On behalf of the Standing Committee of Appropriations and Administration, I present committee report No. 23, Budget estimates 2022-23.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

On behalf of the Minister for the Public Service, I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Australian Taxation Office—Fit-out of new leased premises, 255 George Street, Sydney.

The Australian Taxation Office is proposing to undertake a fit-out of works for the newly leased property at 255 George Street, Sydney. The proposed works will facilitate the Australian Taxation Office's relocation from its existing office at 52 Goulburn Street, Sydney, following the lease expiry at the end of October 2022. The fit-out will support a flexible working environment and reduce property operating costs while meeting the occupational density targets that are set by the Commonwealth. The estimated cost of works is around $46.3 million, including GST, to be funded from the Australian Taxation Office's existing capital budget.

The project was referred to the Public Works Committee on 16 December 2021. The committee has now recommended that the House of Representatives resolve, pursuant to section 18(7) of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, that it is expedient to carry out the works. The committee has further recommended that the Auditor-General consider conducting an audit of the process undertaken by the Australian Taxation Office in selecting 255 George Street as the preferred site for the works. Subject to parliamentary approval, the fit-out works are expected to commence in June 2022 and be completed by June 2023.

On behalf of the government I'd like to thank the committee for the work they undertake and, as a former member of that committee, offer my commentary that the Australian tax office is without a doubt one of the most prudent fit-outs, by cost per metre, of any of our government departments.

Question agreed to.

The American poet Robert Frost was renowned for his work The Road Not Taken, which centres on a choice between two paths. 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood', it begins, with the poet noting that he could not travel both and be one traveller. So, despite eyeing off one path, he:

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

When I came to this place, someone told me about two paths that lay ahead: the path of the poodle and the path of the mongrel. They said that the poodles in politics do what they're told, get the accolades and end up sniffing the ministerial leather right up close. But nothing changes if it's left up to the poodles. That's where the mongrels come in. Political mongrels might be mangy; they might growl when they're grumpy, and they might soil the carpet every so often, but they bark when needed and aren't afraid to nip issues in the bud when needed as well. They keep the poodles in the ministerial leather that they're accustomed to but are pretty much put in the 'never to be promoted' column. It doesn't need to be said that I took the path of the political mongrel.

George Bernard Shaw's comparison of the reasonable man with the unreasonable man comes to mind when talking about political poodles and mongrels:

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Political mongrels bring about change. Political mongrels get things done. For my electorate and my people I've proudly been a political mongrel. As a result we've seen some big things delivered for Dawson. The Mackay Ring Road, at nearly half a billion dollars, is the biggest public infrastructure project built in the Mackay region. We've also secured funding for stage 2 of that road, which is the Mackay port access road. Up in the Burdekin the Haughton River bridge has been fixed, and we're flood-proofing that section of the Bruce Highway, with half a billion dollars. Mackay's northern entrance is being upgraded right now, and the Walkerston bypass is about to get going to the west of Mackay. We've seen the Sandy Gully bridge upgraded on the Bruce Highway near Bowen, the upgrade of the southern approaches to Townsville, and overtaking lanes and pavement improvement between Kuttabul and Calen and also near Bloomsbury, between Proserpine and Bowen, just north of Brandon and near Alligator Creek. That's just a fraction of the $2.5 billion worth of projects that has been or is being spent on the Bruce Highway in Dawson.

We've also seen Urannah Dam funded and about to be constructed, and now Hells Gates Dam is also funded. Local roads and community facilities have also gotten a slice of the action. The new Proserpine entertainment centre has just been built. The Whitsunday Sports Park has been redeveloped and given a new clubhouse. There are new Shute Harbour facilities. We've got a headspace for Mackay and now one in Proserpine, too. There's the Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Centre, the redevelopment and extension of the CQ rescue helicopter service hangar and headquarters, the Great Barrier Reef cricket arena being built at Harrup Park Country Club, the Home Hill State High School's multipurpose hall, the new Burdekin basketball courts, and upgrades at Townsville's Brolga Park and at the Townsville Turf Club. I could go on and on listing numerous community groups, sporting clubs and schools that have received new facilities, upgrades and extensions, courtesy of funding that I fought for—not to mention outcomes for industry sectors like agriculture, mining and tourism—but I won't, because we'd be here all day and the parliament has other business to attend to.

But I will dwell for a moment on the bigger achievements that, while benefiting Dawson, are broader than just my electorate. The sugar industry code of conduct is a key example of this. When cane farmers came to me with serious complaints of foreign owned multinational monopoly milling companies trying to offer 'take it or leave it' contracts that cut farmers out of having a say in the pricing of their product, I knew something had to be done. I do not want to see farmers or anyone else in this country basically becoming serfs to a foreign landlord. So I fought, alongside others, for a sugar industry code of conduct which set out the rules for fair agreements between farmers and the monopoly millers and established an umpire—an arbitration system—for disputes around those agreements.

Likewise with insurance premiums in North Queensland going up year after year after year, in some cases by 1,000 per cent over a five-year period: I knew there had to be government intervention. That's why I fought hard to get a northern Australian reinsurance pool established to offset the rising re-insurance burden of cyclones and related flooding and, ultimately, substantially bringing down insurance costs for North Queenslanders.

One of the greatest achievements.

Thank you, Member for Kennedy. I've spoken a bit about the local deliverables in this regard. I led the charge on a 'Fix the Bruce' campaign in 2013, and it resulted in $10 billion being set aside by the then Abbott-Truss government for Bruce Highway projects.

Against the extreme green network, the Labor Party, GetUp, and many left-wing media outlets, I fought for the Adani Carmichael mine, now operating under the name of Bravus. We fought against desperate but well-funded attempts to stop that mine, attempts that falsely tried to tout different entities as potential victims of that mine: the Great Barrier Reef; the fishing industry; the local Indigenous people, who actually supported the mine; the black-throated finch; the ornamental snake; and the yakka skink. We were told that the mine wouldn't happen, that it was uneconomical, that it was going to be completely automated, and all the rest of it. Yet, last week, I travelled out to the mine site, where they're digging and exporting coal and employing miners, truck drivers and operators. The Great Barrier Reef is still here, as are the fish, the finches, the snakes and the skinks. And the local Indigenous community are getting jobs and contracts associated with the mine and the port.

I need to mention the royal commission into the banks. Award-winning reporter Sharri Markson wrote about the then Prime Minister:

… facing a backbench revolt led by Nationals MP George Christensen over the issue at a time when the Coalition's numbers in Parliament were down as a result of a dual citizenship crisis.

And veteran reporter Michelle Grattan noted:

… the Government was forced to drop its resistance when Nationals rebels threatened to revolt.

Take a bow, Queensland Nationals backbenchers Barry O'Sullivan, George Christensen and Llew O'Brien. You did everyone a service.

Because I had been approached by many small businesses, farmers and homeowners in my electorate who had been done over by banks and insurers, I knew that the royal commission into the financial services sector needed to happen. You only get a few shots at going against your own side on an issue like this, so I didn't want to waste my vote on a do-nothing motion but rather wait until a substantive bill came forward that could force the hand of the executive—and coming it was; former senator Barry O'Sullivan, former senator John 'Wacka' Williams, the member for Wide Bay, the member for Kennedy and myself were making sure of it. So they buckled, and the rest is history—or at least it should be.

Sadly, legacy issues remain for banking victims. I am still, even today, dealing with new victims of banking misconduct. The widespread misconduct of the banks meant that less than two per cent of submissions to the royal commission got to be heard. So the government announced that submitters could have their case heard by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, AFCA. But the problem was is that they will only hear cases from within the last six years. Many victims fall outside that time frame. The sad reality is that a bank can decide, still, that they don't want a customer on their books anymore and call the loan in, with no warning, despite the customer not missing a single repayment. Many customers in regional areas face this. When the CBA bought out Bankwest and when ANZ bought out Landmark, family businesses and family farms were destroyed overnight after surviving good times and bad times for decades and generations. There was no warning, just a message from the top to the business bankers: 'Raise their interest rates, call them in, do whatever you need to get them off the books.' Was this process criminal? Perhaps. We may yet find out. The banks shouldn't breathe the proverbial sigh of relief just yet. But is the practice still continuing? I've sadly got to say, yes, it is.

Up until very recently, the likes of Macquarie Bank would not acknowledge or accept that this had in fact happened to their business customers, like one of my constituents, a longstanding small-business woman with a very good reputation in her local area. Macquarie decided they wanted her off the books. As a result, she, like many others I know, faced bullying and intimidation from their local business banker. Interest rates were raised on the loan to tighten cash flow. They were pressured into signing blank discharge forms or agreeing to unfavourable terms as they were being threatened that this was the only way out. The harassment was constant and unrelenting and brought a strong woman, like my constituent, to consider ending her life. Would Macquarie acknowledge this behaviour? Not on your life. The harassment and lies were often face to face—or over the phone so that Macquarie were comfortable they could withstand a legal challenge.

When will the banks just do what is right? How many Australians have to have their lives destroyed just because a bank can get away with it. The harassment and unconscionable behaviour of the banks has to stop. The royal commission just ripped the bandaid off the wound that is our current banking system. We need to keep the pressure on the banks to ensure the protection of families, retirees, farmers and small businesses continues and goes further still. The government needs to strengthen the power of the watchdogs, ASIC and APRA. It needs to ensure that AFCA is truly independent and not just the rubber stamp of the banks that it currently is. The government also needs to establish the compensation scheme of last resort as soon as possible, and it needs to have broad coverage if it's going to have any effect—that is, it must cover all products and services that fall in AFCA's jurisdiction.

Many of you have asked why I am leaving. My answer is varied. Firstly, there's family. Some of you know that my wife, April, and I now have a beautiful 20-month-old daughter by the name of Margaret Anne. Full of beans, she is, and she wakes up mum every morning that I'm down here asking 'Daddy?' so April can videocall me to talk to her. I've become a forced fan of CoComelon, Super Simple Songs and Frozen, because of my little Graget, as she calls herself. What you might not know, though, are the circumstances of her birth.

In early 2020 April was overseas, staying with family, while I was off seeing Julian Assange in Belmarsh prison, in London, and busy with about four weeks of parliamentary sittings, a couple of weeks of internal electorate travel and parliamentary committee work. We were supposed to meet up again in April, and then the borders slammed shut. Like many others we became victims of pandemic policy, albeit policy that I supported at the time because it seemed like the commonsense thing to do. We thought the borders would only be shut a while, but it went on and on and on.

To cut a long story short, my daughter was born overseas in July 2020 without me there for it. Worse still, there were complications for my wife, who had to have a caesarean and then suffered severe internal bleeding. At about 4 am, the surgeon attending to my wife phoned me to say the situation was very serious, and, if there were things that I had to tell my wife, now was the time to do so. You don't get a clearer, more sobering message from a doctor than that. She was then rushed into emergency surgery. That morning I had to front a meeting of local farmers and then a press conference, all the while not knowing whether my wife was alive or not. Thankfully she was, and the surgeons there saved her life. On that note I am thankful to Senator Marise Payne for what she did to get info via our embassy to the hospital and vice versa. In the proceeding months, as April was recuperating, without me pulling rank—it would have been in the papers if I'd tried to do so—thankfully, we were reunited. So there's that.

Then—here comes the hard bit, guys—there's this place. I actually don't like coming to Canberra anymore. The parliamentary processes to me seem so stale and staged. Question time's a farce, where government backbenchers ask pointless questions written by someone else and opposition members ask pointless 'gotcha' questions that never get answers. And the public hate the vitriol and the behaviour displayed during question time. I'm guilty; I stand condemned for being part of that behaviour. The matter of public importance is nothing more than a sop to those who want to relive their high-school or university debating club years, and votes and proceedings could simply be dialled in; they're that predictable. We say something in favour of a government bill, the opposition say something against it and we all vote for it or against it, depending on what the party says. In the Labor Party you get expelled for doing anything else. On our side you just get ostracised.

What happened to individuality in this place? What happened to critical thinking? What happened to true representation? As a nation we bemoan the fact that most politicians are white-bread, cookie-cutter replicas of one another, but, on the other hand, we decry a spark of individuality as chaos, destabilisation and disunity—or at least the media does. We can't have it both ways. There needs to be greater room in this place for backbenchers to say what they really think, publicly, in this chamber, and to vote accordingly. The notion of party discipline needs to give way to representation, just like it does in many other legislatures around the world, otherwise we run the risk of Parliament House degenerating into a sheltered workshop for people who can't think for themselves. So there's that.

Then there's COVID. You've heard it before. We've blown up freedoms, bodily autonomy, medical privacy, human rights, community cohesion and many businesses and jobs, all for a virus with a 0.27 per cent infection fatality rate. It should never have happened, and yet some of it is still happening. We here could have and should have at least stopped the discrimination from happening by putting rules around access to the Australian Immunisation Register data—rules that said, 'You can't use that data for the purposes of terminating someone's employment or discriminating against them in supplying a service.' We didn't. It is not the only thing that I have disagreed with the government on. There is the net zero policy, which I vehemently disagree with on the basis that it is ultimately going to cost jobs—and probably jobs in my region.

There is a digital identity bill we are crafting that is being pushed by the elite globalist World Economic Forum. No-one has ever approached me as a member of parliament and said they want the nation to adopt a digital identity system. Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum has called for it but we don't answer to them. Our democracy is one that should be from the ground up, the people up, not from the globalists down. I am not sure whether I've departed from the values of my party in government or the other way around—perhaps it's a bit of both—so continuing on as the member for Dawson, for the LNP or otherwise, when my values more and more differed from the government I was part of, weighed heavily on me. I'm very fond of the reading the meditations—

I know you do, Member for Kennedy. I'm very fond of reading the meditations of the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius. He wrote:

At some point you have to recognise what world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don't use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.

So I'm freeing myself, knowing this is no longer the world I belong to. But as I take my leave I want to share with my colleagues a list of things that matter to conservatives and patriots according to me—strap yourself in! Some of these may be unpopular, not in keeping with the times or the way of the world, but, to quote one of my favourite saints, Saint Athanasius, 'If the world is against the truth then I'm against the world.'

I begin with the most important matter of them all—life. The right to life is the most fundamental liberty of them all, and we should be acting to defend it. Freedom of speech is paramount for any democracy, including the speech we don't like. Efforts to ban free speech with political buzzwords like 'hate speech', 'vilification', 'disinformation' and 'misinformation' are harmful to democracy. Likewise, foreign owned big-tech oligarchies should not be allowed to censor political and philosophical discourse in this country. The legacy media is biased and has become a cheer squad for big government and wokeism. We should call it out, where it is privately owned, and never seek to have government interfere with it, but taxpayers should not be funding a biased fake news media outlet; the ABC must be reformed.

People should not be forced into any medical procedure under threat of losing their jobs, losing payments or any other form of restriction, coercion or duress. As I said, our federal government should have acted on this. We should never sacrifice people's livelihoods, people's jobs, people's businesses and farms, our regions or our nation on the altar of the political religion that is man-made climate change. Net zero emissions will mean net zero jobs. The World Economic Forum, the United Nations and other globalist bodies should not dictate to Australia what laws we have. Democracy in this country is from the bottom up, not the top down.

Australian citizens should not be locked up in foreign jail cells for breaking politically motivated laws in other countries that they didn't even set foot in, no matter how powerful that country is. We should pull out all stops to bring home Australians who are political prisoners, like Julian Assange and Cheng Lei. We should ban communist China, its state owned enterprises and state linked enterprises from owning anything of strategic value in this country. That includes ports, farms, agribusiness, power and water utilities, the telecommunication sector, the resources sector, and defence and defence-related industries.

We need a strong Defence Force and we should support our veterans who have served this nation. We should make it a national policy to maintain and even subsidise a strong and resilient manufacturing sector and farming sector so that we are self-sufficient and economically sovereign.

We should let kids be kids and not push woke trends and ideologies on them. Parents who undertake their own child care should be compensated to the same extent as those who use childcare services. Parental alienation is a form of child abuse; it should be outlawed. Every child deserves a relationship with their mother and father, and the family law system should recognise this. Domestic violence is reprehensible, but masculinity is not toxic and most men are not violent.

We don't need to be welcomed to our own country and we should maintain a system whereby public services are not provided according to your race. Taxation is theft. The more money we allow working Australians to keep in their pockets, the better. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, corporate Australia has gone woke, if you hadn't noticed it. By and large, they are no friend of conservatives and we owe them no favours.

If my list of political ponderables seems dangerous to you, beware: I'm about to go through a list of thank yous, which is always rife with danger due to the risk of leaving people out. If I leave people out, I am very, very sorry.

Firstly, thank you to my wife, April; my baby daughter, Margaret; my dad and my late mother; my sister, Kathleen; and brother, Antony; all of my wider supportive relatives in the Mackay region; my cousin Peter Christensen; and relatives elsewhere who have had my back; and to close friends AJ Stehbens; Matt and Larissa Loveday and their children, James and Ashalea; Matt and Casey Fitzpatrick and their lovely family.

To my good friend who is not here, Senator Matt Canavan, for all the support he's given me through our journey together. To the Deputy Prime Minister, a good mate even before I came to this place. To the member for Wide Bay, who has become a very good mate. To the member for Hinkler, who has certainly helped me out a fair bit in my electorate and who has been a bit of a sounding board. To the member for Wright—where are you, Member for Wright? Good on you! Buchho, you'll always be a mate. To the Minister for Regional Health, who has delivered over and over again for us and is always a good sounding board. To the member for Riverina: we spent so much time together on those benches over there, causing trouble. Despite all the water that's gone under the bridge, I consider you a very good friend. To Senator McMahon and Senator McDonald—good friends all. To the member for Leichhardt, who fought hard on that insurance issue. To the member for Capricornia and the member for Herbert; as neighbours we've assisted each other on various different issues. To the Minister for Home Affairs—he's back in his office doing hard work—who has also been a good bloke to talk to. To Senator McKenzie for all of her support. I should name the Assistant Treasurer as well for getting that insurance thing across the line.

To Senator Rennick and Senator Antic, who have been buddies in fighting against the vaccine mandates. I also want to thank the member for Hughes, the member for Clark, the member for Mayo, the member for Kennedy, Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts. Some of you might think it's a bit weird to thank people in other parties, from the Nationals to, particularly, these independents we worry about or the minor parties we worry about. But I've always got on well with all of them. As Bob says—this is my homage to you, Bob; I do a good impression—'May a thousand blossoms bloom!'

To state MPs Dale Last, Amanda Camm, Steve Andrew and Shane Knuth: thank you. I want to acknowledge Tony Abbott, Warren Truss, De-Anne Kelly, the late Roger Kelly, Ray and Mavis Braithwaite, Ron Boswell, former senator Nigel Scullion, Barry O'Sullivan, Peta Credlin, Rosemary and Ray Menkens, Ian Macfarlane, Peter Slipper, Ewan Jones, Cory Bernardi, John 'Wacka' Williams, Ian and Lesley Macdonald, Peter Lindsay, Ted Malone and Karen. A shout-out to former senator Bob Brown for his contribution at the last federal election!

They say in this job you are only as good as your staff, and I have some bloody good staff who have had to put up with a lot. So thank you to you to Shelley Argent, Megan Kerr, Dave Westman, Lauren Ballard, Bec Reid and Alissia Carroll, who were with me to the very end. Also thanks to Lynnis Bonanno, Dennis O'Riely, James Moyes, Belinda Niemann, Brett Leach, Shannon Mapley, Sue Breen, Wendy Cumming, Danielle Neilson, Nicole Batzloff, Ross Waraker, Dianne Hatfield, Cody Vella, Damian Tessman, Tamara Candy, Dominic McCarthy, Jess Dawes, Kathleen Agnew, Margie McLean, Mary Conelius, Matt Derlagen, Max Tomlinson, Rae Lloyd-Jones and Rebecca Chandler. Your work has been very much appreciated.

Dawn Klibbe, her son and my late friend Martin Klibbe, Dawn's daughters Alana and Anita; Jolyon and Enid Forsyth; Paul and Leanne Fordyce; Michael Jones; Geoff Baguley; Ken and Joyce Kelly; Doug and Kaye Petersen; Chris Bonnano; Graeme Cumming; Simon Vigiliante; Jennifer Azzopardi; Geoff Cox; Dave Cox; Sophie and Lawson Camm; Shane Newell; Ari Oliver; Andrew Cripps; Stan and Merewyn Wright; Jewell and late Jim Gist; Joe Moore; Laurie Nielsen; Bob Smith; Robyn Halls; Colin Hoffmeier; Col Glover; Laurie Pinder; Joe and Jan Scibberas; Pam and Mike Farrell; Judy Davies; Richard Bonato; Jack McLean; Ian and Rhonda Braithwaite; Peg and her daughter, Melinda Holborn; John Goldston; Charlie and Jacqui Camilleri; Dr Paul Joice and his wife, Leni; Gaye Gillies and her late husband; John, Ken and Joyce Kelly; Jason and Tracie Newitt; Tony Perna and his late wife, Josie; Allan and Ethel Millington; Peter Ware and Trish Mahlberg, who are pilots of mine; Bob and Helen Baker; Tony Large; Bruce and Halina Hedditch from the Bowen pub, the Larrikin; Ian Shield; Bob Smith; Bob Harris; John and Kylie Smith and daughter Natalie; Frosty and Heather McLean; Bill and Margaret McLean; Les and Nadine Durnsford; Bob Morton; Barney Mezies; Tom and Jan Callow; Neville and Elvie Dickinsen; Brian and Len Martin; Ciara Ross; John and Bev Honeycombe; Pam and Neil Pratt; Peter and Lorraine Henderson; Don and Liz Hick; Mitch Clarke; Peter Hall and the Hall family; Gary Spence; Larry Anthony; Ben Hindmarsh; Jeff McCormack; Lincoln Folo; Paul Darrouzet; Alan Gascoyne; Terry Dennis; Gina Rinehart; and all the Liberal-National Party and Team Dawson members and supporters along the way. That wasn't the full membership list, by the way, but I want to thank each and every one of them and all of the others that I have failed to mention. I'm sorry if I have failed to mention them. They've been a great help, and I will always be thankful for them.

To industry and community stalwarts Paul Schembri, Kerry Latter, Alan Parker, Max and Margaret Menzel, Sharon Smallwood, Annie Judd, Toni Randall, Dr Peter Ridd, David Caracciolo, Greg Chappell, Keith Payne VC and wife Flo, Peter Shaw and Jason Sharam, Christine Keys and the Freedom Australia Mackay team, Margaret Shaw, Berenice and Peter Wright, Ian Rowan, Mike and Pam Farrell, Vic and Evelyn Vassallo, Dale Smith, Bruce Smith and the wider Smith family, Bil Brewer and Col Mang: thank you very much for all your support.

To dearly departed supporters, and the families of those supporters, the late Jeff Walker, the late Jim Wort, the late Professor Bob Carter, the late Ursula Murray, the late Bill and Eileen Deicke and the late Jack Long: thank you. To Teeshan Johnson, David Goodwin, David Pellowe, Warwick Marsh, Kurt Mahlberg, Dan Flynn and Wendy Francis: thank you. To my local mayors Greg Williamson, Lynn McLaughlin, Jenny Hill and Andrew Wilcox, and all the mayors past and councillors past and present: thank you for your support. And for spiritual support along the way I want to particularly thank Reverend John McKim, Father Richard Martin, Father Mark Withoos, Father Bill Myer, Bishop Keith Joseph, Bishop John Ford, Bishop Ian Woodman, Bishop David Chislett and our unsung parliamentary chaplains Reverend Eric Burton, Reverend Peter Rose, Gordon Matton-Johnson and Lynn Thow.

That point brings me to the one I want to thank the most: my God. A lot of people have verballed me about my faith. It's there and it's strong. But I acknowledge, always, that I have not lived up to its standards, and that is the point of Christianity. None of us can live up to the standard set by the perfect man, Jesus Christ. We can aim to and we can aspire to. When we fall, we seek forgiveness, we get up and we get on with it. I'm not a saint—far from it. I'm a miserable sinner. The prayer I have prayed the most, apart from the Lord's Prayer, is what's called the Prayer of the Heart or the Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Despite being a miserable sinner, I give all of the glory of the past 11-plus years of federal parliamentary work, the six-plus years of local government work, totalling less than a month shy of 18 years of service in elected office, to my Lord God and saviour Jesus Christ. In doing so I'm reminded of the verse from St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians that has been emblazoned on the bronze paperweight that has sat on my desk in my Parliament House office. 'Stand firm', it says, in bold letters, and underneath: 'Be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.' From knowing this, I know the path that I've taken, the path of the mongrel, has been worth it.

Robert Frost finished his poem The Road Not Taken with these words, with which I finish my parliamentary contribution:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Take care, and God bless.

on indulgence—While people are congratulating the member for Dawson: there it is, colleagues. Lying somewhere at either end of Saint Augustine and Franz Kafka is the member for Dawson. For some people you can read about their careers in politics between full throttle and take-off as you leave Canberra. For some you'll have to wait till you get to Sydney. For George you could go to London, read the three books and still not quite understand it nor believe it. But his efficacy in this place is remarkable and without compare. He'll be a huge loss to the democracy of our nation and in his service to the people of Dawson.

on indulgence—Brother George, the political poodle, the political mongrel. Those of us from Queensland know you're neither. You're a North Queenslander. We get it. We absolutely get it. In terms of your fight for Adani, to give you some comfort: as the Ukrainian people fight for freedom, coal from Australia will be heading that way to power their factories, homes and heating and to help them with the fight. In the future, if that demand continues, the most likely place that can increase production is the Bravus mine in Central Queensland. So, George, congratulations, mate. We will miss you dearly. Don't be a stranger. Congratulations on a wonderful parliamentary career, and God's blessings to you as well.

I rise to deliver my valedictory speech to this House, and to those from the other place who are in the chamber: thank you for attending; I appreciate it.

This is something I thought I would never be doing, but then again I never thought I would do a first speech. In early 2010 the former member for Leichhardt, Jim Turnour, or 'Scooter' as he was known, told me, 'Ironsie, you're a nice bloke, but you're a oncer'—a little bit of irony there. Anyway, my speech today is for the good people of Swan, my family and the future generations of the Irons family to read in years to come. So, to the audience, please indulge me.

I'm following up from the member for Dawson, and he said a lot of things I probably would have said. But my speech is going to be a lot more vanilla than yours, George. I won't be talking about any achievements because I've been talking about infrastructure achievements in my 14½ years in parliament forever and a day, so I haven't got enough time to talk about them again. Today's just going to be about my time here.

Being a member of parliament was never a career option for me, even though I had a deep interest in politics. That interest developed over many years growing up in the Irons family, with dinnertime debates on everything—including politics. As most people know, I came from a family of 10 in Victoria and was born 'Stephen James Dix', spent three years in an orphanage and then was fostered by the Irons family. I'd just like to talk quickly about why they fostered me. They wanted to adopt someone, but they chose to foster me because I was the oldest child in the orphanage and was due to go to a boys home. The reason they fostered me was that they wanted to thank the country that adopted them. They had migrated from South Africa in 1959, and that was a way of them saying thank you to Australia for adopting them.

I moved to WA in 1981 for 12 months and have been there ever since. It's still like being on a holiday. I have been representing the people of the federal seat of Swan for five terms, since the 2007 election. Everyone in this place knows Swan is a marginal seat, and I'm sure those on the other side of the chamber think it should be in their stable of WA seats. But I've been very pleased to disappoint you for five terms and hope I've given the people of Swan enough reason to continue voting for the Liberals and candidate Kristy McSweeney, because, through the coalition government only, over $2 billion of infrastructure funding has been delivered to Swan while I've been in parliament.

I must say that I could not have won the seat of Swan without the support of the Liberal Party, who I was preselected by, and the hundreds of volunteers and supporters, who are too many to mention but they know who they are and they helped me win five elections.

I believe everyone has an expiry date, and my decision to retire was not taken lightly. I know it's the correct decision for me and my family, just like that little champion Ash Barty did last week—we knew when our time was up. Too many people hang on, and, as a dear friend and mentor of mine once told me, you don't say, 'I wish I'd spent more time in my office' on your headstone. Jeremy Buxton from the WA Liberal Party division contacted me shortly after I announced my retirement to give me his thoughts and some facts about Swan. Actually, when I saw Kim Beazley, another former member for Swan, on Australia Day, I suggested he and Jeremy should put their heads together and write a political history book on WA politics. I'm sure each topic would have a different version.

Jeremy told me the following interesting bits about Swan. I'll be the first member to retire from the seat of Swan since Federation. Two members have passed away in office; four members, one who I just mentioned, moved to safer seats; and the rest were defeated in elections. So, based on those facts, I'm probably the first-ever sitting member for Swan to deliver a valedictory speech. The other comment Jeremy made was, 'Political parties shouldn't expect marginal seat winners to hang around until they get defeated.' So I'm not.

I'd like to acknowledge that my wife, Cheryle; my son, Jarrad; my brother Robert; and my brother-in-law Robin are in the gallery today. Family is so important to me. To have them here today along with some of my friends and supporters is special now WA has sort of opened the borders. Jarrad was here for my first speech when he was just a lad of 15 years of age and sat with former member for Hasluck Stuart Henry and a few of my mates, who flew in from all over Australia. Stuart is here again today. It's fabulous to have you here, Jarrad, and I do apologise for all the years we missed. I do look forward to all the years we now have to catch up. Today also happens to be my foster father's date of birth. If he had been alive he'd have been 96 today.

For anyone who knows me, they'll know I have a love of music, and music has played a big part in my life and provided me with many hours of listening pleasure whilst flying across this great country to be here in parliament. So, in my speech, there'll be lines from songs of many bands and artists, and it will give some people a smile if they know them and something to do if they want to go through this speech and work out which ones are which songs.

I should have known right from the start—and that's one of those lines—in 2007 that this five-term journey I've been on would create great friendships, enduring friendships, happy times, times of achievement and excitement but also many testing and disappointing times. I'll try to focus on the good bits of my time in parliament, but if the bad bits are relevant I'll mention them and if the people don't like them they'll just have to get over it.

I arrived here in February 2008 after the 2007 election that saw 42 new members elected. This was a very foreign place to me as I'd not worked for a member of parliament, so I wasn't a staffer, and I'd only been active in party politics since 2004, and I'd visited Parliament House once and not during a sitting week. I had a lot to learn and there was no shortage of advice from wise members. Wilson Tuckey gave the new WA members some salient advice, and that was: 'You are now a VIP. Know it, but don't show it.' My friends Nola Marino and Luke Simpkins took that on board and were and have been humble members of this place, as I hope I have.

Christopher Pyne also gave me some advice and that was: 'Keep asking questions. Don't pretend you know what's going on when you don't.' The one question I forgot to ask was: what does it mean when the speaker stands in his chair? I quickly found out when Harry Jenkins stood to quieten down the chamber. Michael Keenan had asked Julia Gillard a question about guaranteeing jobs, and the noise that followed from both sides was like a football stadium. Harry stood up and I thought, 'What a perfect time to get my response in.' As the chamber fell silent I yelled out, 'Can you at least guarantee Kevin's job?' Harry tossed me straight out. He had no choice but Pyne did say the comment was worth getting tossed out for, and Don Randall added that I now had a badge of honour.

The Speaker mentioned, the next time he saw me, that he had to toss me and asked if I understood the reason why. I did, and only once more in my time in parliament have I been thrown out. A wise member said to me, 'Do you want to be known for getting thrown out in your parliamentary career or do you want to be known for other things?' so I made my mind up not to get thrown out again. I must admit, the expulsions did remind me of my time in school when I got removed from the classroom on numerous occasions. Actually, there are many things in this place that remind me of school rules!

I've just mentioned him but I'd like to acknowledge the former member for Swan and Canning, Don Randall, who left us too early in 2015. He was a rogue but also a fierce advocate for his electorate and his ideals. Don also said to me, after I won the seat of Swan in 2007: 'Steve, you're a good bloke. Just to let you know, at the next election, it's every man for himself, and leave my donors alone.' Don also carried the cardboard cut-out of Kevin Rudd into this chamber on a sitting Friday back in 2008 which caused an uproar and saw the beginning of the end of Friday sittings. What a disaster that was! I wonder which Labor strategy genius thought of that!

When I arrived in this place in 2008, even though I'd been through an induction program, I had no idea what was going on or what the processes of this place were. Fortunately I had some experienced staff working for me: Karen McGrath and the late Norm Haywood, who guided me through the initial stages of my parliamentary life. Without our staff, all of us in this place would have an extremely difficult life. To all my staff who have worked for me over my time in parliament: I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'd particularly like to thank Jonathan Martin, who was with me for a decade. I felt like I lost an adopted son when he returned to the UK. I wish him well for his whole life. He was a great staffer, and he did all the worrying! I know other staff are listening in, like Amber Newton, Roman Gowor, Jennifer Cahill and Annette Livesey, who's in the gallery here today. I've appreciated all the contributions of all my past staff and my current staff, led by David Hobbs, who have been fabulous since the last election. Another staffer, not mine but who works in this building, is in the gallery, and when I describe her to my wife, Cheryle, it's as sister, aunty and mum all rolled into one, and that's Helen Lewis. Thanks for everything, Lewis.

The whip at the time when I came into parliament was Alex Somlyay and he put me on nine back bench committees, so I was a bit busy in my first term. Stuart Robert, who's sitting next me, actually nominated me as secretary for about four of them, so I was pretty busy. The following term I reduced that to three. I made sure I went to the formation meetings so that I didn't get nominated by another colleague to be secretary of a committee. They were the days of good starting times for sitting days. Monday was 12 am and Tuesday was 2 pm for question time. We'd usually go to Timmy's for lunch with the book burners club and come back in time for question time on Tuesdays. We did sit a bit later in those days, often until 10.30 at night or four in the morning. The first sitting day of parliament 2008 saw us sit late, and I thought I'd sit in the chamber until we closed to try and get an idea of how the place operates. It was there that one of our experienced colleagues warned Stuart Robert and I that if we kept interjecting one of our interjections would be taken as our first speech.

In my first speech I spoke about the death of seven-year-old Shellay Ward in Sydney, who had died from abuse and starvation, which segues me to the next part of my speech. Somewhere in early 2008 I received a phone call from a lady called Leonie Sheedy; I see a few smiles in the chamber because many of you have dealt with her. We all think she's batshit crazy, but I love her for what she's done and the energy and passion she has committed to helping people receive redress for sexual abuse in institutions across Australia. Anyway, her phone call put me on the path with Richard Marles and Jason Clare at the start of our parliamentary journeys, and we are still on it. Hello to Jason Clare, who's at home, sick in bed. I know Leonie is listening, and I wish her well, and I say hello to all Clannies around Australia. I became the unofficial spokesperson for the coalition on matters to deal with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia, and I thank all the ministers who have been involved with redress and helping the victims of abuse since that royal commission.

My involvement has been a personal one as well, as I spent time in an institution as a child, as did two of my biological siblings, who were abused, but both have passed away. The stories I have heard, the anger I have seen and the sadness and desperation of my fellow Australians has been traumatic to share. But I felt privileged to have been able to hear them and then comfort them with a hug, a touch or a kind word. The sharing of these stories meant they lived through the trauma again, and it meant a lot to me that they were prepared to share it with me. I believe them and their tragic stories.

One of my best experiences as a member of parliament was to engage a group of victims of abuse with the younger generation of victims who had experienced various types of abuse, ranging from domestic violence to drug and sexual abuse. They sat together for a couple of hours telling stories, and the companion for the young victims phoned me later to tell me that the young group had cried in the car all the way back home because they were so moved by the stories they had heard. It had been an emotional experience for them, and it had made them aware that abuse in Australia hadn't just happened to them; it had been generational. This is the type of thing MPs do which makes this job worthwhile. The work Leonie does will continue, and I was proud to secure funding for the Orphanage Museum, which is now being established in Geelong and which I am a committee member of.

Another area I quickly focused on when I got to parliament was getting as many industries involved in coming to Canberra as possible to engage with the processes of legislation that directly affected their industries. I was amazed at the lack of input to legislation by industry, as it was being done a lot of the time by people who had no experience in actually running a business in that industry. Some of those industries are in the gallery today, and I'll mention a few of them that have been as supportive of me as I have been supportive of them: AMCA, the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association of Australia; the lighting industry; Australian Owned Contractors, who are here again pursuing the raising of their tier 2 status and tier 3 status to tier 1 status or to get tier 1 opportunities; Plumbing Products Industry Group, who are here as well and have been great supporters of mine, and they've got a lot of things that need to still be done, but I'm going to handball those things to other people or to the new member for Swan; and the training industry and particularly RTOs who I engaged with during my time as assistant minister.

Next, I'd like to thank all the employees in Parliament House for helping me make my five terms as easy and friendly as possible. To the clerks, the attendants, the committee staff, security, the cleaners, the Comcar drivers and booking staff, the maintenance people—Alan was great, and, Rick, you've got big shoes to fill—the Serjeant-at-Arms staff, the Speaker's panel staff and the whip and their staff: your efforts and assistance have always been appreciated, and your cheery 'good mornings' and quiet 'good nights' have always been respectful and welcome.

I'm not going to mention the GST, as everyone else has claimed it, but I know who did it. He's not here in the chamber, but we all know it was Scott Morrison, as the Treasurer and then Prime Minister, who sorted the GST out for Western Australia.

There are ministers I want to thank for the 14½ years of access I had to ministers to get funding, to get programs or to get infrastructure for Swan. To my mates: Nola; Scotty Buchholz, sitting in the chair there; Craig Laundy and Ian Macfarlane, who have both left; Alex Hawke; Ken Wyatt; Stuart Robert; and obviously the Prime Minister as well, Scott Morrison—I've enjoyed your friendship. And he's just walked in, right on cue! Your support and friendship and the advice you've given me over many years has been absolutely appreciated, and I thank you. And Prime Minister, I have to say it: you are not a bully. This man is not a bully, and anyone who calls him that has got it totally wrong. I spent five years flatting with him—and with Stuart Robert; now, Stuart might have been a bully! In the kitchen he was terrible! But seriously, they are both great guys. And PM, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you as a mate and a friend and to see what you've achieved since you've been in the parliament.

People ask me how I came to be in the Liberal Party. It's simple. It's the party that enables people to get ahead, and it's the party that wants everyone to get ahead and doesn't punish people for being successful. We don't always get it right, but that's what I and my colleagues are for: to help the public servants make it right. Compare that with the Labor Party—and I know their ideology, because I lived it when I was young. I'll give you an example. I worked for the gas and fuel in Victoria, on the roads. I worked out of the Vermont depot for the elite leakage survey department. We would get, say, 10 jobs given to us each day, and we would head out at about 7 am. Now, if we had jobs in a nice, quiet suburban street, we would put those to the back and head out to the main arteries to disrupt, particularly if they were in well-off areas like Toorak. The thought process amongst me and all my workers was, 'Well, if they are well-off enough to live here, let's teach them a lesson and we lowly workers can stuff up and disrupt their lives just as much as anyone else.' That is what I learned was the basis of Labor's ideology. It's simple: punish people for being successful, and disrupt their lives; drag them down, don't lift them up.

There are some further things I want to say, but I'm not going to. I'm just going to go on to other things, like dreams. Many of us here in this place have dreams, and dreams become reality. They might become reality in years and years to come, and I just want to talk about something I delivered to the energy minister the other day, and it's the idea of pressure and gravity energy. Just remember that: pressure and gravity energy. It might not happen now, but it's going to happen, I can tell you.

I'm going to finish off my speech with my family. Robin, my brother-in-law: it's great to have you here. Bobby, a brother I didn't grow up with but we're now best of mates: I wish I had grown up with you but I didn't, and it's great to have you here. Jarrad, my son—all those years we missed and the times we'll make up for it. I've still got a lower handicap than you at golf, so you've got something to aim for, mate! He did get in front of me for a short while, but I've been practising retirement, so my handicap's come down a bit further. To my beautiful wife, Cheryle: I spent 52 years looking for you. I don't think there's much more I can say. She's just fantastic. She finishes my life. She brightens up my life. Everyone knows Cheryle. You never wonder what Cheryle's thinking; she'll always tell you! It's made my last 10 years here so easy. And she's the best campaign manager I've ever had—seriously. She's got things done so well, and that's one of the reasons we won Swan the last three times. I did say to her, in 2011, when we got married, that I would only run once more, but it was a joey—and Cheryle knows what joeys are, so I won't go into that. But I've run three times more. The time has expired to get out of this place. I'm leaving it in good hands, and I hope to see my team back on the government benches after the next election. I think we've done a great job during the pandemic period. The economy's going strong. Unemployment's down. And, in Western Australia particularly, wages are going through the roof. So, there's no lowering of wages; they're actually going up. This government deserves to come back.

Anyway, one of the things I want to say is: no more pager, no more bells. I'm going to finish by mixing a couple of lines from an Eagles song and the song about the yellow brick road: they may lose and we may win, but I will never be here again, because my future lies beyond the yellow brick road. Thank you.

on indulgence—As the members rightly pay their affirmations to the member for Swan, it is said in this place: if you want to truly understand someone, you need not trawl through the many books of Hansard to understand them; you need only read two documents—their maiden speech and their valedictory speech. In this House this week, we have heard some amazing speeches.

Member for Flynn, Ken O'Dowd: as you say farewell to this parliament, to you and Shirley I give Christine's and my deepest regard. We will see you at the track on regular occasions. To my good, good friend George Christensen, the member for Dawson—the love that he has for April and the life and happiness that young Margaret has brought into his world: Georgie, when we are in Mackay we will come and see you; we will come and stay with you. Our paths are not disconnected because you leave this place. To my dearest and closest friend in the parliament, the member for Swan: before coming to this place, he was a professional athlete. He played professional AFL football. The competitive edge that he had on the paddock he has brought into this place, and it has served him well. In addition to that, the salt-of-the-earth granular authenticity of his character comes from his trade as an electrician. He has always been a grounded soul, and the choice that he has made for his life partner, in the way of Cheryle, and the commitment that he has to Jarrad—we will never be strangers in Western Australia and your home will always be part of our agenda, if not purely for your risotto!

Thank you to those members that have made a contribution. I'm fortunate to have been here, for the three members I've spoken to, to watch their maiden speech and their valedictory. To the member for Swan: you are my brother; I love you.

I thank the House for the opportunity and the indulgence to make some valedictory remarks. There can be few greater privileges for an Australian than to serve in the Commonwealth parliament. To have represented the people of Menzies for the past three decades is an enormous honour, and I thank each and every one of them for that privilege. I've only been able to serve the Australian people because of the loyalty, support and commitment of my wife, Margie, and our children, Emily, James, Stuart, Catherine and Benjamin. My service here has only been possible because of Margie's sacrifice in particular, especially giving up her own career.

I can't name all the people who've supported me over the past 30 years, but I'll briefly mention a few. First, there are my Liberal Party members, especially my loyal and dedicated electorate chairs, including Neil Guppy, Tom Sweeney, Hal Grix, Michael Gartland, Philip Radcliff, Andrew Asten and the indomitable Sandra Mercer Moore, who represented the very best of the values that I've sought to uphold. And there are the members of the Menzies 200 Club, chaired most recently by Bernie Capicchiano and Anthony Fernandes, without whom I would not have had the resources to campaign in each of those elections.

Secondly, there are my electorate staff, of which there have been too many to name. I will mention two long-serving members, Jackie Toop and Rebecca Poole; my current and recent staff, Cristy Elliott, Sarah Moate, Russell Hannan, Ahmed Hrustic and Nathan Porter; and my many ministerial staff, particularly my chiefs of staff, Robert Reid, Felicity Dargan, Andrew Blyth, Michael Toby, Brendan Darcy, Kevin Donnelly, Nick Demiris and Matthew Fox.

Thirdly, there are the many public servants with whom I worked, particularly departmental secretaries Jane Halton, Peter Boxall, Andrew Metcalfe, Finn Pratt and Dennis Richardson, and CDF Mark Binskin.

Fourthly, there are my colleagues of three decades, particularly Prime Ministers Howard and Abbott, in whose cabinets I had the privilege to serve, and all my Victorian Liberal colleagues. In this context, I wish my colleagues in the Liberal and National parties every success in the forthcoming election. I hope you're all sitting on this side of the House after that event.

I also thank our numerous friends for their ongoing support, particularly those with which we were involved in marriage education, and my cycling companions, especially Bill Scott in Melbourne and Stephen Hodge here in Canberra. I express my gratitude to the members of this parliament with whom I have worked, including on significant issues in the past two parliamentary terms such as the Magnitsky legislation in the foreign affairs human rights committee—I also acknowledge in that regard the late Senator Kimberley Kitching and, of course, my good friend and colleague Chris Hayes, who's sitting on the front bench on the opposition side—and members of the other two committees I have chaired, seeking to improve the operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and to streamline and reduce costs and delays in the family law system.

