House debates

Thursday, 28 August 2014

  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Documents (0 speeches)
    • NBN Co Limited; Presentation (1 speech)
      Before I move this, on indulgence, can I associate myself with the comments of the Minister for Education and commend him for the reform bill that he has introduced to this House. I present the...
  • Business (0 speeches)
    • Rearrangement (1 speech)
      by leave—I move: That order of the day No. 1, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to.
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Statements by Members (0 speeches)
    • Education (1 speech)
      There will be no surprise today that I rise to speak about higher education. Before the election this government promised no cuts to education. The higher education bill introduced today confirms...
    • Dobell Electorate: Central Coast Community Women's Health Centre (1 speech)
      Today in New South Wales is acknowledged as the Day of Action Against Sexual Assault. The aim of this day is to commemorate both the victims and the survivors of sexual assault and to recognise...
    • Education (1 speech)
      The coalition's higher education legislation tabled in the House today is both divisive and mean-spirited. All around central Victoria as well as other areas of regional Victoria people are...
    • Forde Electorate (1 speech)
      I had the honour of attending the recent Ormeau Lions fair, which is one of the great community events in the electorate of Forde. The Ormeau Lions fair is an annual attraction, which locals like...
    • Education (1 speech)
      Twelve months ago this week, the then opposition leader, now Prime Minister, told Australians: We will be a no surprises, no excuses government … the worst deficit is not the budget deficit...
    • Homeless Persons' Week (1 speech)
      In the first week of August, I had the wonderful opportunity to recognise Homeless Persons' Week and hit the street of Penrith and St Marys. Firstly, I dropped by Station Street to catch up with...
    • Indi Electorate: Youth Leadership (1 speech)
      Today, we will have some special guests in the gallery during question time. These are young people from the electorates of Indi and Farrer, from Albury-Wodonga. These young people are...
    • Sculthorpe, Mr Peter, AO, OBE (1 speech)
      I acknowledge and welcome Oakwood School, which is somewhere in the student galleries, from my electorate of Bass. But I rise today to pay tribute to Peter Sculthorpe AO, OBE, as a musical giant...
    • Higher Education (1 speech)
      Today, the Minister for Education introduced legislation that will make the dream of a higher education unaffordable for thousands of Australians. Under the Abbott government, university fees...
    • National Dog Day (1 speech)
      I rise to talk about dogs. This week, on Tuesday, 26 August, it was National Dog Day. We must be very proud of our dogs. Our dogs keep our borders secure. They look and investigate drug...
    • La Trobe University (1 speech)
      Last Thursday I had the privilege, once again, to visit La Trobe University, which is based in my home electorate of Batman. La Trobe University is an important part of Australia's higher...
    • Fraser, Councillor Ann (1 speech)
      It is with great sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful friend and community leader from Deakin, Councillor Ann Fraser, who, sadly, passed away just a few weeks ago. Anyone in my...
    • Education Funding (1 speech)
      We see today another broken promise by this government. Before the election the then opposition said they would make no cuts to education. We have seen a bill in the parliament that cuts...
    • Corangamite Electorate (1 speech)
      That was an unfortunate contribution from the member for Kingston, who is in the business of scaring students and not sticking to the facts. Let me assure you that the contribution you have just...
    • Education Funding (1 speech)
      The Minister for Education constantly justifies the increase in the HECS-HELP repayment on the basis that graduates earn, on average, 75 per cent more than people without a university degree. But...
    • Hasluck Electorate: Falls Road Primary School (1 speech)
      I had the privilege of attending Falls Road Primary School—runner-up in the Western Australian primary school category for the Anzac Day Schools' Awards. I presented the school with a...
    • Higher Education (1 speech)
      Today, higher education reforms were introduced by the Minister for Education that will place a massively increased debt burden particularly on Australian women. I am still not sure if the...
    • Robertson Electorate: First Gosford Scouts (1 speech)
      Today I rise to congratulate the First Gosford Scouts on their 90 years of service to our community. Last weekend I joined a crowd of around 400 people at the sea scouts hall in Gosford to...
    • Higher Education (1 speech)
      More than 50,000 students call my electorate home at the Monash University campus in Clayton and Deakin University campus in Burwood—50,000 students who have been lied to by this Prime...
