we can help those people as much as we possibly can. We are putting things into action and have put things into action. The opposition would let you think that the world began on 19 May 2022 and nothing existed prior to that. When we look at their track record, where was their housing policy? Where was their energy policy? There were 29, 30, 40—I don't know how many—energy policies they had. They kept on flopping and failing, therefore not putting the structure in place to allow people to invest in renewables and in energy so that we could have more players in the market to bring down prices. The only solution we've had from that side is nuclear power plants, this monstrosity that will cost billions and billions of dollars that, whether it's a private investment or whether it's a government investment, will have to be recouped from someone at some stage. Where will that money get recouped from? It will be the people that pay the energy bills—the mums and dads, the families. That shows that energy prices will absolutely skyrocket under a Liberal opposition government. Our economic plan is a plan about helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn, and our policies are making a difference—there is no doubt. In the first two years of this Albanese Labor government, compensation of employees rose at its fastest two-year rate in 16 years. When we talk about compensation of employees, we're talking about wages. It's an annual average of 7.7 since the election. Prior to the election, we were going backwards, compared to 4.5 per cent under the coalition. Inflation now has a three in front of it. What was it prior to 19 May 2022? It had a six in front of it. We've nearly halved the rate of inflation, and we know that you need to keep a lid on inflation. That's what we're tackling every single day here. If that genie gets out of the box, it will absolutely destroy the lives of Australians. We know that inflation has to be managed, and that's what we're doing. We've halved it since we've been in government. Nominal wages are growing at almost double the average of what it did under the former government. We're delivering cost-of-living relief, including tax cuts for every single taxpayer and energy bill relief for every household. I make the point: we don't want to take lectures from an opposition who left us with inflation that was rising and had a six in front of it, with real wages going backwards by 3.4 per cent, a decade of deliberate wage stagnation and suppression and tax cuts which gave more to the well off. This is their track record. They would have continued to give more to the well off had they won the last election. These are the same people who'd have us in recession right now with less help for people on lower wages—the same people who can't tell us where their $315 billion in secret cuts are coming from and what that means for Medicare, for pensions and for the economy. We saw when they last came to government that those three items—Medicare, pensions and things in the economy—were absolutely slashed by former prime minister Abbott. These are the same people, who still don't have a credible or costed alternative economic policy well into their third year of a three-year term. Those opposite want higher interest rates and higher inflation so no-one notices that they have no policies or credibility. They left us with much higher inflation, huge deficits, and, in the third year of a three-year term, still have no costing— (Time expired) 16:04 Ms WARE 300123 Hughes I was here in question time today when I heard the Prime Minister say, 'Australians understand that the government I lead gets things done.' Well, the Australians that I speak to know that, under this Prime Minister, what this government has done is demolish and decimate their standards of living. Australians are experiencing a collapse in living standards under the Albanese Labor government that has been brought about by the Albanese Labor government and yet continues to be denied by the Albanese Labor government. Recent polls have shown that Australians now know that the cost-of-living crisis that they are experiencing is directly attributable to this government and to this government's gross overspending and absolute failure to rein in inflation. In question time today, we heard some commentary by the Treasurer that I could not believe. When asked a question about whether he would take responsibility for the 12 interest rate rises that have occurred under his watch, he went straight back to the one interest rate rise that occurred under the former coalition government. For those Australians who would've listened to that or those Australians who will see it tomorrow in the news, on their newsfeed or on social media, they know that they are now experiencing a far worse standard of living than they were two years ago. When I'm out in my electorate, through southern Sydney, the Sutherland shire and south-western Sydney, regardless of where I go—whether it be Bangor, Bundeena, Ingleburn, Illawong or Hammondville—they are all telling me exactly the same thing. Their mortgages are up by $24,000 a year. Their insurances are right up. When they go each week to the supermarket, the butchers, the fruit and vegetable shop or their local cafe to buy a coffee, they know that they are paying a lot more now than they were two years ago. That is just one of the impacts. The major impact that this is having is on Australian's way of life. I've had so many families say to me that sport is a massive part of the community in the seat that I'm privileged to represent, and parents have now had to reconsider whether or not their children will play summer sports this year. They are saying to me that they are considering how much insurance they continue to take out. They're cutting back on insurance. This is not the Australia that was here two years ago. This is the Australia and the way of life that is now being delivered by this Labor government, and it is disgraceful. It is disgraceful that we have seen this tearing apart of the fabric of Australians' lives. I speak to small business in my community regularly. Households will say to me their energy costs have gone up by $1,000 or more. Small businesses will talk about the tens of thousands of dollars more that they are now paying for energy costs, and that is directly attributable again to Albanese Labor government policies where they would look at nothing but renewable energy. They have refused, because of ideology, to look at a more pragmatic approach and to say: 'Maybe we've got this wrong. Maybe we should be considering other options, such as more gas or nuclear power, to work together with renewables to address our energy crisis.' I was also here today when I heard the member for Adelaide say that those on our side have no solutions. We do have solutions. We would absolutely fight inflation. We would bring inflation down, and that would then allow the Reserve Bank to bring interest rates down. We would cut red tape. We would assist small businesses with instant asset write-offs. We would get this economy back on track. (Time expired) 16:09 Ms SCRYMGOUR F2S Lingiari Labor has worked hard to help Australians with the cost of living, but we know there is still more to do, particularly in regional and remote Northern Territory. Offering tax cuts, energy rebates and wiping student debt are important in our Labor budget of delivering cost-of-living relief for every Australian, including people in my electorate. I work hard in the electorate to build strong and sustainable communities that provide relief to those most in need at times when they need it the most. That is why it's so important that the many Territorians in Lingiari benefited from a tax cut from 1 July 2024. The Albanese Labor government is focused on easing the cost-of-living pressures and is committed to ensuring every working Australia keeps more of what they earn. The cost of living remains a major issue of concern for everyone, particularly in my electorate. My constituents are feeling the pressure from higher global energy prices. From 1 July we are delivering $300 of energy bill relief for every Australian household, including those in my electorate of Lingiari. We're also providing small businesses with an energy rebate of $325, which is good for local business and local consumers. This is on top of extending for a further 12 months the $20,000 instant asset write-off, and there has been good feedback from some of those small businesses in my electorate. We're also hearing from farmers and pastoralists on the federal government's On Farm Connectivity Program, which provides farmers and pastoralists with rebates of as much as $30,000 for investing in state-of-the-art agricultural technology. I wonder if members on the other side tell their constituents that, when we talk about fighting inflation and easing the cost of living, they have voted, for the last two years, against every cost-of-living relief measure. They have never supported any of the cost-of-living relief measures, and they stand up and say they have solutions to offer, but I have yet to see any of those solutions come forward. And it's not just about a few electorates; it's about the whole of Australia, including those in my electorate, where we see the most disadvantage. Labor is building on last year's budget investment for all Australians relying on the social security safety net. From this year, the Albanese government is increasing maximum rates of Commonwealth rent assistant by a further 10 per cent to help relieve rental stress. In the last six months before the last election, the financial viability of general practice was in serious trouble, particularly in my electorate of Lingiari, after the coalition's six-year freeze on the Medicare rebate. Bulk-billing was falling off a cliff. That's why Labor tripled the bulk-billing incentive from 1 November last year, with the largest investment in bulk-billing in history. In my electorate, we have seen a 3.4 per cent rise, from 75 per cent of all GP visits being bulk-billed in October to 79 per cent in May, a huge increase in the electorate of Lingiari. When I talk to a lot of the GPs, they say that bulk-billing has increased by about 4.8 per cent. The residents in my electorate of Lingiari have also made 11,000 visits to the Mparntwe—or Alice Springs—and the Palmerston Medicare urgent care clinics. We're making it easier for parents to manage finances with 26 weeks of paid parental leave with super now included, as we saw today. So cost-of-living measures are part of Labor's long-term economic plan. We are helping all Australians right now by working to bring down inflation and planning a future made in Australia. 16:14 Dr GILLESPIE 72184 Lyne Everywhere I look, the cost of living is hurting families in my electorate and around Australia. All the fundamental costs that families and individuals face seem to be going up. The pressure that families and businesses are under because of what this government has done is unbelievable. They start thinking that subsidising processes that drive the economy will make the fundamentals cheaper. But no amount of subsidy will make the fundamentals cheap if we create shortages. At the source of many things in the economy, the basics are food production, clothing production, manufacturing and energy costs. All of those are going up. You've only got to look at what our inflation figures are. The current inflation rate in Australia of 3.8 per cent is remarkably not budging, and that is because we have a lot of extra government spending subsidising industries like the energy system, which is getting huge subsidies, making our electricity system unreliable and expensive. They're subsidising more and more renewable energy. You've only got to look at the subsidy-go-round. There are certificate values for large-scale generation of $4 billion a year. Along with the small-scale subsidies we've got $19 billion of Rewiring Australia subsidies baked in. We've got subsidies for batteries. We've got subsidies, through interest rates that governments are paying, for green energy bonds. The irony of it is that we are now subsidising, in New South Wales and Victoria, coal plants to not close. Their business cases have been destroyed by the market rules which restrict them operating because of renewable energy targets. But, hey presto, people have got to realise that this mantra we've heard day in, day out that renewables are the cheapest form of energy only refers to the generation cost at the solar panel or at the wind turbine. It doesn't include the levelised full system costs of energy—the extra costs of all the subsidies, the extra costs of all the batteries, the extra costs of all the poles and wires for the grid and the extra costs of the backup systems that you need because solar only generates 20 per cent of the time. It's got to have a gas plant or a coal plant just sitting there waiting for if the sun stops shining or when it's night-time. So you've got multiple other system costs which mean the costs of the electricity from a renewable based system, once it gets to your power point and onto your bill, are totally different from the generation cost. We need a system cost cost so people understand the full cost. Look at the cost of cars. The new EV push has put a system in place, through fuel standards, that's putting the cost of a Toyota RAV4 up at least $11,000. Even a cheap Chinese MG is going to go up $12,000. The cars that all the tradesmen drive—HiLuxes and Ford Rangers are two of the biggest selling vehicles in Australia—have gone up: $17,900 for a Ford Ranger and $14,500 for a HiLux. Insurance is going up. Mortgage repayments are going up. There are these huge mortgages in the cities. People are having to pay up to $30,000 more because of this loose government spending without any productivity growth. The economy's growing because we've got unbridled immigration. There's a shortage of housing that's exacerbated by too many migrants, way more than our housing can provide for. Everywhere you turn, costs are up. We need a change of government. At the election next year we'll get back to fundamentals. We're going to make the fundamentals cheap and get tax cuts in that mean we don't have people paying more tax. We're going to bring back the original stage 3 tax cuts and get rid of the 32½ per cent tax rate so people are paying 30 per cent only up until they get to $200,000. Then they'll have enough income to pay their way and get ahead again. (Time expired) Quorum formed. 