My parents weren't wealthy. They worked hard all their lives. When my father died my then 50-year-old mother took over the family trucking business, rising at 3 am and 4 am to transport stock to market until she was in her mid-60s. My parents gave my brothers and me two things more important than any material possessions, namely a good education and the encouragement to achieve our goals. This, I believe, is the great Australian dream—to hand on to the next generation an even better nation than the one which we've inherited. I've always believed that a successful society is a compact across generations. We prosper because of the wise choices, the sacrifices and the hard work of previous generations, and, in turn, it's our duty to use our industry and judgement to ensure the best for future generations of Australians.

Three decades ago I gave up a career in law to pursue a vocation. A career is about the individual; a vocation is about a cause, and my cause has been the peace, the welfare and the happiness of the people of Australia. As I said when I first spoke in this place over 30 years ago, internally my theme is justice. I declare my political creed here and now. It is that the essential end of government is not power or glory but the good life for ordinary men and women. The ordinary man, as I know him, asks for a happy life, not a complaining one; for a full life, not an idle one.

I came here three decades ago to make a difference. It was a concern that government was not acknowledging and responding adequately to the needs of families, particularly those with children, that motivated me to stand for election in the first place and is what drove my policy interests for the first decade. The work that I and others did, especially through the then Lyons Forum, culminated in the Howard government's national family strategy, including raising tax-free thresholds for families with children and subsequently the introduction of family tax credits.

I also somewhat unexpectedly found myself introducing a bill to overturn the Northern Territory's euthanasia laws, which were implacably opposed by the Indigenous community in the Territory and many others. I'm proud that it's referred to as the Andrews bill, but its success as only the 14th private member's bill to pass this parliament was the product of many contributions, including a then yet to be elected member of this place, Tony Burke. I should note that, when I expressed doubts about proposing the bill in a telephone call to Margie, she responded, 'Well, if you don't do that, you might as well come home and be a decent husband and father.'

When John Howard appointed me as minister for ageing in 2001 aged care was in the media for all the wrong reasons, including allegations of residents being given kerosene baths. The Prime Minister's wishes were clear: take aged care out of the media. I recently found my instructions to the department, which included getting more allocated beds operational, easing the burden of documentation on nursing staff, implementing a pricing review and expanding community care. I also established a national advisory council on ageing, chaired by my former mentor Sir James Gobbo, to help address the challenges of an ageing population, including the retention of older people in the workforce. That's a challenge which is ongoing.

When I was appointed to cabinet in 2003 as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Howard government was struggling to get its legislation through the Senate. The outcome of the 2004 election enabled us to pursue a more ambitious agenda, including the establishment of the Building and Construction Commission to deal with rogue elements in that industry, the passage of legislation to recognise the role of independent contractors, the simplification of awards and the passage of WorkChoices. It included one of the most significant developments in Australian workplace law—namely, the establishment of a single unified national workplace relations system. That reform alone resulted in very significant productivity gains and economic benefits for this nation that continue to this day.

As Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, I took the tough decision to reduce the intake of entrants from some places until those already here from those nations could be assisted better to settle and integrate into life in Australia. During that year, I also introduced the citizenship test and strengthened the character provisions in our immigration laws. I was mindful of Sir Robert Menzies's observation that opposition:

… must be regarded as a great, constructive period in the life of a party … not a period in the wilderness, but a period of preparation for the high responsibilities which you hope will come.

So my efforts were devoted to the Policy Development Committee after the 2007 election loss, and I served on and subsequently chaired that body.

The leadership events of 2009, albeit traumatic, were necessary for the coalition to return to government. Although, in another telephone call, when I told my wife, Margie, that I was offering myself as Leader of the Opposition, this time she told me, if I succeeded, not to bother coming home! Tony Abbott appointed me as shadow minister for family and community services, working on welfare and related policies, which I built on as Minister for Social Services in his government. The measures we introduced were significant, building on the report I commissioned Patrick McClure to undertake, which provided the foundation for the consolidation of many welfare payments and the establishment of an actuarial basis for further reform, as well as measures that resulted in a very significant number of people moving from the disability pension back into employment.

My final portfolio, Defence, was as unexpected as it was satisfying. In a relatively short period of time, we: implemented the First Principles Review to finally establish a single defence force structure in Australia; crafted and drafted the Defence white paper; authorised the replacement of the entire Australian naval fleet; negotiated increased rotations of US marines and Singaporean defence personnel in northern Australia; and held discussions with India, Japan and the US, which ultimately led to the revitalisation of the Quad, amongst a long list of initiatives.

There are other matters I could mention, but, as the philosopher wrote, 'The moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on.' Instead, let me make a few final observations about the challenges our nation faces. There are two significant challenges, one domestic and one geopolitical. This parliament, I believe, has an ongoing and critical role to play in relation to both of these issues.

Firstly, the COVID pandemic has exposed many weaknesses in our system of government and highlighted fault lines that we have long ignored. Regardless of our views on the various responses to the pandemic, I suspect we can all agree that the federation has faced stresses that have revealed weaknesses in its structure.

I cannot imagine that the founders of the Commonwealth ever thought that their work was complete or that the only changes that would occur would be by judicial fiat or fiscal stealth yet that largely has been the history of the past century. 'A nation without the means of some change', observed Edmund Burke, 'is without the means of its own conservation'. I encourage all who sit in this parliament in the next session to begin the long conversation about the constitutional and other arrangements that will best ensure that we remain, in Parkes's famous phrase, 'one people with one destiny', and it should commence, in my view, with a thorough, transparent review of our response nationally to the pandemic to ensure that we are prepared fully for the next such event.

There's a related question of population, including immigration, about which we need an informed debate, not one dominated by cliches. Numerous industries need workers to survive and thrive, but critical infrastructure must also continue to be provided if we are to maintain our economic growth and standards of living. I commend to the next government the establishment of a national commission on population to provide ongoing advice to both the people and the parliament on the challenges we face and solutions for their resolution.

Secondly, there is the great geopolitical challenge that will shape our way of life, our peace and our security for decades, if not centuries, into the future. That challenge is the totalitarian Chinese communist regime. The primary responsibility of a national government is the security of the nation. The security of our region is in greater peril today than it has been for generations. Not since World War II, some 80 years ago, have we had to contemplate defending Australia but we do. That makes our response all the more urgent. We must stand economically, strategically and militarily with those nations and states, however imperfect, that seek to uphold the dignity and the freedom of the individual against totalitarian regimes that believe the individual should serve the state and is expendable.

Just as Australia has stepped up its engagement in the South Pacific, it must continue to engage throughout the whole of the Indo-Pacific, including, I believe, greater parliamentary engagement with members of legislatures in our own region. How many, I ask rhetorically, in this place could pick up the phone to a legislator in a parliament or congress in another Asian nation? Not many, I suspect, and that's a tragedy.

I've had the good fortune to have served much of my term during one of the great reforming eras of Australian politics. History will judge favourably the Hawke and Howard eras. As John Howard observed: politics is not a public relations exercise; it is fundamentally a contest of ideas about what best serves the national interest. It is the ability to evaluate competing visions of a common good that marks a truly great people. That, I believe, must always be the aspiration of those of us fortunate to engage in the formation of public policy. The greatest force in life, certainly in politics, is inertia. There's always a reason to do nothing but that's a betrayal of why we're elected. It is better, I believe, to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

Finally, may I say something about this House. In doing so, I thank all the men and women who serve the parliament, from the Clerk and the Sergeant and their staff through to the Library, the committee personnel, Hansard and Broadcasting, the transport office and Comcar, the catering staff, the attendants, the security officers, and those who maintain the building, provide services and clean our suites.

While this should be a place where ideas are contested and policies and programs scrutinised, it must also be a place that pursues national unity, and that quest starts with us all. In his inaugural address, an autographed copy of which I've had on the wall of my office for the past 30 years, John Fitzgerald Kennedy reminded us:

… civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.

The blight of factionalism and identity politics, which infects many tiers of national and community life beyond politics, must be resisted.

If there has ever been a time for the political virtue of toleration, as espoused by John Locke and others, being in need of revival, it is now. If our political system is to thrive, it needs to find ways of traversing the new fault lines in the national polity, especially the growing chasm between the experiences and expectations of those who live in the inner suburbs of our capital cities; those who live in the middle and outer metropolitan areas, such as my electorate; and regional and rural Australia, where I was born and raised.

Robust debate should not detract from our essential task, which, I believe, is the peace, the welfare and the happiness of the people of Australia. To reference Shakespeare: my hour of strutting and fretting upon the stage has come to an end. It remains for me to bid farewell.

In 'The Municipal Gallery Revisited', one of his last poems, William Butler Yeats recounts a visit to an art gallery where the portraits of many of his friends were displayed. It reminds me a little of the Members' Hall. He began:

Around me the images of thirty years;

and, with a minor change, I adopt his final stanza:

You that would judge me do not judge alone

This book or that, come to this hallowed place

Where my friends' portraits hang and look thereon;

Australia's history in their lineaments trace;

Think where man's glory most begins and ends

And say my glory was I had such friends.

May God continue to vouchsafe the deliberations of this parliament. May God bless Australia.

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 is about applying nationally consistent vehicle safety and environmental performance and security standards while also meeting consumer expectations that they may purchase a broad variety of road vehicles. The government set a 12-month transition period for adjustment to the new legislation, which commenced on 1 July 2021. But, over the past few years, almost all road vehicle manufacturers and importers have had to manage the severe impacts of the COVID pandemic on workplaces and the global supply chains. After listening to numerous industry participants, the Australian government has determined that a 12-month extension of the transitional period is necessary. A wide range of industry participants will benefit from the 12-month extension, and extending the transitional arrangements makes a level playing field for all participants.

The bill maintains the provisions of the new legislation. Road vehicle providers that have already transitioned to the new regulatory framework will be enabled to continue providing their vehicles, using approvals granted to them under the new legislation. I commend the bill to the House.

Leave granted for second reading debate to continue immediately.

I rise to speak in the second reading debate on the Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill. Frankly, this is where the government has come to us and asked for a further extension to the introduction of the Road Vehicle Standards Bill. That is a bill that the government introduced and that was passed in this House in 2018. It's a really significant measure around road safety in this country.

There are a couple of things I want to observe about this. This is a bit of an indictment on the government as to its incompetence. If you look at the history of this bill, back in 2018, Labor supported the Road Vehicle Standards Bill. So that was four years ago. That bill replaced the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989, which regulates the importation of road vehicles into Australia and the first provision of road vehicles into the market on Australian roads. That includes caravans and cranes. It includes importing a vehicle from America, a speciality vehicle, and changing it from left-hand to right-hand drive.

This has always been a really complex and controversial area—always. I thought it was pretty impressive that the then government decided that they were actually going to try and sort this issue out. There were always going to be groups within the road vehicle area that welcomed it and there were always going to be groups that did not want the reform. We supported the bill because its fundamental purpose back in 2018 was to create a much more modern regulatory framework to ensure that road vehicles and certain road vehicle components provided in Australia meet safety, antitheft and emissions standards—really important. So, good on the government, back in 2018, for actually doing that bill.

Because there were significant issues with industry that were recognised at the time, to deal with this the initial bill included a transition period which was almost a year. It was to go right through to 2019. The government, in July 2019, came to us again and said: 'We're not quite ready. We haven't got the datasets. We haven't got the computer systems. The industry's saying, "We're not quite ready."' So we supported an extension again. Being reasonable about it, we supported that extension of the transition period, and that was to conclude on 30 June this year.

Now, in March, this bill is asking us for a further extension. We're not going to stand in the way of the bill. We've indicated to the Deputy Prime Minister's office that we've supported the extension, and we did so in the Senate and supported the passage of the bill.

But I do want to say: look, this is an issue of competence. I understand that the pandemic has delayed a number of things. However, this bill was introduced four years ago. It's not a bill that was just introduced a year ago or two years ago; it was introduced four years ago. The government still haven't got the implementation right, they still haven't got the consultation right, and they've come begging for more time. Frankly, it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. Again, this is not a bill that Labor introduced in government and there have been some unintended consequences or whatever; this is a bill the government introduced. Last week the government approached us—only last week—to propose a further 12-month delay to allow time for industry to make further changes to implement this new system.

As I said, it's a bill that was initially passed some four years ago. It was meant to come into effect three years ago, and it's already been extended once. Our consultations with the industry over the past week have revealed that the truth of the delay is that a whole range of small and medium-sized enterprises are scathing of this government's handling of the transition period, including its communications with affected industry participants and the unwieldy nature of the IT solutions being used to implement the transition. It seems that the government hasn't used the extensions that were given, first in the initial bill transition period and then the second extension it asked for, to actually prepare for the new scheme and its full effect. Frankly, you have to question what they've been doing in this whole process to actually bring this forward.

To me, if this law is fundamentally about road safety, emission standards, ensuring antitheft devices and consistency, the government needs to really think about why it's being delayed. I know this is a really difficult area. It is an area where there will always be conflicting views about what to do. As I said, the government took the decision in 2018 to bite the bullet and try to fix this. They're now just pushing it off and pushing it off again when we're days away from the federal election being called. This mess is going to have to get fixed by whoever wins the next election. I'm saying very clearly that I think we will have to have a good look to see whether this law is actually contemporary and works in the way that it does. I want to make it very clear though that this is something for any incoming government. We should not be back here in this place in yet another year's time saying, 'It's all a bit too hard, the data systems aren't there, the IT systems aren't there and the communications haven't been done.' We can't keep doing this. If you want to enact this law and you think it's the right law to enact, and this is what the parliament agreed, then we actually need to get on with it, or you need to change the law or you need to do your job. As I said, this really does represent the government being pretty incompetent at doing its job.

As I said, Labor will support the bill. We've supported it in the Senate. But, again, this is going to be a problem for any incoming government, whether it's the existing government or an Albanese Labor government. If it's us, I'm pretty determined that we'll fix it.

I'd like to thank honourable members for their consideration of the Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022. I concur with and I would like to thank the members of the opposition for expediting this process. There's a clear need to support businesses in the community to adjust to the severe impacts of the COVID pandemic, including workplace and supply chain challenges. This bill does this by providing a 12-month extension to the RVSA transition period.

I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

I thank the shadow minister for her patience. We will make sure that we get the running sheet. Of course, we know how this place works: everybody will want to get home tonight if they can, so we'll expedite processes that we don't need to debate. I seek leave to move the third reading.

Leave granted.

I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

I present the 36th report of the Petitions Committee for the 46th Parliament, together with 59 petitions and 95 ministerial responses to petitions previously presented.

As we approach the end of the 46th Parliament, I want to take the opportunity to draw attention to the work of the committee. As an extension of the House of Representatives, the Standing Committee on Petitions can only operate during the term of a parliament. Once a parliament dissolves, so too does the committee.

However, the Petitions Committee process does not completely stop between parliaments. For example, if a response to a petition referred to a minister has not been received before this parliament dissolves, that petition will still need a response in the 47th Parliament from the relevant minister. In practice, we encourage all ministers to respond to petitions within the expected 90 days and before the end of the parliament. This ensures petitioners receive timely information about the issues raised in their petition.

Petitioners can also request new e-petitions or paper petitions between the end of this parliament and the start of the new parliament. These requests are held by the secretariat for consideration by the new committee.

The Australian public clearly values the petitioning process. To date this parliament has received 1,664 e-petitions, and 76 paper petitions have been approved by the committee. There have been over 4.6 million signatures to e-petitions and 132,000 signatures made by hand on paper petitions.

We anticipate that the keen engagement with petitioning will resume in the new parliament, and the Standing Committee on Petitions will continue to update the House accordingly.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PETITIONS COMMITTEE REPORT No. 36

Petitions and Ministerial Responses

31 March 2022

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Chair Mr Ken O'Dowd MP

Deputy Chair Hon Justine Elliot MP

Mrs Bridget Archer MP

Ms Lisa Chesters MP

Ms Gladys Liu MP

Mr Julian Simmonds MP

Mr James Stevens MP

Ms Susan Templeman MP

Report summarising the petitions and Ministerial responses being presented.

The committee met in private session on 9 February, 16 February and 9 March 2022.

1. The committee resolved to present the following petitions in accordance with standing order 207:

Petitions certified on 9 February 2022

From 19 petitioners—requesting unvaccinated individuals who are not Australian citizens not be permitted to enter the country (EN3822)

From 5 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3823)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3824)

From 10 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3825)

From 11 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3826)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3827)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3828)

From 2 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3836)

From 2 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3856)

From 385 petitioners—requesting healthcare workers not be required to receive vaccines (EN3857)

From 546 petitioners—requesting provision of social security to 491 and 494 visa holders (EN3858)

From 2 petitioners—requesting the cancellation of Novak Djokovic's visa (EN3861)

From 108 petitioners—requesting the Australian Sports Medal be awarded to all past Australian Invictus Games teams (EN3865)

From 1 petitioner—requesting changes to the requirements for onshore approval of 143 visas (EN3868)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a travel exemption on humanitarian grounds for family members of Australian citizens or residents (EN3869)

From 12 petitioners—requesting the introduction of the vaccine Corbevax in Australia (EN3871)

From 326 petitioners—requesting processing of all outstanding 491 and 190 visa applications by the end of the current financial year (EN3872)

From 1 petitioner—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3873)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3875)

From 5 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency for students who studied in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic (EN3877)

From 3 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3878)

From 5 petitioners—requesting permanent residency for all childcare workers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic (EN3879)

From 6 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3881)

From 251 petitioners—requesting a reduction in processing times for 887 visas (EN3882)

From 1492 petitioners—requesting access to the National Diabetes Support Scheme for adults with cystic fibrosis related diabetes (EN3885)

From 141,382 petitioners—requesting the cessation of vaccine mandates (EN3886)

From 104 petitioners—requesting the introduction of priority consideration assessments for permanent residency applications (EN3890)

From 44 petitioners—requesting LGBTQIA+ sex education be taught in schools (EN3892)

From 50 petitioners—requesting the establishment of a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (EN3893)

From 4 petitioners—requesting Australia cease alliances with Japan until Japan implements joint child custody arrangements (EN3897)

From 60 petitioners—requesting a pathway to permanent residency (EN3901)

From 15 petitioners—requesting the date Australia Day is held be changed (EN3902)

From 30 petitioners—requesting measures to ensure affordable housing be implemented (EN3904)

From 6 petitioners—requesting Medicare Lifetime Health Cover be waived for newly arrived immigrants to Australia (EN3906)

From 9 petitioners—requesting the date of Australia Day be changed to 8 May (EN3908)

From 31 petitioners—requesting Australia Day be changed to 18 January and that 26 January be recognised as Survival Day (EN3909)

From 66 petitioners—requesting the decriminalisation of cannabis with a limit of two plants to each household (EN3916)

From 1355 petitioners—requesting prioritisation of assistance to Professor Sean Turnell to facilitate his release from jail in Myanmar (EN3917)

From 36 petitioners—requesting Australia resume invitations to skilled workers in professions listed on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (EN3918)

From 5349 petitioners—requesting release of Mehdi Ali from immigration detention (EN3920)

From 5 petitioners—requesting Australia open its borders to all fully vaccinated international tourists (EN3921)

From 17 petitioners—requesting a Royal Commission into harassment and gaslighting of public servants (EN3925)

From 1233 petitioners—requesting legislation to prevent vaccine mandates (EN3926)

From 28 petitioners—requesting bridging visa holders be permitted to leave and re-enter Australia without the need for exemptions (EN3927)

Petitions certified on 16 February 2022

From 822 petitioners—requesting establishment of a Commonwealth Heritage Act to protect brumbies (EN3929)

From 7 petitioners—requesting changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme funding (EN3931)

From 146 petitioners—requesting a review of tax legislation in relation to total and permanent disability insurance payments (EN3932)

From 162 petitioners—requesting the release of asylum seekers from immigration detention (EN3933)

From 14 petitioners—requesting changes to the citizenship application process for children born in Australia (EN3934)

From 78 petitioners—requesting changes to the dental implant policy of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (EN3937)

From 2921 petitioners—requesting an increase to Centrelink payments (EN3938)

From 893 petitioners—requesting the inclusion of areola tattooing on the Medicare rebate list for survivors of breast cancer (EN3941)

From 13,512 petitioners—requesting fully subsidisation of Constant Glucose Monitoring for Type 1 diabetics (EN3942)

From 7 petitioners—requesting international students studying a master's degree of 1.5 years be granted temporary graduate visa 485 (EN3943)

From 30 petitioners—requesting the introduction of legislation and content regulations surrounding the depiction of sexual violence in the media (EN3944)

From 132 petitioners—requesting legislation prohibiting detention of refugees for more than six months (EN3945)

From 301 petitioners—requesting improved mobile phone and internet services in Tarrawingee, Victoria (EN3946)

From 844 petitioners—requesting modulators be made available for all individuals with cystic fibrosis (EN3948)

From 3272 petitioners—requesting changes to the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to preserve the Australia Research Council's independence (EN3949)

The following ministerial responses to petitions were received:

Received by the Committee on 16 February 2022

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting herpes simplex virus be included in all standard sexually transmissible infections tests (EN2216)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting changes to the approval process of Crohn's medication (EN2238)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting use of the Cashless Debit Card cease (EN2548)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition regarding regional visa holders acquiring property in regional areas (EN2708)

From the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia—to a petition requesting the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) be banned in Australia (EN2801)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the opening of international borders (EN2883)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting the House provide diplomatic support and aid in response to civil unrest in South Africa (EN2935)

From the Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education—to a petition requesting the House oversee provision of mobile phone coverage in the Moore Creek area of New South Wales (EN2998)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting that no one other that medical professionals be permitted to request medical information (EN3112)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting changes to public health measures used to control COVID-19 (EN3266)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting that the biosecurity emergency period declared in response to COVID-19 under the Biosecurity Act 2015 cease (EN3277)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition regarding the Therapeutic Goods Administration's position on ivermectin (EN3364)

From the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia—to a petition requesting Biosecurity Amendment (Enhanced Risk Management) Bill 2021 not be supported (EN3405)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the standard cycle threshold (Ct) of the COVID-19 PCR test be lowered to 28 Ct (EN3416)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines be recognised as valid vaccines for international students returning to Australia (EN3425)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting an increase to social security pension payments (EN3471)

From the Assistant Treasurer—to a petition requesting the luxury car tax be removed (EN3483)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting that COVID-19 vaccines not be provided to children aged five to eleven years (EN3496)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition regarding the production of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (EN3497)

From the Attorney-General—to a petition regarding the rights of Indigenous Australians (EN3510)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the introduction of a no fault national vaccine injury compensation scheme (EN3532)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition regarding the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's coverage of various issues (EN3534)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting changes to the Medicare gap payment process (PN0491)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition regarding human rights violations of Kashmiris (PN0524)

Received by the Committee on 9 March 2022

From the Leader of the House—to a petition regarding communication by Members of Parliament with the public (EN1252)

From the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment—to a petition requesting cancellation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (EN2206)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting Australian contributions to the Asian Development Fund and the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative cease (EN2299)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting the child support scheme be removed (EN2489)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition regarding childcare subsidies and income support (EN2602)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting the age of independence for youth allowance be reduced from 22 to 18 years (EN2680)

From the Minister for Home Affairs—to a petition requesting unmarried and same-sex couples be permitted to enter Australia under a travel exemption (EN2702)

From the Minister for Home Affairs—to a petition requesting automatic travel exemptions for prospective marriage (subclass 300) visa holders (EN2712)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting a review of youth allowance and the income free threshold (EN2743)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting humanitarian assistance to Myanmar through third party organisations (EN2788)

From the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet—to a petition requesting the name of Australia be changed to Royston Vasey (EN2822)

From the Assistant Treasurer—to a petition requesting COVID-19 support payments be reinstated (EN2837)

From the Attorney-General—to a petition requesting the Constitution be changed to remove the pronouns 'he' and 'his' (EN3040)

From the Assistant Treasurer—to a petition requesting income support for small business and private sector workers during lockdowns (EN3230)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition regarding home ownership and housing inflation (EN3249)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to petitions regarding unsolicited political communications (EN3264, EN3288, EN3296, EN3328 and EN3329)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting the Australian Government recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state (EN3283)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition requesting the restriction of gambling advertising (EN3287)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition requesting the HomeBuilder grant be re-opened for applications (EN3293)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition requesting the HomeBuilder grant be re-opened for applications (EN3295)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting increased federal funding for specialised eating disorder services in South Australia (EN3380)

From the Minister for Defence—to a petition requesting 2 Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment be restored to the Australian Army's Order of Battle (EN3407)

From the Acting Minister for Education and Youth—to a petition requesting Lantite testing requirements for teachers be removed (EN3408)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition requesting an investigation into the services provided by Australia Post (EN3424)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition requesting the restriction of gambling advertising on television (EN3434)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition requesting the HomeBuilder grant be re-opened for new applications (EN3435)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition requesting media outlets be banned from sharing photographs of accidents for 48 hours following an incident (EN3438)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting targeted economic sanctions on Myanmar and military coup leaders (EN3443)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition regarding the representation of children in advertising content (EN3449)

From the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme—to a petition requesting improved access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme for people with complex psychosocial disabilities (EN3450)

From the Minister for the Environment—to a petition requesting trade with Denmark be suspended due to whale and dolphin hunting (EN3477)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting increased federal funding for specialised eating disorder programs and treatments (EN3482)

From the Minister for Defence—to a petition requesting less stringent medical and physical fitness enlistment requirements for the Australian Defence Force (EN3509)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting support for Julian Assange (EN3512)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition requesting the HomeBuilder program be reopened (EN3643)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition regarding affordable housing (EN3772)

From the Minister for Housing—to a petition requesting the HomeBuilder program be reopened for applications (EN3810)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the development of a national rural mental health strategy (PN0426)

Received by the Committee on 30 March 2022

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting the Australian Government formally recognise the Central Tibetan Administration as the Government of Tibet (EN1855)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to petitions requesting assistance following the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 (EN1898 and EN1900)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting support for Uyghur Muslims in China (EN1914)

From the Special Minister of State—to a petition requesting donations to political parties from fossil fuel industry participants cease (EN1919)

From the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme—to a petition regarding funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (EN1976)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting amendments to child support legislation (EN2402)

From the Minister for Families and Social Services—to a petition requesting pension payments be increased (EN2464)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for aged care workers be removed (EN2901)

From the Special Minister of State—to a petition requesting changes to preferential voting (EN3038)

From the Special Minister of State—to a petition requesting changes to preferential voting (EN3126)

From the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme—to a petition requesting additions to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (EN3215)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting Trikafta be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for cystic fibrosis (EN3224)

From the Assistant Treasurer—to a petition requesting the designation of Facebook under the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code (EN3485)

From the Minister for the Environment—to a petition regarding the development of new coal mines (EN3499)

From the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts—to a petition requesting a national redesign of the National Broadband Network (EN3518)

From the Assistant Treasurer—to a petition requesting the designation of digital platforms under the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code (EN3530)

From the Minister for Defence—to a petition requesting 2 Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment be restored to the Australian Army's Order of Battle (EN3556)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting a health legislation amendment (EN3575)

From the Special Minister of State—to a petition requesting the use of graphite pencils to mark ballot papers at federal elections be banned (EN3592)

From the Minister for Home Affairs—to a petition requesting changes to Australia's international borders (EN3612)

From the Minister for Home Affairs—to a petition requesting adult children of Australian citizens and permanent residents be considered immediate family for the purpose of travel exemptions (EN3633)

From the Acting Minister for Education and Youth—to a petition requesting the Australian Curriculum be revised (EN3639)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition regarding conflict in Ethiopia (EN3650)

From the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia—to a petition requesting the Australian Government cease all support of animal production industries (EN3657)

From the Minister for Home Affairs—to a petition requesting siblings of Australian citizens and permanent residents be considered immediate family for the purpose of travel exemptions (EN3658)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition regarding the waiting period for pregnancy related private health insurance (EN3691)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the establishment of a National Centre for Disease Control (EN3770)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the display of alcohol content on bar taps (EN3782)

From the Minister for Foreign Affairs—to a petition requesting Australia recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state (EN3798)

From the Minister for the Environment—to a petition requesting additional koala protections and supports (EN3804)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting discounted egg-freezing treatments for women aged between 28 and 37 years (EN3808)

From the Minister for Health and Aged Care—to a petition requesting the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and any future variants be considered new pandemics (EN3814)

From the Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories—to a petition requesting section 50A of the Northern Territory (Self Government) Act 1978 be repealed (PN0527)

Mr Ken O'Dowd

Chair — Petitions Committee

I present the following petitions:

I present the following ministerial responses to petitions previously presented:

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's report entitled Report 200: International Labour Organization protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the report entitled Strengthening Australia's Relationships in the Pacific.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—As recent news events have illustrated to us, the Pacific is a region of incredible strategic defence, military and development importance to Australia and it is important that we maintain our position as the primary partner of choice for these countries, the security guarantor for these countries, the preferred development partner for these countries and the leading exemplar of soft power in the region. I believe that we have made a number of important steps in recent years in both recognising the importance of this region to our own strategic interests, recognising our humanitarian obligations to this region and increasing the level of Australian engagement accordingly through programs like the Pacific Step-Up, through expanded labour mobility programs, through expanding and enhancing our diplomatic presence in the region, through enhancing our defence engagement and defence partnership with the region, and through programs like the scholarships, educational exchanges and even, indeed, sports diplomacy.

The report that the committee is tabling today, Strengthening Australia's relationships with countries in the Pacific, seeks to build upon what has been achieved already in the Pacific Step-Up. I must also at this juncture commend some of the measures announced in the budget on Tuesday evening which increase our level of development assistance to the Pacific and also provide a number of new initiatives to enhance our relationship.

Australia can no longer assume that our interests in the Pacific will look after themselves. We've had to contend with outside powers seeking to exert influence before, but those sorts of developments have generally been of a more manageable variety: rivalry between Taiwan and the mainland of China for diplomatic recognition in the late 1990s and 2000s; some occasional forays from nations like Russia, Iran, even Libya for a period, but nothing like what we're seeing in terms of the level of interest from Beijing and China's government in the Pacific. Of course, something that has been in the news much this week is the potential partnership agreement between the Solomon Islands and China, which, if it were to allow the establishment of a military presence, permanent or nonpermanent, in the Solomon Islands, would pose a grave risk to Australia's strategic and defence interests.

What that means, though, in short is we need to work harder in the Pacific. We need to invest more time and resources and people and diplomacy and development and defence assets in the Pacific, and we should no longer assume that these nations will take us for granted. We need to both address their priorities and listen to their concerns. With this in mind, the committee heard evidence from a number of Pacific island countries, think tanks, academics and others about some of the initiatives they would like to see, and this report seeks to elaborate on those. Firstly, the report recommends that we lead a large-scale, multiyear post-COVID aid and recovery package for the Pacific. I note that the government has announced such a package. They're building on it in the budget, but it's incredibly important, given the dependence of some of those countries in particular on tourism receipts, that we help their economies rebuild after a period when they've had almost no tourist dollars come in. We also recommend that Australia seeks to build upon existing and expanding labour mobility schemes with the Pacific to make sure that such schemes provide career development options so people can move up the skills ladder and take better skills back. Also, Australia seeks to build limited permanent residency pathways so that people who are making an enduring commitment to this nation also have options to reside here longer term.

As a committee we heard a lot of evidence about the exceptional importance of climate change as an issue facing the Pacific, and the report emphasises and recommends that climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation efforts be a high priority in Australia's assistance to the region but also our diplomatic engagement with the region. For most of these countries, they see this as an existential challenge, and they look to Australia to take the lead on this issue both domestically and internationally.

We also make recommendations that the federal court's judiciary program in the Pacific continue to be supported; that we look at the creation of a dedicated Pacific component to Australia's permanent migration intake, similar to what New Zealand offers to these countries, as a way of strengthening our people-to-people and cultural ties; and that we look at expanding Australia's media and broadcasting footprint in the Pacific, recognising that this is a key element of Australia's soft power. The information domain is increasingly contested in these countries, and we need to make sure that we, Australia, remain a trusted source of unbiased and fact based news for these countries, given that there are alternatives available.

Finally, while the committee take no particular view on the outcome of these explorations, we do recommend that we explore ambitious proposals for deeper integration with the Pacific, such as a long-term compact of free association. I commend this report to the House.

by leave—I too rise to speak on this report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. I'll start by commending the work of the chair, who's done an excellent job in chairing the committee, and acknowledging the deputy chair, the member for Bruce—who would be speaking on this report if it weren't for the fact that, unfortunately, he currently has COVID. I'll thank the committee members for their work and also the secretariat. We saw in the submissions that were put to this inquiry the great enthusiasm from the foreign policy community in Australia and indeed business, trade unions and academia about the opportunities for Australia that lie in the Pacific.

One recommendation that I think does need to be picked up is to acknowledge that while there was a Pacific Step-up there is so much more to be done. Recommendation 1 notes that Australia should lead a 'large-scale, multi-year post-COVID-19 aid and recovery package within the Pacific islands region', looking for not just a step-up but 'transformative public investment'. And I think it is that transformative public investment that we need in order to fully realise the potential of the Pacific as well as to realise our ambitions in helping our Pacific neighbours to achieve their goals.

I note that this is one of four inquiries that the broader Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has completed that focus on the Pacific, and I commend the chair of the joint standing committee for their leadership in getting us to that point of having a multi-report response to some of the opportunities that lie in the Pacific. Australia's relationship with the Pacific is—and must be—a forever partnership. A region as diverse as the Pacific will of course have diverse views and diverse opportunities. But what we did see was a universally positive association with Australia's engagement and that we are seen as a first responder when our friends in the Pacific face a crisis. But of course that is not enough. We should also be the partner of choice for our Pacific partners to address shared challenges in our region. Unfortunately we have seen some signs that this may no longer be happening, and the impact of COVID in the Pacific highlights more than ever the importance of Australia working with Pacific neighbours to deliver a region is both secure and sovereign.

Beyond those challenges that the chair outlined, we also have the challenge of climate change. While the report rightly identifies climate change as an issue facing the Pacific region, I believe it fails to fully capture the significance of the challenge. I fear that the government has always dealt with climate change as an issue for domestic politics rather than something where Australia needs to be seen on the world stage as a good, honest long-term actor. We can no longer let down our Pacific neighbours by failing to take climate change seriously both at home and in our work abroad.

I'd also like to highlight John Blaxland's 'grand compact' proposal—that is, that Australia offer a compact of association with South Pacific countries for shared governance, somewhat similar to what New Zealand has done. The committee has recommended that the Australian government consider this proposal, with, as the chair mentioned, a permanent migration intake similar to that in the New Zealand model.

Finally, I want to talk about Radio Australia. It was 25 years ago that the Howard government made significant cuts to Radio Australia. This report says that we have to change direction. We need to reinvigorate Radio Australia, which is well regarded in the region, and to boost its digital appeal. We know that soft diplomacy, using our media assets and using things like Radio Australia, is a huge opportunity to share stories of the Pacific and stories of Australia with our neighbours. Continuing to invest in things such as Radio Australia is just one simple way that we can reverse some of the damage that's been done over many years in our relationship with the Pacific.

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour this day.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Inquiry into PFAS remediation in and around Defence bases: Final report.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This is the third and final report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on the national PFAS Investigation and Management Program. The committee has consistently heard about the stress and uncertainty that PFAS remediation places on residents in affected communities. The committee heard about the lack of government information, about a lack of trust in government information, which has developed in and around the communities impacted by PFAS. It is essential that the Australian government ensure that this is open, direct and timely when information and updates are provided to the community. This should hold whether there is good news, bad news or even no progress to communicate. Those communities have demonstrated that they need to be kept in the information loop where this contaminant is concerned.

The committee has made eight recommendations to the Australian government, which provide some practical suggestions that may assist the government in ensuring that the PFAS response meets the needs of these communities. The committee heard pfas.gov.au, the website, is intended to be the central information starting point for people. It's where they are directed to go for information. However, during the course of this inquiry, the committee noted that this website went over 500 days without any news or new updates, especially at a time when people were relying, because of COVID, on virtual information. It just seemed outstanding to the community members—shocking, in fact—that the website that is supposed to be the key portal for them to receive information had been left untouched for almost two years. Surely there'd been work done in that time.

The committee has recommended that the Australian government ensure that each federal government department publish quarterly updates on work to date on pfas.gov.au. This will provide more assurance for communities that work is not stalling or, in fact, anything is being done at all. One community witness recognised that the Department of Defence is having, 'A red-hot crack at cleaning up this mess.' Indeed, Mr Lindsay Clout from my electorate spoke of that. I know that he has been heavily involved. I want to thank him and all the community members who took the time to come before our committee and contribute to this report. They have done a really great job in communicating what has been going on in their lives over the past six years. It's been a travesty for many of them.

The evidence received by the committee from government agencies revealed the range of work being undertaken, from the establishment of national standards for chemical regulation to the testing of remediation technologies. And there has been advancement in remediation technologies, and this is a good thing, but people must know about what's going on. PFAS regulation and remediation is a complex issue that extends across federal, state and territory governments. This understandably leads to complex governance arrangements, cross-jurisdictional arrangements, that can be very detailed and confusing for the community who are trying to wade through the information. This understandably leads to frustration in the community, when they feel as though they are being ignored, or, indeed, there is buck shifting from one state government department to the other.

Collaboration across governments is essential to avoid residents being unable to find vital information due to layers of bureaucracy and, quite frankly, losing faith in government at all levels that they are being given or rendered any assistance at all.

The committee also recommended the Australian government work with state and territory governments to publish regular updates on PFAS.gov.au as well as to coordinate information-sharing where appropriate and determine access to airfields on Commonwealth land for PFAS related investigations.

The committee was very grateful to the researchers and remediation technology developers that explained their findings and latest work at public hearings. Indeed, there have been some incredible ingenuity and technology developments in relation to PFAS and its remediation—in fact, it is world leading. The committee has recommended that the evidence from the emerging research on therapeutic blood donations be considered by the Australian government. We must know what this chemical is doing not only to our environment but also to our people as individuals when it is in their bodies for up to nine years. We must know and we must be part of the international research that is going on here. We cannot turn our back on that.

Ultimately the committee heard that issues affecting residents in PFAS affected communities are far from being resolved. People cannot be left feeling as though they have been abandoned by their government. The Department of Defence acknowledges that seeing change in PFAS flows will be a slow process; nonetheless we must continue the process.

The committee particularly thanks the community members who have been tireless in fighting and speaking up, in again raking over the coals of the trauma of their lives over the last six years. I also want to thank my committee and colleagues for their support during this inquiry. I really want to also thank the secretariat, who have done a magnificent job. This is a long and drawn-out and, to be frank, extremely complex problem. We cannot turn our back on it. We must continue to pursue excellence and we must continue to pursue justice for every Australian that has been impacted by PFAS chemicals. I commend this report to the House.

ANDREWS () (): On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the committee's report entitled First periodic report on human rights: Final report into certain aspects of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade annual report 2019-20.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This report outlines the range of issues the committee has considered during this term of parliament and is, importantly, intended as a precedent for future periodic reports to the parliament about human rights matters. During this parliament, the committee has proposed Magnitsky-type legislation for Australia, which has subsequently been adopted by the parliament; made recommendations about the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific; and proposed measures to help eliminate child and forced marriage. The Human Rights Subcommittee has also held many private briefings and public roundtables on specific issues. However, to date, it has not tabled a general report on human rights issues.

Periodic reporting of human rights will help ensure that the voices of the most marginalised and persecuted populations can be heard and that their concerns are placed on the public record. It was specifically determined by the committee to entitle this the 'first periodic report' in the hope and expectation that in subsequent parliaments there will be periodic, if not annual, reports to the parliament on the range of human rights issues that are examined by the committee. We all sincerely hope that that comes to pass.

Can I thank all the people who submitted to the committee over the course of this parliament. I particularly thank the members of the committee and the secretariat. In thanking the members of the committee, can I think in particular the deputy chair, the honourable member for Fowler, my friend and colleague Chris Hayes. I commend the report to the House.

by leave—I just want to make a short contribution to thank my friend the member for Menzies for his tireless work in leading this committee. Despite the many voices we had appear before us in looking at this for our first periodic report, he was very keen to ensure that this was all by unanimous decision of the committee, which it was. I think that's a testament to his leadership of the committee. I think he's shown that he is committed to the promotion of human rights, particularly through our region of influence, and to guiding the committee in those deliberations. While the committee remains concerned about the widespread prevalence of human rights abuses throughout our region of influence, he has certainly taken the view that the committee should continue to make a report to parliament—basically a snapshot of human rights within our sphere of influence—each calendar year. That's why this is termed the 'first periodic report'.

I would like to move slightly from this report. One of the other aspects the committee has been engaged with over the course of this parliament is the formation of recommendations leading to the production of the targeted sanctions legislation, or what's colloquially known as the Magnitsky bill, which was passed by both houses of this parliament. Again, whilst there were certainly many views at the start of deliberations by the committee, under the leadership of the member for Menzies the committee once again produced a unanimous report, a report that found its way into government legislation, and this legislation is now being used to target the oligarchs associated with the Kremlin and to put pressure on Russian forces in respect of their invasion into Ukraine.

I'd particularly like to pay tribute to Senator Kimberley Kitching, who played a very significant role in the committee's work in that regard. Her work on the Magnitsky legislation contributed to the passage of the bill through the House as targeted sanctions. For her efforts, Senator Kitching was late last year awarded a Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Award in London. She was a tireless advocate for human rights. Her loss to us is significant, not only for this parliament and her family but for the international community and human rights as well.

The first period report has six recommendations, the most important of which is that the government require the Human Rights Subcommittee to report annually to provide a realistic snapshot of human rights within our sphere of influence, particularly in the Pacific and the greater Asia area.

I, too, commend the report. I thank the member for Menzies. I commend him on his valedictory speech, which he recently delivered to the parliament. I must say, leaving aside any partisan element in it, that in my 17 years here it's the most insightful valedictory speech I've ever heard.

on indulgence—I thank my friend and colleague the member for Fowler for his kind remarks, and I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, I present the following reports: General issues: Work of the committee in the 46th Parliament and Current scheme implementation and forecasting for the NDIS.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I am pleased to present the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme's second report for the inquiry into current scheme implementation and forecasting for the NDIS. The report examines new evidence provided to the committee since the tabling of its interim report in November 2021. The committee focused on evidence received in relation to funding, forecasting and financial sustainability of the NDIS, the boundaries and interfaces of the scheme, and matters of trust, equity and decision-making in the scheme.

The unanimous report makes six recommendations. Firstly, it outlines areas of the NDIS which the committee considers should be the subject of independent research, including the adequacy of supports available to people with disability needs outside of the NDIS, best practice early intervention approaches, effective market stewardship and the scheme's interfaces with mainstream services. The report further recommends that research be commissioned to build on existing work to understand actuarial forecasts and cost drivers for the scheme, and to understand the broader contribution of the NDIS to the Australian economy.

The committee emphasises that all independent research should, to the greatest extent possible, be published in full and that accessible translations or easy-read versions be made available. The committee also recommends reviewing how the NDIA manages financial sustainability for the scheme to ensure that the NDIA appropriately emphasises the benefits of the scheme and promotes those benefits to the Australian community.

I was also pleased to present the committee's final report for the 46th Parliament, summarising the work of the committee since the commencement of the parliament on 2 July 2019. In the 46th Parliament, the committee completed seven inquiries, under which it has received 908 public submissions, held 32 public hearings, made 177 recommendations and tabled 12 unanimous reports, including this one.

On behalf of the committee, I thank all of those who have contributed to its inquiries by lodging submissions, providing additional information, expressing views via correspondence or attending the committee's public hearings. I've chaired this committee for the last two parliaments and this has been a very good committee in terms of working in a very cooperative manner and, as I said earlier, has always made unanimous recommendations about how we can achieve the aspiration of making the NDIS work as best it possibly can for some half million Australians. On that note, I particularly thank the secretariat of the committee, Bonnie Allan, and her staff for their wonderful, outstanding work over this past parliament in terms of the hearings and reports.

I thank the deputy chair, Senator Carol Brown, and all the members of the committee and I commend the report to the House.

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport, I present the committee's report entitled Inquiry into childhood rheumatic diseases: Interim report, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Today I present the report of the Standing Committee on Aged Care, Health and Sport entitled Inquiry into childhood rheumatic diseases: Interim report. Due to the timing of the 2022 federal election the committee has produced an interim report to outline preliminary findings and recommendations from its inquiry into childhood rheumatic disease. It was referred by the Minister for Health and Ageing on 2 December 2021. It is hoped this report will lead to changes that will improve the lives of many Australian children and their families living with childhood rheumatic diseases, as the case for action is pressing and should not wait until the next parliament to determine whether to complete a final and full report.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common childhood rheumatic disease and affects one to two children per 1,000 population under 16. Most Australians think of arthritis as a disease of the elderly and are unaware that it can affect children, but in fact it does. And, when it does affect children, the disease process is such that the diagnosis is often delayed, children are often subjected to months or even years of pain before a correct diagnosis is made and it can cause ongoing disability, affecting not only the joints but other body organs as well. Whilst the most common form, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, affects many children, there are other rheumatic diseases that can be life-threatening, such as dermatomyositis or juvenile lupus erythematosus. They're rarer, but they can certainly be life-threatening, and diagnosis is often delayed.

