address to parliament – BILLS – Help to Buy Bill 2023, Help to Buy (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2023 – Second Reading
The member for Boothby could’ve just tabled a note. She could’ve just stood there and said, ‘We’re good and you’re not,’ and left it at that. But I want to rebut many of the points that she made—for a start, the point that she made about the very name of the bill we are debating: […]
address to parliament – MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS – National Apology to the Stolen Generations: 16th Anniversary
Eight million dollars—it’s not a lot of money, particularly when you consider the amount of money spent on last year’s referendum, which was about $450 million. Eight million dollars is not a lot of money when you consider the amount of money that Treasury handles every year to run this nation. Compared to the sort […]
address to parliament – BILLS – Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2023-2024, Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2023-2024, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2023-2024 – Second Reading
Prior to the election, the Prime Minister and Labor candidates, members and senators made a lot of promises and pledges. They said they were going to do politics better. They said they were going to be accountable and transparent. Unfortunately, they haven’t been. I’m pleased to be able to rise to speak on this appropriations […]
address to parliament – BILLS – Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards and Other Measures) Bill 2023 – Second Reading
I’m truly grateful that we’ve been joined by the Minister for Communications. At the outset, I’m going to be very bipartisan and give the minister some kudos. Her first visit as the minister, as I understand, was to the Riverina electorate. We met with Peter, Meegan, Todd and Lily McCarten at Naradhan. The McCartens operate […]
address to parliament – GRIEVANCE DEBATE – Australian Defence Force
Colonel Tim Stone, the commandant of the 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Kapooka, is a good man. I speak to him regularly about military matters. He has one of the most important positions in the Australian Army because every recruit who does their basic training goes through Kapooka. It’s an important military institution. Indeed, Colonel […]
address to parliament – BILLS – Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024, Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living—Medicare Levy) Bill 2024 – Second Reading
Keeping faith with voters, with the public, is important and it comes down to a matter of trust. At the moment, political trust is at a very big low, unfortunately. I appreciate what other members, those opposite, have said about giving Australians a tax cut. We hear that; we understand that on this side of […]
address to parliament – PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS – Agriculture Industry
A little bit of history—history’s important and context is important. The current Leader of the Opposition was never the agriculture minister. The Nationals would never give that up, quite frankly, in government or in opposition or at any other time, with all due respect to my great friends in the Liberal Party. The agriculture portfolio […]
address to parliament – STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS – Riverina Electorate: Tibetan New Year
The Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Councillor Dallas Tout, and I ventured on the 13-kilometre Tumbatrek walk on Saturday, and we were feeling a little worse for wear. Despite that, we were both invited to the celebration of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. Indeed we were both hoping that we weren’t going to be asked to […]
address to parliament – BUSINESS – Rearrangement
I’m very disappointed and I’m very disillusioned. When Labor came to office in May 2022 it promised to be accountable and transparent, and yet we have seen the opposite occur. It started when Labor didn’t allow all the members in this place to talk on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1). That was the first time […]
address to parliament – STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS – Tumbatrek
On Saturday with the member for Eden-Monaro, I went on the Tumbatrek. Glen McGrath—not the cricketing ‘ooh ahh’ Glenn McGrath—is one of the organisers of this trek. There were plenty of people going, ‘Ooh, ahh,’ at the end of the trek, myself and no doubt the member for Eden-Monaro included. The Tumbatrek commemorates the legacy […]