PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION

2025-02-04 2 1 0 House of Reps 0 1

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

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

PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION 1 PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION Member for Hinkler 1 Resignation 1 12:00 The SPEAKER 53517 I inform the House that on 19 January 2025 I received a letter from Keith John Pitt, resigning his seat as the member for the electoral division of Hinkler. Member for Maribyrnong 1 Resignation 1 12:01 The SPEAKER 53517 I also inform the House that on 20 January 2025 I received a letter from William Richard Shorten, resigning his seat as the member for the electoral division of Maribyrnong. Issue of Writ 1 12:01 The SPEAKER 53517 With the general election pending, I have decided that writs will not be issued and by-elections will not be held. This will avoid the necessity for the electors of Hinkler and Maribyrnong to participate in two elections within a short period of time. BILLS 1 BILLS Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Scheduling) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023, Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024, Cyber Security Bill 2024, Intelligence Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Cyber Security) Bill 2024, Security of Critical Infrastructure and Other Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Response and Prevention) Bill 2024, Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Bill 2024, Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Tax (Imposition) Bill 2024, Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) (Consequential Provisions and Other Matters) Bill 2024, Aged Care Bill 2024, Migration Amendment Bill 2024, Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024, Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024, Better and Fairer Schools (Information Management) Bill 2024, Capital Works (Build to Rent Misuse Tax) Bill 2024, Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024, Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024, Crown References Amendment Bill 2023, Customs Amendment (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Second Protocol Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Family Law Amendment Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024, Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024, Help to Buy Bill 2023, Help to Buy (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2023, Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Amendment Bill 2024, Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023, Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Bill 2024, Sydney Airport Demand Management Amendment Bill 2024, Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Bill 2024, Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Imposition Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) (Consequential) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (2024 Tax and Other Measures No. 1) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024, Universities Accord (National Student Ombudsman) Bill 2024, Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024 2

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Scheduling) Bill 2024

Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023

Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024

Cyber Security Bill 2024

Intelligence Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Cyber Security) Bill 2024

Security of Critical Infrastructure and Other Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Response and Prevention) Bill 2024

Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Bill 2024

Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Tax (Imposition) Bill 2024

Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) (Consequential Provisions and Other Matters) Bill 2024

Aged Care Bill 2024

Migration Amendment Bill 2024

Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024

Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024

Better and Fairer Schools (Information Management) Bill 2024

Capital Works (Build to Rent Misuse Tax) Bill 2024

Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024

Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024

Crown References Amendment Bill 2023

Customs Amendment (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Second Protocol Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Family Law Amendment Bill 2024

Future Made in Australia Bill 2024

Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024

Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024

Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024

Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024

Help to Buy Bill 2023

Help to Buy (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2023

Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Amendment Bill 2024

Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024

Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023

Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Bill 2024

Sydney Airport Demand Management Amendment Bill 2024

Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Bill 2024

Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Imposition Bill 2024

Treasury Laws Amendment (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) (Consequential) Bill 2024

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

Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024

Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Universities Accord (National Student Ombudsman) Bill 2024

Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024

Assent 2 BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Rearrangement 2 12:01 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Mr Speaker, happy new year! I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following: (1) the Member for Wentworth moving a motion relating to antisemitism; (2) each Member speaking for no longer than five minutes; (3) amendments to the motion not being permitted; (4) the question on the motion being put no later than 1.25 pm; (5) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister. In putting forward that motion, let me just say the following: antisemitism is a vile form of hatred. It is as vile as it is evil as it is ancient. There is plenty of time in the parliament, as there always has been, for us to debate a range of issues on social cohesion. But the member for Wentworth has, in consultation with a range of people across the parliament, put together a resolution which has us dealing with antisemitism and nothing else for this particular debate. I thank the member for Wentworth for doing that. The member for Wentworth is creating an opportunity for the parliament to simply come together and make one very clear statement—that we will argue on many other things but there is no argument from the people in this parliament that antisemitism is anything other than unacceptable and evil and must end. I commend the motion to the House and indicate that I won't be wanting us to have a long debate on this, because that will then interfere with us having a debate on the motion itself. 12:03 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin I move, as an amendment: That clause (3) be omitted. We object to a practice which this government has used consistently, and that is to remove the ability of the opposition to move amendments to motions like this. The first point to make is that it's utterly extraordinary in our view that the government is not leading this moment. It is extraordinary in the opposition's view that the government could not find it within itself to move this motion. On that basis, we believe that it's appropriate— The SPEAKER 53517 The manager will pause. A point of order? 12:04 Mr BURKE DYW Watson We are wanting to get on with the motion itself. I move: That the question be now put. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the question be now put. In accordance with standing order 133, the division is deferred until after the discussion of the matter of public importance. The debate on this item is therefore adjourned until that time. BILLS 3 BILLS Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024, Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024 3

Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024

Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024

Reference to Federation Chamber 3 12:05 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I declare that, unless otherwise ordered, the Criminal Code Amendment (Hates Crimes) Bill 2024, the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity Bill 2024 stand referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration at the adjournment of the debate on the motion for the second reading of each bill. BUSINESS 3 BUSINESS Rearrangement 3 12:06 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following: (1) the Member for Wentworth moving a motion relating to antisemitism; (2) each Member speaking for no longer than five minutes; (3) amendments to the motion not being permitted; (4) the question on the motion being put no later than 1.25 pm; (5) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister; and (6) that standing order 133 be suspended. 12:07 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin I again move as an amendment: That clause (3) be omitted. I move this amendment for the same reason I originally indicated. A worthy and important issue like this should allow the opposition to move amendments to any motion. However much we may agree with many aspects of the motion proposed by the member for Wentworth, or, indeed, what should be happening in this instance—a motion being moved by the government; indeed, a motion being moved by the Prime Minister—why on earth the Prime Minister is not in here showing leadership and moving this motion after the summer we have had is an absolute outrage. We have Jewish communities throughout Australia who are fearful— Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order, the Attorney-General. Members on my right will cease interjecting. The manager is entitled to be heard in silence. He will pause so that I can hear the Leader of the House. 12:08 Mr BURKE DYW Watson Given that this is the second attempt of this idea here to bring the parliament together, I move: That the question be now put. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the question be now put. In accordance with the standing order 133, the division is deferred until after the discussion of the matter of public importance. The debate on this item is therefore adjourned until that time. 12:08 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I move: That standing order 133 be suspended. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the motion moved by the Leader of the House be agreed to.

The House divided. [12:14]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

86 AYES Albanese, A. N. Aly, A. 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. 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, C. F. King, M. M. H. Lawrence, T. N. Laxale, J. A. A. Leigh, A. K. Lim, S. B. C. Marles, R. D. McBain, K. L. McBride, E. M. Miller-Frost, L. J. Mitchell, B. K. Mitchell, R. G. Mulino, D. Neumann, S. K. O'Connor, B. P. J. O'Neil, C. E. Payne, A. E. Perrett, G. D. 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. Sitou, S. Smith, D. P. B. (Teller) Spender, A. M. Stanley, A. M. (Teller) Steggall, Z. Swanson, M. J. Templeman, S. R. Thistlethwaite, M. J. Thwaites, K. L. Tink, K. J. Vamvakinou, M. Watson-Brown, E. Watts, T. G. Wells, A. S. Wilkie, A. D. Wilson, J. H. Zappia, A. 53 NOES Andrews, K. L. Archer, B. K. Bell, A. M. Birrell, S. J. Boyce, C. E. Buchholz, S. Caldwell, C. 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. 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. McKenzie, Z. A. O'Brien, E. L. O'Brien, L. S. Pasin, A. Pearce, G. B. Pike, H. 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. Wilson, R. J. Wolahan, K. Wood, J. P. Young, T. J. 0 PAIRS

Question agreed to.

Rearrangement 5 12:18 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following: (1) the Member for Wentworth moving a motion relating to antisemitism; (2) each Member speaking for no longer than five minutes; (3) amendments to the motion not being permitted; (4) the question on the motion being put no later than 1.25 pm; and (5) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister. And I move: That the question be now put. The SPEAKER 53517 The question is that the question be put.

The House divided. [12:20]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

Question agreed to.
Original question agreed to.

MOTIONS 6 MOTIONS Antisemitism 6 12:23 Ms SPENDER 286042 Wentworth I move: That this House: (1) deplores the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism across Australia, including violent attacks on synagogues, schools, homes and childcare centres; (2) unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms; and (3) resolves that all parliamentarians will work together constructively to combat the scourge of antisemitism in Australia. Last week, as we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I sat in the Great Synagogue with Holocaust survivors and listened to the testimony from 96-year-old survivor Jack Meister. It was incredibly moving. At almost the same time, it was announced that a caravan had been found with explosives and the addresses of Jewish community locations, including that Great Synagogue. People in this House have seen the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism across Australia, including graffiti, arson and violent attacks on synagogues, schools, homes and childcare centres. But they may not appreciate what it's like for my Jewish community to live through these assaults every day, including private assaults like abuse on the streets and online. The Jewish community is living in fear. Australia has for many years offered a safe haven. Now parents and grandparents are genuinely wondering if they can continue to build their lives here. It broke my heart last year when a mother told me that her preschool-age daughter was proudly taking part in a Hanukkah celebration and the only thing she could think of was: 'She's so happy. She's so proud to be Jewish. She has no idea how many people hate her.' But the message today is to say that those who hate on the basis of religion, those who perpetrate crimes on the basis of religion, do not represent the Australian community. Those who perpetrate those crimes are criminals, plain and simple. They must be treated as such. They must be charged, tried and sentenced in a way to demonstrate to all Australians that this behaviour has no place in our country. We in this House and across the different levels of government have the responsibility to keep the community safe. That must be the work of this parliament in the laws and the policing, education and justice systems. Some of those opportunities we have this week, including dealing with the hate crime legislation that is in front of this parliament and which I seek to strengthen. But this is not just a matter of the laws; it is also a matter of culture. We must lead by example. The message from this parliament today must be unambiguous. We will not stand for hate, we will not stand for abuse, we will not abide intimidation and we will not tolerate the terrorising of any part of our community. We are all united against antisemitism. Words must be backed by action, but words matter—particularly those of this parliament. In our country we will often disagree. We will disagree vehemently on conflicts overseas. We are a multicultural nation, and in any conflict we will always have people on different sides and many others with very strong views. I see that in my community, but I also see that my community is unified, that my community believes that hate and intimidation of others based on their religion, sexuality or ethnic background cannot be tolerated in this country. The hatred against the Jewish community in this country is unacceptable, as is hatred directed to any part of our community. We must maintain our empathy even towards those who disagree. This is one thing that my committee agrees with. That is the foundation of a truly pluralistic society. That is the Australia we aspire to be. I'm proud of this country: proud that it has been a sanctuary for so many; proud that it has offered opportunities to so many, including to my own migrant family; proud that a Jewish community member showed me the kind text chat between him and his Muslim friend at the height of the conflict; proud that, when a rabbi's home was vandalised in my community, his non-Jewish neighbours rushed to clean it up before he saw it. That is the Australia we must protect: an Australia defined by decency, respect and kindness. The whole of this parliament should support this motion because we recognise that hate directed towards the Jewish community and those antisemitic attacks are attacks on the values of our whole country and that we must guard those values with everything we have. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D Is the motion seconded? 12:28 Mr BURNS 278522 Macnamara I second the motion. I thank the number for Wentworth for bringing forward the motion. I know that we both feel a deep sense of responsibility for the two largest Jewish communities of any electorate in this country, and I thank her for bringing this to the House. Last year, when I saw my office with horns on top of it, I thought, 'Surely, this is as bad as it can get.' My staff came to work with antisemitic graffiti all of my office and are completely shattered. But the truth is that the last six months have been like no other I've experienced in this country. My grandparents came to this country looking for a safe haven for the Jewish people, and over the last six months we've seen cars set alight, we've seen synagogues burnt down, we've seen Jewish homes and businesses marked and we have seen childcare centres being burnt down—our littlest Australians. Why? What is the common thread? They are all targeted towards the Australian Jewish community. But we must fix this and we must work together until Australia as we know it and as we grew up in is restored. The first step is to listen to the Jewish people of Australia. They hold the collective memory of microagression, of hate, of words and acts of vilification and discrimination, and they understand the history of antisemitism. We cannot allow history to fester and get even more out of control. Some of the tropes that we have seen in this country are ones we've seen before. Some people target the Jewish community because of some sort of response to what's happening in the Middle East, some because they believe in the myths of Jewish power and control, and some just under the false banner of racial supremacy. None of these tropes are new, but the common thread is conspiracy, dehumanisation and hatred, all of which have existed throughout history. We've been kicked out of our homes before. Our homes have been targeted. But today we say, 'Not here. Not in Australia.' We cannot let antisemitism become a partisan issue. It has never existed on a political spectrum. There are things that I disagree with the Liberal Party about, but not this. I will work with anyone, and I have stood with anyone in the past, in order to ensure that we present a united voice on this, that we confront this together and that we restore Australia together, and I would urge all members of the House to join us in coming together to send the clearest of messages that we will not fight, because the fight is not in here; it is for the Jewish people of Australia. This is personal. I want this to end. I want this all to end. I dread turning on my phone and looking at the news and seeing another attack. We want this to be over, so we need to commit ourselves and take full responsibility for taking this on and doing whatever is in our power to combat it. Now, we have increased security, we have banned Nazi salutes, we've criminalised doxxing and we've appointed a special envoy to combat antisemitism. Over the summer, I spent countless hours holding our university vice-chancellors to account to ensure that students who return to university have a safe place to go from day one. But we need to do more. We are going to work together this week to create new laws to outlaw hate and incitement. We need to protect people from that. Antisemitism is a wicked problem. It has existed for thousands of years and it has always been there in Australia, but it has lain dormant. It has always been in the corners of our society. Well, it is not anymore. It is up to each and every member of this House to stand firmly and strongly against it and to do whatever is in our power to ensure that Australia is a safe place—because it is not just the Jewish people who are watching; it is all of Australia. Every single Australian demands and deserves the right to be safe, to be able to live in their homes without fear and without worrying about intimidation, harassment or violence, especially for something as simple as who they are. I'm a proud Jewish Australian and I will continue to stand against antisemitism in all of its forms. 12:33 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra Until earlier this year I had never been to the Adass Israel Synagogue. When I heard about the firebombing there on 6 December last year, it rocked my sense of what it means to be a Jew in this country. A few weeks before, at the Kristallnacht commemoration, I had met Beate Hammett from Hornsby, now in her 90s. Her father had been the chief architect in the Jewish community in Berlin. Beate was honoured at the commemoration because, on that fateful night in 1938, two of the beautiful synagogues that had been designed by her father were destroyed by fire. The images of Adass Israel in Melbourne in flames brought home the memory of Kristallnacht and the worst moments in our history. In early January I visited the synagogue. The visit was very emotional. What the pictures don't convey is the burnt, damp smell that still pervades the air. The scenes are shocking—the twisted-metal air conditioners, the charred remains of chairs and the burnt honour boards, now impossible to read, that contained the names of people whose lives had been dedicated to the community. There's the cavity in the wall, stripped bare to the brick shell, where the Torah scrolls, the holiest objects in the synagogue, were kept. There's the knowledge that there were people in the synagogue when it was bombed and that lives could have been lost. The community lost more than just a building. The synagogue is more than just bricks and mortar. It's a place where people go to mark some of the most significant moments in their lives—for weddings and bar mitzvahs. It's a place where sons sit with fathers and where mothers sit with daughters, learning their prayers and our traditions across the generations. It's where people come to say Kaddish and remember their parents. But Adass Israel was not the end. It was the beginning of a phase of escalation of unprecedented antisemitic violence, which has no place in this country. We've seen the firebombing of cars in Woollahra and Dover Heights outside the former home of prominent Jewish communal leaders. We saw the firebombing of a childcare centre which serves the Jewish community of Maroubra. We saw the attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Newtown and antisemitic graffiti on another in Allawah. In my own peaceful electorate, a caravan was discovered with a list of Jewish communal institutions and enough explosives to cause the largest terrorist attack on Australian soil—an attack with the potential to kill hundreds of our fellow Australians. People in suburbs with high Jewish populations now go to sleep with helicopters whirring above their heads and police and armed guards patrolling the streets, because that is what is needed to protect them in Australia in 2025. We have a domestic terrorism crisis in this country, the sort of which Australia has never experienced. In my electorate, as in most electorates, there are very few Jewish people, but there are so many Australians who hate what has become of our country today—a country where antisemitism has been allowed to flourish because of the inaction and half measures of this government. If you criticise this government, Labor and the teals say you're politicising the issue. This is despite the fact that Jewish communal leaders, former Labor MPs and Labor Party members are making the same criticisms that I, the Leader of the Opposition and my colleagues are making. Let me be clear. I will not cop criticism for standing up for my family, my community or the country I love in the face of a government that has constantly let down the Jewish community and every law-abiding Australian, who just want to live in a country where they're afforded the full protection of the law. Australians want to see this government do all that they can, but the Prime Minister and the government have failed to do all they can. There has been moral equivalence right from the very beginning. The Prime Minister, other ministers, the teals and others failed to call out the uniqueness of antisemitism and recognise it as a standalone hatred. What we have seen are half measures and weakness when what we needed was strong measures and strong leadership. The government has been reactive. It has not led. They took months to bring in the hate symbols law that we first proposed. They took months to appoint a special envoy on antisemitism, and then they failed to heed her advice on crucial matters. They did not coordinate all the law enforcement in the intelligence services and state and federal police when this issue first reared its ugly head. They did not do all they could to curb the violent protests on our city streets. They allowed Jew haters to run amok on our campuses and failed to call a judicial inquiry. This parliamentary committee scares no-one, as the performance of vice-chancellors indicates and the racist QUT anti-racism conference highlights. The Prime Minister had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to call a national cabinet, which didn't produce stronger penalties or tougher laws, and the Attorney-General has failed to root out antisemitism at the Human Rights Commission. The foreign minister's conduct is regarded with disgust by thousands of Jewish people, calling for her not to represent our country in Auschwitz. The time for half measures and moral equivalence is over. The only thing that will solve antisemitism in this country is tough measures, strong leadership and stronger laws. That is what is needed in Australia today. 12:38 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I rise to support this motion moved by the member for Wentworth, and I congratulate her on doing so. I want to speak about the issue that's actually before us. On the first day that this parliament sat after the terrorist atrocities of 7 October 2023, this parliament overwhelmingly voted for a motion. It said, in clause (3): … the House … … … … condemns antisemitism and recognises that generations of Jewish people have been subjected to this hateful prejudice … I, on that day, said: I know I speak for every member of this House when I say that this kind of hateful prejudice has no place in Australia. The awful antisemitism chanted by some of the protesters at the Sydney Opera House is beyond offensive; it is a betrayal of our Australian values. We reject it and we condemn it. Our country is better than that and our country is a better place because of our Jewish community. Our government is committed to keeping the community safe. We have not wavered. Antisemitism stands in vile opposition to all we are as a nation and all that we have built together over generations. It has no place in our nation, and we'll combat it with the full force of our laws and total commitment from every level of government. Some of the horrendous acts have led to arrests. More will follow. We have a simple message to those cowards and criminals engaged in these low acts of hatred: you will be caught and you will be punished; our government has no tolerance for your actions. That is why we introduced a landmark ban on the Nazi salute and hate symbols—the first ever—which came into effect in January last year. It's also why we criminalised doxxing, legislation that some failed to support in this parliament, at the end of last year. Our groundbreaking legislation has made it easier for our law enforcement bodies to deal with the perpetrators of antisemitic acts, but it cannot be our only tool. Hatred feeds on ignorance, and ignorance thrives in darkness. So, as we fight these crimes of bigotry in the present, we are building for a better future through the light of education and memory. Last week, as we marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, my government committed $2 million for the upgrade of the Holocaust Institute for WA education centre, and we also announced $4.4 million for a national centre for Holocaust education here in Canberra. I want it to be part of the itinerary for visiting school groups, every bit as much as Parliament House, Questacon and the National Museum are. The Holocaust was carried out on a scale that falls across the decades like a terrible shadow, and we cannot let its lessons recede into history. It's important we know what road hate can take people down. We saw hatred in the October 7 attacks, the same hatred fuelled the fire that devastated the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne, and the same hatred drove those who targeted a childcare centre in Maroubra. These acts of hatred are an assault on the rights that every Australian cherishes. In addition to the laws we have passed, this government has made multiple commitments and investments to combat antisemitism. They include: establishing Special Operation Avalite, to respond to and investigate antisemitism attacks; $57 million investment to improve safety and security at Jewish schools and synagogues; an $8.5 million investment to upgrade the Sydney Jewish Museum; funding towards the replacement of the Torah scrolls housed in the Adass Israel synagogue; the appointment of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal—something that has existed for a while in other parts of the world; and an agreement of National Cabinet to establish a national database to track antisemitic crime. In addition to that, we will continue to provide ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and all of the authorities every resource that they request or desire in order to be able to do their work. We respect their work and give them support. We want to make sure that we have not just the words, as we repeat them, 'never again'; we want to make sure that this is a reality. We know that antisemitism has given dark shadows across generations. I say to Jewish Australians: live proudly, stand tall, you belong here and Australia stands with you. 12:43 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson I thank the members for their contributions and acknowledge that this is a very significant time for our country. This is a time of national crisis, and it has been brewing away and been in the making for a long period of time. Antisemitism has always been there, as previous speakers said. It has been here for thousands of years. But in our country, the depth and the level of hatred and racism that we've seen has never been evidenced in our country's history. When speaking to Holocaust survivors who came to our country at the end of the Second World War and who have experienced peace and tranquillity—living in an environment which has been conducive to them living safely and raising their children, contributing to civil society, being involved in philanthropic causes and contributing more generally to the betterment of this country—they say that, for the first time since 1945, they feel unsafe in this country. There are people otherwise within the Jewish community that I've spoken to, not just in Sydney and Melbourne but across the rest of the country, who are talking about leaving our country. These are people who were born here who know little of Israel and little of that life. They're talking about leaving our country and going to Israel—a country that's under nuclear threat from Iran—because they feel safer there. This is the moment we find ourselves in. It has been building since the horrible, dreadful circumstances of October 7 2023. Two days later, before any response from Israel, people were out chanting on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. The time was then for our country to take a very definite and strong stance against those actions. No such stance was taken. It then morphed into university campus demonstrations, which went on for months and months—no red lines and no boundaries—and targeted people who were just going about their business: Jewish students, which I spoke about before, and academics on campus who were made to feel unwelcome in an environment which had previously preached inclusion, tolerance and forbearance. Members had their offices attacked and people were doxxed online, not because of anything they'd said or done but simply because of their surname or because of their heritage. The fact is that this has continued unabated over the course of this period. The doxxing then morphed into attacks by way of graffiti on people's places of business, their cars and now their homes. There has now been the firebombing of a synagogue and the attack on a childcare centre. Funding has been ramped up to protect children with armed guards at Jewish schools. No other schools in Australia have that level of protection or overlay of security. We've now seen in Sydney an attempted terrorist attack, which, on the advice of the police, would have provided an attack not just on people of Jewish faith outside a synagogue but many hundreds, potentially, of Australians, with a 40-metre blast zone that would have caused the most catastrophic terrorist attack in our country's history. So this has continued on for a long period of time, and it is no wonder that people within the Jewish community, their friends, their supporters and every Australian of good endeavour and of big heart has been condemning of the inaction that we've seen over the course of the last 12 months. I want to thank the member for Wentworth for bringing forward this motion. It is true, though, that we worked with the member for Wentworth and the government to see struck out the original words—which were contained in paragraph 2—which read, after 'forms', 'as we condemn all similar hatred directed to any groups in our community'. The member agreed to that form of words being struck out, because we don't think that was necessary and we also think it is inexplicable to try and mount the argument that this sort of hatred, racism and antisemitism is being conveyed against any other pocket of the Australian community. We voted against the government's motion because it stopped us from moving amendments to the member's motion, which would have strengthened the motion and provided stronger support to the community, and we'll continue to do that in further forms in this parliament. We stand with the Jewish community, we stand with every right-thinking Australian and we condemn antisemitism in every form. 12:48 Mr THISTLETHWAITE 182468 Kingsford Smith I'm very pleased to speak on behalf of my community in support of the motion moved by the member for Wentworth. In 2014, a group of primary school students from Mount Sinai College, in Maroubra, were racially abused with shocking antisemitic language whilst they were getting the bus home from school. Naturally there was outrage and concern from parents and the wider community. In the wake of that, I wanted to find a way to make it known that antisemitism and racism were abhorrent and did not represent what our community was about. So I came up with the idea of painting a mural on the side wall of the Only About Children childcare centre on Anzac Parade in Maroubra. I got students of different faiths and backgrounds from local schools to come together. We had students of the Jewish faith from Emanuel School, Indigenous students from Matraville Sports High School, students of the Christian faith from Corpus Christi, and Randwick Girls' High School students. They came together to create and to paint a mural, and theme of that mural is harmony, respect and unity. That mural still stands today, almost a decade later. Despite the firebombing of the Only About Children early childhood centre and the spray painting on 21 January of disgusting antisemitic words on the other side of that wall where the mural is, the mural has survived. That mural, designed and painted by students of different faiths and backgrounds, remains unharmed. The mural in itself is a symbol of the resilience and strength of our community and our resolve to fight antisemitism and racism in any form. Over the last month, members of the Jewish community in our area and across Sydney have been subjected to some disgusting and terrifying antisemitic and racist attacks. I unequivocally condemn those attacks and their perpetrators for the shocking horror that they have brought to members of our Jewish community and I say to the Jewish community: I'm truly sorry that Jewish members of our community have had to endure these shameful actions. I've got many friends in the Jewish community. They are good people. They're law-abiding citizens who, like the rest of us, just want to go about their everyday lives. They deserve the right, like every Australian, to live in peace and to go about their lives in an ordinary manner. In December last year, I established the local Operation Shelter taskforce, with elected representatives, local police and leaders of Jewish synagogues and schools. We come together on a regular basis to cooperate and to plan actions to keep the community safe. We've had several meetings and there've been actions, including additional police patrols, helicopter surveillance and community support. But the most important thing is that we come together to talk, we come together to cooperate and we come together to work together. We have seen the largest police operation in Sydney since the Sydney Olympics, which is being undertaken to protect the Jewish community. I want to congratulate and thank the police for the arrests that they've been making and the staff at the Only About Children childcare centre, who were subject to this shocking attack. Those mongrels, the perpetrators of these crimes, will be caught and prosecuted, and there've been arrests over the last couple of days. In our community, our response to this shocking situation has been to work together, to choose unity over division, and to unite and come together to solve this challenge, rather than to take pot shots at each other in this place. We've chosen to adopt the approach represented by the mural that stands on that wall and the approach of those students who created it: harmony, respect and unity. If a bunch of high school students can set an example of how we should be approaching this issue and how we can solve it together, then surely we, as the leaders of this nation, can put politics aside and come together and work together to fight the scourge of antisemitism and racism in this country. 12:53 Mr COLEMAN 241067 Banks Antisemitism is the world's most ancient hatred, dating back thousands of years, and history is incredibly clear: if you allow antisemitism to gain even the smallest foothold in your society, you are no longer safe; your society is no longer safe. It is an evil that is always there below the surface and, at the first sign of it coming above the surface, it must be repressed. History could not be clearer on that point. We face a crisis today of antisemitism in Australia, and we have to think about how we got here and how we can ensure that the crisis is curtailed and that we never, ever get into this position again. On 9 October 2023, that night of infamy at the Sydney Opera House, we were all shocked by what we saw. We'd seen nothing like that in our lifetimes—the most despicable sentiments towards Australians of Jewish faith. What should have happened then is that we should have come together as a nation, led by our Prime Minister, and put in place a clear national strategy and plan to deal with antisemitism. But, unfortunately, that did not happen. It should have been the top of the Prime Minister's priority list after we saw that evil of 9 October. It didn't happen. In November of 2023, the next month, the Leader of the Opposition wrote to the Prime Minister and basically said, 'We need to significantly escalate our focus on stopping antisemitism in this country. We need to have a National Cabinet meeting, make this a national priority and really lead on this right now.' Again, the Prime Minister did not take up that offer and, in fact, did not even respond to the letter. It's really important that we talk about these things, because this is a democracy, and the way democracies can progress is by learning from their mistakes, and it is self-evident that, from the beginning of this antisemitism crisis up to this day, immense mistakes have been made. We need to learn from that. We need to learn from the ongoing failure to address antisemitic acts as they arose in our community. We saw antisemitic displays not prosecuted. We saw antisemitic protests allowed to continue week after week, with no consequences for the people who held up those shameful signs and made those shameful statements. Horrendously, we saw Australian students of Jewish faith afraid to go to university because of who they were—in Australia in 2024. That should never, ever happen in this country, but it did. Then we saw these acts escalated. We've seen horrendous acts of graffiti on synagogues around the country—on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, just outside my electorate, and so many others around the country, like the synagogue in Newtown—and on the childcare centre at Maroubra. Most shockingly, of course, there was the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. All of these things have happened in our country. What should have happened is that, back on 9 October, when we saw the face of antisemitism in Australia at the Sydney Opera House, our Prime Minister should have led the nation in a response. He didn't do that. That was wrong, and we need to be frank about it. We now need to take action on things like mandatory sentencing for people who commit acts of terror. It sounds straightforward. We should do that. We need to have mandatory sentencing in relation to symbols of an antisemitic nature. We all need to move forward to address this antisemitism crisis in Australia and take steps to ensure that we never, ever again end up in this situation in our great nation. 12:59 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein Goldstein is home to the third-largest Jewish community in Australia—Holocaust survivors and their descendants, largely, who came to Australia for safety. This is something to be proud of. When I speak to members of the Jewish community in my electorate, they speak with such strong love for the safety their families have found here and now with such deep sadness, confusion and fear about what's happened over the last 15 months. When I think of the Jewish community and talk about this frightful situation, my mind inevitably goes to a friend and her young, primary-school-age son. He has barely slept since 7 October 2023, and he has barely gone to school, not only because of the terror over the seas but because of his fear here. It was only when he saw armed guards at school that he would go back. This is not only sad; this is wrong. What's happened in Gaza is terrible. I don't agree with the way it has unfolded. Questioning that, the lack of humanity in it, is not antisemitic. We must be able to demand accountability from governments across the world. But hateful rhetoric and acts against Jewish people here are absolutely wrong and must be condemned. No Jewish person—Jewish people have many views, I might add—should be blamed for the actions of a government in Israel. These are separate and must be treated as such. People have been cancelled, communities have been defaced, a synagogue adjacent to my electorate was firebombed, and credible threats of domestic terror attacks have been found. We have been blessed to be a socially cohesive nation. Our multiculturalism has been a success story, the envy of much of the world. But, as I've said many times since entering this parliament, our social cohesion is being deeply challenged. Our geographical distance has provided us safety from many modern conflicts in the past, but not from this one. Let me be clear: antisemitism is intolerable and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. But the twin tragedies of this conflict—the suffering in Gaza and, to some degree, the West Bank, and the fear among Jewish communities—coexist. Their peace and their safety are intertwined. Defacement, demonisation and, indeed, terror do nothing but deepen these enduring wounds. We must get back to reason. When hatred is allowed to fester, it endangers all of us. Life and death must never be weaponised for political gain, and hate, in all its forms, including antisemitism, must never be allowed to shape our discourse. I support this motion, and I thank the member for Wentworth for bringing it. I'm hopeful that legislation now before the parliament to combat hate crimes will be a substantial step forward to restore social cohesion and safety for our Jewish communities. There is more to do. I send this message to everyone in my community and the nation who is living in fear of antisemitic violence: I stand with you, and we must work together across these aisles to bring people together, not tear them apart. 13:02 Dr FREELANDER 265979 Macarthur I'm a very proud Jewish Australian. I'm not particularly religious, but my family has contributed to Australian life over many generations. I can trace my family back to the beginnings of European settlement in Australia. My four-times-great-grandfather, Abraham Rheuben, was one of the founders of the Hobart Synagogue, which is still functioning today. My grandfather was one of the founders of the Emanuel Synagogue in Woollahra, which was recently subjected to an attack of antisemitism and defacement. I'm very proud of my heritage. My family, over many generations, as I've said, has contributed to Australian life in many ways: in law, in medicine, in business and in other fields. One of my ancestors was one of the first paediatric cardiothoracic surgeons in Australia, and many others have contributed, particularly in medicine, over many years. Antisemitism, of course, has existed in Australia since European settlement. We have had episodes of antisemitism going back to the 1800s and the early 20th century. There was, of course, the bombing of the Israeli consulate and the Hakoah club in 1982. The Bankstown Synagogue, where I did part of my Hebrew studies prior to my bar mitzvah, was firebombed and completely destroyed in 1991. The recent increase in antisemitism has been shocking, and, with the recent conflict in the Middle East, we've seen the ramping up of these antisemitic episodes. It is terrible, but we are very lucky to live in a multicultural, secular democracy like Australia, where we live by the rule of law, and we are very grateful for the efforts of the police and the security forces to make sure that these episodes of antisemitism are being followed up and investigated. Ultimately, the perpetrators, I am confident, will be punished. I don't believe in mandatory sentencing, and I do believe that we should trust in the legal process. We do have the separation of powers, and we do need to trust in the legal process to make sure that people are appropriately punished for the crimes they commit—and these are crimes. They're terrible crimes. As a paediatrician, the way that schools and preschools have been targeted is absolutely shocking and does ongoing damage. I can completely understand the reticence of parents to send their kids to these schools and preschools because of this recent spate of antisemitic attacks. The attacks must be stopped. The most important thing I see, though, is social cohesion. We must act together on this. I congratulate the Prime Minister and the government on their efforts. We have done many, many things to try to prevent episodes of antisemitism and make sure they are appropriately punished, such as establishing Operation Avalite with the Australian Federal Police, banning doxxing and the display of antisemitic symbols, the appointment of Peter Khalil as the Special Envoy for Social Cohesion—he's been excellent—and the appointment of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, who is doing a fantastic job. The government has funded security and improvements in the Sydney Jewish Museum and in other places around Australia and is doing whatever it can to make sure that antisemitism is recognised, investigated and punished. I'm confident in the efforts of the government, and I think that we must all act together on this, as the Australian parliament and a cohesive group, to lead efforts to prevent antisemitism. I'm very proud of what our government is doing, and I'm very proud to be a member of a government that recognises the importance of catching and punishing people who are committing these terrible acts in whatever cause. I thank the Member for Wentworth for bringing her motion. I support it completely, and I thank all those other members who've spoken out against antisemitism. I know that, as a government, we are a cohesive force, and I really do support the efforts of the opposition members who have spoken today as well. It is important that we do act together to get rid of this scourge. 13:07 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher There's been a lot of talk this morning about what the government has done or wants to do to address antisemitism. But I think it's important that in this chamber, at this time, we actually deal with some facts. Part of the reason we are where we are today and for the rise of antisemitism is the appalling lack of political leadership and, it has to be said, the appalling lack of leadership from our leaders. That's not the men and women of the police and security services on the ground. It's a lack of leadership at our utmost top levels in those security and policing services. In the last year alone, this federal Labor government has delayed a visit to Israel by senior ministers and then refused to visit the sites of the atrocities. When the foreign minister visited Israel—I think it was in early 2024—she refused to visit the sites of the atrocities. That was our foreign minister. I've been to the sites of the atrocities, and for our foreign minister to have travelled to Israel shortly after the incident but to have refused to go to those sites is a travesty, and she stands condemned for not doing so. In fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago that this government's Attorney-General visited Israel. That was in the last couple of weeks. This government reinstated funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine despite an ongoing investigation into the agency's complicity in the 7 October attacks. This investigation inevitably proved that as many as nine UN relief workers were involved in the murder of 1,200 innocent Israeli people and the kidnapping of 251 men, women and children. This Labor government called for a ceasefire and a two-state solution just months after the 7 October attack, and this announcement, by this government, came on a Jewish high holiday—of all days! This government has consistently refused to instigate a judicial inquiry in relation to the antisemitism that has pervaded our university campuses, instead opting for a parliamentary inquiry. This government voted to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, breaking with allies and decades of bipartisanship on this matter. This Prime Minister watched on as the trade union movement backed Hamas and the two-state solution in a public statement, another affront to the long history of trade union antisemitism. Labor chose cowardice over courage when the International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israel's democratically elected leaders. This government failed to hold the Australian Human Rights Commission to account for antisemitism within its senior leadership. This government dithered and delayed instead of responding to vile antisemitism on our Australian university campuses. This government has since refused to support an urgent judicial inquiry into antisemitism on those campuses. This government were woefully slow to act when their own Senator Fatima Payman chose solidarity with Hamas and the Greens over the Jewish people. This government tried to stand on both sides of the barbed wire fence by abstaining on a UN General Assembly vote, proposed by Palestine, to demand Israel cede its territory and end its so-called occupation. Under this Prime Minister the Australian Labor government sided with UNRWA and its Hamas affiliated counterparts after Israel's elected legislature voted to revoke UNRWA's right to operate on Israeli sovereign territory. 13:12 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I want to thank the member for Wentworth for raising this very real and corrosive issue in this House, and I consider the last speaker from the opposition to be part of that corrosiveness and that type of attitude towards an issue that we should be coming together on. Last month Southern Sydney Synagogue, in Allawah, was vandalised with antisemitic slogans. The synagogue is just outside my electorate, with a rail line between us, but the congregation are very much part of the community. It wasn't just property damage; it was an attempt to instil fear in the small Jewish congregation, and it made the wider St George community feel less safe. The attack has been part of a pattern of antisemitic violence in Sydney, Melbourne and other parts of Australia. That violence has targeted homes and properties in areas where there are large Jewish populations. New South Wales and federal police are acting swiftly to find the culprits. The government has legislated to ban the display of hate symbols and Nazi salutes, which homes in on the very public attempts to intimidate our communities. The government has imposed sanctions on the Terrorgram network. It has announced $100 million for countering violent extremism. The Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has been conducting important work to determine the scale of this prejudice and provide advice to the government. I have a very simple message to those perpetrating these antisemitic acts. If you think you are feeding a cause, you are not. You are making it worse for everyone. Disgust will be your reward. Sowing division and fear is not brave; it is completely unacceptable. When we see what is taking place in this country, we see pure evil and pure racism, and we have seen it periodically in this country when it comes to different groups of people. This parliament has a responsibility to come together and show a really decent approach to this issue and to show leadership. The last speaker from the opposition spoke about leadership; he displayed none. Leadership would be to come together as one and support the member for Wentworth's motion. Leadership is understanding that these antisemitic acts and acts of racism divide people. They hurt people. They stay with you. Let me tell you; I can speak from personal experience about that. Instead of trying to make this a political issue, instead of trying to paint one side one way and one side the other, why don't we display to the Australian community an act of bipartisanship in not accepting what's been going on, an act that will display to the Australian people that we are one in rejecting racism, rejecting antisemitism and rejecting hate in this country? That is required of this parliament—not what we are seeing now, where there is the attempt to sow division here. How can the Australian people have any faith in political leadership if we cannot come together on this one? I urge everyone to do it. I am proud to be part of a government who has made many moves and done many things to support social cohesion in this country and to call out antisemitism as absolutely unacceptable. I'm proud of that—I am very, very proud of that. You cannot rewrite history and you cannot rewrite the truth. Politicising this issue is reprehensible, unacceptable and not a display of leadership to the Australian community. 13:18 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills I remember vividly, on the morning of 8 October 2023, the first conversations I had expressing what I thought would be an urgent need to put in place protections for places of worship in Australia, such as synagogues, churches, mosques, Jewish schools and community centres, because I knew from bitter personal experience that there would be terrible ramifications from the horrific massacre of October 7, the unleashing of that dreadful, dark hatred and violence that saw the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. There was the massacre of 1,200 people and the capturing of 250 hostages; the 15 months of war, death and destruction; the loss of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian lives; and the displacement of millions. There is the deep, indescribable pain of Jewish Australians who lost loved ones in the kibbutzim and of the Palestinian Australian teacher in my electorate who lost a dozen family numbers in the bombing of Gaza, and they are joined only in the darkness of their grief, which is the sad remaining remnant of shared humanity. Now there has been the unleashing of the vile scourge of an ancient hatred, antisemitism, upon Jewish Australians. There is what I can only explain as a dark dread in the pit of my stomach that these ancient animosities, these ancient hatreds, that have wound their way through thousands of years have now come to hurt our people in Australia because of their faith or ethnic background. Antisemitism is a violent, ancient hatred. It's run its wicked course through history; through the pogroms of Europe to the culmination of the greatest horror mankind had ever perpetrated on itself, in the Holocaust; and now into our Jewish Australian community, who feel this ancient scourge in an unprecedented way in modern-day Australia. I considered in late 2023 that we would be facing not only a political storm but also a moral storm. In those moments in the eye of the storm, it's important to hold fast to the mast that is our principles, to go through the battering of the storm to find calmer waters on the other side. But what are these principles? No Australian should be subject to violence and hatred because of their faith or their ethnic identity. This goes to the heart of social cohesion: that we can disagree, that we can have deeply held viewpoints of the world that are different from one another, that our society works only when we are able to navigate those differences peacefully and respectfully without resorting to violence or hate speech. At every turn, the government has unequivocally condemned antisemitism and has taken extensive policy and legislative measures to protect the Jewish Australian community and tackle antisemitism, but legal sanctions from any government can go only so far. The deep hatred within people who think that violence is a legitimate form of expressing their political or ideological views has to change. It has to be addressed beyond legal sanction, and that happens when representatives in this place, grassroots communities across Australia and every individual Australian citizen understand that we all have a responsibility to engage and navigate our differences peacefully. I confess that I don't know whether the rise of antisemitism that we have seen across Australia is from a very loud and violent minority or whether what we're seeing is an unleashing of an ancient hatred that has always existed, lurking underneath. I sincerely hope it's the former. In my heart I believe that the vast majority of Australians are inherently good people who give each other a fair go regardless of their faith backgrounds and reject violence and hate as a means to an end. This small but vocal and loud minority who hold hatred in their hearts, who seek to break down our cohesive society through violence and intimidation—the leadership here in this place and across the country, in every community, in every citizen believing in and committing to their nation and citizenship, and the responsibility to protect it from violence are what will defeat that hatred. Unfortunately, we have seen in this place those who have sought to use the human tragedy to politicise attacks on Jewish Australians for their own short-term political gain and, worse, fanned the very flames of hatred. That's an abrogation of responsibility as democratic representatives. We have to see beyond the short-term political prism to take actions and speak words that go to protecting and supporting all Australians regardless of their faith or identity, calling out the hatreds such as antisemitism, not sowing division and discord to make short-term political gain. This is our responsibly to the Jewish Australian community so that we can once again make sure that they feel safe and secure in this country. 13:23 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne The Greens support this motion. The recent rise in attacks on childcare centres, on homes and on synagogues is to be condemned. Antisemitism has no place in our country. Hate has no place in our country. Violence and racism of any kind have no place in our country. I've had members of the Jewish community say to me recently that they oppose the invasion of Gaza, they oppose the occupation, they oppose what Benjamin Netanyahu is doing and they participated in peaceful protests but that the recent attacks are having an effect on them. I want them to know that we hear that here in parliament and there is universal support to say that antisemitism has no place in this country. There have been mentions from other members in this place about the longstanding roots of antisemitism. I remember, together with other members of our community in Victoria, seeing the terror and the horror in 2021 when neo-Nazi groups gathered in the Grampians and we started to see the far right and white supremacists start to feel so emboldened that they could gather together publicly. For many of us, that represented a significant moment, following on the heels of the rise of the far right generally, that required some action. We in Victorian parliament moved for an inquiry into the rise and resurgence of the far right in Australia, which found a year later that sadly there has been a resurgence, and it's something that, back at the time, ASIO and our security agencies— The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D It being 1.25 pm, in accordance with the resolution agreed to by the House earlier today, I now put the question. The question is that the motion moved by the member for Wentworth be agreed to. Question agreed to. BILLS 15 BILLS Defence Service Homes Amendment (Insurance) Bill 2025 15