16:19 Ms ROBERTS 157125 Pearce I rise to speak about how the Albanese Labor government is addressing the pressing issue of the cost of living in Australia. We have just heard from the Leader of the Opposition, we have just heard from members of the opposition, and I say one thing: actions speak louder than words. That's why I'm on this side of the House. When I'm out and about in my community in Pearce, which is one of the fastest- and largest-growing areas in the nation, with a median age of 36 and approximately eight babies born per day, the most significant and appreciated measure introduced by the Albanese Labor government is the tax cut for every taxpayer. My constituents are so appreciative of not just a one-off payment but an ongoing pay increase every fortnight in their pay packets. Starting 1 July 2024, every taxpayer has received a tax cut, including those earning $45,000 or less who previously received no benefit under the previous government's tax plan. Given the previously mentioned demographics of Pearce, my community's also very appreciative that the government has reduced childcare costs and enhanced the government paid parental leave. From 1 July, parents have received 22 weeks of paid parental leave, resulting in more support as parents take time out of work to care for their newborns. The scheme will continue to expand each year until the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme reaches 26 weeks in July 2026. When fully rolled out to 26 weeks, families will receive around $24,000 in government-funded parental leave. The Albanese Labor government has also raised the Medicare levy low-income threshold, benefiting more than a million Australians. This ensures that more low-income earners either pay a reduced levy rate or are exempt from it altogether, further enhancing their financial situation. In addition to tax relief, the government is also providing energy bill relief. From 1 July, every household should receive a rebate of $300 on their electricity bills, while one million small businesses will benefit from a rebate of $325. This measure is critical, providing relief from rising global energy prices. By offering these rebates, the government aims to help families manage their expenses, while simultaneously exerting downward pressure on inflation. Another critical area where the Albanese Labor government is making progress is in wages. After a decade of stagnant wages under the previous government, the Albanese Labor government is taking decisive action to get wages moving again. This includes supporting consecutive increases in the median wage and delivering a historic 15 per cent rise for aged-care and early childcare workers, increasing the payment for these essential workers and acknowledging they are taking the time and they are absolutely valued. To further enhance the quality of aged care, today the Albanese government has announced a $5.6 billion package of investment and reforms towards high-quality, safe and compassionate care. This will allow our older generation to live independently and to live with dignity and respect as they age. Healthcare affordability is also a priority. The government is committed to making medicines cheaper. In the recent budget, $3 billion has been allocated to support pharmacies and reduce the cost of medications. The maximum cost for PBS prescriptions will be frozen at $31.64 a year. For those with pension or concession cards, the price will remain at $7.70 for five years. This ensures that essential medications remain accessible to those who need them most. I had a community member make a beeline for me in the shopping centre recently so she could thank the Albanese Labor government. She realised she could now afford to get her full prescription at the pharmacy rather than having to pick and choose what she could and couldn't afford. Furthermore, the government is committed to ensuring a fair deal for consumers by strengthening the competition watchdog and introducing a mandatory grocery code of conduct. The government is working to hold supermarkets accountable and to secure fairer prices at the check-out. This is an essential step in combatting the rising cost of living and in ensuring that people are not unfairly burdened. The Albanese Labor government is actively addressing the cost-of-living crisis through comprehensive measures that support taxpayers, provide energy relief, boost wages, make health care affordable, invest in education, ensure fair consumer practices and support families. Without doubt, the Albanese Labor government is supporting our communities and is committed to building a sustainable future for all Australians, and that's why I sit on this side of the House. STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE 78 STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE Workplace Safety: Public Sector Workers 78 16:27 Mr SHORTEN 00ATG Maribyrnong I'd like to particularly thank the member for Casey for giving me the opportunity to seek this indulgence. Yesterday at about 12.15 pm, after finishing her lunch, Joanne Lombardy, who's a frontline public servant who's served for 22 years with Medicare and Centrelink, was returning to her office a few metres from the Blacktown service centre where she works. She was wearing the distinctive Services Australia uniform which many of us are familiar with. She was a few metres from that service centre when she was viciously, violently assaulted by a person exiting the service centre. It was a completely unprovoked, unjustified attack. Bystanders intervened. Police are investigating. I've spoken to Joanne this morning. She's shocked, she's injured but she's recovering. I've spoken to her Blacktown colleagues, who serve all Australians. Assaults on our public servants are unacceptable. We have 100,000 frontline Commonwealth public servants. Assaulting them is a crime. Being assaulted is not part of their job description. It doesn't matter what sort of day you're having or what sort of circumstances you're in, assaulting the people trying to help you cannot be excused. The first thing I want to do in this statement on indulgence is to take the opportunity on behalf of the entire parliament and millions of Australians and say thank you to our frontline public servants. You do a great job for people who need you. In this term, we've invested $361 million in the last budget resulting in 278 extra guards. We've had 15 service centres already upgrade security features and another 85 will be upgraded in the next two years. We've enhanced IT systems, including security alerts and information. Importantly, we've increased maximum penalties for assaults with support of the coalition. It used to be that if you assaulted a federal judge, you would get 13 years maximum. But for a Commonwealth public servant, the maximum was 10 years. It's now the same—13 years. We're on track in October to introduce a new nation-wide Commonwealth protections framework. In closing, I want to advise the House what happened in my conversation with the modest Joanne Lombardy. She said to me, 'I love my job. This is not going to stop me.' Joanne, and your team at Blacktown and our frontline public servants, we love you, and we thank you every day for what you do for Australians. ADJOURNMENT 79 ADJOURNMENT Freedom of Speech 79 16:29 Mr BROADBENT MT4 Monash Today is a dark day and one that does not bode well for the nation. The government's so-called combatting misinformation bill marks the beginning of the end for free speech and democracy in Australia. Make no mistake, this bill is another alarming example of overreach and a step towards government tyranny over what we can and cannot discuss. It gives the government unfettered power and control over Australians and their right to exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions. Do you realise what we're risking here? Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and, as Benjamin Franklin said, there is no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. The bill compels digital platform providers like X and Facebook to censor content that may contribute to serious harm. But who makes that decision? Who's the arbiter of truth? One of the bill's definitions of content that may cause serious harm is content that may cause serious harm to 'public health in Australia, including the efficacy of preventative health measures'. Where have I heard those words before? Why don't they just say misinformation is whatever discussion or debate goes against the narrative of the government of the day? It appears that anyone with a view that's contrary to the government's narrative is going to be in the firing line, just like during the pandemic, when our government, the government I was a part of, censored 4,000 social media posts as misinformation, many of which proved to be absolutely true. I'm not alone in my concerns. In giving feedback on the original exposure draft, the Law Council rightly outlined concerns that digital platform services lack the expertise and resources to identify and distinguish misinformation. The Human Rights Commission, who were missing in action during the pandemic, said the bill didn't strike the right balance between censorship of objectively untrue content and protection of freedom of expression. It seems this final bill hasn't adequately addressed either of these legitimate issues, so why is it being rushed through? I agree with Dr Phillip Altman, a pharmacologist with 40 years experience as a clinical trial and drug regulatory affairs consultant, who believes the biggest pedlars of misinformation during the pandemic were the government and unelected health bureaucrats. That's because they: falsely claimed that the experimental gene based mRNA injections were safe and effective when this was not supported by the available evidence, even from the pharmaceutical companies themselves; falsely claimed the senseless vaccine mandates would help to stop transmission when they were never tested for that; falsely claimed that COVID injections would keep you from getting COVID, getting seriously ill or going to hospital; falsely claimed that masks prevented transmission or infection; falsely claimed it was a pandemic of the unvaccinated; falsely claimed that early treatments were unsuitable; and falsely claimed that there was no clinical evidence to support ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. Worst of all was the vilification and censorship of doctors, academics and scientists who raised the alarm about the safety of the vaccines. But here's the rub: professional news services—mainstream media—are excluded from this bill. So they can lie or cause harm without fear of repercussions. Does anyone see a big red flag here? Based on what I've observed over the last nearly five years, it's the deliberate suppression of information by the media that is most sinister. This includes their failure to disclose the vested interests of so-called health experts, expert committees and institutions providing public advice; their failure to report on the doctors and health practitioners being deregistered and suspended for daring to disagree with the government's narrative; their failure to put pressure on the government to reveal the contractual arrangements with vaccine manufacturers; their failure to ask about the estimated 30,000 excess deaths since the rollout of the jabs; their failure to hold the TGA accountable for failing to investigate the more than 140,000 reports of adverse reactions to the jabs; their failure to highlight the minimal to near zero risk of COVID-19 in the young versus the risk to the elderly; and, most heinously, their failure to cover stories of the vaccine injured, including the thousands of injured Australians who aren't even eligible for compensation because of the illogically narrow eligibility criteria. We're constantly assured that the science is settled and bombarded with propaganda to follow the science, but surely this dogma has no place in science. Surely our doctors, academics and scientists must be free to ask questions about assertions and debate issues. These are truly unprecedented times. In my 25 years in the parliament, I've never seen legislation like it. This is not the country I grew up in, and it's heading in a direction that makes me fear for future generations. Today I urge Australians to stand up and speak out on this bill while they still can. Albanese Government 80 16:34 Ms MASCARENHAS 298800 Swan Structures matter. I don't think you need to be an engineer to understand this; I think we understand this as humans. You need to get the structures right, and then you can get the foundations, build the walls, create a home and create scaffolding. The Labor Party started looking at our party's structures 30 years ago. We looked at the gender ratio within our party. Earlier this week in Parliament House we got to celebrate 30 years of the great Australian Labor Party's affirmative action policy. Sheila O'Sullivan, one of the original movers of the motion at a Labor Party conference 30 years ago, came and celebrated with the parliament—specifically, I'll say, the Australian Labor Party. The other mover of the motion was Carmen Lawrence, a proud Western Australian. I understand that Helen Creed, one of my constituents, also helped work on this. There are 'pinch me' moments in this job; celebrating affirmative action was absolutely one of those moments. I think it's important that we understand our history so we can know where we are going. For these women, who helped look at our structures 30 years ago, to see that the Labor party achieved 50 per cent women in our caucus must have been an amazing moment. This is not something that you just win and do nothing with. The truth is that the Albanese Labor government has been working tirelessly to make sure that we make a tangible difference to the lives of women all across Australia. Another 'pinch me' moment was when we introduced domestic violence leave in this place. The truth is that there were advocates sitting up there watching on who had been advocating for this policy, which was about ensuring that people who were looking at leaving a violent relationship would have access to two weeks of paid leave. I spoke to a teacher in Victoria who explained to me that if you don't work on the last day before the school holidays, you don't get paid during the school holidays. That person was in the process of leaving a violent relationship, was thinking about every single dollar and didn't realise that this domestic violence leave payment existed. We've also made child care cheaper, which is something that I'm really passionate about because it's something that helps families. When I went through preselection the first time, I was heavily pregnant. The second time I went through preselection, I had a six-month-old baby and was still breastfeeding. The thing that's interesting is that I'm not the first member in this House to have a small child. There have been many women who have come before me. Because of people who have been in this House, we think about things such as child care and making sure that it is more accessible. We want to make sure that families can participate in the economy, but we also want to make sure that children have the best early childhood education opportunities. We also looked at the minimum wage. A lot of our minimum wage workers are women. We also increased the wages of aged-care workers. We recently announced increases to childcare educators and an increase to their wages. When we looked at our tax cuts, we had an opportunity to leave them as is or, alternatively, amend them to see if we could benefit more Australians. We decided to do the hard thing and change them. This means that 90 per cent of women across Australia are better off because of the changes that the Albanese Labor government introduced. Most recently, we talked about the work that we're doing around domestic violence leave. Last week, the Prime Minister announced $4.7 billion to help address what we're doing in domestic violence. We want to see more work and support for frontline workers, and we also want to make sure that we have appropriate responses to perpetrators. I feel really privileged to be a part of a government that is working for all of Australia, including women. It surprises me that in Western Australia we haven't seen enough women being preselected in the WA Liberal Party. We need to do more; women hold up half the sky. Labor Government 80 16:39 Mr CHESTER IPZ Gippsland With all due respect to our incredible Australian athletes, I'm sorry: it's time to forget about the Paris Olympics; it's time to forget about the Paralympics as well, because there's a new show in town. There's a new show in town, right here in Canberra. Those opposite are conducting their own hypocrisy Olympics. In the hypocrisy Olympics being conducted by the Australian Labor Party, the medals are very hotly contested, but there have been two outstanding candidates of late: my friend the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Both of them come in here and they spout their obviously focus-group-tested, three-word slogans: 'nothing's been achieved,' in 10 years, and 'waste, rorts, mismanagement'—all their claims about the coalition's time in government. But, when they get out into the community, when they travel around Australia, it's a very different story. In fact, it's a spectacularly different story when they're out in the community, because they're out there with their scissors in hand, cutting ribbons. They're cutting ribbons; they're making speeches; they're unveiling plaques; they're opening projects. The only problem with this is that they're projects that they had absolutely nothing to do with. They're projects that were fully funded by the previous government. So, as I said, this is a hotly-contested gold medal, but this week's winner for the gold medal in the hypocrisy Olympics must go to the minister for local government, because here she is, putting out press releases like 'Delivering local priorities in the Northern Wheatbelt', which says: As part of the Government's commitment to improving access to childcare in regional communities, Minister McBain today confirmed that $800,000 in federal funding is flowing to Moora's new childhood education and health centre. Delivered through Phase 4 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program … And she had a great quote as well: "It's fantastic to be in town, to see local-led projects progressing, and to discuss the Shire of Moora's