I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent:

(1) the following from occurring in relation to business in the House today:

(a) the Prime Minister moving a motion relating to the Member for Indi;

(b) debate to continue immediately with Members making statements of no longer than five minutes;

(c) at the first opportunity after 1.45 pm, the debate to be interrupted and the House suspending until the ringing of the bells at 2 pm;

(d) at 2 pm, the Speaker calling on questions without notice;

(e) following questions without notice, the presentation of documents and a leave of absence motion, debate continuing until no further Members rise to speak; and

(f) the House then immediately adjourning until 12 noon on 27 October 2026;

(2) the following from occurring in relation to business in the Federation Chamber:

(a) the meeting commencing at 11 am, and immediately considering business accorded priority by the Selection Committee;

(b) after the 1.30 pm suspension, the meeting resuming at 4.15 pm for 30 minutes of three minute constituency statements; and

(c) at 4.45 pm, the meeting resuming consideration of business accorded priority by the Selection Committee; and

(3) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That this House declares:

(1) its support for the Member for Indi following the horrific incident in Wangaratta on Monday, 19 October 2026;

(2) its strongest well wishes for the Member for Indi's recovery ahead;

(3) its appreciation for the courage and swift action of bystanders, first responders and health professionals; and

(4) its support to the Member for Indi's family, friends, staff and community at this extremely difficult time.

As the House meets for the first time since the horrific events of last Monday, it is appropriate that our very first act is to speak about the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines. Her husband, Phil Haines, was with us this morning. He has shown a level of grace that, for most of us, is simply beyond reckoning. This morning Phil spoke lovingly of Helen's superpowers as empathy, kindness and compassion. He spoke of hope and change and the need for a gentler, more cohesive path. I want Phil to know that we are with him and Helen and with their children and their grandchildren, and we will remain with them.

The shock from what happened last Monday is like a stone in our hearts. What brings it home today is being back in this chamber on what should have been an ordinary sitting day. I'm looking across at the member for Indi's seat over there, hoping and looking forward to the day she's back here representing the community that she loves, a community that right now is hurting badly, as are her wonderful, close-knit staff here, in Wangaratta and in Wodonga. Our hearts are with you.

We look across to the member for Indi's place and, despite ourselves, half expect to see her face—like a trick that the heart plays on the mind if only to grant us a moment's respite from the truth. Right now our friend and colleague is in hospital, grievously injured, the shape of her life and her family's lives changed forever. The day will come when we look across this chamber and see the member for Indi's face again. As the Victoria Police, AFP and ASIO continue their investigations, we give our thanks to them, just as we give our thanks to the health and emergency service workers and to all who have provided assistance to Helen.

We are also uplifted in the knowledge that, on that terrible afternoon, we saw examples of the best of the Australian character from Ricky Jefferies, the barber who rushed without concern for his own safety to ensure that the alleged perpetrator was secured until police arrived; from Xavier Norden, a director of the local technical school who was one of the first to Helen's aid; and from Jacob Evans and Jacklyn Black from Melbourne—they were there looking at a local store, on their way to a well-earned holiday in that beautiful part of Victoria, but they applied tourniquets, assisted paramedics and provided invaluable assistance. I have had the opportunity to speak directly to Ricky, Xavier, Jacklyn, Jacob and others in recent days and express the nation's gratitude for their brave and invaluable interventions.

The member for Indi—in all her decency, integrity, compassion, humour and empathy—has always embodied the truth that there is more that unites us than divides us and that there is no stronger foundation than common ground. Her capacity to do it all with such heart and such unrelenting advocacy is, in its own way, a reminder that she has served in far tougher places than this. As a former nurse and midwife, her rich personal background is something that she has brought to this chamber. It's hard to think of anyone in this place with a more irrepressible twinkle in the eye, a twinkle that more than hints at a real inner strength.

Last Monday, the member for Indi was just doing her job when she was attacked. While the investigations go on, we must not rush to conclusions, but nor can we shrug off the very real rise in anger that distorts and corrodes our public discourse, enabled by the anonymity and speed afforded by social media. We are seeing rage and aggression increasing not just in politics but towards workers in hospitality, in retail, in schools and in hospitals and towards police, paramedics and other officials. We are seeing a normalisation of the language of grievance and violence. We must not conflate the robustness of Australian democracy with this rising tide of rage. We've always had disagreement in Australia; it's part of our story. Ours is an unbroken democracy, and our continuous system of government shines as a beacon to the world, but we cannot allow disagreement to become a full stop. We keep talking; we keep working towards something better. And that is why the member for Indi has always been such a natural in this place, working with conviction, working with an unrelenting advocacy for her regional community and moving through this building with a sense of purpose and momentum that says she is absolutely here to get things done for others.

Like many of my ministers, I've had the regular pleasure of sitting across the table from the member for Indi, including during the last sitting week, when Helen took up the issue of rural and regional health, which she is so passionate about. She always engages, always looks you in the eye and never lets up. And she always works on the principle that disagreement only truly functions when it doesn't depart from respect and humanity.

Right now, the member for Indi is on the hardest road of all. As we pray for her, we console ourselves with this one solid truth, as Phil, who I've spoken to daily, keeps reminding me every day: Helen Haines is a fighter. As Phil returns to Helen and their family, may he take with him our love and the love of the nation.

Can I associate myself with the fine words of the Prime Minister. Helen, we're thinking of you. We're praying for your swift recovery. My hope, our hope and the nation's hope is that you will be back here soon. And, when you resume your seat in this parliament, that will be a resounding moment for our democracy—a moment when our nation says with one voice to those who seek to undermine our way of life through intimidation and violence: 'You will not break us. You will not silence us. You will not change us.'

While last Monday's horrendous attack was a national tragedy, it is first and foremost a family's tragedy. We're thinking, of course, of Helen's beloved husband Phil and their three cherished kids, Will, Nick and Georgia. In the past week, so many have spoken and written about Helen's qualities—her intelligence, compassion and commitment; her poise, gentleness and courtesy. Dr Helen Haines epitomises civility. That's why the violent attack on her seems so unfathomable. In those horrific moments last Monday and in the critical hours and days afterwards, one man's cruelty stood in stark contrast to the courage and decency of so many Australians—Ricky Jefferies, the barber we just heard about who disarmed the assailant and wrestled him from the vehicle to the ground; young Cody Lepoidevin, the outdoor gear store worker who helped restrain the attacker; Jacklyn Black and Jacob Evans, Melburnians who tended to Helen's injuries. There were others too. There were many bystanders who assisted—the paramedics and police officers first on the scene and the nurses, doctors and surgeons who kept Helen alive and whose care has been absolutely outstanding. In the most horrible moments, we always see heroic Australians. It reminds us of who we are, and we should be very proud of who we are.

The attack on Helen Haines was an attack on a member of parliament, and an attack on a member of our parliament is an attack on our democracy. Of all days, today is a day to reflect on our democracy. In the past week, it's been suggested by some that there is a causal connection between robust parliamentary debate and political violence. I disagree with this view. Our democratic system has served us well, from our colonies through to federation through to the present day. The Westminster system is about settling differences through robust and rigorous debate, not violence. With symbolic significance, the distance between the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader is said to be the length of two swords. Importantly, we debate with adversarial vigour, but we never allow that vigorous parliamentary debate to spill over into violence.

People who resort to intimidation and violence cross a line that must never be crossed. The choice to use violence is a rejection of robust debate, a refusal to accommodate difference and disagreement. The antidote to violence isn't to compromise our system of robust debate but to cherish, champion and strengthen that system. What we must do is call out and confront the actual sources of intolerance, of intimidation, of political violence in our country. The government has been absolutely right to call out far-right extremism, but all extremism must be called out. Every source must be named, must be targeted and must be fought, especially through our additional funding for intelligence and law enforcement. We need judges to come down harder on people found guilty of acts of intimidation or violence.

Another thing we must do is celebrate Australia more readily. Too many Australians have been taught to feel guilt and shame about our country and about our history. Is it any wonder that some feel deep animosity towards our democracy, our institutions and our nation? Is it any wonder that we see war memorials graffitied and statues defaced? Yes, we've had our historical dark chapters, but our nation's successes far outweigh our failures. On the historical scales, Australia is an incredible achievement, and, if we nurture greater love for Australia, that will go a long way to stopping hate for Australia. I look forward to Helen returning to the chamber as soon as possible.

Before we move to further statements, I will give a short statement to the House. Like so many Australians, I've struggled to comprehend what happened a week ago to our beloved colleague Helen. We all know Helen as a respected parliamentarian, a dedicated local member and, above all, a decent person. But in this place, where we often disagree, Helen has always shown that respect and courtesy go hand in hand. The Helen Haines I know is someone who always asks, 'How are you going?' and someone who treats everyone, regardless of their title or position, with genuine warmth and respect. Helen embodies these values every day.

There is much discussion on how we as a parliament can work on showing respect to one another. Today I again say that this is a moment for all of us to rise to the challenge. I want this. Many of you have told me this. Most importantly, Australians want this. We must be able to disagree with respect, as the Leader of the Opposition has said. That's the heart of democracy. A number of suggestions have already been made by members about how to respond, including those advocating for a civility pledge. This is a personal decision, and I encourage all members to continue these discussions, to decide the best way for themselves.

Like many members, I valued Helen's friendship, her counsel and her commitment to making our parliament better. I could always count on Helen when I'd had a particularly difficult day or if I needed a bit of extra encouragement. That's just Helen. Today my thoughts are with Helen and her husband, Phil, along with her family, her staff and the people of Indi, who love and admire her so deeply. On behalf of the House: Helen, we are thinking of you, we are praying for your quick recovery and we look forward to the day you return to this place and I get to say the following nine words: 'I give the call to the member for Indi.'

The question is that the motion moved by the Prime Minister be agreed to. I give the call to the honourable member for Warringah.

Thank you to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for their kind words. Mr Speaker, through you, I would like to address both Helen and Phil. Dear Helen and Phil: I've been going around in circles in my head trying to express everything I want to say. We are all struggling to process the shock and grief at what has happened. Our hearts go out to you both and to your children and grandchildren. Helen, we first met in person in 2019 at MP school, freshly elected and motivated to serve. In your first speech you spoke of the responsibility bestowed upon MPs and your commitment to represent your community and be a real voice for Indi. You have been true to that commitment every step of the way. You introduced the Beechwood principles, seeking to ensure integrity, accountability, fairness and equal treatment of all. You pressed for the National Anti-Corruption Commission, community batteries, mobile services in regional Australia, and access to equitable health and housing for the regions. You've been a voice for reason and fairness, committed to tackling problems head on and faithfully representing the people of Indi. Most recently, you have set up the parliamentary friends of alpine communities to be a voice for the pristine mountain communities in Australia.

There have been plenty of tough times in the last seven years, from the Black Summer bushfires to COVID, but through it all you've been there to support and guide the community of Indi, myself and many others in this parliament. Helen and Phil, to all of us you are the perfect team here in parliament—strong and committed. Phil is always here by your side, managing the incredible volunteer intern program, giving many in Indi the chance to experience democracy firsthand. You both have also become good friends of mine. I've been the third wheel at dinner here in Canberra a few times. And some say there are no friends in politics, but they are wrong. Phil: you introduced my husband, Tim, to the partners group; shared a laugh at midwinter balls; joined Helen at our son's 18th; and spent a weekend at the snow with us. And you're always welcome in Sydney and here. You've both made this somewhat exhausting and full-on work environment fun and friendly. And Phil, your calm resolve and love for Helen is a balm for everyone who is shocked at this senseless attack.

At a time when our society feels like it's fraying at the edges, it's important to hold on to what really matters. It's so telling that in this dark hour you've chosen to give to others by asking for donations to Save the Children in lieu of flowers and have now raised over $1 million. Helen, I've had so many chats with you sitting in this chamber. You're the matriarch of the crossbench, always a voice for respectful political debate. You've advised me to amend a few questions over the years! You've always invited a constructive and collaborative approach to policy. And as Deputy Speaker you have striven to improve the standards of debate. To the Indi team, to the electorate staff, to the volunteers and to the Indi community: Warringah stands with you. We deeply admire your courage and resilience.

There will be much discussion ahead about the need for better health and mental health services in the regions, our increasingly polarised political environment, harmful online debate and the need for greater civility in disagreement in parliament, in our media, online and in our communities, but, right now, I want to focus on you and Phil and what you mean to us all. We have heard your words loud and clear: kindness over hate.

It's time to defuse the tension and consider how our words are being received by others in the community beyond this place. Helen and Phil, we have an opportunity before us to move forward with hope and kindness. We have a responsibility to bring Australia together. So, Helen, I look forward to seeing you back here and getting on with the job. Let light win over darkness. Get well soon.

The member for Indi has been a beacon of decency from the moment that she arrived in this place seven years ago—passionate about her community for sure, but thoughtful, curious and respectful of the opinions of others. Helen Haines is completely incapable of being nasty to anyone. Stuck in Canberra, watching the 2020 pandemic grand final together, between my beloved Cats and her beloved Tigers, even then, as Richmond started to dominate in the second half and I began to wallow in my own misery, Helen quietly slipped away, telling me afterwards that she didn't want to rub my nose in it. I mean, who does that? For most of us, football culture is about rubbing people's noses in. But, for Helen Haines, her humanity is defined by seeking to uplift those around her and not bring them down, and I suspect that, for almost everyone in this chamber at one point or another in our interaction with Helen, we've experienced that, which makes Monday's attack on Helen all the more shocking.

Over the last week, we've tried to make some sense of this—maybe it was an isolated, random, terrible event—and yet, somehow, that explanation feels inadequate. It was an extreme action, definitely, but maybe the public discourse of which we are all a part has a temperature which is too high, and maybe that elevates actions across the board, and just maybe, on the extremes, those actions can become dangerous. It's not just us. It's police. It's emergency service workers. It's frontline public servants. But, if all of that is true, then we all have a collective responsibility and a responsibility for our behaviour going forward.

Here is where Helen's example is so important for me, because, as we engage in the public debate and as those in the media give their opinions about the public debate, sometimes there is a reflex from many of us, me included, when our arguments are not so strong, to play the person—'the Prime Minister is this', 'the Leader of the Opposition is that', 'so-and-so is arrogant, weak, venal, a coward'. If analysis and reason don't quite get us there, then, if we deny the humanity of our opponent, we can still win. I've done it. We see it happen all the time, and we see it from the media in the way they describe us.

But I have never seen it from Helen Haines. It's as if she understands that to deny the humanity of an opponent is to cede the humanity of oneself, and I truly believe that, from Helen's perspective, she acknowledges the sincerity with which we all engage in our work, because, after all, we all want to improve the lives of our constituents. We all want to make Australia better, but we have different views about how to do that, which is healthy. It's appropriate that we prosecute those views robustly and that, at times, we do not give an inch, but it must be possible for us to do all of that whilst maintaining a fundamental respect for each other.

In the wake of the terrible event last Monday, it feels as though the whole country has come out and expressed how much they value what Helen Haines does. Yet the very idea of this parliament is that government is a collective act by all of us—that in acknowledging the value of what Helen does and, perhaps more importantly, in acknowledging the value of what our opponent does, therein lies the key to valuing what we do ourselves.

My thoughts are very much with Phil and Helen's family and, of course, Helen, our thoughts are very much with you. We wish you the speediest of recoveries, because our greatest wish is to see Helen Haines once again take her place on that bench.

I associate myself with the kind comments already spoken in relation to the member for Indi. Speaker, as you are aware, just over 1,200 people have served in this chamber since Federation, and the 18th member for Indi could hold her own with them all. If their contributions to this place were measured on decency, on respect, on empathy and on a capacity for kindness, as you've already heard, she would be at the very top of the list. When she made her inaugural speech after the 2019 election, Helen Haines spoke of her aim to serve the people of Indi with integrity, with kindness and with diligence. She has done that, and she will do it again. It is my hope—and I'm sure it's the shared hope of this House—that Helen will recover sufficiently in the weeks and the months ahead to continue to serve her community in whatever capacity she chooses in the future.

In that first speech, the member for Indi said, 'Life is short, family is everything and there is honour in the service of others.' But these weren't just empty words. They were the wisdom of lived experience from a lady who had already served her community with great distinction. Helen was made a matron at Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital at just 26 years of age, and has provided a lifetime of service to health in regional Victoria. Alongside her husband, Phil, and their family, she has been a champion for regional Australia on an incredible range of issues. Because of our shared electoral boundaries, we often found ourselves talking on quite similar topics or exchanging notes, particularly in the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires. Helen, I give you this undertaking today: although I have had my eyes on Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain for quite some time, I will not be approaching the Australian Electoral Commission for a boundary restructure or a land grab in your absence. On behalf of the Nationals, I do extend my thoughts and prayers to Helen's family, her friends, her staff and her volunteers.

Quite rightly, the events of the past week have shocked and appalled everyone in this place. I can see it on the faces of my colleagues, I can see it in my own community when I talk to people about the terrible attack. But we can't let this define Helen or her community. In that moment of crisis, Helen was assisted by bystanders and emergency services personnel who came to her rescue and protected her from any further harm. Wangaratta is a magnificent town, and it should be remembered for the long list of positive reasons which I am very confident Helen will remind us of when she returns. Our democracy is precious, and it is strengthened by the access we have to communities like Wangaratta, and the feedback we can receive from the people who are interested in the future of Australia.

Naturally, speaker, there has been increased media focus on security and poor behaviour towards elected officials, but I remain optimistic, as I'm sure Helen does, that we are talking about a minority of people. In my time as a member for Gippsland, my face-to-face dealings with thousands of locals and people throughout Australia have been overwhelmingly positive and constructive. I do accept the world has changed, and the online environment can be a cesspit of hatred, of sexism and bigotry. But we mustn't allow assaults on democracy by a minority of people to stop us from doing our job properly

There is a simple lesson from this tragedy: violence is never the answer. I'm not just talking about elected officials like us. Every day we hear about assaults on paramedics, nurses and doctors in emergency departments, shop assistants and schoolteachers. Whether they are a member of parliament or a police officer, Australians should be able to go to work and return home safely without the fear of violent attacks. Violence is never the answer, and we must choose our words carefully to ensure we don't incite violence in the future.

Finally, I want to give my last words today to the former member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, who I spoke to yesterday. Cathy is struggling with the severity of Helen's injuries and conscious of the impact it's had on her family and the community that she loves. Cathy told a vigil this week:

My ask, in closing, is that we don't let violence win, that we ensure the legacy of this attack on Helen will be a stronger, more vibrant and effective democracy and … all candidates and especially women know they can run for office and be safe.

I commend the motion by the Prime Minister.

Helen Mary Haines is the very best of us—a woman of luminous generosity and kindness, the most intelligent and measured of voices, someone who stands firmly for a more accountable and more civil parliament. I'm hugely grateful to know my warm, funny friend. She can put anyone at ease. She makes an excellent sponge and grows a beautiful garden. She tells great stories about being a small Colac schoolgirl unafraid to take on the nuns and about riding her bike through the snow of Uppsala in black tie during her PhD studies. She adores her husband, and this week the whole country has seen why. She is a very proud mother of three, excited by two grandchildren, one born just in time to be squeezed into a Lions onesie for this year's grand final.

When I was first elected, Helen and her team showed me, my team and our crossbench colleagues incredible kindness and generosity. It's small wonder that we ask ourselves what Helen would do when times get tough. She acts with utter integrity and respect for her colleagues. By all accounts she was a wonderful nurse and midwife, and she's an extraordinary parliamentarian.

Global instability and economic insecurity are challenging our social fabric. In an age of shouting but not listening, people are increasingly angry and aggressive. Last Monday's attack brought into focus the increasingly hostile environment in Australian politics. But it's the same in our hospitals, our schools, our shopping centres and our offices. It's not all men, but most aggression is committed by men. One man drove at Helen, but others ran to her instinctively and courageously, and they saved her life. People say they don't recognise our country. I've been told that many times in the last week, but our basic decency and our selflessness are there still. We have to use those muscles, not the others.

It's my belief that all of us in this place bear some responsibility for the corrosion in public discourse. How we speak to each other is modelled by our communities. But the media also bears responsibility for turning anxiety into outrage, for amplifying grievance for more clicks and for fostering misogyny and disrespect of female leaders. Our democracy depends on people being willing to serve their communities. As Helen has said herself, a woman's place is in every room where decisions are made. We have to protect all women, not just those in public life.

The attack on Helen united the country in shock and grief, but within days politicians reverted to partisan brawling. That's a poor example to our communities if we can't come together to act after the gentlest of us has been subjected to unthinkable violence. We can pledge to debate robustly with honesty, respect and compassion. We can work together against rising inequality. We can support digital protections against impulse farming and anonymous abuse. We can legislate truth in political advertising. If we achieve greater integrity in government, we will restore trust in it. The media has to rethink how it weaponises anger and amplifies the most divisive voices. But the public is responsible too. We all share the public square.

Helen has advocated for better infrastructure for Indi. Her work on the National Anti-Corruption Commission and other transparency measures defines her as a great champion of integrity. Since she first stood for parliament, she has spoken often and urgently of the need to improve rural health care, especially mental health care. She's advocated for a new hospital for Albury-Wodonga, for more mental health beds, for more support for health professionals who want to train in centres like hers. She always uses her magnificent heart and mind for the greater good. God gives his hardest battles to the strongest soldiers. While we await her return, we can improve mental health services in the regions. We can put government funding where the need is highest and services are scarcest, as Helen has always advocated. In the meanwhile, we give gratitude and support to those who are caring for our friend and our love always to her family, but we love her too and we look forward to her return.

I join with all the comments that have been made and, in particular, what we just heard there. This room does not lend itself towards anyone receiving universal respect, but it did not take the horrors of last Monday for there to be universal respect for Helen Haines. The thoughts of the entire parliament and the nation are with her. The extraordinary strength and dignity of Phil, I think, have affected each and every one of us.

I have a role in terms of people's safety, and I go through different risk factors for the people who work here on a very regular basis. As I go through the different levels of risk—Helen was so far down the list. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't defend us having robust debate. Helen would always defend there being robust debate. I'm mindful of a comment that I heard Phil make this morning, which I think poses a question for all of us to simply consider. It goes not simply to, 'Would I be capable of doing something horrific?' but to, 'Would my words, if heard by someone on the edge, potentially have an impact that I wouldn't want them to have?'

This is not something simply for people in our line of work. It is something, as was just said, applying universally as the world becomes angrier. Talk to people who work for the police force, who work in hospitals, who work in hospitality. I spent a whole lot, six years, of my life before I came here working with retail workers. It never occurred to me that the biggest issue for the union would end up being the levels of abuse that people were receiving simply for working in retail. The place is getting angrier, and not all of that comes to us or the media, but some of it has to come to each and every one of us, and we need to be curious about the question, 'Is there a different way of making the same point?' Every different issue people would want to raise, we need to be able to raise. But, when language becomes dehumanising or violent or when language uses terms that would actually place someone outside of society, then we need to be curious of the question of that. Whether or not that ends up being relevant as the legal process for the attacker on Helen makes its way isn't the point. It's simply the question of whether there are things we can do to make people safer. If there are, we should be curious about how we do them.

While a lot has been said about Helen's impact on de-escalation, I do need to concede the most terrifying moment of my time in politics came from Helen Haines. During COVID, there was this thing that Insiders did where people would wash their hands while singing, and then, at the end of it, they would nominate who would go next. I cannot sing a note. I love music; I cannot sing a note. Helen had written her own song and filmed it onsite at the property and was loving it, and then she nominated me. The fact that there is video out there somewhere of me putting on my guitar the AC/DC riff to 'TNT' while chanting 'oi'—it is the only bit of melody I can handle—is a debt I owe entirely to Helen Haines.

But I simply say that this is a moment for all of us and everyone who has a voice louder than the average person—but it is also a question for all Australians—to be curious about whether there is a gentler way of making the same point. None of that gets in the way of robust debate. If we can find that way, it doesn't just make the people in this workplace safer and make their staff safer; it's something that hits workers across the nation and across the world. We can do better, and we can use this moment for that.

As we look across the chamber, we see the empty seat of the member for Indi and how lonely it looks after the violence visited on her last Monday outside her office in Wangaratta. We were all stunned by the attack. We don't know why a local man turned his Toyota Land Cruiser into a two-tonne weapon and robbed Helen Haines of her legs and health. We don't know why, and that question gnaws at us because we know Helen Haines and we know that she is a kind and gentle lady. We've all seen Helen gracefully gliding through the corridors during the working day; we've all known Helen's smile, channelling that Wangaratta warmth; and we're all stunned because we don't know why someone would want to hurt her. Perhaps we'll never know why. But we're also stunned because the violence was an assault on our way of life. It was an assault on our culture of debate, negotiation and compromise and of resolving our differences peacefully. And that's the whole purpose of this chamber, that's the whole purpose of this parliament and that's the whole purpose of Australian democracy: to resolve our differences with civility and without violence.

The brutal attack on Helen Haines forces us to pause and reflect. It's a time for us to pause and ask, 'How can we do better?' For me, how can I do better? I'll be the first to admit that I've overreached in my language during my 11 years in this House, and we've all erred in this way at some time. Indeed, we account for it in our standing orders; that's why we ask members to withdraw unparliamentary remarks. It's a good and realistic convention, because people make mistakes. We are, after all, in a political contest, and we all want to win. And a good debate in this place sometimes leaves us feeling bruised, more often than not for reasons of ego than for reasons of substance. But our system is designed to be adversarial. Our job on the opposition benches is to hold the government to account, sometimes with a rhetorical hip and shoulder. We make no apologies for asking tough questions or for the discomfort those questions bring to ministers of the Crown. That's how we get good governance in the national interest. Our parliament requires tough and rigorous debate. But, in moments like this one, we can reflect on how we can do better.

We, the 150 members of this House, have a duty to model, steward and uphold our democratic traditions for the 27 million Australians we represent. That's why there can be no place for the targeted destruction of character or the relentless demonisation of personality. It only takes one person with a twisted mind or a perverted sense of reality to strike out—to weaponise a car, a kitchen knife or a firearm—and to feel justified in doing so because they judge that an online assassination must be followed up with a real-life assassination. So what we say here and online shapes the political culture. We can all do better and we should strive to do better. So let's play the ball, not the person, and leave the nasty personal politics of MAGA in the United States.

Beyond this House, we need more Australians like Ricky Jefferies, the local barber who acted like a good neighbour in a moment of crisis, who went towards danger for Helen Haines, who subdued her assailant and who recovered order out of the chaos. Many of us were touched by Ricky's humility when he stopped cutting hair the following morning and answered questions for reporters outside his shop in Wangaratta. He was cautious in his remarks. He downplayed his heroism and noted his obligations as a neighbour to Helen and his local community. We need more good neighbours like Ricky Jefferies, who are more bonded to their local community and less consumed by the fiery utterances of the false community online.

Ricky knew the first responders helping Helen because he cut their hair, not because of social media networks, and there's something in that. We thrive as a nation when we are in community with our neighbours, when we are known by them and they are known by us. That takes work, patience and time, face to face, in the flesh. That's how you build trust. It's not easy, but we've got to do it, because, if we want to keep Australian democracy, we need more Australians like Helen Haines and Ricky Jefferies, who show us what it is to be a good neighbour. In the meantime, we hope and pray for Helen Haines's speedy recovery; for her family, especially her husband, Phil; and for her team. We look forward to when she returns to her seat in this House.

'A defiant optimist'—that's how Helen Haines introduced herself to Australia in her maiden speech. She spoke at length about her love of Indi, describing it as 'an electorate as diverse and beautiful as the 142,000 people that live there'. She stated her values plainly. Life is short. Family is everything. There is honour in the service of others, as the Deputy Leader of The Nationals said.

Helen is a mother to Will, Nick and Georgia, a grandmother of two, and a former nurse and midwife. She's the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission. She's one of the most respected and loved leaders in this parliament. Next month she will celebrate her 40th wedding anniversary with her beloved husband, Phil, who bravely addressed the nation last week as we waited for news of Helen's health. At that time, he spoke of words of gratitude and thanks and said 'at this stage both her heart and mind are in good shape'. Phil told that to a sea of reporters before confirming that Helen had lost both of her legs. Today Phil spoke to us about compassion and kindness and Helen's superpowers. Our thoughts are with Phil; with Helen's family; with her many, many friends; with her staff; with her supporters; and, of course, with those who rushed to her aid.

Helen's entire life has been a life of service to others. She's been a selfless public servant who embodies the values she champions: integrity, kindness and honesty. When Helen speaks, people listen, because she has earned the respect of politicians from right across the political spectrum. While we've always found alignment on many issues, when we do disagree it's done with humour, with grace, with good nature and with a genuine effort to find a way forward.

It is unfathomable that anyone would want to hurt Helen, and it does keep me up at night thinking that we might be entering a political era in which representatives feel afraid to be fully and properly available to the communities that they serve. Violence is the antithesis of democracy. It's an ugly, dangerous dead end. I know that many people across Australia are asking what they can do to help. The first thing they can do, of course, is donate to Save the Children, as Helen has asked—but they can also be good to each other. Be patient. Be kinder. Smile at a stranger. Let someone go ahead of you in a queue. Listen carefully. Try and see something from someone else's point of view.

I remember being really little, and one of my earliest memories is walking through Jannali shops with my mum. I said to mum, 'Why is everybody smiling at us, Mum?' She said, 'Because I'm smiling at them, and what you put out into the world you get back.' As a parliament, I think we have to ask ourselves what we're putting out into the world. All of us as politicians have an opportunity to do better. But of course it's not just each other that we have to be worried about in terms of how people are being treated—teachers, principals, nurses, paramedics, shop assistants, flight attendants, bus drivers and even the young referee at your kids' sport on the weekend; if you can't contain yourself on the sidelines of your kids' sport on the weekend, ask yourself, 'How can I do better?'

Lastly, of course all of us could be more sceptical and more careful users of social media. We know that big tech derives its profit from driving rage and division in our community. There'll always be people who seek to spread fear and hate, and we as a country are one of enormous heart and good conscience. We have to resist that rage and division. I'm very pleased to join Helen in saying that in my political life I pledged to act with honesty, respect and compassion. I will endeavour to do better to live up to that, because what happened to Helen deserves to have all of us thinking about what we can do to protect our democracy, to look after each other, to be kinder and more compassionate.

On behalf of my constituents in Wannon, I offer my love, my thoughts and my prayers to Helen, to her family and to all her friends at this time. I've got three bonds with Helen, which remain incredibly strong, even though at times we've had political differences. The first is that my electorate of Wannon is where Helen grew up. She grew up near Colac, where she had a lovely, supportive country upbringing. And I've got to say, because I very fortunately had to same, I think in many ways that upbringing really makes Helen who she is today, because she had love, support, community and family thriving all around her. And the fact that she moved from there and made another lovely community her home, in and around Wangaratta, is I think absolutely befitting.

I've also got family members whom Helen represents, and I've got family members who have supported Helen in her campaigns. I know they will be hurting very much today, and I say to them, I can understand why you will be. They were attracted to Helen because of everything she had to offer. And I know that throughout her electorate, the electorate of Indi, there will be people who will be hurting, who will be suffering and who'll be asking the question, why? I say to them: this parliament will also be seeking those answers and will be doing everything it can to try and answer them as best we can.

The second thing I have in common with Helen is an area where I have seen the human side of Helen. And it is wonderful, because all of us, when we are in here, can be serious, and when we're on the media, and people don't really understand that beneath the surface there is a level of humanity. And that area we have in common is, as the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned, that Helen is a passionate Richmond supporter. I'll never forget bumping into Helen after the 2017 election. For those of you who don't understand AFL football, Richmond hadn't won anything for 37 years. They've been the butt of the joke for literally every AFL supporter for 37 years. Yet almost a miracle occurred and we won the 2017 grand final, and I remember bumping into Helen and her family not long after it. To see the pure happiness and joy, the love in her eyes, her celebratory nature was incredible. It is something we both often refer to—bumping into each other and being absolutely on cloud nine. There is something in the Richmond theme song that says, 'We're strong and we're bold.' When I heard the news about what happened to Helen, I just couldn't help thinking, 'Helen, make sure you keep strong and make sure you keep bold,' and I've got to say to hear the news that Helen's condition has gone from critical to stable, I think, is just wonderful for all of us, because we know now that there is serious, serious hope that she'll be able to return to that seat in this parliament, and I know all of us want that to happen. We will it to happen.

Now's not the time for wise, but I will say—and I'm sure Helen will want me to say this—one of the things that we do have to look at, which follows a royal commission which occurred in Victoria, is mental health services in and around regional and rural Victoria and across this nation. We have to see whether we can do better in that regard, but now is the time for us to just express our love, our support and our prayers with Helen and her family. Helen, please get better.

Dear Helen, I can't imagine how you're feeling right now, but please know that every person in this place is sending their very best for your recovery. We are thinking of you and we are missing you. Your wonderful husband, Phil, has bravely kept us abreast of your condition, and we thank him sincerely for that.

His words show such love and admiration for you, and it's not lost on us that he has also tried to make us all, the whole nation, feel hopeful and calmer in the face of such horror, because he spoke of your heart and your mind, how they are what make you you and that your heart and your mind are still all that they were: full of kindness and intelligence. We all thank Phil for finding it in his heart to speak with love and concern for you and, it seems also, for those of us trying to make sense of all this. He showed no anger, no hate and no resentment but only calm, consideration and care. He gives us hope. Seems you are a pair, you two. We can see that.

Helen, we see you and your impact as a politician, a person and an advocate in the courage of your staff and the outpouring of emotions from your community. Their responses reflect the person that you are: decent, caring and effective. My heart goes out to your staff, some of whom were first responders and all of whom have chosen to keep going with the work your electorate needs, and to your community, the people of Indi, coming together to show the world that they do not condone what has happened, with people from across the political divide joining in that message.

I know you are being well cared for by fellow nurses and other health professionals. It makes me think of the plotting that we have done to enhance the careers of nurses and midwives and how you and I share hope for making the system better. I hope your family and friends and colleagues and your community can tell how much we care about you here in this place. The Prime Minister has felt it deeply, and it shows as we thank him for helping us steer through the unfathomable, because, you see, many of us here are still in shock and disbelief. I keep expecting to see you humming around the corner with a piece of cake or looking for a quick word or enjoying a joke in the lift or hearing you ask a very pertinent question in question time. It's hard to be in the chamber seeing your seat without you in it, but it's there. It's waiting for you.

What's happened should not happen to anyone, but, Helen, we are all grappling with the fact that it happened to you. So much has been said about the respectful way you go about this business. It's hard to believe anyone would wish you harm, let alone actually inflict it. We can't help but wonder where the world is turning, and the discussion and debate will continue about the 'why's and the 'how's and the 'where to's. But just this weekend, Helen, I want you to know that I went out into my electorate. I walked the streets amongst kids in Halloween costumes. I went to listen to music. I attended a fete. I had lunch in a cafe. I visited a Scouts party. I made myself as visible as possible because we cannot let this stop us being part of our communities. So many people came up to me. They hugged me. They cried. They asked me how I was, but they wanted to know how you were. They wanted me to know they know that things have changed but not them. It made me think. We all have fears and we do things differently now to assess risks. We all have contingency plans. But, at the end of the day, if I can't walk down High Street, Edward Street or Station Street and be with the people I represent, what is this for? What would that mean? As I discovered this weekend, through the care and love shown to me by the good folk of Cooper, the vast majority of people want us out and about. They welcome us being part of their communities. So, Helen, when I think, 'What would Helen do?' I know you'd be saying: 'Keep going. Stay as safe as you can. It's important.' Get well, Helen, from nurse No. 8 in parliament to nurse No. 9 in parliament. See you soon. Love, Ged.

As we all know, Helen Haines is a work colleague and a friend of us in this chamber. Speaker, I can say quite honestly—and I'm sure you feel the same way—I have never heard one colleague in this chamber say a negative word about Helen Haines. With all due respect to all of us, that doesn't go for a lot of people in this chamber because there are many negative words that have been said about me and many others in this chamber—but never about Helen Haines. Many of the reasons have been said, but I like one of the lines the Prime Minister said about Helen—that she had a twinkle in her eye. She always did have this thing about her face and her eyes that was a twinkle, that was optimism and that was about a lot of courtesy and her energy and how she communicated with all of us. So, as with everyone, my prayers and thoughts are very much with her and her family. She has a huge journey. As we all know, she has now literally lost two legs. Her physical journey and her emotional journey in recovery is going to be long and it's going to be arduous. I know all of our thoughts and our prayers are with her and her family.

We're doing this today because obviously this was quite unique. There are, unfortunately, lots of acts of violence and other things that happen in our country, but obviously Helen was targeted. There are allegations about why this happened, but Helen was mowed down by a car and this physical damage was done to her because she sits in this chamber, and that's what we're acknowledging today. It's important that we do that today.

It was great to see her husband, Philip, and to meet him today. He spoke with great grace about her and that her initial responses when she came out of her anaesthetic on Friday night was to talk about other people but also great optimism. All of our thoughts are with her three children, Will, Nick and Georgia, and their extended families because they are all going to be on this journey together, and this will be a long, long journey for all of them.

I also want to touch on how we've seen, in the last few years, some horrific things happen in our country. But in all those instances there have been great acts of heroism and great acts of the Australian spirit around that. We've heard that about Ricky, the barber who ran out and literally disarmed the assailant, and about Cody, Jacklyn and Jacob, who came to her aid and showed great heroism. You don't know what's going on in a moment like that. You don't know if there are other people involved or what the motivation is. But their instinctive response to that was everything that we like about our country. In times of great darkness, we do see great heroism and inspiration.

It was mentioned as well earlier by others that we've seen acts of violence in street protests and in Bondi. But it's been mentioned that around the world there's this great despondency and dialogue that is not good. It was mentioned, I think, by the manager of the House that even retail workers have seen increasing acts of violence towards them in their workplaces from the anger of people and the language of people. I know we can dwell on this and we need to dwell on this and we need to call some of it out and we need to be conscious about what is going on in our communities and around the world. But I have great optimism when I hear about the people who went and helped Helen and the danger they put themselves in, the risk they took and the bravery that they showed.

I have great optimism in our country. I have great optimism about the Australian people. I want to finish by quoting you, Mr Speaker; I think there will be a moment of great joy and inspiration in this chamber for all of us—and I look forward to the day it happens—when you call the member for Indi. There'll probably be the loudest 'hear, hear' when you call the member for Indi to speak.

It is really difficult to know what to say after the events of last week. I know that many of us here are still in shock about what happened but, more importantly, about who it happened to. Helen's a thoroughly decent person. She's a much-loved member of this parliament and she's a much-loved member of her community in Indi.

We both came into parliament around the same time. She got elected in 2019; I was elected in a by-election in 2020. Until recently, we shared an electorate boundary, even though she's in Victoria and I'm in New South Wales. When I first got elected, Helen rang me and congratulated me and then she invited me to her office for morning tea. She put on a cake and tea and pulled out the good teacups. She's just a warm individual.

We've got regional electorates with very similar demographics and similar industries, and we've often worked together to support our local communities. We had similar Black Summer experiences and have had a shared desire to see temporary disaster roaming in place; this summer, for the first time, it will be in place. I spent a lot of time with Helen in Indi, more recently in the aftermath of last summer's Victorian bushfires. In every community we went to, Helen was warmly embraced—in Euroa, in Yarck, in Ruffy, in Alexandra—and people had a sense of comfort and safety when they were around her. Those fires impacted her deeply, but she continued to wrap her arms around her community. In true Helen fashion, she welcomed joint meetings with me and the member for Nicholls, and we worked together to solve some problems for communities who were doing it tough, including making sure we could deliver beer to an isolated community who had really gone through a pretty terrible experience.

We've worked together to get housing for healthcare workers up in the Albury-Wodonga region. She was a big advocate for expanding paid prac to allied health students, and that will be in place from next year. She brought her experiences into this parliament with a view to making things better for the next generation. She was passionate about better infrastructure, and we had many conversations about road upgrades and making sure infrastructure was more resilient if we had another natural disaster.

In the last sitting week, I had the honour of working with Helen as co-chairs to establish a new parliamentary friendship group. The Parliamentary Friends of Snow Sports and Alpine Economy group held its first event, and Helen spoke passionately about the importance of Australia's ski fields to regional economies, our local communities and our nation. It brought ski resort general managers, local councils, chambers of commerce and sports stars together, and Helen spoke to all of them with the same level of admiration for the work that they do.

I want to convey my love and support to Helen; her husband, Phil, and their family and friends; Helen's wonderful team; and her community. I've learnt a lot about Helen over the last six years. I know deeply that Helen is a fighter and she'll get through this with all the love and support that she's been shown from around our country. I also know that, despite her serene and warm exterior, she still has a fire in her belly to continue to advocate for change.

This senseless attack on Helen has been confronting for our nation. It's not an easy thing to reconcile with what we know about our country and how we see ourselves. We often say you need a thick skin to get into politics, but that doesn't mean violence and abuse should be okay. We've also seen that abuse and violence bleed into other parts of our Australian life—the retail sector, our hospitals, our first responders, council workers. Inciting violence because you don't agree with a policy position, because service is slower than you'd like or because someone looks different to you is not who we are. Making fun of someone's health condition to get clicks on a cartoon is not okay.

The level and nature of abuse have increased over the last six years that I've been in federal politics, and we've all got a job to do to tone down the debate we have here, but we know social media is not helping. We experience death threats and threats of sexual violence as well, and I know this happens to women from outside politics. In the last 90 days, there have been a number of abusive comments on my own social media, including a comment left on a media personality's page offering to give out my address if someone wanted to take vengeance on the government. Right now is the time to turn the volume down. We can disagree respectfully in this place, and we must do so for the benefit of the Australian community. We all look forward to Helen coming back to this place, to seeing her stand over there again and ask the pertinent questions and ask us all how we can do better. We can do that by following Helen's lead.

Like so many of the other members here, I want to pay respects and tribute to the incredible work of Helen Haines, the member for Indi. We're all currently trying to make sense of what is no doubt a senseless attack. Most of us have watched the video footage and are struggling with seeing the vicious act of violence that has been perpetrated. In her first speech, she said:

… life is short, family is everything and there is honour in … service …

Every day Helen came into this chamber—and she will no doubt do so soon again, and we look forward to that day—she has consistently demonstrated that through her act of service. In these moments, we all say nice things, but the test of somebody's character is not what we say in these moments. It's what we said before this moment. We can all say with honest reflection that no-one I have ever heard in this parliament has ever said anything negative about the member for Indi. In fact, in my engagement with her, they've always been warm, they've been generous, and they've been focused on how she gets the best outcome for her community, but I would argue often it is about how she gets the best out of all of us.

So we are all trying to make sense of this situation and this moment, and we're all trying to make sense of the broader context of violence—that one woman can die at the hands of a violent partner every 11 days in Australia, or, of course, the violent home entries that many Australians experience. It takes us to a reflection of who we are as a people and, of course, the state of our society. But it does also offer glimmers of hope. We saw that after the tragedy of Bondi. We saw it with the action of Ricky Jefferies, the salon owner just near her electorate office, who ran to her aid. We all go through the healing and difficult times of these moments and look for hope, but it's also a time that we need moral leadership. It also highlights the challenge of what happens when moral leadership is sometimes absent.

All Australians have looked for moral leadership at different times in our nation's history. Indigenous Australians looked at it the time after their social solidarity was put on the ballot. All Australians looked for moral leadership, particularly Jewish Australians, after 7 October and the Bondi terrorist attacks. All Australians have looked to moral leadership at this critical time, particularly the people of Indi, because what they saw in their local member was moral leadership in her own respective way, not just in this parliament but within her community. But it does highlight what happens when that moral leadership is absent, because it eats into the equity of our nation. That's why we look forward to her returning to this parliament and that seat over there not being vacant as it currently is. We look forward to her returning and bringing her vivacious energy to this parliament to inform and to guide us.

I particularly want to thank her husband, Phil, who has been a rock-solid bed of support, no doubt, to Helen but also to the whole of the community at this critical time, particularly the Indi community. I also want to pay tribute to his incredible remarks to the nation to give us a reflection on her current health status and to Her Excellency the Governor-General, who I think has done an exceptional job in this very difficult time, where people have questioned the very foundations of our democracy and the safety of our liberal democracy. I want to congratulate both of them.

Particularly to Phil and to Helen's family: this has been no doubt one of the most challenging times in your lives, and you've steered it with dignity and with grace. For that, we of course honour and acknowledge you. Of course, to Helen: we cannot wait for the day that the Speaker calls you up to be able to contribute back in this place. To the community of Indi as well—federal members of parliament often reflect on the trauma that communities endure when there are horrific events that sometimes occur. Federal members of parliament often look at the people they represent and have to channel their concern, their issue, their anger and of course their command for justice. It's very rare that it's reciprocated in kind. I know that many people in the community of Indi right now will be feeling mixed emotions between anger and the need for a sense of justice but also, of course, hope and love for their local representative. For that, I want to honour the people of Indi too—for their incredible endurance through this difficult time in support of their much-beloved local federal MP.

Today is about the member for Indi, it is about Helen, and it is about Helen's family. It is also about Helen's team, who stand beside her and serve the community she represents, and it is about standing with Helen's family, friends and community in solidarity and in support. The attack on Helen Haines has rightly shocked Australians. Helen has spent a lifetime caring for people in their most vulnerable moments. She is a person of genuine decency and compassion. She has brought those same qualities to this House and carries the respect of colleagues across this parliament. It is shocking that this was a deliberate act of violence. Whatever the motivation, it demands that we confront some uncomfortable realities about the environment in which we conduct our politics.

I've seen overseas what happens when politicians travel with guards and are physically separated from the communities they represent. That separation changes the nature of public service. It fundamentally changes the relationship between representatives and the people they serve. Security takes the place of accessibility, caution replaces conversation, and the distance between representatives and the people they represent grows. This cannot become a new norm. In Australia, people should be able to approach their local MP at a community event, raise difficult issues, express their views and expect a direct conversation. They should be able to disagree with their representatives and hold them accountable. That access is not a privilege granted by politicians; it is fundamental to representative democracy. A strong democracy can withstand fierce disagreement. It should welcome challenge and make room for passionate debate, strong criticism and competing views. But there must be an unequivocal line. Threats and violence are never acceptable as a means of influencing public life, nor should they ever prevent representatives from doing the work in the communities we represent, including when it is communities where we may have grown up and still live.

The consequences are not confined to those of us who are elected. Our officers receive threatening calls, letters and approaches. My time in public office and the period leading up to it have been marked by divisive attacks directed at me, my staff and volunteers by those seeking to exploit division for political gain. They should have no place in our democracy. That is not political debate, it is not legitimate scrutiny, and it is not something we should shrug off as an inevitable consequence of public life.

There are realities of public life that cannot be separated from family. Our families understand these sacrifices. They make them alongside us. But, when threats enter the picture, that worry follows families into the moments that should otherwise be ordinary. They did not choose to be part of public life in this way. The same is true of the people who work in our offices. Our staff should be able to serve our communities without being subjected to threats and intimidation. Scrutiny, responsibility and accountability are one thing, but threats and intimidation must never be the price of doing any job or carrying any responsibility in our society, whether it is directed at our nurses and doctors in emergency departments, our first responders, retail staff in supermarkets, hospitality workers, teachers or our gig and public transport workers. As the Prime Minister has said, we need to turn the temperature down.

Our security agencies have an important role to play in assessing threats and protecting people at risk. They cannot on their own protect the standards of behaviour on which a healthy democracy depends. That responsibility belongs to all of us. It belongs to political leaders, in the language we use and the standards we set, and it belongs to every member of society and the behaviour we are prepared to accept. I am optimistic for Australia.

To Helen: I am sorry that you and your family are having to endure this terrible act of violence. You should have been able to do your work, serve your community and return home safely to those you love. You are in our thoughts and prayers. We wish you strength in your recovery, and we look forward to seeing you back with your family and your community and amongst us in this House.

Back in 2018 or early 2019, Cathy McGowan, the former member for Indi, confided in me that she wasn't going to run again. I said: 'Cathy, don't leave me. You're the only other regional woman who's on the crossbench.' She said: 'Don't you worry, Bek. You'll love Helen.' And we all love Helen. She said, 'Helen's going to be just as good as me'—and then she winked and said, 'Maybe even better.'

Helen is such a wonderful woman and desperately needed in this place. Here's just a little example of Helen's kindness and love. In our last sitting week, the member for Ryan—I'm sure she won't mind me saying—was having a special birthday. Helen organised a little surprise dinner for the member for Ryan with us ladies. The member for Ryan thought it would just be her, and she was so delighted to see all us ladies of the crossbench there to celebrate her birthday with her. That's the level of kindness that Helen exudes. When this tragedy happened, the member for Curtin wrote in our WhatsApp group, 'Helen is the best of us.' Indeed, she is the very best of us not just on this side of the chamber but the whole chamber. I acknowledge her integrity, her tenacity and her fierce advocacy, with respect for all in this place.

There's been a lot of conversation about turning the temperature down. I don't disagree with that in this chamber at all. I do think we need to have fierce and robust debate, but it needs to be respectful in here—and, often, question time is not respectful. But that respect for each other needs to happen outside of this place, towards each other, as well. I just say to every person who's maybe preparing a dirt file or something on another person: how about you don't press 'send'? How about you let the journalists do their own work, and you hold your head up high with integrity?

Inside and out, Helen is a beautiful person. I feel that this chamber is a little bit diminished without her, and I hope that she returns here as quickly as possible. I acknowledge her wonderful team. I acknowledge all those bystanders who helped keep Helen alive, and her husband, Phil, who has a strength that only comes from having the angels lifting him and her children, Will, Nick and Georgia, and her grandchildren. One thing Helen and I share is that, pretty much every time we come into the chamber, we're always showing each other new pictures of our grandchildren; Helen has two and I have one. That's something we share as well as a love of the regions. We also talk about my girl, who's doing nursing. I think Helen's nursing is the real compass of her work in here; she's always caring for everyone in this place and everyone in her community. I would say she has that care that nurses have for Australia.

I end with saying: what would Helen want us to do? I borrowed this from the member for Ryan: she would want us to keep finding the hope for a better parliament and the hope for a better Australia. I would urge all of us: let us have that hope in our heart and let us be our best selves.

Last week was a really difficult and dark one for our country. I finished that week with the member for Holt. She invited me to her community to celebrate the first of what will be many Diwali events. It was a beautiful night with music and dancing and laughing and togetherness. For Hindu families, Diwali celebrates Lord Rama's return home, and, for Sikh families, it marks Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's release from captivity and the freedom that he secured for others. They're different stories and different cultures, but they share the same message: lightness over dark and the triumph of kindness over hate and understanding over ignorance.

We saw this unspeakable act of violence and aggression occur on Monday, and, on Friday, I stood on that beautiful, warm Melbourne night on the growing outskirts of Melbourne, and we lit sparklers and we ate homemade sweet treats, and that community sent me back to Canberra full of their thoughts and their well wishes for Helen Haines. That's Australia, and that's the energy and the vigour and the beauty of south-east Melbourne that I get to bring into this chamber week after week.

I feel very lucky, as I think almost all of us do in this chamber, to say that the member for Indi wasn't just a colleague; she was a friend. Helen has an amazing passion for housing in the regions, and I was lucky to work with her on this topic over a number of years. She would come into my office, always bringing volunteers from her community to come and observe the meeting and understand how they could advocate for the things their community needed. She treated me like a person. Helen would always come through first asking about my husband, about my children, about my family before we got down to business, and then we would get down to business. Helen was warm.

Someone talked a little bit earlier about how she's a nurse. She wasn't just a nurse; she was a midwife. If you've ever been through a difficult labour—perhaps not you, Speaker, but I've been through a couple—Helen Haines is the person you would want next to you, holding your hand, not just warmly, empathically sharing the experience with you but making you believe that you could do a big and hard thing. That's how she made me feel too as a government minister about a topic that she cared about very passionately.

I feel strongly that the discussion we're having right now shouldn't be just centred on politics and politicians. What is going on in our country right now is not about the people who sit in this chamber or even just the institution of our democracy. We're living in a time where our social fabric is being stretched. It's being pushed and pulled in every direction. I think about our teachers and the interactions that they're increasingly having, about our nurses, our medical staff around the country, about our retail workers—anyone who has a job that puts them at a direct interface with the public is experiencing some version of this. We've got an opportunity here to take stock of the way we are treating each other in Australia at the moment and chart a pathway back to the egalitarian civility that makes our country so unique and special. The MPs who've spoken today have shared a strong view that that's what we need to do together.

I want to say something to Helen's staff. We heard the read a statement from Kaz on behalf of Helen's team during the week. I just want to thank you and just say I cannot imagine what you've gone through over this last week. I've never really understood this, but there's a bit of a sense of malign sometimes about being a political staffer. The truth is that these staffers are the best and most loyal servants of our democracy. I say, to every staffer—if you're a ministerial staffer, a shadow ministerial staffer—working on the front line of an electorate office, we thank you and we acknowledge the deep difficulty of the work that you are having to do. Speaker, I'm sure your staff are in the same position. I mean, the things that my staff have to do to protect me from some of the things that are out there and the abusive phone calls they need to deal with. They are the people who trawl through my social media trying to find the difference between a vitriolic message and something that's got a death threat or a rape threat that needs to be reported. You're doing amazing work for us, and I just want you to know how much we appreciate that.

To the people of Wangaratta: what's happened to Helen is not what defines you. It is the acts of incredible community, neighbourliness and heroism. The people of Wangaratta saved Helen Haines's life, and we will be forever grateful to them for that. Like others who've spoken today, I can't wait to see Helen. I can't wait to see her back in this chamber where she belongs, bringing that fierce, warm advocacy into the chamber for the subjects that she was most passionate about. Get well, Helen. The people of Hotham are pulling for you 100 per cent.

To the member for Indi, Helen, my friend: I'm so sorry that this has happened to you, and I'm thinking of you every day. As many people have said, I am looking forward to when you come back into this chamber and the Speaker calls on you. And thank you, Phil, who I spoke to this morning at a morning tea for your words today and also last week when updating us on Helen's condition.

Nicholls and Indi share a very long border and the communities of Euroa, Violet Town and Longwood. These communities are partly in Nicholls and partly in Indi, and therefore I have the great pleasure of being able to spend a lot of time with the member for Indi, with Helen, at events. I also work with her when those communities are threatened. When I first came to this place—and the Minister for Regional Development pointed this out—I don't know if I was ordered or invited, but I was told to come up and have a cup of tea with the member for Indi, and there was that commitment to saying, 'We are neighbours, and we've got a lot of joint things we need to work on.' I also sat next to Helen when I first came into this place, and that was a great way to understand the way this place worked, sitting next to someone who was showing the decency and compassion that I think that we need to show towards each other.

Earlier this year, our communities were affected very badly by the Longwood bushfires. I think the community wanted to see their political representatives not in terms of parties or where they happen to sit in the chamber but in terms of their care for their communities. I saw that with Helen. It was actually great that the community saw me, a National Party person; Helen, an independent; and the Minister for Regional Development, a Labor minister, all trying to come together and make sure that the No. 1 focus is them. I think that that's what communities want from this parliament, and Helen certainly led that. Just recently, the Governor-General came to visit the electorates of Indi and Nicholls, and so we were at a reception with the Governor-General together. It was very painful that the next time I saw the Governor-General was after what was such a horrific attack on Helen.

There's been some talk about political violence and what's causing that—social media, mental illness. Some people talk about the conduct in this place. I've found this place to be somewhere where there's a really robust debate, and I like the fact that it's robust. I was asked by the ABC as someone from the neighbouring electorate to speak the night after this horrible thing had happened, and I said something that has resonated with people. People have reached out. I said, 'I just wish people could see how good friends we are in the chamber.' I can see many people who I regard as really good friends and people I respect. I don't want to stop debating with you, because we have a different view, but I want to always make sure that we continue that friendship and that the community at large sees that friendship in the way that they saw with Helen, the minister and me in Longwood. That's what gives people heart. They want us to argue, because different people think that the way we go about things should be different—that's the way politics has got to work—but they want to see us get out of this place and say, 'Member for Macnamara, you're a very good friend.' That's an example; you all are. I think, if we can show that to people, that will diffuse some of the agitation that's going on out there. So I'm going to recommit myself to that.

The member for Indi, Helen, gives us that example. Helen, I've reached out to your staff, and I hope that we are able to help, because our electorate offices are so close. To you, I echo what the Speaker said. One of the greatest times in this parliament, in this chamber, will be when the Speaker can say, 'I give the call to the member for Indi.'

Helen, you're so important to us, you are so admired by us and you are so loved. I want to say to you, Mr Speaker, to the Prime Minister and to all of the speakers so far and for the rest of the day that we're very grateful for this opportunity to say a few words in support of Helen as she recovers from her injuries. This is an opportunity as well to convey to Phil, who we spoke to this morning, to their family and friends, to the staff doing a wonderful job and to that beautiful country community the immense grief that we all share and to wrap our arms around each other in a spirit of solidarity today. I also want to say thank you to the first responders, the community members and everyone who stepped up and stepped in on that devastating Monday on the main drag of Wangaratta.

This parliament's a rugged place to work. Ours can be a brutal profession, and sometimes it takes a lot for us to agree, but today shows that we are capable of that. It's rarer now that we come together like this, and that makes it more significant. In my time here, there's never been more unanimity in this place than in this moment in support of Helen Haines, and that's because Helen is more than one of us. She is more than a colleague. She's more than an acquaintance. She's not just making up the numbers. She's not some kind of numerical afterthought. She is, as her colleagues on the crossbench have described her, the best of us.

It's not lost on any of us that arguably the most rational member of this place has become a victim of the most irrational violence. Helen's is closest to a perfect temperament in a very imperfect place. A couple of hundred years ago, Wordsworth wrote a poem called 'Resolution and independence'. In it, he wrote of something called a 'peculiar grace' in the face of despondency. Helen has, I think, a 'peculiar grace'. She's got the best voice in politics. It's not just the sound of it but the weight of it—the weight that it carries not just in its tone and its tenor but in its authenticity and its authority as well. Those of us with nurses or midwives in our family recognise it well and recognise it immediately—that bearing which is warm, practical, pragmatic, compassionate and very positive, even in the face of great difficulty. On those days when Helen would come round for a cup of tea or I'd run into her on the way into work, the positivity and optimism from that time that we would spend together would sustain me for the rest of the day—such was her impact on all of us.

There's an investigation underway, of course. We'll get to the bottom of what happened here. It's never about one thing on its own, but a pattern had formed even before the madness of last week. There was an inevitability of this tragedy that makes it shocking but not surprising. It is not free of a threatening context. Politics has taken a perilous turn. Public life is more dangerous now. Rhetoric is more violent. Threats are more frequent. There's more than one cause of this, but monetised violence online is not helping—that algorithmic rage bait that's all about preying on the nation's challenges and not solving them.

There is so much of this that is cruel, but one part of that is that the more available you are to your constituents, the more vulnerable you are. There is a lot about our democracy which is better than elsewhere, but we can't import the divisive politics of other countries without importing the violent consequences as well. That violence that we see from time to time on the streets of France or the United States is not as far away from the main drag of Wangaratta as we may have assumed or may have wanted. It's closer than we would like.

Speaker, as you said in your beautiful contribution, we look forward to the day we see and hear Helen again here in the people's house. But, in the meantime—and after that—it is up to all of us and it is up to every single Australian to decide whether this dangerous fraying becomes an unravelling or an awakening and whether this moment makes Helen's grace more or less peculiar.

Firstly, I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with Dr Helen Haines and her family and husband, Phil, who we had the great privilege of hearing directly from this morning. I am certainly praying for her full recovery.

What allegedly happened in Wangaratta last week is appalling. While police must complete their investigation, reports have shocked us all. No-one should fear for their safety simply for doing their job. This is not who we as Australians are. We believe in freedom of speech, robust debate and the right to disagree. Disagreement is democracy; violence is not. My staff, my family and I have been deeply shaken. I cannot pretend otherwise. But, if we allow fear to silence us, if we retreat from the communities we were elected to serve, then something precious about our democracy will be lost. If fear is allowed to silence me, I may as well resign today. But I will not. Neither will my staff. We will continue fighting for the people of Mallee because that is the responsibility and privilege of public service.

Helen and I were elected to parliament in the same year. We represent different communities but share a passion for regional Australia, particularly regional health. Only last week we both spoke at the launch of the National Rural Health Alliance report exposing the staggering $9.3 billion underspend in regional health. Afterwards, Helen came up to me and told me how angry she was about this injustice, and I told her I felt exactly the same. Behind that figure are real people, and Helen knows that. They're regional Australians waiting too long for surgery, travelling hundreds of kilometres for specialist appointments or simply going without the health care they need. Where you live should never determine the quality of your health. Helen, while you recover, I will keep fighting for the regional health care we both know Australians deserve and I will keep fighting beyond your return with you.

The Prime Minister has called for the temperature of political debate to be lowered. I agree that threats and intimidation have no place in our democracy, but I don't agree with the Prime Minister in this instance. Robust political debate is not the problem. It is the lifeblood of our democracy. We should never confuse passionate disagreement with dangerous behaviour, nor should calls for civility become an excuse to silence criticism or avoid uncomfortable truths.

What is fuelling frustration across Australia is something far deeper. Australians are struggling. They are working harder, paying more and falling farther behind. Families are struggling with mortgages, rents, groceries and electricity bills. Many feel their hard work is getting them nowhere. They feel powerless and, worse, they feel betrayed by promises made and broken. Australians are not angry because politicians disagree. They are angry because they feel they are not being told the truth. That frustration can never justify what allegedly occurred to Helen last week. There is no excuse for such behaviour. But neither should the genuine frustration of Australians be dismissed or ignored. The answer is not less political debate; it is more honesty, transparency and accountability from, frankly, everyone on both sides of the House. Leadership means telling Australians the truth even when it is uncomfortable. It means admitting mistakes, accepting responsibility and respecting the people who put their trust in us.

Helen and I came to this parliament to serve our communities. I know she would want us to continue doing exactly that without fear or favour. Helen, your voice matters, your work matters, and, while you recover, we will keep fighting for regional Australians we both care so deeply about. We must never allow fear to silence us nor political convenience to silence the truth.

The member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, embodies all that is good about Australian politics. Since coming to this place in 2019, Helen has proven herself a strong advocate for the people of Indi. She is a person of genuine integrity with a strong commitment to public service. She's a fighter who stands up for what she believes in. Her contributions to this place have rightly earned her the respect of colleagues across the parliament. What occurred last Monday was a senseless act of violence that has no place in Australia. My prayers are with Helen; her husband, Phil; and her family at this deeply difficult time, and I extend my support to her electorate office staff and to the entire Indi community.

This moment reminds us of our shared responsibilities, including to reject violence against women and to ensure that every woman can live and work safely. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that nearly one in three Australian women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15. This is an unacceptable reality. We must continue working across the parliament, together, to prevent violence and ensure every woman can live and work without fearing for their safety.

Helen's work in this place has delivered meaningful outcomes for regional Australians. She continues to be a strong advocate for regional connectivity and resilience for communities like hers that face natural disasters. Helen was one of the first people I called as Minister for Communications in the last parliament when the government announced that we would introduce a universal outdoor mobile obligation. Through her advocacy and support, Australians will be better connected when it matters most.

Her commitment to public service extends well beyond her work representing the people of Indi. She is also widely known for her significant contribution to strengthening integrity in Australian politics. Helen has long argued that public trust in our institutions must be earned. In 2020, Helen introduced legislation to establish an Australian federal integrity commission. She understood the importance of an independent national body to investigate corruption and strengthen accountability. When this government introduced legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Helen drew on her longstanding advocacy for a federal integrity body to help shape the framework for the new commission. Right from its establishment, Helen has continued this work as the Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Her contribution reflects a clear understanding that integrity matters and that public trust can never be taken for granted.

It has been my great personal pleasure to work closely with Helen since coming to this role in May 2025. Her work on the NACC demonstrates her commitment to working constructively across the parliament and to strengthening the institutions on which our democracy depends. Helen has made a significant contribution to this parliament and to the Australian community, and I have no doubt she will continue to do so in future. We are all better for her service and for the determination she brings to making a difference. Today, we send Helen and her family our deepest support and our very best wishes. We stand with her at this difficult time, but most of all we look forward to welcoming her back to this place, so she can continue the vitally important work she does on behalf of our community and on behalf of the entire nation.

This is a gathering and reflection that none of us wishes we had to make. As we do so, may I start by sending my love and prayers to my friend and electorate neighbour Dr Helen Haines; her husband, Phil; their children and family; her staff; and the people of the electorate of Indi. I also send my thanks, however inadequate they are, to the people who came to Helen's aid—the bystanders, her staff, paramedics, police and the medical teams. For all of the despair created by what happened last week, the good people who acted as they did their job, as well as Helen's and Phil's innate decency and generosity, are an antidote to that despair. So too were the Governor-General's fine remarks in Melbourne last week.

The attack on Helen was also an assault on the democratic will of the people of Indi, who chose to send Helen to Canberra on their behalf. Our job, our profession and, yes, our vocation is to be in the community. It is to see, listen, engage and represent the people of our electorates. It is also to navigate, explain and debate the choices and challenges before our nation. Disagreement is foundational to democracy. Our work is to debate and deliver. We can't step back from our responsibilities, but we have to reflect on what is happening around us. The fragmentation of beliefs, the escalation of frustration, the shattering of norms and the inability to see the humanity of people we disagree with are changing the environment that we work in. Every member and senator in this place has experienced it. The AFP received more than 1,000 reports of threats and harassment against parliamentarians and officeholders last financial year, and it is struggling to meet those demands from its existing budget. I believe we need a new approach. Security now warrants a better integrated approach, where services are consolidated into a parliamentary security office, resourced as the Parliamentary Budget Office is. I also want to acknowledge people such as the members for Canning, Berowra and Macnamara and the Minister for Small Business, who face particular threats and intimidation at different times.

We also have to engage with another issue too. Rural Australia is in the grip of a mental health crisis. Rural Australians aren't more likely to have a mental illness. They're more likely to die from one, though. I can't say that the AFP could have prevented the shocking incident last week, but addressing the mental health crisis in regional Australia may well prevent another. We must meet this moment, or it will pass until the next time. There have been calls to moderate debate. My concern is what that really means for some of the people making those calls is that we all must agree or that we are simply calling on those not on our own side to tone it down. We must not lose the contestability of policy and ideas, nor can we lose the heart and soul in debate. Parliamentary democracy means holding government to account, and robust debate enables that. We cannot simply all agree with one another. The behaviour, tone and nuance with which we argue matters, though.

I believe something deeper has been eroding. Trust in our institutions has been worn down, and in some quarters it has been weaponised. For years now we have heard from voices at each end of the spectrum that the system is broken and that politicians are only in it for themselves. The French writer Alphonse Karr once said that some people grumble that roses have thorns, while he was grateful that thorns have roses. If we only ever look for the bad, the bad is all we will find. We have seen the dehumanising of people in public life spill well beyond politics. Retail staff, nurses, council workers and paramedics have all experienced this pandemic of abuse. We are living through an era of entitlement to incivility. Finally, the threats against women in this place must be named. Men face them too, but women are overrepresented in a particular type of abuse. Like all female parliamentarians, I face an inbox and a social media feed with continual gendered and sexualised comments. There is much that must change, and this debate is a good place to start. We owe it to Helen, we owe it to each other, and we owe it to the country to continue it.

I conclude with a few words for Helen. Helen, the people of Indi want you home, and we want you home in your place here too, my friend.

On behalf of the constituents of Brand, I rise to join colleagues across the parliament in supporting the Prime Minister's motion in support of the member for Indi and condemning the attack upon her not even a week ago. I offer my support and solidarity, and that of my team, to all of those who work for Dr Haines in her electorate office. All of us know, and many in our communities know, that the people who work with MPs in our electorate offices are committed to those communities and serve them just as hard as the elected representatives do. The staff in the Indi electorate office have seen something that no-one should, and my heart goes out to them.

My heart also goes out to Phil Haines and all of Dr Haines's family. I simply cannot imagine what you are going through. I would also like to pass on the thoughts and love of my husband, Jamie King. Jamie and Phil know one another through the parliamentary partners and families group, a group that is of great importance to many partners of those elected to this parliament. It's a support group that can share in the frustrations of being attached to the elected and the sometimes frankly ridiculous lives we lead and that we burden all of our families with.

The Parliament of Australia exists as a place to help resolve our differences peacefully and with respect. We may disagree strongly. We may vigorously contest ideas. But, today, the entire parliament is united in expressing our distress and disgust at this senseless and grievous attack on the member for Indi. Her advocacy has always been, and will remain, grounded in a genuine commitment to her community and a determination to ensure that regional Australians have a strong voice in our national conversation. I wish Helen well in what will be a very challenging road to recovery, but I am confident that her enduring optimism and strength will carry the member for Indi back to this chamber.

At this moment, I think it is beholden on all of us, Australians of pure intent and defenders of our great democracy, to shift the tone of the debate. We must think carefully about our modern discourse and the incentives that drive the algorithms of the social media feeds and ask ourselves: to what end? We must never lose sight of the fact that behind every political disagreement is another human being—a fellow Australian, a person with family, hopes, fears and convictions of their own. This responsibility belongs to everyone who shapes our public discourse and debate, whether from a newsroom, a parliamentary chamber, a television studio or behind a screen. This is especially the case for those who help set the agenda for the rest of us. Politicians can, should, will and do show leadership. But leadership cannot rest with elected representatives alone.

At this time, I am reminded of incendiary commentary we've seen in the past. It has often seeped into our public debate with few consequences for those responsible. There have been remarks suggesting shoving a sock down the throat of a former New Zealand prime minister and suggestions that the father of one of our own prime ministers died of shame. Words matter, but images matter as well. A mere three days ago, after the attack on the member for Indi, a cartoon appeared prominently in one of the very few newspapers in Western Australia. It depicted several of my friends—colleagues, elected members who are also ministers, elected by the people of Australia—as dead animals lined up on a beach, ready to be dragged out into the Indian Ocean to be fed to the sharks. This was shocking and depressing imagery, but it was absolutely no surprise. It's like so many of the media tabloid front pages that are designed to be shared quite purposefully to feed the shares, likes and rage baiting. It's this social media that can become that anonymous swell of anger and hate.