Defence Service Homes Amendment (Insurance) Bill 2025

First Reading 15 Second Reading 15 13:26 Mr KEOGH 249147 Burt I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today I rise to introduce the Defence Service Homes Amendment (Insurance) Bill 2025(the bill). This bill will formalise longstanding Commonwealth practice by providing express legislative authority for the Commonwealth to continue to provide general insurance or act as an authorised representative for a third-party insurer. Since 1919, the Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme has provided financial support by way of home building insurance to Australian Defence Force members and eligible veterans and their families under the Defence Service Homes Act 1918. To complement the home building insurance product, since 1990, Defence Service Homes Insurance has acted as a representative of a third-party commercial insurer to offer Defence Service Homes Insurance 'branded' home, contents, motor vehicle, caravan and motorbike insurance policies. This has generated commission income that contributes to the competitive pricing of Defence Service Homes Insurance home building policies—keeping costs down for Defence families. This bill formalises the existing practice of the Commonwealth to enter into representative agreements with third-party insurers to provide home, contents and general insurance products to ADF members, eligible veterans and their families. This bill will retrospectively validate past activities undertaken by the Defence Service Homes Insurance as an authorised representative of a third-party insurer and also authorise the scheme to continue to carry out such activities in relation to more than 32,000 current policyholders, including granting it the authority to renew policies. The Albanese government is committed to supporting veterans and their families, and Defence Service Homes Insurance is just one of those supports currently available. This complements other initiatives from the Albanese government, including improvements to study assistance to Australian Defence Force and Public Service personnel, increased support for Australian Defence Force families through enhanced remote locality leave travel, and expanded ADF family health benefits program. Full details of the measures contained in this bill are set out in the explanatory memorandum. I urge members to support this legislation and move it through our parliament promptly. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. BUSINESS 16 BUSINESS Rearrangement 16 13:29 Mr GORMAN 74519 Perth I move: That notice No. 1, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 16 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Defence 16 13:29 Mr VASTA E0D Bonner Last week I was joined by the shadow minister for defence, the Hon. Andrew Hastie; the member for Bowman, Henry Pike; and 150 locals for the Bonner Bowman Defence Forum. The forum was an opportunity to hear from our shadow defence minister, who shared his clear vision for our defence industry. It was wonderful to hear from such an experienced, educated and decisive leader, who had travelled across the country from Western Australia to the Manly Lota RSL. Australia is a strong and mighty country. We have bright minds and plentiful natural resources. We are a hopeful, fierce and ready people, so it was incredibly disappointing to see the defence recruiting in such a poor state. On top of needing cheaper groceries, affordable rent and lower bills, Australians expect to feel safe in their homes and communities and as a nation. Our strategic environment is the most challenging and complex it has been since World War II, and we desperately need to fix the recruiting, retention and readiness crisis in our Defence Force. We need a message that appeals to young hearts and minds, reminding the next generation of the timeless values of service, duty, honour and country. As the shadow defence minister says, a strong and capable sovereign defence industry means a stronger and more capable defence force and, therefore, a stronger and more capable Australia. Brassil, Mr James Thomas Carlin (Jim), AM 16 13:31 Ms STANLEY 265990 Werriwa I rise to let the House know that a stalwart of the Labor Party in my part of the world died just before Christmas. James Brassil was more affectionately known as Jim, and it was my honour to attend his funeral and speak on behalf of the party. Jim was Labor through and through. He worked for Labor royalty, including Gough Whitlam's deputy, Lance Barnard, as his chief of staff. When he was a child, he met Ben Chifley, who was then the Prime Minister. But it was his role on that day, 11 November 1975, that ensured that Jim and Gough Whitlam could make his famous speech on the steps of parliament. Jim made sure that the power kept that microphone on so that Gough could utter those now very legendary words. He had all the credentials. He was a staffer and activist, a member of the AAT and the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, chairman and CEO of Worksafe Australia, and a life member of the ALP. I received word a few weeks before his death that he'd like me to come and see him and have a chat. Jim was at that point in a nursing home. He'd spent most of his time in that home making sure that they all voted for me, and had done that over my time here. I'd like to give my condolences to his family. I appreciate very much that they let me speak at his funeral. Economy 17 13:33 Mr BUCHHOLZ 230531 Wright At the last election we were told that Australians would be better off under a Labor government. We've been sold a pup, and I ask the Australian public: how are you better off? When I speak to my manufacturers, my farmers, my businesses and my families in the electorate of Wright, they openly share with me the pain that they are enduring, and they're the ones who are still there, because the statistical evidence supports a figure of 27,000 insolvencies having happened since this government came to office. Shame! That is a far cry from the government's position that Australians would be better off. My manufacturers are doing it tough because of their input costs. They're doing it tough because of the electricity costs that continue to skyrocket. All the while, before the election, we were being told on many, many occasions that electricity prices would come down by $275. Our farmers are doing it tough, and they're going to be asked to do more in the way of reporting their carbon emissions. Businesses that are still there are worried about what a future under this government will look like. Australians deserve better. Australians deserve a Dutton led government. Asche, Hon. Keith John Austin, AC, KC, Hosking, Mr Matthew 17 13:34 Mr GOSLING 245392 Solomon Today I want to commemorate two Australians who served our country. The first a great Territorian and Australian, the Hon. Austin Asche AC AK. I attended Austin's state funeral yesterday in Darwin to commemorate his life. I'm thankful to the Australian War Memorial, where a wreath was laid for him on Sunday night's last post ceremony. Austin served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. He was the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory, the chancellor of Charles Darwin University and the 15th Administrator of the Northern Territory. Secondly, I want to commemorate Corporal Matt Hosking, who sadly lost his life in a car accident at the end of last year. Matt was an infantry soldier with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment and passed away just prior to the relinking of 5 RAR and 7 RAR. I spoke to his commanding officer, Von, who said he was a great junior commander. We asked Von to pass on our condolences to his mum, Sam, and to his dad, Tim, in Moonta Bay, South Australia. Matt's legacy was certainly felt at the battalion's re-linking parade in Darwin in December last year. Thank you to all those who serve. To Austin and Matt: thank you for your service. Rest in peace. Veterans 17 13:36 Dr SCAMPS 299623 Mackellar Today I raise a serious issue about access to health care for our veterans. I've been contacted by several physiotherapists in my electorate of Mackellar. They are deeply concerned about the veteran community's access to essential physiotherapy services through the Department of Veterans' Affairs funding scheme. Currently DVA reimbursement rates are insufficient to cover the cost of care, including pain management, rehabilitation, fall prevention and musculoskeletal health. These services are essential to veterans' physical and mental wellbeing. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted the impact of chronic pain on veterans' mental health. I've been told that many physios, out of commitment to their veteran patients, have continued to provide care despite incurring out-of-pocket costs. This is unsustainable. Fewer and fewer physios will be able to continue providing the care our veterans need and deserve. So I urge the government to raise the DVA reimbursement rate to align with NDIS rates so that our veterans can continue to access the important care they need. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide clearly highlighted the serious struggles many veterans face, and we must ensure our veterans have access to the healthcare services they need. Australia Day 17 13:37 Ms FERNANDO 299964 Holt We recently celebrated one of the most important days of the year, Australia Day. Australia Day is a time to celebrate who we are as a nation, our history, our people, and the values that make this country so great. Over the last 277 years, people from all walks of life have come to this continent, bringing ambition, courage and a deep love for Australia. This love was on full display in Lynbrook on Australia Day at my annual Australia Day barbecue. It was great to see the community gather to celebrate the values that we hold so dear. As former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, 'What makes us Australian is not where you come from, it is the values you share: democracy, equality and respect for one another.' Australia is a land of freedom, opportunity and stunning beauty. It's a place where hard work and determination can turn dreams into reality. If a young girl from Sri Lanka can be elected to this House, then anything is possible in our great nation. Happy Australia Day! Donations to Political Parties 18 13:39 Ms 300127 Ryan WATSON-BROWN () (): Today I have a warning—$1 trillion. That was the net worth of billionaires at Donald Trump's inauguration. Billionaires put in charge of key government departments. There's a name for this. It's called oligarchy—ruled by the rich. And now they're trying to bring it here. Homegrown billionaires like Gina Rinehart have all swung in behind Trump. Rinehart has called on Australian politicians to be more like Donald Trump and has hosted fundraisers for the coalition. The entry price was $14,000. And the Leader of the Opposition has happily reciprocated, heading off on an increasingly Trumpian cosplay. What's the agenda? It's to provide tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, fast-track approvals of new coal and gas projects, derail our progress on renewables, make it more expensive to see a GP, and launch poisonous, divisive culture wars to distract us while the incredibly wealthy get even wealthier. We could get dental into Medicare, we could make uni free again, we could build hundreds of thousands of genuinely affordable homes and we could fund a huge expansion in renewables and storage, but we're letting billionaires and big corporations make bigger and bigger profits and pay less and less tax, and the Leader of the Opposition wants to make it worse. We can't let billionaires buy our democracy. Robinson, Mr Alan 18 13:40 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter After 58 years as a volunteer with the RFS, Deputy Captain Alan Robinson AFSM is heading into a well-earned retirement. Alan joined the New South Wales bushfire brigades in 1967, at the age of 25. He started his career with Blaxland Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, where he was a member until the Glenbrook-Lapstone Volunteer Bushfire Brigade was raised in 1969. Alan was a foundation member and remained a member of that brigade until 2010. As a member of the Blue Mountains Group Support Brigade, Alan held various positions, such as deputy captain, senior deputy captain and captain. Alan also led an initiative to design and construct a purpose-built mobile communications vehicle, fully fitted out and operational so that the communications brigade could set up and obtain good communication for firefighters working in difficult terrain. This purpose-built vehicle was the first of its kind and has since been adopted as a standard by the NSW Rural Fire Service. Over the years, Alan has been involved in almost every major fire season. For his dedication and service, he has received a number of medals and citations, including the Australian Fire Service Medal, the Premier's Bushfire Emergency Citation and the National Emergency Medal with clasp for the bushfires in 2019-2020. Congratulations on an amazing career, Alan. Thank you for the decades of service that you've given to our community and thank you for putting yourself in danger to keep us safe. We really appreciate you. Enjoy your retirement, buddy. Fisher Electorate: Infrastructure 18 13:42 Mr WALLACE 265967 Fisher I've made building better roads and rail a priority since my election in 2016 so that families like mine can get home sooner and safer. I've fought to upgrade local roads, like Beerburrum Street in Aroona, Currimundi Road and University Way. I've fought to improve the safety of roads like Citrus Road in Palmwoods and Cooroora Street in Dicky Beach. I've fought to expand our network of walkways and cycleways in places like Beerwah, Battery Hill and Tanawha, and I've fought to connect the Sunshine Coast with $6.7 billion in major projects, like the Bruce Highway, the North Coast rail duplication, Steve Irwin Way, the Mooloolaba transport corridor and more. In contrast, Labor slashed a number of vital projects, including future Bruce Highway upgrades. They slashed the Caloundra transport corridor upgrade and callously cut funding to the Mooloolah River Interchange, where over a hundred houses had been demolished to make way for it. Now, once again, the Sunshine Coast rail project is on the chopping block, despite record funding. If we kick it down the road for another generation, it'll only be more expensive. As a result, hundreds of thousands of locals will miss out on an Olympic-sized opportunity to transform the way we move on the Sunshine Coast. I call on all levels of government, every area of the community and all parties and persuasions to get on board with Sunshine Coast rail. (Time expired) St John Ambulance Service Medal 19 13:43 Dr REID 300126 Robertson This place would know of the outstanding work that St John Ambulance and its volunteers undertake in our community. St John Ambulance is a global organisation with a history dating back more than 900 years, and it's focused on delivering first aid, health care and support services around the world, including right here in Australia. For example, in the 19th century, during the Industrial Revolution, St John Ambulance helped train volunteers in first aid so that they could more quickly provide medical assistance to injured workers who lacked access to doctors. St John Ambulance was established in Australia in 1883 and has been a common feature in our communities. Whether it be at sporting, entertainment or community events, you can be assured that St John Ambulance and its services will be readily available to respond in an emergency. I would like to congratulate two St John Ambulance volunteers who have recently been awarded a St John Ambulance Service Medal for dedication and service to the organisation: Mr Kenneth Schneider of Umina Beach, on the peninsula, who recently received his medal for a remarkable 70 years of service—Kenneth joined when he was just 12 years old; and Ms Kerry Rowleson of Copacabana, who received her medal to recognise 15 years of service with St John Ambulance. I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Kenneth and Kerry on their dedication and their amazing service to our community on the Central Coast. Thank you. Middle East: Occupied Palestinian Territories 19 13:45 Mr COLEMAN 241067 Banks For tawdry domestic political reasons, the government has trashed two decades of bipartisanship on policy towards the recognition of a Palestinian state. This is shameful. For more than 20 years, Australia has held the bipartisan position that recognition of a Palestinian state can only come as a consequence of negotiations to resolve the many complex issues involved—issues such as borders, rights of return and security guarantees. We have stood side by side with the United States on this issue across coalition and Labor governments and Democrat and Republican administrations, and we've done that because it is plainly the right thing to do. The United States maintained that longstanding position under former president Biden. But Labor has walked away from that and now says that recognition of a Palestinian state can come before any of the many unresolved issues are addressed. Why? It's simple. It's because Minister Wong is worried about the Labor vote against the Greens in electorates like Wills, Griffith and Brisbane. This isn't about human rights, diplomacy or high principles of international relations; it is about a sordid attempt to grab votes in a few key seats. That tells you everything you need to know about the Albanese government. Coalition 19 13:46 Ms SWANSON 264170 Paterson There is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody always pays, and, if it's up to the Leader of the Opposition, it will be every single Australian taxpayer. I know the opposition leader isn't big on detail, and costings are an inconvenience at best—some might say an impediment—to his progress. But we care, and $10 billion for this free-lunch folly that the opposition leader has put forward is just ridiculous. He doesn't want to pay for tax cuts for everyone. He doesn't want to pay for and voted against cheaper child care and cheaper medicines. This opposition only cares about the progress of one person, and that is him in this parliament. Small businesses deserve better. They are the engine room of our economy. They deserve more than thought-bubble policies. They deserve a serious government that wants to give all Australians a tax break and incentivise being better in business. They want a serious government that is lowering inflation and doing more to increase wages that ultimately get spent in their small businesses. And this opposition leader is casting them to the wind on a free-lunch folly. It just doesn't add up. Victoria: Bushfires 19 13:48 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee I rise to speak on our first sitting day of 2025 about the bushfires that are burning across my electorate of Mallee. Sadly, I have fires south of Kaniva and Nhill and still in the Grampians National Park. The Little Desert National Park fire has destroyed the Little Desert Nature Lodge, and there have been fires this week at Colignan and Ouyen. Halls Gap small businesses were badly hit by bushfires forcing closure of the town during the peak tourist season, costing $13 million and a further $19 million in expected loss in gross regional product. I walked the deserted streets just before Christmas, and it was surreal; it was like a ghost town. Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, visited Halls Gap small business owners with me in January at my invitation, along with shadow ministers Perin Davey and Dan Tehan. The community is well aware that the Prime Minister only did a flyover with the Premier of Victoria just before Christmas. With the Leader of the Opposition, I urge Australians to visit the Grampians to support a fire-ravaged local economy. Cost of Living 19 13:49 Mr BURNELL 300129 Spence Good governments deliver change from the ground up. On this side of the House we know that everyday Aussies are doing it tough. That's why, when a good government—a Labor government—steps up to the crease to fight the cost of living, we direct our efforts to everyday Aussies who need it most. That's why Labor delivered a tax cut that helps every Australian, putting an average of $1,217 back into pockets of workers in my community. That's why Labor shaved $300 off power bills, froze medicine costs, opened urgent care clinics around the country and made education more affordable. That's what good governments too. There is one man in this place, the Leader of the Opposition, who would deny this relief to the families who need it most; who would prefer to see the 67,000 people in my electorate go without their tax cut, and would call for an election to make this happen; who has consistently voted against good policy to improve livelihoods of households across this country; and who has tried to shoot down boosts to Medicare, education and housing. Instead of helping you, this Leader of the Opposition offers an alternative—a $1.6 billion tax funded scheme to give bosses a free lunch. While the Leader of the Opposition is setting a banquet table for his mates, Labor is focused on a better future for Australians. Handa Opera at Millthorpe, Craven Creek Music Festival 20 13:50 Mr FLETCHER L6B Bradfield At Easter this year there will be a three-day opera festival in the New South Wales country town of Millthorpe, near Orange. It's being put together by Lyndon Terracini, who was formerly the artistic director of Opera Australia. He's secured sponsorship from the billionaire Japanese businessman and arts patron, Haruhisa Handa, the same man who has long sponsored Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, one of Lyndon's signature initiatives in his previous role. The festival in Millthorpe will feature the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra, which is much loved in my electorate of Bradfield and features many talented musicians who have day jobs. Lyndon Terracini was recently interviewed and he said: I wanted to start modestly this year, and I haven't applied for any government funding. As a former arts minister, I love that attitude, just like I love the Craven Creek Music Festival—organised by Greg Lindsay, former director of the Centre for Independent Studies—near Gloucester in country New South Wales, which is typically held in the second half of the year. I went last year and loved it. There is great music at events organised by great Australians, with no government handouts involved. So google them—Handa Opera at Millthorpe and Craven Creek Music Festival. Get yourself some tickets. You won't regret it. These are terrific events in wonderful parts of country Australia, organised by very distinguished Australians. I congratulate them both. There's going to be some great music. Economy 20 13:52 Dr MULINO 132880 Fraser There was once a fable of a king who sought advice from his economic advisers. The original advice came in at 87 volumes of 600 pages each. Understandably, he asked for simpler advice, executing half of his economists at each iteration. The last surviving economist distilled all of the advice to just eight words: 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' While, as an economist, I can understand the appeal of executing so many economic advisers, the real lesson from this story is that someone always pays. Peter Dutton's free lunch policy flies in the face of these eight wise words. In this case, it's workers who will end up paying for their bosses' lunches. Not only is this policy misleading in using the word 'free', it is unfair in who bears the burden. In addition, it's a remarkable step away from responsible economic management. The government has delivered two surpluses while delivering targeted cost-of-living measures. Those opposite voted against those targeted, responsible, important measures, calling them sugar hits. Many households would have been more than $7,000 worse off if they had had their way. But now the opposition has cynically brought forward a measure that's uncosted but has been estimated to cost the bottom line over $10 billion. If responsible cost-of-living measures are sugar hits, free lunches for their CEOs must be very rich desserts. Free lunches for bosses—fantastic, great move! Well done, Angus! The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 I remind you that you must always use correct titles when referring to members in this House. That's a reminder for everyone. South Coast Marine Park 20 13:54 Mr RICK WILSON 198084 O'Connor I rise to address a scandalous claim by WA Premier Roger Cook that I lied about the widespread fishing bans of his contentious South Coast Marine Park. On 24 January Mr Cook slandered me during his whistlestop tour of Albany, where he is scrambling to save the state seat. Recently I wrote to environment minister, Reece Whitby, asking him to rule out a westward expansion of the marine park from Bremer Bay to Albany and Cape Leeuwin. He replied that he has no plans to extend the fishing bans. This is after four years of Labor attacking the fishing, farming and forestry industries on which Albany and other South Coast communities rely. Based on Labor's record, I'd take those weasel words with a generous grain of sea salt. In Albany before the 2021 state election, former premier Mark McGowan claimed seven times in one press conference that abolishing regional representation in WA's upper house was not on his agenda, yet one of his first acts on re-election was dumping regional representation. This is why my constituents do not trust Labor's plans or agendas and why I'm calling on Premier Cook to give an ironclad guarantee that Labor's current fishing bans will not extend further. I stand with shadow environment minister Neil Thomson, who will move a disallowance motion to reverse these bans when parliament resumes after the March state election. Leader of the Opposition 21 13:55 Ms SITOU 298121 Reid The Leader of the Opposition has had all summer to think up something to help families with the cost of living, because he's opposed all the measures we've introduced—opposed $300 energy bill relief, opposed tax cuts for all Australians and opposed cheaper medicines. So what is his bright idea to help ordinary Australians? Colleagues, it's a doozy. His bright idea is to get workers to help pay for their bosses' lunch—a policy as out of touch as it is reckless, costing the budget between $1.6 billion and $10 billion a year. Those opposite are famous for saying, 'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' So what does the Leader of the Opposition value? It certainly isn't Medicare, because when he was health minister he gutted Medicare and tried to introduce a GP tax. It certainly isn't workers, because let's remember that those opposite had low wages as a deliberate design feature of their policies. So what does he value? Workers paying for bosses to take long lunches. The Leader of the Opposition was out of touch and reckless as health minister; he continues to be out of touch and reckless and he should never lead this country. Australian Defence Force 21 13:57 Mr WOLAHAN 235654 Menzies Like so many in this place, I wasn't born here but I learnt some truths about our sacred stories. There is no more important sacred story than the war memorial up the road, and it was appropriate that both sides of politics were there last night. I also learnt an important truth about that place—that service is not defined by ancestry but marked by duty, courage and sacrifice. We are a multicultural society. It's important to note that there are pages of that story that include multicultural Australians, and many who weren't born here are on that memorial, having given up all their tomorrows for our today. That's why I was so pleased to see us announce, as a coalition, that we will fund a memorial sculpture in Box Hill to acknowledge the pages of that story written by Chinese Australians, including: Billy Sing in World War I; flying officer George Fong in World War II; Peter Liefman, a good friend of mine who served in Vietnam; and Grange Chung, who has served in contemporary conflicts. The memorial sculpture will be in Box Hill. While the Prime Minister and defence minister are here, it's also important to note that service is not defined by politics either. Who you vote for was irrelevant to me as a platoon commander; it's irrelevant to the names on that memorial. I plead with the Prime Minister and the defence minister: it would be wonderful if you matched that commitment and we celebrated it together. Taxation 21 13:58 Ms MASCARENHAS 298800 Swan When Australia's lowest paid workers asked for a $1 pay rise, our Prime Minister said, 'Absolutely.' When aged-care workers asked for a pay rise, did we back them? Absolutely. When early childhood educators said that they wanted a pay rise, did we back them? Absolutely. Now wages are up, inflation is down and unemployment is low. Meanwhile, did the Liberals back an increase for Australian minimum-wage workers? No. Did the Liberals back aged-care workers? No. Did the Liberals back childcare workers? No. Do we have anything on the menu? No. It took the Liberals all summer to come up with this policy nugget or potato gem: tax-free lunches for bosses. This would be a $1.6 billion tax paid fee. Gosh, it better taste good at that price. What would be on the menu—lobster, caviar or truffles? If every big boss took this up, it would cost taxpayers $10 billion. There would not be many childcare workers, aged-care workers or minimum-wage workers at those lunches. This is a Liberal policy for the big bosses at the top end of town. When the big bosses and the Liberals graze, the public purse pays. Aussies know there's no such thing as a free lunch. The SPEAKER 53517 In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded. CONDOLENCES 21 CONDOLENCES Sercombe, Mr Robert Charles Grant (Bob) 21 14:00 The SPEAKER 53517 I inform the House of the death on 12 January 2025 of Robert Charles Grant Sercombe, a member of this House for the division of Maribyrnong from 1996 to 2007. As a mark of respect for the memory of Bob Sercombe, I invite all present to rise in their places. Honourable members having stood in their place s — The SPEAKER 53517 I thank the House. STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 22 STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER North Queensland: Floods 22 14:00 The SPEAKER 53517 I inform the House that the member for Kennedy has been prevented from joining us today by the floods in North Queensland. These devastating floods are record breaking and are set to become the worst floods in the area since 1967. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the severity of the situation that people of North Queensland are facing, as well as the absence of our colleague the member for Kennedy. I know we wish them all safe harbour, and we thank those working tirelessly to keep the community safe. Earnestly, we all hope that conditions will ease. 14:01 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler on indulgence—Mr Speaker, I join with you, and I'm sure I speak for every member of this House, in saying that we are thinking of all those Australians battling natural disasters. I note the comments that you've made in relation to the member for Kennedy; I spoke with Bob late on Sunday night and again yesterday. I note that the member for Herbert is also appropriately absent from the chamber, as well as the member for Dawson, and that Senator Jenny McAllister, the Minister for Emergency Management, is on the ground there. I spoke with Premier Crisafulli today, yesterday and on Saturday, and, indeed, last week I discussed with him what was heading that way. I do want to take the opportunity to offer our condolences to the family and friends of the woman who tragically lost her life in the floodwaters near Ingham on Sunday. I received a briefing at the national headquarters here in Canberra yesterday morning. One of the things about this country is that, when you have a briefing and there's flooding and massive torrential rain in the north but extraordinary heatwaves in southern Australia, you do realise the extent of the danger that that represents. The fact that we can have more than one type of natural disaster at once really places strain. I do want to give a shout-out to all those emergency services personnel who are working at this time, whether that is through NEMA, through the state authorities or through the SES as volunteers. Also, one of the things I discussed with the Premier was people doorknocking, door to door, to make sure people were alerted and people were evacuated there in Townsville. Some places in northern Queensland have recorded 500 mils of rain in a 24-hour period. Rising floodwaters are inflicting devastation on homes and communities; thousands have had to evacuate. I want to assure the House that, in this challenging time, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Queensland government and with every Queenslander. Military helicopters have been deployed. We now have three helicopters at the disposal of the Commonwealth. One of those is in Queensland, one is in Victoria dealing with fires and one is in South Australia dealing with fires. In addition to that, there are four military helicopters that have been made available, two based in Townsville and two based in Oakey, and I thank the defence minister, as always, for the fact that the defence community comes on board when it is needed. We have indicated that we, of course, will provide whatever assistance is requested, and, already, some of the emergency payments have kicked in as well. One of the reasons why Minister McAllister is basing herself there is to see firsthand what is happening. I say as well that heatwaves, of course, can also be incredibly dangerous, and yesterday, tragically, a woman lost her life at Mount Augustus when her vehicle became bogged and she left her car to try and walk back to the tourist park, where the temperature was in the high 40s. This is just a tragedy, and our thoughts are with her loved ones at the time of grief. There are bushfires of concern burning in Victoria, Tasmania, southern Western Australia and South Australia. The beautiful Grampians has already been badly affected by fires over summer, and I rang the member for Wannon during that period as well and had a discussion with him before I visited with Minister McAllister in between Christmas and the new year. I know that the local member was very active in engaging with those communities at that time, where I visited the Horsham Incident Control Centre with the premier, Premier Allan. We also flew over the fire affected areas and met with the volunteers. It says something, though, about the Australian spirit that, at this point in time, there are volunteers from Queensland—even though there's an event in Queensland—helping out with firefighting in southern Australia. When I was at Horsham I met people from Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, as well as Tasmania, who were all volunteering there. I thank everyone for the bravery and kindness that you are showing. This is a difficult time. We will remain vigilant. The Commonwealth will continue to offer whatever support is necessary, and I know that we do that on a bipartisan basis as national government as well. I'll continue to engage, particularly with the Queensland premier, about what is required there. We've already had some discussion about the need to build back better in a couple of cases, rather than just repeat some of the mistakes of the past as well. We'll engage constructively on all of those issues. 14:07 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson on indulgence—I thank the Prime Minister for his update and his words of support, particularly for those in north Queensland who are in a very desperate situation yet again. Almost 1,200 millimetres of rain since Saturday is quite an astounding event, and it's not the first time that people in north Queensland have faced this sort of onslaught of the weather. The tropics always provide heavy rainfalls, but, for many families, they've been displaced again. all of those who have been involved in the first response to this event—particularly, as the Prime Minister points out, the emergency service workers are wonderful volunteers in our community—would be devastated by the loss of the 63-year-old lady in Ingham when the dinghy flipped as they were trying to provide support to a community. They would be truly in a state of complete flux, because they go in to help people, and they change people's lives. They save people, and they provide a safe haven. For this outcome, they will be devastated. Our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody in north Queensland at the moment. I've had a number of conversations with colleagues. Obviously, as the Prime Minister pointed out, the member for Herbert, who has his sleeves rolled up again, has been out doorknocking and providing support to his local community, as has Andrew Willcox in Mackay, and Bob Katter, obviously, does a great job in his community as well. As the Prime Minister points out, we're a land of great contrasts. Over the break, I was with the member for Wannon and the member for Mallee in the Grampians, looking at the devastation there that families faced in those small business in those communities. We met with the firefighters and the rural fire brigade into the work that they were doing. As a country, thank goodness we have these people who are prepared to sacrifice, in some cases, their own homes and livelihoods to keep their communities safe. The work that is underway in North Queensland at the moment, the response not just to the initial devastation but to the clean-up, will be quite phenomenal. We offer on a bipartisan basis to the Prime Minister whatever support is required to help those people through their darkest hour. I might just say, on a final note, in a very Australian iconic scene, I had a photo sent through from friends in Townsville before who have a small patch of grass left just at the backyard. The floodwaters have almost inundated the home. On that grass stand about 60 kangaroos who have sought refuge from the rising floodwaters. It shows the many aspects to the devastation of the environment, the community and the lives of those people, the disruption to them and the schools that are closed et cetera. There's a lot of work ahead to help rebuild that part of the world, and we stand ready to provide that support to them. MINISTRY 23 MINISTRY Presentation 23 14:10 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I present a revised ministry list that includes the changes to the ministry made by the Governor-General on 20 January and new representative arrangements. I understand the document will be included in the Votes and Proceedings and Hansard. The document read as follows— Each box represents a portfolio. As a general rule, there is one department in each portfolio. However, there can be two departments in one portfolio. Cabinet Ministers are shown in bold type.Assistant Ministers in italics are designated as Parliamentary Secretaries under the Ministers of State Act 1952. SHADOW MINISTRY 25 SHADOW MINISTRY Presentation 25 14:10 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson For the information of honourable members, I table a revised shadow ministry list reflecting changes announced on 25 January 2025. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 25 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Albanese Government 25 14:11 Mr DUTTON 00AKI Dickson My question is to the Prime Minister. Under this weak Albanese Labor government, interest rates have increased 12 times, energy bills have risen by $1,000, living standards have collapsed, 27,000 business have gone insolvent and we're in a record-breaking household recession. Will the Prime Minister now apologise for promising Australians they would be better off and admit that they can't afford another three years of this weak Albanese Labor government? 14:11 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler When we came to office, real incomes were going backwards, inflation was going up, rising—it had a six in front of it—and indeed we had people's living standards going backwards. And we had deficits—a $78 billion deficit—that we inherited in the March 2022 budget. Let's go through the figures of then and now that are raised by the Leader of the Opposition. Inflation in that March 2022 quarter was 2.1 per cent. In the quarter that has just passed, headline was 0.2 and underlying was 0.5. Inflation was 2.4 on an annual basis, under the two-to-three range that the RBA aimed for—in the bottom half of that range. That was achieved without seeing the massive spike in unemployment that we have seen in comparable economies. Unemployment is four per cent—up from 3.9 to four—on the latest figures. What we have seen, also, is that wages have increased four quarters in a row. Inflation up, wages down, unemployment low—that is what has been achieved through the hard work of Australians. We also have received, during that period, two—not one but two—budget surpluses, back-to-back surpluses. Those opposite didn't worry about inflation. At a time when you had that inflation rising, rising, rising and interest rates had begun to rise, what was their response? The March 2022 budget. That produced a $78 billion predicted deficit and deficits each year all the way through—his debut! Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order, members on my right. Has the Prime Minister concluded his answer? The manager is entitled to raise a point of order, and he shall do so now. Mr Sukkar 242515 The Prime Minister was asked a question about his promise to make Australians better off. That cannot stray into opposition policy or the previous government by definition, because it's from the date of your promise to now and whether Australians are better off. Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Treasurer and the Minister for Housing, someone making a point of order is not the cue to give a running commentary. The manager is entitled to raise a point of order, and he has done so. I'll hear from the Leader of the House on the point of order. Mr Burke DYW I'm not sure if he actually said what the point of order was on, but if he was referring to direct relevance you can look at the terms of that question. The Prime Minister was clearly relevant to it. The SPEAKER 53517 I read the room that the member for Deakin was raising a point of order on relevance. The question was also phrased around admitting families being better off now than they were. If the Prime Minister is being directly relevant about figures and numbers, particularly about what he was asked about, he is being directly relevant. He's got 30 seconds to make sure he remains directly relevant. Mr ALBANESE R36 I'm asked to compare and contrast, and that's what I'm doing. I'll make this point as well: if they had their way, there wouldn't be cheaper medicines. If they had their way, there wouldn't be cheaper child care. If they had their way, there wouldn't have been any rebates on energy bills. If they had their way, there wouldn't be tax cuts for every taxpayer. We now know that they've come up with a cost-of-living plan, but it's just not for workers. It's that workers should pay for some of their mates to have lunch. (Time expired) Economy 26 14:16 Ms CLAYDON 248181 Newcastle My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government's responsible economic management helping in the fight against inflation, and are there any approaches that would leave people worse off? 14:16 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin Thanks to the member for Newcastle for her wonderful work and for her question. Australians together made very welcome and encouraging progress in the fight against inflation, and we saw that in the numbers last week, which were better than expected and better than forecast. Headline inflation is 2.4 per cent, in the bottom half of the Reserve Bank's range. Underlying inflation came down as well. It's now in the low threes on both fronts. That is the lowest we've seen for some years. There's more to do. We know that because people are still under pressure. But the progress that we have delivered has been substantial, and it has been sustained. As the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, when we came to office, inflation was much higher and rising, real wages were falling, and there was a mountain of Liberal debt. Under this Prime Minister, inflation is down. Wages are up. Unemployment is low. We've delivered two budget surpluses. We've got the debt down, and we've rolled out cost-of-living relief at the same time. That's what it means to manage the economy in a responsible and methodical way. I'm asked about alternatives, but it's been almost three years now, and those opposite are yet to come up with any costed, coherent or credible policies on the economy. All we've got from them is lower wages for workers and longer lunches for bosses, with the taxpayers to foot the bill. He wants workers to pay for bosses' lunches, and he will smash the budget in the process. This is the only kind of policy that could have been agreed at the tail end of a very long lunch. You can imagine them sitting around with the blue teeth and the soy sauce on the Thai coming up with the big ideas. Either they didn't know how much it cost when they announced the policy, or they didn't want Australians to know. They have refused to come clean on the cost of their long lunch policy or what they will cut to pay for that policy. There's a pattern here. On Sunday, the Leader of the Opposition was asked about whether there would be cuts in the budget. He said there would be, but he wouldn't tell the Australian people until after the election. This is the very real risk posed by this Leader of the Opposition. If he had his way on tax cuts and wages and energy bills, Australians would already be thousands of dollars worse off, and they'll be worse off still if he wins. That's what makes this decision that Australians will make this year a very important decision and a very stark choice between an opposition focused on cuts and conflict and culture wars who would make people worse off and take Australia backwards, or a prime minister and a Labor government helping with the cost of living, making progress on inflation, managing the economy responsibly and building Australia's future. Taxation 27 14:20 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, unlike small businesses, big businesses like Coles, Woolworths and Qantas can cater in house, in their corporate boardrooms, and do so as a tax deduction. How much does this cost the budget? Government members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! No, no. It's groundhog day. We're going to reset— Mr Burke DYW So it's a social justice issue? The SPEAKER 53517 I'm dealing with it. I'm resetting the rules yet again. Members on my right, I think my position is pretty clear after these years. Questions are going to be heard in silence. You might not like the content. I'm sure the opposition doesn't like some of the answers either. But we are going— The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the Opposition is going to cease interjecting. Out of courtesy for the shadow Treasurer, he'll begin his question again. And it's really simple for members on my right: if you interject, you won't hear the question. The shadow Treasurer has the call. Mr TAYLOR 231027 Treasurer, unlike small businesses, big businesses like Coles, Woolworths and Qantas can cater in house, in their corporate boardrooms, and do so as a tax deduction. How much does this cost the budget? Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The SPEAKER 53517 The member for Hume, we've asked the question. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Cooper will leave the chamber under 94(a). The member for Cooper then left the chamber. The SPEAKER 53517 We are not having interjections before someone begins their answer—completely disrespectful. The Treasurer has the call. 14:21 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin I was sitting there hoping that they'd double down on this policy, and it turns out that they have, and I couldn't be happier about that, Mr Speaker, if I'm honest with you. There are two points about the shadow Treasurer's question. First of all, only the Liberal and National parties could see taxpayers and workers funding between $1.6 billion and $10 billion to shout their bosses lunch as an issue of fairness. Only those opposite could see that as an issue of social justice and an issue of fairness. The second point I would make is this—the nerve of these characters, on a day when they've been sprung not releasing the cost of their own policy, jumping up and asking about the costing of a policy which has been longstanding. The reason that the shadow Treasurer is losing his cool again, just like he did when the good inflation numbers came out, is that— The SPEAKER 53517 The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order? Mr Sukkar 242515 It's on relevance. The Treasurer was asked for a number—has he had it costed? If he doesn't, he should sit down. The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the House on the point of order? Mr Burke DYW The question went to the capacity of a business to claim on lunches. That's the concept that the question went to, and that's exactly what the Treasurer is referring to. It can't be demanded that a question be answered only in a particular way; the minister simply has to be relevant to it. The SPEAKER 53517 The question was a tight question. It was about a number. I appreciate the shadow Treasurer would like an exact figure—would perhaps like a direct answer. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Leader of the Opposition yelling at me is not helping the situation. Under the standing orders, I can't make the Treasurer give the figure that you would like. What I can do is make sure he is being directly relevant—that is, not straying into opposition policy and not moving into alternative approaches, because he wasn't asked about those. I'll hear from the manager. Mr Sukkar 242515 Just for the avoidance of doubt, we don't necessarily demand a number, as you suggest. What we do ask is that the Treasurer is directly relevant to whether he has had it costed. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The manager is entitled to state a point, and the leader is entitled to respond to it if he wishes. Okay. So we're all in agreeance, which is good. Thank you, Manager. We're just going to have to make sure the Treasurer is directly relevant to the question he was asked about, which means he can comment about aspects of the question, and, if he wishes to give the number, perhaps he shall do so. He has the call. Dr CHALMERS 37998 The only party in this parliament proposing to change the arrangements for tax breaks for long lunches is the opposition. That's why it is the costing before the parliament today, and the reason that we have highlighted the costings that those opposite failed to provide is, when they don't come clean on the costs, it means they will not come clean on the cuts. That is the point I'm making. We have chosen to support small businesses in a much more responsible way, and the way that we're— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition, on a further point of order? Mr Dutton 00AKI Mr Speaker, you gave a very definite direction to the Treasurer. It was a tight question. It was asking about the existing policy and what the cost to the budget is of that policy which allows Qantas to have a boardroom lunch worth thousands of dollars and for that lunch to be deductible—a lunch that the Prime Minister or the Treasurer could attend or perhaps have in the past. The SPEAKER 53517 Order, resume your seat. The Leader of the Opposition is now abusing standing orders. It is not another opportunity, under the standing orders, to simply get up and make a statement. He knows that. It was a nice try, but he won't be doing that anymore during question time. Equally so, the Treasurer, if he's not going to be directly relevant, cannot talk about opposition policy. He needs to refer to the question he was asked, otherwise I'll sit him down. The Treasurer is in continuation for one minute 25 seconds. Dr CHALMERS 37998 The reason that number is not in the budget is we're not changing the arrangements. That's the point that I'm making. The only change that's being proposed is the change being proposed by those opposite. We are supporting small businesses in a more responsible way. We've helped with energy bills that they opposed, with an instant asset tax write-off that they tried to hold up in the Senate, with cybersecurity, with competition policy and in other ways. I know that they are terribly embarrassed today because they couldn't hand in their homework. They either didn't know or wouldn't say how much their policy costs. We've done their homework for them. The policy that they're trying to inflict on the Australian people would have workers shout lunches for their bosses and would smash an up to $10 billion hole in the budget as a consequence. Labor Government 28 14:27 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo My question is to the Prime Minister. What work is the Labor government doing to address the challenges of today while working to continue to build for the future? Are there any alternative approaches that would leave Australians worse off? 14:27 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for Bendigo for both elements of her question. We do begin 2025 with new reasons for optimism about the road ahead. Inflation is going down, wages are going up and unemployment is low. The world has thrown a lot of challenges at us. We know that it has been difficult with financial pressure on households and we know that many households are still under financial pressure, which is why there is more to do. What we've done is manage the economy responsibly while providing cost-of-living relief. Tax cuts, cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, energy bill relief, back-to-back budget surpluses—these are the strong foundations that we've laid. As we tackle those immediate challenges and as we navigate these turbulent seas, we've always had our eye on the horizon as well. We have deliberately designed a range of measures so that they address cost-of-living pressures whilst creating the conditions for building Australia's future. Investing in free TAFE lowers costs for people—600,000 of them—whilst giving them the skills that they need and the employers the skilled workforce that they need going forward. Fully funding all of our schools that we aimed to, with six out of eight states signed up, is making a difference as well. The childcare policy, including the three guarantee for child care, is about building Australia's future. We're wiping 20 per cent of student debt and making sure that we strengthen Medicare through our 87 urgent care clinics, after we promised 50 at the last election. Meanwhile, I'm asked about alternatives. Well, the Leader of the Opposition is out there talking about 'economic surgery'. On Insiders, just on Sunday, he confirmed that massive cuts are coming. But he won't tell Australians what they are until after the election. He wants you to vote for them, and then there will be cuts coming after the election. He wants to put the whole country under the knife, but he won't tell you what he's cutting until after the operation. Well, we know already that, on top of their opposition to all of our cost-of-living measures, the only policy that they have put forward—the only policy they've come up with—is for every taxpayer to fund a free lunch that those opposite have now doubled down on today. While we're thinking outside the box, they're thinking inside the lunch box! That is their policy as they go forward. We will continue to provide cost-of-living relief while continuing to strengthen the economy. Those opposite— (Time expired) Taxation, Health Care 29 14:30 Mr BANDT M3C Melbourne My question is to the Prime Minister. One in three big corporations in this country pays no tax—$0 tax. But meanwhile, people can't afford basics like going to the dentist. Why does a nurse from Coburg North pay more tax than a multinational corporation? Why won't you make big corporations pay tax to get dental into Medicare so that in this wealthy country of ours everyone can get the health care they need? 14:31 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for Melbourne for his question that goes to tax policy but also goes to health policy. On tax policy, in spite of his general observation, the truth is that many big companies do pay considerable amounts of tax with revenue that is then used to fund health and education. But one of the things that we did around about this time last year—and the member for Melbourne will recall those opposite saying that they would oppose it absolutely, and then they would roll it back before they said that we should call an election at this time last year, even though actually the Constitution doesn't allow that to happen, but we won't worry about that! They said we should call an election. They were so hostile to nurses and other workers benefiting. What we did was take the tax cuts that were primarily aimed at the top end and redistributed those to people on low incomes, but it was targeted particularly at Middle Australia, because we understood that they were under financial pressure. We delivered the change through this parliament, and those opposite don't talk about that anymore. They said they would reverse it and reinstate those tax cuts for the high end, and we await a policy at some stage, apart from their free lunch policy, and we await the costings of them, apart from their nuclear policy. But I'm asked also about health care. We understand that provision of health care and universal health care are so important. That is why we tripled the bulk-billing incentive. That is why we've opened 87 urgent care clinics. That is why we're concentrating on what our system is, which is primarily responsible for primary health care. It's because we understand that that's the way as well that you take pressure off emergency departments and enable people to get the health care that they need. And that stands in stark contrast to the record of the Leader of the Opposition who, of course, wanted a GP tax every time people visited a doctor, wanted a tax every time people visited a hospital and ripped $50 billion out of the hospital system. We on this side of the House will always look to do more when it comes to health care. We will look at sensible ways of being able to move forward, because we understand how important that is, and it's one of the great divides in Australian politics. On the weekend, we celebrated the 41st birthday of Medicare, proudly created by Labor, always strengthened by Labor. Those opposite— (Time expired) DISTINGUISHED VISITORS 29 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Australian National Academy of Music, Employment Youth Advisory Group 29 14:34 The SPEAKER 53517 Before I call the member for Hawke, I'm pleased to inform the House that present in the gallery today are musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music, who are performing at Parliament House today, and also Christopher, Caitlin and Teah, who are here today representing the Employment Youth Advisory Group. Welcome to you all. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 29 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Student Debt 29 14:34 Mr RAE 300122 Hawke My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to cut student debt? What has been the response to these reforms? Are there approaches that would leave students worse off? 14:35 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank my friend the hirsute member for Hawke for his question! If you want a good example of the difference between Labor and Liberal then this is it. We're cutting HECS debt for three million Australians, and they want to cut the cost of lunch for bosses. That's it in a nutshell. We've already cut HECS debt by more than $3 billion for three million Australians. We passed those laws late last year, and over Christmas the ATO made this change, cutting the debt of three million Australians. But there's more to do and there's more that we will do. If we win the next election, we will cut all student debts by a further 20 per cent. That means that somebody with an average HECS debt of 27 grand today will see that debt cut by more than $5,000. If they've got a HECS debt of 50 grand then that will be cut by $10,000. That's a lot of help for a lot of young people who are just out of uni and just getting started. What do you think the Liberals think of all of this? They're opposed to that. Government members: No! Really? Mr CLARE HWL Surprise, surprise—they say that's a terrible idea. They think it's a terrible idea that we should cut the debt of Aussie workers and Aussie students. Well, I'll tell you what I think a terrible idea is: making these same students and workers pay for their boss's lunch. I'll give you 1.6 billion reasons why, because that's how much it'll cost: $1.6 billion a year—at least. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Minister for Industry and Science will cease interjecting so I can hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Sukkar 242515 The point of order's on relevance. It cannot be directly relevant to the question about education and HECS for the minister to be engaging in this diatribe about the opposition. The SPEAKER 53517 I will hear from the Leader of the House. Mr Burke DYW When the final part of the question says, 'Are there approaches that would leave students worse off?' I'm not sure how this is anything other than relevant. He's referring specifically to approaches that would leave students worse off. The SPEAKER 53517 I'll just deal with this, it's fine. I did hear the minister refer to the figure regarding students and teachers paying for the policy, so that is being directly relevant, but he can't have the remainder of his answer simply be about opposition policy because he wasn't asked about opposition policy. He was asked the whole question, so he's got to make it relevant. As long as he's talking about the alternative approaches and making it relevant to his portfolio, he is being directly relevant, but I'll listen carefully to make sure he remains relevant. Mr CLARE HWL Here's the point that makes this relevant: we want to cut student debt by 20 per cent. They want students and Aussie workers to pay for their boss's lunch, and that's how that would make them worse off to the tune of $1.6 billion a year. That's a lot of steak tartare. That's a lot of lobster. I think that, when a lot of Australians find out about this—a lot of Aussie students and a lot of Aussie workers—they'll be pretty angry about it. Their hard-earned money is going to pay for all of this. Mr CLARE HWL I'd say that, over the next few months as people go to cafes and restaurants and see someone pull out a credit card, they've got to think for themselves that, if the Liberals win the next election, that could be them and their tax dollars having to pay for all of that. The choice at the next election is very clear. We'll cut your debt; they want you to pay for your boss's lunch. Under the Labor Party, we'll cut your student debt by 20 per cent to help you get started and help build Australia's future. Under the Liberal Party, they will leave all Australians worse off and left to pick up the boss's bill. Taxation 30 14:39 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, a large company can cater for a lunch with food and alcohol worth thousands of dollars in its boardroom and can claim that cost as a tax deduction. What is the cost of this tax policy to the budget? The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The member for Spence is warned. 14:39 Dr CHALMERS 37998 Rankin Their policy for lower wages for workers and longer lunches for bosses is a matter of fairness, but not the way that they think it is. If the member for Hume wants to be the Treasurer of this country, he really should know that the numbers that he is asking for are not itemised in the budget. That's because they are part of the tax base, and we're not proposing to change it. The only party in here proposing to make it easier for bosses to claim long lunches paid for by workers and taxpayers are those opposite. They are the only ones proposing to change these arrangements. I can hear him chirping away. He hasn't been this unhappy since inflation came in at the lower end of the RBA target band. The SPEAKER 53517 Order. The Treasurer will pause. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order? Mr Dutton 00AKI I seek your ruling in relation to relevance and whether the Treasurer is relevant to the tight question that he was asked. The fact is that big businesses can get in-house catering for thousands— The SPEAKER 53517 Yes, I understand the point, but it's not a time to give your comments about what you think he should be answering. You've raised the point of order, and you've discussed it on relevance. I understand that you're entitled to under the standing orders. No member can then just say, 'What I think it should be,' or 'What he should be doing'—it doesn't work that way. On a point of order? Mr Dutton 00AKI On the point of order: as I said, Mr Speaker, I'm asking for your ruling in relation to whether the Treasurer is relevant to this very tight question. It goes to a measure which is in the budget. It's government policy for these big businesses to have tax deductions for lunches. How much does it cost Australian workers and taxpayers? It's a reasonable question that should be answered. The SPEAKER 53517 I can see this is a point of concern. The Treasurer was asked, 'What is the figure; what is the cost?' and the Leader of the Opposition is desperate to have that— The SPEAKER 53517 If you stop talking over me, I'll deal with your point of order! The Treasurer has said—and I've listened carefully to his answer—that it's not a costed figure because it's not in the budget. That's his answer. You've asked a question, 'What is the figure,' and he's answering that, and he's saying why it's not in the budget. So he is being directly relevant. We're just going to make sure he's being directly relevant. And it is hard for me because I'd like him to give a figure. I'd like a yes or no answer. It would make my job a lot easier. But that's not what's in the standing orders. We've all got to operate together under the standing orders—to respect the standing orders. I'm asking ministers to respect the standing orders, and I'm asking opposition members to respect the standing orders. Dr CHALMERS 37998 Thank you, Mr Speaker; I appreciate that. I can understand why they don't want to talk about the costings of their own policy. From our point of view, we have not changed the policy. That's why there's not a costing of a new measure in the budget, and that's what makes the situation they're asking me about very different to the mess that the member for Hume has made of this costing. We tried to warn the Leader of the Opposition that, if he put this bloke in charge of the costings, it would go badly. Turns out it did. Medicare 31 14:43 Mr BRIAN MITCHELL 129164 Lyons My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. How are Medicare urgent care clinics making it easier for Australians to see a doctor after a decade of cuts and neglect? What proposals will make it harder to see a doctor and will leave people worse off? 14:43 Mr BUTLER HWK Hindmarsh I thank the member for Lyons not just for his question but for terrific service over the last nine years in this place. He remembers that, at the last election, we promised 50 urgent care clinics across Australia, and we've delivered 87 of them. They're open seven days a week, with extended hours for walk-in patients. Already, they've seen more than 1.1 million patients—one in three of them kids under 15, one in three of them seen over the weekend, but every single one of them fully bulk billed. The member for Lyons and the Tasmanian government, it must be said, argued strongly for a clinic to be opened in Bridgewater, north of Hobart. I was delighted to visit that clinic with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the terrific Rebecca White in early December, in its first couple of weeks of operation. Already, it is making a real difference to that community. One member of that community, Hayley, said online: Took my son here for an injury in December. He was seen by the nurse, and treated by the Dr within an hour of arriving. Certainly better than waiting in the Royal— Hobart— for 8 hours!! That's the point: not just delivering high-quality urgent care in the community but also relieving pressure off local emergency departments. While this is making a real difference, the Prime Minister and I both said that we do need to do more to keep strengthening Medicare, after a decade of cuts and neglect. We also know that all of this progress, like urgent care clinics, is under threat from the Leader of the Opposition, who has opposed all of our investments in Medicare. On Sunday, he quite openly said that, if elected as Prime Minister, he would go about cutting services. He just would not fess up about which ones. We know that he'll go after Medicare, because that's exactly what he did when he last had the chance, as health minister, when he famously said that there were, in his opinion, 'too many free Medicare services'. That must be why they describe free urgent care clinics as wasteful spending. We can have no doubt: under a Dutton-led government, the urgent care clinics will close and hundreds of thousands of Australians, like Hayley, her son and others, will be forced back into waiting hours upon hours in crowded emergency departments. And for what? It's not just because they've never really supported Medicare but because this man favours long lunches on the taxpayer dime over free urgent care. This man has to find $600 billion for his nuclear power stations, instead of investing in health. That is why Australians are never going to trust this man with Medicare. Cost of Living 32 14:46 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, by what percentage has the cost of food increased since the election of the Albanese Labor government? 14:46 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for her question. Indeed, it goes to cost of living, and it goes to inflation. What we know is that inflation is now at 2.4 per cent, less than in the bottom half of what the Reserve Bank range of two to three per cent—their target range—is. We know that, when we were elected, it had a six in front of it. Of course, the price of all goods and services feed into those inflationary figures. We know, as well, that the underlying rate is down to 3.2 per cent. We know, as well, that the response of those opposite has been to have never been more upset than when inflation was going down. They went out there and— The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a moment. The deputy leader will raise a point of order. Ms Ley 00AMN My point of order is on relevance. The Prime Minister appears to be in some parallel universe. These figures are readily available. It's a question about the increase, by percentage rate, of the cost of food since Labor was elected. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The minister for the environment and the Leader of the Opposition will cease their helpful remarks! The Prime Minister was asked, once again during question time, for a specific figure, number, fact or figure. If the Prime Minister wishes to release that figure or perhaps wants to talk about the topic regarding the impact on that figure—inflation would be a relevant impact—he can't talk about other things that aren't relative to the question. It was a very short question. There's not a lot of scope for the Prime Minister to go wide range here. But, so far, with talking about inflation and about the impact that that's having on the question, I think anyone would agree it is directly relevant. I ask the Prime Minister to continue, and to make sure he's directly relevant. Mr ALBANESE R36 We understand that inflation has an impact on households. That's why we have acted to make sure that inflation is brought down. That's why, in addition, we've taken action against supermarkets, including the mandated code of conduct that we have brought in. That is why, across the board, we are taking action on the cost of living. That is what our government has been focused on, and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, along with the rest of her team, has opposed all of the cost-of-living measures that we have put in place. In addition to that, one of the things that has helped to bring prices down and bring inflation down is the fact that we turned a $78 billion Liberal deficit into a $22 billion Labor surplus and backed that up with a second surplus. So, whether it be cost-of-living relief, whether it be action against supermarkets— The SPEAKER 53517 The deputy leader—I will, out of courtesy, give her the call. Ms Ley 00AMN I seek your ruling as to whether the Prime Minister is in order with his remarks following your earlier directing him back to the question. The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the House. Mr Burke DYW Two things: one, members can rise on a point of order. This concept of rising on a ruling is not anywhere in the standing orders. Secondly, when we're talking about food prices, I don't know in what universe action on supermarkets is not directly relevant to that. The SPEAKER 53517 There's only one point of order allowed. If you're not happy with the way I've handled a situation, any member can take action then. But to simply come back in the future and go, 'Can you further clarify a minute later what your decision was,' that's not practical and that's not common sense, and no Speaker has had to deal with that before. We're going to make sure that the Prime Minister is being directly relevant. I was listening before he was interrupted about supermarkets or impacts. Yes, I can appreciate it's a short question and you want a number and you want a figure. As long as he's being directly relevant, we've got to make sure that everyone follows the standing orders. The Prime Minister. Mr ALBANESE R36 We have had a multifaceted approach to this. We have sought to bring inflation down through a range of measures by ensuring that our cost-of-living support is also having a downward impact on inflation. In addition to that, we have had stronger action against supermarkets to make sure that, instead of having a voluntary code of conduct where they all just sit around voluntarily—which is what we inherited from those opposite—we have introduced a mandated code of conduct, which they voted against, I am reminded. So we will continue to take action to help Australians. Those opposite will continue to—I'm reminded that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was very strong in opposing tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners and said— (Time expired) Employment: Remuneration 33 14:52 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. What does recent evidence show about how Albanese Labor governments wage increases are helping Australians with the cost of living? What threatens these pay rises that would leave people worse off? 14:53 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I want to thank the member for Gilmore. Every worker in the electorate is earning more and keeping more of what they earn because the member for Gilmore is there. It's a year since the Prime Minister made clear that we wanted workers to earn more and keep more of what they earn. Those opposite are opposed to both ideas. Since that time, we've now had real wages growth for four quarters in a row. Wages are now going up, inflation is going down and there are more jobs. The Leader of the Opposition confessed on the weekend that he'll make huge cuts but won't say what they'll be till after the election. We already knew about $350 billion and another $600 billion to pay for his nuclear scheme, but we now know as well where those cuts might come from. He says he'll tell us after the election where the cuts might come from, but you can start to get a hint in terms of what they've voted against. There's plenty they've voted where you can see what they are likely to do next time. Last time he was in office, they had low wages growth as a deliberate design feature of their management of the Australian economy. Every measure that we have put forward to get wages moving they have opposed. The minimum wage has gone up nearly $150 a week in this term of government. Guess how long it took them to reach the same figure? It took them their entire term of government. It took them their entire wasted decade to get to that level, where we have had the increase in one term. You meet people working in supermarkets now being paid $11.56 more an hour. You meet meatworkers being paid the extra because of the bargaining laws that they opposed. You'll meet meatworkers in Queensland with pay rises of up to 42 per cent because of same job, same pay—which they voted against. If they get the chance, those wages will be cut. Coalminers in New South Wales who were being underpaid now have pay rises of between $15,000 and $35,000 a year—fixed because of same job, same pay. They voted against these pay rises, which they say they would get rid of if they had the chance. As I meet these workers around the country, they all say they want their pay rises. They all say they wanted their tax cut. I've yet to meet one who says, 'But can you please make sure I can pay for the bosses lunch?' It's not something that's being demanded. It's something none of them want, but they know that this Leader of the Opposition would freeze wages. He would cut wages. He would spend billions of dollars on long lunches for the boss. They know that under him they'd be worse off. Cost of Living 33 14:56 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume My question is to the Prime Minister. Under this bad Labor government, Australians living standards have collapsed by 8.7 per cent. This is the biggest collapse on record and bigger than any other peer economy. Will the Prime Minister now apologise for promising Australians they would be better off, and admit that Australians can't afford another three years of Labor? 