    • Ryan Electorate: Education (1 speech)
      Earlier this week I received a letter from Minister Pyne, informing me of the excellent academic achievements of 18 students in my electorate of Ryan. Each year the Australian Student Prize has...
  • Statement by the Speaker (0 speeches)
    • Parliamentary Security (1 speech)
      I am making a statement today in light of the incident that occurred on Tuesday during question time. A person in the public gallery attempted to disrupt proceedings in the House and was promptly...
  • Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
    • (1 speech)
      I inform the House that the Minister for Foreign Affairs will be absent from question time today. She is in Indonesia to sign the Australia-Indonesia joint understanding on a code of conduct with...
  • Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
    • Iraq (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister provide an update on the situation in Iraq, and the role that Australia will play.
    • National Security (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on further steps the government is taking to keep Australia safe.
    • Australian War Memorial (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the last election the Prime Minister promised—I quote: The coalition will take the action necessary to preserve, protect and enhance the...
    • Malaysia: Missing Aircraft (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on the continuing search for the missing...
    • Australian War Memorial (5 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the election the Prime Minister promised to support the War Memorial. Why has the Prime Minister broken this promise and cut funding to the War...
    • National Security (9 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Minister, would you advise the House on actions the government is taking to address the threats to our nation's borders. Has...
    • Qantas (2 speeches, 2 comments)
      My question is for the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. In six years, Qantas CEO Joyce has paid himself $22 million; profits of $1 billion a year have become losses of nearly...
    • National Security (5 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Justice.
    • Australian War Memorial (24 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. The Australian War Memorial has confirmed the Abbott government has cut $800,000 in funding for its travelling exhibitions program. I also note the...
    • Economy (10 speeches)
      My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on the state of the economy? How will building a strong economy help businesses in Tasmania and around Australia?
    • Australian War Memorial (10 speeches)
      My question is for the Prime Minister. Given it was the previous Labor government that announced the $10 million he referred to in his previous answer and given that both the War Memorial and his...
    • Higher Education (6 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Education. Will the minister outline how the government's reform bill will spread opportunity to more Australians to gain a higher education qualification and...
    • Budget (14 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning I met with Liz St Clare Long. She is a war widow whose husband actually served in Vietnam. Ms Long told me that her husband voted for the...
    • Broadband (4 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Communications. Will the minister inform the House of the findings of the recent cost-benefit analysis about providing communications to rural and regional...
  • Distinguished Visitors (0 speeches)
    • (1 speech)
      I advise the chamber that we have with us in the gallery the Northern Australia Advisory Group, led by the Hon. Shane Stone, AC, QC, chair of the group and former Attorney-General and Chief...
  • Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
    • Budget (8 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Exactly one year ago today at a press conference in Hobart the Prime Minister said, 'We can fund the major initiatives that we have announced so far in this...
    • Child Care (8 speeches)
      My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education—doing a fabulous job. Will the minister update the House on this government's actions to make child care more affordable, accessible...
    • Budget (12 speeches)
      Madam Speaker, my question is to the Treasurer. Stuart Edwards is a constituent of mine who is a single dad with four young kids. He is studying at university part time while working, and because...
    • Carbon Pricing (2 speeches)
      Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Small Business. Minister, will you update the House on how the abolition of the carbon tax is reducing costs for small businesses in my...
    • Budget (13 speeches)
      Madam Speaker, my question is to the Treasurer. The coalition promised no new taxes and no cuts to health. I refer to Lauren Allen, a single mother in Canberra whose child has a rare autoimmune...
    • Road Infrastructure (12 speeches)
      My question is to the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the assistant minister update the House on the status of the East West Link project in Melbourne and the...
  • Documents (0 speeches)
    • Presentation (1 speech)
      Documents are presented as listed in the schedule circulated to honourable members. Details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.
  • Matters of Public Importance (0 speeches)
    • Budget (14 speeches)
      I have received a letter from the honourable the Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: “The...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Committees (0 speeches)
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Adjournment (0 speeches)
    • National Science Week (1 speech)
      Last week we celebrated National Science Week, Australia's annual celebration of science and technology. During Science Week, in fact on Saturday, I was lucky enough to open the VEX Robotics...