But our national conversation is still shaped by journalists, editors and media owners. With their influence comes the responsibility that they must take on, and I hope that they resist the race to the bottom and resist chasing the outrage, division and hostility that the social media platforms have so successfully weaponised and monetised. The role of the media is not to amplify our worst instincts but to inform, challenge and elevate the national conversation.

All of us should be asking whether our contributions to the debate create more light than heat. Our democracy is strongest when we disagree with decency, argue with respect and remember the humanity in one another. The attack on the member for Indi is not who we are as a nation. We reject violence of any kind, and we condemn it unequivocally. As Dr Haines, the member for Indi, begins the long road to recovery, she will carry with her the thoughts and best wishes of all of us in this parliament and of the entire Australian community. I wish you well, Helen.

I stand here today with incredible sadness for Helen, for Phil, for Helen's children and grandchildren, for her team and volunteers, for the people of Indi and for Australia—and so many people share this sadness. In my community, people have been stopping me in the street to tell me how this has affected them. I've received hundreds of messages of support to pass on to Helen, and there have been millions across the country. This senseless attack has triggered this outpouring of grief and love.

This tragic incident has affected so many Australians because of what Helen stands for—kindness and wisdom; respect and disagreeing civilly; ethics and wisdom; and community connection. All these are the type of politics we wish we had more of. It feels like such a blow not only to a woman and her family but to the nation that we imagine we are—where our leaders can move freely in our communities, safe in the knowledge that we Australians can disagree without violence.

Helen has had a big impact on me personally. When I was first elected and didn't really know how to do this job, Helen was very generous and invited Monique Ryan and I to go and spend the day in her office in Wangaratta, where she taught me everything I needed to know about how to do the job. That set the tone for me. I could see that it could be done. You could have civility and strength. You could hold government to account and make your point without being disrespectful. Helen does not need to belittle anyone and always argues the issue rather than attacking the person. My greatest wish is that I can be Helen when I grow up! She's set the tone for me.

Since I've arrived in this place, I've always taken my dilemmas to Helen. She always has time and she has wisdom. She can clearly see the right thing to do, and when she gently lays it out for you it seems so obvious. There are plenty of hard decisions to be made in this place—the perfect versus the good, politics versus policy, and complex issues to be navigated. Helen can always find the best way forward. Her clear, unassuming, ethical leadership led my colleague here, the member for Ryan, to give the other newbies a T-shirt for Christmas in that first year that said, 'What would Helen do?' It's a question I ask myself frequently.

Helen is such an important source of hope at a time when we desperately need more hope. Today my sadness is accompanied by the hope that Phil Haines expressed this morning—that this incident can be the thing that breaks the fever of anger in the parliament and across Australia. In this place we all want to find solutions when something terrible happens. We ask, 'How could this have happened and how could it have been prevented?' We don't know. It could be more mental health services. It could be dealing with the amplification of anger and negativity on social media. It could be better warning systems for law enforcement, more civility in parliament, better security for MPs or none of the above. The facts will unfold, and, in the meantime, everyone will take their own lessons from this. For me, the way I plan to honour Helen during her recovery is to continue her work making our democracy better on the integrity issues that are synonymous with her name and the fairness that underpins her view of the world, and, just as importantly, to honour and replicate how she does the work—with respect, civility, strength and kindness.

Before this week, Helen Haines was the only member of the Australian federal parliament who had committed to the civility pledge. I think that says it all. Right now, I'd like to follow Helen's example—so I say that, in my political life, I pledge to act with honesty, respect and compassion. These simple words embody what Helen means to me and to our political system.

Like so many across the country, I send Helen all my love to fortify her for the hard road ahead to the best possible new normal that she can have. I truly hope that she will be sitting here on the crossbench with us again before too long, and that, as her lovely husband, Phil, says, the parts of her that make her Helen—her heart and her mind—are not changed. Helen, please come back to us. We need you here more than ever.

Today my thoughts and the thoughts of the Jagajaga community are with Helen. Helen, since I met you, when we were first elected in 2019, I have valued your kindness and your compassion. I have immense respect for the way you conduct yourself in this place and in your community. On a personal level, you welcomed me warmly into your home, together with the member for Macnamara, when we were driving through your beautiful electorate to get to Canberra. There was no prior arrangement, demonstrating your true hospitality and warmth, allowing us to drop in.

Recently we've had conversations about how you've been upgrading the garden there with more vegetable and flower beds and how much satisfaction that has brought you. I've commented many times on how I felt reassured when I was pregnant in this place because you were on hand with your professional skill and compassion. We've been working closely together in recent months on one of your other passions—the National Anti-Corruption Commission. As chair of the parliamentary committee overseeing the NACC, I have greatly appreciated your commitment, as deputy chair, to making sure that that institution is strong and robust and that it plays the part it should in our democracy.

What happened to Helen should not happen to anyone. As I've reflected on it over the last few days, I've found myself thinking about how much the environment for elected representatives has changed since Helen and I were first elected seven years ago. Politics has never been a profession that's short on strong views, nor should it be. People care passionately about the issues that affect their lives, and they should be able to disagree with us. They should be able to challenge us. That is part of democracy. But something feels different now. The temperature is higher. Increasingly, people approach political issues and they approach MPs in a heightened way. Anger sits much closer to the surface. Interactions that once might have involved disagreement can now feel more confrontational.

I'd be lying if I said it doesn't affect me. I worry about my staff. I worry about all of our staff. The people who work in our offices are smart and committed. They're caring people. They spend their days helping people navigate government systems. They did not sign up to be abused or threatened. As a parent, I found myself having conversations with my children that I never expected to have—conversations about safety, conversations about why people can sometimes be angry at politicians. These are not easy conversations to have with your kids. But, despite all of that, the thing I value most about this job remains exactly the same as it was when I started.

Like Helen, I value being out in our community. I value being able to attend community events, sporting clubs and local festivals. This last weekend it was the Diwali festival in Eltham. I value having conversations with people in supermarkets, cafes and shopping strips. I value hearing people's stories, hearing their frustrations, hearing their hopes and learning from them. These moments of connection are not just a nice part of the job; they are the job. Representative democracy only works when we can remain connected to the people we represent, and that is why what happened to Helen is so troubling. The risk is not only that people feel unsafe. The risk is that these types of things slowly erode the connections that are at the heart of our democracy.

I know this is not something that only affects politicians. When I talk to teachers, health workers, retail workers, emergency service workers and people on the front line of public services, many tell similar stories. They too are experiencing more aggression, more abuse and more anger than they did a decade ago. It's making many jobs harder, and I think it points to a broader challenge for all of us. At a time when there are so many forces pulling people apart, we need to work harder to bring people together. We need more opportunities for genuine conversation, more opportunities to listen, more opportunities to disagree respectfully and more opportunities to see the humanity in people who may hold different views from our own. When people know one another, when they sit down together, when they share their experiences, it becomes much harder to treat one another with contempt, and Helen demonstrates this every day. The people in Helen's community demonstrated this when they came to her aid.

The answer to what happened to Helen is not to retreat from our communities. The answer is to strengthen the connections that hold our communities together. So today, together with so many, I place on the record my support for Helen and the support of my community for Helen, for her husband, Phil, for her family and for her staff. I know the road ahead will not be easy, but we will welcome you back here, and I hope it's soon. I want to say that, despite the challenges, despite the heightened environment we are all navigating, I still believe deeply in the value of community, in the value of conversation and in the value of human connection. These things are not a soft alternative to democracy; they are democracy. If there is one lesson we should take from you, Helen, and your example, it is that we need more connection and kindness.

Las week has rocked us all to the core and rocked this country, we prided ourselves on how like things like that don't happen here, and now they have. We won't be the same, and I'll talk about how I believe we need to start to change, but, firstly, I would like to speak about beautiful Helen, her family, her team and her community. To Phil, to her children, Will, Nick and Georgia, and to her grandchildren: my heart goes out to you. She adores you and constantly shows us photos and things like that of you in parliament. Phil, the grace and bravery you've displayed today has been an inspiration. To her team, past and present, who cared deeply for Helen: many of you were there witnessing the attack, coming to her aid and must be deeply traumatised. Now, you're doing exactly what Helen would do: showing up and continuing to serve your community. To Indi: Helen speaks about Indi with so much pride and affection. The people of Wangaratta, the courage and care that you showed each other on that day and that you showed Helen shows exactly why. Finally, to Helen: Helen, I really miss you today. Over the last few weeks and here today, many have spoken about your kindness and generosity and praised your decency and respect that you bring to this place. You are all these things. You are someone I go to when I don't know what to do. When I've got an ethical dilemma, I go to you, Helen. Phil told us about your first words after you woke up after the attack and said that your first concerns when you awoke were for your staff and gratitude to the first responders, nurses and bystanders. That exactly speaks to the character of who you are.

People have spoken about your empathy and grace, and they deserve recognition, but I think it paints a picture of you as a sort of benign force wandering through the parliament. What I will say is that you are also a force for change, and I think this is genuinely the lesson in your life, because you were a force for change. Your list of achievements in parliament is considerable, not least the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which you championed fearlessly for years, but also paid prac placements, home batteries, ensuring the needs of the regions were front and foremost. You championed this, and the way you did it really matters, because you showed that you can have dignity and compassion and respect but also strength. The combination of restraint and force that you showed is a lesson for how to achieve things in public life and do that with the dignity that this parliament deserves.

This attack on you, Helen, should not just shock us; it should change us. There is no meaning in senseless violence, but we need to create meaning from it in the actions that we take. Phil challenged us this morning to do that—for this place to change before Helen returns. I think we owe you that, and I think we owe the country that. We do not know the causes exactly of the violence that you faced last week. We cannot generalise from the specifics, but we can see the rising tide of threats not just against parliamentarians but against everyday Australians who are serving each other, and that is a problem for the whole country. We can deal with security measures, policing, online hate, mental health services—these are all questions of economic prosperity. These are all relevant to how we do take the temperature down, but we also need to look in the mirror, because this country does not believe that parliament is the best of us.

How can we be surprised, when people come to watch our democracy in action and grown adults call out 'rip him another one' and 'rip her apart'? That is not robust debate in an adversarial system. That is violent abuse. We cannot stop violence by our words, but we cannot pretend that our words don't carry weight and that some people won't hear them in moments of distress and despair. We can work for restraint and force the way that Helen has and shown us, and so, like others ahead of me, I am also going to take the civility pledge, because I think it is a place to start, so I will say, in my political life, I pledge to act with honesty, respect and compassion.

I want to speak specifically about honesty because I think that is actually something we don't talk enough about—having an honest debate about what government can and cannot do, being realistic about the promises that we make, being fairer to the strengths of an opponent's argument, even when we disagree with them and continue to disagree. It is less newsworthy, but it is less likely to disappoint people, to weary them with false hope and to make them distrust us.

I don't have all the answers—or any—coming out of what has happened here. But, in listening to the debate that we have had to date, I do think there's an opportunity for the common ground to be found; for us to do things better, collectively; for recognising, again, in Phil's words, that we are both the participants and victims of the coarsening of public debate; that we can do better; that we must do better; and that Helen would expect it of us.

I'm sure every single honourable member, and most Australians, will always remember exactly where we were when we heard the news about Helen Haines, as will I. I'm sure we will remember where we were when we heard the details that made it clear that this was not a terrible accident but a horrific incident. I'm sure, like all honourable members, my thoughts went immediately to: 'How could this happen, and why would it happen to Helen? Why would it happen to an MP who has the respect of all sides of the chamber and who is an absolute delight to talk to and work with in every single instance?' Of course, there is much more investigation and legal action to occur, but what today is about is our thoughts and prayers for Helen, her community and her family.

Much has been said about Helen's role in this House, and I can attest to that. Helen is a fierce advocate for her community. Having visited her community with her twice—Wangaratta and Yackandandah—having been through those communities, I have seen her love for the people of Indi and the love of the people of Indi for her. We all know why. It should be said that Helen Haines is the first individual in Australian political history as an Independent to replace another Independent. There have been times when Independents have won seats but, after their retirement, the seat has returned to the natural party that held that seat. It's a tribute to Cathy McGowan and Helen Haines that they bucked that historical fact, and it's a tribute to their combined representation of that beautiful part of the world.

Helen has been a fierce advocate for her community, talking to me about the need for renewable energy, which she strongly supports, and the need to bring communities with us on that journey. She has been a strong advocate for including home batteries in the small-scale renewable energy scheme. I well remember the call I made to Helen to let her know that we were about to do that—we were going to announce it the next day—and her joy on the end of the line. She had been advocating it for some time, a fact I've always freely acknowledged because she had been advocating it as we were considering it as a government. She's very proud of the success of that program. Indi has been in the top three electorates in Victoria for take-up of home batteries, which is something I know she's very proud of. I would regularly text her the figures. One sadder text was to let her know she'd been knocked off from No. 1, which she was not happy about at that point, but she's very happy that Indi remains in the top three.

For Helen and I, there's another element. Like most of us, I don't get much time to watch much television, but, somehow or other—I can't quite remember how or when—Helen and I worked out that we have very similar tastes in television. We would swap television recommendations via text and whenever we saw each other, and we'd compare notes. I very much look forward to Helen's return to advocacy in this House, but I also look forward to being able to talk to her about the latest episodes of MobLand, Fauda, Tehran, Slow Horses and the other shows we enjoy and have been able to recommend to each other over the years. I very much look forward to her ongoing return to the House for many years to come, and her representation of her community, which we value so much.

I do want to make one note about the tone of the debate. Other members have commented on it. Absolutely, there must be robust debate in this chamber. As the chamber knows, I can participate in that as willingly as the next person. I can give it out and I can take it. But this is not about robust debate. There is no place in this House, or anywhere in the media, for jokes, violent language or representations of violence, to make a political point. I understand that, in the heat of the moment, members and senators can say things which later, on cold reflection, they regret. It happens. They can be withdrawn. I understand that. But there is no place for it, and there is no place for premeditated comments about violence, whether it be joking about physical violence, whether it be using violent analogies or whether it be using emotive language like 'traitors' and 'treason'.

This is language which has no place in a robust modern debate. When people who may be undergoing mental health issues hear that sort of language, at the same time they hear a message that somehow gives them permission to think this sort of language is okay. So the Prime Minister is right to say we do need to take the temperature down. That is not a less robust debate. It is a fully robust debate on facts, views and substance, not personal abuse and not with violent imagery. There is no place for it, and I hope there is less and less of it in the Australian political debate.

I look forward to the day—hopefully in the not-too-distant future—when we rise as one as a parliament to welcome the return to the House of the great Helen Haines.

Words can only go so far to express how special Helen Haines is and how horrid the attack on her was. More telling is the emotional distress we're all feeling—indeed, it's how a great many Australians felt last Monday afternoon and continue to feel. We're distressed because, while violence against anyone is completely and utterly unacceptable, the savagery of this attack and that it was against Helen Haines of all people is just so utterly incomprehensible.

But in needing to find a word to focus on today, I go to the word 'integrity' because Helen has it in spades. I go to 'integrity' because that's what Helen pursued in this place more than anyone else. That is why I'll now read into the parliamentary record some excerpts from the media release published yesterday by the Centre for Public Integrity. It said:

Together with millions of Australians, we have been grief-stricken this week by the horrific attack on a woman we are privileged to call our collaborator and friend, Dr Helen Haines MP.

Helen is an extraordinary parliamentarian and an extraordinary person. Passionate, principled, intelligent, warm and down to earth, she has dedicated herself to making government work better, not only for the people of her beloved electorate of Indi, but for all Australians. The outpouring of love and support from her community and across the nation, and the tributes paid from across the political spectrum, speak to the remarkable person she is.

Helen's husband, Phil captured her magnificent spirit perfectly when he reassured Australians that, despite losing two limbs, her mind and heart remain strong. It is this indomitable strength, which has defined her time in public life, that now gives us hope.

Helen is one of Australia's most effective champions of integrity in public life. We have been privileged to work alongside her on some of the most important integrity reforms of recent years.

Helen was pivotal in the campaign to establish a national anti-corruption commission. Long before the Albanese Government introduced its legislation, she introduced her own Australian Federal Integrity Commission Bill in 2020, helping build critical political momentum for a national integrity body.

Helen has also been a tireless advocate for ending pork barrelling. She believes deeply that public money should flow to the people and communities who need it most, not the most politically expedient to fund. We worked closely with her to draft her End Pork Barrelling Bill, strengthening the proposed rules governing the allocation of public resources.

More recently, following Helen's parliamentary questions on the Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program, our report, Public money, political advantage?, revealed that almost three-quarters of funding under the $559 million program had been allocated to Labor-held electorates through an invitation-only, non-competitive process. Just weeks ago, Helen joined our webinar discussing the findings and the urgent need for stronger standards to ensure public money is allocated fairly and transparently.

Helen's commitment has extended beyond creating integrity institutions to doing the hard work of ensuring they can operate as intended. She helped launch our Beyond Labels report, and we worked closely together in calling for a transparent, merit based appointment process for the next National Anti-Corruption Commissioner. This week, she welcomed the appointment of former Attorney-General and judge Robert McClelland following such a process. Indeed, she was preparing for a media interview about the appointment shortly before the attack.

We remember these collaborations with deep feeling. Helen is committed, smart, strategic and extraordinarily effective. She understands politics and how to make change happen. But through it all, she is deeply human, bringing warmth, generosity, compassion and profound respect for people to everything she does.

In other words, Helen, you're really special and we all desperately want you to mend as quickly and as well as humanly possible. We want you back, but, regardless of whether or not you return to this place, you've already changed it for the better more than anyone else ever has.

I rise to talk about a colleague, a friend and a woman who's given her working life to caring for other people. As we all know, last week Helen Haines, the member for Indi, was the victim of a terrible attack just outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. This is the place where she sat across from her constituents for years, listening to them. I want to begin with those who love her. To Phil, her husband, to her children, Georgia and Nick and Will, and to Helen's wider family, our thoughts have been with you every hour of this past week. You've been at her bedside through the hardest days of your lives, and yet you still found the strength to speak to us with grace. To Helen's staff, who've lost the sense of safety in their own workplace and have still shown up for their community, we say thank you. And, to the people of Indi, who have gathered in vigils, who've held each other and who love their local member, we are also with you. I want to thank the bystanders who ran towards Helen when others might have run away. They did not stop to ask who she was or what was going on. They just saw a person in terrible trouble and they helped. Their courage and their decency show us the very best of Australia.

This morning many of us met with Phil. I want to repeat some of what he told us because it says everything about Helen. He told us that, when Helen was woken by the doctors, amongst her first thoughts were thoughts for her staff, for her community and for the people who are caring for her. After everything that she has been through, she was thinking of others. This is not a surprise to any of us who know her. It's who she's always been. Helen came to this place as a nurse and a midwife, having been with people on the best and the worst days of their lives. When she first spoke in this chamber, she spoke about the place she calls home, about rural and regional communities and the people who live there, about listening and about public service as something that you do with others, not to them. She spoke about democracy as something that belongs to all of us and that we all have a responsibility for, built patiently, one conversation at a time, around kitchen tables. Helen has carried that spirit into this parliament every day since. She has never believed that disagreement was the same as disrespect. She has argued hard and has always argued with decency.

We all know that Helen faces a long road to recovery. It will be a long and a demanding one, and it will ask a great deal of her, of Phil and of their children. There will be very hard days, but those of us who know Helen know that she's a fighter. She will not walk that road alone. In her first speech she mentioned how lucky her life was due to her large and loving family. She has a family who adore her and will support her to heal. She has a community that is holding her up and colleagues from every part of this parliament who are willing her to heal.

Phil, her husband, also told us this morning that he hopes something comes from this. He wants this moment and the terrible things that happened to Helen, her family and her community to be the start of something—a turning down of the temperature and a better way of people speaking to each other, not just in public life but more broadly in the community. Whether you're a healthcare worker, whether you're a worker in a supermarket or whether you sit in this chamber, there's no doubt that so many people are aggrieved and angry right now, but all of us have a responsibility to turn the tone down. People in this place, people in the media more broadly, the social media platforms—everybody in the community—we all need to be kinder to each other.

I can think of no more fitting way to honour Helen than to take those words to heart. She would not ask for a speech for herself. She would be asking us to look out for each other. So my final words here today are for Helen. If ever you're listening to this, know that we are thinking of you. We are grateful for everything that you have given to the people of Indi and to this country. Your seat is waiting and so is the whole of this parliament, and we'll be here when you are ready.

We're speaking today about a colleague who should be here in this chamber doing her job. Instead, Dr Helen Haines is in hospital with injuries that have changed her life forever. Like so many Australians, I am deeply shocked by what happened to Helen. On behalf of the people of Lyne, I say that my heart aches for her, for Phil, for her loved ones and for her dedicated staff. While the road ahead is unimaginable in its challenges, I'm certain of her remarkable determination. I send Helen every bit of strength for the journey that lies before her.

It's deeply saddening that it's only through such a terrible act that we're here talking today about her compassion, her empathy and her unwavering kindness. I've been around this parliament since the mid-1990s, and I've seen the very best and the very worst of parliamentary behaviour. When it comes to Helen, I can absolutely say that she has been a shining example of the behaviour that we should all aspire to. I believe the greatest tribute we can pay Helen now is for this parliament to walk in her footsteps, to listen to one another and to offer each other our time, understanding and respect.

That brings me to something I've been thinking deeply about since this terrible event. Understandably, there's been considerable discussion about the safety of politicians and the risks of public life, but I want to be careful here. We politicians are not a special class of victims. Every day, police officers confront dangerous situations, paramedics attend unpredictable and sometimes violent scenes, and nurses and teachers face aggression and abuse while they're simply trying to care for people. There are many Australians who face risks far more routinely in their working lives than we do. That does not diminish the horror of what happened to Helen nor the need for sensible precautions, but we should keep some perspective. We cannot eliminate every risk from public life, and I would hate to see our response to this terrible crime fundamentally change the relationship between elected representatives and the people we serve.

In Lyne I spend a great deal of time out in towns and villages, talking with people at markets, community events, businesses and mobile offices. I put myself out there, mostly alone, where I am personally vulnerable. I would not have it any other way, and I want to thank the people of Lyne for the kindness, friendship and respect they've shown me. Even those who disagree with me vehemently have been civil and willing to talk. I treasure that enormously.

I understand why Australians are angry and frustrated. So many are working harder but feeling like they have less to show for it. They don't believe the political class has been listening to or caring about them, so they're shouting louder to be heard. Our response cannot be to tell Australians to stop being angry. Our responsibility is to listen, to take their concerns seriously and to make policy that rewards them for their effort and patriotism. In return, what should we ask of them? Not silence or concession—only that disagreement never becomes intimidation or violence. There is also something we politicians can do. We can take responsibility for how we argue our case, how we highlight our differences and how we engage with those who disagree with us. Politics is a contest of ideas, and it should be a vigorous one.

We do not yet know what motivated this appalling attack. That is for the police to determine. But it has caused many of us to reflect on the kind of political culture we want in Australia. For my part, I don't want a politics without passion. I don't want politicians frightened to speak their minds or reluctant to challenge poor decisions. I certainly don't want fear to drive elected representatives away from the communities they serve. I want a politics where we can disagree fiercely, treat each other decently and go about our work without fear. That is the standard I will strive for.

Coming back to Helen, you have endured something no person should ever have to endure. You have a long and difficult journey ahead, but you have the respect, affection and support of colleagues from right across parliament. I wish you strength for that journey and hope you and your family find comfort in knowing just how many Australians are thinking of you. Let us honour Helen not by retreating from the democratic contest but by remembering that the strength of our democracy lies not in how well we agree but in how we conduct ourselves when we disagree. I look forward to Helen returning soon.

I understand that the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of their speech for incorporation into Hansard in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025. We're very pleased to receive that.

() (): The incorporated speech read as follows—

I would like to pay tribute to my colleague and friend, Dr Helen Haines, the Independent member for lndi. Like so many people across this parliament, across Indi and right around Australia, I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the terrible attack on Helen outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. My thoughts—and I know the thoughts of everyone in this place—are with Helen; her husband, Phil; her children; grandchildren; family; staff; and the entire lndi community. Helen is a woman of extraordinary courage, compassion and conviction. She is a former nurse and midwife, a farmer, a researcher, a grandmother, a wife, a mother and a devoted community representative, but, above all, Helen is someone who has spent her life caring for other people. That instinct to care has shaped everything she has done, in her professional life, in her community and in this parliament.

In an era when public debate can so often become loud, hostile and divisive, Helen has been a steady voice for decency. She has shown that it is possible to hold strong views without treating others with antipathy. She has shown that disagreement does not have to mean disrespect, and she has shown that the best politics begin with genuine listening. Helen has been a tireless advocate for her community in north-east Victoria. She has been a powerful advocate for integrity in public life and for stronger institutions that hold power to account. Her work on a federal anti-corruption commission reflected her deep belief that public office is a trust and that Australians deserve a political system they can have confidence in. Helen's contribution cannot be measured only in legislation, committees or campaigns. It is measured in the way she makes people feel. Colleagues from every side of this chamber speak of her kindness, her warmth, her good humour and her willingness to make time for others. She treats staff, constituents, visitors and opponents with the same respect. She asks how you are, and she genuinely waits for the answer.

I have seen that warmth myself. Helen has a rare ability to bring people together. She does not seek the spotlight for its own sake; she uses it to lift others up. She is generous with her time, generous with her encouragement and generous with her belief that politics can be better than it often appears. Helen's strength has never been loudness. Her strength has been persistence. She has faced difficult debates, tough campaigns and enormous pressure, yet she has remained grounded in her values and accountable to her community. She has always been prepared to do the patient, unglamorous work that good representation requires—listening to locals, understanding the detail, building coalitions, and finding practical solutions.

The response to this shocking attack has shown just how deeply Helen is loved and respected. Flowers, cards and messages have been placed outside her office in Wangaratta. People from Indi and beyond have gathered to pray, to reflect and to offer their support. Her family has asked that, in place of flowers, people consider donating to Save the Children Australia, a request that says so much about Helen and the values she lives by. Helen's husband, Phil, has described her as a fighter. We know that to be true. We know that her heart and her mind remain strong, and we hold onto hope for the long road of recovery ahead. Helen has spent her life standing beside people in their hardest moments. Now, it is our turn to stand beside her, her family and her community.

To Helen: please know that you are in our hearts. Your courage, compassion and integrity have made this parliament better. They have made our democracy stronger, and they have reminded all of us why we came here in the first place—to serve. We will continue to honour Helen not only with words but through our actions. We must treat one another with respect, reject violence and hatred, and recommit ourselves to the kind of politics she has practised every day. Helen, you are loved, you are respected, and you are not alone. Our thoughts and prayers remain with you and your family. Thank you.

The member for Indi is by any measure a gentle and kind person. She's a person of decency, warmth and integrity, and she's approachable, thoughtful and deeply committed to the people she represents. Helen and I may disagree on some matters of policy, and that's the nature of our work, but politics should never diminish our capacity to recognise the humanity in one another. Before we're members of parliament, we're people. We have families who worry about us when we leave home to do this job and who expect that we will return home safely at the end of the day. Helen's family should never have to contemplate the possibility that her commitment to public service might expose her to violence. I can only imagine the distress that this incident has caused Helen and those closest to her. I want Helen to know that my thoughts and those of the people of McPherson are with her and her family and that the concern and goodwill of colleagues across this parliament are with her.

This incident is about more than one parliamentarian. It's about the kind of democracy we want to preserve. One of the great strengths of Australian democracy is its accessibility. Our democracy is not meant to be conducted from behind locked doors, at a distance from the people that we represent. Its strength lies in the ability of Australians to approach their elected representatives, raise their concerns, challenge our decisions and hold us to account. That accessibility is not a weakness. It's one of our greatest strengths. An attack on a parliamentarian is therefore not simply an attack on an individual. It strikes at the democratic principle that public service should be accessible.

What happened to Helen was unacceptable. It was un-Australian, and we must ensure that incidents such as this do not become an accepted cost of public life. Robust debate is not only healthy for a democracy; it's essential to one. Elected representatives must be able to challenge one another, question decisions and argue passionately for their beliefs. We must never allow the fear of controversy to become a reason to silence legitimate political disagreement. But, while robust debate must be protected, we must also recognise that words matter. In particular, what we're increasingly seeing on social media is deeply concerning—gutless individuals hiding behind keyboards and fake profiles, feeling emboldened to personally attack, threaten and intimidate others in ways they would rarely have the courage to do face to face. When personal abuse becomes normalised, when threats are dismissed as simply part of the job and when people are rewarded with attention for the most extreme and inflammatory rhetoric, it changes the tone of our public debate.

The relevant decision-makers should also use this as an opportunity to reconsider our security arrangements. I acknowledge and respect the important work of the AFP and our intelligence agencies. Their responsibilities are considerable, but acknowledging that work does not mean we should shy away from asking whether the arrangements we have in place are adequate to the circumstances we now face and—let's be honest—have faced for some time. We must ensure that security advice reflects the realities of our roles. The work of an electorate MP is fundamentally different from that of a senior minister or other highly protected parliamentarians. We spend much of our time in public and mobile offices meeting people, visiting workplaces and attending community events. Accessibility is central to our responsibilities, and security arrangements must account for that reality. There's also a significant gap between the security afforded to senior parliamentarians and that available to more junior members. We should carefully consider whether that gap is appropriate, particularly when the risks faced by members are not always determined by their seniority, as was the case in Helen's situation. We should review arrangements for prepoll voting and consider the security measures needed in the lead-up to an election, when parliamentarians and candidates are particularly visible and accessible and when tensions are highest. It should not have to take an incident like this for us to act.

The principle is straightforward. No elected representative, regardless of gender, party or seniority, should be subjected to violence, intimidation or harassment while serving their community. We owe that protection to our colleagues, we owe it to their families, and we owe it to the Australians who entrust us with their democratic representation.

Helen, you have given your time and your energy to serving your community. You deserve to be able to continue that work safely and with the same warmth, openness and commitment that you've always brought to it. My thoughts are with you; your husband, Phil; your children and family; your staff; and the broader Indi community. Helen, from McPherson to Indi, I wish you strength and reassurance in the days ahead. I hope you know that, across this parliament, your colleagues stand with you.

Helen is one of the very best people I've had the privilege of meeting in this place. She is someone who treats everyone with kindness, dignity and respect. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from or whether you agree with her; Helen always leads with humanity. She is someone who has spent her life caring for others, serving her community and making our country better. That she has been subjected to violence and cruelty has shaken us all.

Anyone who knows Helen knows what an extraordinary person she is. For her, politics has never been about herself. It has always been about the people she represents and how she can make a difference to their lives. Regardless of whether you agree with her or not, Helen reminds us that disagreement does not have to mean disrespect. We should debate ideas and policies robustly. This place must be a contest of ideas. We owe it to the Australian people. But Helen reminds us that politics can still be conducted with decency, generosity and goodwill. At a time when public debate can feel increasingly angry and divided, Helen has always been a steadfast example of grace and civility. These are dark days, but moments like this remind us of the values that Helen embodies: kindness over cruelty, respect over anger and compassion over division. This morning, Helen's husband, Phil, issued us a clarion call to change our country for the better. It is a call to all of us in this place to conduct ourselves with civility and respect.

A few months ago, while I was out doorknocking in my electorate, I met someone who had recently migrated to Australia. They were surprised to see me walking through the neighbourhood on my own. They told me that, in the country that they had come from, politicians travelled with armed guards and were separated from the communities that they served. That conversation has stayed with me ever since. I don't want that in this country. One of the greatest strengths of Australia's democracy is that our elected representatives remain accessible. We meet people in shopping centres, at train stations and at their front doors. We listen to them, learn from them and serve them. That openness is something precious. We cannot allow fear to erode the fundamental relationship between elected representatives and the communities we represent. At the same time, this attack is a sobering reminder that we must never take the safety of our colleagues, our staff or our communities for granted. I want to acknowledge Helen's staff, particularly those who were there on that terrible day. Electorate staff are often the unseen heroes of our democracy. They work tirelessly for their communities and stand beside their members through the best and worst of times. What they experienced was deeply traumatic, and I want them to know that all of us in this parliament are thinking of them and supporting them.

In the days since this attack, Australians from every corner of the country have come together to send Helen their love and support. That outpouring of kindness says so much about who Helen is. She has spent a lifetime caring for others, and now it is our turn to care for her. Helen, we are thinking of you. We are standing with you. We are wishing you strength, healing and a full recovery. Most of all, we thank you for the example you have set for all of us—an example of service, an example of decency and an example of the very best of Australia.

I'd just like to commend the member for Reid, Sally Sitou, on her lovely words, and I agree with Sally wholeheartedly. Helen, our thoughts are with you, Phil and your family at this incredibly difficult time. We have you in our thoughts and prayers, and so does much of the electorate of Cook. The House feels quieter today, much more solemn. As we reflect on this tragic situation, we're left with the deafening absence of a lively voice of reason. Helen represents the very best of this parliament. Helen brings to this parliament the character of someone who has spent a lifetime in service to others. Decades of caring for others as a nurse, a midwife and a rural health researcher shaped Helen, who then became a politician who continued to care for her community and who continued to listen and try and understand those she represents. Helen has been a fierce, independent voice for Indi, fighting for better regional health care, a fair share for country communities and greater integrity and accountability in politics. Helen has always shown that conviction and compassion can go hand in hand and you can hold someone or a government to account fiercely yet compassionately and fairly.

The tragic events of last week have been a sobering reminder of what we're all here to do. Though it shouldn't surprise us as elected representatives, the message is loud and clear. What we say in here and how we say it matters. As leaders, we shape how we want the country to feel, interact and behave. At times, I know I've fallen short of these standards and I could do better myself, but I think all Australians at this time should ask how they can do better as well. This does not mean stifling political debate. This does not mean holding each other to account. This does not mean fiercely challenging ideas, policy and reason. But what it does mean is not allowing the politics of hatred to infect this country like it has many countries around the world. We can have fierce political debate. Actually, fierce political debate is what keeps this country safe. We must never descend that debate into hatred or have it encourage violence. That is completely unacceptable in this country. Political violence and violence have no part in this country and are un-Australian. But political debate is what this country is about, and we need to find how to do that.

I think one of the things I've reflected on in this parliament is that politicians have very little, if any, professional development. I think one of the things we could look at in light of Helen Haines's tragedy is investing more in our politicians into their professional development as a profession. One of the things the member for Reid and I did was a course last year where we bipartisanly worked together on policy issues and what we wanted to do as politicians, and I think some of that reaching out across the aisle is what would strengthen this parliament and strengthen the political discourse in this country, and I think it's about time we looked at institutionalising that as a parliament.

Helen has steadfastly protected and advocated for her beliefs. I've seen her genuinely challenge in this chamber but never be dogmatic. I've seen her be a fierce advocate for her constituents but also set an example for them too. I think it's in light of Helen's dedication and service that we need to continue to challenge each other—challenge each other on our ideas but also challenge each other on our decorum, to be better, not worse. In a world where hate is often louder than harmony and protest is more convenient than peace and ignorance is more prevalent than imagination, we must be optimistic. Every day, we must toil to bring the forces of exceptionalism to bear and build a country befitting of fortune and aspiration. This is what much of Australia has been built on. For the people of Indi, you are not forgotten. You have not lost your voice. From Wodonga to Wangaratta and everywhere in between, we hear you, we see you, and we see Helen and her legacy as well. She's done you all proud.

I want to address the member for Indi, Phil, her family, her staff and her constituents from here as an honorary member of the crossbench. It wasn't here that I became friends with the member for Indi. It was in a place just up on level 2 in what I would call the 'naughty corner', which was where our offices were in her first term. There in that little corner she had created a small piece of Indi in the nation's capital, an office full of volunteers, flowers, cake and determination and occasionally hosting morning teas for new members of the naughty corner when the coalition gave us newly demoted neighbours. It's that kindness that I saw every single day, which is why I can't comprehend what's happened to our friend. I've always admired the member for Indi, even when she convinced the Prime Minister to amend one of my finely crafted bills. Despite the tragedy that we discuss today, I feel that her greatest contribution to this parliament is yet to come.

She never wasted a day here. Just last sitting week she said this:

It started with harsh, public mockery of quirky online posts.

It is a shocking backward step in the quest for equality for adolescents.

I'm talking about the "Bring Back Bullying" trend that is becoming popular on social media.

She was reading the words of 13-year-old Davey from the Indi electorate. I share that because it reminds us of two truths: first, the challenge of this moment is not new; and, second, it is not just politicians who endure hate, bullying and violence. It's that violence that I want to address. There is too much violent language and too much violence in our communities and Australian homes, and, as our parliament reflects our society, there is too much violence in our politics.

The member for Indi has been one of the strongest voices for nonviolence. Her words in this place just last month speak as clearly today:

Domestic, family and sexual violence remains one of the most serious issues facing Australia. In 2024-25 on average, one woman was killed every 11 days and one man every 26 days by an intimate partner. This violence occurs right across Australia …

I want for everyone here to have safety in their communities not safety from their communities, and, put simply, I think we are all here, whatever our different beliefs, to fight for the Australian people not to fight with them, and, like every workplace in Australia, everyone should go home safe every single day—paramedics, shop assistants, nurses, teachers, truck drivers and, indeed, members of parliament and their staff—because we want a society where people are safe at work, safe in their homes, safe in Northbridge, safe at places of worship and safe doing politics; otherwise, we see this attack on our democracy as an attack on our society as a whole. I refuse to accept that we let violent people coerce any of us in how we do our democratic work. That coercion can make people fearful to volunteer. It can scare people from putting their hand up to run for parliament, and that can't be the way that we run this nation we call Australia, and we can't allow it to define us.

We also can't ignore the fact that the vast, overwhelming majority of Australians are kind, compassionate, caring people, and, as we reflect on something very dark, we can also see the light and encourage others to shine that light, celebrate the good in our democracy, including the ability to disagree well. Of course, tell your local member of parliament when they get it wrong, but tell them when they get it right as well.

I will end with the words of Helen reading the words of Davey:

It is better if we are all feeling safe, than afraid.

That's the world that this parliament must continue to build not just for the member for Indi but for all Australians. I commend the motion.

The member for Indi, Helen Haines, and I entered this parliament together in 2019. I remember sitting opposite Helen and her husband, Phil, in those early days, struck by the strength of their partnership. They were a team. The love and respect between them and the confidence they gave one another was unmistakeable. Not long ago, Helen and I were chatting about the Midwinter Ball. She told me she could only get one ticket this year, which meant Phil couldn't come and she wasn't going without him. It was a small conversation, but it said so much about their marriage. Watching Phil speak publicly this past week, I thought about that conversation. He was a husband facing something unimaginable speaking with such love and courage about his wife. He told us Helen was a fighter determined to do her best and, with her family's and his love and support, she was going to recover. I hope Phil knows that the love he spoke of extends far beyond their family. He has the affection and support of this entire parliament, as does Helen.

Helen truly graces the corridors of parliament. Over seven years, we've stopped for many chats about politics, our families, our communities and life. She has a rare generosity of spirit. She listens, she cares and she sees the person beyond the politics. I've always believed in the strength of compassion. It isn't weakness. It's an attribute that can't be taught. Helen has it in abundance. That's why what happened to her seems so difficult to comprehend—Helen, of all people.

In the days since the attack, I've thought about those who came to Helen's aid. When she needed help, her people ran towards her. They could have turned away, but they didn't. They responded to terrible violence with extraordinary courage and compassion. We spend a great deal of time in this parliament defending our democratic institutions, our freedoms and our right to disagree, and rightly so. But there is something else we have a responsibility to preserve—the humanity in our democracy, the decency to recognise another person's suffering regardless of who they are or what they believe, the trust that allows us to walk amongst the people that we represent and the compassion that brings neighbours and strangers to another person's aid. Strong communities are the foundation of a strong democracy, and Helen understands that. She has never treated public life as a performance. She has treated it as service, being present, listening and earning the trust of her community and, when she needed help, her community was there for her.

Inspired by Helen, on the day after I walked down the main street of my electorate. I know others did too. I felt like I was being defiant. People stopped me. I even got hugs. People asked after Helen. They didn't know her. My people from Penrith had never met the member for Indi, yet they cared. There was no politics in those conversations, just everyday Australians showing concern for another human being. It reminded me of the Australia that we must never lose and why we cannot allow fear to put distance between us and the people we serve.

There is something different about being a woman in politics. We face particular scrutiny, hostility and personal attacks and, increasingly, those pressures reach into our communities and our private lives. We should never accept intimidation as simply part of the job. That makes it all the more important that we have opportunities to connect, to share our experiences, to support one another and to show compassion, even when our politics are different. Helen does that naturally. She understands that strong convictions and genuine friendships can exist together. She reaches across the aisle with warmth and respect, without compromising what she believes.

Relationships in here do matter. They extend beyond this parliament. They extend beyond this place. They extend into the way that we treat each other and how we treat our communities. Considering a tragedy has made us all a bit kinder to each other this week, I hope the solidarity we feel for Helen becomes something a bit more lasting than speeches, a parliament where we can disagree fiercely without losing respect, where friendships survive political differences and where compassion is recognised as a strength. Today, an orange cockatoo sits in Helen's spot, and I very much look forward to the day when that cockatoo flies away so Helen can take her seat again.

What happened to the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, has profoundly shaken this parliament and the nation. One of our colleagues was horrifically attacked and injured outside her electorate office. There's something terribly inadequate about the language available to us at moments such as this. We speak of solidarity, of hope and of recovery, and those words can seem insufficient beside the enormity of what has happened to Helen. Inadequate as they might feel, she deserves to hear them, and I want her to know that they are offered with the same care she has always shown to me, her community and so many others.

Perhaps the clearest thing I can say is that I am heartbroken. We do not know what motivated the alleged attack on Helen. However, much has been said about the wider unprecedented climate of hostility—one we all know is real. Some weeks back I delivered a speech in this place about the debilitating consequences of hate that plagues Australia and those who encourage it. It is that point I want to briefly revisit. Online platforms dominate public debate and dangerously reward the prolific distribution and amplification of hate, division and hostility. That is not a contested idea. Platforms record this activity as engagement and reward it with further circulation, with little to no accountability. We've been willing to treat these platforms as neutral and accept that it is just the technology at work. However, the systems that determine what we read, see and hear, and what is promoted and repeated, are based on deliberate commercial decisions. When the widespread circulation of hostility becomes commercially rewarding, we face a troubling imbalance: the financial benefits and rewards accrue to those who distribute it, while the consequences are borne by the communities who must live with it.

The other point to make is that hatred expressed online does not necessarily stay there. Platforms that circulate hatred can join up people who hate, and can influence and deepen their grievances. In some circumstances, the hatred which is spread spills into the community with acts of violence. Many members of parliament have spoken publicly about the volume of online threats they receive, including threats of sexual violence, violence and death. Many of my female colleagues have had to endure extraordinary levels of abhorrent abuse, much of it directed at them because they are women. These are not simply insults to be endured as the price of public life; they change the way elected representatives do their work—where they go, who they meet with and, for some, whether to uproot their families because of safety concerns.

In Australia, our representatives live among the people they serve. They shop in the same places and send their children to the same schools. People can walk up to their elected representatives, when they meet on the street, and talk with them. It is vital that this continues. That closeness is part of what makes Australian democracy work. We are not like other countries. Violence against people in public life is not something this nation has ever accepted. It has no place in this country.

I want Helen, Phil and their family to know that they have the affection and support of people right across the nation. I also want Helen's electorate office team to know that they have the care and support of people across the nation, and that my team and I offer unconditional help, if needed. I wish Helen a speedy recovery and I look forward to seeing her sitting in this chamber with us again.

It is hard to imagine that, only one week ago today, the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, was attacked. This was no ordinary act of violence; this was a reprehensible act of violence that struck at the very heart of Wangaratta, sent shockwaves across our nation and shattered something precious—the belief that Australians can go about their daily lives without fear for their safety. It goes without saying our thoughts are with Helen, her husband, family, friends and staff as they face its consequences. Amid the horror of the attack, we witnessed the very best of Australia. I acknowledge the extraordinary courage of local barber Ricky Jeffries, Jacob Evans, Jacklyn Black and the other bystanders and emergency responders who rushed towards danger to help Helen. In a moment of unimaginable horror, their instinct was not to turn away but to help. Their courage, compassion and selflessness remind us of the very best of the Australian spirit.

Whatever our political differences in this place, every member of this parliament should condemn this attack. No grievance, political belief or personal resentment can justify such violence. For members across this chamber the implications are deeply personal. We are thinking not only about our own safety but also about the safety of our partners, children, families, friends and staff. No-one should be placed at risk simply because they work with, support or seek assistance from an elected representative. Our staff assist Australians through some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. They should be able to come to work confident that they will return home safely.

This incident also sends a troubling message to anyone considering a future in public life, particularly women. People entering public service should be able to focus on what they can contribute to their communities, not on the possibility of violence directed at them or those they love. We must not allow intimidation to deter capable people from public life or undermine the community engagement on which representative democracy depends. Attending a community fete, holding a pop-up office, speaking at a school, supporting a charity fundraiser and meeting constituents are all important parts of representing an electorate. Listening to people and understanding their needs is what drives me as a representative, and I know the member for Indi shares that same commitment. It is through these connections that deeply connect strong members of parliament to their communities. It would be a profound loss if politicians could no longer engage with their communities directly and meaningfully.

That is why Helen's contribution should be remembered for what it was: years of service to Indi and to Australia. Helen has earned the trust of her community by being accessible, practical and willing to work across political lines when that is what her constituents require. Her advocacy for stronger rural and regional health services, better support for local hospitals and improved access to medical care reflects the qualities Australians expect from their representatives—persistence, compassion, independence and a focus on practical outcomes. Helen's contribution must not be defined by this terrible incident. It should be defined by her service, her advocacy for regional Australians and her commitment to bringing their concerns to this parliament. Helen Haines and her loved ones deserve our compassion, support and recognition of her public service. Australians deserve a democracy in which they can speak freely, participate openly and serve their communities without fear. My staff and I and the people of Capricornia are thinking of you and your family. You have given so much to the people of Indi and to public life in Australia. We hope you recover from this and return to the work you care so deeply about, and we look forward to seeing you back in the chamber.

Australia is strongest when our people stand together. Our love of country gives us common ground, respect gives us understanding and unity gives us strength. Australians may come from different backgrounds and hold different beliefs, but we share a common home, a common future and a collective responsibility to leave Australia stronger, more prosperous and safer for future generations.

Over the past few days, I've heard one particular phrase repeated countless times across the nation: Helen is the best of us. I think those words are entirely accurate, because anyone who has the privilege of knowing Helen knows just how much the truth is in that statement. Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi, represents everything we should aspire to be in public life. She is hardworking, compassionate, principled and, above all else, genuinely committed to making a positive difference in the lives of others.

But what makes Helen so special is not simply the work she does in this chamber. It is the person she is outside of it. Anyone who has spent time walking the corridors of Parliament House will know Helen's friendly nature. She is always smiling, with time for a kind word or a quick chat no matter how busy the sitting week might be. I have the particular honour of being Helen's neighbour here at Parliament House in the naughty corner on level 2, as the member for Perth stated not too long ago. I can say from personal experience that she's always been incredibly welcoming to both me and my staff. Helen has always made the time for everyone here. She never just says hello and keeps walking; she always stops, checks in and asks how your day is going. Those small interactions don't normally make the headlines or appear in Hansard, but they speak volumes about someone's character. They remind us that, behind the political differences, we are all human beings.

That is why the events of recent days have been so deeply troubling. Senseless acts of violence should never be considered acceptable in Australia—not in our communities or workplaces and certainly not as a response to political opinions. Our democracy is built upon the principle that people can hold different opinions, debate passionately and disagree respectfully. Violence has absolutely no place in that process. It undermines the respect, compassion and understanding that should underpin our society, and it threatens the very principle that makes our democracy strong. No Australian should ever feel unsafe simply because they have chosen to serve their community, because at the heart of public service is a commitment to making life better for others.

Few have demonstrated that commitment more consistently than Helen. Long before entering this parliament, she had already built an esteemed career in health care, working as a nurse, midwife and rural health researcher. Her work was grounded in caring for people, understanding their needs and advocating for better outcomes, particularly for those living in regional and rural Australia. That commitment to service continued when Helen was elected as the independent member for Indi in 2019. Since arriving in Canberra, she has established herself as a thoughtful, determined and deeply respected parliamentarian. One of her most significant contributions has been her tireless advocacy for greater integrity and transparency in federal politics. Helen played an important role in the push to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Her work helped build momentum for a stronger national integrity framework and demonstrated what determined, principled advocacy can achieve. It is a contribution that will have a lasting impact on this parliament and on the trust Australians place in their democratic institutions.

But, for all her achievements and for all the recognition she has rightly earned, one thing has remained constant. Helen has always served, first and foremost, her community. The people of Indi have always been at the centre of her work. Their concerns, their aspirations, their families and their futures have been the driving force behind her time in public life. And I believe that is what makes Helen such an outstanding representative. She understands that being a parliamentarian is not about the title we hold, the office we occupy or the recognition we receive. It is about the people who place their trust in us and the responsibility that we carry to represent them with dignity and integrity. Helen has demonstrated that responsibility every single day. So today I thank Helen for her friendship, her kindness, her service and the example she continues to set for all of us. I extend my very best wishes to Helen for her recovery, her husband, Phil, and her family, her friends and her dedicated staff. Lastly, please take all the time you need to recover. I look forward to welcoming you back and finally cooking you that dinner I still owe you and Phil in my office.

There is something special about representing a regional electorate, whether it's Indi or Dawson. People don't just want to know who their local member is; they want to know them personally. They expect to see us at the markets, at the community events, at the local footy and down the main street. When something goes wrong, they expect our door to be open. That is why what has happened to our friend and colleague the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, has shaken us all so deeply. It is heartbreaking, it is unthinkable and it has touched every corner of this parliament.

Helen and I come from different political spectrums and we haven't always agreed on everything. That's perfectly alright because parliament isn't supposed to be a place where everyone agrees all of the time. It's supposed to be a place with different ideas. Parliamentarians all come together, argue their case and fight for the communities who put trust in them. Helen and I share something that goes well beyond politics. We both represent regional Australia and we both understand that the people who sent us here deserve someone who will stand up for them. Helen has been a determined advocate for regional health care, helping lead the Parliamentary Friends of Rural and Regional Health. It's a cause that affects everyone in Dawson, where accessing medical treatment can mean hours on the road, time away from work and families travelling enormous distances. We come from different electorates, with different politics, but have the same determination to make life better for the communities we love.

There is another side to public service that people don't always see—the phone calls after hours, the weeks spent away, the family occasions missed because someone in your electorate needs help. The truth is that the people who make those sacrifices aren't just the members sitting in this chamber. Our families serve too. When I watched Helen's husband, Phil, speak publicly about her condition, I was struck by his courage and composure. He was a husband facing something no family should ever have to endure yet speaking with such dignity and such obvious love for his wife. It reminded me just how much we ask of the people closest to us. Our families don't stand for election, they don't deliver speeches, and they rarely receive recognition. But they carry the long absences, the missed birthdays, the interrupted dinners and the countless times when the needs of our community must come before their own. I've served in local and federal government, and I know how much my own family has sacrificed. Most of all, they have sacrificed time—time together that we will never get back. To Phil, Helen's family and everyone who loves her: please know that you are not alone.

There's something else I hope we remember from this tragedy: an electorate office isn't simply a place where people lodge forms or make appointments; sometimes it's where someone walks in because they've run out of all other options. They're frightened about losing their home, struggling to access health care or desperate to find someone who will simply listen. They don't care which party we belong to. They only care about whether we care. That responsibility, that connection between a member and their community, is something that we must never lose. Of course, we must take the safety of parliamentarians and staff very seriously, but we cannot allow fear to build walls between representatives and the people we are elected to serve, because our democracy depends on more than what happens inside this chamber. It depends on trust, accessibility and the courage to keep showing up.

To Helen: I know the road ahead will be long and difficult, but the strength you have shown and your family has shown and the extraordinary support flowing from Australians everywhere reflect the very best of the Australian spirit. From one regional representative to another: we are thinking of you, we are backing you, and we are wishing you every strength in your recovery. To your family: our hearts are with you.

I rise to express my solidarity with the member for Indi and wish her strength and a good recovery. Like for everyone here, over the past several days, Helen hasn't been far from my mind. My thoughts are also with her family, friends, team and community. We are all desperately looking forward to her recovery. The outpouring of love and care from every segment of the community has been overwhelming, for good reason. Helen represents the best in us—a hard-working, intelligent and decent person defined by her kindness, empathy and compassion. She is well loved by her constituents and respected across the parliament. Over the weekend, I had a series of community events, including a barbecue at Catherine Hill Bay, where many average Australians expressed horror at the event and sympathy for Helen and her family. I had a meeting at my Shortland federal electorate council yesterday where a motion was passed by the branch members wishing her a speedy recovery.

As everyone knows, before politics, she served her community in health care as a nurse and a midwife and was an incredible advocate, and still is an incredible advocate, for rural and regional communities. One thing we've heard many times over the past several days is that Helen is a fighter. She's been presented with a mighty challenge, one which I have no doubt she'll overcome. Like everyone here, I'm looking forward to seeing her out and about again in her electorate, with her community and in this building.

The thing about politics is that everything that happens is in the public domain—our wins, our losses and our struggles. We feel the public mood—their passion and hopes as well as their anger and despair. We're often on the front line of the battles people care most about. In this work, I've noticed a significant rise in violence and abuse—the culture of aggression. Our government has talked for years about the importance of lowering the temperature and the direct link between language used in public debate and violence in the community. Unfortunately, we've seen a significant rise in the number of threats to high office holders in recent years. In 2024-25, the Federal Police recorded 951 incidents of harassing or threatening behaviour. In 2025-26, this rose to 1,067. There is definitely a broader mood at play. But it's not just politicians who feel it. Anyone in a public-facing role—first responders and people who work in retail and hospitality as well—are feeling this rise in anger and violence.

We must never tolerate abuse or harassment, not in the workplace and not anywhere. Copping abuse is never part of anyone's job. We should never let disagreement be a carriage for violence. When we allow aggression to grow in any form, we embolden those who seek to perpetrate harm. Violence and intimidation have no place in our democracy. That applies across party lines and across ideological divisions. Words have power. As leaders in our communities, we have a responsibility to promote discourse that is constructive and respectful. It's important to recognise that this aggression doesn't fall on everyone equally. Vulnerable communities, people who are new to this country, Indigenous Australians and women cop it more, and this is something we must not ignore. We need to foster a culture where disagreement does not divide us, where we can have different opinions and still be friends, where we respect difference and where we appreciate it. As a nation, we are diverse and we are free. That's one of our greatest strengths, and we must protect it.

The safety of our communities depends on the safety of those who serve them. This is a really tough time for many in this building, especially Helen's staff, some of whom were witnesses to the horrific incident. That is a terrible trauma to carry. My heart goes out to them, and I hope they're okay. While the motivation for the attack is not yet known, it's a shocking reminder that we need to turn the temperature down on political debate. As Phil Haines himself has said, Australian political leaders have a choice. They can tame or inflame the great fear that is out there. They can use this opportunity, this event, to spike the national fever and choose a better path. I certainly agree with his sentiments. Moving in the other direction to inflame this great fear would be unthinkably destructive to our democracy and our way of life. We owe it to the member for Indi and to our democracy to do the opposite, to choose a better path. Helen, your colleagues and friends across this chamber are all thinking of you, and we wish you the very best for your recovery.

'Morning, folks. Thanks so much for being here.' That's how Helen so often opened her meetings and press conferences—a greeting that reflected who she is: warm, friendly and welcoming. The attack on our beautiful Helen was unfathomable in its violence, and it has stunned and horrified our nation. The ongoing impact on Helen and her family will be immense. But, if there's one thing I know, it's that Helen is incredibly strong and she's surrounded by a loving family and a vast community of people ready to help.

Over the past week, the phrase that has been repeated again and again is that Helen is the best of us. When we say that, we mean the best of Australians. In a world that can often feel cynical, Helen reminds us that there are people who do step forward to serve their communities for all the right reasons. As Helen acknowledged in her own first speech, there is honour in service. As a former midwife and nurse, she understands the true meaning of care and service. Just last sitting week, she pushed for action on the stark disparities in health outcomes faced by people living in regional communities. I think her steely gaze is something to behold.

Helen has also dedicated herself to strengthening our democracy through greater transparency and accountability. Many people know of her work establishing and strengthening the National Anti-Corruption Commission. More recently, she was fighting against pork barrelling and the unfair grants process, which was invitation only, because fairness matters deeply to Helen.

Just as importantly, Helen has always shown that lasting change doesn't come from shouting the loudest. It comes from bringing people together, listening and treating people with respect. At a time when division and anger are, too often, amplified online, Helen has consistently shown that the antidote to division is real conversations between real people. Indi was the birthplace of the kitchen table conversation, a typically rural way to bring people together to listen to one another, to understand different perspectives and to find common ground.

Family is also at the centre of everything that Helen does. Anyone who knows her knows how her face lights up when she talks about her family or asks you about yours. To Phil, her dear husband: at a time when growing misogyny tells young men that women's success somehow comes at their expense, you've shown what real strength, honour and courage look like. You've always stood beside Helen as a true partner, supporting her to reach her full potential—not only sharing in her success but actively helping to create it. Your confidence and self-worth are strengthened, not diminished, by Helen's achievements, and you have been quietly and steadfastly by her side, encouraging her every step of the way and ensuring her success. I absolutely love that you have your own makeshift office by Helen's where you guide the Indi volunteers through their parliamentary experiences. We see you.

One of the most incredible aspects of this whole incident is that juxtaposed to the extreme violence was an act of extraordinary kindness shown in the moments straight after the attack. At a moment when anger would have been completely understandable, Ricky Jefferies, the barber, chose kindness to calm and subdue the perpetrator. He recognised another human in immense distress, and I think that is incredible. To the bystanders, staff members and first responders who rushed to Helen's aid, to the incredible person who sat in front of the vehicle to prevent Helen from being hurt again and to Ricky Jefferies: the nation thanks you for your kind and courageous hearts, for your decency and for your deeds.

There has been much discussion this week about the threats faced by politicians. Those threats are real, but, for every one person who would do harm, there are thousands of thoroughly decent Australians who would put themselves in harm's way to help a stranger. That is who we are. I thank the health professionals, the doctors, the nurses and the hospital staff who are caring for Helen. I say thank you to Helen's incredible team for continuing her work while she is recovering, for supporting one another and also for supporting so many of us through these unimaginably difficult times.

To Phil and Helen's family: our thoughts and our love are with you. There is an empty seat in front of me today, and the woman who usually occupies it is in the fight of her life, but we know her strength, and it comes from within. To Helen: Please know that there are rivers of love flowing towards you from all around our nation. We love you with all our hearts, and we are sending you every best wish for your recovery. While the relief is immense that your heart and mind are intact—the most beautiful parts of you—please also know that we do mourn the loss of your legs. We mourn with you.

Phil has asked that what has happened to Helen mean something. Business as usual is not an option, because the current febrile environment is dividing our communities and our country. We as national leaders have a choice, as Phil said, to tame it or inflame it. It is up to us to hold this nation of ours—this beautiful nation—together. So, as many of us already do, let's ask ourselves: what would Helen do in this situation? We know what she would do. She would do everything to help bring people together with kindness rather than driving them further apart. With her very much in my thoughts, I too make the same pledge that she has always lived by: 'In my political life, I pledge to act with honesty, respect and compassion.'

Thank you, Speaker, for your leadership over the last seven days and particularly today. We know the awesome responsibility you bear given what has happened to one of our colleagues. To the member for Mackellar: it is a great honour to follow you. We all have such a high regard for Helen, but I think we all are deeply conscious of the particular bond that you on the crossbench have formed with each other, and we know you're hurting. You're really hurting.

These are tough times to live in, and this is a solemn day. There have been seven solemn days, but there's something particular about coming to this chamber, looking over there, seeing Helen's seat empty and knowing the pain and the struggle that she is experiencing and her family by extension are experiencing as well. Sometimes it is too easy to succumb to despair about the nature of not just our community but communities around the world that seem more filled with rage and more willing to jump to threats of violence and death. But a number of us heard from her beautiful husband, Phil, this morning and took inspiration from that—to put aside despair, to take some leadership from this utterly horrific event and to make our community a little bit better. That is exactly, I'm sure, what Helen would be hoping for. It's what Phil conveyed to us this morning.

We all want you back as soon as possible, Helen. We all wish you the very best during your rehabilitation. We know it is going to be incredibly tough. The member for Mackellar, given her background, would know that better than most. Helen brings leadership in integrity and civility in public discourse. She brings leadership in regional services. As a member for a city electorate, it's not something I understand in the way that Helen does. But she also brings leadership in health. Along with the member for Mackellar, she's part of a growing group of health professionals who are part of this chamber and who make my job a little bit more difficult as health minister but add enormous value to the discussion that we have in this building about one of the most important things for the Australian community. As a nurse, as a midwife, and as a person with a doctorate in public health and with regional experience, Helen brings a particular perspective that I want to see back in this chamber as soon as possible.

As members have said—as the member for Mackellar just said—this horrific event has raised questions about the nature of our public discourse here in Australia. That's the right thing to do. It doesn't mean we're shying away from robust debate, disagreement and sometimes angry disagreement at a time when households are under pressure. But there is a line. There is a line around intimidation and threats of violence against MPs, their families and their staff and against frontline health workers and retail workers, as we've heard about so often today. That debate should play out. I think it's an important one.

But in the very short time I have, I want to address some questions that are also being raised about mental health services. Obviously, we're not going to comment on the particular circumstances of the man who has been charged with this horrific attack. But there is a genuine debate, a legitimate debate, about the adequacy of mental health services in the country broadly and in regional communities in particular, and Helen has been a leader in that debate. There is no question that there are hundreds of thousands of Australians with severe and chronic mental illness who are not getting the support that they need and, in some cases, not getting really any support at all, and we're seeing far too many instances where those people, left to their own devices without support, do awful things in our community.

By coincidence, I met with mental health ministers on Friday, our third meeting for this year. We'll have another in December. We are seized of these issues, and I want Helen back in this chamber to be a part of that debate. We're also really conscious of the mental health needs of the community of Wangaratta and Wodonga in the north-east of Victoria. We've got too much experience of the mental health impacts of these horrific events, whether it's the attack at Bondi, the attack at Bondi Junction a little earlier or the various natural disasters that Australian communities have had to endure. We have some experience about that. We're talking to the Victorian government to make sure that the right supports are in place for that community that must be feeling an enormous amount of shock at what has happened in their beautiful town of Wangaratta. But, to Helen, we send you love. We want to see you back here as soon as possible after the tough rehabilitation journey we know you're going to face.

Mr Speaker, through you, to Helen: the nation breathed the most enormous sigh of relief when we read reports that your condition had stabilised. As so many people across the country have said, violence is never the solution. Helen, you of all people did not deserve the violent attack—you of all people, who would come into this place at a time of heated debate and have a warm smile that would radiate. You of all people did not deserve to be attacked.

Helen, you have always conducted yourself not as a divider and never as a hater but as a unifier and, if anything, as a true humanitarian, not just holding yourself with enormous dignity but seeing the dignity in others, and, regardless of political stripe, you have heard that message from right across the parliament and, indeed, right across the country. I'm conscious that, while the nation focuses rightly on you, every single day for the rest of your life you will have a reminder of the attack that you have withstood—every single day. My prayer for you is not just for your survival and your recovery but also for your defiance. My prayer for you is that the words your husband, Phil, whose own bravery has proven to be quite extraordinary over recent days, instil in you that fighting spirit about which he has spoken so eloquently and the superpowers about which he speaks—that you believe in kindness, empathy, compassion and that you defy those who hate by continuing to espouse the goodness that underpins those values, values each of us in this parliament have benefited from.

To Phil and the family: I share my deepest sadness for what's happened to your loved one Helen. Thank you for providing the leadership of the local community in her absence, and you no doubt, like us, want to see her back at her very best self. To her staff in the electorate office: so often staff are not mentioned publicly, but you do such good, and the extent to which any parliamentarians have felt insecure over time so too have staff. I thank you, and I thank all electorate staff members right across the country for being on the front line every single day, dealing with Australians in need.

When something like this does happen to a parliamentarian, it makes sense that people focus on parliamentarians, but let's not forget that every single day there are young workers in supermarkets who cop the brunt of people's anger. There are people in hospitals—nurses, care staff—who cop the brunt of people's anger. There are ambos doing the same. There are people running schools and churches—teachers, priests and the like—who cop people's anger. Yes, the security agencies of this country have a job to do, but so too do we.

I genuinely believe Australia is more divided today than it has been in my lifetime. Social cohesion is fragmented. We have a job to do in this place to ensure that people don't fall through the cracks. We have a job to do to tackle the scourge of loneliness, to rebuild civil society, by rediscovering the values of democracy, understanding that absolutely we need robust debate, including in places like this, but that does not mean that is a licence for personal nastiness. We need to ensure we have civic education so our young people know that they can speak freely, that they live in a democracy and that they have the right to safety and protection. That is a responsibility that lies on all of our shoulders.

First, I do want to send my love and support to Helen; her husband, Phil; her family; her staff; and the Indi community. We are thinking of you, Helen, and we really do look forward to seeing you back here when you're able. I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the first responders, including members of Helen's community, who rushed to her aid, putting themselves in danger at the same time.

Regardless of the motive, what happened to Helen was a senseless act of violence that will change her life forever. In the days since the tragedy, we've witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of compassion, care and solidarity. As the Prime Minister said, that's the Australian spirit. In our darkest moments, we reach for each other. We rally around those who are hurting. We give each other a hug. Anyone who knows Helen knows she's thoughtful, she's respectful and she's deeply considerate. She's not inflammatory. She's not divisive. She's calm, compassionate and committed to serving her community. Yet, this happened here in Australia, not somewhere overseas.

As parliamentarians, we know public service comes with risks. What I did not expect when I became an MP was the scale of abuse directed at elected representatives online. On the street, in face-to-face discussions, most people engage respectfully even when they disagree—why?—because most people are decent people. But there are also some social guardrails that pull us all up when we start straying. Online, those guardrails disappear.

The threats, misogyny and intimidation are relentless as an MP. In the last month alone, approximately 10,000 such comments were filtered from my account. Others get a lot more than that. While some caution against framing this as a women's issue, we cannot ignore the reality that women in public life experience abuse differently and disproportionately. We must be honest and we must call it what it is. We must also recognise that abuse is not just directed at those in this place. Police, paramedics, teachers, shop workers—they're seeing increasing levels of violence.

As many have done over the last few days, I've reflected further on where we are as a society. First, I worry about our growing desensitisation to empathy. We consume an endless stream of content where conflict and hostility are normalised. Behind a screen it's easy to forget there might be a real person on the other side. Do people think about, and do they truly understand, the impact of their words, the cumulative harm caused by thousands of messages that are designed to intimidate, humiliate and dehumanise? It's hard to even fathom some of the comments that have flooded our accounts since last week, and I certainly won't repeat them.

Then there's the rabbit hole effect. Tech companies and their algorithms are increasingly feeding people more of what provokes anger, resentment, fear and division. They reinforce insecurities, they amplify grievances and they reward outrage. They trap vulnerable people inside echo chambers where negative beliefs are constantly validated and extreme views become normalised. One example is the manosphere, a network of online communities focused on men, masculinity, gender roles, dating and relationships. Here, toxic masculinity flourishes unchecked, resentment towards women is cultivated, and some men are pushed towards increasingly extreme worldviews.

A second concern is social disconnection. Too many people are isolated. Some know it; others don't even recognise it. Many people work from home. They socialise online. They spend increasing amounts of time disconnected from their communities and, frankly, their families. Genuine human interaction is being replaced by digital interaction. Catch-ups at the pub or the club, a walk in the park, a play date and a family dinner are easily substituted or interrupted. When we lose those real-world connections, we lose opportunities that challenge unhealthy thinking, that develop empathy and that enable us to keep perspective and simply feel part of being a part of our crew.

That brings me to my third reflection: mental health. We are seeing rising levels of ill health across our communities. These are just some of the fault lines running through our society, and they demand our attention. As leaders, we must lead by example and turn the temperature down. Disagreement isn't the problem. Democracy requires disagreement. What democracy and societies cannot survive is the erosion of respect, the dehumanisation of opponents and the belief that abuse and violence are an acceptable substitute for debate and for unity. If there is something good to come from this, it's the opportunity to make this country better. Phil spoke about this so eloquently this morning, and his message was one of hope and a call for leadership and genuine change. This requires leadership from all corners of our community, starting in our homes, our schools, our community spaces and our workplaces and in this place.

Helen, lastly, to you: while your natural instinct is to focus on others, it's time to focus on you. It no doubt will be a tough road ahead. I hope you feel the strength from all of us in here and across Australia, and I hope that helps reduce the load just a little.

Sitting suspended from 13:47 to 14:00

I inform the House that the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government will be absent from question time today and tomorrow. The Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories will answer questions on her behalf.

I inform the House that the Minister for Communications and Sport will be absent from question time today. The Attorney-General will answer questions on her behalf.

Just briefly, for the benefit of members, I advise the House that, following question time, members will continue to address my resolution of this morning in support of the member for Indi—the resolution that I know has the wholehearted backing of the entire House. The House will then adjourn once no-one else rises, and we'll resume normal business tomorrow.

In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier, I now call on questions without notice.

My question is to the Prime Minister. More than 30 small businesses have gone broke every day since Labor's budget. Today, small-business owners from across Australia have come to Canberra to plead with the Prime Minister to start listening. This morning, a small-business woman said to me, 'There is no reason to grow a business in Australia anymore.' How many more small businesses have to close for the Prime Minister to axe his taxes on capital gains trusts and negative gearing?

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and I state that, under our government, there are now an extra 265,000 more small businesses than there were when we came to office. That brings it up to a record of 2.7 million. Indeed, under our government, an average of 900 companies have been created each day, while just 30 have become insolvent. We have made the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent. We introduced the loss carryback and made it permanent. The member raises the issue of tax changes that were in our budget. We consulted with small business. We lifted the definition from the previous $2 million to $10 million; that made an enormous difference as well, as a result of the consultation we committed to.