The impacts of these diseases are not just confined to the children; they also impact their families, and the parents often face a heavy emotional and financial strain to deal with chronic, severe childhood disease. Since these diseases can cause permanent disability, if a diagnosis is not made and the best treatment not offered, long-term and lifelong disability can occur, and about 50 per cent of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis will still have the disorder in adult life. The problems are of course compounded by lack of access to paediatric rheumatologists, of which there is a chronic undersupply in Australia. There's a lack of access to services in outer metropolitan, rural and regional areas, and this is exacerbated by a lack of multidisciplinary teams, which are required to deal with severe arthritis.

New drugs have become available for the treatment of idiopathic rheumatic diseases of childhood, but unfortunately access to these drugs is often limited by slow approval processes and expensive medications. It is hindered also by a lack of understanding and a lack of access to paediatric rheumatologists. The situation is clearly unacceptable. It's more unacceptable in some areas that don't have a paediatric rheumatologist, such as Tasmania, the Northern Territory and remote and regional areas, and many children are left suffering pain, discomfort and long-term disability because of lack of access to services.

Awareness needs to improve, and the committee has recommended that increased efforts be made to inform the general public about childhood rheumatic diseases and educate our medical workforce to provide support and earlier diagnosis. We've also recommended increased training of paediatric rheumatologists and setting up centres of excellence in our major capital cities so it's not necessary for people to travel overseas to train as paediatric rheumatologists. We have also recommended that schools be better educated about how to help children with chronic arthritis.

There is much more that we could say, and there are many more recommendations in this report, but I would like to thank all the members of the committee that contributed to the report. In particular, I would like to thank the chair, Trent Zimmerman. Unfortunately, he has COVID-19 and couldn't attend today, but I would like to thank him overall for his intelligence, his good humour, his hard work in presenting this report to the parliament and his support of the other members of the committee who undertook this investigation and this report. They did this report, as they have done all their reports over the last three years of this parliament, in a bipartisan, community minded and patient focused way. I'd like to thank the member for Makin, who's beside me here today, for his active involvement in the report. I'd like to thank the other members of the committee, including the member for Robertson, the member for Reid, the member for Moncrieff and others who were involved.

Most of all, I'd like to thank our secretariat, who have really gone above and beyond to make this report available so quickly and, as they have done with our other reports, provide meticulous and high-level research to make sure that our report is the best possible report we could make. I would like to thank in particular Kate Portus, Rebecca Gordon and Peter Richardson for all their hard work.

I'd also like to thank the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation, led by Victoria Allen and Ruth and Stephen Colaguiri. I'd like to thank my colleagues Jeff Chaitow, Davinder Singh-Grewal, Ben Whitehead, Mark Friswell and Rebecca James for all their hard work in presenting the information to our committee. And I'd like to thank all those members of the committee for all their hard work, their diligence, their good humour, their patience and their very bipartisan approach to a disorder that really needs much better support from the wider community and much better support from governments in particular. I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, I present the committee's report entitled Government procurement: A sovereign security imperative, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This inquiry into procurement and government funded infrastructure became more significant and timelier than first thought and therefore vitally important to the governing of Australia now and well into the future. This inquiry is a prime example of the power of parliamentary inquiries, peopled by those with a genuine desire to discover the facts on which to base their recommendations. As with many inquiries, the evidence put forward and the issues of the day challenged the initial thinking that spurred the inquiry in the first place.

The issue of gender equality in the workplace, sovereign security, the importance of long-term visionary planning of infrastructure and understanding the difference between the lowest price and best value became central themes. The predominance of men, who occupy 88 per cent of the construction workforce, up from 83 per cent just a few years earlier, highlights the opportunity cost the industry is facing, which is a risk to its longer-term sustainability and its capacity to scale up and meet future labour demands. Despite the well-intentioned efforts to date to address this issue in some quarters, more needs to be done to address the cultural practices and norms within the construction industry that disincentivise women from entering and staying. As with medicine, the first action is to identify the illness and then prescribe the treatment to affect wellbeing. There is scope for the construction industry to evolve, as other industries have done, to be one where all members of the community feel they can consider a career, an industry where the most qualified can be employed and work in an environment of respect and mutual support.

Sovereign security has in recent times become an important issue for our country, as tensions with great trading partner countries come into sharp focus, with real concerns for the impact this has on our exports and the flow-on effects to our economy. Over many decades, sovereign security has been compromised because there has been no-one on the watchtower looking out for the clear and present risks that have emerged from our expedient choices in seeking the lowest price as opposed to the best value in our procurement processes.

The lack of long-term planning for major infrastructure projects has resulted in a piecemeal, ad hoc and reactive delivery process which thwarts the development of efficiencies in the construction industry that could be attained if there were a steady pipeline of projects available. Industry needs the confidence to gear up in line with the opportunities available, which would build up industry capacity and productivity through an increased critical mass. Essential to achieving sector growth is the critical need for the three tiers of government to align in support of long-term collaborative planning.

The COVID recovery program, which centres around vastly increased spending on infrastructure, provides the opportunity and the need to improve working relationships between the three tiers of government. Measures need to be put in place that promote long-term planning and greater breadth and depth in Australia's industry, including entities with a $1 billion-plus per project tier 1 delivery capability, which is sadly lacking now. Responsible spending of our taxpayers' money should be a prime concern. Therefore, a systemised mechanism must be put in place that ensures value for money at every stage of government procurement.

Our committee did not originally foresee the full gravity of the issues that would emerge as the inquiry progressed. With the growing threat of coercive trade threats and bans, particularly from China and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we now have a sovereign vulnerability that in more stable times may have remained unseen. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. This inquiry should stimulate a new era of vigilance.

I thank inquiry participants and each member of our committee for their contributions. I also give my thanks to the committee secretariat—in particular, Samantha Mannette, Nicolette Cilia and Lachlan Wilson for their work—and, in particular, our co-chair and my dear friend and tennis partner, Luke Gosling. It has been great to work with you. Again, this has been an example where well-intentioned people from both sides work together and produce a great result. I'm indebted to you, and, while I won't be seeing you as much in the future, Luke, I will come back and play tennis with you. I thank the House, and I commend the report to the House.

by leave—I just wanted to acknowledge John Alexander, the Chair of the Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee, on the work of this inquiry and the previous inquiries. Your contribution to this place in this role has been immense. You can be really proud of this report.

I want to also acknowledge the other members of the committee but in particular the member for Forde of the government members of the committee. I really got a lot out of his contribution to our frequent meetings and to the journey that we went on during this inquiry. I want to thank the Labor members, my comrades—the member for Scullin, Andrew Giles; and the member for Lalor, Jo Ryan—for their support as well, as we move through the inquiries of this parliament but in particular with this inquiry that we are tabling today.

I want to join the member for Bennelong in thanking all the staff that supported us in this inquiry—Lachlan Wilson, the committee secretary; Sam Mannette, the inquiry secretary; Nicolette Cilia, a researcher; Ben Vea Vea, a researcher; Jazmine Rakic, the office manager; and everyone who was involved in bringing this report to be tabled today.

As I said, I think it is a fine work and, as the member for Bennelong said, the result of great bipartisan action in the national interest. That is what is required to happen more and more in this place if we are going to meet the challenges of our future. Government procurement, billions of dollars of taxpayer funds and also the funds that we're loading up future generations with in terms of debt must be used to make sure that our sovereign security is enhanced and strengthened. I think this report makes some very good recommendations. I won't go over the ground that the member for Bennelong has already covered, but those recommendations should be taken seriously by the incoming government after this upcoming election so that, in particular, Australian companies get a better go and we have cultures in our industry that mean that we get the most out of all Australians, not just the blokes in the 88 per cent that he mentioned.

I won't go through the recommendations in detail, but I did want to point to recommendation 6, which sees increasing access to Commonwealth funded projects for tier 2 and tier 3 companies and related Australian small and medium enterprises. That's how we will build the capacity of our nation to provide jobs for our own people but also to make sure that more taxpayer funds stay in Australian companies, developing them up through the tiers. We want to see more Australian tier 1 companies in the future so that more of our funds stay in the nation.

Again, to the member for Bennelong: I wish you all the best for your future. You've not only made a sterling contribution to our nation in sport; in this place, through previous inquiries, you have made a real difference in terms of opening people's eyes to how we can better fund our infrastructure, and, in this inquiry, to how we can make sure that the infrastructure that's funded by the Commonwealth has more benefit and strengthens the sovereignty of our industrial capacity in our country. I thank you very much.

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, I present the report of the committee entitled Inquiry into the Fair Work Commission annual report 2019-20, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This inquiry examined certain aspects of the Fair Work Commission's annual report 2019-20—in particular, how policy responses designed to manage the COVID pandemic impacted the commission's case load, including vaccine mandates, shutdowns, lockdowns, self-isolation and quarantine requirements, and inconsistencies between the public health orders of the states and territories. We noted that the commission's case load increased by eight per cent during 2019-20, but in 2020-21, after the scope of this inquiry, there was a decrease of approximately 13 per cent. This can be attributed to a return to more normal volumes for Fair Work around unfair dismissal and general protection applications.

While governments have had to implement policies quickly to keep Australians safe and to preserve jobs and incomes, state and territory public health orders were often inconsistent and implemented at short notice, and it made it really difficult for business and workers to know their rights and responsibilities. Vaccine mandates have a place in high-risk settings, but Australians have lost their jobs unnecessarily, well outside of frontline roles, due to these vaccine mandates and various permutations of mandates, at state level and in the private sector, that are not in any way based on public health evidence. The commission has resolved their issues that they've faced in a timely manner by mobilising resources and digital tools, and they're well placed to do it in the future.

Our committee noted that the Fair Work system can be costly and time-consuming, and available, accessible information is really important. The commission is obviously limited in its ability to give guidance and advice. It does provide an hour of free legal assistance on a range of topics, but frequently that hour is not sufficient, particularly with the complexities around COVID-19 and people losing their jobs. The Australian government could consider mechanisms. There could well be a way to dismiss vexations claims earlier to reduce time and cost, but that is also complicated.

I'd like to thank each of my parliamentary colleagues on the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, together with the secretariat staff, and I'd like to thank those who contributed their written statements also to allow us to be informed as a result of this inquiry. I commend this report to the House.

by leave—I present a copy of my ministerial statement.

In 1835, the settlement of Melbourne started. In 1851, it had 23,000 people. Then came a mineral inspired growth: the gold rush. Within five years, Melbourne had tripled in size. Gold drove the whole Victorian economy. Today, gold would be a but a fraction of a per cent of the gross domestic product of the Victorian economy. But things have to start somewhere and they start by the primary inspiration of wealth, in this case from mining. In 1972, Emerald had a population of around 2,000 people. Then they built Fairbairn Dam of around 1.3 million megalitres. Emerald now has a population of about 16,000 people.

Minerals and farming, with the appropriate infrastructure, bring growth on the coast and away from the coast. And as we see with the mining town of Melbourne, because that's where its wealth initially came from, the Australian economy is a massive economic benefactor from minerals and farming in regional areas. Eight out of 10 of our largest exports come from regional Australia. Today, there is another major mining town that absorbed nearly 500,000 people, the population of Tasmania or the Gold Coast, from around 2008 just because of mining. That town is called Perth.

The Prime Minister says we must talk of the why and the how. Well, the why is quite clear: turn on your television tonight and you will see the why in the turmoils of Europe. You will see why when you see the photos of Prime Minister Sogavare of the Solomon Islands with Xi Jinping from China, negotiating a new naval port 2,000 kilometres from Australia. Look beside you on the couch, at your children and your grandchildren, and you will see the why. The budget is about the how.

To make our nation as strong as possible as quickly as possible, we have invested an extra $7.1 billion extra in four targeted regions over the next 11 years through our new Energy Security and Regional Development Plan, and then billions more as a massive investment but merely a small seed to create a multiplier effect on the growth of our nation. If we didn't have the benefits of the regions, Sydney would be a silent city of minimal opportunity. Investments in infrastructure, low emissions technology and energy production, resources extraction and processing, and water infrastructure will open up new frontiers in agriculture, mining, industry and hydroelectric power.

We will focus on four key regions: the Northern Territory, North and Central Queensland, the Pilbara region in Western Australia, and the Hunter region in New South Wales. We also have multiple billions to invest elsewhere, but these are the areas we have picked to inspire the growth for the task of creating a stronger nation as quickly as possible. We don't have the money to try and trigger every geographic section of our nation at once, so we have to make the strong decision to pick a few. Turbocharging these regional economies will enable people to get the job they want in a career they want that allows them to live with their families in the area where they make their money.

Through the ports of Dampier, near the town of Karratha, we are building on the $34 billion worth of private investment by Woodside in gas and the mining wealth from iron ore and tourism, to grow that area by investing in such things as port infrastructure. If the money is made from the port, make the port bigger. Likewise, we are investing in Port Hedland, which by tonnage is the biggest export port in the world. When Port Hedland shuts down, our Australian dollar goes down. Port Hedland, though, has a population of merely 15,000. We need areas such as this to become the Gladstones and the Newcastles of our north-west.

The resources minister, Keith Pitt, has been pushing hard for strategic investment and policy so that these towns grow in economic breadth and depth. They need to be sustainable in the peaks and troughs which inevitably happen in a mining industry and give us the opportunity to build our Gladstones and our Newcastles in our north-west.

If the Pilbara has developed the potential, the Northern Territory has the undeveloped potential, and we must have a vision backed by the investment to develop it. This wealth must also make it to port.

We must invest in the mechanism to get this wealth onto the boat and into a market. We must seal the roads through the desert, through the Tanami, and we are going to do that. We must have a vision and we must have the strength to deliver it. We must make sure that we have the government with the strength to deliver it.

We're expanding the rail between Alice Springs and Darwin. We will build new industrial precincts in Alice Springs and Katherine and Tennant Creek, and we have a massive investment in Middle Arm, near Darwin. We're investing in ports and investing in roads, such as the Outback Way, the third sealed road across our nation. The Outback Way is a sealed road from Townsville to Perth through the centre of Australia, cutting more than 1,000 kilometres off an alternate route, a road that goes through the critical minerals precinct that will have access to Middle Arm in Darwin and Mt Isa in Queensland. These are areas where processing can occur in order to reduce our reliance on processing that is done overseas, predominantly in China, and grow towns in the very centre of our nation, providing critical minerals for everything from your iPhone to submarines to batteries to our Defence Force.

The Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism, Michelle Landry, has often conveyed to me the importance of the Northern Territory through the lens of tourism and the opportunities it presents. By building just one road, we have doubled the sealed roads that intersect Alice Springs. That gives us a sense of what further is to be done. On the Burdekin, if a Labor government can be believed and have the capacity to stand up to the Greens, we've allowed for them to build one of the biggest dams in Australia. All they have to do is say the word 'yes' and Hells Gates Dam will commence, as requested by the city of Townsville.

Sydney Harbour is 435,000 megalitres. This dam will hold 2.1 million megalitres. As pointed out to me so often by the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia, David Littleproud, it will provide 60,000 new hectares, or 150,000 acres, of new irrigation, allowing billions of dollars of new agricultural produce to go towards his goal of making us hit $100 billion in our agricultural industry. It will easily pay for itself in the lifetime of the people in this parliament and then continue producing wealth long after we have all gone. But not only does it produce agricultural wealth; it also underpins reliable renewable power through hydroelectricity. It underpins industry and its requirements for water, such as would be the case if we wished to produce hydrogen, as well as domestic requirements.

Hells Gates Dam will make marginal mineral precincts viable. And this is merely one dam. We've also put money on the table so that the state Labor government doesn't have to put their hand in their pocket to build Urannah Dam, to build another agricultural precinct, and once more we will wait and see whether a Labor government is as good as the rhetoric that it rolls out before elections. Can they really stand up to the Greens? Do they really have the capacity and the vision to build away from Brisbane? These two dams that I have mentioned were part of their state election platform. In fact, Hells Gates was touted as critical state infrastructure. So, we test their mettle to see whether their blood is red or green.

Then there are Paradise Dam, Emu Swamp, Rookwood Weir, Dungowan Dam, Scottsdale Irrigation District in Tasmania and refurbishment of the capital works in the Murray-Darling Basin. Tasmania has shown clearly what a state government can do when it wants to get to work with the federal government. They have been a great success in developing their water infrastructure. But billions upon billions upon billions of dollars invested in, or in the pipeline for, water infrastructure is there before we even get to rail or road. And there is more to come, because water is wealth, and a dam is a bank.

But this infrastructure can't be built unless you have governments that are tough enough to understand the circumstances of our current time, governments that are tough enough to understand that circumstances have changed and that priorities must change with them, governments that are tough enough to select winners, governments that don't just read history but learn from it after watching the television at night and what is exactly going on right now, governments that go beyond the rhetoric of just saying that they will create a strong nation to actually investing in it, putting into the budget how they will create it.

Historically, rail has been a massive driver of investment. Many believe that Texas was developed by oil, but rail connecting it to the Pacific was instrumental in building the wealth of an area that now has a bigger economy than Australia's. Rail, by its very nature, attracts industry and grows our nation. Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer was ridiculed when he drove the construction of the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line; the viability of the business case was apparently atrocious. Now the problem is that it is too small and needs to be upgraded. This will be undertaken by our government.

Pertinent infrastructure grows into its business case, as can be seen with this rail line. The expansion that we will bring about for this rail line will build industrial parks in Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek. It will assist in the defence of our country and the decentralisation of our nation. The Inland Rail that we are building is the largest investment project currently underway in Australia. This will more than double the size of parks in Narrabri and will grow Toowoomba. Running through places like Euroa, Wangaratta, Glenrowan, Seymour and Benalla, Inland Rail will build on the wealth of that former mining town, Melbourne. It will grow Brisbane, and my intention is to continue to build it to Gladstone.

I'm well supported in my intentions by my assistant minister, Kevin Hogan. The cynics said that we would never get the money for the Inland Rail, because it had been talked about for so long. I know that in my discussions with the infrastructure minister at the time, the federal member for Grayndler, Anthony Albanese, in the first iteration of the Rudd government, he told me that this rail just did not stack up and would not stack up for at least 18 years. Well, we got the first substantial tranche of money for the Inland Rail in 2016.

This rail line couldn't wait for a Labor government that revels in bureaucracy and the inertia and subservience to the Greens at the expense of our future—1,716 kilometres from Melbourne through Brisbane, and then a further 660 kilometres from Toowoomba to Gladstone. From an environmental perspective, Inland Rail will take 200,000 trucks a year off the road by using double-stacked trains up to 3.6 kilometres long, travelling at speeds of up to 115 kilometres per hour. Gladstone has a further role to play in how we build on this great industrial city's capacity to underpin our nation's wealth with the rail line going to Gladstone.

On top of coal and gas, we also have a requirement for our nation to give us sovereignty in fertiliser, which is yet another issue that is so evidently brought to me by David Littleproud. Working with Australians who produce fertiliser, whether they are in Queensland or Victoria, will assess the role that Gladstone will have in the further production of this. Taking our inevitable peaks and troughs of the mining and levelling it out with greater investments in the requirements for agriculture.

Bundaberg also needs assistance in agriculture with exports of sugar, and that's precisely what we intend to do. We will be investing in excess of $7 million to upgrade their port as well. Nola Marino, in her capacity as assistant minister for regional development, is driving better outcomes in this region through regional development deals, growing the economy, creating jobs and making sure that Central Queensland is stronger.

Whether it's sealing the road from Alice Springs to Halls Creek through the desert, through the Tanami, or building the railway lines to invigorate the growth of regional Australia, this government has a plan, a plan that will drive the development of our regions for decades to come, which will drive the wealth and prosperity and defence of our nation. This government understands regional Australia. We are the coalition for regional Australia. The Labor Party and the Greens don't get the regions. They never have; they never will. They sneer at us when we select a chairman of Infrastructure Australia, who they say is merely a mayor of a regional city, not from the right sandstone university.

In my own electorate, Dungowan Dam underpins 7,000 new jobs that will go to the industrial estate of the Global Gateway Park. It also assists in the fundamental standard of living for people who have to deal with almost continual rolling water restrictions. People in Tamworth have as much right to water their lawn as someone in Turramurra. Water security is essential, yet again the Labor Party sneers that a regional city should have the same economic aspirations as a capital for that purpose.

Our vision for Tamworth is to make it the largest processor of animal protein in Australia. You have to have a vision, you have to aim for it, you have to put the mechanisms in place to achieve it, and you have to have a government that will back you to do it.

The great state of Victoria is noted for its manufacturing. The $2 billion Regional Accelerator Program, driven by the minister for regionalisation and Victorian Senator, Bridget McKenzie, will be a force for its manufacturing growth, for its further capacity, for its further delivery to our nation.

In Shepparton, they make food, milk and fabricated metal products. We've seen the investment that this nation has made in Shepparton, and we look forward to further. We want to make sure that we are not so reliant on others. COVID has unfortunately shown us in bright colours our vulnerabilities when put under stress.

We are making sure we turn the Strzelecki Track into the Strzelecki Road in South Australia. We are building South Australia's connectivity to the rest of our nation. We are enhancing South Australia's connectivity within its own borders, and strengthening it with new massive investments in the uranium industry.

In New South Wales, we are nearing completion of the duplication of the Pacific Highway. The Coffs Harbour bypass will remove 12 sets of traffic lights, taking tourists into town and moving heavy transport out of town. Our $1.68 billion investment to extend the M1 Pacific Motorway to Raymond Terrace, south of Coffs Harbour, is one of the biggest infrastructure projects the Hunter region has ever seen, and now is backed up with our massive investment—front page of the Newcastle Heraldas we build this region. It will support growth right across the Hunter and Newcastle regions, boosting productivity, built on a strong, integrated transport network. We are driving this massive piece of nation-building infrastructure through to completion.

That you could leave Melbourne and drive through to north of Gympie, without one traffic light, is a vision that was inspired by former Nationals leaders like Warren Truss and Michael McCormack. People are moving to regional Australia. This is happening and thank goodness they are, because for the size of our nation we are so terribly overcentralised. For example, Central West New South Wales is critical to the wealth and prosperity of our nation and people are moving to places like Mudgee and Lithgow. We want to see places like this thriving, and this government will back growth in these regions through direct participation and inclusion in our Energy Security and Regional Development Plan.

We have shown in the past that we have the capacity to build new cities. We are in one right now. Canberra was once a couple of sheep properties in a valley on the Molonglo River. And now there are about 435,000 people who live here, so we have proved we can do it. I appeal to state governments and to people on both sides of this chamber to grasp this vision, not for any individual within this chamber, but for the sake of the nation as a whole. We have no time to waste. I repeat that: we have no time to waste. In circumstances that have become so apparent so recently, we must make sure that we show the Australian people that we respect their security by building a stronger nation.

To build a great city like this, it is essential to have the transport infrastructure but you must also have the social infrastructure. Health is paramount. Parents are very hesitant to go anywhere where they or their child can't get treated quickly. This budget allocates $66 million to improve access to critical and life-saving MRI machines in regional areas. This will lower the costs and reduce the need to travel for these imperative, life-saving scans. This is expected to benefit 40,000 regional, rural and remote patients every year, thanks to the dedication of Minister for Regional Health, Dr David Gillespie.

Health care is a major priority for people in regional areas and this budget provides $296.5 million to improve access to doctors, mental health professionals and critical medical equipment outside the cities. This support will assist in better managing the supply of our medical school graduates, and expand the footprint of health professionals in regional Australia.

In this budget, the government is providing nearly $1.3 billion to improve access to mobile and internet communications in regional areas. Our ambitions include providing 8,000 kilometres of new mobile coverage areas for major transport routes and nearby homes and businesses, as well as improving internet speeds for NBN customers. Once more we see the link between the national imperative and the social benefit. This means more regional Australians can benefit from the social and economic opportunities that come with improved digital connectivity. For banking, for checking prices, for immediate communications with finance, with health, with education. For talking to your friends and calling your family. For safety if you're stuck on the side of a road.

Regional education is a huge priority in this budget, with an additional $320 million dedicated for education facilities from child care to universities in regional Australia.

In 1851, this nation started building Melbourne, south of which is the great island state of Tasmania where massive investments have happened in roads, health and other issues such as the Antarctic division. Why did we do this? Because above even the resources and the gold, if we wanted to survive as a nation, we had to build Melbourne. Now we must do it again. We must take the next step. Having 4,000 kilometres between Perth and Darwin without a city of over 100,000 people is untenable for the security and prosperity of this nation. Decentralisation to where the wealth is, not merely to where the wealth is spent.

This government has a vision that will take us forward into the coming decades. It will take us forward stronger, more resilient and more secure. We are committing an additional $21 billion to turbocharge our regions in this budget. This budget and the role of regional Australia means that you can have confidence, as you cast your eye beside you to your family sitting on the couch, that we understand the circumstances now so apparent not only in the world but in our region. We are doing everything within our powers to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible.

E KING () (): I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for the ministerial statement. Normally these ministerial statements don't contain a lot of politics, but I recognise we're on the eve of an election so there might be some observations I'd like to make.

If you want to see the difference in the diversity of our regions and what their representation is, just look at how few women there are representing regional Australia on that side of the House, compared to this side of the House. The diversity of our regions—

Government members interjecting—

Yes. I said there were two. The diversity of our regions is well and truly on display. It isn't just blokes that live in our regions, and it isn't just National Party blokes who live in our regions either. There are people who vote right the way across the spectrum, and, as the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out, each region is different. They each have their own needs, their own opportunities, their own strengths, their own targeted investments and their own economic history. Mine is a gold town and it is a small- to medium-manufacturing town. All of those things are important.

The Deputy Prime Minister also wanted to talk a bit about Labor and the Greens. Well, Deputy Prime Minister, the only people I see trying to inject a bit of green into their blue are the members in the Liberal Party over there who are trying to pretend that they are teal. That is what we've seen. They're the only people I see, in the coalition, who are trying to inject a bit of green into their actual policies.

We know what we stand for; we absolutely know what we stand for. Those people over there simply do not represent modern regional Australia anymore. I remind people that this government has been in power for almost a decade. They didn't just win three years ago, though each term they seem to think they're somehow new. I guess having a different prime minister each time does that to you. But they've now been in power for a decade. Think about the changes you've seen in your own families and your own communities just in the last 10 years. But over that decade those people, who purport to represent regional Australia, have wasted opportunities and have squandered their time in government. This week we've seen those problems writ large.

I always welcome investment in regional Australia—I welcome targeted support and I absolutely want to see investment in regional Australia. But what we saw in the budget and what we saw in the statement tonight was a budget that was focused on an election that we are having, literally, within the next 50 days. It's not a budget that is actually focused on the future, let alone the future of regional Australia. It wasn't a budget that makes up for almost a decade of attacks on wages. It doesn't make up for a decade of attacks on job security, including in our regions, or the attacks and cuts to Medicare, though jobs and Medicare have been fundamental to making sure that regional Australians are actually able to live well within our communities. It wasn't a budget that made up for the attacks on the National Broadband Network and the complete decimation of the plan that actually would have seen first-class broadband in our regions or the attacks on regional government services. The amount of Public Service jobs that have been sucked out of the regions under this decade-old government has been phenomenal. These were people with good paying jobs living in the regions delivering services for regional Australians. But they were cut and have been cut in the past decade.

In the statement we just heard from the Deputy Prime Minister we heard a very limited view of regional Australia. Of course, as I said, Labor supports investment in our regions. We always have and we always will. But an announcement for four regions isn't a plan for regional Australia. A plan for four regions is not a plan for regional Australia. If you want to know the real purpose of these announcements, take a look at the timing. We've had a government in power for nearly a decade, but it took, literally, this last day of parliament sitting for this government to recognise that there is a need to do something about regional economic activity and to look at diversity in our regions, particularly those that have a very narrow economic base.

The regions that have been found to be deserving of assistance happen to include, coincidentally, the seats of Flynn, Leichhardt, Hunter and Lingiari. The government claims that these four regions have been chosen because they need energy security. Well, if that's true, minister at the table, then why have you not included the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, if this is about energy security for regions? These are two seats that the National Party holds.

In Senate estimates today the minister for regionalisation said that they selected these four regions because they were the only regions in need of opportunity. Now, I think those four regions are in need of investment. But, frankly, if the government is saying the rest of regional Australia has neither need nor opportunity, then they have a long way to go. They've picked winners and losers by looking at an electoral map. That's what you've done. This is an announcement for an election but not a plan to develop this nation, and it is definitely not a plan for regional Australia.

This is a government that has always been very big on announcement and very, very small on actual delivery. I want to talk a little bit about inland rail, for example. A fact that the government likes to forget—and the minister did it again in his statement here—is that it was the last Labor government that invested almost $1 billion to kickstart inland rail, to start the project with that investment and progress it to the construction stage. That's what a Labor government actually did. We did see the potential of inland rail, and we invested in it. Another fact the government fails to mention is how it has comprehensively mismanaged this project. They've been in office for almost a decade. I'll just remind you of that: for almost 10 years this government has been in office. And this project is 1,700 kilometres. How many kilometres of rail, out of inland rail, do you think this government has managed to construct in a decade? It's 133 kilometres. That is 15 kilometres a year—the National Party's great nation-building infrastructure project, and in a decade they have built 15 kilometres a year.

At the same time as they've built 15 kilometres of inland rail a year, and have still not worked out how they're going to get it to the ports of Brisbane or Melbourne—it truly been inland rail—now that we've supported the business case for Gladstone they have managed to have a cost blowout from $4.4 billion, for the 15 kilometres a year that they've built, to $9.3 billion and now to a whopping $14.5 billion. And they try to lecture us that they're the best economic managers in the country! You have got to be kidding me.

Despite this multibillion-dollar blowout, the government still does not know where the route will start, where it will end or how it will interact with existing stations along the route. Thankfully they've followed at least the recommendations of the Senate inquiry into inland rail that we set up and the recommendation from Labor's candidate for Flynn, Matt Burnett, who's been a strong advocate for Gladstone, to develop a business case to extend the line there, and Labor looks forward to seeing the results of that business case.

Moving past the government's record of mismanagement on major projects and the huge impact that this issue has on the regions, it is hard to go past the complete failure in relation to disaster management. It is a major issue affecting regional people across the country. It is the job of the opposition to hold the government to account and to point out absolute incompetence when it is affecting regional Australians, well and truly, and this issue is one of those that needs to be pointed out. My heart goes out to the people of Lismore, whom I visited just two weeks ago, in particular. But there are lots of communities facing floods across our community today. The truth is that we know we are going to be facing more and more disasters like this, and we have to be prepared for that.

It is simply an absolute indictment on this government that it took an imminent election for them to unlock their failed $4.8 billion Emergency Response Fund. Again, a decade in office, yet somehow it is: 'Now, on an eve of an election, let's try and do something about disaster resilience.' Too little, too late, as always. This fund did nothing but earn interest for three years. It could have built levies, bushfire evacuation centres, cyclone shelters or drainage improvements across regional communities. It's done none of that. It didn't spend a cent for three years. Instead, it earned the government $830 million in interest. Fine. Let's go and get that money out into the community. This government's inaction has simply contributed to building a better budget bottom line, and it's shameful. Tragically, it is Australians in regional areas, largely, that have borne the brunt of this inaction.

An Albanese Labor government will stop treating emergency funds like they are a cash cow or a term deposit and will instead revamp the failed Emergency Response Fund to create a new Disaster Ready Fund, which will substantially improve disaster readiness in our regions, with up to $200 million per year to be invested on disaster readiness to protect lives and livelihoods. Labor's fund will actually build the flood levies, bushfire evacuation centres, drainage systems and cyclone shelters needed to keep Australian safe, keep their properties safe, and reduce the massive costs of repairs when disasters hit. We will continue to find full disaster recovery through the usual budget arrangements, but our Disaster Ready Fund will provide a permanent, dedicated fund for disaster readiness across the country. Regional Australians shouldn't have to wait for an election before a government decides to keep them safe, but, sadly, under those opposite, we've had to wait for an election for them to do anything.

Driving the increasing severity of weather events is of course climate change. The government may not get it, but climate change is changing our regions and the way in which we live in them. Climate change affects regional Australia more than anywhere else in this country. If you don't believe me, just ask the people in the Northern Rivers, the South Coast, or tourist communities on the reef. Ask the National Farmers Federation, Meat & Livestock Australia, GrainGrowers Australia, or the range of other regional Australian organisations that support net zero by 2050. Why? Because they, like most regional Australians, know that it is in their long-term economic interest to do so.

Instead of representing the interests of regional Australia, instead of acting to secure our social, economic and environmental futures across all the regions, the partisan way that the National Party play politics is, frankly, getting in the way. The Deputy Prime Minister and his deeply divided party room have held our nation hostage, extracting promises of funds for their hand-picked regions in exchange for a fig leaf of climate change action. That's what they've done. They didn't bargain for a better deal for Corangamite; they didn't bargain for a better deal for Eden-Monaro; they didn't bargain for a better deal for investing in Ballarat, Bendigo, Tasmania, Geelong or Gilmore; they are not interested in Wannon or Gippsland, Grey or La Trobe. How weak is the Prime Minister to have actually let this happen? And how out of touch are the Nationals to not realise that acting on climate change could actually be a jobs boon in the regions? This is a decade late. They are a decade late to action on climate change, and any action they are taking is too small.

Labor's Powering Australia Plan will create jobs, cut power bills and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy. That's what it will do. This policy will put the federal government in step with the business community, agricultural sector and state governments when it comes to investing in renewables. This plan, as shown in the independent modelling Labor commissioned, will create 604,000 new jobs and, more importantly, five out of six of those renewable energy jobs will be in regional Australia. They will be good, secure jobs for Australian workers—the kind of jobs you can raise a family on. At the same time, our plan will spur $76 billion of investment. It will cut power bills for families and businesses by $275 a year for homes by 2025, compared to today. Our plan will prioritise growth and investment for the regions that have served as Australia's engine room for so long. Energy, manufacturing and resources.

Under a Labor government these regions will continue to power Australia and provide a stream of exports into the future. They are secure jobs for regional Australians for generations to come, and secure jobs are pretty important. That is why so many of Labor's policies boil down to securing Australian jobs and a better future for all Australians.

We want to use the power of government to buy Australian. We want to use the power of government to make more things here in this country, particularly in our regions. With our national reconstruction plan, we will value-add in resources, expand mining sciences, process more raw materials here and unlock the potential of the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors. We'll provide free TAFE places in areas of skill shortages to regrow decimated sectors that are so important in our regional communities. You don't have to go very far in our regional communities to know how the skills crisis is impacting everywhere, from the resources sector to tourism to hospitality to retail. Every single element of our regional economies is being affected because this government has failed to train enough Australians to actually make us self-sufficient in this country. That is what you have done; that is the legacy of a decade of inaction on this issue.

Labor will upgrade the National Broadband Network, ending the drag that slow internet has had on our economies and allowing more people to relocate or set up a business in the regions. With our housing plan, our housing Australia fund and the Regional First Home Buyer Support Scheme, we will enable more young people and low-income people to buy in the regions, to stay in the regions and to raise their families in the communities that they love. We will strengthen and support Medicare and aged care, in particular, providing the services that people need in the regional communities that they call home.

We will substantially improve NDIS services throughout regional communities. Our communities deserve that. We know there are good, paying jobs in this sector in particular, but you shouldn't have to be living in a capital city to be able to access the services you need on the NDIS. The government had absolutely nothing to say last night about improving and expanding the services for regional people with a disability, who might, when they actually get access to an NDIS plan that meets their needs, not be able to use their plan because there isn't anyone to deliver those services in regional communities. We will resolve that problem. We will invest in each regional community based on the merits of the projects that are brought forward, not on some colour-coded spreadsheet, which is the only way the government seems able to make decisions.

An Albanese Labor government understands that each region has its own needs, its own opportunities, its own complex economies and its own challenges. We want to work with local government, in particular, with regional bodies—the Deputy Prime Minister couldn't even mention Regional Development Australia; the government has completely sidelined that as an economic development body in its own regional policies—with business groups in regional areas to identify the opportunities for investment and to invest in them, whether that be in manufacturing, in mining, in food production or in tourism. We won't impose a one-size-fits-all solution and we certainly won't be going around trying to pick winners, leaving communities behind. Everybody who lives in regional Australia should have the same opportunities. It shouldn't be that we leave regional Australians behind if they don't live in a National Party seat, which is what this Deputy Prime Minister basically just said he was planning to do.

We won't focus purely on the announcement and neglect the delivery, and we will prioritise the part that actually matters—that is, building things—not just getting a headline in a newspaper or trying to get some glossy brochure out, which is what this government has done for a decade. We will actually deliver the programs, as we did when we were last in government. We will actually increase the amount of investment in rail—in particular, in freight rail and across regional communities. We will increase the investment in roads, as we did in government, right across the country but particularly in regional Australia, making sure we have a national freight and supply strategy that actually works for the country and works for of our port system and that is not just a disconnected set of National Party announcements.

An Albanese government wants to govern for all the regions, whether they are held by the National Party, the Liberal Party, by independents or members of the Labor Party. We recognise the diversity of our regions, we recognise the economic powerhouse of our regions and we want to govern for all Australians and make sure that nobody is left behind.

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, I present committee's report entitled Examination of the annual report of the Integrity Commissioner 2020-21.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, I present the following report entitled Don't take it as read: Inquiry into adult literacy and its importance, together with the minutes of proceedings, including a corrigendum.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Too many Australians leave school with language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skills gaps; we refer to it as LLND. It limits opportunities and life choices. This inquiry, very importantly, examined how we can be developing stronger LLND skills and overcome barriers to learning, and the ability of existing adult education programs and providers to meet that demand. Everyone in this chamber would agree that a decent start for children is one of the most important preoccupations every member should have. We know that improving adult LLND can mean employment, higher wages, personal fulfilment, and it makes the country a more prosperous and competitive place. We know individually that Australians may choose to improve their literacy and numeracy to support their own children's education or to better understand health advice, to become more involved in their communities, to be more able to access services—many of which are online—or to simply make more informed legal and financial choices. This committee found poor education was strongly correlated with poverty and geographic isolation, and there really is a need to address these factors contributing to low LLND skills across educational systems and at every stage of citizens' personal journeys.

Australia aspires, as many of us know, to a world-class education system and it is constantly under scrutiny, but we have to be honest that many children too often fall through the cracks. Children don't always speak English outside the classroom. Thousands of Indigenous children speak their own languages at home but they are often taught or assessed as if they are first-language speakers. This experience of shame and stigma that is associated with student personal failure or even for adults with low literacy acts as a barrier to reach out and seek support, engage in school or get further education and training in life.

At this point, I want to recognise the deputy chair of the committee, the member for Bendigo. This is a member who was principled, dedicated, ethical and who never took her eye off the ball through difficult periods for this committee over the past 12 months, and I owe her a debt of gratitude. She is also, quite interestingly, the co-chair originally, a decade ago, of the Parliamentary Friends of Early Education, something that I established around 2011 to recognise the visit of Professor Joe Sparling from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who initiated the early intervention and educational interventions that have been picked up by states and territories, and the journey the federal government and this parliament took towards recognising the importance of early education in long-term life decisions and outcomes.

We know there are currently a range of accredited programs for adults but they don't always want to sign up to these courses. They're working, often, with a volunteer or attending a small class. Those sorts of things actually do make a difference if we can get these adults to stick with his programs. The committee agreed with the Productivity Commission that we do need a holistic approach to LLND. Fifteen recommendations have been made, which I don't need to go through. They are extremely useful. This is a very large report, a huge amount of work. I want to thank the secretariat, particularly Dr John White, all the members on my side of politics, the crossbenchers on this committee and the members of the opposition, who made this committee work over the last 12 months. I commend the report to the House.

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs, I present the committee's report entitled Interim report on better corporate engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers: an issues paper, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Mr Deputy Speaker Andrews, can I say thank you for your wonderful service to this parliament and your outstanding valedictory speech today. We come to see people opposite us in different hues at different times over their career, and you've held true to what you believe and expressed it wonderfully today. So thank you very much.

Firstly, can I acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation and the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia, and I pay respect to ancestors and elders past, present and future, and particularly, of course, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of Canberra.

The findings of the banking royal commission in 2019 on the sale of funeral insurance products, a $50 million fine imposed on Telstra last year for unconscionable conduct in some of its stores, and Woolworths' failure to adequately consult on their proposed Dan Murphy store in Darwin are among the recent examples of extraordinarily bad behaviour by corporate entities towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. What was perhaps more disappointing to the committee during this inquiry was that these types of bad behaviours towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to exist, despite such high-profile cases.

This inquiry was referred by the Minister for Indigenous Australians in October 2021, and unfortunately the limited time frame to gather evidence in this parliament, combined with the COVID related travel restrictions, prevented us from conducting a full inquiry. The committee therefore decided to present an interim report in the form of an issues paper for consideration by a new committee, rather than a final report.

The evidence gathered so far highlighted a number of core issues that warrant further detailed scrutiny, including the future evolution of the Reconciliation Action Plan Program and whether it is effective in promoting cultural awareness and appropriate behaviour among Australian corporations; the impact of ongoing poor behaviour in the telco sector and of telecommunication debts accumulated by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; the continued behaviour by banks and other financial institutions and financial service entities that take unfair advantage of the poor financial literacy of some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers; and the predatory practices of certain payday style lenders, car finance operators and funeral insurance businesses that operate outside the reach of regulators.

The committee would like to see this inquiry re-referred at the beginning of the next parliament. The newly formed committee will then have ample time to explore these issues in greater depth and make appropriate recommendations. Some of the businesses that have already made submissions from the telecommunications and financial sectors can then also be called and scrutinised, which was something we did not have time to do in this parliament. The committee therefore hopes that this issues paper will serve as a useful starting point for the new committee to seek a referral of the inquiry from the minister and continue this important work.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who made submissions and gave evidence at the hearings. In particular, I'd like to thank the secretariat, who's provided us with such wonderful support now over a long time. I want to acknowledge the member for Berowra, who is the chair of the committee, but, luckily for him, he's on paternity leave. I want to congratulate him and his partner on the birth of their child.

I thank colleagues who attended regularly with this committee: the member for Newcastle, the member for Werriwa and the member for Herbert as well as the member for Longman. I also acknowledge the membership of the committee of the member for Curtin and the member for Leichhardt.

For me, this is coming to the end of my time in parliament. The very first committee that I was on, in 1987, was the Aboriginal affairs committee, and I've been on this committee off and on over my 32-odd years in this place. It has bookended my career, if you like. It's been a great privilege to be on this committee, to traverse this wonderful nation of ours and talk to First Nations people about issues of concern to them.

Regular reports are made to this parliament, but, sadly, too often the reports are ignored, despite the strength of the recommendations that are in them and the bipartisan nature of the commitment which is made to the development of the reports and the thinking that goes into them. This is not a slight on the current government. Successive governments, including Labor governments, have been guilty, and are guilty, of not using these reports as a guidance and a tool for making and developing government policy. I think that's a failure of this system.

Deputy Speaker Andrews, in your speech this morning you made a comment about the importance of working in this place and the bipartisan way in which we should work. These committees are the finest example of how bipartisanship can work, and the product of these committees should be seen for the value it has as a result of that bipartisan nature and the work that goes into them. I commend this particular report to the House. I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, I present two reports: Interim report: Inquiry into availability and access to enabling communications infrastructure in Australia's external territoriesand Interim report: Inquiry into economic, social and environmental sustainability in the Indian Oceans Territories.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—These two interim reports from the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories provide an update on two inquiries: the inquiry into availability and access to enabling communications infrastructure in Australia's external territories, and the inquiry into economic, social and environmental sustainability in the Indian Ocean Territories.

During these inquiries, the committee made every effort to travel to Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island to gather evidence. Holding public hearings and conducting site inspections are essential for committee members to fully understand the issues relevant to the terms of reference. Domestic travel interruptions meant that our repeated attempts to travel were unsuccessful, and the committee, sadly, was unable to complete the inquiries as planned. Given this situation, the committee has not attempted to present substantive reports. Instead, the committee has adopted two interim reports that recommend both inquiries be restarted in the next parliament, when, hopefully, circumstances will allow them to be properly completed. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to prepare submissions and to assist with visits that, regrettably, did not go ahead as planned.

Luckily, though, in the past fortnight, I've had the great honour of being able to visit both the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island and to talk to the communities about the issues involved in these committee inquiries, and I report to the parliament that there are significant issues around failing communications in the Indian Ocean territories, particularly on the Cocos islands. There is no mobile phone service on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Unless you've got access to wi-fi on the island, you can't use your Telstra connection or Optus or any other mobile service on the islands. It's a serious issue which requires immediate attention. I note that the Department of Defence has just brought onshore a cable, which should be reticulated across the island for the benefit of the whole community, not just Defence, and that's an issue which I would hope this committee would look at if it gets a referral in the next parliament.