forward priorities—because when we work together, we get the best outcomes for our regional communities." The only problem with the press release and that quote is that the minister had nothing to do with the project whatsoever. It was fully funded by the previous government. As to the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program she's waxing lyrical about, she loved it so much she abolished the whole program! It's gone! So this minister has form. It's the same with the Stronger Communities Program. Actually, many ministers have form in this regard. The Treasurer's done this; the Attorney-General's done this; the Prime Minister's done this. On the Stronger Communities Program, they've been out there in their communities, gushing with their praise. They even had novelty cheques made up—big novelty cheques. They stand there with the cheques, saying, 'We've delivered for our community.' They loved that program so much and they talked about it so much on their social media profiles that, again, they abolished it! I'm sorry; the collective noun for hypocrisy is 'the Australian Labor Party'. I do feel sorry for the minister for infrastructure. The minister for infrastructure was just pipped for the gold medal for hypocrisy this week, because, when you consider her handling of the regional development portfolio and her signature grants program called Growing Regions, she probably does deserve a gold medal. When you think about it, when she comes in here, she's probably actually one of the best at ranting at the dispatch box; she carries on a bit like a pork chop about all the failings of the previous government. But again, out in the community, it's a different story. This minister has become the minister for ribbon-cutting. She's taking credit every day for the projects she had nothing to do with. If you see a grader or a crane or a bulldozer working on a major project in Gippsland, in my electorate, or perhaps anywhere in regional Australia, I can assure you of one thing: this minister had absolutely nothing to do with it. She can't even deliver her signature program, the Growing Regions Program, on time. Only in the last sitting period, the minister confirmed that the Growing Regions Program round 1 was opened for applications in July last year—that's last year, 2023. The successful projects were announced in May this year. That's not bad—only 10 months to assess a program. Now we're in September, and not a single contract has been signed for the Growing Regions Program and not a single project has started. So, after two years and four months, this minister has not delivered a single regional grants project anywhere in Australia. What do you do when you can't deliver round 1 on time and there's an election looming? Well, you announce round 2. Having waited more than two years, councils which are now in caretaker mode—or are about to go into caretaker mode, in Victoria's case—have less than six weeks to apply. This is incompetence and hypocrisy of Olympic proportions, from a government that you wouldn't trust to run a chook raffle at your local pub on a Friday night. Tangney Electorate: Community Leaders 81 16:44 Mr LIM 300130 Tangney At a recent community morning tea, I stood in front of 150 of Tangney's great community leaders. Standing shoulder to shoulder were people representing groups and organisations from across the electorate—from the Melville State Emergency Service to the WA Chi Woo Athletic Association and the Willetton Toastmasters club. I gathered leaders from all faiths and representatives from some of Tangney's many community language schools, including Chung Wah, the Western Australian Maldivian Association and the Iranian Association. As I looked out to the crowd and introduced them to foreign minister Penny Wong, the diversity of our Tangney leaders in the room made my heart feel so warm. Engaging and servicing the community has always been my priority. First, as a police officer, where I connected with the community in a different way, and now, as the federal member for Tangney, where I engage with different leaders and organisations to strengthen our community. Being in the Tangney community and seeing the dedication, passion and hard work of our community leaders helps recharge my battery. At every event I attend and support, it is clear that Tangney's diverse and dedicated community is one of its most valuable assets. The conversations among the different groups show our collaborative spirit. Community building also happens in many different forms. The business community in Tangney is vital, and there are 17,242 small businesses in my electorate of Tangney. Last week, I visited Idea 2 Reality in Kardinya and looked at their modular construction ideas. Together with our Minister for House, Clare O'Neil, we spoke about housing productivity. I also visited BSC Electronics with our Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic. BSC Electronics makes complex measuring equipment, and the vast majority—almost 95 per cent—of what they make onsite is exported overseas, to all over the world. This is one of the great ideas in Tangney that is helping deliver a future made in Australia. Community is also about service and the many volunteers who serve without expectation, including volunteering on the sidelines at Tingara Netball Club—I recently visited the newly resurfaced courts, one of my election commitments—leading the Riverton Scout Group and selflessly washing dishes in the busy kitchen in Perth Hindu temple. I was also recently at the Canning Vale gurdwara for their Sunday weekly service. The first thing I felt when I walked in was the warmth and peace of this beautiful place. And the first thing I saw was the kitchen where everyone was cooking, cleaning and serving people with love, kindness, compassion and care. I love coming to Canning Vale gurdwara, and I see all my brothers and sisters who serve the community tirelessly and selflessly. I was deeply saddened when I heard, just a few days ago, about the incident that happened outside the Canning Vale gurdwara. I offer my support immediately and stand in solidarity with my Sikh brothers and sisters, who continue to lead with peace and harmony. As leaders, we must prioritise harmony. Following the Tangney community leaders' morning tea, one of our guests from the Rostrata Family Centre called out, 'This is our community champions morning tea.' I could not agree more with this word 'champion'. Our leaders are our champions. They look after our communities so well and contribute to our Australian multicultural society. Thank you to all our community champions for your work and commitment. Together, we will continue to serve our wonderful and diverse Tangney community. Youth Voice in Parliament Week 82 16:49 Mrs ARCHER 282237 Bass I rise today on behalf of young people in Bass to share their speeches on issues they care about, as part of the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign, which aims to amplify youth voices and foster stronger relationships between young people and their elected representatives, empowering them to actively shape the nation's future. Today, I'd like to share speeches submitted by Jack, Lachlan and Jarrah in their own words. Jack says: My name is Jack, a 16 year old living under the BASS electorate in Launceston, Tasmania. The topic I would like to raise today is that surrounding youth engagement in sport. From a very young age, I have had the benefit of being an enthusiastic participant across a wide range of excellent sporting opportunities. However, many of my peers are not so inclined in this area. I believe that this can be linked to the promotion of physical activity across early years of education. While including team-oriented and individual sports in P.E lessons appeals to those who are engaged, it doesn't do much to inspire others to play their role and to build their interest. I believe, and speaking from the experiences of others, that greater inclusion of team-building exercises goes a long way to building connections among young people as well as encouraging their engagement in the activity. I have been lucky enough to have experienced the mental and physical health benefits that sport can provide, and as an ambassador for young people in my community, I would wish these benefits to all my peers. Personally, I believe that this can be achieved through the inclusion of a greater range of these team-building activities into school-based P.E lessons, and even through the promotion of more community-based opportunities to appeal to this same age bracket. In summary, I believe that greater youth engagement in sport would help young people to build their confidence and connections with those around them, as well as building positive mental and physical benefits. Thank you for your time. Lachlan says: We stand here today on the precipice of the future. Of change. Of reform. I write this now in fear for our future, our dreams. We cannot, as a country that prides itself on its equality and opportunities, continue to delude ourselves into believing that that is the case. Not when such a disparity stands regarding our most vital of socioeconomic factors: our education. A report from the Australian Education Union found that, based on the mandated minimum Schooling Resource Standard, private schools were overfunded by over $800 million and public schools hit with a shortfall of $4.5 billion just last year. And, in the decade since the Gonski Review Australian governments have increased funding to private schools at twice the rate of public schools. It is this disparity that pushes us away, from opportunities, from our dreams, and from each other; pitting public and private schools against each other. It is for these reasons that, whenever we do well, it is despite the fact we are a public school. Now, public school is no longer a path to a better future, but a symbol for the normalisation of generational inequality. The time to worry about the future can only be now. And the time for change is within our very grasp. Jarrah says: We, the youth of Australia, have accepted that we will most likely never own a house. We have accepted that we will always have to struggle to pay our bills. We have accepted that we will have to sit by and watch as Woolworths and Coles jack up their prices higher and higher every few months. We should not have to accept this. The cost-of-living crisis impacts millions of Australians from all across the country, and it is starting to feel like nobody really cares. Students are struggling to get an education because of the cost of petrol, or busses, or parking. People getting more stressed, anxious, and depressed, because of the stresses of trying to stay afloat in our economy. People are skipping meals because they just paid their car registration and cannot afford to eat that day. Some people have to go to sleep for dinner. More people are experiencing homelessness in our country than ever before. Australia's mental and physical wellbeing is under dire threat, and we feel like there is nothing that we, as citizens, can do about it. What we need is adequate, safe government housing. We need subsidised transport and parking. We need more major supermarket chains to help break the duopoly of Woolworths and Coles. We need to introduce more community gardens to assist in providing safe and healthy food to all Australians. This is not something that only affects a small percentage of the population. This is something you should care about because this impacts everyone, including you. Thank you, Jack, Lachlan and Jarrah, for sharing your speeches with me. I am proud to have delivered them for you in the House of Representatives today. Banking and Financial Services 83 16:54 Mr LAXALE 299174 Bennelong For too long, banks and international card providers have benefited from a system that penalises consumers and small businesses. It's a system that has siphoned off billions of dollars from our economy through merchant fees, acquirer fees and card surcharges. According to Canstar, these fees cost us $4 billion annually—money that belongs in the pockets of hardworking Australians, not in the hands of banks and international card providers. Small businesses in particular have been drowning under these surcharges. I used to run a small business, and my business used to pay $1,000 a month in these fees to the banks. Merchant fees cost the local kebab shop down the road from my office $2,000 a month. For everyday Australians, when these surcharges have to be passed on, it means less money in their bank account. I've spent hours in the past month questioning the RBA and the big banks about this. I've heard countless experts talk about these fees on radio and TV, and no-one has been able to answer this simple question adequately: why are the costs of cash embedded when the costs of digital payments are not? No-one can tell me cash is fee-free and that digital isn't. It's upside down, and it doesn't make any sense. Well, I think this rort's time is up. There simply must be change. Four billion dollars per year is being ripped out of our economy, away from the pockets of Australians who work day in, day out. Right now, the banks own digital payment systems here in Australia, and they're being bypassed at the checkout. Instead of businesses being charged the lowest fee available, they're being slugged higher fees off international card providers, which are being increasingly passed on to customers. I know I'm not the only Australian that recognises this. Since I first raised this issue with the RBA a month or so ago, I've been inundated with support from businesses and consumers across the country who have been frustrated for years, as I have, because these fees just don't make sense. But, of course, there is resistance. Banks and card providers are not willing to let go of these fees that easily. During the public hearings of the House Economics Committee last week, I questioned the CEOs of Australia's big banks, and they were quick to justify these fees. Their response was predictable—claims about maintaining infrastructure and covering costs. But we need to be clear here. The infrastructure for fee-free payments exists now here in Australia, and the banks' reluctance to move forward isn't about costs; it's about a reluctance to give up what I believe to be unjustified fees. These fees are unjustified because the banks carry the costs of cash but not the costs of digital payments. CBA revealed that distributing cash costs them $350 million a year, and they do so without batting an eyelid. Their own evidence said that cash costs twice as much to transact in than digital, and yet, despite these costs, the banks absorb the costs of cash. Banks own Australia's digital domestic payments platform. They all collectively own EFTPOS, BPAY, Osko, and the new national payments platform. They own all of them, and they have told us that they're cheaper than cash—but they charge us to use the digital platforms. That's got to stop, and that's the crux of my campaign. Digital payments have transformed the way we transact. They are quick, they are safe, and we know that they are cheaper to process than the alternative. For that reason alone, they should be fee-free. At its heart, this campaign is about supporting everyday Australians—families, workers, and small-business owners—who are feeling the pinch from rising costs of living. This campaign is about ensuring small businesses are not penalised for offering digital payments, which 75 per cent of us use. For a small retailer, the costs of accepting digital payments are significant. For a $100 purchase at Woolies or Coles, the cost for them will be as low as 20c, maybe even less. For that same purchase at a small business, it could cost them $2. Big retailers can absorb these costs; small businesses cannot. The inequality is absurd, it's anticompetitive, and it has to stop. By the end of the year, the Reserve Bank will start to review payment surcharges. This review is the nation's opportunity to end this digital payments rort. I'd encourage all to sign my petition at feefreedigital.com. The time for change is now. Australia deserves a fee-free digital payment. House adjourned at 17:00 The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Payne ) took the chair at 09:33, a division having been called in the House of Representatives.

Thursday, 12 September 2024

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Payne ) took the chair at 09:33, a division having been called in the House of Representatives.