The other thing that we're doing, which is important, is backing Australian business with the EU free trade agreement. What that will do is open up a market of 450 million people, making an enormous difference for the goods and services that we produce and are able to export overseas to that market. What that means is, immediately, some $10 billion in trade additional, more Australian jobs and more Australian industries—from growing industries as well such as critical minerals, which will, compared with other producers of critical minerals, get access to those European markets as part of the 98 per cent of goods and services that will be completely tariff free. It will give us a competitive advantage into that growing market. We know, of course, Europe has a very large middle class. They are big consumers of products and services. It will make an enormous difference as we go forward. So I would encourage senators in particular to examine the difference that it will make across the board and to give support to that free trade agreement when it comes before the Senate.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport officially opened. How does this generational infrastructure project deliver for the dynamic, growing economy of Western Sydney and the whole of Australia as a nation?

I thank the member for Werriwa for her question and for her advocacy for the Western Sydney international airport. It is something that was backed by many members of this House across both sides of parliament and something that I worked quite closely with the member for Riverina on when he was the minister, as well as with ministers like Paul Fletcher. Yesterday was a dream come true for so many Australians who thought that it was just that—a dream and that there wouldn't be a second airport in Western Sydney. But, at 11 am, JQ362 took off from the brand-new Western Sydney international airport to the Gold Coast. It was the first passenger flight. At 7.28 am today, the first international passenger flight arrived, from Auckland.

This was, of course, a long time coming. Chifley talked about a second airport for Sydney. In 1986 the Hawke government chose Badgerys Creek to be its home. So this was a vision that was 40 years in the making, shared and driven by so many and now delivered. There were 15 years of planning, seven years of construction, 13,000 workers on that project and thousands of workers ongoing. They have an enormous sense of pride in their contribution to a historic Australian infrastructure project—a lasting legacy of generations. I spoke to many of the workers there, as I have on other visits when it was a construction site. They will have such pride when they go to the airport knowing that they helped build it. It will give them that sense of identity.

Can I say this. With due respect to every other airport right around Australia, including the one right next to my electorate, this is without doubt the best airport in Australia—without doubt. It has new technology. It is world's best practice. It is an architectural masterpiece. One of the things that they've done is use products that represent Australia, whether it be sandstone from the Central Coast or wood and pieces of Australia, as part of the construction. It is very much an Australian airport. The important thing is that it's not just an airport. What it does is turn Sydney westward rather than just towards the east and the harbour. It is creating jobs. The Aerotropolis is there, together with the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct. It will be a dynamic part of growth and jobs for Western Sydney. I congratulate everyone who worked on the project for such a long period of time.

on indulgence—I associate myself with the Prime Minister's comments of support for the new Western Sydney airport. I was delighted to be there in my own seat, the great seat of Hume, yesterday to see the first plane take off and carry passengers from that airport. It is a magnificent development—there's no question about that. It is a real milestone for Western Sydney. Not only will it create great transport options; it is an extraordinary opportunity for development of the new city in Western Sydney that is developing every day. Every single day I see it in my own electorate.

I pay tribute to the many that have been involved. I particularly want to call out the decision that was made back in April 2014—and I was on that call with local members at the time. When we received the call, it was a Tuesday night in April 2014. Tony Abbott called us all and said, 'We're going to proceed with this.' Of course, this had been talked about for many decades, but to bite the bullet and do it was an extraordinary thing, with $5 billion of investment at the time. Can I say that the project has come in on budget, which is pretty extraordinary through that timeframe. There were also billions of dollars of infrastructure investment in the Northern Road and Elizabeth Drive. I know the member for Lindsay strongly supported those investments as well. There is still much work to do to make the most of it there, and we know that. I think everyone knows that, but I'll be there alongside others to make sure we absolutely do. Well done to all involved.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last night, the Reserve Bank's assistant governor confirmed government spending is contributing to higher inflation and interest rates with government spending at a 40-year high outside the pandemic. Does the Prime Minister accept his treasurer's spending addiction is forcing the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates again?

I thank the member for his question. Under this government and under this treasurer, average real annual spending growth is 1.5 per cent over the eight years to 2930 from our election, less than half the 30-year average of 3.2 per cent and less than half of what it was before we were elected. We have produced the first back-to-back surpluses in almost two decades, and, importantly, when it comes to savings, we have improved the budget bottom line by $230 billion compared to what we inherited. Another fact is that debt in 2025-26 is nearly $198 billion less than was forecast at the 2022 election, and that is saving us around $70 billion in interest costs over the decade. Australia remains one of only nine countries with a triple A credit rating from all three major ratings agencies.

Now, our priority has been to invest in cost-of-living measures and the services that Australians rely on, but our priority has also been to make sure that we've produced savings in each and every budget and each and every MYEFO and economic statement that we have made. We have been making hard decisions, some of which are still before the parliament. One of which, on private health insurance, was rejected in the parliament just a short time ago, but that is one which we want the parliament to have the opportunity to give proper consideration to as well, because we do need to make difficult decisions that produce savings and that put the budget in the best shape that is possible. In spite of the global circumstances which we are in, we will continue to do what we can to make a positive difference. That is what my government and this treasurer will continue to be focused on.

My question is to the Minister for Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government helping to improve workplace health and safety for Australian workers?

I'd like to thank the member for Holt for that question and also her longstanding commitment to ensuring that Australian workers are safe. A central tenet of our work health and safety laws is that when you go to work you should come home safely, and each day more than 400 Australians are injured at work. This is clearly too many, and there's always more to do to ensure we keep workers safe from harm. All workers deserve to be free from physical and psychosocial injury, and, of course, violence or threats of violence at work risk both physical and psychosocial injury. We've been talking in the parliament today in our tribute to the member for Indi about the devastating consequences that this violence can have not only just on individuals but on families and communities.

Whether you are a public official, a frontline public service worker, a first responder, a retail worker, teacher, nurse, police officer or a doctor, everyone deserves a workplace free from abuse and free from violence. No worker should fear for their wellbeing because of the work they perform, and our government is taking steps to respond to these workplace hazards. Commonwealth protection orders came into force in May providing important protections for those providing frontline services for the Commonwealth. These orders strengthen the protection for frontline Commonwealth workers, such as Services Australia workers, and ensure that violence, threats and harassment do not invade their workplace unreasonably.

The Commonwealth is also taking steps to adopt Safe Work Australia's model laws for stronger reporting requirements for serious psychosocial workplace incidents and taking steps to strengthen the capacity for more effective preventable action. The government will also mandate that regulators are notified of serious workplace incidents, including workplace violence. The Commonwealth will be the first jurisdiction to take such a step.

Our government is also working collaboratively across jurisdictions through Safe Work Australia to progress joint action on critical work health and safety priorities. Together with the states and territories, we have tasked Safe Work Australia with conducting a best-practice review on their model work health and safety laws with an eye to strengthening them. Work plans are now being settled for Safe Work Australia which will help guide governments across Australia on how to best tackle emerging work health and safety challenges. These measures are an important part of the government's commitment to protect workers from harm. This includes strengthening the Model Work Health and Safety Act to clarify the duty of care for management of risks arising from harmful workplace behaviours.

Of course, there is still more to do to make Australians safer while on the job. I look forward to working across this parliament, with all states and territories, with business and with unions to ensure we advance this goal of ensuring all Australians return safely— (Time expired)

I'm pleased to inform the House that we have some guests and visitors in the gallery today, including the winner of the 2026 My First Speech competition, Zoey Zhou, and her family as guests of the member for Deakin. Also in the gallery today is a delegation of senior Kiribati government officials led by His Excellency the honourable Auria Kitina, the Minister for Employment and Human Resources. I can also see a former member for Greenway and Macquarie, Mrs Louise Markus, joining us today.

Finally, I'd also like to welcome and advise the House that in the gallery today are Bruce Morcombe OAM and Denise Morcombe OAM, founders of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Since establishing the foundation in memory of their beloved son, Bruce and Denise have transformed personal tragedy into a national movement delivering child safety education to millions of children across Australia. Their advocacy has culminated in the Day for Daniel, taking place this Friday 30 October. Over lunch with the member for Fairfax, they informed me that over 9,000 schools and early learning centres will be participating in this year's Day for Daniel to promote and protect child safety, education and awareness. On behalf of the House, I warmly welcome you to question time.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

My question is to the Prime Minister. The vicious and violent attack on our colleague the member for Indi has led to calls, including from Helen herself, to raise the standard of civility in political debate in this country. Let's hope it happens. But it's also highlighted other national issues requiring urgent attention. The first is the shocking rates of violence against women, where one in three women have reported experiencing violence since the age of 15. The other is the need to bolster health and mental health services for people in country Australia. Will your government act?

I thank the member for Calare for his question. Like every member of this House, my thoughts are with Helen, her family, her friends, her team and her community at what is an extremely difficult time. This was a violent attack. While we don't know yet the motivation—we have to allow those processes to take their course—what we do know is that we need and there will be a longer term response about the whole tone of not just political debate but public discourse.

There are increasing elements of violence towards police officers, including a tragic incident. I attended the funerals of the police officers murdered in the siege that happened with the sovereign citizen in Victoria. We have increased amounts of violence and threats to and intimidation against emergency service workers, retail workers, people in hospitality. We certainly need to deal with that as a society, and all of us have a role in leadership to do so as well.

But the member singles out particularly violence against women. I'm working closely with the Minister for Social Services and the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, who are developing the second national plan on violence against women and children. I participated in roundtables developing this process that needs to go across everything from education—the impact that some of the online manosphere is having on the attitude of young boys as they grow into adolescence about what's appropriate in attitudes towards women and behaviours. Today, I met with Chanel Contos, who is doing such an extraordinary job. This young woman, a strong advocate, is talking about appropriate sex education—the Teach Us Consent campaign, which is so important, aimed at young people. I also met, just before question time, with Bruce and Denise Morcombe, who are also playing a really important role particularly in regional Queensland but right down to regional New South Wales as well.

This is something that my government takes very seriously, and it's something that I think the whole of the parliament needs to work on as we go forward. I thank the member for his question.

My question is to the Minister for Education. How is the Albanese Labor government investing in better and fairer schools and in protecting Australian children online?

I thank my friend, the absolutely wonderful member for Gorton, for her question. Fifteen years ago, David Gonski gave us a formula for how we should fund our schools properly. The truth is that no government has ever done it until now, until this government and until this prime minister. We've now signed long-term agreements with every state and every territory. The last one of those was signed last week when Victoria signed up. All up, this is the biggest new investment in public schools by an Australian government ever, and it means an extra $20 billion invested in our public schools over the course of the next 10 years. It's not a blank cheque. This funding is tied to reform.

There are some people who say that all we need to do is provide our schools with extra funding, and then there are other people who say that funding is not important and all we need to do is roll out reform. The truth is we've got to do both. That's what this agreement is all about. The reading wars are over. We know what works to teach children how to read. It's phonics. Phonics works—things like phonics checks. That's why they're embedded in these agreements. We also know that small group tutoring works. When you get kids into a small group, they can learn as much in six months as they'd normally learn in 12 months. In other words, they catch up. These agreements help to fund that too, with the people to do that work. We also know the curriculum needs to be fixed, perhaps maths most of all. That's on the agenda when education ministers meet next week. I think we know that our schools also need a digital detox. The evidence is mounting that, the more time kids spend behind a screen or in front of a screen in the classroom, the more their results are inclined to decline. Now, I'm not talking about burning iPads here, but I am suggesting that we need to dial this back a bit. That'll be on the agenda next week too.

This week, we've also got a chance to do something that I think every mum and dad across the country wants us to do. I think every parent worries about what their kids are being fed on the internet—all the anger and the hate and the bullying and the smut. When our kids are being bullied online, I think parents want us to do something to help take that bullying down. When photos of our kids are being cut and pasted onto a naked body—that's what these nudify apps are doing—then they expect us to do something to stop that, too. When algorithms are turning our kids into someone that they're not, I reckon Australians expect us to do something about that, too. That's what the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill is all about. I hope that this week we can all come together and support it. (Time expired)

My question is to the Prime Minister. Interest rates have hit their highest level since 2011, under the Gillard Labor government. Does the Prime Minister take any responsibility for the average new mortgage holder now paying $30,000 more per year because of the 16 interest rate rises under his government?

I thank the member for Wide Bay for his question. We, of course, take responsibility for government policy. Our government's policy has been to be responsible when it comes to getting inflation down. Inflation is, of course, lower than what we inherited. Importantly as well, we've done that whilst not scuttling employment because, as a Labor government, we will always be concerned about getting people into work. Something like 1.3 million jobs have been created on our watch. At the same time, we have done what we can to create savings in every budget, as I said in answer to a previous question, delivering over $230 billion of improvement to the budget bottom line.

We know from the evidence of the RBA governor that there are global concerns as well. She gave clear evidence to the House Standing Committee on Economics when she said global cost pressures have increased. There's little sign of resolution of the Middle East conflict. Oil and related prices have increased sharply again and will add directly to inflation. We are not alone in being concerned about this. Central banks in many other advanced economies are responding to this global inflation shock by increasing their policy rates or signalling they will do so if needed. The United States, for example, increased interest rates on 17 September, with the US Federal Reserve saying:

… uncertainty remains elevated owing, in part, to geopolitical developments …

The European Union did the same thing on 10 September 2026, and the European Central Bank said:

The conflict in the Middle East continues to generate inflation pressures, and inflation is set to remain well above target for an extended period.

Of course, just across the ditch, on 2 September, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand did that there as well, as did the Bank of Japan on 18 September.

So that is something that is having an impact on the world economy. It is something, though, that we're very conscious of, and we're doing what we can domestically to reduce pressure by having cost savings. You'll see in MYEFO the work that we're doing already in the lead-up to the budget next year. Like every other economic statement, there'll be responsible savings in there. These responsible savings, though, are aimed at keeping people in employment and keeping growth going.

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government's economic plan making the tax system fairer and the budget more sustainable?

Big thanks to the member for Bonner for her question. She's my neighbour in a wonderful part of South-East Queensland and is doing wonderful work.

As the PM just said, global volatility coming from the Middle East is making our domestic economic challenges harder and compounding the pressures that people feel here at home. We understand that. Oil prices are near their highest since the war. That's pushing up inflation here and around the world, and that makes our economic plan more important than ever: making our tax system fairer; incentivising research and development; and getting the budget in better shape at the same time.

That's why this week we will introduce the next stage of our tax reform package, which is focused on supporting small businesses and start-ups and encouraging more research and development to drive productivity. The reforms include our innovative business CGT concession, giving early investors in startups with low cost bases big discounts on future CGT obligations, better targeting the R&D tax incentive and expanding incentives for venture capital. At the same time, we're making our tax system fairer and more sustainable, targeting the EV discount towards more-affordable vehicles and reforming the tax of discretionary trusts to fund income tax cuts for all Australian workers.

We can do this because we've been meticulous about finding savings and strengthening the budget bottom line—eight consecutive budgets and budget updates with savings in them and a ninth to come before the end of the year. We delivered the biggest budget savings package in the Commonwealth's history in May this year. In total we've found almost $180 billion in savings since we came to office, we banked the majority of revenue upgrades and we've kept average real spending growth much lower than our predecessors. All of this means the budget is in a much more sustainable position. But we know there is more work to do. Debt last year was $200 billion lower than we inherited. We're avoiding $70 billion in interest costs as a consequence. We're one of only nine countries with a AAA credit rating from all three major credit rating agencies.

So our plan is about taking on the big challenges, not because it's easy to do that but because it's important that we do that. It's why we're making the tax system fairer. It's why we're incentivising research and development with the legislation I'll introduce this week. And it's why we're getting the budget in better shape. And when it comes to the contrast between this side and that side of the House, we are taking every responsible step that we can to get the budget in better condition at the same time as we discharge our responsibilities to the Australian people at a difficult time.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last week I met with Carolyn and Shane, business owners in Lilydale who have employed hundreds of locals for over 20 years. Through tears, they shared how it's never been harder to keep a business going and cash flow positive. They are losing hope. Inflation, 16 interest rate rises, red tape, soaring fuel costs and Labor's budget of higher taxes have made it even harder to survive. When will the Prime Minister start listening to Australians who have a go, like Carolyn and Shane, and axe his taxes on small businesses?

I thank the member for his question. We do engage with small business. Indeed, I'm very conscious of the fact that the Treasurer has some meetings later today with small businesses who've visited, and I certainly engage with small businesses. During the last sitting week I spoke with ACCI and I spoke with AiG. I spoke with a range of businesses, as I do consistently. We know there is pressure on small businesses in the global economy. We know that has occurred. And you can't just dismiss something like global oil prices that rise up and have an impact on everything that goes onto a supermarket shelf or—

What about government spending?

The member for Gippsland will cease interjecting for the remainder of question time.

What I do know is that objectively the global ratings agencies have all made comments about Australia in recent times when confirming our AAA credit rating, including the last one, just this month—Fitch—who said:

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Australia's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AAA' with a stable outlook.

And we are one of the few advanced economies that haven't gone through a recession or a single quarter of economic contraction over recent years. That is something that has happened right around the world. We have faster economic growth than Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. We have a lower unemployment rate than Canada, France and Italy and the same as the UK. We have stronger economic growth, stronger employment growth, than all seven of the G7 and higher worker participation rate.

Opposition members interjecting—

And when it comes to the interjections about government spending, well, the truth is that we have a smaller budget deficit as a percentage of GDP than the entire G7, the major economies of the world—Japan, Canada, Italy, the UK, Germany, France and the United States. So what we will do is continue to work each and every day. We'll continue to engage with small business. The member didn't say what the small business is that his constituents have, so I'm not sure of the circumstances in which they find themselves. But what I do know is that small-business people take risks, they invest and they make a positive difference to this country, and I applaud each and every one of them.

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. How is the Albanese Labor government strengthening our relationships with our close neighbours, including through greater cooperation with our defence forces?

I thank the member for his question, and I greatly enjoyed visiting with him Holsworthy Barracks in his electorate, one of Australia's key defence facilities. Last Wednesday, I signed the Defence Cooperation Framework between Australia and Timor-Leste with the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmão. This landmark agreement heralds in a new era in the defence relationship between our two countries. It will greatly enhance our engagement with Timor-Leste, particularly through our major exercises, and better enable us to help increase the capability of the defence force of Timor-Leste. This is another step down the path of bringing closer together our relations between our two countries after the signing of the Parseria between Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Gusmão in January of this year.

This defence agreement is one of the last links in the chain of the security agreements which we have signed with the countries surrounding Australia. In February, we signed the treaty of common security with Indonesia. In July, our alliance with Papua New Guinea came into effect. We are close to signing a security agreement with Solomon Islands. In June, we signed the Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu. We have a longstanding relationship with France, a NATO partner, which governs our defence engagement with New Caledonia, and we've been an ally of New Zealand since 1951. In July, we also signed the Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji. This defence agreement with Timor-Leste is the last link in the chain. It closes the loop, and we are bringing substance to these agreements.

On Tuesday, we held our first Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum as allies. Coming out of that, we announced that next month we will begin the process of recruiting directly from Papua New Guinea into the ADF, which will be great for us in terms of bolstering ADF numbers. But, at the same time, it will also provide wonderful opportunities to young Papua New Guineans. As we face an increasingly complex strategic landscape, now is the time to double down with friends, to double down with neighbours and to double down with family. Be it Papua New Guinea or Timor-Leste, that is exactly what the Albanese Labor government is doing to keep Australians safe.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Australians from across the political divide are coming together to stop Labor's fire sale of Victoria Barracks in Sydney. Former governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove, RSL president Peter Tinley, New South Wales premier Chris Minns, former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, the Leader of the Greens and thousands of veterans across the country are calling on the minister to change his mind. When will the Prime Minister start listening to veterans, step in and stop the sale?

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. We are making the decisions which are necessary to ensure that our defence forces have the facilities and capabilities that they need to keep Australians safe. We need to acknowledge that we did an independent report into the Defence estate to ensure it is fit for purpose, and that report followed an independent estate audit that found that many Defence properties are no longer are a priority for defence of Australia in the future. The report identified more than 50 sites that were underutilised across Australia. The funds required to maintain these sites are estimated to reach in excess of $2 billion over the next 25 years, with no direct contribution to capability outcomes.

When it comes to Victoria Barracks, I certainly understand the importance of that history, and that's why it is heritage listed. That's why there can't be any development or interference, with that heritage listing that applies not only to the main building there; it applies even to some of the roads and areas on the outside of that site. It is a major, major site that is currently underutilised. We have put forward practical plans, whether there, whether on the banks of the Derwent river where I stood with Premier Rockliff and that are going to be developed into housing for about 3,000 people or whether for the housing development that will take place in Adelaide on the two sites that have been identified and where I stood with Premier Malinauskas.

I understand the importance of heritage, and one of the ways that we can ensure that that heritage is protected and, indeed, enhanced is by giving some ordinary citizens access so that it isn't cut off from what is a part of Sydney, not that far from where I've spent a lot of my life. At the moment, there would be very few people who ever have access to what is a very large site in need of substantial Commonwealth investment just to be maintained, rather than utilised appropriately with full respect for the heritage of the site.

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. How is the Albanese Labor government working with our neighbours and our partners to keep Australians safe?

I thank the member for Hasluck for the question. Our national security and domestic security concerns—our international work works through two main methods: our engagement with our Five Eyes partners and our engagement with the region. Some of the most significant meetings that occur each year on the region occur on an alternating-chair basis, jointly between ourselves and Indonesia—a ministerial council meeting directly between myself and my Indonesian counterpart, coordinating minister Dudung, and then what is now the seventh Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Security. Around the table—while it's co-chaired between ourselves and Indonesia—Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore participate, working through issues in the domestic and regional security environment: irregular migration, maritime security, counterterrorism, countering violent extremism, transnational security, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.

There are two issues in particular where, I want to advise the House, the level of unity and concern in our region, and the impact on every nation, was significant. The first is the issue of scam centres. In Australia, our interaction with scam centres is often people's being scammed, people's being blackmailed—the direct engagement that way. But, throughout South-East Asia, while they have that impact as well, they also have the people who are trafficked into these scam centres—factories of misery and modern slavery—and the cooperation between all of us in eradicating these institutions is essential.

But the second area that I want to advise the House on is the similarity between every country on what's happening with terrorism and violent extremism. While the networks, such as ISIS and its different forms throughout the region—that work always has to continue, and that work remains the significant threat that it is. Every country is reporting a new cohort, growing fast, of young people, particularly male. Where we used to worry about people becoming involved and radicalised in their teens, now every country has examples of radicalisation of young people who are not yet teenagers and of the radicalisation happening online and involving mixed ideologies, ideologies that would be completely incoherent with each other but only have violence together as their only principle. For example, one country referred to one on their caseload as someone who had been radicalised with both ISIS ideology and white supremacism and referred to the path to radicalisation as being fast. I want to assure the House of the cooperative work that Australia is doing with all of our agencies and all of our efforts.

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Australian pear and apple growers are concerned the government is seriously considering allowing the import of apples from the United States, and that's despite a biosecurity risk and our growers already being under financial pressure to survive on narrow margins. Will the government rule out the import of American apples and protect this vital industry?

I thank the member for Mayo for her question. As she would be aware, Australian farmers do benefit significantly from our free trade and from fair and free trade across the globe. In fact, around 80 per cent in value and about 70 per cent in volume of Australia's agricultural trade is exported overseas. The member would also be aware that we have an incredibly strong biosecurity system, and our government has been very firm that we won't put at risk our biosecurity in Australia. That's why we've invested over $2 billion since we came to office in terms of our biosecurity.

As the member would be aware, we do have an obligation from trading nations and nations that we trade with to inspect and to go through any processes that they request in relation to two-way trade, and that is what is happening. But I assure her we're not going to compromise on biosecurity. It is not up for negotiation, and no imports will be permitted unless an independent, science based assessment shows that risk can be managed to Australia's appropriate level of protection. Our appropriate level of protection is a deliberately very high standard, and it's designed to make sure that it is very low risk. As I said, we do export, and our farmers benefit from that substantial amount of our agricultural production in Australia. Our trading system is important, our biosecurity system is important and we won't compromise on that.

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Trade. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering economic opportunities for Australian industry, and how will this opportunity benefit all Australians?

I thank the great member for Tangney for his question regarding economic opportunities. It really is a great pleasure to represent our great trade minister, Senator the Hon. Farrell, who earlier this year concluded the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement. This is a landmark agreement. At a time of growing global uncertainty, this agreement reinforces our shared commitment to open markets and rules based trade, and it will deliver the economic opportunities that the member for Tangney has asked about. It opens access to more than 450 million consumers across 27 countries and will drive investment, innovation and economic growth in this country.

What does it mean for Australian industry though? Across beef quotas, Australia's access to the EU market increases from 4,400 tonnes to 35,000 tonnes. That's a massive 700 per cent increase for Australian beef. Across sheepmeat quotas, Australia's access to this market increases from 5,800 tonnes to 30,800 tonnes per year of Aussie sheepmeat. Again, that is a massive increase of 430 per cent. By any estimate in anybody's language this is a massive increase in opportunities for the red meat export industry.

The Australia EU FTA will also see tariff reductions for wheat, barley, seafood, honey and nuts and $37 million in annual tariff savings for our great wine industry. Really importantly, it will lock in tariff-free access for Australia's energy resources and critical minerals exports. Europe is home to some of the world's leading manufacturers, defence companies and clean energy industries, like Airbus, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Thales, Siemens, just to name a few. As they decarbonise, grow their industries and strengthen their economic security, EU companies will need reliable supplies of the critical minerals that Australia produces. As the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said when she was here, 'we cannot be overdependent on any supplier for such crucial agreements, and that is precisely why we need each other'.

Bipartisanship in regard to free trade agreements has been really important in this country. Economic opportunities today are the product of decades of work by trade negotiators and successive trade ministers who opened markets, strengthened partnership and advanced our national interests. It is difficult. It is difficult to be the shadow trade minister, and I do know that. It isn't easy. It's hard work, and not everyone can get what they want, but maintaining bipartisan approaches to free trade agreements is what ensures that free trade agreements last across many parliaments and the interests of all Australians. (Time expired)

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. In relation to Victoria Barracks in Sydney, the minister has said:

It is not my aim to see defence manage the oldest wine cellar in Australia.

Former chief of defence force and governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove, one of our greatest living Australians, has described that as 'the most stupid thing I've ever heard'. Minister—and you know I've got great respect for you, but why do you think you know more about defence heritage than a man who has served this country valiantly in uniform for 40 years?

I thank the member for his question. What was clear, when we came to government, was that we had, as a nation, a significant defence estate, much of which we did not use, and we were spending not hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintaining it but hundreds of millions. We undertook an independent audit of the entire defence estate to properly understand what Defence needed and what it didn't so that we could make sure the defence estate properly grounded the work of the Australian Defence Force. I'd invite the member to read what those independent auditors said not just about Victoria Barracks, Sydney, but about the management of the defence estate in total, because it's actually damning of successive governments in terms of facing up to the fact that the defence estate has not been maintained in terms of what is needed for our future defence.

The member for Riverina, on a point of order?

On relevance—the question was specifically about Victoria Barracks and Sir Peter Cosgrove's comments in relation to the minister's comments.

Yes, the minister was asked a fairly direct question about a topic that he is giving information to the House about. Perhaps he may want to return to the question he was asked, and he's spoken about Victoria Barracks, but the question was sort of asking for an opinion as well, so it's a fairly broad question. I think everyone heard the question, so I'm going to be lenient with the minister, because the question was so broad in asking a minister for an opinion. It's very difficult for me to allow that question to be in the standing orders, but we always find a way to get there. The minister can continue, but he should just make sure that, if he's giving information to the House, he's being directly relevant to the comment and also to the issue that he was asked about.

The estate audit specifically discussed Victoria Barracks, Sydney, and it made it clear that, whatever else, Victoria Barracks, Sydney, is not fundamental to the defence of the country and that what we face, in respect of Victoria Barracks, Sydney, specifically, is a bill of $200 million over the next decade to secure it as a defence site—an amount that would not need to be spent if it were not a defence site. It's on that basis that we've taken the decision that we have taken, particularly given that Defence Plaza Sydney, established by the former coalition government and a decent decision, which is a kilometre away, right now, sits 60 per cent empty. It's got offices in there, and the fundamental function of what happens at Victoria Barracks Sydney is office work. Given the strategic landscape we face, we simply cannot afford to be wasting money—and that's what we're doing—in this way. We actually need to look at how we best use defence money for defence capability.

An honourable member interjecting—

I take the interjection in respect of defence history. It is really important, and I understand the importance of that history to the Australian Army. To be clear, most members of the Australian Army have never been to Victoria Barracks Sydney, nor is Victoria Barracks Sydney open to most members of the Australian Army. What we are talking about doing now is opening it to the entire nation. The history of the Australian Army does not just belong to it; it belongs to the Australian people, and we will ensure every one of these buildings is absolutely protected and returned to the nation, returned to Sydneysiders, so that Australians and members of the Australian Army can properly respect Australian Army history. (Time expired)

My question is to the Minister for Skills and Training. How is the Albanese Labor government investing in the skills Australians need, especially in places like regional Tasmania?

Thankyou to my friend the member for Braddon, firstly, for coming down from the other place to join us here and, secondly, for such a warm welcome to Burnie last Friday. The Albanese Labor government wants to see more Australians with vocational qualifications. To that end, we are pulling every lever we can to make skills and training accessible to everyone in every part of the country. We want to see more Aussies in places like Tasmania's north-west go to TAFE to get the skills they need for a good, secure job in their local communities. Fundamentally, that's why we introduced free TAFE—to break down the barriers that held Australians back and to back more Australians into the jobs we need. Already, there are more than 850,000 enrolments across the country. There have been 275,000 courses completed, growing every week. This is all supporting more Australians to go to TAFE to get a qualification in those industries that are so fundamentally important, like the construction trades, aged care and early childhood education—and then they can get to work.

In Tasmania alone, we've seen more than 11,000 enrolments—

Hear, hear!

including in the agricultural sector, Minister Collins. It was great to see TasTAFE's freer-farm facility on Friday during our visit. It is a TAFE that's also a working farm. It's nation leading. With free TAFE, our government is backing more Tasmanians to get the skills they need to grow that critical pipeline of workers that Australia needs for local jobs in the agricultural sector.

Just up the road, at TasTAFE's Burnie campus, the member for Braddon and I were joined by my Tasmanian counterpart, Minister Ellis, as well as my good friend Senator Dolega, to open brand-new student residences on campus. They are jointly funded by both governments, part of the Clean Energy TAFE Centre of Excellence, so that the next generation of TAFE students and apprentices—like Zeke and Luke, who we met on Friday—can get the training they need without worrying about finding a place to stay, breaking down yet another barrier that has held back too many regional learners. Luke's a first-year carpentry apprentice. He's one of the thousands of Australians receiving our $10,000 incentive through the Key Apprenticeship Program, helping him not just to start but to finish his trade. We spoke about how this program is showing our government's respect for that trade, and he told me how he'd spent his first payment already—on tools, of course!

From Burnie to Broome, and stretching right across the country, our government's investments are helping Australians like Luke and Zeke get skills, qualifications and the confidence, too, that they need to succeed. That's what this government's approach to skills and training is all about—creating opportunities, strengthening communities and building Australia's future workforce through free TAFE, the Key Apprenticeship Program and so much more.

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. The minister is the longest-serving woman in the House, and I'm Bradfield's first female member. Recently, I delivered a speech here written by young women from my electorate. But I fear that the violent attack on the member for Indi will teach them to retreat from public life. Violence against women, whether physical, spoken or in writing, is used to silence them. When it keeps women out of this place, it decides who represents us. That is not democracy. What does the minister say to the young women of Australia now wondering whether public life is safe for them?

Thank you so much to the member for Bradfield for a very important question. I am not surprised if there are young women all over Australia looking at the horrific attack on Helen Haines and wondering whether a life in public is worth it, whether it's safe for them. What I would say to them is that, 100 per cent, it is worth it. Every single day in this place, we make important decisions that change this country, change it for the better, and we can't vacate the field to the people who would stop us from doing that. It's true that, in my time here, almost three decades, the tenor of public debate has changed a great deal. It is more violent in its tone, and I think the industrial scale of the abuse that all of us receive—but I think particularly the women here—has changed. It's been supercharged by social media.

I'd say this about social media. That's no accident either. Social media companies profit by the division they drive in our society. That's why all of us have a responsibility to resist that too—to resist that division and to resist the violence and discord that the big tech giants are forcing on us. We see it not just in political commentary. We see it in relationships between people, particularly our youngest Australians. It's no coincidence that the explosion of social media tracks pretty closely with the explosion of sexual violence we've seen where both the perpetrator and the victim are under the age of 18. It's also no coincidence that practices like strangulation have exploded at the same time as social media, online pornography and the manosphere are promoting those sorts of violent, dangerous practices. We have an opportunity, all of us as elected members, to play our role as individuals and as a parliament—as individuals, to use this moment to change the way each of us behaves, but as a collective, as a parliament, to resist the pernicious influence of social media and to resist the tech giants trying to tell us how to run our democracy and how to run our relationships. I think, if we miss this opportunity to take this time as a turning point for our country, we will have missed a really important opportunity.

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How is the Albanese Labor government supporting Australian families feeling under pressure, including through emergency and food relief?

I want to thank the member for Calwell. He is a terrific supporter of the great organisations in his electorate who provide emergency relief like El Rahman, and I know that he is very committed to seeing food relief in particular provided to his constituents. Under Labor, the minimum wage is up more than $12,000 a year. Pensions are up more than $6½ thousand a year. JobSeeker is up more than $4,700 a year, and rent assistance is up by around $2,000 a year, an increase of over 50 per cent since we came to government.

We know that some Australians need extra support. No family should be faced with a choice of putting food on the table or paying the bills, and that's why we've also delivered record funding for emergency relief and financial wellbeing.

But people go to the supermarket, pay more and get less.

The shadow treasurer's interjecting. When he was in government, they cut $20 million a year from food relief. We have just announced an extra—

Order, Member for Goldstein! The minister won't take interjections and will return to the question.

$4.7 million, just a couple of weeks ago, for frontline services like OzHarvest, like Foodbank, like Good360 and like Secondbite to make sure that they can help those who reach out, particularly as the holiday season approaches and as the dangerous weather season approaches—so $2 million extra for food relief—a 15 per cent funding boost for 70 emergency relief providers, particularly in regional and remote communities, because we know that the impact of high fuel costs is having a particular impact in regional and remote communities; and an additional $1.1 million to boost the National Debt Helpline. These are organisations that help Australians at some of the toughest moments of their lives. As UnitingCare said about this most recent funding boost, 'this funding means a single parent can put food on the table, a worker can access a fuel voucher to get to work, and a family in crisis can speak with a financial counsellor so they can keep a roof over their heads'. We will make sure that we keep providing practical local support where people need it most, including in remote First Nations communities as well, where my colleague the Minister for Indigenous Australians, through the Low-cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme, has made sure that 30 essential items, like milk, rice, tinned vegetables, canned fruit, toilet paper and nappies are more affordably available in all 225 remote stores around Australia where that program is now able to be accessed.

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Noni is a Redland resident and an aged pensioner living alone with muscular dystrophy. She's made significant sacrifices to maintain private health cover for more than 30 years, but further increases will force her to drop the cover she relies on heavily. Minister, why is your government continuing to seek to cut the private health insurance rebate for Australians like Noni, knowing this could force them into an already overstretched public health system?

I'm asked why the government made the announcement we did in the budget this year to change the private health insurance rebate arrangements for over-65s. First of all, just to be clear what it is that we have decided to do is to return those rebate arrangements, or effectively a subsidy that government pays, for private health insurance to its original design, which did not discriminate on the basis of age so the two households living next to each other on an income of $50,000 or $80,000 or $100,000 would receive exactly the same taxpayer subsidy for their private health insurance whether they were 60 or 50 or 65. We think that is a sound policy proposition. It was the original design of the private health insurance rebate system, and it is the sort of difficult decision but defensible decision, we think, that we need to consider to fund the very growing needs for aged-care services for older Australians.

This really goes to the why part of the question the member for Bowman asked me. When I was first appointed minister for health, we spent $24 billion on aged-care services, four or five years ago. This year, not 24, we'll spend $44 billion. We've tripled the number of Support at Home packages for older Australians. We've increased the number of care minutes by about eight million care minutes every single day. We've put nurses back into nursing homes, as the Prime Minister promised to do, and yet still, at a time of unprecedented demographic change in our community, particularly as the oldest baby boomers reached the age of 80, which is a very significant time of need for aged-care and health services, we continue to have to find new money every single budget and every single budget update. I acknowledge the member's constituents concerns. This is a hard decision at this time, but these are the sorts of hard decisions a responsible government needs to make if we are to do what I think older Australians deserve, and that is to provide the level of care and dignity that they deserve.

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Financial Services. How is the Albanese Labor government working to prevent and respond to financial abuse in both government systems and the private sector?

I thank the member for Swan for her question and also want to recognise the crucial role that she has played in progressing these issues, particularly in the financial abuse inquiry undertaken by the PJC on Corporations and Financial Services. I also acknowledge the work of Senator Deb O'Neill, who chairs that inquiry.

Financial abuse is an insidious form of family and domestic violence that can leave victim-survivors facing long-term financial hardship, debt and reduced economic security. The government is taking strong action to address family, domestic and sexual violence, and we know that this disproportionately affects women. Anger and violence manifest themselves in many ways, often gendered, including in the recent tragic events that we are reflecting on today. We must all do what we can to address it when and however we can.

Our approach has been led by the Minister for Social Services and also by Senator Gallagher, alongside Ministers Kearney, White and Leigh. It's a whole-of-government approach, with many members of the caucus also taking part. I also want to acknowledge the very constructive contribution by members of the crossbench and also by members of the opposition. There are many initiatives as a part of this where there have been members from right across the parliament standing together at press conferences or working together on policy. Earlier this month, the government tabled its response to the PGC report, which included supporting or supporting in principle 58 of the 61 recommendations in this groundbreaking report. The government has already begun implementing a number of the recommendations—preventing perpetrators of family and domestic violence from receiving victim-survivors' superannuation death benefits, with draft legislation to be released later this year; empowering the ATO to prevent rollovers into newly established SMSFs where there are concerns about fraud, financial abuse, misconduct or consumer harm; investing more than $180 million to reform the child support system to close loopholes that facilitate financial abuse and coercive behaviour.

Earlier this year, the parliament passed the survivors law with support from across the chamber, which prevents perpetrators from shielding assets within the superannuation system. We've also released a consultation paper on reforms to address the misuse of tax and the social security system as tools of coercive control. The reforms foreshadowed would enable debts created through financial abuse to be addressed and, where appropriate, liabilities to be waived for victim-survivors. The Albanese government is committed to ensuring we play our part in preventing financial abuse, and this includes working with financial institutions, regulators and the private sector. Last week, I and the Minister for Social Services hosted two roundtables with around 30 participants at each, including frontline agencies, industry representatives, and the ATO and DSS. We will continue to work to improve regulation in this area because no-one should be trapped in an abusive relationship by financial control, no-one should be denied the opportunity to rebuild their life— (Time expired)

My question is to the Prime Minister. Bathurst is the physical and spiritual home of motor racing in Australia, and the recent Bathurst 1000 was another outstanding success. But one thing the commentary did focus on was the deteriorating state of the track. Will your government support vital upgrades to the track and circuit before it loses its racing accreditation? Prime Minister, will you back Bathurst, and will you back the track?

I thank the member for Calare for his question and his passion for the great regional city of Bathurst and, indeed, for all of his electorate. The Bathurst race every October is, of course, something that is a national event. It's nationally significant, not just a local event, and indeed attracts global coverage. I will table a letter from the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister to the Mayor of Bathurst in response to the request from the local councillor, Robert Taylor, that goes through the process of the Thriving Suburbs and Growing Regions programs that we have and encourages them to put forward for the applications, which I understand will open soon. That's a program run by the Minister for Regional Development here. It can provide funding of between $250,000 and $15 million to local government entities for capital works. So it would provide a potential opportunity.

I take the opportunity to say as well that Bathurst Regional Council has received $8.518 million in the current financial period through the Financial Assistance Grant program. It has received a $10.9 million commitment under the Roads to Recovery Program across the five-year period commencing in 2024—an increase of $3½ million from the previous period—which local government can use flexibly for any roads in their jurisdiction. It has also received $4.1 million for the Ngurang Arts Residency, $1.7 million for Bathurst's Connected Regional Neighbourhoods project and, in addition to that, some half a million dollars for a project under the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program, as well as $1.7 million for six projects under the Black Spot Program.

My government does support local infrastructure through local government. Local government plays a critical role, and I know that Mount Panorama is a very important piece of infrastructure not just for Bathurst but for the nation as well. I look forward to continuing to work with the member on those issues, and I table the letter from the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, the member for Perth.

My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. How is the Albanese Labor government's investment in maritime defence capabilities and AUKUS supporting jobs and industry and strengthening national security?

I thank the member for Makin, from the great defence state of South Australia, for his question and his interest. Last week, we saw a major milestone for our maritime capabilities with the Maritime Big Play Pacific, an AUKUS Pillar II exercise, conducted off San Diego, demonstrating significant new autonomous capabilities from Australia. These advanced Australian systems include Speartooth, Bluebottle and Ghost Shark. In the most challenging strategic circumstances since World War II, we, a three-ocean nation, are making record investments in maritime capability and developing cutting-edge maritime capabilities, particularly in the sphere of autonomy.

Last week, I visited the Anduril Australia factory in Sydney, which produces the Ghost Shark. This is an Aussie success story. This extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle is the most advanced underwater vehicle of its size in the world. It has the capability to perform intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions. At the factory, I announced three previously secret payloads were being made public for the first time. These payloads included the ability to deploy sea mines, deliver logistics caches and launch swarms of Altius uncrewed aerial vehicles that have the ability to undertake ISR and strike. The good news is that we're acquiring dozens and dozens of these Ghost Sharks.

We're also investing in Speartooth and the Ocius Bluebottle. I had the pleasure a fortnight ago of opening the new Ocius factory in Sydney that will produce Bluebottles. These advanced maritime surveillance and reconnaissance platforms use solar, wind and wave power and are able to be deployed for over six months at a time. They're on station right now around our borders. The good news is that this project delivers hundreds of well-paid, high-skilled jobs, both directly with the company involved and through its 28 Australian SMEs. I also announced an additional payload for the Bluebottle, which is a thin-line towed-array sonar that will give it the ability to detect submarines to provide information to the Navy.

The good news is that these are the sorts of capabilities that we intend to offer AUKUS Pillar II with its first marquee mission for payloads and sensors for autonomous systems, and they're a great example of our sovereign Defence industrial base. This is a great example of Aussie know-how making this country safer, helping equip the Australian Defence Force and producing thousands of well-paid, high-skilled jobs for Australians doing the most advanced manufacturing work in the world. This truly is a defence future made in Australia led by the Albanese Labor government.

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.

I move:

That leave of absence until 26 November 2026 be given to Dr Haines.

In moving this, I make clear we've simply chosen the date that's the end of sittings for this year. Obviously, we will continue to move resolutions for as long as Helen needs us to, but no leave of absence motion stops the fact that, if at any moment Helen feels she's ready to come, then, obviously, she's immediately welcome.

Question agreed to.

Pursuant to section 65 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, I present the annual reports for 2025-26 for the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Documents made parliamentary papers.

These documents are tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. Full details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.

I rise to speak to this motion by the Prime Minister to send our love to the member for Indi, to Phil and their children and families, to Helen's staff and to the people of Indi. Much of what I say today will already have been said in this chamber, and this is testament to the woman that we're talking about. When someone is smart, generous and kind to every single person in this place every single day, we all end up with this, with stories of graciousness, and Helen is that consistent. Long before I considered running as a community Independent, Indi was the blueprint. In Indi, Cathy McGowan first showed how politics could be done differently. I read The Indi Way and I learned in theory about radical trust, community organising and putting local people at the centre of the national agenda. There must be something in the water in Indi, because in 2019 came Dr Helen Haines, the embodiment of all the grassroots democratic values and methods espoused by McGowan. Helen turned up and showed what being a community leader truly looks like.

I mentioned that she's smart. I sat here watching her over there be the 'Leader of the House whisperer', a role she played particularly well during the crossbench's attempt to receive government support for a complete ban on gambling advertising. During the debate, each of us called divisions on all of our amendments, and it was taking the House hours. The government was getting increasingly frustrated, and the Leader of the House, who's usually a picture of equanimity, was starting to fume. But the member for Indi rose in her seat and clearly and calmly proposed a way through. She read the room. She read the man. She put forward a solution supported by her colleagues, and she delivered it with aplomb. I sometimes get asked about who the next prime minister should be, and without hesitation I offer up Dr Helen Haines, Australia's first Independent prime minister. My word, I think she would meet the challenge of the office very well, do good and do us proud.

I also mentioned that she's generous and kind. Helen was the first member of this House to send me a gift after being sworn in—wine from Indi and flowers. For my first speech, she also sent flowers. When my mother passed away two weeks ago, Helen sent flowers again. Last week, Phil told us that Helen loves flowers. I wasn't surprised. On the crossbench, we've got a saying. You've heard it before. 'What would Helen do?' I've asked myself that more times than I can count, and the answer always boils down to the same core principles: get across your brief; listen to the experts but particularly to your community; listen and level with the people about trade-offs; make a decision; treat people with respect, every single one of them; and, above all, do it with kindness.

When Phil spoke outside Alfred hospital last week with a courage I don't think any of us are going to forget any time soon, he said that two of the most important parts of Helen are her heart and her mind and that both of those are in really good shape. I haven't stopped thinking about that, because I think this is key to who Helen is. She never lets her mind get in the way of her heart, and she never lets her heart get in the way of her mind. We're often told that these two things can pull against each other, that compassion and leadership are incompatible. I think Helen has spent her whole life proving that wrong.

In Helen, kindness is not an absence of strength; it is her strength. Helen was the first in this place—the first Australian MP—to commit to the civility pledge, and I would like to put my name to that now. When engaging in politics, I commit to use a civil and constructive tone in debate; to act with integrity, honesty and compassion; and to behave respectfully towards others, including those with whom I disagree. What happened in Wangaratta last Monday does not define Helen, and it must not define us. Helen often says that Australians have good hearts and that we can argue hard, disagree well and never lose sight of the person in front of us. Helen, the road ahead will be long. Mend swiftly. Mend well. We will be here, continuing to ask, 'What would Helen do?' We love you, Helen.

When the member for Jagajaga and I were in Wangaratta, Helen sent me a text saying she'd heard a rumour we were passing through the queendom of Indi and inviting us to her home. When my office was set alight, Helen sent me a text saying that she was thinking of me and my team. When Bondi felt terror, Helen sent me a message saying she sent love and solidarity to me and the entire Jewish community. When my partner, Georgie, wrote a piece about the abuse towards women in politics titled 'I face sexist abuse every day as a female MP – misogyny is unacceptable whatever side of the aisle we're on', Helen sent me a message of her thanks to Georgie for her excellent piece. Helen knows the way that we talk to each other is also a reflection of how women and girls around the country are spoken to.

Helen is the standard of civility, thoughtfulness and empathy that is the example of how our democracy should be. It is impossible to make sense of what has happened to Helen or how a person who has only put kindness and care out to the world for 65 years could have something so heartless and cruel happen to her. But what does make sense is what happened immediately after. Neighbours rushed to Helen's rescue. Staff tended to their beloved boss. First responders and healthcare workers expertly treated Helen's wounds. Her community came together to comfort each other and show their appreciation for their champion. A country held their breath and paused to think of a person so worthy of sitting in the precious House of Representatives. Her life partner and best friend, Phil, showed the country the grace and wisdom that Helen loves deeply in the hour that we all needed.

To spend time with Helen Haines in her community is to see what representation is meant to be. Helen does not need to be here, but she chooses to use her fierce intellect and her empathy to improve the lot of the community that she so deeply cares for. If you look at the causes that Helen champions, they give us an insight into what Dr Haines sees. In her first term, she sought support for regional communities to share the economic benefits of the energy transition. Helen tirelessly campaigned for improvements to regional health care and mental health care. Helen helped shape, and still oversees the operation of, the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Helen wanted people to know that the regions give so much to the country, but too often miss out on the spoils. Helen wanted the same care for her community that she knows is available in the city. Helen Haines knows that the way government and politics conducts itself in this place needs institutions that still build trust in our democracy.

To meet this moment, it is best to look at Helen. We need to see the economic struggles of our communities. We need to see that our communities receive the care that every one of us needs. We need to conduct ourselves as the leaders our communities deserve. We need to ensure not just that women and girls are safe, which they are not, but also that they have the confidence to take their place in public life, in hospitals or in businesses; to walk on our streets; or to just get things out of their cars. This place needs people like Helen, and I want my daughters to be able to see an example of strength, empathy and intellect in public life. I look forward to when they see you, Helen, return to your rightful place in this chamber as the member for the queendom of Indi.

A gracious smile, a glistening eye, a warm 'good morning, Zoe', a mischievous grin, grace, elegance, brilliance and beauty, moderation, conviction, consensus and community—Helen Haines has been a lioness in this place but not through a roar or booming words and not by table-banging or by shouting from the sidelines. Never a sharp word nor a sledge during question time—no, not Helen. But don't mistake the quietness for indifference. Helen notices. She notices when one of us speaks from our soul. Like Gordon, our House chaplain, who I affectionately refer to as our 'grief angel', Helen never misses her moment. Speak from the heart in this place and she will appear. There will be a more poignant 'hello' in the corridor and a more directed smile. She was a midwife, after all. At the rawest moments of human emotion, Helen's has been the outstretched hand.

I wanted Helen to know the response of my community to what happened to her a week ago. People were startled, but not just that—they shuddered in pain for her. They asked me plainly how we could just keep getting up the next day and doing the same thing—not just the practice of politics but the physical fortitude of getting up and doing it all again when the worst-case scenario that sits behind online and real-world abuse has now grown so much darker. Our traditional 'suck it up' approach, all of a sudden, felt so stupid. My constituents channelled their grief for Helen into care for us. People randomly turned up at my electorate office to check that my team were okay. My phone filled with messages of care for me and for my staff.

My local Climate 200 candidate suggested we do a video together 'to bring the community together, as a sign of leadership and solidarity'. With regret, I politely declined, reminding him that the conduct and character of his team and supporters regularly made my team, my volunteers and me feel unsafe, requiring the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police to be engaged in the 2025 campaign. We talk of hope in this place today that things will be done differently, but let us not let hope blind us to the hypocrisy of some who call for it.

Elsewhere, my community took to their keyboards to share their grief. One group, so emblematic of others, wrote to me:

On behalf of Dromana Bowls Club let me take this opportunity to offer you and your colleagues, no matter what side of the political divide they represent, our heartfelt condolences in the aftermath of the shocking recent attack on Helen Haines.

Zoe … Your compassion, interest and care for every member of my club has been unequivocal over a number of years now, and your ability to engage with those you meet has always been an outstanding quality that you possess.

I am sure that the people of Indi … along with their local clubs and organisations such as ours here on the Peninsula, would say the exact same thing about her.

The job you all perform is never easy, and as we now know, dangerous in the random cycle of violence our own society, is currently experiencing.

What happened this week is a tragedy, and not what our great country should be seen for.

No decent individual, no matter what their politics may be, nor their calling in life, should have to contend with the vile individuals who perpetuate hate while wallowing in, contributing to, and nourishing the dark, heinous underbelly of social media.

We all pray for the survival, and eventual full recovery, of your esteemed colleague Helen Haines.

I would like to add to the spirit of the words expressed by my community the words of someone who should be here beside me today and who I hope one day will be back soon, the former member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan, to whom Helen Haines is so dear through their work together on the National Anti-Corruption Commission. He reflected:

When I first heard she had been hurt, I reached for my phone to send her a message.

As I realised how serious it was, I knew she wouldn't get it.

So I scrolled back through what she had sent me over the years.

When we worked together on the NACC, she would often invite me over for tea and homemade cake from her electorate.

She would put her case, but she also genuinely listened when I disagreed.

Sometimes the invitation had no purpose other than to reunite me with a long-lost friend: "Keith—I have a chum of yours in my office, who is keen to have a cuppa—we have a substantial 'bunghole'—his term, not mine."

For Hansard, "bunghole" is army-speak for the cake issued in ration packs.

It is nowhere near as good as Helen's.

She continued to stay in touch after I lost, checking in on me and my family.

Helen listened as generously as she argued.

It was an honour to serve with her.

Get well my friend—

from all of us.

I too rise today to extend both my and my community's heartfelt love, thoughts and best wishes to Helen, her husband, Phil, her family, her friends, her electorate office team and her community at this extremely difficult time. We all can't wait to have Helen back in here with us in the chamber continuing her strong advocacy for her community and for regional Australia. Like all of us, I was deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific attack on the member for Indi outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. This attack has indeed shocked and saddened Australians nationwide, including so many in my electorate in northern New South Wales. I really want to acknowledge the first responders, the emergency services personnel, the medical professionals, all those members of the public who came to her assistance and those who continue to care for Helen.

Helen is such a well-loved member of her community, and that's evident by the outpouring of love from so many individuals and community groups right throughout her electorate. She's also very well respected and loved here in this parliament in all of our dealings with her, as is evident by all the speeches today. As we've heard from so many and as we all know, Helen is such a kind, decent, hardworking and intelligent woman. Her insights, grace and dignity bring an important and special dimension to every situation. She always approaches her role with genuine compassion and the desire to make a real difference. Helen's always dedicated so much to serving regional communities, including caring for others throughout her previous work in health care as a nurse, midwife, researcher and advocate for regional health services.

Since coming to parliament, we've all seen the passion, integrity and decency that Helen's displayed through her tireless work to deliver for her community and the very causes that she's committed to. Throughout Helen's time in parliament, she's always championed policies aimed at strengthening the long-term prosperity, resilience and sustainability of regional Australia. She consistently uses her voice to highlight the unique challenges faced by our regional communities and to ensure those communities are included in all of our national policy discussions. Of course, she's especially passionate about integrity as well, playing a very major role in this parliament in the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, or the NACC, and serving as a deputy chair on that committee. Her work on the NACC demonstrates her desire to strengthen the public's trust in our institutions and ensure accountability for governments.

I especially want to thank and acknowledge Helen's husband, Phil, for being here with us earlier today and, firstly, sharing his love for and devotion to Helen and, secondly, reminding all of us of the role we have in ensuring a more civil approach to the differences we may have in our communities and to the nature of our discourse and debates, and of the need to turn the temperature down in political debates.

While the police investigation into this horrific attack is still underway, this attack is a shocking reminder to all of us of the incredible rise in anger and violence in our community and of the decline in our social fabric. It's something we have all seen and been commenting upon here today. In fact, as we move forward, it's a matter that we all play a part in. All of us in this parliament, in every parliament, right throughout the general community and in the media as well have a strong role to play. We all need to be playing a role when it comes to that, because we've all seen the rise in anger and violence across the community, particularly over the last few years, and the intensity in the anger that's there. We see it against our police, first responders, teachers, healthcare workers, hospitality workers and retail workers. This has to change. It seems to get worse and worse all the time. As I said, we're all responsible—all of us—for ensuring the political debate in this country remains respectful. Of course we all accept disagreements, criticism and debate as part of our vibrant democracy, but we never, ever accept violence.

Indeed, as many people have commented today as well, social media has a major role to play. The platforms really need to turn the temperature down. They really need to do that. They should stop fuelling the anger and division we see in promoting many divisive algorithms that do fuel the division and do fuel the anger within people. We know that this contributes to the demise of our social fabric and the rise of anger and violence in our community. So we all have a role to play, right across the board, and we all need to step up and do that.

But today is the day that we that we send our love to Helen. I join with everyone in this House in sending our deepest love to Helen and her family. We all, of course, wish her an incredibly speedy recovery, and we very, very much look forward to Helen being right back here in the chamber with all of us.

Dr Helen Haines is a woman of presence, style, intellect, empathy and compassion. Helen knows every corner, every waterway and every street in her electorate of Indi and is tirelessly committed to representing Indi and the greater good of all Australians in this federal parliament. Helen has the unique ability and the true intellect to listen and entertain the strongest argument against her own position, weigh it on its merits and still arrive at a reasoned and safe conclusion to the benefit of it all.

To Helen's husband, Phil, to Helen's family, to Helen's staff and to the beloved community of Indi, I and the constituency of Farrer extend our deepest sympathy. Helen is a fighter, and we pray for Helen's recovery. Helen is the best of us. We are with every breath of Helen's recovery.

To conclude, I'd like to leave Helen and her family with a short little Irish blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Today, the member for Indi is not in her place in this chamber. She's in Melbourne in hospital, where she's been in the fight of her life. So I stand here thinking of her, wishing for her recovery and sending my best thoughts, my solidarity and my love to her husband, Phil, who has been absolutely extraordinary, their children, their wider family, their incredible team and, indeed, all of those who love her. I think it's important that I do so myself and on behalf of all the people I'm representing in this place, knowing that the people of Indi right now are being denied the representation of their concerns and their values in the most cruel way, knowing that this place and our politics have been and will be so much the better for the contribution of Helen Haines.

But there's something else about what happened last week in Wangaratta that we as representatives and as members of the Australian community must address. We need to do better and we need to be better. This is about our politics, but it's not just about our politics. ASIO Director-General Burgess said last week:

Elevated levels of grievance, intolerance and polarisation continue to create a permissive environment of violence.

He's made this point before. Surely now we must heed it? This permissive environment of violence is affecting the lives of workers in hospitality and in retail, workers in many public service roles in health care and education and our first responders, as well as, too, our staff, the frontline workers of politics. How we manage our disagreements really matters. That occupational violence is seemingly becoming a regular means by which people seek to resolve conflict is utterly unacceptable. I have said that this isn't solely an aspect of our politics, and it is important that we all recognise that this doesn't solely affect politicians, but addressing this is a matter for political leadership. I'm proud of that which has been shown by our prime minister, as well as many others across the parliament.

I note that AFP Commissioner Barrett said yesterday:

Words matter, and we do see the flow-on impact from that.

We can't look away now from the flow-on impacts—the consequences of a degraded democratic environment are simply horrific for individuals and for the strength and the health of our society—because politics isn't and cannot be a spectator sport. Public life belongs to all of us. It must. As we look to understand what happened to Helen Haines and what has been happening all around us, we have to remember this. We need everyone to feel that their voice can be heard safely. We can't let fear deny Australians the involvement that they seek in their communities, in shaping their future, in having their say.

There's a note pinned up in my office here with some kind words written to me and to my team too, on what was a very tough day for us, sent together with a very beautifully made and iced cake, of course. It was sent at a time when the member for Indi wasn't exactly in support of all of the things that I was seeking her to support in my role. That note and that care sum up the Helen Haines that I'm so proud to know and even prouder to have had the privilege of working alongside. So many of the tributes that have been paid so powerfully and eloquently to the member for Indi reflect on this proposition that I think builds on that: what would Helen do? For all of us lucky enough to know her, it's a pretty good question to ask. My commitment to that note, thinking of her as I go about my work, is a little bit different. I hope that she wouldn't mind that. As a proud Labor member and a proud Melburnian too, I should of course do things differently from Helen from time to time at least. But, as I go about that work, I will always consider, 'How would Helen do this?' and try to emulate the way in which she did better by being better. Come back very soon, Helen.

This House is diminished today. It feels empty. Someone very important to this place is not physically with us, and we all feel that devastating absence. Yet this place is full today. It's full of shared respect, of recognition, of fellow feeling. It is the remarkable member for Indi, Helen, who modelled all of that, who has done the seemingly impossible and brought us all together here around what is important, around the reason we should all be here.

I just want to share a little personal story that says so much about Helen. Monday of the last sitting week was my birthday, a dreaded milestone birthday. The very first thing that greeted me here early that morning was a beautiful gift from Helen. This gift from Helen was a lovely, beautifully wrapped and beribboned potted plant with special birthday card wishes—funny and loving wishes. Helen had organised a dinner date for Tuesday evening in honour of my birthday. I thought it was to be a deux, but again, in typical Helen fashion, she surprised me with other guests—many crossbench friends, these wonderful women who surround us here. What a treat—Helen, so hardworking, so committed, so busy but always so caring, getting us all together after another big day for a laugh and hugs. Helen does that. We need that. We need Helen.

There's a particularly cruel joke that claims, 'If you need a friend in Canberra, get a dog.' However, I reckon that, if you find someone who has entered parliament to serve the interests of their constituents, not their sponsors; someone with the integrity, the maturity, the experience, the self-knowledge to prioritise the interests of real people and of nation over self-advancement; someone who looks deep into her community to understand and to truly represent them; someone who works to make real change to benefit all of us; someone with the calm assurance and wisdom that come from a lifetime of diligence, commitment and vision; someone to share in a good joke and some mutual eyerolling, which is so necessary around here—if you find that person, befriend that person. You'll probably find that person is also kind to dogs. Thanks, Helen. We love you. The love and respect in this House here today is absolutely palpable. I am wishing you all the care and love you always bring to everyone else.

Helen Haines, member for Indi, as we have heard, is the best of us. Possessed of a sharp mind and a soft heart, Helen brings intelligence and compassion to all that she does. Helen is good. The attack on Helen has clearly left our nation reeling. This goes to the heart of our democracy and how we see ourselves as a country. I believe most Australians, like Helen, are also good. Even as we are in this moment, we see people who look out for their neighbours. We value our community.

On Friday last week, I hosted the Caroline Chisholm Volunteer Awards, which is an annual event in my electorate where we honour our exceptional volunteers. It was an affirming night, and we acknowledged Helen, and I want to let Helen know that the community in Chisholm applauded her and her service and send their love to her and her community in Indi.

In tough moments, I find comfort in music and literature and the wisdom of people through history, and I hope that the quote I'm going to offer—I could have picked many quotes—offers some comfort to those who feel the world looks a little bit dark at the moment. It is something people might remember from The Lord of the Rings. It's Tolkien:

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.

I think we cling to that idea that, even though the world is dark, light still shines, and I think Helen always has shown us how bright that light can be both here and for her community.

We do need to confront, though, the ugliness of this moment and the work all of us need to do to be better. There is a sense of grievance in the community, and those of us who serve in this place must lift the standard, and those on social media and, frankly, mainstream media need to play their part to. We need to focus on good analysis of policy. We need to focus on making sure that we have genuine conversations about the direction this country heads in without resorting to personal attacks, without inflaming hate. It seems there is a never-ending carousel of fury and that some people, when they are engaging with that, make poor decisions that are violent decisions. The ripples of rage are right through our community. Yes, politicians are, at this moment, being discussed, but we also discuss the way people who are working on the front line as healthcare workers, as educators in schools and working in retail and service industries are confronting unacceptable anger and violence.

But where to next? I reflect on Phil Haines's very generous words that he shared this morning. It is clear we must all do better and do ourselves a service by being more like Helen, a woman of deep integrity. In my first speech here I quoted—I like quotes, to give me a sense of an anchor at times—a suffragist maxim which is 'Courage calls to courage everywhere'. I feel that Helen's courage, and her family's courage, should call on all of us to do better. Another suffragist quote is 'Deeds, not words'. We need to act. We need to acknowledge, too, that words can be deeds and can be connected to some of the revolting acts that we have seen in recent times. I don't pretend that I'm always perfect here, but I will always strive to do what I can. I send my love to Helen, her family, her staff and her community, who I know must be struggling right now. I hope we see Helen really soon.

I rise today to support our colleague the member for Indi, Helen Haines. Like Australians right across our country, our communities and I were shocked and deeply saddened by the vicious and violent attack on Helen outside her electorate office in Wangaratta.

As I travelled around our electorate of Calare last week, it was the issue that was on the minds of our residents. People wanted to talk about it. Since that horrific time and that crime, our thoughts have been very much with Helen, Phil, their children and their whole family. We've also been thinking about Helen's staff. Those of us who work in electorate offices know how close-knit our teams become. You work alongside each other through the good days and the difficult ones. When something happens to one member of that team, it affects everyone. I want Helen's staff to know that we're thinking of them as well through all of this.

Earlier today, Helen's husband, Phil, addressed MPs and gave us an update on Helen's health. The message he gave on behalf of Helen was that Helen wants this to be a moment of change in how politics is conducted in this country. The increasing aggressiveness and nastiness in Australian politics is an issue that Australia must come to terms with, but politicians of all political persuasions have a role to play—and it's a big role. Politicians must lead on this. While there have been many fine words and sentiments expressed since the events of that awful day—words no doubt expressed sincerely and honestly—those words must now be backed up by action and deeds. We will be judged on our actions. As Phil Haines said today, politicians set the tone in the things they do, say and authorise—for example, what we say in this place and what we say or let others say for us online.

One thing political parties and candidates can do is lay down some strict guidelines about behaviour of party members and volunteers—for example, when they're working on polling booths. In all my years of political involvement, I've never seen such a level of nastiness, intimidation and aggression as I did on the Calare booths at the last federal election. By not setting standards and not pulling people into line when those standards are breached it sends a message to the wider community that it's acceptable. I've heard some very commendable words in this House today, but, as I have said, we, as politicians, will be judged by our actions on this.

There are other issues of national importance that arise from this horrific attack, and they cannot and should not be overlooked as MPs and our communities try to come to terms with what has happened. They require urgent attention. The first is the shocking rates of violence perpetrated against women, where one in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. It's a shocking statistic. Another issue is the need to bolster health services and mental health services in country Australia. Helen has been a tireless advocate for equality between city and country on health services, and that mission remains just as relevant and important in the aftermath of this horrific attack than it ever was and ever has been.

Independents are all about changing politics. Just by being here, the crossbench is doing that in many different ways. We break the hold that the major parties have had over politics for far too long. Independents are not beholden to a political party. The only people we answer to are the people who sent us here. You have to fight for them, and that's what Helen does. She fights for her communities, her constituents and her country, Australia.

Helen is thoughtful, kind, determined and deeply committed to the communities she represents. It's our fervent hope that she will at some point return to this House to continue her mission in fighting for country communities. Violence in all its forms must be condemned and repudiated. Let's hope that, as Helen has wished, this horrific attack is a turning point for the better in the way in which political debate and discussion occurs in this country. I, along with my staff and the communities of Calare, send Helen, her family, her staff and her communities our thoughts, love and support in this deeply traumatic time.

I rise today to speak about our parliamentary colleague and friend the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines. It is difficult to find the words to describe the shock and sadness we have all felt following the devastating news of the attack on Helen outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. Like so many people across this country, I have been thinking of Helen, her family, her staff and the community she represents.

Helen is a person of extraordinary integrity, intellect and compassion. She is a thoughtful and principled parliamentarian, a formidable advocate for her community and, above all, a genuinely lovely person. Those qualities are not separate from one another. They are at the very heart of who Helen is and how she approaches her work. As the Independent member for Indi, Helen has demonstrated that representing a community is about much more than holding a seat in this parliament. Being a federal member is about listening. It is about showing up. It is about taking people's concerns seriously even when the solutions are complicated or the political path is difficult. It is about being accessible to the people who have placed their trust in you. Helen embodies those qualities. She has earned the respect of colleagues across the parliament not simply because of her knowledge and ability but because of the way she conducts herself. She is intelligent without being arrogant, determined without being abrasive and passionate about her work without ever losing sight of the people at the centre of it. She asks difficult questions. She pursues accountability. She is prepared to stand her ground when she believes something matters. She does all of that with a decency and humanity that command respect. She is warm, generous and kind. She treats people with respect regardless of their position or political affiliation. She is the sort of person who makes time for others and who genuinely wants to understand their experiences. In a parliament where we will inevitably disagree, those qualities matter enormously.

We can argue passionately about policy. We can hold very different views about how our country should be governed. We can challenge one another's decisions and demand better from one another. Indeed, robust debate is an essential part of our democracy. But none of that should ever come at the expense of our shared humanity. No-one should have to fear for their safety because they have chosen to serve their community. No-one should have to worry that going to work, meeting constituents or walking into their own electorate office might expose them to violence. No-one should have to endure an attack of this kind.

The consequences of what has happened to Helen extend well beyond one individual. Her family is facing an unimaginable ordeal. Her staff have experienced a deeply traumatic event. Her community has been shaken by the violence inflicted on someone who has spent years working on its behalf. All of us in parliament have been reminded in the most confronting way of the vulnerability of those who have put themselves forward for public service. We must never take for granted the people who choose to serve their communities. We must never lose sight of the fact that every member of this parliament is a person with a family, with friends, with hopes and plans for the future and with people who love them.

I also wish to acknowledge the people of Wangaratta and the wider Indi community, including those who rushed to Helen's aid and those who have rallied around her and her family in the days since the attack. The compassion and courage shown by members of the community are a powerful reminder of the good in people, even in the face of something so confronting and distressing. To Helen's husband, Phil, and her family and staff, I extend my heartfelt thoughts and support during this incredibly difficult time. And to Helen herself, I say this: You are a valued colleague, a respected parliamentarian and a much loved friend to many in this place. You have given so much of yourself, and to the people of Indi you have brought intelligence, integrity and compassion in your work. And you have shown us what public service looks like when it is grounded in a genuine commitment to people. We are all deeply sorry that you have suffered this terrible attack.

I've had people in my own community of Aston sending me messages of love and support to you, saying how much they admire you and your dedication to your community. Helen, we are all wishing you strength and sending you and your family our love and solidarity, and we look forward to the day when we welcome you back among us. I commend Helen Haines, the member for Indi, and extend my deepest sympathy and support to her, her family, her staff and the entire Indi community.

It's a privilege to rise and say a few words about our colleague and friend Helen Haines, the member for Indi, in this terrible time of trial that she is going through, as well as her family and her community in Indi. I want to extend on behalf of my electorate all our thoughts and wishes, our concern for her and her children and grandchildren and her husband, Phil, and for the community and their safety and all the things that go with such a horrible and tragic incident of this nature.

Helen is a special person. She is a gentle person and a person with a very kind soul. It is very hard to process that something of this horrific nature could happen to someone who is so good. It's been a real privilege to get to know her here in this place and to work with her. I've seen her up close, and I think the Prime Minister said it very well when he said that she has an 'irrepressible twinkle in her eyes'. She does have that ability to constantly speak to you with her eyes in a way that you know that she actually cares about what you are saying and has an interest in what you are doing.