On the issue of economic and environmental sustainability in the Indian Ocean territories, a huge issue is the cost of freight, and the prices of sea freight are to increase by as much as, we understand, 30 per cent. That makes the cost of doing business and the cost of living in the Indian Ocean territories extraordinarily high.

I want to reference some issues which this government has, I think, achieved good results in—in particular, the creation of marine parks around the Cocos islands and Christmas Island. That's a very good result. They've set up fishing reference groups from those two communities, which is very important and will lead to the sustainable access to the fishery on both of those island territories.

There are, however, some significant issues which need to be addressed, one of which is the role and the accountability of the Indian Ocean Territories Regional Development Organisation, which, oddly, has no formal representation from the Christmas Island shire council, which is responsible, obviously, for the planning and development of the Christmas Island community. It is not on the regional development organisation, and that's a major disappointment. There are some major community facility upgrades that need to take place, particularly in relation to the port. Money was made available four years ago by this government. The work has failed to take place. There are buoy moorings which are inadequate and need to be fixed. Both Smith Point and Flying Fish Cove have a crane which is not of much use in terms of the importance of access to the islands.

Again, it's been a great privilege to be on this committee and to work with those people from across the parliament, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, who contributed their time to participate. It's been my great privilege to represent the people of the Indian Ocean territories in this parliament since 1987. They are wonderful people. They need more attention from this parliament. As with my comments earlier, the recommendations from various reports which have been made in relation to economic development, sustainability and environment, particularly on Christmas and Cocos islands, have not been acted upon, and they should be. I commend the report to the House, and I move:

That the House take note of each report.

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

As my last act, I suspect, formally as a member of this parliament—and as a matter of great moment!—I move:

That the orders of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

I thank the member for Lingiari for his kind remarks about me and thank him for his long and distinguished service to this parliament and the people of Australia.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled The Australian dream: inquiry into housing affordability and supply in Australia, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I will be brief in my comments, as I know the House has limited time. This report finds that housing ownership matters. It reduces wealth inequality, it creates democratic stability and it ensures better childhood outcomes, lower outcomes of violence and a whole lot of positive outcomes. It matters that people own their own homes.

Australia has a problem for two reasons: of our five capital cities, all five are in the 22 least affordable cities in the world; and we also have a situation where home ownership rates for Australians under the age of 40 are falling to levels not seen since 1911. Australia should have the most affordable housing in the world because we have some of the highest average weekly earnings in the world, we have the highest minimum wage in the world, and we have more usable land than any other continent in the world outside the penguins of the South Pole.

The reasons given for our unaffordable nature include investors, migrants, foreign buyers and the tax system. We refuse to deal with the underlying cause, which is supply. Until the states release more supply so there is more housing for more people, until local governments administer the planning system appropriately and properly, Australians will continue to have the most unaffordable housing in the world. I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Economics, I present the following reports: Report on the implications of common ownership and capital concentration in Australia, incorporating a dissenting report, and Uncharted territory: Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia annual reports 2019 and 2020, together with the minutes of proceedings for both reports.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I will simply table the speech. I move:

That the House take note of each report.

The debates are adjourned, and the resumption of each debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the orders of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

by leave—I will make remarks on both of the two House Economics Committee reports the member for Mackellar has just presented. The first goes to the issue of common ownership. It is passing strange that the largest two shareholders of Australia's biggest four banks are precisely the same: Vanguard and BlackRock. The rise of index funds in Australia has reduced costs for investors but has also created the potential to reduce the competitive pressure in the Australian economy. An article in the Economic Record by Adam Triggs and myself documented the extent of common ownership in the Australian stock market and showed that it is of a scale which could be potentially concerning.

Common ownership doesn't require active collusion between firms. It is enough that investors put in place management teams who prefer the cushy life, who prefer to maximise industry profits rather than maximising the profits of each individual firm. If the same investor were to fully own two competing firms, we wouldn't think of them as competitors; we would think of them as a single monopoly. Indeed, that's how the term 'anti-trust' got its name—through the trusts that were set up in the United States at the end of the 1800s, which involved investors exchanging shareholdings with one another so that, effectively, so-called competitors could act in concert.

The House Economics Committee considered the extent of common ownership in Australia and concluded that the regulator ought to pay more attention to the problem. We also concluded, in a bipartisan fashion, that it would make sense to have regular disclosures by large investors. In the United States these are known as 13F disclosures and apply to investors with holdings above US$100 million. While the precise requirements in Australia would need to be determined—whether the disclosure was quarterly or annual and what threshold it applied to—we felt, on a bipartisan basis, that that made sense.

The coalition did, though, include a rather bizarre recommendation for another crackdown on proxy advisers. This is particularly bizarre given that the Senate had just knocked off the last crackdown on proxy advisers. We on the Labor side were surprised to see them going back to that, given that virtually no evidence had been given to the committee on the issue of proxy advisers and there's little suggestion that proxy advisers somehow assist superannuation firms to act in concert. Labor members did, though, call for a beneficial share ownership register so that we can know who really owns Australian firms. The coalition supported a beneficial ownership register in 2016 and then backflipped and said they didn't support one in 2019.

The beneficial ownership register is a useful way of keeping tabs on the issue of common ownership, but it's also critical in another sense. We are in bipartisan agreement that it is important for Australia to crack down on dirty Russian money. Indeed, this parliament will hear from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, in merely a matter of hours. But you can't crack down on dirty Russian money if it's possible to hide who really owns Australian firms.

Serena Lillywhite, the head of Transparency International Australia, has described Australia as being behind the curve when it comes to issues of transparency and pointed out the value of a beneficial ownership register in cracking down on dirty money. That's another reason Labor members recommended that a beneficial ownership register be put in place in our common-ownership report.

Turning now to the issue of the report of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the report summarises our hearings over a matter of years. On the House Economics Committee, Labor members have raised with the governor the practice that the Reserve Bank pursued for some period of leaning against the wind—of using interest rates as a way of controlling house prices. The Tinbergen rule makes a very simple point: when you've got only one instrument, you can't be pursuing two objectives. And the economic literature on leaning against the wind—using interest rates to control house prices—suggests that it's a bad idea, that costs exceed benefits by a factor of up to 8:1. Reserve Bank research itself points to that conclusion, which is why it was surprising to see the Reserve Bank pursuing that policy in the 2016 to 2019 period. That has come at an employment cost over that period, according to the economic experts.

Through those hearings we also pursued issues around pay transparency. I asked the governor whether there were pay secrecy clauses at the Reserve Bank that prevented employees from speaking to one another about their remuneration. I was initially told by the governor that he didn't think there were. He then came back and corrected himself and said that in fact such clauses existed but that he was, of that moment, making them unenforceable and issuing a statement to staff that they could freely discuss their pay with others.

This matters, because pay secrecy clauses hurt outsiders and hurt women. They are another way in which the gender pay gap is widened. I'm pleased that the Reserve Bank took that action as a result of our hearings. I'm pleased, too, that this week Westpac announced that it will scrap pay secrecy clauses, and I urge other major banks to do the same.

In preparation for the hearings for the House Economics Committee, I have benefited from the wisdom of a considerable macroeconomics brains trust: Isaac Gross, Matt Cowgill, the thoughtful work of Henry Sherrell and Danielle Wood at the Grattan Institute, the insights of Stephen Kirchner and Stephen Koukoulas, and the wisdom of a range of my former academic colleagues, including Chris Edmond and Richard Holden. They're simply some of those whose wisdom I've benefited from. I should also mention Peter Tulip and recommend his article on macroeconomic policy in Agenda. These people, of course, offer their advice freely to members on all sides of parliament. Simply because they've helped me doesn't make them partisan, but it's appropriate for me to acknowledge them here today.

I want to recognise, too, the staff of the House Economics Committee. Lachlan Wilson and Iva Glisic, among others, have assisted us in the great tradition of committee staff in this parliament. We have been greatly enriched by the work that they have done for the House Economics Committee during a very busy period. I often disagree with my Liberal colleagues on committee, but we are united in our admiration and support for the terrific staff assistance we receive, as too I am grateful for the assistance that I receive from my own staff in this place.

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services I present the committee's report entitled Oversight of ASIC, the Takeovers Panel and the Corporations Legislation No.1 of the 46th parliament. I thank the House.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts I present the report entitled The future of regional newspapers in a digital world: inquiry into Australia's regional newspapers, together with the minutes of the proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—On behalf of the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts it gives me great pleasure to present the committee's report on the inquiry into Australia's regional newspapers. Australia's regional newspapers are vital for regional and remote areas. Regional newspapers provide the stories of people who have excelled in sport, school or business and highlight important community based issues such as council decisions, court matters, public health issues and local weather events. For more than a decade, however, regional newspapers have been challenged by loss of revenue, loss of talent and rising costs that have forced many to permanently close their doors. As these newspapers close, readers are pushed towards social media for their news, which increases exposure to misinformation and creates a disconnect in Australia's communities.

The issues underpinning the ongoing viability of Australia's regional newspapers are complex and warrant additional consideration outside of what the committee was able to accomplish during its brief inquiry. The committee has therefore recommended a comprehensive review to address these complex issues and consider what is needed for public interest journalism to continue to flourish in Australia. However, there are also measures that can be implemented immediately to help support Australia's regional newspapers, and the committee has identified three key areas that need to be addressed.

First, the committee recognises that there is a significant amount of work being undertaken to understand long-term trends in the way that Australia accesses news; however, no single organisation has responsibility for maintaining data that would help with this. The committee has made several recommendations to provide for the collection of data, the development and maintenance of a register of newspapers, the facilitation of information sharing between organisations, and the establishment of research programs and initiatives to assist regional publishers.

Second, to provide immediate support for smaller newspapers, the committee has recommended a targeted grants program be developed for small regional publishers. In addition, to support ongoing operating costs that cannot be addressed through grants programs, the committee has recommended the government review its expenditure on print advertising to ensure a minimum amount of 20 per cent goes to Australia's small regional newspapers.

Finally, the committee heard that the media diversity provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act were preventing news organisations from being adaptive and responding to the changing expectations of their communities. The committee has recommended the act be amended to consider a broad range of factors that do not rest solely on the number of operators in a given area when determining appropriate media diversity.

The news media and digital platforms bargaining code has been welcomed by many to address the inequity in bargaining power between small publishers and platforms like Google and Meta. While no digital platform has been designated under the code to date, a number of commercial deals have been made, the details of which were not able to be provided to the committee. The committee has acknowledged in its report that there is a greater opportunity for transparency on these deals and the conditions attached to them.

Also, the committee has recommended the revenue threshold that news organisations must meet be lowered to allow for greater participation in the code. A statutory review into the code which was announced during the committee's inquiry is anticipated to address many of the additional concerns raised by submitters. On behalf of the committee, I extend my sincere thanks to those who participated in the inquiry by completing the survey, preparing submissions, appearing at public hearings and graciously giving their time to share their experiences with the committee. I also want to thank the secretariat for their work in putting this report together.

I commend this report to the House.

There being no further speakers, I call the member for Mallee.

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present the committee's report entitled Human rights scrutiny report: report 2 of 2022.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

I ask leave of the House to table the speech in connection with the report rather than making it now.

Leave granted.

The Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill 2022, announced by the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General last November, is yet another example in a shamefully long list of self-promoting marketing announcements from this government followed by utter failure when it comes to delivery.

The government has chosen to finally get around to debating this bill in this place only after the Senate has risen, in the full knowledge that this means the bill cannot become law in this term of parliament. This fact alone shows that this government was never serious about dealing with the two important issues it claims this bill will deal with: the very real and very ugly problem of online trolling and, separately, the decision of the High Court of Australia last year in the case of Fairfax Media Publications v Voller. We support measures to combat trolling and we support legislation to respond to the implications of the Voller decision, but we have many concerns about the way in which this bill seeks to achieve those twin objectives.

I want to make clear that Labor understands this bill would require very significant amendment to be made fit for purpose. In this context, I note that even the government members of the Senate committee inquiry into this bill recommended significant amendments be made to this bill before allowing it to become law. If this government had any real intention of passing this bill through the parliament, we would be moving the necessary amendments in the Senate before passing it into law. But, clearly, with the Senate having risen for the last time in this term of government, it was never the government's intention to pass this bill.

The Prime Minister's intention, as we have seen so often before, was only to announce these laws, and, having got his headlines, to consider it a job well done. What an insult to all those people and all those organisations who have lobbied for action to protect people, especially children, from the harms caused by social media trolling. What an absolute insult to the many organisations and witnesses, like Sonya Ryan, who came before this parliament and spent so much time working on submissions and giving evidence for a bill the Morrison government didn't even bother introducing until it knew that it had no chance of ever passing. No doubt during the campaign which is to come we'll see this Prime Minister boasting about the achievement of having introduced a bill to the parliament. I hope people bear in mind when they hear this Prime Minister boasting about his supposed achievements, his imaginary achievements, that they remember that he and his Attorney-General didn't even bother to introduce this bill until it was too late for it to pass the parliament.

As we well know, delivering on promises has never been something this Prime Minister has the slightest interest in. Just think about the national anticorruption commission promised to the Australian people by this Prime Minister more than 1,200 days ago that is still nowhere in sight. The budget delivered on Tuesday reinforces this broken promise, showing the government intends its long-promised, never-delivered national anticorruption commission to have precisely zero staff this year and next. The Prime Minister was still claiming as recently as yesterday that he'd done something about the national anticorruption commission. He said, 'I tabled legislation in the parliament.' Well, he didn't actually introduce a bill. That's how we make laws in this country, but this Prime Minister appears, even now, not to understand that. He has never introduced legislation in this House to make a national anticorruption commission possible; he's just made announcements after announcements.

I'll now return to the subject matter of this bill. When announcing this bill in November last year, the Prime Minister claimed it was an important measure to protect young Australians by 'unmasking the trolls', apparently so children could then launch defamation actions against each other in the Federal Court. The Prime Minister and his Attorney-General even made the announcement of this bill in front of a crowd of children, with the Attorney-General saying it was a measure 'to protect Australians and, in particular, young Australians online, because that is what we all deserve'.

So let's look at what they've done with this bill. First of all, Australians should look at the timing. It seems this government is so concerned to protect children and women from online harm from trolling that they left this bill to the last day, the last instant, of the parliamentary sittings, when the Senate has already risen. The government has brought on for a debate a bill that it full well knows cannot possibly become law in this term of government and that will lapse when the election is called in the coming days or weeks. Government members may cry crocodile tears and say that they've run out of time because they had so much else to do, but they've only run out of time because they planned to run out of time. How else can the Prime Minister explain why he scheduled only 10 days of work for his government in this House of the parliament between the parliament rising in December last year and today? It's now 31 March, but between the first week of December 2021 and 31 March 2022 this Prime Minister thought it was an adequate workload for his government to only have the House of Representatives sit for 10 sitting days.

It's a pathetic contempt for this parliament, for this House, that the Prime Minister has seen fit only to list the sittings of this parliament for those 10 days. This government schedules 10 days of sittings in four months and only five days of Senate sittings and then dares to claim that it's run out of time to deliver the laws that the Prime Minister said were an absolute priority. The Attorney-General said, as recently as a matter of weeks ago, that this law was an absolute priority. The Prime Minister sets the parliamentary timetable, so claiming that their government has run out of time—and it surely has!—to legislate on this important matter is just another 'I don't hold a hose' moment from a Prime Minister who takes responsibility for nothing.

Returning now to the issue of trolling, I say again that we in Labor acknowledge the importance of taking action against the ugly, harmful and cowardly practice of online trolling. We in Labor believe that social media platforms have a responsibility to take steps to stop their platforms being misused by anonymous users to incite violence, spread disinformation and abuse and defame people with impunity. However, it is concerning that so many experts in the legal community as well as so many online safety advocates and so many victims of online abuse have questioned whether the bill in its current form would in fact be able to tackle online trolling. We're particularly concerned that, as presently drafted, this bill would not provide the vast majority of Australians with any practical means to redress the harm caused by online trolling and that the introduction of the measures in this bill might, without significant modification, in fact make matters worse.

It seems that many of the deficiencies in this bill, as an antitrolling law, arise from the fact that it was never intended to be an antitrolling law. The original name of this bill was the Social Media (Defamation) Bill, and that is a far more accurate title. Notably, the Attorney-General's own department who prepared this bill admitted that the antitrolling bill had very little to do with antitrolling. They said, and I quote from evidence given at the Senate inquiry:

Certainly, it's been … a matter of observation and feedback in the consultation process that the title is potentially misleading. I can be clear that the bill is about defamation and it is not intended to address broader types of online harm. The reason for it being in the title of the bill is that the behaviour that we are looking at is one form of trolling, but it certainly is not intended to suggest that this bill seeks to address trolling generally, nor online harms generally. It is a targeted bill that is about defamation and only defamation.

Those are the words of the senior official of the Attorney-General's Department who gave evidence before the Senate committee. Questioning during the Senate inquiry into this bill revealed that the misleading name of this bill was the result of a direction to the department from the Attorney-General's office, so the name of this bill that's now before the parliament, very belatedly and too late for it to pass the parliament, is something that came from the Attorney-General's office, no doubt part of the announcement strategy that this Prime Minister is so fond of.

Evidence from many witnesses appearing before the Senate committee inquiry into this bill established that not only does this bill fail to provide any practical means to combat this scourge of online trolling in providing blanket protection from liability to those hosting defamatory comments on webpages they own and administer as well as the extensive legal safe harbour it provides to social media companies hosting defamatory material, but this bill is likely to make the problem of online trolling worse.

In this context, leading defamation barrister Ms Sue Chrysanthou SC submitted that the bill not only fails to protect Australians from online trolls; the sweeping defences from liability it provides effectively make this bill 'a trolls' charter'. Those are her words. The submission to the committee inquiry led by Ms—

Order! It being 1.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour.

After the last budget, I remember asking how a budget could be so devoid of vision. And here we are again. This government has handed down a budget—on the eve of an election, no less—and there is still no great ambition, no agenda, no plan for the future. This government's legacy will be a wasted decade for Australia. We could be resetting and rebuilding a stronger, fairer economy after the pandemic, but instead we've got nothing—a political patch job which is more about saving the Prime Minister's job than those of Australians.

Australians will see through the momentary sugar hits in this budget. Cost-of-living pressures are on the rise, but wages are stagnant. Wage growth has fallen every year under this government. The government never talk about wages, and they have no plan to address this. There is nothing in this budget for the appallingly low wages of aged-care workers, who do some of the most important work and lowest paid work in our society.

Australians want action on climate change and a federal integrity commission—nothing in this budget. The government thinks a one-off cash payment will make Australians forget its incompetence and mismanagement. But they won't, because that payment won't go anywhere near what Australians have lost in their wages over the last decade. There's a cash splash before the election and at least $3 billion of secret cuts after, and, just like Scott Morrison in a crisis, these cash bribes will disappear.

At the cost of $140,000 per course, the women of Wide Bay could not afford the ovarian cancer drug olaparib. Two years ago, the government put this drug on the PBS, potentially giving women with ovarian cancer more time. One beneficiary of this ended up being a dedicated Gympie community stalwart that my family call 'Granny'.

More than 2,800 new and amended treatments have been included on the PBS since 2013, nearly one a day at an investment of $15 million, helping about 2½ million patients pay less for high-quality health care. Tuesday night's budget ensured that Medicare is guaranteed, and regional Australians get affordable medicine because of an increase in government funding each year since 2013.

Last week we buried Granny, after her long struggle with ovarian cancer. For over 40 years, you'd find her cooking for Meals on Wheels and, on weekends, you'd find her at the sausage sizzle at Bunnings, supporting community groups. She dedicated her 78 years to her family and the Gympie community. Her end of life and quality of life were eased by medical treatments made affordable under the PBS and by the many people who cared for her. Rest in peace, Granny.

This morning the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, launched our ninth Labor women's budget statement. If ever you needed proof of the difference that national leadership makes, you need look no further than the last long nine years, which started with Tony Abbott making himself Minister for Women, back in 2014. Since then, Australia's ranking in the global gender equality index has plummeted to a record low. We are now sitting in 50th place. Compare that to New Zealand, our closest neighbour, sitting at No. 4. That's what happens when you don't listen, when you miss the mark on every occasion, when you see women's issues as nothing but a political problem to be fixed.

Whether it was Brittany Higgins, Grace Tame, Saxon Mullins or the many others who cried out for action, the Prime Minister was nowhere to be found. When Kate Jenkins handed down the Respect@Work report, the Prime Minister squibbed it, implementing just the easy ones and ignoring all the rest. After nine long years, this government delivered a budget with no vision for the future, no reckoning for the long-term problems, no purpose beyond buying people's votes. But Australian women have this Prime Minister clocked. If we want safe workplaces, safe places to live, fair and equal pay, access to quality education, and a justice system that works for survivors—which should not be too much to expect in 2022—we have to change this government.

As I drove up to parliament on Tuesday, it was fantastic to see the Greek flag flying high all along the road in celebration of the 201st anniversary of Greek independence. Australia has been blessed by the presence of a vast Greek diaspora. Indeed, Melbourne is home to the largest Greek-speaking population outside of Greece itself. Many of these individuals make their home in my electorate of Chisholm.

Australians of Greek heritage have contributed so much to our nation, bringing energy and enthusiasm to a new life in a new land. This holds true in Chisholm. Since my election to the parliament in 2019, I've had the privilege of working and spending time with so many incredible individuals and organisations from our local Greek community. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the Faros Greek Senior Citizens Club, their founder, Reverend Steven Kasambalas, and their president, Mr Vasilis Pandelidis. Thank you for your contributions. And long live Greece!

Through omicron, aged care has just experienced its worst crisis in living memory. How is it even imaginable that the federal budget on Tuesday night did not address this, that this federal budget on Tuesday night did not respond to our aged-care crisis? There are aged-care workers and home-care workers in this building today, begging us to do something to fix this national crisis.

Teresa is a home-care worker. She explained that the big setpiece item on Tuesday, the 22-cent discount off the fuel excise, would not touch the sides of the scale of the problem, which is that she cannot afford to do the job that she loves. It won't even touch the sides. She cannot afford to fill her tank to drive to work, let alone drive her clients around.

It is an absolute disgrace that you are failing to fix this. They are begging you to fix this, and you are squandering the seven hours left that you have in power by doing nothing. There's nothing in this budget to fix home care, there's nothing in this budget to put more nurses into nursing homes, there's nothing in this budget to give more carers more time to care, there's nothing in this budget to lift aged-care wages, and there's nothing to improve the transparency and accountability about what money is going in and where it's going and what it's doing. Older Australians, their carers and aged-care workers deserve so much more than you.

The Liberal government's plan for a stronger future is working. This year's budget will provide cost-of-living relief right now for thousands of families in my electorate of Reid. Over the past couple of months, I have heard from many people in my electorate about how the cost of living is having a real impact on the household budget. That's why the government is taking practical measures right now by cutting the fuel excise in half. This will save Australians 22 cents a litre every time they fill up their car, helping the owners of around 104,000 cars in Reid. These savings will start to be felt at the bowser just in time for the family Easter road trip.

The government's tax plan has already benefited 96,500 people in Reid. This year around 82,600 taxpayers in Reid will benefit from further tax relief of up to $1,500. The Liberal government is continuing to deliver lower taxes for working families and small businesses across the Reid community. The Labor Party believes that taxpayers' money is best spent in their pocket. Well, the Liberal government knows that it's better spent by hardworking Australians on the things that matter most to them. We are delivering a strong economy today so that all Australians can enjoy the stronger future of tomorrow.

On Tuesday night the Treasurer delivered a political budget that was an act of political desperation in the final hour before an election, not a plan for the future of all Australians. If you want to understand the character of this government, though, you don't need to watch the budget; you should watch the Senate. Three Liberal senators—members of the Morrison government—spoke in an adjournment debate, and things got pretty wild.

Senator Antic was spreading his latest right-wing extremist conspiracy theories about the World Economic Forum, Marxism and the Great Reset, which the Anti-Defamation League and many others have warned is rife with anti-Semitism. Then there was Senator Renick, who spent five minutes spreading antivaccination conspiracy theories, demanding Australia stop vaccinating people against COVID-19. The Morrison government doesn't call out antivaxxers; it welcomes them into the Liberal Party room. Then, of course, there was Senator Fierravanti-Wells, who described the Prime Minister as 'not fit to be Prime Minister' and someone who has 'no moral compass'. She joins a long line of Liberals, like the former Premier of New South Wales and the Deputy Prime Minister, who have revealed the true character of this Prime Minister.

This government is a joke. If it's not spreading extremism and conspiracy theories, it's attacking each other instead of looking after the future of ordinary working Australians. Do not risk another decade of this rabble of a government. It is well and truly time to elect a better government for a better future, an Albanese Labor government.

Cost-of-living pressures are impacting many households in my electorate of Longman due to the invasion of Ukraine and ongoing global supply-chain issues from COVID. I was pleased to see practical initiatives in the budget that will ease this pressure on individuals, families and businesses. For the next six months, fuel will be cheaper at the bowser thanks to a 50 per cent reduction in the fuel excise. There will be further tax relief for around 69,000 taxpayers in my electorate, and many working couples will be $3,000 a year better off. The latest budget brings record investment in Medicare, hospitals, schools, aged care and mental health. Around 14,700 businesses in Longman will be able to write off the full value of any eligible assets they purchase, while, for every hundred dollars they spend on training or digital technology, they will get a $120 tax deduction.

When it comes to building new infrastructure in our region, the government is investing almost $30 million for a business case to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Anzac Avenue and Bribie Island Road. This is on top of the $700 million already committed to upgrading roads and local infrastructure in Longman. Importantly, we continue to build our defence capability while improving the lives of Defence Force members and veterans and their families. Let's continue to put Australians first and set a path towards a stronger economy and a stronger future.

Yesterday, for the second time this month, Albury Wodonga Health announced a code yellow, and today Northeast Health Wangaratta went code yellow too. It's a crisis. Right now on the border the hospital needs 50 more beds to keep up with continuous and unprecedented demand for emergency care. Doctors and nurses are stretched to their limit. Ambulances are lining up on the streets. Elective surgeries are being rescheduled. Patients are at risk of not getting urgent care. It's totally unacceptable. Before COVID, the ED on the border averaged 160 patients a day. Now the average is around 200 and growing, and it won't stop. The border population is due to grow by 30 per cent in the next 15 years, and what is this government doing about it? Barely a thing.

For months I've been standing with local doctors, nurses and patients, pushing this government to take some leadership, bring the New South Wales and Victorian governments to the table and commit $300 million in federal funds for a new hospital. Last month the Treasurer told me he would consider any proposal on its merits. Well, the merits are loud and clear, Treasurer. The $20 million promised for Albury Wodonga Health in the government's so-called regional deal is paltry. Our health workers and patients in Indi don't need empty promises of largesse that never arrives. We need hospital beds, and we need them today. This government must do better.

The National Water Grid Advisory Body, headed by Chris Lynch, provided authoritative, balanced and timely advice. I want to thank Mr Lynch and other expert panel members for their commitment and input since establishing the body on 14 September 2020. CSIRO chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley, Jim Grayson, Roseanne Healy, Dr Stuart Khan, Sue Middleton, Peter Ryan and Elizabeth Stott all admirably fulfilled their roles.

Building water infrastructure, dams, pipelines and weirs is the key to unlocking Australia's economic future. If we are to grow the agriculture sector to $100 billion by 2030 then having the right water infrastructure in the right places will be critical to achieving that goal. If we are to better mitigate against even worsening flood situations then having the right infrastructure in the right places will be critical to achieving that goal. If we are to fund the right water infrastructure in the right places right now then having the right people to provide the right advice will also be critical. The national grid advisory panel comprised the right people. It had engineering, environmental, farming, irrigation and scientific experience and so much more. I am grateful for the work done and I pay tribute to each and every one of these panellists.

Our part of north-western Sydney is booming in residential numbers and it will continue to do so into the future. People are moving further and further out west, chasing a dream—a home they can enjoy to raise a family, to live and to have a comfortable life. But that dream is turning into a nightmare. It is largely because in the outer suburbs people are finding that the infrastructure is not keeping pace and is not helping them. Case in point: Richmond Road, in my neck of the woods, from Dean Park, Glendenning, Colebee to Marsden Park, that road is always choked in both directions, peak hour, nonpeak hour, weekdays, weekends. It is always the same and it is simply intolerable for people spending a lot of time trying to get to where they need to, and industry is worried they are losing the ability to maintain their operations in our part of Western Sydney.

This week the government announced two things. They said they would put in money to plan for the future upgrade of that road. That is fine, and this comes after writing to Michael McCormack, as the former minister, to Barnaby Joyce to Paul Fletcher and to Andrew Constance. But, as my constituents rightly point out, $50 million for planning instead of the hard cash to do the widening of the road beggars belief. We need that infrastructure support and we need it now.

I stand today to defend the opposition leader and the shadow Treasurer, for they are not the only ones who don't know how to read a budget. It is a deficiency they share with the Queensland Labor government. Earlier this week, we announced $1.6 billion towards a $3.2 billion rail project between Beerwah and Maroochydore. Ever since, the Queensland minister, Mark Bailey, has worked himself into a lather—TV, radio, even social media—claiming that the business case from which that number was derived plus a contingency in fact had that project listed at $5.3 billion. That didn't sound right to me, so I thought I better check. He is, after all, the state transport minister, so I checked it out. Guess what? He got it wrong. He misread the business case and he misread the budget, which is just hilarious when you think about the role he is in. He actually looked at the business case, an enormous rolling project from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane for $5.3 billion dollars, completely missing the point. So I take my hat off to the entire Labor Party at state and federal levels. All of them are economically illiterate. (Time expired)

Almost five years ago, 230 First Nations people met at Uluru at the National Constitutional Convention. If you want to see a massive point of difference between that the side of the House and the Labor Party, this is one of them. The Labor Party is the only major political party that is committed to the Uluru statement in full—that is, a constitutionally enshrined voice to the parliament, the establishment of a makarrata commission that will oversee a national process of truth telling, and a national agreement and treaty-making process.

The government promised, and then didn't promise, and then promised again, and then it somehow ended up that there would be a legislated voice in this term of parliament. Well, folks, it's the last day. There is no legislated voice. There is no way forward. I am so proud of my party for its support for this important document. All of you sitting up there in the bleachers will have a role to play in this, in supporting a constitutionally enshrined referendum in a very short period of time.

On Friday 18 March, a true gentleman died. Hector David Kilah was his name. Hec was the eldest of 11. He grew up in Gatton on the family's small crop farm. The name Kilah, of English-Scottish origin, defines a person as wonderful, kind, generous, loving, caring, loving his family and friends. This truly defines Hec. The other unique thing about Hec is that he only owned Ford cars and nothing else.

In 1965 Hec and his bride, June, moved to their hometown of Monto with their infant son. Now, 57 years later, Monto has lost a true hero to the community. He was a community person indeed: he was president of the Monto Parents and Citizens Association for much of the 1980s; he was on the RSL and worked in the RSL; he was on the management board for the Ridgehaven retirement village; for 30 years he was on the local ambulance committee and worked for the Queensland Ambulance Service.

Hec was a quiet fellow, well read and up to date. When he spoke, he always had something to say that was very useful, worthwhile and interesting. To his wife, June, and his children, David, Karen, Linda and Russell, my deepest condolences. Hec, you will be remembered by all those who knew you. Rest in peace.

Within days of me giving this speech, the Prime Minister will call an election, one would hope, because this fake election campaign has to end soon. In this upcoming election campaign, Australians are going to have a choice between more of the same or a better future. Australians are going to have a choice between a Morrison-Joyce government that likes to talk about reforming aged care but won't do anything about it, and an Albanese Labor government with a caucus rock solid behind him to say that the care economy is the backbone of this economy; that the women who work in the care economy deserve to have secure, well-paid jobs; and that the people whose lives, education and better future depends on the care economy deserve to be educated, cared for and looked after by people who are well trained, who are supported and who are paid in the way that they deserve to be paid. We have had aged-care workers in this parliament and outside this parliament for days, lobbying to be given the respect in residential care and home care that they deserve. They will get that and a better future from a Albanese Labor government.

Australian families deserve access to quality child care regardless of where they live. Access to child care is good for families, good for communities and good for local economies. I was thrilled to see in this week's budget that the government is increasing access to child care for families in regional and remote areas by providing $19.4 million to support the establishment of 20 new childcare services.

Those in this chamber have heard me speak about Kingston South East and a lack of childcare services before. It's a town with fewer than 2,000 people, but it's a town with a big need for increased child care, with around 50 families currently on the waiting list. Kingston District Council made an application to the National Recovery and Resilience Agency following the devastating Keilira bushfire for funding to establish a standalone childcare service for the community. That application, sadly, was unsuccessful, and I haven't been backwards in coming forward about my disappointment with that outcome. A farming region devastated by fire, and parents unable to earn off-farm income because there is no childcare service available. While the agency might not feel this is an important issue, I've got to tell you that I certainly do. I will continue to fight for funding until I see a service delivered in Kingston South East.

Hawkesbury flood victims are asking why they are being treated as second-class Aussies. Why aren't they entitled to the same emergency payments that, rightly, are being extended to other flood victims? Why aren't the victims of landslides in the Blue Mountains treated the same as those elsewhere in the state? Unfortunately, natural disaster victims in my electorate, whether they're businesses or individuals, get treated differently, missing out on extra payments. For instance, the $10,000 grants for small businesses that have suffered a 40 per cent downturn in their income as a result of flood are not available in the Hawkesbury. And, because of the nature of businesses and primary production in the region, people just miss out on being eligible even when they've suffered a direct hit, like Megan from Tiny River Houses; Ray from Jubilee Vineyard Estate; and cattle breeder Peter, from Cumberland Reach.

I want the Prime Minister and his ministers to imagine that they live in a flood- and bushfire-prone region, whether it's Freemans Reach or Pitt Town, Wisemans Ferry or Sackville, or Bell or Blackheath. For the last decade there's been no investment in resilience in any of these areas by this government—not a cent—and nothing in this budget changes a thing. How would that make you feel? I'll tell you: you'd feel ignored, abandoned and scared. It's wrong and it's unfair, but it's what we've come to expect from this tired Morrison government.

Tuesday's budget announced an extra $4 million of funding into our region's eight local councils through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. Since 2019, over $20 million has been allocated to our region through this program, and in my opinion it's one of the most effective funding initiatives available to our regions.

It gives councils and their local communities the freedom to choose which projects are important to them. Whether its local roads, bike paths, community halls, playgrounds, parks or sporting facilities, the decision is theirs. Local businesses and tradies are being used to deliver these projects where they matter most. The money is flowing through local, hardworking businesses, through their employees, through their families and back to their communities.

More than 80 projects have been delivered in my region alone, projects like the Ulverstone Skate Park redevelopment; the Smithton dog park; the Devonport Highfield playground development; painting the Currie Lighthouse on King Island, in the middle of Bass Strait; the Wynyard Basketball Association locker rooms update—the list goes on and on. Thank you to our councils, thank you to our local businesses and thank you to our local tradies who are delivering these projects on behalf of the federal government.

Is there anything more that this Prime Minister and his Deputy Prime Minister like more than making big, splashy announcements but then burying the truth in the fine print? Year after year they do it. Again, we see the Monday drop of the infrastructure announcements and a big, splashy headline, but the devil is always in the detail. I think many Victorian MPs on both sides of the House would be surprised to learn that, of the $3.3 billion the government claims for new infrastructure investment in Victoria, only 6.1 per cent is actually in the forward estimates and is actually in the budget. The Victorian government is pretty ropable. For those MPs in South Australia: only 8.2 per cent of that new money is in the forward estimates. If you win the next election, you're not going to see it in that period of time. In Queensland it is only a quarter. They have been short-changed.

This morning, we also saw on the front page of the Age: 'Coalition snubs Victoria on $7b fund, key pledge'. Why were none of the Victorian regions actually included? If this were really about energy security transition, why is the Latrobe Valley not included? The front page of the Courier Mail read: 'Qld to wait for billions'. Why does the Sunshine State have to wait years to see investment that it needs now. With the Olympics coming up just around the corner, you've got to invest now. Why don't you like Queenslanders?

I'd like to congratulate the Treasurer and the Prime Minister on their budget delivered on Tuesday evening. Who would have thought two years ago that, when Treasury predicted that Australia was heading for a 14-plus per cent unemployment rate, we would be standing here today talking about a four per cent unemployment rate, heading for 3.75? Who would have thought at the time of MYEFO last December that the bottom line of the budget would be turned around by over $100 billion by the time we got through to the budget? It is just one of the most outstanding recoveries of the Australian economy.

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.

Colleagues, there was some misunderstanding with the photographs taken yesterday, so we are going to go through it all again today. I'm going to ask all honourable members to face this way, with masks. Over to you, David.

An honourable member: Sit down!

No, they can't sit down. That's where they need to be.

Member for Dunkley, we haven't even started question time yet. Alright. I thank the House.

on indulgence—I was joined by the Leader of the Opposition last night, with the rest of Australia and the world, to farewell Shane Warne at the 'G. I want to thank Premier Andrews, the Victorian state government and Eddie McGuire for the great job that they did last night in farewelling Warnie.

The memorial service at the 'G was a fitting occasion to reflect on and give thanks for a truly extraordinary Australian life—the king, the legend, the father, the son, the brother and, as Merv said, the bogan. Shane Warne lit up this country and the cricketing world, just like he lit up the wicket every time he went out there, with his joy, with his enthusiasm and with his extraordinary talent. He was the boy who played for East Sandy and practised his flipper in the hallway of his family home with his brother, Jason. Shane claimed, as we know, more than 700 test wickets and was declared by Wisden to be one of the five greatest cricketers of the century. There was the hat-trick, the one that Boonie caught, the ball of the century that Gatting is still trying to understand! We know the achievements because we had the joy of witnessing them wherever we might have been.

Shane Warne didn't just play the game of cricket; he was the game of cricket, and he changed it forever, as only the greats of the game can. But Australians didn't just know him and love him for his tremendous sporting success and for his wizardry with the ball in hand. I think Australians really identified with Warnie—with his successes but also with his great vulnerabilities. As he once said: 'I'm not a very complicated person. I've never pretended to be something I'm not.' And that is true.

What came through last night, at a truly memorable service, was what so many of us had experienced. He encouraged people, including me. He accepted people for who they were and embodied the timelessness of Australia's greeting of 'mate'. His children, Jackson, Brooke and Summer, spoke of what their dad had taught them: manners are free—they cost nothing; always say please and thank you. Great advice from a great dad. When it came to sport, he told them, 'Just go out there and have some fun, because, when you're happy, good things will happen,' as Jackson said last night. These were stories of his generosity, of his decency, of his good common sense, of his humour and of his humility—loading up the car after the Black Saturday bushfires and heading up to Kinglake; spending a day with a local community playing cricket with the kids, signing autographs and encouraging all.

Shane often visited sick kids in hospital. As his dad, Keith, reminded us last night, none of that is said to deify Shane; it is simply to appreciate the depth of this great Australian. He was a wonderful Australian larrikin, a goodhearted bloke who lived large, enjoyed life and truly loved people. It is to appreciate the depth of this great Australian hero. At last night's fitting farewell we witnessed the unveiling of the Shane Warne stand, where his own cricket journey began with his brother so many years before. As Shane's daughter Summer said last night, he will always be with us, just not in the way we hoped.

Of all Shane's greatest achievements, it was clear to me, and I'm sure to all Australians and those around the world who witnessed it last night, that his crowning achievement—the one that he shared with their mother, Simone, and the one that I think he took the greatest delight in—was his children, Brooke, Jackson and Summer. To Shane's parents, Keith and Brigitte; to his wonderful and brave children, Jackson, Brooke and Summer; to his great brother, Jason; and to all who loved him, we send our love and our condolences. May Warnie rest in peace. That saint has now gone marching in.

on indulgence—Last night Australia farewelled a legend at the most fitting place of all. The MCG was the scene of some of Shane Warne's greatest triumphs, not least of which was that mighty 700th wicket he took on a cold, damp Boxing Day. In a way we can think of yesterday as Warnie's final MCG triumph, a memorial service that brought together the nation and so much of the world in the literal hundreds of millions.

The family asked to have a meeting before the service, and I met his father, Keith, his brother, Jason, and his wonderful children, Brooke, Jackson and Summer. I must say I was pretty nervous. They walked in, and they were so upbeat about celebrating the life of their son, their brother and their dad. They're sad to lose him at just 52 years of age, but they wanted a celebration. And what a celebration it was, with artists from all around the world, with sporting legends from here and afar and with people—ordinary people, people with disabilities, and kids and families of kids who are sick who the Shane Warne Foundation helped—all paying tribute to the great Shane Warne.

We all knew he was the best leg spinner of all time, and one of Wisden's five greatest cricketers of all time. I think, for many of us, to learn of his generosity, his determination to help—particularly to help vulnerable people—and his commitment to keeping his word when asked to help out was really something. It was a night of joy, grief and love. It was a night of sadness, laughter and great pride. It was an extraordinary celebration of an extraordinary Australian.

As shocking and premature as Shane's death was, there was a common theme—that he made every second on this earth count. He was a phenomenal sportsman, an actual game changer. When he had the ball in his hand, he was a magician. And, when that ball left his hand, it could feel like he was slowing down time and bending space. He was a larrikin and an artist. To watch him in action was one of the purest joys that sport had to offer, and a reminder of what is best about sport and how it can bring out the best in us. A generation was inspired to bowl leg spin because of him. That's an inspiration that will light up future generations. Of course, he carried this love of cricket into the commentary box. We all thought we would be sharing in that love for so many decades to come.

Warnie was a great Australian with a sparkle in his eye and magic in his fingertips. We loved him, warts and all. Shane Warne was a force of nature. But, when he was so shockingly, suddenly gone, we began to hear so many stories of the generosity, the kindness, the manners, the general joys that he shared and the small encounters that had such an enormous impact on people. I think, of all of last night, as much as there were some big stars who sang and spoke, his family gave the most extraordinary, heartfelt speeches in honouring their loved one. The speeches of his three children, Brooke, Jackson and Summer, were just extraordinary. It was understandable how much pride and adoration he had for his three children.

We won't see Shane Warne's like again. He was a great Australian given the fitting tribute of having the Shane Warne stand named after him. I join with the rest of Australia in wishing his family comfort at this difficult time in the knowledge of how much their son, their father and their brother was loved. May Shane Warne rest in peace.

My question is to the Prime Minister. This tired, old government has been in power for nearly a decade. The cost of living is rising, real wages are going backwards, debt and deficit are the worst they have ever been, aged care is in crisis and Medicare is under attack. Why does this Prime Minister always go missing? Why does he never take responsibility? And why does he always try to divide the country instead of unite it?

This is a tired, old opposition with no economic plan for a government or the future of this country. Tonight they have the opportunity to actually spell out an economic plan or an alternative budget for this country. The Australian people have been waiting and are still waiting to hear their economic plan. This is a tired opposition with no economic plan.

Alternatively, though, this government has delivered an economic plan that is putting Australians in work and keeping them there. This is a government whose economic plan has ensured that we've been able to list 2,800 medicines on the PBS—new listings which are changing lives and saving lives. This is a government that has delivered the record investments in health and education. It has backed the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It has the highest rate of bulk-billing this country has ever known. It's a government that has lifted defence spending as a share of our economy to two per cent from the 1.56 per cent we inherited from those opposite. If we had left the tax rates where they were when we inherited them from the Labor Party, if you were earning $90,000 today, you would be paying $50 more in tax every single week.

Our economic plan is delivering for Australians, as the Treasurer reminded us this week. It's an economic plan that has put people into jobs. It is an economic plan that ensures that we can pay for the things that we promised and we deliver. If you cannot manage the economy and you cannot manage the nation's finances, then you can't pay for aged care, you can't pay for the PBS and you can't pay for the defence forces. It was the Labor Party, when it was last in government, that did not list medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, because it couldn't manage money. We have the Leader of the Opposition leading a tired, old opposition with no economic plan, who will revert to type if he ever occupies these Treasury benches. He has spent a lifetime advocating for things that he now says he walks away from.

I rise on a point of order. Mr Speaker, you won't be surprised that it is on relevance.

I want to hear what the point of order is first. What is the point of order?

The question went to the government's policy, the government's position. If he can't speak for three minutes about his own government, he should just sit down.

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The question was extremely broad. The Prime Minister has the call.

Our government has an economic plan that is working, that has delivered for Australians, that sets up Australia for the next decade of opportunity, which cannot be taken for granted, and that is in contrast to a tired old opposition, who, after all this time, still do not have an economic plan and still, as ever, cannot be trusted with the nation's finances.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please outline to the House how the Morrison government's economic plan has been delivering for Australians and backs the aspiration and enterprise of Australians to create a stronger future for our nation.

I thank the member for Chisholm for her question. The member for Chisholm, who was elected, made commitments and has kept them to the people of Chisholm, as we have made commitments which we have kept and we have delivered. Central to those is our economic plan. Our economic plan is working because Australians are working. As a government, our economic plan has meant that Australia's unemployment rate has fallen to four per cent from five per cent. When the Labor Party were in power, they took the unemployment rate from 4.2 per cent and put it up to 5.7 per cent. The youth unemployment now is in single digits. A million more women are in work today, and the female unemployment rate in this country is at its lowest level since 1974.