 

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 85 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS Middle East 85 09:33 Mr WILKIE C2T Clark Many welcomed the British government's decision to suspend 30 arms export licences to Israel, coming as it did after a review finding a clear risk that the arms could be used by Israel in serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. In doing so, Britain joined Italy, Spain, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands in restricting arms sales to Israel. But it's no wonder many are left asking what the Australian government is doing in regard to Australia's arms trade with Israel, because it's clear we are witnessing one of the most appalling humanitarian catastrophes of our lifetime. While I of course acknowledge the horror of 7 October and the right of all nations to self-defence, we can't deny what's before us now, and that is that Israel remains engaged in an international and systemic military campaign against the people of Palestine, an action which both the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice are investigating as a likely breach of international laws that constitutes genocide. Of course, the government's answer to questions about the weapons trade is that Australia has not provided weapons to Israel in five years. While this may be technically correct, it is a bit of a fudge. There are currently multiple active military export permits in place, including for goods or parts already in use by the ADF being sent to Israel for repair and return, as well as the export of dual-use goods and weapons parts and components. Many have no doubt also heard that Australia is a manufacturer for a key component in the F-35 jets which, due to the global nature of the supply chain, does end up in Israeli jets. I understand that global supply chains complicate the picture, and I understand that renegotiating or abandoning long-established contracts could be disruptive and costly. For instance, respecifying components for the Redback vehicle, currently in production for the Army, would no doubt delay and blow out the cost of that project. Moreover, the practical and legal implications of withdrawing from the global supply chain would jeopardise our own F-35 capability. But that doesn't mean the government shouldn't try to extricate Australia as far as possible. The very least the Australian government should do is set a clear marker that, from this point on, Australia will engage no further in trading arms, components or other materiel support with the Israel Defense Forces until we can be sure they would not be used to commit a genocide. To do anything less is to fail our legal and moral responsibility to Palestinians and to the international community. Parramatta Electorate: Moon Festival 85 09:36 Dr CHARLTON I8M Parramatta Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Moon Festival celebration program. It was an absolute honour to present awards to the winners of the 2024 Global Chinese Recitation Competition and to participate in the lantern showcase. I was amazed by the creativity and craftsmanship of the students, like Victor, who showed me his impressive dragon-shaped lantern, which he made over the course of two weeks with the help of his mum. Many other children creatively recycled materials from their homes, using plastic bottles, cardboard boxes and even disposable chopsticks to make their lanterns. Afterwards, the students dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and proudly paraded around their handmade lanterns before their teachers and friends. Their pride was unmistakable. For the kids, making these lanterns was more than just celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. It meant spending time and making special memories with their families and friends. These students are so bright and talented. I'm incredibly proud to see them grow up in Australia, celebrating their heritage and traditions. This is the true beauty of our multicultural community, and I look forward to seeing how these young minds will contribute to their country's future. This wonderful event was organised by Feng Hua, a local Chinese language school in Epping. Since 1998, Feng Hua has promoted the learning of the Chinese language in our community. Under the leadership of Principal Xu, Feng Hua continues to foster a deep appreciation of Chinese culture for generations of children and families. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Feng Hua for such a wonderful weekend. The smiles on the faces of the children and parents are a testament to the success of this event. It's the best feedback any educator can receive, and I'm proud to support such a wonderful community event. Evans, Mr Robb 85 09:39 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills I rise to celebrate a very remarkable individual whose dedication and advocacy has made and will make a profound impact on young lives battling eating disorders. It is an honour to congratulate Mr Robb Evans, a constituent and fearless advocate for better health outcomes for our youth. Robb has worked tirelessly, alongside Alfred Health, to secure an impressive $6.5 million in state government funding for an in-home intensive eating disorder early treatment program—something Robb has been so passionate about. This initiative is a game-changer, providing tailored support for young people, reducing hospital admissions and offering much-needed in-home care. And that's what Rob has pointed out to me over the years. In August, Rob launched the first co-design workshop with Alfred Health, marking an exciting step forward in this journey. This is a testament to Rob's commitment to involve the community and experts in creating effective solutions for young people suffering from eating disorders. Rob's advocacy, as you can imagine, is deeply personal. It's in memory of his daughter, Liv, who tragically lost her battle with anorexia. As Rob told me, it was a battle with her mind, which she, sadly, eventually lost. And he has dedicated his time to making sure other families don't go through his incredible grief. Rob's courage and unwavering dedication to improving other young people's lives and health outcomes is truly admirable. He is a tirelessly hardworking champion for this cause. Rob, your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Your work is a beacon of hope for many families and individuals struggling with eating disorders. I note that the member for Fisher, who has been very passionate about this, has also met with Rob Evans. As Rob said—and this is a key message for parents and friends—sometimes those comments that are made, mainly to young girls, which could be throw-away comments, are comments they just can't get out of their head and could be body shaming. I encourage all young people, even parents and friends, to be so careful with words. Once they're stuck in a young mind, words don't leave, and they become like an evil floating around in their brains that they can't get out. Rob told me that if his daughter had had the opportunity to get support at home, he believed things could have been much different. Again, Rob, we thank you very much for the work you've done. You're an absolute champion. Vocational Education and Training, Environment 86 09:41 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo This week we acknowledged National TAFE Day. It was an opportunity for us to come together to celebrate vocational education and training and, in particular, TAFE and our teachers. On Friday, prior to coming to Canberra, I met with some of my local TAFE teachers to discuss not just this day and the importance of this day but also what's happening at Bendigo TAFE. I was shocked to learn that it has been over two years since our TAFE teachers in Victoria have received an adequate pay rise. They received a bit of a pay adjustment of about two per cent, but they've been bargaining for a long time. Yet, whilst we're in this cost-of-living crisis and whilst other EAs are receiving generous pay rises, our TAFE teachers are going without. It is disappointing because we need highly qualified, skilled, and well-paid TAFE teachers to ensure that our TAFE students have the support and teachers that they need. If we are going to address the skills crisis in this country, then we need well-paid, well-supported TAFE teachers. I want to thank my local TAFE teachers for their generosity and the spirit in which they shared their experiences. Over the two-week break, I also had the opportunity to attend a forum that was held at La Trobe University in Bendigo. It was organised by the Australian Conservation Foundation, the local chapter in Bendigo and Castlemaine, BirdLife Australia and BirdLife Castlemaine, as well as a number of local environmental activist groups, including a bat alliance who are very concerned about what is happening to the flying foxes in our region. The event was well attended. It was packed out. They actually had to close registration. Everybody was there with a common interest: how do we better protect and preserve our natural environment? They cared about having stronger environmental laws, and there was recognition that the environmental laws in this country were broken for both business and the environment. There was a strong sense that we needed to be doing more, not just to protect and have the laws in place but to support Landcare groups with the restoration work they are doing on the ground. There was recognition that in areas like my area, we need local, state and federal governments to work better together, to work with local landholders as well as local environmental groups, to restore precious habitats. In my part of the world, we are rebuilding from 150 years of mining legacy, so there's the recognition as well that we need to work with our First Nations community, in particular Djarra, to restore country to what it was prior to the gold rush era. I would like to thank everybody for their contribution on this day. Fisher Electorate: Fisher Community Awards 86 09:44 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher Last week I was honoured to host the seventh annual Fisher Community Awards, celebrating local champions whose stories so often go untold. Today I want their stories put on the permanent record in this place. Student of the Year was 10-year-old Nate Nelson. He was inspired by his grandfather's disability to start fundraising for disability charity STEPS. He raised a whopping $15,000, and it was pretty safe to say that everybody in the room—all 150-odd of us—were absolutely left in awe at this young man's passion. Educator of the Year Molly Gleeson, from Meridan State College, has been supporting vulnerable students, particularly in middle school, for over three decades. Congratulations to Molly. Education Provider of the Year STEPS Pathways College has led the way when it comes to life skills training to empower those with disabilities to live more independently. Carmel Crouch, you have been an absolute inspiration to the Sunshine Coast. Thank you for what you do with young people who live with disabilities. STEPS Pathways College was rightly recognised in the awards. Employee of the Year Luke Newman, from Five Bridges, has gone above and beyond to support disengaged and disabled jobseekers with finding hope and a place to work. Well done, Luke. Business of the Year Just Better Care Sunshine Coast has offered a high-quality and integrated service to senior Australians who call our region home. Innovator of the Year Nybro has found a unique manufacturing niche modifying vehicles and equipment for those with physical disabilities, including my youngest daughter, Sarah. Senior of the Year Peter Tsakissiris has served for decades in many community groups, including the Alex surf lifesaving club, Maroochy RSL and many more. Well done, Peter. Senior Group of the Year Caloundra Garden Club has connected garden lovers who in their retirement have found a place to connect and contribute. If you ever wanted to have fun gardening, the Caloundra Garden Club is the place to be, because the two representatives that turned up were an absolute hoot and had the room in stitches. Well done, ladies; you are clearly leading the way. Environmental Leader of the Year was given to two organisations this year: Take Action for Pumicestone Passage and Night Eyes Water and Landcare for their tireless efforts to promote the Pumicestone and protect the Pumicestone Passage. The final winner, Queensland Air Museum, which celebrates 50 years of operation, won the Andrew Wallace Award for Community Group of the Year for decades of devoted commemoration, education and service to our aeronautical history. Plastic 87 09:48 Mr LIM 300130 Tangney Australians are some of the biggest users of single-use plastic in the world. Plastic waste is one of the issues that my constituents in Tangney, including some of my youngest primary school students, often raise with me. Plastic pollution is also an issue that has long been close to my heart. When I was a dolphin trainer, one of my dolphin friends, Ting Loy, died. When we cut open his belly, we saw that it was full of plastic bags—not fish but plastic bags. We know that we need to find a new way to make and use plastic. We need to find a way to end plastic waste. Last week I attended the launch of the new $8 million bioplastic innovation hub at Murdoch University in Tangney. Murdoch and CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, will work with industry partners to develop a new generation of 100 per cent compostable plastics. Based at Murdoch University, the hub aims to revolutionise plastic packaging. Bioplastics currently make up just one per cent of the market, and more people around the world have become concerned about plastic waste. The demand for innovative solutions grows. Consumers and businesses are asking for more sustainable types of plastic. This facility will develop plastics that can break down in compost, land or water. It brings together experts to help translate cutting-edge bioplastic research into real-world applications. At the launch, I met with some of the PhD students and scientists involved in this development. They showed me some of the work they are doing to develop new 100 per cent compostable packaging—bottles, caps, wrappers and films that will all be able to fully break down. I was also inspired to see some of our brightest minds tackling the war on waste. The facility's first industrial partner is WA's Ecopha Biotechnology, who focus on turning food waste into compostable water bottles. The hub will help meet the government goal of reducing the total waste generated in Australia by 10 per cent per person by 2030. With this facility, Tangney and Western Australia are at the forefront of developing the next generation of sustainable plastics. With growing global demand, Tangney and WA will also be at the forefront of the skills and jobs that are part of this new industry, helping us deliver a future made in Australia. McPherson Electorate: Diabetes 87 09:51 Mrs ANDREWS 230886 McPherson Earlier this month, I had the absolute privilege of meeting with an 11-year-old boy who lives in my electorate. His name is Dexter Welsh, and he has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He came into my office with his mother to tell me not only what his story was but what they would like us to do as parliamentarians to support those who are living with type 1 diabetes. Let me start by talking a little bit about Dexter's story. It is actually described in quite a lot of detail on the Diabetes Australia website, and I would encourage everyone to go have a look at that website and read some of the stories that are there. What Dexter says is that one particular Sunday he had a really good thickshake with ice cream and all the toppings, but then he pretty much passed out on the couch. That night, his parents noticed that he had lost a lot of weight, and they started to reflect on just how much water he had been drinking, so they took him to the local GP the next day. The GP did some tests. He did a two-finger test but couldn't get a number, so they were sent to the emergency department at Tweed Valley Hospital, and it was there that he was diagnosed. His blood glucose level was sitting at about 44, his ketones were high and effectively he was in ketoacidosis. It was so difficult, he tells me, for the doctors even to be able to get a line into his veins because of how much weight he had lost. Since his