We heard about this extraordinary attack, and people have tried to process it after hearing about it. I think we have to be careful not to rush to an interpretation or overcorrect on something so terrible and have to take the time to allow the investigative processes and the proper things to occur in a rule-of-law country like Australia, which they are doing. But of course there will be things that need to change following something of this nature, and there will be things we can improve. Helen, through her husband, Phil, spoke to us as parliamentarians this morning. I've got to say, Phil has been an amazing contributor to the national stage himself in stepping up for Helen at this moment and setting an example for men and boys around the country of a supportive partner of a strong woman like Helen as well as speaking her words for her at the moment to say it is something she wants to see change. We heard from him this morning particularly about the two police officers who were killed at Porepunkah, in Helen's electorate, sadly, an example of other violence.

We see too often the instinct in Australia today to initiate force or to use violence as a means of expressing a frustration or resolving a problem. Every one of us has an inherent interest in community safety and setting a standard where violence is unacceptable. You have no right to initiate force against another citizen, and we must protect that right and protect all the people in our society, all the frontline people who do difficult jobs in emergency departments—and Helen was in an emergency department for our police, who have to turn up and administer our laws and protect our society—and also our representatives in parliament.

So whatever the reasons that come from this, and we should look at them—whether it is mental health facilities or services, as members of the teals have raised, or whether it is long-term drug use and its effects on people and how we handle that—we must address those things and continue to address them to make sure we minimise the prospect of violence of this nature happening to anyone.

I do want to say, on Wangaratta, that my wife and her family are from the electorate of Indi. We spend a lot of time in Wodonga. Wangaratta is probably one of the most quintessential Australian towns. That part of the world is just so beautifully Australian, and Helen really embodies that electorate so well. She's part of that community and from that community.

You see out of this tragedy that Helen's instinct is to make sure that Save the Children sees money out of this—a very Australian reaction. When something horrible, that we can't really process, has happened to her, she has asked people to give to a charity organisation. I saw the same in Danny and Leila Abdallah, who lost their children near my electorate and became close friends of mine. When they were wiped out, their instinct was to start a charity and forgive the perpetrator. The Australian reaction to violence is to beat it with a commitment to peace, hope, love and charity. Helen told us today, in simple words through the Speaker and her husband, that she loves us all in this parliament, again showing that Australian response to tragedy, horror and violence that we should all be very, very proud of. We are very proud of you, Helen. We're proud of your response and of your family coming together and showing us the Australian way to handle this terrible tragedy. We're right behind you, and we're with you. All our best wishes are for you. Anything we can do for you and your electorate—we will come together at this time.

I want to acknowledge our indomitable parliamentary colleague the member for Indi, Helen Haines MP. I want to acknowledge Helen as a thoroughly good person, a friend to so many in this place, a loved one to so many more, a nurse, a midwife, a health researcher and academic, and a passionate advocate for rural health care, housing, action on climate change, stamping out corruption and enhancing government integrity.

Helen's and my offices were once side by side in this place, and I got to know her. I also have family in her electorate. I have fond memories of travelling with her on delegations, when you get to know people, as well. We also served together on the regional development, infrastructure and transport committee, and, again, I was impressed about everything to do with Helen and the way she operated. When I faced challenges myself, she reached out to me. She's a thoroughly great person. I send the best wishes of my brother Dan Gosling and his family from Yackandandah in Indi. But, really, our whole family's prayers are with Helen, Phil, the kids, all the family, friends, staff and everyone who's a loved one of Helen's. And I want to acknowledge everyone who responded.

On Friday evening in Darwin and Palmerston we had message books so that members of my electorate could write messages to Helen. Some messages were from Territorians who had previously lived in Wangaratta. One of them says:

Dear Helen, we are sending all our love from Darwin. We recently relocated from Wang and miss your smiling face along Wilson Road.

It's a very local message. But many other Territorians stopped by, from every political party, and I want to mention some of those briefly. From Selena Uibo MLA:

Dear Helen, sending best wishes for your recovery. As an elected member…I know the honour and sacrifice of public office. Thank you for your community service and thinking of you at this critical time. Much prayers and care.

From Justine Davis MLA:

Dear Helen, you are and have always been the best of us. So many people have said this in the last few days—what was done to you was unfathomable. Love and strength to you and all those who love you, your family, your community—we are with you across Australia. You have had an enormous influence on me and model everything I believe about how we should all be in this world. Thank you so much. Love to you.

From Clinton Howe MLA:

In the face of adversity we find our greatest courage. Never give up and don't let the darkness of the world reduce your resolve. Wishing you a speedy recovery. On behalf of the people in Palmerston…

Our dear friend Warren Snowdon, a former member of this place and former member for Lingiari, sent his very best wishes, as did former chief minister of the Northern Territory Eva Lawler, who said:

To Helen, you and your family are in the hearts of all Territorians. We wish you a smooth and quick recovery. Sending all our strength and best wishes…Eva Lawler.

There have been so many messages from everyday Territorians as well. It is, I think, a tribute to Helen that there has been such an outpouring of support for Helen and her family. There are many voices from the Territory that are sending love not only to Helen but also to her family.

For me personally, it's just a great honour to know the member for Indi. I really look forward to her returning to this place. I might give the last word on this to my family because, at this time, we all think of our families, who sacrifice so much for the important work that we do in this place. I quote my family:

Helen, there are no words that can convey the depth of our horror and the immense love that rises against it. You are incredible—as is your family and community that support you in this difficult and dark time. I do not know what comes next but I know you will face it with grace and strength.

All of the love from my family to yours, Helen.

The country town of Wangaratta is the last place anyone would have imagined a brutal attack on a parliamentarian that has left her with horrendous injuries and the loss of her legs. And Helen Haines, in a sense, is the last parliamentarian you would have imagined being attacked in this way. I want to acknowledge Helen's husband, Phil, her children, Will, Nick and Georgia, her family, her staff, her friends and supporters, the toll that the attack is taking on them and the worry about the future of someone who, long before they were a member of parliament, was a wife, a mother and a friend.

Like so many of us, Helen was active in her community before she became an MP. I first met Helen through Cathy McGowan, when Helen came to the hearings of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples back in 2018. I remember chatting with Helen over the break in proceedings. As an MP, I've admired the way that Helen's gone about making the case for better telco in her electorate. It's something I've tried to do as well. When Peter Dutton appointed me shadow Attorney-General in 2022, he asked me to spend some time with Helen to look at the work she'd done on a federal anticorruption commission. She gave me a good briefing and listened to my concerns about civil liberties. She was a picture of courtesy. Indeed, as all colleagues know, Helen is always courteous. It's not surprising that she's very well liked and respected across the parliament. All of us here and all of us in my electorate wish Helen a speedy recovery. We want to see her restored to serving her community as their representative in this House in the 48th Parliament, so today we stand in solidarity with Helen Haines.

But we also need to talk about political violence in this country, about extremism and about the tipping point—the moment where, because of grievance, ideology or other reasons, people feel justified in rejecting the normal bounds of politics and straying into physical force. The attacker in this case had some pretty extreme beliefs, but it actually doesn't matter what his beliefs were. Helen wasn't targeted because of her beliefs. Helen Haines was targeted because she was a politician, because she is a member of this parliament and because she is a representative of the people. Although the attack happened to Helen Haines, it could have happened to any other member of this place. The attack on Helen Haines is an attack on the institution of our democracy and on the institution of this parliament. The attack on Helen Haines is an act of political violence. The attack on Helen Haines is an attack on the people of Australia and, more specifically, on the people of Indi. It affects those people's right and the right of Australians to access their representatives. For the people of Indi, this attack denies them their right, for weeks at least, to have a representative that speaks for them in this place and votes on laws in their name.

Let's call out the central issue here—the extremist political ideologies that accept or indulge in violence, philosophies that either explicitly or implicitly say it's okay to use violence and force to achieve political ends. We know who they are: the Neo-Nazis of the extreme right, the ideologues on the hard and green left enabled by their softer friends and fellow travellers in the cultural and academic institutions, and the hate preachers of radical Islam. They are all extremist movements that give a nod and a wink to violence, that celebrate resistance and protest and give tacit approval to take things a little bit further, and that normalise the use of force so that, in the moment or by design, it's seen as an option that's on the table. They don't care who the targets are, but Australians are sick of it. It's our democracy that suffers.

Sadly, as last year's McKinnon Institute poll reveals, there's a growing number of Australians who believe that political violence is acceptable. I suspect there are very few members of parliament who are spared. What happened to Helen Haines is the most egregious case, but we've seen other examples of politically motivated violence in the firebombing of MPs' offices by radical pro-Palestine activists. We've seen it in attacks in person or online against female colleagues, gay colleagues, Muslim colleagues and Jewish colleagues. It doesn't matter where you are on the political spectrum; everyone from Senator Payman to Senator Hanson is in the frame.

So what should our response be? Our job is not to shut down robust debate; our role is to challenge the extremist ideologies that normalise the use of force in the first place. In a robust democracy, there's nothing wrong with people passionately expressing their views—far from it; it's the lifeblood of our parliament and our democratic process. It's why parliament exists; it mediates conflict, it provides a civilised way of resolving disputes—votes, not violence—and it allows government to self-correct when it gets things wrong. Our challenge is to make democracy and parliament work in the 21st century, and that starts with calling out in advance extremist ideologies and philosophies that don't care about the tipping point, to preserve civil disagreement or, better still, disagreement with civility for all Australians. I'll never give up on civility in politics, and, I suspect, neither will Helen Haines.

I rise today to offer my thoughts and prayers to my colleague and friend, Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi, following the horrific attack against her outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. I first got to know the member for Indi when we travelled together on a delegation to the United States. The member for Solomon, who's next to me, was also on that delegation. It was an opportunity to spend time with Helen away from the usual business of parliament, to hear about her personal story and to learn more about the experiences that shaped the person she is today. What stood out to me was just how caring Helen is. She is someone who genuinely listens to people, takes an interest in their lives and wants to make a difference. That is the person I came to know on that trip, and it is what makes this attack so difficult to comprehend.

The member for Indi was born and raised in rural Victoria and spent more than 30 years working in rural health as a nurse, midwife and researcher. She has dedicated her life to improving rural and maternal health, delivering better outcomes for people in her regional communities. Since entering this parliament, she has continued that commitment by standing up for the people of Indi with dignity, respect and a genuine desire to make their lives better. As the member for Holt, I understand that commitment. Being a local member is about more than standing up in this place and giving speeches; it is about being there for people when they need you, listening to their concerns and making sure they know someone is in their corner. I know how much that responsibility means to the member for Indi.

The member for Indi and I also share a love of baking. For me, baking is one of those simple pleasures that gives you a chance to slow down, switch off from the pressures of the day and do something for the people around you. The member for Indi shares that same passion. Even during the hectic budget week in Canberra, she found time to bake seven sponge cakes for staff and colleagues; that is no small effort. This speaks volumes about the member. In the middle of all the deadlines, the late nights and the pressures of this job, she still makes time to do something thoughtful for the people around her—and that's why what happened to her is so deeply upsetting. Someone who has spent so much of her life caring for others should never have to experience something like this herself.

This incident has highlighted the change in tone of the political discourse in our country, particularly the way women in public life are targeted. Since the pandemic, the number of threats that women in public life receive has increased dramatically. We should be able to passionately challenge each other's ideas, debate policy and hold one another to account. That is democracy. But there is a fundamental difference between disagreeing with someone and threats of violence. The words we use matter. We all have a responsibility to ensure that political disagreement never becomes an excuse for threats, intimidation or violence.

My thoughts are with the member, her family, her staff and the people of Indi. I want to thank everyone in my electorate who has sent through their kind messages following the attack. I know that the thoughts and prayers of our whole community in Holt are with you as you recover, Helen. I am praying for your recovery and I hope that, when you are ready, we will see you back in this chamber. May God be with you. Get well soon.

It is indeed difficult to put into words the concern and sadness that we have all felt since last Monday for our very special colleague the member for Indi. My thoughts and prayers since last Monday have been with Helen, her family, her staff and, of course, her community that she loves so deeply.

Helen was one of the first members I met when we entered this place together in 2019 as classmates. She is someone I have come to know not just as a colleague but as a friend. We do not always agree on everything—that's true—but I've always valued the respect that we share and the genuine conversations we've had along the way. We chat in the hallways and in the chamber, check in on each other from time to time, share dinners and common policy interests and have even travelled together on a parliamentary delegation, as so many other members have outlined.

It is through those moments away from the public spotlight that you get to know the person behind the politician, and Helen is truly a special person. She's compassionate, intelligent, witty and, above all, kind. She is one of the kindest people I've had the privilege of meeting in this place. She has a warmth about her that is genuine and a goodness in her character that those who know her can see alive in her. Helen approaches her work with extraordinary care and dedication. She takes the time to understand legislation. She considers the arguments very carefully and makes decisions based on what she believes is right for her community. She takes her responsibility to the people of Indi very seriously, and that commitment is something that I've always respected in Helen.

Today, we are sadly reminded that, beyond our roles in this building, we are all people. We are mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, friends and loved ones. We do feel sad for Helen and her family. We all have people who care deeply about us and who want nothing more than to see all of us safe and well. My heart goes out to Helen's husband, Phil, who we saw this morning in Parliament House. It was good to hear from him directly about Helen's condition. Our hearts are with her family and everyone closest to her. I can only imagine how difficult and how frightening this time has been for her, her family, her friends and her community. They too are living through something no family should ever have to experience, and I hope they feel the love and support that surrounds them. That is certainly what Phil outlined this morning in his speech.

To Helen's staff, who work alongside her and care about her deeply, and to the people of Indi, who have entrusted her with the privilege of representing them—the privilege that we all have in this place—please know that you are also in our thoughts. We send our love and our prayers to Helen and everyone who is walking this difficult road with her and everyone who's caring for her at this time.

No Australian should ever have to endure violence or intimidation simply for going about their work. We may disagree passionately in this country, and that is part of our democracy, but we must never lose sight of our shared humanity. There is no place for violence in our community, whatever the circumstances.

This week has given all of us a reason to pause, to reflect and to remember the importance of looking after one another. So many Australians are carrying burdens that we cannot see, and so many Australians are carrying mental health burdens. Kindness matters. Checking in on someone matters. Making time for one another really matters. If there's anything we can take from this terrible week, I hope it's a renewed commitment to compassion, to understanding and to the wellbeing of every Australian. Helen has shown those qualities in spades throughout her time in this parliament. She treats people with decency and with respect and she brings kindness into a place where the demands of public life can sometimes make us forget just how much that matters.

Helen, I want you to know that you are valued, you are cared for and you are not alone. On behalf of the good people of Moncrieff on the Gold Coast, we send you our love and all of our support. We send our love to Phil, your family, your friends and everyone who's holding you close in their hearts. We'll continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers as you face the long road ahead. We hope you feel the strength of the many people who are wishing you well and that, in the difficult days ahead, you are surrounded by comfort, love and the very best care.

Helen, you are a dear friend, a wonderful person and an outstanding Australian. You mean a great deal to so many people, and we'll continue to stand beside you and your family in the weeks and months ahead until we see you again in this chamber.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the thoughtful, kind and beautiful statements that other members of this place have made today. There is a great deal that divides us in this chamber, but the respect we share for Helen Haines is a strong reminder of what unites us. We all share a deep respect for the member for Indi. Helen is compassionate, intelligent and generous. She works tirelessly for her communities and shows all of us on a daily basis that politics can be done better with more compassion and care for one another.

The events that took place last week have affected so many Australians deeply. The outpouring of support for Helen; her husband, Phil; her family; staff; volunteers and the community she represents has been so heartwarming. It shows the level of respect Australians hold for Helen and it also demonstrates just how much Australians care about their democracy. Australians overwhelmingly believe in a democracy where goodness prevails over hate and fear and where people can engage in politics and go about their work and live their lives without fear of violence.

As members of parliament, it is our job and our privilege to speak directly to our constituents down the street at the local market or street store. I know there have been discussions about whether we can continue to do this in light of what has occurred, but, as others have said today, we should ask the question 'what would Helen do?' She'd say we need to keep going, to keep pushing and to keep fronting up for our communities, because, while I am heartbroken for Helen and her family and heartbroken for our democracy, we cannot allow this incident to tear at the fabric of what we hold dear. I cannot accept the idea that it's normal for any Australian to feel unsafe at work or at home or fearful to step up and represent their community. Whether you're a nurse, paramedic, police officer, teacher, retail worker, support worker or member of parliament, no-one should fear violence while simply doing their job.

Changing the way we conduct ourselves in this place will not, on its own, end violence, but that doesn't mean we don't hold responsibility. We absolutely do. Each of us has a responsibility to consider the example we set, the language we use and the way we disagree with others, and that responsibility extends beyond the chamber. It is also shared by media, social media companies and Australians who comment on digital platforms. We must all understand the difference between robust political debate and a culture that turns disagreement into hate and division, because, at the end of the day, every member in this chamber is here because we want to improve people's lives. Helen was just doing that last Monday, doing a job and caring for her community. It's what she was doing when I listened to her speak during our last sitting week at an event held by Save the Children. She spoke with such eloquence, with intelligence and warmth, about an organisation that cares for the most vulnerable.

Deputy Speaker, through you, I'd like to speak directly to the member for Indi. Helen, I want you to know that Hugh and I send our love and heartfelt best wishes for your recovery. You are much loved, and we look forward to your return. To Phil: your strength, dignity and wisdom at a time of such anguish is a source of inspiration. To Helen's staff, who were among the first responders: thank you for your bravery. What you experienced was deeply traumatic, and I hope you get the support you need during this time. I hope the same for Helen's family and for health professionals who have cared so well for Helen over the past week. On Friday night I took part in a candlelit vigil for Helen in Geelong. So many of my constituents came up to me asking about Helen and sending their best wishes to her. Helen, from my close-knit community, we send our heartfelt love and words of support.

Well, I think all of us would rather we did not have to have a motion of this nature today, particularly for Dr Helen Haines, yet here we are. And I want to acknowledge all the excellent contributions today. I want to begin by first extending my thoughts and prayers to Helen and her family, friends, staff and community. As we've heard from many of the members across the parliament already today, Helen is widely respected by all of us. She is a fierce advocate for her electorate of Indi and for our regions more generally.

When tragedy occurs, people often exaggerate the positive attributes of the victim. Let's face it: you rarely hear someone get up and say, 'Oh, that bloke was an idiot' or 'We didn't like that lady very much.' That's just human nature. But we all know in this place that, in Helen's case, all the positive words that have been spoken by us today and will no doubt be spoken for many hours, until maybe 10 o'clock tonight, are true. We all know that the words that are spoken here that are positive about Helen are true.

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear!

We got a few 'Hear, hear!'s there, and I think it's just incredible, because we all know that the words are true. That's the sort of feedback I've been giving. Many people in Durack have reached out to me, understandably. I represent a very large electorate, and people are worried about me. I said: 'Don't worry about me! Let's just worry about Helen. That's what our focus should be.' But it's truly wonderful, the number of people around the country and even internationally, who are caring about Helen at the moment—and so they should. I just want them to know that all the words you're hearing here about what a wonderful human being she is are all true. We know Helen is kind, she is sincere, she's smart, she's hardworking and she's incredibly passionate about her wonderful regional electorate called Indi.

I want to acknowledge and thank Helen's husband, Phil, who joined us here in the House this morning. Honestly, I can't even imagine what it would be like for my dear partner, Brad, to have to come and face that many politicians. But I tell you what, it takes bravery, it takes courage and of course it takes love and care to address us just a week after the incident and while Helen remains in hospital. So thank you, Phil. It really was very meaningful, your coming to the House to speak to us today.

In the week of reflection since last Monday afternoon, I think the biggest lesson for me has been that we do need to be much kinder to one another, both in this place and in society more broadly. Life is, frankly, far too precious and too short not to be kinder to each other. We don't have to always agree with one another, but we could try harder to disagree respectfully. That kindness was on display last Monday when ordinary Australians rushed to Helen's aid when they were able to restrain the driver. We saw it in the first responders, the paramedics and police officers, who attended the scene last week. They quite simply are the best of us.

Much has been discussed and debated about the way we conduct ourselves as members of parliament in debate. We must not lose what makes our democracy great and what has served our democracy so well, and that is debate and constructive conversations. The role of the opposition is to hold the government to account. We know this is a vital part of our democracy, and we should be proud of the fact that all Australians are heard and represented to get the best outcomes for our country. We should follow Phil's advice in consideration of when we are speaking in the public or in the media or in parliament. We must think whether we are inflaming or whether we're contributing meaningfully to the debate and conversation. It's pretty simple, really. Thanks for the advice, Phil.

Members, particularly we regional members, must not shy away from our responsibilities and roles of representing our very diverse communities, and I note the good member being the deputy speaker here, the member for Lingiari, knows all about those diverse communities. We must not let the darkness win and must instead take inspiration from Helen's first responders. They are what makes Australia great. Across society, we must use this tragedy as a turning point for Australians more broadly. Violence is never okay, whether it's against teachers, nurses, police officers, supermarket workers, paramedics or politicians. It has no place in Australia. Today is not a day for pointing fingers at each other, society or social media. It instead is on all of us to moderate our own actions and maybe even point the finger at ourselves and reflect on how we can do better. To Helen: get well, my friend. Keep fighting. I look forward to seeing your smiling face over there very soon.

I just want to record a few words of solidarity, both personally and on behalf of the people of my electorate, who over the last week, as I've moved around the community, have all raised and sent love and positive feedback and expressed their own horror with what's transpired. First and foremost, this is a personal and a family tragedy for Helen and for those who love her the most—her husband, Phil; the children; the grandchildren; and the people closest to her in her life journey. I think the entire country fell in love with Phil a little last week on Wednesday afternoon, when he did that incredible presser with the Governor-General, and then parliamentarians this morning were able to hear directly from him at a private morning tea and hear some really intimate, touching accounts. Helen's first words as she woke were to ask about other people and how they were doing.

There are difficult, unimaginably hard days ahead. I know from my friend the member for Dickson, Ali France, who's been through a traumatic injury somewhat like this, losing a leg in tragic circumstances, this is not an easy road. We can be optimistic but also give space and be realistic about the pain and the two steps forward, one step back. Pardon the bad phrasing, as someone said to me. But I hope the outpouring of hope and love that has come from around the country, from your community, Helen, and from your colleagues here helps you power on in the days ahead and gives comfort, as Ali said, that you do find a new normal and you find the joy that returns to life in time.

This is shocking in every way, not just personally but for Helen's community, for her staff—and I record again on behalf of the government our willingness to assist you with all manner of constituent issues as if it were Helen herself writing the letters for the coming weeks and months—for the bystanders and the first responders and also for her colleagues here, as we've heard. If you were making a list of one to 150 of people who displayed civility and kindness and empathy and decency, Helen would certainly be at the top of that list. But it's a big thing for the country, and I think that's in part some of the reaction that's been seen. We've prided ourselves—with some aberration, of course, over the years—on a peaceful political culture where people can access their representatives freely and safely.

An attack like this—political violence—doesn't mean that MPs are any more special than the rest of the community. We are not. We're doing a job, serving the public, like hundreds and thousands of other Australians choose to in a form of public service, but there's something particularly pernicious and toxic about political violence, be it against elected representatives, judges or other high-office holders, that can tear at the very fabric of a society in a democracy. I'm not going to speculate on motives. We let the police do their job. This has engendered, of course, a lot of talk of MPs' security, and that matters, but I do worry that too much focus on that narrow issue alone risks sending the wrong message and misses the point. This is not about us. It's about Australia; all Australians; the right of every Australian, particularly those who serve the public in this instance, to be safe at work; and the right of citizens to access their members of parliament freely and in the community.

I don't want security. I don't want these people to win. I don't want them to change the character of our democracy, and we mustn't let them. We will need to reflect, of course, on what parts of the democratic we need to extend the tent and protect—the right of people to access electorate offices safely and freely, the right of people to engage in community events without intimidation and the electoral process. The point is that every public servant deserves to be safe at work, whether it's hospital workers; paramedics; teachers; parking inspectors—they can get a rough trot out and about—police, of course, as we've said; or Defence Force personnel in their uniform getting a coffee on the way to work. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and be safe at work.

As the police commissioner said, this is not an issue sadly that's confined to women only. Half the complaints or intimidation have been directed at men, roughly half at women, but our female colleagues suffer a particular, pernicious, vicious and sexualised form of abuse. The fact that my friend the member for Sydney could say she years ago lost count of how many times she's been threatened to be raped and killed as part of her public life is completely unacceptable.

I'll finish on these points briefly. We rightly talk about the responsibility of leaders, not just leaders here in the political world but leaders at every level—faith leaders; business leaders; those with a media platform, frankly, be they podcasters or so-called mainstream media—who at times could reflect on the tone that they use and the messages that they send about what is acceptable civil debate. The role of social media has and will be talked about. But my final point is that leaders can only do so much in any society. Every one of us can do better, but ultimately our social cohesion and the peace that we enjoy is the sum total of millions of decisions by millions of Australians every day, all throughout the day. We all have a part to play in improving the tone and ensuring safety of everyone who goes to work. I wish Helen the best in her recovery.

I wanted to make a very brief contribution to this debate on behalf of my constituents, the people of the Redlands in Queensland, who, like all of us, have been shocked by what occurred last week and want to send our thoughts and prayers to Helen and her family as she undergoes what will be, I'm sure, a very long and difficult recovery. I won't pretend that I can make the points that have been made any more eloquently than what previous speakers have, but what I would say is that I think that the shock that we all experienced in seeing what occurred last week and what so many in the community also experienced was underscored by the fact that Helen was probably the least likely person that you would think this could possibly occur to. She's not someone who comes to this city and this parliament and tries to stoke controversy or tries to be a divisive figure. She is the exact opposite of that. I think all the reflections that we're hearing from speakers today reflect that fact. She was one of the most well-regarded members of this place, and certainly, in passing her in the corridor in the course of a normal parliamentary day, you would have an immediate sense of her kindness and her genuine interest in how you were going.

I had the pleasure of serving with Helen on the NACC committee over the first part of this term. I recently came off that committee, but her passion on that issue and her advocacy on that issue is obviously going to be one of the hallmarks of her time in parliament, and we hope that she will have many more years in the parliament as well. My experience with her on that committee demonstrated to me that she wasn't just a kind, generous and thoughtful contributor in this place but also genuinely interested in what other people's views were. It wasn't just a sense of 'I've got to pay a bit of lip service to hearing different views'; she genuinely wanted her own views tested against those of other committee members and to get a sense as to what they were thinking so she could refine the concepts that she was trying to push in terms of how we ensure that this new agency achieves what she was hoping it would.

It is very hard to make sense of what's occurred. Of course, we've got to allow the authorities to continue their investigation, and I'm sure that, over time, we will get a clearer picture as to what the twisted motivations were, but what I would say is that any attack on any member of this place or the other place is a direct attack on our democracy. I'm sure that what will be found in the fullness of time is that Helen's position in this place led to her being targeted, and I think that is absolutely horrendous, because it's not just—this attack on any member of the community would be horrendous, but the fact that it was done to someone who's representing 160,000 or 170,000-odd of her fellow Australians in this place and working so hard to represent them to the best of her ability is a direct attack on our democracy and something that we obviously have to stand against no matter what the motivation was.

This morning I had the absolute privilege with the member for Bean of hosting the National Prayer Breakfast, and I want to pass on the many prayers that were had over the course of that event on behalf of Helen and her family, along many prayers from events that were being hosted all around the country, lifting her up in prayer, lifting her family up in prayer, lifting Phil and the children up and for a speedy recovery. Can I just say, on behalf of my community and on behalf of all those who attended the breakfast this morning, I wish Helen and her family a very speedy recovery. We are all thinking of you and we cannot wait for your return. It will be a very bright day when you return to this chamber and can resume your duties.

In my first term in this parliament, I've had only a few interactions with the member for Indi, but you do not need to know someone closely to see the way they carry themselves or to respect someone who has committed themselves to public life. In her first speech, Helen spoke about the privilege and responsibility of representing her community. She also paid tribute to her fellow MPs, thanked members for welcoming her and said:

… I wish each and every one of you the very, very best.

Our democracy depends on people being willing to put their hand up to listen to their communities, to hear people they disagree with and to remember that, even when we disagree, we owe each other respect. The temperature of our public debate has risen. We see it particularly online, where the distance of a screen can make it easy to forget the person on the other side. Politics will always involve disagreement. We should challenge each other and debate strongly, but disagreement does not require contempt, and the responsibility to keep our debate respectful belongs to all Australians.

When I first heard about what had happened, my thoughts immediately went to Helen, her family, her staff and everyone who supported her. I thought about what they must be going through. Then my thoughts turned to my own family. My mum, who was receiving palliative care and living in my front room—I thought about how much she would worry about me. I thought about my husband, who never wanted me to take this job, because he worried about what it would mean for me and for us, and I thought about the job itself, because I love this job. I've loved every single day since I began. I love listening to passionate people, hearing their stories and trying to find ways to help. I love the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people I represent, and I still love this job, but, suddenly, I found myself asking, 'Will this change things for me?'

The day after I heard the news, the reality began to sink in. I felt unsettled, so I went for a walk to clear my head. As I walked alone through the streets, as I had done hundreds of times before, it hit me. I was walking alone. I found myself asking, 'Am I safe?' Of course, in that moment, I was safe, but something as ordinary as walking down the street had suddenly become something I questioned. I thought about the people I loved and what they might feel knowing I had questioned my own safety, and I thought about Helen.

Public service asked a lot of us. It asks for our time, our energy and our sacrifice from our families too. We put our hands up because we want to help, to listen, to represent our communities and make things better. We should be able to do this without changing the way we live or the way we serve. I do not want fear to define how I do this job. I do not want to stop listening, stop showing up or stop doing the work that matters so much to me. I had a moment when I felt the fear, but, like my colleagues across this parliament, I felt the fear and I did it anyway because that is what we do. I know that not one person across this parliament will stop doing their job because of that fear. We will keep showing up. We will keep listening to our communities. We will keep standing up for the issues we care about and fighting for the people who put their trust in us. We carry on because our communities matter. Their concerns matter and their voices deserve to be heard.

The member for Indi has given years of her life representing the people who place their trust in her. Today I want to recognise that service and the woman behind it. To Helen, her family, her staff, her volunteers and the people of Indi: people across this parliament and across Australia are thinking of you. We can honour Helen and reflect on how we treat one another, turn down the temperature, remember the person on the other side of the argument, and remember that behind every disagreement is a person with a family and people who love them and with a life beyond this place. The words we use matter. They matter to those who serve in this parliament, to the families who support them and to the communities who trust us to represent them. The strength of our democracy is not just measured by our willingness to speak; it is measured by our willingness to listen, to show compassion and to remember that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. That is the responsibility we all share.

I thought Monday 19 October was like any other day, and, looking through the news cycle, I was shocked at the time to see that Dr Helen Haines had actually been struck by a car, and it sounded all very harmless at the time. Then a few hours later the full media reports had come out, and can I just say this wasn't like any normal attack. This was an absolutely barbaric attack on any person, as many have said, whether it be a butcher, plumber, nurse, anyone at all. This was an absolute shocking, barbaric attack where a four-wheel drive was driven over her, and witnesses say it occurred a number of times. It's actually cost Dr Haynes both her legs.

You've heard about what a wonderful member Helen is. We heard from the member for Watson, Tony Burke, that, when it comes to those MPs who would be in line for hate and everything else like that, Helen would definitely not be up there. I'm hearing from a lot of female members that the anger in the community against them always seems to be worse compared to other MPs, which is a shocking way for Australia to be at the moment. Can I just say that I've been here for 20 years, and the temperature, I'd say, has turned right up on social media.

Helen's been a great member for Indi. She has been a strong advocate for better healthcare, regional infrastructure, affordable energy and integrity in public life. I think that's one of the big things. She has done everything to be seen as doing the right thing. That's shocked other members of parliament and senators and people right across Australia. She also was right behind delivering the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and that's a huge achievement. Our thoughts and prayers go with her husband, Phil. He's made a very good point that when we talk in parliament or to the media the normal person hears our messages and may not take them much further. For a person living on the edge with a mental illness, it could be that little thing which makes them go off. That's something we all need to be very much aware of.

I also acknowledge her three children, Will, Nick and Georgia; Helen's staff, who I heard did an amazing job; all her friends; and the entire community in Wangaratta. Wang's a place that everyone drives past while going to Canberra. It's a lovely town to drop into. Nothing like this would have been expected. We heard of the great efforts of Ricky Jefferies when he confronted the attacker and disarmed him and those of Cody Lepoidevin, who also stepped in to help him restrain the offender. Jacklyn Black and Jacob Evans provided immediate assistance following the attack on Helen.

The attack on Helen is also an attack on Australian democracy, because everyone is equal in Australia. There are no two ways about that. The same time Helen was attacked, most likely—it will obviously come out—she was highlighting her name on her vehicle, because she's a good community MP. That ended up becoming a target, and that's something we need to think about as members of parliament, for example. As a former police officer, I don't put my branding on my car. I don't highlight events that I'm going. Even my own staff have been reluctant to go to certain events after we've had incidents.

I think question time today was the best question time I've seen in my time here. The tone was right. All of us have to do better, including myself. Sometimes, we go hard on social media, but we now have to think about who that message is going out to. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with Helen, and I'm very much looking forward to her coming back to Parliament House to be a stronger voice for Australia.

In what is probably a remarkable alignment of the stars or probably more akin to a comet that streaks through the night sky once every couple of 100 years, everything in this chamber that has been said about this wonderful woman is true. That in and of itself is a minor miracle—that we can all agree on our thoughts and our experiences with Helen Haines.

It's all true. She is a wonderful person. She's kind, she's generous, she's compassionate. She's courteous. She's someone who's a pleasure to work with. She's a great local MP who cares and loves her community and works hard for them. She's effective here as a parliamentarian, and she's also a friend to many of us, as we've heard. Having someone like Helen in this place makes coming to work better.

I was there with her in Wangaratta just a couple of months ago, touring one of the defence bases up there and also doing a community town hall with her. Even when we disagreed on a few things, she was still courteous. That's the measure of the woman. I think that epitomises much of the insights and the themes that we've been discussing in this place about our democracy. We can disagree with each other, but we do it in a way which might not in the end change the other person's mind but which navigates our differences without resorting to name calling or attacking the other because of their background or their attributes. Helen epitomises that ability to navigate through difference respectfully and with tolerance and compassion. That's something we can all learn from. We've been discussing that at length today in discussing her contribution to this place and her contribution to us, to make us better people.

The lesson that we can draw from this, which I hope goes beyond just today, is that the very democracy that we are all part of and we are custodians of—this institution in many respects—in the time that we have here is predicated on this idea of being able to navigate difference and work through it without attacking someone or their person because of the colour of their skin, their postcode, their sexuality or their gender. As many have said, using footy parlance, it's being able to play the ball not the person. It's about not attacking the person and not having to resort to violence as a means of trying to settle an argument.

That's a sad thing that we're facing today—that there is unfortunately a minority of people in our community who consider that political violence is a legitimate form of expression. That's something we all have to push back on. This democracy, this diverse community that we're all part of and this society in Australia that we're so proud of and that we talk up all the time—and we should, because I love this country, as many of the people in this chamber do—is dependent upon a commitment to an idea that, no matter where we come from and no matter what our background is, we can live together in relative harmony. It doesn't mean we're never going to disagree. We're human beings. We're going to disagree on a lot. But the idea of democracy is that we can navigate through those differences, find a consensus and find a way forward without violence. That is the essence of why we're here, how we are obligated and the high responsibility we have to represent our communities and defend these democratic institutions.

Helen Haines epitomises that in her work that she has done every day. The sad tragedy of this—although it shouldn't happen to anyone, this type of violence—is that she's such a special and wonderful person. At least we can take her example and make ourselves better through her example. We met with her wonderful husband, Phil, this morning. We're all hoping and praying for Helen to pull through and to be back here representing her community of Indi. I want to reach out, as we all have, to Phil, her tremendous husband, and her family, who are going through such a difficult period. But they're doing it with grace and with such patience and good humour, almost. It's quite remarkable. We wish them all the best in her recovery. I can't wait to see Helen back in this chamber.

My staff, the minute this occurred, gave me a picture of Helen and I, arm in arm. She's got my hat on and I've got a pair of sunglasses on. She is always smiling and laughing. It's a beautiful photograph and one that I will always keep. When she came in this place she didn't just want a job. If you just want a job, you go and get a party endorsement. She wanted to do something for her country. I'm not denigrating people with party affiliations, but an Independent is only coming in here because she wants something to happen. She wants it to be different. No Independent had ever got re-elected in this place until Ted Mack and Peter Andren came along. They were the first to ever get re-elected. Now we always seem to get re-elected. She not only was representative of that change but probably more than anyone else led that change. She could have gone for a party endorsement and probably would have got it, but she didn't want to go that way. She wanted to follow her mentor and represent the people of her electorate.

I hate to say it, but, as a published historian, change seems to have only ever come out of pain, suffering and persecution. There's no doubt that Christianity rose out of persecution. Many more died than were adherents to the Christianity cause in the year 500 AD. Once again, we're watching here a crusader and a fight against evil. The people that fought at the Battle of Lepanto—Helen is no different to those people. She did something new and different and, as it turns out, courageous and risked her life. Unfortunately and sadly, there's no doubt about that now, if you may have questioned it previously.

If you represent a party—and I represented a party for 30 of my 50-odd years in parliament—it's entirely different to representing the people in your electorate. Just everything about this incident—I've got to say that, personally, all that I experienced was an atavistic rage. I suppose I was lucky I wasn't there, because I know what I'd have done to the perpetrator of this. Bill Hayden used a word—it's a crude word—'pissant'. They're little pissants. They're just nobody, and they will always be nobody. This person would be a very good example. Mate, if you think it's going to make you somebody, you're dead wrong. You'll always be what you are.

We're commemorating today the great leader who will fight for good, who is prepared to take the risks and suffer the consequences. What she has suffered, I hope, will be an inspiration to every single person in this parliament to stand up for their people. If there are dangers out there, well, so be it. Fight for good. It's not ever an easy fight.

I want to add one other dimension to this. Helen does not come from a city. She was small-town person like me. You get very close. Everyone knows what everyone's doing in a small town. You have a special relationship when you represent a country electorate. City electorates are much more amorphous. I would like to put on record my own first thought when this occurred. I just had a rage that people were going to get out there and give exculpatory explanations for the behaviour of this little pissant nobody. If my rage is directed there—I would see her sitting behind me every time I left this chamber. I would say, 'Helen, can you look after things, please?' And she would laugh and say: 'It's all under control, Bob. It's all under control.' It's just fun people having a good time and fighting the good fight, I suppose. My memories will centre around that smiling person who said: 'Yes, that's right, Bob. We've got it all under control.' I believe profoundly that Helen will be back in this place, fighting the fight.

I say this to Helen: We need you, Helen. We need you. Come back to us. God bless you, Helen. I aspire to be a Christian. I'm not a Christian, but I aspire to be a Christian. If God intervenes in these things, she'll be right.

Australians are united in their horror at the attack on the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, and we're united in our love and support for her and the people who love her. All of us are thinking about the member for Indi; her husband, Phil; her children; her grandchildren; and her staff in Wangaratta as they confront the consequences of this terrible act and start out on the road to recovery. I think all members know that nurses make some of our best MPs. They're trained to speak truth to power to protect those in their care. They work like Trojans in a job that demands diligence and commitment, and they see the whole person in front of them, listening with empathy and compassion. The member for Indi embodies all of those characteristics, which has made the recent attack on her all the more shocking.

I last spoke with the member for Indi at the Sarah Carter lecture in Parliament House during the last sitting. The Sarah Carter lecture is an annual lecture that was established by Save the Children to honour the life of one of their long-term staff members, my dear friend Sarah Carter, who we lost in 2024. I was sitting with Sarah's mother, Gaynor, throughout this event. We miss Sarah so much. Helen gave a typically thoughtful and empathetic speech. She told a story about visiting a school in her electorate in northern Victoria, where a primary school child asked her: 'Why do we spend money on overseas aid? Doesn't charity begin at home?' Helen answered by drawing on what she had learnt travelling with Sarah to see Australian aid projects as part of the Australian Regional Leadership Initiative and spoke about how she believed that children all around the world deserve the same chance to learn and grow and contribute to their communities as all kids in Australia should. Helen told the room and Sarah's mum that Sarah's legacy lives on today, in that conversation with a child in a tiny 10-student classroom in northern Victoria. It's one of those grace notes that characterises the member for Indi, and it shows why Helen graciously asked Australians not to send flowers but instead to send donations to Save the Children, an appeal which has already resulted in more than $1.3 million in donations.

Our thoughts are focused on Helen today, but Helen and her husband, Phil, have asked us to reflect on the larger context in which this terrible incident has occurred. Australia has long been rightly proud of the egalitarian nature of our politics, and I was reminded of how precious this was a few years ago in Truganina, in my electorate in Melbourne's west. I was walking back to my car alone one evening after a typical school awards night, and from behind me someone came running up with a camera filming, with the man behind it asking me, 'Are you alone?' Confused, I told him that I was and asked him why he was filming and whether I could help him. Then, while he walked in a circle around me filming, he proudly declared: 'You see, I told you he is alone—no security, no staff at all. He's even driving himself home.' The man was facetiming with his family in his mother country, who could not believe that I, as a member of parliament, had spent a night at an event like any other member of the community. It made me so happy to be able to tell this man's family that he was right and that he and his children now lived in a country where our democracy is part of the community, not separated by security teams.

We do know that it's under threat, though, and the number of threats against MPs is up fourfold since 2020. We must refuse the idea that political violence is inevitable. It is not. We all have agency over the kind of society and country we live in and an obligation to cultivate a better politics for today and for future generations. That's why there's more that we can do to turn the temperature down. To this end, I commend the work of the UK charity More in Common, the NGO formed after the murder of UK parliamentarian Jo Cox. More in Common's report Dousing the flames draws on empirical research to offer practical insights to political leaders on how they can go about turning down the temperature. They include, one, assuming complexity and rejecting shorthand culture-war framings of issues. Humans are complex and don't just divide into two opposed camps. Two, make space to question. People who feel shamed for having honest questions can be pushed towards robust opposition. Respectful conversation persuades more people than confrontation. Three, don't amplify the extremes. Hold bigotry to account but avoid elevating small extreme groups. Showcase the tolerant majority. Four, use concrete language. Leaders should use plain, accessible terms rather than insider jargon to build big tents on the controversial issues. Five, prioritise action over symbolism. Match gestures with tangible change rather than fights over words. Six, use inclusive processes. Use lessons from conflict resolution methods to auspice controversial issues and platform accountability. Seven, force tech companies to do more than window dressing on how their platforms drive polarisation and elevate hate and abuse.

Taken together, these principles can help to foster a political debate in Australia that reminds all of us here that we are working on the same challenges and that we have more in common as Australians than the things that we differ on. I look forward to being able to work together on these common challenges with Helen and making this a reality when she returns to parliament.

I rise to make a contribution to share my community's care, concern and support for the member for Indi, Helen Haines. So many of my electorate reached out and were shocked, as we all were right across the nation, at the events that played out. If there is, however, one small mercy out of this, it's that Helen gets to hear people say some very nice and very true things about her and about her contribution. I think that's actually kind of nice because it's not what we usually do here in this place. It's very rare that we take the time to look across the aisle and say the things that we admire or are strengths of our opponents. In a little bit of a tribute to the member for Indi, it's important we do that and I'm going to start off by saying that the member for Gellibrand just gave a good speech. He was the first person to put a beer in my hand after my maiden speech; it was a nice show of support, and we've been able to have a good conversation ever since.

We've been talking a lot about standards and how we debate in this place. I was recently named in this place. The first person to come and check on me was the member for Hunter; he just popped in to say g'day, see how I was doing and make sure things were okay. These are the sorts of relationships that exist, and we don't take the time in this place to let the rest of Australia know that that's how we deal—that that's how we get on with things. Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, you and I were on opposite sides of the Voice debate that both of us felt very passionately about. We've since been able to come together on issues of domestic violence and ways that we can work together and make Australia a better place, because a disagreement wasn't the end; we continued to work together. That plays out right across the parliament, and I think that's something that, potentially, in the national conversation, we've lost; we've lost the ability to disagree, and to disagree in a way that allows us to continue to talk, to be friends and to see the positive side of each other's contribution.

I disagree frequently with the member for Indi on a number of issues—and it's a pleasure to do so, because she always has a smile, engages in the conversation and doesn't play the person. That is a good example of how to disagree with a level of grace. On what we do agree on, we both enjoy books—we're both reading Dusk by Robbie Arnott—and we both have strong views on relative funding for regional communities. These are things that we agree on. This is something that this moment in time should present to us as politicians—to think about how we talk to each other and the messages that we send in terms of our relationships across both sides of the aisle.

There is another debate that I think is very important; it's about the type of Australia we want to form. Right here, in this little space here, so much of Australia's future gets mapped out. That's something we all carry very heavily and we think of as very important; I know the member for Indi always does. I don't think we want to go down the pathway of Americanisation of our politics. I think we want to be a place where we pride ourselves on being able to have a strong, robust debate and to let that play out, to proudly fight for things that we believe in and that we think are the right answers, but, at the end, still be able to go and shake hands and be able to talk and to know that we're going to have to continue working together. In opposition, I see the value of the need to be able to reach out to government members at times when my community needs support, to reach out to the government and ask for their support. I am absolutely certain that the member for Indi, as an Independent on the crossbench, is very aware of the value of those relationships, being able to represent your community and getting the best possible solution from the government of the day.

These are the broad conversations that this tragic and terrible event has brought up. But, if we're talking about them, maybe this is a small silver lining on an otherwise very dark cloud. It's rare that you get the opportunity to speak well of people in this place who aren't on your side of politics. I'm glad we've all taken the opportunity to do it. In praising the member for Indi and the way that she conducts herself, I think we all see the higher angels in ourselves that we'd like to aspire to. If we focus on that, there can be some good that we bring out of this terrible situation.

I thank the Prime Minister for his motion, which provides us all in this place an opportunity to extend our love and our support to our friend the member for Indi, Helen Haines, and her family, her staff, the Indi community, the volunteers and the extraordinary men and women who came to her aid in her time of need. Together, we are all working to comprehend the cruel and brutal attack on a person who has only ever represented her electorate with justice and compassion.

Already there has been much commentary and reflection: that it's a continuation of the pattern of increasing violence of men towards women, that it's a case for more mental health funding, that it's online algorithms driving hate and intolerance, that the rising temperature that we are all called to turn down started right here in this place, that this senseless attack is an attack on democracy. Without yet knowing the actual motive, all these things can be true, and they can all be true at once. I will speak today largely to the last point. Here, we are all co-creators of this parliamentary workplace and of the environment within which the political decisions of the nation are made.

When I gave my first speech in this place I spoke about the standards Australians expect of us. I said then that integrity and respect in our national institutions are vital and that leadership requires high standards maintained not only through legislation but through our own behaviour. Four years later, I believe that more strongly than ever. Democracy is robust, but it is not indestructible. Around the world we have watched democratic politics become more polarised, more personal and too often more dangerous. Declining trust, extremism, external interference and misinformation are among the challenges confronting our democratic institutions, and Australia is not immune. Politically motivated violence is not something that happens only somewhere else. Nor does it happen in a vacuum. It occurs in an environment that supports it. This applies to intentional acts of terrorism, it applies to isolated acts based on hate and ignorance, and it applies to violent acts by people who are not of sound mind.

Violent acts within the political sphere can erode trust, deepen polarisation and ultimately discourage people from participating in a democracy at all. That should concern every one of us, irrespective of our party politics, because democracy depends on disagreement. It depends on people being able to argue passionately, protest peacefully, scrutinise governments, criticise politicians and campaign for change. But disagreement can never become dehumanisation. Political passion can never excuse intimidation. And violence can never become another form of political expression.

There is another dimension, too, that we cannot ignore. With one in three women having experienced physical violence from the age of 15, we well understand that in public life political abuse carries a particularly ugly edge. Female parliamentarians have spoken publicly in recent days, particularly today, about online abuse, rape threats, death threats and threats extended to family. We should never accept such behaviour as simply the price women pay for participating in public life. If intimidation causes a woman to think twice about nominating for parliament, speaking publicly, staffing an electorate office or putting her name on a ballot paper then it is more than an attack upon an individual. Our democracy itself becomes smaller.

Security matters, but security alone cannot solve this. Those of us entrusted with public office also carry a responsibility for the culture we create. We can disagree without contempt. We can prosecute our beliefs fiercely without treating those on the other side as enemies. We can choose not to amplify hatred simply because anger attracts attention. We know we can do this. Every member here has had the experience that I've had working together on committees and in interparliamentary groups where we most often put our differences aside and work productively together.

In my first speech I imagined an Australia 20 years into the future, confident and secure, with fewer reasons for Australians to be cynical about their politicians. That future is still ours to build. So let us defend the right to disagree. Let us defend the right to participate. Above all, let us ensure that nobody in Australia needs extraordinary courage simply to take part in our democracy. And when the member for Indi returns to her rightful seat in this place, may her first remarks reflect that her defiant optimism was with good cause and result.

This is a tough day for us all, and we all rise with a heavy heart. The member for Indi, Helen Haines, is someone I have got to know well over the last 4½ years. My northern border in the seat of Casey matches with her southern border, and we've got some communities of common interest. I also had the opportunity to travel with Helen and get to know her and meet Phil. And at this time not just myself but all of the community in Casey send their heartfelt well wishes to Helen, to Phil, to the family, to her staff and to the wider Indi community. It is a time for us all to stop and reflect on Helen and her contribution, and the contribution she will continue to make here in parliament and to the communities of Indi, while also recognising that she does have a long road to recovery. We are sending our best wishes and support to her, Phil and the family.

While this is a horrible, terrible incident that shook us all last week, there's obviously a lot more to come out in regard to the incident. I don't want to address that incident today. I'll leave that for another time when more is known. What I want to focus on in this moment of darkness is the light. It's the light of the Australian people and the greatness of those heroic Australians who didn't hesitate to help Helen. It's someone like Ricky Jefferies, a father and a husband, who didn't hesitate to run to help Helen in that moment. He could have made the decision to stay in his shop and look after himself, given those loved ones he had at home, but he chose to leave the safety of his shop to support Helen. It's people like Cody, Xavier, Jacklyn and Jacob, who, again, ran to help Helen, not knowing what they were going to run into, because they knew it was the right thing to do.

We have a choice as a parliament and as a nation. We can focus on the evil that has occurred or focus on the goodness. We must address what has occurred. We cannot shy away from that conversation. But, right now, I choose to focus on the goodness and on those heroic Australians and those emergency services members—every time the call comes in that there is danger or there is an Australian in trouble, they go. They go to keep people safe. I thank those emergency services workers, who, I have no doubt, will still be struggling today with what they saw and what they witnessed last week. Unfortunately, the reality of Australia in 2026, and in all of history, is that what those emergency services workers witnessed and participated in last week is what they do every day in keeping us safe. I pay tribute to all emergency services workers—ambulance, CFA, fire brigade, police in Victoria and across the country—who keep us all safe.

I saw that goodness firsthand in the last week. Because I refuse to let those who seek to intimidate us all intimidate us, I was out in my community, meeting people, following my normal routine and making sure I was aware of my situation. What was so great to see was the number of members of the public who stopped me to check in, make sure I was okay, thank me for my service—as I know has happened all across the community—and give their best wishes to Helen, her family and her community. We should remember that there are so many good Australians who do respect what we do and do respect the service of people like Helen Haines. We should not let this lead to a situation where we are cowed.

The member for Gellibrand shared a great story about that resident FaceTiming him. I remember the first time I came to Canberra. I caught an Uber from the airport. The driver asked me what I did, and I told him I was an MP. He was genuinely shocked that a federal member of parliament was in his Uber. He said something like, 'In the country that I came from, any member of parliament has a full security guard.' The member for Gellibrand summed that up well. That is not where we want to get to as a country. That is not the Australia that we have grown up in, and it is not in any way good for our democracy if we get to that situation. While we must have robust debate and we must hold the government to account—because a strong opposition holding a government to account develops good policy—we can do it in a way where we focus on the policy, not on the person.

There are many conversations we need to continue to have to make sure that our democracy can continue from strength to strength, but I finish by saying to Helen, Phil and her team: we love you, we appreciate you and we are with you on this long journey back to recovery.

In 2020, the year after she joined parliament, Helen Haines, Dave Sharma and I founded Parliamentary Friends of Cycling. It was fitting to found a friendship group with Helen, somebody who seems to have managed to become friends with another 149 people in this room. I think, like everyone else, I felt I had a special relationship with Helen, but it turns out that all of us had a special relationship with Helen. Stephen Hodge, who helped found the group, described her as warm, intelligent and a highly engaged supporter.

I really enjoyed chatting with Helen about her electorate. My parents had a share and a farm in Yackandandah, known as the biggest little town in north-east Victoria, and Helen shared my admiration for the way in which the town has remade itself as an environmental solar town. She was somebody who was passionate about bringing the issues of her community to the parliament, and I know she engaged extensively with the former coalition government, as she had with our government. She was someone who was always quick to think of others. I messaged her to wish her a happy 65th birthday last month, and she was quick to say that the very best presents were the grandchildren that she was looking forward to meeting.

Helen really epitomises the notion that you can get an awful lot done in politics if you don't care who gets the credit. Phil Haines spoke to us this morning, and he was as warm and expansive as Helen in talking about what she wanted in terms of shaping a kinder and gentler politics. Helen's urged people to donate to Save the Children and sign the civility pledge. I've done both, and I'd encourage others to do the same. She is somebody who is always thinking about others, and I'm, at the moment, thinking of her and the people around her. To Karen Rourke, her chief of staff, thank you for the work that you've done in looking after the team and that you will continue to do in the coming days. Helen's children, Will, Nick and Georgia—I was thinking back to Helen's first speech, where she said to her children:

… you are bold, you are brave, you are loved. Use your talents wisely.

I know that they will be drawing on those wise words of their mum through these extraordinary, challenging times.

I want to finish by saying a little bit about the environments in which this heinous attack took place. We're seeing a rise in anger around the world. An analysis of US congressional speeches found that anger is the highest it's been in 150 years. Last year, verbal and physical attacks on German parliamentarians and candidates for office rose 40 per cent. In a decade, Britain has seen two members of parliament murdered. While some will argue that this might be due to climate or inflation or inequality, I think, if you're trying to explain a big global shift of this scale, you need a big global change. For me, that's the way in which we've gotten our information.

The No. 1 source of information for most people is now social media, and social media uniquely privileges the angry. It is an environment in which posts that go viral tend to be less considered and inquisitive, more outrageous and more divisive. It's an environment where sometimes we can be encouraged to think in zero-sum terms—'the gains for women must come at the expense of men' or 'the gains to the environment must come at the expense of business'—but what we need to remember is that so much of what Australia has created is a positive-sum enterprise. Whether it's creating a beautiful building, organising a festival or playing a sporting match, the best of what we do is what we do together, and the best of our democracy recognises that zero-sum thinking takes us to a poorer, narrower future and that positive-sum thinking is the route to abundance and engagement.

Kindness isn't just a better way of doing politics; it's also a better way of getting the outcomes we care about, so we need to work together to build a kinder, more loving world, to resist the easy temptations of outrage and revenge and to find better ways to care for one another.

It is with a heavy heart I stand here to talk about the incredible member for Indi, Helen Haines, with her beautiful face, her kind smile, her generous heart and her outstanding intellect—someone who is so special, is so near and dear to all of us. Indeed, many people are respected across the aisles, but not everybody is respected and loved, and Helen Haines is. I, along with my wife, Catherine, pass on our best wishes to her husband of 40 years, Phil, who spoke to us this morning. In her inaugural speech on 1 August 2019, Helen had this to say about Phil:

And to that ag scientist from Rutherglen, Phil Haines, my husband of 33 years—

at the time—

who has always believed I could do things I never thought I could: no-one could ask for a more loving soulmate.

And indeed they have been a beautiful pair, and they will continue to be a beautiful pair. They've produced three amazing children, remarkable young people: Nick, Will and Georgia. Phil and Helen are grandparents as well, and that's what she most cherishes in life—her beautiful grandchildren. And getting on and representing her community as she does it—what incredible presence she had when the incident occurred and her first thoughts were with the first responders, the people who came to her rescue. When she regained consciousness late last week, again she was thinking of her staff and of her community and of her family. Who has that presence of mind? Helen Haines does—quite remarkable.

She gave a tremendous speech during the last sitting week. It was her last public address during that parliamentary sitting week—an eloquent thankyou to the keynote speaker at the third annual Sarah Carter Memorial Oration. Delivering the 2026 oration was Luciano Moreira, who for more than two decades has played a significant role in the development and large-scale deployment of the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method of breeding mosquitoes to prevent deadly diseases such as dengue fever and others. It was up to Helen as one of the Save the Children parliamentarians who'd been on one of those trips with Mat Tinkler and Sarah Carter and others to deliver the gratitude and the thanks, and she did so in her own inimitable style. But more than that, when this horrendous injury happened to her, she and the family wanted any donations to go to Save the Children Australia, and Mat Tinkler just told me $1.32 million—what a remarkable amount!—has been donated by generous Australians. That is truly remarkable.

I want to thank those many people—in particular, Maree Bernoth from Wagga Wagga, Helen Ducker from Trungley Hall and Bianca Harman from Junee—who've sent emails and messages of love and support. Helen is going to need all of those in the weeks and months and, dare I say, years to come. Gail Meyer from Wagga Wagga had this to say:

We all deserve to be safe in our workplace. I think that the broader implications for what this also means in our democratic country is both very sad and very concerning.

Of course, she is right, and so is every parliamentarian who has stood today to send out their love but also to send out a message of hope but warning as well, because we are living in a divisive country and a volatile world.

We need to be more like Helen Haines. We all need to be more like that incredible member for Indi who only has ever wanted the best for her community so that she can pass onto her grandchildren and others to follow a better world in which to live. Her advocacy for regional Australia has been second to none. I just wish her all the very best as she confronts these difficult days and weeks and months and years ahead. It won't be easy, but she has the support of the whole nation, and she certainly has the support of her incredible family. To Phil: we wish you and Helen all the very best. I seek leave of the parliament to put in the third annual Sarah Carter Memorial Oration thank-you speech that Helen Haines so eloquently gave during the last parliamentary sitting week. If I could table that, it would be greatly appreciated.

Leave granted.

Life is just a series of negotiations—not my words. They are words spoken to me by someone who once negotiated his life choices through a prism of hate. So much has been said of the member for Indi, Helen Haines, today and over the past week, and every single bit is true. People have spoken about her nature, her fierce love for her community, her tireless advocacy, her integrity, her kindness and her compassion. Helen chooses kindness and love. She understands that kindness is a choice and so is hate. Like Helen, I believe that humans have an infinite capacity to choose kindness and compassion, as Helen demonstrates. They also have a capacity to choose hate and violence, as we have seen. While love and kindness are unlimited in their capacity to inspire hope, to improve lives and to lift communities, hate and malice do not.

In 2023, speaking about social cohesion and the tone of political debate, Helen reminded this House. She said:

What we say in this place matters. Words matter.

As I reflected on those words and as I was grappling with what I wanted to say today, I reminded myself of my own words, some 10 years ago, in my first speech, where I said:

We may live in an era of unease and of extremes. I do not know how we found ourselves in a time when asking for a little more compassion, a little more reason, a little more empathy … attracts accusations and hate mail …

It's difficult to fathom that, 10 years later, those words still ring true, as do Helen's. Words matter. She's right. The way we speak to one another matters. The example that we set matters, and the words we use in this chamber do not just stay within these walls. They travel into our communities, into conversations and into the way that Australians treat one another as well. We can't ask Australians to show respect to each other if we're not prepared to demonstrate that ourselves. Disagreement is part of democracy. Disrespect is not. This morning, Helen's husband Phil charged us to be more cognisant of this very fact. Challenging ideas and policy is central to our Australian democracy, but doing so with decency, care and compassion must be the choice that we make when we communicate and when we engage with each other.

Phil described this past week as a moment, and indeed it is a moment. It's a moment to give us all pause for thought about how we participate in political debate. Here's the thing about moments. They often end up written into the margins of the history pages. They are temporal and momentary. I believe in momentum, because nothing will change unless we change, unless all of us—people in this place, the media, the public—recognise that words matter, that expressing disagreement through personal attacks and language that in itself is violent or that incites violence has consequences, that harvesting anger for political points or clickbait has consequences and that we have a choice to choose kindness, to choose civility or simply to choose not to use language, post comments on social media or attack our political opponents in ways that have the potential to cause real harm—to choose to be like Helen.

In a place where our differences can so often define us, Helen reminds us of what we have in common—our humanity, our compassion, our responsibility to one another and our ability to choose. She's shown us that kindness and conviction can go hand in hand, that we can be passionate in our beliefs and generous towards those who see the world differently.

Today, Helen, you've given so much of yourself to your community and this parliament, and today that same care and that compassion are being returned to you. Our thoughts and love are with you and Phil and your entire family and staff. As you face the journey ahead, Helen, know that your colleagues, your community and so many Australians are right there beside you.

I rise today to offer my heartfelt prayers and well wishes to Helen Haines, her family, her friends, her staff and her wider Indi community following the tragic incident outside her electorate office last week. On behalf of the constituents of O'Connor, I express my deep concern for Helen and my incredulity that such a horror could occur in the streets of a regional community not dissimilar to those of my electorate. Helen, please know you have been in the thoughts and prayers of the many people I've spoken to in the past week. I know our collective hope is that you will gain strength from these well wishes from strangers across the nation.

We are all deeply saddened to think any close-knit regional community could experience such an atrocity, but we're also heartened to see the heroism of everyday Australians, those who rush towards danger rather than turn away—the barber, the local shopkeepers, Helen's own electorate officers, all faced with a horrific sight but offering whatever assistance they could. Thank you to those incredible local emergency service officers, who called on every vestige of their expertise and professionalism to work on someone they actually know. This is typical of regional Australia, where almost every person is only one degree of separation from the other, and our dedicated local first responders and volunteers face this potential added trauma every time they don their uniform. Deputy Speaker Boyce, through you, I say this: Helen, you were struck down doing what you love in a community that clearly cares about and respects you, as does every member in this place. You are a terrific person and a dedicated representative of your community. You deserve so much better than this.

For members and senators, what happened to Helen is not what any of us signed up for, and it most certainly should not define the direction our working lives take from here on in. Our job requires us to be out in our electorates, engaging with our constituents, listening to grievances and responding to the best of our ability. But, regardless of how passionate or aggrieved anyone could be, there is never a circumstance that justifies violence, let alone the horrific act Helen has been subjected to. I, for one, will not resile from the public-facing part of this job. It's a part that I love and a part of the job I know Helen loves.

Time will reveal the full story behind this apparently senseless attack, but no-one should have to endure what Helen is experiencing at this time. I hope Helen can gain strength from the love of her family, her friends, her staff and the wider Australian community. I know the expertise of her surgical, medical and rehabilitation teams will support her through the difficult weeks and months ahead, and I hope she can feel the compassion and love translated across the miles from regional communities like mine. Helen, you are in the thoughts and prayers of all of us.

The member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, is the kind of person to whom our parliament and our democratic culture aspire, not because of her particular views or political philosophy but because of the approach she's taken to the work of a representative. That's not to put Helen on a pedestal in the aftermath of the terrible attack that occurred a week ago. I'm sure that's not what she would want, and, indeed, Helen would be the first to acknowledge those qualities in many others across the parliament. But, as so many of the contributions today have rightly noted, the member for Indi does exemplify those qualities to an extraordinary degree. She made her commitment to those qualities plain in her first speech. She said:

… life is short, family is everything and there is honour in the service of others.

She described herself as a regional Australian and a defiant optimist. She said she came to this place 'to talk positively about what we hope to start in regional Australia and not simply what we want to stop'. And she quoted a fellow nurse in Florence Nightingale, who said, 'How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.'

The member for Indi has been utterly consistent as a representative who emphasises public service, who leans into optimism and positivity, who believes in practical and constructive solutions and who knows that the politics of fear is a kind of democratic poison. The attack on the member for Indi calls on all of us to reflect on what can be done, personally and collectively, to reject a cultural swerve towards polarisation, extremity and hatefulness through the politics of distortion and outrage. It calls on us to acknowledge the miasma of online tech platform communication that has seeped in and settled over society, with its absence of personal or systemic responsibility, its absence of natural or regulated civic decency and its driving AClockwork Orange logic of anger and hostility and provocation. I'm grateful to have heard from people in my community that recognise the need to turn the volume down, take the caps lock off and give the shouted accusations a rest.

There's no arguing against the fact that we face grave and difficult challenges that are real and that must be addressed. Of course, in the face of those challenges, our politics needs to be committed and rigorous, and it can't be expected to always be neat or quiet or unprovocative. But our politics does not need to be wilfully extreme and personally judgemental and threatening. There's no justification or excuse for that, whether it's conduct or speech, whether it's from representatives or commentators or citizens. And our politics shouldn't veer all the time towards accusations of complicity in the apocalypse, with a vocabulary that instantly and lazily descends to words like 'criminal' and 'corruption', where reasonable and moderate argument has been replaced by categorical and righteous moral judgement and where the accusations are inevitably shaped through dangerous metaphors of violence. Yet that is so much of what passes for politics these days, especially in the social or digital space. All of us have an opportunity—and, I'd say, an obligation—to see what's been occurring and to shift back in the direction of reasonableness and respect towards compassion for one another and tolerance of different views.

While I expect that some of our words spoken in this important debate at a time of profound national shock are nevertheless far away from what concerns Helen in the days immediately ahead, still I wanted to say something to the member for Indi. Dear Helen, the message in your first speech to your kids is the message we send to you. You are bold. You are brave. You are loved. The open-hearted strength of your family in the midst of their bewildering experience of shock and pain has been astonishing, a thing of beauty, an incredibly gracious gift to all of us at this time. Your community and your country holds you in its heart. Your colleagues in this place have thought about you and spoken about you without pause, reflecting on the example you set through your kindness, your earnest hard work, your decency and humour and your devotion to public service. In the week before last you raised with me the critical issue of protecting productive agricultural land even as we bring the enormous benefits of renewable energy and climate adaptation to rural and regional communities. This year it has again been a privilege to share with you the vital work in the cause of peace as co-conveners of the Parliamentary Friends of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Finally, I want you to know, Helen, that I've heard from many, many people in my Western Australian community who send their love and their best wishes to you and to your staff and to your family. Take care, my friend. Be well. See you here soon again.

I want to begin by associating myself with the remarks on both sides of this place that have taken place over the course of the entire day. In rising to make a contribution on behalf of the people of Barker, I extend their collective thoughts and prayers to Helen's beloved husband of nearly 40 years, Phil, to her three children and to her two grandchildren.

I first had occasion to meet Helen as she entered this place in 2019. It wasn't long before many of my colleagues were remarking privately what a thoroughly decent human Helen was. We've been hearing echoes of that all day in this place. The reality is that, as the Leader of the House made plain in his contribution, this isn't a place that lends itself to universal acclaim, but I can't imagine that anyone in this place, even before this tragic incident, could bring themselves to think of even one occasion where they could speak ill of Helen. Helen and I have very little in common, except that we both represent regional electorates. On that, Helen and I bonded. There are about 30 of us in this place—you're amongst them, Mr Deputy Speaker Boyce—who represent generally rural and regional communities. In a bearpit of 150, that means that we need really strong voices, and some of us can be a bit shouty. I'll put my hand up for that. Others can go about their work quietly and diligently, and that was Helen.

There is one thing we need to do as a result of this incident, and there is one thing we mustn't do. I'll address the thing we mustn't do, and that is change. If, as a result of this incident—the motivations of which we will learn in the fullness of time following proper and appropriate investigations—we change the way we behave, then democracy loses out of this experience. Helen and Phil and their family have all of my sympathies and all of my prayers. I hope that Helen returns to this place and I look forward to the Speaker giving her the call, which I'm sure he will do. But the reality is we can't let evil triumph. So, like others in this place, I spent the weekend being very visual and very present.

That is the one thing we can't do, but there is one thing we must do. If you come from rural, regional or remote Australia, there's one thing that is clearly obvious to anyone who spends time in the community, and that is that there is a need for us to pause and reflect on the need for mental health services in rural, regional and remote communities. We see it every day. People come to our offices who are in desperate need of help. That help is not the kind of help that a local MP can provide. It's the kind of help that a trained medical professional like Helen and others can provide. We need to ensure that we appropriately fund drug and alcohol counselling in our regions as well. No-one, and I mean no-one, in their right mind would have acted in the way that this individual did relative to Helen, and we need to make sure that we don't change the way we act and that our democracy remains robust but that we acknowledge there are people in our community who need that help. Listening to Phil this morning as he addressed members and senators, I got a sense that Helen, even in her darkest hour, knows that. She knows that we need to wrap our arms around our fellow Australians living in rural and regional communities in need of that mental health support.

Helen, go well. I look forward to you returning to this place. You go with the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Barker.

I want to start by sending my love to Helen, to Phil, to their kids and to Helen's whole team. And I hope, Helen, that you get the chance to see or to read all the speeches that we're making here today, because, if you do, you'll see in them just how much we all love you, how much we all admire you—all of us—and how much we all wish we were half as good and decent and kind as you are.

Everything that everyone's already said here today about Helen is true. She's all that and more. That's I guess what makes this so hard to understand. I think, if we're honest with ourselves, most of us have worried at some time that something like this could happen, that one of us was going to get hurt. I admit I have. But I don't think any of us ever thought something like this could ever happen to someone like Helen. Why would anybody want to hurt her? We don't know why—not yet. But just the fact that this could happen means we've got to ask ourselves some hard questions about how we do our job, about the sort of country we are today and the sort of country we want to be. We're not like America or even the UK. We haven't had anything like the political violence they have had. But that doesn't mean that it's never happened.

I told the story last week, for the first time in a long time, about the night John Newman was gunned down. John was a state Labor MP in New South Wales. I worked for him. I was with him the night he died. I said goodbye to him in the car park of a local club. We got in our cars and drove home. When I got home I started work on a uni assignment. When John got home he was shot dead in his driveway. I live that night a lot. I remember hearing on the TV that a politician had been shot, and then the news that it was John. I remember rushing to his house. I remember that the street was all shut off. I remember the police everywhere—the ambulance. I remember the screams—one scream. I didn't sleep that night. That was more than 30 years ago. I'm still haunted by it, and I think I always will be.