    • Robertson Electorate (1 speech)
      Recently I was privileged to attend the album launch of The Coast Sessions. It is a double CD of fantastic hit songs from famous artists living on the Central Coast, along with some undiscovered...
    • Domestic Violence (1 speech)
      I was pleased to see the launch of the No More Deaths campaign in Melbourne this week by a coalition of groups seeking comprehensive political action in response to the scourge of men's violence...
    • Indonesia (1 speech)
      I would just like to associate myself with the words of the member for Gellibrand on a very important topic. Two weeks ago I undertook a self-funded tour of Indonesia. Indonesia is a valuable...
    • Lingiari Electorate (1 speech)
      On Friday, 22 August, along with Senator Nova Peris, I was privileged to attend the 48th anniversary of the walk-off by Aboriginal stockmen and their families from Wave Hill Station in the...
  • Constituency Statements (0 speeches)
    • Holt Electorate (1 speech)
      Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Casey Regional Veterans Welfare Centre and met with John Hopkins and Peter Godfrey to present the organisation with a $3,000 grant under the Building...
    • Bennelong Electorate: Max Potential, Cancer Council's Daffodil Day (1 speech)
      (   I rise to inform the House of some recent goings-on in Bennelong. Max Potential is an initiative of Clubs New South Wales and the Future Achievement Australia Foundation and for the past...
    • Animal Testing for Cosmetics (1 speech)
      (   During the 2013 election campaign, Labor promised to lead a national consultation on phasing out the importation, manufacture, sale and advertising of cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients...
    • Asylum Seekers (1 speech)
      ) ( There is no greater human tragedy taking place currently—and, probably, there has not been in recent history—than what is happening in the conflict in Iraq and Syria. It is timely...
    • Blair Electorate: Five Bridges and the Ipswich Community Justice Group (1 speech)
      ) ( I speak today about the great work being undertaken by Five Bridges and the Ipswich Community Justice Group in relation to young Indigenous people in contact with the criminal justice system...
    • Corangamite Electorate: Petrol Prices (1 speech)
      I rise this morning to speak out on a very important issue for the people of Colac and the broader Colac-Otway region. For far too long, petrol prices in Colac have been far too high. Year after...
    • Shortland Electorate: Centrelink (2 speeches)
      My office has been inundated with complaints from elderly people about Centrelink. There are three Centrelink offices within the Shortland electorate—one on the Central Coast and two in the...
    • Parramatta Electorate: 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers (1 speech)
      Parramatta is known for its colonial and convict heritage, but perhaps it is less well known for its extraordinary military history. We have in the heart of Parramatta a unique part of...
    • Robertson Electorate: Mushroom Industry (2 speeches)
      I rise to speak on what may seem at first glance to be quite a humble food source: the mushroom. But today I also particularly rise to speak about a great local business in my electorate,...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Adjournment (0 speeches)
    • Employment (1 speech)
      Nowhere is the dire need to create jobs for young people and to support trades training centres more evident than in my electorate. Youth unemployment is at a 15-year high in Victoria, with...
    • Casey Electorate: First World War Centenary (1 speech)
      In the dying days of 1918, Winston Churchill predicted with precision what we would all be doing over the next four years. With the mechanised machine gun madness of our costliest war just over,...
    • Kent, Mr Lewis (1 speech)
      It is with great sadness that I stand today to pay tribute to Lewis Kent, a man who, in partnership with his wonderful wife, Vera, served the electorate of Hotham for 10 years between 1980 and...
    • Macquarie Electorate: Infrastructure (1 speech)
      I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the success of the coalition government in projecting and achieving significant accomplishments in infrastructure for Australia. The residents...
    • Bendigo Electorate: Golden Square Early Education Centre (1 speech)
      A few weeks ago I had the great honour of being given the opportunity by Goodstart Early Learning to spend a day walking in the shoes of the educators of the Golden Square Early Education Centre....
    • Barker Electorate: National Broadband Network (1 speech)
      I rise to speak today on the outstanding progress the Abbott coalition government is making in rolling out the National Broadband Network, particularly in my electorate of Barker. The NBN is a...