diagnosis, he has been able to access a pump that delivers the correct dosage that he needs so he's not having to inject himself every single day. He's living a very full life. To be honest, when he came into my electorate office he looked particularly well and healthy, and it was hard to imagine the struggle that he had gone through, because he's coping so well. But he and his mother are now effectively on a mission to make sure that they raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and its effects, particularly on young people, and to talk to local members of parliament about some of the costs that are associated with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. In my electorate of McPherson, there are currently about 750 people who are living with type 1 diabetes, but it's also estimated that there are more than 150 people in McPherson who are living with type 1 diabetes but are yet to be diagnosed with it. The financial burden is significant. In my electorate alone, it is roughly $18.4 million annually. What Dexter is calling for is much more support, and I support his call. Newcastle Electorate: Wallsend Post Shop, Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games 88 09:54 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle Last month in parliament I raised an important issue for the people of Wallsend and surrounding suburbs regarding their postal services. Long queues and customer wait times at Wallsend post office were getting worse, and the lack of adequate resourcing had become completely unacceptable to the community. Residents said they were waiting over half an hour to be served, and some were being turned away because the Australia Post staff didn't have the time or capacity to respond to increased customer needs. I'd like to update the House with some good news: Australia Post has taken the concerns of the Wallsend community seriously and recently onboarded a new part-time team member at the Wallsend post office to specifically assist with the receipt and delivery of parcel items behind the counter each afternoon. I've also received advice that parcel lockers will be installed at the Wallsend Village shopping centre as an additional measure to assist in alleviating the waiting times that locals have reported. I look forward to updating the Wallsend community of their progress. This is a great win for Wallsend. The Wallsend post office services a large area, including the rapidly growing suburbs of Maryland, Fletcher and Minmi. Increased customer and community needs demanded additional investment in the workforce and postal services in the area, and I thank Australia Post for their positive response. Postal services are essential services. They provide access to important community services and connect communities across the nation and the globe. I look forward to working with Australia Post and the people of Wallsend and surrounds to ensure that services at Wallsend post office meet community needs and expectations. Today I also rise in parliament to celebrate the achievements of team Newcastle, who competed in the Paris Paralympics. We had such a stellar pool of talented Novocastrians taking part in the games in Paris. We had Luke Bailey competing in the para-athletics, Lauren Parker in the wheelchair triathlon and in the H1-4 and H1-3 para-cycling, Rheed McCracken in the para-athletics and Aaron Royle participating as a paralympic guide for Sam Harding. You all did Newcastle so proud. I'd like to give a special shout-out and massive congratulations to Lauren Parker, who finished with two golds in the para-triathlon and para-cycling H1-4 and one silver in the para-cycling H1-3. I am so grateful to represent an electorate which loves sport. Importantly, we love to celebrate our sporting champions as well. I thank the Paralympian champions. We pay tribute to your athleticism, and I look forward to following your careers and supporting your continued success. Moncrieff Electorate: Community Events 88 09:57 Ms BELL 282981 Moncrieff On the Gold Coast, we look after our own, and my community's generosity seems to be limitless. We have around 12 fundraising balls a year through the winter on the Gold Coast. I've actually lost count of how many, and I'm just estimating based on how many I attend. But we have some stellar citizens who run fundraising balls on the Gold Coast to help those in need, particularly during this cost-of-living crisis. On the Saturday night just past, I was privileged to attend the St John's Crisis Centre fundraising ball and to witness the generosity of such stellar citizens and of a foundation called the James Frizelle Charitable Foundation. I was in the room with a couple of hundred other Gold Coasters who were generously donating to the St John's Crisis Centre, who help women and children fleeing from domestic violence and who help those who find themselves in that predicament of being homeless—perhaps living on the streets or living in tents—in my electorate. It's very sad. Older women are the largest cohort suffering from homelessness on the Gold Coast. I was there when it was announced that the James Frizelle foundation would deliver $25 million—not thousand—to the St John's Crisis Centre to build accommodation for such women fleeing domestic and family violence. I applaud the efforts of the foundation and of James Frizelle and his wife, Trish, for donating that to the St John's Crisis Centre. I also want to thank the board of St John's—including the president, Fiona Browne; Clea Javillonar; Mario Fairlie; Travis Welsh; Raj Anand;, Nicole Bricknell; and Diane Eadeh, who is the former president, and her very supportive husband, Ed Eadeh—for their support of St John's Crisis Centre for so long. I also thank Dianne Kozik, who's the general manager there and who is on my Moncrieff community cabinet and regularly attends meetings where we talk about how we can help those in our community who are doing it tough. To finish, I want to highlight once again the remarkable generosity of Gold Coaster's when it comes to supporting our own, through the fundraising balls that we have but also through the Vinnies CEO Sleepout for those who are doing it tough. We really do care about our fellow citizens. I thank every single person who attended that ball, and all the other balls across the Gold Coast during the winter, to support Australians struggling with this cost-of-living crisis. Thank you to the Gold Coast. Universities 89 10:00 Dr ANANDA-RAJAH 290544 Higgins Chelsea, a teaching student, wrote to me last year about unpaid placements. There is a level of malpractice with not paying someone who is working within health care or teaching. As a student renting and experiencing rent raises, I was forced to retreat to food banks multiple times just to feed myself. There is something degrading about this experience of not being paid. It impacts your mental and physical health, leaving friends of mine burnt out before even commencing jobs within their profession. Chelsea, of course, refers to the corrosive effects of poverty, particularly placement poverty. Well, Chelsea, paid pracs for nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work students are on their way. Paying close to $320 per week, paid pracs will benefit 68,000 uni students and over 5,000 VET students each year and will go some way to helping these students complete—and 'complete' is the key. We have enacted recommendations of the Australian Universities Accord report, a rigorous review designed to ensure that our universities are fit for purpose, competitive and student-centred. We are wiping $3 billion off student debt for three million students, and we are pegging HECS indexation to wage growth or CPI, whichever is lower, and then backdating it to 1 June 2023. We want to avoid that inflationary spike we encountered. For someone with an average HECS debt of about $26,500, this means their debt will be cut by around $1,200. First introduced in 1989, HECS has helped more people attend university, but it has also changed the mix of people who attend university, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. While free university sounds great, it came with a trade-off. It was nowhere near as inclusive as the user-pays system that we currently have. The caveat is: if you aren't certain about university, don't dabble, because debt is a risk. Instead, consider alternatives like TAFE, which is now embraced by over 500,000 Australians. We are creating a new student ombudsman, a watchdog in the students' corner. Why? We're doing it for so many reasons, more than I can mention—racism; antisemitism; sexual assault, which affects one in 20 students; and sexual harassment, which affects one in six students. Finally, who can forget the breadlines outside food pantries during the early days of the pandemic? They were dominated by young people, international students and domestic students. This is partly a legacy of a previous Liberal government that gutted student unions. We are mandating that higher education providers allocate at least 40 per cent of student services and amenities fees to student led organisations. We want to strengthen these organisations in the best interests of students so that they can have a positive experience in universities. ADJOURNMENT 89 ADJOURNMENT Petition: Refugees, Banking and Financial Services 89 10:04 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne I present this petition, which has been considered by the petitions committee and found to be in order to the House. The petition read as follows— To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: This petition of the Refugee Action Collective—Victoria draws to the attention of the House that: More than 13,000 refugees have been trapped in Indonesia-in some cases for over a decade--as a direct result of Australia's inhumane policies. The pathway to resettlement out of Indonesia has been totally blocked since November 2014, when Immigration minister Scott Morrison announced that refugees who registered with the UNHCR after 1 July 2014 were no longer eligible for resettlement. It's time to put an end to this protracted limbo and immediately lift the resettlement ban. We therefore ask the House to urgently and unequivocally end Morrison's ban on resettlement of refugees recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). from 706 citizens (Petition No. PN0613) Petition received. Mr BANDT M3C I want to thank the Refugee Action Collective in Victoria for asking me to table this petition. It draws attention to the 13,000 refugees who have been trapped in Indonesia—for over a decade in some cases—as a direct result of Australia's inhumane policies. The pathway to resettlement out of Indonesia has been totally blocked since 24 November under Scott Morrison. Even though it's Labor's policy to reverse it, they've done nothing since taking office. The Refugee Action Collective has spent decades advocating for the rights of refugees. They know the community does not want the bipartisan cruelty to continue. Labor should listen, do what they said they'd do and, finally, reverse this Morrison-era resettlement ban. Australian banks are some of the most profitable in the world, but, with almost everyone doing it tough right now, are the banks struggling too? Suncorp Bank have just posted a $1.2 billion yearly profit. I wouldn't exactly call that struggling. Westpac have bagged a $1.8 billion profit in the last three months alone, which has their shares at a six-year high—what cost-of-living crisis? And then there's the Commonwealth Bank. They have managed to post a $9.7 billion yearly profit. You might be wondering: where does the lion's share of these billions in profits come from? Property lending. Just to spell that out, these banks are raking it in off out-of-control interest rates for mortgage holders, which then leads to out-of-control rent increases for renters, fuelling the cost-of-living and housing crisis—all in a day's work for the big banks. This is happening while 3.7 million households experience food insecurity, battling with where their next meal will come from. If that makes your blood boil, you are right to be angry because this is a national disgrace. The big banks have far too much power. The Greens are fighting tooth and nail to try and get it back for the people. In fact, at the start of this term of government, the Greens had secured million-dollar fines for dodgy bankers after the banking royal commission exposed widespread cases of misconduct in the sector. But, after the executives of the big banks called the Treasurer to complain, the deal was off—how convenient! I guess that the political donations that these banks make to the major parties—which we are assured aren't for buying influence—really do come in handy. Don't get me started on the salaries of these banking executives. In the 2022-23 financial year, the Westpac CEO took home $5.7 million in pay and bonuses. The NAB and ANZ CEOs both took home $6.2 million. The Commonwealth Bank CEO made a tidy $7.3 million. This is the same year that the big four banks made a record $32 billion in profits. Is this the sort of country that we want to live in, where families can't afford the basics but banking CEOs can make millions of dollars a year profiting off a crisis that they are fuelling, where homeownership is completely out of reach for most common professionals in Australia? If a nurse started saving for a house today, it would take them 11 years to save a 20 per cent housing deposit. A primary school teacher would have to save for 12 years, and, unbelievably, a childcare or early education worker would have to save until 2055—that's 31 years—to be able to put down a deposit. And, even if that childcare or early education worker somehow managed to do the impossible, they would then have to spend 92 per cent of their earnings on their mortgage repayments. This is the impossible task laid before everyday people, caused by a political class that puts corporate interests before the communities that they represent. The system is rigged, and we need to unrig it. We can't keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. It's time to rein in the big banks, the cashed-up CEOs, the property developers and every Liberal and Labor politician that enables them. It's time to ban the dirty donations that run our politics, buying the favour of the major parties in order to get their way. It's time to give the power back to the people who are struggling and to fix this system so that it works for the many, not the few. Future Made in Australia, Hofmann Engineering 91 10:08 Ms LAWRENCE 299150 Hasluck The Future Made in Australia agenda addresses the major structural and strategic challenges that are facing the Australian economy. We've established a national interest framework to support the consideration and the decision-making in relation to public investment that facilitates private sector investment in the national interest. In other words, we're encouraging Australians to work together to create a better future, and the agenda is urgently needed. Australia has a rich history of manufacturing innovation. We need to have a rich future, developing sustainable products, becoming a renewable energy superpower, powering Australia with cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy. We need to trust and encourage the creativity and capacities of Australian industry. Our $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia innovation fund encourages investment in new industries, new ideas and future growth, and this is happening right now across our country. My electorate of Hasluck now includes the town of Bassendean, a lovely place rich in heritage nestled along the Swan River, about 10 kilometres from the city of Perth. The people of Bassendean believe in economic development, social advancement and sustainable solutions. Bassendean is also home to Hofmann Engineering, one of the most impressive workplaces in Australia. Recently I visited Hofmann Engineering with the Deputy Prime Minister. It was an excellent opportunity for him to see for himself the precision engineering of the gears used in mining and defence, right beside the bogies that are being prepared for WA's newest trains. These gears include the world's biggest, a superbly engineered masterpiece with a diameter of 15 metres. Standing inside it was absolutely a surreal experience. Hofmann's story is the story of our nation. Hofmann Engineering began as a small tool-making shop in a Perth backyard in 1969. Two