Now, what happened to John is different from what happened to Helen. I get that. But I'm telling the story again because I just want us to remind ourselves that we're not immune. We haven't been for a long time. The truth is, it's got worse since COVID, it's got worse since 7 October, and it's made worse by the internet—by algorithms that feed our fears, that force-feed us the same thing and can keep us trapped in the one place, where they fester and make people angry and make people hate each other, hate themselves, and maybe even turn sick people into monsters.

In my own local community this year, my local mayor had her family car firebombed outside her house in the middle of the night. Almost every day someone here gets a threat of violence sent to them. And for every threat that blokes like me get, female politicians get 20 or 30 more. And it's not just us. As everyone has said here today, it's teachers, it's nurses, it's retail workers, it's people who work in hospo. And there are no easy answers to any of this. Changing it is hard, but we've got to try to change the sort of people we are, and not just us as politicians but us as Aussies—in here, out there, online, everywhere. Phil said this morning that we've got to break the fever that's infecting our democracy. He's right.

This year has been bookended by speeches we've made in this place about two unfathomable acts of violence: first Bondi, and now this. As I end my remarks here tonight I thought I should share with you what Helen said right here in January. This is Helen:

Here in this hallowed parliament of Australia may we as leaders in our communities, as national leaders demonstrate that we can be a beacon of light. That we model the social cohesion we seek of our citizens. Not that we shy from the difficult and passionate debates, not that we wave through law without earnest endeavour but that we engage with graceful intent to do everything we can to respond courageously, powerfully and decisively to terror.

May light guide us all towards a stronger community, one that is more compassionate, curious of difference, courageous and kind.

That's Helen. Don't we desperately need more of that? Don't we desperately need her back here? Come back, Helen. We need you.

We have heard today an outpouring of respect for Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi, who in the course of serving her electorate has been severely injured. I add my thoughts and prayers and those of the entire Parkes electorate to those of those who have already spoken in this chamber today and have grieved for Helen and her family for the week that has passed. I sincerely wish her a speedy recovery and was heartened by her husband Phil's words that she is strong of heart and of mind. Staying strong in heart and mind is a condition we should all aspire to here in this place, where we represent nearly 28 million people who put their faith in us every single day.

Through our democratic system, we have the privilege of gathering here to debate legislation that will hopefully make our country an even better place to live and to address the challenges that come with changing times. One of those challenges is the feeding of the discontent and the festering of grievances that we see across social media. Never before has it been so easy to broadcast those moments of hurt and spite, to find others that make it stronger, to grow it into something unfounded and dangerous. Today, people face hatred from others that they have never met. People within these walls face threats from people who have never had a conversation with them, never shared a meal with them and will never know the personal hurdles they face each and every day. This incident has brought into the public eye the fear that a person going about their day and carrying out their work can be a target, not just the people in this building but the people everywhere walking in to do their jobs as a nurse or a builder or a teacher or one of the thousands of tasks carried out by each and every Australian every day.

Within this House of Representatives, there are 150 members of parliament. In the Senate, there are 76. That is a small number of people facing scrutiny from a very large number of people. That has always been the case, yet it has always been crucial for us to be part of our communities that have elected us. If we are to represent our communities, we need to know exactly what matters to them. We need to share their events, their difficulties and their successes. We need to be a strong part of our community at every available opportunity. I would hope we are still living in the kind of country where we can continue to do this.

What happened to Dr Helen Haines outside her own electorate office is absolutely horrific. It is not an everyday happening, and we must ensure it never becomes just another headline in the newspapers. Australians need to work together to remain a country where we are, as one, outraged by happenings such as this one. We need to measure our words and our actions and act in kindness so that we are not part of the problem and we're not feeding the beast that will one day bite us all. Words do hurt. Words on social media have shown us this, time and again—eating away at self-esteem, vilifying those who are different, building bonfires on which to burn good people. But the good part of this equation is that words can also heal. Words are part of what we can use to support each other, to show kindness. Words are what are used to show respect and care for Helen Haines right now. We are shown the way by none other than Helen Haines herself, who, after the horrific attack, did not utter words of anger or self-pity. She said to the helpers, 'Thank you, you lovely people.' We have a chance here to consider how we choose to continue. Let's continue with kindness.

Three years ago I travelled to Wangaratta to join Helen Haines for a meeting with her arts community to discuss our National Cultural Policy that had just been launched earlier in that year. Like me, Helen has a passion for the arts and recognises how fundamental it is to the health and wellbeing of her community. She celebrates those who have the gift and desire for creative pursuits, and she wanted me to hear directly from them. I was very happy to do so. During that visit, I saw how connected Helen was with her community, respected by all and loved by so many. I can imagine the pain her community will be feeling in the aftermath of the shocking attack on her and the questions they will want answered about why and how it happened. My community shares their distress. As I was travelling around the Blue Mountains, the Hawkesbury and Emu Plains at the weekend, my constituents shared their dismay at the horrific attack, and their thoughts were squarely with Helen, Phil and their family.

While excerpts of question time capture the media's attention and land in people's living rooms and on their social media feeds, one of the unseen parts of this place is how we engage across the aisle with MPs from other parties. Helen and I found many common areas of interest early on in her time here, as others have expressed a similar experience. Our husbands are lucky enough to have the flexibility of age to be present in Canberra more often than some others, so they can spend time with other partners.

While time for socialising is limited in sitting weeks, as we all know, I think we all enjoy the occasional moments of being in the same place at the same time, even if it's just for a quick check-in chat. We don't usually make speeches about this sort of thing in this place, but perhaps we should so people know how we really operate. It demonstrates our ability to discuss and disagree, to have things we don't agree on but other things that we do. Today is an opportunity to acknowledge the relationships that evolve across party lines and across this chamber. It's also a day to send our very deepest wishes to Helen, Phil, the kids and grandkids and Helen's team, both paid and unpaid, for the very best recovery possible. Helen, your empty seat weighs heavily on all of us in this parliament.

How does the parliament respond to such a horrific attack? How does the wider community react? It's telling that the heightened security warnings that we've been receiving over some time mean that, while we may not be surprised that there's been a horrific attack, there is absolute shock. In the decade I've been here, my team and I have seen an increase in the expression of aggression and have seen aggression more often spill over into threats of violence. As many have said in parliament today, there should be no green light for violence in any part of our society. In fact, this Westminster system is designed to reduce physical violence by creating a space where rigorous and robust debate can take place. I acknowledge the role that the Speaker has played in ensuring the ground rules for debate in this chamber are adhered to. It's time for us all, every Australian, to check ourselves so that we have strong and robust debate without being nasty, mean or cruel to others, without demeaning people and without inciting violence. Whether it's teachers or nurses, shop assistants or flight attendants, professional referees or youngsters refereeing at the weekend, no-one should be abused for doing their job and no-one should experience violence.

I love engaging with my community. I enjoy the disagreements as well as the agreements. I love working through complex issues, hearing new insights or arguing using facts and logic. Those discussions often don't end in agreement. I've frequently said to people who live in the Blue Mountains, the Hawkesbury and Emu Plains that I don't expect us to agree on everything. In fact, it would be strange if we did. I comment that I've been married for nearly 40 years, and I still can't get my husband to agree with me on everything, and that's okay. Let's allow space for disagreement that still includes respect, integrity, kindness and compassion. We look forward to seeing Helen back in this chamber, demonstrating those very qualities that she has in spades.

I rise to support this motion and to send my love and strength to the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines. I can't claim to know Helen as well as many in this House who have spoken today—colleagues who have shared years of friendship and stories of who she is as a person. My time with Helen has been in moments—a short comment here, a kind word there across the chamber or in passing in the corridors. In those moments, Helen was always generous. She often praised my advocacy for my community in Fowler. She would tell me how important it is to have a diverse perspective in this House and that she loved hearing the stories I shared about the people of south-west Sydney. Helen, thank you. Your kind and encouraging words meant more to me than you might know.

Just last sitting, during one of the divisions Helen and I spoke at length, which is unusual because we often don't get to sit together, but we did that time. It was a lovely heart-to-heart conversation about life, family and health. Helen told me she couldn't wait to get to the end of the year and have a good, solid rest. We talked about how much work we do as Independents with our communities. We are forever going from one community event to the next. Helen said with a smile that no doubt I had more community events to attend than she did. For Helen, the challenge was distance. Indi is a big electorate, and those long drives, week after week, take their toll. We both agreed that health and family are everything. Helen had just become a grandmother again and said she was looking forward to the role.

What happened last Monday outside her office in Wangaratta shocked this House and the whole nation. Helen was simply doing her job, serving her community, when she was struck in what is alleged to be a deliberate attack. Those that have been hit hardest are the people closest to Helen. To Helen's team: You have been through something no-one should go through. Please look after yourselves and lean on each other. To the people of Indi: we are thinking of you, and we pray for your strength and resilience. To Phil and Helen's family: Phil, you said Helen's heart and mind are in good shape. That is so Helen. Her kindness, love and courage will carry you all through this. Helen, we are with you every step of the way.

I also want to thank everyone who came to Helen's side that afternoon. To the people of Wangaratta who rushed to help without a second thought for their own safety, thank you. To the paramedics, the police and the crew who flew Helen to Melbourne, thank you. To the doctors, nurses and staff at the Alfred who are caring for Helen right now, thank you. Helen spent her working life as a nurse and a midwife. She knows better than anyone the skill and compassion you bring to your work every day.

A motion like this is about more than words. If we are going to honour Helen, let's make it count for her and her community. Just a week before that day, Helen was in this place calling out the more than $9 billion gap in health spending between our cities and regional Australia. She spent her life as a nurse, a midwife and a health researcher, and she never stopped fighting for health care, including mental health care for people outside our big cities. I have fought for the same thing in south-west Sydney. Helen represents a region, and I represent an outer suburban electorate, but our communities have a lot in common. Both are too often left behind when funding is handed out. So my message to the government is this: Show us your commitment. Properly fund health and mental health care in our regions and outer suburbs so that our communities get the care they need so that everyone—MPs and the public alike—can live and work safely. That is what Helen would fight for, and that is how we honour her.

Helen, rest, heal and know that this House is behind you whatever the road ahead looks like. I commend the motion to the House.

Helen's husband, Phil, has spoken about her fighting spirit. Many of us have seen it in action in this place and in her community of Indi. It is a lifelong core value that makes Helen who she is. I was told by one of Helen's close friends, Anita, about a memorable moment when this fighting spirit was on display. In between nursing training, Helen and Anita were backpacking around the world. While in Rome, they walked an English woman that they had befriended to the railway station to ensure that she was safe. Then, they decided on a pit stop at a local gelato store. As they neared their accommodation, they became aware that they were being followed. As they feared, the two figures lunged at them, but they had certainly underestimated what two Australian nurses armed with gelato were capable of. Helen and Anita spun around, sinking the ice creams into the eyes of their attackers and kneeing them in their groins. As the figures reeled back, I'm told that Helen and Anita made a swift escape to their nearby accommodation. I understand that they have both since reflected that this move might not have been the safest approach.

Anita also shared with me these words:

Helen still has many friends from her nursing training days at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne—affectionately known as the "Feb 80"—and from her midwifery training at the Mercy Hospital, Melbourne, known as the "May 85".

Anita goes on to say:

From the moment we met her, we knew she was clever, funny and above all a kind person.

Long before her parliamentary days we knew we had a special friend.

We send her and her dear family all of our love and strength for recovery.

I was lucky enough to join Helen on an overseas delegation, where her thirst for understanding how we can learn from others to make things better was clear for all to see. Having travelled widely and been witness to the many challenges and risks across the globe, it is so heartbreaking that the greatest threat Helen would face would be on the doorstep to her own workplace in Wangaratta. I still can't comprehend this act of violence. It has shaken all of us, leaving us and our staff feeling exposed.

But there are many others in our community who are feeling the effects of increasing hostility in our communities. Our retail, hospitality and customer service workers, police, paramedics, nurses, doctors and care workers, train drivers, truck drivers, teachers and more in public-facing roles are feeling the impact of increasingly disrespectful behaviour. Our multicultural community is also feeling scared and targeted. Last week, I spoke with Illawarra Indian and Muslim leaders, and they are also experiencing increasing hostility.

As the Prime Minister and our security agencies have said for some time, we must turn the temperature down. This is a moment for everyone to step back and have a really good look at the kind of Australia we want, take a breath and start to put kindness and empathy back into our public debates. People have legitimate concerns about the cost of living, housing and access to services, which we all know are driving some discontent not just here but across the world, but the fact is that online algorithms, the anonymity of social media and a media far too often driven by drama rather than facts are giving people a platform for toxic views to circulate. Mis- and disinformation are designed to trigger emotional reactions and, too often, backed by aggressive rhetoric by some political and community leaders. We all have a responsibility to return respect, kindness and facts to our political debates, and I encourage everyone across our community to reflect on this.

Finally, I want to thank the first responders and the bystanders who came so quickly to Helen's aid. They show the best of who we are as a nation, as do the many health workers supporting her recovery around the clock. On behalf of all the people of Cunningham, our thoughts are with Helen, her husband, Phil, and their entire family as well as Helen's staff and everyone across her community. We love you, Helen, and we can't wait to have you back here in this chamber.

There are moments in this place when politics, party lines and business of parliament all seem very small compared to what really matters. This is one of those moments. The member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, is a woman who earned the respect admiration and affection of so many people across this parliament and throughout regional Australia and, of course, in her own electorate of Indi. My thoughts and prayers are with Helen, her husband, Phil, their children and grandchildren and, of course, Helen's staff.

The member for Indi, Helen, is by any measure an extraordinary person, but what makes her extraordinary is not simply her contribution to this place or the causes she has championed; it is the person that she is. Helen grew up in a regional community where people understood the importance of looking out for one another. She has built her career caring for people as a bush nurse and midwife, serving regional communities through some of the most important and difficult moments in their lives, and she carried the same sense of service into this parliament.

Helen and I share a genuine love for regional Australia and the people who call it home. We both know that representing a regional electorate is more than turning up to parliament here in Canberra; it is about being out in our communities, listening to people, understanding their challenges and fighting for the places and the communities we are fortunate enough to call home. There is a real connection between people who represent regional communities. We understand the pride people have in where they live, the challenges they face and how much they rely on one another.

Helen has also been a tireless champion for rural and remote health care. Less than two weeks ago, Helen delivered a moving speech alongside our very own Mayor Dean Johnson, speaking about the persistent challenges facing rural and remote health care and the ongoing need for adequate funding to achieve equity in access to health care and achieve better outcomes for regional and remote communities. It was a powerful reminder that Helen cares about ensuring people in regional communities can access the health care they need regardless of where they live.

I've also had the opportunity and privilege to work along Helen through the regional development parliamentary committee, and it has been a real pleasure. Throughout that work, I've seen her commitment to regional communities firsthand. That common ground is something I've genuinely valued in working with Helen, and, Helen, I will continue to fight and champion for better health care in our regions for you.

Helen has demonstrated that you can challenge the way things are done, ask difficult questions and hold governments to account while still treating people with respect, because behind every member in this parliament is a person, a family and a community that cares about them. Helen's circumstances are a sobering reminder of that. No-one should have to fear for their safety because they have chosen to serve their community. Disagreement is a part of democracy. Debate is a part of this place. Holding different views is part of what makes our democracy work. But violence has no place in politics, in our communities or in our society.

Regional Australia needs people like the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, someone who understands their communities, who turns up, who listens, who cares and who is prepared to put in the hard work while no-one else is watching. I hope we never take for granted the people who dedicate their lives to serving others. Helen spent her career serving others, and now it is our turn to stand behind her and her family. I commend this motion to the House.

This past week, many of us in this place have prayed—some aloud and some silently—for our friend and colleague Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi. I do not claim to know the member for Indi as well as many in this chamber do, but for the first few weeks when I started I watched her very carefully. I saw the rigour of her thinking, the strength of her convictions and the practical and determined advocacy she brings to this parliament on behalf of the people of Indi. The member for Indi never speaks to hear her own voice; she speaks because someone in her community is counting on her to do so. She has set a high standard for what Australians should expect from their representatives, and I'm grateful she set that standard when new members like me could see it. Today, she is alive and stable, and for that I give thanks.

Scripture tells us that, to follow Christ, it is up to us to take up the cross daily. Helen now carries a cross she never chose—one that is heavy, unjust and difficult beyond words. Yet my faith also teaches us that no-one is meant to carry such a burden alone. To Phil and to Helen's family and friends: please know that you are in my prayers and also those of the electorate of Barton. To Helen's colleagues in this place, especially those who work closely with her: I know this past week has weighed heavily on your hearts. Politics may challenge us on policies and priorities, but grief does not recognise party lines and neither does love. In moments like this, we are reminded that, before we are parliamentarians, we're human beings.

I will be pretty frank: over the past week, I've simultaneously felt quite deep sadness and frustration. Before entering parliament I spent over a decade practising as an employment lawyer, and throughout those years one principle remained constant: dignity at work. Every person has the right to perform their work safely. That principle applies whether someone works in an office, in a construction site, in a hospital, in a school or in this parliament. It applies in this building. It applies in every electorate office across the country. It applies at every community event where elected representatives engage with the people they serve—and it applies not only to members of parliament but also to the staff and the volunteers who work to support the work and make public service possible.

Violence towards any person is unacceptable. It's wrong, it's never justified and it can never be tolerated. I sometimes wonder whether people outside this building fully understand the gravity of what has occurred. An attack on the member for Indi is not simply an attack on an individual; it is an attack on the community that chose her to speak on their behalf. Democracy is founded on trust. It depends upon people willing to come forward, engage openly, represent others and serve their communities without fear for their safety. When that principle is threatened, all of us have an obligation to defend it.

I acknowledge and thank those who stepped forward when Helen needed them most—the civilians who ran towards danger rather than away from it, and the paramedics, police officers, doctors, nurses and emergency service personnel who have helped Helen get a chance to still be alive with us here today. To them: you represent the very best of our country, and our national character is very much defined by people like you.

Pope Francis once described politics as 'a lofty vocation' and one of the highest forms of charity because, at its best, it is an act of service to others. Helen has lived that calling every day through her commitment to her community. To Helen: your burden is heavy, but you do not have to carry that cross alone. Your family, your friends, your community, your parliamentary colleagues and your nation are all beside you. May we be worthy of the courage, grace and resilience that you show us all. Speedy recovery, Hel.

Parliament is a big place with lots of long corridors and lots of people. Everyone's busy. Everyone's rushing from place to place, trying to fit in too many meetings each day. The member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, is always the one who says hello as you pass her in the corridor. No matter how busy she is, she always has time to pay attention to whomever is in front of her, ask how they are and actually listen to the answer.

The overwhelming response on hearing of this attack was shock—shock that it would happen to anyone, and then shock that it was, of all people, Helen, a woman known for her kindness, her compassion, her respect for others and her dedication to representing her beloved Indi community. I'd like to thank Helen's husband, Phil, for coming to speak to us this morning. In a time of great stress for their family, he took the time to come and talk to a group of her distressed colleagues—to give us comfort, to urge us to make this terrible event count for something and to give us Helen's words: hope and change.

There has been a lot of soul searching around here in this place and in this country about how we have come to this, but the signs have been there for a long time. In the days since the attack I have heard from colleagues of their experiences: stalkers, threats, security considerations they never thought they would have to take to keep them, their family, their staff and their constituents safe. We all know that if we put certain topics on social media we'll be targeted with vile personal abuse—social media pile-ons that are in no way a debate on the policy issue being discussed.

Citizenship ceremonies are always a source of great joy—being present to watch those people who choose Australia and choose Boothby, hearing them take the oath to be good citizens and hearing their stories about why they came here: for love, for work, for study or for a safe place to raise their family. The mayor of Marion, Kris Hanna, often remarks to new citizens that in the countries they come from the closest they would get to a politician would be a glimpse of a limousine with darkened windows and a police escort but that here in Australia we are all much more accessible—keen to engage. You can talk to us after the ceremony. You can come and see us in our office. You'll see us down at the shops. You'll see us taking our children to school or supporting a local sports team. This is precious. Unless we can engage with our constituents we can't properly represent them. And unless they can talk to us, how will we be able to help them?

While this week we are all in shock, it's important to reflect on the words Phil Haines said to us: hope and change. The vile social media, the misinformation and personal abuse not only affects us and our staff. They also affect other readers, and I can't imagine they're making the person posting them happy. The anger they spur drives division and despair. And that's the social media business model: they make money off our misery. This week, as we reel from the shock of the attack on one of our most beloved colleagues, social media has barely taken a breath. The abuse continues. Sometimes it even incorporates references to the attack. And some media commentators have taken the pause in the noise as an opportunity to fight back against calls for civility.

What we say matters. How we say it matters. In a world where there is so much constant input, so much noise, it is tempting to go further and further to be heard above the clamour. But what we say matters. What we say in this place, what the media says, what is said on social media matters, because you never know when the person who hears or reads your rhetorical flourish is already on the edge, is already distressed, and might take what you say literally and act on it. So as we reflect on our beloved colleague Helen and send best wishes to her and her family, as we thank the bystanders and the first responders who saved her life and as we send our thoughts to her staff, no doubt traumatised by what has happened to their boss just outside their workplace, I'd encourage all of us in this place and outside to reflect on what we personally can do to protect the country we value—a country that is safe for all of us, a country based on an open democracy where the community has a sense of commitment and ownership of that democracy. The kind, thoughtful compassion that Helen shows everyone is how we all want to be treated, and surely that is the country we wanted. We look forward to seeing Helen back in this chamber, advocating for the community and the country she loves.

The member for Indi should be here with us, working hard, representing her community that she cares for so much. Instead, last week she experienced an unthinkable attack, and today we come together as a parliament in our disbelief, in deep sadness and shock that this has happened to our much loved colleague and friend and that this would happen in our democracy. I speak on behalf of Canberrans too when I say our hearts are with you, dear Helen, and we are hoping and praying for you to have the smoothest recovery possible and to have strength and to have comfort through this. And our hearts are with your family, including your husband, Phil, your children, Will, Nick and Georgia, their partners and your very new little grandchildren, and your amazing staff team, who have gone through so much.

Dr Helen Haines has spent her life caring for others as a nurse, a midwife and an MP representing her community. She is kind, empathetic, always respectful, deeply committed and well known for her advocacy. It says much about Helen that so many members across the political spectrum are speaking about a diversity of issues that they have worked on together, with consistent reflections of her caring nature and the principled way in which she does this job. I'm very privileged to work with Helen as Co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Maternal Health, an area that she has made such an immense contribution to both before parliament and in parliament. In a recent chat I was having with Helen, I found myself pouring my heart out a little bit, maybe a bit too much, and I said, 'Sorry, Helen, I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this.' She said, 'It's because I'm a midwife,' but it's not that—it's who she is, but it is that quality that makes her exactly the kind of midwife you would want to have, the kind of friend and colleague you want to have and absolutely the kind of local member you want to have.

While this attack is shocking, it is also symptomatic of a political environment that has become increasingly heightened, divisive and aggressive. Helen's husband, Phil Haines, has spoken with such grace since the horrific attack on his wife, and this morning he came to parliament to share his family's most solemn wish—that this tragedy should be the event that will break the fever and be the moment at which we turn to a gentler and more cohesive path, and that we as representatives make the choice to lead us there. With a social media environment that thrives on hate and anger and is feeding real-life threats and violence, it is important that politicians and, indeed, anyone with a platform think carefully about what we are saying and the impact it has in our communities, including for people who are struggling with other issues. As Phil said, we have a choice to inflame or disarm this situation, and we must be able to disagree and to advocate without diminishing each other's humanity. In recent years, many, including our prime minister, have called for us to take the temperature down, and it is more important than ever.

Beside this horrific attack, we see the courageous and selfless acts of bystanders who ran into danger to help. I thank those brave Australians. It is significant that Ricky Jefferies, the barber who managed to remove the attacker from his car and keep him at the scene, did so not with violence or force but with kindness and calm. He told the ABC:

It was the right thing to do and to show him kindness and grace at a time that could have escalated from there.

Ricky, you absolutely are a hero. In these acts we find hope, and it is this kindness, respectfulness and decency through which we can de-escalate the tensions in our communities and keep our democracy alive and thriving.

Again, I want to send so much love and the very best wishes from myself and my community to the member for Indi. May we follow in her example.

I want to thank everybody who came to Helen's aid, especially Ricky the barber, the first responders and the staff at the Alfred. Everyone is doing their best right now to help us put all of this back together. I send my love to Phil and the family on behalf of my electorate and everyone who's reached out to me personally and everyone who has reached out to all members right across this place at the moment. Helen is pretty special. She sometimes walks to work with some of my staff, and she mentioned to them one day that, in the Federation Chamber, she can always tell when I get bored of whatever it is I'm reading and just go off script. So, Helen, if you ever see this, I have no notes. We are completely off script now.

Kindness—if you can choose to be anything in this world, you should choose to be kind. I try to be kind. It is the great strength. It's a true virtue.

Like a lot of first term MPs, when I first came to this place, I was intimidated. It's big and it's powerful. But in the Federation Chamber the bells rung in the middle of my speech. Helen let me know that it was going to be okay. She walked down with me for the vote. She walked me back up. She told me: 'You'll get to finish your speech. I was so hoping you'd get there, that you could just get through the end.' And that was the kindness. As I got to know her more and a few committees and just in passing, it was her defining characteristic. It's the thing that has been pointed out by so many people across this House. That's who she is. It isn't an affectation. It isn't something that she put on for show. At her absolute core, she is kind and decent to everyone that she came across. That was reflected in her first words as relayed to us today. They were about other people, not about herself.

I know that the crossbench talk about, 'What would Helen do', the matriarch of the crossbench. She would display kindness. She lives by that virtue. It's something that we should all aspire to in all aspects of our lives, not just when we're here, not just when we're interacting with other parliamentarians or the community, but everywhere. It costs nothing to be kind. You never know what kind of day someone's having. You never know what troubles are impacting their lives. You don't know what a simple act of kindness, a simple smile or a simple act of grace will mean to them. I'm reminded throughout this process of all of these little acts of kindness, all these little acts of grace, that Helen has shown every single person in this House, the time that she has taken and the universal approval that she has.

There's a lesson in that not just for parliamentarians, but for right across the country, right across the world. We can take the time to be that kindness and be that change. It doesn't have to be combative. It doesn't have to be disrespectful. It can be, 'I don't agree with you, but I can still respect you.' I think that when we all came here that's what we wanted to be, and it's Helen who shows us that every day. I look forward to her coming back through those doors, resuming her space where that orange parrot currently resides, celebrating that moment with her and showing the nation that we will never give in to the hate and that we will always embrace the kindness. Helen can be that avatar for us. As Phil has asked—and I think everyone in here owes it to the example set and to the request made—we should all be better.

We come together today with heavy hearts to pay tribute to Helen Haines, a woman whose life and work are defined by service, compassion, courage and an unwavering commitment to others. We feel a deep sense of sadness and concern for Helen, her husband Phil, her family, her staff and the community she has served so faithfully. The events of last week have shocked Australians across the country and in my electorate of Whitlam. I've had many messages from people in my electorate. The community is deeply concerned for Helen's welfare. I was grateful to be able to convey the very best wishes of the Whitlam electorate to Phil Haines in person here in parliament this morning.

Helen, we wish you, Phil, your family and staff all the very best. It is difficult to comprehend that a woman who has devoted so much of her life to caring for others and representing her community could suffer such devastating injuries while going about her work. Helen Haines has spent her career looking after other people. Before entering federal parliament, Helen built a distinguished career as a nurse and a midwife. I was contacted last week by a friend who used to live in Wangaratta, and he knew Helen when she was a midwife. He recalled the story of when his first child was born. Helen brought him and his wife a casserole the day after the birth of his son, and she said to them, 'It's a busy time, so I thought I would cook you something to have in the fridge.' He said he was so touched and described her as an exceptional human. Helen has carried this kindness into public life. Helen has brought to parliament her empathy, integrity, determination and a deep belief that every person deserves dignity and respect.

The circumstances surrounding Helen's injuries are a confronting reminder that violence of any kind has no place in our democracy. No-one in public life should have to fear for their safety while serving their community. No family should have to endure the anguish that Helen's family is currently enduring, and no disagreement, grievance or political difference can ever justify violence. We must reaffirm our commitment to respectful debate, peaceful disagreement and the fundamental right of every person to participate in public life without fear. Our democracy is strongest when we listen and respect one another.

Because of what has happened to Helen, Australia will never be the same again. As a result, we have an opportunity to change our community for the better, and we can do that by doing something very simple—showing one another respect. Australians are very decent people. We must have that decency on display all the time. That's the very best thing we can do now to show our support and love for Helen Haines, because that is what Helen stands for, and today is about Helen. It's about Helen, the person, the wife, the friend, the colleague and the woman who has touched so many lives through her work and through her character. We also think of Phil, whose love, courage and decency have been evident during this deeply distressing time. We think of Helen's staff and those present on the day of this terrible incident, and we think about the people of Indi, whose representative and friend is fighting for her recovery. To all of them, we offer our heartfelt support.

Helen's life has been marked by determination, and her husband has described her as a fighter. We can continue to speak up for the values that Helen has championed. We can ensure that the kindness, respect, integrity and courage she has demonstrated are reflected in our own actions. I invite all Australians to take up that challenge to show respect at all times. We can show respect to everyone we come into contact with—teachers, delivery drivers, people working on supermarket checkouts, wait staff, paramedics, nurses. Showing respect costs us nothing, yet it means so much. To Helen, once again: on behalf of the electorate of Whitlam, we send our love and best wishes. May you find strength in the kindness and concern of people across the country. Even in our darkest moments, kindness, respect, compassion, dignity and courage can bring us together.

Over the past few days, many people in Tangney have written to me, spoken with me and asked me to share their message of love with Helen. Our hearts go out to Helen, to her family, to her community and to her team. Helen and I are the same age, and many of our conversations have been about family and the joy of our love of being a grandparent. I first got to know Helen back in 2022 through our work together on the anticorruption legislation, and later we were on the parliamentary delegation trip to Malaysia. We have spent a lot of time together since then. We talk a lot and have a lot of long discussions. I feel very lucky to have had that opportunity to get to know Helen and to learn from her. I hold Helen in such a high regard for her integrity and her kindness, her selflessness in the way she has helped me and so many others in the House here, and her dedication and pride for her community. Helen is a beautiful person.

Many people in Tangney have asked me to share the sadness they felt at what had happened to Helen and to express concern and fear of what is happening to our society, our democracy and our community humanity. Our shared humanity is our strength. We are all human beings deserving compassion and care. We can all have bigger hearts. We can all treat people with loving kindness. For some time we have seen this fire of hatred and division burning and damaging our community, destroying our country. Every week, and sometimes many times a week, I have constituents reaching out to me about friends being attacked verbally or physically for being who they are. A father had his dastar—the Sikh turban—pulled off his head while out with his family at a shopping centre. Others are shouted at and abused because they have a different skin colour or because they have different opinions or beliefs.

I have had people call my office to say that they no longer feel safe to go out in a community they have always called home. There is concern across the community for the respect and safety for so many people who serve at the front line of our community, like police officers, nurses, emergency services, first responders, healthcare workers, teachers, retailers and many, many more. Abuse has never been accepted and yet it seems to be increasing by the day. This makes it harder for so many people to do their job, to do what they love and to be part of with their own communities.

We need to reduce the amount of polarisation and find those bridges we can build when we have differences. People must be able to disagree without abuse and threats. It must be possible to have different ideas and to still have respect for one another. We need to ask ourselves what needs to change so that we can live better together and what we can do to be kinder and more civil to one another. As I was out in my community this week, doorknocking and attending sporting events, senior events and high school graduations, I had many conversations about division but also many conversations about unity. There is more that unites us than divide us.

I, and all of Tangney, send Helen our love and very best wishes for her recovery. May all beings be well, happy and peaceful. May all beings be free from harm and danger. May all beings be free from mental or physical suffering.

I rise today to speak about my friend and colleague, the member for Indi. Helen and I were both elected in the same cohort, entering parliament in 2019. She immediately left an indelible impression on me as someone who stood out in public life for her decency, thoughtfulness and determination. She is deeply respected and admired in this place across the political divide, and throughout the community she has dedicated her life to serving.

Today is a time to reflect on the terrible incident that occurred last week at its most personal level and also on how it relates to politics and our public discourse more broadly. We are here to acknowledge the horrific events that led to Helen's injuries and, at the same time, to think about her as a person, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a parliamentarian. She represents her local community with great passion, advocating for both local projects and systemic issues affecting regional communities. She has also been such an effective champion of some of the most important national issues that this parliament has had to grapple with in our time here. Throughout her time as a parliamentarian, she has strongly advocated for a national anti-corruption body. When a select committee was appointed to shepherd the formation of that institution, Helen was appointed deputy chair, and her appointment was welcomed across the political aisle. After the passage of the NACC legislation, she continued in her role as deputy chair of the ongoing oversight Committee, reflecting the respect and trust in which she is held by members of this chamber. Helen is a person and a parliamentarian of the highest calibre—the best of us, which has been a phrase so often used today.

The events we are reflecting on reinforce that no-one who puts themselves forward to serve their community should have to fear for their safety or accept threats, intimidation or violence as part of the job. Yet increasingly that is the environment in which people in public life are being asked to operate. My own office has experienced confronting behaviour, and I know we are far from alone. MPs and their safety have understandably been the focus of a lot of the discussion today and in the public discourse. I also want to stress that electorate officers are regularly exposed to threats, aggression and at times direct violence. I particularly want to acknowledge the extraordinary electorate officers who work for members and senators right across the political spectrum in this place and the other place. They are often the first point of contact for people who are in great need and in some instances also angry, distressed, frightened or desperate. Sometimes that anger is political. Sometimes it comes from people experiencing serious mental illness or profound difficulties. Sometimes it comes from people who feel like the world has stopped listening to them. Whatever the cause, our electorate officers often bear the brunt of it. They do extraordinary work, frequently with little recognition, and deserve to feel safe in their workplaces. We must never allow abuse and intimidation of MPs or their electorate staff to become routine.

Of course, as so many in this discussion today have noted, this problem exists well beyond politics. Nurses, doctors, paramedics, retail workers, teachers, social workers and so many others on the frontline of service delivery are increasingly being asked to manage aggression and violence simply because they are doing their jobs. There is something profoundly wrong when the people whose work it is to help others are themselves placed at risk, when compassion is met with aggression and public service with intimidation. So much of the aggression in our community is gendered, and that is another aspect of the discussion which has been so important today.

All of us in this parliament and across the community more broadly have a responsibility to set a higher standard, not just in what we say when something terrible happens but in our everyday conduct and language. Political disagreement and robust debate are essential to democracy, but, of course, the line shouldn't be crossed to violence and intimidation. Frankly, I think, quite often not accepting the valid motives of the people you're debating is the first step in heading towards unhealthy debate and clash.

I want to finish where I began, with Helen. Helen came into public life because she wanted to help people. She brought to parliament the same compassion and sense of purpose that led her into nursing, midwifery and research. My thoughts are with Helen; with her husband, Phil; and their entire family. She is a valued colleague, a deeply respected parliamentarian and above all a good friend and a good person. She has given so much of herself in the service of others. The very least we can all do is ensure that Helen and the many thousands of Australians who dedicate their lives to helping others can continue that service in safety. Helen, I look forward to seeing you back in this chamber where you belong—swift recovery.

On behalf of my family and my community of Maribyrnong, I rise to send my deepest love to Helen for everything she and her husband, Phil; their children and grandchildren; her family; and her staff have endured and to the people of Indi. While the attack on Helen was an act of horror, it also showed the very best of us. The local barber ran out into danger. The tourists with first-aid training administered life-saving treatment. Her staff were some of the first on the scene and have still been working on urgent casework in the wake of this attack.

I've been in this place for 18 months now, and something a lot of us new MPs do is watch and learn from those who are more experienced. Helen stood out to me, not because she was the loudest voice in the room but because she always operated with integrity and a quiet grit that has allowed her to be such an effective voice for her regional Victorian community. Helen has had her disagreements with this government, but she never made it personal. She's never punched below the belt. That's simply not how she approaches politics. I've seen it firsthand in a committee that we both sit on. Helen's intellect and ability to scrutinise difficult policy decisions with a calm and measured approach is a lead worth following.

The events of last week cause us all to reflect on the safety of public representatives, and, while I can list the barrage of abusive comments I receive daily online, I have also been thinking about the stories I'm told by teachers, nurses, paramedics, shop assistants and care workers who too suffer abuse in their workplaces every day. I know Helen has often raised this issue too, calling it out and pushing for better safety measures for frontline workers, especially women, who bear a pretty brutal brunt of particular abuse. Helen has been a staunch voice for greater protections to ensure our frontline workers, especially our health professionals, are safe at work. I think of those workers, many of whom were the first responders in this attack.

We must confront that the attack on Helen is a reflection of a bigger issue in our community, one of anger, of isolation, of hate and how we seemingly have lost the ability to disagree well. The temperature has been climbing for a while now, and it has not climbed on its own. Division and grievance as a strategy are chosen because they can be effective, but it's incumbent on all of us not to choose the politics of grievance. Let us be curious not judgemental. Let us disagree and debate the issues that matter with vigour and purpose, but let us all take a leaf out of Helen's book and never lose sight of others' humanity as we do so.

The social media platforms who monetise contempt and hate have no reason to stop on their own. The media has its role to play to, and then there is this parliament. What gets said in this chamber does not stay confined to this building, and somebody on the edge out there is listening to us and taking their lead from us. Nothing can change what happened last Monday, but we what we can do is a thing that Helen has been doing here for seven years: go as hard as you like on the argument, but do it with humility and humanity, and leave the person out of it.

Before I finish, I want to give a special shout-out to Helen's staff. We know, despite witnessing the aftermath of Helen's attack, they have continued to serve the Indi community. That is simply extraordinary, given what they have endured. I want to acknowledge the courage and the strength it takes to carry on in the face of such trauma. Finally, Helen, a self-described defiant optimist, I have no doubt you'll tackle this recovery with the same outlook. I once again extend my very well wishes to you and your family and for what will be a long road ahead, but I look forward to sitting across from you in this place very soon.

I can remember the very first time I first heard about Helen Haines. Cathy McGowan, the former member for Indi, and I got to know each other really well, driving many kilometres for the ag committee's various inquiries over the years. When Cathy decided not to run again, she said to me that she had someone who was truly special to fill her shoes. She said she'd found a force, someone who would serve her community with authenticity and decency. How true that turned out to be. I spoke to Cathy last Monday night, not long after the attack, and she was truly devastated but was supporting Helen's team and the broader community of Indi and their supporters.

It really is difficult to find the words to describe the heartbreak of what has happened to Helen Haines. To hear that Helen has lost both of her legs following this devastating attack is just truly unimaginable. Our thoughts, all of our thoughts—my community back home, my colleagues, all of Australia—are with Helen, her family, her friends, her staff and everyone who loves her as they face what will be an incredibly difficult and life-changing time. Helen now faces a journey that will change so many aspects of her daily life. Things most of us take for granted will look very different, and she and those closest to her will need enormous strength and support in the months ahead. I want Helen to know that she is in our thoughts. We want to offer that support, and we want to offer that love and encouragement for her in the dark days and, hopefully, some light-filled moments ahead.

On Friday, while I was out doing some fruit and veg shopping, when I'd gotten home from Canberra, a local bloke approached me. He said, 'You take care of yourself; what a week.' I didn't know him from a bar of soap, but I knew instantly what he was talking about. He said, 'Meryl, I know you're just trying to do your groceries, but can I tell you a quick story?' And I said, 'Of course. Sure.' He said: 'A number of years ago, I was at the cricket. I was in the members. I'd never been there before, and I've never been there since. But at the break I stood up, and I was stretching, and, as I spun around, the bloke behind me was doing the same thing. It was John Howard. He was the Prime Minister. In that moment, I thought, "How good is Australia?" I can be here at the cricket with the Prime Minister.' Then he said: 'That's my Australia. Now, I know a few years have gone by, but that's still Australia. That's the Australia I want to live in. And you know what? You politicians, you do a pretty good job. But you know what? We need you to be out in our communities. You need to keep doing that. You need to keep turning up.'

I've really reflected on that conversation amidst all of the pain and the sadness and the shock and the horror. I just keep going back to that bloke in the fruit shop, and thinking that we've got to hang on to those sentiments. We've got to have a belief and an understanding that we are better than this. He wasn't describing anything particularly extraordinary. He was describing, for him, something that was wonderfully Australian—the idea that you could go along to the cricket, enjoy a game and happen to sit with someone like a prime minister and that public life and everyday life could sit side by side without fear or hostility. I think that man captured something important about this country. We want to live in a country where people can go about their lives, where our public representatives are a part of our community and where differences of opinion do not take away from our shared humanity.

I want to acknowledge the people who came to Helen's aid in those moments after the attack. Ordinary Australians stepped forward when someone needed them and offered assistance, comfort and care in what must have been an incredibly confronting situation. They didn't stop to consider who Helen was, what she believed in, what differences they might have or how she may or may not have voted in this chamber. They saw a person in need and helped. They stepped up. That simple act of humanity says something more about Australia, too, because this is about more than politics; it is about how we treat one another, particularly when life is difficult, when emotions are running high and when we disagree, often vehemently. Civic leaders are people too, and behind every public figure is a human being with a family, people who love them and their own challenges and vulnerabilities. Choosing to serve your community should never mean accepting cruelty, intimidation or threats as part of your job. I just want to say again: Helen, get well. We love you. May the wind be at your back.

I was at an awards ceremony last Monday when our chief whip Jo rang and said that something really terrible had happened to our colleague and friend Helen Haines, that she had been run down by a car in her electorate and it might have been deliberate. I thought 'Helen, Helen Haines'—Helen who I was in a lift with just a few weeks ago in Parliament House, where she asked, 'How are you going?' It's something I imagine she asks all of us, all the time, no matter our political persuasion. Always the nurse, always caring for all of us—that's Helen. I don't know Helen as well as most here, but we've chatted before about the challenges I've faced as a new MP and my surgery last year. She has listened and offered sound and thoughtful advice, as all those who love her in this place know. As her husband, Phil, said this morning, her superpowers are empathy, compassion and kindness, always. While I was outside the school hall, Jo asked me if I was okay and said if I needed anything to call her. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My chest hurt and, like the speed of light, my brain went straight to her fight for life, the flashes of fear that she may have had, the confusion of not knowing what was hurt or who was hurt and the urgency and the heroism of bystanders, her staff and first responders. I went there because I know it.

What I do not know is being deliberately attacked, targeted at work by a member of the community I serve and love. It has hit us all so hard, particularly the crossbench. We know your hearts are breaking for Helen. We too are upset and shocked. Some of us are frightened because almost all of us have faced abuse and threats of violence online and in our communities, frightened because we know that words said online, in the media, in cartoons and in parliament fuel real-life verbal abuse, real-life threats and real-life violence. As the Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, said today, the explosion in social media tracks the explosion of sexual violence and strangulation. We're frightened because, as women, we know that threats and abuse have increased at an alarming rate over the past 12 months not just for MPs but for teachers, hospital workers, retail staff, transport workers and emergency service workers. In just three months, over 55,000 comments have been filtered out of my social media pages because they were abusive, ableist, sexist or threatened violence upon me or my family.

This morning Phil, Helen's husband, left her hospital bedside to speak to MPs and senators, her friends and colleagues. He left her for a couple of hours to speak to us. He said his family's wish was that their tragedy be the moment that breaks the fever, the moment Australia chooses to be gentler and that we as politicians lead the way. Phil asked us to think about the impact of words on people outside the parliament, on those who are reading social media feeds, on those who are vulnerable or mentally ill. He asked us to be better, and we must be better and we must demand better from big tech and the online environment. Words matter.

Helen's path over the next few months and years will be hard. But, as I said to Phil this morning after I gave him a big hug, Helen will create a new normal, a life that will be a bit different, but there will be happiness, joy, work, quality time with family and many good times with her beloved community. Our challenge in here is: can we create a new normal online, in our communities and in this place that is safe, kind and compassionate, a new normal in which we politely disagree, a new normal in which we ask, 'What would Helen do?' On behalf of my electorate of Dickson, our thoughts are with Helen, her family, her staff, her friends and her community of Indi. Thank you to the first responders, health workers, heroic bystanders and her staff. Helen, I hope that you know how much you are loved.

I was deeply saddened to hear of the attack on Helen Haines and the injuries that she sustained. While Helen and I represent different parts of Australia, there is much that connects Indi and Braddon. After Braddon, Indi is the next largest electorate by geographic size. Both electorates are proudly rural, made up of communities that stretch from small regional centres to very remote locations. They are high-mileage, worn-shoe-leather electorates where much of that job is spent out on the road listening to people, visiting towns, attending local events and understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our diverse communities. Both electorates are underpinned by primary production and are now growing in new directions with renewable energy generation. Both are strengthened by vibrant and creative community networks and sustained by volunteers who so often wear two, three or more hats to keep their towns thriving. Families who have lived there for generations stand alongside newcomers, who have chosen to live, work, play and learn in some of Australia's most remarkable landscapes.

The outpouring of love and support by Helen for her community tells us a lot about the person she is. It tells us that she has worked hard to earn the respect that she commands. It tells us that the people of Indi see themselves in her. It tells us each that she has earned her place as a trusted representative who listens, shows up and understands the needs of her region. Most of all, it tells us that what motivates Helen is making sure her community is stronger, fairer and more inclusive. That is the Helen we know as our colleague: a determined advocate, a respected representative and someone who is deeply committed to the people she represents.

My thoughts are with Helen and her husband, Phil, as well as their family and friends and her staff, who have stood beside her and supported her and the family through this event. From the communities of Braddon to the communities of Indi, we wish her the very best for her recovery.

I've sat here today for hours thinking: 'Where do you find words to describe what's happened? Where do you find words that are going to make an ounce of difference to Helen, Phil, the staff, all the first responders and everyone that was involved?' It's not going to take some of that pain away, and it's near impossible. It's impossible because Helen is a very special person. As neighbours, we've both covered the Murrindindi Shire a bit, and we've had lots of discussions about different things.

Helen is one of those unique people who you can spend five minutes listening to and—it doesn't matter how angry or worked up you are—she just brings calmness. She is a paragon of virtue, really. Last Monday, I was just 20 minutes away from where it happened. The shock that it brought to those across the nation and the globe is unbelievable. Helen is a noble soul. She's a person who is calm. She oozes integrity, and, most importantly, decency—common decency and humanity. To think of what's gone on and the things that have happened—it is quite hard to fathom.

Today, when I looked at a lot of different notes that people had put online, I thought: 'How did we get to this space? How did we get to a place where this sort of action happens?' I know post COVID we've had a lot of issues. People went through COVID and it was a tough time. Then we had Ukraine-Russia straight after that, then Israel-Palestine and the US and whoever they've got this week. There hasn't been a break.

But violence is never an answer. It's never an answer to any sort of question. It affects people you know in this place and outside—like a friend of mine, Heather McTaggart, a former MP in Victoria, who just today talked about the vitriol that she gets. It's just got to stop. No matter how hard we do our jobs by coming in here and doing everything we need to do, it's moments like this that make you sit back and reflect on what's important. What's important is to see people like Helen do their job the way they do it best—being out and about, being in front of people and being the person she is, the great karma, the great relaxed human.

The Dalai Lama once said that being a good human being is about being a kind-hearted, affectionate person—in other words, be a Helen, because she just epitomises everything you want in a nice person. Seeing Phil today was pretty tough, but you could see how the two of them together are an unbreakable force. They're both extremely well balanced, kind, caring and fulfilled. To be able to come up here today and talk to us speaks volumes about the human being he is and the human being he's married to. You can see why those two have such a great relationship.

Helen's got a big challenge ahead of her. I'd like to see her face when she sees all these speeches and people talking about her; that would be very interesting because she's a humble person. But she's got this rare thing where she's got a big challenge and she's got a nation right behind her—a nation of decent people who want to see her back and who want to see her growing. The challenge that her staff face now and into the future is going to be tough, and that's why we made the commitment that we would help wherever we could, to help support them in their needs that they have. To the first responders that were there on scene, I know from speaking to some of them firsthand the shock they had with all this happening.

Violence is unacceptable. As people try very hard, very quickly, to put someone in a box of why it's happened, let's let the police and the agencies do their jobs, because all this is doing is stirring up more and more of what we don't need. What we need now, and into the future, is to focus on Helen and her family, and make sure that we're all continuing to do what we do—but do it in a far better spirit than we have been.

I rise today not simply as a member of parliament but as a nurse, a midwife and someone who understands something of the privilege and the responsibility of caring for people at their most vulnerable. I rise to speak to my colleague No. 9, who I've had the privilege of spending some time with over these last 18 months as co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Nursing. Helen is No. 9—the ninth nurse ever in parliament—Ged is No. 8 and I'm No. 10. I proudly walk in Helen's footsteps, and she's been a great mentor and inspiration to me.

Helen, what has happened to you is devastating. The injuries that you have suffered and the enormity of what lies ahead for you and your family is difficult to comprehend. We are all in shock and sadness. Before you entered this parliament, you spent decades caring for people as a nurse, as a midwife and, later, as an academic. You cared for people at the beginning of their life, in moments of uncertainty, in times of illness and when families needed somebody to stand beside them. You know what it means to be the person wearing the uniform, making the decisions, providing reassurance and holding the hands of people who are frightened. You know that behind every diagnosis, every procedure and every hospital bed is a human being with a story, a family, hopes and fears, and a life beyond the hospital walls. And now, Helen, you find yourself on the other side of the bed, on the other side of that experience. As nurses, we know that when a person experiences such a major traumatic injury the medical team, of course, focus on survival, stabilisation and the immediate clinical challenges—and those things are essential. But we also know that the person is much more than their injuries. As your husband, Phil, eloquently and graciously informed Australia, you have your incredible intellect and your kind heart, and you are you. We love you, Helen, as this outpouring of emotion from the parliament obviously shows.

This is an emotional journey, with your family anxiously waiting beside your bed. And there are questions that cannot be answered yet, and the future that must be faced one day at a time. There is also the extraordinary work of the nurses and doctors, allied health professionals and other staff who have cared for you since the incident, including the first aiders, and who will also care for you in the days, weeks and years ahead. To those professionals, I want to say thank you. From one nurse to another, from one health provider to another, I know the difference that skill, compassion, patience and kindness can make when somebody's world has been turned upside down. And Helen, I trust and hope that you will receive the same care, humanity and dignity that you have shown to others throughout your career. You've advocated for patients and your community, and now it's your turn to receive that help.

I've often thought that nursing teaches us lessons that extend far beyond the bedside. It teaches us to listen before we judge, to recognise vulnerability without diminishing the person, and to understand that sometimes the most important thing we can do is simply be present. Those are lessons that matter in this parliament, too—which you have shown us through your time here so far. Helen, you've brought your nursing experience, your understanding of rural communities and your commitment to the people of Indi to this place. You have shown that our parliament is strengthened when people who have different backgrounds and perspectives work together in the service of the Australian community.

At times—and this is one of them—political differences do not matter, and party labels do not matter. What matters is Helen—a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, nurse and colleague, and a person whose life has been changed in circumstances no-one should have to endure. To Phil, your children, your grandchildren and everyone else who loves you, I want to extend my deepest sympathy for the distress and uncertainty you face. We cannot take away what has happened, but we can stand beside you, support you and give you the space and privacy you need. You deserve the time, care and support to face the future in your own way.

There are moments when the business of this place must pause and we are reminded of the people behind the positions we hold. The horrific attack on the member for Indi, Helen Haines, is one of those moments. My thoughts are with Helen, her family, her staff and her community. Helen is an extraordinary woman who has dedicated so much of her life to public service. She brings wisdom, integrity and compassion to this parliament, and her contribution extends far beyond the boundaries of her electorate. I have the privilege of working closely with Helen on the Speaker's panel, where I have seen firsthand her professionalism, her generosity and her unwavering commitment to strengthening our democracy. She understands that each of us has a responsibility to uphold the institutions and democratic values that bring us here.

Helen is not only a respected colleague but a valued friend. Over the years we've come to know each other beyond the confines of this building, crossing paths while holidaying in a place that is very special to us both. Those encounters have given me the opportunity to see Helen away from the demands of public office, and they've only reinforced my admiration for her. Whether in parliament or indeed far from it, she's the same thoughtful, generous and deeply grounded person, with a genuine interest in those around her and a remarkable ability to bring people together. Her warmth, intelligence and good humour are constants, not just the qualities that she brings to this place. Those moments are real insight into a person.

I also want to acknowledge her loving husband, Phil, whose courage and dignity in recent days has moved so many Australians. No family should ever be asked to endure circumstances like these. Helen's staff also deserve our recognition. They work tirelessly to support Helen and the people of Indi and they too deserve our compassion and support now. To the people of Indi, your love and solidarity matter enormously. The way that your community has rallied together in this difficult moment is a powerful reminder that kindness can prevail even in the darkest of circumstances. I want to pass on the heartfelt good wishes of the people of Newcastle, Helen. So many Novocastrians have contacted my office and approached me personally to express their concern, support and solidarity. It's a powerful reminder that our connection to community is not only the reason we serve but also what sustains us through our most difficult moments.

We must never accept violence as an inevitable feature of public life. We must also be honest about the forces shaping our national conversation. Too often, outrage and conflict are rewarded because they generate attention and profit, yet the public interest is not served by a culture that values provocation over understanding. We need journalism that informs rather than inflames, that values context over conflict and that serves the public interest above the pursuit of clicks. Social media has amplified these challenges, often rewarding anger and division over constructive engagement. Social media companies have a responsibility to ensure their platforms are not used to spread threats, abuse or incitement.

But responsibility does not rest with the platforms alone. All of us have a role in rejecting a culture that profits from fear, outrage and division. Every member of this parliament should be able to represent their community free of fear. We must reject the false choice between robust debate and mutual respect. Democracy requires both. We can disagree passionately. We can scrutinise ideas vigorously. We can hold one another to account. But we must do so without demeaning, vilifying or threatening one another. A healthy democracy depends on contesting arguments, not attacking individuals. Respect is not a barrier for free speech. Civility is not a weakness. Compassion is compatible with conviction. What happened to Helen challenges all of us to consider what more we can do to protect our democracy and foster a kinder, more respectful Australia. Today I join with Helen and others in this place who have pledged to act with honesty, respect and compassion in our political lives. Let that commitment be part of our answer to the challenges we've witnessed in this last week.

Helen, please know that you are loved and surrounded by a parliament that cares deeply about you. You've given so much to your community and to this parliament. Now it is our turn to stand beside you. We all wish you strength, comfort and healing in the weeks ahead, and we look forward to seeing you back in this place in your seat, representing the good people of Indi.

If you put Helen Haines and me in a room together, you'd probably wonder what we'd have to talk about—Helen, a respected nurse, midwife and rural health researcher from regional Victoria, and me, a former coalminer, fitter and turner, and Olympic shooter from the Hunter. On paper, we could not be more different. But I've learnt that sometimes the people you least expect to have something in common with turn out to be the ones you respect the most. Helen is certainly one of those people. That's what makes the events of the past week just so heartbreaking. Nobody should ever experience what Helen has but particularly not somebody who has dedicated her life to helping others. My thoughts have been with Helen, her husband, Phil, their family, her staff and everybody impacted.

The first time I met Helen, she was kind, open and upfront. She didn't muck around. She told you what she thought, listened and treated you with respect. You always knew where you stood with Helen. We sit in different parts of this chamber and disagree on some things, but what I've always known of Helen is that she's here for the right reasons. She's here to fight for the people who put their trust in her. Not too long ago, we shared a panel at Politics in the Pub at the Australian National University. We discussed our communities and the challenges facing regional Australia. What struck me the most was just how many problems we shared: access to health care, decent roads, housing, telecommunications, local jobs and making sure regional communities aren't forgotten about. Indi and the Hunter are hundreds of kilometres apart, but many concerns are exactly the same. We both believe regional Australians deserve the same opportunities as anyone in our capital cities. We might have different ideas about getting there, but we're passionate about our communities. That's what politics should be about—people with different views having a conversation and finding ways to make life better.

These events have shaken this parliament and communities right across our beautiful country. We expect disagreement, criticism and robust debate—that is democracy—but nobody should fear for their safety or their family and staff because they've chosen to serve their community. We cannot allow violence, threats or intimidation to become part of political life, and we cannot let fear stop us from doing the job Australians elected us to do. Behind every member of this place are people who love them, worry about them and support them through the toughest of days. This week has brought that home to all of us. The arguments we have here matter, but so does remembering that the person across the chamber has a family, friends and a community who care about them very deeply. We must never lose that perspective.

To Phil and Helen's family, thank you for the love and strength you've shown through this unimaginable time. Phil, I want to acknowledge your strength in particular. Nothing prepares you for this and what's happening to the person that you love. Supporting Helen while dealing with your own shock and worry is an enormous load to carry. We're thinking of you too, mate. You deserve the same care and support you've been giving to others. To Helen's staff, dealing with their own shock while supporting their community, thank you. To the first responders, thank you for your courage and professionalism. And to Ricky Jefferies, the barber who came to Helen's rescue, thank you, mate. When somebody desperately needed help, you stepped up. An Australian looking after another Australian—that's something special. People in the Hunter have been stopping me and asking about Helen and checking that I'm okay as well. These events have affected so many people. As Special Envoy for Men's Health, I encourage people to check in on their mates and have those difficult conversations. Right now that's more important than ever.

To Helen, thank you for your friendship, your kindness, your honesty and your commitment to regional Australia. You show that people can disagree politically while treating each other with decency and respect. My thoughts remain with you, Phil, your family, your staff and the entire Indi community. Helen, we know there's a long road ahead. Take the time you need and know you've got plenty of people in your corner. We're looking forward to having you back in this chamber, bringing that same determination, honesty and strong voice for the people of Indi. Get well soon, Helen.

There are moments in your life when it seems like life stands still and you watch history unfold in slow motion. Last Monday was one of those moments. I was at a citizenship ceremony when I heard the unimaginable news about the member for Indi. It's interesting because citizenship ceremonies are one of my favourite parts of my job, and often at citizenship ceremonies I share the story of my parents' first days in Australia, with my mum and sister not having a place to stay and my dad's boss, Bob, saying, 'They can stay with us.' I share that because it's a story of kindness and also the way that lifelong friends can form, and I end that story by telling citizens to choose each other and to choose kindness. I think that the member for Indi lives that every single day.

People come to this place for many different reasons. For the majority of us, if not all of us, it's fundamentally about making our communities a better place, and Helen embodies that more than anyone. She's one of the kindest and calmest people in this building. Sometimes you meet people, and they are just so grounded. Helen is one of them. I have no doubt that she honed these skills as a midwife. If I think about birth, it's messy and it's beautiful. It's the fragile beginning of a new life, but it also can be life or death. I can only imagine the calm that Helen would bring to a birthing suite. It's the same calm that she brought into this chamber. I think that was what made it so shocking for me.

It's interesting because the member for Indi was elected in 2019. When I was elected in 2022, there was a huge new crossbench that was also elected. What was interesting was seeing the camaraderie form amongst the crossbench. I loved that the member for Kooyong had shirts made that said, 'What would Helen do?' I think that that's a good question for us alright now, and I think that Helen would want us to be kinder, to seek to understand before we seek to be understood and to stay curious about each other. When you strip it back, most of us all want the same thing—a roof over our heads, a decent income, access to education and, importantly, to go to work and come back home safe from work. We are indeed all humans.

Helen, the member for Fisher and I co-chair the Parliamentary Friends of Cycling, and I've loved working alongside her. I'm not the only one who feels the same way about this. Stephen Hodge and his team at We Ride shared these words with me today: 'Helen Haines has been convenor of the friendship group since 2020 and has been a warm, intelligent and highly engaged supporter since the very start of this journey together. Her advice and support have been invaluable throughout the time we've all worked together with the co-chairs of the group.' I couldn't have said it better myself.

I know that public life comes with sacrifices. For many of the people that work in this place it takes a toll on your relationship with your partner or with your kid. But the price of serving your community should never be your safety. That is far too high. To anyone that's thinking about running for office: I'm going to say that we actually still need you. We need the best and brightest minds to put their hands out. We as the parliament have a responsibility to make sure that we make all workplaces safer, whether that's someone working in an underground mine, someone working in a bar, someone working at a checkout at a supermarket or even a parliamentarian working in her community. To anyone that's faced violence or abuse at work: it is unacceptable. I also want people to recognise that the standards that they walk past are the standards that they accept. I think everyone has an important role in not being a bystander.

We also need to learn how to disagree agreeably. To all of us in this place: our words matter. They ricochet across the country like an echo. We need to be very intentional about what we want our community to hear and also say back. What I want to try and do is channel the kindness of people like Helen, because I want to grow up in a loving community where people love their community and love their country. To Helen: your recovery journey is going to be very long, and I wish you the best of luck. You've got the whole parliament behind you as well as the whole nation.

The universal truth here is that everyone in this building loves Helen. From parliamentarians across the parliament to staff and parliamentary attendants, everyone loves Helen. It really hurts me to be speaking here about someone who I consider a friend and who I deeply admire and who unfortunately is now in a terrible situation due to an act that none of us can explain. Helen is one of the finest people you could ever meet and one of the finest parliamentarians, driven by her deep commitment to her electorate, to public service, to health care and to working towards a better community for all of us. I'm shocked, I'm sad and I'm frustrated about what's happened to my friend. I know she's not out of the woods yet, but, if the force of will of the whole parliament could make it better, it would. We wish her a recovery in as short a time as possible.

I've had the privilege of working with Helen, alongside her, through our parliamentary friendship groups, including the parliamentary friendship group for public health, and I've admired her intellect and her ability to understand the deepest levels of public health policy. Helen believes in the power of this parliament to be a force for good and getting on with the job of advocating for and representing the Australian people. She is a longstanding healthcare worker, a nurse and a midwife, and we often discussed how wonderful it is to be involved with the care of newborn babies and watch them grow up and flourish in our communities. We even both used to joke that many of them are now coming back and voting for us at the polling booths, and that's a wonderful feeling.

Whenever I met Helen or whenever we were on committees together or whatever or we met in the morning coming into parliament, I'd always ask her how she was. She always used to say, 'I'm terrific, what a great day this is.' I would always reply, 'I'm not bad for an old bloke.' I want that to happen again soon. I want to be able to do that. There is a long road to recovery ahead of Helen. Whilst that road is long, after hearing from her very loving husband, Phil, this morning, who briefed us on Helen's condition, I know she will be back here with us as soon as she can, and she will benefit from the care of everyone around her and the love of her children and grandchildren and her husband, Phil. I'm thinking of them during this incredibly difficult time and also of Helen's staff, who showed their own bravery in getting back to work in spite of the terrible trauma that they've suffered. I really congratulate them.

The political temperature now is too high and has been too high for some time. All of us have suffered abuse, no question. Why female politicians are picked out to suffer that abuse, I'm deeply ashamed of. I've seen from some of my friends, like Linda Burney and others, the racist, misogynistic, disgraceful abuse that they've suffered. That has to be removed. I don't know why some men feel comfortable doing that, and we need to look at the reasons why and really get rid of them. They should not be behaving that way. Being an elected representative is a very public job, and everyone should be encouraged to stand if they want. I admire people who stand for election. But the election pulse, the election temperature, needs to come down.

I'd like to thank the first responders. I'd like to thank our state police and the Federal Police for the way they do protect us. I'd like to commend the first responders and the general public that came to Helen's aid. As a healthcare worker, Helen knows that there should be no discrimination in care and that everyone who needs help can get it. She would have been the first there, I'm sure, if it were someone else. I wish Helen and her family the very best. We all love her. We all are praying for her. I look forward to the day when I can greet her coming into parliament. I congratulate all those in parliament who have spoken about Helen's predicament, and I wish her and her family the very best.

Listening to the contributions to this —I'm reluctant to call it a debate; it's support around this motion across the chamber—it is as the Prime Minister described it this morning. The events have left a stone in our hearts. But some of the contributions today have lifted some of that weight and, I think, given us hope. Within this building, we had the privilege of hearing from Phil Haines today. He talked about his wife and her qualities and her superpowers. In fact, as long as I am in this parliament, I'm not sure that I will ever hear a better contribution than the one made by Phil Haines today. So it is with heaviness that I express my gratitude and extend my sincere thoughts to Phil and Helen and their family, friends and staff and the community that have rallied around them not only in Wangaratta but across the country. It is such an obvious thing and has been said many times, but it is really an indication of what it means to be Australian that people run towards danger and that that we will, at the end of the day, look out for others before we look out for ourselves, which I think is also a good description of Helen Haines herself.

It is, I think, in some ways too early to ascribe motives. We know it's too early to ascribe motives. I think you could take what happened to the member for Indi out of the debate. We know that our democracy is in a fragile place. Perhaps it is social media. Perhaps it is economic dislocation. Whatever it is, something has changed, and something changed before Helen Haines was attacked.

I do like to remind people that Australia has a unique democracy. At 125 years old, we are one of—believe it or not—the oldest democracies in the world. There is something about the Australian spirit. I love to tell the story when I can that, along with all of the convicts who stole bread who were in the First Fleet, there were political prisoners, such as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, trade union activists who were too troublesome for the home country and so they sent them out here. That's why we were one of the first countries—in fact, we were the first country—to have the secret ballot. We were the first country to allow men to vote regardless of whether they owned property or had wealth, and we were one of the first countries to allow women to vote. Our democracy is not just an extra to our national spirit; it defines our national spirit.

To see what social media has become and is doing to democracy breaks my heart. I had a personal experience of this during the 2020 campaign. I'd run a couple of times by then in state elections. During the 2020 council elections I was able to run the campaign for the best candidate I ever had, Renee Clarke, for the Gold Coast council. She was the best candidate because she let me, as the campaign manager, run the campaign. I'm not sure that we could say that for all of the candidates in this room! Running her campaign and running her webpage back in 2020, before it really started to supercharge, was just an entirely different experience with a woman candidate from any time that I'd run as a male candidate. The level of abuse, the level of patronisation and the level of awfulness was something that I had never experienced and, to this day, have never experienced as a male candidate. So there is something going wrong.

But, if you listened to Phil's speech today and the contributions that we've heard in this House, there is also something going right. I'm eternally optimistic that we have it in our community to recover from this. Helen Haines, before this attack, was an example for how we get out of this trouble, but even more so she is an inspiration today. I wish her a speedy and strong recovery.

The House transcript was published up to 20:04. The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Mascarenhas ) took the chair at 11:01.

by leave—on behalf of the member for Kennedy, I move:

That this House:

(1) condemns the continued decline of essential postal and banking services in regional, rural and remote Australia, threatening the viability of country post offices and the communities they serve;

(2) recognises that a post office in the regions is not merely a business but an essential community lifeline for pensioners, farmers, small businesses and entire communities;

(3) notes that when a post office closes, residents are left travelling for hours to access basic services, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and those without reliable internet, who bear the greatest burden;

(4) rejects a system that sacrifices essential community services in pursuit of narrow commercial returns, treating regional Australia as an afterthought rather than an integral part of the nation; and

(5) calls on the Government to take immediate and decisive action to secure postal operations in regional and remote Australia by:

(a) demanding Australia Post has a leadership and approach that enable a future for regional Australia, committed to preserving and strengthening essential services in rural, regional and remote communities;

(b) intervening to ensure no regional or remote community is abandoned without reasonable access to essential postal, banking, and face-to-face financial services;

(c) delivering permanent, properly funded arrangements to keep vulnerable licensed post offices operating, including a proposed minimum annual support payment of up to $100,000 for eligible regional, rural and remote outlets;

(d) supporting the expansion of Australia Post's role in delivering essential banking services, including consideration of a publicly backed postal banking model to restore access to financial services in communities abandoned by the major banks; and

(e) further demanding that Australia Post returns to its fundamental obligation to serve all Australians regardless of postcode or commercial profitability and protect the vital role of country post offices in sustaining regional communities.

There were 173,000 people residing in Mayo at the time of the 2021 Census. I have no doubt that we are closer to 180,000 now. Mayo is a rural electorate of more than 9,000 square kilometres. We have 71 Australia Post outlets. There are five corporate post offices; 36 licensed post offices, known as LPOs; and 30 community postal agencies. With very few large centres, those outlets are the beating heart of many of our small towns and hamlets, particularly since the banks have deserted us. A local post office is one of the few essential services that people can access close to home, and it's even more vital for those with unreliable internet access. There is little to no public transport across my community, especially compared to those for people who live in the cities and suburbs. Unfortunately, we have seen the closure, over the years, of a couple of our post offices: Summertown and Verdun.

It has been reported that Australia Post plans to close further LPOs and/or make changes to licensing for regional and rural LPOs. This has raised enormous concern in my community. We've seen from the Post Office Network and Licensed Post Office a reimagined plan. Let me tell you what 'reimagined' means. Reimagined always means closures. It means consolidation, rationalisation and a move to other businesses. There is a real and deep concern in our community that, as the banks deserted us, the post offices will desert us too.

Australia Post reported record highs during the 2025-26 peak season, delivering almost 111 million parcels in the peak November-December period, lifted by increased online purchasing. Rather than developing plans to close and rationalise Australia Post services, the government should task the organisation with the identification of alternative models to best support its regional network. This should include consideration of more sustainable funding arrangements such as the annual support payments for eligible regional outlets, raised by the member for Kennedy.

Further, Australia Post's role in delivering essential banking services for regions must be not only explored but implemented. As the member for Kennedy suggests, there could be consideration of a publicly backed postal model. Postal banking could, as I said, ensure financial services for communities that the banks have left.

I'd also like to see the Australia Post mail delivery poll requirements better delivered so that Australia Post genuinely provides a letter service which is reasonably accessible to all on an equitable basis. Australia Post has previously advised me that it's critically aware of the value and importance of the postal service to Australian communities and of the requirement that a mail service be reasonably accessible to every Australian on an equitable basis, and I want to see this honoured more than just by lip service.

We people who live in the regions already suffer enough. We have fewer health services, we have fewer financial services, and it's all by virtue of postcode. We pay the same amount of tax as every other Australian, and we deserve the same level of services, so I support the member for Kennedy's call to protect this vital service of country post offices sustaining regional communities.