14:56 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I'm asked about the impact of policy on people's living standards. I make this point. If the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Treasurer had their way, Australian families would be $7,200 worse off than they are today. We inherited— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The members on my left will cease interjecting. Mr ALBANESE R36 I'll explain it for the shadow Treasurer. Under you, when inflation was going up and wages were going down, people were worse off. Now inflation's going down and wages are going up. That's what lifts people up, and that is what we are achieving. We understand that we inherited a system where inflation had a six in front of it. We know that people were really struggling. Interest rates started to go up under them. And we know that global inflation has had an impact as well, due to range of measures, including the long tail of COVID. That is why we have taken action. That is why we produced a tax cut for every taxpayer. Without our tax cuts, 84 per cent of taxpayers would have been worse off. Under their system, that they maintain support for and that they said they would go back to, 84 per cent of taxpayers would have been worse off and 2.9 million taxpayers wouldn't have seen a cent. Without our cheaper medicines—that they opposed—Australians would have been $1 billion worse off, and the most vulnerable Australians are amongst those. Without our Medicare urgent care clinics, 1.1 million Australians wouldn't have got a free doctor's appointment. We know why they opposed it. It's because the Leader of the Opposition, when he was health minister, said that there were too many free health appointments. Medicare was bad because it was free, which is why he tried to introduce a GP tax, just as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has said that free TAFE is not valued because it's free—because you don't value it unless you pay for it. If it wasn't for us, 5.8 million extra bulk-billed appointments wouldn't have happened. Importantly, to follow-up on the former minister and his hard work on IR, 2.6 million award wage workers would be worse off. Remember, during the last campaign, they opposed a one dollar an hour increase and said it was going to destroy the entire economy. We said that we absolutely would support it—as we have—not once, not twice, but three times with consecutive minimum wage increases. (Time expired) Cost of Living 34 14:59 Mr BURNELL 300129 Spence My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How is the Albanese Labor government providing cost-of-living relief for early childhood education? Is there anything that could put this at risk and see families worse off? 15:00 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan I thank the member for Spence for his question, because the member for Spence understands that investing in early childhood education helps workers, and it helps families. We're building the foundations for a future where every single Australian child and every single Australian family can have access to good quality early education. We came into government in 2022 with a commitment to make early childhood education and care more affordable through our cheaper childcare reforms. We quickly turned that commitment into progress, with more than a million families benefiting from those reforms. For an Australian family earning $120,000 a year, accessing 30 hours of early learning a week, they've saved around $2,766 since September 2023. Out-of-pocket expenses are still lower today than what they were before our cheaper childcare reforms. That's real cost-of-living relief. But, of course, we know that there's more to do. That's why we're continuing to put downward pressure on fees through our fee caps—4.4 per cent in the first year and 4.2 per cent in the second year—as part of our worker retention payment. Our government has delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for up to 200,000 early childhood education workers right across Australia because we know that a strong and sustainable workforce is absolutely fundamental to a universal early learning system. That's why we've invested in it. I'm pleased to say that, in the short time since we've introduced that wage increase, more than 50 per cent of services have now applied for that wage increase. That's made a significant difference to the lives of so many early childhood workers, but also to the sector more broadly. New data just in shows that workforce vacancy rates in the early childhood sector have plummeted over the last 12 months, by 22 per cent since December 2023. I'm asked about risks. The fact is that the Leader of the Opposition has confirmed that they will make huge cuts but that Australians will be left in the dark as to what those cuts are until after the election. But there might be some clues into what they might be cutting in the fact that they opposed every single cost-of-living measure that we put forward. We don't know what the risk is going to be, but we do know this: we know that while this Albanese Labor government wants to see children accessing the transformational benefits of early learning and wants to see families accessing the essential services they need so that they can work or study, the Leader of the Opposition wants to see bosses getting free lunches on the taxpayer dollar. Education: Medicine 34 15:03 Ms SHARKIE 265980 Mayo My question's to the Minister for Education. Between June 2022 and June 2024 the Australian population increased by 1.19 million, 4.4 per cent. Over that time, Commonwealth supported places for medicine have effectively stayed the same. With one in three GPs set to retire, the AMA has forecast a shortfall of 10,000 GPs in Australia. Will you urgently lift the number of Commonwealth supported places to study medicine to help address the doctor shortage in Australia? 15:03 Mr CLARE HWL Blaxland I thank the member for her question. As she would know, in the budget two years ago, we allocated extra places for medical studies at university. That's something we did in consultation with the Minister for Health and Aged Care. That's something that's always under consideration by this government. As I've said in this chamber many times, I want more people to get a crack at going to university or going to TAFE. That's why we're making the changes that we are, whether it's making TAFE free, which the opposition are opposed to, or whether it's cutting the cost of university by cutting student debt by 20 per cent. In December, we released the mid-year economic update, where we allocated additional funding to university to help more young people get a crack at going to university, including—and I know this is important to the member, because she's contacted me on a number of occasions about young people being able to study far away from capital cities—the announcement we made yesterday around a university study hub at Kangaroo Island. This is a classic example of extra funding to help children from poor backgrounds and from regional Australia to get the support they need not just to start a university degree but to finish it—real, demand driven, needs based funding to help more students not just start a degree but finish it so that we get the doctors that we need, the teachers that we need, the nurses that we need, the psychologists that we need, the social workers that we need and all of the skilled workforce that we need to build Australia's future. Aged Care 35 15:05 Ms F2S Lingiari SCRYMGOUR () (): My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport. How do the Albanese Labor government's investments help aged-care workers earn more and keep more of what they earn, and how does this compare to other approaches which would leave people worse off? 15:05 Ms WELLS 264121 Lilley I thank the member for Lingiari for her question and for her efforts to lift the standard of aged care in this country. Before the last election, we promised more nurses who would be better paid in order to better care for those who need it most in this country. We said, if elected, a Labor government would put our money where our mouth is, and we've done exactly that with $15 billion for increases to aged-care workers' pay. Under the Albanese government, registered nurses are now taking home an additional $196 a week, or more than $10,000 a year, and personal care workers are now taking home an additional $141 a week, or $7,300 a year. Rachel, who's a Northside home-care worker who came to visit me at my mobile office in Zillmere, told me that that is having a transformative impact on workers like herself. After almost 10 years of low and stagnant wages, the car park of her workplace looked terrible. People had basically unroadworthy cars; no-one could afford to fix them. But, with pay rises like this, people have been able to get their cars fixed or even get more reliable cars, and that is a good thing. I was asked how the government's support for aged-care workers compares with other approaches that would leave people worse off. I can tell the member for Lingiari that the coalition have never supported a pay rise for people like Rachel. In 2019, when the now Prime Minister stood with aged-care workers to back their pay rise, the coalition railed that a dollar-an-hour increase would destroy the economy. And, when we proposed to deliver Labor's tax cut for aged-care workers, the coalition's impulse was to call for a snap election over it. And, when we decided to expand fee-free TAFE so that aged-care workers could upskill without digging into their household budgets, the coalition called that 'wasteful spending'. So, if pay rises, tax cuts and affordable higher education aren't the coalition's priorities, I—and, frankly, the people I represent—wonder what is, and I've been keeping an ear out. Imagine my surprise when I recently heard the opposition make a billion-dollar promise using the exact same words—they would put their money where their mouth is. We know where that money and where those mouths are going to end up: at a waterfront restaurant at about 11.59 am on a Friday—a $10 billion plan for some sparkling mineral water, a medium-rare steak and some heretofore unspecified entertainment. When we say we're putting our money where our mouth is, we mean we are delivering on a $15 billion pay rise promise for aged-care workers to improve their lives and the lives of those they care for. When those opposite say they're putting their money where their mouth is, they mean a $10 billion plan for you to shout the bosses' lunch. National Security 35 15:08 Mr SUKKAR 242515 Deakin My question is to the Prime Minister. On what date was the Prime Minister first advised of the planned mass casualty terror attack against Sydney's Jewish community? 15:09 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for his question. It goes to national security issues, and, on national security, there are two priorities. The first priority is, of course, keeping the public safe. The second and related principle is that we engage with the Australian Federal Police and the national intelligence agencies. We don't go out there and brief about National Security Committee meetings. We don't discuss those details, because it's an ongoing investigation. What you do when you have an ongoing investigation is that you take the advice of the Australian Federal Police and the ASIO director-general, and that is precisely what I have done the whole way through. Now, the Leader of the Opposition always has briefings made available when they're requested. He has not requested a briefing at this time. He said on Sunday that he'd had text messages with the ASIO director-general. When asked by David Speers what was in those text messages, he quite rightly refused to say, because that's how you deal with these things. This isn't some game, and it should not be about politics. And, quite frankly, it is astonishing— The SPEAKER 53517 The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order. Mr Sukkar 242515 On relevance, we've asked for the date, not the detail—the date. Premier Minns made the date clear, so I'm sure the Prime Minister's not accusing Premier Minns of having done anything improper. The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister is being clear about the question he was asked and particularly giving reasons perhaps why he's not releasing that date. So he is being directly relevant, and it's up to him whether he chooses to release a date or he talks about the question and why that is the case. The Prime Minister has the call. Mr ALBANESE R36 There are some people who in the past have understood why these issues are important—that we back up our national security agencies rather than seek to undermine them. One of those was indeed quoted in February 2022, when the former government was in place: The chair of parliament's joint committee on intelligence and security, the Liberal senator James Paterson, has rebuked the defence minister, Peter Dutton … for referencing classified information during last week's hyper-partisan brawling over national security. Of course, that was when the Leader of the Opposition was claiming both 'open source and other intelligence' confirmed that Labor was somehow, according to him, Beijing's pick at the 2022 election. That of course was before he became pro-China just last week. Vocational Education and Training 36 15:12 Ms DOYLE 299962 Aston My question is to the Minister for Skills and Training. How has the Albanese Labor government made training— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The same rules apply across the chamber. I'm going to ask the member for Aston to begin her question again, and she'll be heard in silence. Ms DOYLE 299962 My question is to the Minister for Skills and Training. How has the Albanese Labor government made training more affordable so Australians get the skills they need for the jobs they want? Are there any proposals for TAFE and for skills for Australians that would leave them worse off? 15:13 Mr GILES 243609 Scullin I thank my friend the member for Aston for her question. She's a proud graduate of Box Hill TAFE and a proud supporter of free TAFE. She knows that the Albanese government has delivered free TAFE to almost 600,000 Australians and that, by removing financial barriers, free TAFE is helping Australians to gain skills they need and to build Australia's future. The Free TAFE Bill 2024 Senate inquiry has now received dozens of submissions highlighting the positive impact of free TAFE. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation highlighted the case of Cristy Armour, a proud Gamilaraay woman who's completed the Diploma of Nursing, and she says this: The Fee-Free funding has been amazing, and the money I've saved will go towards paying for my Bachelor of Nursing. Plus, studying for my diploma with TAFE Queensland means I'll knock a year off my bachelor studies. What a great story. TAFE Directors Australia shared the story of Estelle Wyllie, who's just completed a Certificate III in Individual Support at TasTAFE, and she says this: If it wasn't for Fee Free TAFE I wouldn't have been able to do the course in the first place as I wasn't in a position to pay for training at the time. She goes on: It's pretty much set me up with a career. Again, it's a great story that the members opposite should be listening to. They should also think about how much students are saving. In Victoria, a student doing a Diploma of Nursing— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! Deputy Leader of the Opposition, stop it with the unparliamentary remarks and mean comments. It's just unbecoming. The minister will be heard. Mr GILES 243609 Let's think a bit more about Estelle and Cristy and all of the people like them—600,000 people who could be saving more than $17,700 doing a Diploma of Nursing in Victoria or $5,200 doing a Certificate III in Agriculture in Queensland. These are real savings for people getting skills we need. Free TAFE is making a difference, and that is why we are going to make it permanent. The Liberals call it 'wasteful spending'. The Leader of the Opposition says he's going to cut wasteful spending. We know that he will cut free TAFE and make you worse off. The shadow assistant minister for education let the cat out of the bag at the Senate inquiry when he asked: Would the South Australian government continue to fund fee-free TAFE if the Commonwealth was to reduce its funding? Of course, this is no wonder, because the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has said: … it's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party: if you don't pay for something, you don't value it. It's not just free TAFE that the Liberal Party don't value; it's public education writ large. It's Medicare. It's the NDIS. It's public hospitals. Australians will be worse off under the Liberal Party and the Leader of the Opposition, who will cut free TAFE but spend billions of dollars on long lunches for bosses. That means there is a very clear choice at this election. The Liberals will cut free TAFE and make Australians worse off, whereas, under the Albanese government, free TAFE is here to stay. Climate Change 37 15:16 Ms STEGGALL 175696 Warringah My question is to the Prime Minister. You spoke earlier of the Queensland floods. We're seeing, yet again, the impacts and escalating risk of the climate crisis. Over in the US, the damage from the Californian wildfires will exceed $135 billion. Clearly, we cannot insure our way out of the climate crisis. Action on preparation and resilience must occur now. Will the government commit to a round table to bring together construction, insurance, banking, local government and civil society to ensure better investment in climate resilience and adaptation? 15:17 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I thank the member for Warringah for her question and for her genuine commitment to action on climate change. The member should be pleased to know that we're acting precisely along the lines of what she asks about in her question. We're developing both the national adaptation plan and national risk assessment as we speak. We know that the impact of climate change means that, while Australia has always had natural disasters, if you look over a period of time, they are more intense and they are more frequent. That is occurring as we speak. We have made sure as well that we're addressing the issue of insurance availability. For example, one of the election commitments that we had was to establish $200 million a year, every year, in disaster prevention resilient projects through the Disaster Ready Fund. That's doing things such as raising levees around Mackay. That's making sure that the cost of building bridges—for example, the discussion I spoke about earlier today, building back better so that you don't have the same bridges washed away every time there is a flood, like what used to happen with the Einasleigh River Bridge up in the Gulf Country. Every time that occurred, food and medical supplies had to be choppered into Normanton and Karumba and into those communities. I spoke to Bob Katter just this week; some of those communities in Far North Queensland are cut off as we speak. So we do need to invest in those measures. We also need to invest in projects that help reduce the risk of damage to homes and businesses. That will put that downward pressure on insurance premiums. When I was in Darwin on Christmas Day, one of the things that occurred was the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the tragedy that was Cyclone Tracy. As Darwin was built back, it was built to be more cyclone resilient, as opposed to 50 years ago, when there was massive damage, which could have been lessened had that occurred earlier. So we do need to invest. We also are working with insurance companies. For example, the Hazards Insurance Partnership brings together the Australian government and the insurance sector. The forum has been created so we can talk about how we can reduce those insurance premiums, because we know that they are having a real impact, and I thank the member for her ongoing interest in these very serious issues. Energy 37 15:20 Ms PAYNE 144732 Canberra My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is the Albanese Labor government helping families to lower their energy bills, and what policies would make families worse off? 15:20 Mr BOWEN DZS McMahon I thank my honourable friend for the question. Of course, the Albanese government is delivering $300 in bill relief to every single Australian household. Those opposite disparage it and they oppose it, but we know it makes a meaningful difference. But we know there's a lot more to do. We know we need more energy in the system. The House has heard me say before that over the decade of the coalition government we saw four gigawatts of dispatchable power leave our grid, and that left us very exposed. Today, for the first time, in the first sitting day of 2025, I can tell the House that, unlike the opposition, which saw four gigawatts leave the grid over their decade, over the last three years we have seen four gigawatts of dispatchable energy enter grid—off under them; on under us—and that's in addition to 15 gigawatts of renewable energy. We know that we need more electricity for more reliability at lower prices. The member asked me what policies might see bills go up and, to be fair, the opposition has had some pretty big news as well. Just before Christmas, after a long wait, we saw their final nuclear policy. I wish I could tell the House that it was worth the wait, but I'm afraid I have to tell the House that it was an absolute Barry Crocker of a costings document. First, in order to pretend that nuclear is cheaper, they had to assume a smaller economy. They actually said: 'We think the economy will be $4 trillion smaller by 2050.' Well done! Congratulations! I wish we'd thought of that. Less electricity costs less—that's their entire policy. If you produce 40 per cent less electricity, maybe it's around 40 per cent cheaper. I don't know how those geniuses came up with that. But then there are other problems. The Leader of the Opposition was out at his little interview on Sunday, which went so well. He was asked about energy prices and he said: … a 44 per cent reduction in the model of delivering an energy system, you would expect a 44 per cent reduction, or of that order, being passed through in energy bill relief. So he says that that's going to come off bills. There's been some response to that. Dr Dylan McConnell said in response that this was a 'complete misunderstanding' of the coalition's own policy. He said: 'He has no idea what he is talking about.' That's what the experts say. We know that their policy will cost $600 billion, which will have to paid for. It will be paid for by bills, and by cuts to services as well. There will $600 billion in cuts to pay for nuclear. That is $600 billion that Australians will pay for. That's why the Australian people can say that they will very clearly be worse off under Dutton. The SPEAKER 53517 Order, the minister will refer to members by their correct titles. Energy 38 15:23 Mr TED O'BRIEN 138932 Fairfax My question goes to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister provide a single example of an Australian family that has received a $275 cut to their power bill, as was promised before the last election nearly 100 times? Government members interjecting— The 53517 Order, members on my right and the Minister of Housing. The Minister for the Environment and Water is warned. 15:24 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler I note that all Australian households, including that of the honourable member, got $300 as a direct result of our government's policy. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister has concluded his answer. The member for Fairfax, order! The member for Fairfax cannot simply rise and start yelling across the chamber. Business Innovation and Investment Program 38 15:25 Mr NEUMANN HVO Blair My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Why did the Albanese Labor government abolish the 'golden ticket' visa? Is the minister aware of proposals that would undermine the integrity of our visa system? 15:25 Mr BURKE DYW Watson I thank the member for Blair for his question. When the member for Blair refers to the golden ticket visa, it's the name that's often given to the significant investor visa. This is a visa that was abolished by this government—and abolished for very good reason. It was not consistent with the integrity of the visa system that Australians would expect. I had thought that was a bipartisan position because of the serious national security reasons that were associated with its abolition. But, over recent days, we've seen that once again the Leader of the Opposition didn't realise there was a boom mic overhead. And, when asked about this visa, he said—not realising he was being heard: I think we'll bring it back. Whether we do it before the election … we'll have to consider all that. There has been a response from the founder of the Magnitsky Act, Sir Bill Browder. If those opposite want to in some way discredit someone of that esteem, I suggest they first go to the homepage of Senator Paterson, where you'll find both Sir Bill Browder being praised in the parliament and his image. But here's what he's had to say about this proposal, and these are all quotes. It's 'reopening the door to organised crime'. I quote again: The types of people who have taken advantage of this in the past are often the ones you least want to have coming to your country. I quote again, in language which I would not use: Australia is not such a poor country that it needs to prostitute itself to Chinese and Russian criminals. I quote again: It's hard to imagine that it's good politics to be standing in front of the Australian people and saying, 'we want to have potentially dodgy criminals buying their way into Australian residency and Australian passports.' It seems like the kind of thing that someone might be doing just for a narrow group of political contributions. When it comes to immigration policy, I suggest the Australian people don't look at what the Leader of the Opposition says but look at what he does. He opposed limiting the number of students coming in. He issued more visas than any other minister in history, and now he is wanting, as policy, cash for visas. The SPEAKER 53517 The minister has concluded his answer, but I will call the manager on a point of order. Mr Sukkar 242515 That was very clear reflection on members on two occasions from the Leader of the House, and I ask that you direct him to withdraw them. The SPEAKER 53517 The Leader of the House was quoting articles. Are you talking about the remarks after? I didn't hear the specific comment, and I don't want you to repeat it. Mr Sukkar 242515 The Practice is very clear. Just quoting somebody else's words does not mean that the leader does not have to retract any reflection on a member. And the reflection was very clear in what he said. The SPEAKER 53517 The manager is entitled to raise a point of order, as any member is. My consistent policy is, in order to assist the House, to withdraw. But I'm unclear on what the reflection was. Mr Burke DYW To the point of order, everything that was quoted was a description of a policy that is being proposed, and it is completely within standing orders for strong words to be used about a policy, particularly a policy that would be against national security advice. Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! We'll find a way through this. The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order. Mr Sukkar 242515 It's very clear that the leader included a statement in the form of a quote that impugns members on this side of the House, particularly the Leader of the Opposition. You cannot mask that under the quotes of an external party. That's very clear in the Practice, and I would suggest, if the House resolves that's not required to be withdrawn, that would be a precedent that the opposition will assume is precedent. The SPEAKER 53517 I'm going to defer to the manager. I'm going to get the Leader of the House to withdraw but I'm not sure what he's withdrawing because it's a quote. Mr Burke DYW To the point of order, if I may assist, if I had read quotes that named the Leader of the Opposition and reflected on him— An opposition member interjecting— Mr Burke DYW No. If I had read quotes that named any member of this House and in that reflected directly on that person in that way, then you can't use a quote to hide behind that. I get that. The Practice is quite clear. Every quotation that I have used is a reflection on the policy that the Leader of the Opposition has advanced. The SPEAKER 53517 We're going to hear from the Leader of the Opposition. Mr Dutton 00AKI If it helps you—again, we don't have the proof of Hansard—there was a statement that was made, not a quote, by the minister at the end of the quotations which did impugn character and was offensive, and I ask him to withdraw it. The SPEAKER 53517 To assist the House, the Leader of the House? Mr Burke DYW The term 'cash for visas' is how the significant investor visa works. You get the visa on the basis you are bringing millions of dollars. That's how it works. The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Leader of the Opposition, when I'm making deliberations, doesn't need to give me his full view of everything. He's done it a couple of times today, and I'm not happy about it. I will get the Leader of the House to withdraw to assist the House, but this will have an impact going forward when other quotes are used during question time. Mr Burke DYW To assist the House, I withdraw. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: ADDITIONAL ANSWERS 39 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: ADDITIONAL ANSWERS Cost of Living 39 15:33 Mr ALBANESE R36 Grayndler Mr Speaker, I wish to add to an answer. The SPEAKER 53517 The Prime Minister may proceed. Mr ALBANESE R36 I was asked a question by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition about the food prices and the latest figures, year to year, to the December quarter— Mr Dutton 00AKI That wasn't the question! Ms Ley interjecting— The SPEAKER 53517 Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition are being completely disrespectful. The Prime Minister is entitled to add to the answer. We're all going to hear him in silence. The Prime Minister has the call. Mr ALBANESE R36 Year to year, for food and non-alcoholic beverages, the latest figures are the inflation rate is 3.0. In their last year in office, it was 5.9. The SPEAKER 53517 Before I call the member for Groom, I will hear the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. 15:34 Ms LEY 00AMN Farrer Mr Speaker, a personal explanation with respect to that abuse— The SPEAKER 53517 Do you claim to be misrepresented? Ms Ley 00AMN I do, just now by the Prime Minister. That was an abuse of process— The SPEAKER 53517 The deputy leader may proceed. Ms Ley 00AMN I submit that that was an abuse of process by the Prime Minister. In seeking to add to an answer, he needs to refer to the question. He did not refer to the question, and the purported adding to an answer was not relevant to the question. The SPEAKER 53517 That's not a personal misrepresentation. That's just getting up and saying something in the chamber. We can't have that. Question time is not a place where you don't like something. There are standing orders for a reason. It's a point of order, not a personal explanation. QUESTIONS TO THE SPEAKER 40 QUESTIONS TO THE SPEAKER Questions in Writing 40 15:35 Mr HAMILTON 291387 Groom Mr Speaker, in accordance with standing order 105(b), I wish draw your attention to multiple overdue questions in writing: questions 753, 754, 755 and 765. Can I ask that you write to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and seek an explanation as to why they chose not to answer my questions in writing within 60 days. 15:35 The SPEAKER 53517 I shall write to the minister as the standing order provides. DOCUMENTS 40 DOCUMENTS Parliamentary Budget Office 40 Presentation 40 15:35 The SPEAKER 53517 Pursuant to section 65 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, I present the annual report of the Parliamentary Budget Office for 2023-24. Document made a parliamentary paper. AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS 40 AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORTS Reports Nos 15 to 21 of 2024-25 40 15:36 The SPEAKER 53517 I present the Auditor-General's audit reports Nos. 15 to 21 for 2024 to 2025. Details of the reports will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. Documents made parliamentary papers. DOCUMENTS 40 DOCUMENTS Presentation 40 15:36 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. MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE 40 MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Cost of Living 40 15:36 The SPEAKER 53517 I have received a letter from the honourable member for Hume proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The collapse in Australia's 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— 15:36 Mr TAYLOR 231027 Hume We just saw a question time where, question after question, the government refused to answer questions that Australians want to know the answer to or already know the answer to. We heard the Treasurer refuse to answer the question as to what the cost of the tax breaks is when he goes to boardroom lunches at Qantas, Woolworths and Coles. He either didn't know the answer or he doesn't want to answer the question. But I've got to tell you that, in terms of answering questions, the most egregious failure of all in that question time was from the Prime Minister himself, because he could not answer the question about how much the cost of food has gone up for Australian families since Labor came to power. He couldn't answer that question, yet he is out there every single day telling Australians how good they have it under his prime ministership. They've never had it so good. I am very happy to give the answer to that question, because food, since Labor has come to power, has gone up by 12 per cent. But it doesn't stop there, let me tell you. The cost of rent has gone up by 17 per cent. The underlying cost of electricity has gone up by 32 per cent. There's no price reduction coming to Australians from that side of politics over there. Gas has gone up by 36 per cent. Insurance and financial services have gone up by 18 per cent, health has gone up by 10 per cent and education has gone up by 11 per cent, and it keeps going! It's not over yet. In fact, tomorrow, on Wednesday, we will see the employee living cost index come out. This is the cost that working families have to pay for items, services and goods. Since Labor came to power, they have so far gone up by almost 18 per cent. We'll find out on Wednesday where that's at, but the one thing I can absolutely guarantee this parliament is that it's going up, and it's going to keep going up under this government. The truth is that under this government Australians are going backwards faster than they ever have before. We heard during question time that the standard of living of Australians has fallen by 8.7 per cent since Labor came to power. The Prime Minister and Treasurer like to tell us that it's not that bad—it's not that bad; in some kind of parallel universe, it could be worse! Well, let's look at a few parallel universes, like other countries in the world. It turns out that there is no peer country in the world—there is no other OECD country—where the standard of living has gone down as much as it has in Australia. They're the relevant measures—the worst in the world. Australia is not used to being the worst in the world. This is not something we revel in. We like to be the best in the world. But, I tell you what, when those opposite are in power, we are absolutely the worst in the world. The other comparison, the other benchmark, that I think is important when we look at our standard of living is: have we ever seen this before? Since the data on the standard of living was first collected, it turns out we have never seen a collapse in Australians' living standards like we have seen under this Labor government. They are numbers. But what really counts is what we see on the ground. Every member of the opposition is out on a regular basis in their communities talking to people and seeing the pain of Australians under this government. I was in Queanbeyan just yesterday with our wonderful candidate for Eden-Monaro, Jo van der Plaat, and we were with Father Michael at St Benedict's Community Centre. We were talking to Father Michael about what he is seeing on the ground in his community centre, where he provides meals for people in the region who are doing it tough. He is seeing numbers that he has never seen before. On the weekend, he provided 60 families with meals, families who simply can't make ends meet anymore. It's a tough time for someone, whether it's in Queanbeyan or any other part of Australia, when they have to go into a place like this, a wonderful place like this, and say, 'I can't feed my family anymore.' The stigma they feel, the frustration that Australians feel, because they can't feed their families is truly, truly galling. Wherever I go around Australia, I try to visit similar sorts of community centres, and I'm seeing this wherever I go. I know many on our side of this House—and, I hope, on the other side of the House—are making similar visits and seeing that pain wherever we go, as I saw at Bennies with Father Michael yesterday. We're seeing similar pain in the business community. It's small businesses we worry about most because we are seeing record levels of insolvencies—27,000 since Labor came to power. Those opposite couldn't care less about small businesses. Most of them have never worked in a business. The Treasurer himself says that the six months he spent in the private sector were truly awful. He really disliked it. He couldn't get back to the public sector fast enough. But we are seeing this extreme pain in the business sector. Of those 27,000 failures, we know 4,000 were in the hospitality sector. But those opposite show no concern for that—no concern whatsoever for that. We are seeing the pain that Labor's homegrown inflation is inflicting on those businesses. To give you an example, 45-year-old Kuldeep Singh is running a cafe in his region. He said: … We're just surviving and it's very hard to make a profit … … interest rates aren't coming down, inflation is too high and people aren't spending much money. The cost of living is crazy. I don't think Labor is doing enough for small businesses so I do hope they don't win the next election. Well, we're with you, Kuldeep. We're with you. We're with you on that. We all see the pain that small-business owners are under. For families, as kids go back to school, it all becomes very real. They have to buy the uniforms, they have to buy the pencils, they have to pay those bills that are necessary to get the kids back to school, and we see what a struggle it is for so many families. Nowhere is it more painful than for Australians with a mortgage. There's no relief for those Australians who have paid, let's face it, an extra $50,000 on average on their mortgage since Labor came to power. That's $50,000 extra over and above what they had expected to pay since Labor came to power. That has to come from after-tax income. Finding that kind of money is nigh on impossible for families. That's why we're seeing them crack open the piggy bank. We're seeing savings falling to low levels. In fact, there's almost no net savings left in our economy right now. Australians are working extra hours and having to cut back not only on luxuries but on essentials, and that continues. We live in the best country in the world. There's nothing that can't be fixed in our economy by having a change of government. There is a better way. We can get back on track. By getting back to basics, we can take our economy to a far better place than what we have seen in the last 2½ years of this Labor government. That means beating inflation by reigning in wasteful spending that those opposite can't help themselves with—36,000 additional Canberra based public servants. Today we see this Treasurer using the Public Service as a political weapon in the lead-up to an election. That's why he needed extra public servants. We know why he needed extra public servants—to play political games. We can have cheaper energy by ensuring we have a balanced mix of the full range of fuel technologies, including gas and nuclear. We can have affordable homes by investing in the infrastructure that will unlock new housing supply in this country, in contrast to the absolute and abject failure of those opposite even to reach their own housing supply targets. We also need to make sure we get the balance right between housing supply and immigration. That balance is crucial and has been completely out of whack in the time those opposite have been in power. Australians are poorer than when Labor came to power. We cannot afford another three years of Labor. 15:47 Dr LEIGH BU8 Fenner Well, they've been out to lunch for three years, and now they want taxpayers to pay for the bosses' lunches. A good economic policy should boost growth, boost fairness and put downward pressure on inflation. But this policy announced by the opposition does none of those things. We should have got a bit of a hint of the Leader of the Opposition's economic capacity when he ran to roll Malcolm Turnbull back in 2018. It's been a little forgotten since then, but he had a big policy idea then, and that was to smash a big hole in the GST. It was a policy so bad that it was described by Scott Morrison as an 'absolute budget blower' and by Malcolm Turnbull as 'very expensive'. The Leader of the Opposition's economic chops have been summed up in Lech Blaine's Quarterly Essay, where he wrote as follows: Dutton is the paperback version of Howard: the same message but less weight. Economics is not his emotional priority, beyond a tribal allegiance to tax loopholes for the rich; penalties for the poor; and hostility to trade unions. This is why he spends most of the time fighting culture wars. His grievances are well practised and sincerely held. But the moment he moves off his preferred turf, Dutton becomes clumsy and unconvincing. Lech Blaine went on to interview former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 248181 I'll just remind the assistant minister to use correct titles when referring to members in the House. Dr LEIGH BU8 of the Leader of the Opposition: "Peter is not an original thinker … I cannot recall him ever having a positive idea in the times when I was with him in government." If you thought it's just former prime ministers who have that view of the Leader of the Opposition, I would note the words also quoted in that Quarterly Essay by the member for Bass: "When I go to Canberra and sit in the party room with Peter Dutton, Tony Pasin and Alex Antic, I think: who are these people?" She goes on to say: "The Liberal Party has become One Nation lite." This policy that is being proposed by the opposition makes Tony Abbott's knights and dames look visionary. It makes Billy Snedden look strong. It makes Alexander Downer look like a policy wonk. What it does is wind back one of the great tax reforms of the past couple of generations, the introduction of fringe benefits taxation, closing a tax loophole, back in 1985. As the late, great economic commentator Tim Colebatch noted, after the fringe benefits tax was introduced in 1985, activity at restaurants actually grew. He said: A tax rort ended with no pain. And Tim Colebatch reminded us: Remember: those who pay for tax breaks are other taxpayers. And that is why the cost of this policy is so substantial. We've waited a couple of weeks for the opposition to release the costings around their signature economic policy—taxpayer funded long lunches for bosses—and we've waited in vain. So, with some regret, the Treasurer has been forced to ask Treasury to cost the policy. Treasury has done so on a conservative basis. There are four million small businesses with a turnover under $10 million. Of those four million, around 2.6 million are actively trading. For their calculation, Treasury assumed not every business would claim the maximum $20,000. Their costing starts off by assuming that actively trading businesses would claim just one-eighth of the cap, $2,500 a year. That would produce a cost of $1.6 billion—not $1.6 billion over the forwards; $1.6 billion per year. But the cost could get higher still. If all those four million actively trading businesses were to access the maximum $20,000 and get the tax benefit of 25 per cent, then the cost would balloon to $10 billion per year. Ten billion dollars is a significant sum—bigger than any of us have had in our bank accounts—so let me give that in more precise terms. The maximum potential cost of the coalition's $10 billion policy of taxpayer funded long lunches for bosses equates to $1,000 for each and every Australian household. Each and every Australian household would be on the hook to the tune of $1,000 to subsidise long lunches for bosses, undoing the fringe benefits tax reform of 1985. And that's why experts are having none of it. Saul Eslake said the policy would go on his list of 'the dumbest tax policy decisions of the last 30 years'. Chris Richardson said: … creating loopholes for small businesses to have a bit of fun at the expense of taxpayers heads in the exact opposite direction of what the federal budget needs … The fact is that occasionally we will have targeted tax breaks for small businesses, but those targeted tax breaks are aimed at boosting productivity. Think of the technology investment incentive or the skills and training incentives—time limited tax deductions which ensured that small businesses invested in things that made a difference for the Australian people. But this policy does none of that. It simply blows a hole in the budget, somewhere between $1.6 billion and $10 billion a year, paid for by taxpayers. This is, perhaps, no surprise. After all, this is coming from a leader of the opposition who was voted the worst health minister in Australian history by Australian doctors, a leader of the opposition who poisoned relations with our Pacific Island neighbours by joking about rising sea levels and a leader of the opposition who has consistently shown no interest in policy and turned to culture wars at every possibility. And his nuclear plan would see Australia trade out from renewables, where we're the leader in solar PV, towards the most expensive form of electricity, which wouldn't be delivered until 2040. No wonder the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has described the policy as 'bonkers' and has said that the claim that it would complement renewable energy was 'gaslighting, quite frankly'. We have, from the Leader of the Opposition, a culture war being played and an attack yet again on the public service. His plan to cut 36,000 Public Service jobs wouldn't just affect great cities like Canberra. It would affect all of those who rely on public services. It could lead to delayed payments and waiting times for government services or for veterans affairs. It could undermine tax avoidance crackdowns. It could affect biosecurity or disability services. Cuts to the 4,000 jobs in Defence, Home Affairs or the Australian Federal Police would pose a threat to national security. Let's not forget that under the former government we had a shadow Public Service workforce of some 54,000 consultants and contractors. It is likely that the opposition's policy would lead to that situation being returned. We've already reduced wait times for veterans to have their claims processed. The Leader of the Opposition's policies would see those blow out again. Every election is a choice. If those opposite had had their way, Australian households would be $7,200 worse off. Since coming to office we have delivered energy bill relief to every Australian household and a tax cut to every Australian taxpayer. We've ensured that Australians get a fair deal at the check-out, and we've ensured that farmers get a fairer price for the great goods that they sell to our supermarkets, through a mandatory food and grocery code, voted against by those opposite, who didn't want to see supermarkets face multimillion dollar penalties. We've delivered cheaper medicines, again over the opposition of those opposite, allowing millions of Australians to buy two months worth of medicines for the price of a single prescription. Over the period that policy has been in force, we've seen the number of pharmacies in Australia increase, contrary to the fear campaigns of those opposite. We've got wages moving, including a third consecutive pay rise for 2.6 million minimum-wage workers. We've delivered two back-to-back surpluses—something those opposite never managed. They printed the mugs, but they never delivered the surpluses. We've increased Commonwealth rent assistance by over 40 per cent, extended the single parenting payment and provided 30,000 families with access to free broadband. Labor has delivered on inflation and equity. The coalition are a risk to household budgets and a risk to the Australian economy. 15:57 Dr WEBSTER 281688 Mallee Australia is at a turning point, and the ship of state is rudderless under the weak leadership of this Prime Minister, who is more focused on accusing the Leader of the Opposition of the very division that, on his watch, the Albanese Labor government not only facilitated but allowed to fester. Worse still, the Prime Minister and Treasurer Chalmers's economic mismanagement—again, on their watch—sees Australians' living standards collapsing. Families and pensioners are struggling to make ends meet, making sacrifices just to afford the weekly shop and to cover their rent or mortgage. The Albanese Labor government's wasteful spending has driven up inflation and interest rates, resulting in the cost of mortgages, rents, power bills, groceries, insurance, health and education going up to a point most simply cannot afford. For instance, under the Albanese Labor government, a family with a typical mortgage has spent an additional $50,000 of interest since the Prime Minister came to power. Since Mr Albanese became Prime Minister, Australian living standards have fallen further than anywhere in the developed world, by 8.7 per cent on the latest data. The International Monetary Fund projects that this year Australia will have the second-highest inflation of any developed country after the Slovak Republic. Respected economics firm Deloitte say that Australians' standard of living will not recover until at least 2030. Core inflation remains at 3.2 per cent, outside the Reserve Bank's target band of two to three per cent. Australians are experiencing the longest sustained period of inflation since the 1980s. We've been in a household recession for 21 long months. The coalition will deliver lower inflation through a stronger economy and responsible economic management. We will stop wasteful spending, reduce taxes and cut red tape, easing cost-of-living pressures for families and businesses. Energy prices are a major driver of pressures on the cost of living and the cost of doing business. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, promised Australians some 97 times that by 2025 household energy bills would be reduced by $275. Now, in early 2025, that pledge has officially been broken. One-off relief over four quarters simply doesn't cut the mustard. Labor is also robbing regions to buy votes in the cities. In my first term as the member for Mallee, I secured over $2 billion in funding for Mallee. Over the same three-year period, Labor has barely invested one dollar for every $20 I secured. It gets worse, Deputy Speaker. My fellow regional Victorians suffer the double whammy of two on-the-nose Labor governments, under Prime Minister Albanese and Premier Allan, who together use regional Australia as a doormat. Even when fires burned in my electorate, the Prime Minister and the Premier did a quick flyover of the Grampians. The Leader of the Opposition, on the other hand, visited fire-affected communities like Halls Gap, with me, on the ground. Mallee is not a dumping ground for bad policy. Labor are railroading regional communities with deeply unpopular energy projects, fast-tracking approvals while their shambolic locomotive gathers steam. Mallee's regional communities are tied to the railroad tracks, screaming for their city cousins and the media that metropolitan Australians rely on to pay attention before it is too late. Thankfully, Whycheproof-raised Peta Credlin, on Sky News, is raising the alarm on the national stage. Labor's deeply unpopular energy plans have been exposed as costing $600 billion, according to Frontier Economics, compared with $263 billion under the coalition—44 per cent cheaper. Sunraysia, Mallee and regional Australia deserve a fair go from Canberra, and I expect a return to government with the Nationals will get the country back on track. 16:02 Ms SCRYMGOUR F2S Lingiari Labor is working hard to help Australians deal with the cost of living and maintain high living standards, and I'm doing everything in my capacity to ease cost-of-living pressures on families and individuals in my electorate of Lingiari. In the 2022 federal election I pledged about $1.5 billion in pre-election commitments for Lingiari. These commitments represented an unprecedented level of investment in improving the liveability, resilience and economy of the many remote Aboriginal communities, regional centres and towns that make up Lingiari. I'm proud to announce that we are delivering on every single commitment. I continue to be a strong advocate and build on my proven track record of improving living standards and getting the best possible outcomes for people in Lingiari—in better roads, safer communities, more housing, sporting and recreational facilities, more jobs, better health and education outcomes, greater water security and strong environmental protections. Over the last four years, the Albanese Labor government has invested over $7 billion in lifting the living standards and improving the social and economic wellbeing of the 73 remote Aboriginal communities in my electorate. We have a plan for the continued sustainability of remote Australia. Labor talk about, and will deliver, more jobs, more housing, quality education, improved health, better roads and an overall improvement in living standards in the bush. The coalition is just focused on culture wars. Where Labor has taken the opportunity to boost living standards in the bush, we've seen the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians come to Alice Springs and say very clearly that the shadow minister will use her new government efficiency role to cut programs for Aboriginal people. The coalition is not a friend of remote Australia. The best safeguard to improve living standards is to have a safe and secure roof over your head, and I'm proud to remind the House of Labor's ambitious investment of $4 billion with the Northern Territory government, announced earlier this year, to increase housing stock in remote Aboriginal communities in my electorate. The unprecedented investment will build 270 houses every year for the next 10 years, including an extra $120 million over the next three years to improve housing maintenance and upgrade essential infrastructure in homeland communities. I heard the member for Mallee saying that her electorate is not the dumping ground for bad policy. Well, that needs to be the same for Lingiari and our bush communities. The opposition shouldn't use Lingiari or our bush communities for their bad, culture-war policies, which are part of their DNA and which they always revert to when they've got nothing else. It's punching down on Aboriginal people and their communities. That's not what the federal Labor government is all about. We are about delivering jobs. I've had discussions with the Minister for Indigenous Australians about the $707 million investment to create 3,000 new jobs in remote communities across Australia over the next three years. That is welcome, and I know that the minister will be making an announcement soon about that first tranche for organisations and companies to apply to—to put those jobs in the communities. That will be announced soon. Certainly, a lot of employers have been invited to apply for the funds under this program to create those local jobs with proper pay and conditions. Labor's investment in bush communities across my electorate will continue to have a positive impact on maintaining the living conditions and standards of constituents in my electorate. We are committed to the future pipeline of investments in building the future sustainability of remote Australia. I compare this with the coalition's regressive agenda of cost cutting and harmful policies aimed at eroding living standards and the authority and control of Aboriginal people over their lives. I ask the coalition to stop these culture wars, particularly in relation to our remote communities. 16:07 Ms WARE 300123 Hughes I rise to speak on the matter of public importance today, which is the collapse in Australia's living standards under this government, and I thank the member for Hume for bringing this very important matter before the House. After two years and nine months of this Albanese Labor government, the cost of living for Australians has collapsed by 8.7 per cent. When we talk about living standards having decreased so much, Australians now are clearly blaming the Prime Minister and this government for the hit that they have taken to their disposable income. The Albanese Labor government has absolutely failed to rein in inflation. Despite figures that were published last week, no Australian that I've spoken to and no-one in my electorate, when I've been out doorknocking and doing mobile offices—nobody has said, yes, suddenly groceries are less or they feel that food is less. And it's not. Food is up 12 per cent under this government, since 2022. Since May 2022, food has gone up by 12 per cent. Electricity is up by 32 per cent. Even today, during question time, the minister for energy stood there and said renewables are the cheapest form of energy. Deputy Speaker, I can tell you that in my electorate of Hughes they simply do not believe this. They do not believe it. Their insurance, for example, is up by 18 per cent; gas, 36 per cent; and electricity, 32 per cent. For those who own homes and are paying off a mortgage, under this government, in only two years and nine months, there have been 12 successive interest rate rises. That means that the average Australian paying the average mortgage has paid $50,000 in additional mortgage repayments, in additional interest rates. The only winner out of that has been the banks. And that doesn't even account for the greater increases that small businesses have had to pay on their business loans. Look at what they've had to pay on their overdrafts, for example. We have seen the decimation of small business under this government, under this Prime Minister's stewardship: 27,000 small businesses have collapsed under this government, under this Prime Minister and under this Treasurer. Like most members in this place, over Christmas I first of all went out and did a lot of local schools. Whether it was at Ingleburn, whether it was at Macquarie Fields, whether it was in Sutherland, Jannali, Engadine, Moorebank or Wattle Grove, parents there all said the same thing: that they were really struggling to work out how they were going to pay for Christmas and they were struggling to work out how they were going to afford to have the family get-togethers that we love over Christmas. Holidays had been cancelled because they simply couldn't afford it. There was something that really upset me. I was doorknocking through Bardia, which is part of south-west Sydney, an area that I've now inherited. On three occasions, I had a woman open the door and, when I asked, 'How are you? How are you finding things?' burst into tears and say to me, 'I don't know how I'm going to get the kids any Christmas presents.' That's south-west Sydney. That should be Middle Australia. In the Australia that I've grown up in, we have never been at this state. When I've been out to our charity organisations, they say now that families with two incomes, for the first time in their lives, are coming in and saying: 'I have no groceries. I have no way of feeding my family this year.' Living standards have collapsed under this government, and it's a disgrace. 16:12 Dr GARLAND 295588 Chisholm I think our communities expect us to do what we can to ease cost-of-living pressures when households feel them. I really do earnestly believe that that is the expectation of the community. I wish too that those opposite demonstrated their care for people struggling with the cost of living, but we haven't seen any meaningful evidence of that. We hear these MPIs when we're here in Canberra, but what we don't see is meaningful action. Let's not forget that those opposite have voted against all meaningful cost-of-living relief measures that our government has implemented. Not only do we know that they are a danger to our living standards if, heaven forbid, they ever sat on the Treasury benches again; we know what they did when they were last in government. We saw that their track record was appalling and had already seen the lowering of living standards in this country. We saw under those opposite living standards going backwards 1.6 per cent in the quarter of the election. Living standards were 3.7 per cent below their peak at the time of the election, and living standards fell 13 out of the 35 quarters the opposition were in office. We saw inflation increasing on their watch, and they outrageously had a deliberate strategy to suppress wages and to see wage stagnation as a key feature of their economic strategy. Let's not forget either that those opposite attempted to shame the now Prime Minister for seeking an increase in wages for Australia's lowest-paid workers. So there is not much of a good track record from those opposite when it comes to living standards. Indeed, when given the opportunity to help people who are doing it tough in our communities, those opposite have walked away from the opportunity to help. On this side of the House, we acknowledge that people are under pressure and we do know that they would be under even more pressure if those opposite had their way. Our government are working really hard to do what we can to ease pressures on households. We've overseen the creation of more than 1.1 million new jobs, of which four out of every five have been in the private sector. We've seen nominal wages growing at almost double the average of what they did under those opposite. Headline inflation is almost a third of what we inherited, and underlying inflation is at a three-year low. Real wages are growing again, now for four quarters in a row, and we're delivering cost-of-living relief, including, of course, a tax cut for every taxpayer and energy bill relief for every household. When I've been out doorknocking in my community, I know that these measures are making a difference in people's lives. Our economic plan is squarely focused on helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. Our policies, we know, are making a difference, but we do acknowledge that people are doing it tough. We know that the good progress in the national numbers that we see doesn't always translate into how people are feeling and faring in the community. That's why the cost of living remains the government's No.1 focus, doing what we can to help households and putting all of our efforts towards helping in meaningful ways, such as providing urgent care clinics, providing free TAFE and doing what we can to reduce university debt. We're not really that interested in providing free, long lunches for bosses, unlike those opposite, because we think the priority should be helping those doing it tough in our communities. We know that the biggest risk to the progress we've made together in this government would be a coalition government. Their track record is appalling. We heard on the weekend that there will be cuts—of that we are assured—but we don't know what those cuts will look like. It is not unreasonable to suggest that the Leader of the Opposition will once again come after Medicare. In my community, I'm really worried that that will mean the closure of an urgent care clinic—an urgent care clinic that I hear positive feedback about all the time. I'm genuinely worried that that will happen. I'm really worried that those young people putting themselves through vocational education and training will be forced to pay extra for their courses. Australia cannot risk the Leader of the Opposition becoming Prime Minister. 16:17 Mr WOLAHAN 235654 Menzies I listened carefully to the contribution by the member for Chisholm. We are electorate neighbours, and I have inherited an area that used to be part of Chisholm in Box Hill. We heard the same old trope that is wheeled out every election, a 'Mediscare' campaign, which no doubt will be a feature of this campaign. I'd like the member for Chisholm to think of somewhere I hope she visited when she was the member, which is healthAbility in Box Hill. I recently visited healthAbility, and they've had their funding cut by $500,000 under a Labor government. This is what happens when you see a Labor government manage the economy as it has in Victoria. That is where the future of the national economy will go. So you can run the 'Mediscare' campaign all you want; it's dishonest. It is dishonest. It is wrong. The only record that counts on health is the Labor government's record in Victoria, and it is about cutting essential services. Now, I was quite worried about coming here again after our holidays, because when we do that the Treasurer gets thought bubbles in his head that have real consequences for this country, and they're quite serious. We had him come back after one thought bubble and write an essay saying he would reinvent capitalism. But what we have seen from this Treasurer, two years after he wrote that infamous thesis, is that he has not reinvented capitalism; he has repeated history's mistakes. We're not the first capitalist economy to experiment with what happens when you blow out government spending. We are not the first. We know where that ends. Yet this Treasurer has copied that in a way that has hurt Australians and affected frontline services. Right now, families are going back to school, and the question was put to the Prime Minister, 'How much has food gone up on your watch?' He refused to answer it. Let's go to specifics. Some foods are essentials; some foods are luxuries. Let's go to the essentials. Milk is up 18 per cent in this country. Bread is up 25 per cent in this country. Eggs, a key protein source which should be cheap compared to other expensive items, like high-end steak, are up 36 per cent. With school starting, when families come back and they still have debts from maybe a few trips away they took—maybe to an aquarium, a park or a drive—these are the sorts of bills they are facing, and they are entitled to ask: 'Am I better off than I was three years ago? Is this what the Prime Minister promised me?' We know the answer to that. They are worse off. We take no joy in that—none. These aren't just numbers on a page; these are people we see every day. They're our neighbours, they are the people we fight for, and they're hurting. We heard from many other members that people are bursting into tears when they're doorknocking. They're writing heartbreaking letters to us. Food banks have queues through the door. This is Australia in 2025, and people are queuing for food. That's not the Australia we should be proud of. We've seen the worst per capita recession on record—seven quarters of negative GDP. We've seen higher inflation, higher for longer, which has given us higher interest rates. We've seen business confidence collapse. On the NAB survey, 75 per cent of businesses think costs are going to continue to rise. There have been 27,000 insolvencies—even more in Victoria. Again, I say to those members opposite and Australians around this nation: If you want to know what a second-term Albanese government looks like, look to Victoria. Their government is cut from the same cloth. The state is on its knees. It has the highest debt and is the highest spending state. It's the highest taxing and the poorest in the nation. Crime, graffiti and rubbish are out of control and businesses are fleeing or shutting down. No wonder Victoria will feature heavily in this election. Australians will say, 'If this is what you have done to my state, what will you do to my nation?' There are only two answers from this government: pump migration, and pump spending because, by doing those two things at record levels, they get to say, 'Ta-dah, we avoided a technical recession.' Families have a recession and they've had enough of this government, and they'll soon make that known to them. 16:22 Mr BURNELL 300129 Spence Once again, the member for Hume has buried his head in the sand, alongside the Leader of the Opposition and his Liberal colleagues, completely ignoring the world around them so they can spend valuable time in the House bathing in their own reality to make themselves feel good. Here's a reality check: Australians are doing it tough, and families need help to keep up with the current cost of living. There is not a single person on this side of the House or in the other place that would disagree with this notion. We are taking action to deliver that help, by easing the pressures families are under. Under Labor, inflation is now lower and continues to fall, compared to where it was when this government was elected. Under Labor, real wages are growing again, after going backwards under those opposite. Under Labor, we've had record jobs growth. We've lowered the Liberals' debt by $177 billion, and we have delivered back-to-back surpluses for the first time in nearly two decades. Let's contrast that to where we were before, under the Liberals. Despite what the member for Hume may tell you, under the Liberals, living standards fell by 3.7 per cent during the nine months leading up to the last election. Under the Liberals, real wages went backwards by 3.4 per cent under their watch, which we now know was a deliberate policy to stagnate and suppress the incomes of everyday Aussies. Under the Liberals, inflation had a six in front of it, when they left office. It now has a two in front of it, under a Labor government. This is the reality, whether the Liberals want to admit it to Australians or not. There is plenty more to do on this front, though, and this Labor government has never, and will never, shy away from this. Despite the substantial progress I've mentioned, costs are still high, and that is taking a toll on living standards in this country. Again, Labor continues to take action to make lives easier for everyday Aussies through direct, meaningful policy. That includes a bigger, better and fairer tax cut for every Australian, delivered in July last year, putting an average of $1,217 extra into the pockets of 67,000 taxpayers in my community, where that need for relief is extremely high. That is what raises living standards. What did the Liberals do? They were so appalled at policy that helps families in communities like mine that they wanted an election to take that money from Australian households. Something else that raises living standards are boosts to housing supply in this country. Labor is doing just that, passing Help to Buy and build-to-rent legislation and embarking on the most ambitious housing program in Australia ever. Guess what the Liberals did? They fought tooth and nail to try and shoot this down. They would rather see fewer houses, fewer chances for Australians to find homes, higher rents and higher mortgages because they don't care about living standards in this country. In fact, every time this Labor government has introduced relief to the household budget, every time members on this side of the House have fought for a better deal for everyday Aussies, whether that's making health care and medicines cheaper, making education and training more affordable or boosting wages, giving a fair day's pay for a fair day's work for Aussies, the Liberals have voted against it because they want to work against the living standards of everyone in this country. They want to continue the legacy of the previous Liberal government by getting our country going backwards again. Really? They are willing to deny Aussies cost-of-living relief to raise their living standards because it benefits the Liberal Party. We saw that in the past when the Liberals were in government. We're seeing that now under this opposition leader in the present as he blocks every effort made to help Australian households. I'm afraid we're going to see this destructive behaviour going forward. You only have to look at the Liberals' $1.6-billion-a-year scheme to make everyday Aussies pay for the lunches of the Leader of the Opposition and his mates. While some families in my community will have spaghetti on toast for tea tonight, the opposition leader wants that same family to pay for a boardroom banquet tomorrow. It's embarrassing that, on the rare occasion the alternative Prime Minister of this country comes out with policy involving food on the table, it's only to put food on the table next to him. It's only to raise his standard of living. I'm going to fight him because I want to raise your standard of living. Through the policies of this Labor government, that's exactly what we are doing. 16:27 Mr VIOLI 300147 Casey After two months at home, some time with the family and time out with my community, I was hoping that those opposite might have spent some time in their community and that the Prime Minister might have got out. But, no, we're back again in February, and we've got the Prime Minister and the Treasurer telling the Australian people again how lucky they are and how they've never had it better. They're now getting to unfounded spin and scare campaigns. Suddenly we've got members opposite talking about lunches for the top end of town. We now know that, apparently, a small business with $10 million in revenue is considered the top end of town by the ALP and the government. Apparently that is the big, rich people—those earning a revenue of $10 million—but that's not true. It's more spin from the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. The reality is they have no answers to the collapse in living standards that Australians are facing. There's been an 8.7 per cent fall per capita since this government was elected, yet the Prime Minister and the Treasurer are telling us: 'Don't worry. We failed for three years, but trust us; we'll be better next time. We're really sorry we were no good. We couldn't deliver for you, but just trust us.' But we know that they can't deliver and that all they have is spin. In question time it was interesting when the Prime Minister refused to talk about how much food and groceries have gone up. That's because they have gone up 12 per cent under his watch. But he said: 'No, we're doing things. We've got the mandatory code of conduct.' Let's park, for a minute, that the mandatory code isn't actually about supermarkets and prices for consumers, so it's not actually going to bring prices down. It's about how supermarkets treat suppliers, which is a really important issue, but it's not actually a cost-of-living measure. Let's park that for a second. The Prime Minister was willing to claim the mandatory code of conduct as one of their policies that have brought prices down and brought inflation down. There is one big problem with that claim by the Prime Minister: the mandatory code doesn't come into effect until 1 April 2025. Last time I checked, we're in February of 2025. It is a classic example of the spin from this Prime Minister, the spin from this Treasurer and the spin of those opposite. They think if they throw a line out that it's going to make a difference, but it doesn't. You have to address the core problem at the cause and the symptoms, and they can't do that. They're not prepared to make the tough decisions. We had more spin from those opposite when the Minister for Home Affairs—who I note seems to spend more time in question time talking about his former portfolio than his current portfolio, which could explain some of the challenges we face when it comes to national security—claimed how great it was that the minimum wage was going up record levels. 'Record levels, how lucky; We've done a great job.' Again, They completely park two facts. They park that the Fair Work Commission is independent. They're really happy to take credit for the independent Fair Work Commission but walk away from the independent RBA. The second problem with that is that of course minimum wages are going up, because the Fair Work Commission look at inflation. Under this government, inflation has been out of control. The Prime Minister doesn't like to talk to it, but it got to 7.8 per cent at its highest under his watch—7.8 per cent under this prime minister. It's started to drop off because it's a reflective compounding impact, but Australians are still struggling. We have a prime minister that, when he was asked to apologise about his $275 reduction in power bills, couldn't do that. He didn't apologise to the Australian people. We saw more spin about the $300 cut that he hasn't paid for—the Australian taxpayer has paid for it. He's taken money from taxpayers, from all of us, given it back to us, 'Give me a pat on the shoulder.' Even with that subsidy, power prices are up over $1,000 under this government, but they won't stand there and apologise. They talk about cuts to health and Medicare and these phantom issues. Let's look at the actual delivery of the Albanese government. They cut Medicare funded mental health sessions—20 under the former government cut to 10, despite a report saying that it needed to stay. Don't look at what the government say; look at what they do. For three years, they have failed to deliver for the Australian people. 16:32 Ms BELYEA 309484 Dunkley I'm pleased to speak on this matter of public importance to point out some obvious mistruths by those opposite. Firstly, it's the notion that things were better when those opposite were last in office. When Labor came to office, inflation was high and rising, real wages were going backwards and the budget was weighed down by a mountain of debt and waste. Tackling inflation is a tough challenge. There's no quick fix, and those opposite know it. We know CPI indicators can fluctuate, but let me be clear: without Labor's cost-of-living relief, inflation would be even higher. Whilst the opposition plays politics with the serious global inflation that has impacted Australians, we have got on with the task of providing targeted cost-of-living relief whilst delivering record jobs growth, bringing inflation down and reducing debt by $177 billion. When our government was elected, inflation had a six in front of it, but now inflation has a two in front of it, easing the pressure on household finances. Our efforts have been substantial across every area. This time last year, when I was campaigning for the by-election in Dunkley, we announced tax cuts for every taxpayer. Now every Australian taxpayer has a tax cut, making a real difference for 13.6 million Australians and ensuring that hard-working Australians are keeping more of the wages they earn. These tax cuts have been good for Middle Australia, good for women, good for helping with cost-of-living pressures, good for labour supply and good for the economy. There has been $300 in energy bill relief for every household and a $325 rebate for every small business. We have made medicines cheaper, making them more affordable for Australians. We froze the PBS co-payment for five years and expanded the PBS register to include more life-saving medications. Here in Dunkley, our policies have already saved residents over $2.2 million on prescription costs. For those who need support the most—pensioners and concession cardholders—PBS medications now cost no more than $7.70, ensuring no-one has to choose between health and the household budget. Our cheaper child care policy is delivering cost-of-living relief for more than one million Australian families by cutting out-of-pocket costs. Since cheaper child care came into place, average out-of-pocket costs dropped from $4.22 an hour in June 2023 to $3.66 in June 2024. One of the areas I love to talk about the most as a past TAFE student —as my colleague from the Hunter knows very well—is free TAFE. It is excellent that it is free. We have supported over 600,000 enrolments into free TAFE, enabling people to get access to the skills and training they need at no cost. If re-elected, we will continue to provide ongoing cost relief by removing financial barriers to education and training, particularly for groups that typically experience economic disadvantage. I hear from my constituents in my electorate, in Dunkley, at street stalls and during doorknocks about the strain on their household budgets. They're feeling the pressure, but they also understand that inflation is driven by serious global factors. An Australian household with two workers earning an average income would have been around $7,200 worse off under those opposite. If those opposite win the next election, they will take the country backwards and the people of Australia will become worse off. Living standards will go backwards. We know this because, firstly, they have no policy offerings. They have stated they want to reduce spending, pushing wages down, pushing electricity prices up, cutting Medicare to pay for nuclear and, of course—their newest thought bubble—cutting cost-of-living help to pay for long lunches for bosses. We have listened and we have acted. Labor's cost-of-living measures are targeted to support those doing it tough while carefully managing inflationary pressures, delivering real relief while keeping spending under control. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 249710 I thank the member for Dunkley. Two divisions were called earlier for this sitting relating to a motion to suspend standing and sessional orders. Due to the intervening proceedings in relation to this motion, I am proposing not to proceed with the deferred divisions. BILLS 49 BILLS Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 49

Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

Second Reading 49 16:38 Mr COLEMAN 241067 Banks I rise to speak on the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024. This is a bill which sadly is necessary because of the repeated failures of the Albanese government to prevent the sadly predictable spread of antisemitism. Attacks on Jewish Australians are attacks on every Australian. To attack people because they profess the Jewish faith or have Jewish ancestry is to repudiate the Australian way of life. We are a country that prides itself on treating people equally whatever their faith or background. It's a core national value, and a stain of antisemitism is a direct rejection of that value. The initial spark for the antisemitic attacks that we are seeing across the country came, of course, with the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. Make no mistake: the October 7 attack was the single greatest loss of Jewish lives on any day since the Holocaust. October 7 was a day of murder, torture, kidnapping and brutal sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas against Jews in Israel. The cruelty was deliberate. The horrors do not bear repeating in this chamber, but there is no doubt that they were designed with the purpose of maximising pain and sorrow amongst Jewish people. It is both desperately sad and utterly predictable that, on learning of those horrific attacks on Jewish people in their own homeland, malicious actors here in Australia would draw inspiration. Those bad actors here in Australia rejoiced in the day that was marked by the murder, torture, sexual assault and kidnapping of Israelis. In the words of one hate preacher, October 7 was 'a day of courage, a day of pride, a day of victory.' It was obvious that they would see those attacks as giving licence to spread the same, vile antisemitic hate here—to target Jewish Australians, to spread fear, to use our streets and university campuses to call for the destruction of the Jewish state, to spread old antisemitic tropes, often hiding behind the weak academic pretence that somehow what they were doing was anti-Israeli, not antisemitic, and to target businesses, homes, cars and synagogues. The attempts to spread antisemitism in this country after October 7 were, as I said, desperately sad and utterly predictable. This is where the government's failings first came to the fore. In this country, tone is set at the top. The tone for the national response is set by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister could and should have made clear through his actions from the very beginning that those who sought to spread antisemitic attacks here would feel the full force of the law. He could and should have been very clear from the very beginning about the scale of the horror inflicted by Hamas and that Australia would stand with its long-term friend and ally, Israel. He could and should have used our laws and our police forces to clamp down on those who sought to weaponise the Hamas attacks for their own purposes here at home. But what did we get instead? First, we saw inaction. For months and months, we had Labor ministers who couldn't acknowledge domestic antisemitism without also mentioning other forms of discrimination. There are many forms of discrimination, and all of them are unacceptable, but it was clear after October 7 that we were seeing a crisis in antisemitism in this nation. We, as a country, saw a 700 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents in a period of months. On that night of infamy at the Sydney Opera House, October 9, we had angry mobs standing outside the Opera House, chanting hateful messages towards Jewish Australians. We had shops being vandalised, Jewish students being harassed and roaming gangs in places like Caulfield hunting for Jews. At a time when we're responding to an unprecedented wave of antisemitism here in our country, when we are seeing armed guards outside Jewish schools, it is, of course, appropriate to focus on antisemitism. But the Prime Minister did not do that. We saw a rolling failure to take decisive action at home. Antisemitic displays were not prosecuted. Antisemitic protests were not stopped. Antisemitic sentiment was allowed to fester. We have criminal laws that are meant to deal with these things; they were not used. The AFP was not given clear direction or focus by a prime minister demanding results. Protests in our streets, in which antisemitic displays abounded, were permitted to drag on for months and months and months. Universities were permitted to be used as encampments that served as a hotbed of antisemitic action. Jewish students were harassed because of who they were. Our human rights institutions and federal government institutions were not given focus or direction. They were not called to account when they abandoned the Jew community. The Prime Minister's response was drowsy, weak and disinterested. We've also seen this government and this Prime Minister abandon Israel on the international stage. In the wake of October 7, the instinct of this government was not to stand with Israel, which had just been the target of a horrific atrocity. Later we saw a series of votes in the United Nations in which Australia reversed a longstanding bipartisan position on Israel, a bipartisan position that existed for more than 20 years. But we know what happened. For sordid, tawdry, domestic political reasons, the government abandoned Israel—for its perceived political gain. It said that it no longer supported the basic fundamental point that recognition of a Palestinian state can only come through negotiation between all the parties, which of course must include Israel. The Prime Minister and foreign minister betrayed our values because they were worried about a political fight with the Greens. They were more interested in the Labor vote in Brunswick than in doing the right thing in our votes at the United Nations. Let's not pretend for one minute that Labor's votes at the UN were about principle or about human rights. They were not. They were about trying to save a few seats by targeting a few hundred thousand votes in inner-city electorates. Of course, Hamas's evil actions on October 7 were designed to move nations away from Israel. Now, that did not work in the United States, under President Biden, but it did work in Australia, under Anthony Albanese. The consequences of this government's indifference to domestic antisemitism have been stark. I've already mentioned the months of protests in our capital cities and the occupation of our universities. We've seen Jewish Australians doxxed for nothing more than being part of a WhatsApp group. We've seen shops owned by Jewish Australians targeted. We've seen Jewish students and academics harassed. We've seen buildings graffitied with hateful, antisemitic material, including the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, just outside my electorate. We've seen cars torched. We've seen the attempted arson of the Newtown Synagogue in Sydney, the burning of a daycare centre in Maroubra, the terrorist firebombing of the Addas synagogue in Melbourne and now, extraordinarily, a caravan packed with explosives, apparently targeting Jewish addresses, and a Prime Minister who was in the dark—oblivious. This is an extraordinary failure by a weak prime minister, and it is marking our national character. The laws that we are discussing today are intended to help mitigate some of the government's failures. They strengthen the existing offences in division 80 of the Criminal Code, which should have been used to stop the spark of antisemitism before it became a wildfire. Existing offences in division 80 of the Criminal Code make it an offence to urge violence against individuals on the basis of their race, religion and so on. They make it an offence to urge violence against groups because of their race or religion, among other things, and they make it an offence to advocate terrorism or genocide. For months we've been calling for the existing laws to be used. We in the coalition have been saying that the existing offences should be tested and that those preaching antisemitism should be put before a court. Why didn't that happen? Why weren't those who called for antisemitic violence put before a court almost a year ago, as the coalition suggested? Was it an unwillingness on the part of the government to run test cases, or did they hope that this insidious, evil problem would simply go away? For months we've been saying that, if the existing thresholds are for some reason so high that we cannot even run a test case, let's review them. Why didn't that happen back then? Was it drowsy disinterest from the Prime Minister once more? Regardless, the changes made by these laws as introduced are welcome. As soon as they were put before this chamber, it became clear that there were some simple, straightforward steps the government was proposing to take. Because these laws lower the threshold for criminality for those who urge violence against individuals or groups, instead of needing to prove that the person intended that violence occur, police now only need to prove that the person was reckless as to whether the violence would occur. This is a welcome change. These laws as currently drafted remove the good-faith defence for those urging violence. This, too, is a welcome move. After all, you can't urge someone to engage in acts of violence in good faith. The new provisions expand the offences that relate to the urging of violence so that they cover a broader range of personal characteristics on the basis of which a person or group is targeted. That is uncontroversial. These laws introduce new offences for threatening force or violence that are closely related to but distinct from urging violence. This is also uncontroversial. This bill was introduced in the last sitting week of September 2024. Given the urgency, the coalition wrote to the government before parliament resumed in October, offering to pass the bill as written. The government did not take up that offer. So, instead, we engaged constructively in the committee process and in the community, working to a timetable of the government's choosing. We examined the bill carefully, and, when the committee reported back after the end of the 2024 sitting year as the government requested, we recommended that the bill be passed. But we also said that, in the process, it should be made stronger and should cover attacks against places of worship. We plan to move those amendments, and I hope the government supports them. They're simple, straightforward amendments which will add two new offences to the Criminal Code: firstly, urging force, violence or damage against places of worship; and, secondly, threatening force, violence or damage against places of worship. These two new offences follow the model set by Labor's own drafting as closely as possible but are specifically designed to deal with those who urge or threaten attacks on places of worship. The need for those provisions is blatantly clear in light of the Adass synagogue terrorist attack and, apparently, the targets of the Sydney caravan plot. Unfortunately, however, this bill is not enough. The bitter truth is that we're now reaping the harvest of an awful summer of antisemitism. The government must do more. It must focus on operational issues. It's one thing to pass a law; it is another to enforce it. The government must set conditions for our police forces to find, arrest and actually commence prosecutions in the courts against those who have organised attacks on Jewish communities. But we must go further. This government needs to send a clear message by changing the law to impose mandatory minimum jail time for terrorism offences and for the display of terrorist symbols like the Hizballah and Hamas flags. There should be no doubt in the mind of any paid thug or antisemite that, if they hope to plan or participate in a terrorist attack, they will spend years in jail—where they belong. There should be no doubt that Australia will not tolerate the glorification of listed terrorist organisations that hate Australia and everything it stands for. Those who wave the flags of these organisations, glorifying them for the general public and legitimising their antisemitic hatred, do not belong on our streets. These measures are strong, but they're necessary. Because the failures of this Prime Minister have let the antisemitism genie out of the bottle, it falls to all of us to get it back in. I thank the House. Debate adjourned. Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2024-2025 52

Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2024-2025

First Reading 52 Second Reading 52 16:55 Mr JONES A9B Whitlam I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today, the government introduces the 2024-25 additional estimates appropriation bills. These bills are: Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2024-2025; Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2024-2025; and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2024-2025. These bills underpin the government's expenditure decisions made since the 2024-25 budget that relate to the 2024-25 financial year, including decisions made in the 2024-25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). Appropriation Bill (No. 3) seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of $7 billion. This would ensure there is sufficient appropriation to cover estimate variations related to existing programs, for instance, changes in costs for demand driven programs. The bill would also provide funding for the 2024-25 financial year costs of measures announced since the 2024-25 budget. The bill provides funding to support the following significant items. I'm very pleased to say the Department of Education will receive over $2.9 billion with the majority of funding to support a wage increase for early childhood education and care sector workers through a worker retention payment, something the government is very proud of. The government and, I note, the minister, who is with me at the table now, has done a lot of work in respect of that particular initiative. The wage increase is 10 per cent on top of the current national award rate in the first year from December 2024 and rises to 15 per cent in the second year from December 2025. As the program is demand driven, the appropriation for 2025-26 and 2026-27 is being provided upfront to ensure funding is available to make payments to participants as needed. The Department of Health and Aged Care will receive close to $1 billion to implement various programs to further strengthen Medicare, support Australia's health and aged-care workforce, continue to ensure access to medicines, and strengthen Australia's mental health and suicide prevention system. I'm sure these are programs that all members of this House would support. Funding will also support Australia's ongoing preventive health programs and vaping reforms, and support sports in Australian communities. Funding includes $489 million to support older Australians, by providing assistance to private providers, states, and territories for aged-care assessments under the single assessment system, and extending the aged-care outbreak management supplement. The department will also receive over $200 million to support continuous access to medicines. The Department of Social Services will receive over $594 million, with the majority of funding for the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide reasonable and necessary supports for National Disability Insurance Scheme participants. The Department of Home Affairs will receive approximately $362 million to implement various programs to ensure Australia's security, prosperity and unity by safeguarding national security interests and maintaining Australia's cohesive multicultural society. The funding will also enable the Department to continue to maintain the integrity of the migration system, sustain visa processing capability, provide settlement services to refugees and migrants, and protect the Australian border. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources will receive over $263 million, primarily for activities relating to the decommissioning of the Northern Endeavour floating oil production and offtake facility. Full details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the explanatory memorandum, and the portfolio additional estimates statements. On this basis, I commend this bill to the chamber. Debate adjourned. Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2024-2025 53

Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2024-2025

First Reading 53 Second Reading 53 17:01 Mr JONES A9B Whitlam I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of $5.1 billion for the 2024-25 financial year. These appropriations will support the following significant items. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will receive over $3.6 billion, including $2 billion to support investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies, and close to $1.2 billion for Rewiring the Nation to invest in transmission and distribution projects critical to Australia's energy transition. The department will also receive $530 million to fast-track household energy upgrades that improve energy efficiency and save energy. The Department of Defence will receive over $484 million. This primarily reflects a reclassification of the department's existing resources to support the delivery of capabilities prioritised within the 2024 National Defence Strategy and 2024 Defence Integrated Investment Program. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts will receive over $373 million, including funding for the NBN Co to upgrade an additional 622,000 fibre-to-the-node connections and financing to support the continuation of the Regional Express (Rex) administration process to 30 June 2025. Full details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the explanatory memorandum, and the portfolio additional estimates statements. On this basis, I commend this bill to the chamber. Debate adjourned. Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2024-2025 53

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2024-2025

First Reading 53 Second Reading 53 17:04 Mr JONES A9B Whitlam I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) provides additional appropriations for the operation of the parliamentary departments, specifically the Department of the House of Representatives, for the remainder of 2024-25, considerably more modest than the previous two bills but nonetheless no less important. The bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of $132,000 for the Department of the House of Representatives to prepare and deliver a national youth parliament program in August 2026, a program that I know the Minister for Youth, who's with me at the table today, is very, very supportive of. The program would allow students representing each Australian electorate to travel to Canberra and learn about being a member of parliament. Full details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the explanatory memorandum and the portfolio additional estimates statements. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024 54

Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024

Second Reading 54 17:06 Mr COLEMAN 241067 Banks I rise to speak on the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024. This is the second bill to come before this parliament in the wake of the horrific attack on a Services Australia employee who was just doing her job. No Australian should be attacked at work. So, when former Victoria police chief Graham Ashton made recommendations following a review of security arrangements at Services Australia and indeed in all Commonwealth agencies, we took them very seriously. That is why we backed the amendments to the Criminal Code, which expanded the criminal offences for assaulting a Commonwealth frontline worker, and is why we are supporting this bill today, which implements a recommendation from the Ashton review. In essence, what this bill does is create a scheme for Commonwealth workplace protection orders. These orders are similar to the apprehended and personal violence order schemes that are commonplace in states and territories. These orders will apply in Commonwealth workplaces or to protect Commonwealth workers. This means the orders can apply to a workplace such as an electorate office or a Services Australia centre. It also means that the orders can cover Commonwealth workers so that they are protected in the car park, on the way home and at other times out of normal working hours. The term 'Commonwealth worker' is very broad and includes contractors, security guards, volunteers and persons employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act. This means the bill would apply to protect Services Australia employees, electorate office staff and Australian Federal Police among others. The scheme allows a court to direct a person not to attend a particular Commonwealth workplace, not to go near an affected workplace and to comply with other conditions as appropriate. Only a court can make such an order, and it must be cancelled if the grounds for the order cease to exist. Broadly, a court is able to make such an order if satisfied that a person has engaged in personal violence or made threats of personal violence and there is a real risk the person will engage in further violence if the order is not made. The scheme does not require a worker to apply for an order themselves. Applications are made by the relevant agency through an authorised person. This addresses a known gap in the law whereby, under current arrangements, Commonwealth workers who needed to apply for a protection order may need to do so in their own name. Like other schemes, a person does not commit an offence simply because an order is made against them. However, contravening an order is punishable by up to two years jail or 120 penalty units, which is currently just under $40,000 or both. These penalties are appropriate. We understand from the government that the burden on the state and territory court system is expected to be minimal. The Attorney-General's Department has noted: Although the existing financial impact of violence and aggression toward Commonwealth workers has not been quantified, some impact on service delivery and resourcing is evident. They go on to note: Costs associated with administering the Bill may be offset, at least in part, by a reduction in more serious workplace-related violent offending and the costs for law enforcement agencies and courts of dealing with that more serious offending. The court focus, however, is on the safety of the Australian men and women whose work benefits the Australian public. The coalition will of course adopt its normal practice of subjecting the bill to ordinary scrutiny to ensure there are no unintended consequences. It is a practice we cannot afford to depart from lightly. Far too often under this Attorney-General we have discovered errors or mistakes which have real adverse consequences for Australia. So we will subject this bill to appropriate scrutiny. But we understand the intent of the legislation and, subject to the results of that inquiry, we will cautiously support it. Debate adjourned. Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024 54

Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024

Second Reading 54 17:11 Mr HOWARTH 247742 Petrie I move the amendment circulated in my name: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "the House notes that: (1) the former Government consistently delivered lower taxes for small business and families; (2) the Coalition's plan for the Instant Asset Write-Off will deliver a bigger tax cut for small businesses and boost investment in productive assets; (3) there have been more than 27,000 business insolvencies under this Government; and (4) Australians cannot afford another three years of Labor.". I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024. This bill, I believe, is another attack on small businesses by the Albanese government. This is an antibusiness government, and the bill highlights how the government is failing small businesses across Australia who are struggling. We saw today in question time how little the front bench of the government knows about small business, when we were talking about tax deductible meetings over lunch. They just don't understand it. They don't get it. These businesses are facing record insolvencies under the Albanese government. Can you believe that, in less than one term, 27,000 businesses have gone bust in Australia under the Albanese government? Mr McCormack 219646 How many? Mr HOWARTH 247742 Twenty-seven thousand businesses. Yes, you've heard it right, if you're listening. The December 2024 quarter was the worst quarter for business insolvencies on record, with 3,852 businesses going to the wall. The private sector in Australia is in decline, and the majority of jobs created by the Albanese government are being funded by public spending. Rather than taking this issue seriously or taking this issue on, or having any sort of plan and picking small businesses up with the support that they desperately need, the Albanese government is pushing them down with brazen cash grabs in this bill. They're taxing them more with cash grabs. We saw the government double down on their attack on small businesses today, as I said before, with their bizarre response to the coalition's food and entertainment tax deductibility for money that businesses spend. It's their money. We're talking about small businesses spending their own money on meetings with staff. They might have had a good month—they achieved budget—and they have a staff meeting over lunch. The business spends the money, not the government. All they're doing is giving the tax deduction if you've got a business turnover of under $10 million, like lots of little businesses. The government want to attack that as well, and that's because none of them have run a business. None of them have. I'd love to hear about the businesses that those opposite have run! This morning the Treasurer was quoting figures that were high and absolutely incorrect. This policy has a modest cost but a big impact for those small businesses, who can have the confidence to reward their staff or clients with a coffee or a meal without attracting further tax liabilities. The government has made it clear that they don't support meaningful tax relief for Australia's small businesses. The Treasurer has never run a business, and now he seems set on ensuring no other Australian wants to run one either. To come back to this bill, these are not serious reforms. This is a government running out of ideas and reverting to its usual form: to tax more. Schedule 1 of the bill relates to the luxury car tax that was brought in by the Labor government and the former treasurer, Wayne Swan, back in 2007. What it will do is it'll alter the luxury car tax by restricting the definition of a fuel efficient vehicle. Right now, every car that's over $80,567 has a luxury car tax on it, but if it's an electric vehicle or if it's a vehicle that uses seven litres per 100 kilometres—some sort of hybrid vehicle—the luxury car tax kicks in at $91,387. That's the way it's been; it's raising $1½ billion or something a year. So what does this government want to do? They want to change the definition of a fuel efficient car and make it so that, 'Oh, no, seven litres per 100 is not good enough. We're going to bring it down to 3½ litres per 100.' That's their plan, when we've seen 27,000 small businesses go broke so far. These amendments will reduce consumer choice and apply the luxury car tax to more vehicles. And why? Because they're spending some $350 billion extra over the forward estimates compared to the last budget that Josh Frydenberg delivered in the Morrison government. They're spending everything that Josh budgeted plus another $350 billion, so they're grabbing taxes where they can. The new definition of fuel efficiency will effectively limit the threshold to just EVs. It compounds Labor's existing ute and family car tax policy via new fuel efficiency standards. And although the government eventually watered down that proposal, it is now imposing a new tax by dramatically limiting what is considered fuel efficient for the luxury car tax. It is a tax grab. As I said before, the luxury car tax already brought in over a billion dollars a year in the 2023-24 financial year. But, not content with that, they want more—more to spend, to fund dud policies like free TAFE, which has a 13 per cent completion rate. I went to TAFE, mate. A 13 per cent completion rate? That's not how to spend taxpayers' money. University students pay HECS, but, no, if you go to TAFE, you can't contribute anything. That policy is a dud policy. When I'm dead and buried, 100 years from now, Labor will still be going on about free TAFE. They recycle these dud policies over and over again. I've been involved with politics for some time, and Labor have been saving TAFE for 20 years. You know what else they've been saving for 20 years? Medicare. I saw the member for Lilley had a campaign launch the other day on social media: 'Save Medicare.' Give me a break! Bulk-billing has never been lower than what it is under the Albanese government. We should be saving Medicare from you lot, the Albanese government, not from a future coalition government. The coalition supports a fuel-efficient and low-emissions transport sector in Australia, but it must be based on the principle of choice. Maximising the choice of vehicles available to Australians—that's what we should be doing. Originally, 15 or so years ago, when Labor brought in this new tax—the luxury car tax—it was there because, 'Oh, well, we have Australian cars. We've got to save the industry.' But now we don't have Australian cars. Why? Mainly because unions keep pushing up the price of wages. What has the Minister for Climate Change and Energy over here done to energy prices for businesses? In fewer than three years, he's doubled the price of energy for every business in Australia. I challenge a member opposite—a member of the Labor Party—to go out and talk to a business in their electorate and find me a business that hasn't had their energy double. Most businesses have had a 100 per cent increase in their energy prices in fewer than three years. That's the legacy. That's what you're approaching the next election with in the next 12 weeks. That's what you'll have to defend—the doubling of energy prices for small businesses, tens of thousands of businesses closing and, now, additional tax. And not only that—consumer electricity has gone up. The other thing is no disadvantage. That's what the coalition supports. The poor, the vulnerable and regional Australians should not be worse off, but they are under this government. The overall financial affordability of cars currently available should not be diminished. It's a low-emissions policy, not just EVs. Hybrids, hydrogen and biofuels all have a role to play. Hybrids are exceptional. If you look at the COMCARs that they run down here, those Camrys, they've got remarkable fuel efficiency. They wouldn't be classed. They would be hit with this new tax under this bill. I don't know where your electorate is, but it's a couple of thousand kilometres from here? Mr McCormack 219646 No, no, it's only 250 kilometres. Mr HOWARTH 247742 Righto. You're a poor example. I can't use the Deputy Speaker because— The DEPUTY SPEAKER 249710 I'm not a thousand either, mate! Mr HOWARTH 247742 Alright. I'll leave that one alone. Sorry about that, Deputy Speaker. But small businesses and other taxpayers are under financial distress because of this government. Recent research from CommBank found that more than half of Australian small and medium-sized businesses are feeling the stress of navigating the cost-of-living crisis, with 57 per cent of business owners reporting feeling stressed due to financial pressures. This is the harsh reality facing businesses under the Albanese government. The policy intent of these existing interest charges is to neutralise the loan benefit that a taxpayer gets due to the late payment of tax. The point of it is to put a taxpayer who is late paying tax in the same position as a taxpayer who has paid tax on time, but making these interest charges non-deductible goes beyond neutralising this loan benefit. It effectively now is an immediate penalty regardless of the debt levels of culpability of the late taxpayer. The interest charges are already calculated using an uplift to the 90-day bank bill rate. This uplift is seven per cent plus for the GIC, and this is to discourage the use of tax debts as a source of finance. Denying deductibility to every small business across Australia goes well beyond discouraging. It's punitive. It is a penalty. A revised tax assessment can occur for many reasons. These reasons can vary from honest mistake to uncertainty about a complex tax issue. On this point, the Corporate Tax Association has raised concerns that the proposed amendments may result in unintended behavioural consequences around how taxpayers and the ATO constructively engage to resolve long-running disputes. The association notes that Australian tax laws are complex and that in most instances a taxpayer would self-assess a position to comply with the law, and this would often include receiving advice from their accountants. Don't get me started on accountants and what the Assistant Treasurer has done to them in this last term. The current arrangements which allow for deductibility take into account the uncertainty of the tax environment and that filed positions can be reviewed well after a tax return is lodged. The Tax Institute has said that the availability of the deduction for the GIC and SIC has been integral to the tax system for an extended period, and this is a significant change for taxpayers to navigate. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has raised concerns that small businesses are already struggling with cash flow issues, higher energy bills, higher insurance bills, higher wages bills and less income because all Australians have got higher rents and higher mortgages, and they will be disproportionately affected. For these small businesses already struggling to make ends meet, they say this proposal will result in more complexity and a higher chance that the ATO's tax debt holdings may increase because businesses will continue to struggle to pay the higher cost of their outstanding liabilities. This comes as a recent study from MYOB found that one-third of small business owners cannot pay themselves due to cash flow challenges, and a quarter have resorted to using their personal savings to keep businesses running. The government's proposal will also require small businesses to consider and invest funds into a more sophisticated cash flow management strategy and will require them to spend more money on accountants and on advisers to assist with their financial and tax planning. This will cost small businesses more, family businesses more and medium-sized businesses more, and it compounds their struggles further, often resulting in higher prices, which adds to inflation and higher costs for all the people that we represent. The accounting professional bodies have been particularly critical of this measure. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the Institute of Public Accountants, the National Tax and Accountants Association and the Self Managed Super Fund Association made a joint submission calling for schedule 2 to be removed from the bill entirely. Their submission found that it is unlikely that increasing the cost of SIC will impact an entity's ability to correctly self-assess their tax liability, and the current cost of the GIC means that many taxpayers already have a strong incentive to pay tax on time. It found that making this non-deductible will inappropriately increase compliance costs of honest taxpayers, and that there are already a wide range of targeted measures that the Australian Taxation Office can undertake to improve the collection of tax debt. The latest annual report indicates that such measures are beginning to make an impact. CPA Australia made a similar submission, urging the government to reconsider this proposal. CPA Australia say denying these deductions, 'will create undue financial hardship for small businesses and individuals', making the 'existing challenges in the current economic environment' worse. This is an indiscriminate measure that fails to address situations where taxpayers have historically done the right thing or, through no fault of their own, accrue these charges due to legitimate tax disputes, through administrative delays. In their explanatory memorandum, the government points to the ability for a taxpayer to apply for remission of an interest charge—that is, to ask for it to be waived. But stakeholders report that the measure comes at a time of long delays in the ATO service delivery and inconsistent outcomes on remission requests. Disputing decisions is already time-consuming and costly, and this will become costlier with the risks of non-deductibility if a remission request is denied. These delays from the ATO will now cost taxpayers even more. The government's decision to introduce this measure, despite widespread criticism, shows that the business community should have no confidence that the Albanese government can consult, and no confidence that the Albanese government listens. If the government were serious about achieving the policy objectives here, it would have at least listened to the sensitive, alternate policies put forward by stakeholders. These include: introducing more targeted measures that focus on high-debt accounts, rather than penalising all small- and family businesses—including those which are generally compliant; reducing the percentage rates for the GIC and SIC if deductions are to be denied, currently seven per cent—three per cent uplifts; maintaining deductibility of the GIC for a reasonable period, to provide time to secure financing; and retaining deductibility for the SIC as its adjustment-related charge not a late payment penalty; creating a transitional rule to prevent retrospective application—currently an amended assessment for the 2022 tax year could accrue SIC and become non-deductible. Aligning tax treatment for interest for tax overpayments make these non-assessable. This government is clearly blinded by the revenue that this measure brings in. It is a brazen cash grab. If this measure ultimately passes, I can assure the small- and family business communities that the coalition would urgently review its impact on small businesses, when in government and given that opportunity. Extending the period to retain a BAS refund, schedule 3, is something that the opposition does support of this bill. It extends the period with which the tax commissioner must notify a taxpayer of a decision to retain a refund from a BAS. It would extend from 14 days to 30 days this period, to allow the ATO more time to verify information. The purpose of extending this period is to combat fraud and to reduce the number of fraudulent refunds issued by giving the ATO more time to assess and verify potentially fraudulent BASs. This is particularly important after the proliferation of high-value, large-scale GST fraud promoted through social media in recent years. The ATO's Operation Protego has estimated that there were 57,000 individual participants in a major GST fraud which ran from April 2022 to June 2023, costing at least $2 billion. I do note the measure could raise concerns about delays to BAS refunds paid by the ATO and its impact on small business cash flow; however, this measure does address this issue in part by providing that interest is payable to an entity where there is a delay in a refund of more than 14 days and where there is ultimately no reduction in the refund. This will reduce the impact on compliant taxpayers affected by a longer mandatory notification period. In addition, the ATO should be judicious with its use of the extended period. It should also continue to develop its risk models and work with banks, law enforcement agencies and other organisations to share information and detect fraud. The government's proposed schedule 4 of this bill continues Labor's attempt to decimate the instant asset tax write-off and deprive 26,500 medium-sized businesses of access to accelerated depreciation. The Treasurer today, when talking about small business in question time, kept saying, 'We're already doing generous things for small business.' A $20,000 instant asset tax write-off is not generous. It's pathetic, quite frankly. When they came to government, the instant asset tax write-off was unlimited. That meant that a manufacturing business wanting to invest in a new machine that was worth $300,000 could buy that machine and write it off against profits that financial year. This mob, the Albanese government, think they're generous giving small business $20,000. Give me a break! Again, it goes to show that no-one on that frontbench really has run a small business with staff for an extended period of time. That's what it shows. Not only that; a lot of them don't even have workers anymore amongst their ranks. Basically, they come from a limited scope, when it comes to developing policy, which is detrimental to Australian manufacturers. This policy that they've got—what is it called? Manufacturing Australia or Future Made in Australia? It's not even now; it's the future made in Australia. Constituents are a wake-up to this stuff. I have never seen the Labor Party go to an election with so many flawed policies. On my estimate, they've already seen a 16 per cent drop in manufacturing since they've come to office. I know that, because Minister Husic gets up in question time and rabbits on. He says, 'Oh, we've got 950,000 manufacturing jobs.' Recently they said, 'We've got 860,000 manufacturing jobs.' During COVID, under the former coalition government, we had a million manufacturing jobs, so just do the maths. There were one million manufacturing jobs during COVID, under the former coalition government— Mr HOWARTH 247742 and now the member for Solomon and others here have delivered 860,000 manufacturing jobs. So, when the people in Darwin go to vote, they need to know that they've seen a 14 per cent reduction in manufacturing under the Albanese government. And now, with the Future Made in Australia Bill, they want to con Australians like they did on infrastructure with the Bruce Highway, which also impacts people. The Prime Minister came up to Queensland and announced, 'We're going to fix the Bruce,' and then his finance minister said, 'Oh, that won't start for four years.' That's beyond not just this election; that's beyond the 2028 election. Do they really think Australians are stupid? This is their line-up: free TAFE and Future Made in Australia. Meanwhile, we've got a 13 per cent completion rate and we can't get any tradies because the government has completely abandoned the private VET sector, the vocational education and training sector. If it's a private sector business, they don't want to know anything about it, because they only want to support their union donors and TAFE has public sector employees, who are more likely to unionise. If I did that, I'd end up in jail. How the Labor Party has gotten away with this for decades is beyond me. I'm telling you: Australians are waking up to it because their mortgages are up, their rents are up, their electricity costs are up and their manufacturing jobs have dropped by 14 per cent. It's a disgrace. The Treasurer in the MPI today was absolutely right. We've never seen the Australian standard of living fall this much in one term ever. You can keep your $20,000 instant asset tax write-off because it's pretty well worthless. Whilst we'll support it, because it's better than nothing, you shouldn't be proud of it. Under your watch, we've had tens of thousands of small businesses close and now you want to give them a $20,000 instant asset write-off. You won't be able to buy any car for 20 grand let alone one of the electric ones you want, which have a tax-free threshold of over 90 grand. It just goes to show how out of touch the Albanese Labor government—their ministers and backbenchers—are. That is the reality. We will move an amendment to increase the instant asset tax write-off and to make it permanent, not just for 12 months. It gets worse: they're offering 20 grand and they want to do it for a year, not four years. They want to do free TAFE forever, but they can't even give small businesses a $20,000 instant asset tax write-off forever. They are giving them one year. That's it. That's all they want to do. Well, the coalition are friends of small business. Do you why? Because they employ people and they're hurting under you mob. So we will support the instant asset tax write-off and support the BAS refund, but I can tell you that this government is not doing Australians any favours. Australians listening know how much they're hurting. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are over 2½ million small businesses across the country. Millions of small and family businesses are impacted by Labor's bad decisions, including through the 100 per cent increase in electricity costs which we've seen with many small businesses. Labor has consistently been slow to provide certainty on the instant asset tax write-off, and it leaves small businesses in limbo and scrambling at the end of the financial year, going, 'What can I maybe get?' rather than planning, and facing uncertainty when they invest in their businesses. In contrast, the Liberal-National coalition's, the federal opposition's, position would simplify depreciation for millions of small businesses by cutting red tape, boosting investment in productive assets and lowering business costs and prices. Unlike the government's piecemeal approach, we would deliver substantive reform for the 98 per cent of Australian businesses who would benefit from the instant asset tax write-off being permanent. The coalition is committed to lower, simpler and fairer taxes for Australia's 2½ million small businesses, which employ millions of Australians. Labor has opposed cutting the small business tax rate, opposed our instant asset tax write-off plan in the past and clawed back business tax incentives since coming into power. Australia's private sector growth has tanked under this government. Small businesses need a lifeline to drive investment and boost productivity. The coalition is serious in supporting my amendment. This is a government rushing to lock in a few more cash grabs through higher taxes before an election is called. This is an anti-business government which is doing the bare minimum for small businesses before time runs out when an election is called. Under this Albanese Labor government, the majority of jobs created are being funded by public spending. That is not sustainable and risks higher inflation. We've already seen an increase in homelessness. Rents are up by 20 per cent almost, and, for some people, there has been a $30,000 increase in interest repayments for mortgages. That's $600 a week. That's a lot of money. In this bill, the government is giving with one hand to small and family business and taking with the other. Labor inherited an economy with low unemployment, strong growth and government finances that were recovering, and they've wasted it. They've absolutely wasted it. Labor has lost control of inflation, lost control of the economy and lost sight of small businesses and families struggling under its cost-of-living crisis. I was on the Central Coast last Friday with Lucy Wicks, and we went to a small business up there. Do you know what the owner said? They said: 'I'm begging you to do all that is possible to win and form government at the next election. My livelihood depends on it. Businesses are doing it tough, and things are very stressful for me as a small-business owner. Costs have skyrocketed; margins are thinner; account customers are not paying—most are on 120 days—and we've got staff shortages. The ATO are bleep—I won't use the word—ruthless and have no empathy.' That's what a business owner in the electorate of Robertson, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, said. They said: 'Australia needs you. Australia needs Peter Dutton.' The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D Is the amendment seconded? Mr McCormack 219646 I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak. Debate adjourned. BUSINESS 59 BUSINESS Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders 59 17:42 Dr ALY 13050 Cowan I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent standing order 133 from recommencing in operation. Earlier this day, the Leader of the House suspended the standing order relating to deferred divisions to allow us to consider the member for Wentworth's motion about antisemitism. This motion I am now moving will reinstate that standing order so that the usual rule of having no divisions after 6.30 pm will apply this evening. Question agreed to, with an absolute majority. COMMITTEES 59 COMMITTEES Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Committee 59 Report 59 17:42 Ms VAMVAKINOU 00AMT Calwell On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and as chair of the human right subcommittee, I present the committee's report on the inquiry into Australia's efforts to advocate for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Ms VAMVAKINOU 00AMT by leave—There's no place in this world for the death penalty. Whilst many countries retain capital punishment, it exists in stark contradiction to our deeply held human rights beliefs and obligations—a position I'm pleased to say enjoys longstanding bipartisan support in this country. As such, this committee is firmly of the view that Australia has an important role to play in advocating for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. This role is particularly vital within our own region. This inquiry was referred to the committee by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, in June 2024. The committee received 13 submissions and held two public hearings in Canberra. During the course of the inquiry we clearly heard that Australia's strategies for advocating for the abolition of the death penalty need to be re-evaluated and revamped if they are to continue to have an impact in today's complex geopolitical environment. The committee also heard that sustained, nuanced and targeted advocacy by Australia and other abolitionist countries is essential to ensuring steady progress towards abolition. As such, the committee considers it vital that the Australian government strengthens existing partnerships and builds new coalitions to push for change in our region. This report makes seven recommendations to this end. These recommendations range from the need for continued advocacy to a recognition of the need to support the critical work undertaken by civil society organisations in this space. This report also recommends a strategy of incremental change in which Australia presses for the abolition of the death penalty for less serious crimes and for the removal of the death penalty as a mandatory sentence for particular crimes. In addition to these changes, it is clear that Australia and other abolitionist countries must remain vigilant against any backsliding or complacency on the issue of the death penalty. Progress on this issue is of paramount importance but should not be taken for granted. On behalf of the committee, I extend my thanks to the many stakeholders and submitters who contributed their time and experience to the inquiry. I also thank all committee members for their collegiate approach and the secretariat for their support throughout this inquiry. I commend this report to the House. I move: That the House take note of the report. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Reference to Federation Chamber 60 17:46 Ms VAMVAKINOU 00AMT Calwell I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to. Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee 60 Report 60 17:46 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Audit, I present the following reports: Report 507: Defence 2022-23 major projects report and Report 508: annual report 2023-24. Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e). Ms BURNEY 8GH by leave—Now in its 16th year, the major projects report continues to be an important tool for defence accountability and transparency. In adopting its annual MPR inquiries, the committee establishes the expansive terms of reference to allow it to consider any matters contained in and associated with the MPR. This year the committee paid attention to growing secrecy and the need to maintain transparency, the lessons-learned process, the Australian industry capability plans, the implementation of defence risk management systems, contingency statements and the use of terminology. The committee also examined scope creep, off-the-shelf options in defence procurement, the accuracy of the battlefield command system project data summary sheet and the future of the MPR itself. The committee made four recommendations, which will result in important corrections and introduce evolutions to the MPR process. This will improve transparency and accountability for what are large amounts of public expenditure. Broadly, these recommendations deal with the reinstatement of lessons learned, reporting on improved governance and assurance processes, assessments of the full project costs of each project and more clearly identifying the scope of schedule and budget changes. On Report 508, the Joint Standing Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is required under the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act to report annually to parliament on the work it has undertaken. The committee's work includes reviews of the Australian National Audit Office, reports on other priorities of the parliament and making recommendations to the government on budget estimates of the ANAO and the Parliamentary Budget Office. In 2023-24 the committee met 24 times, including nine public hearings. The committee also commenced four inquiries and presented seven reports that contained a total of 46 recommendations for government. The committee inquiries in 2023-24 included annual performance statements, probity and ethics, and defence major projects. In conclusion, the committee also undertakes a range of other non-inquiry activities, pursuant to its legislative responsibilities, including the confirmation of significant statutory appointments. In 2023-24 the committee considered and confirmed the appointment of both the independent auditor of the ANAO and the Auditor-General. I'd like to acknowledge the work of the previous chair, the Hon. Julian Hill MP, for his dedication and leadership of the committee over the 2023-24 period, and for his shepherding of the early stages of the 2022-23 MPR inquiry. I thank my fellow members of the committee for the spirit in which they approached the committee's work and their dedication to scrutiny and function. I particularly acknowledge the economics senator, the Hon. Linda Reynolds CSC, for her collegiate approach to the role of deputy chair, and the secretariat for its professionalism in supporting the work of the committee. I commend both reports to the House and I move: That the House take note of each report. The DEPUTY SPEAKER E0D Under standing order 39, the debates are adjourned and the resumption of each debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Reference to Federation Chamber 61 17:51 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton I move: That the orders of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to. Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee 61 17:51 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton by leave—I present executive minutes on reports Nos 475, 489, 495, 498, 502, 503, 504 and 506 of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. Trade and Investment Growth Joint Committee 61 Report 61 17:52 Mr DZY Adelaide GEORGANAS () (): On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth, I present the committee's Interim report: inquiry into the understanding and utilisation of benefits under free trade agreements. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee 61 Report 61 17:52 Ms MASCARENHAS 298800 Swan On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Financial abuse: an insidious form of domestic violence. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). Ms MASCARENHAS 298800 by leave—I'm grateful to speak on this report today. It is the report of the hardworking Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services on the financial services regulatory framework in relation to financial abuse. I thank the deputy chair, the member for Mitchell, for giving me the opportunity to present this report, and also the chair of the committee, Senator O'Neill, who chaired an incredible committee inquiry. During the 2022 election campaign my team and I visited 49,000 homes. There was one conversation that stayed with me. It was with a father who was living with his adult daughter. He explained how his daughter was leaving a coercive relationship. It was a coercive relationship to the point where the daughter did not have the financial means to buy sanitary products. That's a level of coercion that I have not heard about before. Also, early in my term, I met Shenane, a proud Torres Strait Islander woman who was living in my electorate. She courageously spoke about her abuse. She had been financially exploited. From her domestic violence relationship, she had ended up in a nine-month coma, drowning in debt. It turned out that her ex had racked up tens of thousands of dollars of debt. These stories inspired me to look at the way that we look at our systems. I met with Shenane, and she encouraged me with her positive outlook and determination to help others. I wanted to raise their voices at a national level, which I did. Then there's Julie Adams from WA. She lost her daughter, Molly, to domestic violence related suicide. Her alleged perpetrator received Molly's superannuation. Julie's advocacy has been courageous. She is an inspiration. This inquiry has revealed the devastating impact of financial abuse. The statistics are shocking. One-point-seven billion dollars in unpaid child support is just one example. We uncovered issues that we had not anticipated. And this is the power of democracy. Parliamentary inquiries shine the light on issues that impact everyday Australians. Financial abuse is one of them. The report is titled Financial abuse: an insidious form of domestic violence, and it is. We just uncovered exactly how insidious it is. Senator Deborah O'Neill, the committee chair, called it 'a quiet but raging epidemic', and I think she's absolutely right. We have seen how systems and financial products are weaponised to inflict harm—harm that stops victims-survivors moving forward. Superannuation, credit and debit card products, mortgage arrangements: all can be turned into tools of abuse. It does not discriminate. It crosses boundaries: age, wealth, culture, gender. The impact is devastating. This is outrageous, and we must make sure that it stops. We all have a role to play. As an engineer, I believe in designing systems that work for people. Systems should protect them, not harm them. Safety by design is key. Some financial institutions are embracing this, but it must be universal and across all financial services and across government. We must build protections in our systems that prevent harm before it happens. The committee's recommendations tackle these issues head on. I thank Senator O'Neill for her leadership. I thank the deputy chair and all the committee members for their commitment. To the witnesses who bravely gave evidence: thank you. Your courage was inspiring. Our committee are not often brought to tears, but you brought us to tears on multiple occasions. Your stories made it real and tangible and showed the true extent of the problem. It is no longer invisible. Your voices have been heard. The national conversation has been a game changer. Now we have a game plan. There are 61 recommendations, and I'm deeply proud of this work. This is how we create change, and I look forward to progressing this work in the House and our community. DELEGATION REPORTS 62 DELEGATION REPORTS Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Belgium and Norway 62 17:57 Ms STANLEY 265990 Werriwa I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Belgium and Norway from 1 to 6 December 2024 and ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report. Leave granted. Ms STANLEY 265990 I'd like to begin by acknowledging my colleagues who were part of this delegation to Belgium and Norway. It was a pleasure to travel with Senators Helen Polley and Tammy Tyrrell; the member for Capricornia, the Hon. Michelle Landry; and the member for Leichhardt, the Hon. Warren Entsch. I thank them all for their keen engagement during our time in Europe. It was a privilege to lead the delegation. Australia maintains a biennial commitment to visit the European Parliament in Belgium. On this occasion, we were privileged to attend the 43rd Australia-EU Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting at the European Parliament and to continue to strengthen Australia's connections with the European Union. We also travelled to Norway to strengthen Australia's connections there. Delegations such as this are vital in building on those existing relationships and strengthening our shared commitments to a secure, peaceful and prosperous world. The 43rd Australia-EU Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting was an opportunity for all members to discuss a range of current issues relating to Australia and EU cooperation, including the free trade agreement negotiations; economic relations; climate change and its impact in Europe, Australia and Pacific nations; and opportunities relating to renewable energy and critical minerals. The members discussed critical political and security developments, including the 2024 elections in the European Parliament, the Russian war against Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and the situation in the Korean peninsula and across the Taiwanese strait. The Chair of the Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand, Mr Sean Kelly MEP, thanks Australia for its solidarity in supporting and protecting Ukraine. The delegation also had the opportunity to meet with senior representatives of the NATO parliamentary assembly and senior representatives of the Belgian train sector, and we visited the Belgian parliament. But a particular highlight for the delegation in Belgium was our attendance at the Last Post Ceremony in Ieper. We were privileged to be accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Carney Elias, Australia's Defence Attache to Belgium and the Netherlands, to meet with Belgian volunteers who have been holding the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate each day since 1928. This was a moving tribute to fallen soldiers who fought in Belgium and a strong reminder of Australia's close bonds with Belgium today. It was a humbling experience to be asked to read the ode and lay a wreath on behalf of Australia and the delegation. The delegation then travelled to Norway. During our visit we were pleased to visit Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, Norwegian cybersecurity agencies and the National Authority for the Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crimes. We were also privileged to visit the Norwegian parliament and meet with the Norwegian Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, as well as the head of the Norwegian Asia delegation. A particular highlight for the delegation in Norway was our visit to Bastoy prison. Bastoy prison is an open, unwalled, low-security prison for adult male sentenced prisoners. It is located on a small island close to the mainland. It is for prisoners who've completed part of their sentences or are nearing the end of longer sentences. The delegation enjoyed a tour of the facility and visited the island's small supermarket, at which inmates could purchase their own food to cook their own meals using an allowance provided to them. The facilities available to inmates, including a small house where inmates may request visits from family, are impressive and about providing pathways back into society. We received a detailed overview of the prison and Norway's criminal law system more generally from staff. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world and has a restorative justice system that is often referenced as a model for other countries. It was very instructive to see how this system works in action. During our travels in Belgium and Norway, the delegation was ably supported by Australian officials, led by Her Excellency Caroline Millar, Australian Ambassador to the EU, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg; and Her Excellency Kerin Ayyalaraju, Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland. I know I speak for the entire delegation when I offer our sincere thanks to the people of Belgium and Norway for their hospitality and to the Australian officials for their excellent support during a very busy visit. I'd also like to thank Charlotte Fletcher from the Senate, who supported the delegation on our trip, and the International Parliamentary Relations Office, especially Shannon Karppinen and Luke Hennessy, for logistical and informational support. I encourage all members of the House to consider the report, and I commend it to the House. BILLS 63 BILLS Free TAFE Bill 2024 63