brothers, immigrants from Germany, reckoned there was a future in high-quality gears. Today, Hofmann Engineering employs over 700 people across Australia, but they also have a presence across five other countries. What's the secret of their success? Erich Hofmann, the managing director, believes that you can always get better at what you do. He also believes that every worker has good ideas and that every idea deserves to be heard. Research and development are everybody's business. Workers there have been looking to the clean technology market for some time now. The company is already developing wind turbine gears and building better components for the local wind power industry, aided by a $5 million grant from the federal government. The Hofwind project will produce enough green power to supply more than 200,000 homes, producing an additional 900 megawatts. The enthusiasm and commitment of the workers making this happen is enormously impressive. In a Perth suburb which also boasts a higher percentage of artists than any other in the city, there is world-class engineering literally just walking distance away. That's another kind of service to the community. You can see the energy that stems from the determination to produce work of the highest quality and to compete internationally. Workers at Hofmann Engineering are rightly proud of what they do. Their products are found in the mining, defence, transport, energy and manufacturing industries, as well as in agriculture. They make mills, kilns, wind turbines, Hofnuts, crushers, shovels, portable machine tools, cutting tools, valves, pumps, drills, food packaging, hydraulic excavators and haul trucks. It is quite extraordinary. Student engineers are offered work experience, site visits, internships and cadetships. In fact, Hofmann Engineering has a principle that 10 per cent of their workforce must be apprentices. Young workers work beside workers from around the world who have vast experience and are from all sorts of backgrounds. They learn from each other. They create the technology of the future in the biggest gear-making operation in the southern hemisphere. They also learn from seminars and industry development programs about the latest overseas technologies and systems. Their working days are learning and discovery days. They learn how to design, manufacture, repair and refurbish mining and industrial equipment. They work on gears for heavy and light industry, processing equipment and tooling, installation analysis and corrections. For a future made in Australia, Australia needs workers who have this confidence in each other and in making a future for all. We are resource-rich in all sorts of ways, but, to paraphrase Erich Hofmann, Australian workers are the lifeblood of the new economy. The tools and skills will always change, but their ingenuity continues to be vital. That's how we get a future made in Australia. Longman Electorate 91 10:13 Mr YOUNG 201906 Longman There's always plenty happening in the great seat of Longman. This Sunday, I will be attending the Bribie OPA Greek Festival in Woorim on beautiful Bribie Island's surf side. There will be all things Greek there, including Greek dancing, music and food—I'm thinking of lamb—and many other events throughout the day. The festivities kick off at 8:30 am and run right through to 4.30 pm. Please come along and support this fantastic event. I hope to see you there. The Olympics and Paralympics have now finished and, as is the case with all these events, I marvel at what these games bring to communities and individual nations. In a world where there is much turmoil, pain and suffering, the Olympics and Paralympics are very much a place where these troubles—for a short time, at least—are forgotten. They are also a time that unites citizens as nations, where they put aside their differences to cheer on their national heroes. I'm so proud of all the athletes that either currently reside in Longman or have a connection to Longman, having spent much of their life there. Olympian Ella Connolly competed in the women's 4 x 100 metre relay, where they achieved fourth place in the final, and she placed sixth in her heat. Morayfield's Calab Law placed seventh in his individual 200-metre heat and was part of the 4 x 100 metre relay team that placed seventh in their heat. Paralympian Lakeisha 'Lucky' Patterson will bring home a silver medal in the women's 400-metre medley, as well as placing fifth in both the 200-metre medley and the women's 100-metre freestyle. Brenden Hall won a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle final and placed seventh in his 100-metre butterfly heat and sixth in his 100-metre backstroke heat. Ricky Betar won a bronze medal in the 200-metre medley and came sixth in the 100-metre backstroke and seventh in the 100-metre butterfly final. A special shout-out goes to head coach of the Paralympic team, Harley Connolly, who coaches out of the Burpengary aquatic centre right in Longman. It will be my honour to welcome many of these athletes home next Monday at the Maroochydore Surf Club, where a 'welcome home and congratulations' event is being held for all Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay athletes. Well done to every athlete, irrespective of your result. Much of the time, the same amount of effort, sacrifice and dedication is invested for those athletes who win a medal and those who don't. So we thank you all for your efforts. Rest assured that all of Australia is very proud of you. BIEPA, which stands for Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association, is a key organisation that helps keep Bribie the peaceful paradise that it is. Recently, I was pleased that they received funds through the federal Volunteer Grants program to purchase equipment for their turtle-tracking program. It's relatively unknown that Bribie Island has a turtle hatchery on it. Sadly, many turtles are lost due to not only natural causes but humans who unwittingly, through recreational endeavours, contribute to this loss. So, if you're four-wheel driving or camping on Bribie Island, please be responsible and be aware that we share this wonderful piece of Australia with other species. Thank you to BIEPA for all you do in raising awareness on Bribie. It was a tough year for the Queensland teams in the NRL this year. The Broncos went from being grand finalists last year to missing the final series altogether. The Titans missed out on the finals, and Queensland lost the State of Origin. It was bittersweet; if Queensland had continued to dominate the State of Origin like we had, many people could have lost interest and turned off the game. So, from a 'being good for the game' point of view, it's good that New South Wales won, but, from a Queensland supporter's point of view, it definitely was not enjoyable. The two NRL positives for me this year were the great showing by the Dolphins, who in just their second year narrowly missed out on the finals due to, ironically, a single-handed performance by a Queenslander, Kalyn Ponga, who plays for the Knights, who defeated them in the last game of the season. So now the entire state of Queensland will be behind the lone survivor in the NRL finals series, the Cowboys. In the AFL, the Brisbane Lions will again be contesting the AFL finals series and flying the Queensland flag and will hope to go one better than last year, where they narrowly lost the grand final. Go the Cowboys and go the Lions. Queenslander! Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 92 10:18 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills In 1987, 25-year-old Vicki Cleary was attacked and murdered by her ex-boyfriend in Coburg. Vicki's killer used the defence of provocation, receiving a meagre jail sentence of three years and 11 months. This was a death sentence for Vicki, a life sentence for her family, who will forever mourn her loss, and less than four years for her killer. After Vicki's death, her brother, Phil Cleary, a champion footballer for the Coburg Football Club and coach and also a former member for Wills in this place campaigned for the provocation law to be removed. He was instrumental in its abolition in 2005. Since 2017, Phil has held an annual footy match at Coburg Football Club named Vicki Cleary Day, where we gather to honour the women lost to men's violence. I recently attended this year's day with Minister Clare O'Neil and Ministers Vicki Ward and Tim Richardson from the state government. On Vicki Cleary Day we think of Vicki and the life she should have been able to live, but we also think of all the women whose lives have been cut tragically short by violence—Jill Meagher, Aiia Maasarwe and Eurydice Dixon, just to name a few in Melbourne's north. We think of the 59 women this year who have been lost to violence in Australia. Simply put, it's a national shame. The advocacy of people like Phil Cleary means we remember women who have been lost, while actively trying to work for a better future. As the current member for Wills, I'm very committed to implementing the government's strategy for ending violence against women and children in a generation. That's the best way we can honour the women who have been lost. In response to advocates and the work they've done, the Prime Minister, the premiers, the chief ministers and National Cabinet agreed on a comprehensive $4.7 billion package that harnesses important opportunities to work together to prevent violence and support legal services. That package will deliver support for frontline specialists and legal services responding to gender based violence, deliver innovative approaches to better identify and respond to high-risk perpetrators to stop violence escalating, and address the role that systems and harmful industries play in exacerbating violence. I know the importance of legal services to women in my own community, especially women of ethnic background and colour, women from non-English speaking backgrounds and other migrant backgrounds. There are 160 community legal centres, or CLCs, in Australia. They provide free and localised services to more than 400,000 Australians annually and are often the first port of call for women escaping gender based violence and family and domestic violence. I personally know a woman in my electorate—I've met far too many in this situation—who sought help for domestic and family violence. She didn't seek it until her six-year-old daughter went to school with a bruise on her cheek. She was referred to a community legal centre and was supported in separating from her ex-husband and pursuing an AVO against him. I don't want to think about what would have happened if the CLC involved was not there to assist her. I'm heartened by the efforts this government has made to fund the new National Access to Justice Partnership, which will see a critical $800 million increase in funding for the legal assistance sector over five years, with a focus on uplifting services responding to gender based violence. Under this agreement, the Commonwealth will invest $3.9 billion over five years as well, providing ongoing funding beyond the five-year agreement, so that the sector has long-term funding certainty. Frankly, women are tired of having to seek justice. Justice is important, but, by its very nature, justice happens after the fact, after the pain, after the crime. By the time you need a women's sanctuary to step in and provide a safe haven to a family, by the time a CLC is involved, by the time a bruise is noticed by a teacher, a woman and her children are already hurt—or, worse, dead. I think we all want to live in a world where women never need to have services after the fact, after the violence. We want a world where the violence never happens to begin with. Phil Cleary's advocacy and work for his sister is so important, and he's putting together programs to teach young boys and men how to respect women and how to engage respectfully. Entering male dominated spaces, like sporting clubs, to speak about preventing violence is an extremely important element of preventing violence at its source, and that advocacy continues. Phil tirelessly attends local schools, businesses and sporting clubs to advocate for antiviolence strategies. I say to Phil: thank you for all your efforts. Obviously these conversations aren't easy. A lot of victims and family members of victims are part of those conversations at the local schools and sporting clubs. But I'm glad they're happening. I'm glad Phil is initiating them in my local community of Wills, and I want to support him further. International Students, Water Safety 93 10:23 Mr WOOD E0F La Trobe Imagine this. You invest everything to start a vocational education and training business and name it the Australian College of Business and Trade, with a new campus in my electorate of La Trobe. After meeting every regulatory standard, you are approved for 512 students to make the business viable. You sign a four-year lease. You decide to run automotive courses and you rent a mechanical workshop for $6,000 a month. For a cookery course, you rent a commercial kitchen for $8,000 a month. You rent the overall campus for $6,000 a month. That's $20,000 a month, and you also have six staff and all the other overheads. Then, without any warning, last Friday, on 6 September, the Albanese Labor government's Department of Employment and Workplace Relations sent you a letter reducing your capacity. So it was 512 students. It has gone down from 512 students. It hasn't gone down to 400 students or to 300 students; it hasn't even gone down to 10 students. It has gone down to one student next year. So how on earth is anyone going to pay the rent? It's absolutely impossible. So they're going to go into liquidation. It's the same for the other VET providers that I met yesterday, including Franklin International College, the Institute of Management and Trade and Atlantis College. What is happening to that sector is just a complete shemozzle. The Albanese Labor government must be condemned. They must support international students and those providers. There are so many jobs at stake here in Australia. I also want to bring to the House's attention today the safely engaging with water pilot program arranged by a good friend of mine Harpreet Singh. Water safety is such a huge issue. In my electorate of La Trobe, Harpreet Singh and Officer Gurdwara, in collaboration with Cardinia Life, Aligned Leisure and Life Saving Victoria, have recently launched the safely engaging with water pilot program. Thirty-five people have enrolled in the program and 40 people are on the waiting list. There are men's and women's sessions. I must say that I was very impressed when I went to meet the guys swimming there. I'll make the point that, if you come from a country such as India, you're not born to basically go to school and swim. In Australia, nearly every youngster swims. It's so important that, as adults, we have these programs. I want to thank Harpreet. I want to thank Paula from Aligned Leisure and Andrew Priestley from Life Saving Victoria. I have worked with Harpreet on so many programs. This is something that I'll call on the state government in Victoria and the federal Labor government to get behind, because, sadly, too many people drown from our multicultural community. Last year, there were 323 drownings in total across Australia. Over the past decade, 133 people from China have drowned; 109 people from the UK have drowned; 55 people from New Zealand have drowned; and 46 people from India have drowned. I know we've had people from Sri Lanka drown. I went to a wake in my electorate, with the family devastated that the father and son had drowned. It's absolutely awful. When people go to the beach and swim between the flags, it saves lives. It's such a simple thing to do. But, sadly, we still have tragedies. In my electorate, at Officer, a four-year-old boy, Ali Aminzadah, tragically drowned. In April 2023, a father and son from Narre Warren lost their lives attempting to rescue each other. How many times have we heard that happen? And, in January, a Melbourne nurse, two university students and a tourist from India tragically drowned off the coast of Phillip Island. It was the worst drowning tragedy in Victoria for two decades. In April, a father and grandfather, again from my electorate in Clyde North, drowned in the hotel pool on the Gold Coast. It was supposed to be a fantastic occasion, a holiday, and, sadly, they drowned. The message is clear: for adults who can't swim, there's no embarrassment