My community is far smaller than the member for Kennedy's, but I know, from my conversations with the member for Kennedy, how vital Australia Post services are to the people of north and west Queensland and how much the member for Kennedy fights for those people and their services every day. We need to ensure that everyone in Australia has equitable service delivery with respect to Australia Post. It really is the lifeblood of so many of our small community towns and must not be allowed to diminish.

Is there a seconder for the motion?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Kennedy. The electorates of the member for Kennedy and I are very similar in many ways: in terms of dimensions, demographics, scale and the fact that a large chunk of them is cut off for a large part of the year due to floods and the variety of weather events that we get across the north and the far north. For us, the wet season is the summer, and summer is Christmas, and Christmas usually means presents for a lot of kids, and the only way that happens in places like Lockhart River, Weipa, Aurukun and the NPA is with Australia Post. It is absolutely critical every year. With the advent of Temu and Amazon and all those sorts of things, parents are getting better access to better toys and better options for the kids. But a few years back, a series of natural disasters meant that Christmas didn't arrive in Weipa because the post was held up, and there was a tough conversation for a lot of parents and a lot of families about why Santa had decided to skip out that year. That's what Australia Post means.

Australia Post is a connection to the world for a lot of our remote and regional communities. It is their ability to connect with loved ones. It is their ability to express and share that love at times like Christmas and birthdays and things like that. For a lot of our PALM workers, it is Western Union. It's how they send the money that they earn humping the bananas, working in the sugarcane and doing all the stuff in the agricultural industry that we so desperately need. It's how they get that money back home. It's how they improve the lives of their families back in the South Pacific and it's the pride that they feel in that. That's what Australia Post does.

Australia Post these days is a business, but it's more than a business. It's an icon. It's an institution. It's something that Australians hold very dear, and that's why we have to support it. It's why we've actually managed to expand Australia Post in my area of Leichhardt. Cooya Beach, some 35 minutes north of Port Douglas, is now, for the first time ever, getting letter deliveries. We're working really hard with Daintree Village and the Douglas Shire Council to ensure that they continue to get post. It looks as though there'll be some kind of arrangement with the local council—some land and possibly a building—to ensure that that service remains. We've also worked hard to ensure that Australia Post remains in the Torres Strait on both Horn Island and Thursday Island, because it is an actual life force. It is where people go to bank. In my part of the world, it's where people buy their electricity cards. It is where they know they can get some good and sound advice. In a lot of those small communities, the post office is also a source of employment—bit of economic opportunity for the people living in those spaces. It is where people go and gather. They have a chat and they talk about the things that they've just bought.

When I was in Lockhart River for the first time, I arrived at the same time as the post and spent a good half an hour with the mayor, unpacking all of the Amazon packages that had arrived. I saw how happy the community was to get their packages—to get that interaction with the outside world—because Lockhart, at the time, was cut off. I'd flown in, and we were having a chat, and he said, 'Look, we've got to go grab the things.' People were queuing up, waiting for their things, and the kids' eyes lit up, and the parents' eyes lit up because they got that blender that they needed—there's no Kmart in Lockhart River—or they got the rice cooker that they'd had on order for a while. It's these little things that are the connection to the greater world—the connection to the appliances and the life that so many of us get to take for granted because we happen to live in larger places with access to those sorts of things.

For over 200 years, Australia Post has been essential to the Australian way of life. Each year, 2.2 billion articles of post are delivered. I know that, even today, I get excited when I see something from Australia Post has arrived—provided it doesn't have a little window in it, because that usually comes out of my pocket! We continue to support our regions, and we continue to support our regions through Australia Post. I know that the member for Kennedy is incredibly passionate about ensuring that the regions, such as mine and his, continue to have access to something that has been such a big part of Australian life and is essentially a part of the Australian identity. I'll continue to fight for Australia Post not just in Leichhardt but right across the rest of the country.

The dark clouds of uncertainty hang over our post offices—in particular, our country post offices. Make no mistake: our country post offices are under threat. If we are not careful, we are going to lose them. They are going to close before our eyes. In recent years, dozens and dozens of post offices have closed in country areas. They are essential lifelines for country communities. We must keep them open if we want strong, vibrant and viable country communities, but they are under threat. Make no mistake: they are under threat. They are under threat from Australia Post, the very organisation which needs to be caring for them and nurturing them and looking after not only these small-business people but country communities.

In recent years, we've seen the major banks pack up and leave. They've said: 'Just go and do your banking at the Post Office. It'll be alright.' We've seen services slowly but surely stripped away from our country communities, and now we face losing our post offices too—the last place where people can access basic face-to-face services like financial services and banking. Instead of squeezing country post offices out of business with unviable business models, Australia Post needs to actively support them and not let them wither on the vine. We've been watching what's happening at Australia Post and how they're doing some type of change plan for the future. Whatever it is, they need to ensure the ongoing viability of our country post offices, otherwise all we're going to be left with in country Australia is parcel lockers. What concerns us is that Australia Post is not going to say to country post offices, 'You have to close,' but is going to slowly let them die by not putting in place a viable financial model that lets these vital small businesses thrive. At the end of the day, they'll say: 'Well, do you know what? Those small-business people just didn't want to do it anymore, so, sorry, that's another post office that must close.'

But the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear from right across the Central West. Kaylene Philpott is the owner of the Molong licensed post office, a post office which has survived incredible hardship, including recent floods. Kaylene writes:

The next nearest full-service Post Office is approximately 40 kilometres away. For elderly customers without reliable transport, for farming families in the middle of a busy season, and for people who cannot manage their affairs online, that distance is not a manageable alternative. It is a genuine barrier to accessing services they depend on.

This is not simply a commercial concern. Molong's Post Office is one of the last locally accessible points for banking, bill payment, identity services, and government-related functions in this community. If it weakens, the people who would feel that most are those already navigating the greatest disadvantage.

Craig Williamson, who runs the Manildra Licensed Post Office, is a man who is also very concerned for his community. In fact, I saw Craig last week. I was driving through Manildra and noticed the Australian flag was looking a bit worse for wear. I went into the post office. Craig had the key, and before you know it we had another Aussie flag flying high in the town. But Craig is worried about the future of postal services in Manildra. He says:

Manildra has no other bank in town. The nearest full-service Post Office is 50 kilometres away, a two-hour return drive on country roads with no realistic public transport alternative. For an elderly resident, a farmer in the middle of a busy season, or a family without reliable transport, that is not a manageable substitute.

What he wants is action. He wants change in Australia Post. He says:

The Manildra post office is the hub of this community in a very practical sense, and what happens here matters well beyond the walls of this outlet.

Our eyes are on Australia Post. The chief executive officer of that organisation must be held to account.

The CEO must be called out if there is some type of secret plan to close post offices, and the Australian government cannot wash its hands of it either and say: 'You know what? Australia Post functions independently. We have no control.' The Australian government has every control, and both the Australian government and Australia Post and its CEO must be held to account for what's happening to our country post offices.

I rise to speak on the motion on postal services put by the member for Kennedy. I first want to acknowledge what the member for Kennedy has said about the decline of postal and banking services in regional and rural Australia and how important these institutions are to our local communities out there. In regional and rural Australia, post offices become hubs for the community activities. They support small local economies around them, and people rely on them for connection. I also acknowledge the stress and the hardship that the closure of a post office can cause in a regional community.

But I also want to say that post office closures in metropolitan Sydney cause considerable angst. A year ago we saw the Kingsgrove Post Office close without any community consultation after the Rockdale Post Office also closed. People from across the Kingsgrove community wrote to me because they were pretty angry about the closure and wanted to know why no-one had been consulted. I understand that Australia Post has to make some commercial decisions. In fact, I know it makes some of these decisions so that it can keep regional post offices open. I understand there is little point in maintaining collection of post offices within 10 minutes of each other in metropolitan Sydney when more resources have to go and should go into maintaining regional post offices often hundreds of kilometres apart.

But the point is that these decisions are often made without community consultation. While the figures might show that a post office does not have enough people coming through the door, in reality, it is the quality of these interactions that makes all the difference. It might be the only post office within walking distance of a densely populated area. It might be surrounded by elderly residents who depend on it for banking services. It might employ someone who speaks a second language. In a community like mine, people who speak that language know they can go there for assistance. None of that is necessarily reflected in the bare numbers on the books.

I am therefore very pleased that my petition to stop the closure of our postal services was heard by Australia Post. There is now a community consultation obligation whenever Australia Post considers closing a post office, and that gives the community an opportunity to explain why that post office is important and why it should remain open. I want to reaffirm my commitment to the people of Barton. Wherever there is a service closure, including when an organisation such as Australia Post closes its doors, I want to hear about it from you first. I want to help you advocate, and I want to make sure that the services you need remain in our local community.

I say to the member for Kennedy that I appreciate his advocacy and what this motion seeks to achieve. While I do not agree with all the actions listed in the motion, I agree that we need to keep our finger on the pulse of Australia Post. We need to continue working with Australia Post to find innovative ways to improve its long-term sustainability and to keep services in the regions, and reforms must be transparent, inclusive and collaborative. I do not want to have to run another petition every time Australia Post makes a mistake. It should identify these risks and make changes before harm occurs, because it has a community service obligation. Australia Post serves the community—not profit, not the salaries of its leaders. The community should be front of mind whenever it makes a decision about postal services.

This government is committed to getting the balance right between the financial sustainability of Australia Post and the needs of the communities it serves. But we need to work together to get there. My door is always open. Australia Post belongs in the hands of everyday Australians, and I'm so committed—as is this government—to keeping it that way.

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

I rise to support this motion from my friend and colleague the member for Dickson and recognise the importance of continuing to improve women's health care in Australia. I am proud that the Albanese Labor government remains vigilant in our plans to maintain momentum in this regard. Just this morning we announced an expansion of our pharmacy trial to make accessing medicines easier and more affordable for women. Previously limited to concession cardholders, the trial will now be available to all women, potentially benefiting 900,000 Australians through treatment for uncomplicated UTIs and access to hormonal contraception. The government will cover pharmacist consultation costs, saving women up to $38 per visit, with prescriptions capped at $25. This is our record $800 million women's health package in action—delivering more choice, lower costs and better care for Australian women and girls.

Since announcing the package in March last year, more than one million women have filled almost 4.9 million cheaper prescriptions for contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and endometriosis treatments all now listed on the PBS. That has delivered more than $150 million in savings for women and girls. For a woman managing endometriosis, whose medication would have previously cost up to $2,700 a year, that is a huge difference. For women experiencing menopause, who may have been paying hundreds of dollars for treatment, it means more affordable access to the care she needs. For young women, the first new PBS listings for contraceptive pills in more than 30 years means greater choice and fewer cost barriers. These are not abstract policy changes. They are real savings for women and families in Newcastle and right across Australia.

We are also making it easier and cheaper for women to access IUDs and contraceptive implants with higher Medicare rebates and new incentives to support bulk-billing. We're investing in training so that more health practitioners can provide these services locally, including in regional communities. We're establishing eight LARC Centres of Excellence, giving women access to expert advice and contraceptive services at no cost—because where you live, how much you earn or whether you can afford an appointment should not determine whether you can access quality reproductive health care. For women in regional and rural communities, that means more than reducing the cost of a prescription. It means having a trained health professional closer to home and having a genuine choice about the care that works for you. We're also finally giving menopause and perimenopause the attention they deserve.

More than 137,000 women have undergone a Medicare-covered menopause health assessment. All 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics are now open, with expanded support for perimenopause and menopause care, and our national awareness campaign is helping women recognise symptoms, find evidence-based information and have informed conversations with their healthcare professionals. That matters because women's experiences are not all the same. Some women experience mild symptoms, for others it's a lot more impactful. But every woman deserves to be heard, taken seriously and supported to find the right care. That's why this government is establishing a ministerial expert panel on women's health, making things like cardiovascular our priority, because women are experiencing different symptoms. We need to acknowledge that and we need everybody to be aware of that.

I'm particularly encouraged that First Nations women, culturally and linguistically diverse women, and LGBTQIA+ communities are also part of that sharing of experiences. We need to hear from women right across our communities who've struggled to access the care and whose symptoms have been dismissed. We are saying, 'No more of that.' We want to see a situation where young women make informed choices, where women experiencing menopause can get reliable information and appropriate treatment without stigma, where women's pain is recognised. The Albanese Labor government is getting on with the job and I commend this motion to the House.

For too long, women's health has not been taken seriously in this country. Women have been told that their pain is normal, and they've waited years for diagnosis. They've been dismissed, overlooked and left to push through. That is a failure, and everyone in this place should be willing to say so, but I'm very frustrated and disappointed at how this government thinks it has changed things for women in the regions, opening 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across the country. How many of those are in my electorate? One—one for 95 per cent of South Australia. My electorate is larger than the state of New South Wales, yet New South Wales has 10 endo clinics. How is that fair? The one in my electorate was one of the very first to open in Australia, and I thank Dr Ann Kearney for the amazing work that she does for my constituents and many more, because people travel far and wide to see her. Dr Kearney has told me women travel from as far as Whyalla, Roxby Downs and Adelaide Hills to access her clinic on the Yorke Peninsula, but this care is not available everywhere. This care is available at only one clinic in my entire electorate, and that is not right.

I openly criticised the announcement of 11 new endo clinics late last year. That announcement included none in South Australia. That call has gone unanswered. It is great that menopause health assessments have been added to Medicare, but when this government says free urgent Medicare clinics are available within a 20-minute drive for five out of four Australians, I wonder if regional South Australia was deliberately left out of that count. In my electorate, we have one urgent Medicare clinic and it's in Whyalla, where 10 per cent of my constituents live. From my own home, that's a three-hour drive one way, and I know it is much, much longer for many people in the electorate of Grey, so I cannot sit here and listen to people commend this government for listening to women and girls in Australia when it is listening to only a select few.

Women and girls should not have to suffer because they live in the regions. They should not be left behind because they were born and raised in the regions. Even now, the Labor government has imposed a birthing trial on hospitals in Jamestown and Crystal Brook without consulting the communities, the mothers this affects or the doctors who deliver these services. One woman told me that if this trial had been in place when she gave birth, she would have had to deliver on the side of the road. Things change fast during birth. Babies do not arrive by a roster. So why are families in Jamestown and Crystal Brook expected to give birth on an alternating one? If this were proposed in our cities, it would be laughed out of the room. Clearly, this arrangement does not preserve local birthing services. It is turning two permanent services into one service that moves between hospitals. Labor is managing a staffing problem by making maternity care less reliable and accessible for the communities that depend on it. We cannot afford to compromise care for regional families by failing to listen to the people who know these services best—the mothers, the midwives and the doctors. Why are regional women treated differently? I'm glad this government is making progress on its support for women, but it is not enough. Women in the regions should not have to suffer because of where they live.

I start with a story:

I suffered for many years with migraines, not realising they were hormonal. I also became severely anaemic, but was told it wouldn't be because of my period. My Mum had polycystic ovaries, and had a total hysterectomy at 42. She never really talked about why (no one really talked about women's problems then). It would have helped my sister to know more, as she has PCOS too. When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I started bleeding and was instructed by the public hospital midwives to go to ED. As a first time mum I was extremely worried. I had to wait 6 hours before a midwife was available to check the foetal heart rate. This could have been done easily by an RN or Dr with a simple foetal monitor available in ED. I work in health (Nuclear Medicine) and I see women every day for their PET scans for breast and gynaecological cancers, plus pre-surgical mapping of the lymph nodes in breast cancer. I acknowledge how far we've come with early detection and better treatments, but there's still so much more research and improvements that can be made. For example, I am currently caring for my 15 year old daughter who has high clinical suspicion for Endometriosis. It has made her so unwell that she was hospitalised for a month. Her GP was excellent helping her from the start, but there was quite a wait to see the Gynaecologist. Some of the paediatricians dismissed her symptoms while she was in hospital. I think there had been access to a multi-disciplinary women's health service she may not have ended up as unwell as she is now.

This is the story of a woman in South Hurstville, in my electorate of Barton. It chronicles not only the pain of ill health but also the pain of being misunderstood across generations of her family. This is what we mean by women's health: real, debilitating chronic pain that is simply not understood by a health system build for men's bodies.

I ran a survey to understand what women in Barton are experiencing in the health system so that I could best represent them to the current Select Committee on Women's Health. This excerpt reflects most, though not all, of the responses I received—misunderstanding, misdiagnosis and years of pain, culminating in conditions that are now extremely hard to treat or worsening because there was no accessible service that listened to these women. I've now compiled these responses and put them to the select committee because I know we can change this system. We can reform it. That means equipping out GPs with a real understanding of women's health and giving them the support and resources they need. It means creating spaces where all women can speak openly, particularly women from multicultural backgrounds who may not be used to discussing these issues at home because they are seen as taboo. It means making the medicines that treat these illnesses affordable and accessible.

We need to make these changes because I don't want to hear these stories anymore—not because I'm not listening or because I don't think it's important, but because I don't want it to exist anymore. I want women experiencing pelvic pain to be able to go to their doctors, explain what's happening and receive timely treatment. It's a simple ask: to be seen, to be heard and to be treated. But that's not what happens for many women. We have made progress, and I acknowledge that, but there is still a long way to go. Thank you to all those women who participated in sharing their stories with me. I'm sorry that our healthcare system has let you down. You'll have a champion in me for as long as I'm in this place and beyond.

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Dickson. Let me say at the outset that there is a great deal in this motion that the coalition welcomes: new contraceptives for the PBS; Medicare rebates for menopause assessments; more support for women going through IVF. These are good reforms, they matter to women and I acknowledge them.

But I would gently make one point. Women's health does not belong to any one side of this place, and this work did not begin in 2022. It was, in fact, the coalition that launched the National Women's Health Strategy. In a single budget, we invested more than $350 million in the health of Australian women. That included new Medicare items for gynaecology and assisted reproduction, so women could get that care affordably. We also listed new medicines for ovarian and breast cancer on the PBS. It was also the coalition that first committed funding for dedicated endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics—the very clinics this motion celebrates.

Where this government has built on that foundation, we have welcomed it. At the last election, both sides of this parliament committed the same: $573 million for women's health. That is how it should be. Women should be able to expect that, whoever sits on either side of this chamber, their health is never a political football.

But a commitment on paper only counts when a woman can actually use it. A Medicare rebate for a menopause assessment only helps a woman who can get in to see a GP and afford the gap payment, and we know that, right now, in this Albanese Labor government cost-of-living crisis, too many women are going without the health care they need because household budgets are already stretched to breaking point.

Women are more likely to live with a chronic condition, more likely to be the carer in their family and more likely to put their own health last. They delay the scan; they put off the specialist; they wait, and they hope it is nothing.

Endometriosis affects around one in seven women, and it takes, on average, around seven years to diagnose—seven years, too often, of being told, 'It's nothing.' So there is more to do. We need more training for the health professionals women rely on. We need national clinical guidelines, so a woman gets the same standard of care wherever she lives, and we need secure, ongoing funding for the endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics.

There is one part of a women's health that this motion does not mention at all, and that's maternity care. Since 2022, at least 13 private maternity units have closed across Australia—in Darwin, in Hobart and on the Central Coast. In parts of this country, an expectant mother now has to travel for hours, away from her family, simply to have her baby safely. For a woman in labour, distance is not an inconvenience; it can be seriously dangerous. Every ward that closes puts more pressure on public hospitals that are already stretched. This is a challenge the whole parliament should take seriously, and I would urge the government to bring the same energy to it as it brought to the reforms in this motion.

The coalition will keep working with obstetricians, midwives and the hospitals on real solutions. In the end, it's women's health that is important, not who takes the credit. It is about whether a woman can get care that she can afford, care that she can reach and care that understands her.

I thank the member for Lindsay. However, I've just been advised by the Clerk that the member for Lindsay spoke to this motion beforehand, the previous time it was before the Federation Chamber. If you could just seek leave of the Federation Chamber to speak a second time—

I seek leave to speak a second time on this motion.

Leave granted.

I thank the member for Lindsay. I've never had that happen before! The question is that the motion be agreed to, and I give the call to the member for Bass, who I hope is speaking for the first time!

I believe so, Deputy Speaker. Imagine going to your doctor because you're in pain, only to be told that that's normal. You go home, you get on with things and you try not to make a fuss. But that pain doesn't go away. Months pass—sometimes, years—before someone finally listens and you get an answer. For too many Australian women, that experience is painfully familiar. Whether it's endometriosis, menopause or another health concern, women have spent far too long being told that what they're experiencing is simply part of being a woman, and I think we need to ask ourselves why we accepted that for such a long time.

I'm pleased to support this motion, because women deserve to have their health taken seriously and to have real choices about their care. The Albanese government's $800 million Women's Health Package is helping to make that happen. Since March last year, more than one million women have accessed cheaper prescriptions for contraception, menopause and endometriosis, saving more than $150 million. That's money back in household budgets at a time when every dollar counts. It's about more than just saving money. It's about women being able to choose the treatment that's right for them, rather than the one that they can afford. For the first time in more than 30 years, new contraceptive pills have been added to the PBS. Higher Medicare rebates are also making IUDs and contraceptive implants more affordable.

For women living with endometriosis, these changes are particularly important. It's years missing school, struggling through work and cancelling plans because of pain without understanding why it's happening. More than 11,000 women have accessed endometriosis treatments now at PBS prices, including treatments that previously cost up to $2,700 a year. All 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics are now open across Australia, with services expanded to include perimenopause and menopause care. Endometriosis is something that has been spoken about a lot more in the last 18 months than I think I've ever heard it spoken about in the other 38 years of my life. Finally, we are able to talk about this at a national level, in media. It's not something that is hidden away. It's not something that women need to feel ashamed of. I think that is something that we need to celebrate as a nation.

We really are leading the way not just on endometriosis but also on menopause. For some women, menopause might mean sleepless nights, anxiety, brain fog and symptoms that can completely disrupt their lives. And yet, for generations, like endometriosis, it was barely discussed, with many women trying to work out for themselves what was happening to them. Now, more than 137,000 women have accessed Medicare funded menopause health assessments, and new hormone therapies are available through the PBS. These practical changes do make an enormous difference to people's quality of life. I have colleagues that I've worked with in the past who thought they were going crazy. They were told they were going crazy by their family. But, when they got the help and the medicine that they needed, they could feel themselves again. And it was years until they felt that way.

In regional Tasmania, as you well know, getting the care you need is not always straightforward. An appointment might mean travelling for hours, taking time off work or finding someone to look after the kids. After so many of these women have already spent years trying to get answers, those extra barriers—that travel, that cost, that time—can be exhausting, and they can make you put it off for even longer. That's why making this treatment more affordable and supporting more health professionals to provide services locally is so deeply important. I also want to acknowledge my friend and Tasmanian colleague, the member for Lyons, Bec White, who has been such a strong advocate and voice for improving women's health care. Bec understands the challenges, as we do, facing regional families, and I'm deeply, deeply grateful for the work that she's put into this.

There is still so much more to do, but I hope we're moving towards a future where women don't have to spend years convincing someone that their pain is real, where they can make informed choices about their treatment without cost standing in the way and where every woman who walks into a medical appointment knows that she deserves to and will be heard, believed and cared for. I commend this motion to the House.

Some of the greatest barriers to improving women's health in Australia are the silence, shame and embarrassment that still surround so many women's health conditions. Every day, women delay seeking medical care because they feel uncomfortable talking about intimate health issues. Conditions such as prolapse, incontinence, pelvic pain, menopause and heavy menstrual bleeding remain surrounded by stigma and untreated. Many women suffer in silence. They put up with debilitating pain and discomfort. They delay seeking help, sometimes for years, and often, when they finally do seek help, their concerns are dismissed or minimised.

That's why the recent public mocking of Senator Jacqui Lambie's experience of pelvic organ prolapse in a One Nation cartoon is particularly damaging and, I would say, deeply shameful. At a time when we are trying to encourage women to speak openly about their health, overcome embarrassment and seek treatment, we have a female parliamentarian's deeply personal medical experience turned into a punchline. What message does that send to women already too embarrassed to discuss their symptoms with their GP or their partners? As a doctor, I know just how difficult it can be for women to raise these issues, and I know how important it is that they feel safe, respected and confident that their concerns will be taken seriously. Personal health journeys like Senator Lambie's should not be ridiculed. They should prompt us as parliamentarians to demand better.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a common, often debilitating and underrecognised women's health condition. It can profoundly affect a woman's mobility, bladder and bowel function, intimate relationships, confidence and quality of life. Yet many women delay seeking treatment because of embarrassment or because they mistakenly believe it is simply an inevitable consequence of childbirth or ageing. When they do seek help, they can face lengthy delays, limited specialist access and significant out-of-pocket costs.

Senator Lambie's experience highlights a much broader issue. The treatment of women's health in Australia is still not where it needs to be. Evidence of gender bias in our healthcare system is deeply embedded and concerning. More than half of Australian women report having their pain ignored or dismissed by health professionals while around two-thirds report experiences of medical misogyny. Evidence to women's health inquiries reveals that women are too often not believed when reporting pain, that they are forced to see multiple practitioners before receiving a diagnosis and that they are left navigating fragmented care and costly specialist appointments. We heard similar stories during the 2024 Senate inquiry into menopause and perimenopause. Women described having their symptoms dismissed as stress or ageing, inadequately investigated or simply misunderstood. The consequences extend far beyond physical discomfort. Women lose confidence in themselves and in the healthcare system. Their work, relationships, mental health and quality of life can all suffer. Some stop seeking help altogether.

I acknowledge the government's investments in women's health, including the expansion of the endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, dedicated Medicare items for menopause and increased support for clinician education and research. These are really welcome and necessary reforms, but there is still much more to do. We need to confront gender bias and medical misogyny in our healthcare system. We need faster diagnostic pathways, better training for GPs and specialists, improved Medicare support for multidisciplinary care and greater investment in women's health research. We need better collection of women's health data so that the gaps in care can no longer be overlooked. Alongside these reforms, we must change the culture of silence and shame that continues to surround women's bodies and women's health. That starts with the example that we set here in parliament. Senator Lambie chose to share her story to draw attention to the barriers women veterans face in accessing treatment. She did not deserve to be ridiculed then told by a fellow political leader and colleague to get a sense of humour and get over it. What Jacqui Lambie did took courage, and it deserves immense respect.

For far too long, women's health has been overlooked, underfunded and in many cases misunderstood. We believe that women's health is central not only to gender equality but for community and economic wellbeing, which is why it is at the heart of this government's agenda. A woman's ability to get the healthcare she needs should never depend on how much money you have, the postcode that you live in or how many times you are prepared to ask for some sort of medical care. Yet too many women know what it means to put their own health last—to postpone that appointment because of cost, to maybe keep working through the pain, to leave a consultation feeling their concerns weren't really heard.

That's why this government is investing in women's health. It's about making care more affordable, giving women greater choice and building a health system that takes their needs seriously. Through our historic $792 million women's health package, the Albanese government is investing in contraception, in endometriosis treatments and in supporting women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. These are practical changes that reach into everyday lives of women around this country.

Think about contraception. Choosing the right contraception is a personal decision made with the appropriate medical advice, but when cost limits that option that choice becomes smaller. We have added new contraceptive pills to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the first new pill listing in more than 30 years. We've also increased Medicare support for the insertion and removal of intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants, helping reduce the upfront financial barriers for these options. For a young woman studying, a mother managing household expenses or someone working a casual shift, a lower health bill can make a meaningful difference. The principle is pretty straightforward: women deserve to make decisions about their bodies based on their health needs and preferences with affordable options available to them.

Then there's the endometriosis and persistent pelvic pain clinics. We should ask ourselves what it means when someone begins to organise their life around pain. She worries about missing work. She may cancel a plan when she wonders whether she'll be taken seriously again when she asks for help. Women deserve a clear pathway to assessment, treatment and ongoing support. Labor's expanded network now includes 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across Australia, which also support women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. Brisbane's first GP endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic is operating out of Toowong and is supporting women across the Brisbane electorate, giving them the care that they need. A clinic can't promise every woman an immediate answer, but what it can do is provide access to care that recognises her symptoms and helps her navigate the treatment options in a meaningful way forward.

The same commitment must extend to menopause. For too long, we've expected women to manage this stage of life quietly, often while juggling demands of jobs, family responsibilities and care responsibilities. Women should be able to discuss their symptoms openly and receive the care suited to their individual circumstances. Since July last year, Medicare has supported dedicated menopause and perimenopausal health assessments and we've also expanded access to subsidised menopausal hormonal therapies alongside investment in professional training and better information. That means more opportunity for a proper conversation about what a woman is experiencing, the options that are available and the support that she needs.

We can already point to practical results. In September, the data revealed that more than one million women had access to cheaper medicines for contraception, menopause and endometriosis, filling out more than four million scripts and saving over $150 million collectively. Those savings matter. They matter for households who are paying rents, mortgages, groceries and electricity bills, but we must also be honest. Money committed and prescriptions filled cannot be our only measures of success. Women have to be able to get appointments. They have to, yes, afford their treatment but also understand their options and actually get in the door.

Our responsibility as a government is to keep asking where the gaps are in women's health and keep working to close them because women's health affects every part of their life and our lives: education, employment, relationships, family and financial security. Investing in women's health is an investment in women's freedom to live the lives they choose, and it's investment in families and their communities.

Women deserve to have their pain taken seriously. I welcome this opportunity to again discuss the health of Australian women and girls. In May, I stood in this chamber to discuss endometriosis and pelvic pain. I said then that too many women suffer, often silently. I also welcomed the government's continuation of important work begun under the former coalition government. Australia's first national action plan for endometriosis was established by the coalition in 2018. It recognised the need for awareness, research, earlier diagnosis and multidisciplinary care, including better accessibility for regional and rural Australians.

Then in March 2022 the coalition government further committed a record $58 million under that action plan, including $16.4 million to establish specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across every state and territory. The Albanese government subsequently increased that originally proposed network, and, today, there are 33 clinics. I welcome that expansion, but a clinic on a map does not equal access. The government now quite correctly says all 31 primary health networks have at least one clinic. Consider what that means in my electorate. For women in Mildura within the enormous Murray PHN, their clinic is in Bendigo, which is 400km away.

In May, I told this chamber about my constituent, Teila from Merbein, who had travelled to Melbourne seeking the specialist gynaecological care she could not obtain close to home. Following the disturbing allegations concerning the treatment she received, Teila's message to me was simple: she wanted local doctors appropriately trained, and she wanted to keep her care local. There could hardly be a more powerful demonstration that availability and accessibility are not the same thing. This problem goes well beyond Mallee. Look across Australia. For the entire Northern Territory PHN, the listed clinic is in Darwin; western Queensland's clinic is in Blackall; county Western Australia's clinic is in Albany; and western New South Wales has a clinic in Orange.

I acknowledge the government has expanded these clinics to provide menopause and perimenopause care as well. That is positive. However, expanding the services that a clinic offers hundreds of kilometres away does not make that clinic more accessible to the women and girls nowhere near it. We need to measure isolation, not lines on a map. This points to a much broader problem in regional health policy. The current Modified Monash Model does not recognise actual isolation and access. Where is the nearest service? Is the specialist workforce actually available? How long does it take the patient to travel to a clinic? What public transport is available? Is primary care available to follow up closer to home? These questions matter for endometriosis and pelvic pain, they matter for menopause and perimenopause and they matter for fertility treatment and women's health throughout life.

I welcome the progress for women's and girls health. The coalition began Australia's national endometriosis strategy. This government has continued and expanded it, which is excellent. But our job is not finished when every PHN has a dot on a map; our job is finished when a woman or girl in Mildura, Swan Hill, Kerang, Maryborough, the outback or remote Australia has a genuine pathway to timely, affordable and high quality care. A woman's or girl's postcode must never determine whether her pain is treated or whether the treatment she needs is genuinely within reach. We must do better.

Women's health care is everybody's health care. It is the health of our mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, our friends and indeed our colleagues. Yet, for generations, too many aspects of women's health have been spoken about quietly behind closed doors or not spoken about at all. As a doctor, I know how important it is for every patient to feel heard, believed and supported when they seek medical care.

Since becoming the member for Robertson, I have held a number of women's health forums on the Central Coast. These forums have given me the opportunity to hear directly from women about their experiences. Women have spoken about difficulties accessing appropriate care. They have spoken about experiencing pain or debilitating symptoms and feeling that they were not being heard. They have told me about the importance of finding a doctor who listens. And they've spoken about how important it is to have partners and family members who understand what they are experiencing and know how to support them. These conversations have stayed with me, because, for too long, conditions affecting women have been surrounded by silence. Endometriosis, pelvic pain, menstruation, fertility, contraception, perimenopause and menopause should not be taboo subjects. We need to raise the blinds on the taboos surrounding women's health care. We need to talk openly and honestly because no-one should be embarrassed to talk about their health. There should be no stigma attached to asking for help.

No woman should ever feel that chronic pain or debilitating symptoms are simply something that they have to put up with. That is why I'm so proud of what our government is delivering. Our government has made a landmark investment in women's health that is focused on delivering more health care for Australian women and girls, and we are seeing the results. By September 2026, more than one million Australian women have accessed cheaper medicines for contraception, endometriosis and menopause, with more than four million cheaper prescriptions filled. We've delivered new contraceptive pills on the PBS for the first time in more than 30 years. We have also made long-acting reversible contraception, including IUDs and contraceptive implants, more affordable through Medicare.

We are changing the way Australia responds to menopause and perimenopause. For generations, women were too often simply expected to get on with it. That is changing. New hormone therapies have been listed on the PBS—the first new listings in more than 20 years—and Medicare funded menopause health assessments have now been introduced, with more than 137,000 women receiving one of these assessments. We've also expanded the network of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics right across Australia, including one on the Central Coast, and all of them are supporting women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. We've also invested in additional services for women with complex gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and chronic pelvic pain.

These are significant reforms, but improving women's health cannot just be about funding, programs or statistics. It must also be about changing culture. It is about creating a community where a young woman can talk openly about debilitating period pain and know that she will be taken seriously; where a woman experiencing menopause feels comfortable talking to her doctor, her family and her workplace about what she is experiencing; and where a woman living with persistent pain knows that asking for help is not complaining. That means this conversation can not only involve women. Men need to be a part of this too. As husbands, partners, fathers, sons, brothers, colleagues and friends we all have a responsibility to listen, to understand and to support the women in our lives, because women's health does not exist in isolation, and when someone is struggling with their health it can affect their family, relationships, employment and participation within the community. That is one of the strongest messages that I have taken from the women on the Central Coast who have shared their experiences with me.

There is more work to do. We must continue improving access to care and we must continue strengthening Medicare and making medications more affordable. But we must also continue to break down the silence and stigma that has surrounded women's health for far too long. Above all, we must continue to listen when women tell us they're in pain, they cannot access health care or they don't feel heard. Every woman deserves to be heard, every woman deserves to be supported and every woman deserves access to high-quality and affordable care. Women's health care is everyone's care, and that is something worth speaking loudly about.

I thank the member for Dickson for bringing forward this motion. Whilst I'm here and he's still here, I thank the member for Robertson for the work he continues to do in the medical field on the Central Coast in his electorate. I acknowledge, too, the role the member for Macarthur has played over many decades in his part of the world and the advocacy he does—they both do—for health in this parliament. Also, whilst I'm being very bipartisan, I want to acknowledge the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the member for Dobell, perhaps in the context of the words I'm about to say: 'regional health'. Each time she comes to Wagga Wagga, my home town, she makes sure that I'm aware and allows me to be with her for those important discussions. I'm very appreciative of the investment—continuing on from the former coalition government—that she has advocated for and delivered, particularly in Wagga Wagga—certainly in the space of mental health.

When it comes to women's health, Wagga Wagga is fortunate to have the services of the Wagga Women's Health Centre. It was established in the 1970s, when women were finding it very difficult to have the contraceptive pill prescribed. The women responded by setting up their own centre. Certainly, in recent years, from its Peter Street premises, and before that, from opposite the civic centre and council chambers in Morrow Street, it has provided important work for and on behalf of local women—and not just women in the regional city that is Wagga Wagga but, indeed, women in the wider area.

Recently the Wagga Women's Health Centre had its funding for domestic violence cut, and this was a huge body blow to them. I know the work that Jan Roberts did in making sure the women's health centre gained the recognition it needed. In more recent years, Vickie Burkinshaw and Johanna Elms have certainly continued Jan's legacy. But 70 per cent of police call-outs in the Riverina are for domestic and family violence related issues, and that is simply not good enough. We are in a situation at the moment where we're trying to lower the temperature. I know some people have problems with that. I do not, in fact. But we do need to acknowledge that there is a problem, and, generally speaking, that problem is with men. It is; let's call it as it is.

The Wagga Women's Health Centre does a remarkable job in providing a face-to-face service for women in domestic violence situations. It finds women the housing, and this is health related because, if the matriarch of the home has no safe place to live, then that affects not just her but, indeed, the whole family. Certainly the children in these cases are often affected. Thankfully, the primary health network came to the assistance of the Wagga Women's Health Centre, and I know the state government did as well, but more needs to be done to ensure the ongoing funding. It's not good enough that the Wagga Women's Health Centre has to constantly bring out the begging bowl and justify why it needs ongoing recurrent funding. It should be provided. Quite frankly, it should be provided by all levels of government for the valuable work it does.

When this funding was cut in 2025, I know that Cecilia O'Rourke came from Junee with her daughter and granddaughter to support the organisation. She said: 'If they take the money away, it will not be just a few women left hanging, but it will be generations that are the reason today we come with my daughter and my granddaughter because it's a generational issue. It's important that people realise that domestic violence doesn't respect money, nationality, education, nothing, and I think that it's an issue that needs to be addressed constantly.' Ms O'Rourke is a retired mental health worker. She knows, because she has seen it all before. We need to provide that funding. If there is a women's health issue in Wagga Wagga that does require addressing, it is the ongoing funding for this important organisation.

There have been no further speakers, 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 this House:

(1) condemns the Government for imposing higher costs on small businesses through the surcharge ban while allowing the Australian Taxation Office to stop accepting credit card payments rather than absorb merchant fees itself;

(2) notes small businesses are already facing near-record insolvencies, business closures and real profits still below where they were at the change of government, making further cost pressures harder to absorb;

(3) recognises that local cafés, community pharmacies, tradies and family-run businesses will be forced to carry costs that larger businesses may be better placed to negotiate or absorb;

(4) calls out the double standard of requiring small businesses to absorb merchant fees while the Government's own tax collector refuses to do the same; and

(5) calls on the Government to back small business, properly assess the cost of new regulation, and support a Small Business Act that requires Canberra to consider the impact of its decisions before imposing further burdens on small and family businesses.

On 1 October, the surcharge ban came into force. From that day, every cafe, every community pharmacy, every tradie and every family business in this country lost the ability to pass on the cost of accepting a card. The fees did not disappear, however; banks still charge them. Government simply decided that the person behind the counter would pay for them instead. On that day, the Australian Taxation Office announced it would stop accepting credit cards altogether. The commissioner said it was just not tenable for the ATO to absorb those costs. So I ask the government a simple question: If it is not tenable for an agency with the full resources of the Commonwealth behind it, how is it tenable for a cafe in Leongatha? How is it tenable for a pharmacy in Wonthaggi? How is it tenable for a sole-trader electrician running his business out of a ute in Drouin?

Eight days later, after a storm of criticism, the Prime Minister made a captain's call to delay the ATO's decision. Small business got no such reprieve—no transactional funding for the newsagent, no backflip for the hairdresser. They were simply told to absorb it. That is the double standard at the heart of this motion. There's one rule for Canberra and another rule for every other small business across this country, and it comes at the worst possible time. More than 14,000 companies entered insolvency in the last financial year. Most of them were small businesses. This month, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry released its annual small-business conditions survey. More than a thousand owners responded. Rising costs are now their single biggest challenge, which was named by 63 per cent of them, and that concern has jumped 15 per cent in a year. Cash flow worries are up 12 per cent. Businesses reporting harm from red tape are up 11 per cent. Half of all owners are doing their own compliance—often late at night around the kitchen table. The chamber's chief executive, Andrew McKellar, said small businesses are right on the brink, with extremely limited capacity to absorb additional costs. He called it a warning to governments right across this country.

The franchise sector is telling a similar story. Franchise Council of Australia's annual survey, which I used to help conduct when I was its CEO, is now in its seventh year and is conducted independently by FRANdata. It covers more than 100 brands and over 12,000 small businesses—cafes, maintenance, retail, fitness, pet services and many more. One in four of those systems is pessimistic about the conditions over the next six months, and that is from a sector that is intrinsically optimistic by nature. When one in four is gloomy, that should ring alarm bells. Eighty-one per cent rate their concern about economic conditions, particularly high interest rates and inflation, as high or very high. This government received those warnings and handed small businesses another cost to absorb. These are not just numbers on a balance sheet. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, COSBOA, has reported that nearly 80 per cent of small-business owners are experiencing high levels of stress and sleepless nights, and close to 40 per cent say it feels more like depression. When government piles on more cost and complexity, it adds to that weight, and that is at the very essence of this motion today.

There is a longer term cost as well. Nearly a third of small-business owners are looking towards retirement, but there is no pipeline of younger Australians ready to buy those businesses. When young people start to see their parents and neighbours working harder for less and facing more risk and red tape, they've got to ask the natural question: is it worth it? I am seriously worried we're about to lose the next generation of young, talented small-business owners right across this country, and that is going to cost us jobs. It's going to cost our communities support and invigoration, and it's going to hurt regional towns in electorates like mine, in Monash. We need to stand up. This government has to do better.

Is there a seconder for this motion?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak later.

I rise to speak against this motion, but I thank the member for Monash for giving us the opportunity to debate our supports for small businesses as well as discuss the impacts of the credit card surcharge ban. I know she's a hardworking member of her community and a welcome member of the class of 2025. Small businesses are such an important part of the communities that we serve and are an important part of my community in Menzies. From cafes and restaurants in Blackburn to independent retailers, pharmacists, tradies and family owned businesses across places like Doncaster and Surrey Hills, they create local jobs, they provide essential services, they drive economic activity and they serve as a really important place for community connection.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to enjoy some of the services of our local businesses. The Tunstall Square bakery has some of the best cinnamon doughnuts in Australia in my humble opinion. We've got Una Una, a great new bar that's opened in Box Hill. I grabbed a banh mi from a Bao Mi Vietnamese restaurant in Macedon Square. I've consulted regularly with our local traders around the Mont Albert traders, the Kerrimuir shops, the Whitehorse business network and the Manningham Business Network. They provide, as I said, really essential services and fantastic jobs for our local community. We know that every member of this side of the House and the members of the other side of the House engage with their local businesses to better understand the needs that they have.

We know that it's a tough time for local businesses, as well. Cost-of-living pressures mean that people do have less money to spend. The inflationary impacts of the war in the Middle East flow throughout the supply chain and increase the pressures on businesses. And we want to make sure that we're providing them with real and practical support. The member for Monash has raised our reforms to credit card surcharges and the way that small businesses and businesses deal with those. As I said, I thank her for the opportunity to provide the House with more information about that. We know that some businesses have raised issues with the impacts of that credit card surcharge ban, including ones that I've met with in my office. I think it's worth noting that 85 per cent of small-business owners did not surcharge. It's not accurate to say that every single business is affected by these things; 85 per cent of businesses did not apply a separate surcharge fee. It's particularly high in hospitality, which is why we might see it more in restaurants and in cafes. But, of course, when people are paying a tradie, a pharmacist or their GP, they probably haven't seen that surcharge applied. That's not to dismiss or minimise the impact on those that will no longer be able to apply that surcharge, but it is to put it in context and in perspective.

That 15-odd per cent of businesses may need to incorporate those fees into their costs, but I think it's worth considering the reasons for the reforms by the RBA and the ATO. Essentially, one of the main reasons is to make prices clearer for consumers by removing a separate card surcharge. We've all been at a cafe where we go up to the counter, expect to pay a certain amount for a coffee and pay a higher amount because of that surcharge fee. Often there's a little plastic or a paper sign beside the EFTPOS machine indicating that a surcharge fee will be applied, but that's not the price that we've seen on the menu. And so this just ensures there's greater transparency for consumers. The RBA did conduct surveys prior to applying this and found the overwhelming majority of consumers didn't agree with having to pay a different price than what's on the menu or the price tag. Seventy-six per cent said it's unnecessary and that it should stop, and 60 per cent said prices should be all inclusive—that we should just have the price that's on the menu or the price tag be what the customer is actually going to pay.

It's really important to note as well that we've reduced interchange fees. We've reduced the cost of accepting card payments for businesses. That means a lot of businesses are going to benefit. Their overheads will be less as a result of these changes. That's one practical way that we're making sure we're helping the small businesses in our community. Our reforms will also improve competition and transparency in the payment system. If businesses find that they are paying too much for those merchant fees from the bank, they should have a look around and find a lower provider.

In Grey, small business is the town. It is the cafe that opens at dawn, the pharmacy on the main street and the tradie who gives a local kid their first job. Under this government, they have been asked to carry more and more and more. Since 1 October, small business can no longer surcharge for card payments. The Prime Minister says that this will save Australians money every time they tap, but the cost of processing a card does not disappear just because it is no longer on the receipt. Someone still has to pay, and that someone is small business—and that is you, the consumer, through higher prices. At the end of the day, you still pay the surcharge; you just don't see it.

Many say this ban is bad because it removes the transparency that was there before. On the very day the ban started, the government's own tax office announced it would stop taking credit cards. Why? The commissioner said it would cost the ATO too much. If the taxman can't swallow the cost, then why are small businesses expected to do it? That's the double standard at the heart of this motion. After intervening and humiliating his Treasurer, the Prime Minister has pushed the tax office's credit card ban to the end of the next financial year. And who will pay the tax office credit card fees in the meantime? Well, the taxpayer. We do not need it delayed; we need it scrapped. Small business should not find out about decisions like this in the newspaper.

Then there's Labor's new 30 per cent minimum tax on trusts. Around 350,000 small businesses use a family trust. These are tradies, farmers and local shops—not tax dodgers. Some estimates have put restructuring and advice costs north of $10 billion. That is money spent on accountants and lawyers, instead of investing in staff, stock, equipment and new productivity measures. The Housing Industry Association has warned it would amount to 'a new tax on tradies, builders and small family businesses'. On Insiders, the Assistant Treasurer would not rule out the fact that some small businesses would be paying tax of up to 60 per cent. Why would anyone want to open a small business if you have to give 60 per cent to the government?

The Treasurer likes to boast about record numbers of new company registrations and business therefore booming, but CPA Australia pointed out the bleeding obvious—company registrations are growing much faster than GST registrations. That is not record business creation; that is record restructuring because of the changes to trusts and CGT. The only people celebrating are the accountants, and the costs keep coming. Power bills are up. Interest rates have risen 16 times under this government, which hasn't even reached five years. There was one interest rate rise in nine years of the coalition government.

A new car dealer in my electorate wrote to me about Labor's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. He told me, 'The current pace of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard may have unintended consequences for customers who rely on affordable, available and fit-for-purpose vehicles for their work, businesses and everyday lives.' That's from a small-business owner who is worried about his customers, who are also small-business owners. This carbon tax on cars will push up the price of the utes and the vehicles our regions depend on. It must go—and it will go—under a Taylor coalition government.

More than 14,000 companies entered insolvency last year. That is almost 40 every single day. When one shuts down in a country town, another one isn't opening. That is why the coalition is fighting for a small business act. It will give small businesses a right to be heard. So, instead of having the rug pulled out from under them, small businesses will have a seat at the table. We will scrap Labor's trust taxes, back the people who take a risk, employ locals and keep our towns alive. Small business should be backed, not billed.

For families, workers, small-business owners and community members across the Bellarine, Surf Coast and Geelong, access to fuel is absolutely essential. Locals in regional electorates like mine in Corangamite often have little choice but to drive, and, when petrol and diesel prices rise, the impact can extend beyond the servo, flowing through to freight costs and the price of goods and services. The Albanese government understands these pressures. I understand these pressures. I hear from people across my electorate, and I know how important it is that we continue to respond with practical action.

From the outset of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, our government has acted decisively to protect Australians from the worst of the global fuel crisis. Our recent budget delivered a historic $15 billion fuel security package, including $7.5 billion for the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility to help suppliers secure additional fuel shipments, $3.2 billion for the government controlled Australian Fuel Security Reserve and $2.9 billion in temporary petrol price relief. These are significant measures, and as a result there is now more fuel onshore in Australia than there was when the conflict in the Middle East began.

We have also taken action to ensure Australians receive a fair price at the bowser. The Treasurer has directed the ACCC to ramp up fuel price monitoring, and after the passing of our penalty legislation serious breaches of competition and consumer laws can now attract maximum penalties of $100 million. That's up from $50 million. We've also invested an additional $67.7 million to strengthen the ACCC's enforcement activities. The regulator is actively monitoring fuel prices and has announced investigations into alleged misconduct.

We have also strengthened fuel security in other ways. Our reforms are improving access to fuel stockpiles, increasing transparency around fuel supplies and requiring reporting of shortages of critical products, including diesel exhaust fluid and technical-grade urea. On fuel excise, we put in place a four-month reduction to help take the sting out of the sharp price increases triggered by the Middle East conflict. This was always a temporary measure, but the end of that relief does not mean the end of our cost-of-living work.

The Albanese government is delivering $17 billion in cost-of-living relief this financial year. That includes $3 billion in fuel excise relief. There's also $2.6 billion in energy bill relief, more than $2 billion in tax cuts and more than $2 billion in increased payments like the pension. We're also funding pay increases for early childhood educators and aged-care workers. We're investing a further $5 billion in health. That's for things like our Medicare urgent care clinic in Torquay. It's also ensuring more Australians can get the medicines they need with $25 PBS scripts.

The Albanese government is backing higher wages. It's acting on supermarket price gouging and supporting a fairer housing market. These are lasting measures, and they will help Australians to manage their household budgets. For eligible small businesses across Corangamite, making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent from next year will make a real difference, providing greater certainty when investing in equipment and running a business. That's good for small business, good for workers and good for regional economies like mine.

In closing, we all know the global economy remains uncertain, and government cannot control international oil prices. That's why we're focusing on strengthening Australia's fuel security, enforcing strong competition laws and providing real, tangible cost-of-living supports for people and families. I'll continue listening to my communities and advocating to support households, workers and businesses when they need it.

The time allotted for this debate has expired. 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 this House:

(1) recognises the contribution made by charities, volunteers, philanthropists and community foundations to Australian communities;

(2) supports the Government's goal of doubling philanthropic giving by 2030;

(3) welcomes reforms to encourage more resources to flow to charities and communities, including:

(a) setting the minimum annual distribution rate for both public and private giving funds at 6 per cent of net assets;

(b) allowing giving funds to smooth distributions over a three-year period, giving them greater flexibility to support major charitable projects; and

(c) adding 34 organisations to the ministerial declaration for community charities, the largest expansion since the category was established in 2024;

(4) further recognises that community foundations allow local people to pool resources, support local organisations and build lasting institutions in the places where they live; and

(5) affirms the importance of making philanthropy easier, more accessible and more closely connected to Australian communities.

This is a sector that is very close to my heart. When I was 24, I left the public service to move to Adelaide, a place I'd never been, to head up their state reconciliation council. I then spent more than 13 years working in the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people access educational opportunities. I also had the privilege of leading a national youth mental health charity supporting children and young people affected by mental illness within their families.

I share those experiences here because they gave me an enormous appreciation for the dedication of people working across our charity sector. I saw the difference good programs, committed staff and generous supporters can make in people's lives—a life-changing impact. I saw the challenges that charities face too—the constant search for funding, the pressure of growing demand and the considerable time spent on administration, reporting and compliance. It's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about making Australia a better place for charities to operate and for people to give.

Across Australia, registered charities employ around 1.6 million people, supported by approximately 3.9 million volunteers. In my home state of Queensland, we're fortunate to have around 10,000 charities doing extraordinary work. But Queensland faces some particular challenges. Our state accounts for around 20 per cent of Australia's population, yet estimates suggest Queensland receives just seven per cent of national philanthropic funding. At the same time, six of Australia's 10 most disadvantaged local government areas are in Queensland. For communities already facing poverty, limited access to services and repeated natural disasters, the work of local charities is particularly valuable. These figures highlight why we need to do more to strengthen philanthropy in Queensland and across Australia.

In my electorate of Griffith, I'm fortunate to work with some remarkable organisations. Micah Projects, Romero Centre, Eating Disorders Queensland, the Children's Hospital Foundation—I could go on literally all day naming them. Earlier this year, I hosted a charity and not-for-profit roundtable with the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, bringing together around 80 representatives from our local organisations. We heard about growing demand, uncertain funding and administrative burden placed on charities.

We must recognise that charities do far more than deliver services. They bring people together, strengthen communities and give Australians opportunities to contribute, volunteer and belong. They have an incredibly valuable role in our democracy. Yet, under the former coalition government, the charity sector spent years defending its right to speak. The coalition tried to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission then pursued measures that threatened charitable advocacy. Under this government, we believe charitable advocacy belongs in Australian democracy. We want charities to contribute their expertise, challenge our decisions where necessary and tell us where government policy is falling short and how we can do better. That independence makes our democracy stronger.

In the charities I've worked for and led, a key role for me has been leading teams of fundraisers. Before starting that work, the thought of asking someone for money, even for a good cause, was, frankly, mortifying. But I came to realise what an integral role philanthropic giving plays in serving our community's most vulnerable. This passion eventually led me to join the Fundraising Institute Australasia's board, and I commend their work.

The Albanese Labor government came to office with a commitment to support our charity sector and double philanthropic giving by 2030, and we're making good progress towards that goal. We've commissioned the Productivity Commission's Future foundations for giving report, which recommended reforms to charitable tax deductions, regulation, public information and access to philanthropy for First Nations Australians, and we're making progress across each of these areas. We've announced an increase to the minimum annual distribution rate for public and private giving funds to six per cent of net assets, expected to direct an additional $60 million every year towards Australian charities. We're giving these funds greater flexibility to spread distributions over three years, supporting larger projects and long-term investment. We've removed the outdated minimum $2 threshold for tax deductible gifts. We've created a new pathway for community foundations to access tax deductible status. We're making it easier for environmental, cultural, harm prevention and overseas aid charities to seek tax deductible status.

I particularly welcome the work of Queensland Gives and Queensland Community Foundation to encourage more local philanthropy. Queensland has enormous generosity, but we need to get more philanthropic funding into the communities and organisations that need it most. Having spent much of my working life in this sector, I know how hard people work to keep these organisations operating. I'm proud to put forward this motion and of our government's ongoing commitment to a stronger, more generous Australia.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Volunteers—where would we be without them? Our nation relies so much on our volunteers, so much on these people who willingly give up their time and their valuable money and everything else to be there when the community needs them most. On the weekend before last, it was absolutely fantastic to attend the 48th Murrumbateman Field Days. Splendid spring weather greeted a huge crowd, there's lots to see and do, and it proved a great family event. More than 300 volunteers from 27 local community organisations help put on the two days, including—wait for this!—11 brigades from the local rural fire service. What an amazing achievement. Since 2010, Murrumbateman Community Association has pumped more than $1.7 million back into these volunteer groups. Each year, the field days generate as much as $8 million of local economic activity.

When I talk about the RFS—of course, it's CFA in Victoria and has different variations of names throughout the states—many of those men and women have been serving for decades and decades. I recently attended the funeral of Jim Simpson, who had been a rural fire brigade person since he was eight years old. He was in his 80s when he passed away. These people do a remarkable job, and I do fear for them as we enter what potentially is going to be a very hazardous and destructive fire season. They'll be there in their bright-coloured uniforms, they'll be there in their trucks, they'll be there whether they've got soot all over their face from a hard day's firefighting or they'll be there making the sandwiches for other firefighters who are coming back. Their families do an amazing job in that regard too.

They'll be there, and that's the point. In country areas, we rely on our volunteers perhaps even more so than our city friends. I have to say, when it comes to the RFS and it comes to the State Emergency Service personnel, they don't just attend the usual fires and the like. There's the road trauma that they turn up to, and, on country roads, the road trauma is often far more disastrous than it is in metropolitan areas because of the speed involved in these crashes.

Then you've also got the volunteers who willingly help out at the agricultural shows. I know the Harden show is coming up on 14 November. I'm looking forward to that. Robert Hamilton, at Wagga Wagga—my home town—is a generational family member and show society president. It's not just Wagga Wagga Show or the Harden show. All the little towns have all got their own shows. Ganmain is one of the greatest shows in my Riverina electorate. They're all run by volunteers. Then you've got the football clubs, netball clubs, league tag clubs, hockey clubs—you name it—the sport is run by volunteers. They get involved, and sometimes they get involved because of their children, but, sometimes, when their children have long since moved away from the area or hung up the hockey stick, netball or football and put it away in the cupboard, their parents are still involved. They're still turning up, they're still on the sausage sizzle, they're still on the committees, and they're still doing the hard yards. We thank them.

Our Rotary and Lions clubs at that level apex have found it difficult in recent years to attract members. As I attend many of the changeover dinners and many of the Rotary functions in particular, I do note the age of the members and the dwindling number of members. I think it's probably pertinent. I had an idea, once, that we should make the funds tax deductible. I have not shied away from that. I think we need to do more to encourage people with the right intent, financially, to help support those Rotary clubs, which do such an amazing job right throughout our country, city or regional. We should very much look at what we can do to support membership because they also play a great role, whether it's on the gates, marshalling people, parking or helping out at various community events, fetes, fairs and the like. Thank you to our volunteers, you keep this nation running. (Time expired)

I rise today to recognise the enormous contribution that charities and not-for-profit organisations make to our communities. I spent many years of my working life working for charities and the not-for-profit sector, so I have seen firsthand the difference that charities and not-for-profits make in people's lives. I've also experienced firsthand the motivations that drive people who work for charities and not-for-profits, and the ethic of service and giving back that, in turn, drives those organisations. Charities and not-for-profits make an enormous contribution to our society, and on behalf of our community, I thank them enormously for their work.

Charities and not-for-profits are all about what is in the interests of those they serve and the public interest. Charities and not-for-profits make sure that Australians don't fall through the cracks. They safeguard our tradition of fairness, the tradition that makes Australia the best country in the world. Charities and not-for-profits do their best work when they are allowed to speak out. Advocating for the people they support is in the very DNA of our charity and not-for-profit sector. It therefore makes sense that we should ensure that those organisations can contribute openly and freely to public debate when they are advocating for Australia to be a better place. Without their advocacy, we would not have many of the important reforms that go to the essence of what we stand for as a nation.

I worked in the charity and not-for-profit sector during the days of the previous coalition government, and I remember the time when advocacy became a dirty word. Many organisations were highly sensitive to using the word 'advocacy' to describe their work, both publicly and in documents being sent back to government about their work. This, in my mind, was not right. How could we live in a flourishing and functioning democracy if those people committed to supporting society's most vulnerable could not speak up for them? I am proud to say that our government has sent a clear signal that advocacy is supported and welcomed by this government. We've taken a very different approach to the previous government, because we came to government promising to support the community organisations that are working to lift up the most vulnerable Australians and make our communities better places to live.

A homelessness charity should be able to talk about improving housing policy. An environmental charity should be able to talk about protecting the environment. A community legal centre should be able to talk about our most vulnerable citizens and the need for law reform. A disability charity should be able to talk about where Australians are at risk of falling through the cracks. Our government recognises that charities do more than deliver services; they bind our nation together, and they continually motivate, prompt and challenge us to create a better society. Across our nation, millions of Australians benefit from the generosity and dedication of people who give their time, resources and expertise to others. It happens in community halls and neighbourhood centres, sporting clubs, schools, shelters, food banks, cultural organisations, and local charities. It's often volunteers who are the first to respond when a community faces hardship.

Sometimes people don't always have the time to volunteer in our communities as much as they would like to, so instead they make donations to the organisations that they support. That's why I strongly support the government's goal of doubling charitable giving by 2030. Australia is an incredibly generous community and our government also wants to make it easier for Australians to give back. For example, our government has removed the $2 minimum threshold for tax deductible donations, helping to make the gift of small gifts easier, including rounding up giving at the checkout. These small amounts at scale can make a real difference to charities. We've also lifted the minimum amount that giving funds must distribute to charities each year, and this is expected to see an extra $60 million a year flow to charities.

I thank the many charities and not-for-profits in my wonderful electorate of Whitlam and across the country for your fantastic work. It doesn't go unnoticed.

I thank the member for Griffith for this motion. Our charity sector is foundational to a kind and generous community. It's where people can turn in times of need, it's where neighbours meet and become friends, and it's where Australians can find meaning in their own lives and do good for others. I've spent five years working in the non-profit sector and many more years sitting on various not-for-profit boards. Working at Anglicare WA, I saw the incredible work being done to help people thrive in WA, and I was proud to be part of an organisation that delivered a range of services funded by government, and also through donations, that treated people with dignity and compassion, and changed lives.

People who give their lives to helping others, either working for not-for-profits or volunteering, taught me so much, and the purpose we shared provided so much meaning every day. Now, as the representative of the kind and generous electorate of Curtin, I have a different perspective on that. Curtin has one of the highest volunteering rates in the country. I'm so proud of all the people in Curtin who I see volunteering. They are contributing to our civic life, whether it's working for a social or environmental cause or for clubs, cooking the sausage sizzles, pulling weeds or sitting on boards.

I see the incredible work being done by people in so many impactful community organisations, like the people at Dress for Success WA in West Perth, who support women to find meaningful employment by providing professional clothing, career development tools and a support network; the people at Deserving Better WA in Subiaco, who are supporting women experiencing violence and coercive control; and the people at Lifeline WA in Subiaco—where I once sat on the board and was chair—who provide support and compassion to Australians who are finding life unbearable. There are another 66,000 charities across Australia doing similarly important work: food distribution networks, helping people in need; neighbourhood groups, teaching English; and community legal centres, helping tenants with nowhere else to turn.

The incredible thing about these organisations is the extent to which they run on the goodwill in our community. Australian charities have nearly 3.9 million volunteers. That's more than two volunteers for every paid employee. Twenty-two thousand of these charities are run entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff at all. These organisations deserve all the support that we can give them. We should be encouraging volunteering, charitable donations and all forms of generosity because this is the sort of society we want to live in: one where people are kind and generous and where communities come together to solve problems rather than falling into despair or relying solely on the government.

I support the goal to double charitable giving by 2030, and the government has taken some steps towards that, as pointed out by the member for Griffith. But there is much more to do. Giving is not on a path to doubling in this timeframe. The Productivity Commission's 2024 review Future foundations for giving had 19 recommendations for strengthening the charity sector and supporting charitable donations. The 2024 Not-for-profit sector development blueprint had 18 recommended initiatives, and many remain unactioned. I want to highlight three, which were the subject of an open letter from the Stronger Charities Alliance to the Prime Minister last year, with 103 signatories. The asks remain important in protecting and strengthening the charity sector: firstly, recognising that advocacy benefits the public; secondly, prohibiting government officers from restricting the voices of charities when receiving funding, even informally; and thirdly, requiring the merit based and transparent appointment of the Commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. None of these cost money. All of them protect the right of charities to speak for the people they serve and support.

I want to conclude with a message to all Australians. This motion is about policy, but policy only helps if people take part. The charities sector depends on people who give their time and their money, and we can all ask what we ourselves are doing. Volunteer for a good cause, if you have time. Give to a good to a good cause, if you have money—and give regularly. Join the board of the club your kids play for. Support your local community foundation. This is what it takes to be a kind, generous country that looks after its own.

I thank my friend the member for Griffith for bringing this motion, as well as thanking the members for Riverina, Whitlam and Curtin for their contributions. We can all agree that volunteers, charities and not-for-profits are an absolutely vital part of all of our communities. I think, this week especially, it's great that we can find things that we can all agree upon.

Sometimes, when I'm out at schools, or reflecting on this job, I think about what the best part of it is, and I think absolutely the best part of this job is getting the opportunity to know our communities even better and getting to meet some of the wonderful volunteers and getting to know some of the wonderful organisations that do incredible work in our community, and seeing the kindness and the generosity with which people give up their time, and, often, give up their hard-earned money, to support causes that they believe in, whether it's the local rotary or a food bank or a community organisation that helps newly arrived migrants. There's so much good that we see day to day. Sometimes, when we read the news, there's nothing but war and conflict and acts of cruelty, and I think seeing the goodness that's out there in everyday Australia is the perfect antidote for that.

I'd like to tell you about three experiences that I've had recently with some of our local community organisations and some of our local volunteers that really struck me. I was out at Warrandyte IGA on the weekend, standing outside with one of our candidates for the upcoming Victorian state election. It was a pretty drizzly day, and we were standing there for a couple of hours giving voters the opportunity to meet their local candidate. But, while we were standing there, some members of the local Warrandyte Cricket Club—in particular, Greg Warren, the Secretary—came past; they were carrying pallets of Gatorade and were heading to the bakery to pick up some pies and some sausage rolls; and a few minutes later I saw his son Luke Warren and a few other members of the cricket club head in to the IGA as well. Of course—as they do every week, multiple times a week—they were just supporting some of the players who were having a game on the weekend. Unfortunately, the game got rained out, and it was a pretty steep hill they were trying to climb—they were chasing 270—but they were nonetheless making sure that their volunteers were well hydrated and well fed. When I popped over there later, the game had been rained out and suspended for a while, though I think they were able to get back on a bit later. But I had a chat to Greg about the cricket club, and it was clear how much pride and how much passion he had about the important work that they do, supporting the players and the community. He was able to talk about every single team that was taking the field that season. I met the new captain, Bailey, and he talked about how it's a multigenerational game. He had grandparents playing with their grandchildren—and there are not many sports you could name where people are able to provide that opportunity for different generations to play together.

But there's also the community that a local sports club provides. It's such a valuable service that people like Greg provide to their community. But it's not just a sport. His son Luke was up here in parliament to receive one of our good sports awards, because, through the Warrandyte Cricket Club, they also provide mental health education and mental health support for their players, and I think sports clubs in particular can play a really important role in de-stigmatising seeking help around mental health issues.

I also got along to the Clota Cottage AGM recently. It was very capably chaired by Trevor Eddy, with a healthy amount of ribbing for the different members! Trevor's also involved in a number of other local organisations: Greenland Indigenous plant nursery and Burke and Beyond disability services. Like a lot of people in our community, once they get started volunteering in one area, they end up volunteering across a lot of different organisations. His wife, Emi Luppino, is also a very active member of the Box Hill RSL, and I know that she's received a number of awards this year for her volunteering, including one of the volunteering awards that our office provides. At the Clota Cottage AGM, they spoke very proudly about the gardening program that they have and also how they've increased the number of English classes that they're providing to new migrants by 2½ times just this year. So thank you to Clota Cottage for everything that you do—for the wide range of programs that you provide to our community.

As I said, thank you to all the volunteers across my community in Menzies, but to those across everyone's communities, right across Australia, for everything you do. You make our communities and Australia a better place.

Like the previous speaker, I want to acknowledge some of the amazing organisations within my electorate that have a massive impact—those important charities, those volunteers, the philanthropists and the community foundations which the motion refers to. I want to outline some of the work that they're doing but also to outline some of the challenges that they've been facing and some of the areas where they want to see government focusing, to try to assist them in, firstly, reducing the amount of demand on their services, but, secondly, having the capacity to respond to growing demand. When I think about charities and volunteers within the Redlands, I think about the many service clubs that thrive in my neck of the woods and particularly the rotary clubs. I've got this great project in my electorate called RARE, or the Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment project. Effectively, it is a large series of warehouses where equipment gets donated from around South-East Queensland. It gets brought there to their site at Alex Hills. It is a council leased facility. They do a terrific job and have so many hundreds of volunteers working hours throughout the week. Every time I'm there I see lots of activity going on.

They are accepting donations of different equipment that is no longer required within South-East Queensland but is being posted out to our Pacific partners—out to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, the Solomons and further afield. They've got a great tally on the board of their office there, where they outline every shipping container that they've sent to another country. Each of those shipping containers is filled with hospital beds or chairs and tables for classrooms or books—full of everything you could possibly think of that a community might need. They do a terrific job.

I also think about the food banks in my electorate. I think about the Redlands Community Centre. I think about the great food service at the Rock church at Capalaba and also at the Champion support services in Thornlands. I recently met with the Champion support services, and they told me that they've had over an eight-fold increase in demand in the last couple of years. That is not through any extra advertising or getting the word out that they're offering this great service—of course, that's happens naturally through word of mouth—but is just purely through more people requiring support when finding themselves below that breadline.

Of course, there are the Night Ninjas who operate within my electorate at three different sites that are providing meals to the homeless. Last week, I attended their annual general meeting, and the numbers were quite staggering. In the financial year of 2023, they served only 856 meals, which is still quite a lot. Last financial year, the financial year they were reporting on at the AGM, they had served 2,934. That's a significant increase in just three financial years. They've nearly tripled or more than tripled their level of service. When I was speaking to them, that reflects the growing demand. That growing demand is coming from the increased cost-of-living pressures that we're seeing, the higher inflation and the higher interest rates. It's meant there is a greater demand on all these services, and they're struggling to keep up with the number of local households who are doing it tough and with people who are finding themselves homeless. It's becoming increasingly difficult for charities and the not-for-profit sector to operate across the country.

I was interested to see recently the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission's latest annual charities report, which confirmed that cost-of-living pressures were placing an increased strain on Australian families, as we know about because we're all hearing that within our electorate offices, but also on the charities that support them. The latest report shows that charities generated a record $239 billion in revenue. That was from the 2024 year. That was up 7.5 per cent, but expenses rose even faster, increasing by 8.6 per cent to $231 billion. So we've got more Australians turning to charities, but also charities are struggling to keep up with the growing expenses for everything that they're purchasing. Charities now employ 1.6 million Australians, with employee expenses increasing by 10 per cent. The report also highlighted the growing demand for support among older Australians, with particularly people aged 65 and over now among the most common beneficiaries of charitable services.

We've got to do better to support those not-for-profits and charities, and we've got to do better to reduce the cost-of-living pressures on these Australians.