Our economic plan is equipping Australians with the skills that they need. We have more trade apprentices in training right now, 220,000. That is more than at any other time in Australia's recorded history going back to 1963. Our economic plan has backed in businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, to invest in and retain their apprentices. What that means is business is supported by lower taxes. We have cut the tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses to 25 per cent. Our instant asset right-off and medial expensing provisions have given business the confidence to invest so we have a business-led recovery out of this pandemic.

Our economic plan is rejuvenating manufacturing in Australia, so we are making more things in Australia, particularly with advanced manufacturing. Our economic plan is connecting regions to more markets. It is connecting businesses to the digital economy. Our economic plan is securing affordable, reliable energy for households and businesses right across the country.

We are not doing this through higher taxes; that is the Labor Party's approach. We are doing it through sensible investments that have driven down the cost of electricity by eight per cent over the last two years. It is an economic plan that has secured our AAA credit rating at a time of great economic crisis, and our government's economic plan has delivered that. That is what we have delivered.

Our economic plan has taken us through this pandemic to have one of the strongest economies in the world today for advanced economies that has seen 40,000 lives saved, has seen 375,000 additional jobs, putting us on the top of the advanced economies of the world with stronger growth, more jobs and less debt than our comparative economies around the world, including the G7. (Time expired)

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday flood waters overran the Lismore levy for the second time in just over a month. The community is dealing with a second round of devastation before they have even begun to recover from the last flood. How on earth did the government fail to list Lismore as a priority area for flood mitigation funding through its Preparing Australia Program?

I will hand over to the minister representing the minister in this area. I spoke to Steve Krieg, the mayor of Lismore, this morning to speak to him directly about the government's ongoing support and the response to the floods in Lismore. I thank Mayor Steve Krieg, as I know the member for Page would if he were here today, but he is obviously with his own electorate in the seat of Page. I am sure the member for Richmond is as well.

We spoke about the ongoing support. He was very appreciative of that support. He was also very appreciative of the ADF's presence there, which is very reassuring at a time of great stress and trauma. In addition to that, we spoke of our government's commitment to over $150 million for the very mitigation works that are necessary in Lismore that his council and his election as mayor in Lismore will now enable us to do after they were opposed for so long. I am very pleased that we will be able to proceed with that. I will hand over to the minister representing to add further to my answer.

The program the member asked the question about is in fact a competitive grants program and in fact is right across the country. It's part of a comprehensive package, not just through the ERF and $50 million a year but also in terms of $400 million a year in our package for mitigation works.

It's important for those opposite to understand that natural disasters are indiscriminate in where they may hit across this country. While our hearts go out to those people in Lismore, there is nothing to say that a natural disaster may not hit in another part of this country. It's important to understand that this is a partnership with states. This comes down to appropriate planning at a local and state level and making sure that we work in partnership, not just in the federal government with our competitive grants but with state governments to make sure that we get value for money not just in flood mitigation but, as we learnt, from bushfires. We must make sure that we work with those bushfire communities on mitigation works into the future.

This is about ensuring that we move towards a system and a competitive grants program that goes right across the country. Now that we have obviously seen in South-East Queensland and northern New South Wales this number of disasters, then part of the recovery process in partnership will be funding for those mitigation works that the state governments can apply for. That's part of the normal arrangements we've had with states that are long standing. That is nothing new. This was in addition to that. These are programs in addition to what we have in normal funding arrangements with state governments. We would encourage the state government to put forward any mitigation works as part of that recovery, and we will continue to roll out these programs as part of our commitment to keep Australians safe well into the future.

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House of the Morrison government's strong record of delivering tax cuts for Australian families and businesses to help relieve cost-of-living pressures, including on the Gold Coast? Is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

I thank the member for Moncrieff for her question. She has been an outstanding representative for her community, like others on this side of the House. Three years ago we went to the Australian people and we said we would make our economy stronger, and we delivered. Three years ago we went to the Australian people saying we would help more people get into work, and we delivered. Three years ago we went to the Australian people and we said we would lower taxes, and we delivered.

Today the unemployment rate in Australia, after the first recession in nearly 30 years, is the equal lowest in 48 years, at four per cent. Female unemployment today is at its lowest level since 1974. When those opposite came to government, the unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent. When those opposite left government, the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent. Under the coalition, there are nearly two million more Australians in work than when we came to government. Our economic recovery has been faster, has been stronger, than that of all major advanced economies in the world—faster than the United States, faster than the United Kingdom, faster than France, faster than Germany, faster than Italy and faster than Japan.

A key part of our economic plan is lower taxes—lower taxes for small businesses, at the lowest level in 50 years—and investment incentives so that businesses can back themselves to grow. And with those record business investment incentives we have seen that business investment is expected to be up by more than five per cent this year and nine per cent next year. Then there are the loss carryback measures—the measures in the budget earlier this week to give a 120 per cent tax deduction to small businesses that go and train their workers, that go and invest in the digital economy. That is what a good economic plan does. It enables—it empowers—the private sector to back themselves to grow and to hire more employees.

We on this side of the House believe in lower taxes—lower taxes for Australian families, with $40 billion already delivered since the start of the pandemic and a legislated three-stage tax plan. Those opposite believe in higher taxes. We remember at the last election they promised $387 billion of higher taxes. Now they're promising a budget after the election where they want to be flexible when it comes to taxation. Well, the Australian people deserve to know—before the next election—how flexible they will be. We on this side of the House stand for more jobs, a stronger economy and lower taxes.

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's department has told Senate estimates that the decision to delay the national emergency declaration following recent record-breaking floods was a subjective and personal decision made by you, Prime Minister. How on Earth can the Prime Minister justify delaying that decision for a full nine days when the need was so clearly there and flood victims were so desperate for help?

Those opposite may not be aware—they're not aware of a lot of things; they're not aware of how to put a budget together, for a start, amongst many other things—that the first response of the government in relation to all of these issues was to get the support there immediately.

Now, the Leader of the Opposition interjects with, 'Oh, yeah.' Well, I'd have liked him to go and speak to the chopper pilot from the ADF, as he was winching people off roofs, and describe his efforts on that day as 'Oh yeah.' I'd like him to tell them that. What we've seen from this leader of the Labor Party over the last 3½ years—

I'm just taking your interjection.

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

It goes to relevance. The question wasn't about me. If it was, I'd be quite happy to have a debate about the fact that I spoke to the flood victims, unlike you—

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is being relevant to the question, and I return him to the question.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. If the opposition leader wishes to interject, then he should expect me to respond—and I will, because when I was in Lismore I was at the dairy farms, I was in people's homes, I was at their businesses, and I was there with the leadership of the councils and their officers to ensure that the support we provided has been timely and targeted. And it was being welcomed by the mayor of Lismore again today, as it was by the mayor of Ballina when I met with the mayor of Ballina. So, we will continue to provide that support. That was the immediate response that was necessary, to get the financial support in place, to get the ADF there supporting them.

And on the matters involving the state of emergency declaration, I consulted with both the Premier of New South Wales and the Premier of Queensland. The Premier of Queensland did not wish us to declare a state of emergency in Queensland.

The member for Griffith is warned.

I listened to her and I took her advice. The Premier of New South Wales was happy to do that. The state of emergency declaration does not trigger payments. It does not trigger ADF involvement. It does not trigger either of those things. Those two things are the things we did immediately. The state of emergency assists with the recovery works and the facilitation of the processing of recovery efforts after the flood event. If the Leader of the Opposition spent more time understanding responses rather than politicising them, as he has done through fire, through flood, through pandemic, through cyclone—this Leader of the Labor Party has politicised every national disaster to his shame.

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. The Morrison-Joyce government has delivered a budget which provides record infrastructure investment to turbocharge the economies of regional Australia. Will the Deputy Prime Minister please outline to the House the importance of growing the nation through critical infrastructure investments that make Australia as strong as possible as quickly as possible? Is the Deputy Prime Minister aware of any alternative policies?

I thank the honourable member for his question and also note the response of the Treasurer. It is very important that we understand that this is a budget that is not just for the forward estimates but for decades ahead. It's so important that we understand some of the substantial investment such as the Beveridge intermodal terminal, which is $1½ billion, about which the mayor of Mitchell in Victoria says will employ about 20,000 people; there will be 20,000 jobs inspired by that in Victoria. In the seat of Parkes, for the Newell Highway about $1½ billion has been invested, and the biggest investment project in Australia, the Inland Rail, goes through the seat of Parkes.

The member for McEwen is warned.

This is a clear example of the investment that we are making in the future of our nation to make us stronger and to make it happen as quickly as possible.

It's not just there. We are making massive investments in the Pilbara. This is an area where tens of billions of dollars are being invested by the companies in that area, and we are building on it. We believe it's untenable that in the 4,000 kilometres between Perth and Darwin we don't have a city of 100,000 people, and we are working with these companies to make sure we build the Gladstone, we build the Newcastle of the north-west of Australia. This is vision. This is what we do.

We are sealing the roads through the desert, through the Tanami, to these areas. We are building the dams in North Queensland—Hells Gates, Urannah—but, of course, we need Labor's support at a state level. We are building the ports, including Bundaberg port, and we're proud enough to stand behind the miners of the Hunter Valley in upgrading Newcastle's port. We are making sure that this nation is stronger. We are making sure that we have the capacity to expand our agricultural production—60,000 hectares from one dam alone before we get to Urannah.

But the member for Parkes asked for alternative policies. We will see tonight whether there are alternative policies. We will see tonight whether their blood runs red or green. That is how we'll be able to choose. Will they support Hells Gates dam? Will they support the Urannah dam? Will they support the Hunter Valley and the coal miners? Will they support the great city of Gladstone and their miners? Will they support the Northern Territory vision for our nation? This is an election where we have a choice. We have a choice about whether we want the Minister for Defence to be the member for Gorton or the member for Dickson. We have a choice about whether we want the foreign affairs minister to be Senator Marise Payne or Senator Penny Wong. We have a choice about whether we want sneaky Jim as the Treasurer or Josh Frydenberg. We have a choice about whether we want the member for Cook or the member for Grayndler, and I know the choice the Australian people will make. (Time expired)

Honourable members interjecting—

The level of interjections on my left, particularly, is far too high. Members have a right to be heard in relative silence. The member for Indi has the call.

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. This week's budget forks out $13 billion for dams with no business cases and for hand-picked projects in seats targeted by the coalition. The big-ticket item on regional health care is 80 additional medical student training prices. It would take 5,000 extra healthcare workers in regional Australia just to give us the same level of health access as the cities get, and you give us just 80 medical student places, 0.02 per cent of what is needed. After a decade in government, why can the coalition always find money for marginal seats in Queensland but never enough to fix the regional health crisis?

I thank the honourable member for her question. Might I say that the dams that we've picked have actually been dams that the Labor government in Queensland also picked. They picked Urannah dam and they picked Hells Gates dam. But the problem is, as I say to the honourable member, we don't know, even when we put all the money on the table, whether they'll build it. That is the issue.

An honourable member interjecting—

We'll find out tonight. They haven't said yes. The interjection was that we said that they didn't agree to it. At this point, I tell the honourable member, they haven't—they haven't agreed to it. We'll see tonight whether their blood runs red or green. It will be evident tonight.

He said it runs red and green.

He said it runs red and green, because they're a Labor-Greens coalition—said so by the member for Grayndler.

Mr Speaker—

You won't let me answer your question.

The Deputy Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order?

Yes, Mr Speaker. This is a serious question from a crossbench member of this parliament.

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Well, what is this mad rant?

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

Gentlemen, colleagues, members, enough. Enough! The Deputy Prime Minister.

We are making massive investments in health. We are putting $66 million into MRIs, and I note that there is a massive program that has been put forward in our health section, and I note that the member for Lyne has been absolutely instrumental—and I know your interest in regional health, so I think it's very important, with respect to your question, that I let the member for Lyne, the Minister for Regional Health, further answer your question.

I thank the member for that question. We have put forward a very strong program of initiatives in this budget—$296 million. The 80 Commonwealth supported medical school places is just one. There is also a long-term delivery of more medical students through funding to Charles Sturt University, which the member for Calare fought for—$14.8 million. They will be delivering a rural clinical school out of their home base in Orange, around many towns in regional New South Wales. As well as that we have just announced two university departments of rural health to train allied health students—nurses, physios, occupational therapists—in Western Australia, in the Goldfields and in the South West. And that is not new. That is part of an existing program.

We have a 10-year Stronger Rural Health Strategy. You mentioned the number 5,000. In fact, I checked this just before I came here—how uncanny! Since we started the 10-year Stronger Rural Health Strategy, the number of full-time equivalent GPs is 1,300; nurses, 1,200; and allied health practitioners, 2,500. That strategy has already delivered 5,000 new health professionals across the whole spectrum into regional Australia.

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to reports that the Solicitor-General, Stephen Donaghue, sought to intervene on behalf of the Attorney-General in a matter before the High Court today. Prime Minister, why are taxpayers paying for the Commonwealth's most senior lawyer, the Solicitor-General, to go to the High Court to intervene in an internal New South Wales Liberal Party dispute?

I do thank the shadow Attorney-General for his question and for his many distinguished years of service to the nation as the shadow Attorney-General. This lion of the Labor Party, this champion of the working people who lives in Malvern, in the electorate of Higgins—

Honourable members interjecting—

The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business can resume his seat.

Mr Speaker—

You can resume your seat. I know what you're going to say. The minister will return to the question, please.

This champion of the working people—

The minister will return to the question.

with an assiduous interest in questions—

The minister will address the question.

I am addressing the question. I'm acknowledging the shadow Attorney-General's disinterested commitment to justice. It's not a sloppy political attack, Mr Speaker.

The minister will resume his seat. The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order?

Mr Speaker, I think you know the point of order, because you've been giving the minister the signal on relevance. This was a serious question about the use of taxpayer resources—

The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business can resume his seat. I would ask the minister to direct his response to the question.

As the House would be aware, there are well-established protocols under which Commonwealth representation in matters of this kind occur, and these decisions have been taken in accordance with those protocols.

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer explain to the House how the Morrison government's economic plan is ensuring the largest and the fastest improvement to the budget bottom line in over 70 years, as well as the equal lowest unemployment rate in 48 years? And is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

Honourable members interjecting

Just before I give the call to the Treasurer, the level of injections is far too high. I have been extraordinarily lenient. If members continue to interject, they will be removed under 94(a).

I thank the member for Stirling for his question and acknowledge his longstanding service not just to his community but also to our country in many different capacities, including in the area of defence.

The budget I delivered earlier this week shows that the economy is strengthening and growing, that the unemployment rate is coming down and that wages are strengthening. And we are now banking the dividend of that stronger economy, where the unemployment rate is at the equal lowest in 48 years, and we have printed a number with a three in front of it which will see unemployment at its lowest level in some 50 years. This has seen a more than $100 billion improvement to the budget bottom line, the fastest consolidation that we have seen in Australia in more than 70 years. The deficits as a share of the economy more than halve over the forward estimates and then more than halve again over the medium term. Gross debt peaks four years earlier than was previously forecast and more than five percentage points lower than what was previously forecast.

We have taken the hard decisions. We ended the emergency-level economic support like Jobkeeper. The Leader of the Opposition criticised us when we did that. He said, in his own words, that the economic roof would come crashing down. Well, within three months after we ended Jobkeeper, 120,000 more people were in work. And now our economic plan is delivering a stronger economy and a faster and stronger recovery than we've seen across major advanced economies. That is what you get with an economic plan that is working, and we outlined our plans for future economic growth, with more investments in our regions, backing small business with new tax deductions to go and purchase new digital equipment as well as skilling their workers.

I'm asked about alternative approaches, and we know the Leader of the Opposition—who's never held a Treasury portfolio, who's never delivered a budget, who thinks a version of an economic plan is tabling his year 10 economics assignment—tonight has an opportunity to put an alternative budget, but we will see very little except personal criticism and slagging off of the leader of the government. The reality is that we have delivered more jobs, as we promised. We have delivered a stronger economy, as we promised. We have delivered lower taxes, as we promised.

My question is to the Prime Minister, and I refer to the minister's previous answer. How on Earth is it appropriate for the government's most senior legal adviser, the Solicitor-General, to appear in an internal dispute within the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party? And whose side has the Solicitor-General been instructed to support in this ongoing faction fight?

I thank the Deputy Manager of Opposition Business for that question. I addressed that in my previous answer, and there is nothing more to add to that very comprehensive previous answer.

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's plan for a stronger future is keeping Australians safe from a range of threats to our national security and community safety, and is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

I thank the member for her question and congratulate her on the great work she has done in supporting the government's agenda during her first term in parliament. As the Treasurer said in his budget speech, we live in very uncertain times, and that's why safety and security underpins everything this government does. It underpins our plans to make sure that Australia is stronger and that we are able to ease cost-of-living pressures. We can't afford to be complacent about the range of threats that are facing our nation, whether it's a cyberattack on the systems we rely on, whether it's drugs and weapons entering our country and ending up on our streets, whether it's foreign interference threatening our sovereignty or whether it's the ongoing threat of terrorism. Keeping Australians safe is our most serious priority.

The Morrison government has a very strong record in national security, and the budget that was delivered this week certainly delivers on that. There's funding for our new counterterrorism strategy to counter violent extremism and create a new terrorist offenders register. There's over $280 million to boost the capabilities of our law enforcement agencies so that they can target serious and organised crime. There's an extra $50 million for community led projects that divert young people from a life of crime and make our community safer. And there's the most significant cyberinvestment ever, with $9.9 billion to bolster our nation's cyberdefences and our intelligence capabilities, and, importantly, that includes bolstering our defensive and offensive capabilities.

On top of that, this week we passed further vital legislation to keep us safe, to further secure our critical infrastructure and to give our law enforcement agencies the backing that they need to keep us safe. National security is important. Border security is important. Keeping Australians safe is important. Those things are in the coalition government's DNA. We can always be relied on to make sure that Australians are safe.

I have been asked whether there is an alternative approach. Over the last three years, Labor have had the opportunity on multiple occasions to speak about national security, but they have not. They have missed every opportunity to put forward their policy. The coalition government, under Prime Minister Morrison, is very clear on what its forward plans are for national security.

My question is to the Prime Minister, and I refer to the previous answer from the minister. The government has admitted to using government resources to intervene in a legal dispute within the New South Wales Liberal Party. The Australian people have become used to the government using government resources for internal Liberal Party benefit. But isn't this a new low, to use government resources for a faction fight in the Prime Minister's own branch?

Order! The member for Macnamara is warned.

I would make the point to the House that it's by no means unusual that matters of this kind are considered by the High Court, and, indeed, as it happens, there is a matter regarding the takeover of the Labor Party in Victoria, which is presently before the High Court as well. I repeat the answer I gave—

The minister will resume his seat just for one moment. The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order?

It's on direct relevance. This question is about the use of taxpayer resources for an internal faction fight.

The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The minister is in order.

An honourable member interjecting—

The member for Dunkley is warned. If someone wants to fess up around the member for Dunkley? The member for Paterson is warned.

As I had said in previous answers, there are well established protocols in these matters, and, on the basis that this raises important constitutional questions the Attorney-General has taken the decision that she has.

The member for Isaacs is warned.

My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison government's plan for a stronger future is ensuring Australians are kept safe and secure? And is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

I want to thank the honourable member for Herbert for his question and thank him for consistently backing up the troops in his home town of Townsville. He's a very active participant in the life of the Lavarack Barracks, and I know it's greatly appreciated by not only the troops but their families as well.

As we're seeing in the Ukraine at the moment, with the dreadful circumstances unfolding, there's no certainty in Europe. There's certainly no certainty in the Indo-Pacific as well. This is a very uncertain time in which we live, and from the first day that this government came into office we have rolled out our plan to protect Australians. We've taken decisions to restore funding because when we came into government Labor had reduced spending on defence down to 1.56 per cent of GDP. It was remarkable because it was the lowest level since 1938. And every day since then under this Prime Minister we have rolled out our plan to keep our country safe, and we will do that into the future. We've done it by increasing the number of troops in the Australian Defence Force; we'll increase that to over a hundred thousand. We will increase resources to the Australian Signals Directorate in this budget—

The member for Lyons is warned.

to $10 billion over the next decade. The reason that that is important is that we know that at the moment our soldiers are on the front line in the cyberwar with state actors and organised criminal figures seeking to attack the Australian public—

The member for Wills is warned.

businesses, aged-care facilities, hospitals and government institutions. And it is rising at an exponential rate.

The Australian Signals Directorate is the agency within the Australian Defence Force that is in the front line of keeping our country safe, stopping the banking system from closing down or attacks on our energy network. When the Leader of the Opposition was last in government and was the Deputy Prime Minister to Kevin Rudd—his actual mentor, one that he doesn't ever want to speak of but one whom he admires and contacts for advice regularly—the spending in the ASD then, in 2012-13, was $269 million. I'll tell you what that figure is in 2022-23. It's not $369 million and it's not $769 million. It's $1.66 billion dollars. So at a time when Labor demonstrated their plan for defence was to rip money out of defence and away from the men and women of the ADF, we have put in additional money and we will continue to do so because we have a plan to keep this country safe.

My question is to the Prime Minister. The government has admitted using taxpayer money to fund a factional fight in the Liberal Party and used a pretence that there are constitutional issues behind this intervention. Isn't the only way to end the rorts, to end the waste and to end the corruption, to end this government?

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. That question is clearly out of order. It is not unusual for matters that affect the Electoral Act or the way in which electoral laws work in this country for the Attorney-General or indeed—

Honourable members interjecting—

The Leader of the House will resume his seat. I will just say that a member may not like a question and may not like what is asked in a question, but that can be refuted in an answer. I don't believe that the question offends standing order 100. The question is in order and the Prime Minister has the call.

No, I don't agree with the assertions and allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition. I am very used to the Leader of the Opposition thinking sledging the government is an alternative economic plan. It is not an alternative to an economic plan. What the Leader of the Opposition thinks is that he can breeze into government without being upfront with the Australian people about what he would put in a budget after the election. The Australian people know what is in our budget. It was tabled this week. It has been voted on this week. What is in our budget is for everyone to see. Tonight, the Leader of the Opposition has to deliver his alternative budget, his alternative economic plan. This is a tired old opposition. Their last set of plans were rejected at the last election.

I rise on a point of order, on relevance. It was a very specific question and it went to taxpayer money being used to fund a factional fight in the—

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. There was a proposition that was put on the question.

The member for Braddon is warned. There was a proposition in the question. There was a proposition in the question which effectively became a very, very broad question. If you don't want to open the gate, don't make it a broad question. The Prime Minister has the call.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. That is indeed the case. The Leader of the Opposition does not think he needs to put an economic plan before the people before the next election. He has been promising one. The member for Maribyrnong put a plan before the Australian people before the last election. They rejected it and the higher taxes, so this time around the Leader of the Opposition wants to get all clever and tricky by being a small target. Well, he is not a small target. He is a vacant space when it comes to economic plans, because you cannot defend the country, you cannot ensure the security of our country, of our budget, of our social security system without an economic plan. This is a Leader of the Opposition, this is a Labor leader, who won't tell the Australian people what his plan is. The Australian people know what our plan is. And here we are, in question time today—

The member for Sydney is warned.

and we are not getting questions on the budget. They've put up the white flag on the budget. We couldn't even get through a whole question time on the budget yesterday because they put up the white flag. They know that this is the economic plan that Australians need, that delivers real relief for real problems right now and a plan, as the Deputy Prime Minister said, that sets up economic opportunity for decades to come.

In the Labor Party, the opposition leader leads a tired old opposition made up of the relics of a failed government under Kevin Rudd. He doesn't even have the confidence to show the confidence in the member for Gorton as the shadow minister for defence.

There is a clear choice: myself as Prime Minister or a Leader of the Opposition who has never done a budget in his life. You have the shadow defence minister that even this leader of the Labor Party does not have confidence in. We have a plan. The leader of the Labor Party has no plan.

My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Will the minister update the House on how the strength of the Australian resources and energy sector and how our plans for a stronger Australia have benefitted and will continue to benefit regional Australia in this year's budget. Is the minister aware of any alternative policy approaches?

I thank the member for Flynn for his question. I acknowledge Ken and Shirley for their many years of service to their local community. Shirley is in the gallery this afternoon. They've served both their local community and the Australian people incredibly well. The member for Flynn will be retiring at the upcoming election.

I was with the member for Flynn last week at the Curragh coalmine in Blackwater. We were out talking to the people who work there. Curragh mine has been in place for many decades delivering for the Australian economy: providing jobs in regional Queensland, in the member for Flynn's electorate, coal into local power stations and export dollars into this country. Those people who are working at the Curragh mine understand how it is that we pay for the commitments we make, like the ones in the most recent budget, where we are delivering record investment into regional Australia. In the member for Flynn's electorate, very close to mine, we've committed $600 million to repair Labor's failures with Paradise Dam. This is the biggest public infrastructure failure in Australia's history, requiring $1,200 million worth of repairs. It is an incredible investment but it must be made.

We have to pay for these investments. We have to pay for the essential services Australians rely on. We have to pay for our defence investment. We have to pay for dams, like we've made commitments for in Queensland. The resources sector has done an outstanding job over the COVID pandemic. At the outbreak they were forecast to do $246 billion worth of economic activity. They are currently forecast to do $379 billion this financial year. I expect to get an update next week, and they will smash all records. It is an incredible outcome. It allows us to make the commitments like we've made in the recent budget, whether that is further support to build new streams of the economy in critical metals or whether it's to build and strengthen our traditional sectors of coal, oil, gas and others. We need to continue to make a stronger economy for a stronger future for all Australians. Every single worker in the resources sector understands that it is their contribution, the hard work that they do, the taxes that they pay and the royalties that are paid to state governments, that allow us to pay for those essential services, whether they are roads, schools, hospitals or others.

I'm asked about alternatives. We know what the alternatives are from the Greens. The Greens have been out publicly saying that, in a deal with the Labor Party, they would end all new oil, coal and gas projects in this country. They would finish them—$500 billion worth of investments and 80,000 jobs. In fact, they said they've got more work to do. There's unfinished business from the last deal they did with Labor. It is very straightforward. We will continue to support the sector that pays the bills in this country, because we must. We must make a stronger economy. We must build a stronger future for all Australians no matter where they live. Our record investment in regional Australia will help deliver it.

My question is to the Prime Minister. In a recent survey of more than 1,000 aged-care workers, 97 per cent said they were yet to receive the bonus payment the Prime Minister promised them, despite it being available from 1 March. If the Prime Minister hasn't delivered on this one-off payment to the heroes of the pandemic, why should Australians believe anything he announced in his budget?

I thank the member for her question. In particular, in relation to workforce bonus payments, $600 million has been made available across four payments to our aged-care workers. That includes three payments which have already been made. The current payments are being made. That $600 million is for those who have retained and stayed in the working period during the course of the pandemic. Those aged-care workers have been fantastic, and that is why we've had not just one, not just two and not just three, but we are now entering the period for the fourth payment. Those first three payments have already been completed. The total funding that is available is $600 million. But for our nurses and our aged-care workers this is one of a multiplicity of payments. Within the budget we have not just the workforce bonus payment; we also have the clinical placements—that's 5,250 new clinical placements at $15 million—for student nurses in the aged-care and support sector. There's $148.7 million for aged-care nurses payments over and above the temporary payments. That is a payment of up to $3,700 per year.

A point of order on relevance: this is very interesting information being provided by the minister. You've made the funding available. My question is why 97 per cent of aged-care workers have not yet received it. What good is it if they don't get the money?

The minister is being relevant to the question. The minister has the call.

Payments are made as and when they are received.

Opposition members interjecting—

No—when the applications are received. Payments are made as and when the applications are received. In relation to the first three periods, which have been completed, I'm advised that all—100 per cent—of applications received have been paid out. Now, as the current period commences, those payments are also being made as the appropriate periods are being reached and as the applications are being made and received. In addition to that, though, the aged-care registered nurses payment of $3,700 per year is also available, not just as a temporary measure or a pandemic measure but as a long-term retention initiative.

Further than that, in the budget, there's $5.7 million for the Aged Care Transition to Practice program, which supports up to 1,300 registered nurses. In addition to that, the Aged Care Nursing Scholarship and allied health dementia program contains $26 million and is currently being distributed. In addition to that, the current budget has $32.7 million for rural health and multidisciplinary training programs. In addition to that, $2.6 million of online training is available. But, in relation to those periods which have been completed, for which applications have been received, 100 per cent of payments have actually been made.

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's plan for a stronger future includes a medical research plan to support all Australians through the discovery of new medicines and medical treatments, including for those living with ataxia and mitochondrial disease?

I want to thank the member for Ryan. Last week, we visited the Wesley Medical Research institute in his electorate, and there we saw the Medical Research Future Fund plan—the 10-year plan—in action. It was funding for a clinical trial for children with ataxia, a neurodegenerative condition which takes their lives. That condition was at the heart of this clinical trial. This clinical trial was sponsored and fought for by parents such as Cristina and Simon, the parents of Goldie Digby. Goldie Digby is a young girl who already has significant signs of this degenerative condition. But this clinical trial is a world first, applying an enzyme to provide a potential treatment for up to 40 children who otherwise would not see, on average, their 25th birthday. That's real, significant and important. It's the plan that's in action, a plan which is delivering life-saving treatment. That treatment, if it is found to be successful, then goes on to become new medicines, which are listed. Those new medicines have been at the heart of what we have done to save and protect lives over the course of the last five years and beyond.

In particular, we know that this Medical Research Future Fund plan sets out a $750 million commitment to clinical trials for rare cancers and rare diseases, something which I would hope every member of this House would support, and I am sure that they do. Moreover, the plan also includes funding for mitochondrial disease—$15 million to support the work of Maeve's Law. I am pleased to advise the House that the Senate joined the House last night in supporting Maeve's Law for mitochondrial disease. It is named after Maeve Hood. Maeve's parents are Joel and Sarah. They also fought for their daughter to have access to new medicines and new treatments and for all other parents who may come afterwards to have access to mitochondrial donation to ensure that their children have the chance of being born without this condition.

So we have seen through that the best of this parliament and what we can be as a parliament, as a nation, working to a plan—working to a funded plan and working across the aisle to ensure that we give children and families real hope. For Maeve and for Goldie, the plan is what we do. But Maeve and Goldie are why we do what we do.

on indulgence—I join the minister in welcoming the passage of Maeve's Law in the Senate. I thank him particularly for the work that he has done to make that law a reality and for reaching across the aisle, particularly with my predecessors, the member for McMahon and the member for Ballarat, in ensuring this was as far as possible a cross-aisle effort in both houses. I also, on indulgence, thank the minister, after what I imagine was his last answer, for a long and successful career in this place. We all look forward to the Prime Minister now telling the Australian people, in the middle of a pandemic, who he proposes as the next health minister if he's successful.

That's going beyond an indulgence. The Leader of the Opposition.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that the best advice he has to offer Australians struggling to pay rents that have skyrocketed under his government is that they should just go and buy a house? Does the Prime Minister realise just how out of touch that is?

Once again, the Leader of the Opposition has come forward and outlined things not as they were, seeking to misrepresent the remarks I made on this matter. In response to this matter, I said specifically that the budget provides for rental assistance through the Commonwealth Rent Assistance program. I made exact reference to rental assistance and the government providing some $5 billion a year. I also made reference to the fact that our government has delivered lower taxes for Australians, which helps them deal with cost-of-living pressures. I spoke specifically about the great work in this budget that will actually help Australians who have been renting buy their own home. Not everyone can buy their own home. The Leader of the Opposition has bought plenty of homes. He's bought plenty more than I have, and good for him! Good luck to him! We celebrate success on this side of the House.

At the last election, the only housing policy those opposite had was to put up the taxes on housing. But, under our government, we went to the last election and we said we were going to get more Australians able to buy their own home. Over 300,000 Australians have been able to get into their own home as a result of the home guarantee, as a result of the HomeBuilder program, which was opposed by the Labor Party, and as a result of the First Home Super Saver Scheme, which was opposed by the Labor Party. Not only that—we put in $2 billion to support the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which I established as Treasurer and which is supporting affordable accommodation, affordable rents, through partnerships with the community housing sector to ensure that can be delivered.

Whether it's the Commonwealth Rent Assistance program, whether it's the reduced taxes that we've put in place or whether it's the home guarantee program for those who are trying to save for their first home—there are now 50,000 places each year under this budget, with 10,000 of those places reserved specifically for people in regional areas, because we know how tough it is there—we are supporting Australians to get into a home. That is something we specifically promised we would do, and we have delivered.

The member for Gilmore is warned.

At the last election, the only policy they had was to put up taxes, and I know the shadow Treasurer says this: any housing policy that doesn't have changes to negative gearing and capital gains—

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

Direct relevance: there was no provision for alternative policies in that question. There were none.

The Deputy Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. There was no opportunity to talk about alternative policies, but the last part of the question in particular does open up the field. I will direct the Prime Minister to return to the question, but that last part of the question enables a very, very broad response. The Prime Minister has the call.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Quoting the shadow Treasurer: 'Any housing policy that doesn't have changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax is just a shocker.' It's in their DNA to increase taxes on housing and to abolish negative gearing. Our government won't do that. Our government will never do that because we know that if you abolish negative gearing the rents go up. They pretend to care about rents, but they don't, because in their DNA— (Time expired)

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please inform the House of the critical importance of having a plan to create a stronger economy for a stronger future with more jobs, more opportunity and guaranteed essential services? I am also going to ask him: is the Prime Minister aware of any alternative approaches?

I thank my dear friend the member for Swan for his question. He is retiring at the next election. I know Kristy McSweeney will make a great member for Swan. She puts herself forward for the Liberal Party in the seat of Swan. I thank the member for Swan for his great service to this House. I particularly commend him for the incredible work that he did for those who were raised in a very similar situation to him as orphans and were taken care of. Can I thank him for his tremendous service to this House over many, many years.

Our plan, which we have made very clear, has been set out in our budget, delivered by the Treasurer—his fourth. Our budget sets out that comprehensive economic plan for the future. We know it's working because Australians are working. They are working, and women are working in a participation rate in the labour force at record levels. Our economic plan is working, and that economic plan means a stronger budget. That economic plan means that over the course of the last 12 months, the budget has improved by some $100 billion or more, which is the biggest economic recovery we have seen in this country in 70 years. That is a product of a plan.

Our government has a plan to continue to grow the economy. It has delivered for Australians. It is delivering real relief now to cost-of-living pressures. It is delivering real opportunities for Australians in skills, in infrastructure and in investment in their businesses, and in the regions as well. It is delivering more jobs. It was the shadow Treasurer who said that the test of a budget is jobs. He's right about that. He's right about little else, but he is right about that fact, and our budget has delivered already our plan for some 375,000 additional jobs. That is on top of what we had before the pandemic hit, with 1.2 million jobs created overall as part of this recovery as we come back from the pandemic.

Our economic plan is guaranteeing essential services in health and education. We have the highest bulk-billing rates we've seen and 2,700 listings and amended listings in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which is changing lives and saving lives. It's investing our strong economy from our plan to ensure that we have been able to rebuild our defence forces from what we saw under Labor, which was the lowest level as a share of the economy since before the Second World War.

The member for Brand is warned.

I am asked about alternative approaches. I can't tell you about alternative approaches by the Labor Party because they haven't told anybody about those alternative approaches. The Labor Party are a tired opposition, the relic of an old, failed government, dwindling away there on their benches with no economic plan for the future. No economic plan and no idea.

The Prime Minister's time has expired.

On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper, given the time is almost 25 minutes past the hour.

on indulgence—As I mentioned to the Leader of the Opposition, we aren't going to go to indulgence speeches on this, but, Mr Speaker, I am sure you will join me in expressing our sincere condolences to the family of Mr David Irvine, who has passed away. He was chair of the Foreign Investment Review Board. He has been an outstanding servant of this country. He has put absolute meaning into the title of 'public servant'. He has worked over his entire life to pursue the national interests of our country. He is a great patriot, and he will be a big loss to our country. I want to thank him for his great service to our nation. I would ask the House to confirm our great sense of loss and our sympathies to his family.

on indulgence—I join with the Prime Minister in expressing my condolences to the family, friends and so many colleagues of the late David Irvine. It was a shock this morning when a journalist notified me that he had passed on. David Irvine was a giant of the Australian Public Service. He has performed many roles—secretary of departments, head of ASIO. He has been an extraordinary contributor to our national security and to the Public Service. He has advised governments, both Labor and coalition, over many decades, and he was a gentleman as well. He was someone you could ask for advice, even from opposition. He would always give it, in an entirely appropriate way, of course. He is someone who will be sadly missed.

We are reminded, with David's passing, of the important role that public servants have. The truth is that someone like David Irvine could have got much greater financial remuneration if he had chosen that path of personal interest. He chose the path of public interest. I honour him, I pay tribute to him, I thank him for his service and I thank his family for sharing him with our nation.

In memory of the late David Irvine AO, I ask all members to rise in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

I thank the House.

Before members leave the chamber, I want to give a short reminder about arrangements for this evening with respect to the Leader of the Opposition's budget reply speech. As I outlined on Tuesday, the usual courtesies apply to the Leader of the Opposition's speech, as they did with the Treasurer's. With respect to this evening, the Leader of the Opposition will have the call and is entitled to speak without interruption. As with the Treasurer's speech on Tuesday, standing order 1 provides that there is no time limit for the Leader of the Opposition's speech. The clock is used as a guide only. As I noted on Tuesday, if I'm required to make use of standing order 94(a), the member will be advised by written note. I ask all members to ensure that their guests comply with COVID-safe measures in place in the building and standards of behaviour applying to the galleries, and I remind members that they are responsible for their invited guests. I thank the House.

A document is tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. Full details of the document will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.

I present the Auditor-General's performance audit report No. 21 of 2021-22 entitled Operation of grants hubs: Department of Finance; Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources; Department of Social Services.

Document made a parliamentary paper in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 28 March 2018.

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Kingston proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The government's failure to support Australians with cost of living expenses.

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—

On Tuesday night, we saw the federal budget delivered, and what became really clear as it unfolded was that that document is a document to buy votes and get this government, this hapless government, to the other side of an election. What the budget failed to appreciate, and what the Treasurer failed to appreciate, is that Australians have been struggling under cost-of-living pressures for some time. They have been struggling with the cost of child care and the cost of energy and a whole range of things that have been putting pressure on households. Of course, the other part of the puzzle that has been there for a long time is that Australians have not got a decent wage increase. There have been declining real wages in this country as, in this government's own words, a design policy of their government.

We have a budget now that ignores the future, ignores a long-term plan for the future, ignores what other challenges lie ahead and ignores what needs to be done to set Australians up for long-term prosperity. We've had the Prime Minister bragging about how many budgets he's been involved in. We're not 100 per cent sure whether that's seven or eight—there's a little bit of a counting issue there—but we do know that none of the budgets he's been involved in have taught him this very important lesson: the Australian people need to be in the centre of his budget—not his own electoral prospects. Unfortunately, that has not been shown.

I'm going to focus on one area where the government was silent on Tuesday night: the real issue of rising childcare costs. We have a government that continually tells Australian families that there is no problem with the cost of child care. Over this term we've had government ministers—I think we're onto the third minister now when it comes to child care—telling families they've never been better off when it comes to the cost of child care. They've come in and they've quoted hourly figures. Of course, if you're using 30 to 50 hours a week it really adds up, and the government has failed to understand that.

The latest data shows that fees for child care are up 41 per cent since this government came to office, and, in one quarter alone, they went up 1.4 per cent, between March and June 2021. Out-of-pocket costs are up by 6.5 per cent in 2020-21, almost double the cost of inflation. What has been the government's response on child care? Silence. We know that in the last budget they tried to be as tricky as possible, thinking that budget would be the budget before the election, not thinking they'd have to come back and actually be accountable to this House. So we had a tricky budget where, if you have one child in child care, you don't get a cent extra—you don't deserve any extra support from this government. Of course, that counts for 75 per cent of families using the system.

If you're struggling with the cost of out-of-school-hours care, the government said you deserve no extra in that last budget. There were so many people, Australian families, hoping with their fingers crossed that the government would actually address it, especially when UNICEF has ranked Australia 37th out of 41 countries when it comes to childcare policies. They found Australia is one of only eight countries in the world where child care consumes at least a quarter of the average wage. This is a dismal showing. We are falling behind the rest of the world, and no amount of spin and rhetoric can make up for it.

When it comes to early education and care, the government is also completely ignoring the challenges coming out of the pandemic for the early education workforce. Under this government, almost 15 per cent of long day care services have a waiver from the National Quality Standard for staffing reasons. This is having a significant impact out there. I am told this is also driving up the cost of child care. Already this year we've had Goodstart and G8, two large providers in this country, announce that they will have above-inflation fee increases. They are going to. They have no choice when it comes to the costs that they are incurring. This government has taken its eyes off the prize when it comes to early education and care. They've said: 'This is not what we are here to do. We don't care whether people have access or not, and we don't care how expensive it is.'

Of course, when it came to the COVID pandemic they were slow. They were slow to act, time and time again, to ensure that early learning services could keep their doors open and to ensure people could get care. If the government haven't learnt their lessons from COVID, if they haven't learnt the priorities of the Australian people, the priorities of families, when will they ever learn?

It is really clear that we need an investment in our early education and care system. We need to be supporting families with the cost of living when it comes to child care, because this isn't just good for those families that get cheaper childcare fees; it is good for the economy, and this is the point that the government is failing to recognise. The government are happy to spend money—or at least announce money—for roads. As the shadow minister for infrastructure would say, we often don't see those roads.

An honourable member: Or the car parks.

Or car parks. The minister for infrastructure will announce the money—though maybe not deliver—but he refuses to acknowledge that affordable early education and care is infrastructure for families. It helps us grow the economy. It increases women's workforce participation. It increases productivity in this country. But it's not surprising that this government doesn't understand this. One of the government MPs did say that women using child care were outsourcing parenting, and another said that women might be forced back to work if they invest in early education and care. Under this government—and I'm so pleased to recognise this; it was the shadow minister for women who pointed this out earlier this morning—Australia has dropped from 12th to 70th in the world for women's economic participation and opportunities, as assessed by the World Economic Forum. The government is failing to see the significant economic reform that is right under its nose—that is, invest in education and care, help women get back to work and remove that economic disincentive.

In quite clear contrast, Labor have a different approach. Labor have been clear that we see early education and care as an essential service. We will lift the maximum childcare subsidy rate to 90 per cent and increase the childcare subsidy rate for every family earning less than $530,000, and we'll extend the increased subsidy to out-of-school hours. This will drive down the cost of child care. We will also task the ACCC with investigating price regulation to ensure that families are the ones that are getting the benefit from government support, that children are getting the benefit from this government support. It is only Labor that has a long-term plan, whether it's in child care, whether it's in energy prices or whether it's to get real wages moving again. It is only Labor that has a long-term vision to get our country back on its feet after the pandemic.

Soon there will be a choice. There'll be a choice for the Australian people: a short-term vision with a vote-buying exercise to get them—that is the coalition, the current government—through the election, or Labor's long-term plan that will really invest in the Australian people, invest in the skills we need in the country, including investing in early education and care. We will invest in child care, we will invest in energy and we will make sure that our country and our people have the services and the support they need so they can get on and do what they do best, and that's building our country.

I call the Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction.

The member for McEwen will not speak while I'm calling the minister and will stop interjecting completely.

If we want to talk about valedictory addresses, the member for McEwen should have his ready because he's not going to be here after the election.

We all know how this matter of public importance came up. Overnight the federal secretary of the Australian Labor Party and Tim Gartrell, the campaign manager for the Leader of the Opposition, would have come in and said, 'Look, Leader of the Opposition, we've finally got our research and it says the cost of living is an important issue.' Finally the Leader of the Opposition might have absorbed the fact that Australians face ongoing challenges in their economic circumstances, and it would have been a wake-up call for him. So he would have said, 'Our solution is: let's go and have a debate about it in the parliament.' The Leader of the Opposition would have gone in and said, 'I've got the answer; I'm going to get up and give a compelling speech,' and the shadow Treasurer would have fought him left, right and centre: 'No, I want this matter of public importance speech!' But, in the end, they would have eventually turned to each other and asked: 'What is it that we're going to say? What is it that we're going to say about an economic plan?' And the answer is: they don't know. As a consequence, neither of them have actually come to the dispatch box today to articulate what their economic plan is.