in going to a club and learning how to swim. They need that support. I encourage members of the government to push the Albanese Labor government to fund these programs so that we're not going to more funerals and more wakes. Gilmore Electorate: Surf Lifesaving 94 10:28 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore As we head into the warmer months, it's timely to give a special shout-out to our amazing surf lifesaving clubs and the hundreds of volunteers that keep our South Coast beaches safe every summer. Stretching along more than 200 kilometres of coastline, from Kiama to Tuross Head, my electorate of Gilmore is home to 10 surf lifesaving clubs, all of which are held in very high regard in their local communities. Not only have our volunteers patrolled our beaches, keeping a watchful eye over the thousands of visitors and locals that enjoy our coast each year, but they have once again left their mark at the 2024 Australian and world surf lifesaving championships. Mollymook's Master Surf Boat crew smashed the competition, taking home gold at the world titles held on Queensland's Gold Coast last month. What an amazing achievement by long-time clubbies, Marty Drysdale, Russell Barlett, Kevin Whitford, Paul Jones and Paul Newman. Mollymook's dynamic duo dominated on the sand, with Sam Zustovich securing gold in the Open Male Beach Flags and Payton Williams also picking up gold in the Open Female Beach Flags. Jake Stewart,Brock Scrivener, Jack Bridges and Jamee Smith grabbed gold in the Open Male Beach Relay, while Ashton Neall took home a bronze medal for Mollymook in the Open Male Beach Sprint. The success continued when 18-year-old Mischa Boniface saw Mollymook on the podium once again, this time at the youth Lifesaving World Championships. This awesome young competitor claimed three gold medals in the beach sprint, Oceanwoman Relay and Mixed Ocean Lifesaver Relay, as well as a silver medal in the Beach Flags and bronze in the Female Beach Relay. Not to be outdone, the brilliant Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club boatie legends also scooped two gold medals at the world champs in the 160-years male and 180-years female events. Representing Australia, the Kiama Downs IRB Team also collected a silver at the world titles, narrowly pipped by a New Zealand crew. Broulee's Dan Harding made a splash, winning two silver medals in the world Pool Rescue competition. At only 14 years of age, Moruya surf lifesaver Zara Hallachieved a remarkable result, placing sixth in the world against much older competitors in the under-18s Female Beach Flags. What a sensational rising sports star. Representatives from up and down the coast shone on the world stage and helped the Australian team take out the top point score. Off the beach, one of our local surf club members made a big impression on the water, representing Australia at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Broulee surf club member Nikki Ayres and her partner, JedAltschwager, claimed Australia's first ever para-rowing gold medal in the PR3 mixed doubles sculls event. What an amazing achievement. It's been a big year for our local surf club members, with local legend Simon Fillery, from the Nowra-Culburra surf club, announced as the 2024 Shoalhaven Volunteer Emergency Services Officer of the Year in June. A patrol captain, IRB driver and jet ski operator, Simon has patrolled our beaches for 14 years and dedicated more than 700 hours to keeping beachgoers safe. The accolades keep flowing for Broulee surf club, with member Andrew Edmunds awarded the Emergency Services Medal in this year's King's Birthday Honours list. Andrew joined the club as a nipper in 1992 and has gone on to complete hundreds of patrol hours, call-outs, water safety and club maintenance over the years. He is always the first to lend a hand when an emergency unfolds. The former club captain and current secretary, Andrew has won countless awards plus two rescue citations from Surf Life Saving New South Wales. Andy has also been on the Far South Coast branch committee for more than 15 years, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service out of Moruya. Another volunteer who deserves a huge congratulations is Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club's Mick Crowle, who recently took home the state Awards of Excellence Official of the Year gong. Finally, a special tribute to Mollymook surf club member Ivan Johnson OAM, who has clocked up an astonishing 70 years of continuous patrol service. Ivan started out at Black Head Beach, before moving to Ulladulla in the 1960s. Ivan has held most positions at Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club over the years and remains an active participant on patrols and as the club's historian. I congratulate these incredible community volunteers on their selflessness and commitment on and off the beach, and I thank them for training, mentoring and inspiring the next generation of surf lifesavers. Cost of Living 95 10:33 Mr CHANDLER-MATHER 300121 Griffith It's easy to feel hopeless about the state of politics at the moment, like positive change is impossible. In fact, while you're struggling to pay the bills, the rent, the mortgage—choosing between feeding your kids and paying those housing costs—I understand that it's easy to give up hope that any sort of positive change is at all possible. Do you want to know what the biggest asset of the Labor and Liberal parties and their corporate donors is? Their biggest asset, the thing they rely on the most, is low expectations. They want you to feel like asking for rent caps is unreasonable and impossible, even though it works around the world. They want to berate you for suggesting that we should build enough public housing for everyone who needs it to live in. They'll tell you it's impossible, even though in cities like Vienna 60 per cent of people live in some form of social housing. They want to tell you that free university education and scrapping student debt are impossible, even though countries like Norway provide free university to everyone in that country by taxing their resource corporations properly. They want you to feel like, every time you ask them for more than scraps, you're the radical, but really the radicals are the ones that suggest that, while the big banks are making record profits, it's okay for single parents to be sleeping in their cars. They're the radicals. The radicals are the ones that think it's okay for Coles and Woolworths to make billions of dollars in profits while people have to choose between paying for food that night or getting nappy rash cream for their babies. The reality is all of those things are possible. Rent caps are possible. Building enough public housing is possible. Free university and TAFE education is possible. Bringing dental and mental health into Medicare is possible. All of these things have been done around the world. They are economically and technically possible. The barrier to achieving any of these things is political. The reality is that the majority of the country supports rent caps. The majority of the country supports scrapping tax handouts for property investors and investing that money in building public housing. The majority of this country supports establishing a government owned developer and building enough good-quality housing sold and rented at prices people can actually afford, like countries do around the world. The barrier is political. The barrier is that they are relying on you giving up hope on the idea that politics can change anything meaningful in our lives. It's reasonable to feel like that right now because indeed they do change very little and it feels like every year things get worse. In the 2022 election we were told it was impossible to win the federal electorate of Griffith, and we did. We were told it was impossible to win Ryan or Brisbane, and we did. We won because people like you at home got organised, knocked on people's doors, reach out to people and said: 'You can hope for more. You can hope for dental and mental health into Medicare. You can hope for rent caps. You can hope for a country where we tax the wealth of big corporations and billionaires and we use it to ensure everyone in this country has what they need to live a good life.' Indeed, it has been done before and around the world, but the reality is that the only way we're going to do it is if we organise. Labor and the Liberals are terrified of the concept that there will be enough people in this country that can hope for more than scraps, that can hope for more than a country where the Commonwealth Bank can make $9 billion in profit in the same year hat we're in one of the worst housing crises this country has seen, that can hope for more than a country where right now people are struggling to make ends meet while Coles and Woolworths make billions of dollars in profit. We can hope for more than that, but the only way we're going to win it is if we get organised and push back on the corporate power of Labor and the Liberals, who spend so much time trying to crush your hope. North Cyprus Turkish Community Centre of Victoria, Medicare: Urgent Care Clinics 95 10:37 Dr MULINO 132880 Fraser I start by congratulating the North Cyprus Turkish Community of Victoria for having completing an amazing renovation and renewal of their community centre. Last week I attended an event with hundreds of people, with music, dancing, delicious food—a real celebration of culture. The fact that so many people attended the new community centre shows how important it is to the North Cypriot Turkish community in the west of Melbourne. The new community centre is a modern and beautifully designed building that will be a wonderful place for the community to come together for cultural events, important days of celebration and, perhaps most importantly, spending time together catching up and socialising over a meal or a coffee. I say well done to the incredibly hardworking committee and to all of the many volunteers who put in such hard work. This project has been years in the making and, like anything of this magnitude, has involved a number of setbacks along the way, but, at each setback, the community, the committee and all the volunteers got back to work, and eventually all of their hard work has paid off. The committee has shown incredible determination and commitment. I acknowledge a few people and apologise that, whenever you highlight a few names, you inevitably miss a number of others. Of course the Consul-General of Turkey in Victoria, Dogan Ferhat Isik, was at the event, which shows how important this event was to the broader community. I also acknowledge Doctor Lutfiye Ali, who is the grants and program manager of the North Cyprus Turkish Community of Victoria. I also acknowledge Candan Ahmet, the President of the North Cyprus Turkish Community of Victoria, and Emel Huseyin, the President of the North Cyprus Turkish Community Centre of Victoria Elders Group. And there are may others, of course. On the day, a number of certificates were handed out to volunteers, who gave so much throughout this process, and also to a number of the builders and tradespeople. A number of the people who contributed to the building—the building managers and project managers but also a number of the tradies who run their own businesses—gave so much over a long period of time to make sure this project came in on budget and on time. Of course, we know that's a very difficult thing to achieve in this environment. It was great to be at the official launch with so many friends of this community, including Natalie Suleyman, who's been a very good friend of this community for many years; Ingrid Stitt, the Minister for Multicultural Affairs; and also Sarah Connolly. I once again thank the local North Cyprus Turkish community for inviting me to this very important event. It was wonderful to celebrate with you. The Albanese Labor government has delivered a Medicare urgent care clinic in Maribyrnong to give better access to high-quality, free, bulked-billed healthcare services. The Maribyrnong Medicare urgent care clinic service is at Edgewater Medical Centre, on Edgewater Boulevard, which is a very accessible part of the community. In the 2024-25 budget, the Albanese government provided $227 million to deliver 29 more Medicare urgent care clinics; this will take the total to 87 across the country. Seven existing state-funded priority primary care centres in Victoria will now transition to the Albanese government's Medicare urgent care clinic network, and this is one of those. I'm thrilled that an urgent care clinic has opened in my electorate. It will significantly boost the availability of bulk-billed healthcare services for people in my community. The Maribyrnong clinic will help reduce the number of people attending hospital emergency departments for urgent-but-not-life-threatening conditions such as sprains, infections, rashes and cuts. Indeed, more than a third of the presentations at Footscray Hospital's emergency department have been for non-urgent and semi-urgent issues. This is not only highly inconvenient for individuals but also an inefficient use of our scarce hospital and ED resources. The urgent care clinics are a highly effective way of improving access to bulk-billed services, particularly for vulnerable people. This is one of the key underpinnings of our Medicare system. We're already seeing this deliver benefits in our community and in Victoria more broadly. More than 40 per cent of presentations to existing urgent care clinics in Victoria have been outside of standard business hours, which means that these clinics are filling an important gap in services. One in four of the visits to these clinics have involved patients aged 15 years or younger, so I'm sure that the Maribyrnong Medicare urgent care clinic will form an important link in that network and help vulnerable people in my electorate. Moncrieff Electorate: Volunteers 96 10:42 Ms BELL 282981 Moncrieff Volunteers have a strong presence throughout the Gold Coast community; they are the glue that holds everything together. There are many members across the House who have spoken this week about their local volunteer awards and what they do to celebrate their contributions across our nation. Volunteers in Moncrieff help out with local sporting teams, they respond to natural disasters and emergencies and they assist local charities to support some of our most disadvantaged, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis that Australians are facing and that Gold Coasters are not exempt from. Volunteers and volunteering have never been more important than today, in our tough times. Last Thursday it was a great pleasure and privilege to host the 2024 Moncrieff Community Volunteer Awards at Merrimac State High School, on the Gold Coast. Merrimac State High School were very generous to provide their hall for a second year in a row, in order for me to host the volunteer awards. I want to thank the principal, Rachel Cutajar. She does a fantastic job at Merrimac State High School, but so does the whole Merrimac team and the Gold Coast community in their continued support for this event that celebrates our wonderful volunteers. We heard the high school band, consisting of students from grades 7 to12, which was a highlight for me. It was a stage band with a mix of grades, and they did a fantastic job with the national anthem and played some other music. The awards provide us with the opportunity to recognise volunteers for their contributions that they make to the central Gold Coast community. They simply are an inspiration to our community and to our nation. We are richer for them. They are also an inspiration to me. We're lucky to have so many who do the hard yards in the community and give up their time to provide a helping hand when required, be it to their neighbours, their friends, their colleagues or simply through charities. This year, we had a whopping number of nominations as we celebrated 63 individuals for their efforts to step up and stand out as bright, shining stars in our community. I've added an award since becoming the member for Moncrieff: the Gladys Moncrieff Award. That is for the volunteer who stands out and who has gone above and beyond in the year to support the Gold Coast community. Previous Gladys Moncrieff Award winners Joan O'Keefe and Bill Wakefield joined me on stage to present the award— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 10:45 to 10:56 Ms BELL 282981 This year, that accolade went to Suzanne McDonald OAM for all of her dedication and commitment to Southport Surf Lifesaving Club. She exemplifies what it is to be a volunteer and the type of community spirit that is only found on the Gold Coast, in my view. I could not think of anyone more deserving of this award than Sue. She joined the Southport Surf Lifesaving Club in 1986 and has always been an active member. She has completed 2,230 patrol and community hours on the beach, rarely missing a patrol. Sue often covers the additional voluntary patrols on Christmas Day and Good Friday, so she is absolutely a giver. She has worked tirelessly for the Southport Surf Lifesaving Club and is an inspiration for the many younger members of the Southport Surf Lifesaving Club and the wider surf lifesaving community in South Coast. I also want to mention and congratulate the headspace Southport Youth Advisory Council volunteers, who received the 2024 Gladys Moncrieff Youth Award. I'm very proud of the work at headspace Southport for young people, and this award is presented to a young person or group who show compassion, consideration and service well beyond their years. The young people on the headspace Southport Youth Advisory Council are passionate about giving young people a voice and making the needs of young people heard. They volunteer their time to engage with the community's most marginalised and vulnerable young people. These selfless young people not only give up their time but also fearlessly share their own experience of their mental health challenges—of bullying, neurodiversity and physical illness, just to name a few. Their time and their passion for volunteering in the community directly improves the likelihood that young people will be referred or reach out to headspace for support. It was so heartwarming to see and to celebrate these incredible individuals. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their selfless work across the Gold Coast community, particularly in Moncrieff on the central Gold Coast. To the members of the community cabinet who were there from SOP, from the Sikh temple at Nerang, from the Australian International Islamic College at Carrara: you are the glue that holds our community together, and I thank you very much. National Security, Middle East 97 10:59 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton When conflict erupts abroad, some Australians feel compelled to depart our shores to join the fighting. Their motivation may be for political, cultural or religious reasons. They could be dual citizens, have family ties, share beliefs and values or have the determination to make a difference by serving some greater cause. In some cases, it's simply a case of taking the opportunity to do something different or exciting far from home. Of course, there is nothing simple about such undertakings and there are a range of potential ramifications. Going overseas to participate in a conflict is a risky enterprise for many reasons. Firstly, there is the danger of serious injury or loss of life. Tragically, seven Australians have died while fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces in the Russia-Ukraine war. Under the Criminal Code Act 1995, it is not an offence for Australians to join the official armed forces of a foreign country. However, the act indicates that it is an offence to engage in hostile activities overseas with listed terror organisations such as Hamas or Hezbollah. While it is not illegal to serve with a foreign military, it is crucial to note that this does not mean Australian participants are exempt from other Commonwealth criminal charges that may flow from such participation. Indeed, Australia has obligations under international law to prosecute certain crimes. The Commonwealth government cautions all Australians who seek to serve with the armed forces of a foreign country to carefully consider their legal obligations and ensure their conduct does not constitute a criminal offence. Dual Australian-Israeli citizens who are fighting in the occupied Palestinian territory as part of the Israel Defense Forces should heed this explicit warning. Put simply, if Australians fighting overseas engage in activities that are against international law or some aspect of Australian law, such as war crimes, they can be prosecuted here in Australia. In March this year in this House, I spoke about breaches of international humanitarian law committed by both the IDF and Hamas. I said at that time that a just and enduring peace needs to have redress for the horrific war crimes committed. All who have committed war crimes must be held accountable. Justice must prevail. I'm not suggesting that any or all Australians who've joined the IDF have committed or been complicit in war crimes. However, I'm very concerned, given the IDF's well publicised and ongoing atrocities against Palestinian civilians, which may directly contravene international humanitarian law, that Australians serving in the IDF may be put into situations where their conduct is later investigated. Under international humanitarian law, such collective punishment crimes include the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, the obstruction of basic services—water, medicines, fuel and aid—the targeting of hospitals, and the starvation of a civilian population. With the International Criminal Court's application for arrest warrants for war crimes for the Israeli leadership, it is important to raise awareness of the potential consequences for Australians fighting for the IDF in the Israel-Hamas war, including prosecution back home in Australia. The Criminal Code Act 1995 facilitates the Australian Federal Police investigating core international crimes that happen overseas. This includes war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The AFP acknowledges that investigating and prosecuting such crimes needs multiagency and multijurisdictional collaboration. The other consequences of participating in conflict overseas concern the long-lasting psychosocial effects of war. There is no doubt that participation in conflict leads to the witnessing of traumatic events. I know many ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen and their challenging battles with PTSD. Experiences on foreign battlefields can return as emotional baggage and even worse. In addition to this, there is undoubtedly a risk of overseas combatants being radicalised into beliefs that are not aligned with our Australian values. Returned Australians may then seek to promulgate their corrupted beliefs when they are back home. This goes to the heart of concerns many in my community have about attacks on our social cohesion and about the twin scourges of Islamophobia and antisemitism. We're approaching the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the horrific Israel-Hamas war. Australia continues to provide humanitarian aid. Australia continues to push for a ceasefire and, ultimately, a peaceful, stable two-state solution. I will continue to engage with those in my electorate who are affected by this conflict personally, and obviously I'll continue to speak more broadly on this significant matter, including to those who are directly participating. It has never been more important to uphold Australian values and our multicultural unity. There are people who are deliberately focusing on division and fear, some for base political purposes. So I say again: it is important that we focus on our Australian values and holding our multicultural community strong. Economy 98 11:04 Mr BIRRELL 288713 Nicholls Earlier in my term, I did an interview with an ABC youth program called Canberra Bubble Tea!. They asked me to describe the Prime Minister in two or three words, and I said 'unintended consequences'. I was reflecting on this recently, in light of where Labor's policy agenda seems to be getting us, and my three words now are 'mugged by reality'. My only experience in this place is in opposition, and I can understand the frustration of those who are now in government who spent all of those nine years in opposition developing their agendas. But, after almost a decade of plotting and scheming with the unions, they have fallen for the trap of implementing their agenda rather than governing for the times, and I think that they're misreading the national need. I will just give you an idea of where I think we were after the pandemic. The pandemic was such a challenge. I wasn't in this place at the time, but many businesses in my electorate were extremely thankful to the federal government and the JobKeeper program and the actions led by then treasurer Frydenberg. That approach was validated, and I'll give you a quote from Brendan Coates, Housing and Economic Security Program director at the Grattan Institute. He described the recovery as: … a macroeconomic success story, the result of unprecedented monetary policy—record low interest rates—and unprecedented fiscal policy—hundreds of billions of dollars of government spending to keep households and businesses afloat and simulate economic activity. When we sit in the House of Representatives at the moment, we seem to get this chorus from the current government: '$1 trillion of coalition debt and nothing to show for it.' Well, I think we've got a lot to show for it. The previous government kept the economy going. In December 2021, the national accounts showed that the Australian economy had grown 3.4 per cent since the pandemic—more than the United States, the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy and France. But what I think we've seen since then, and particularly since the last election, is productivity falling off a cliff. There's a lot of debate in this place as to what's causing the inflation to remain unnecessarily high, with the resultant issues that people are having with cost of living and mortgage payments, but it's certainly got to do with government spending, and it's certainly got to do with productivity being affected. It's being affected by complex and uncompetitive industrial relations laws; higher input costs; wage inflation unconnected to productivity outcomes; environmental lawfare; and record migration that is untargeted and not addressing skills gaps, especially in regional Australia. Those are the principles of why it's not working. The examples of why it's not working are in water policy—and I've spoken many times in this place about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan—attacks on private sector industries that actually make us our money, pushing jobs and money unnecessarily high in the public sector, and not looking after the private sector. The Albanese government are uniting the opposition against them. Tania Constable, from the Minerals Council of Australia, gave some scathing commentary about the government the other night at the Minerals Council dinner. Part of what she said is: We do want cooperation. We don't want conflict. But under these new workplace laws, conflict has been brought upon us. It is a deliberate design feature of these laws. Conflicts in IR laws in the mining industry are not going to deliver us productivity. Innes Willox, chief executive of the national employer association, said: We hope this reset allows the government to focus for the test of its term on delivering policy certainty and a stable environment that supports business productivity, investment and employment. But I don't see that happening at the moment. I see an attack on productivity and an attack on the businesses that are making us our money. In my electorate, that's agriculture and food manufacturing, but in many other electorates it's mining and the resources sector. I think the pathway to prosperity for Australians is a strong, competitive private sector, supported by the public sector, not having all the focus on the public sector. Of course we need a bureaucracy and of course we need public servants, but productivity, the success of the private sector and our ability to compete overseas are what is going to drive this economy forward and grow the economy. It's not happening at the moment, and I hope the policy settings change so that we can get there. Corangamite Electorate: Women's Health 99 11:09 Ms COKER 263547 Corangamite Every woman has a story of gender bias, whether it's being ignored by a doctor, having their symptoms dismissed or feeling unable to make decisions about their own body. These stories often reveal prolonged suffering and the painful journey to a proper diagnosis. That's why next Tuesday I will be hosting a women's health forum, alongside the amazing Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, in my electorate of Corangamite. This free event will be held in Armstrong Creek. I'm encouraging women across my region to come along and hear about not just the unique challenges facing women in our healthcare system but also the positive changes that are occurring right now. The Albanese government, the first majority female government in Australian history, is working hard to deliver this positive change and better outcomes by listening to women and acting on their concerns. This is why we have rolled out Australia's first #EndGenderBias survey, a survey shedding light on the many unique challenges facing women in our healthcare system, with over 2,800 responses pouring in from women sharing their personal stories. These women shared vivid accounts of pain, trauma and humiliation, painting a stark and troubling picture of women's treatment in the medical system. The evidence is compelling. Two-thirds of respondents reported experiencing gender bias or discrimination within the healthcare system. It's simply not good enough. We know that many GPs are doing a very good job, but this is concerning. The most prevalent setting for bias was in general practice, especially during diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care. This survey revealed a disheartening reality that demands more action. Our government is now responding to many of these challenges, and the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care is playing a key role in delivering better outcomes for women. In my region, we have opened a new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic in Belmont, with 22 endo clinics now across the nation. We know an enormous number of women suffer pelvic pain and are often told it's completely normal and to shut up and put up with it. We know that in Australia at least one in nine girls and women suffer from endometriosis and, on average, women wait around seven years between seeking medical help and receiving a diagnosis. This is unacceptable. This is why the Albanese Labor government is funding these clinics in every state and territory—to improve access to diagnostic and treatment services, to build the primary care workforce to better manage endometriosis and to improve access to new information and care pathways. At the forum next Tuesday the assistant minister and I will be joined by Dr Caitlyn Pring from the clinic. Dr Pring is passionate about women's health, from managing conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis and painful periods to helping women successfully navigate perimenopause and menopause. We will also have Dr Natalie Anderson, a psychotherapist from Innerstrength Healthcare. Natalie has been helping women navigate their pelvic health and birth recovery journey for over 10 years. These women are incredible experts and awesome advocates for better outcomes for women, and I am so excited that they will be joining us at the forum. The Albanese Labor government is committed to prioritising women's health, driven by a strong desire to empower Australian women in every aspect of their lives. Just this morning, our government passed a significant reform through the House of Representatives: super on Paid Parental Leave is now one step closer to becoming a reality. This reform is part of a broader agenda to address the struggles women face, whether dealing with poverty, the gender pay gap, the gender superannuation gap, marginalisation or insufficient health care. As part of the broader agenda, we have also announced $48.2 million dollars invested in the national strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer. In closing, we are doing everything we can to support women. We are ensuring better health outcomes for women, which will strengthen our communities and enrich our society because, when women do well, we all do well. Question agreed to. Federation Chamber adjourned at 11:14