The time allotted for this debate has expired. 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 this House:

(1) condemns the Government for failing to get inflation under control;

(2) notes Australians have now faced a sixteenth interest rate rise, placing further pressure on families, mortgage holders and small businesses;

(3) recognises the rising cost of everyday essentials under the Government including:

(a) housing up 23.9 per cent;

(b) electricity up 37.0 per cent; and

(c) insurance up 43.3 per cent;

(4) calls out the Government's high spending, with spending at its highest share of the economy since 1986-87 outside the pandemic; and

(5) calls on the Government to rein in spending, reduce inflationary pressure and ease the cost of living burden on Australian families and small businesses.

I move this motion today on inflation. It's something I've spoken about in this place many, many times, but I feel that, if we keep repeating it, it might sink in that this is actually a significant issue in this country at the moment. It goes to what a courageous government is all about, because this requires honest conversations with the Australian people. I say that after experiencing, along with the people that I represent on the southern Gold Coast, 16 interest rate rises under this government. We have a situation where the government are failing to get inflation under control, and there's no mystery as to how they do it. It's not as if there is no ability to do so. We're seeing the cost of housing up 23.9 per cent, the cost of electricity up 37 per cent and the cost of insurance up 43.3 per cent. These are metrics that are concerning all Australians, and they're concerning them because they're seeing them in their bills. It's at a time when the government itself is spending at record levels. We're seeing spending by the government at its highest share of the economy outside the pandemic since 1986 or 1987. So this motion calls upon the government to reconsider its approach, it calls upon the government to develop a sense of courage in the way it governs this country, and it calls on the government to ultimately rein in spending, reduce inflationary pressure and ease the cost-of-living burden on Australian families and small business.

The situation we find ourselves in as a country reminds me of a quote by Ronald Reagan when he was the President of the United States. He said that the problem is not that people are taxed too little; the problem is that government spends too much. That is exactly what we're seeing now, because at the end of the day I'm not quite convinced that the government understands that there are actually only two sources of money that governments can access whenever they want to fund further expenditure: they can either borrow the savings of taxpayers across this country or tax them more. Those are the two ways that government can increase its expenditure, and, on both of those fronts, Australians, quite frankly, just can't afford it right now. The government can't pretend that fiscal policy has nothing to do with inflation because, while households have been expected to tighten their belts, we're seeing Commonwealth spending having continued at historically high levels. We're now seeing a situation where the next generation is saddled with over $1 trillion of debt while the budget is still forecast to remain in deficit for decades.

There is a fundamental difference in the approach between those on that side of the chamber and those on this side of the chamber, Labor's answer is higher taxes and more spending, and the coalition's approach is to have that honest and courageous conversation with the Australian people to cut waste, to repair the budget and to give Australians more of their own money back. We've demonstrated that that can actually be done in a clear and coherent manner, because we have identified $31 billion in on-budget savings over four years, and that is even after the funding of our $20 billion Tax Back Guarantee, which will give more Australians the ability to keep more of what they earn. Those measures will still leave the budget $22 billion better off over the four years, and that matters because responsible spending is not just about rebalancing Canberra's books; reducing unnecessary government spending actually reduces pressure on inflation and interest rates.

Our proposed fiscal discipline on the coalition side includes restraining government spending growth to below economic growth, which we are not seeing at the moment under this government; it includes restoring a binding tax cap so we're not transferring the burden from the government to the taxpayer; and it includes targeting a return to budget surplus. The alternative is straightforward. Government has to do what families and small businesses across my electorate in McPherson already do every day: set priorities, live within its means and stop spending money it doesn't have. Australians can't afford another term of government spending pushing in one direction while the Reserve Bank pushes in the other. Families should not continually be asked to pay the price for Canberra's failure to exercise restraint. So I say to those opposite: cut the waste, get spending under control, take pressure off inflation and interest rates and give Australian families the opportunity to get ahead.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

What no-one will dispute is that Australians are under financial pressure like many around the world. Interest rate rises, while aimed at reducing inflation, make things even more challenging when people are already doing it tough. Australian workers are dealing with the implications of events occurring around the world, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. People in our communities didn't ask for these events to take place, and the fact that the economic consequences are being felt almost universally around the globe does not take the sting out of the current situation.

In periods where there are significant changes to the price of some items such as fuel, the indicator of trimmed mean inflation can help us better understand what is happening and give us a clearer picture of the health of the economy. This indicator has remained steady at 3.6 per cent for the third consecutive month in August. Inflation continues to be a challenge, but it's helpful to know the broader situation behind the headline figures. The motion makes commentary about fiscal discipline. At a time of heightened global uncertainty, that is more important than ever.

The 2025-26 final budget outcome showed that the budget bottom line is better than what was forecast at the election and has improved again since the budget. To quantify it, over the last four years, the bottom line is $230 billion or nearing a quarter of $1 trillion better than what was projected before the 2022 election. The stronger our fiscal position, the less interest costs we pay. So far, we have introduced changes that will help us avoid $70 billion in future interest costs. We remain focused on improving the bottom line and addressing inflation.

We also remain focused on helping everyday Australians with the cost of living. Doing the hard work in government is what has allowed us to deliver $17 billion in cost-of-living support over the last financial year. This has included introducing targeted fuel excise and energy bill relief; the cheaper medicines program, which has saved constituents in my electorate of Banks more than $13.5 million; investment in bulk-billing; and establishing urgent care clinics, as well as further tax cuts for every taxpayer of up to $2,800 a year. We have also introduced the mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct to stamp out price gouging and combat anticompetitive practices.

It is helpful to know what experts think of Australia's economic performance, particularly independent international bodies like credit rating agencies. S&P Global, Moody's and Fitch have all recently reaffirmed the Australian government's AAA credit rating. In fact, S&P said, 'Australia's fiscal performance is sound,' while Moody's identified that the Australian government's fiscal strategy is 'supported by expenditure reforms and a record of conservative budgeting'. These are not the words of politicians; they are the words of leading global credit rating agencies, and Australia is one of only nine countries with a AAA credit rating from all three of these credit institutions.

While these are the assessments of those agencies, we know many Australians are still finding their weekly shop tough and paying their bills difficult, and they have financial security concerns. This is why we are committed to improving our bottom line, putting downward pressure on inflation whilst providing cost-of-living relief where possible. While he and I were not members of this place at the time, it is worth the member for McPherson remembering that under the previous government inflation was north of six per cent and rising and gross debt was projected to be more than $600 billion higher by the end of the decade.

This is why this is so important for us that we work together to address the pressures of inflation and debt. It requires careful balancing to ensure everyday Australians are supported and the budget is strong so that we can continue to grow and thrive as a country despite the global circumstances.

After a couple of tough years of droughts on the farm, Belinda, from my electorate, went back to work in town. After factoring in child care and fuel, she earns $5 an hour. That is life in the regions under the Albanese Labor government. Since Labor was elected, the Reserve Bank has raised interest rates 16 times. The cash rate is now 4.6 per cent, a 15-year high. Under this government, housing is up 24 per cent, electricity is up 40 per cent, and insurance is up 43 per cent. Under Labor, Australians are paying more for everything.

The Treasurer would like you to believe that this is all the fault of the Middle East. Excluding the pandemic, government spending is now at a record high since 1986. An analysis by HSBC's chief economist found $145 billion in spending blowouts since Labor came to office. In real terms, federal government spending grew 4.3 per cent last financial year, more than double what Labor projected in their 2024-25 budget. The Treasurer has completely lost control of his budget.

The Albanese Labor government is living well beyond its means. Labor is putting today's spending on the credit card, and tomorrow's generation will be left with the bill. For those of us that love to talk about intergenerational equity, what could be less fair than leaving the next generations of Australians with a trillion dollars of debt? The Treasurer cannot even admit what his own backbench can see. Labor's reckless spending is driving inflation.

But don't just take the words of Labor's backbench. Here's what the experts have to say about it. Deloitte's Stephen Smith told the Financial Review:

Australian governments are currently running expansionary fiscal policy even though the economy is … operating above its potential level of activity.

HSBC's Paul Bloxham said:

In an economy with a low speed limit, due to weak productivity growth, there are just less things that can be done all at once.

Warren Hogan of EQ Economics went further, and he said:

If the governments of Australia don't think about really cutting back recurrent spending quick smart, the cash rate might not just go up one or two more times.

To top it all off, earlier this month, the IMF downgraded Australia's growth and lifted its forecasts for unemployment. When everyone from the banks to the IMF is telling you to stop spending, it is time to listen.

Labor's answer to all of this is more tax—a new tax on trusts, changes to capital gains tax, changes to negative gearing and a new tax on superannuation. Tax receipts are already at their highest share of the economy in 20 years, and when you tax something, you get less of it. If you tax small business, you get less small business. If you tax investment, you get less investment. If you tax hard work, you get less work. Labor is trying to tax its way out of its own bad decisions, and it will not work. The problem is not too little tax; it is too much spending.

The coalition has a different plan. Our Tax Back Guarantee will deliver an automatic tax cut every single year, ending Labor's annual inflation tax. It incentivises sound economic management independent of who is in government. If a household or a business wants to spend more, it has to find savings, and bringing this Tax Back Guarantee forces government to do the same thing. A coalition government will scrap Labor's hits to small business and rein in spending, because every dollar this government wastes is a dollar that pushes up prices, pushes up rates and comes out of the pockets of families like Belinda's. Australians have tightened their belts. It is time Labor tightened its own.

In rising today to speak to this motion, I'll start by voicing what is so often lost in the economic debate. Firstly, resources are finite; need and expectations are not. Secondly, there is also an opportunity cost to inaction. Good government requires difficult trade-offs—balancing budget discipline with the community's legitimate expectation that the government will deliver essential services and invest in the nation's future. Responsible government is not about top-down cutting and developing a list of things to go on the chopping block in an effort to meet a statistical figure. It's about making careful choices for now and the future—and that's what we're doing.

Australians rightly expect governments to help keep inflation under control. Australians also expect governments to fund health care, strengthen Medicare, provide dignified and quality care for older Australians, support housing, provide a social safety net, invest in defence, respond when communities need support and ensure that workers are paid fairly. I cite the example just given by the member for Grey of his constituent Belinda, who he said was earning as little as $5 an hour when she took fuel costs and childcare costs into consideration. I don't know what Belinda does, but I can say to Belinda: if you were an aged-care worker, disability support worker or early childhood worker under a coalition government, then you would have been earning even less, because they voted against pay rises for those working in the care economy. Belinda needs the support of child care so that she can go to work. I say to Belinda: under a coalition government, you would not have received superannuation on your paid parental leave. This underscores the complexity and the difficulties of governance and balancing the budget, the priorities of fiscal discipline and the needs of the Australian people responsibly.

The challenge is always recognising that every decision has an opportunity cost. Every dollar is a dollar that cannot be spent elsewhere. But, equally, every dollar not invested can carry consequences for Australians who rely on essential services or on the long-term strength of our economy. Haphazard and ill-considered cuts mean future-building initiatives get overlooked. Cutting spending on programs supporting health, research and development, education, the social safety net and the care economy mean the economic circumstances of Australians like Belinda, who are at a higher risk of falling behind, will worsen. This is not fair, and this lack of investment will leave future generations with a higher debt burden. When constituents talk to me about the costs of groceries, insurance and fuel, they understand that global events play a role. They also say that this does not absolve governments of responsibility—and, in this respect, that is right. This government has been very clear—and repeatedly clear—that it has a role to play in the fight against inflation.

We've been honest about the combination of factors that drive inflation and have been clear about what tools we have available to address it. What this means is that governments must act responsibly in the areas they can control, which includes the budget, which is what this government has done. It has done this at the same time as it remains one of only nine countries with a triple A sovereign credit rating from all three major ratings agencies, with lower gross debt than every major advanced economy. Despite the commentary, this is a genuinely powerful endorsement of this government's fiscal and economic agenda, because the sovereign triple A rating is not just a measure of whether a country is good for the money; it's a measure of how it is faring politically, economically and financially.

S&P highlighted Australia's 'strong institutional settings', 'sound fiscal metrics' and Australia's strategic success in building our fuel security. Fitch said:

Australia's 'AAA' rating is underpinned by the high quality of institutions, a wealthy and high value-added economy …

Moody's said:

Despite facing successive shocks in recent years, Australia's economy has maintained a relatively stable growth trajectory compared with other advanced economies … fiscal strength is further supported by substantial private retirement savings under superannuation funds.

Is inflation too high? Yes. Are we pulling the levers to reduce it? Yes. Does this government's agenda have a laser-sharp focus on the financial and economic building blocks we need to shore up our short- and long-term economic growth and economic prosperity? Yes—and it will continue to do so.

I rise to support this motion. Right now, Australia has an inflation problem, and there's a choice about how we deal with it. Either the Reserve Bank can lift interest rates on the one-third of Australians with a mortgage—they've already done that four times this year—and that one-third of Australians cuts out nights out and holidays—and they're now starting to cut out essentials—or the federal government can reduce its spending.

Right now, Jim Chalmers and the federal government spend one in four dollars in the economy. It's actually more than that. One in four dollars are spent by this government. At the same time this one-third of Australians with mortgages have had to wear four interest rate rises this year—16 in a row—and are cutting back their spending, Treasurer Chalmers and the federal government are actually increasing their spending. They spend one in four dollars already, and they're actually increasing that. That should get the goat of every mortgage holder in Australia, because it's not fair. While you are cutting out coffees, cutting out nights out and cutting out essentials, the federal government, in spite of that, continues to increase its spending. Last month, I asked the Reserve Bank governor about what a reduction in government spending would do to inflation and interest rates. While they ducked and weaved from the question in the committee hearing, they wrote to the committee recently and confirmed in black and white that a reduction in government spending would reduce inflationary pressures and would reduce the pressure on interest rates.

The previous member was talking about advanced economies. Let's talk about advanced economies. There are 43 of them in the world that the International Monetary Fund benchmarks. Of those 43 advanced economies, Australia is the only one to have four interest rate rises this year, and we're staring down the barrel of a fifth. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that, of those 43 advanced economies, we will have the highest increase in unemployment next year. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that, of those 43 advanced economies, we'll have the fifth-highest inflation next year. We've heard the Treasurer try and blame this on the war in Iran. Well, let's go back to prior to the war in Iran. If you go back to the last benchmark prior to the war in Iran, of those 43 advanced economies, Australia had the third-highest inflation of all of them in the world. Australia is a global outlier. We are a global pariah right now, economically.

What else is an outlier about this current economy and current government? Government spending. It is at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. Not only is it at a 40-year high; it's increasing. At the very time Australians and Australian families are cutting their budget, are cutting nights out and are forgoing things for their children and for their businesses, this treasurer continues to increase government spending. This morning, in the Sydney Morning Herald, we see that Jim Chalmers refuses to put a cap on record government spending. In spite of these facts, he continues to do it. Previously, this same treasurer declared the RBA higher interest rates were 'smashing the economy'. If the Treasurer believes these higher interest rates are smashing the economy, what is he doing to do his part? I call on the Treasurer and the Prime Minister to cut spending now. Let's try and head off a fifth interest rate rise this year.

I've met a woman in Sans Souci who was in tears, losing her house. I've seen business owners in tears, losing their businesses. We have the highest number of insolvencies on record. These are mums and dads losing their houses and their businesses, and this morning, in the press, tone-deaf to this, there was the Treasurer, refusing to put a cap on government spending. It's far beyond time this government fronted up and actually did what is right. Let's cut the federal budget, not family budgets.

Today, of all days, while that motion is being supported in the other chamber—I won't even say debated; supported—it feels a little bit different to come in and talk about a motion and oppose a motion. So I'd like to reflect a little bit on not only what it means to me to be a representative but also what it means to me to be an Australian.

I think something that the Deputy Prime Minister said in his contribution this morning was that it is incumbent on us to see the value in what the other side has to say, and that makes me think about when I'm talking to somebody whom I'm seeking to represent in Forde and we're having a discussion that I completely disagree with. I'll often say to them that there are 140,000 people in Forde and that means that there are 140,000 different right answers. I might disagree, but I don't think that anybody is necessarily right or wrong. If you were somehow able to synthesise all of those 140,000 different opinions, that is probably the most approximate thing that we could get to anything that resembles correctness.

I read this motion and I know that it does ultimately come from a good place. I know that the member for McPherson, with a good heart and a good spirit, is concerned about how tough people are doing it at the moment. Of course, he is not the only one who knows that. We are all aware of that. So today is not the day to come in boots and all and pick apart the motion from the member for McPherson. Even though I oppose it, I do recognise that he, like all of us, wants to make our country better.

I appreciate that that is a very long preamble to this motion that is essentially about economics, but it does talk about the things that I am determined to always bring up in this place for as long as I'm here. The reason we are here today is not because of the decisions made by government over the last three or four or even five years, really. This is about decisions that have been made by governments since the 1980s, when we latched onto this economic rationalist approach of allowing the private sector to do what are, essentially, public services. In housing, electricity and insurance, three areas that the member for McPherson nominates, we have seen an abrogation of the government's responsibility to do its job, which is to provide an efficient and economic level of services.

In housing, we used to have a level of public housing. South Australia had the best example. Somewhere around 40 per cent of every rental in South Australia was public housing. As the member for Makin would know, it was a policy that was brought in by the Liberal government of Thomas Playford and then backed by the Labor government of Don Dunstan. In the nineties something like 40 per cent of every rental was public housing, built around the car industry in many places. In Elizabeth, it was built to actually help the car industry by keeping the cost of labour down, because rents were low. It was actually built into the charter of the South Australian Housing Trust that it would aid in the economic development of the state.

I won't keep on at South Australia's expense; that was how it was done around the whole country. And so it was with ETSA, the Electricity Trust of South Australia. Built into that was the idea that you kept the cost of electricity down not only to help with the cost of living for workers but also to help with the cost of manufacturing for businesses. I will come back to my state. With insurance, we had something called the SGIO, the State Government Insurance Office. The hint was in the name: 'government'. By taking a collective approach to insurance, it could actually cover those costs for the community. That is the whole point of what insurance is supposed to be.

The member for McPherson's motion deserves consideration, but we are here today because of what this government has done. (Time expired)

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:30 to 16:15

Today I rise to celebrate the remarkable life of a little girl from Kew in my electorate of Lyne whose name will now be known to millions of travellers from around the world, Nancy Bird Walton. With the opening of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, named in her honour, Australia is recognising one of Australia's greatest aviation pioneers. Yet, for those of us on the Mid North Coast, Nancy's story holds unique and heartfelt significance because her remarkable journey began in the electorate of Lyne.

Nancy was born in the tiny Camden Haven community of Kew in 1915. It was at the Wingham Show, aged just 13, that young Nancy first took to the skies in an experience that kickstarted a dream, a dream which she pursued under the tutelage of the legendary Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. By age 19, Nancy had already made history as Australia's first female commercial pilot. Think about what that meant in the 1930s, when opportunities for women were so limited, particularly in a field like aviation. But Nancy wasn't content simply to break barriers. She went on to fly doctors, nurses and patients across remote parts of western New South Wales, earning the affectionate title Angel of the Outback. She channelled her passion and remarkable skills into serving others, and in doing so she inspired generations of women to follow her path into the skies.

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Camden Haven historical museum and its dedicated volunteers, who celebrated the airport's opening with a special exhibition at the Camden Haven Show on Saturday and Sunday, bringing Nancy's achievements home to the very community where her journey began. I thank everyone involved for ensuring future generations appreciate the extraordinary legacy this young local woman from Kew has given Australian aviation.

Nancy's story offers another powerful lesson I want to share with this parliament and the young people of Lyne. Sometimes young people growing up in country towns feel their horizons are narrower than those of their peers in the bustling capital cities. I don't believe that for a moment. Growing up in regional Australia is a gift, not a limitation—one I know well. Our communities instil in us resilience, a strong work ethic, independence and the deep value of caring for one another. Nancy Bird Walton stands as living proof that your beginnings do not define your destination. To every young person growing up across the electorate of Lyne, from the Hastings to the Hunter, my message is this: be proud of where you come from, have the courage to chase your dreams even when others insist they are out of reach and never be afraid to set your sights high. Nancy Bird Walton reached for the skies, and there is every reason to believe that the next generation of young people from the Lyne electorate can soar just as high.

One of the best things about representing Paterson is there's never a shortage of people who give you reason to burst with pride for our community. Whether it's a young local taking on the world, businesses making their mark on the world or volunteers quietly changing our world, we've got some terrific people right here in our backyard, and I want to recognise a few of them today.

First is Connor Beisler from Maitland. At just 21 years of age, Connor recently represented Australia at the WorldSkills competition as part of our Skillaroos team, competing against some of the best young tradespeople in the world, and he came seventh, bringing home a Medal of Excellence in baking. You could smell the croissants through the photographs that I saw. Good on you, Connor! Keep that dough rising, mate.

We've got some outstanding local businesses making their mark as well, and the Business Hunter Awards recently recognised Whiteley. They're medical and chemical manufacturers, and they were recognised for excellence in international business. This Australian owned company which I've visited many times is taking infection prevention and hygiene expertise to 35 markets around the world. It's a terrific example of the innovation happening right here, in Paterson.

Oakvale Wildlife Park took home the outstanding visitor experience award. Anyone who has taken the kids out there knows what a wonderful part of Port Stephens it is. I remember taking my youngest there just on 22 years ago, and the animals are even cuter now than they seemed back then. Stay a little longer and come back soon, as they say.

The Burton Automotive Group was recognised for its contribution to the region. It's a family owned business that has been part of our community since 1962. Norm Sr Burton and his family have supported local causes and events, including Ronald McDonald House and Hunter Valley Steamfest, for years. But, more importantly, they've been delivering reliable motor vehicles for all of us to travel across our great region. These businesses are doing more than keeping the doors open. They're creating jobs, they're supporting our regions and they're giving back to our community.

Finally, I want to recognise two people who remind us just how much our community relies on volunteers. Lisa Lodding took out the 2026 adult volunteer of the year award, and David Aselford took out the Hunter emergency volunteer of the year award. Lisa and David, you are fantastic. You two are making such wonderful contributions to our local community. Thank you for that.

It's no surprise to those of us on this side of the House that Labor has found yet another way to come after the money of hardworking Australians—this time with a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts. Labor would have Australians believe that these trusts are the preserve of the super wealthy, but at least 350,000 small businesses across Australia use discretionary trusts, and today I want to bring to the House the stories of some of those businesses in Barker. We're talking about farming families, tradies, small-business owners and retirees. They're people who've worked hard, taken risks and built something for their families. These aren't the super wealthy. These are hardworking Australians. They're the people who employ locals, support community organisations and keep regional economies moving.

Last week I met with the deeply concerned directors of an accountancy firm in Naracoorte. They were alarmed by the implication of Labor's tax grab and the impact it's going to have on their clients who are ordinary people who've done the right thing, sought professional advice and structured their affairs lawfully, only to find Labor is moving the tax goalposts. Let me share two examples. The first example is a retired farming couple that's living on leased income distributed through a family trust. Their taxable income is $90,000, with a current tax bill of about $8,000. Under the proposed minimum tax, their accountants estimate that their tax bill could rise to $27,000. That's an additional $19,000 in tax. These aren't wealthy jetsetters. They're ordinary Australians who've worked hard, saved and planned for retirement.

The second example is a plumber. He has put his family home on the line to establish a business while using a trust to manage risk and support his employees. His accountants are concerned the proposed changes could make it more financially attractive to close his business and work for someone else. 'And so what?' I can hear those opposite asking. I'm going to tell you what. That's a young apprentice losing the opportunity to learn a trade locally. That's a customer losing choice and competition. That's a local footy club losing a sponsor. And, if he has to leave town, that's two children lost from the local school. That's the ripple effect of a tax change conceived in Canberra but felt in rural communities, and I doubt those opposite gave that a second thought.

The Liberal Party has long argued that Labor doesn't understand small business. The Treasurer has never had to lie awake, as I have, wondering whether there's enough money in the bank to pay Thursday's wages. He's never had to put his family home on the line to back a business he believes in. And he's never had to choose between paying himself or paying an employee. That's the difference between making decisions about businesses and actually running one, and the costs don't stop with the tax bill. The Naracoorte accountants told me their clients could face thousands of dollars in fees to restructure their affairs. That's money diverted from equipment, apprenticeships and jobs. That's why the Liberals have committed to abolishing Labor's toxic trust tax.

'Bent but not broken', I think, is a description that describes all of us in this place after a week of unimaginable violence which saw not only the member for Indi run down while doing her job but also, to national attention, a drive-by shooting in the heart of my electorate, in Loganholme, on Saturday night which has left a 19-year-old woman fighting for her life in hospital and three young men injured but, as I understand it, in a stable condition. So the first thing I want to say is to that 19-year-old woman and to the family and friends of that young woman: I just hope you pull through—hope against hope. I believe that you can make this. And, when you come through this, I will want to be there to hear from you and to support you.

For everybody who was there that night, that trauma will last a long time. There is something in the paper I have here which I want to read out:

One witness said that the shooting happened right in front of his 10-year-old son.

"My son and his friends went for a walk and as they walked out the front it all happened,' he said.

"Could have been any of the kids. My son saw the man in front of him get shot."

"His words, he saw a glass get shot out of his hand and smash."

The people who witnessed what they saw on Saturday night are heroes, and they should know that coming forward for help is strength and they should know that that help is available. To all of the first responders who were there—to all of the people who, in fact, ran towards the bullets and helped those who are injured on the spot; to the first responders who showed up to help: thank you. To the police, who are doing their hardest to catch these criminals: thank you. I'm confident that they will and that the people who perpetrated this unimaginable crime will be brought to justice.

'Bent but not broken'—it's the human condition, the Australian condition, but also the condition of people in Logan, working-class people, who know adversity from inside and out. They will rise above this and will be stronger for this. And to them I say: We will get through this. The emotion right now is so high, and so tough to take, but we'll get through this, and we'll be better for it.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. Nearly 29,000 Australian men are diagnosed with it every year. Nearly 4,000 die from it.

Last week I met with Peter from Kooyong. He was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer two years ago. For men like Peter, a specialist nurse provides continuity, through diagnosis, successive treatments and, sometimes, end-of-life care.

On 31 August, the government announced that, from July 2027, Commonwealth funded prostate-cancer nurses would be moved into the McGrath Foundation's all-cancer nursing service. But the nurses and patients most affected by this were not consulted. I've heard from constituents and advocates in Kooyong who are deeply concerned about this announcement—men like Philip Endersbee from Kew. Through the Male Bag Foundation, Philip and his colleagues have raised more than $2 million for biopsy equipment for regional hospitals.

I wrote to the health minister about this issue in September, and he confirmed that $46.5 million in funding has been allotted over five years for the existing 60.5 full-time-equivalent positions. He stated that the foundation's telehealth nursing service will still be funded. But that funding currently ends in June 2027. Existing prostate cancer nurses will have the 'opportunity' to transition, according to the minister. But that is no guarantee.

As a doctor, I know best-practice care depends on more than a job title. It depends on training, on supervision, on standards and on expert colleagues. The minister says that dedicated support for men with prostate cancer will be maintained, but it's not clear at this point whether these positions will be ring-fenced or whether they're to be absorbed into a general cancer case load. So I ask the minister: Who's going to provide the disease-specific clinical leadership and mentoring that the Prostate Cancer Foundation has built over 15 years, much of it funded by the community? And how are we going to know whether patients are better off or worse off? The government says that it's going to monitor performance through its McGrath Foundation contract. I ask the government: will you make those results public? Coordinated integrated cancer care is a very worthy goal, but that does not require every service to be delivered by the same organisation, and it must not come at the expense of a proven and highly trained specialised workforce. I urge the minister to guarantee that prostate cancer nursing positions remain dedicated to prostate cancer, to publish clear performance measures for the new model and to secure the Prostate Cancer Foundation's telehealth nursing service beyond June 2027.

I rise to congratulate Ann and Brett Jurd from Hamilton, who are proving that you don't need a flash car or a serious attitude to make a big difference. Ann and Brett are hitting the road in a $1,500 Toyota Tarago named Gerri Hat-Trick as part of the Cancer Council's Mystery Box Rally. Their team name is Two Old Ducks, and, if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about this adventure, I'm not sure what will. They'll be joining a convoy of equally adventurous Australians travelling across the country in a rally where the destination is a mystery right until the very end. I suspect Gerri Hat-Trick might have a few stories to tell by the time they get there, if she makes it.

But underneath the laughs, the questionable vehicle choice and the brilliant team name is a very important cause. Ann and Brett are raising money for cancer research and helping support Australians and families affected by cancer. So I want to wish the Two Old Ducks and Gerri Hat-Trick the very best of luck. May the roads be kind, the wheels keep turning and the fundraising be as impressive as the adventure. Newcastle will be cheering you on.

I want to congratulate the Newcastle Yowies women on their outstanding victory in the Koori Knockout. The Yowies have done Newcastle proud, defeating the Redfern All Blacks 14 to six to secure back-to-back women's titles. A special mention must go to Grace Langdon, whose two tries helped seal the win, and to the entire team for their determination, skill and teamwork.

The Koori Knockout is about so much more than football. It brings families and communities together, celebrates culture and connection, and showcases the incredible talent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This year, thousands travelled to Worimi country in your electorate, Deputy Speaker Swanson, at Raymond Terrace to be part of this fantastic event hosted in our region by the Newcastle Yowies. It was fantastic to see the Yowies rise to the occasion and deliver such a memorable result in front of their community. This win is something every Novocastrian can celebrate. The team's success is also a wonderful reflection of the strength of women's rugby league in our region and the next generation of young players, who can look up to these women as role models both on and off the field. To the players, coaches, volunteers and supporters: congratulations on a tremendous achievement. You've made Newcastle proud, and I know that I express the voices of all Novocastrians when I say we're all looking forward to seeing you do next season.

Small business is the backbone of my electorate of O'Connor. Whether it's a family run shop, a tourism operator, a tradie, a farmer or a regional manufacturer, small businesses create jobs, support local communities and drive economic growth.

Last week, I hosted Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the shadow minister for small business, skills and training, on a listening tour of O'Connor. Together, we met with over 500 constituents, hearing directly from those working hard every day to keep their regional businesses operating under increasingly challenging circumstances. In Manjimup, we visited the Avocado Collective, a $20 million grower led investment which has embraced automation but continues to rely heavily on PALM workers and those on working holiday visas. At a Southern Forests business forum, we heard about the impact of industrial relations changes like same job, same pay, which pits school leavers against older, experienced workers. In Albany, we visited Himac, a successful local manufacturer employing more than 60 workers, including seven apprentices. Himac produces world-class machinery attachments, competing successfully against cheap imports, but faces mounting regulatory pressures and rising operating costs. At an Esperance small business roundtable, local veterinarian Dr David Swan spoke of the burden red tape increasingly places on businesses like his, which employs over 35 people. We visited award-winning Esperance Pink Lake Butchers, who, in the face of escalating merchant fee cost burdens, are encouraging and embracing cash shoppers. In the Goldfields, businesses told us that, despite fee-free TAFE courses, employers need practical support and incentives to take on apprentices. We also met with the Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber, which represents almost 120 Indigenous businesses across the region. The message was abundantly clear: even well-run businesses are finding it harder to survive, let alone thrive. Nationally, more than 11,000 companies became insolvent during the 2023-24 financial year, and recent industry surveys suggest that almost half of Australia's 2.5 million small businesses are not breaking even. Senator Nampijinpa Price reported that around 30 small businesses are closing every day.

These are deeply concerning statistics, and that's why the coalition has a clear plan to back small business, not break it. A re-elected coalition government will support investment through a $50,000 instant asset write-off. We will cut red tape, reduce unnecessary compliance costs, simplify regulations and ensure that the impact on small business is considered before new rules are imposed. That's the exact opposite of this tone-deaf Labor government, who have delivered destructive policies without consultation. For regional communities like mine, we will address workforce shortages, support skilled migration, strengthen apprenticeship pathways and ensure businesses have the infrastructure and services they need. The small businesses of O'Connor are not asking for special treatment; they're just asking for a fair go.

Right across my electorate of Sturt, year 12 students at the many public and private high schools and colleges are knuckling down on study leave in preparation for their final exams, which begin on 2 November this year. To all year 12 in Sturt, I congratulate all of you from the bottom of my heart and wish you the very best of luck for the next chapter. Year 12 exam time means year 12 graduation ceremonies are upon us, and it was with great pleasure that last week I was able to participate in ceremonies at Kildare College and Charles Campbell College, where I had the honour of presenting the Sturt Student Leader Award to two outstanding year 12 students.

At Kildare College, the award went to Tiana Filomena, an exceptional young woman who has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership, initiative and a genuine commitment to serving others throughout her entire time at Kildare College. As a respected leader within the year 12 cohort, she embodies the Kildare core values through her integrity, compassion and commitment to making a positive difference within the college community. Tiana made a significant contribution to college life through her active involvement in service initiatives, college events and co-curricular opportunities. She consistently approaches others with kindness, inclusivity and respect and has a genuine desire to ensure others feel heard, valued and included. Her exemplary personal conduct and willingness to support and encourage those around her have earned her the respect of both her peers and staff. Tiana is a wonderful, upbeat role model who represents Kildare with pride and integrity and who has made a meaningful contribution to the lives of others within her community. Congratulations, Tiana.

At Charles Campbell College, another exceptional young woman was recognised. Throughout her schooling, award winner Casey Taylor has actively sought opportunities to lead and support others, serving as wellbeing prefect, house prefect and deputy prefect. Across these roles, she has demonstrated a willingness to take responsibility, represent her peers and contribute positively to school life. Her leadership is characterised by reliability, maturity and a readiness to become involved every time she can make a difference. Casey's commitment to service extends beyond the college, through her involvement with the Australian Army Cadets, where she has been recognised with the Rising Sun Award. This achievement reflects the qualities of service, teamwork, resilience and personal responsibility that Casey consistently demonstrates. In year 12, Casey has also shown impressive organisation and determination, balancing her studies with her Diamond Sports Academy softball program at Seaton High School. Congratulations, Casey. It is so heartening to see the young women in the Sturt community dominate by demonstrating leadership, strength and a commitment to serving others.

In my community of Casey, volunteers play a crucial role. In so many ways they are the best of the best that hold our communities together. They volunteer their time and they sacrifice time away from their loved ones to make sure that their community organisations can continue to be strong. Whether it's local footy clubs, netball clubs, CFAs or Probus, there are so many groups giving back so much. They don't ask for much. Every now and then you'll give them a award or a thank you and they say: 'No, no, I don't need it. I'm just like everyone else.' But our volunteers are special. And when we can give them a little bit, just a few dollars to help with their clubs, it goes so far. That's why I was really proud to be able to reward 41 community organisations in my community through the volunteer grants to make sure that we could make a difference for them.

I was with the Ferny Creek Scout Group on Sunday for their 70th birthday anniversary. It was great to talk to them and to celebrate with those scouts. I will give a shout-out to the member for La Trobe, Jason Wood, who was a Queen's scout back in—I'm going to embarrass him—1986. He couldn't make it. He sent a wonderful letter and it's an example of how much scouts helped young people. At that celebration I was talking to the Upwey Scouts about how the volunteer grant helped them fund a trailer so their young scouts and cubs and joeys can go off and have adventures.

I was at the 50th anniversary of Probus on Saturday morning. Thanks to Helen Holliday for putting together such a great celebration of Probus. It's a volunteer-led organisation where people give their time to make sure we can have social connection for older Australians that have retired. If there's anything we've learned over the last five or six years—and, in particular, the last week—is to understand the importance of social connection. Probus do that, and Helen and so many other volunteers make sure the Probus clubs of my community are so strong.

I was at the U3A Yarra Ranges AGM last week. That club has gone from strength to strength. They are also a recipient of a grant. Two years ago they had about 300 members and last year about 460. They've hit 497—couldn't quite get to 500, but I know they'll get to 500 into the future because they are providing an opportunity for older Australians to be active and to keep their minds active. As they said on the day, if you don't use it, you will lose it, and U3A are going from strength to strength off the backs of volunteers.

So many organisations in my community are led by people who give up their time for no other reason than they know that strong community organisations lead to strong communities. I thank them all for their time. It is so important that we recognise them, and I seek leave to table a list of the 41 community groups that are recipients of the volunteer grants.

Leave granted.

I'm really proud to stand here today to inform the House that last week our government announced just under $10 million will go towards three projects in my electorate to help against flood mitigation through round 4 of the disaster recovery funding. I have championed these projects since local communities approached me, councils approached me and the health service approached me to say we need to do more to protect our communities, our businesses, our health facilities and our sporting infrastructure from the possibility of future flood events.

I was proud to stand in Epsom and announce $6 million from our government will go towards the Racecourse Creek flood levee project, a network of levees on Racecourse Creek in Epsom that will contain one per cent of the AEP flood flows, preventing overflowing of the banks caused by the limited channel capacity and railway constraints. The good news about this project is it will protect more than 500 homes and 60 businesses, improve emergency access, and ensure that these areas have peace of mind if and when the next flood event happens.

I'm also really proud to stand here today to say that announced on that day was that $1.7 million of federal government disaster ready funding will go towards the Rochester hospital levee project. All in this place and throughout Australia remember the devastation that the October 2022 floods did to the community of Rochester, including flooding the hospital. The hospital was closed for two years and had to be rebuilt, costing just under $40 million. It's the second time it's flooded in as many years. That's why I'm pleased to stand here today to say that we have supported their proposal to build a levee around the hospital. Part of the design will allow the community to plant gardens to make sure that it isn't like a giant wall around the hospital. I made the announcement with the Rochester and Elmore District Health Service team alongside their CEO, Mary, and I want to recognise Mary for her advocacy and the consistent way in which she engaged on this project.

These two projects, plus the other that we'll announce in the community next week, are a demonstration that our government really understands the impact of natural disaster and that we work with communities long after the disaster recovery process has ended. We're committed to doing the build back better piece. Our government is acting to protect infrastructure like we have seen in Rochester and in Epsom.

In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier this sitting, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) Australians continue to face significant cost of living pressures, with high fuel prices increasing expenses for households, businesses, transport operators and community groups;

(b) people living in regional, rural and remote communities are disproportionately affected by high fuel prices because of limited or non-existent public transport options and long distances to travel to access work, education, health care and essential services; and

(c) diesel prices remain particularly high, increasing freight and transport costs that flow through to the price of goods and services, placing additional pressure on family budgets and regional economies;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) the current fuel excise on petrol and diesel is 53.7 cents per litre;

(b) national average fuel prices remain elevated, with diesel prices substantially higher than unleaded petrol prices;

(c) higher fuel prices increase goods and services tax (GST) revenue collected by the Commonwealth, as GST is applied to the final retail price of fuel, including the fuel excise component;

(d) previous temporary reductions in fuel excise have demonstrated that the Commonwealth has the capacity to provide immediate relief to motorists and businesses during periods of exceptional fuel price increases; and

(e) while fuel tax credits provide relief for eligible off-road fuel use, many regional households, small businesses, transport operators and community organisations receive no equivalent support for their on-road fuel costs; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) reduce the fuel excise on petrol and diesel by 50 per cent for a minimum period of three months;

(b) ensure the full benefit of the excise reduction is passed on to consumers;

(c) monitor the impacts of the reduction on households, small business and regional communities; and

(d) continue pursuing long-term measures to improve Australia's fuel security and resilience.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Australians are under enormous cost-of-living pressure. People are being forced to choose between spending money on their health and their mortgage or rent payments, between their power bill and putting food on the table. Every time they fill up their car, it is costing a small fortune. In my electorate, I just checked the price. As of today, it's $2.89 a litre for diesel. Out of that, 53.7 cents goes direct to the government in excise and then 26 cents for GST. It could be argued that the government's really having a bit of a windfall from the high price of fuel. Families are paying more, small businesses are paying more and transport operators are paying more.

In regional Australia, the impact is huge. We can't just get on a train or a bus. They can't fix everything for us, and when we think of fuel prices it affects every single thing we touch, particularly food. High diesel prices mean higher freight costs, and higher freight costs directly impact the cost of groceries. When we think about the journey of food from the farm gate to our kitchen tables, it's grown on farms. From the very beginning of preparation of soil, it requires diesel. It's transported on trucks that require diesel. It's processed, stored and delivered to supermarkets—again, more diesel. I'm told by experts that the cost of food in Australia is about to rise significantly because of the cost of fuel.

My motion has a very clear ask for government. The government did a temporary halving of the fuel excise for a period when the Iran war first began. Petrol prices have not reduced at all. Diesel prices have not reduced, but the relief that the government provided from the excise costs went away. I would urge the government to bring it back because we are dealing with an inflationary challenge in Australia. We are dealing with massive costs of every single aspect of life. Life is hard. Life is so hard in regional Australia at the moment. People are going: 'Can I afford to drive to church? Can I afford to drive the kids to school?' Everything is so, so difficult for families.

We just don't have the luxury of a bus. We don't have the luxury of a train. We rely on our cars. We have to fill them up to use them. I would urge the government: if you genuinely care about the needs of regional Australia, if you want to see the relief happen across the board in Australia—it's not just us, but I think we feel it most keenly, and, Deputy Speaker, I know that you represent a regional community and you too have these challenges—then we have to reduce the fuel excise in this nation. We absolutely have to. At the moment, I believe regional Australia is being left with the full burden of the high fuel prices, and this is a very practical and simple way we can help. Halving the fuel excise would provide immediate relief at the bowser and help ease the pressure flowing through the economy.

This is something we could do that could very much address inflation, and that, in turn, would hopefully provide some easing. We know that the Commonwealth Bank—sorry, the Reserve Bank—is meeting again just next week, I think. It's always around Melbourne Cup Day. It's that day when everyone with a mortgage holds their breath. I feel that we just are not doing enough in this place to make life easier for Australians. Australians tell me all the time that this is the hardest they have ever known life to be in their adult life. We can do much more. This is a very simple, measured way to do that.

I rise to speak to this important motion brought by the member for Mayo. Australia's fuel security is at the top of this government's agenda, and that is why there is more fuel in this country now than there was prior to the commencement of the conflict in Iran. Following the commencement of the war in February this year, this government acted immediately to arm Australians against the worst possible consequences, which are fuel rationing or no fuel. Our defence forces, emergency services, farmers and other stakeholders in the food security supply chain need to have access to the quantity of fuel and diesel that they need. This is a no-brainer.

As early as March 2026, some commentators were saying that fuel rationing was inevitable and that the government had not done enough. Now the war continues, and no-one is able to say when it might end, how it might change or how we might need to adapt, but one guarantee that can be given is that this government's work in building relationships with our regional partners has meant our fuel supply is secure. The government was able to draw on these meaningful partnerships to secure additional fuel and fertiliser supplies for the Australian people in the midst of one of the most serious energy crises the world has ever seen. We would not have been at the front of the queue without having first done the work to build those relationships, which included exploring and crystallising what is mutually beneficial from a gain-of-trade perspective. The time to build relationships is not when a crisis arises; the right time is all times, which is the approach this government has taken and which has been successful.

The government's work with the EFA, legally constituted as the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation and Australia's export credit agency, has also played a critical role in fuel security. For example, in May 2026, approximately 100 million litres of additional diesel was secured for Australians, with shipments coming from Brunei and South Korea taking the form of the first of the expected shipments of fuel secured under the government's strategic reserve powers, which saw Export Finance Australia partnering with Viva Energy to facilitate this purchase. Export Finance Australia has also reached commercial terms with Ampol and Park Fuels, supporting them to purchase additional fuel needed to address regional shortages and critical supply gaps and helping to acquire additional supply valuable for Australia's fuel security where it would be cost prohibitive for private suppliers to source on commercial terms without government support.

What was also lost in the noise surrounding the tax changes in the federal budget was the sharp focus on fuel security that was outlined. The historic $15 billion fuel security package included $7½ billion for the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility to help suppliers secure additional fuel shipments for Australia, $3.2 billion for the government controlled Australian Fuel Security Reserve and $2.9 billion in temporary relief from petrol prices. The fuel excise reduction took the pressure off consumers when the war commenced, but it was never meant to be permanent, with other cost-of-living measures being implemented to take the pressure off families.

Fuel price monitoring also plays an important cost-of-living role, with almost $70 million extra provided in the budget to strengthen the ACCC's enforcement activities, which include the power to issue penalties of up to $100 million for serious misconduct and cartel behaviour—up from $50 million. The ACCC has announced an investigation into the major fuel companies for alleged market misconduct and is now investigating claims of misleading fuel surcharges in regional areas. This is important because, in a war with no end in sight, effective deterrence measures and effective consequences must be in place to limit the number of entities seeking to take advantage of the Australian consumer, our emergency services and our farmers.

I have a quick note on the suggestion of a windfall because of high prices. High prices are not a windfall for the government. The fuel excise is a flat tax calculated by multiplying the current excise duty rate for a specific fuel type against the total volume of fuel in litres. Now, as we move towards electric vehicles, which this government wholly supports, the amount of the excise is set to fall even further. The government's focus on fuel security is part of our widespread initiative to strengthen energy security and ensure not only that working Australians and businesses have access to fuel but that critical industries can continue to operate and do the important work that they do to serve our country.

Since my election in 2022, I have been calling for a reduction in fuel excise as a practical cost-of-living measure. The government did listen and did reduce that excise in May this year, but that lasted for three months and, as we know, it ended in August. But I'll continue to press the government on this issue. I stand here today to second the member for Mayo's motion, because Australians still need ongoing relief. My constituents rely on their cars to get to and from work, take their children to school, get their groceries or take their loved ones to see a doctor. This motion rightly recognises the pressures on regional and rural Australia, and I acknowledge and empathise with the challenges being felt across these communities. These challenges and fuel dependence are shared in outer suburban communities like Fowler.

Fuel prices show no signs of falling. The cost of Middle East crude is currently US$118 a barrel, which is about A$168. No matter how the conflicts in that turbulent region unfold, energy experts aren't optimistic there'll be relief anytime soon. Today, local bowser prices have E10 at around 236c a litre, premium unleaded 98 at 260.9c and premium diesel at around 290.9c. That means putting about 50 litres of E10 in a car costs more than $118. I have done a vox pop in my community. Those who are driving on diesel have seen their diesel double in price, and for other cars, fuel has gone up by about 30 per cent.

Many households in Fowler need more than two cars to manage different shifts, school drop-offs and family responsibilities. There is an increasing use of electric vehicles, as we've all heard, but the majority of people in Fowler and, I have no doubt, in regional areas still rely very much on diesel and on leaded and unleaded petrol. When fuel prices rise, people still must get to work, get up in the morning, drive their trucks, take their kids to school and take their elderly parents to medical appointments. Fuel isn't optional; it's essential. When rent, electricity, insurance and groceries all have to be paid, there is only so much a family can cut back. Where are families supposed to find that extra money.

Our small businesses face the same squeeze. A trader needs to get to the next job. A delivery driver needs to keep moving. In Fowler, many businesses rack up huge bills as their vehicles crisscross Sydney on a daily basis. Last week, my office held our inaugural Fowler Small Business Forum. Businesses told us loud and clear that they are hurting. From high fuel prices and credit card charges to changes on trusts—not to mention the cost of operations and the running costs of doing business in this day and age—costs are piling up. These high running costs, of course, will eventually flow through to consumers in higher prices for the goods and services we buy. This is why fuel excise relief matters.

This motion calls for the government to halve the excise on petrol and diesel for at least six months and ensure the full benefit reaches consumers. Families must see that saving at the bowser. It must not be swallowed up by high margins along the way. Many families and small businesses will need that relief all the more as we move into what is likely to be a scorching summer. They'll need that relief as they consume more fuel running vehicles and air conditioning as they contemplate or decide against holiday travel, as they face crippling energy bills to keep their homes cool—for those who can afford to turn their air conditioning on. We are aware that some people just can't afford to.

We also need a long-term plan to strengthen Australia's fuel security, but that work should happen alongside immediate relief, not instead of it. People in Fowler are working very hard, paying their taxes and doing their best to support their families. They deserve a government that understands what another increase at the bowser means for their weekly budget and takes practical action to help. I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this motion forward, and I commend it to the House.

For families, workers, small businesses and community organisations across the Bellarine, Surf Coast and Geelong, fuel is a necessity. In an electorate like Corangamite, people depend on their cars to get to work, take their kids to school and access essential services. When fuel prices rise, the effects can reach well beyond the bowser, adding to freight costs and flowing through to the price of everyday goods and services.

I know people who are feeling the pressure. I hear it from locals right across my electorate, and our government is taking action to address it. Since the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz began disrupting global fuel markets, the Albanese government has worked to protect Australians from the worst of the crisis. Our recent budget delivered a historic $15 billion fuel security package. That includes $7.5 billion through the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility to help suppliers secure additional fuel shipments, $3.2 billion for a government controlled Australian fuel security reserve and $2.9 billion in temporary petrol price relief. These investments are strengthening our fuel security, and there is now much more fuel on shore in Australia than when this conflict began.

We are also working to ensure motorists pay a fair price at the bowser. The Treasurer has directed the ACCC to increase its monitoring of fuel prices, and new legislation has doubled the maximum penalty for serious breaches of competition and consumer laws to $100 million. We've committed a further $67.7 million to strengthen the ACCC's enforcement work. The regulator is monitoring fuel pricing and investigating alleged misconduct. Our message is clear: Australian consumers must be protected, and businesses that break the law must face the consequences. We are also improving access to fuel stockpiles, increasing transparency around fuel supplies and requiring shortages of critical products, including diesel, exhaust fluid and technical-grade urea to be reported.

We know fuel prices remain a concern, particularly as the four-month fuel excise reduction comes to an end. That reduction provides temporary relief when prices surged following the conflict in the Middle East. It was designed as a temporary measure, and our broader cost-of-living support continues. This financial year, the Albanese government is delivering $17 billion in cost-of-living relief. That includes $3 billion in fuel excise relief, $2.6 billion in energy bill relief, more than $2 billion in tax cuts and more than $2 billion in increased payments, including support for pensioners. We are also funding pay rises for early childhood educators and aged-care workers, and we're investing a further $5 billion in health. That means supporting services, such as the Medicare urgent care clinic in Torquay and helping Australians access the medicines they need through $25 PBS prescriptions. Our government is also backing higher wages, taking action on supermarket price gouging and working towards a fairer housing market. For eligible small businesses across Corangamite, making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent from next year will provide greater certainty when planning investments and purchasing equipment. That's practical support for local businesses, their employees and the communities they serve.

Global fuel markets remain uncertain, and international events continue to affect prices around the world. Our focus is on the things we can do: securing Australia's fuel supplies, protecting consumers from illegal conduct and delivering meaningful cost-of-living relief. As the member for Corangamite, I will keep listening to local families, workers and businesses and keep advocating for the support our community needs. The Albanese government is taking action to strengthen fuel security and ease cost-of-living pressures, and we will continue that work.

The time allocated for this debate has expired. 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 this House:

(1) notes that National Skin Cancer Action Week will be held from Sunday 15 to Sunday 22 November 2026;

(2) recognises that:

(a) Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with two in three Australians diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime;

(b) more than 17,000 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma each year; and

(c) prevention and early detection remain critical to reducing the impact of skin cancer;

(3) acknowledges the Government's investment in preventing, detecting and treating skin cancer, including:

(a) $15 million for national skin cancer prevention campaigns targeting Australians at greater risk;

(b) $10.3 million to accelerate development of a national targeted skin cancer screening roadmap; and

(c) investment in medical research and new technologies to improve skin cancer detection and treatment;

(4) further recognises the contribution of Australian researchers, health professionals and advocates working to reduce the impact of skin cancer; and

(5) encourages all Australians to use National Skin Cancer Action Week as an opportunity to take action to protect their skin and understand the importance of early detection.

I was 27 years old when I received a phone call that changed my life. I was on my lunch break in the city in Brisbane, and my dermatologist's phone number popped up on my phone. I'd been having regular skin checks since I was about 16 years of age, but this time it was different. A suspicious mole that had been removed had been detected as a melanoma. In the years that followed, I'd be diagnosed with two more melanomas in different locations—three melanomas in total—before I turned 30. I grew up in Yeppoon in Central Queensland, and my childhood was spent outdoors, sailing and enjoying the Queensland sunshine, without thinking too much about the damage that it could cause. At that age, skin cancer can feel like something that happens to someone much older, but melanoma does not discriminate by age, and I know firsthand how quickly your life can change when you hear that diagnosis.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. More than 17,000 Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer each and every year. In Queensland, we have the highest rates of melanoma in the country. In my community of Bonner, the risk feels particularly close to home. The Australian Cancer Atlas has identified melanoma rates in Manly, Lota and neighbouring Birkdale as more than 90 per cent above the national average. These are the communities where we all spend our weekends. We are out on the bay or on the foreshore, enjoying the sunshine, and we should be able to enjoy that lifestyle, but we do need to be conscious of the risks.

My experience taught me many things, particularly that early detection matters and also that the importance of research in our country is absolutely critical. I am incredibly grateful to have started my skin checks when I was only 16 years of age, but I know that my story could have been very different if I had started much later. Not everyone knows their risks, knows what changes to look for or can easily access the care they need, particularly if they live in rural and regional parts of our country. That is exactly why the Albanese Labor government is investing in prevention and better evidence for early detection. In 2024, the government provided $10.3 million to develop a National Targeted Melanoma Screening Program roadmap, led by the Melanoma Institute Australia. This work will help fill important evidence gaps and guide future decisions about a targeted screening program. Recommendations are due in 2028. We are also investing $15 million over two years in national skin cancer prevention campaigns with Cancer Council Australia.

I want to talk very quickly about the important work of Cancer Council Queensland. I can't speak more highly of their professionalism, their service and the support that they provide. When I was first diagnosed, they provided me with a number of counselling sessions, and it was incredibly important for my mental health and for my recovery. I was also really pleased, in recent years, to launch their book, When Mitzy the Foggle Got Cancer, which is a children's book helping support parents who have experienced cancer diagnoses and need to explain that diagnosis to their children. Even in recent years, reading that book to my own children has helped them understand my journey and also understand my scars and what that means for them with their own skin and in their own future.

There is also a reason for extraordinary hope in the work being done by Australian researchers. Last week, Professor Georgina Long AO announced results from a world-leading phase 3 trial of personalised melanoma vaccine. For people with high-risk melanoma whose tumours have been removed, adding the vaccine to immunotherapy reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42 per cent compared with immunotherapy alone. This is a major research milestone. I want to acknowledge Professor Long and the late Professor Richard Scolyer AO. Their work helped transform melanoma treatment and has brought hope to people facing this disease around the world.

I myself have participated in a number of clinical trials. They help to promote discoveries and turn that evidence into better treatments, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for patients. That is why sustained investment in clinical research matters. I'm incredibly proud of our government for ensuring that the money is being invested into these long-term treatment and vaccine options for patients moving forward. I commend this motion to the House.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

As we approach the end of the year, this is a timely motion to be discussing here in the Federation Chamber. From Burleigh Heads to Palm Beach, Currumbin, Tugun, Kirra and Coolangatta, our beaches on the southern Gold Coast are central to who we are. They attract visitors from across Australia and around the world. We all know on the southern Gold Coast that we have something special, because our beautiful weather and our outdoor lifestyle are among our greatest assets, but they do also come with the responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the dangers of excessive UV exposure.

This is an acute issue in my electorate. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Coolangatta statistical area recorded Australia's highest age-standardised melanoma incidence rate in 2017 to 2021 at 121.4 cases per 100,000 people. Broadbeach to Burleigh was second at 116.4 cases. These are broader statistical areas not simply the individual suburbs, but they show us why skin cancer awareness is not simply a national health issue but a very real concern for families across the Gold Coast. As a country, we have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with two in three Australians expected to be diagnosed with skin cancer during their lifetime. Cancer Australia's estimates for 2025 include 17,443 new melanoma diagnoses and 1,455 deaths from the disease. Importantly, behind each and every one of those statistics is an individual, a family and a community.

I'd like to particularly take this opportunity to acknowledge our surf life saving clubs and volunteers, who spend countless hours on our beaches, keeping locals and visitors safe. Whether it's a young nipper starting out at Palm Beach, a volunteer surf lifesaver spending their weekend on patrol at Currumbin or a family enjoying an afternoon at Burleigh Heads, protecting ourselves from the sun should become second nature. From our nippers through to our dedicated volunteers who patrol our beaches, Surf Life Saving provides an opportunity to instil sun safe habits from a young age, and I thank all those involved in doing so. Childhood sunburn can approximately double the risk of developing melanoma later in life, so it's those habits that we teach our children when they're young that can protect them for decades to come.

This year marks 45 years of the campaign Slip, Slop, Slap. I think we all grew up with that campaign, and it did its part in getting the message of being sun smart out to our Australian community. The message has since evolved into five simple steps: slip on protective clothing, slop on SPF 50-plus sunscreen, slap on a broad brimmed hat, seek shade and slide on sunglasses. Sun protection is not only important at the beach, though; it's equally relevant to our tradies, landscapers, outdoor workers, sporting clubs and everyone who spends extended periods outdoors because we know that UV radiation cannot be seen or felt. Even on cooler or cloudy days, Australians should check the UV index and use sun protection when it reaches three or above. Protection is our first line of defence, but early detection is equally important, and Australians should get to know their skin and seek medical advice when they notice new or changing spots, moles or unusual lesions. We should also recognise Australia's world-leading researchers, medical professionals and cancer advocates, whose work has transformed the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma.

When people or governments in this place do something good, we should acknowledge that, so today I acknowledge the Commonwealth's $15 million investment in national skin cancer prevention campaigns and their $10.3 million commitment to accelerate development of a targeted screening road map, because improving prevention, early detection and treatment is an objective that must enjoy the support of all sides of this House. National Skin Cancer Action Week is a timely reminder for Australians to make sun protection part of their everyday routine. For those of us fortunate enough to call the southern Gold Coast home, enjoying the outdoors is part of our way of life. Protecting ourselves from the sun is how we make sure we can continue enjoying that lifestyle for years to come.

In my immediate family, five out of six of us have had suspicious spots or skin lesions removed. Thankfully, not every suspicious spot turns out to be cancer, but, when almost everyone around your family table has experienced that worry, it brings home just how common this is. In Tasmania, it's particularly concerning. We have one of the highest melanoma rates in the country, second only to Queensland. It's easy for us to think that our cooler climate somehow protects us, but anyone who's spent a summer in Tasmania knows you can be wearing a jumper and yet still get sunburnt. You don't have to feel hot for the sun to be doing damage.

As National Skin Cancer Action Week approaches from 15 to 22 November, I ask Australians, particularly Tasmanians, to do two things. First, protect your skin before the damage is done. In northern Tasmania, so much of our life happens outdoors—working on a farm in the north-east, taking the kids to Bridport for the day, gardening or cheering on the kids from the sidelines at a weekend sporting event. We love these things about where we live. We're so privileged to live where we do, and we should be able to enjoy the outside safely.

As a former teacher, I know how much effort schools put into sun safety and how very trying it can be to make kids wear hats. We remind them constantly: 'Put your hat on. Put your hat on. Put on sunscreen. Make sure you find shade.' But somewhere along the way we become adults who often forget this very critical advice. For our farmers, tradies, council crews or anyone working outdoors, protecting your skin should be as ordinary a part of a day as putting on your work boots. I acknowledge the Cancer Council and the incredible work they do. Part of that work is recommending all five forms of sun protection when the UV index reaches 3 or above: slip on protective clothing, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade and slide on sunglasses. And please check the UV and not the temperature. I don't know many people who are doing that yet in Tasmania, but that's something we're going to be working on.

My second request is to get to know your skin and please don't put off getting any sort of skin changes checked quickly. Two in three Australians will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. Behind that statistic are people waiting for test results and feeling enormous relief when a spot might be harmless or facing the very frightening news when it's not. It's really easy to think, 'I'll get around to having that checked.' Life's busy, and a small mark might not seem urgent. I suspect a lot of us here, who are very busy, possibly put off doing that ourselves. But this is my call to action for myself and for others. If a spot appears or changes in size, shape or colour, please try and book an appointment. It could be a GP or it could be a specialist if you can get into one. I know that is particularly hard in Tasmania right now. If you've had skin cancer before or you think you might be at higher risk, ask your doctor how often you should have that professional check done. Put it in your calendar. Prebook it. For some people, it might mean every six to 12 months. That early detection can make a real difference.

The Albanese government is investing $15 million into national prevention campaigns, supporting Cancer Council Australia's great work. We're supporting that work towards a targeted melanoma screening road map and funding cancer nursing and navigation services to help patients find the care and support that they desperately need when times get most tough.

I thank Cancer Council Tasmania for the incredible work that they do. It has been a privilege to join their five-kay run. It's been a privilege to join Relay For Life. The work that they do, the work that their volunteers do, is phenomenal, and it does change lives. Thank you to the doctors and nurses, the researchers, the community orgs that are standing beside families from diagnosis and right through treatment. None of us needs to wait for this campaign to actually take action, though. So please make sun protection part of your routine. Take a few minutes to check your skin regularly or, like I'm going to do, make that appointment that you have been putting off. The hope is simple: we want more summers, more birthdays, and more ordinary days with those people that we love.

I do appreciate the opportunity to speak on such an important health issue in regional Western Australia—one that is far bigger than politics. Next month, from 15 to 22 November, National Skin Cancer Action Week will be held, offering all of us the chance to get checked for melanoma and acknowledge the serious work and research being done by Australian doctors and researchers. Sadly, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. It is estimated that more than 17,000 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma each year. Of that, over 1,450 cases are diagnosed in Western Australia, making skin cancer our most common cancer. It is further estimated that one in 17 Australians will be diagnosed by the time they are 85 years of age.

As regional Western Australians we are blessed with beautiful weather just about all year round. The western Pilbara is the sunniest region in Australia, exceeding 10 hours of sunshine daily, and the Mid West is close behind. As much as we all love the sun and love the weather that comes with living in many parts of regional Western Australia, these conditions come with serious risks to our skin and increase the real threat of skin cancer. The sun's harmful UV rays do not discriminate, either. While males tend to have higher rates of melanoma, 50 out of 100,000 females will be diagnosed with melanoma this year.

We've all grown up with that simple message: slip, slop slap. What a great advertising campaign. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a wide-brimmed hat. It is that simple. Even just a few minutes in the sun can cause significant damage. Alongside preventing our exposure to UV rays, early detection remains critical in reducing the impact of skin cancer. It is important to get to know your skin and what is normal for you. Develop a regular habit of checking your skin for new spots and changes to existing freckles or moles. This includes areas that are not exposed to the sun, such as the soles of your feet, between your fingers and toes, and under your nails. The easiest way to detect melanoma is by remembering ABCDE. A is for asymmetry, B is for border, C is for colour, D is for diameter and E is for evolving. Quite frankly, early detection saves lives.

I want to especially acknowledge the work of our Australian researchers. Just last Friday on the ABC's 7.30, we saw further evidence of the hard work they are doing. They are really cutting through in this space. The results from an Australian led phase 3 human trial of a cancer vaccine has revealed a 42 per cent reduction in the risk of melanoma reoccurrence. Led by Professor Georgina Long, this is a significant development in the fight against what has been described as Australia's cancer. Sadly, this vaccine was far too late for my late husband, Colyn, who died from melanoma over 20 years ago.

From our researchers down to our nurses and doctors in cancer clinics throughout regional Western Australia, I've seen firsthand the work that they are doing to reduce the impact of skin cancer and the support they offer families and patients battling skin cancer. They deserve our thanks and help more than anyone. I especially recognise the work of organisations and charities that support the work of our researchers, doctors and families. I also recognise all those who've donated to these charities, who've taken part in a Relay for Life or who've simply given support to the families and victims of skin cancer. My love and support go out to families and Australians who have been affected by this horrible cancer.

As a parliament and as members, we have the responsibility to continue to invest in prevention campaigns, medical research technologies and targeting when it comes to skin cancer. As we approach National Skin Cancer Action Week, I acknowledge and encourage all to take every opportunity to protect their skin. If you can, donate to a cancer charity. Reach out to friends or family who have experienced the hurt of skin cancer and understand the importance of early detection. My final message is to younger Australians. At the moment, it may seem fashionable to be tanned, but being sun smart is far more important and could save your life. I thank the House.

I understand that the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of her speech for incorporation into Hansard in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025. I acknowledge the member for Pearce. I thank her for her contribution to this motion and, more broadly, to the House of Representatives. I thank the member.

The incorporated speech read as follows

I acknowledge that this House notes that National Skin Cancer Action Week will be held from Sunday 15 to Sunday 22 November this year. I support this motion because skin cancer is often described as Australia's national cancer, and unfortunately that description is well earned. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime, and more than 17,000 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma every year.

Behind every one of those statistics is a person, a family a workplace and a community carrying the worry, the treatment and, in the hardest cases, the loss. That is why National Skin Cancer Action Week matters. It is a reminder that skin cancer is largely preventable and, when found early, highly treatable. It is also a reminder that prevention is not about fear; it is about practical, everyday habits that protect us while we continue to enjoy the outdoor life we love.

In Pearce, this message could not be more relevant. Our electorate is home to 32 kilometres of spectacular coastline, stretching from Burns Beach through Mindarie, Quinns Rocks, Merriwa, Clarkson, Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep, through to Two Rocks. Our beaches, rock pools, marinas, lagoons, surf breaks and coastal walk trails are central to the way our community lives. On any warm weekend, you will find families at the beach, children learning to swim, surfers in the water, fishers on the rocks, volunteers at surf lifesaving clubs and residents walking the coastal path. That coastline is one of Pearce's greatest assets. But it also means many in our community spend significant time outdoors, often during the hours when ultraviolet radiation is strongest.

In Western Australia, our clear skies and long summers are part of what makes our lifestyle so special, but they also increase the risk of unprotected sun exposure. We need to enjoy our coast safely, not avoid it. The message remains simple: when the ultraviolet index is three or above, protect your skin. Slip on protective clothing, slop on broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, slap on a broad-brimmed hat, seek shade and slide on sunglasses. These are small actions, but they can make a lifelong difference.

I also want to speak directly about early detection. Know your skin. Check it regularly, including areas that are easy to miss, such as the back, scalp, ears and soles of the feet. Look for new spots, spots that are changing, sores that do not heal, or moles that change in shape, colour or size. If something does not look or feel right, see your GP or skin cancer clinician promptly. Early detection saves lives.

The Albanese Labor government is taking meaningful action. We are investing $15 million in national skin cancer prevention campaigns, with a focus on Australians at greater risk. We are investing $10.3 million dollars to accelerate the development of a national targeted skin cancer screening road map, because we know that finding skin cancers earlier leads to better outcomes. We are also supporting medical research and new technologies that can improve how skin cancer is detected and treated. This investment recognises that prevention, early diagnosis and treatment must work together. It recognises, too, that some Australians face greater risk than others, including people who work outdoors, people with a personal or family history of skin cancer, and those who have had significant sun exposure over many years. We need campaigns and health services that meet people where they are, with clear, practical advice they can use.

I acknowledge the researchers, dermatologists, general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, cancer support workers and advocates who dedicate themselves to this work. Their expertise, compassion and persistence are saving lives and improving care for people across the country. I also acknowledge the many community organisations, including Cancer Council WA and our local surf lifesaving clubs, who promote sun safety in practical and accessible ways.

In Pearce, we are proud of our outdoor, coastal way of life. We want our children to grow up swimming, surfing, playing sport and enjoying our beaches. The best way to protect that lifestyle is to make sun safety second nature—at home, at school, on the sporting field, at work and at the beach. This National Skin Cancer Action Week, I encourage everyone in Pearce and across Australia to check the ultraviolet index, protect their skin, and book a skin check if they have any concerns. A few minutes of prevention today can protect many years of healthy life tomorrow.

I commend the motion to the House.

I rise to support this motion and National Skin Cancer Action Week. In 2024, I had a skin cancer cut out of my nose. I decided then that I would use what was an uncomfortable—and very ugly to look at—experience to encourage other Australians to take skin cancer seriously, and, importantly, to remind people to get their skin checked. My own experience reinforced that none of us should assume it will not happen to us. That message matters especially in regional Australia because prevention and early detection only work when people can actually access care. The challenge is particularly acute in Mallee.

Research led by La Trobe University found melanoma rates across Loddon Mallee were 34 per cent above the Victorian average, with isolation and access to health care two of the barriers confronting patients. I want to acknowledge the Loddon Mallee Integrated Cancer Service, or LMICS, whose northern Mallee cancer representatives met with me in person and via video in my Mildura electorate office last week. I appreciated the opportunity, particularly as I'd been unable to join their annual forum at Bendigo Health in August, which examined inequity in regional cancer care.

LMICS's message in that meeting was a clear and sombre echo of my maiden speech in 2019: your postcode should not determine your health status. LMICS and its research partners are backing that principle with practical work through their project, RISE4SkinCancer, which is seeking to improve detection, treatment and referral pathways across Loddon Mallee by building the capacity of primary care. Their meeting with me illustrated how fragile and reliant on others regional cancer services can be.

LMICS reported that flight disruptions this year had caused radiation oncologists visiting Mildura to cancel clinics on at least five occasions and convert at least 10 clinics to telehealth. Patients themselves also depend on those unreliable flights to reach specialist appointments elsewhere. That is why bringing detection and expertise closer to home matters. I have strongly advocated for a VECTRA WB360 whole-body imaging system at Mildura Base Public Hospital.

VECTRA uses 46 stereo vision pods to produce a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of a patient's exposed skin. Individual lesions can be recorded against that body map and reviewed over time, allowing clinicians to identify and monitor changes which may warrant further investigation. Following my advocacy, a $3 million expansion through the Medical Research Future Fund established Mildura as the 16th site for the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis. The MRFF itself was established by the former, coalition government in 2015—an enduring coalition investment in Australian medical research and innovation.

Technology alone is not enough. We need GPs and nurse practitioners equipped to identify suspicious lesions, reliable referral pathways, specialists and a locally trained medical workforce. In my meeting with LMICS last week, it was clear that our cancer care networks are very fragile due to our dependence on fly-in fly-out specialists or flights to get patients down to Melbourne. Our long-term answer must include training and retaining more medical professionals in regional Australia.

My message during National Skin Cancer Action Week is straightforward and twofold. First, protect your skin, know your skin and get any suspicious changes checked early. Second, governments, both federal and state, must meet Australians halfway as they do their bit in prevention. Governments need to ensure early detection and treatment does not depend on your postcode.

I rise to support this motion and to recognise National Skin Cancer Action Week, which is being held from Sunday 15 to Sunday 22 November. Sadly, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Two out of three people will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer during their lifetime, and more than 17,400 people in Australia are diagnosed with terrible melanoma each year.