Free TAFE Bill 2024

Second Reading 63 18:03 Ms McBRIDE 248353 Dobell I rise in support of this bill, the Free TAFE Bill 2024—legislation that makes free TAFE permanent. It's semester 1 of TAFE in New South Wales, when new TAFE students are starting and returning students are coming back. This legislation will cement 100,000 free TAFE courses every year to give Australians skills and qualifications in aged care, early childhood education, construction and much, much more. When we came to government, Labor introduced free TAFE, given the clear need to rapidly grow our skilled workforce and the challenges facing our economy. This is a new opportunity that Australians have embraced across the country. We have seen a record uptake, with nearly 600,000 enrolments in less than two years, demonstrating the genuine desire of Australians to upskill or reskill, to train and retrain. Free TAFE has opened up new opportunities and pathways for people in my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales who wouldn't have been able to study or train. Locals have spoken to me at my mobile offices and when I'm out and about in the community about what a difference free TAFE is making to them, to their families and friends and to our community. Tahisha from Blue Haven said: As a mum of 4, I want to get back to work, but I couldn't afford to pay for a course. Free TAFE has made it possible for me to study a Certificate 4 in Project Management and better myself to return to work. Lori-Anne from Wongarrah said: Without Free TAFE I would never have signed up to complete the Certificate 4 in Training & Assessment. I found myself wondering what I could do next and now find myself on a journey I never could have imagined. These real stories of people like Tahisha and Lori-Anne are what this legislation is about. It's about opening up the doors to opportunity and creating new opportunities and pathways to skills and training and reliable jobs. That's what Labor governments do. In my electorate, one-third of people hold a TAFE qualification. That is significantly higher than the national average. For people in my community, TAFE has long been a trusted, reliable pathway to gain the skills that they need for a steady job and a good career. My late father, Grant, was a licensed builder and civil structural engineer, and something that he was most proud of was being a TAFE teacher. He dedicated much of his working life to TAFE, to his students and to giving them the skills and opportunities that they needed. He believed that all Australians, especially those in the outer suburbs and the regions, deserved quality skills and affordable training. TAFE offers flexibility—flexibility for parents, young people, working people and carers seeking to start a career, to change career, to upskill, to retrain or to gain qualifications—with four out of five enrolments being part time, offering that flexibility that so many people need to be able to gain the skills they need and the qualifications they need. Of the 500,000 enrolments since we created free TAFE, almost half of them have been in New South Wales. Over 50,000 enrolments have been in the care sector. My colleague Assistant Minister Ged Kearney has really championed the care economy. Through these free TAFE courses, we've seen a big uptake in people being able to gain the skills they need to work in our care economy and more than 17,000 in the technology and digital sector and 13,000 in early childhood education, upskilling our workforce and providing skills that are really needed in communities like mine and providing essential services that people need, like aged care and early childhood education. Free TAFE is saving each participant thousands of dollars. That is money that stays in their bank balance. That is money that means that they can afford to be able to study and train, removing cost barriers which have prevented too many people from studying, particularly in my community. I spoke to a woman who is about my age. She was at the TAFE campus at Ourimbah. She was now studying. She wanted to be a travel agent. Her kids are grown, and now, through these free opportunities, it meant that she could back herself. She said, 'If there were a cost involved, I don't know that I could take that sort of risk in exploring a new career or trying over.' The confidence that it gave her because she had that financial support to do it meant that she could now have that career that she always wanted. And she's providing. She's supporting the local economy and jobs in our community. On the Central Coast of New South Wales, we have three TAFE campuses: one in Gosford in Robertson, one in Ourimbah and a third one in Wyong in my electorate. My brother Eddie is a plumber and a gas fitter, and when he finished school he was able to go to Wyong TAFE to be able to gain his plumbing certification. He's had a really good career as a local business owner, and he's now completing his MBA. These are the kind of pathways that are available to people particularly in the outer suburbs and regions that we are going to really open up and make those opportunities available to so many people in our community. I want to also acknowledge the work of my state colleague, my good friend David Harris, the member for Wyong and the Minister for the Central Coast. David has been able to secure some additional funding for an expansion of the Wyong TAFE campus because the New South Wales government believes in the value of TAFE. In fact, today, the New South Wales Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education launched the new TAFE NSW Charter, reaffirming its commitment to equip the state with the skilled workforce it urgently needs. I know that this commitment from New South Wales will make such a difference, because we saw, under the former Liberal government in New South Wales such a neglect of vocational education, and such a neglect of regional campuses. I'm so pleased; this is a complete turnaround. The New South Wales government, the Minns Labor government, is investing strongly in TAFE. I remember my father, a former TAFE teacher, railing against—I think it was then the Greiner government in the early 1990s—John Kaye introducing fees for TAFE in New South Wales. It's something that the Liberals have always done. They did it in New South Wales in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and they've done it at different times. As members of the Labor Party, something that we're really proud of is that Labor will always support TAFE. It really concerned me, when we heard the deputy leader of the Liberal Party late last year say, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' That's what they believe. I invite the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to come to Bateau Bay and tell a sole parent raising two school-aged children, working full-time and upskilling through a part-time free TAFE course that they don't value that opportunity, and that they don't realise the opportunity that it will create for them and their children, and the contribution that they can make to our local economy. Or I invite her to come Gorokan and tell the school leaver, who has just moved out of home and is trying to make ends meet while undertaking a free TAFE course, that he doesn't value it. Of course he does. A young person in the outer suburbs in regions absolutely knows the value of having skills and qualifications, and of being able to have a quality job, a good career and one that is close to home. Free TAFE matters, because for people in communities like mine on the Central Coast of New South Wales, without free TAFE they just miss out. They wouldn't have a crack. They wouldn't have that shot at an education that our education minister has worked so hard to create for them and that our minister for TAFE and skills has worked for as well. People would miss out. This is something that, coming into the election this year, is something that is at risk. The opposition don't value TAFE; they never have. I'm really concerned for people in my community who won't have those opportunities in the future. We saw that, as I mentioned earlier, with the gutting of TAFE in New South Wales, under the former Liberal government, and the lack of investment of the former coalition government at the federal level. Our Labor government established free TAFE. This legislation makes it permanent, with a hundred thousand places each year. I will always fight for people in my community, I will always stand up for their opportunities, and I will always support free TAFE. I commend bill to the House. 18:13 Ms BELYEA 309484 Dunkley I'm pleased to speak on the Free TAFE Bill 2024. As a former TAFE student and teacher, speaking on this topic is very important to me, and is one that I care about deeply. TAFE changed my life for the better, giving me the skills I needed to pursue the jobs and career I wanted. I entered TAFE in my mid-20s, following a number of years working as a secretary. I'd been working in the disability sector as a volunteer, working with young people. I wanted to pursue a career in youth work and community development. Chisholm TAFE gave me the opportunity to study and learn about youth work and community development in greater detail. TAFE gave me the opportunity to develop skills and confidence, to study as a young woman, and this was before it was even free. It led me to an incredible career that has led me here. Not to show my age, but it was also just before the Liberals in Victoria gutted our TAFEs during the 1990s. Those opposite, when in government, cut $3 billion of funding from the VET system and TAFE. It's no wonder we have a skills shortage that has fed a crisis in housing and other sectors, such as the childcare education and aged-care sectors. The Albanese Labor government values TAFE deeply. Unlike the opposition, we are committed to investing in the skills Australia needs to drive economic growth and provide secure and well-paid work for Australia. We need TAFE to help build Australia's future, a future made in Australia. There can be no doubt that free TAFE has been a huge success. In the first 21 months of free TAFE, there have been over 600,000 enrolments. And, with this bill, free TAFE is here to stay. This legislation will establish free TAFE as an enduring feature of the national vocational education and training system, funding 100,000 free TAFE places a year from 2027. This legislation will provide ongoing certainty to students, employers and industry, as well as states and territories, and an understanding that the Commonwealth government is committed to investing in skills and TAFE. Importantly, free TAFE is supporting Australians who've experienced barriers to education, with 35,000 people with disabilities and over 30,000 First Nations Australians taking up the opportunity to study at TAFE. Through my past work, heading up the MEGT Foundation and the Women's Spirit Project, I have mentored and coached women, to build their courage and confidence and steer them to set career goals. Their first step on this journey has been returning to education, and TAFE has been the pathway that women from MEGT and the Women's Spirit Project—those recovering from trauma and disadvantage—turn to every time because it helps them build their skills and capacity. It supports them to build their confidence and kickstart their career without struggling financially. We need a coordinated response to the skills shortages that this country is facing. This bill ensures that free TAFE addresses workforce shortages in industries of local and national priority, helping skill up workers Australia needs for a strong economic future and a secure and sovereign future. As everyone knows, we have a housing crisis in this country, a result of the opposition not taking action on this issue during the 10 years they were in government. The Albanese Labor government has a minister for housing and has injected $32 billion into building housing supply across the nation, the greatest investment in housing by any federal government. Central to meeting the housing crisis is having enough tradies and apprentices to build the homes that we need. Thanks to the work of the Minister for Education, we recently announced that apprentices in the construction industry—those training to be builders, electricians and plumbers—will receive a $10,000 incentive to support them to complete their apprenticeships, an innovative investment aimed at making a difference for individuals, industry and our future made in Australia. Late last year, I had the dedicated and passionate Minister for Skills and Training in my electorate, and we visited the Chisholm TAFE. We spoke to many different students, studying everything from nursing to mental health, youth work and community services. They all spoke of how free TAFE has quite literally changed their lives by removing the financial barrier to reskilling. In my beautiful electorate of Dunkley, over 2,000 apprentices are currently working towards a nationally accredited qualification because of free TAFE. I regularly speak to people from Dunkley, either at their door or on the phone, who want to reskill or upskill. A young person who is unsure of their future—I hear about their concerns about what to do now that they have finished VCE. I share a little of my journey with TAFE, and I talk to them about looking at TAFE courses, because TAFE is a legitimate and important pathway for young people, for women and for men wanting to reskill and upskill. It's motivating to see how many residents are benefiting from the fantastic opportunities that this Labor government has provided. I know at least five people from my family and friendship group benefiting from free TAFE. They are studying nursing, childcare, electrical and IT courses, and the list goes on. I love catching up and hearing their enthusiasm as they talk to me about completing a subject or their course. They have a real sense of purpose that they are working towards a career and that they can afford to. Contrary to what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has stated—the Liberal spin—free TAFE is not undervalued just because it's free. It is, in fact, valued because it is an investment in people and their ability to have a career in the field they choose. It's also an investment in the future prosperity of Australia, a future made in Australia. I hear a lot in my local community that free TAFE is literally changing lives. That's because many in my community who may not be well-off financially or may not have done as well as they would have liked in school get the opportunity to chase their dreams with no financial barrier. Workforce shortages in critical areas shouldn't just be acknowledged; they should be acted upon. The government has a duty to act to fill the shortages, and that's exactly what the free TAFE will act to do. This government has acted in the best interests of the country, industry and, most importantly, people wanting a career. We are working to train people in construction so we can build more homes and to train more people in nursing and childcare professions so that we have the nurses that we need in hospitals, aged-care workers and childcare educators to educate and care for our children. There is a huge risk if the Leader of the Opposition gets his hands on TAFE. The opposition has refused to back our additional free TAFE and VET places for construction, our new energy apprenticeships and the financial supports and incentives to prioritise apprentices and employers. Last time they were in government, we saw their efforts to dismantle our TAFE and VET system. They cut $3 billion of funding from the VET system and TAFE last time they were in government. We cannot risk those opposite limiting access to vocational education and cutting off pathways for workers in essential and critical industries. We would have further cuts to vocational education if they were in government, blocking many Australians from reaching their full potential and having access to qualifications they need. This would only further exacerbate the critical skill shortages in Australia, meaning projects in housing, infrastructure and energy would be further delayed. This is not in the economic interest of our nation nor in our national interest. The Liberals don't respect our public TAFEs. They don't understand or value the importance of TAFEs in our local communities. They have shown they'll go for cheap and fast-tracked training over a well-supported and trusted VET sector with TAFE at the heart. There is a clear choice at this election. The opposition, the Liberal and National parties, will cut free TAFE funding, and all Australians will pay more for TAFE. This government is opening doors for people with TAFE so that they can get well-paid, secure work and build their future. Under the Albanese government, free TAFE is here to stay to help build Australia's future—a future made in Australia. 18:23 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I'm very pleased to be speaking on the Free TAFE Bill 2024 today. I'm especially pleased to be speaking on it today, of all days, because today in New South Wales—my state—it's the start of semester 1 2025. It is a day to be celebrating TAFE and all that it provides and also to be speaking on this really important bill in terms of how committed the Albanese Labor government is to providing fee-free TAFE and of the difference that it's making in the lives of so many Australians. The Free TAFE Bill 2024 provides ongoing financial support to the states and territories for the delivery of fee-free TAFE places and ensures that it's in place and supports the delivery of at least 100,000 places across Australia each year from 2027. What it does is reaffirm our government's commitment to putting TAFE right at the heart of vocational education and training. We understand how important that is. This also removes those financial barriers to education and training, particularly for those people experiencing economic disadvantage. Very especially, it supports education and training in areas of high workforce demand with emerging skill needs that really are a national priority. I add that across the nation this is a game changer, especially in regional and rural areas like my electorate of Richmond on the New South Wales North Coast. Having such a policy in place has made such a difference. There are approximately 5,000 people who have had access to fee-free TAFE since this was brought in. I have met many of those students, and they have talked about how it has been life changing. They couldn't afford to go to TAFE without this in place and they are getting the necessary skills to work in much-needed sectors. Often in regional and rural areas there are impediments to gaining access to further training, and that's exactly why we have this in place: so people can get access. In my region we also have a series of outstanding TAFE facilities—indeed, as they are right across the country—and I visited many of those. We've particularly got ones at Kingscliff, Byron, Ballina and Murwillumbah. They're very new ones, particularly in Byron Bay. It's great having them there, speaking to all of those students and hearing what a difference it makes in their lives. It shows how important it is to have a Labor government in place delivering all of these important changes. Labor has always committed to investing in the skills that our nation needs to drive economic growth. It's vitally important. We're also committed to making sure no-one is left behind and nobody is held back as our economy transitions. Indeed, fee-free TAFE has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians, providing cost-of-living relief and a pathway to well-paid and secure employment. In fact, in the first 18 months of fee-free TAFE, as we heard the minister say today, there have been nearly 600,000 enrolments. That's a huge number across the nation. This bill establishes ongoing relief by removing financial barriers to education and training, and it really also ensures that fee-free TAFE continues to deliver a coordinated response to the pipeline of skilled workers that our nation needs now and into the future. We have a responsibility to help people here and now when it comes to training and we do owe a duty to the next generation to build an economy. That really does start with education for all—every Australian, no matter where they live, their background or their financial situation. They should be able to access education. We believe in equal opportunity. By making TAFE free, we're removing that financial barrier. The fact is that our whole nation benefits in terms of economic growth as well as the individual's capacity to get secure employment. The cost of inaction, of course, is so much higher. Failing to invest in up skilling our people will leave so many industries and businesses stranded and leave so many people out of fulfilling their full potential as well. We are, across so many levels, committed to delivering on skills development. The fact is that TAFE is at the heart of vocational education and training and you can't have a strong VET sector without strong public TAFE at its heart. TAFEs are very valued and trusted public institutions and have a long history of delivering training in the public interest and working to meet so many goals that our nation needs. I visit some of the TAFEs in my community, and of course they're in every community across the country. Every Australian deserves to access them. In fact, a Labor government will never ever consider fee-free TAFE wasteful spending, as we heard from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. It really says it all about the Liberals' and Nationals' approach to public education or, indeed, any great services—in this case, public education. They don't understand it, don't value it, don't care about it and don't invest in it. We certainly do. We understand its worth. Of course, our government, by making all these strong commitments, is reversing a lot of the damage that we saw from the previous Liberal-National government—the damage over a decade. We are rebuilding TAFEs for communities across the nation. We made the landmark $30 billion, five-year National Skills Agreement and we're taking other actions, such as going after dodgy providers so that quality providers can in fact do their work properly. As we've pointed out many times in this House, the risk of the opposition leader and the Liberals and Nationals getting into government is that people will be worse off, and one of the ways in which they'll be worse off is through the inevitable cuts we will see, yet again, to TAFE. Whenever those opposite are in government one of the first things they do is slash all of the funding for TAFE and VET training. We know that will happen again. We know they're claiming they'll be making $350 billion in cuts across the board. Whether they be to Medicare, to the age pension or to TAFE training, they will be catastrophic for our nation. Of course, the opposition leader told us the other day, in an interview, that they're not going to announce any of these cuts till after the election, but Australians know that they will be so much worse off and just cannot risk a Liberal-National government. When those opposite have been in government, we have, at every turn, fought their harsh cuts to TAFE. And when we have been in government we have invested record amounts to make sure that people can access all of these important services. I know from meeting young people who are training at TAFE or older people going back to reskill that it is life-changing for them. Today was the start of semester 1, 2025, and in my electorate of Richmond on the New South Wales North Coast we were very pleased to have the New South Wales Minister for Skills TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there this time. Minister Whan has been up to the North Coast many times. I've visited a number of TAFEs with him, and I know that he and the Minns state Labor government are equally committed to ensuring provisions are made for our TAFE. In fact, Minister Whan was there today announcing the introduction of the new TAFE NSW Charter, which is a great idea. It lets the people of New South Wales know what they should expect from TAFE as the provider at the heart of vocational training. The charter reflects TAFE NSW as an important public asset, a community space, an industry partner and a leader of educational quality and innovation within the broader VET sector. I congratulate the New South Wales government on making that announcement today and on making it in my electorate, which I was very pleased about. I thank the minister for making the announcement there. In fact, he made it at TAFE in Kingscliff, which an outstanding institution. There is a $33 million government investment to upgrade that particular facility. They also have one of the TAFE call centres there, so it is a huge institution providing a whole range of really good services. That $33 million investment includes a new learning space for health services students, which is important as well. There are a whole range of initiatives that our government has when it comes to training and supporting younger Australians, particularly when we look at higher education contributions. Last year in this House we passed legislation to wipe $3 billion of student debt for three million Australians. I know so many people locally who've had cuts to the HECS debt, and it has made a huge difference. Of course, that's part of our broader cost-of-living relief measures. We know people are doing it tough and we know many people with these HECS debts are doing it tough. Many people have received the good news that the legislation we passed last year fixed the way indexation of student debt was calculated, and many people have had that cut to their debt as well. We announced last year as well that a re-elected Albanese government would wipe 20 per cent off student loans, and at the same time we announced we'd make fee-free TAFE permanent. Having 20 per cent off their HECS debts will be a huge benefit to so many students right across the nation, particularly those in regional and rural areas. We are committed to doing that if we are re-elected. Again, I present the alternative. The Liberals and Nationals didn't support any of that. They don't support any of our cost-of-living measures. On top of all that, they'll be cutting many important training initiatives as well. So we have announced a whole range of measures, including also the $10,000 for apprentices. Right across the board we're investing in training, and we're assisting students with their HECS debts as well, because we really value education. It's why we have this in place and why we made those commitments leading up to the election. Of course, they are all part of a broader suite of measures that we have worked on and delivered when it comes to cost-of-living relief. We understand that people are doing it tough. It is hard, and that's why we've had all of these measures in place. I will point out that every single one of those measures was opposed by the Liberals and Nationals, and they have to go and explain to people in their communities why they opposed a tax cut for every taxpayer. In my region there were 71,000 people who benefited from that. It's vitally important. We also had the $300 energy bill relief. It's so important for people to have that energy bill relief, and of course it was opposed by those opposite. We also have cheaper childcare and cheaper medicines that are helping people every day. And there's fee-free TAFE, which is absolutely vital. All of those measures mean that we're helping Australians right now. We understand they're doing it tough. We've seen the increase in wages, and we committed to and delivered that increase in wages particularly for our aged-care and childcare workers, who are so valued. Again, that was all opposed by those opposite. All of those cost-of-living measures were opposed, and we often say to people that that's the risk the Liberals and Nationals pose. It's a fact that people would be a lot worse off if the coalition were to ever be in government, and that's just from looking at their record of opposing vital cost-of-living relief, whereas we on the Labor side are absolutely committed to making sure that's in place. In this bill, it all revolves around fee-free TAFE and the difference that it makes. The take-up rate of that has been absolutely phenomenal, and the number is 5,000 people in my electorate, which is absolutely huge. There would not be anyone who isn't aware or touched by this, whether it be the student, their families or their friends. People often talk about how being able to access fee-free TAFE has transformed someone's life, and making sure that people can access that is one of our core election commitments. Also, the 20 per cent cut to HECS debts is really important as well. We're very proud to yet again be investing in education, training and skills. As much as that is life changing for individuals, their families and communities, in terms of our nation's economic prosperity we desperately need to have all these workers. It is a win-win all round. It's only Labor governments that continue to invest in building the training and skills for workers now and into the future whilst also ensuring that our economy has an incredible skilled workforce to meet the demands now and into the future. It is only Labor that consistently delivers increases in training and education right across the board. I very proudly commend this bill to the House. 18:37 Ms McBAIN 281988 Eden-Monaro I rise today to speak on the Free TAFE Bill 2024, which is an incredibly important piece of reform. It will embed free TAFE as a fixture of our national vocational education system. I know it's important because my husband, my brother, my sister, my dad and my mum all went to TAFE. You could say that that probably makes me the odd one out, but it also means that I know firsthand the huge role that TAFE institutes play in unlocking opportunities and equipping people with skills that they need to get ahead. Thanks to TAFE, my husband is a fully licensed plumber and gas fitter, which has allowed us to run our own small business on the South Coast. Thanks to TAFE, my brother is a qualified chef who's worked in New South Wales, Queensland and the UK in a career that he loved, before moving into food wholesaling. Thanks to TAFE, my mum was able to retrain in her 50s to become an aged-care diversional therapy worker, a job that she says was the best she ever had. This is just my family, but there are so many stories just like this right across Australia. Free TAFE, which has already supported over 568,000 enrolments in the past two years, has had a huge impact in our communities, particularly across our regions, which represent one in three of those places. This bill will support the continual delivery of 100,000 fee-free TAFE places across Australia each year, removing barriers so that more people can gain skills in their own backyard. I'm incredibly proud to be able to stand here today to support this, because it's one of the many ways that the Albanese Labor government is helping people to build their future. Free TAFE will give Australians the confidence to pursue their dreams, to up-skill without the extra pressure that paying courses can sometimes bring. It will mean we have more nurses in our hospitals, more aged-care workers looking after our loved ones and more tourism and hospitality professionals—sectors which are critical to strong local economies. We'll also support building the pipeline of skilled workers Australia needs to remain competitive on the global stage, ensuring that we continue to grow our local industries and strengthen our national economy. This bill ensures that free TAFE places target industries experiencing current and projected workforce shortfalls. Jobs in construction, the care economy, manufacturing and industry are undergoing a net zero transition. This is important, because, when we came to government, 2½ years ago, we were faced with the biggest skills shortage Australia had seen in more than 50 years—a direct result of the former coalition government ripping $3 billion from TAFE and training and something that the Leader of the Opposition would have no hesitation in doing again if given half the chance. Let's face it: those opposite have form on this. They turned their back on aged care, they barely put a cent towards housing and they promised hundreds of projects without budgeting for them and without investing in the workforce needed to get those projects done. By standing in the way of free TAFE, again those opposite are still at odds with what our communities want. It was not long ago that the deputy leader of the Liberals said, 'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' Tell this to the apprentice chef that said, 'I'm going to school to get a better job so we can have a better life,' or to the sparky that said, 'I like pulling things apart and putting them back together, so I'm going to go and do that for the rest of my life,' or to the student nurse that said, 'It gives a lot of young people and older people an opportunity,' or to the nurses that have saved over $17,000, the electricians that have saved over $12,000 and the carpenters that have saved nearly $3,000. Those numbers speak for themselves, but all we've seen from those opposite is non-stop nonsense on this. This is cost-of-living relief that's making a real difference for 568,000 people across the country—something that those opposite voted against. When it comes to workers, all we've heard from the opposition is, well, nothing. They've confused signature dish with signature policy. Taxpayers having to foot the bill for long lunches is all they've got. We on this side of the chamber know how important the VET system is for Australians and for Australia's future. We know that this bill will work because free TAFE has already changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians, including over 127,000 people across the regions. This includes in my own electorate of Eden-Monaro, where we've got TAFE campuses in Bega, Cooma, Goulburn, Jindabyne, Queanbeyan, Tumut and Yass, not to mention the Canberra Institute of Technology and Moruya TAFE, which are used by many of my constituents as well. Free TAFE has supported people to build skills in their own backyard so that they can continue to work locally. We have so many industries across the mighty Eden-Monaro that require TAFE qualifications, from agriculture and tourism to Snowy 2.0 and many of our small businesses. Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Queanbeyan TAFE with the state member for Monaro, who is the New South Wales minister for skills, training and education. We were speaking with bricklaying apprentices. They told me that there was nothing worse than being cooped up in an office building all day. It wasn't their style. They wanted to develop hands-on skills and give back to their community in really practical ways, which is exactly what they're doing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to go to uni, but it's not for everyone, which is why being able to access a range of vocational courses in our regions is so important. With over 110,000 free TAFE courses already completed to date, this program has made that possible. That is a really positive completion rate getting more workers into our communities where we need them most. It's one of the many ways since coming to government that we've made our education system fairer and more accessible for every Australian, regardless of their postcode. We've wiped $3 billion in student debt and will cut a further 20 per cent from all student loans if re-elected. We will also lift repayment thresholds, keeping more money in people's hip pocket, providing important cost-of-living relief. We've signed a landmark $30 billion five-year national skills agreement with all states and territories. This puts TAFE at the centre of skills and training. We're building a national network of TAFE centres of excellence, and we're uncapping satellite broadband to help regional and remote students better access education. We're supporting teaching, nursing and social work students with the cost of mandatory prac placements, with $319.50 per week to help out. We're investing $66.9 million to double the number of university study hubs across the country, including 20 across regional communities. Just the other week, the Prime Minister announced that, from 1 July, apprentices working in the housing construction sector will receive $10,000 in incentive payments on top of their wages over the lifetime of their training. Under those opposite, courses are cut, costs go up and completion rates go down. They put barriers in place, making a uni or TAFE qualification unattainable. We need this to change. I know it too firsthand, because we've had over 10 apprentices in our local business, and, unfortunately, over the lifetime of the former coalition government, they cut completion incentives for apprentices, and we've seen the number of apprentice completions go down because of it. The Albanese Labor government is building Australia's future, and that starts with investing in people. We're supporting people to train at home so they can continue to work locally, because you shouldn't have to pack your bags to build a career, and that is something that I think everyone should get behind in this chamber. I commend the bill. 18:46 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper I absolutely, completely agree with the sentiment of the last speaker that we shouldn't have to travel to get education. Before I go into the reasons why we're not supporting the 'Free/Not Free TAFE Bill', I'd like to tell you about a business called Faircloth & Reynolds in Coffs Harbour. It was started 40 years ago by Peter Faircloth and David Reynolds. They are a family owned business specialising in refrigeration, air-conditioning and catering along the north-east of New South Wales. They employ about 300 people. In 2023, they committed to training 50 apprentices, and every year they put on at least 15 to 20 apprentices. Just after COVID-19, they came and saw me about the problems that they were having with TAFE NSW. Because they had had a relationship and because they're such a good family owned country, regional and rural business, they continued to try and work through the problems with TAFE NSW. They couldn't get their apprentices into the courses in Coffs Harbour, so what they did was build a purpose built room onto their factory to train their apprentices and bring in a TAFE teacher. They spent a lot of money doing that. This year—remember, we're going through a cost-of-living crisis at the moment; the cost of material has gone through the roof, but they're doing the right thing and trying to keep their apprentices on—they've been told by TAFE NSW that, unless they can have a minimum of 15 apprentices, then they will have to cover the cost, the business will have to cover the cost, of the TAFE training. That is not free TAFE; that is costing a business who gives so much back to the community of Coffs Harbour an ultimatum that 'if you don't pay for it, you don't get it'. Therefore, all these young would-be apprentices won't get their apprenticeships. What's the solution? I'll tell you, Mr Deputy Speaker Goodenough. The solution from TAFE NSW was for those young apprentices to travel the 153 kilometres to Port Macquarie a couple of times a week. Or if there's no availability there, you can go 85 kilometres up the road to Grafton, but that's full. Finally, if you want an apprenticeship, you can travel the 385 kilometres down to Newcastle. That is not free TAFE. It puts barriers to actually getting a trade in front of these young men and women. I wrote to the state minister, the Hon. Steven Whan, on 4 December and expressed my concern and, to his credit, he wrote back to me on 19 December suggesting a certain course, which, unfortunately, involves a lot of travel and no solution. As I just said, I wrote to that minister. I also wrote to the Hon. Jason Clare MP on 4 December. Today is 4 February. Do you think I've had a response, Deputy Speaker? No. I haven't had a response. That's how much this minister cares about young apprentices, or potential young apprentices, in the region. Maybe the Free—not free—TAFE Bill only relates to metropolitan areas, but the fact is that, despite the disregard for local, regional and rural businesses such as Faircloth & Reynolds, this bill is atrocious. This bill has not been costed. If it goes ahead in perpetuity, it will cost the taxpayer half a billion dollars ongoing. That's not free TAFE. Sure, some TAFE students—not all TAFE students—might get free TAFE, but the taxpayer doesn't get free TAFE. Then, according to the minister's speech, not all courses will be covered. There's a little asterisk down the bottom where it says that, actually, it's not all TAFE that's free; it's just some courses, not all courses. So it's inequitable. It's not fair to some students when compared to other students. The fact is that, despite spending $1.5 billion on free TAFE, we have over 80,000 fewer apprentices and trainees today than when Labor took office, and we have a graduation rate of about 13 per cent. Australians need to ask themselves who they trust on training: Labor, or Master Builders Australia and the Housing Industry Association, because they don't agree with the bill. Don't take it from me. I'm an ex-copper, ex-defence lawyer and hack politician, but the real experts out there are saying that this is a bad bill. There are 34,685 fewer women apprentices and trainees in training, nearly halving all starts previously for women in skills. From June 2022 to June 2023 skills shortages increased by 12.5 per cent. The latest data indicates that 33 per cent of all occupations are in shortage, which is higher than under the coalition. No wonder we have a housing shortage. I note that the Prime Minister came out recently and said, 'I'm going to give apprenticeship tradies $10,000 to continue or to start their trade'—there's a little asterisk; go to the bottom of the page—'if they don't live at home.' I have a 17-year-old son who's in year 12 at a technical college. When he heard that, he said, 'I don't know any apprentices who don't live at home because they can't afford it.' Mr Violi 300147 It's all spin. Mr CONAGHAN 279991 That is a great interjection or comment from behind. It is all spin, with no substance. Like we did under the coalition, we need to incentivise the employers. We had a policy where we paid 50 per cent in the first year. Do you know why? With no disrespect to our young tradies, it's because you're absolutely useless in your first year. You're not allowed to do anything under workplace and safety laws. You can't go and run a line as an apprentice electrician unless your boss is standing next to you. The best you can do is drive down to Bunnings and get black-and-white chequered paint or a left-handed screwdriver. That's why we subsidised 50 per cent in the first year. In the second year you can do things, and that amount dropped down to 10 per cent. In the third year that amount dropped down to 5 per cent. It was real. It incentivised employers to bring apprentices on. Now, in the years that Labor has taken over, you have seen apprenticeships plummet—go through the floor. Why? It's because of policy like this, because of bills with no substance and because tradies are afraid. They're afraid to take on new apprentices, because it's going to cost them money. They're afraid because of the economic environment right now, where people are watching their money if they have it, or where they don't have money, and, therefore, the tradies aren't getting as much work. We need to bring common sense back into policy like this—commonsense policy like we had under the coalition. This is a mess. It's no wonder the industry bodies are saying, 'We can't support this; it is a mess.' If the industry bodies don't support this, then we don't support it. 18:58 Ms TEMPLEMAN 181810 Macquarie It's a real shame to hear things going on the Hansard record that are not true, as the previous speaker just did. I want to make it really clear that our new initiative, which is the Key Apprenticeship Program, will deliver $10,000 in instalment payments to trainees in housing, construction or clean energy, including bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners. In addition—that means as well as—we will also increase the allowance paid to apprentices living away from home. It is very disappointing to hear those opposite claiming things that are untrue when they have left this system crumbling. Everything that we are doing around apprentices—apprenticeships and supporting both them and their employers—is to try and get that pipeline back and happening. That is what the Free TAFE Bill 2024 does. It increases that pipeline by saying to young people: 'We're not going to hit you with a huge debt on the work that you're doing. We're not going to hit your employer. You are going to have access to free TAFE courses.' I saw this in action late last year when the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, joined me at Richmond TAFE. Richmond TAFE offers a whole range of fee-free courses. We took a look at many of them: animal studies, companion animals, agribusinesses, arboriculture, certificate III in horticulture and certificate III in landscape construction. Those are just some of the fee-free courses that are available in my electorate of Macquarie specifically at the Richmond campus. These are really important for my region, which is semi-agricultural right through to really dedicated rural communities. There are also urban communities with lots of horticultural and construction workers where we really want to incentivise these kids. I want to see the students at Bede Polding, Richmond, Colo, Windsor and Hawkesbury high schools really reach out and say, 'I'm going to do a trade.' We're making it easy for them. I was really grateful to have the opportunity to talk to some of the head teachers at the Richmond TAFE about the benefits that they are seeing from the existing fee-free courses. Kate MacDonald, who is the head teacher of animal care, has been there for nearly a decade. Steve Rixon is one of the head teachers. And Leo was put on the roster. He has been at TAFE for decades and was there over Christmas to look after the animals we got to see. I spoke with students like Fiona, Bridget, Caitlin and Amanda. Amanda, along with her family, runs the very proud Bowen Mountain Limestone Cottage goat breeding business. I first met her when she was selling the produce that they make at one of the markets, and there she was when I turned up at TAFE. She just thought: 'I'm going to learn more about it. I'm going to take up one of these TAFE courses.' They are animal lovers and really having a crack at the whole urban hobby minifarm journey. I also talked to people like Caitlin. Caitlin is 21-year-old from Leonay, down right in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, and she was studying certificate III in nursery operations. She's actually one of those people who adores growing things—just loves her plants. She probably loves them more that she does some people! You can understand that when you've got green fingers. I know I get a lot out of being in my garden in the moments that I get. You can see the opportunity that's being created for Caitlin and her fellow students. I really want to pay tribute to the work that Richmond TAFE is doing. It isn't every day that I get to hang out with cows and talk to students about fertiliser and how much they love having green thumbs. This is the stuff that goes on in our TAFE every single day—the beautiful displays that they do. These are courses that can change people's lives, and that's not me saying that; that's what the students tell me about how it transforms their future. It is one of the most beautiful things to do. For those opposite who haven't been to a TAFE, who haven't taken advantage of the incredible educators who are in their community, I really encourage you to go and speak to them face to face about what free TAFE is doing and why this bill is so important to ensuring that that is carried forward for the next generation of students. By removing the financial barriers, free TAFE is a cost-of-living relief measure. It's actually making it affordable for people to pursue their dreams and it's saving Australians thousands of dollars. Whether it is nursing, where you're talking about a large fee that would otherwise be levied—it could be up to $17,000 or $18,000, depending on what they're doing. Whether it's early childhood education—and I have certainly been to many early childhood education centres and talked to the young people who are doing their courses now for free. Throughout the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, there are people whose lives are just a bit easier because they're not incurring a debt or having to pay out. That can be a saving of up to $5,000; it varies from state to state given how TAFE operates. Another example in New South Wales is that students who are doing a Certificate III in School Based Education Support can save nearly $2,000. All of these things make a tangible difference. That's what we're doing; we are making a practical difference in people's lives. And, what's more, we're setting them up for an incredible future. Here's just a cross-section, a bit of a snapshot, of the demographics, the data that shows who has taken up these free TAFE courses. Here are some numbers from January 2023 to September last year. There were 354,000 women, and we don't know how many of them would not have had the capacity to go to TAFE without this option. There were 197,000 regional and remote students. There were nearly 192,000 people aged 24 and under. There were almost 140,000 jobseekers. There were 124,600 people who speak a language other than English at home. There were 44,400 people with a disability who took the opportunity to upgrade their skills through TAFE. And there were 34,000 First Nations people. Every one of those students has something now that they didn't have before this was made available to them, and it's vital that it stays part of the offering going forward. Recent research from Jobs and Skills Australia found that students who complete a vocational education and training course are more likely to be employed and earn more in the year following their graduation than people who don't. The report found that graduates have a median income increase of about $11,800 in the year following the completion of their courses. The same report found that 84 per cent of VET graduates are employed after completing their qualification—that's a 15 per cent increase from before enrolment. So, again, the data tells us that this works and shows how important it is. We are committed to investing in the skills we need because we want to drive economic growth. These are the skills that we were short of when those opposite left office. There'd been no investment, no commitment to it, at a federal level and, often, at a state level. What this bill does is ensure that free TAFE continues to deliver a really coordinated response to workforce shortages in the industries that are a local priority, like in my area, and those that are a national priority so that we're building that pipeline of skilled workers that we need now and into the future. It is disappointing that those opposite simply don't share the values that we have about TAFE. You can hear, every time one of the opposition speaks, that they have no interest in supporting this. They describe free TAFE as 'wasteful spending'; they say investing in people who want to be better skilled is wasteful. No wonder they were such a mess in government, if that's their definition of wasteful. They've got their priorities completely wrong. When talking about the Free TAFE Bill in this place, right here, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said: … it's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party: if you don't pay for something, you don't value it. Well, what a way to maintain the status quo—to exclude people from the opportunity to improve their lives and to have aspirations. That is exactly why those opposite are failing our young people by not supporting free TAFE. And it isn't just young people who take this opportunity. It is people who may have dealt with all sorts of things in their lives and now have a little window of opportunity, yet those opposite want to slam that window shut. It's not just free TAFE that the Liberal Party don't value, and we know that. We'll just add it to the list. Things like public education, Medicare, the NDIS and public hospitals, we know, are what they call wasteful spending. That's all the stuff that they want to cut to fund their long lunches and their nuclear extravaganza. It is really disappointing that they can't come and find common ground with us on supporting people who want to do better for themselves, who want to study hard and work hard and be rewarded for that. The Liberals have essentially all but confirmed that they plan to cut funding for free TAFE, with the Liberal shadow assistant minister for education at the Free TAFE Bill Senate inquiry asking the South Australian Minister for Education, Training and Skills, 'Would the South Australian government continue to fund fee-free TAFE if the Commonwealth was to reduce its funding?' You only ask that sort of hypothetical if that's what you're thinking of doing. Labor has a completely different view. We want to open doors through TAFE for people across Australia who are looking to gain well-paid and secure work. We want to deliver not only the training that Australians want and the skills that they need to get ahead but also the skills that we as a nation need. We're providing cost-of-living support for more Australians to access high-quality, affordable training through our TAFE system so that they get secure jobs. Then we want to see them keep more of what they earn. We're delivering the skills and training needed to grow our economy, building the homes we need, creating a future made in Australia and ensuring all Australians can get quality care when they need it. With high-quality skills and training, we're the ones building a better Australia. Nine in 10 new jobs over the next 10 years will need post-school study, and half of those jobs will need vocational education and training. A reliable and trusted vocational education and training sector is critical for our economy, and that's what we're building. It means people can help create and share in our national prosperity. I see that firsthand, whether it's at my Katoomba TAFE, my Wentworth Falls TAFE or my Richmond TAFE. There are dedicated teachers and educators there. There are enthusiastic students who are leaping at the opportunity. We want to make sure that those opportunities are kept in the future for those areas where we have critical skills shortages and where we know we will have skills shortages in the future unless we move people in. That is where free TAFE comes in. I commend this bill to the House. 19:13 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter I rise to contribute to the debate on the Free TAFE Bill 2024. As I'm a product of TAFE, this bill is very close to my heart. It is a bill that will make a massive, real-world difference to the lives of countless people in my electorate, because the Hunter has been built upon and by a hardworking, skilled workforce, and, to this day, most of our young people build their lives using skills they learnt at TAFE. TAFE is one of the pillars that literally helps to build this country, and that's why it should be one of the highest priorities for any government. If TAFE is strong, our country is strong. As one of the only people in this place who have a trade and as someone who left school at the age of 15, went to TAFE, gained skills in an area that I enjoyed and built a career and a life with those skills, I feel I am in a better position than most others to talk about how important TAFE is. That's why I'm proud that this government is committed to building up TAFE, instead of tearing TAFE and skills in this country to the ground, like those opposite have done before us. Make no mistake—if they form government after the election this year, the only attention they'll give to TAFE is by tearing it down. You could put your last dollar on that. Maybe it's just something about the idea of not sitting in a comfortable chair in an air-conditioned office that doesn't sit right with them, or maybe it's just that they don't respect Australians who like to get their hands dirty for a living. Let me tell them one thing: it is these hardworking skilled Australians who our country relies on. It is these Australians who go through our TAFE system—who work in our mines, producing the coal, iron ore and other critical minerals—that lead to budget surpluses. It is these Australians who fix our cars when they break down, who build our houses that our growing nation needs so desperately and who keep our lights on at night. It is these Australians who look after our little ones in child care so parents can go back to work. People should be encouraged to do these important jobs. If this is the path that someone wants to go down, it should be accessible and affordable. There should be no barriers, such as limited availability or excessive fees, holding them back from attaining qualifications they need to pursue the job of their dreams. I know that it may come as a shock to those opposite, who haven't really got their hands dirty since playing in the playground in primary school, but sometimes school isn't for everyone. Sometimes a person thrives when working with their hands and not by sitting in a classroom. While sometimes your attitude towards TAFE makes it appear as though you look down on these people, I'd like to see you out there doing the job that they do. We already know that the former member for Cook certainly can't weld. Let's see if the Leader of the Opposition can do any better. I want to thank the hardworking TAFE teachers and staff. They give our young people the skills they need for today's jobs, and that's what makes our country strong. TAFE sets you up for life and opens doors for your future. By making TAFE fee free, we're giving people a door that they are able to open. This is the reality that our fee-free TAFE has already provided for over 508,000 Australians who are currently enrolled in one of these fee-free courses. Those are 508,000 Australians on their way to a secure job. This means that you could be an early childhood educator, a chippie, a lecco, a fitter, a cyber expert and so much more, and you can do it without paying any course fees—without hitting your back pocket and without having to sacrifice some other part of your life to get the skills you need to move forward. Right now, there are almost 35,000 fee-free TAFE students studying construction, which is helping to tackle the acute skills shortage we found when we came to government. There are over 35,000 fee-free TAFE students studying early childhood education, which means there will be more childcare workers with the skills that they need in the sector that our economy needs. There are over 131,000 fee-free TAFE students studying nursing, aged care and personal care. There is an historic number of people enrolling in nursing, aged care and disability support, with a huge 7.8 per cent increase in enrolments, a massive increase of workers qualified in the sector, which is only going to demand more and more workers as our nation ages. We came into government saying that we would rebuild TAFE, and clearly, going by these numbers, we have delivered. This bill is about making sure that this isn't just a one-off sugar hit for our sector. It is about making sure that we future-proof TAFE so that people will always be able to have the opportunities accessible to them. With this bill, fee-free TAFE will become a permanent part of our national vocational education and training system. This bill does three important things. Firstly, it commits the Commonwealth to make a grant of financial assistance to the states and territories for the delivery of free TAFE places, with states and territories required to enter a free TAFE agreement with the Commonwealth which sets out terms and conditions for financial assistance. This means that the states and the Commonwealth will work together to make sure that TAFE is strong and our country has enough qualified people in sectors that need workers. The bill sets out key matters that are to be dealt with in the free TAFE agreement, including the number of free TAFE places, the areas of study, the groups prioritised for access, reporting requirements and financial agreements. Finally, the bill will require the Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council to be consulted on any proposed changes to the act. As our country grows and demand for skills increases, a strong TAFE is more important than ever. That's what we have started to build, and now it's time to protect and maintain the rate of progress that we are making. This bill ensures that free TAFE positions will be targeted to industries experiencing current and projected workforce shortages. It will be focused on areas that will achieve the national ambitions of a future made in Australia: construction and housing supply, the care and support economy, defence, digital and technology, manufacturing, and the restoring of our sovereign capability. These are all areas that we must help to thrive in order for a future Australia that will also be thriving. There are a few key differences which really set us apart from the coalition. Our commitment to VET, to TAFE and to skills more broadly is certainly one of them. There is only one party that truly cares about TAFE, and that's us. The record shows this. The opposition's policy announcements show that this will not change after the next election. On this side of parliament, we aren't giving the bosses a taxpayer funded handout to go for lunch or to watch the footy. We're going to do things like make sure apprentices are being looked after by giving them a little bit extra in their pocket to help them get by each week. I was an apprentice and, more recently, I managed apprentices when I managed a local engineering business. I know better than anyone that, while getting a trade is worth it in the long run, getting through your apprenticeship on lower wages can be really tough. It's really, really hard, and sometimes this can steer people away from apprenticeships. A person may start an apprenticeship and then really struggle whilst they're going through it. So we're here to help, and this was reflected in the Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System. This is why we are responding with the housing construction apprenticeship program, which includes a $10,000 initiative payment that I'm sure will help encourage people to take up an apprenticeship and make life just that little bit easier while they're completing their apprenticeship. Getting an apprenticeship will be easier than ever with our 500,000 fee-free TAFE places. At the end of the day, we want more Australian workers to make more things here. This can only be done if we have more people going through TAFE, more people completing apprenticeships and more tradies. When we have more tradies, we will have the workforce to deliver our Homes for Australia Plan, an ambitious target to deliver 1.2 million homes over the next five years. This is exactly what the $10,000 incentive payment will help encourage, with apprentices who work in the housing construction industry receiving $2,000 at the six-month mark into their apprenticeship and then at the 12-month mark, the two-year mark, the three-year mark and upon completion of their apprenticeship. They will receive $2,000 at every one of those marks along the way. This payment is only one of a whole stack of changes we want to make to better look after our apprentices. We have raised the allowance paid to apprentices living away from home. This is the first time since 2003 that this has happened. A lot has changed and a lot of things have gone up in price since 2003, but apparently not this allowance. It's about time we made it up to date to better help apprentices living away from home in 2025. A first-year apprentice will be getting $120 a week for living away from home. That's a nearly $43 increase. A second-year will go up to $90 per week, which a $51.41 increase, and third-year apprentices will receive $45 per week, which is an extra $20 a week. We're also increasing the disability Australian apprentice wage support payment to support more employers taking apprentices with disability. The payment has been increased for the first time since 1998. The massive difference will make the lives of our apprentices easier. What this will do for them cannot be underestimated. This will make a huge difference. We know that some—and by 'some' I mean 'those opposite'—think that TAFE is a waste of money. We heard that come straight out of the mouth of the deputy opposition leader. She's really not keen on it. She thinks that, if people get something for free, they don't value it and don't welcome it. But every dollar we spend on our people brings big rewards, more work, new ideas and a stronger economy. Investing in skills today means a better, tougher economy tomorrow. As we look into the future, industries are evolving and new sectors are emerging. Free TAFE will ensure that our workforce is not only prepared for today's challenges but agile enough to meet the demands of tomorrow's economy. My advice to anyone who is thinking about entering a trade, early childhood education, nursing, aged care, personal care or disability services? Go and do it! Honestly, tradies are cool. We've built Australia. We've made Australia what it is. We need more engineers, too, but tradies make this place work. Go to TAFE, get an apprenticeship and get on with building the life, the future, the career you've always wanted. There is no better time than right now, because this government—the Labor government—is committed to making sure you have the support you need to not only get into TAFE but thrive during your apprenticeship. The opportunities that will come to you, the doors that will open, are endless. You never know where life's going to take you. When I was an apprentice on the tools, getting dirty every day, I didn't think I'd be in this place talking up what it means to be an apprentice. So I say to anyone out there who's even thinking about doing it: just take the leap and do it. It's an amazing career. Being an apprentice, sure, you go through some tough times, but we are here to help you. Only the Albanese Labor government will help you do this. The opposition—the coalition over there—want to rip this away. They think this is wasteful spending. We'll make sure this is not wasteful spending, because we want you and your mates, all your friends who are involved in the trades and services we need, to help rebuild Australia to give us what we need into the future. Thank you to all the tradies out there now. Thank you to the early childhood educators, the nurses, the NDIS workers—anyone who works in those support areas. Thank you for all you do for our communities, our country. Without people like you we wouldn't be able to stand in a place like this, so thank you. Go get a trade and really enjoy your life. Cheers! 19:26 Mrs PHILLIPS 147140 Gilmore We know that free TAFE is delivering the skills and training we need to grow the Australian economy. Free TAFE is training the carpenters, electricians, plumbers and tilers to build the homes we so desperately need. Free TAFE is training healthcare workers, social workers, aged-care workers and early childhood carers, ensuring that all Australians can get quality care when they need it. It's not the first time I've stood here singing the praises of TAFE and it won't be the last. As a former TAFE teacher—a career of more than 10 years—the wife of a carpenter and the mum of two apprentice chippies, I know how gaining a TAFE qualification can change lives for the better. I've seen firsthand, both as a teacher and as a mum, how TAFE has opened doorways for young people and people of all ages in regional areas like my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast. TAFE is awesome. I love it! I will shout it to the rooftops so that everyone knows just how great it is. And free TAFE is just the icing on the cake. By removing financial barriers to education and training, Labor's Free TAFE Bill 2024 will ensure that people, particularly young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, can gain skills and pursue the careers of their dreams. Free TAFE is putting people in regional areas like Gilmore on a pathway to well-paid and secure employment. Free TAFE means no-one is left behind. Whether our kids or grandkids want to become tradies, childcare workers, nurses, computer programmers or even cybersecurity experts, TAFE provides that opportunity. Free TAFE means more people of all ages can train, upskill or retrain to fill the gaps in our workforce. By making free TAFE permanent, we can deliver a coordinated response to workforce shortages in priority industries, like construction, and ensure a pipeline of skilled workers that Australia needs now and into the future. We need to provide more housing right across Australia. We need to make homes more affordable to rent and buy. To do that we need skilled tradies to build more homes. We need skilled people to build homes, apartment complexes, manufacturing plants, hospitals and community centres. We need skilled people to build and install solar panels, to make buses and roads. We want to make more things here in Australia, and to do that we need to train more people. Where can our young people learn these skills? TAFE. Where can they study for free? TAFE. How do we start building a future made in Australia? Yes, TAFE is the answer. The Albanese government is committed to investing in the skills Australia needs to drive economic growth. Our Free TAFE Bill offers greater certainty to students, employers and industry, and commits the Commonwealth to ongoing support to the states and territories for free TAFE. In regional areas like Gilmore, so many kids want to finish school. Debate interrupted. ADJOURNMENT 75 ADJOURNMENT Small Business: Taxation 75 19:30 Dr SCAMPS 299623 Mackellar This week I announced my new company tax policy to provide relief for our small business community—a company tax cut for small business in the form of a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Personal income tax reforms were completed last year. I voted to make those cuts fairer so that, in the cost-of-living crisis, all income earners received the much-needed benefit of more dollars in their pocket. This is the next critical step in the tax reform process. On the Northern Beaches of Sydney, as in regions across Australia, small businesses are not only the backbone of the local economy; they are central to our community. Small-business owners are our friends and our neighbours. Sometimes they are the people we see every week or even every day: our tradies, florists, cafe owners, audiologists and butchers. But, last year, 49 per cent of small businesses did not break even. The cost of doing business has hit them hard, with the rise in rents, interest rates, insurance, wages and energy costs. Combine that with the downturn in consumer spending, and many businesses are doing it tough. Sadly, a recent CommBank study reported that 52 per cent of business owners have experienced negative impacts on their mental health due to these economic pressures. COSBOA, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, has for many years strongly called for the tax burden on small business to be eased. The coalition's recently announced policy which incentivises some bosses to take long lunches is simply not going to cut it. I want to make it easier for small businesses to grow, to innovate, to invest in efficiencies and to thrive. Innovative businesses enhance productivity. Thriving businesses grow jobs and our standard of living. COSBOA found that the major barrier to innovation for small business is access to finance. This is the core issue that my small-business company tax cut seeks to address. As I mentioned earlier, my plan revolves around the introduction of a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Below the threshold, no tax is paid. This could equate to a tax saving of up to $5,000 for a small business. And I strongly believe that it is the small-business owners themselves that are best placed to decide how to reinvest the savings into their businesses. Whether it be energy efficiencies, job creation, innovation, renovations or new equipment, they know best. So why develop a tax policy for small business? Firstly, there's a serious policy void in this space. The coalition's long-lunch incentives are not serious reform; they are merely a temporary pre-election sugar hit. My team and I have been out doorknocking local small businesses for many, many months, because I know it has been an incredibly hard few years for business. We have many empty shopfronts in our shopping strips. We've dedicated a lot of time to this because, firstly, I wanted to ensure that the businesses were aware of all the supports available to them from all the different levels of government and, secondly, I wanted to hear from them—and I have heard firsthand, over and over, and business owners are telling me it has been tough. I also conducted a local business survey in which an overwhelming 86 per cent of local businesses identified the escalating costs of doing business as their primary concern. This finding was a resounding call to action and is the critical aspect that I seek to address with the policy that I announced earlier this week. I propose that from July 2025 small businesses with an annual turnover of under $10 million benefit from a tax-free threshold of $20,000. Not only will this plan support the nearly 33,000 small businesses on the Northern Beaches which generate over 116,000 jobs, but nationwide it stands to benefit 2.58 million businesses. This measure for the Northern Beaches arrives at a critical juncture. Our local businesses in Mackellar are currently bracing for a nearly 40 per cent rate hike by the Northern Beaches Council. Such a move would exert undue pressure on households and local enterprises across the region. (Time expired) Bendigo Electorate: Albanese Government 76 19:35 Ms CHESTERS 249710 Bendigo It's been a great summer in central Victoria and in the Bendigo electorate. We've had a number of great funding announcements for awesome projects through January, and I want to take a moment to share those with the House. In early January, straight after the New Year's break, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Hon. Pat Conroy, came to Bendigo to announce a further $100 million contract for Bendigo Thales to build more Bushmasters. This is on top of the $160 million announced in 2023 and the $45 million announced in 2024—a combined investment of over $300 million which helps secure jobs at the site. Something I didn't share at the time was that, prior to us coming to government, on the eve of the last federal election, Thales met with me to say the site was at risk of closure. They had no work locked in for the future, making their entire workforce redundant and leaving hundreds of workers and families without a job. Our government has invested in these contracts, saved the site and secured the long-term sustainability for these vital defence jobs, producing a product that our army needs and the rest of the world needs—the iconic Bushmaster. It not only is accredited to saving Australian lives but is doing its bit in Ukraine and over 10 other countries. This is the kind of smart investment that our government is doing, working with industry and business to deliver what we need. I'm proud to stand here today to say that the site has a future, and it's thanks to this government. But that's not the only announcement that we made in January in my electorate. We also announced funding for Marong, a growth suburb of Bendigo, through the Housing Support Program. The City of Greater Bendigo made an application through the Housing Support Program for funding to upgrade sewerage works. I understand that sewerage may not be the most sexy project that you can announce, but it's critical. It's the most practical way that our government could support a city with growth pressures. Thanks to Labor and through this fund, $11.3 million from the government's Housing Support Program will go to the City of Greater Bendigo to upgrade the sewerage infrastructure in the region. That will allow an extra 2,400-ish homes to be built in the community. Included in that is at least 300 social and community houses within that. This is a practical way that our government is helping to achieve the goal of 1.2 million homes in the next five years. We're giving the money to local government, who have gone through a competitive tender process. The top projects are awarded the funding to help get the houses on the ground sooner. It's not being passed on to developers. It's not then being passed on to the first home buyers or the homebuyers. This kind of fund is making a difference when it comes to the housing in our community. One of the other projects that we announced funding for was the most recent round of the rPPP, the regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. I'm so pleased that a small shire in my electorate, Mount Alexander Shire, will receive just over $12 million from our government to transform public space in the heart of its CBD area. The project connects the CBD centre to the railway precinct. It will include local Indigenous art into the streetscape, a very iconic Gold Rush era streetscape, but it will also improve accessibility and help solve some of the challenges that we have with access in the area. Mechanics Lane is one of the areas that will receive a lot of attention. It is already the heart of Castlemaine, but it is a bit dangerous, so this will help support the transformation of this community space. It's already the home of our festivals, and it's where we have our community house, our library and the Phee Broadway Theatre, as well as a number of other important community buildings. These are just three of the funding announcements that our government has made about my electorate in January alone. When you have a competitive, transparent grants process, regional centres do well. The city of Greater Bendigo and Mount Alexander have not missed out. Bendigo Thales has not missed out. This is the kind of smart investment our government is doing in the regions. Forde Electorate: Australia Day 77 19:40 Mr VAN MANEN 188315 Forde It's been more than a week since Australia Day passed, but this is a great opportunity to not only talk about how important Australia Day is to the electorate of Forde and to recognise what a wonderful country we live in but, in that recognition, acknowledge that the reason we live in a wonderful country is because of the tremendous contribution that members of our local communities make at both a local and a state level. We should be very proud of that and the opportunity to share with the House some of those successes in the electorate of Forde today. One of the things that bring the community together like no other is an awards ceremony. Not only were some of Forde's best and brightest heralded at the Logan City Council's Australia Day awards but one individual from Shailer Park received one of the nation's foremost honours, the national 2025 Young Australian of the Year. Dr Katrina Wruck, a resident of Forde, has long advocated for First Nations knowledge and shared her passion for science with others. Dr Wruck's findings are giving back to remote communities, and, based on her research, Katrina set up a profit-for-purpose business which is set to alter the consumer goods sector by harnessing the power of green chemistry while inspiring others to step into STEM. Her method of converting mining by-products to zeolite LTA, which can remove contaminants from water that cause hardness, will be commercialised. Her postdoctoral research examines how to break down dangerous forever chemicals into benign ones. Altogether, Katrina's work is a possible footing for reducing global contamination. Her work has been recognised with several awards, and she is already well known in her field for her efforts. I commend her for all of her remarkable achievements to date. Closer to home, 180 constituents from 41 countries became new Australian citizens. Logan City Council held their annual event at the Beenleigh Events Centre, welcoming new citizens to Australia. To be an Australian citizen is a tremendous honour and privilege, and I think it's important that we consistently remind ourselves of this. On top of welcoming in the new citizens, two awards were presented on the day: the Citizen of the Year and the Young Citizen of the Year. Abdul Khan from Woodridge was named as Citizen of the Year. Whilst Mr Khan resides in the neighbouring electorate of Rankin, his community impact does not recognise electorate boundaries. Abdul established the Logan Roos Football Club in 2016 to support refugees and migrants as they transition to a new life here in Australia. The Young Citizen of the Year was awarded to Lilly Rider. Lilly, who graduated from Waterford's Canterbury College last year, was instrumental in igniting a passion among her fellow students and teachers to assist Orange Sky Australia. That passion shone a light on homelessness and raised almost $5,000 for the organisation's work back in 2021. Over the past four years, the students led by Lilly have raised a further $103,000 for Orange Sky, as well as another $12,000 with the support of her family and friends. People like Lilly and Abdul go about their work quietly behind the scenes, not seeking plaudits or plaques but to benefit the people across the Forde electorate and surrounding areas to make their lives better each and every day. I'd also like to take this opportunity to mention the other nominees. Though they might not have received an award, it does nothing to diminish the incredible impact each and every one of them has on our region. I wish to commend Maria Brereton, Derby Sante, Jean Davis, Kenneth McKay, Melissa Ryman, Stephanie Blooms, Claire Taylor, Imran Fazel Kahn, John Ennever, Lynda Jane Tilley, Zakaria Min and Sharol Rudd. I take this moment to congratulate Eagleby's Professor Megan Davis also on being awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia. Wongawallan's Jan Morland was presented a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to equestrian sports. Dr Keith Graham from Shailer Park was presented with a Public Service Medal, and Loganholme's Senior Sergeant Jacinta Pannowitz was awarded an Australian Police Medal. Congratulations to all involved. Hunter Electorate: Australia Day Honours 78 19:45 Mr REPACHOLI 298840 Hunter I rise to recognise some extraordinary people who live in the Hunter who were rightly recognised on Australia Day for their incredible contributions to our community and our nation. Gerard McMillan from Singleton was awarded an OAM for his service to the community and to business. Gerard has been involved with the Singleton Diggers and was general manager from 1979 to 2020. He has been an honorary life member since 2020. He has also been part of the RSL and Services Clubs Association as a past state president and life member; the Club Managers Association Australia; the Licensed Clubs Association of Australia, now Clubs Australia; and the Registered Clubs Association of New South Wales. He was a district governor of Rotary International District 9670 and was an internal auditor. He was a member of the governance committee and a member of the Australia Day committee for the Singleton council. Gerard has a strong involvement in the community and church, serving as the president of the Singleton tourism association and as national president of the Australian Catholic Cursillo Movement. He was a member of the finance committee for the Singleton Catholic parish, synod representative with the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and treasurer at Mercy Rest Home. He's got just a few thing on his plate! Dr Gregory George Gambrill was awarded an AM in the general division for his significant services to science and to public health and nutrition. He was a member of the health star rating system technical advisory group from 2014 to 2016 and was the algorithm development lead. He has been a speaker at numerous health star rating symposia and consultations, including FoodLegal in 2017. He made a big contribution towards food regulation in Australia and New Zealand, being a member of the steering committee for front-of-pack labelling and an industry member on the technical design working group. From 1981, Gregory was involved with the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company Australia in roles ranging from process analyst and food scientist to group and corporate technical manager. Gregory has also been involved in fundraising efforts for the Black Dog Institute. Congratulations to Geoffrey Sharrock from Fordwich, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia, AM, in the general division for his significant services to the mining industry and to the community. Geoff is a board member and chair of the Broke Fordwich Private Irrigation District. He has been a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy since 1968 and previously served as president. He has also been involved heavily with the Hunter Valley branch, initiating the Hunter student chapter, and was made an honorary fellow in 2017. Geoff was a councillor on Singleton council from 2004 until 2008 and chair of the Redbank power station community consultative committee from 2004 to 2008, as well as being chair of the Broke Fordwich alliance community. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Singleton and the NSW Rural Fire Service in Broke, a volunteer at the Singleton Visitor Information Centre, deputy chair of Broke Fordwich tourism association, chair of tourism Singleton, a board member at the Hunter Region Tourism Organisation, a member of the Broke Landcare group and a member of the Broke water supply committee. He was a ministerial appointed member of the Upper Hunter Air Quality Advisory Committee in the NSW Environment Protection Agency, commissioner and member of the Mining and Petroleum Gateway Panel with the Independent Planning Commission, founder and inaugural co-chair of the research committee with the Australian Coal Association Research Program, chair of the editorial board of the Australian coal journal and chair of the OH&S committee of the Australian Coal Association, which is now part of the Minerals Council of Australia. Congratulations to Darren Kearney, who received the Australians Corrections Medal. Darren has operated at several levels of Corrective Services in New South Wales over the past 34 years. He began his career in 1990 at Parklea prison, before being transferred to Maitland Gaol in 1992. When it closed, he transferred to the then Maitland transport unit, and has remained with the Court Escort Security Unit. Congratulations to John Hedley, who received the Australian Fire Service Medal. John joined the Bulga brigade in 1974. He held roles such as deputy and senior deputy captain before his election as the Hunter Valley district group captain in 2001, a position he continues to hold. Congratulations to all. Thank you for the contributions you have made to our community. Wannon Electorate: Community Infrastructure, Victoria: Bushfires 79 19:51 Mr TEHAN 210911 Wannon Facts matter in politics. We had the Parliamentary Library look at the facts around grant funding for the electorate of Wannon. Since 2016, we've had $694 million worth of grant funding. That is more than what has been allocated to the seat of Mallee and more than what has been allocated to the seat of Corangamite. In great news, the town of Hamilton and the Southern Grampians shire have just seen two results of the community's strong advocacy to make sure that we in the electorate of Wannon continue to get our fair share. Last week, headspace opened in Hamilton. This incredibly important youth mental health service is now open and will be able to provide those services that are needed for young people in and around Hamilton. After all the hard work from the community and their strong advocacy, which has led to us now having this important youth mental health space open, this is just fantastic news. It augurs well for a very bright future for the young people in Hamilton. But, not only that, we've also seen a recent announcement that we're about to get our own regional university centre. This gives me immense pride, because the community has advocated strongly for this. As Minister for Education, I was able to establish a national network of regional university hubs. To see that work now result in Hamilton having its own regional university centre is just wonderful news for the local community. It builds on other things that we have done, such as the wonderful Melville Oval redevelopment, which is taking place at the moment and will be finished nearly in time for the football and netball season opening this year. There's what we've been able to do to the livestock exchange, with new flooring and the new roof. There's the $5 million that's been allocated for the civic upgrade, and there's much, much more. I want to keep delivering for Wannon. I want to keep delivering for the southern Grampians and for Hamilton, and that is my commitment. On the weekend, on Sunday, I was out doorknocking with the former prime minister Tony Abbott. It was 36 degrees, we were doing it in the afternoon and it was hot. At every door we knocked on, people had nothing but admiration for the fact that we were out there making sure that our cause was being put to people in a very polite but very warm way. After having knocked on a door and then been down to a few other doors, we were walking back up a set of apartments when Sharon popped out of the door, and Sharon had a big box of local icy poles and ice creams for us. She said, 'I've got nothing but admiration for you, being out here doing what you're doing, and I want to give you an ice cream.' And, in a truly Colac way, they were Bulla ice creams. They were from the local ice cream makers in Colac, Bulla, who produce fantastic products. I say to Sharon: your generosity was so, so welcome, and I think you absolutely deserve a shout-out in the parliament for your kindness. You put a smile on our faces. The little video clip we've put out about your generosity and kindness has basically gone viral, so a huge thankyou. Yesterday I was doing my bit to try to keep the local community safe from the blaze in the Grampians. Can I send out a huge thankyou to Chris, Jason, Callum and Tom, who were with me on the Tarrington fire truck. They are dedicated volunteers and an absolute inspiration to our local community. As a matter of fact, all the CFA members at Tarrington are, as they are right across the electorate of Wannon, but to Chris, Jason, Callum and Tom I say: you made my day incredibly special, and I really thank you for that. Economy 79 19:56 Dr CHARLTON I8M Parramatta When Australians put their trust in the Albanese Labor government they backed a vision for a stronger, fairer economy, one that delivers for working people, businesses and communities alike. In challenging global times, we've delivered on our commitment to responsible economic management, ensuring that prosperity is shared while protecting the integrity of our national finances. The Albanese government did not inherit easy economic times. In 2022 this government inherited four big economic challenges. First, we inherited high Liberal inflation, running at more than six per cent. Second, that Liberal inflation led to successive interest rate rises, which continued in the subsequent years. Third, the Liberals left us a trillion dollars worth of national debt. Fourth, they left a period of 10 years with virtually zero real wages growth. These four factors were the legacy of a Liberal government that pursued economic policies that were wrong for Australia. As the Albanese government came to confront these challenges in 2022, we found that some of them were common around the world. Many nations were dealing with high inflation; many nations were dealing with rising interest rates. As different countries around the world battled to bring that inflation down, Australia's performance stood out. Many countries did get their inflation down over the last 2½ years, but they did so through a recession. Japan had a recession, the United Kingdom had a recession, New Zealand had a recession, Finland had a recession and Germany fell into recession. Australia is one of the few countries in this economic cycle—in fact, in modern economic cycles—that have reduced inflation by so much without falling into recession. It's the soft landing, the challenging Goldilocks outcome, that has caused Australia to reduce inflation while maintaining low unemployment—lower unemployment, indeed, over the term of this government than over the term of any recent government. It would be a remarkable fact in any circumstances but is made more remarkable by the fact that we had to do it at the same time as a steep reduction in inflation. We also delivered two budget surpluses, the first budget surpluses in 15 years. So this is a record of falling inflation, maintaining employment, and fiscal discipline—the hallmarks of good economic management, delivered by the Albanese government. This brings us to the choice that Australians will face at the next election. Australians will face a choice between this Albanese government, which has delivered that record, and the opposition, which has been high on criticism but low on real solutions. Australians still face many challenges—housing, cost of living, energy—but Peter Dutton and the Liberals present no solutions to any of these challenges. They have a housing policy that does not build a single home. They have a cost-of-living policy that does not deliver a single dollar of relief to families. They have an energy policy that will not create a megawatt of power in the next 20 years. This is an opposition that is always there to criticise but, when it comes to delivering solutions to the problems that Australians face, has no answers. As Australians head towards the election and reflect on the choices available to them, they will see that there are no solutions to the challenges they face in their daily lives coming from the opposition. This won't be surprising to Australians, because, over my lifetime, the Liberals have always got the big economic calls wrong. They opposed the floating of the dollar in the eighties. They opposed superannuation in the nineties, they voted against the NBN in the 2000s, they dared the car industry to leave in the 2010s and they opposed the energy transition in the 2020s. That's 40 years of wrong economic calls which have left our nation poorer, nearly half a century of economic errors. The truth is, Speaker, that the Liberals always get the big economic calls wrong, while this Albanese Labor government has delivered on lower inflation, strong employment and budget discipline. House adjourned at 20:00 NOTICES 80 NOTICES Presentation 80