We heard this during question time, where it didn't seem to matter what question was asked of the Prime Minister: the Labor Party had no plan and no solution to address the economic challenges this country faces. And we know they're probably working on the budget reply speech right now, off in their offices, still scratching their heads about how it is that they're going to sell it. But it's a great privilege, I've got to say—despite the protest of the member for Griffith, leaving the chamber—to be able to speak on this matter of public importance, because those of us who have a long enough memory will remember the final day of the last sitting of parliament. It was a similar day. We had a budget reply speech from the Leader of the Opposition. That was the last speech. The second-last speech I remember very well, not least because it was given by me, and I tabled the report of the Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into the impact and implications of the abolition of refundable franking credits. I remember that speech very well, and I'm sure many members, in hindsight, should have paid more attention to it. It reported the direct economic impact and the impact on people's livelihoods from the abolition of refundable franking credits, which would have led to a million Australians being pushed down the financial stairs should a Labor government be elected. And it is not just that policy but also, of course, their $387 billion worth of new taxes that would have had a direct impact on livelihoods, economic welfare and wellbeing.

That's why on this side of the chamber we don't take lectures about the cost of living, because the cost-of-living challenges of Australians—which flow through from supply-chain challenges, inflation, interest rates and the like—are never benefited because we have an alternative government whose only solution is to take away from Australians their livelihoods and their income, as Labor so wants to do at every single opportunity. And that is the ultimate choice that affects Australians in the lead-up to the next election. Who is it, in the end, that they trust to understand the importance of empowering Australians to be free to make decisions for themselves? Who do they trust to make decisions to empower Australians to be free to make their own choices and to live their own lives? We know full well that the opposition cannot be trusted with those choices, for a very simple reason.

The member for Melbourne at the moment is measuring for curtains in the hope of the opportunity to be the balance of power in a future government led by this Leader of the Opposition. He is measuring for curtains. And, funnily enough, I have never seen the Greens turn their noses up at any spending measure paid for by Australian taxpayers. In fact, it is quite the reverse: they've consistently argued, at every point, that they want to spend more money, more resources—taken from the Australian taxpayer—except in one area.

I know that the last time I said this the member for Melbourne got outraged enough that he stormed into the parliament and declared outright that he wanted a retraction, where they want to reduce the amount of spending for defence. Now, I understand that he takes exception to members in this chamber highlighting his deliberate attack on our defence forces and the security of this nation. What is it that they want to cut? They say it's not 50 per cent. Well, they have a responsibility to explain to the Australian people—particularly to the Leader of the Opposition, whom they want to enter into coalition government with—what they're going to cut. Are they going to cut our armed service personnel's pay? Are they going to cut their kit? Are they going to cut their equipment? Are they going cut the submarines that we need, the ships that we need and the armoured personnel vehicles that we need to defend this nation and secure its sovereignty and its interests here and abroad? And make no mistake: the Labor Party isn't just joined by the Greens but also by the Independents, who are lining up.

The biggest cost-of-living choice they face is how they're going to spend the multiple millions of dollars that they're splashing around the country left, right and centre, approaching communities with their voice to get elected to parliament as an acquisition as part of an investment portfolio. They don't understand the economic challenges that Australians face—making sure people can pay their mortgage, afford basic services and, of course, make sure the budget is balanced at the end of the week, challenges many Australians face every day. That is why our model and the Liberal approach towards economic empowerment are about trusting Australians to make their own choices, because that is actually what a budget is really about.

The Labor Party has always approached a budget as a pathway to empower themselves by putting their hands straight into the hip pocket of Australians and ripping out as much of it as they can so they can use it to decide how they will impose conformity on the country, whereas we—the Liberals and Nationals—understand that the pathway to economic empowerment is leaving as much of that money in their pockets as possible. It is a pathway to make sure Australians are empowered to make their own choices and decisions, and it is to make sure that they can support themselves so that they are in the best position to help and assist others. We understand that the foundations and success of our country, particularly the economic success, are built on strong citizens, because strong citizens make strong families, strong families make strong communities and strong communities make a strong nation. That is the basis on which we back Australians to be a able to get a job and support them and their family.

The numbers are crystal clear. The reality is we have an unemployment rate of four per cent, one of the lowest in Australia's history and something that we should be immensely proud of, particularly off the back of the enormous challenges we face as a consequence of COVID, where—let's face it—all the international forecasts, all the international data, all the Treasury forecasts and all the Reserve Bank forecasts said we would not be anywhere near it. It is the lowest level of unemployment in 48 years. Since we have come to government there are around 1.9 million more Australians in work in Australia, including, critically, 1.1 million more women in work. We see the pathway of economic empowerment as something that is good not just for families but for women and for every Australian, because it is so important. Currently at four per cent, the unemployment rate is well down from the 5.7 per cent when Labor last left office.

In the budget on Tuesday night, there were measures that understood that there are cost-of-living pressures today and that, of course, they will be there in the future. Critically, we understand the very specific and unique challenges that are faced around the cost of fuel, particularly as a consequence and a flow-on from the Russian aggression against Ukraine. For the next six months, Australians will save 22c a litre every time they fill up their car. A family with two cars, who fill up once a week, could save $30 a week, around $700 over the next six months, as a consequence of a reduction in fuel excise, recognising the particular reality we all face at this critical time. It doesn't matter who you are in Australia, we understand the price of fuel has a direct inflationary impact if it continues at current prices and if we don't support such important and critical measures for the future of household budgets and balance sheets.

Of course, we also announced a new one-off $420 cost-of-living tax offset for more than 10 million low- and middle-income earners. Individuals already receiving the low- and middle-income tax offset will now receive up to $1,500 and couples up to $3,000 from 1 July this year. This is targeted immediate relief for Australians who are facing cost-of-living pressures, and of course there are also more than six million Australians in other circumstances, such as pensioners, carers, veterans, jobseekers, eligible self-funded retirees and concession cardholders, who will get a new one-off $250 cost-of-living payment delivered.

This government understands that cost-of-living pressures are real and significant. They have a direct flow-on and impact on the decisions and choices Australians make. We understand the way to address them is to empower Australians to take control of their own economic circumstances, versus the Labor approach, which is to empower themselves through raising more taxes, imposing them on Australian households and, of course, dictating to them their choices and their future opportunities. I can assure you that, at the next election, that pathway will be rejected.

I think 'taking control of their own economic circumstances' is code for, 'Get a better job,' or, 'If you're feeling rental pressure, go and buy yourself a house.' What we just heard in the last 10 minutes was a speech that shows how out of touch those opposite are.

I want to remind people that the last few weeks are not the first time that we have stood here and talked about the cost of living. I went back to the start of this term in 2019. There are speeches in Hansard where I have raised the feedback I was getting from my constituents about the pressures they were feeling just to keep their head above water, to be able to earn enough to pay the bills and, if they were lucky, have a little bit left over. These are not new pressures. You cannot blame a terrible and tragic war that is happening for what people are feeling now. All we're seeing from this government is a quick sugar hit, a bit of a, 'Let's just toss something out for a quick fix.' There is not a single thing that they have put forward that gives anyone hope that things will get better in the medium to long term.

I want to point out that, when you talk cost of living, one of the things that gives you the biggest hit to cost of living is when a natural disaster strikes. Your economic future changes. This idea you control your own economic future—you tell that to people who lost their homes, whether it was to bushfires in 2013 or 2019 or whether it was to floods in 2021 or 2022. That's the stuff that really hurts. What I want to remind people about is what that mob across there did in October 2013 when 200 people lost their homes and hundreds more had damage to their property but didn't lose their homes. What they did was change the rules for the disaster payment, the whole $1,000—it was $1,000 nearly nine years ago and it's still $1,000 for an adult and $400 for a child. What they did, the day after my house and 200 other houses burnt down, was tighten that criteria. So, yes, I was entitled to it because my house had burnt down, but neighbours whose properties were partially damaged, who lost tracts of land, who lost all sorts of external possessions, who weren't able to get back to their homes for days, who had their power cut and who had everything in their fridges and freezers destroyed got nothing, because, on the day after those fires, those opposite thought they would change the rules and make it impossible for people who were devastated and suddenly found themselves with an extraordinary number of immediate expenses. That's the attitude that they've got. Those are the sorts of people they are. It says everything about how much they care about our communities.

I think what they forget, or what they just don't even realise, is how hard people are working to keep their heads above water. Remember: nearly a million Australians are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. That shows up in the ABS data. That's not because they like working more, and it isn't because they want to; it's because they have no choice in order to pay the bills that they face. They're not the high-paying jobs. These are the low-paid frontline workers, and they need that extra money. Many of us in here have kids. We've seen what our kids, in their 20s and into their 30s, have had to do to try and subsist in an ever-increasingly expensive world. Whether it's petrol, their phones or the internet, these are things that are essential. These are not just nice things to have; these are essential things to help them live their lives and do their work. But there is nothing that this government can put forward other than some short-term little bandaids.

I also want to remind those opposite that another time you really feel it is when you're young and when you've got your own young children. That's when you really feel the cost-of-living pressures. That's why Labor's approach to making child care cheaper, whether it's before and after school or whether it's long day care, makes a difference to people's lives. It's something that those opposite only think you deserve if you have more than one child in care.

The other time you feel the pressure is when you or someone in your family is ill. Everyone in this chamber would have had people talk to them about out-of-pocket costs, whether it's hospital, psychiatry or psychology costs. Those are the things that hurt. That's why Labor's commitment to universal Medicare will make a difference.

The topic of this matter of public importance is the government's failure to support Australians with the cost-of-living expenses. That is a premise that I totally reject. We've just had a budget this week that actually highlights what an amazing job this government has done managing the economy, bringing the employment down to sub-four per cent—or at least that's where it's heading—creating new jobs and creating new opportunities. But the latest spike in prices is a great concern. They're largely driven by matters outside the government's control, being Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the consequent spike in oil prices, and the complications that have come about with the supply chain from COVID. For instance, international freight rates are up around about 500 per cent.

We've seen a worldwide surge in consumerism. As people have sat at home, their bank accounts have grown and now they want to spend that money, and the freight boxes all around the world have ended up being stacked up at the wrong ports because it's not an equal trade. There are all kinds of complications with the supply chain. That's why we are seeing this price spike. Most good economists predict that it is short term, that we'll see an increase in the production of oil around the world.

One of the things about shale oil is that it has a short-lived well life in so much as you have a low price and they stop drilling, you have a high price and the drills get back out into the paddock. Certainly we've got a high price at the moment. I expect that the oil supply lines around the world will increase. Whatever the reason, we understand the challenges it presents to household budgets. We're providing to low- and middle-income earners—well, it's not why; they were already going to see a tax cut worth between $1,500 and $3,000 to 10 million Australians. That will help with the cost of living. Next year the 37c-in-the-dollar bracket will be abolished. That will help with the cost of living. More people will be keeping more of their own money, and that means they'll be better able to deal with the cost of living. But that's next year and we're dealing with now.

We know that fuel is a big issue. I've already raised it. It's a big part of daily budgets. These steep increases that are caused by Russia's outrageous attack on Ukraine have led to this shortage. Remember that we're coming off a glut. You will remember that the fuel in our bowsers was around about $1 two years ago, and that led to the lessening of supply in the world, as I've touched on already. We're going to halve the excise for six months. That will be worth 22c a litre. MotorMouth, an app I have on my phone, tells me that in Adelaide prices are already below $1.80. They're also at that rate in Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla. I've done a calculation, and I expect that 22c a litre to be worth somewhere around $30 million over the next six months for my constituents in Grey. That will help with the cost of living. And recognising that people on a fixed income are particularly affected by the cost of living—pensioners, carers, jobseekers, self-funded retirees—there is an immediate $250 payment. On 1 March, the aged-care pension rose by $20 for singles and $15 for dual couples. That will help with the cost of living. Additionally, there's a $420 tax offset for low- and middle-income earners, remembering that on 1 July they will also get the tax cut that I previously mentioned. That will help with the cost of living as well.

Another one that I'm particularly keen on is the PBS. For the people on a fixed income, medication—particularly if you're on multiple medications—can actually deplete the family budget. Of course, we have a PBS safety net, the safety net threshold. The government, in this budget, is lowering the threshold from 48 prescriptions to 36. Let me say that that will also help with the cost of living. Those on fixed incomes will benefit greatly from the package that the government put forward on Tuesday night.

We absolutely recognise the pressures of the cost of living, which we hope will be temporary. I think most of them will be temporary. The instability in the world at the moment will wash through the system, and those supply chains will come back to normal. I don't think there is any chance of us missing this phenomenon in the Australian community. And I'm very pleased with the words that I heard from the Treasurer on Tuesday night and the way that we are addressing this in the short term. It's very important, of course, that we allow for that recovery and that we don't break in a lot of these payments for the long term, which is why they're one-off and temporary. It will give the ability for the budget to recover in the longer term as the economic situation returns to normal.

If Australians need any more evidence that this tired, old, nine-year LNP government is out of touch, they need look no further than the Prime Minister's response to cost-of-living pressures: 'If you want rent relief, buy a house. Buy a house! If you can't afford the rent, buy a house!' People in Cowan can't even find a place to rent. Rents went up by $200, $300 and even $400 overnight, and the Prime Minister's response to them is, 'Buy a house.' Young Tina—I'm going to call her 'Tina'—from the electorate of Cowan came to see me. She's got a job, she works, and she shares a rental with a roommate, as I believe some people did when they were young. I know my son is in share housing. Personally, I've never shared with anyone, which is probably a good thing for a lot of other people! Tina's landlord raised the rent, doubled the rent, and they had two weeks to find another place. They had applied for over 150 rentals and they had not got a single one. That is the situation facing people in Cowan, and the Prime Minister tells them, 'Go buy a house.' That is right up there with the previous Prime Minister telling young people to get rich parents if they want to buy a house. If course, I'm paraphrasing there, but the point remains that this mob just simply doesn't get it. They simply don't get what cost-of-living pressures are, what they mean to the everyday lives of people—people in Cowan and people in other electorates, like the electorate of Lilley, like the electorate of Macquarie, even the electorates of Goldstein and Grey.

The cost-of-living pressures aren't something that goes away with a temporary sugar hit. They're actually a lot more substantive than that. And writ large in the budget delivered on Tuesday is that it is a budget designed to get a failing, flailing government through an election but not to get Australians through increased costs of living, stagnant real wages, mortgage stress, high costs of child care and, really, this faded—not fading but faded—dream of homeownership for many of our young people.

At the last election this government was full of promises to the people of Cowan. Among the promises made was a promise, a commitment, to fund a Wanneroo training hub, which this government argued would improve training, access to training, and jobs for young people in the northern suburbs. In the northern suburbs 65 per cent of people have to travel outside of the city of Wanneroo in order to get to work. Three budgets have come and gone and I'm still waiting for that promise to be realised. How does the government expect the people of Australia to believe them when they can't even deliver on their last election?

Let me read an email that I received today from a constituent. She writes: 'The budget fails to deliver on affordable housing and support for those struggling in our communities. No strategy to increase the numbers of affordable housing, no increase to pay levels and no increase to income support. The disaster payments won't even replace the food from people's cupboards and fridges. Winter is coming and people are living in parks and cars with no hope for the future. Just take a drive through Paloma Park in Marangaroo to see the tent that has been there for more than six months.' That was long before Russia invaded Ukraine, Member for Grey. The problems do not go away in this budget, and this budget does nothing to help. This was also sent to the member for Stirling. Why isn't he here to respond to these people in Cowan? (Time expired)

It's good to rise to speak about the important measures in the budget to address cost-of-living pressures on Australian households—families, singles and others. These pressures are indeed real and significant, which is why addressing the cost of living was such a big part of the budget for 2022-23, as announced by the Treasurer on Tuesday evening.

It's important to understand the causes of these cost-of-living pressures. Ultimately that has to inform how you address them, and there are a number of them. There is the pandemic and the two years worth of disruptions that has caused. The effects of the pandemic are ongoing, particularly in China, the biggest exporter and manufacturer in the world, which is still subject to significant lockdowns, factory closures and stay-at-home orders. There are strained global supply chains. The member for Grey mentioned the astronomical rise in the cost of shipping a container of goods, for instance, because of the shortage of shipping and the shortage of containers and a number of other things, again to do with the pandemic. There are rising inflationary pressures around the world.

Of course, underway right now is Russia's illegal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, which is hitting commodity and energy prices particularly hard. Russia is itself the world's largest exporter of coal, the world's second-largest exporter of iron ore and the world's third-largest exporter of gas, and it's also a major wheat producer. Ukraine is also a major wheat and commodity producer, so the effect of that conflict is spilling over into global commodity prices and, of course, into Australian households, because Australia is part of the global economy. We are a trading nation and we are susceptible to changes in the global economy.

What we are seeing here in Australia is inflation that is higher than it has been for some time, at 3½ per cent currently. That's still quite low compared to global figures. US inflation is running at 7.9 per cent, in the Euro area it's about 5.7 per cent, in Canada it's north of five per cent and in the United Kingdom it's around 6.2 per cent. The budget recognises that these inflationary pressures do exist. The cost-of-living pressures are exerting themselves upon Australians. Any person here in the chamber who has gone and done the groceries recently or filled up their car with petrol will know only too vividly that these cost-of-living pressures are real. We have introduced in the budget a number of measures which are temporary, targeted and responsible and which are designed to alleviate these cost-of-living pressures without baking in or creating ongoing structural issues with our budget.

One of the most important measures we have done is to increase the low- and middle-income tax offset by $420, and 10 million Australians will be eligible for that, including 58,000 in my own electorate of Wentworth. This measure will see a single-income household receive up to $1,500 in an offset on 1 July, or $3,000 for a two-income household. That's on top of tax cuts which have been delivered over the last several years, which means that an Australian earning average earnings—$90,000 a year or thereabouts—is already $1,215 a year better off than they were in 2017-18, for instance. This measure is not cheap; it's $4.1 billion over the forward estimates, but it will provide an important and targeted alleviation of cost-of-living pressures.

We're also introducing a cost-of-living payment of $250, which will go to pensioners, welfare recipients, concession card holders and others. There will be five million beneficiaries of this measure across Australia, and 6,000 in my own electorate of Wentworth. Again, that is on top of an increase in these payments of $20 a fortnight, or $30 for a couple, which was announced as an inflationary index measure just a few weeks ago. This measure comes to $1.5 billion in the forward estimates.

We are halving the fuel excise as well. That's already in effect; people will see that the amount of fuel excise they are paying on petrol is at least 22c a litre less than it was before. Again, this is a temporary and targeted measure. It's only going to be for six months, and it's designed to address the spike in energy prices and liquid fuel prices we have seen.

How have we been able to do this? We have been able to do this because the budget is in a strong position and the economy is in a strong position. As the budget papers show, our economy is almost alone amongst OECD countries in being 3.4 per cent larger than it was before the pandemic. Our unemployment figures are much lower than comparable countries, at four per cent—our lowest level in 48 years—and forecast to fall further. Our outlays are lower as a result, which means pressures on the budget have been alleviated and we're able to support these cost-of-living measures.

I rise today to talk on this matter of public importance because people in my communities are, quite frankly, not coping. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and people are being left behind. I recently held an open office in Queanbeyan. I letterboxed the entire area and said, 'Come down and have a chat—no appointment necessary.' For some people it was the first time they had ever spoken to their parliamentary representative; some of them didn't know where else to turn.

It was a pretty eye-opening day. I spent most of the day meeting with people who had real-life concerns, the vast majority of which centred around rising house prices, rising rents, the lack of affordable housing options and the fact that income just had not kept pace with the cost of living. I spoke at length to a 70-year-old man who lives in Queanbeyan. His mother is in aged care in Yass. He used to visit her at least once a week, if not more. Now, due to the cost of petrol, he's had to reduce these visits to once a fortnight, and even that is a stretch. He was distraught. He was doing everything he could to keep his mother connected to family and to community. He wants to keep visiting her, but he can't afford it.

He was literally at the end of his rope. He told me he didn't want to continue living, and the only reason he was alive was for the sake of his mother. He often has to choose between paying his electricity bill or buying food. He worked his entire life as a carpenter, and now, while on the age pension, he has to make decisions about seeking health care or visiting his own mother in aged care. These are the real-life consequences of the rising cost of living.

Across Eden-Monaro we have some fantastic people who dedicate a huge amount of their time to supporting others. Many of the regions are fortunate to have community pantries set up to help feed families. I've met with generous and kind people who run community pantries, including the Salvation Army in Cooma, Vine Community FoodCare in Yass and Sapphire Community Pantry in Bega. They are telling me that more people are accessing their services than ever before and that people who work full time are now in need of emergency food hampers because their rent, power bills and petrol costs keep going up and their full-time wage no longer covers the essentials.

People are working hard every day in an effort to get ahead. They work hard to provide for their children, yet the truth is that they are falling further and further behind. When people are in trouble, when they need support, they turn to their government. They aren't looking for charity. They are asking for some acknowledgement that their situation is getting worse, and a government that cares should be willing to make meaningful changes. The government and this Prime Minister have shown this week that they have no plan to seriously address the cost-of-living pressures. Our own Prime Minister said that if you're struggling to pay your rent then you should just buy a house.

That is an insulting slap in the face to so many Australians who are out of the property market. In Eden, property prices rose by 30 per cent over the last year. Across the Snowy Monaro Regional Council area, properties have more than doubled in the last five years. The Prime Minister's comments are out-of-touch comments from a government that has no idea of the pressures on real Australian families, especially those in regional Australia.

This government delivered nothing to deal with the real cost of living. It was a sham. This government's budget, to deal with getting them through the next election, doesn't deal with regional aged care. It doesn't deal with skills shortages. It doesn't deal with the housing crisis. It doesn't deal with job security. And it doesn't deal with trying to increase wages or strengthen Medicare. It's a ploy for an election, not a plan for a better future for anyone. It's a cash splash that has no vision and offers no meaningful change for a fairer Australia and a better regional Australia.

The billions of dollars that are being sprayed around on the eve of an election won't go near to topping up the $3,600 that typical Australian families are already out of pocket because of the skyrocketing costs of living. They need a pay rise, not a bloody patch job. The defining features of this budget and this government are that pay will not keep up with prices and there will be almost nothing to show for $1 trillion in debt. Put simply, this government can't be trusted. They have failed us and they have failed regional Australia.

I agree with those opposite that cost of living is the most important issue facing Australian families today. I agree with those opposite that, for young Australians, the most important issue that they are facing is home ownership, and whether they will be able to share in the Australian dream the same way that our parents and indeed many in this chamber were able to do. And I agree with those opposite that those who have worked hard all their lives and saved for their retirements deserve to understand that they have safety and security in retirement. But do you know the way that you preserve these things? Do you know the way that you solve these things? Do you know the way that you make it better for all Australians? You have policies that do that.

If there was a giant black hole in the centre of Australian politics at the moment, it would be the Labor Party's policy document. It is the greatest sucker of oxygen, light and basically anything worth nothing in the history of Australian politics. Those opposite have failed to provide a scintilla of policy designed to make anyone in Australia better off. All they can do is throw rocks. They can't actually build anything with those rocks. We had last year the farcical notion from those opposite of what their net zero plan would look like. As we found out within a few days, the modelling was wrong. People were complaining that they wouldn't be able to meet the targets in any case, and the whole thing fell apart like the house of cards that those opposite are.

Those opposite come in here and say, 'We have discovered an issue—cost of living—following your budget, which has billions of dollars and policies dedicated to helping hardworking Australians get through this period of inflationary pressure due to an invasion in Europe.' I am glad to hear those opposite have found one thing that they can't blame the Prime Minister for—that is, the invasion of Ukraine. They blame him for everything else. They blame him for floods, they blame him for bushfires and they blame him for the vibe.

For those opposite to say they are now suddenly concerned about housing affordability—they may have heard recently that the House Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue brought down a report called The Australian dream. No-one opposite could be bothered speaking to the tabling of that report. They issued a dissenting report disagreeing with the entire report, and all they offered was nothing. All those opposite have offered, all the shadow minister has offered, is a $10 billion social housing fund. I have no idea where that money is meant to come from, by the way. I suppose it'll come from the same hardworking families who are at the moment having to choose between whether they should visit their grandmother or whether they should stay at home because of the cost of fuel. I suppose they will be paying more tax for this $10 billion social public housing fund that they have suggested. But, of course, the thing that they won't talk to is the fact that public housing is not homeownership. Let's just be very clear, because the Labor Premier of Victoria has made it clear that it is the view of the Labor Party that young Australians don't wish to own their own home. He has put that on the record, and those opposite are yet to disagree with that proposition. Indeed, they tabled a dissenting report today disagreeing with 16 recommendations to make it easier for young Australians to own their own home.

Let's just be very clear what those opposite are actually arguing for in that report. They are arguing for more wealth inequality, because if you have high levels of homeownership you have lower levels of wealth inequality. Those on that side are in favour of wealth inequality. Let's also make it clear what they are doing. If you have high levels of homeownership, you have a lower incidence of mental health problems. They are arguing for a higher incidence of mental health problems. Then we get to childhood outcomes. If you have high levels of homeownership, as has traditionally been the case in this country, then you actually have better childhood outcomes. On that side of the House, they no longer believe in homeownership; therefore they also believe in lower childhood outcomes.

So let's just be very clear about those opposite. They come in here, having gone to their little focus groups, having identified a group of people who they tell, 'If you want to blame someone for how hard your life is and all the sorts of stuff that you want, blame the federal government.' But their policies would make those people's lives much, much worse. That is also assuming that they have any policies, and that is a giant assumption. (Time expired)

The discussion has concluded.

I move:

That business intervening before order of the day No.7, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.

Question agreed to.

On Wednesday 13 February 2002, I began my first speech just after 1 pm from this very desk. Twenty years, one month, two weeks and four days later, I begin my last. A final speech is a time to say thank you, a time to reflect on what has been and a time to offer some perspectives on the challenges that lie ahead for the next, 47th Parliament and beyond. I began that first speech by thanking the electors of Casey for the faith and confidence they had shown in electing me. I thank them on this last day for supporting me at six subsequent elections. Representing them has been an honour and a privilege.

I couldn't have embarked on this endeavour two decades ago without the support of Pam, my mum, my late father and my sisters. I thank them and my two sons, Tom and Angus, for all those times they've shown support and understanding and for the times when the burdens of this job were also endured by them.

I thank all of my friends outside the parliament who have always supported me, be it at a function or an election day. I particularly thank one of them, Peter Costello, who took a big chance and hired me when I was just 23 years of age, and we remain the closest of friends 32 years later. I also thank former prime minister John Howard, who I first met when I was active in the Melbourne University Liberal Club in the late 1980s. I was honoured to later serve as his parliamentary secretary. Our nation continues to benefit from the structural reforms of the Howard-Costello government, and it was a great privilege to work with both of them.

At this point, I also thank my loyal and longstanding friends who have been through all the inevitable ups and downs from my earliest days as a Liberal student: Harvey Kalman, Alex Hay, Scott Ryan and Julian Sheezel. Julian and I met in the late 1980s, and he has dedicated himself fully to my eight campaigns—my first preselection campaign and seven subsequent federal election campaigns in Casey. He has done so in his capacity as a mate, as a state director and as deputy federal director of the Liberal Party.

I also want to thank friends Gerry Wheeler and Tony Nutt, who have always been there to offer advice and support at each election. I also thank longstanding friend Trevor Burns. I thank my longstanding friend who I met working at Dennys Restaurant in Doncaster, Rebecca Skinner, who for years has also been my Canberra landlord.

When I stepped down as Speaker, I thanked my friends on both sides of the House. I thank you again, as I do former colleagues who remain friends. I thank the Liberal Party of Australia for giving me the opportunity to represent our party in this House of Representatives.

I particularly thank the branch members of Casey for all that they've done; many have also become friends. I stand here and remember those of them who did so much to assist me over the years who are no longer with us. You'll be pleased to know I won't list every party member locally who has helped, because I've been fortunate to have so much support. I wouldn't have been elected and continually re-elected so many times without so many doing so much for so long. So I thank all of them through three people, the three people who have served as chairs of the Liberal Party in Casey over my journey: the late David Martin, Annette Stone and Fran Henderson.

In my last speech as Speaker, I thanked my incredible team in the Speaker's office, led by the formidable Cate Clunies-Ross. I do so again, and today I extend that thanks to the many former staff who have shown dedication and commitment. To my long-serving staff, Nadia, Jill, Heather and Tim: thank you. To my former longstanding and outstanding office manager Denise Jeffs: thank you. To the wonderful community and volunteer groups in Casey: I thank you for the opportunity to work with you over so many years for the betterment of our community.

Twenty years ago, Australia was reaping the rewards of then-recent major reforms by both sides of politics. The contentious issues of tariffs and the goods and services tax had been settled, and for the better. In my first speech, I made the point that the debate about tariffs was as old as Federation itself and that I was glad the argument was no longer about how high tariffs should be but, rather, how quickly they could be phased out. Whilst the phase-down in tariffs was bipartisan, at times there were difficulties in sticking to the planned reductions. Twenty years on, no serious parliamentarian would advocate for reinstating high tariffs. The introduction of the GST was not bipartisan, of course, but, 20 years on, former opponents of the goods and services tax would never contemplate scrapping it to reinstate higher income taxes and a cumbersome wholesale sales tax, at multiple rates on multiple goods but not services, along with a bevy of other inefficient, nuisance taxes.

Twenty years ago, Australia's budget position was strong. More than half the $96 billion of net government debt that the Howard government inherited had been paid off with successive surpluses. Four years later, all net government debt had been repaid and the debate quickly switched to how large budget surpluses could or should be. That put Australia in a strong position to deal with future unforeseen shocks and challenges, like the global financial crisis and the recent pandemic. If Australia had instead continued down the path of continual deficits, driving ever-escalating debt, we wouldn't have had the fiscal firepower to deploy that we have.

It's often said that our debt is low by international standards, and this is true. But it's only because of the fiscal discipline of the mid- to late-1980s, under Labor, and from 1996 until 2007, during the Howard years, which ensured our net government debt never rose to nosebleed levels. The starting base for increasing debt in 2008 was what they call 'net negative'—that is, there was $45 billion in the bank. Although debt is relatively low by international standards, it's a lot higher than it was, as we all know, and no-one should see the gap between our net debt position and that of the highest-indebted nations in the world as a reason for future easy spending.

Twenty years ago, the first intergenerational report was released, projecting the fiscal challenges of the future that would arise from our demographic destiny. These, combined with important new spending commitments in recent years and the future spending necessary in defence, for example, have to be paid for in the future, on top of the pandemic borrowings. So, while I strongly defend the spending and the government's actions, which have been necessary during this pandemic—and I commend it for its economic management—we must all recognise that in future parliaments there will have to be a return to a far-reaching reform agenda. For those in their first term here, if you stay for two decades—a little longer than me—you'll need to, in your time, develop a range of reform priorities, prosecute the case against strong opposition and vested interests, and implement them to deliver a stronger economy and budget.

Colleagues, I came to politics and then to this parliament during the reform era. I worked in the Howard government with Treasurer Costello on major taxation reform, with a tight-knit team including Niki Savva, Mitch Fifield and Richard King—lifelong loyal friends, who I now also thank. It was hard. It took a long time. There were lots of ups and downs. It was never popular, but it was achieved against the odds. Budget reform was the same year after year. The dividends were lower taxes, greater prosperity and greater opportunity.

As I've said, I support the necessary decisions that have been made in providing pandemic assistance and the other recent major spending on permanent programs. In fact, before I was Speaker, I voted for them all, and I would have if I had had a vote and were not Speaker. I don't want future parliaments to think it's without cost to continue borrowing to fund future recurrent spending. It has been necessary now, but this would not be a new way forward in future normal times. It would be an old way backwards.

Reforms that deliver greater efficiency, higher productivity and budget improvements will need to occur over the next decade. The composition and priority are for future parliaments to consider. Those who might be tempted to think nothing is required in the future years and in the next decade would be mistaken to think a decision to simply do nothing is costless. In fact, a decision to do nothing is an active decision to see things deteriorate and to consign future generations to an Australia with fewer opportunities.

Of course, it's always important for governments to balance political risk with policy daring. That said, policies must be about purpose, and in the years and decades ahead, after the turmoil and the economic dislocation of this pandemic and after the need for the additional borrowing is well behind Australia, whoever is in government will need to make the tough decisions to secure the future. The necessity of reform will need to be clearly communicated to the Australian people, and there will need to be a reasonable level of cooperation and consent from the opposition of the day. This will involve a range of policy areas and approaches. None of this is a criticism of the government or the opposition today; it's just an acknowledgement of what has had to occur as well as the reality of what lies ahead for future parliaments.

There is a long menu of policy areas I could discuss in detail. They include the opportunities for simpler and more efficient tax and excise collections in the evolving digital world. I commend the government and the Treasurer for the income tax cuts that have been delivered and are legislated for the future. Looking to the immediate years ahead, beyond this pandemic, there will need to be another wave of comprehensive tax reform no matter who is in government. The history of tax reform demands that the system is comprehensively reviewed at least every few decades. Major changes to income tax occurred in World War I and World War II. The wholesale sales tax was introduced during the Great Depression. Treasurer Keating undertook major tax reform in the mid-1980s. Of course, as you all know, Treasurer Costello did in the late 1990s, with the new tax system taking effect in the year 2000. I'm not saying anything needs to be done today or tomorrow, but I am saying it will need to be done. This should occur following another considered and detailed review that can inform a comprehensive set of proposals for which a future electoral mandate can be sought prior to implementation, as occurred last time.

COVID showed how we could deliver government payments and services faster and more efficiently, and how much better we can do with further investment in digital technology in the future. Future skilling of our workforce in a rapidly evolving world should be a focus, as should attracting, training and retaining quality teachers to help lift academic achievement and, thereby, our national expertise and productivity. I believe this must involve a big investment in higher pay for a new category of expert teacher leaders who can mentor incoming teachers, work on their development and ensure our students of the future get the best possible education. Boosting enterprise and innovation always involves a suite of reforms, but I do want to single out the budget announcement on expanded access to employee share ownership benefits as a big winner for Australia.

Colleagues, there must be an essential recognition of the role and limits of government. This is not a criticism of my government. I made this point in my first speech, and I want to reiterate it in this last speech. I think it's something all members of the House should think about every day. Two decades ago, I stood right here and said:

Too often there is pressure for government to have a role in areas where it cannot provide the solution and all too often this pressure is put on government itself, thinking with good intentions that somehow, by the mere bureaucratic process of devoting funds to an issue or a problem, it will automatically have the intended positive effect. The easiest thing for governments to do is to think and promise that they can solve every problem, but when government succumbs to the temptation to try and solve problems it cannot solve, fix things it cannot fix or do things that are better done by other organisations, far from serving the nation, government harms the nation, desponds the electorate and deludes itself.

To me, the first principle of government should be a recognition … about its true capacity and its limitations. This does not mean that governments do not always have a role; sometimes it is just important to recognise that government does not always possess the only solution to every problem.

Recognising this requires a fundamental understanding that, while governments have key roles and responsibilities, they must necessarily be limited. Australia is a better country, which creates more opportunities, when our governments don't unnecessarily interfere in the lives of citizens or overregulate business.

Today I've confined my remarks to domestic policy. I just want to say we can all see clearly the foreign policy and defence challenges that have emerged and will persist. This is a reminder that democracy is rarer than a lot of people recognise and will always be challenged and must always be defended. I simply reiterate the vital importance of the Australia-US alliance and our relationships with other great democracies that share our values, liberties and freedoms.

I want to finish with some observations about our democracy and our parliament. Australia's democratic story is a remarkable one, the first nation created by a vote of the people. In our first decade there were frequent changes of government as the parties evolved and emerged. In our second decade the First World War was declared in an election campaign, during which the government changed. The new democratic nation survived the horror of the war, including major divisions when Labor split, leading to a new government on the floor of the House, and two divisive referenda on conscription. The first Electoral Act of 1902 was by no means perfect. It didn't allow our First Nations people the right to vote, but by world standards it was nonetheless pioneering in giving women the right to vote and stand for parliament. Those who voted to create our nation and determine its course in those early elections knew they were all democratic shareholders in a grand new endeavour.

As a young nation we led the world in so many democratic advances. We need to constantly nourish and invest in our democracy. The spirit that created our nation needs to be handed on from generation to generation. That our democratic freedoms, which deliver human dignity and a high quality of life, are not automatically self-evident to all should be no surprise if the history of how we got here is not properly taught. For younger generations, teaching our history is vital. We must seriously invest in civics education throughout a student's entire education—not just for a few weeks in grades 5 and 6—years and years before students consider and exercise their precious right to vote.

Today, there are many challenges to democracy. I won't diagnose them all; I've tried my best in the past 20 years. However, there are a couple of parting suggestions. One of them is better communicating the role of parliament. Those outside this place that seek complete bipartisanship on every policy issue must be reminded that we are a representative democracy of elected members with differing philosophies and views and different policies and pledges. Those who believe the House of Representatives should be as silent as a church or a classroom need to be reminded it's neither. It's a robust debating chamber where the battle of ideas and ideals takes place to determine the future course of our nation. The House was designed to be robust electorally and, as you look around this chamber, architecturally. However, as I said when I was first elected Speaker, it need not be loud or rude as a matter of course. Can I also say, in the conduct of debate, you can be both robust and civil at the same time. Further, to some of you—I won't name you—can I say there's no point in needlessly and consistently shouting, particularly in a near empty chamber. The volume of your voice never increases the quality of your argument.

Rediscovering and fostering more civility in parliamentary conduct would improve respect for our House. If this House regularly demonstrates poor behaviour, it diminishes members and dilutes public respect. Better to promote to the public the great work of the committee system, where members work cooperatively with each other on detailed policy proposals and analysis, which would do a great deal to enhance the standing of our parliament. Committees are at their best when members from all political perspectives are thorough and firm in their recommendations to government. I will always look back fondly on my time chairing the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which delivered a unanimous report to improve our democracy by reforming Senate voting practices. Governments of all persuasions would also help themselves and at the same time enhance our democracy if they better valued the work of committees and considered their recommendations in a more thorough and timely manner. There have been many times a committee have genuinely attempted to save ministers from themselves.

In recent decades, the relative decline in the combined primary vote share of the major parties in House elections, from a little over 95 per cent in 1975 to a little under 75 per cent at the last election, is often cited as one key indicator of dissatisfaction with the way politics is conducted. The major parties need to consider how to address this because they have been vital in giving stability and certainty in the formation and the conduct of government in our parliamentary democracy. I don't say this out of any disrespect at all to the crossbench, who need to be congratulated for overcoming enormous obstacles to get elected. I simply make the point that I don't believe, if there were 151 independents in this House, we would have stable, predictable or workable government. These are just some ideas for reflection.

One hundred and twenty-one years ago, on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 March 1901—121 years ago budget day and yesterday—Australia had its first and only election over two days, to elect its first parliament. In a short time, we'll have an election to elect our 47th. To be one of only 1,205 people in our nation's history to have been elected as a member of this House of Representatives is a special honour I share with all of you. To be the longest serving member for Casey is, too, a special honour. To have served in seven parliaments, five in government and two in opposition, is also a rare honour—and I must say in passing it's a ratio that demonstrates the general good sense of the Australian people! To have been chosen unanimously by you, by members of this House and previous houses, on three consecutive occasions to be your 30th Speaker has been the greatest honour of my life.

I stood right here, on this spot, on the floor of this great House of Representatives, at the dawn of the 40th Parliament and said hello. As the sun sets on this 46th Parliament, I say thank you. Good luck. Goodbye.

by leave—I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the following:

(1) immediately following the resolution of this motion, Members to be permitted to make statements for no longer than five minutes each;

(2) at 5 pm, the House suspending until the ringing of the bells; and

(3) any variation to this arrangement being made only by a motion moved by a Minister.

Question agreed to.

by leave—On behalf of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I present the following reports: Report 488: Commonwealth financial statements 2019-20, Report 489: Defence major projects report 2019-20, Report 490: Alternative financing mechanisms, and Report 491: Review of the Auditor-General Act 1997.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I present executive minutes on reports 481 and 486 of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

by leave—On behalf of the Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety, I present the committee's report, incorporating additional comments, entitled Social media and online safety, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

by leave—On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I present the committee's report, incorporating dissenting reports, entitled Report on the candidate qualification checklist.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

The fight for justice and equity for women across our nation is far from over, but this is not just a fight for women; it's a fight for every family. It's a fight for our nation's future productivity, because we know that, when women do well, families do well, and when families do well we create a hopeful, prosperous nation. We know that, shamefully, under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments, women do not have the same opportunities as men. Many women do not receive the same pay as men, and far too many women in this country experience gender based violence and die at the hands of men.

I stood in solidarity with the STOP Campaign this week on the front lawns of Parliament House. The STOP Campaign is a grassroots movement tackling sexual violence against women. They presented the Lost Petition created by artist Dans Bain. The Lost Petition is a 30-metre list of names of 978 Australian women and children who have been killed by their partners since 2008. These are Dans's words and why she brought this petition to parliament on budget day: 'Women need to be at the forefront of this year's budget. We need to make change—things like reviewing sexual assault laws, introducing a national gender equality act and increasing funding for domestic violence support. I want systematic, real-world change.'

Sadly, we know that one in four women in Australia experience domestic violence, and, tragically, every 11 days an Australian woman loses her life at the hands of her partner. These statistics reveal a fundamental flaw in Australian culture, a lack of equality and respect for women, and no wonder. We've heard from a procession of talented women that they have been bullied and intimidated by none other than our Prime Minister. And what did the Prime Minister and the coalition do? They voted against the vital Respect@Work recommendations, including changing workplace laws to ban sexual harassment, requiring employers to try and stop sexual harassment in their workplaces, and protecting victims against massive legal bills for taking legal action against perpetrators. In contrast, Labor will implement every single recommendation in the Respect@Work report.

But we must do more. We know that far too many women across our nation are facing skyrocketing costs of living, record-high childcare fees, stagnant wages, a gender pay gap, skill shortages and rising rates of sexual assault. Not only that—Australia has now slipped 26 places in the World Economic Forum's gender ranking, since Tony Abbott appointed himself the Minister for Women in 2013. We are now in 50th place worldwide—our worst result ever. Even worse, Australia's ranking on economic opportunities for women has fallen to 70th in the world, and in health and safety rankings we've dropped to 99th in the world. And the budget handed down by the Morrison government on Tuesday does absolutely nothing to address this shameful record. Achieving equality and justice for women requires leadership from the top, but instead we have a Prime Minister who too often treats women with disrespect.

By contrast, Labor leads by example, establishing a quota policy that has resulted in nearly an equal number of women and men in our caucus. Countries with gender equality in the workplace are the same countries that experience the lowest rates of sexual and family violence against women and children. Labor will not turn its back on women. If elected, we will implement our plan to seriously address family violence. We will close the gender pay gap. We will ensure women feel safe at work, in public places and in their homes. We will end exploitation of casual labour and create secure jobs. We will treat women who work in female dominated professions, like aged care and health care, as valued members of our society, with better pay and conditions. Labor understands that when women do well families do well, and when families do well we create a hopeful, prosperous nation. It's time for a change of government. It's time for an Albanese Labor government.

by leave—On behalf of the Select Committee on Regional Australia, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Pride of place: inquiry into the future of regional Australia,together with minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—On behalf of the Select Committee on Regional Australia, it gives me great pleasure to present the committee's report on its inquiry into regional Australia. Regional Australia is more than just where our food, fibre and minerals come from; it's the lifeline of the modern Australian economy. It's home to millions of hardworking Australians who make a significant contribution to our national identity, our culture and our way of life. It is therefore vital that we continuously seek to improve the lives of regional Australians by affording them the same opportunities, facilities and services that are available to their counterparts in the cities. We need to focus on making regional Australia an attractive place for more Australians to live, work and raise a family. This includes investing in better infrastructure, stronger connectivity, additional services et cetera.

As part of this inquiry the committee had planned to travel to every state and territory. Rather than sitting in Canberra taking evidence digitally, we were determined to travel into these regional communities to listen firsthand to regional Australians talk about their personal experiences of living and working in regional communities around Australia. Unfortunately, the pandemic has significantly frustrated the committee's ability to travel and meet with these communities during this difficult time. While we're able to travel to regional Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia, the combined effects of COVID-19, public health restrictions, major life-changing events such as the bushfires and floods, and other limitations prevented the committee from visiting a great many of the intended communities. The need to visit and hear from these communities is enduring, and the parliament needs to have a permanent and ongoing commitment to hearing directly from regional Australians. Our regions are too important to leave to piecemeal planning.

This is why the committee's very first recommendation was the establishment of the Standing Committee on Regional Australia. The committee would continue its operations into the next parliament and long after that. It would continue to do its business 12 months of the year, every year, representing the needs of all Australians. The committee also recommends establishing a dedicated Commonwealth authority which would coordinate a nationally consistent plan for the future of regional Australia. These two bodies would provide a direct connection between regional Australians and the policies that serve them.

Australia's regional communities need support, but so do the businesses that keep them going. Regional businesses are not only the heart of regional communities; they are the backbone of Australia's economy. The committee therefore recommends several growth mechanisms to encourage private-public partnerships to fund regional infrastructure and encourage innovation in smaller regional businesses.

There are many benefits and challenges of working and living in regional Australia. We must do everything we can to support people and families living in these areas as well as continuing to make it an attractive place to move and settle. It is important that we therefore improve access to basic services like education, health and housing. This is why the committee has made several recommendations to encourage place based policies which will sustain regional communities into the future. These focus particularly on ensuring the growth of regional universities, providing access to regional healthcare services and increasing the availability of affordable housing and rental properties.