To me as a nurse, as an Australian and as one of those two out of three people with a history of skin cancer, those statistics are stark. In Western Australia, my home, the risk is particularly familiar. We enjoy an outdoor lifestyle across our coastline and bush. We work outside, play sports, gather in parks and at our beaches. Because of that, so many of us spend significant time exposed to harmful UV radiation.

The good news is we can work against what we know is preventable, and prevention is definitely the best medicine. For many years, we have been taught the all-important messaging of 'slip, slop, slap, seek and slide'. Slip on protective clothing, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade and slide on the sunnies. Prevention, of course, must be supported with early detection, because knowing your skin, recognising changes and getting regular checks is all-important. I used to run skin checks with a dermatologist in remote areas. Often, it was the ones that you couldn't see that were the problematic ones, so please get your partner to check as well, or go and see a GP regularly.

Early detection gives the best possible chance of successfully treating skin cancers, and the Albanese government knows this. We have invested $15 million over two years to continue the national skin cancer prevention campaign, which is delivered in partnership with Cancer Council Australia. The campaign this year recognises specific age groups. The End The Trend campaign targets young Australians aged 18 to 30, and it has achieved 43 per cent of those reached overall taking action to protect themselves. The Save Your Skin campaign, aimed at men aged 40 and over, achieved awareness of 58 per cent, with 34 per cent taking some sort of protective action—but, guys, you can do better than that. I'm looking at you! These results show that targeted public health campaigns can do more than raise awareness. They can change our behaviour for the better, and when behaviour changes lives can be saved.

The government is also investing in the future of skin cancer detection. We provided $10.3 million to accelerate the development of the national, targeted melanoma screening program road map. Led by researchers at the Melanoma Institute Australia, their work is addressing evidence gaps and informing future considerations. Their recent breakthrough, having a targeted cancer vaccine for melanoma patients, is pretty much the equivalent of landing on the moon. It is incredible. They do great work, and we need that work in Australia. Cancer Council Australia also is leading with Cancer Connect, on 131 120. It's an information and support line where people can get cancer information and any other information that they need regarding cancer. So please use Cancer Connect on 131 120.

I really want to acknowledge the outstanding work of Australia's researchers, along with the many doctors, nurses, dermatologists, surgeons and health professionals working every day to support people affected by skin cancer. Their work is improving prevention, advancing detection and treatment and helping Australians through some of the most difficult periods of their life. National Skin Cancer Action Week is an opportunity for every Australian to take a simple step that could save a life. Check your skin, become familiar with it, book a skin check, speak to a health professional, speak with your family and friends, encourage your children to develop sun-smart habits, and remember that sun protection is every day, not just for holidays or the weekends. Rain, hail or shine, we should be using sunblock. The message is clear: prevention works. Early detection saves lives, and timely support helps people navigate diagnosis and treatment. I commend the motion to the House.

I want to commend the member for Bonner for bringing forward this motion about sun protection and the dangers of melanoma. It has my full support for its intent. Some issues in this place should be above the political divide, and this certainly is one. Deputy Speaker, I'm going to ask you to do something unusual when you get home tonight, and that is take your shoes off, take your socks off, and check under your feet. And I'll tell you why. My father and I, when I was a teenager, loved to play squash together. We would do it most weekends. After one game he came off the court and took his Dunlop Volleys off, and one of his white socks was covered in blood. He wasn't aware, but it was a melanoma. The irony of that was that he was the town's GP and had spent the best part of 30 years telling people to cover up, operating on people, taking out melanomas and basically urging them to live well and better. And he had absolutely no idea that he had this melanoma under his foot. So, over many, many months, after operations and skin grafts, unfortunately, he passed away at 59.

He didn't drink, didn't smoke and lived a good life. Hopefully, that means I'm going to live a very long time. But it doesn't discriminate. You can be healthy. You don't have to be old. You don't have to have baked yourself in your younger years. I do caution younger people to listen to the advice now. We know what the sun does. I was very happy the other day. My son came home—he's an apprentice carpenter—and he grumbled, 'We're not allowed to take our shirts off at work anymore.' And I said, 'Good, because, one, it looks more professional, and, two, you won't get cancer.' So the message still isn't getting out to the young people.

But it is very, very promising that this funding has come forward, and, as I said, this is above politics. This should be bipartisan across the board. It's great to see that there's $15 million dedicated to skin cancer prevention campaigns—young people, listen up—and the $10.3 million to accelerate development of a national targeted skin cancer screening roadmap. There's always more to be done. There are more worthy advancements to invest in to protect people from melanoma. Just yesterday, we saw reports on the personalised therapeutic cancer vaccine reducing the risk or recurrence of death by 42 per cent. That is just incredible.

I want to give a special shout-out to the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation for launching its successful skin check trucks in 2023 and, most recently, in December, the 3D skin check clinic, featuring the biopsy room and the VECTRA WB360 technology. As regional MPs, we know that it can be extremely difficult for regional and remote people to actually get access to check-ups, so it's great to see a van driving around. I'd love to see as many vans as there are the breast care clinic vans getting around Australia. We need them because it is a killer. There have been 17,000 diagnoses this year alone, and one life is one too many. I lost my father; a town lost their doctor. It is incumbent on all of us—parents and young ones—to make sure that we listen to the advice and that we get regular check-ups. In fact, I've got a regular check-up on Friday week for that very thing. I urge everybody to go out and do that.

Briefly, I'd like to thank and commend Cancer Council Australia in my region for the work that they do.

I thank the member for Cowper for his contribution, including on his late father.

It's an honour to be able to contribute to the discussion of this motion today, and I commend the member for Bonner for bringing it to the House. The reason I wanted to say a few words on this is that I am a stage 3 melanoma survivor. In 2011, just before the New South Wales election campaign, I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma. It was a secondary which had come from a mole which had been removed seven years prior. It was a very traumatic time—you certainly remember where you were when you got that type of news—and it's a time of great uncertainty for not only cancer patients but also their families.

Within a week of getting that diagnosis, I was in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital having lymph nodes removed. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my doctor at the time, Professor John Thompson from Melanoma Institute Australia. After I'd had the operation, I said to him, 'What are my chances?' and he said, 'Well, it's 50 per cent.' I said, 'Is that a 50 per cent chance of it coming back?' and he said, 'Yes.' I said, 'What happens if it comes back?' and he said, 'There's nothing we'll be able to do.' It was basically a 50 per cent chance of survival—the toss of a coin. He said at that time, 'You've just got to make sure you live long enough for the science to catch up.'

This breakthrough, involving the stage 3 vaccine trial overseen by Professor Georgina Long from Melanoma Institute Australia, which has been announced over the last few days, is unbelievable news for cancer patients, because what medical researchers like Professor Long and, no doubt, the team that is working on this represent is hope for cancer patients, and when you're going through something like that, hope is absolutely everything. So I want to commend all of the cancer researchers and the melanoma researchers not only in Australia but all around the world—because it is a global community—for their really important work in delivering this breakthrough, which decreases the risk of recurrence or death by 42 per cent. As Professor Long has said, this is a transformational breakthrough. The science is catching up. Where previously there was not very much in the arsenal to fight a diagnosis of melanoma, they now have this breakthrough vaccine, which is going to give people life and allow them to spend more time with their families and their friends, and for cancer patients, time is absolutely everything.

To all of the cancer researchers out there I say: you are true community heroes. We want to express our gratitude to you. To all members of our community in the Central West of New South Wales—in particular, our country communities—I say: please get your skin checked. It is something that is very easy to put off, but it can actually save your life. One of the reasons that I wear a straw hat around my electorate is that experience with melanoma all of those years ago. As I have said earlier, I commend the motion to the House.

The time allotted for this debate has expired. 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 this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's three major telecommunications providers commenced Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR) on 1 October 2026 as a measure intended to improve communications during natural disasters affecting regional and remote communities;

(b) TDR can only operate where an alternative mobile network remains available and has sufficient capacity to accept additional users during a disaster event;

(c) many regional, rural and remote Australian communities continue to rely on a single mobile network provider, meaning TDR cannot operate when that network fails;

(d) reliable telecommunications are critical during bushfires, floods and other emergencies, providing access to emergency warnings, evacuation information, emergency services and family communications; and

(e) forecasts of elevated bushfire risk across many regional areas have reinforced the importance of resilient telecommunications infrastructure ahead of the 2026-27 summer season; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) immediately identify those regional, rural and remote communities where TDR is unlikely to operate during a network outage;

(b) provide a comprehensive strategy to improve telecommunications resilience in disaster-prone regions;

(c) accelerate investment in mobile coverage, backup power systems and network redundancy across regional Australia; and

(d) report to Parliament on measures being taken to ensure regional Australians are not left without communications during life-threatening emergency events.

I rise to bring this motion because functional telecommunications save lives. They also should never be optional, but in our day and age they absolutely are. As another bushfire season approaches, regional Australians deserve far greater confidence than the Albanese government is currently providing.

The government has promoted temporary disaster roaming as a major step forward for regional telecommunications resilience. While any additional protection is welcome, the reality is that this system has significant limitations that many Australians simply do not understand. Temporary disaster roaming only works when there is at least one other network tower available, so one is not enough. You actually need two if you're going to have the temporary disaster roaming function. That sounds simple enough until you consider the reality of regional Australia. Across large areas of my electorate of Mallee, and indeed across regional Australia, communities are often served by only one mobile network, and at times an unreliable one at that. If that network fails during a bushfire, storm or flood, there may be no alternative network available for residents to connect to. In those circumstances, temporary disaster roaming offers absolutely no solution. That is the uncomfortable truth the government has failed to acknowledge.

For city residents, losing mobile reception can be frustrating. For regional Australians, losing comms during a disaster can mean missing an evacuation order, being unable to receive emergency warnings, losing contact with family members or being unable to call for assistance. In the worst cases, it can have devastating impacts, with the loss of life. After the first national emergency warning test of AusAlert on 27 July this year, constituents reached out to me concerned they didn't get the message. I am sure the shadow minister for emergency management will have more to say on our emergency preparedness under Labor. When a fire is moving quickly and conditions are changing by the minute, reliable comms are every bit as important as roads, emergency services and power infrastructure. Regional Australians understand this because they've lived through network outages during floods, storms and bushfires. Regional Australians know—sadly, all too often under Labor—what it means to be utterly cut off.

The temporary disaster roaming system falls short of the universal safety net many believe should be delivered. The real challenge is not simply creating a mechanism for networks to share coverage during emergencies. The challenge is ensuring regional Australia has sufficient telecommunications infrastructure, coverage and redundancy, full stop. If a regional community is dependent on a single network and that network goes down, temporary disaster, roaming will be of zero use. Those affected remain disconnected, exposing them to further vulnerability and risk.

For too long, regional telecommunications have been treated as a secondary priority. Yet every summer we ask regional Australians to confront bushfires, severe storms and floods with fewer services and less infrastructure than their metropolitan counterparts, and, more so, we expect our locals in the regions to actually do the firefighting. This is unacceptable. A postcode should not determine whether someone can receive an emergency warning. A postcode should not determine whether someone can contact their family during a disaster. And a postcode should not determine whether someone can call for help when their life is in danger.

Farming communities across my electorate contribute enormously to our national economy, our food security and our country life. Justice says they ought to have the same safety and connectivity as every other Australian. The government must provide a clear plan to address the communities that remain outside the reach of the industry's temporary disaster roaming where there is only one telco or, worse, none. Labor must invest in network resilience, back-up power capability, redundancy and comms infrastructure that truly operates as critical infrastructure, because when bushfires— (Time expired)

I thank the member for Mallee. Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

My electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast has certainly had its fair share of disasters in recent years, including the horrendous Black Summer bushfires. Those fires impacted our region for weeks in December 2019 and January 2020. During the disaster, lives were lost; hundreds of homes were razed; businesses, farms, livestock and native bushland were destroyed; and community infrastructure was impacted.

I know, as we head into another high-fire-danger season, residents in my electorate are feeling very anxious about the elevated risk of another Black Summer. I've spoken with dozens of residents who lost their homes or who were left stranded with no way of contacting family members when the phones went down and the power went out. They were frightened, isolated and unable to let their families know they were alive. Bushfire victims and local communities across Gilmore have been crying out for better communications capability. They don't want to be left in the dark when the next disaster strikes. That's why I've been advocating strongly on behalf of my community for improved communications, especially during times of disaster.

I'm proud that this government is working hard to improve our comms systems by making infrastructure more resilient, with the recent upgrades to the Mount Wandera transmission station, the installation of composite power poles, and better satellite communications at our emergency centres. We've got a new Australian fire danger rating system and AusAlert, the new national messaging system, to keep people informed. We've rolled out emergency noticeboards and bushfire safe havens in communities, and we've grown our aerial firefighting assets.

The $14 million Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters, or STAND, program funds satellite wi-fi in emergency evacuation centres and emergency coordination points, and the $50.3 million Mobile Network Hardening Program is upgrading and improving the resilience of Australia's mobile network telecommunications infrastructure. Thanks to this government, towers are being built, batteries are being installed, reliable high-speed broadband is being rolled out and capacity is being increased.

From 1 October, people in Gilmore and right across the country will also have had access to temporary disaster roaming, or TDR, which can be switched on during times of disaster. It's reassuring to know that, if there's a fire, flood, storm or cyclone, people will still have access to calls and texts, and some basic data to use apps like iMessage and WhatsApp on their compatible smartphones. We know there's more to do, but this is another very important tool we've added to help keep people in regional and rural areas safe, informed and connected when they need it most.

We're working closely with the three major telcos, Telstra, Optus and TPG, who are leading this technology, so that, when one provider goes down during an emergency, temporary disaster roaming can be activated. TDR will automatically switch phones in the impacted area to another carrier's mobile network where it's available. This means that, if a town has a Telstra tower and an Optus tower and the Telstra tower goes down during a bushfire, Telstra customers can roam onto the Optus network for general voice, text and basic data, not just triple zero calls.

This would allow people to stay in touch with friends and family, keep up to date with emergency warnings, look for road closures and check the weather. The mobile network operators are responsible for activation decisions, which are made in accordance with agreed technical parameters, available coverage and network capacity constraints. In situations where one mobile carrier has been hit by a natural disaster, it will contact another carrier to check network availability and, if available, request TDR to cover the impacted area. This is a game changer. The government has also recently passed legislation to create the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation, UOMO, which will require mobile network operators to provide nationwide baseline outdoor voice and text coverage where you can see the sky.

After years of neglect, I am so proud that we're getting on with strengthening our regional telecommunications system, with a $1 billion co-investment that we're rolling out over the next few years.

I take great pride in seconding this motion. I acknowledge not just the member for Mallee and her interest but also the member for Gilmore, and I acknowledge her leadership during the Black Summer fires and her understanding of the implications of not having proper telecommunications in our hour of need.

Natural disasters invariably happen in regional Australia, and this is where our telecommunications are failing us. This has been a failure of policy settings for some years. The reality is that the more remote you get, the greater risk there is to human life, because we don't have the choice of a telecommunications provider. In most of these places there's only one provider, so you can't switch to another provider to be able to get that safety element. So what we have to understand is that there are broader scale policy changes that need to take place to ensure the safety of every Australian, and that's not just about mandated roaming. We should be doing this as a fait accompli, particularly for regional Australians.

We have isolated assets, where you may drive along a highway of 200 kilometres, and there'll be three Telstra towers and you'll hit an Optus tower. If you happen to have an accident underneath the Optus tower and you've got a Telstra phone, it's no good to you because you can't ring triple zero because you're isolated—you have no connection. The reality is that we have to think more broadly about this and about mandated roaming particularly in regional areas. If you go overseas, you pay your $5 a month, and you can actually have that. You can roam onto anyone's tower.

I don't think we should be giving this away for free. I'm not asking the telcos to do this, but I am simply saying that, if I have a have a Telstra phone and if I want to pay whatever the cost is that it costs them—$5 a month—then I choose to take that and put that on my phone. That is a policy setting that would cost the Australian taxpayer zero and would protect many of us in regional and remote Australia in our hour of need. That is common sense. I have advocated for that since I got to this place in 2016, and the ACCC for some reason in 2017, without even looking at this apart from sitting in their office in Sydney, thought that this will stop investment by the telcos in regional Australia. Telcos are not investing in regional Australia because the market is not there. You need about 2,000 people underneath a tower for it to be financially viable, so they don't give a rat's about us.

Telstra is a cancer, a corporate cancer, that has now spread from rural and remote Australia into peri-urban Australia because they are not investing in these towers because it's not commercially viable for them. So what we need to do is ensure they do invest in it. This is where not only should we have mandated roaming for regional areas for the consumer to pay but we should reform the universal service obligation. I acknowledge what the member for Gilmore talked about in the outdoor mobile obligation that they're going to put, but that's about the low-orbit satellites. We don't own that infrastructure. Elon owns that, and we're trying to regulate that. Let's think about what we can regulate.

We can regulate the infrastructure on the ground, much of which the Australian taxpayer has built. Many, over 1,500, new mobile phone towers were built when we were in government, and they continue to do a few of them now. But the reality is that the telcos have had a free hit out of this. What we should do is reform the universal service obligation that was put in place when Telstra was privatised to maintain landlines and payphones, because that was the technology in place at that time. Low and behold, mobile telephony has come along, but we haven't moved the regulatory guiderails with it. There is $270 million a year that Telstra has in a contract to maintain landlines and payphones. We've gone from about 64,000 payphones when Telstra was privatised down to about 14,000 now, and there are bugger-all landlines left. The reality is that they are getting a free hit.

What we should do—and this is what I've asked for the amendment to be—is have the universal service bill that's in front of the House extend to land infrastructure as well, and that $270 million should go into maintaining the towers. What we saw, this cancer that is Telstra and the telcos—that is what happened in that tragedy when triple zero didn't work and the system failed, because there was no maintenance and there is no regulatory burden on the telcos—and Telstra, in this instance, who owns the USO—to maintain the towers. This is where, as legislators, it would cost us nothing to extend the universal service obligation and use that $270 million to make sure that those towers are maintained and work to the standard they should.

A mobile phone tower should work to about a 14-kilometre radius. If they don't work to that standard, there should be a requirement for them to go out and fix these things within a certain timeframe; otherwise, we will be sitting here talking about this again, and lives will be lost. Yes, there was a tragedy in Sydney, where someone couldn't get through to triple zero. Come and live where I live, where we don't have triple zero most days, because the towers don't work, because Telstra doesn't give a rat's about us. This is where we need leadership and this is where we need bipartisanship to fix this.

Reliable communications can be the difference between safety and tragedy in a natural disaster. Whether it's bushfire, flood or severe storm, Australians do need to be able to receive emergency warnings, contact loved ones, access information and, when necessary, call for help. That's why the introduction of the temporary disaster roaming as of 1 October is such an important development for rural, regional and remote communities like the rural area of my electorate and the western Wheatbelt in the Perth Hills. Temporary disaster roaming is designed to keep Australians connected when disaster strikes. In practical terms, it means that, if a community has both a Telstra and an Optus tower and one network is disabled during a bushfire or other disaster, customers may be able to roam on the remaining network for voice calls, text messages and basic data servicing. That means people can continue to communicate with their families, check emergency information and be informed during a disaster.

Importantly, temporary disaster roaming is not limited to triple zero access. It's about helping people maintain essential communications during what can be an incredibly stressful and uncertain time. But, of course, as the motion recognises, temporary disaster roaming is not a silver bullet. We have a very complicated communications system. This program can only operate when another mobile network remains available and has sufficient capacity. There will continue to be communities across regional, rural and remote Australia that rely on one single network provider, and if that network fails the temporary disaster roaming cannot provide an alternative connection. The reality is that this highlights a broader challenge before us: building a telecommunications network that is resilient enough to withstand increasingly severe natural disasters.

The good news is that the temporary disaster roaming is only one part of a broader effort to improve resilience—a broader package of reforms and investments that's already underway. The government has committed $14 million through the Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters, STAND, program. The program supports satellite wi-fi services at emergency evacuation centres and emergency coordination points. We've also invested $50.3 million on the Mobile Network Hardening Program, which is focused on improving the resilience of telecommunication infrastructure so networks are better able to withstand extreme weather events. I know this all too well with the bushfires in the Perth Hills and the regional areas of Bullwinkel. These measures sit within a larger framework of a $1 billion pipeline of regional telecommunications investment to deliver new towers, improve back-up power systems and increase the network capacity of those towers across regional Australia.

Building resilience takes a coordinated effort across different services and agencies so that we can provide more layers of protection, better coverage, stronger towers, reliable power, satellite capacity and network redundancy. These reforms matter. The Albanese government is continuing to improved fixed-line communications, committing to completing the rollout of the remaining fibre-to-the-node upgrades and new satellite broadband arrangements that will be particularly important for regional and remote areas.

Just recently, parliament also passed legislation establishing the universal outdoor mobile obligation, and this important reform requires mobile network operators to provide baseline outdoor voice and text coverage across Australia and provides powers to establish service standards around real liability and fault rectification. All Australians should have access to critical communications, whether they live in a capital city or in the regional areas. Public safety, we agree, should not be determined by postcode.

Australians want to know when the systems they rely on will be there when they need them. Temporary disaster roaming is a valuable new tool and a step forward into a more resilient network. It won't work everywhere, and it will not solve every problem, but it can be deployed, and it has the potential to keep communities connected at the times when they need it the most. We all agree that Australians—and our objective, really—should not be left without access to critical communications during an emergency just because of where they live.

Reliable telecommunications are a lifeline in regional Australia, connecting families, protecting livelihoods and providing access to emergency services when lives are at risk. I rise to support the member for Mallee's motion, recognising the introduction of temporary disaster roaming on 1 October 2026 while highlighting the infrastructure gaps that continue to leave regional Australians vulnerable. Developed by Australia's three major mobile network operators, temporary disaster roaming allows customers affected by natural disaster outages to potentially connect to another functioning network for calls, texts and basic mobile data. But its effectiveness depends on another network being available and having sufficient capacity. You cannot roam onto a network that simply isn't there. For communities served by only one provider, this initiative offers little protection when that network fails.

Across Capricornia, from the Capricorn Coast to Clermont and our rural districts, dependable communications are essential, particularly when severe weather cuts roads and delays emergency assistance. For central Queensland farmers, connectivity can mean the difference between saving livestock and suffering devastating losses. Flood warnings give producers precious time to move cattle to higher ground. Bushfire updates help them to move stock to safer paddocks, protect property and make decisions that safeguard their families. When the network fails, that vital window to act can disappear.

Inadequate coverage also threatens vulnerable Australians who depend on mobile connected medical alert devices. Recently, my office heard from a constituent who relies on such a device because of her health and personal circumstances. She has already experienced failures caused by poor mobile coverage, even without a major network outage. A device designed to summon potentially life-saving assistance offers little reassurance if it cannot connect when help is needed. For older Australians and people living with disabilities, reliable coverage supports independence, dignity and the confidence that assistance is within reach. When someone presses an emergency button, they need to know their call for help can get through. Their life may depend on it. That is why improving connectivity cannot be limited to disaster response alone.

Forecasts of elevated bushfire risks for the 2026-27 summer season underscore the importance of resilient networks. During fires, floods and severe storms, mobile services carry warnings, evacuation advice and vital information for first responders, yet disasters can damage towers, interrupt power supplies and overwhelm capacity, Temporary disaster roaming can help when networks overlap, but it cannot create coverage where none exist or guarantee services where multiple networks fail. No network means no service, and, during a disaster, that can mean the difference between life and death. The government needs a comprehensive strategy to deliver reliable connectivity before, during and after emergencies. That means identifying communities where roaming cannot operate; accelerating investment in mobile coverage, backup power and network redundancy; and ensuring providers are accountable for addressing known vulnerabilities.

I acknowledge Telstra's efforts to improve regional coverage, including planned upgrades serving growing communities like those on the Capricorn Coast, but meeting regional needs requires sustained cooperation between government and industry, and improvements must extend beyond coverage maps. A signal advertised on paper does not always translate into a dependable connection inside a home or across a remote property. Regional Australians contribute enormously to our economy through agriculture, resources, tourism and small business. They should not be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to telecommunications and emergency preparedness. Temporary disaster roaming is a welcome step, but it must be the beginning of a lasting commitment to stronger infrastructure, not an excuse to delay it. A regional postcode should never put someone's life at greater risk simply because they cannot make a phone call. I commend the motion to the House.

I always enjoy speaking on motions that have a strong regional flavour because, despite the fact that I represent an outer suburban electorate today, my heart can't help but remain in the country around Broken Hill where I was brought up and where I spent many years working on sheep and cattle stations. While people in the city in the early 2000s were getting used to mobile phones—we hadn't even heard of them out where we were—I used a GPS, which was a little yellow brick that sat on my motorbike, and, if it wasn't for that, I think I would've still been out there and they would've still been looking for my bones. Meanwhile, people in the cities didn't know what GPS actually meant. Communications have come a long way over the last 20 years. Now people almost take for granted that they've got mobile phone coverage in a lot of the areas where they didn't even know what a mobile phone was 20 years ago.

I also appreciate how vital communication is in a disaster. My mum used to live in Oxley in Brisbane, and during the 2010 floods her house flooded. That was the first of the big natural disasters that we've had in my lifetime. That time was traumatic for so many reasons. One of them was because communications went down. When a friend, who was a refugee from the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, told me that this lack of communications, where people couldn't get in touch with family anymore, was exactly like it was in a time of war, that really brought home for me how desperate a situation is when you can't find out whether your family members are safe or not. As it was 2010, so it was in 2022, when we had the floods that hit the Logan region. My mum's house flooded again and much of South-East Queensland went under water again, and the communications network went down. It really did underscore that we are coming to a time when our technology really should be above that. It shouldn't be so hard for telcos to provide batteries or backup or extra network coverage. It shouldn't be beyond them to provide that now.

In the time that I have in this place, I want to emphasise what drives me the most, and that is that, in our country, over the last 30 or 40 years, we have seen a move away from government playing a central role in our economy. Telecommunications was one role. Privatisation, economic rationalism and unfettered free trade are the things which have really decimated working-class communities. When we had a telecom which was publicly owned and was interested in the public good, the outcomes that we achieved were much better than the outcomes that we get today. Telecommunications is not a nice-to-have; telecommunications is a must-have. It is essential to the operation of families, friends and social contact, and it is essential to the operation of the economy as well.

I think that the telcos need to do so much better. It's not just in a disaster that people find it hard to make a phone call. There are so many suburbs in the electorate of Forde—stretching from the northern Gold Coast and Upper Coomera to Boronia Heights at the other end of the electorate, in western Logan—where, on a good day, people have to stand on their driveway with their elbow bent at 90 degrees in order to get reception to make a telephone call. It's just not good enough.

So the government really is making sure that it puts these telcos on notice that they need to do better. But, practically, it is also doing what it can at the moment to make sure that people have the support that they need. There is a $1 billion investment into regional telecommunications, new towers and batteries. Increasing that investment is going to go a long way towards fixing some of the problems that regional communities have. The government is actually getting on with the job of replacing the copper network with high-speed broadband so that people can make communications through that. There are also agreements with satellite providers to cover areas where fixed NBN services don't get cover, which is not just out the back of Bourke but also in some areas of Forde.

To that end, while I see the good intentions of this motion, I seek to see it opposed.

There being no further speakers, 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 this House:

(1) recognises that the Government remains focused on the delivery of infrastructure for Western Sydney, providing around $18 billion in road, rail and airport infrastructure to support Western Sydney's growth;

(2) commends the Government for the recent opening of Western Sydney International Airport, a project started under a previous Labor government and now completed under this Government; and

(3) notes that the Government is committed to continuing to work with the New South Wales State Government to deliver the infrastructure that Western Sydney and surrounds deserve.

A little while ago I sent out a community survey. There's nothing too special about that. I have done it many times in the past. But what was surprising this time was the underlying theme behind many of the responses I received. Normally, you expect to read a lot of comments about matters relating to the federal government. There were some of those, of course, but for the most part it was anger and frustration at the lack of service delivery from Liverpool council.

To set the scene, I'd ask the residents to support me in advocating that council use the money allocated to it to upgrade an intersection at Lyn Parade, Beech Road and Kurrajong Road. The council had received $6.9 million in the 2024 MYEFO allocation, more than 18 months ago. Yet again, as so often happens in the electorate of Werriwa, the money has been left unspent and the problems council says it wants to solve are compounding. But the public's patience with the council is exhausted and well and truly over. The community wants the basic things done right and their money used wisely. It seems that the council can do neither. The contrast between Liverpool council and the Albanese Labor government in terms of service delivery could not be starker. While Liverpool council does a lot of talking, complaining and blame shifting, the Albanese government just gets on with the job of delivering and helping where it matters.

Western Sydney international airport is a game changer for both my electorate and Australia. It is an idea that has been talked about for decades, and yesterday it became a reality. The investment of more than $5 billion means that people across Western Sydney now have a major airport in their own region. By the end of next year, there will be flights to over 250 destinations—places where my diverse community will go to see family and friends and to travel for work and holidays. The airport has created nearly 13,000 jobs over that construction, with about half of the jobs completed with the expertise and pride of local workers. More than 360 Western Sydney businesses have shared in more than $500 million during the construction, lending their expertise and entrepreneurial skills to the airport. The opportunities the airport will create for generations to come will be just as incredible. In a very real sense, the airport puts Western Sydney on the international map, and who could've imagined that that would happen? The opening of the airport on 25 October by the Prime Minister was a celebration in every sense. It was a celebration of nation building, a celebration of my home, a celebration of determination and resilience, and a celebration of Labor governments, going back to Bob Hawke, creating a future for millions of Australians.

The Albanese and Minns governments' investment in our community hasn't ended there. A good example of one of the major infrastructure projects being delivered by the government, this time in conjunction with the NSW government, is the upgrade of Fifteenth Avenue. The Albanese Labor government understands the reliance that Western Sydney has on road transport. We get the commute and, as a result, committed half of the $1.4 billion required to complete the project. Early works on Cowpasture Road and Fifteenth Avenue have begun. In addition to Fifteenth Avenue, $1.63 billion was invested in the M12 Motorway, providing a 16-kilometre motorway connection from the M7 near Cecil Hills to the airport, through to Luddenham, and the M12 is a toll-free road. There's also the upgrade to the M5 West between Moorebank Avenue and the Hume Highway. This is another joint project between the Albanese Labor government and the New South Wales government. The Commonwealth's contribution totals $190 million, and this will relieve the bottlenecks that frustrate millions of motorists.

I can't go on with all of the other infrastructure projects which are being delivered by our government throughout our community, but suffice it to say that, after the neglect of previous coalition governments at both levels and inertia by Liverpool City Council, Werriwa and South-West Sydney are finally getting the funding and services and, more importantly, jobs and opportunities they deserve.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

When I entered parliament in 2019, I spoke about the future I wanted for Western Sydney: good, skilled jobs close to home; young people not moving away but staying and building careers and lives in Western Sydney; and parents spending less time travelling across Sydney for work and more time with their families. Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport was going to help make that possible. That's why I want it to succeed. But I haven't forgotten what was promised: the transformation of Western Sydney's economy. Advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defence, medical technology and international investment would bring new industries and thousands of skilled jobs to our region. Seven years later, where are those industries?

There's been progress. The airport has supported thousands of construction jobs, and Bradfield's Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility is operating. It's going okay. These are important investments, but an innovation facility isn't a manufacturing industry and an investment announcement isn't a permanent job. I want to know which major manufacturers have established themselves in Western Sydney, my home, what they're producing, how many locals they're employing and what they're exporting. One of the largest developments approved near the airport is Aldi's billion-dollar automated distribution centre. Its projected 585 permanent jobs are welcome. Warehouses and distribution centres have their place, but surely our ambition for Western Sydney goes further than storing and moving goods. We should be making things the world wants to buy. We have Western Sydney University and TAFE educating engineers, scientists, technicians and skilled tradespeople. We have businesses ready to grow and young people who deserve the opportunity to build rewarding careers without having to leave. And we have something else worth protecting, and it's very important: our food bowl. Families around Luddenham have farmed productive land for generations. An international freight airport should create opportunities for food processing, agricultural technology and exporting premium Australian produce. Instead, productive farmland is under pressure, while too little has been done to turn that potential into thriving industries.

This matters beyond Western Sydney. Australia has a productivity problem and a government spending problem. These two things combined are not making us wealthier. Building infrastructure is important, but infrastructure should enable businesses to invest, workers to become more productive and Australian companies to compete internationally. That's how we lift wages, strengthen living standards and create the wealth that funds the services Australians rely on.

Government needs to get the foundations right—reliable infrastructure, education and training and an economic environment that rewards enterprise, investment and hard work—which makes Labor's failure to deliver the infrastructure surrounding this airport all the more frustrating. The airport has opened, but without its promised metro connection. Instead, passengers will rely on a temporary bus from St Marys. A 24-hour international airport needs 24-hour public transport, especially for the airport workers who keep it running overnight.

There's no dedicated aviation fuel pipeline either. Infrastructure Australia estimates future demand could require 50 to 65 B-double tanker deliveries every day, adding pressure to roads already struggling with growth, and families beneath the flight paths are still waiting for promised noise insulation. Most will not receive anything, an issue I have raised with infrastructure minister, Catherine King, countless times. Of 236 eligible properties, 74 applications have been approved, but we're yet to hear of a single installation that has been completed. One resident even invited the Prime Minister and his infrastructure minister to spend a night in her home and experience the aircraft noise themselves.

But the greatest test of this airport isn't whether the government can cut a ribbon or announce another billion dollars in investment; it's whether a young person in Penrith can become an engineer and work locally, whether a manufacturer in St Mary's can win international contracts, whether a farmer in London can reach new markets, and whether parents can spend less time commuting and more time raising their families. That's what economic opportunity looks like. Western Sydney has spent decades being told about its potential. We have the people, the talent, the ambition and now an international airport connecting us to the world.

I want Western Sydney to help lead a more productive, prosperous and self-reliant Australia. We were promised an economic powerhouse. It's time that potential became not just a dream but a true story about Aussie made prosperity.

Can I just say congratulations to everyone who's been involved in developing Western Sydney Airport. I think the Prime Minister gave a fantastic speech on Sunday at the opening for the first passenger flight to leave Western Sydney Airport. It was really exciting to be there. There were people from all sides of parliament, and I think the Prime Minister's speech was really gracious. It was great to see there Tony Abbott; Scott Morrison; Joe Hockey; Paul Fletcher; the Prime Minister; a whole range of ministers; myself; Anne Stanley, the member for Werriwa; the member for Hughes; and, of course, the wonderful Michael McCormack, the member for the Riverina, who was previously the infrastructure minister and was significant in the development of that airport.

I think the terminal is absolutely beautiful. Simon Hickey, the CEO of Western Sydney Airport Corporation, has done a great job bringing all that together—likewise, Paul O'Sullivan, the Chairman of the Board of Western Sydney Airport. We've been involved for 10 years now in the development of that that airport, and it is a great boon to Western Sydney. Have we got everything right? No, we haven't. We do need to get that metro rail link, and not just from the north. Interestingly, my eldest son was the lead engineer on that project. It's nearly finished and will be fixed in the next few months, but we really need the south-western link linking up Bradfield, Western Sydney Airport and the south-west, including my electorate of Macarthur, with the suburbs of Camden and Campbelltown. That leads to the potential to hook up with the Southern Highlands and eventually also to the Illawarra through Wollongong. That would be fantastic, those transport links joining all those suburbs and all those people together.

There are already millions of people in Western Sydney, and the member for Lindsay is quite right. They do need good jobs. They need good education. They need to be part of our modern economy, and they will be. When I was at the opening of the airport yesterday, I saw three of my old patients who'd worked on that building, including one who was one of the lead constructors of the terminal building itself. It was great to see Jonathan there. He's got a terrific job, having completed a building engineering degree. I saw other patients who were working in baggage handling and who were working in customer service. I saw one who did a lot of the technology for the telecommunications infrastructure for the airport.

There's a beautiful view from the airport across to the Blue Mountains, where I grew up. I've seen this come from cow paddocks to now a wonderful, wonderful airport. I think the Prime Minister is quite right. This is one of the best airports in Australia. There are not just exciting prospects for the airport and the surrounding aerotropolis but also economic and social opportunities for Western Sydney and south-western Sydney. I'm very excited about it. There were over 12,000 jobs created through the airport project itself, and already close to that many will be needed for the running of the airport and the local environment.

However, I will stress the critical importance of delivering proper public transport connectivity from south-western Sydney, hooking up with the aerotropolis and the airport and to the north and to the south. I'm very grateful for the federal government committing a billion dollars to preserve the land corridors needed for future rail extensions from Bradfield to Leppington and Macarthur. I think that's a great thing. But the Minns state Labor government needs to get on board as well with a link to the south-west. They have been a little reluctant, for reasons that have escaped me because many of the suburbs and electorates around south-western Sydney are Labor electorates. We need to make sure that they get that connectivity to the airport. So I'm calling on the Minns government to do the right thing and commit to the rail link from the south-west. Connecting Macarthur and Campbelltown, as well as establishing new stations in the Camden and Wollondilly region if at all possible, would be much, much appreciated and a fantastic boon to the local population. With over 400,000 residents in the Camden and Picton area and more to come with the development of Wilton and Maldon, a Leppington connection is very likely in the pipeline, but we need to hurry up and get on with it.

Congratulations to all involved, of all political parties. I'm very excited about it, and I thank everyone involved.

():  I thank the member for Macarthur for his generous bipartisanship and certainly acknowledge the Prime Minister in his words yesterday at the opening of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. What a red-letter day it was. It was great to be there with former prime minister Morrison. He and I turned the first sod, officially kicking off construction on the $5.3 billion project back in September 2018. Of course, there was a lot of work done—a lot of cubic metres of dirt moved—to bring about what is a marvellous piece of nation-building infrastructure we opened yesterday.

I do recall, during the process—and the member for Macarthur just mentioned the word then; it was the first time I've actually heard it used since—Leppington! I recall being absolutely pilloried in the media for the $30 million that the then government spent on 12.3 hectares of land which is sited at the end of the second runway for the airport. I have to say that money, in time—I will be vindicated—will be looked upon as one of the best investments that this nation has ever made. At the time, yes, it was overpriced—no question—but I had to wear the criticism. I defended it stoutly and I defended it earnestly, as you would expect.

I have to say that, when you look at the figures, even in the Western Sydney international airport's own official documents, it says:

We know that. It says:

That is bringing the focus onto Western Sydney.

As the Prime Minister noted, Western Sydney is a massive, massive, populated area but a huge growth area. What I'm excited about as a regional member is the fact that there will be many cargo holds of planes taking the world's best produce out of Farrer, Riverina and all those wonderful food bowl electorates, out of WSI and to international destinations. That is also, apart from just the passengers, one of the exciting things about WSI.

We are in a situation at the moment where people are just trying to tear down everything that is great about Australia. We have people just trying to rubbish everything about politics and about the nation. What we saw yesterday with Western Sydney airport was what you get when the major parties work together, bipartisanship, not just over years but over decades—working together and bringing about a common goal. That is building the infrastructure that this nation expects and deserves and yesterday received in spades.

I also have to thank Warren Truss, the former deputy prime minister. I phoned him last night. He's not well at the moment. The work that he did, with the member for Grayndler, was second to none. I pay tribute to the former member for Wide Bay. He loves aviation. He absolutely loves infrastructure. Western Sydney airport is one of his great legacies. But it's also the legacy of bipartisanship. It's the legacy of what the Liberal, National and Labor parties do when we work together for the common good. Everybody else can besmirch us. Everybody else can rubbish us. Everybody else can try and tear this nation down. But when we work together over decades for the common good, this is the result. We can build a better future, and that is indeed what we saw yesterday.

Western Sydney airport is for a better future. It's not Sydney's second airport; it's Western Sydney's first airport. It was so exciting to be there yesterday. I thank everybody for the acknowledgements for the part I played, but I do thank Warren Truss for the huge part he also played.

For some in Macquarie, the beginning of passenger flights at Western Sydney international airport isn't especially welcome, primarily due to the fears of aircraft noise 24/7. There are a range of views. To date, the hard-won restrictions on flights implemented by the Albanese government have minimised aircraft noise, meaning that for some people the noise is barely noticeable. The restrictions include the night-time reciprocal runway operations, which preferences take-offs and landings towards the south-west when possible; the strict noise abatement procedure; and the sharing of flights over the whole Sydney basin. These restrictions came about thanks to our community's dedicated and persistent involvement in each stage of the WSI consultations, resulting in significant improvements to the original proposal of a single merge point over Blaxland. But the noise has still intruded on the tranquillity of our region, including the changes to Kingsford Smith and Bankstown airports, with smaller planes moving across the mountains much more often.

The starting of passenger flights means increased activity at Western Sydney international airport from now on, which means we will hear more aircraft. My message to people who are affected by the noise is, by all means, share your frustration on social media. But it's not enough to post on social media a photo of the flight path of the plane that disturbed you. It's not enough to email me alone. For there to be credible data that backs up the feedback I provide on the flight path impacts, I urge people disturbed by noise to record a formal complaint to the Noise Complaints and Information Service at Airservices Australia. I know a formal report involves additional time and energy, so I have a set of links on my website on flight operations, runway modes and complaints options to make it easier, especially for residents who are new to the area or are hearing noise for the first time. I'll be continuing my advocacy regarding the noise impacts on residents, businesses and our natural environment based on the feedback people provide.

While concern about aircraft noise is the dominant response to the opening of the new airport, I welcome the involvement of Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Nepean businesses in providing services and growing their businesses to meet the anticipated demand on the ground at the airport. Plate Hospitality chef Matt Atkins has been providing catering services to the airport for some time, and he runs a proud Indigenous local business. Blue Mountains and Emu Plains brewery, Mountain Culture, makers of multi-award-winning craft brew Status Quo, is opening two venues at the airport. It's now up to other local businesses to seize tourism opportunities so that benefits flow through to our local economies.

For the north-west of Sydney to really maximise benefits from the airport for both departing travellers and inbound tourists alike, transport connections need to improve. The Commonwealth is already investing heavily in rail connections, with the new metro from St Marys to Bradfield, and with a further $1 billion provision to start the works on an extension south to Leppington and Macarthur. But the next step has to be filling the missing link of those connections into north-west Sydney. I support my local Penrith mayor, and my other colleagues, in seeing this missing link addressed with urgency. The St Marys to Tallawong gap, with Schofields serving as a hub for the existing Richmond line and the new line to St Marys, would seem to be the most logical approach and provide much-improved connectivity for the Hawkesbury. The project is already listed as a priority by Infrastructure Australia, recognising that this is a project for the New South Wales government to develop and bring forward. When it's ready, I want to see the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments work together on the next stage of developing these connections.

My advocacy for the people of Macquarie on issues relating to Western Sydney airport is far from over. The formal community engagement forum to consider flight path issues will be created soon and provide a dedicated forum for noise matters. Noise monitors are already in place across the electorate, which you can see online in real time, and they'll move to various locations, over time, to paint a picture of the noise. Something we already know is that it's not a uniform impact, and we need to build that picture. So the start of passenger flights means just one thing to me: the next phase of work to fight for the best possible protections for my community is just beginning.

That yesterday morning the very first passenger jet departed Western Sydney international airport is something that we must celebrate as a country. It is the first major airport this country has built in over half a century.

Of course, the idea of Badgerys Creek as an airport isn't something terribly new. If we go back to the 1980s, it was in fact the Hawke Labor government that chose the site for the future airport that has become, today, Western Sydney international airport. By the early 1990s, it was the Keating government that promised Australians that flights would be departing from that airport by the middle of that decade. Unfortunately, that promise wasn't upheld, and so, year after year, report after report, that land sat empty. Governments studied it, debated it and, ultimately, shelved it. Western Sydney was told to wait, and to wait, and to wait. So, as they often do, we've seen Labor make big promises, but, when it's time to deliver for locals, it is the coalition that has to step up and take the initiative.

In April 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the call to commit the federal government to getting this done. So it was decided that Badgerys Creek would be Sydney's second airport, with no more excuses and no more delays, because that decision was enshrined in the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan, which was the framework for delivering what we ultimately saw come to fruition just yesterday. Isn't that extraordinary to think about: that, over 30 years from when the site was chosen, construction finally began, and it began under a Liberal government.

Now, through the challenges of the global pandemic, the airport has been delivered on time and on budget. That is something truly outstanding and worth recognising for the project team. It's important to remind those in this place of one thing—and it's something that this government seems to have forgotten in the last 4½ years. Infrastructure backed by government belongs to the people who pay for it and those who use it. Every dollar spent is a dollar taken off working Australians. That's why it's so important that, when the government commits funding to a project, they follow through, on time and on budget, as has been done here—a truly remarkable achievement.

The families of Western Sydney will no longer have to endure the disconnect between regional and metropolitan travel. As a regional MP myself, I celebrate that. Producers now have the opportunity of an international airport terminal on their doorstep. I know their local member, the member for Hume, the Leader of the Opposition, is so pleased to see that economic opportunity for his constituents.

On the other side of the country, in my own electorate, the South West is perfectly placed to be the site of Australia's next international airport. The Busselton Margaret River Airport is in desperate need of an upgrade, and the many hundreds of locals who have signed my petition also want to see it happen. The current shed—and I say 'shed' because it is one—that is labelled a terminal is not sufficient for the thousands of locals who fly in and fly out for work each week, and they deserve better, because they're travelling to the mines in Western Australia that generate the billions and billions of dollars in royalties and taxes that underpin our national prosperity here and in every other state and territory across the country.

I'm very lucky to be the representative for my special part of Australia, which has got so much on offer, and it's time that we shared that with the world. Local producers are already doing it on their own where they can. The premier Margaret River wine region is one of the best in Australia and is also internationally regarded as producing some of the world's finest wine. As much as I'd like to keep it all for myself, I think we owe it to the world to share it with them. We've heard about what this opportunity for Western Sydney airport brings to Western Sydney and its communities, and the same can be done with a little vision and a little heavy lifting from a government committed to infrastructure for the good people of Forrest.

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

CONDOLENCES Ezzy, Mr Allan, AM, APM

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes its profound sadness at the passing of Mr Allan Ezzy AM APM, former Mayor of the City of Holroyd on 4 September 2026;

(2) acknowledges his significant contribution to local government through his 38 years of service as an independent councillor on the City of Holroyd council, including nine terms as Mayor and three terms as Deputy Mayor, during which he was a tireless advocate for the people of Holroyd and Western Sydney;

(3) recognises his:

(a) service beyond local government, including his distinguished career in law enforcement and his service to the people of New South Wales as a police prosecutor; and

(b) commitment to community service through Rotary, church and service organisations, his role in establishing the Greystanes Community Centre, and his mentorship of generations of local councillors and community leaders; and

(4) extends its deepest condolences to his wife, Patricia, his daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and records its appreciation for a life dedicated to public service, community leadership and the people of Western Sydney.

I want to acknowledge Allan Ezzy's family, who are here tonight, and I want to acknowledge my friend the member for McMahon, who will second this motion.

Allan Ezzy led a remarkable life. He was born in Burwood in December 1942 to Clevelin and Valerie. He undertook a plumbing apprenticeship in 1957, and he later returned to technical college to obtain his leaving certificate. He continued studying throughout his working life, gaining qualifications in management, in local government, in law enforcement and in legal studies. For someone who became such an experienced prosecutor and community leader, it may surprise people to learn how shy Allan was as a young man. The prospect of speaking publicly could make him physically ill. Through Toastmasters and mentoring, he developed the confidence that colleagues would come to know in both courtrooms and council chambers.

His service to the community began as an ambo with St John Ambulance and then the Central District Ambulance service before he entered the police in 1968. Two years later, his involvement in apprehending an armed suspect earned him the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. He went on to become one of the state's leading and most celebrated police prosecutors, undertaking senior duties at the Downing Centre. Allan retired in 2004 as a senior sergeant after almost 36 years in the police, having received the Australian Police Medal the previous year. His colleagues remember a prosecutor who was thoroughly prepared, calm under pressure and respected for his integrity. His work included the initial court proceedings against the men charged with murdering Anita Cobby. In a case that caused enormous distress, Allan's careful preparation of the case helped keep the accused in custody while proceedings continued. Within policing, he established the Christian Police Fellowship, supporting officers whose work brought them into contact with tragedy. His concern for his colleagues extended beyond their professional duties to the pressures they carried home.

A flooding problem near his Greystanes home drew him into local government. Elected to Holroyd Council in 1974, he served for 38 years, including nine years as mayor. Allan mentored younger councillors, teaching them to read their council papers, attend community events and follow through on promises to residents. He earned respect across the political divide, debating firmly while maintaining friendships with colleagues who held different views. The Allan G Ezzy Community Centre opened in Pemulwuy in 2013, and the following year he was made a Member of the Order of Australia. He chaired the Greystanes community centre committee for many years and established the mayoral prayer dinner. He also served as a director of the Merrylands RSL—amazing contributions from one person.

His work on flooding extended beyond Holroyd too. He became a foundation member of the Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust. He chaired the New South Wales flood management authority and served on the National Flood Risk Advisory Group. He supported the local SES. He understood the damage flooding could cause and committed years to improving how communities could prepare for it. His contribution to flood management was recognised with life membership of the Flood Management Association in 2011. The association also established an award in his name to recognise excellence in flood risk management.

His leadership extended to Holroyd Rotary, where he served as president and led study exchanges to Scotland for young professionals. Rotary gave him the Paul Harris Fellowship. At St John's Cathedral in Parramatta, he served as a churchwarden and parish councillor. He hosted Bible study gatherings and helped fellow parishioners, with his Christian faith being central to his life.

Throughout all these commitments, Patricia shared his life, and she's here today. They married in 1979 and raised Simone, Renee and Vanessa. Around police duties, council meetings and community events, they built a close family, and Allan worked hard to give his daughters opportunities and adored his grandchildren. His daughters remember a father who worked several jobs to provide for them, encouraged them to think independently and remained fiercely concerned for their safety.

For my family, Allan was a dear friend. He was my father John's childhood best friend. They met at school in Sydney's inner west, and they remained close until Dad's death 30 years ago. As boys, they played records and pretended to run their own radio station named 2JLAE after John Leeser and Allan Ezzy. They attended each other's wedding, and Dad was immensely proud of Allan's career both in the police and in local government. Calling Allan when Dad died was one of the hardest conversations I've ever had.

Allan's kindness extended to me. When I was born, he gave me a stuffed chipmunk known as 'Allan the chipmunk' that became a favourite toy. As a first-year law student, I took university friends to watch him prosecute at the Downing Centre. He welcomed us and patiently answered our questions. When I was elected to council at 19, he sent me a letter that I've always treasured. When I later stood for Berowra, he ceased being an Independent just for one day to put on a blue shirt for the son of an old friend.

To Pat, Simone, Renee, Vanessa and the whole family, I offer our deepest condolences. I'm grateful for his friendship with my father, his kindness to me and his extraordinary service to the community. May his memory be a blessing.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion. It's right that the federal parliament should note the service and life of Allan G Ezzy—38 years of service on Holroyd Council, four terms as mayor and two as deputy mayor. He was elected to council in September 1974, which I confess to the chamber is just slightly after my birth, and served until his retirement in 2012. There would not be a street in Greystanes that Allan Ezzy hadn't visited, helped or serviced in his 38 years as a councillor. As my honourable friend mentioned, there was a particular focus on flooding issues, but of course his service then spread much more widely.

It was on council that I got to know Allan Ezzy. As it happens, he was Mayor of Holroyd when I was Mayor of Fairfield, two adjoining cities, and we did work closely together. We had different political views—I was a Labor mayor and he was an Independent mayor—but we worked closely together, and we never had a cross word. We did have one interesting discussion, I will confess to the chamber, where I had foreseen that perhaps Holroyd council might not be a council which survives an amalgamation process. I suggested to him that maybe we might get ahead of the curve and we might amalgamate Fairfield and Holroyd. It was a brief conversation because Allan was not interested in that conversation whatsoever. But I do stand by my view that perhaps Holroyd and Fairfield might have been a good match, and Holroyd, alas, did eventually get amalgamated with Auburn to form Cumberland City Council.

But his service was not just through council. It was, as the honourable member for Berowra has mentioned, through St John Ambulance, through the police, through rotary, through the church and also through his long connection with Patricia and his family to Greystanes Public School. There wasn't an annual presentation for many, many years where you wouldn't see Allan and Patricia at, providing support for the school many, many years after their own family had passed through the school. Allan, of course, served as a police legal prosecutor after he had left the beat and retired from service after 36 years as a senior sergeant. So 38 years on local council and 36 years in NSW Police—that is a record of which his family can be rightly proud.

All through his time, he extended his spare time to the people of Holroyd and to Greystanes in particular, and he made a very formidable councillor. I'm sure the chamber won't mind me pointing out that my friend and mentor Ken Morrisey and he made a very formidable team for the people of Greystanes—Ken Morrisey being a long-serving Labor councillor on Holroyd Council. He never quite got the numbers to be mayor but was a very, very long-serving councillor and alderman and a very good friend of mine and one of my early mentors in politics. He had the deepest respect for Allan Ezzy, and I know he would want his respect mentioned in this speech before the chamber. Ken still lives in Pemulwuy with June, and he is still a very dear and valued friend.

Allan was a member of the Holroyd rotary club for 40 years and held several board positions, including that of president, and received the Paul Harris fellowship and a sapphire pin for his services to rotary. He received the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service as well. In 2013, the Allan G Ezzy community centre was opened, and I've spent a lot of time there. There are many community events at Pemulwuy. It is a beautiful hall and is a fitting tribute to Allan. It's right that that very well-established and furnished hall is named in his honour to recognise his service. Pemulwuy didn't exist when he started on council. It was a Boral quarry; it is now a thriving suburb. Many people from Pemulwuy and surrounds attend that centre and see his name every single day, as they should, which recognises his service. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to local government and the community through law enforcement.

I was very saddened to hear of Allan's passing. He was, in all my interactions with him, a thorough gentleman in every sense of the word on every single occasion. He had a good, fruitful and productive life of service. So to Patricia, Simone, Renee and Vanessa: you are in all our thoughts. Allan was born in 1942; my late father was born in 1943, so I do have some feeling for what you're going through, having lost my father two years ago. You can look back on Allan's life of service with pride, and our community can look back on his life of service with gratitude. A fine Australian has left us.

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Acknowledgements

While in the chamber, I would like to acknowledge that the family of Mr Allan Ezzy AM, APM has joined us today. I welcome you for joining us in the Federation Chamber.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS Migration

by leave—I move:

That this House:

(1) agrees that Australians deserve a migration system in which they can have confidence, and of which migrants can be proud to be part, one that strengthens our economy, fills critical skills gaps, eases pressure on housing and essential services, and helps build a better Australia;

(2) condemns the Government for allowing unprecedented levels of migration to place unsustainable pressure on housing, infrastructure, roads, schools and hospitals, and making it harder for Australians to buy a home;

(3) notes the Opposition's plan to reduce net overseas migration to 100,000 a year for the first two years and reduce the number of temporary visa holders by around 650,000 over four years;

(4) acknowledges the Opposition's commitment to raise migration standards by prioritising skilled migrants who meet Australia's genuine workforce needs; and

(5) recognises the Opposition's plan to strengthen the integrity of the migration system by ensuring temporary visas are genuinely temporary and reducing opportunities for visa hopping.

Australians deserve a migration system in which they can have confidence and of which migrants coming to Australia can be proud to be part—one that strengthens our economy, fills critical skills gaps, eases pressure on housing and essential services and helps to build a better Australia, as has our migration system for decades. But for too long under Labor, under this government, our migration numbers have been too high and the standards have been too low. This must change, and that's why the coalition have announced our plan to put in place the largest cut to migration in Australian history and to deliver more homes for Australians in order to take pressure off roads, schools and hospitals.

We will fix our migration program and bring in only the skills that Australia needs whilst delivering a budget-neutral package that protects the economy and the federal budget. We will take back control of our migration system and ensure that it works for Australia by bringing in the right people in the right numbers, with a focus on the skills that Australia needs and on the values of those coming here. We want migrants that are coming to Australia because of what this country is—not those who would seek to change it into something else. The Liberals and Nationals have fixed Labor's migration messes before, and we will do it again if the Australian people reward us with government once more.

The problem is pretty clear. Since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was elected to office, in just over four years, Labor has brought in some 1.5 million additional migrants to Australia, which is roughly the population of Adelaide. Even Labor premiers around the country, like New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, have agreed that this has simply been too many too quickly and has put pressure on our social infrastructure.

For every year that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been in power, net overseas migration has been higher than even his own government's budget papers suggested it would be. The scale and speed of Labor's migration surge has changed our way of life. It is unforgivable because it is putting pressure on housing, infrastructure, schools, roads and hospitals, and perhaps most grievously of all it is making it harder for young Australians to buy a home of their own. Labor has lost control of our borders and broken the integrity of our migration system, and that is why our plan is so important.

We will cut net overseas migration to 100,000 for the first two years, rising slowly after that. We will bring in highly skilled migrants that better meet Australia's needs by prioritising the skilled people and the skilled partners that we need, particularly when it comes to our construction and agricultural sectors. We will protect migration into the regions, particularly through the Working Holiday Maker program with an exemption for regional areas. Australians in regional areas like mine can't afford to run businesses dependent on some lottery scheme run by bureaucrats here in Canberra. We must maintain the integrity of that labour supply to regional Australia.

Equally, we will refocus our tertiary education sector and stop them selling visas and return them to selling quality education. It is simply unforgivable that universities have become—

An honourable member: Businesses!

Exactly. I take the interjection, and I absolutely agree with it because they have become places where folks from overseas are buying their way into Australia rather than buying a decent education. Worse still, they're displacing, in some cases, Australians from those very courses. We will abolish temporary graduate visas. We will take back control of our migration system by requiring second and subsequent applications to be made offshore. It's not to say that foreign students who come to Australia to study won't ever be able to make it through our skilled migration pathways, but they should have to return home and make an application on their merits to do so.

Finally, we will put values at the centre of our migration policy once more. We will cut the numbers. We will raise the standards. We'll take back control, and we will put Australia first because that's what any decent government should be doing.

Is the motion seconded?

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

I rise as the member for Barton, and the name of my electorate is never lost on me. Sir Edmund Barton, our first prime minister, led a government that built the White Australia policy. More than a century later, the seat that carries his name is represented by an Australian with Sri Lankan and Papua New Guinean background raised by a Maltese and Italian family. If that isn't progress, I don't know what is. From Hurstville to Kingsgrove, Rockdale to Earlwood and Bexley to Clemton Park, my community is the proof that migration is the story of modern Australia. It is in our clinics and our classrooms, our aged-care homes and our building sites. It is in the nurse finishing a night shift at St George Hospital and the tradie pouring a slab for a new home out in Hurstville. Those are the people this debate is really about.

Before I entered this place, I spent over a decade as an employment lawyer. I represented workers as well as employers across construction, health care and also hospitality. I saw what a well-run system can do, and I saw what happens when it is rorted dodgy operators: exploited workers and honest businesses undercut. So I say this: a migration system must be fair. It must have integrity, and it must serve the national interests. That is what this Labor government is delivering. We have brought net overseas migration down by 45 per cent from its post-pandemic peak and we've held the permanent program at 185,000. We've tightened student visa integrity, shut down the dodgy providers and closed the loopholes that let people hop from visa to another. We're cracking down on rogue migration agents, we're introducing a 'no further stay' condition on visitor visas and we're using limited ministerial directions to prioritise the sectors Australians depend on, including health care, construction, defence and agriculture.

We're also getting the right skills to the right places. We've invested $85 million so migrants qualifications are recognised faster. Our fast tracked skills assessments have already made more than 20,000 migrants available to work in the construction trades. Labor has tripled the number of construction visas. In health care, the results speak for themselves. Skilled visa grants in the sector have more than doubled from 44,000-odd in the last four years to June 2022 to 101,000 or so since. Nurses and midwives account for more than 41,000 of those grants, and, for personal carers who look after our parents and grandparents, grants went up from 88 in the coalition's last four years to 6,838 under Labor.

Now compare it with the alternative. The coalition would slash net overseas migration to a hundred thousand and abolish the temporary graduate visa and bridging visas. That's not a plan for the national interest. There are no costings. It is a plan to win votes back from the fringe. Think about what it means for the people in Barton. Hospitals and aged-care homes in my community rely on the workers on those very visas. If you remove them, the jobs do not disappear. They become vacancies, and vacancies become patients waiting longer for a doctor, a test or an aged-care bed, and there is the contradiction. They promised the biggest migration cut in Australian history while promising to increase skilled visas by a hundred thousand. They would reintroduce the Morrison government's agriculture visa, which in its time delivered not a single visa.

You cannot cut deeply and grow at the same time. Labor's approach is different. It's orderly, it's fair, it's targeted and it's built on a simple principle: temporary visas for those who come temporarily, permanent visas for those who stay and departure for those who no longer have a right to be here. It keeps faith with our obligations to genuine refugees and it puts Australian workers first. My community has always understood that a country can be both welcoming and well managed. This Albanese Labor government is proving it.

Australians deserve a migration system that they have confidence in, that strengthens our economy and that fills genuine skills shortages in construction, aged care and agricultural backpackers. They also deserve a migration system that brings people to Australia who want to contribute to our communities and our way of life. But, under the Albanese Labor government, that is not what we have seen. For too long the numbers have been too high and the standards have been too low, and the pressure on Australian communities has grown and grown. Since Labor came to office, about 1.5 million additional migrants have come to Australia. That is an extraordinary number of people in a short period of time.

While targeted migration can deliver enormous benefits to our country, right now too many Australians are struggling to get into the housing market. Birthing services and GP clinics are closing, roads are falling apart, and hospitals are struggling to meet the demand. These pressures are being felt right across the country, including in regional South Australia. When the hospitals are under pressure in our cities, you can imagine how much attention regional hospitals are getting—absolutely nothing. The pace and scale of that growth must be matched by our capacity to provide housing infrastructure and essential services. Regional communities understand the importance of migration. Our industries rely on workers and on backpackers to keep businesses operating, bring in the harvest, provide health care and aged care and support tourism and hospitality, particularly in the outback.

Just one example of Labor's mishandling of migration is the schemozzle they have made of the Working Holiday Maker program, which has created uncertainty for industries that rely on these workers. Working holiday-makers, also known as backpackers, drive our chaser bins, help our harvests, keep regional pubs and cafes operating and support tourism businesses that are vital to local economies. Labor's failure to manage the backpacker visas has left regional employers facing greater uncertainty during the most important time of the year.

The coalition's Australia-First Migration Plan sets out a clear path to reducing migration, raising standards and restoring the integrity of our migration system. We will reduce net overseas migration to 100,000 people a year in the first two years, before allowing it to recover to 160,000 in year 4. This will help ease pressure on housing and services, while ensuring migration levels are more closely aligned with Australia's capacity and workforce needs. But cutting the numbers is only part of the solution. We must also raise the standards and ensure our migration program is delivering the skills Australia actually needs. That means prioritising skilled migrants who can fill genuine shortages, including in construction, health care, aged care and other essential industries.

Our regional hospitals and healthcare services need skilled professionals. Our tourism and hospitality operators need staff. Our ag businesses need workers during harvest, including right now in my own part of the world in regional South Australia. We can bring overall migration numbers down while still ensuring regional businesses can access the workers they genuinely need. We also need to restore integrity to the temporary visa system. That means closing loopholes, cracking down on visa hopping and ensuring temporary visas are used for their intended purpose.

Stopping universities from being visa shops.

I'll take the interjection. Migration should strengthen our economy, not add unsustainable pressure to housing and essential services. It should also ensure Australian businesses can access the workers they need, while making sure Australians are not left competing for scarce housing and stretched public services. It should rebuild confidence in a migration system that has lost trust for many Australians. For regional communities like those across Grey, getting the settings right is particularly important. We need a migration system that understands the difference between uncontrolled population growth and the skilled workers who help our regional communities survive and grow. The coalition has put forward a plan to cut the numbers, raise the standards and restore integrity in our system—one that works for our economy, our communities and our future.

The Albanese Labor government is not afraid of hard conversations, and we are willing to have a respectful and constructive discussion about migration. We believe migration enriches our country. It should not be used as a tool to sow division for political gain. We are making tailored and targeted changes to our migration system to give us more control over who arrives, who stays and who leaves. We're closing the loopholes that see our migration system manipulated for unintended purposes and tightening the rules so that visas mean what they say. Importantly, our reforms do not change our annual humanitarian intake, which remains a vital chance for people that are displaced by conflict and persecution to rebuild a safer life here in Australia, and people already in Australia will continue under the arrangements from when they arrived. These are good and progressive reforms.

The reality is that we have an ageing population. According to the Intergenerational report 2026, even with skilled migration, deaths in Australia are projected to outnumber births by the 2060s. The number of Australians aged 85 and over is expected to triple in the next 40 years, driving increased demand for health and aged care. The report also states that skilled migration will continue to play an important role in the workforce, including in the care economy. Without adequate migration, Australia has a real and growing workforce issue. Drastic cuts to migration would leave Australia without the people who staff our hospitals and our aged-care homes, build our houses and transport food and goods across our country.

As the politics of division increasingly permeate our daily lives, there has never been a more important time to reflect on what it means to be Australian and on what it takes to create a socially cohesive society. One of our greatest strengths is our diversity. Our modern nation has been built by people of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds. Australia has never been a monoculture. Our history begins tens of thousands of years ago with the world's oldest continuous culture, comprising hundreds of distinct First Nations languages, customs and beliefs. Since Federation, successive generations of migrants have enriched the fabric of Australian society, and nowhere demonstrates this more than my area of the Illawarra. Multiculturalism strengthens our nation, and it deserves to be celebrated and embraced. As a country, we are at our best when we come together with mutual respect and understanding. It is incredibly disheartening when our differences are weaponised to divide us.

As elected representatives, we have a responsibility to keep our multicultural communities safe. Both the Indian and Muslim communities in my electorate have told me they fear for their safety. University students, refugees and women who wear a hijab, in particular, are scared. One community leader said that, over the 40 years that she has been here in Australia, she has never felt such levels of hatred targeted at her community. These are people who have chosen Australia. They work hard and they want to give back to their communities, but they are feeling afraid because of these toxic debates. Countering this threat to our multicultural success story is crucial. I believe we are all united in a common pride in being Australian, and that must be underpinned by a commitment to respect—

Member for Kennedy!

belonging and shared responsibility for creating a harmonious community, Member for Kennedy. Every person, regardless of their faith or cultural background, deserves to feel welcomed, valued and empowered to contribute to our society. This is how we build a more inclusive, cohesive and fair Australia for all. It's what supports a prosperous community, a thriving economy and a safe and secure home.

There's rising instability across the world. The wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine, the impacts of a changing climate, horrific natural disasters and the increasing prominence of social media are reshaping the world as we know it. The rise of far-right and far-left extremism and the spread of mis- and disinformation are placing further strain on the bonds that hold our community together. When a community's sense of security and identity is challenged, trust and connection begin to fracture. In times of uncertainty, we need to focus on what unites us: our shared commitment to fairness, kindness and opportunity for all. When we choose empathy over division, respect over fear and kindness over hate, we reinforce the sense of belonging that helps our communities to thrive.

With all due respect, Madam Speaker Lawrence, this lady must have come from overseas, because this is not the reality of Australia.

That's so charming! So charming!

Ninety-two per cent of the migrants are going to Sydney and Melbourne. There are no jobs. All the industries are closed. You people and the Liberals closed down the motor car industry. It's gone.

The member for Kennedy will pause. Can you please just direct your remarks through me.

I'm sorry. Yes, you're right, Madam Speaker. The motor car industry is gone, taking tens of thousands of workers with it. The underwear industry is gone, taking thousands of workers with it. There are no industries left in Sydney, Australia. The petrol industry has gone. All the refineries are closed here in Australia. So you're funnelling them into two cities where there's no accommodation. They are not becoming Australians. They're living in ethnic enclaves, and a group of them hate Australians and will never become Australians, and every Australian knows that. If the Labor Party continues down this path, they've got a big annihilation coming. A big annihilation is coming.

Every week of my life I've asked probably 100 people: 'If you were the boss of Australia, what would you do?' Every single one of them—over 300—mentioned migration. Only three didn't mention migration. It is the burning issue out there, and so it should be. You're bringing half a million people into Australia each year; you conveniently leave out the student visas. There are 250,000 people coming on student visas, and 50,000 go home each year. They conveniently quote immigration figures and leave out the student visa figures.

The chairman of the board of Universities Australia said to me 20 years ago, 'If you stop the universities from being visa shops, then you will close half the universities in Australia.' Let's not talk about migration, let's talk about the universities needing this money to continue. The cost to Australia is people going to Sydney and Melbourne, where there's no accommodation and no work, and they are just on the public benefit, both in the area of housing and in the area of social welfare. These are realities. The ALP must be living on another planet. If ever I've seen a government going in for one big hell of a hiding, it's this mob. Take a look at the polls on migration. If you doubt my word, take a look at the polling. If you've got a policy where you farm them all into Sydney and Melbourne—there are two people I'm not going to name in the ALP, they've been great heroes up to date because they've been farming the migrants into electorates in Sydney and Melbourne where they can get control of the ALP and, hopefully, control of Australia.

Those two people in the ALP are now pariahs, thank goodness, because I think they're both very evil people. I am very solemn to ever use that description in the parliaments that I've been in in 52 years. I use the word evil because they are destroying the country to benefit themselves personally. Their power within the ALP has been built upon this migration coming into Sydney and Melbourne. There's no accommodation and no work for them. What the hell is going on here? I'll tell you what's going on here: a power grab by two people in this parliament. One is in the Senate, and one is in the House of Reps. My spies inside the Labor Party—my friends inside the Labor Party—tell me that, now, they just want to kill them both. They had big popularity and all this power, but, now, the ALP, quite rightly, is turning on them. That's not the message that's going out there into the public arena, nor should it be.

The Liberals started this, flagrantly lying to the Australian people. When you leave out the student visa numbers, you are flagrantly lying to the Australian people. There might be 200,000 coming in each year under migration visas—various ones. There, again, they quote the migration visas. There are about 20 categories of visa by which you can get into Australia. (Time expired)

The time allotted for the debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next setting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:24