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Payne ) took the chair at 16:00.

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS 86 CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS Fadden Electorate: Runaway Bay, Shattock, Mr Aaron, Queensland: Floods 86 16:00 Mr CALDWELL 306489 Fadden Today I rise to speak on one of the iconic suburbs within my electorate of Fadden, Runaway Bay. Many people on the Gold Coast will be well aware of the iconic nature of this suburb. It's reached some milestones recently that I thought were worth raising today. Firstly, the Runaway Bay shopping centre recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary, and there will be some activations happening for the community during the next 12 months to celebrate that milestone. Also, the Runaway Bay Seagulls Rugby League Club, which is an iconic and important part of our community fabric, recently celebrated 50 years, at the end of 2024. I was able to be there for that celebration and the launch of their book to commemorate that. Established in 1974, the club still play in their traditional red, white and blue. Recently the Runaway Bay Little Athletics Club celebrated 45 years. I thank Rene and the team of volunteers that provide for that club, up to 450 members. Secondly, today I pay tribute to local AFL legend and Labrador Tiger Aaron Shattock—or 'Shatts', as he is affectionately known—who was injured in an accident at his home in December last year. After 25 days in intensive care, Aaron was transferred to a ward to begin his long recovery. Aaron is a former Brisbane Lions player, but more importantly, at a local level, he has been a Labrador Tiger since 2007 in his capacity as player, assistant and head coach as well as committee member. Most recently he was leading the club's new change room construction, which is a great project. In a couple of weeks time the club will hold a working bee to complete preparations for the 2025 season. My congratulations to Luke Black, the president, David Loft and all the committee on bringing the club family together. My best wishes to Aaron and his family for a speedy recovery. Go, the Tigers! I pay tribute to and acknowledge those fellow Queenslanders in North Queensland who are suffering under a terrible weather event at the moment. When regional Queensland is in pain all of us Queenslanders share that pain, with many of us having family, friends and a shared history with that part of Australia. Tragically, a woman lost her life in Innisfail, which is one of the hardest-hit areas. I was encouraged to see 60 SES volunteers arrive in Townsville from South-East Queensland. I thank all our frontline workers for the effort they have put in to try and keep our community safe. I give a special mention to my federal colleagues on the ground: the member for Herbert, Phil Thompson; the member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox; and Senator Susan McDonald. They've been there for their communities in their time of need, and I know that, under the leadership of Premier Crisafulli, we will rebuild and recover. North Queensland, we will be there for you all. Western Australia: Environment 86 16:03 Ms LAWRENCE 299150 Hasluck Since 1985 the Bassendean Preservation Group has been at the head of efforts to preserve, protect and rejuvenate the Ashfield Flats. They have long understood that this is a critical area, over 40 hectares, of ecological and cultural significance. They, together with local member Dave Kelly and the town of Bassendean, have worked to create an incredibly strong business case master plan for the area that understands the need for fencing to protect endangered saltmarsh species, weed control and monitoring of the flora and soil and water quality, and even creating paths to ensure that people can activate and utilise the space without damaging the native flora and fauna. The master plan can't just sit on the shelf, though. Thanks to the Labor government—we believe in the value of wetlands like the Ashfield Flats—the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program was established, which conserves exactly this type of area and improves the quality and health of our urban waterways. I was super pleased to be able to announce that this local and committed group of volunteers together with the council will be receiving just shy of $2 million for the management plan of the Ashfield Flats. It's a significant achievement for this group, and I'm really excited to get out there and see them start to work on and restore that area. Also, over in Lockridge, there's an area that many in the community probably weren't aware even existed, and that's Grogan Swamp. I had to go and bush-bash my way in to find it myself! It's really in great need of restoration. There are weeds everywhere. It's a significant ecological site and an area of cultural significance as well. For thousands of years, the Bennett Brook, or Korndiny Karla Boodja, a major tributary of the Swan River, or the Derbal Yaragan, has been a place for local Indigenous people for hunting, gathering and camping, and it's home to native fish species, long-necked turtles and freshwater mussels. This area, for scale, is not dissimilar to a major popular area called Lake Monger, which is fully accessible and utilised by its whole community. I'm really pleased that, under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, the Labor government has committed $1.7 million to the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation to work with our universities and local leaders to restore this incredible area. I'm looking forward to seeing what they achieve. The work is going to be significant, and it will create fabulous opportunities to incorporate traditional land management practices together with modern science. Calare Electorate: Australia Day Honours and Awards 87 16:06 Mr GEE 261393 Calare Right around the Central West of New South Wales, Australia Day celebrations were held with great pride. While I couldn't get to every Australia Day event in the Calare electorate, I attended celebrations in Oberon, Blayney, Bathurst and Portland before finishing the day in Yeoval. Across Calare, three extraordinary Australians were recognised with Medals of the Order of Australia. Our warmest congratulations to Millthorpe's John Mason OAM, Gulgong's Beryl Hayley OAM—who, at 98 years young, is the oldest recipient in this year's general division—and the family of the late Yvonne 'Toot' Keegan OAM of Orange. They've made remarkable contributions to our communities and nation. I also wish to acknowledge and thank all of our local Australia Day award winners and nominees. In Orange, Citizen of the Year went to the great Chris Colvin and Young Citizen of the Year to Anabelle van Wyk. Orange Running Festival received Community Event of the Year, and the Community Group of the Year is Blue MOTO. The Environmental Citizen of the Year is Neil Jones, and the Local Legend award went to Merrilyn Mendham. In Wellington, Citizen of the Year went to Peter Lewsam, Senior Citizen of the Year was awarded to Marion Trounce, the Young Citizen of the Year is Mason Hill, and Young Sportsperson of the year went to Maddy O'Brien. The Services to Sport award went to Rod Pedron, and Community Event of the Year went to Wellington Amateur Theatrical Society for The Last Noel. In Mudgee, well done to Citizen of the Year Carol Jones, Young Citizen of the Year Grace Pearce, Community Event of the Year Mudgee Lions Eye Health Program for children, recipient of the Glen Johnston Memorial Award (Music and Arts) Tyrolin Puxty, Sports Award recipient Chelsea Mottershead and Volunteer Services Award recipient Lorraine Stewart. Congratulations also to Wall of Reflections inductee David Lester. In Blayney, Citizen of the Year was awarded to Maree Farr, Young Citizen of the Year went to Sophie Bannerman, Sporting Achievement Awards went to Jim Jeffery and Emma Grey, and the Volunteer of the Year is Deirdre Molloy. Community Event of the Year went to Newbridge Winter Solstice Festival, and Appreciation Award recipients were Kevin Radburn, Lyndall Harrison and Jan Dickie. In Bathurst, well done to Citizen of the Year Karla McDiarmid, Living Legends Garth Dean, Paul Hennessy, Nola Ryan and Carol Smith, Youth Arts Award winner Paris Masters, Community Event of the Year Bathurst Gardeners Club Spring Spectacular, Destination Event 155th Royal Bathurst Show, Hall of Fame Event Mount Panorama Punish, New Event of the Year Natural Capital: Trees as an Alternative Crop conference, Joe Ross Memorial Award recipient Bernadette Wood and National Trust Award recipients the Bathurst Sisters of Mercy. In Manildra, Citizen of the Year went to David Press, the Young Citizen of the Year is Claire Miller, and Community Group of the Year went to Manildra Swimming Club. Congratulations to all of our local Australia Day award winners and all of the nominees. While time doesn't permit me to mention all of them today, I will honour them in a further speech to this House. They all make an invaluable contribution to our region and nation, and we are very grateful to them all. Education, Aston Electorate: Lunar New Year, Medicare: 41st Anniversary 87 16:09 Ms DOYLE 299962 Aston It's a privilege to be back here in Canberra for the start of a new sitting year. Over the break I have had the great pleasure of being out in the community, hearing from any of my constituents about what is important to them. I love chatting with people on the street or in the local shopping centres, and I learn so much from them. Last week it was wonderful to host both our Prime Minister and the Victorian Premier, the Hon. Jacinta Allan, at Boronia Heights Primary School, where they signed the historic Better and Fairer Schools Agreement along with federal and Victorian education ministers. This agreement is a monumental step forward for Victorian education and will put all Victorian public schools on a path to full and fair funding, delivering an additional $2.5 billion of Commonwealth funding over the next 10 years. By investing in Victorian public schools, we are helping them to succeed, meaning teachers and principals like Mat Anderton, and his team at Boronia Heights Primary, can continue their fantastic work in giving kids the best start in life. This is a shining example of how Labor governments work together to build Australia's future. On Saturday I was also thrilled to attend the Lunar New Year Festival with the Prime Minister in Box Hill. The celebration provided a wonderful opportunity to bring in the year of the snake with great food and fun. I got the chance to say hello to some Aston locals there and hear about how they are celebrating the new year. I give special thanks to the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse and their fantastic president, Bihong Wang, who led the celebrations so excellently. Finally, continuing in the spirit of those celebrations, last weekend was the celebration of the 41st birthday of a great Labor initiative: Medicare. Medicare has provided assistance to millions of Australians over its 41-year history. I am so proud to be part of a government that is continuing to deliver for Australians through our investments in Medicare, like the 87 urgent care clinics across this country—one of which is located in our very own Bayswater. I've been talking to locals a lot lately about our urgent care clinic in Bayswater, and my constituents absolutely love this initiative by our federal government. They can see how we're helping to ease the pressure on public hospital emergency rooms. People absolutely love this, and when I tell them about it they respond so well to it. They can see how we are really assisting people. Victoria State Election, Western Australia State Election, Albanese Government 88 16:12 Mr CHESTER IPZ Gippsland Smalltown Australia needs bigger voices than ever before, and in Bendigo we have Andrew Lethlean, who is fighting for a fair go for his community after years of neglect by the Albanese Labor government. Andrew Lethlean is not a career politician. He is a small-businessman who has worked hard and created jobs in his community. We have 100 days to make history in Bendigo by getting rid of a bad Labor government in its first term and electing a genuine local champion. Andrew Lethlean will bring common sense to Canberra. Andrew Lethlean has the passion, experience and determination to deliver for families in Bendigo, Castlemaine, Rochester, Kyneton and Heathcote. Andrew Lethlean will help to get Australia back on track. I am backing Andrew Lethlean in Bendigo because you can trust him to stand up for his community on every issue. It's time for change in the seat of Bendigo. I have met some amazing Australians during my time in parliament. One of them is Mia Davies, a true local champion from Western Australia. Mia Davies is an exceptional state member of parliament and former Leader of the Nationals in Western Australia who wants to come to Canberra and make a difference for her home state. Mia Davies has the experience, the passion and the determination to deliver for her community in the new seat of Bullwinkel. What better than for an intelligent and talented woman to be the first person to hold the seat named in honour of one of the greatest Australians of all time, Vivian Bullwinkel. A vote for Mia Davies is a vote for common sense and for giving Western Australia the strongest possible voice here in Canberra. There's only one thing that regional Australians fear more than a second term of an Albanese-Marles government, and that is a first term of an Albanese-Bandt government backed by the city-focused Teal party. Regional Australians have every right to be worried about the prospect of Prime Minister Albanese doing a deal with the Greens and the teal party after the next election. The Labor-Greens-teals trifecta would be a disaster for our families, our farmers, our miners and people who work in the timber industry and in our fisheries. It would be a disaster for small and family owned businesses as well. Regional Australians are worse off under the Albanese government, and the next election is our chance to get our country back on track. Shortland Electorate: Health Care 88 16:15 Mr CONROY 249127 Shortland I'm pleased to provide an update on how the Albanese government is improving the health outcomes of people in my community. One of the biggest challenges people in my region face, which is linked to cost of living, is access to affordable health care. Labor was elected after almost a decade of cuts and neglect from Liberal governments, when the opposition leader was voted by Australian doctors themselves as the worst health minister in 40 years. When in government, the opposition leader froze Medicare rebates for six years, which reduced bulk-billing rates, and he tried to cut $50 billion from hospital funding. He also tried to introduce a tax to see your GP and cut Medicare funding. The coalition slashed funding for the Hunter's much loved and crucial GP after-hours services at Belmont Hospital and John Hunter Hospital, forcing more patients into already overstretched emergency departments. They also banned overseas trained doctors and Australian doctors who studied on a government scholarship from practising in Lake Macquarie and on the Central Coast. All this can't be fixed overnight, but the Albanese government has made important progress addressing the local health crisis over the last few years. We've restored $28 million in funding for GP access after hours, saving the service and cementing its future. We've reversed the ban preventing overseas trained and Commonwealth bonded doctors from practising in our area. More medical practitioners have registered to practice in the Australian health system over the last two years than at any time over the last decade, and the number of junior doctors choosing to go into general practice is growing. We've tripled the bulk-billing incentive, which has stopped the freefall in our bulk-billing rates. Despite strong opposition from the Liberal Party, we've also opened Medicare urgent care clinics, including one at Lake Haven and, most recently, one at Charlestown. The Charlestown Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is open seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm and provides free walk-in care for patients with urgent but non-life-threatening conditions like minor cuts, burns, sprains and broken bones. The feedback on this clinic from my community has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's already seen over 2½ thousand patients since late November. It's so popular that we're expanding its hours to 10 pm permanently from late February. When it comes to affordable and accessible health care in the Hunter and Central Coast, I'm proud of the progress that has been made under the Albanese government, but this is all at threat if the Liberals return to power. They've promised to cut almost $350 billion in government spending to pay for their $600 billion nuclear fantasy, which includes the Medicare and urgent care clinics. To the people of Shortland, let's be clear, if Peter Dutton is elected, those Medicare urgent care clinics are gone. They're abolished—a loss of vital services for our community. Banks Electorate: Community Services 89 16:18 Mr COLEMAN 241067 Banks Milperra Lions Soccer Club was formed back in 1958, and, during that time, it has become an absolutely essential part of the Milperra community. It was great to meet at the clubhouse recently with their president, Brad Tonks; Billy Peters; Sean Barnes; Helen Lansley; and Daniela Morrison, amongst others, and really talk about the aspirations of the club. There are a couple of important issues. Gordon Parker Reserve has major problems with drainage where water pools on the field. It doesn't go away and that needs to be fixed. They also need waterproofing for the clubhouse itself. So there are a couple of really important issues that need to be addressed for the Milperra Lions Soccer Club, and I'm very determined to assist the club with those. I thank the club for taking the time for those meetings. Anne Farah Hill is the incredibly energetic CEO of Kingsgrove Community Aid Centre. She's been in the job for quite a while. She does a fantastic job, and right now there's a big issue at the Kingsgrove Community Aid Centre where the bocce court for the Italian seniors group, which was put there recently by the council, basically doesn't work for the game because it is overgrown. It is not a smooth surface, and it makes it very difficult to play bocce, which is the whole purpose of the court being put there in the first place. Georges River Council needs to actually step up and fix this. It's good that the council took action to put the bocce court there, but they now need to make sure it is actually playable. The council needs to step forward on that. Recently, St Mark's Anglican Church in South Hurstville merged with Blakehurst Anglican Church. They are both very proud and longstanding religious communities in my electorate. It was good to speak recently with the minister, Ross Ryan, to hear about his plans for the new merged church. St Mark's, which has always been in my electorate, has had a very active role in terms of the community groups that run from the church; the Anzac Day service, which is run every year; the childcare centre, which is run from St Mark's; and so many other things that the church is involved in. It was great to meet with Minister Ryan, and I look forward to seeing that merger continue in the future. Kogarah Historical Society meets at Carss Park, in a new part of my electorate. It was great to recently meet with the president, Gill Whan, and many other members of the society. There's an incredibly rich and proud history at Carss Park, and the cottage has been preserved largely just as it was back in the 19th century. It was great to learn about that, to see all the artefacts at the museum and to talk to those fantastic volunteers at the Kogarah Historical Society. Liberal-National Coalition 89 16:21 Mrs ELLIOT DZW Richmond I rise today to point out the risk that the opposition leader and the Liberals and Nationals pose to my electorate on the New South Wales North Coast and, indeed, right throughout the nation. The fact is, if they are elected, people will be worse off. Australians know that; people in my region know that and tell me that every day. Households will be approximately $7,200 worse off. That's the impact of their policies. We know this. How do we know it, people might ask? We know it because they've opposed every single cost-of-living measure we have put forward—every single one of them. People are doing it tough, and that's why we have those cost-of-living measures in place, but they're completely opposed to them. But we do know what they want to do. They want to spend $10 billion worth of taxpayers' money for bosses to have long lunches. They're fine with that but not with helping out Australians who are struggling. We do know there will be massive amounts of cuts. In fact, there will be $350 billion in cuts. Where will they be? They just won't tell us. Will there be cuts to Medicare? Will there be cuts to age pensions? Will there be cuts to bulk-billing? Will there be cuts across the board? People don't know, and they're quite terrified about the risk that they pose. Let's have a look in more detail at some of those cost-of-living measures that the Liberals and Nationals oppose. There are the tax cuts for every taxpayer. In my area, 71,000 people have benefitted from them. The average tax cut is around $1,500. They opposed it. There's the $300 energy bill relief. They opposed it, and people needed to have that. There are cheaper medicines and cheaper child care. The Liberals and Nationals opposed them. What about fee-free TAFE, which has been a game changer for 5,000 people in my region? They opposed it. They also opposed really important pay rises for aged-care workers and childcare workers. We know they've opposed all of those, and that's why we know people will be worse off under the Liberals and Nationals. That is, in fact, a fact. Let's have a look at the opposition leader's record when he was the health minister. It's a pretty shambolic record. He went ahead and froze Medicare rebates. Of course, he really wanted to have that GP tax in place as well. He cut $50 billion from public hospitals. And, in fact, the opposition leader said that there were too many free Medicare services. That's what the Liberals and Nationals think of Medicare. After a decade of cuts and neglect, we've worked really hard to repair Medicare. We know that all these cuts will be there, but we won't hear about any of them until after the election. They won't tell us, but we know there's $350 billion in cuts. There's a really clear choice at the next election, and that's a choice between building Australia's future with the Albanese Labor government or taking Australia backwards with the Liberals and Nationals. The fact is, it's only a vote for Labor that can stop the opposition leader from becoming Prime Minister and stop the Liberals and Nationals from getting into power. They will take us backwards, and people will be worse off. Labor Government, Regional Australia: Infrastructure 90 16:24 Mr CONAGHAN 279991 Cowper We've just endured an hour and a half of this hapless, hopeless Prime Minister and his merry bunch of men and women telling us how lucky we are to have suffered them for the past three years, how good Australia has had it, how you've never been better off and how he's the only person for the job. Well, you're taking Australians to be mugs. They're not silly. They know they're not better off. You know they're not better off. So let's talk about some facts in relation to the past three years, particularly in relation to the regions and a few examples from my electorate of Cowper. Firstly, we had a 90-day review by Minister King, which ended up being a 200-day review of infrastructure projects that ripped $23 billion out of infrastructure projects in the regions. Labor doesn't extend past cities. They don't know what regions are, they don't know who regional people are and they don't care about regional people or regional areas. Out of that $26 billion in my electorate, $5 million was going to go towards a veterans centre. Labor took that and put it into Richmond, which has half the number of veterans. I have 9,000 veterans in my electorate. They took the funding—it was completely political—and lobbed it straight into Richmond. I am happy for the veterans in Richmond. You deserve a centre. But let's be real. Let's put this above politics. The second thing they did was took away $17 million from Southern Cross University for stage 2 of the health campus. They want jobs, yet they take away funding for education in the regions and not just for education but for health. You can't get appointments with a physiotherapist for weeks, you can't get an occupational therapist and you can't get a speech therapist. What do they do? They take the funding away. Then there's $5 million of funding for Wrights Road. If you live in Port Macquarie, you know how bad the congestion is on Wrights Road. I get people emailing me telling me, 'I have sold my house because I can't live there anymore.' There was $5 million for the feasibility study. Labor doesn't care about you. Labor doesn't care about the regions. Get rid of them at the next election. Sri Lanka, Perera, Mr Jude 90 16:27 Ms FERNANDO 299964 Holt Seventy-seven years ago today, the country of my birth, Sri Lanka, gained its independence from Britain. It was a moment of great pride for Sri Lankans, marking the end of more than four centuries of colonisation by European powers: first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and, finally, the British. For many, independence was the start of a new chapter filled with hope and ambition. Like any nation, Sri Lanka has faced challenges along the way, but one thing that has remained constant is its deep and enduring friendship with Australia. That friendship is reflected in the Sri Lankan Australian community, which I am so proud to be a part of. Today, more than 145,000 people of Sri Lankan heritage call Australia home. We have built our lives here, contributed to our communities and embraced the opportunities that our new home has given us. As chair of the parliamentary friends of Sri Lanka, I am committed to fostering even stronger ties between our two nations. Happy Independence Day! I'm honoured to stand here as the first Sri Lankan born member of the federal parliament, but I am not the first Sri Lankan born member of any lower house in Australia. That was Jude Perera, who was elected as the member for Cranbourne in 2022. Six months ago, we lost Jude, and I want to reflect on his legacy. For 16 years Jude dedicated himself to representing the people of Cranbourne in the Victorian parliament. He was a tireless advocate, a leader in our community and an inspiration to so many, including me. When Jude was elected, there were very few people who looked like us in any parliament across Australia and none in this House. He paved the way for people like me to follow, breaking barriers and showing our community that multicultural Australians belong in the rooms where decisions are made. Jude was more than just a political role model. He was a dear friend and a mentor. His loss is deeply felt, but his impact will continue to be seen in the legacy he left behind. He will always be missed. Rest in eternal peace, Jude. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 144732 In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded. BUSINESS 91 BUSINESS Rearrangement 91 16:30 Ms DOYLE 299962 Aston I move: That government business orders of the day Nos 1 and 2 be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to. BILLS 91 BILLS Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Bill 2024 91