On behalf of the committee, I extend my sincere thanks to those who participated in the inquiry by completing the survey, preparing submissions and appearing at public hearings and those who graciously gave their time to share their experiences with the committee. I also thank all my colleagues who served on the committee and, of course, the staff of the secretariat. I commend this report to the House, and I move:

That the House take note of the report.

The debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.

I move:

That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.

Question agreed to.

About a quarter of all GPs in the Frankston catchment area in my electorate of Dunkley have applied for exceptional circumstances to be granted distribution priority status. What does that mean? It means that almost a quarter of the GP clinics in my community cannot get enough GPs to service the needs of the people in my community, including some of the most needy people in my community, quite frankly—people who can't afford to pay out of pocket to travel across my electorate to find a clinic that has enough GPs, people who have complex, ongoing, chronic health issues and need the best care they can get, people who are being looked after by amazing doctors and dedicated clinics but who can't get in fast enough and early enough to see these doctors at these clinics, because these clinics struggle to find enough GPs to cater for the need.

Why is this the case? You might start with recognising that, in 2017, the Liberal government removed distribution priority status from many outer metropolitan areas, including the Frankston catchment in my electorate.

In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier, the debate is interrupted.

Sitting suspended from 17:00 to 17:30

On behalf of this House, I welcome the President of the Senate and honourable senators as guests to this sitting of the House of Representatives. We're gathering in this manner in order to hear an address via video link from His Excellency Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Welcome, Mr President.

His Excellency Mr Volodymyr Zelensk yy having been announced and a video link having been made—

On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I'm proud to be able to extend a very warm welcome to you from the House of Representatives chamber as you join us from Ukraine. Now I invite the honourable Prime Minister of Australia and then the honourable Leader of the Opposition to make some welcoming remarks.

Mr President, Ukraine and Australia are separated by half the earth. Our languages, accents, histories and cultures are different, but we share an affinity for democracy, freedom, freedom of speech, expression and a free press, for the right to live free of coercion, intimidation and the brute fist of force and a belief in our shared human dignity. Mr President, the people of Australia stand with Ukraine in your fight for survival. Yes, you have our prayers, but you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid and our sanctions against those who seek to deny your freedom. You even have our coal. And there will be more. Today, I announced an additional package of defensive military assistance to assist in the defence of your homeland, including tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and unmanned ground systems, rations and medical supplies. Mr President, our pledge is that, when freedom prevails, Australia will help the people of Ukraine rebuild as well.

Here, today, in the home of Australia's democracy, we welcome you, Mr President, as a lion of democracy. We honour you and the incredible courage of your people, who you lead. We are witnesses to it, with all of those around the world. They are, as you call them, strong people of an indomitable country, and may that be so. We stand with you, Mr President, and we do not stand with the war criminal of Moscow. I know that man; you know that man. We know that man, Mr Speaker, and we know his regime. We have seen them unleash unspeakable horror against your children, your hospitals and your shelters. We remember the downing of a civilian airliner carrying 298 innocents, including 38 Australians, and we remember them also on this day. In their name, and in the name of 25 million Australians and their elected representatives, I welcome you, Mr President. I welcome you to our parliament. I welcome a great friend of Australia.

Your Excellency, our parliament is honoured by your presence here with us and your address. You and the brave Ukrainian people are pushing back the tide of tyranny. For you to share precious minutes with us at a time like this is an act of profound generosity, and we thank you. What we see in Ukraine are terrible echoes of the devastation inflicted by Hitler's forces in World War II, a devastation that was felt by your own family. Vladimir Putin's aggression in the name of a poisonous, nationalistic lie is abhorrent. Putin, and the regime that enables him, will be met with determination and escalating consequences if he continues to prosecute this illegal war. Putin's attempt to divide the West has drawn us closer together and strengthened our commitment to our shared values, values that include the very freedom and sovereignty that rightfully belong to Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have known the cruelty of tyrants before. Those tyrants are gone, but Ukraine goes on.

As you stand up to this latest tyrant, you are showing us what true courage is. Your Excellency, it is a courage that is embodied by you. You are fighting for your country and your people. You are fighting for your own family. We are here to hear your words. So let me conclude with the words that resound amongst democratic and freedom-loving peoples the world over: slava Ukraini!

President Zelenskyy, Your Excellency, I now invite you to address members of the House of Representatives and senators. You have our attention. You now have the floor.

HIS EXCELLENCY Mr ZELENSKYY (President of Ukraine) (17:37): [by video link] [Translation] Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, ladies and gentlemen, members of the cabinet, senators, members of the parliament and the people of Australia: thank you for this honour to have this address today. In May 2016, thousands of Australians came to the city of Perth to see for the first time the Ukrainian plane Mriya—Dream—as we call it. This was our plane, An-225. Mriya in English means 'dream'. Having travelled almost 15,000 kilometres, it brought urgent cargo, a power generator of 130 tonnes, which was very important to one of your companies. If they had to wait for the shipment to arrive through the sea, it would have taken months. The Ukrainian plane did it in a couple of days. We have always been proud of Dream, not because it was the largest but because it was helping people in all countries of the world, bringing food, water and equipment for humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.

In 2019, after the beginning of the COVID pandemic, our Dream was delivering the most urgent medical cargo, things that were saving people's lives—adults and children—all over the world, in different countries. Our Dream was bringing life. Now this is not possible. This is not possible because there is a country which holds to completely different values—different from our values, from your values, from the values of the civilised world. This country started a full-fledged war against us. They are shelling our cities and villages. They are killing our civilians and children. They are creating sieges of our cities and holding hostage hundreds of thousands of people in these cities without water and food. They are abducting thousands of children, whom they transport to their territories.

On 27 February, as a result of fighting, our plane, our Dream, was destroyed. We can say that Russia destroyed our Dream. No: they just burnt down a plane—hardware, a shell, but not the essence, not the freedom, not the dignity, nor our independence. We know that our Dream is undefeatable and indestructible, especially if we can count on the support of the free world—on your support, on your assistance. Like in the history that I just told, we need it not just in a couple of months; we need it urgently—now.

Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Australia: the distance between our countries, as you said, is big. It's thousands of kilometres. We are separated by oceans, seas, territories of dozens of other countries, and time zones. But there is no such thing as distance for the brutality and chaos that Russia brought to the east of Ukraine, into the region of our Black Sea and Azov Sea, to our Ukrainian land. Whatever is happening in our region because of the Russian aggression that is destroying the lives of people has become a real threat to your country and to your people as well, because this is the nature of evil. It can instantly cross any distance, any barriers, and destroy lives.

Over dozens of years, there hasn't been this threat of nuclear attack as we have now, because Russian representatives, officials—official propagandists—are openly discussing the possibility of using nuclear weapons against those who don't want to be subdued by Russian commands. For dozens of years, it has never been the case that a country would block the whole sea for other vessels, from any country. But this is exactly what was done by Russia. These days any vessel trying to come into the Black Sea and Azov Sea can simply be destroyed by the Russian navy. Hundreds of trade vessels under different flags have been blocked by Russia in our ports for dozens of years, but we haven't seen this in the world—for a country to start a war against their neighbouring country, openly declaring their enslavement or destruction and not leaving even the name of that nation, not even giving any opportunity for this nation to live freely.

The worst pages of the 20th century have been brought back by Russia already. The biggest threats of that century came back—the evil that humanity thought they had forgotten about a long time ago. But the most terrible thing is that if we don't stop Russia now, if we don't hold Russia accountable, then some other countries who were looking forward to a similar war against their neighbours will decide that such things are possible for them as well. The fate of global security is decided now. No-one can manage winds or precipitation. That means no-one can save any part of the world from the radioactive contamination which will come if nuclear weapons are used. No country in the world can have even a theoretical possibility of blocking trade fleets and blocking the seas for other countries. There shouldn't be even a theoretical possibility of doing so. No leader of the world can count on being unpunishable if he's thinking about prospective war.

Ladies and gentlemen, the nation of Australia, after more than a month of the full-fledged war against Russia, we can surely say that the only way of bringing global security is bringing Russia to peace and silence and responsibility and accountability for everything that Russia has done against global security. A country which is using nuclear blackmailing should receive the sanctions which would show that such blackmailing is destructive for the blackmailer itself. There has to be an effective toolkit to hold responsible any country which is blocking trade navigation, so no-one will have a temptation to close any sea and make a 'Dead Sea' out of them.

So far we don't have such instruments, so the leadership of Australia can be paramount for global security, which is now strengthened by our antiwar coalition, which is working on bringing peace back to Ukraine. We need to also enhance the capabilities of the international institutions which were created to hold military war criminals responsible, and anyone who would commit such crimes to be punished by the solidarity of the whole world, and not one country. Had this been done in a timely manner, life in this world would have been more secure, times more secure.

I'm sure that any of you and any of us remember the MH17 tragedy, when the Malaysian Boeing was shot down by Russian occupants over the Donbas sea. Two hundred and ninety people died at that time, and my condolences to all those who lost relatives and their kin. But did we manage to hold accountable those who caused this tragedy? No. They are hiding in the territory of Russia, and obviously they've got security guarantees from Russia. Has Russia paid compensation to the dead and their families? No. And they are still denying their fault in this tragedy. Eight years later, justice was not achieved. We don't know how much longer it will take for at least one tragedy to have a proper response from the international community, from all of us—how many new tragedies Russia has created or will create. So the unpunished evil comes back. I would say unpunished evil comes back with inspiration, with a feeling of almightiness. If the world had punished Russia in 2014 for what it did, there wouldn't be any of this terror of invasion in Ukraine in 2022. We have to correct such horrible mistakes and correct them now.

The bipartisan support of Australia for Ukraine, the support that has been provided—we are extremely grateful. There is 70,000 tonnes of coal for our energy. But this is only the beginning. Together we can and should do more. We need new sanctions against Russia, powerful sanctions, until they stop blackmailing other countries with their nuclear missiles. They have to pay the highest price for blocking the sea. No Russian vessel should be allowed in other international ports. Buying their oil means paying for the destruction of global security. We have to stop any business activity of Russia. No single dollar should be spent on the destruction of people, no single dollar should be spent on the destruction of global security. And we have to stop any intention of Russia to bypass the sanctions. What kind of sanctions are those if you can bypass them by using simple, non-cunning schemes?

Most of all we have to keep those who are fighting against this evil armed, for the evil to be looking for peace. This has to be decided on the battlefield. For example, you have very good armoured vehicles, Bushmasters, that could help Ukraine substantially, and other pieces of equipment could strengthen our position in terms of armaments. If you have an opportunity to share these with us, we would be very grateful. In Ukraine, they will do much more for our common freedom and common security than staying parked on your land.

Ukrainian people have demonstrated to the whole world how much we appreciate freedom and how committed we are to the protection thereof. Our heroes are fighting against an army which is considered one of the strongest of the world, but all of our people without exception are already thinking about the future, about how we are going to live after the war, about restoring our country, our Black Sea region. We invite prominent countries of the world, leading companies and the best experts to join the project of restoration of Ukraine, to take a city or a sector under your auspices that would require restoration.

Your country has provided a special status, a like-minded country, and we are like minded not only in our thoughts but also in our longing for peace. So I would like to invite and welcome your country to have a look at our southern regions, at our Black Sea shore, the development of such ports and cities like the city of Kherson, which is fighting for its freedom. The rebuilding of the naval sector in Ukraine could also be a great contribution in the restoration after the war. The protection of free naval training would be a big contribution, because those who can protect freedom in the sea can protect it in the world, and I believe that you can do it. I am sure that our Ukrainian community will join this common work of ours and that you will support us as strongly as you have done in the past.

Dear friends, the geographical distance between us is huge—thousands of kilometres. But what does this distance mean for those who have common understanding, who see the world with the same vision for those who are similarly hurting at what is happening? When the enemy comes, when children are killed, when cities are destroyed, when refugees are shot on the highways, when Ukraine is turned into the burnt-out territory then any distances disappear. Geography doesn't matter then. What matters is humanity and the dream—the dream of bringing back peaceful life, the dream that we will implement, indeed, together. Thank you, Australia. Slava Ukraini.

Mr President, on behalf of the House and the Australian parliament, I want to thank you for your address. Over recent days, we in this parliament have debated the situation in Ukraine and, of course, we have been shocked and horrified by the images from across your country. Today, you have added to our understanding with your powerful words about your experiences, the experiences of your people and the tragic situation in your country. It is apparent that you and your fellow Ukrainians have faced this challenge with great courage. We acknowledge and admire your strong leadership. On behalf of this parliament, we wish you well for the future. Our prayers are with you and the people of Ukraine.

Sitting suspended from 17:55 to 19:30

My fellow Australians, working together we can build a better future, an economy with stronger wages and more secure work. We can be investing in Australian skills, jobs and manufacturing; backing clean energy and building new infrastructure across the country; taking pressure off the cost of living by making child care and power bills cheaper; protecting Medicare; building more affordable housing; fixing the crisis in aged care; building an economy that works for people, not the other way round. This is the vision I want to share with you tonight—not a bunch of last-minute, one-off handouts for problems that have been a decade in the making, not a collection of promises that have a use-by date, conveniently just after the election, but a real plan for a better future.

The past two years of heartache and hardship have shown us the great strengths of our Australian community, but they have also exposed some fundamental weaknesses of our economy. Too many people are working jobs that don't pay the bills or let them plan for their future. Too many businesses can't find skilled staff. Too many industries are at the end of the global supply chains, at the mercy of an uncertain world. We cannot let this be the new normal. We got through the pandemic because we worked together. We must now build a stronger economy, working together. Family businesses and workers, big employers and unions, states and the Commonwealth—all of us cooperating to boost productivity and increase profits and wages, driving growth and sharing its benefits.

After all the challenges and the sacrifices made during the pandemic, floods and bushfires, Australians need and deserve a better budget for a better future—a future where no-one is held back and no-one is left behind. Labor has a real plan for economic growth and prosperity, a plan to get incomes rising and costs under control, a plan with five pillars.

Our Powering Australia Plan will drive investment in cheap renewable energy. We'll create 604,000 new jobs by 2030, with five out of every six in the regions. We'll lower power bills for households by $275 by 2025, and we'll lower power bills for businesses as well.

Our plan is for a future made in Australia, making more things here, diversifying the economy and revitalising our regions. Using our National Reconstruction Fund, we will work with businesses to help turn good ideas into good, secure jobs and new homegrown independent strips.

Our plan is to invest in infrastructure because roads, rail, ports and high-speed broadband are the building blocks of a stronger, more connected, more efficient economy. This government thinks infrastructure is about spending millions on car parks that don't get built. I see infrastructure as a sustainable, long-term investment in vital national projects, creating jobs and boosting productivity. Labor will make sure that those investments really stack up, using the Infrastructure Australia model that I established as minister.

Our plan is for secure work and more opportunities for training, with more university places and 465,000 fee-free TAFE places, and the creation of Jobs and Skills Australia.

Our plan is for cheaper child care because it's good for productivity, workforce participation and economic growth, and it's also good for children.

Education is the biggest and most powerful weapon we have against disadvantage. Labor believes that, at every stage, from early learning through to school, TAFE and university, education lifts us up, not just as individuals but as a nation. This agenda isn't radical. My team and I are promising renewal, not revolution, a renewal of the best of Australia's values: fairness, decency, supporting aspiration, looking out for each other, and rewarding hard work. I want the sacrifices that all of you have made through these tough times to lead to a better future.

My fellow Australians, you understand that our country is facing serious challenges right now. You're living them. The cost of everything is going up, but your pay isn't—petrol, groceries, rent, child care, health care. The costs keep piling up and have been piling up for some time now. The pandemic has ripped through everything, from hospitality and tourism to our universities and the entertainment industry.

Climate change is here, and its consequences are devastating. Yet on all of these issues, on every challenge which faces our country, instead of this decade-old government being part of the solution, it's part of the problem. Instead of this Prime Minister stepping up, taking responsibility and helping, he runs for cover and blames someone else.

We saw it all again on Tuesday night, a budget that spoke for a wasted decade. No help or hope for young Australians, no vision for the future, just one-off handouts to get through an election with all the sincerity of a fake tan. I think Australians will see this for what it is. Actually, I don't think; I know. The budget was, as it always is with this Prime Minister, long on politics, short on plans; all announcement, no delivery; far too little, way too late. This is a government whose entire economic record is riddled with waste and rorts, a government that blames a generation of deficits on COVID but had already doubled debt before the pandemic ever reached us, a government that is leaving Australians behind.

If you vote Labor in May, I can promise you that this will change. If I'm Prime Minister, I won't go missing when the going gets tough or pose for photos and then disappear when there's a job to be done. I'll show up; I'll step up. And I'll work every day to bring our country together. On issues like health funding, I will work with premiers and chief ministers from across the political spectrum to achieve our common objectives.

If people want proof of Labor's capacity to bring people together and deliver policy reform, just look at what we've announced on climate change. Powering Australia is a fully costed, comprehensive plan that has received praise and support from the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National Farmers Federation and the ACTU. Our policy will give businesses and workers the certainty they need.

Labor will end the climate wars, and it is this objective of bringing people together in the national interest that will characterise the Labor government that I lead, in stark contrast to this government, which is always seeking to divide. We'll be a government that backs the aspirations of all Australians to find a good job that pays a fair wage, to gain an apprenticeship or to start their own small business. We'll be a government that creates safe and respectful workplaces for women, and we will implement every single one of the recommendations of the Respect@Work report.

We will create a national anticorruption commission, because public money should always be invested in the public interest. In this increasingly uncertain and unstable world, we will need to increase Australia's defence spending, but that spending needs to lead somewhere. It needs to actually improve technology and capabilities and deliver them when they are needed. Spending billions to rip up contracts and blindside our allies is no way to enhance our security.

We will make sure our veterans get the care they need by cutting waiting times for claims and rolling out new veterans hubs across the country.

We will establish a disaster ready fund, because Australians deserve a plan to mitigate the ever intensifying impact of natural disasters. Families like those I met in Lismore, Ballina, Nymboida, Brisbane and Maryborough deserve and need a government that's ready to roll up its sleeves and tackle the challenge of climate change, not just create a fund and let it sit idle like a term deposit while people's homes and livelihoods are swept away. I say to those Australians still reeling and rebuilding from the Black Summer bushfires, the people I had the honour of shaking hands with on the New South Wales north coast, in Moruya, in the Adelaide Hills, in Victoria and in Cobargo: you deserve a leader who holds a hose and a government that stands up for you.

My fellow Australians, we will act on climate change and seize the chance to transform our country into a renewable energy superpower. It will make us more resilient and less dependent on global supply chains. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine has reminded us that we must be prepared for the uncertainty that global events unleash here at home. The pandemic too has shown us that we're not immune to global events. We must be more self-reliant. We can revitalise Australian manufacturing and power that manufacturing with Australian-made renewable energy. Exporting resources will always be important to Australia's economy, but we should also use our resources, like our minerals and rare earths, to make products like batteries here instead of just shipping the resources offshore and importing the finished goods. We can and we should add value here, wherever possible.

At a time when petrol prices are on everyone's minds, we need to face the fact that two out of Australia's four fuel refineries have closed during this government's term. We need a government with a real plan to ensure supply, using Australian flag vessels with Australian seafarers in a strategic fleet and a fuel reserve that's accessible, not in the Gulf of Mexico as it is now. This is what Australians will get to choose in just a few short weeks: a government that looks forward and plans ahead, an Australia that stands on our own two feet, a better future with a Labor government focused on creating secure, well-paid jobs; making our future here; strengthening Medicare; and making child care cheaper.

My fellow Australians, it was Bob Hawke's Labor government that proudly created Medicare, a policy driven by one simple principle—that every Australian should be able to access and afford the health care they need. Paul Keating created universal superannuation to ensure every Australian could save for financial security in their retirement. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard created the National Disability Insurance Scheme so that every Australian affected by disability would be guaranteed the support and respect they deserve.

It is only Labor that ever does the big reforms. These reforms are the markers of a decent society and the drivers of a stronger economy, not only because they boost participation and productivity and lighten the load on employers and businesses but because good, reliable, affordable and universal services give people the confidence to pursue their aspirations, to fulfil their potential, to be their best. Better care means Australians can lead better lives. It's that simple. So if you vote Labor in May you can be confident of this: our government will always protect Medicare, our government will keep universal superannuation strong, our government will stop the Liberals' cuts and get the NDIS back on track, and we will bring the principle of universal, affordable, quality service to child care and to aged care. We will do that because for too long our youngest Australians and our oldest Australians, and their families, have been left with little alternative to shouldering the costs of a broken system.

In my first budget reply speech, I announced Labor's plan for cheaper child care. We will eliminate the complicated mess of subsidy cliffs and barriers to working more. This isn't some one-off handout five minutes before an election; it is meaningful help with the cost of living and a permanent saving for millions of families. Under our plan, no family will be worse off but almost all families will be better off. Making child care cheaper will mean more Australian children will get access to early education, giving them a great start in life. And crucially, cheaper child care is an economic reform. Our plan will end the economic distortion that stops people, particularly mums, working more than three or four days a week. It will boost productivity and workforce participation across the country.

Cheaper child care, stronger Medicare, and at the heart of my third budget reply is our plan to fix the crisis in aged care. Tonight I'm announcing Labor's plan to put security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care. Put simply, we'll put the care back into aged care. The global pandemic and a royal commission have confirmed what so many Australians already knew—that our aged-care system is in crisis. More of us are living long enough to need extra care in our later years, but, currently, that thought fills a generation of Australians and their families with dread. Older Australians fear that the final chapter of their life will be an aged-care facility where they are not properly cared for, let alone afforded real dignity. Their children wrestle with the dilemma of sending them to a place that might not be good enough versus the risk of leaving them at home when it's becoming unsafe for them to be on their own. We've all been chilled by stories of unforgivable neglect—maggots in wounds; people going days without fresh air, a shower or a change of clothes; stories of residents lying on the floor, crying out in pain and nobody is there to help them. It goes against everything we are as Australians.

And, while our loved ones suffer, and their carers—mostly women—are underpaid and overworked, some of the operators running these places are doing very well. It's no coincidence that COVID swept through some aged-care facilities with such deadly force, because for far too long the Liberals have turned a blind eye to operators who put profit ahead of the people in their care. The simple truth of it is this: the Liberals and Nationals have had a decade to do something about aged care. Even an interim royal commission report with the searing one-word title Neglect wasn't enough to spur them into action. If they are left in power nothing will change, and the bleak present they have created will be the bleak future awaiting so many more Australians.

I know that there are many facilities out there that do a magnificent job caring for people, and I know that aged-care workers, such as those in the gallery today, show up every day and do their absolute best with what they have, showing love and respect for those in their care. But those workers are the first to tell you that the system is at breaking point. People are leaving the industry. If we want to change aged care in this country for the better, then we need to start by changing the government.

Tonight I announce five concrete, practical measures a Labor government will implement to ensure older Australians receive the aged care they deserve. One: under a Labor government, every aged-care facility will be required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are going to put the nurses back into nursing homes. This will save thousands of stressful, expensive and ultimately unnecessary trips to hospital emergency departments for issues which a nurse, with all of their skills, could solve on the spot. Every Australian living in aged care should get the medical attention they need the moment they need it, day or night. This is just common sense, and it is common decency.

Two: we are going to raise the standard of aged care across the board by ensuring there are more carers, who have more time to care. We will mandate that every Australian living in aged care receives a minimum of 215 minutes of care per day, as recommended by the royal commission. That means more care for every resident, every day. So, if you have a loved one in aged care, you can be certain they will get more time with a registered nurse and more time with enrolled nurses and personal care workers, not just for essential medical treatment but for basic, important things like helping people take a shower, get dressed or eat a meal. They'll also get the time to talk and the chance to have a conversation that isn't about medication, hygiene or a sudden emergency. They'll get some company and human interaction, especially on those days when a family member can't visit. It's a reminder that our older Australians aren't just a number. They aren't a burden. They are people who built this country and who deserve respect, courtesy and the best possible attention.

Three: a Labor government I lead will back a real pay rise for aged-care workers. At the start of this year, the Prime Minister announced a one-off pre-election payment, due in March, for aged-care workers. This week, it was reported that over 90 per cent of them still haven't received a cent. That is this government in a nutshell—a big announcement and no delivery. Too little, too late. Labor knows that these carers, who work long hours doing such important and often backbreaking work, are underpaid and undervalued, with some earning as little as $22 an hour. Unlike this Prime Minister, who won't take responsibility, a Labor government won't muck around. We'll support the workers' call for better pay at the Fair Work Commission, and a Labor government will fund the outcome of this case. If we want higher standards of care, we need to support higher wages for our carers. We know, if we want to recruit and retain more carers to look after a population that's growing older, we need to treat their vital and essential work with respect and reward it with better pay.

Four: better food for residents. A really hard part of growing old and losing some of your independence is not being able to cook for yourself, let alone visitors or family. For most of us, meals are something we look forward to, a daily ritual that brings us together and gives us moments of joy. This makes it all the more outrageous when the food served up to some Australians in aged care is a scandal itself. The interim royal commission report found that over half of aged-care residents—think about that: over half—were not getting enough nutrition. They are literally starving. We are going to change that. A Labor government will work with the sector to develop and implement mandatory nutrition standards for aged-care homes to ensure that every resident gets good food—tasty and nutritious meals which respect cultural, religious and dietary requirements.

Five: this part of our plan to fix the aged-care crisis is about integrity and accountability. Labor will deliver new funding, more staff and better support to the aged-care sector, and I'm determined to see that every single dollar of that investment goes to better care for people. We will work with multicultural communities to support culturally appropriate care, because we know that many older people revert to the language of their birth in their later years. We will give the aged-care safety commissioner new powers, and we will make residential care providers report in public and in detail what they are spending money on.

The days of residents going without decent food and clean clothes will come to an end. Our plan involves registered nurses onsite 24/7, more carers with more time to care, a pay rise for aged-care workers, better food for residents, and dollars going to care. That's how a Labor government will solve the crisis in aged care. Child care, Medicare, aged care—because Labor cares.

That's a different approach to what we heard on Tuesday night. People have seen it and heard it all before from this government—the big promises that are never kept, the taxpayer funded advertising ready to roll, the big bucket of taxpayers' money ready to be splashed around in an election campaign and a budget handed down for the next six weeks when what we need is a plan for the next six years and beyond.

The problem for this Prime Minister is that the Australian people have figured him out. This government will say whatever it takes and promise whatever it thinks will get it a second decade in office. But the facts do not lie, and we have a decade of facts to look at. Take the cost of living. Australians know that the cost of everything is going up—food, petrol, rent, child care, doctors' bills—and they know that their pay has fallen behind. So let's be really clear about this: you can't put the worst-ever decade of wages growth down to a long run of bad luck. And it's not due to COVID. It's not an accident at all. This government wants to keep your wages low. They have said it themselves. Low wages growth is a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture—a deliberate design. It's not bad luck; it's bad policy.

And this is a central difference between this government and Labor on jobs and on cost of living. I believe in a fair-wage, high-productivity economy, an Australia where working hard means you can pay the bills, support your family, save for the future and achieve your aspirations. But this Prime Minister and this Treasurer see the last nine years of record low wages growth as a great success story, and that's why they cannot—and will not ever be able to—do anything meaningful or lasting to help with the cost of living.

Australians know the difference between structural reforms that change people's lives for the better and cynical one-off payments designed for an election. This government might as well have stapled cash to your ballot paper. We know the pressure Australians are under, which is why these payments will be delivered regardless of the election outcome. But the difference is this: if you vote Labor in May, our work on cost of living won't stop once the votes are counted, because we know that the costs that you're dealing with aren't one-offs. Your kids don't go to child care for one week, not even just for the election campaign. You don't use electricity for just a few days. The relentless pressure of flat wages and rising prices won't stop because of a short-term pre-election promise.

The truth is: if you want real, permanent, meaningful help with the cost of living, you need a plan to get wages growing again. And you need a Labor government to do it—a Labor government that is upfront with our plans—not a Liberal-National government that has driven down wages and has plans for cuts once it gets through an election. Make no mistake: if the Liberals get a second decade in office, more cuts to services you count on are coming.

My fellow Australians, it was clear enough on Tuesday night that the Liberal and National parties think that this budget will be enough to get them through the next election. The Treasurer said as much in his budget luncheon speech just yesterday. The only jobs they are concerned about are their own. They're asking you to trust them because, somehow, they'll be better in their fourth term. After all the waste and rorts and scandals, can you just imagine how arrogant and dismissive they will be if they enter a second long decade in office? But this election isn't about their political future; it's about our country's future. And it's a choice only you can make.

We live in the greatest country on earth. Ask yourself, though: is this really as good as it gets? I believe we can aim higher. I believe Australians deserve a better future. I believe in higher wages. I believe in universal, accessible, high-quality health care delivered through Medicare. I believe our schools, universities and TAFEs are powerful national assets. I believe in dignity and respect for our older Australians, including pensioners, who built our nation. I believe every Australian deserves a roof over their heads and the doors of opportunity open before them. I believe our natural environment needs protection and that dealing with climate change presents opportunities, not just challenges. I believe it is an absolute privilege to share this vast continent with the oldest continuous civilisation on earth. I believe in hope and optimism, not fear and division.

As I ask you for the privilege of forming government, I think about the path of my life that has led me here. I grew up in a council house, raised by a single mum. Mum and I didn't have much, but we had each other. I learnt the value of a dollar. I learnt about the strength of community. I learnt about the power of optimism in the face of adversity. I learnt about the strength of a parent's love and how parents will move mountains to give their kids the opportunity of a better life. It's where I learnt to fight for what I believe in and what it means for everyday people to have leaders who fight for them. It's why I'll fight so hard for a better future.

I went into politics because I believe that good government can change the lives of Australians for the better, reaching out to those who've fallen back and creating opportunities that make it possible to get ahead, to be the best we can be. That's the dream that I hold for my son, Nathan. I want to build a stronger Australia to hand to his generation, an Australia that gives them the chance to follow their dreams, to study what they want, to learn the trade or get the job they want, to buy a home, to start a family. I want an Australia of boundless opportunity, an inclusive Australia that celebrates our rich diversity and values our multiculturalism as an asset, an Australia that embraces the generous Uluru Statement from the Heart, including a constitutionally recognised Indigenous voice to this parliament.

My fellow Australians, I have unlimited faith in our country's potential. If I have the honour of serving as your Prime Minister, I can promise you this: I will work as hard as I can every day to see that potential realised. I will act with integrity, I will lead with responsibility and I will treat you with respect. We've been through a tough couple of years, but I know our best days can be ahead of us. I will work with you to build a better future. I say to this Prime Minister, who himself declared months ago that he was campaigning and not governing: call the election; call it now, and let the people of Australia decide.

Debate adjourned.

House adjourned at 20:09

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Vasta) took the chair at 10:00.

I rise to once again speak about a matter of great concern to residents of my community, which is the significant traffic snarl, not to mention the significant safety risk, caused by the level crossing at Coorparoo train station on Cavendish Road. I know, Deputy Speaker Vasta, that you're well aware of the risks of these level crossings because, of course, you've got the Lindum level crossing in your electorate. Coorparoo's level crossing is still a significant problem. This is a place where there have been 61 near misses in the decade to 2021. It's particularly concerning to me because it's a very busy road. It's adjacent to two schools, the Coorparoo Secondary College and the Brisbane School of Distance Education, and it's quite near Giffin Park, which is where the Coorparoo Roos Australian football team plays. It's in a very busy part of Brisbane, Coorparoo.

This is a project that should be fixed. The RACQ have once again this year, in their correspondence with me about their federal election priorities, pointed out this level crossing, among a few others in Brisbane, as one priority to be resolved. In my view it is something that does need to be resolved. I've been campaigning on it and lobbying for it for the entire time I've been in the parliament—even before I was in the parliament, in fact. I've been pointing out that this is a significant problem because of the safety risk, as I said. I'm well aware, Deputy Speaker, that there was a fatality at the level crossing at Lindum in your electorate and that, shortly after that fatality, there was an announcement of significant funding from the federal government to fix that level crossing in your electorate. Frankly, I don't want to have to see a fatality at the Coorparoo level crossing; I think it should be fixed.

The safety concerns at this crossing are the primary concerns, but another significant concern is the impact on traffic. If you're heading down Old Cleveland Road into the CBD, which a number of people from Bonner and a number of people from Bowman as well as people from Griffith do, this crossing at peak hour has a flow-on effect on other traffic in the area. It's on Cavendish Road, but it's one of the main cross-streets onto Old Cleveland Road at Coorparoo, so when there's a traffic snarl at that level crossing it has a flow-on effect on other traffic. It remains not only a significant safety concern but also a creator of a really major peak-hour traffic snarl. When we think about traffic, it's easy to think about things in quite dispassionate terms when you're talking about transport infrastructure and those sorts of things. But what is traffic? Traffic is an impediment to people spending time with their families, their friends, their loved ones. This means that there is an imperative for us as federal representatives, when we're talking about the quality of life in our cities, to really speak up for better transport infrastructure as well.

ANS (—) (): Unlike in 2011, the recent floods in Brisbane weren't just a Brisbane River focused event. The heavy rain bomb that hung over Brisbane caused all the local catchments to flood—Kedron Brook, Enoggera Creek, Brekkie Creek, Ithaca Creek—meaning that virtually every suburb had flooded streets, homes and businesses. I spent two weeks going door to door in some of the worst hit streets to listen to and to help local families and business owners. For families, financial assistant grants from the federal government and, for businesses and community clubs, co-funded federal-state grants have been going out the door, helping us to clean up and rebuild. Charities and local community groups have made a big difference, too. The people of Brisbane wasted no time in getting stuck into the clean-up, with thousands of volunteers, neighbours and friends all pitching in to help. It was great to see the ADF on the streets in places like Milton, Ashgrove, Windsor and the CBD, assisting locals and the Brisbane City Council with the clean-up. In my judgement, having a big, well-resourced council working closely with the ADF made a big difference. I want to collectively thank everyone who helped out for what they did for our beautiful community. I am immensely proud of the resilience and the spirit demonstrated by the people of Brisbane not just during the floods but in the course of the COVID pandemic as well.

The challenges of COVID aren't over, but even now we are seeing more evidence emerge that Australia has performed better than virtually any other country on both the health metrics, like lower rates of death and disease, and the economic measures, like the impacts on jobs, prosperity and the budget bottom line. The budget this week shows that the government got some big calls right, like closing the international borders early—meaning we didn't see those makeshift morgues popping up like they were in places like New York—and by crafting programs like JobKeeper. The budget shows that JobKeeper was unprecedented, expensive and temporary and that it worked. It kept countless good businesses afloat and it kept 700,000 Australians off the dole queues and away from the risks of long-term unemployment. In Brisbane alone, more than 11,000 businesses and almost 30,000 people were supported by JobKeeper. Now, in a sharp recovery, Australia has its lowest unemployment in close to 50 years. All those people in jobs, being productive, paying income taxes and not drawing on government support, has seen the biggest turnaround in 70 years for any federal budget bottom line.

The challenges aren't over, but our plan is clear. I will continue to work hard every single day for the people of Brisbane, as we work towards an even better Brisbane in 2032 and beyond, and for a stronger, safer, more prosperous Australia.

This speech, which could be the last speech I am privileged to give in this current term of parliament, is dedicated to every person in my community of Dunkley who I have had the absolute privilege of representing over the last almost three years. It's budget week, and it could well be the last week of parliament before we go to an election. Rightly, much of the debate this week has been about whether or not the Morrison-Joyce budget delivers a better future or short-term fillers for problems that have arisen under nine long years of a tired Liberal-National government. Rightly, a lot of the debate is about who can deliver a better future for the people of Australia. That is an argument that I will be prosecuting with all the passion I can bring to it over the election campaign—which, let's face it, has already started—when the election's officially called, between now and election day. I can think of nothing that I would like to do more than continue to have the privilege to represent my community in this parliament and to try to work every day to get those big commitments delivered for their future but also to work hard every day to be the voice of people who are voiceless and to represent people who just want to have a life that's a bit easier. They are working hard for it every day, and they want a government and a representative that stands next to them to do it.

This speech is dedicated to all of the people in my electorate who have taken the time to come and talk to me about their lives, and sometimes about their tragedies so that I can be part of trying to make sure that other people don't live through the same tragedies. This speech is dedicated to Deb and her beautiful son, Lachlan, who I never had the privilege of meeting. Deb and Lachlan represent the people I've been talking about in my community. Deb's email to me about her journey with her son, Lachlan, is too long to read out in this speech, but she came and talked to me at a cafe at a coffee catch-up and then emailed me about her beautiful son, Lachlan, who was 33 years old when he became unwell and his life was devastated by a car crash and drinking afterwards and diabetes. She emailed me about the descent into hell for Lachlan and their family, navigating a mental health system that, in the end, didn't help him or prevent him from committing suicide. To all the Debs and Lachlans: I am going to keep working for you. (Time expired)

It's my pleasure to tell the story of Railway Parklands, a fantastic Toowoomba story that started in the nineties, a time of big ideas. At the time, Peter Eldridge was the head of the CBD traders group. He had a vision with the team there for what Toowoomba could be and the challenges it would face as it grew. The city was almost split at the junction of East Creek and West Creek, going through Gowrie Creek, an area of town that had been let run. It was an area of town that could join the city together, that could be an important link in the city's future growth, and the CBD traders group believed strongly that this was an important area for us to develop. This was back in the nineties. It was a fantastic vision at the time—inner-city living, a thriving CBD, and a garden in the heart of the garden city.

Over time, that story has built up and people have come to us. Our mayor, Paul Antonio, has been a great supporter—and Trevor Watts, the member for Toowoomba North. I think of the work the chamber of commerce has done to support this project, to build its profile in the community and to understand what we needed. But, over those 30 years, things have changed. The CBD has changed. Whilst we are very happy to see Grand Central, a fantastic shopping centre, built in Toowoomba, it has had an impact on the rest of the CBD. Foot traffic has dropped off, and we've seen a fundamental shift in how people interact in our CBD.

Further to that, I think Toowoomba has changed from being a country town that gave people just what they needed to live to being a place that now needs to deliver what people want. Toowoomba has become an attractive destination, and people now expect a lot of our town. As time passes, this vision becomes more and more important for Toowoomba, particularly in light of the housing availability challenges we face as our city continues to grow at a faster rate than we can build it.

That's why I was so delighted to see this project included in the South-East Queensland City Deal, a fantastic outcome and a great win—a genuinely 'ground up' win for the people of Toowoomba. They saw that they needed it, and they have worked for it. I am very grateful that we have the support of Minister Paul Fletcher. I'm very grateful to the Premier of Queensland for including it in the deal. I'm very grateful to the South-East Queensland Council of Mayors for getting behind Toowoomba and supporting this fantastic project.

Of course, this is not the end of what I want to see for Toowoomba out of the city deal. More than $5 million has already been earmarked for Toowoomba city council from the $285 million South-East Queensland Liveability Fund. There is $10 million on the table for public arts initiatives like murals and sculptures. There is the innovation fund—and I know there are projects in our region fighting for that as we speak. This has been a great deal and a great win for the people of Toowoomba.

After nine long years of failed Liberal government, Australia is in the middle of a skills crisis. There are 70,000 fewer apprentices and trainees today than when Labor left office in 2013. The result is building projects that face lengthy delays and higher costs. We don't have the nurses, the aged-care staff, the childcare staff, the engineers that our community and our economy need. The Liberals' neglect of Australian skills and training, their overreliance on shipping in overseas workers on short-term visas, has led directly to this skills crisis, and they should stand condemned for it.

An Albanese Labor government will fix Australia's skills and training crisis. Labor will make fee free 465,000 places at TAFE in courses that address areas of critical skill shortage, and we will create 45,000 new TAFE places. Under Labor, TAFE will become the trusted cornerstone of Australian training and skills. Labor's plan will ensure hundreds of thousands of Australians can earn a qualification or upskill for the jobs of tomorrow. Only an Albanese Labor government will deliver a better future, made in Australia.

Australia must be a country that makes more things here. For nine long years of failed Liberal government, our manufacturing has been encouraged to go offshore. We've all seen the consequences, with fewer jobs for Australians, missed opportunities, and our national interest left exposed when global supply chains were cut throughout the pandemic. The Liberals have failed the test of looking after our national interest. Only Labor has a comprehensive plan to get Australian manufacturing back on track. Our A Future Made in Australia plan will create jobs, boost skills, bring back industry expertise and supercharge our national productivity. To learn more about Labor's A Future Made in Australia plan, visit alp.org.au.

Under the Liberals, child care is too expensive—it's gone up 39 per cent while they've been in power—and household budgets are higher than ever. Family spending power is going backwards, with flat or falling wages simply not keeping up with the rising cost of petrol, groceries, insurance and housing. An Albanese Labor government will ease the squeeze on family budgets by making child care cheaper. We will lift the maximum subsidy rate of 90 per cent, making life that little bit easier for four in five Australian families. This isn't welfare. It makes good economic sense, lifting workforce participation and increasing GDP by between $4 billion and $11 billion every year. Only a Labor government will make child care cheaper and grow the economy. To find out how much your family will benefit under an Albanese Labor government, visit alp.org.au.

I want to talk about some initiatives that are happening in Western Australia that, in my first term, I've been proud to deliver as part of the Liberal team of WA. My electorate of Curtin is the most beautiful part of Western Australia; that's a known fact. There are kilometres of white beach and beautiful living conditions. It's also home to a lot of medical research and health innovation. In the course of the last three years, I've had the opportunity to engage with many of the medical institutes, medical researchers, hospitals and healthcare providers in my electorate. They are incredible people. Over the last two years of the pandemic, we've all been amazed by the work of healthcare workers generally.

From engaging with our medical researchers and the various medical research institutes that are based in my electorate, I see the dedication they bring to their task. Sometimes they research and develop things which start with a kernel of an idea, and they don't know where it's going to end up. Basic science research can sometimes be a gamble that takes ages to pay off, or it can be something that pays off very quickly. But all of these dedicated researchers living in Western Australia—and this is an issue for a much longer term project—are cut off from the rest of Australia and don't get a sufficient level of funding under competitive grants from the NHMRC and the Medical Research Future Fund because of their isolation and the way the system operates. That's something I want to tackle, should I be re-elected to this place, alongside my WA colleagues, in the next term.

I want to pick up on two things that have been delivered recently in the health and research area. The first initiative is the establishment of a children's hospice, which the federal government is part funding along with the state government of Western Australia and philanthropists. A commitment was made at the end of last year to build a children's hospice in Swanbourne in my electorate. We don't have one in WA at the moment, and this is going to provide welcome relief and respite for families with kids who have life-limiting conditions.

The other initiative, which we announced on the weekend and was part of a team WA initiative, is the establishment of a comprehensive cancer centre. It's going to be based in Nedlands in my electorate. The federal government is committing well in excess of $300 million to establish this comprehensive cancer centre, which will service all Western Australians who are going through cancer treatment. Health care and medical research are vital parts of my electorate.

Luke Greave and his wife and young children love living in Rocklea because it's an intimate, enclosed suburb, close to the city, where most people know each other. When they bought their home, back in 2016, the modelling showed once-in-100-years flooding lines. The modelling was updated last year, but, by then, Luke and his family had already moved out of their home more than 20 times because of floodwaters. The family have a whole evacuation plan. When the rain sensor alarms go off and water enters their yard, they pack up and drive to Luke's in-laws. It's what they did on the night of Friday 25 February this year. The house is on stilts, and water was lapping at the back stairs. On Saturday it actually looked like the water was receding. Luke hoped it would be okay, but by Sunday the water was flowing through his house. There was no official warning that the water was rising, but the BOM gauge at Marshall Road was off the charts. I live a kilometre away in Moorooka, and we didn't get a message until late on Sunday night. But, by Sunday, Rocklea was in chaos. People were trapped in their homes. Neighbours were checking up on each other in tinnies. The police were doorknocking to try to get people out. It's all well and good to get out, but, if you have nowhere to go, you have to pay for a hotel. There were no evacuation centres anywhere near Rocklea, where almost the entire suburb was flooded, and many locals have very limited incomes. Luke and his family have insurance—that is rare in Rocklea—but their property is undervalued, as they couldn't afford the premium amount. They moved to Rocklea because it was affordable. I've stood inside Luke's gutted house. Now only frames are holding up the insides. The beautiful hardwood floors are all bent. You can't spend your life moving in and out of your home whenever it rains, but that's what people in Rocklea do.

After the 2011 floods, several properties around Luke's home were acquired by the council as part of the Voluntary Home Purchase Scheme, before that was cruelly axed by LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. Luke has asked to be included in the Flood Resilient Homes Program, where owners are given financial assistance to adapt their homes, through measures including raising them. Some people have done that in Rocklea. He was told that Rocklea is not impacted severely enough by flooding and does not meet the criteria. Really? I ask anyone making up those rules to come and walk around Rocklea with me, and I'll show you the lines from 1974, 2011, 2022 and in between.