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Bill 2024

Second Reading 91 16:36 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton Happy new year to you, Deputy Speaker Payne. I rise in support of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Energy Regulator Separation) Bill 2024. This bill resolves some longstanding issues with the current governance arrangements for energy regulation in Australia. It responds to the needs of the rapidly changing Australian energy market and also positions the sector for the future. The Australian Energy Regulator, or AER, has been in operation for nearly 20 years. It is one of the three major market bodies that oversee national electricity and gas markets in Australia. The Australian Energy Market Commission develops the rules for market operation, the Australian Energy Market Operator controls the day-to-day operations of those markets and the AER has the role of monitoring compliance with the regulations and performance. Each agency supports the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council to develop and support Australian energy policy, with the basic understanding being that markets create the lowest prices. The AER regulates electricity networks and gas pipelines in all states and territories excluding WA. This translates to around 800,000 kilometres of overhead electricity lines and underground cables, servicing about 11 million customers. The gas pipelines are over 73,000 kilometres long and provide gas for more than 4.3 million customers. The key role of the AER is to set the maximum amount of revenue that electricity and gas providers can earn. The AER's decision-making process evaluates the projected demand for electricity and natural gas, the age of the infrastructure, the operating and financial costs and the reliability of the network, including its safety standards. The AER regulates the wholesale gas and electricity markets, where prices are set by matching supply with real-time demand. When I say real-time demand, I mean that you can actually just go on the webpage and see how the spot prices are changing second by second. The AER monitors the elements of this process, including network constraints and outages, demand forecasts, production forecasts, and market dispatch and prices. The other important role the AER has is to help customers make informed choices about which provider supplies their energy. They protect consumers from prices that are too high and approve customer hardship policies amongst other safeguards so that people aren't sitting in the dark or the cold. As the AER states: Consumers are at the heart of everything we do. The AER works to ensure energy consumers have access to a reliable and secure market and that they pay no more than necessary for energy to their homes and businesses. Deputy Speaker, you can see the AER has a comprehensive and wide-ranging mandate. It was established nearly 20 years ago under the umbrella of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Its initial budget way back in 2004-05 was $6.5 million. In 2023-24, the budget grew to over $95.6 million. The organisation has seen a rapid growth in the number of employees as well. When it began, there were 15 staff; it now has approximately 400 employees. It's been acknowledged for some time that, due to both the wide-ranging remit of AER and its growth, the current governance structure is not fit for purpose. This bill before the chamber, therefore, establishes the AER as a standalone Commonwealth entity separate from the ACCC. The reforms will give the AER authoritative control over both its funding and its employees. Currently the chair of the ACCC is technically responsible for leading, governing and setting the strategic direction of the entity of which the AER is a part. However, the AER's independent board retains ultimate accountability for these factors. Obviously this is a clear disconnect between authority and responsibility. The bill amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It establishes the AER as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, so the AER board will become the accountable authority of the body. The AER chair will become the head of the agency to align with the Public Service Act 1999, implementing these arrangements for the 400 employees. This bill also establishes the ACCC enterprise agreement for the new AER entity. This bill does not alter the remit of the AER, which I outlined at the start of this speech. The changes have the support of the 2020 review of the Energy Security Board. They were driven by consultation over many years with the Treasury, the Department of Finance, the Australian Public Service Commission, the ACCC, energy ministers from the states and territories and the AER itself. The necessary approval to amend the Competition and Consumer Act was granted by state and territory energy ministers way back in May 2023. The implementation of the bill recognises the need to maintain the independence of the AER. Consequently, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy will not have ministerial powers over the AER. The minimalistic approach to this separation guarantees that the ACCC and its constitution are not affected. Both entities will continue to benefit from the information-sharing arrangement currently in place. Importantly, staff will not be disadvantaged in any way by the reform. The AER will transfer all existing staff and be able to employ its own staff moving forward. There are numerous benefits to these reforms. Primarily, it sets the AER up to be more agile in the face of a changing energy landscape. It makes decision-making and governance more streamlined, eliminating duplicate decision-making, and it removes the dual ministerial responsibility for the AER's activities. Currently the Minister for Climate Change and Energy has portfolio responsibility for the AER and the Treasurer has responsibility under finance law that pertains to the ACCC. Finally, it removes the governance risk that currently exists. It will end the governance of AER employees by the ACCC so that the AER becomes independently responsible both for its strategic direction and for its employees, as I previously mentioned. The need for this is reflected in the AER's Strategic plan 2020-2025. This plan recognises the importance of organisational culture with a focus on achievement and innovation. The AER board will be able to drive their cultural goals more effectively, as their employees will no longer be embedded in the ACCC. The reforms in this bill have been backed by stakeholders and experts for some time. There have been a number of public reviews recommending an autonomous AER. In 2015 the review of governance arrangements for Australian energy markets recommended establishing the AER as a standalone body. This was then reinforced in 2017 in the Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market. This bill enables the AER to respond quickly to changing consumer energy demands and to independently continue its critical role in ensuring affordability for Australian consumers. As our nation moves forward towards net zero, it is vital that energy market governance is clear and the AER is able to fulfil its purpose to ensure energy consumers are better off now and into the future. I commend the bill to the House. 16:44 Ms LE 295676 Fowler Once again, I stand up in this House to speak out about energy. As we know, it's not money that makes the world go round; it's energy. Energy is a critical resource to our society and economy. Without it, we are doomed. It has been explained to me by industry experts that, in the energy system—electricity and gas—the Australian Energy Regulator is supposed to be the cop. The AEMC, the Australian Energy Market Commission, makes the rules; the AEMO, the Australian Energy Market Operator, and the electricity networks are supposed to implement the rules; and the AER is supposed to use its powers to enforce the rules. So it's a very complex network of organisations, institutions and agencies that manage our energy market. The AER was called a 'partially effective regulator' by the National Audit Office in 2020. In particular, the ANAO determined that: Performance reporting arrangements have not enabled the AER to demonstrate it is meeting its purposes, such as promoting the efficient operation of energy services for the long-term interests of energy consumers with respect to price, quality, reliability and security. These words are special because they directly reference the National Electricity Objective, the NEO, which is the most important text in the electricity system. The National Energy Objectives are meant to guide all regulation. The AER is supposed to make decisions and take action to make the NEO happen. It doesn't, for lots of reasons. The enforcer of the rules has not been enforcing the rules, so the NEO isn't being delivered and prices keep going up more than they should. Maybe one of the reasons is that it is underresourced. It has said that to many people for a long time, so maybe this extra resourcing will fix that—maybe. It depends on what the AER does with this extra money. The AER will be given $100 million, up from $6 million, and an increase in staffing numbers from 15 to 400 employees. That's a lot of money and a lot of people. So what is the plan to be a better enforcer of rules and a better promoter of the National Energy Objectives? Does the plan pass the sniff test? Will the government explain why they think an increase in funding and staffing can help lower electricity prices? Will the plan work? Who is keeping them accountable for the implementation of the plan? How is the effectiveness being measured? When will we see results? In particular, how are they going to make AEMO, the networks and the big retailers—Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia—better deliver the National Energy Objectives? This is where the big money is going, with every dollar of it from consumers. Politically, the networks are ascendant right now. Their industry organisation, Energy Networks Australia, has lobbied the government very hard and is getting away with more and more consumer dollars through government policy—Rewiring the Nation, community batteries, ring-fencing waivers and the current AER consideration of gifting the DNSPs money to install behind-the-meter batteries, which I'm happy to present information on—and also through their regulated return processes. AEMO is also running amok, with their budget ballooning from $310 million pre COVID to $740 million now. That's more than two times as high—crazy! Regulation is a matter of utmost importance to the people of Fowler and all Australians due to its impact on efficient energy markets and the urgent need to tackle rising energy costs. This issue cuts across every household and business in our country, and the current chaotic system demands immediate action. As the minister stated, the intention of this bill is to amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to separate the Australian Energy Regulator from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and establish it as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity with operational control over its staff, resources and governance arrangements. Right now, energy pricing feels like a lottery. On Monday the price might be low, by Wednesday afternoon it's sky-high and by Thursday lunchtime it's in the negatives. This unpredictability is not just inefficient; it's unsustainable. How can families and small businesses budget and how can manufacturers plan when our energy market operates in such chaos? The lack of stability is costing Australians dearly. The government has so far announced $50 billion to get clean energy technologies into the market, but, for the most part, it can't get them out the door. There are all these announcements, big headline announcements, that the government has made, and this ignores whatever portion of the $230 billion Future Fund will go into renewables. I'm sure I'm missing other funding announcements as well. Why not prioritise giving to consumers, houses and small businesses to adopt, host, trial et cetera new clean energy technology? Everyone wants lower bills. They are struggling at this very moment, as we speak. People are telling me that their energy bills have increased dramatically—not only that but insurance bills, rent bills, grocery bills. Everybody is telling me that, especially in Fowler—I don't know about other electorates—and in Western Sydney. We need to get things right. The nice thing about clean energy technology is that the stuff that is proven to work—solar, batteries, cars, heat pumps—can be spread out, and it makes coal and gas mines less profitable and, hence, less likely to proceed. Since my election I have repeatedly asked the government what it plans to do to bring down electricity prices and create certainty for consumers. I asked the government in August last year what fundamental changes it would make to the energy pricing mechanism and the broken electricity market. I'm glad to see they have now announced an energy expert panel to study the situation and recommend reforms, but we need actions now. I hope that, in setting this independent body up, working Australians will see their energy prices decrease. Debate adjourned. Sitting suspended from 16:52 to 17:04 Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 94

Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

Second Reading 94 17:04 Mr PERRETT HVP Moreton It is a core Labor belief that it is completely unacceptable to target someone because of who they are or what they believe. This hate crimes bill builds on this foundation. It demonstrates the Albanese Labor government's steadfast commitment to protecting Australians from vile and damaging hate crimes and the activities and speeches that incite such violence. Hate crimes are those that are motivated by hate or prejudice against a person or group because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, nationality, ethnic origin or political opinion. The Australian Hate Crime Network explains: Hate crime erodes people's sense of safety. It sends a message to targeted communities, and individuals, that they are not welcome. Hate crime undermines equality, diversity, human rights, and social cohesion. Sadly, we don't have to look too far for recent examples of cowardly hate crimes in Australia. There is an increasing prevalence of hate crimes at our war memorials, synagogues and mosques; many have been vandalised. Women wearing the hijab have been abused in the street, while men wearing the yarmulke have been assaulted. Members of the LGBTIQA+ community have been vilified for their differences. Thankfully, it is a very small minority of Australians who foster hatred or extremism and participate in such despicable crimes. The vast majority of us both believe in, and celebrate, our modern, multicultural and multifaith society. However, we must continue to stand firm against those elements that seek to create and exploit divisions in our communities. We must continue to combat the rise of extremist viewpoints which can lead to hate crimes. The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill does just that by strengthening existing offences and creating new criminal offences. It sets out in black and white that inciting violence is a crime and that it will lead to serious criminal penalties. The new offences will carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. A higher maximum penalty of seven years in jail is applied when the threat to use force or violence, if acted upon, would directly threaten the operation of the Commonwealth government or peace and order. The strengthened existing offences in this bill refer to sections 80.2A and 80.2B of the Criminal Code, which concern the urging of the use of force. The current requirement for an offence is that the person urging violence must intend for violence to occur. This reform makes it an offence if the person is reckless about whether violence would result from their activities. Section 80.3 includes a provision to apply the defence of good faith to this offence. This bill removes that defence. Inciting violence can never be done in good faith. I repeat: inciting violence can never be done in good faith. The bill also extends the list of protected attributes. Earlier I gave a list of the potential targets of hate crime. This bill extends protection to people who may be targeted for their disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. The bill further strengthens the response to the public display of prohibited hate symbols and corrects a gap in the legislation. The provisions make it a crime to publicly display, or make, the Nazi gesture to all persons and groups distinguished by sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. This adds to those who are currently protected due to being distinguished by race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion or national origin. This amendment reflects the power of these hate symbols to offend, intimidate, insult and humiliate. It also matches existing civil protections in the Sex Discrimination Act and meets Australia's international human rights requirements. As well as strengthening the Criminal Code, the bill creates a new criminal offence for threatening the use of force or violence against a person or group that is distinguished by their race, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, disability, national or ethnic origin or political opinion. This includes a direct threat from one person to another. This bill is not intended to criminalise public debate or stymie free speech. Free speech is a foundational belief and a vital part of being a democracy. We all need to feel seen and heard about the issues that matter to us. Sometimes those views may be unpleasant and contrary to our own beliefs, but shutting down free speech is not what this bill is about. This bill focuses firmly on dangerous and hateful speech and actions that step further and become threatening, or that urge or incite violence against a person, a group or wider society. This legislation is crucial to protecting the Australian community from violence, discrimination and hatred, and by 'community', I mean, of course, our vibrant and diverse multicultural society—that modern Australia that we all know and love. As the member for Moreton for the past 18 years, I've seen how successful a multicultural community can be. Moreton is enriched by many different cultures, languages, ethnicities and religions. That harmony will always take work and understanding and compassion and respect, to maintain the cohesion we currently have. Social cohesion faces challenges from a variety of sources. We have seen how conflicts overseas adversely impact communities here in Australia. Sadly, antisemitism, Islamophobia and the targeting of our First Nations people are all on the rise. This legislation comes at a crucial time—a time when our community leaders and, indeed, all Australians must demonstrate their commitment to tolerance for all people and groups in our community. We must continue to engage with each other and we must continue to uphold our values of respect and inclusion. Attorney-General Dreyfus said something similar: Tolerance lies at the heart of our Australian multiculturalism. It is a vital democratic value … tolerance of different cultural and religious values and … political positions—produces inclusiveness and not division. It enables harmonious communities and peaceful political debate. I commend my good friend the Attorney-General and his team on the extensive consultation they took regarding this vital change to the Criminal Code. Stakeholder consultation included religious groups, disability advocates, gender equality and LGBTQIA+ groups, ethnic communities and media representatives, to name just a few. Consultation also included the states and territories, the justice departments and the police forces. Given the gravity of the subject matter, Commonwealth agencies such as the AFP, ASIO, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner were all consulted. The measures in this bill will directly support law enforcement agencies in time-critical management of hate crime threats. It will enhance their ability to intervene before an act of violence has occurred and better support them to disrupt and investigate such threats. All this adds up to increased protection for Australians. This bill, this hate crime legislation, builds upon the landmark steps already taken by this Labor government to protect Australians from hate symbols and salutes—and I will touch on some of the things that the Albanese government has done—including Nazi symbols and those of terrorist organisations. When that legislation was introduced, I said hate symbols were being used as beacons to influence and to spread hate. This bill ensures that those who use that foundation of hatred to threaten violence will face serious criminal consequences. As the Attorney-General said: 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. I'm proud that the Labor government's record in shutting down hate crime and hateful symbols is now being made public. This bill makes it clear to all Australians that threatening violence against individuals with protected attributes is now a serious crime. It also makes it clear that there is no place here for people seeking to divide the Australian community with threats of violence based on who you are or what they believe. Labor will always protect all Australians and ensure they can live freely and without fear. I commend the bill to the House. 17:13 Mr LEESER 109556 Berowra It's an honour to follow my friend the member for Moreton on this bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024, a bill that the opposition is supporting. It provides me with an opportunity, in commencing, to acknowledge the member for Moreton's service and our very great friendship, despite our disagreements on some quite fundamental things over the years. The member for Moreton is a very fine man, and I hope he has a wonderful retirement with his family. I look forward to the next instalment of his writings and so on! I've very much enjoyed the opportunity to serve with him. I want to provide a bit of context for why this bill is important at this particular time. This week I did something extraordinary that I've never done before, and it indicates where we are as a society; I sent an open letter to the Jewish students of Australia as they returned to school. I did that because the level of hate against Jewish Australians is something we've never experienced in this country before, and it is a sad feature of this country. The public discussion about these things would have had a particular effect on the Jewish school students of Australia. So I wrote to them that often you would be returning to school perhaps feeling a bit anxious, nervous and excited, as you would at the beginning of any school year, but this year, because of the discussion your parents may have been having at home, the things you have seen on television and, if you are in a Jewish school, some of the things you would have seen, like increased security presence, you may feel extra anxious. If a child is not at a Jewish school, they may be feeling well accepted and supported, and others will be feeling alone and isolated. I wanted to tell them, importantly, that it's going to be okay and that people in positions of leadership like me are working hard to make sure that they're safe and that the community is protected. Importantly, I said to them that, at this time of increasing hate, you can't let the haters win. This is an important time to stand proud, remember the beauty of the Jewish tradition and never be a bystander. If there are bullies or bad people, stand up against them, and, if things get tough, remember you're not alone. Parents, teachers, grandparents and even great-grandparents are people they can lean on. I concluded with these important words. I said: 'You're precious to your family, you're precious to our community, and you're precious to our country. We're counting on you to play your part, do your best, have fun and be proud of who you are. I wish you a year of great learning, wonderful friendships and countless opportunities. Australia needs you, and I know you'll make us proud. Go well.' The fact that any student in Australia today is going back to school in an atmosphere where there are lots of hate symbols in our community and attacks on their schools underscores, in my view, the need for this bill. This is a bill that, once passed, can touch on some of the most fundamental principles that our society stands for: the protection of individual freedoms, the promotion of social cohesion and the responsibility of government to provide the necessary boundaries that safeguard our community from harm. Hate speech, hate crimes and acts of violence motivated by prejudice are abhorrent. They strike at the very heart of our shared values of respect, of dignity and of equality. They divide our communities, they foster fear and they undermine the very fabric of our multicultural society. As a nation, we must be united against hatred in any form. This bill seeks to strengthen our legal framework to address these challenges, proposing to expand the definition of hate crimes, increase penalties for offences motivated by hatred and introduce new provisions to better protect vulnerable communities. These are very fine and laudable objectives. While I welcome the government bringing this bill forward, coming in the last sitting fortnight, it does epitomise, sadly, this government's failure to prevent the spread of antisemitism in our country and to treat this very serious issue with the priority it deserves. Since 7 October 2023, the Jewish community has been repeatedly attacked. Homes, cars, family businesses, synagogues and childcare centres have all been attacked. Whether these instances are of the graffiti of someone's property, the firebombing of a childcare centre or an arson attack on a synagogue, the community look to their leaders, the federal government and the Prime Minister for support. Sadly, every time the Jewish community has looked to this Prime Minister and his government for leadership, there has been a void. For months, we've had the Prime Minister and his ministers failing to acknowledge antisemitism without mentioning Islamophobia in the same breath to offset the other, just as the Teals can't mention antisemitism without mentioning hatred against LGBTI Australians, as if standing up to acknowledge Jewish Australians' experience of antisemitism would somehow diminish the experience of Muslim Australians or LGBTI Australians. Hatred against Muslim Australians or LGBTI Australians is bad and needs to be called out. But, at a time when the perpetrators of antisemitism are running rampant across our country, when it's resulting in armed guards outside Jewish schools and helicopters over Jewish suburbs at night-time because the security and safety of the community is so fragile, it is appropriate for the government and everyone in leadership to stand up and focus solely on the problems of antisemitism. Instead, unfortunately, this government has failed to support the Jewish community adequately. Small, family-owned businesses have been defaced with antisemitic slurs, cars have been torched, a preschool was firebombed in Maroubra, and, of course, there was the dreadful firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Antisemitic displays have been left unprosecuted. Universities were permitted to be used as encampments that served as a hotbed of antisemitic action, with weekly protests with clear antisemitic sentiment just allowed to carry on. Just last week it came to light that a possible terror attack was averted—and we should all be thankful that it was averted—with a caravan of explosives found in Dural in my electorate of Berowra. The need for stronger protections against hate crimes could not be clearer. What Australians are seeing today is an increasing indifference to the current penalties that apply to people who commit these abhorrent crimes. We saw this in protests that occurred last year. People were just thumbing their nose at the law. Criminals currently have a level of confidence that they can commit these acts without any serious repercussions. While the government has been floundering domestically, we've also seemed to abandon Israel on the international stage, further fuelling active antisemitism at home. In the wake of October 7, the instinct of this Labor government was not to stand with Israel, which had been the target of this horrific atrocity, but it was to call on Israel to exercise restraint. This was followed by a series of votes in the UN in which Australia, under the leadership of this Prime Minister, reversed what's been the longstanding bipartisan position on the State of Israel. The Albanese Labor government's soft, slow and contradictory response since October 7 worryingly let antisemitic sentiment fester in our community. It appears that this bill at least seeks to resolve some of the government's failures. This bill is an attempt to try and bring these matters on, albeit not as urgently as we in the coalition would have liked. The bill looks to modify existing offences particularly under division 80 of the Criminal Code. The existing provisions already make it an offence to urge violence on an individual or group on the basis of race or religion. For months, the coalition has been calling on the government to take action and prosecute those caught spouting antisemitic sentiments under this division of the Criminal Code. With the continued rise of antisemitism in Australia, we're at the point where we can no longer wait to test existing laws. We need these provisions to make it easier to prosecute people who try to spread hate in our community. In a sentence, that's what this bill is actually about. The changes will lower the threshold for prosecution for those who urge violence on individuals or groups and ensures that criminals can be held responsible for their actions. The bill also provides amendments so that, instead of intending that the violence occurs, it only needs to be proved that the person was reckless as to whether the violence would occur. This bill removes the good faith defence for those urging violence because we, like the government, believe no-one can urge violence in good faith. The current good faith defence provides redundant protections, and we think it is right that those protections should be removed. It's also important to note that this bill was first introduced in the last sitting week of September 2024. At that time, the coalition was ready to debate this bill, work to secure its passage and provide the additional security and safeguards that our community so desperately needed. Instead, like every opportunity the government has had to combat antisemitism, they didn't take it then. Instead, they sat back and chose not to act. There was no urgency from this government late last year to pass these laws. Since then, what have we seen? We've seen the continued firebombing and vandalisation of cars and businesses in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. We've seen the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne. We've seen the attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Newtown. We've seen, as I said, the discovery of the caravan filled with explosives in my electorate, not to mention the countless accounts of lower-level antisemitic attacks on Jewish Australians, who are just trying to go about their lives. The coalition is taking a constructive approach to this bill. While we support the bill, we believe it can go further, and the shadow minister for home affairs and the Leader of the Opposition have foreshadowed that we would be making some amendments to this bill. We want to make it a hate crime to urge violence towards a place of worship, punishable by five years, or seven years in the case of an aggravated offence. Perpetrators that engage in behaviour that incites fear need to be caught and deserve to face the full brunt of the law, and this is particularly so, we believe, when people are attacking a place of worship—a place of communal gathering, a place that is sacred to people. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a synagogue, a mosque, a church, a temple, a gurdwara, a mandi—all places deserve protection, and all places would get that specific protection under the enhanced amendments that are proposed by the coalition. We sincerely hope that the government will support the amendments that we've put forward, which have been put forward in good faith. The evidence is clear that those amendments are needed. This legislation alone is not enough to combat the attacks that the Jewish community is now facing. For some time now, the opposition has been calling on the government to introduce additional measures through a multifaceted, multi-agency approach. We are still waiting for this to occur. It was the beginning of January, following the arson attempt at the Newtown Synagogue and the graffiti that had occurred at the Allawah synagogue a few days beforehand, that I called for the urgent convening of National Cabinet to see the state and territory leaders and the federal government come together to ensure that a series of laws could be drafted to ensure there was a complete stop to the escalation of these incidents. My leader—Peter Dutton, the opposition leader—had been calling for National Cabinet for more than a year. What we saw out of National Cabinet was disappointing. We know, because he posted it on his social media account, that the Acting Tasmanian Premier, Guy Barnett, took stronger measures, tougher laws and harder penalties including mandatory minimum sentences to that National Cabinet meeting. But instead of that being the outcome of the National Cabinet meeting, all that came out of it was a database which, in some respects, mirrors the database that has been collected by the Jewish community for decades now. It was a very disappointing occasion. As with all Australians, the Jewish community deserve to go about their daily lives free of fear and discrimination. I'll continue to advocate in this parliament and elsewhere to see that occur. The fight against antisemitism and hate speech is not just a Jewish issue; it's an Australian issue. What has occurred particularly in recent weeks has been a test of our values. It's been a test of our commitment to diversity and a test of our resolve to stand up for what's right. The Jewish community has done what it has always done—shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity. They shouldn't have to battle this alone. It's the responsibility of all Australians to stand with the Jewish community and to speak out against this hatred as we speak out against hatred when we see it directed against other communities in our country. We must work together to build a society where everyone can live free from fear, one of President Roosevelt's famous four freedoms. While I support the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 as an important step in the fight against hate, including antisemitism, I will continue to call on the government to complement this legislation with a much more comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of hatred and antisemitism that we're seeing. Those items include the items that have been put forward by the shadow minister for home affairs and the Leader of the Opposition, including tougher penalties and mandatory minimum sentences for the commission of these hate crimes and the commission of terrorist offences. I know the usual arguments about mandatory sentencing and mandatory minimums. They usually apply when you're talking about people engaging in small crimes like shoplifting, but these are some of the worst crimes—terrorism and crimes motivated by hate. We cannot have a situation in this country where people are committing these crimes and then not doing jail time. There is no deterrence set. If it deters even one person, it will have been worthwhile. I also support and I'll also continue to encourage the government bringing forward not just the AFP Operation Avalite but the suite of federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies working with state government agencies to provide the most coordinated approach to dealing with these matters. Of course, we have seen the hatred on our campuses continuing, as we saw at the Queensland University of Technology in recent weeks, and as we've seen through some of the appalling performance of vice-chancellors before parliamentary committees in this place. The need for a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on campuses was necessary last year and remains necessary this year, and we will continue to pursue it. I hope the government will support our amendments to this legislation. I hope they will come on board and support some of those other measures. In this legislation, the parliament needs to stand together to send a clear message to those spreading hate and violence in our country that that has no place in Australia. 17:28 Mr KHALIL 101351 Wills I rise in strong support of the government's Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024. We are a nation, I think we can agree across the aisle here and across partisanship, that values diversity, inclusivity and respect, and one thing I've learnt as the Special Envoy for Social Cohesion is that it's not that complicated. Having a harmonious society comes down to ensuring that when people have differences and disagreements, sometimes vehement disagreements, they can navigate the difference peacefully and respectfully, which adds to the harmony and cohesion in our society. It doesn't mean we will never disagree or never have difference. It means we have the skill and the ability to engage with each other in a peaceful, respectful way and not let it cross over into hate speech or violence. How we interact with each other, as individuals and as members of organisations, groups and communities, is of critical importance. It's about how we do so in such a way that, despite what may be very deeply held disagreements, that interaction occurs peacefully and respectfully. Where it becomes a threat to our cohesion, to our harmony as a multi-ethnic, multifaith, pluralistic society, is when it crosses over into hate speech and vilification of others based on their identity—when violence and conflict are used to express views, rather than navigating disagreements in a peaceful way. We're debating an amendment bill that seeks to sanction some of this hate speech. It deals with the problem that is occurring and has been occurring. This also depends on people's willingness and ability to feel like they are part of a society, like they are part of a nation, with an investment in that society so that they make the commitment and take the responsibility to engage in a peaceful and respectful way and call out the hate speech and anyone that seeks to use violence or hate speech to express themselves. I think a sense of belonging, of being part of a community and part of a nation—part of Australia—is really important so that you can make that commitment as a citizen. The sense of Australianness, of who we are as a nation, is really important, but so is the sense of a shared humanity—understanding that, even if someone is from a completely different background than you, with completely different experiences, and you disagree with them wholeheartedly, down to your bones, you still have a shared humanity. The basic decency that comes into play there is being able to understand, or at least tolerate, others' perspectives without resorting to a form of violence or hate speech. That's a sense of basic decency. That's something that the law can't enforce. It's about who we are as people, it's about behaviour and morality, and it's about what Australians are like as people—the fair go that we always talk about. Thinking about how we say and do things, and why that matters when it comes to engaging with different people and different groups, is of critical importance, but we know, of course, that hate fuelled violence and discrimination remain a real threat. We're seeing the emergence of the vile hatred of antisemitism. The ancient scourge of antisemitism has been unleashed, and that's why this bill is important. We can't afford to be complacent while these hate crimes continue to increase. As previous speakers have noted, this legislative response is a very important marker. Putting in place this hate crimes legislation gives a very clear signal from the very top of the political leadership of this country, from this parliament, this place, that hate crimes are unacceptable, both legally and morally. That is what real leadership is about. Ensuring cohesion and harmony in our society requires us here in this place to take responsibility and take a firm stand against those who would seek to divide us through fear, hatred, anger and violence. I'm a member of the Labor Party. It's a party of government, and it has been the architect of the antidiscrimination framework of this country. We put in place the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act in 1984 and the Disability Discrimination Act in 1992, and we supported the Age Discrimination Act, which was passed in 2004 by the former coalition government. The amendments we are introducing in the bill before us seek to build on that strong foundation, that legal framework and architecture that sets a standard for people to follow and says clearly that discriminating against people based on who they are is unacceptable under the law. In many respects, what parliaments and governments do over decades in setting that standard in a legal sense is a form of leadership, insofar as society moves in that direction as well and changes to understand that these actions are no longer acceptable—if they ever were. They never were. That is the power of politics and the power of being in this place and in this parliament and of our duty to make laws. These amendments build on that strong foundation, as I noted. They strengthen our ability to combat hate speech and protect many vulnerable communities who are feeling the pain right now of being the victims of egregious and disgraceful forms of hatred such as antisemitism, which has been such a scourge, and the rise of antisemitism, which has been such a scourge in the past 15 months. In modern day Australia, Jewish Australians feel in such a vulnerable state. I've visited a number of synagogues and I've been to the Adass Israel Synagogue. I've been to other synagogues where I've spoken to people. You can sense the fear and the palpable anger and the uncertainty that people are feeling. These amendments are a direct response to the recommendations of the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee and the extensive consultations the government has undertaken with community stakeholders, law enforcement and a variety of legal experts. They're amendments that will expand the existing offence of urging violence and establish new offences as well. In doing so, we are extending protections for many minority groups that are vulnerable—LGBTQI+ communities, people with disabilities, religious minorities, racially diverse groups and many more. In detail, the bill and amendments combat hate speech and protect the Australian community from violence and discrimination by specifically creating a new criminal offence for threatening the use of force or violence against protected groups, their associates and property and by strengthening existing offences for urging the use of force or violence against protected groups, their associates and property. The existing offences of publicly displaying prohibited hate symbols would be extended to apply to circumstances where the targeted persons are distinguished by sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. This accords with Australia's international human rights obligations and complements existing civil protections in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Hate speech and hate fuelled violence don't just harm the individuals who are the immediate victims. They really undermine and threaten the very fabric of our society and who we are. When extremists feel emboldened to intimidate, to vilify and to physically attack individuals and communities based on their identities, they're not just targeting those individuals. They're attempting, in many ways, to bring down and undermine and destroy the very fundamental elements of who we are as a liberal democracy—the values of equality and fairness, the cohesion and harmony that define us, and our ability to engage with each other. We have people from hundreds of countries around the world, with hundreds of different languages and faiths and so many different backgrounds, who've adopted this country and made it their home. We have been able to actually live in a relatively harmonious society over many decades, and people say, 'Oh, what a miracle.' It's not a miracle. It's based on the hard work and the commitment of generations of Australians, not just the political leaders in this place. Yes, the parliament has played a role in setting those legal frameworks and that architecture, but millions of Australians—individuals—have committed to those principles to ensure that, even if they disagree with someone, they are navigating that difference without resorting to violence and hate. It sounds simplistic and it sounds easy, but it doesn't happen in a lot of parts of the world. What we've created here is something special. I'm not saying we're perfect. There have been many instances where ethnic and other disputes have emerged. But, on the whole, we have been a successful multifaith and multi-ethnic nation, and that pluralism has become celebrated and embraced. We've seen the devastating consequences of hate crimes here. We've seen it play out. We've seen it play out abroad. We know that when people move towards violence to express their ideological or political views, it's often following a long line, a long tail, of online radicalisation or public intimidation—and the unchecked nature of that hate speech follows through into more and more egregious, violent actions towards others. This bill, these amendments, ensures that law enforcement have the tools necessary to intervene before words turn into violence—or physical violence, because words themselves can be a form of violence, as we know. More importantly, it reinforces our commitment to fostering a cohesive society where all Australians, regardless of background, feel safe, valued and included. What the government is doing is matching our words with our actions, and I know there's been a degree of politicisation around the challenges we face. The Albanese Labor government has taken a lot of substantive action over this period of time, and I know there's been a lot of criticism from various points in the political spectrum. I think it's important to note, though, that when I said words actually matter, we've heard that not just from myself in this place but also from people like the Director-General of ASIO, who talked about the fact that words can inflame tensions and make things worse. So when we see this politicisation, particularly by the opposition, minor parties and other political actors in this place, it is running against the fact that, rather than uniting with and supporting the actions that are being taken by the government, there's a choice there that's being made to politicise. The Leader of the Opposition had nine years in government to legislate against hate symbols and the Nazi salute. He didn't. We did, and it all came into effect last year. He had nine years in government to legislate against doxxing. He didn't, and the coalition actually voted against the bill that criminalised it. He had nine years in government to legislate against hate crimes. He didn't. We're doing that now in parliament with this bill. The fact is the Leader of the Opposition was a senior member of a government that actually fought to strip protections for all marginalised communities against hate speech. If that wasn't enough, just last week we also saw the Leader of the Opposition launch an extraordinary attack on the Australian Human Rights Commission, calling it a rogue body for merely upholding Australia's commitments to human rights. There have been multiple opportunities to unequivocally condemn the escalating hate speech and vilification, and yet the choice there was to undermine institutions that are there to protect Australians from discrimination. The choice to fuel division and discord is not leadership. The manufacturing of culture wars and the cynical attempts to stoke the flames of division for short-term political gain are not leadership. Those members have a choice: they can support this bill and take a stand against hate or they can continue to dog whistle and divide. The same applies to other members of this place who have fanned the flames of hatred with the words that they have used. That is something that we should all be cognisant of: as political representatives, all of us bear a responsibility—a greater one than just debating policies and laws—of setting the tone for our nation through our leadership. Our words and actions shape public discourse, influence community attitudes and have real consequences for people's lives. Leadership demands that we stand up against hate, not exploit it for political gain, and that is what the Albanese Labor government is doing today by introducing this amending bill. We are standing with all communities targeted by hate, and that is something that we are doing in order to protect vulnerable communities in our nation. 17:43 Ms DANIEL 008CH Goldstein It's a matter of sadness and concern that we've come to this—that this legislation should be necessary. The fact that we're debating this bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024, today is a sign of just how seriously the social fabric of this nation has been torn and the extent to which division and vilification have been normalised in public debate. The wild west that social media has become has not helped, aided and abetted by the intransigence of the digital giants. They should be responsible for the content they allow to be published. The idea that age assurance or verification, for example, will protect children from the deluge of pornography and toxic misogyny available at the click of a cursor or the swipe of a device is a victory for hope over expectation and a reward for corporate irresponsibility. That's a matter for other legislation, but I make the point to indicate how much of the antisocial behaviour we confront is linked and how hard it is, indeed, to address one problem just as another pops up elsewhere. Technological change aggravating social and cultural division is so rapid that we struggle to keep up. But try we must, and in doing so we must separate the right to free speech from hate speech and hateful online behaviour. They are not equivalent. Hate speech, at its core, is about dehumanising, silencing and infringing on human rights. Freedom of speech is critically important, and I've worked in countries where it does not exist, but it is not absolute. We have been a socially cohesive nation. Our multiculturalism has been a success story and the envy of much of the world. But as I've said many times since entering this parliament, our social cohesion is being challenged as never before in my lifetime: homes sprayed with graffiti, communities vandalised, a synagogue just outside Goldstein firebombed and a caravan found packed with explosives and antisemitic materials in New South Wales. The fault lines of war in Gaza have reached into Australian society. In the wake of the 7 October Hamas terrorist attacks, which have had a profound impact on the Goldstein community, the government says this bill is a further step designed to 'address the rising incidence of hate speech, in particular antisemitism and Islamophobia'. The bill would create new criminal offences and strengthen existing offences to protect the community from harms caused by those who foster hatred and violence. I note, however, that the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, while welcoming the legislation as a step in the right direction, says it still falls short of the reforms that are needed. The ECAJ argues that there should be the opportunity for criminal prosecution for people calling for a final solution against the Jews and describing Jews collectively as innately bloodthirsty, treacherous criminals and monsters. The executive council argues this legislation does not do that. It was not so long ago that we were passing legislation to strengthen the outlawing of Nazi symbols and memorabilia. Yet it's been a matter of just a couple of months since the firebombing attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne and only a matter of months since a restaurant within the Goldstein electorate hosted a gathering attended by prominent neo-Nazis. It is appalling that Nazism has any support in Australia in the 21st century. It has absolutely no place in our suburbs. As I've said many times in the last 15 months, my absolute priority is the safety, security and wellbeing of the Goldstein community. I sincerely wish that this legislation was not necessary. But, unfortunately, the language of hate has become even more extreme and more prevalent in recent years, as have the threats of violence that go with it. As the explanatory memorandum accompanying this bill notes, public discourse has increasingly been weaponised with hateful rhetoric aimed at attacking groups in the Australian community. Urging and threatening force or violence against targeted groups or members of targeted groups undermines and erodes Australia's shared values. The harm caused by this conduct can be profound. It's an attack on the dignity of targeted groups and members of targeted groups which affects the physical and psychological wellbeing not only of those targeted but of the whole community. It can also lay the foundation for violence and extremism. This is in line with last year's admonition from Mike Burgess, the Director-General of Security, when he found it necessary to state publicly that words matter and that ASIO had seen direct connections between inflamed language and inflamed community tensions. Less than a year later on 5 August, ASIO found it necessary to raise the national terrorism threat level from possible to probable, with the Prime Minister noting that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies. In November 2023, in the days after a frightening confrontation outside a synagogue in my electorate, I moved the following matter of public importance: the need for the parliament to support social cohesion and take steps to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of those affected communities at a time of international conflict when communities in Australia are directly affected. Nothing has changed. In fact, it's worsened, as demonstrated by ASIO's decision to elevate the terrorism threat level. As I said in my MPI speech a lot more than a year ago, Australia has a limited ability to influence the course of events in Israel and Gaza. What we can do and have a responsibility to do is articulate multipartisan calm, encourage empathy and, at all costs, take the politics away. The risk of cataclysmic global conflict is higher than at any time since the height of the Cold War in the early eighties or perhaps the Cuban Missile Crisis of the sixties. Now we're confronted with a conflict which directly affects our own communities and threatens to tear apart the hard-earned gains of Australian multiculturalism—the envy of the world. Since then, I've engaged with Jewish and Palestinian organisations, met university leaders to encourage them to take robust action to address antisemitism on campus, publicly encouraged the government to appoint an antisemitism envoy, pressed the Prime Minister to fast-track security grants for religious institutions and engaged with the government to act to address doxxing, among other things. Unfortunately, and not just because of the conflict in the Middle East, social cohesion overall has eroded in recent years. The Voice to Parliament, for example, should have been an opportunity to bring the community together to right a historical wrong and forge a way forward for greater equity and equality for First Nations peoples. In fact, the opposite occurred. The lack of groundwork and preparation for the referendum, the failure to explain the value of amending the Constitution to provide for constitutional recognition and the opposition of some in the 'no' case provided an opening for division. It was not so long ago that the existing protections against discrimination now acknowledged by the intelligence community as one of the gateways to community tension and worse were under fire. A decade ago the Attorney-General of the time, George Brandis, argued for the removal of section 18C from the Racial Discrimination Act, declaring, 'People have the right to be bigots.' It was only persistent and cogent opposition from Jewish and ethnic community organisations that convinced the Abbott government to reject the arguments of former senator Brandis and other enthusiasts—among them my predecessor, the former member for Goldstein. In a submission to a 2016 inquiry into the Racial Discrimination Act, and specifically section 18C, by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, he argued: … the law is inconsistent with human rights, operates anathema to liberal democratic values and is utterly inconsistent with a free society. As the inquiry prepared to bring down its report in 2017, the former member for Goldstein declared he'd like to see the committee abolish the existing definition of 'racial discrimination'. That was not the view of the committee, which was much more persuaded by the views of community representatives, ALP members on the committee, the ECAJ and others. The ECAJ argued in its submission that any amendment to the part of the Racial Discrimination Act where section 18C is located: … would send a strong and dangerous message from Australia's political leaders that a degree of racism in public discourse is to be considered acceptable. … … … The threat to public peace and order posed by home-grown and imported forms of racism are of an entirely different order to the dangers posed by bad policy ideas. It is naive to suggest that racism can always simply be left to sort itself out through public debate. Subsequent events, especially those of the last 15 months, have indicated this, and that is why we now have this legislation before us today. It may be one step in the right direction rather than completely up to the task. I note the member for Wentworth's amendment to create a new offence of the promotion of hatred, which, in these troubled times, I will support. As I've said many times since entering this parliament and before, hate speech is not free speech. We must all work together across these aisles and across this nation to bring people together, not tear them apart. I will support this bill. 17:54 Mr THISTLETHWAITE 182468 Kingsford Smith In the wake of October 7 we've had a dramatic increase in hatred in Australia, unfortunately. It's something I can't recall ever seeing being so severe in my lifetime. Some of that hatred has manifested itself in antisemitism and racism, and it's having a dramatic effect on social cohesion. Some Australians are feeling scared and threatened and are unable to leave their homes. They feel that they're not part of the community that they grew up in. These are not values that we want to see here in Australia. These are not values that represent our nation, and, on that basis, the Albanese government are acting. We're acting through this bill and through other reforms to ensure that we respond to the increasing number of hate crimes that encourage violence and extremism and to make them crimes in this country. Unfortunately, in the community that I represent, we've had a number of shocking antisemitic and racist attacks on premises, on people and on our community. The Only About Children childcare centre on Storey Street, Maroubra, was attacked on the morning of Tuesday 21 January with a disgusting and evil act of antisemitism, which I strongly condemn. The targeting of an early childhood education facility is simply unforgivable. Targeting kids—it's about as low as it gets. I grew up a few hundred metres from that site. It's actually the site of a former primary school where I went to school as a kid. It's now a childcare centre, and it was quite alarming for me to see what had occurred there that morning in an area that I've got such a connection with, which I have had for most of my life. I was there that morning to see the impact of those crimes and I made it clear that I stand with the Jewish community in our area and across the nation in working to stop these sorts of attacks. There's no place for hateful and cowardly antisemitism anywhere in our community. I was joined by the Prime Minister and the New South Wales Premier that morning, who equally condemned the attacks. We spoke with neighbours, educators and members of the Jewish community at the site to offer our support. Unfortunately, a week later, another attack occurred at the Mount Sinai College and on a nearby home on 30 January. This was a targeted attack against students returning to the Jewish primary school that morning. It was another disgusting and low act to try and target kids and make them feel unsafe as they were returning to school for the year. On that morning, I met with the school president and community members to see what we could do to help, and I was back at the school on Friday morning when the kids were returning to greet the parents with local police to let them know that we had their backs. I've been meeting with members of the Jewish community over the last couple of months, and, understandably, they're fed up—and so they should be. They're scared and they want this all to stop. My message to them was very clear that we're doing all we can to catch these perpetrators and ensure that they're prosecuted as quickly as possible. Just over the course of the last week, two arrests have been made in relation to some of those antisemitic attacks in our community, and they follow about 180 arrests that have been made since the government passed laws strengthening protections for Jewish communities throughout this country. We're continuing to work proudly with our Jewish neighbours in Kingsford Smith and across Australia. Jewish communities are ordinary Australians who just want to go about their lives, take their kids to school, go to work and live a rewarding and fulfilling life here in Australia like everyone else. They don't deserve to be targeted with these shocking unAustralian attacks. It's been encouraging to see our community get behind the Jewish community and support them and work with them, and that's why we've established a working group made up of elected representatives, including myself, the local area commanders, the police, and leaders of the Jewish community. We're going to work with them to make sure that they can live safely in Australia. That's why this government, the Albanese government, is acting to protect all Australians from hatred, extremism and violence. The government introduced legislation to create new criminal offences that strengthen protection against hate crimes. This bill will make it clear that urging or threatening violence and force is unacceptable and subject to serious criminal penalties. This bill strengthens existing offences that prohibit urging the use of force or violence against others. It also creates new criminal offences for threatening the use of force or violence against others. We have no tolerance for some of the actions that have been occurring in our nation and we will hunt down those responsible and prosecute them under these new laws. These new laws will protect groups or members of groups distinguished by race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, identity, intersex status, disability, nationality, political opinion or national or ethnic origin. The offences will carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. There will be a higher maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment where the threat to use force or violence, if carried out, would threaten the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth. The new offences will target the most serious forms of harmful hate speech, namely urging and threatening force or violence against others. The bill sends a clear message that urging force or violence is unacceptable and will be subject to serious criminal penalties. We're doing all we can to make sure that we keep our communities safe and that all Australians have the right to go about their business, to take their kids to school, to go to work, to enjoy our wonderful country and to be treated equally and respectfully as Australians. That's why the Albanese government is doing all it can to protect the community that I live in and all Australians across our wonderful nation. 18:02 Mr STEVENS 176304 Sturt Indeed, it is, in some ways, a great disappointment to speak on a bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024, that has become necessary because of actions that are happening within our community that I never thought I would live to see in modern day Australia. Some of the things that we see in the news, in fact, and experiences I have had in the streets of the Adelaide CBD belong more in a Hollywood movie about a bygone era that we look upon and think how grateful we are that that is in history. Alas, we are far from that. We are seeing this remarkably depressing blooming of disgusting antisemitic behaviour in our community, which brings us to the need to consider legislative change to address behaviour that we couldn't have foreseen would occur in modern Australia. My heart certainly goes out particularly to members of the Jewish community in my electorate and across this country. I cannot imagine how they are feeling about the unrecognisable behaviour that they see and experience in this country that they love. Many of them descend from families that came to this country for refuge from disgusting antisemitism and the horrors of the Holocaust and have built such an amazing future for themselves and their families in this country. In some cases, they find themselves considering whether or not they have a future in this country anymore because of what we've seen happen, particularly since 7 October. It's been confronting. It's been appalling. It is completely un-Australian. We find ourselves in a situation where we have an opportunity with the bill before us to strengthen our legislative framework at the Commonwealth level to address these remarkably disgusting, impossible-to-predict developing elements of behaviour in our society. The coalition has some specific issues and hesitations around amendments and around seeking to improve the legislation from the government that is before us, and I commend other coalition speakers who have contributed on this bill and who have outlined some of those issues. We hope the government will engage in good faith to discuss with us our sensible suggestions of how to improve this framework. I hope we all want exactly the same thing. Indeed, apart from one vile element of the Australian political firmament—that is, elements of the Greens political party who couldn't even support a motion in the parliament condemning a terrorist action in the wake of the atrocities of 7 October—apart from that shameful little cabal, I know that the goodwill towards addressing this genuine, appalling rise of antisemitism in our society is shared almost unanimously in the chamber. We in the coalition look forward to being part of approving this bill and achieving the outcome we all want through its passage. 18:05 Mr TEHAN 210911 Wannon I rise to speak on this incredibly important bill. It's a bill that I hope will pass this parliament, and with the amendments that we have suggested to improve it even more. I don't think there is a greater issue which is confronting the nation at the moment than in this bill when it comes to ensuring a cohesive society going forward. If there is anything that will drive division, if there is anything that will destroy the social fabric of this nation, it is antisemitism, and we have to do everything we can to stamp it out. It is a sad reality that we are where we are in this nation when it comes to dealing with antisemitism. There is no doubt, sadly, that the time to act, immediately after 7 October, didn't see the action that this nation required. That has meant we have got to the stage now where antisemitism in this country is occurring far too often, and in the most draconian of ways. That is a sad reality, and it is why we need to act, immediately, with strength and with unity, to stamp it out, because it has no place in our nation. One of the things that I think the coalition can be incredibly proud of is that immediately after 7 October we saw and understood the potential changes in antisemitism rising in this country and we sought to act immediately. We have sought to do it on a daily basis ever since, and that is why we're here now, still offering very constructive engagement with the government to make sure that we can get this bill through, and through in the right way so that we can begin to finally ensure that we have unity of purpose in ridding this nation of antisemitism. Why is this bill necessary? It's necessary because of the repeated failures of the government to prevent this predictable rise following inaction after 7 October. Why do we need to act? It's very simple why we need to act, because an attack on a Jewish Australian is an attack on every Australian. It's quite simple. If we don't act against those attacks on Jewish Australians, the question that everyone will ask is, 'Who will be next?' Will it be a Hindu? Will it be a Catholic? Will it be a Muslim? Will it be an atheist? Attacking people because of their faith and their ancestry is purely and simply wrong, and that is why we have to deal with this issue. We are a proud nation, and rightly a proud nation, because we always act against racial attacks and we always act against those who target people because of their faith, and we have to keep doing that. It goes to the heart and the essence of the values that underpin our great nation. We have to make sure that we protect those values because, without them, we're a divided nation. The last thing we need to be is a divided nation, because it's been the strength of those values that have underpinned us and kept us united. The 7 October attacks were heinous and carried out by a listed terrorist organisation. That's why they deserve to be outright condemned from the very start. We're still seeing today the impact that they've had globally, the impact that those attacks have had on Israel, the impact that those attacks have had on Israeli families and the impact that those attacks have had on the hostages. As someone who went to Israel not long after those attacks, I can say that the scars and the legacy of what I saw and the testimonials that I heard are still with me today and will never leave me. It's why I've been so strong in supporting the position that the coalition has taken in our defence of Israel's response to those attacks. I've always, always said, 'Put yourself in the place of Israel.' Say those attacks had occurred here in Australia. Say Australians had been taken hostage. Say those hostages were still being held and hadn't been released. No government in its right mind wouldn't do everything it could to get its citizens returned. No government in its right mind wouldn't do everything it could to get its citizens back, especially when they are being held by a listed terrorist organisation. That is what Israel has been trying to do. We have to remember what occurred on 7 October. What was perpetrated by Hamas against those Israeli citizens was nothing short of heinous. It was a day of murder, torture, kidnapping, brutal sexual violence and sadly much, much more. It was designed to be cruel and barbaric. It was designed to send shockwaves. It was designed to strike at the heart of Israel in the most heinous way to cause maximum pain and maximum anguish and to basically try to destroy the absolute core of Israel's society. The way the Israelis across the divide responded with such strength and such unity showed that they were not going to be intimidated or defeated by Hamas, a sad, sad listed terrorist organisation. As a matter of fact, what they did was unite and make sure that they would do everything they could to get their citizens back. It's taken too long for that to occur. We're only seeing part of that occur at the moment, but all of us hope—and I'm sure it is the hope of everyone in this parliament, even, I hope, the Greens—that we will see those hostages returned. The best way that we can ensure that we start to get on a pathway to peace is if we can get all of those hostages returned. Then we have to do the very hard task of trying to work out how we can ensure that the Palestinian people aren't governed by a listed terrorist organisation in Hamas. That is the next step, which is absolutely required, to bring about the lasting peace that we need to see in the Middle East. But that should not distract us from our task here. That task here is to make sure we're doing everything we can to deal with the antisemitism that has arisen as a result of 7 October. What I think we all hope for is to see the Prime Minister step up and set the tone for what our national response should be to this antisemitism crisis in this nation. That could have been done from the very beginning. It could have been done in how those terrible actions that occurred on the steps of the Sydney Opera House were dealt with, but it wasn't, sadly. But that doesn't mean that we can't act now and begin to repair the damage which has occurred as a result of the Prime Minister's initial response to what happened in this country in the days after the 7 October attack. That is my hope for what we will see with this bill, because the time of false equivalence is over. What we need to see immediately is the government acting on stamping out antisemitism. I didn't think that we would see synagogues set on fire in this nation in my lifetime, but that is what we have seen, sadly. I didn't think we would see increase after increase after increase of antisemitic graffiti across our cities, especially in Sydney and Melbourne. I didn't think we would see Jewish shops being vandalised. I didn't think we would see Jewish Australian citizens being harangued by roaming gangs. We need to put an end to all of this. Sadly, we allegedly nearly saw a major terrorist strike against Jewish communities, which would have been the largest terrorist action we have ever seen on these shores. If such actions had been undertaken against the Jewish community here in Australia, the government would have acted and it would have acted unconditionally. That is the time that we have come to now, where we have to act unconditionally. This bill will help in that regard, but if we fail to continue to take the decisive action that is needed then the sad reality is we're going to see antisemitism continue to increase in this nation. As I said at the start, we cannot allow that to happen, because an attack on a Jewish Australian is an attack on all of us. Some of the things that we're going to need to do will require a complete and utter change in the way that some of our institutions, especially, deal with antisemitism. I think the universities, beyond every other institution, need to be the ones that have a good hard look at themselves and act immediately. If they're going to allow some sort of academic pretence for antisemitism, that is sending the completely wrong message to young Australians. Of all institutions, they are the ones that need to have a good hard look at themselves. I hope that, as a parliament, we can come together and support this bill. I hope that we can come together and make sure that all the amendments that will strengthen this bill are agreed to. There has never been a more important time for the unity of this country, for us to come together and defeat antisemitism. We need to act and we need to act now. 18:21 Ms O'NEIL 140590 Hotham I thank the member for Wannon for his comments. One of the things that makes me so proud to be the member for Hotham is the incredible community that I get to live in and be a part of. I represent one of the most multicultural electorates in all of Australia. When we tell the story of multiculturalism, a lot of people talk about public policy and strategies, the Whitlam government and those kinds of things. I don't think about those things; I think about my community and the fact that the reason we live in such a beautiful, harmonious country is that people, constituents of mine, have lived side by side sharing their cultures, sharing their religions, having their children play together, learning from each other and building up that beautiful social fabric. In the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, we get to love and enjoy that every single day, but, from time to time, that social fabric does come under strain. One of the most concerning things that I've seen happen in my adult lifetime in this country is the rise in antisemitism that we've seen around our country in recent times. That threat is felt really deeply in my community. I have a very culturally diverse community, and I'm very lucky and privileged that that includes a Jewish population. Of course, I talk to my Jewish constituents, and they tell me about the deepest feelings that they have about what they're experiencing today as Australians. The fears that they hold for themselves, their families and their communities are fears that reach into every single part of their lives. One of my jobs as a member of parliament is to speak about the experiences of different constituents of mine and to share those with and express those to the rest of the country. I really want people to understand what's going on for this community at the moment. There are lots of experiences that Australians have within their stories of discrimination, and I'm always very open to hearing those stories. I want people to know that, for our Jewish Australians at the moment, multiple people in the community have talked to me about the fact that they're living with a kind of antisemitism at the moment that they never believed could possibly happen in Australia. I really want people to understand that. Obviously in our experience as human beings, we don't carry that burden of experience with us everywhere we go, but I want people to understand what is going on for the community now is very real and is affecting every part of their lives as Australians. I'm really lucky to have a Chabad centre in Bentleigh East that welcomes me into their beautiful community. This is not just a religious institution; it has this beautiful childcare centre. Jewish children of varying degrees of orthodoxy come together to get that early learning and to be steeped in the Jewish culture that they will take with them for the rest of their lives. It is genuinely the most beautiful and amazing place. With some boundary changes in my electorate, another Chabad centre, in Carnegie, will now come into my electorate. These two Chabad centres invited me to join in their Hanukkah festival at Packer Park around Christmas time, and I want to thank them for that. They welcomed not only me but my three beautiful children into this amazing religious celebration. It was a really beautiful experience, and I'll just be forever grateful for the loving, tender care that they gave to my children and to me. I really want to thank them for that. Of course, the conversations I have with Jewish Australians are often had in these environments, and I've heard from that community about the real fears that people have dropping their children at child care. Come on, that's not an experience that an Australian should be having in our country. People feel fearful wearing a yarmulke and walking down streets that are nearby to my electorate that have really strong Jewish traditions and Jewish populations. This shouldn't be happening in our country. I'm really hopeful that the parliament will be able to speak with one voice about what comes out of the legislative process here, but I want to say really clearly to our Jewish Australian community that you are loved. You are loved by our country, you are cherished and you are an essential part of what it is to be a modern Australian country. This parliament is acting this week to try to better protect you, and we're really committed to that. I'm proud to be a part of a government that's taking decisive action on the matter of antisemitism. This is a poison in our country, and it deserves the most powerful possible action. That's why I'm proud to support this bill. The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 will strengthen the law against hate speech in this country. It will create new criminal offences to stamp out violence and hatred. It's my hope that this law will send a really clear and unambiguous message that the threats that this community has experienced—these acts of violence, these acts of hatred—are utterly unacceptable in this country. I'll be supporting the bill because it's unacceptable to me and, on behalf of the people of Hotham, it's utterly unacceptable to our community. 18:26 Ms WARE 300123 Hughes At the conclusion of World War II, German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller wrote about the Holocaust. He said: First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. Martin Niemoller had a very interesting life. He'd started off as a very antisemitic Nazi supporter in Germany, but his views changed when he was subsequently imprisoned in a concentration camp for speaking out against Nazi control of churches. What does this have to do with the legislation that is currently before us, the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill? Well, this bill has been brought in because of the attacks on Jewish Australians and the rise of antisemitism in this country. At the moment, those attacks, vile in nature, have been on our Jewish Australians. But if we don't do something about it now, if we don't draw a line in the sand and speak up for our Jewish Australians, who's next? Is it the Hindus? Is it Catholics, Muslims or atheists? For all of those reasons, I support this legislation. However, this legislation has come about very late in the piece. I've referenced the Holocaust, which, of course, was the worst example of antisemitism that we have ever seen in the world, and, unfortunately, antisemitism does have a very long history. But the Albanese Labor government's failure to respond after 7 October 2023 has indirectly caused this increase in antisemitism. It wasn't called out immediately after 7 October. We then saw on 9 October, in my home city of Sydney, dreadful protests: Palestinian flags, Hamas flags and calls of, 'Get rid of the Jews; kill the Jews.' There was dreadful antisemitism. That has continued not only in my home state of New South Wales but also, of course, in Victoria. I heard the member for Wannon say that he never thought that he would see in his lifetime— The DEPUTY SPEAKER C2T The member for Hughes will resume their seat. It being 6.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 192B. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. The member for Hughes will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed on a future day. GRIEVANCE DEBATE 106 GRIEVANCE DEBATE Taxation: Resources Industry, Housing, Banking and Financial Services 106 18:30 Mr CHANDLER-MATHER 300121 Griffith Something is terribly wrong when a nurse is paying more tax than a multinational gas corporation. In fact, in the last four years, big multinational gas corporations have paid $0 in royalties on 56 per cent of all gas exported overseas from Australia. That's $143 billion in gas, and those big gas corporations paid $0 in royalties—zero! These companies included Santos and Chevron, and, by pure coincidence—I'm sure it's just a complete fluke and this occurred completely by chance—Santos and Chevron happen to have been two of the biggest donors to Labor and the Liberal Party over the last two years. Santos and Chevron have given $290,000 to the Labor Party in donations and $100,000 to the Liberals, which is a pretty good return for those two big corporations because, for instance, Santos, in recent data, in just one year made $6.2 billion in income and paid—you guessed it—$0 in tax. Over a five-year period, Chevron made $43 billion in income selling Australian gas overseas and paid—surprise, surprise—$0 in tax. Now you might think, and maybe some people will argue, that it's just really hard to tax multinational gas corporations. Maybe it's impossible and no country has figured it out—except that's just not true. While Australia exports more gas than Qatar, Qatar collects 20 times more tax from its gas than Australia does. That's 20 times more in tax collection from their gas exports when they export less than Australia. Norway taxes its oil and gas industry at an effective rate of 78 per cent and now has a sovereign wealth fund of close to $3 trillion—$2.9 trillion. In fact, just the interest on that sovereign wealth fund that they have accrued as a result of properly taxing their oil and gas industry helps fund their social programs. They give all their citizens free university education. The Greens have proposed a pretty modest increase to national gas royalties, cracking down on loopholes in the gas taxes at a federal level. Over the next 10 years, that would raise an extra $111 billion in revenue. That's $111 billion in revenue that both sides of politics are leaving on the table in the profit margins of Santos and Chevron rather than in the pockets of ordinary, everyday Australians, who are already doing it tough. How is it fair that a teacher saving up to buy a home is paying more tax than Chevron and Santos in some years? These are companies that make tens of billions of dollars in revenue and often get away with paying $0 in tax. In fact, in the most recent recorded tax year, Santos made over $6 billion in income and paid $0 in income and corporate tax. That means that they gave more in political donations to the Labor and Liberal parties than they paid in corporate tax on $6 billion of revenue. And you wonder why people are fed up with politics! There are pensioners choosing between paying the rent and feeding themselves for a week. There are single parents wondering how they're going to make ends meet at the end of the week after they cover massive mortgage or rent payments. And then you have Chevron and Santos dancing over everyone else, making billions of dollars in revenue and paying $0 in tax. I don't think it's too radical to suggest that we follow countries around the world that properly tax their resource industry, make them pay their fair share in tax and use it to ensure everyone in this country has what they need to live a good life. In the most recent housing data, we have just found out that in Brisbane the median house price has now ticked over $1 million. In the space of a few years in some suburbs, house prices have more than doubled in Brisbane. Basically, that means it's more than triple what someone earning the median income can afford in Brisbane. It's clearly unaffordable for anyone earning an income of less than $200,000 a year. Right now in Brisbane as a result of that price increase, houses in Brisbane now cost 14 times more than the median income. Back when the Prime Minister bought his first house in the early 90s, it was more like five times the average income. The national median price for a house in Australia in capital cities is now $1.2 million—that's four times what someone working with a median income can afford. It's clearly unaffordable for anyone earning less than $229,000 a year. It's 16 times the median income. That's a median house price. Rents in Australia have, since 2022, increased by 40 per cent. We have a situation now where, nationally, in a capital city you have to be earning more than $229,000 to afford price of a home, and in Brisbane you need to be earning more than $200,000. Then you have the federal Labor government say they would like to see house prices continue to increase, and both sides of politics have housing policies that are turbocharging house prices. How is it fair that a property investor, sometimes with 10, 20, 30, 40 or hundreds of investment properties, can collect billions of dollars collectively in tax handouts from this government in the form of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount? In the middle of one of the worst housing crises this country has faced in generations, where so many of my generations are giving up on ever being able to afford a home, you have a situation where the federal government and both sides of politics—both Labor and Liberal—are committing to $176 billion in tax handouts for property investors over the next 10 years. How is it fair that when one-third of this country rents, they have copped 40 per cent in rent increases since 2022? How is it fair that the policies of both the major parties is that they are okay with unlimited rent increases? There is no limit on the amount by which rents can increase. How is it fair that in a country where millions of people are in severe housing stress, this government spends more on tax handouts for property investors than it spends on building public housing? Fixing this housing crisis isn't going to be done by this new wonderful idea or these new complex solutions or this fancy new ideas. All it would take is copying what is done around the world and what Australia did in the past. Start building public housing the way we used to. Stop giving so much money in tax handouts to property investors so that first home buyers and renters actually have a chance. Start putting caps on rent increases the way this country used to and the way countries around the world do. Spain and France both have caps on rent increases. Australian rents right now are increasing at about three times the rate of Spanish and French rent increases. All the Greens are proposing is to take what has worked around the world, take what has worked in Australia in the past, and do it again. I have been in this building now for close to three years, and time and again we have seen the power of billionaires and big corporations win out over the interests of ordinary, everyday people. I'll speak about three moments where that has been starkly clear. One: where the Greens secured a deal with the government to introduce million-dollar fines for bankers who broke the law. You would think that was the bare minimum after the banking royal commission and the devastation that the banking industry wrought on ordinary and everyday Australians. Within 24 hours of that deal being announced, the banking lobby and the Australian Banking Association—headed by none other than former Labor premier Anna Bligh—found out about the deal, and within 24 hours the government had reneged on the deal. That's all it took the banking industry. The Commonwealth Bank earned a $10 billion record profit in 2023—the same year as millions of mortgage holders were in mortgage stress. They get what they want in 24 hours. What about the pensioners who are living in poverty? Why do they have to wait for longer than 24 hours? Why do they have to sometimes wait for years to get what they need? Single parents are choosing between feeding their kids and paying their rent, and they have to wait longer than 24 hours to get what they need. But not the banking industry—no! They get exactly what they want in less than 24 hours, overturning a deal done with the Greens to introduce million-dollar fines for bankers. Then, when it came to gas tax, the government announced the new changes to the PRRT. This is their federal royalty regime that's meant to tax gas corporations. But then we find out that, actually, it raises less money than the government makes from charging interest on student debt. We find out that it carves out a sweetheart deal for Woodside, a major gas corporation in Australia that happens to also have donated to both major parties in the past. And then we come to taxing big corporations. The Greens announced that we'd like to introduce a super profits tax on the big banks and other big multinational corporations. I read the headline: 'Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens' tax policy "insidious populism" after firm's $9.8bn profit'. I would argue that what's really wrong with this country is that, in the middle of a massive housing crisis, the big banks can make billion-dollar record profits while millions suffer. Australian Society: Social Cohesion 107 18:40 Ms BURNEY 8GH Barton What I wanted to raise tonight has been raised today in this parliament already, and it is about social cohesion. Probably a better way to say that, in my view, is social harmony. The member for Wentworth's motion earlier today highlighted the corrosive effects of antisemitism on our social fabric. We are seeing that being played out in cities like Sydney and Melbourne and in other places as well. The corrosive effect of all forms of racism and prejudice is before us as a nation once again. These issues seem to come up periodically, be they about people from certain faiths or people who have different cultural beliefs. We as a nation confidently say Australia is a shining example of multiculturalism—and, of course, it is—but it doesn't happen by magic. It happens by hard work. I have been very privileged to represent two of the most multicultural electorates in Australia: Barton for the past eight years and also the state seat of Canterbury for 13 years before that. I have to say that walking down the streets in Barton and Canterbury makes you feel proud. It makes you feel proud to be living in this country and proud of the generosity, and the embrace of cultures in those electorates is something to behold. Australian multiculturalism has been a success story—that is true. That's not just because of the cultures we bring to each other's lives but because we have so much joy to share. Hurstville hosts the largest Lunar New Year celebration outside of the Sydney CBD. Last Friday night, I joined the Lunar New Year celebrations with Bayside Council at Wolli Creek on Friday night. It was an absolutely outstanding evening. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people from all cultures enjoying and celebrating Lunar New Year. Of course, this year is the Year of the Snake. Next month, many of you would have received invitations already, I'm sure. Muslims will begin fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. Orthodox and Western Christians will begin their fast for Lent. Eid and Easter will follow, as will Passover. Tibetan New Year and Holi will also be days for celebration in the coming months. On the National Aboriginal and Islanders Day last year, schools, councils and many other organisations gathered to celebrate the oldest surviving culture on the planet. I want that point that I've just made to be a point of pride for all Australians, not just for some. It is something that we share collectively as a nation. As I said, we share each other's joy. But we are sometimes forced to share each other's sorrow. As I said, we share each other's joy. But we are sometimes forced to share each other's sorrow. The vandalising of the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, very close to the electorate of Barton, in January was a cowardly attack. Masked vandals worked in the small hours to instil fear in the congregation, and they made the St George community feel less safe. Racism and prejudice eat away at the threads of our social cohesion, and that point is something that we all must think very deeply about, and we all must also take responsibility for it—particularly people in this house. As I said earlier today, we need to show national leadership, to show the generosity that we are shown in our electorates. Acts of violence and terror are the worst manifestations of this, but it manifests itself in other ways: harassment of people for the colour of their skin or the visible demonstration of their faith; Nazi salutes and hate symbols at rallies; misinformation about entire faiths or cultures or painting them with the reprehensible acts of a small minority. My constituents and people from across Australia have spoken to me of these kinds of incidents happening to them, and I have to recall that during last year's referendum debate social media gave a platform to the very worst kinds of vilification of First Nations people. And I have personally experienced that to a very, very, very severe degree. People who wear hijabs and kippahs have experienced harassment just going about their days. The targets of these incidents are obviously the most impacted by trauma and hurt. Not just trauma and hurt from what they've experienced on that day, but trauma and hurt from the collective history of those people. It leaves a scar, a scar that never heals. On this basis alone, it is unacceptable; but we share a society where we are all hurt by racism. It makes us feel unsafe; it makes us smaller people. I am pleased to see the second reading of the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill today. I commend the work of our ministers, special envoys and people in this parliament working with communities to maintain our social cohesion. I commend the leadership of many organisations on this. I note tomorrow night there is an interfaith gathering here in the parliament, which I intend to be part of. This is the kind of leadership that builds healthier societies. I'm proud to be a member of a government that takes racism and social cohesion seriously. 18:48 Mrs McINTOSH 281513 Lindsay What will the Australian public remember about the Albanese Labor government when election day comes? Broken promises. In almost every portfolio where this government has tried to deliver, it has underdelivered or, worse than that, it has made a commitment to the Australian people and then broken that promise. It has done this in my community in Lindsay; it has done this across Western Sydney; it has done this to every single Australian. On nearly 100 occasions, the Prime Minister said that energy prices would go down by $275. In question time today, those opposite were shouting out, 'But people have gotten $300', but power bills are up $1,000 and so Australians are actually worse off under this government. They broke their promise because despite having a little bit of relief, people are still paying $1,000 more than they had been promised by the Albanese Labor government. I know that people across Western Sydney can't afford this. Small businesses, struggling to keep their doors open because of high wage prices and high energy bills, can't afford these broken promises. It's extraordinary that electricity costs have gone up by more than 30 per cent. The cost-of-living crisis is hurting Aussie families who can't afford their energy bills, their groceries or their petrol to get to and from work. Gas, as well, is really important in the mix for Western Sydney manufacturers. Yet again, our manufacturers have been let down because gas is up 30 per cent. Manufacturers need gas to produce Aussie made products in this country. They're desperate for gas to flood into the market so they can get some relief from high prices to power their factories. They can have all the solar panels in the world but they can't use solar; they need gas. Without affordable and reliable power, Aussie made products will go out of existence—and manufacturers have told me this—because our small manufacturers will not be able to compete with overseas competitors any longer. I had a local manufacturer—who has been in the industry, an engineer, for years—in tears because manufacturing is going offshore and he feels there is nothing he can do about it. We have so many people in our Western Sydney community who rely on their manufacturing job, whether they be from Blacktown, Fairfield, Liverpool or Campbelltown. We want to see our manufacturers thrive and ensure our Western Sydney economy reaps the benefits of this. But it can only be done with a government that will take the energy crisis seriously. A Dutton led government would invest in nuclear to ensure reliable energy for Australians and keep renewables and gas powering our economy and households. What about housing? There have been so many interest rate rises that have smashed Australian families, and the Albanese Labor government thinks that Australians have it so good. Labor have not done the hard yards to reduce inflation. They've increased spending, and we know a budget deficit could soon feature on the government's books if they manage to get to a budget before calling the election. Mortgage stress has risen particularly in Western Sydney, where people are so aspirational and working so hard to get ahead. Renters are feeling the pinch just as hard. A Dutton led coalition government will spend $5 billion building the infrastructure needed to get new housing developments online to boost housing numbers and help bring down the heat in the property market. I've spoken about the Albanese Labor government's failures on energy affordability and reliability, hits to manufacturers and small businesses, the weakened economy and housing struggles. But there's another key topic on the minds of people in Western Sydney—that is, the Labor government's broken promises on infrastructure funding and projects right across Western Sydney. The Treasurer and the infrastructure minister committed to the Morrison government's infrastructure plan in the Labor government's October 2022 mini budget, but—what a surprise—Labor broke this commitment and broke promises to the Australian people that they made during the 2022 election, and decided to conduct an independent review of Western Sydney infrastructure by local experts. They also called for a review of the entirety of infrastructure funding in Australia. Before the May 2023 budget, the Albanese Labor government received the Western Sydney report but decided to shelve it until November. This meant they were not going to be pressured publicly to fund certain projects in Western Sydney that the independent report evaluated as high priority. The budget went ahead without taking the Western Sydney report into consideration. Then the minister took away funding from vital projects, including the M7-M12 link already under construction. This is needed to connect multiple parts of Western Sydney via the motorway to the new Western Sydney International Airport, which is a Commonwealth responsibility. We want the airport to succeed. We don't want investment left behind for the airport that's going to enhance people's lives in Western Sydney and make going to the airport and all around Western Sydney easier, and we don't want the people of Western Sydney to be left behind. Unfortunately, the minister also cut funding for the Western Sydney transport development network. The network was made up of seven roads, which are old semi-rural roads, in desperate need of upgrades; these are potholed roads. Shortly, when the airport opens, they are going to be major freight roads for an international airport. Not only is this inadequate; it puts local residents at risk, and they are very concerned about their safety. The coalition has now committed funding to one of these roads, Fifteenth Avenue, to the tune of $500 million, alongside the New South Wales government. This is important because the people of Werriwa, which is where this road is, deserve this much-needed road funding. Austral, the community in Werriwa, is growing so fast, with tens of thousands of homes to be constructed, connecting the airport to the Liverpool CBD. The minister delaying the release of the independent report and not getting on with these projects is one in a bundle of examples of the infrastructure minister being tricky with the people of Western Sydney. Let's not forget when she refused to meet with Western Sydney residents to discuss the changed bypass to the Western Sydney Airport. She actually came to the electorate of Lindsay with the energy minister but didn't have time to go 15 minutes up the road on that day to Penrith and talk to those impacted by the change in the flight paths. We had a Senate committee hearing on flight paths in my electorate. The minister was there, up the road, but didn't appear. She would not face the people, but she's been very good at putting out midnight media releases to avoid scrutiny. Western Sydney is really sick and tired of being hoodwinked by the Albanese Labor government, particularly this infrastructure minister. When will she visit Lindsay, Hume or Fowler—non-Labor areas—to hear community feedback about the flight paths? When will she do a press conference from her electorate office in Ballarat about Western Sydney—wait, she's already done that. That's her favourite thing to do. The minister came to Western Sydney to claim a win with investment in our regions. She tried to pull the wool over our eyes by saying her government had put new funding into Western Sydney infrastructure. That funding was set by the Morrison government. She put it on hold then ripped it away and only invested some of it back into Western Sydney, but she wanted us to be grateful. It's extraordinary. An honourable member: We had a good infrastructure minister in the Morrison government. Mrs McINTOSH 281513 A fantastic infrastructure minister in the Morrison government. Since that time, we have been completely abandoned. The Albanese Labor government has not delivered on its original commitment to infrastructure for the Western Sydney community. Infrastructure has not caught up with some of the housing developments. We have a population boom in Western Sydney. You can't have one million people arrive in Australia without providing adequate infrastructure for additional housing being built where they live. The absolute disconnect on policy from this Labor government is astounding. The coalition has taken leadership on this very issue, wanting to reduce immigration to sustainable levels—without doing so, our infrastructure and housing crisis will get worse. Western Sydney is at the brunt of this cost-of-living crisis, which has been compounded by the utter neglect on adequate infrastructure, no real policy on housing and relying on immigration to essentially keep the economy afloat. Our community wants leadership. That's what they tell me when I'm out in Western Sydney. It's time to remove this weak Albanese Labor government from office. A Dutton coalition government will deliver on our plan to reduce inflation, boost productivity, invest in infrastructure and get on with the job of delivering for everyday Australians that Labor has left behind. Macnamara Electorate: Midsumma Pride March, Gender and Sexual Orientation, Child Care, Macnamara Electorate: Infrastructure 110 18:57 Mr BURNS 278522 Macnamara Strap yourselves in folks, because the electorate of Macnamara is such a wonderful electorate, and am I going to take you on a journey around Macnamara! Am I going to take you on a journey around the place where I live, that I grew up in and that I love so much. On the weekend Macnamara was absolutely alive, with the Midsumma Pride March going straight through the heart of St Kilda. It was a very glittery, fun and wonderful event, where thousands and thousands of people flocked to Fitzroy Street, which is the nightlife capital of St Kilda. I'm sure the honourable member has haunted those parts in his time, back in the day. An honourable member: Steady on! Mr BURNS 278522 The pride march in St Kilda really is everything that makes it wonderful. It's exciting. It's fun. It's very welcoming. It's very inclusive, but it also has a really serious point behind it—this year is 30 years since the beginning of the pride marches. The original pride march took place because LGBTIQ Australians were facing vilification. They were facing stigma, and people wanted to have a public demonstration of pride and of coming together to say: 'We are proud of who we are. We're proud of our community, and we want to celebrate our diversity and what makes us who we are.' I was proud to join them. I've marched every single year for probably the last 10 years. I should really count back to when the first time was. It is such a special time in St Kilda, and I really love it. I really thank the Midsumma Festival committee and crew for putting on such a great festival, and I know all the restaurants and small businesses, all the cafes and the bars, up and down Fitzroy Street were absolutely chockers. This is one of those events that brings a lot of people to our electorate. I actually think that the timing of the pride march was really important this year, with the opposition's recent flurry of election commitments including the uncosted long-lunch policy that will potentially cost Australian taxpayers $10 billion for businesses to get tax deductions on their long lunches. Another policy that the Leader of the Opposition threw out there without much thought or consideration, as he often does, was his policy to cut the DEI staff in the Public Service. Let's take a moment and actually understand what that means for not only the potentially thousands of jobs—I'm not sure of the exact number of Public Service jobs that the Leader of the Opposition wants to cut. But having diversity and equality inclusion in the public sector isn't just about ensuring that the Public Service is thinking about its workforce and being an example of the sort of workplace that we want to set in Australia; it's also about making sure that our Public Service actually looks like and thinks like the Australian people. It's about making sure that people from different faith backgrounds, people from different ethnic backgrounds, people with different genders, people from a whole different mixture of life experiences, people with a disability and First Nations people—a whole range of different people who bring their own expertise and their own life experience—are able to provide frank and fearless advice to the government. This policy is straight out of a very conservative playbook that we're seeing right around the world in Western countries right now, and I would say that Australia doesn't need these sorts of culture wars. We need a strong Public Service and a diverse Public Service. We need to make sure our Public Service respects and takes their own work seriously and we need to make sure that people have an opportunity to serve in our Public Service from all different walks of life. Canberra can be an isolated place, and we want to make sure people come to the Australian Public Service with a whole raft of experiences, backgrounds and wisdom to create and craft a better government. I also want to talk about one of the projects that I've got going on in my electorate, which is the Windsor Community Children's Centre. This is a community childcare centre in a new part of my electorate. Windsor was previously part of the Macnamara electorate, but then we handed Windsor to the electorate of Higgins. Now I'm very pleased that the Australian Electoral Commission has brought Windsor back into the electorate of Macnamara. It's such a wonderful part of Melbourne. It's diverse. It's full of great small businesses and cafes, and to go down Chapel Street in Windsor is to experience some of the best hospitality, food and restaurants in Melbourne. This childcare centre is also an outstanding childcare centre. It has an exceeding rating and is one of the few exceeding early education centres. It provides high-quality care, and the community-run parents organisation that runs this community centre is just extraordinary. The staff are extraordinary and dedicated to their work. They are hardworking early educators and they deserve to be supported. But, right now, Swinburne University of Technology were given the land that the childcare centre is on for free by the Victorian government, and they are choosing to rezone that land to make a profit. Let's just stop and think about that for a second. The university was given a piece of land for free. They are the custodians of an early education centre. I would've thought that Swinburne would value that they are getting market rate from the community childcare centre, and yet they are squeezing them out to try and sell the land off to the highest bidder and redevelop it so that they can get every dollar out of this site. The approach that they are taking is a very, very poor reflection on Swinburne. They don't need to go down that road. They can stop everything, and they can work with us to try and ensure that the future of the Windsor Community Children's Centre is secure. We are also doing a whole lot of other work around Macnamara. I was very pleased to welcome the minister for infrastructure to Macnamara to announce as part of our Thriving Suburbs Program that we are going to partner with the City of Port Phillip and the Victorian government to upgrade the next part of the St Kilda pier. Over summer, you may have seen images of the St Kilda pier in Melbourne absolutely chockers. It has been redeveloped, and there is a fantastic swimming area. There is a big amphitheatre around it. If you haven't been to Melbourne recently and you want to come on a hot day and go for a walk, go to the St Kilda pier; it is much cooler than I am! It's a great place, and you'll love it. It has a great atmosphere and there are so many people everywhere. Also, if you come to the pier at the right time, you can see some of our beautiful little penguins as well. We are going to be working with the council on the extension of the pier leading into the foreshore, upgrading that area so it's a far more seamless and beautiful part of St Kilda. We'll be complementing the state government's work to redevelop the pier. It's another example of us working with other layers of government, getting the right projects, getting buy-in and upgrading our beautiful part of Melbourne. The last local project that I want to mention and that we're delivering for the people of Macnamara, also part of our Thriving Suburbs Program, is our partnership with the City of Melbourne. We have a new lord mayor of the City of Melbourne, and I congratulate Lord Mayor Reece on his recent election. This project is something he and I have been speaking about and working collaboratively on for a long period of time. If you come down into Southbank, heading towards the city, on the northern side of City Road there is currently a big undercroft which is basically just an old taxi rank. It's quite poorly lit, and it's a bit of an eyesore and a concrete jungle. We are going to completely change and refresh that whole area. We're going to put in basketball courts, an open space, park benches and a little recreational area. It's going to be there for the people of Southbank and anyone coming to visit our beautiful gateway into the city and our arts precinct to come and enjoy. This is a really good project. It's another example of partnering and getting things done with local government. The lord mayor and I have been out there many times to look at the different options and to work with other layers of government, and I'm really pleased that we are getting this done for the people of Southbank so there is more open space for them. I might even go down there and have a few shots on the new basketball courts when it's built. Shanahan, Miss Elizabeth Ann 112 19:08 Ms McKENZIE 124514 Flinders Taking linguistic licence on the grievance debate tonight, please bear with me as I explore the grief in grievance and talk about the loss of my dear old mum over this past summer break. My mum, Elizabeth Ann Shanahan, was an extraordinary person. I know everyone says that about their mum, and everyone is right because mums are extraordinary, but my mum was next level. She was a freak, a unique, phenomenal, contributive human. Mum didn't understand rest, and her life was about purpose and serving others. Known as Ann or Miss Shanahan—Bear to me and my friends—she held tight to the tradition that medical specialists always went by their maiden name and by 'Miss' and 'Mr', none of this 'Dr' stuff. It belied her quarter of a century of training to become one of Australia's best cardiothoracic surgeons. As a child, she had wanted to be a lawyer but her highly influential and most adored father, Thomas Shanahan, thought lawyering was a job for mugs, so she set her sights on medicine in the fifties, only to come back to law in the eighties. At medical school, she was one of only a handful of women. She resided at Janet Clarke Hall but rapidly found her way into the boys' college next door, first as a tutor and later sharing the warden's cottage of Trinity Cottage with Ian McKenzie, where they resided as senior medical students. Like me, they bought their first home in their happy place, albeit on the other side, at Point Lonsdale, where their weekends, like mine at least before politics, were filled with water, swimming, sailing and entertaining good mates. Ian still lives there on the site they bought together, and when I go and visit him he tells me stories of my mum: 'She was an amazing woman, your mum.' While they topped their graduating medical class together, Mum caught the wave of a feminist era which saw her clean sweep scholarships desperate to attract women into the surgical profession. She spent a fair amount of her winnings on ball gowns. She had come to medical school without much money in her pocket but eventually there was a conversation about whether she would have to give some of it back. I'm now the beneficiary of those ball gowns, hand-stitched on Collins Street, and her tailored winter fur coats from her time in Boston and Toronto. Mum loved her time in Canada and the United States, and she tells the most outrageous stories of her wild adventure, blind to discrimination. Mum just ploughed through attitudes towards women in medicine and ploughed through attitudes to different skin colours as well. To Mum, everyone was the same. It was talent that mattered. Mum raised me with the help of a mothercraft nurse of whom I have spoken elsewhere and my grandmother, who moved in after Molly left. I loved Nan to bits for the time she had to play and tell me stories, and when home Mum always seemed to be on the phone to her patients, their families or her colleagues. But I realise now how precious it was that Mum got to have Nan by her side for those last years of Nan's life—a privilege I had hoped to recreate for Bear, but it was not to be. After Nan passed, I became Mum's constant companion, accompanying her on her ward rounds. In the last few weeks it has been a delight to hear from Mum's former colleagues, who remember me as a five- or six-year-old trailing my Winnie Blue fagging mum through the cancer wards of Prince Henry's or the Alfred or sound asleep in the nurse's station while Mum sewed up someone's chest in the middle of the night. Whenever we had been called out to such a night-time rescue mission by some ding-dong trying to stab themselves through the heart to prove their unrequited love, Mum would invariably provide a lesson the next day on which bits to go for next to get the job done properly next time. Mum's medical skills were second to none; even her exceptional oncologist, David Pook, would admit it. At medical school, she won countless clinical and exhibition prizes. She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, the American Association of University Women overseas scholarship, the Patterson Traveling Fellowship and the National Heart Foundation of Australia overseas fellowship, and, finally, she picked up the Paul Dudley White research fellowship of the Massachusetts heart association. She studied and worked at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She practised as a thoracic surgeon from 1971 until 2004 across Cabrini, Dandenong Hospital, Moorabbin, Southern Memorial, Dandenong Valley Private, Monash, Prince Henry's and the Alfred. She also taught at Monash from 1974 to 1985. She was loved by her patients and their families and was loved by her students, but she gave up teaching to become a student herself in '85, this time in law, graduating in '89. While studying in Clayton at night she continued as a surgeon during the week, and when she graduated and joined the Victorian Bar she operated on her patients on the weekends. The bar was not for her, and she joined the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 1991. When she received a call from the Liberal Party after the 1996 election asking why she had resigned her longstanding membership, she explained she had received a letter from the Attorney-General stating that tribunal members should be apolitical and she duly gave up her membership. 'We didn't mean that one', she felt they wanted to tell her but didn't. She served on the tribunal for almost 30 years, and her good friend and former colleague, Deputy President Graham McDonald, told me last week: As I am sure you would appreciate Ann's combination of a medical speciality and as a barrister was then considered unusual… She was universally held in such high regard… I recall sitting with her when a professor of medicine in a speciality other than Ann's was called to give evidence. On entering the hearing room he announced, 'Why am I being called when you have [Ann] sitting there?' On another occasion we were due to take phone evidence from a rural GP. It transpired he had been a registrar of Ann's. On my announcing Ann as one of the Tribunal Members his audible response was 'Oh shit'. He knew that the (mis)diagnosis in his report would not fool Ann. Ann was always well prepared and fiercely independent. I heard from other friends at the AAT. One said, 'Your mum would always sit with the secretariat staff or the associates, rarely with the members.' It is in the last weeks that I have seen just how loved Mum was by those with whom she had everyday contact—not necessarily the surgeons or the lawyers but the secretaries, tip staff, nurses and cleaners, as well as the people who helped her look after her home and the garden she so loved because it was where life would always flourish. Humble and purposeful people were Mum's speciality in life, and her plants kept her kind and optimistic. I cannot hear from her plants but last week I got a note from Brett, who cleaned the pool at her house in that much-loved garden. Brett caught the essence of Bear in what he said to me: Hi Zoe, Brett from Swimart here. I just wanted to send my personal condolences on the passing of your mum, Ann. She always treated me well, was thankful for my pool service, and most importantly to me, she respected me as a person. I can have a laugh, she really intimidated and had it over a few of the pool guys. She knew all the answers but still asked the questions and gave us the opportunity to say our opinions. Early on, I realised it was her way of drawing the best out of people. Aside from all her knowledge, achievements and occasional scowls, she could be a softy too. She would often give a medical consult at the back door: "I heard your cough." "Have you had your asthma medication?" "What's your specialist's name?" She knew my past as a pastry chef, the past couple of years she bought me a slice of her favourite cake for my January birthday, Sadly, I missed this year. I thank Peter Dutton not only for his support of me throughout the past year but also for his raw enjoyment of my mother's unique character when he met her. I thank Bert van Manen and his team for helping make things work in this place so that I could always be there when mum needed me. I thank my colleagues on all sides for their constant care, cheeriness and asking after Bear. I'm always keen to highlight the kindness of this place across the aisle, so I thank her local MP, the member for Higgins, and my friends, the members for McNamara, Wills, Parramatta and Reid together with Senator Ciccone. You all knew what I was going through, and if I had a particularly feisty appearance on the ABC or Sky alongside you, you always knew why. On my own side, my goodness, I would not have gotten through the last year without the fine friendship and constant care of the members for Menzies and Nicholls. Indeed, the member for Nicholls and his extraordinary kids came to stay with us a few weeks ago, and Sam's remarkable daughter Sophie got to spend time with mum talking about life, purpose and adventure. Mum was, by then, a tired lion, but I got the impression that Sophie appreciated those moments. I thank my colleagues and former colleagues in this place for the abundance of calls, letters, cards, flowers and stories of mum over the past few weeks. I especially thank my kind constituents whose letters and messages, even though they did not know Bear, have been of enormous comfort. Politics is a hard life. It takes our families from us, and it demands we put it before everything else. Over the last 12 months, I have lost my family to the demands of this job, and now I've lost my mum to cancer, but—as is life, and the blessings we cannot predict in it—it also opened up a new family to me, one that I have built, one which understands the demands these jobs put on us and one which very much loved and admired my mum and her determination for my contribution here. When mum was diagnosed with kidney cancer a year ago, I set up a small WhatsApp group comprising my friends who knew mum well, my girlfriends as far back as primary school, ex-boyfriends she loved, former colleagues and friends that mum had helped confront tricky health issues themselves—the people who have become my family. They were there for me throughout this annus horribilis and were always there when I needed someone to step in for Bear. I'm so glad that, in the final days of mum's life, so many of them were able to come and spend time with her through the glorious Mornington Peninsula summer: Jackie Suchames, Marisa Lo, Christina Teague, Julia Doyle, Deb Kwasnicki, David Luff and Aldo Borgu in particular. Early in the summer, mum would regale them with stories of her studies in the United States or the adventures of her spinster, teetotaller, pub-running grand-aunts in Trafalgar. Towards the end, it was just quiet and loving company, and I'm so grateful to Jules, Deb and Stephen, who held me up in those last weeks so, in turn, I could hold up mum. We would not be who we are without these people, and on behalf of mum and me, I say thank you. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230886 I thank the member for her contribution, and I am very confident that her mother would be extraordinarily proud of her. Asylum Seekers, Albanese Government 114 19:18 Ms FERNANDO 299964 Holt Family is everything. It is the foundation of our lives, our communities and our future. Labor understands this. That's why family must be at the heart of everything we do as a government, because when families are together, they thrive, and when families thrive, the entire nation is stronger. For too long, thousands of families in Australia were torn apart, left in limbo by a system that refused to see them as people, as parents, as children and as loved ones. These were people who came to our shores seeking safety, arriving before Operation Sovereign Borders came into effect in 2013. They fled war. They fled persecution. Many fled the brutality of the Taliban. They sought refuge in Australia, the country that prides itself on giving people a fair go. But for over a decade, the Liberal Party denied them that fair go. For 10 long years, they were left in uncertainty, unable to return to the homes they had fled, unable to build secure futures and unable to reunite with their families. Labor could not let that injustice continue. Since being elected, we have given 19,150 people the dignity and security they deserve, transitioning them on to permanent visas and finally giving them a pathway out of limbo. Just as importantly, we have reunited families. We have granted 8,000 visas to the partners and children of these families because no government should ever be in the business of keeping families apart. Yet the Liberal Party want to undo this progress. They are already threatening to revoke resolution-of-status visas, ripping stability away from thousands of people who have already endured so much. They want to reintroduce ministerial direction 80 banning refugees from sponsoring family members. And it doesn't stop there. They want to slash Australia's humanitarian intake, cutting offshore humanitarian visas from 20,000 places to just 13,000 places per year. That means fewer people finding safety, fewer families finding hope and fewer children finding a future free from fear. This is the Liberal Party's legacy: cruelty, division and heartlessness. Labor rejects this. We believe in fairness. We believe in compassion. We believe that no child should be separated from their parents and that no person should be denied the chance to rebuild their life in safety. This is why we fight for families who call Australia home. We stand for families, we stand for a stronger, fairer and more compassionate Australia and we will never, ever back down from that fight. Families are at the heart of everything this government does because families are the foundations of our lives, our communities and our future. Labor understands this. In Holt, which covers Hampton Park, Narre Warren South, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, all of Cranbourne, Clyde, Pearcedale and Tooradin, I see this every day. Holt is where young families move to start their lives together. It is where they get married, buy their first homes and welcome their first children into the world. Nearly three-quarters of households in our community are families with children. Their hopes and dreams drive me every single day. That's why I have been laser focused on delivering for them. We are making sure parents have the support they need from the very start of life. Labor created paid parental leave because parents deserve time to bond with their newborns. Now we are expanding it to 26 weeks, giving mums and dads more time with their little ones. For the first time, we are paying superannuation on paid parental leave because no mother should retire with less simply because she took time out to care for her family. Supporting families doesn't stop there. We know that child care is not just about convenience; it's about giving every child the best start in life. This is why we've made early childhood education more affordable for 96 per cent of families, saving them an average of $2,700 since we introduced our reforms. For too long, early childhood educators, who nurture and shape our children in their most important years, have been underpaid and undervalued. That's why Labor delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for them. This investment is already making a difference. One provider, Goodstart, saw a 35 per cent increase in job applications since signing on to the agreement. That means more passionate educators staying in the sector and more children getting the quality care they deserve. We are also investing $1 billion to expand childcare places right where they're needed the most—in growing suburbs like Clyde, Cranbourne West and Botanic Ridge. Thousands of families are moving in every year. They need accessible, high-quality child care. This will be life changing for parents, especially mothers, who are too often forced to choose between work and care. Labor believe no family should have to make that choice. That's why we are taking the first step towards universal early childhood education. We will start ensuring every child can access at least three days of subsidised care a fortnight by abolishing the unfair activity test. This test has hurt low-income families the most, forcing parents to ask themselves, 'Is it worth it?' Labor are saying: 'Yes, it is worth it. Your child deserves a quality education; you deserve support.' As Wendy Black, director of policy at the Business Council of Australia, has said: A contemporary, universal childcare system can ensure … Australians have the foundational skills they … need over their lifetime and maximise the human talent pipeline of our nation. This is what investing in families looks like. It is what building a stronger future looks like, because when we invest in our children we invest in a brighter, fairer and more prosperous Australia. Under Labor, that's exactly what we'll keep doing. But we know families need more than just childcare support. They need relief from the rising cost of living. As someone who has spent most of my life working for minimum wage, I know how important it is to save every single dollar. Last year, backed by passionate members of this House, the Prime Minister made the brave decision to redesign the coalition's unfair stage 3 tax cuts. Under the coalition, billions would have flowed into the wealthiest households. Instead, Labor redesigned the tax cuts so that it benefits low- to middle-income families. As a result, 96 per cent of families in Holt are better off, with the average taxpayer saving $1,700 a year. And that's not all. We introduced a $300 energy bill rebate to help families manage rising electricity costs. Families have already received $150 with another $75 on the way next month. This has helped push down power bills by 17.9 per cent across the nation. These reforms are all about helping families focus on what matters the most—each other. Every single dollar you save is another dollar that goes towards supporting your family. I understand this and the government understands this. While the Liberal Party is focused on giving billions of dollars of taxpayer money to pay for CEO lunches, I know that families are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living. That's why I will keep working for you in federal parliament to deliver more relief, more opportunities and a stronger future for every family in the electorate of Holt. The DEPUTY SPEAKER 230886 The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 192(b). The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. Federation Chamber adjourned at 19 : 28