The Queensland state government has called on the Morrison government to jointly fund a $771 million disaster package which will increase the resilience in Queensland communities like Rocklea. We've been hit by floods too many times. We must build back better. That includes a $350 million buyback scheme, where perhaps homes like Luke's can be turned into raised properties with garages and the like. Residents like Luke and others in the suburb of Rocklea could really benefit from this package. I urge the Prime Minister and all of the coalition to sign up to this as a priority.

On Tuesday night, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down the federal budget for 2022-23. This is a budget for all Australians, but today I want to talk about how it will benefit local businesses in Chisholm. By backing small businesses and investing in skills, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy, the budget will strengthen our economy and create more jobs. In previous budgets our government has backed small businesses with the lowest tax rates in 50 years as well as investment incentives like the instant asset write-off. On Tuesday, to further encourage small businesses, the Treasurer announced that a $120 deduction will be provided for every $100 spent on training staff or on digital technologies. On top of this, to encourage more apprentices, we will provide $5,000 payments to new apprentices and up to $15,000 in wage subsidies for employers. I'm thrilled that our government is delivering in these ways for the more than 1,300 apprentices in Chisholm and the more than 6,000 small and medium-sized businesses who operate locally.

Last week in Chisholm it was fantastic to host the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health announcing that Victoria will be the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to manufacture mRNA vaccines. This is the future of pandemic preparedness and it will support our economy's resilience against further shocks. For the same reason, our government is continuing to support some of Chisholm's incredible local businesses. Mount Waverley manufacturer Extel Technologies is receiving more than $1.4 million in support through our supply chain agility improvement project. This will enable the manufacture of leading-edge semiconductor technology right here in Australia, rather than us having to rely on imports.

Chisholm is home to an incredible and incredibly advanced series of local manufacturers. It's great to see that they, along with manufacturers and small businesses across Australia, are being supported in their work by the Morrison government.

Northern Australia is different to the rest of the country. The construction of infrastructure is more complex and more costly. But the benefits can be transformational, not only for our national economy and our local economy but also for the wellbeing of our people—the people of northern Australia that inhabit a vast area of land going from north-west Western Australia all the way through to Queensland. Representing a slice of northern Australia in this place means that I am very aware of the need for a greater focus on the challenges and opportunities of delivering infrastructure in the north.

This pre-election budget that was handed down on Tuesday had some funds for infrastructure in the Northern Territory, and that is welcome, but what sort of spending are we talking about? Forget the figures; what is the quality and the impact on the ground? Forget the fact that most of it is out on the never-never. What is real in this infrastructure spend, and what is actually going to help our local economies as well as our national sovereignty? How many of these dollars will end up in the pockets of Northern Territory workers and their families and local businesses?

To answer this question, let's have a quick look at what some stakeholders in the Territory had to say. Dave Malone, the CEO of Master Builders NT, was sceptical about how the money will be spent and believes the tendering process will be geared towards large interstate firms rather than local businesses. Tom Harris, the CEO of the Civil Contractors Federation of the NT, like all of us, welcomed the infrastructure spend in the budget but was also concerned about the use of local labour and employment opportunities for locals and local small firms. Tom wants to see more planning associated with the tendering process, and I couldn't agree more.

I am deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, and we are tabling a report this morning on government procurement. A key recommendation of this report calls on the government to examine ways to provide opportunities in infrastructure contracting for local industry and the utilisation of local content, creating space for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate. That's because they overwhelmingly employ locals. Creating opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises on infrastructure projects is absolutely vital. It's a key way to make sure that the national spend that has been committed will flow through to not only Territorians but those living throughout northern Australia, and Labor will make sure that that occurs.

The coalition government has handed down a plan for a stronger future and a long-term economic plan in this year's budget. People in my electorate of Capricornia will be happy with the level of support and investment in their area. The coalition government is delivering temporary and targeted cost-of-living relief for households; tax relief for small businesses; more jobs; record investments in health, education and other essential services—roads, rail and dams; and further investment in stronger defence, borders and security. That's what we need for our future.

We are addressing key cost-of-living pressures with economic relief to Australian households. For the next six months, Australians will save 22c a litre every time they fill up their cars. This temporary reduction in fuel excise will not come at a cost to road funding, which will see more than $12 billion spent in the coming year. This will help the owners of around 82,000 passenger vehicles in Capricornia. We are delivering a new one-off $420 cost-of-living tax offset for more than 10 million low- and middle-income earners. Individuals already receiving the low- and middle-income tax offset will now receive up to $1,500, and couples up to $3,000, from 1 July this year. Our tax plan has already helped over 69,000 people in Capricornia. We are helping pensioners, carers, veterans, jobseekers, eligible self-funded retirees and concession card holders with a new, one-off $250 cost-of-living payment. Together with existing indexation arrangements, this will see a single pensioner receive more than $500 in additional support over the next six months, just when they need it most. This is expected to help over 14,000 pensioners in Capricornia.

In Capricornia, federal funding will be flowing to many vital local projects, including $483 million towards the construction of Urannah Dam in the north of my electorate; $6 million to Beef Australia 2024; $14.4 million to Phillips Creek Bridge on Saraji Road near Moranbah; an extra $100,000 to support the construction of a new CWA hall in Collinsville, on top of the $325,000 already provided; over $6 million to upgrade Artillery Road and Greenlake Road; over $1 million to upgrade Dysart-Clermont Road; and over $1 million to upgrade Eaglefield Road.

There are many more positive measures in the budget—helping more Australians to own their own home, investing in apprentices and skills, boosting manufacturing, investing more in women's safety and guaranteeing essential health services. This is not a time to change course and risk our economic recovery with Labor. People are rightly petrified of a Labor-Greens alliance in Capricornia, where the Labor candidate has said he's happy to do a backroom deal with the Greens to get their support. The 2022-23 budget delivers for Capricornia, and I will continue to fight for my electorate now and well into the future.

The federal government has made one thing very clear this week with their budget PR exercise: they couldn't care less about Queenslanders. We have seen, time and time again, the Prime Minister's willingness to let the political plans of his government outweigh the very real needs of everyday Queenslanders. First, we saw the people in my electorate and across Queensland who have been impacted by flooding receive a mere third of the support that many in New South Wales were given. This was a transparently political move. And now, with the budget, they have once again short-changed Queenslanders and laid bare their political cynicism, for all to see.

This is a budget for the next six weeks, not the next four years, and it's designed to launch a re-election campaign that will make voters forget about the arrogance and incompetence of the past nine years. The budget papers reveal Prime Minister Morrison will cut $21 million from Queensland public hospitals next financial year. Prime Minister Morrison is also cutting $176 million from Queensland hospitals in 2023-24 and 2024-25, compared to funding promised just four months ago. Queensland hospitals losing federal funding will mean people in my electorate of Oxley will have to wait longer for the health treatment they deserve.

There are also key discrepancies between what Queenslanders were promised and what is now being delivered. The Prime Minister says this budget contains $3.3 billion for road and rail in Queensland. But, when you check the figures, there's only $446.5 million across the four years of this budget and not one dollar for the SEQ so-called city deal. Queenslanders have been robbed of a whopping 86 per cent of the money announced by the Prime Minister. It's in the budget in black-and-white detail: the Morrison government does not care about Queenslanders.

For almost a decade, my constituents have struggled with stagnant wage growth and the rising cost of living. I've had families in my electorate telling me they can no longer afford their grocery bills or filling up their car. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has left Queenslanders behind in the floods, and now he has left them behind in the budget. It's time to leave the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and his incompetent government behind and move forward with an Albanese Labor government that has a real plan for a better future for all Queenslanders.

I note the member for Oxley's contribution. So exercised is he about this budget, he couldn't even reach three minutes talking about it! That's because there's obviously a lot in here for families and for Queensland families, particularly for families in the Ryan electorate. Around 62,700 taxpayers in Ryan will benefit from tax relief of up to $1,500 this year, made up of the $1,080 low- and middle-income tax offset and a $420 cost-of-living tax offset. The government's tax plan, lowering taxes over the last couple of years, has already benefited over 77,800 taxpayers in our electorate of Ryan.

We're also helping out with the cost of living because we know that this is the issue families sitting around the kitchen table are talking about, not the scare campaigns that Labor is coming up with that we've just heard from the member for Oxley. They are talking about the choices that they need to make for their families. So, to help with the cost of living, we have, in addition, implemented through this budget a one-off cost-of-living tax offset of $250 for Australians most in need. In Ryan, that includes 8,921 pensioners, 2,073 disability support recipients, 463 carers, 5,695 jobseekers and 12,609 eligible self-funded retirees. So both self-funded retirees and pensioners are being supported through the one-off cost-of-living supplement. Together with the recent pension increases, this will see the 8,921 pensioners in our electorate of Ryan receive more than $500 in additional support over the next six months alone.

In addition, we're helping families with the cost of fuel. Australians will save 22c a litre every time they fill up for the next six months, because we know that global pressures and particularly the war in Ukraine have seen those fuel prices rise. This will help the owners of the around 94,000 passenger vehicles that we have in Ryan. The average family who are filling up their two cars once a week will save $30 a week or $700 over the next six months. This is tangible relief for families.

Then, of course, there is what I personally think is one of the best budget measures, which is the record $58 million that will be invested to establish specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics in every state and territory, to improve diagnosis, care and treatment. This is something that's close to my and my wife's hearts. Again, it's an incredible initiative to support the families of the Ryan electorate and all Australians.

Last Monday I was delighted to attend the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Mascot Public School. Over the century, Mascot Public has been a vital part of the fabric of our local community. The centenary celebrations were a real tribute to the enduring multicultural character of both the school and the wider community.

Mascot Public School was officially opened on 19 February 1922 by local Labor member Tom Mutch. Reports at the time described the school as a 'fine, two-storied edifice' costing approximately 13,000 pounds to build and representing the 'last word' in modern building and facilities. Since that time the school has been providing quality public education for children and giving them an opportunity to chart a course on a lifetime of learning. Mascot Public School's motto is 'Strive to achieve', and this is indeed a special achievement for the school. I want to thank Principal Helen Te Rata and the teachers, staff and all the students over the last century who have made Mascot Public School such a wonderful public education institution in our community.

Samantha Carmont walked 60 kilometres a day in our community for 31 days straight. She did this to raise awareness about coercive control. That's 1,800 kilometres of walking in a month—an amazing act of endurance. Sam was raising awareness about the scourge of coercive control, and her efforts have seen over $12,000 go to support women's community shelters and Domestic Violence NSW. I joined her for part of the walk on the last day, and Sam told me of her many friends who'd been victims of different forms of coercive control over the last few years.

Coercive control involves patterns of abuse within partner relationships that see the victim-survivors denied their autonomy and independence. It can include physical, sexual, psychological or financial abuse. Coercive control is also a major red flag for intimate-partner homicide. To help draw people's attention to the issue, Sam challenged herself to walk those 60 kilometres a day around the streets of eastern Sydney. Because it could be happening anyway, we must continue to highlight this great danger in our community. No-one deserves to live in fear. Coercive control of any form is simply unacceptable. I want to congratulate and commend Sam Carmont for taking this difficult conversation on coercive control to the streets in her work and to thank everyone that donated to her campaign and her wonderful walk.

I rise today to pay tribute to the dedicated State Emergency Service volunteers and personnel who provided and are still providing valuable support to communities battling the unprecedented flood emergency in northern New South Wales and in other areas closer to home. The men and women in Orange selflessly answered the call for help in late February. They've worked for days on end, and, in some cases, the entire month, to save people, pets, livestock and the possessions of complete strangers in need.

Today, the flood emergency is still evolving up north. Western Zone commander Chief Superintendent David Monk is currently helping efforts from the Newcastle incident control centre. Orange SES volunteers Tyler Johnson, Callum Cope and Ryan Bruin spent a week in Ballina wading through rising waters to rescue flood victims. Bathurst volunteer Joshua Besterwitch was deployed to Lismore, while Central West Deputy Zone Commander Brigid Rice led the flood planning team there. Western zone's Josh Clark provided vital media assistance during that initial flood emergency. Sofala's Rebecca Cole and Bathurst's Zeak Smith have completed two deployments to Lismore and to Newcastle. Dave Rankine has clocked up a month's work supporting flight operations and communicating vital evacuation warnings across New South Wales. Thank you, Dave.

Bathurst Deputy Unit Commander Andrew McDonough spent a week in Lismore and spent last week in Walgett, where he was joined by Bathurst volunteer Nathan Stevens. Mudgee SES volunteer Feroz Wani supported teams in Walgett and Collarenebri. Intelligence officer Craig Ronan worked from Bathurst to provide vital intel about predicted river heights, while Marina Gray and Hywel Blake worked their way through thousands of calls from homeowners in the state's north in desperate need of help.

Locally, our volunteers sprang into action when record rainfall hit closer to home in Lithgow, Hartley, Wallerawang, Glen Davis, Olinda and Rylstone in mid-March. I would like to formally recognise the Portland SES members Commander Kim Phillips, Ebony Partridge and Kenneth McDonagh, who coordinated the food supply in some of those local flood emergencies in our area. Bathurst SES members Chris Abbott and Heath Christian used SES boats to make vital food drops. Mudgee's Adam Newton, Lachlan Vivers and Sharon Zawiolkowski, along with John Yates from Rylstone SES, undertook important welfare checks and carried out numerous jobs for homeowners. I was there at Glen Davis and saw how it was cut off, but there was flooding all through our region around Lithgow, Hartley, Wallerawang, Olinda and also Rylstone.

I will be acknowledging and thanking individually all of our local RFS volunteers in a separate address. Today, on behalf of this parliament, I formally recognise and offer a heartfelt thankyou to our SES and RFS volunteers who selflessly answered the call for help. It's the true Aussie spirit and we couldn't be prouder of them.

Every time this government gives something, it takes something away. You only need to look at the Perth City Deal to see the absolute hypocrisy of this government. I look at the very welcome investment in the ECU Perth city campus as a classic example. The Prime Minister flew to my state the other week to announce he was giving more money to build the ECU city campus. It'll be a great shiny new building. I welcome it. But what he failed to mention was that the students who go to that campus are going to pay $107,000 for their university degrees. What he also failed to mention is that, while he's giving money to the ECU city campus on the one hand, he cut higher education funding by 5.4 per cent in Tuesday night's budget.

This give-and-then-take approach of this Prime Minister is also seen in the upgrades that are being invested in for the Perth Concert Hall. The Perth City Deal was promised by Prime Minister Turnbull in 2016. In 2016 they promised this. They've finally found the money for it. None of the projects are finished, although that wouldn't be a shock to anyone who has watched the activities of the Prime Minister over the last few years—all announcement, no delivery. When you look at the Perth Concert Hall, there's a welcome investment to improve this piece of architecture, but what have they done to the artists of Perth over the last two years? I worked with my friend the member for Macnamara on the communications and arts committee, when we looked at the absolute devastation of the arts community in Perth. The government denied them JobKeeper, denied them any real support, and so again we'll have a shiny building, but the artists are the ones that suffer because of this government's policies.

Then we've got the boomerang bridge which the Prime Minister announced in Perth the other week—a welcome bridge connecting cyclists and pedestrians from Victoria Park across the Swan River to Perth. But this bridge stops at Heirisson Island. If you know anything about what Main Roads Western Australia have told us about what's going to happen to Heirisson Island if we do not take action on climate change, you'd know that Heirisson Island will be under water. We're building a bridge to an island that, because of the cuts to funding for climate action in this budget, will be under water. It's absolute hypocrisy.

And then we get to this latest budget. Under this budget, the people of Perth are $1,466 worse off. They can have no assurance that anything that this government does is ethical or with integrity because there was no anticorruption commission funding. There's nothing to lower the cost of child care, nothing to address dodgy labour hire, nothing to drive down the costs of electricity, nothing to fix our broken aged-care system, but $3 billion in secret cuts. The Perth City Deal is undercut by a 'Perth shitty deal'.

My decision to run for parliament at the 2019 election was driven by a desire to bring the focus back to community. Like many regions across Australia, access to health services is a major concern for our community, particularly as northern Tasmanians have a higher ageing population rate and there are more battling chronic disease than elsewhere in the country. From the day that I was elected I've been fighting for better access to primary health services, particularly around accessibility to general practices. We've been battling a number of challenges, including the recruitment and retention of doctors. After much advocacy to the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Regional Health, I was able to secure an additional $2 million in funding to assist general practices to address these challenges. The complex issues still exist, and I will continue to fight for improved access to GP services for our community. I'm also fighting for more to be done to assist cancer survivors post treatment. As someone who has spoken publicly about my own challenges with mental health, I also understand deeply the challenges that exist and the need for additional services for people of all ages in our community. During the 2019 election I fought to secure a Head to Health centre in Launceston, which opened at its interim site at the end of January and has already assisted hundreds of locals. As a free walk-in clinic this service is critical in ensuring that those who need help are not falling through the cracks.

Addressing the scourge of family and domestic violence is also a cause close to my heart. Over the past few years I've worked with stakeholders, victim-survivors and the ministers on what is really needed to enact effective change in these areas. There is a lot of work being undertaken, but there is so much more to do. I'm personally proud to have secured funds to move the Family Court in Launceston, after a decade of lobbying by family law advocates, due to serious concerns over the safety of the current premises.

Of course, the biggest challenge of this term of parliament has been the COVID-19 pandemic. I've spoken many times on the health and economic measures put in place to support our community over the past few years, which have kept northern Tasmanians healthy and in jobs. When the pandemic first began, I also wanted to look at ways to show my personal support that would have a tangible impact on the small-business community, so my small-business shout-outs began. Over the past two years, more than $10,000 has been directly put back into our local economy through more than 100 shout-outs.

In my first speech I said I was committed to being a genuine and authentic representative of the northern Tasmanian community, and as my first term comes to a close I am proud of what I've have achieved for my community. I hope to continue to represent Bass in Canberra for as long as I have the privilege to do so.

During the pandemic, Victorians knew that they were on their own when it came to support from this federal government—that the Prime Minister, from Sydney, never met a Victorian he didn't want to leave behind. He had no interest in supporting Victorians during their hard days, because he's all about the politics, this bloke.

I hear the interjections from the member for Goldstein.

Order! Order! The member for Goldstein will cease interjecting.

There are many on that side of the House that are from Victoria, but there are none that are for Victoria, because the Liberal brand from Victoria is all about taking support away from Victorians. We had Victorian Liberals in the state parliament calling for the Prime Minister to remove financial support for Victorians; it was ridiculous. The Victorian Leader of the Opposition also wants the Prime Minister to reduce the GST intake of Victoria. The Liberal Party might be from Victoria, but they are not for Victoria, and, if you wanted further evidence of that and of the Liberal Party abandoning Victoria yet again, you only have to look at the latest budget that the Treasurer and the Prime Minister delivered.

Victoria is 26 per cent of this country's population, and yet how much infrastructure spend did we get from this budget? I'll tell you. It wasn't 26 per cent. It wasn't 20 per cent. It wasn't 15 per cent. It wasn't 10 per cent. We've got to keep going south, to six per cent. Six per cent of new infrastructure spend in this budget went to Victoria. Six per cent! And do you know why the Prime Minister is spending only six per cent of his infrastructure spend on Victoria? It's because he's all about the politics, and he's given up on the political wins possible in Victoria.

If you want further evidence of that, it's not just in infrastructure spend. The federal government, apparently, are throwing around the fact that they're spending $7.1 billion in the regions. You'd think that would get shared pretty evenly amongst the states, especially to a state with a quarter of the population of this country. Not a dingleberry, not a cent, of that $7.1 billion regional spend on infrastructure is happening in the state of Victoria—not one cent. This Prime Minister and this government have never cared about Victorians. The things that they do promise to Victorians are things like car parks. They'd promised $15 million of car parks in my electorate, until they removed it because they hadn't spoken to the council and the state government and so hadn't realised that the location for the car park they wanted to build at Balaclava station had already been allocated to a completely different purpose: social housing.

They are throwing good money after bad. It's hardly surprising that the modern Liberals are putting out new, teal paraphernalia and pamphlets in their electorates, and they're dropping the word 'Liberal'—because there is nothing modern about this Liberal Party. They're ashamed of their brand, unlike those on this side of the House.

In the coming months, Australians like the good people of Goldstein will face a choice. The reality is that we are in one of the most dangerous decades in Australia's history, and, when you look at the stack of challenges and risks that we confront, it is crystal clear why we need strong government more than ever—whether you look at the national security challenges we face; security in supply chains and the risks that are not just economic but flow through to the delivery of reliable supply for our domestic economy; pandemic and health risks that are becoming more ever-present, as we're all mindful of, as a consequence of an interconnected world; the challenge of climate change and both the economic and environmental consequences; the economic issues of instability that come, as a consequence, in other countries, and how they could flow through to us; and, of course, what has happened to currencies, interest rates and inflation, as well as fuel and economic security risks, which we'll hear about later in the parliament today.

Wherever you look, there are big risks on the horizon. The question is who is it that you want to represent you, and which government do you want to be sitting on the Treasury benches to make the tough decisions? In the end, that's who we're voting for—not a government that wants to be liked but one that wants to make the decisions that are in the best interests of the nation.

Make no mistake; when it comes down to it, this government has always made the tough decisions, whether easy or hard. Compare that to the Labor Party, where already we have the Greens measuring up the curtains in ministerial offices, waiting to become part of a coalition government with the Labor Party. We have fake Independents, who are quite clear in their intent to install the Leader of the Opposition into a Prime Ministerial chair. They don't have the integrity to admit it, but that's absolutely their objective, and we know that from their campaigning and media activity, where, no matter what the problem is, it's always a coalition government on the Liberal side, with the National Party, that's the problem. That's why we need strong government now, and we need to elect members of parliament who are from the Liberal Party to whichever seat across the country to make sure that we're in the best position to respond to these threats. You just need to look at them; they won't answer tough questions like where they stand on nuclear submarines, through to securing the Solomon Islands and the impact it has on our country right now.

Poor economies are weak economies, and they make weak countries; they will suffer what they may. Rich economies are ones that are strong. They're able to stand up and defend their sovereignty and their interests, and to help other countries do so as well. This is the choice that Australians will face some Saturdays ahead, because on Tuesday night the Treasurer handed down a budget which clearly articulated the difference between this side of the chamber and the other side. Labor always look at the budget as a pathway to empower themselves; we look at how we can empower citizens, families and communities to take responsibility for themselves as the foundation for a great nation. We look forward to this election, and I look forward to the return of a Morrison government.

Tasmanians have every right to feel disappointed by the budget that was delivered on Tuesday night. Indeed, nothing in the budget makes up for Scott Morrison's decade of attacks on wages, the lack of job security Tasmanians are experiencing and the attacks on Medicare. Nothing really makes up for this decade of hard times that Tasmanians and Australians have had. There are some small cost-of-living measures, but they're all designed just to get through the next six weeks and they're all about Scott Morrison's job. They're not about the people of Tasmania. Indeed, there's nothing in the budget to fix Tasmania's health crisis.

There's nothing in the budget that will deal with the long-term housing issue that we have. We have a really serious housing issue in Tasmania; we need supply of housing and we need it now. The state government has finally come on board and adopted some of federal Labor's policies in relation to the housing fund, but they too still have issues in trying to get the houses built. We have a really serious issue here. Today, again, the front page of our local paper is about the cost of rent in greater Hobart. It has been a really serious issue for months and months now. People may not believe it, but Hobart has the second-highest housing unaffordability in the country. It is really difficult in Tasmania, if you're renting or if you're trying to buy a house, to get a roof over your head. My office is contacted every week by people who can't get a home.

Labor's Housing Australia Future Fund is a good idea. The other side have stolen some of our good ideas, but on Tuesday night they didn't steal our idea for 30,000 social and affordable homes in the first five years. If you look at it on a population basis, that would be over 1,000 social and affordable homes in my home state of Tasmania—and it is badly needed. We had the member for Bass talking about the budget on radio today, and even she knows. She said, 'You also have to do other things over the longer term. There's an investment needed in social and affordable housing.' Yes, there is. It's a shame that the government she is part of is not delivering on this. That is the problem with the government. It's always about announcements. They're always pretending they're doing something. They're doing a little bit, but they're not actually solving the problem. The member for Bass goes on the radio and says this is a very serious issue, but the government she is part of is doing nothing about it.

We've got the new $7.1 billion regional fund for regional economies, but, again, Tasmania misses out completely. What a sad indictment it is of the current member for Braddon and the current member for Bass that Tasmania can't get a single cent of that $7 billion. It's really disappointing. Tasmanians are going, 'Okay, the budget's been and gone; let's move on,' because there's nothing to excite them. There's no proper plan for how Tasmania will prosper.

At the memorial service for Shane Warne at 'the G' last night, many beautiful stories were told about this kind, big-hearted man. Gideon Haigh, the author of a book on Shane, said recently, 'Let's look at who Shane Warne was, cricket aside.' He said that the man was punctual, had an affection for children, had respect for elders, was well mannered and was well brought up, as the author's mum would say.

All these characteristics were celebrated over and over last night. Many recalled his selfless care for others, both in Australia and overseas. And he was a patient man on and off the field. He was a competitive, brilliant tactician on the field, who would build up to take the scalp he was after. Off the field, we learnt he would sit for as long as it took to sign autographs for fans—once for up to two hours. He was kind, visiting sick and vulnerable children, and others who just wanted to meet their hero. He rang those he knew were in strife, just to check on them, with no fanfare and no media. One can only imagine the countless acts of kindness that came naturally to him that we will never hear about.

He was patient and he was kind, the first two characteristics mentioned in the definition of love by Paul in the Book of Corinthians. It begins: 'Love is patient and love is kind.' If we in this country could simply honour Shane by emulating these two beautiful characteristics, what a testimony it would be. Warne was known for his loyalty and generosity. Many others have mentioned how much he loved his children. Last night we saw how much he loved them and how much they loved him. He was a loving hero who put them first. His favourite time was time spent with his kids. They said he taught them that 'manners are free'. He was courteous. He could speak to, and have respect for, all people, no matter their station in life. He was a man who owned his weaknesses and fessed up. He was honest. He was a great example of what Peter meant when he wrote, 'Above all, love each other constantly, because love covers a multitude of sins.' He did this; he lived love.

Let's take this opportunity to celebrate a genuine bloke by honouring his personal strength. He was down to earth. He was what is affectionately known as a larrikin. He didn't try to be anyone but himself. He was flawed, yes, but he owned his behaviour. He said to Leigh Sales in an interview: 'I try to learn from my mistakes and be a better person.' If only we all did this! He loved to entertain, he loved to be the centre of attention and he thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with everybody—and the people loved him back. He had a talent, above cricket, of making people feel special. Respect for people does that. Patience, kindness and respect for all is simple but not easy. Shane Warne made it look easy. As a country we have a lot to learn from Shane. How about we give it a go?

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for constituency statements has concluded.

What a waste these three years of the Morrison government have been—and the budget highlights how visionless the Liberals are. What a wasted opportunity it's been to accept that the climate is changing and to invest to make my local communities more resilient to the extremes of weather—fire, floods and storms. We have a $4 billion Emergency Response Fund, and not a cent has been spent in the Blue Mountains or the Hawkesbury, in spite of the three natural disasters in three years. The budget shows there's no plan to spend any of the fund there, in spite of the need for not just major repairs but support for councils to make improvements to the many fragile roads and infrastructure so they're more able to withstand the elements.

The community needs a proper and coordinated plan for the future. They need confidence that things will improve. Building resilience is more than construction; it's about people being supported to volunteer their time—time and time again. And that's what my $4.95 million to local emergency services is about—$50,000 to every RFS brigade, $300,000 to improve the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury fire controls, and $1.1 million each to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury SESs to boost their ability to improve their fire station or headquarters and be better prepared to step up when natural disasters hit.

What a wasted opportunity it's been to genuinely tackle the cost of living. There's been a decade of attacks on wages, job security and Medicare. Pay simply isn't keeping up with prices, and, in spite of the $1 trillion in debt, there is nothing to show for it. Short-term measures are not a plan. Families need much more—like Labor's childcare plan so that, whether you have one child or more, you end up better off if you work. Our plan makes four in five families better off than they are now.

What a tragic and wasted opportunity it's been for aged-care residents, who've seen no improvement in their living conditions, in spite of the royal commission. And aged-care workers are no nearer to seeing decent pay under the Morrison government. Nothing is going to fundamentally change until we fix the issues facing that workforce—and this budget does nothing to address it.

What a wasted opportunity it has been to establish an anticorruption commission. Clearly, the promise 1,200 days ago by the Prime Minister was never to happen.

What a wasted opportunity for the arts—abandoned in this budget, the support switched off, when its emergence from COVID is still so fragile.

What a wasted opportunity it has been for women. Nine years ago, we were in 12th place on the global gender equity scale. Now we're in 50th place. That is on the Morrison government's head.

What a wasted opportunity these last three years have been for veterans. The minister now admits a backlog of 60,000 claims, and, despite him saying he'd secured $96 million in funding, the budget papers show there is only $22.8 million in guaranteed funding over the next two years and no substantial increase in staffing. Veterans deserve better.

What a wasted opportunity these years and this budget have been in closing the gap and in tackling housing affordability, whether you want to own or rent. What a waste for public education. After years of outright attacks on TAFEs and universities, no last-minute gifts are going to change anything. It's been more than a lost opportunity for people with disabilities and their carers, who've had to fend off constant attacks on their right to access support. No last-minute sweeteners will change the disdain that the Liberals have had for this sector. Nor will pensioners forget the cuts and attempted cuts to supplements and concessions.

This is a budget whose sole purpose is to get the Morrison government re-elected so that they can waste another decade doing nothing other than trying to keep their jobs. It's a privilege to be in this place and a greater privilege to be in government, to shape who we are as a nation, not just to hold onto your job. The weight of the responsibility is not lost on us as an opposition. We are ready to lead, for a fairer and more ambitious Australia. The people of the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury deserve a government that cares enough to hold a hose, to have a plan for the future and to be on their side, and that's a Labor government.

I want to congratulate a group of young people in my electorate who weren't willing to wait for the government to solve the mental health issues that young people face. They came to me to support a headspace, and thank goodness we haven't spent the last three years just waiting for this government, because it hasn't yet been delivered. So we came up with a way for them to help people, and that's with posters and coasters going into nearly two dozen of our local pubs and clubs. I want to thank these young people and Drinkwise, the Australian Hotels Association and ReachOut for joining together on this national pilot.

This year's budget provides responsible and practical help for households, to ease the cost-of-living pressures they are facing now. It also focuses on creating more and better-paying jobs, boosting our defence and national security and guaranteeing essential services like health, education, aged care and the NDIS, all while keeping taxes low. The last two years have been tough for our country, but Australia and our economy remain resilient. We have overcome the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, and our recovery leads the world. This is not luck. The Morrison government's economic plan is working for Australia and for the people of Chisholm.

The centrepiece of this year's budget is comprehensive cost-of-living relief. Around 67,500 taxpayers in Chisholm will benefit from tax relief of up to $1,500 this year. The government's tax plan has already benefited 77,600 locals in Chisholm. In addition to the one-off cost-of-living tax offset, the government is also providing a one-off cost-of-living payment of $250 for Australians most in need. In Chisholm these payments will be delivered to 16,001 pensioners, 3,402 disability support recipients, 914 carers, 6,764 jobseekers and 14,885 eligible self-funded retirees. Together with the recent pension increases, this will see the 16,001 pensioners in Chisholm receive more than $500 in additional support over the next six months, when they need it most. Since we were elected in 2013, pensions have increased by $179.20 per fortnight for singles and by $270 per fortnight for couples.

This budget also continues our support for jobseekers and young people. Australia currently has a record high of 220,000 in trade apprenticeships. In Chisholm, we already have 1,355 apprentices, and new measures in the budget will lead to more opportunities for apprentices and trainees, with expanded wage subsidies. Around 4,900 businesses in Chisholm will also have access to a new 20 per cent bonus deduction for training and upskilling employees while at the same time reducing their tax bill.

A strong economy enables us to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on. I'm proud to be part of a government that has funded just over two million free or subsidised medicines in Chisholm through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. I'm proud to be part of a government which is guaranteeing record funding for the NDIS, supporting the 3,063 participants in Chisholm. I'm proud to be part of a government increasing funding for preschools in Chisholm and making child care more affordable and accessible, directly benefiting over 7,430 families living in Chisholm. I'm proud to be a part of a government providing record investment in aged care, helping the 29,819 senior Australians living in Chisholm.

This is a responsible budget, and it's a necessary budget in these times. It delivers for the people of Chisholm.

KHALIL () (): I'm standing here on probably the last sitting day before the election and I can't help but reflect on the past three years in this place. It is the job of governments to tend the metaphorical campfire, so to speak, to keep the population safe and prosperous—a secure base camp, as it were. Well, I can probably say that the fire has gone out. Instead, we are standing here in the ashes and the embers of the 46th Parliament.

It has been a disturbing and a worrying time for most Australians and most people around the world, but it has also been a historic time. I can probably say that there will be no Australian above school age who will forget these past couple of years. Of course, in times of great disturbance, of national trauma, aren't these the times when governments make names for themselves—the Churchill wartime government, the Curtin Labor government during the war as well, Lincoln holding a nation together during the Civil War, Mandela assuming the presidency and maintaining a peaceful transition in the post-apartheid era?

It's when things are breaking or broken that we most need good government, good leaders and good policies. The Hawke-Keating Labor government was an example of that. In the eighties it saw an economic system that was broken and unsustainable and that would have eventually dragged Australia to its knees, and it acted. Governments become famous because of their decisions and because their use of power shapes the nation, sometimes for generations. They leave a legacy. But what we have seen in the past three years is a lack of substance and ambition on a breathtaking scale.

What is this government even about? I'm not one to say I actually miss Tony Abbott and his divisive, populist three-word slogans, but at least he had three-word slogans. What does this government have, Deputy Speaker Georganas? What does it actually believe in? Can you or any of us here say one single thing that this government has done that they believe in, apart from putting out fires? And I'm not talking here about actual fires—remember, the Prime Minister doesn't hold a hose—I'm talking about the spot fires of the day-to-day bungling and the media cycle.

The Prime Minister's sole focus is dousing the spot fires from his last mistake and winning the political day. His focus is not on the economy, not on the pandemic, not on global security, not on the crisis of climate change, not on housing affordability—not on any of these things. His sole focus has been himself, his inner circle and his desire for re-election. Faced with extraordinary times, what did we need? We needed a vaccine rollout on time, we needed protection of aged care, we needed RATs and we needed a Prime Minister that didn't abrogate his responsibility to everyone but himself. Because of our geographic isolation and because of our state leaders stepping up and identifying the scale of the threat, we weren't ravaged in the early, unvaccinated days of the pandemic. Remember the first wave that killed millions worldwide? 'I'll be going to the footy'—that's what the PM said. Not only do we have a government that didn't make a name for itself, that failed on vaccines, aged care and RATs and that was cavalier with people's lives; we have a government that is proud that it didn't make a name for itself.

Scott Morrison was interviewed recently—

The member will refer to people by their correct titles.

The Prime Minister was interviewed recently and asked what his legacy will be. Naturally, when you haven't done anything it becomes a very tough question. His reply was 'I don't believe in legacies'. When I was a kid growing up, I saw what governments could do. They could house a new family like mine. They could provide public housing for a new migrant family like mine. They could provide universal health care. They could provide a HECS repayment system that allowed me to go through arts-law at university. They were governments that did things to make Australia better, to leave a legacy. As Prime Minister Keating said, when you change the government, you change the country. To me, it is actually despairing to hear the Prime Minister say that he doesn't even have a legacy. Well, what are we here to do if it's not to leave a legacy? This is a place of power—not power for its own sake or just to retain it but power to make a difference, to use that power.

I believe in a legacy and I believe in what is coming. I hope that, with the election that is coming, the Australian people will see that we believe in a legacy—that we will leave a legacy of a better life for them. Whether it is on climate change and renewable energy, whether it is on manufacturing in Australia, whether it is on affordable child care, whether it is on education or the management of the economy or housing affordability or our foreign affairs and our place in the world, Labor has always sought to leave a legacy when in government. That's what we'll do if we win the next election.

In the final parliamentary hours of this 46th Parliament, I want to pay tribute to some wonderful Casey volunteers. All of us in here, I suspect, have had the privilege over our time in the House of Representatives of thanking people who give so much to the local community in so many different ways. I've mentioned many before. I have recently had the privilege of recognising a number of individuals. Over recent years, I have recognised over 300 individuals and 50 local groups across the Casey electorate for their inspirational commitment and dedication to our local community. I recently provided recognition awards to a number of people in the Casey electorate.

What I would like to do today here in this House of Representatives is make mention of five of those who've received special recognition awards for their contributions. These people are the glue of our community, that do so much and that are vital in a democracy where we have limited government in performing services on the ground where they know best. The first is Leonie Turner of Hoddles Creek. Leonie is a long-term CFA volunteer. She's been captain of the Hoddles Creek CFA for a number of years. She created the Hoddles Creek emergency catering crew, which supports the CFA, Victoria Police, the SES and other first responders, and also leads a junior program giving young people in her local area an opportunity to be involved with emergency services.

The next is John Robinson of Healesville. John was nominated by two community groups. He has volunteered with the Healesville Interchurch Community Care—otherwise known as HICCI—for the last 16 years, sharing the role of hall keeper with another recipient who I will mention in a minute, Marilyn King. He's renowned for the jokes and trivia questions he brings to Dinner@Darron's, which is a weekly free community meal in Healesville. As a member of the Rotary Club for 20 years, he's also been involved with many Rotary projects, particularly their Doggie Day Out fundraising event. Marilyn King, who I just mentioned, has also volunteered with Healesville Interchurch Community Care since 2005. She initiated the dinner at Darron's, that free community meal, which she's been doing with John for 16 years. She ensures that all patrons feel welcome and the dinner is run efficiently, and she also supports volunteers who prepare the meal.

Susan Hotton is the volunteer librarian at Yarra Junction Primary School. She's created an inviting library with books which the students have helped select. She manages the library system and plans and facilitates weekly library sessions for prep to grade 6. But it was during COVID remote learning that Susan facilitated weekly live library sessions to keep students connected. I had the pleasure of dropping into the Yarra Junction Primary School in recent days to present the certificate to Susan. It was a big surprise. The school kept it a secret, and the students were delighted to see her recognised.

Hannah Harris, as well as running her own business, always finds time to volunteer for the SES and the Army Reserve. She's developed considerable expertise in radio telecommunications that's resulted in her receiving an Army Commander's Award for excellence for her work in the 2019-20 bushfires.

There are many other recipients. I pay tribute to them all, as I know all of us do in our electorates. Looking at the combined commitment of volunteers right across our 151 electorates, be it on a daily basis or in times of crisis, we can't thank them enough. That's why, in the final hours of this parliament, I want to thank them and, through them, all other volunteers across our wonderful country.

These will be the last parliamentary days here of the 46th Parliament. If we've learnt anything over these past three years, it's that disasters can strike at any time. When I first came to this place, farmers, and businesses and workers supporting farmers were in dire trouble because of drought. Then, in late December 2019, the Currowan bushfires began and, over many months, raged and tormented 80 per cent of my electorate. They've often been called the Black Summer bushfires, but it's really the eerie orange, dark skies, the ash rain, the continual smoke, the rotting food and no communications that most people will remember. There was a tragic loss of life; families will never be the same. Community members and volunteers were left to pick up the pieces—neighbours looking after neighbours, shop owners looking after customers, and local emergency committees and emergency services volunteers and workers giving their all to help people.

But what people were tormented by even more was not being able to get the help they desperately needed. People were tired, and they still are. When you've lost all your business for weeks on end and been told that you don't qualify for federal government support, what a slap in the face it is. When your home has burnt down and you need to rebuild and put in an underground water tank but are told by the government, even the Morrison government minister, that you don't qualify for HomeBuilder, that's a slap in the face too. When you're a farmer and you've lost equipment and stock and been told that you don't qualify because of off-farm income—the government doesn't get it, because the drought meant more off-farm income was needed.

There are many stories like this, all with the same theme, where people have been left behind by the Morrison government. It's not for want of trying. I wrote to various ministers, and they just didn't listen or didn't care. There have been nine disaster-declared floods in my region. People, businesses, roads and infrastructure have taken a battering. Ask anyone driving on our thousands of kilometres of insanely potholed and cratered roads what they think. They'll be quick to tell the government that there have been landslides across Gilmore, closing roads and cutting off communities for weeks on end.

I've spoken previously here about the Araluen Road and the devastation this has caused and, more recently, about Kangaroo Valley, where this beautiful, tight-knit community was completely isolated by road. Even when the road was able to be opened, it was only by escort and at certain times. Supplies were choppered in for this community. But, again, business owners, despite being severely impacted, tell me that they have been told they don't qualify for even a basic federal payment. Again, I have raised this issue and will continue to do so.

There's a constant theme here, where disaster impacted people have been left behind by the Morrison government. Disaster mitigation is something I, along with my communities, have been vigorously pursuing. Our many one-road-in one-road-out communities need greater assurances and protections for the next disasters. That means a more secure power supply; more secure communications, so that emergency information can be relayed and so that people can keep in touch with loved ones; and better, safer places of last resort. But, again, calls for fireproof power poles for some communities and for the Mt Wandera transmission station have fallen on the deaf ears of the tone-deaf Morrison government. We know that the Morrison government has an Emergency Response Fund that it has not spent on disaster mitigation. It could easily choose to put in fireproof power poles and embark on an ambitious plan to improve drainage and roads to assist local government, but again it does nothing. Then, in the budget on Tuesday night, the government finally said it will spend some of the Emergency Response Fund on mitigation, but guess what? It's completely left out my bushfire and flood impacted communities. Could there be a greater insult to my disaster impacted communities and people?

There are no words for this incompetent government, but perhaps Senator Fierravanti-Wells said it best: 'Morrison is not fit to be Prime Minister.' It is time for the Morrison government to go.

The past two years have been challenging for all of us. There have been frustrations on the road to recovery. Two years ago, Australia faced an uncertain future. I can still remember, clear as day, when the phone calls and emails from constituents and small-business owners in Reid were coming in. I recall the fear they expressed and their uncertainty about what was happening. None of us knew what was ahead of us, and each day, as the news rolled in during March, concerns only grew. I heard concerns from local business owners, who would tell me, sometimes close to tears, how they were going to have to let their entire workforce go because they couldn't afford to keep them on.

As a former small-business owner, I felt their pain. When you run a small business, your employees really do become like family, and small-business owners pour everything they have, often over many years, into making their businesses successful. Some may forget now, but, when the Treasurer and the Prime Minister announced JobKeeper, it wasn't just a lifeline for businesses; it was hope for a better tomorrow. It was hope they would recover and build back after the shock of this once-in-100-years pandemic. JobKeeper supported 9,800 businesses and 33,600 employees just in Reid. Those numbers truly matter. Behind each number is a business that got to keep going—a business that can today continue to grow and create more jobs.

Budget 2022 will continue to support small and family businesses in Reid, with lower taxes. You will always pay lower taxes under a Liberal government, and we will always back small and family businesses. In 2019, I stood for parliament to ensure a strong economy, more jobs, lower taxes and greater opportunities for working families. Despite the many challenges that have confronted us, we have kept our promises with all Australians.

I am proud that we have gotten on with the job of delivering locally in Reid. We have provided record funding for local roads and community infrastructure, like the M4-M5 Link Tunnels and Rozelle Interchange, as part of the WestConnex. We've made safety upgrades to Wentworth Road in Burwood. We've resurfaced McKinnon Avenue at Five Dock and Tennyson Road in Mortlake. Across the community, roads have been fixed and made safer.

We're also making our community an even better place to live, work and raise a family by improving our local parks and amenities, like the new Hudson Park amenities building in Strathfield. We are delivering sporting facilities for families, players and fans. The massive Concord Oval redevelopment will have a centre of excellence for athletes as well as brand-new facilities for the entire local community. We are backing local safety with practical support in public spaces. We've installed CCTV across Reid for community safety, including at Strathfield, Homebush and Homebush West town centres. We've funded security facilities for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Rhodes and the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque. Whether it's putting more money back into the pockets of taxpayers, building better roads, backing local businesses or ensuring safer communities, we have delivered in Reid. But there is still more work to be done to ensure our economy remains strong and that we continue to build a stronger, safer future.

On the ground in Reid, I am committed to continuing to work to make our community even better. Over the past two years, the pandemic and recurrent natural disasters have put significant pressures on our mental health system. As a registered psychologist with 20 years of experience and the chair of the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Select Committee, I know that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the mental health of all Australians and I commend the government for their record work of improving and investing in our mental health system. Last year's budget saw a landmark $2.3 million investment in mental health and suicide prevention, and in this budget we build on that commitment with more headspace services, community-based treatment centres and digital mental-health support. We have done good work, but there is still work to be done to ease waiting times and increase the supply of specialised psychological services, particularly for our children.

The Reid community truly reflects the best of Australia. The past few years have been challenging, but we are strong together and we will build an even stronger future.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 11:32