House debates

Monday, 24 August 2020

  • Statements on Indulgence (0 speeches)
    • COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (3 speeches)
      To commence with, for the information for honourable members, I would like to present the Agreement for Members to Contribute Remotely to Parliamentary Proceedings, which has been made pursuant...
  • Statement by the Speaker (0 speeches)
    • COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (1 speech)
      Just before we move on, I might make a detailed statement now, if it suits the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business, just for clarity of all members. As we know, over the...
  • Motions (0 speeches)
    • COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (2 speeches)
      by leave—I move: That: (1) the House authorises the use of an official video facility in order for a Member not physically present in the Chamber to participate in such proceedings of the...
  • Parliamentary Office Holders (0 speeches)
    • Speaker's Panel (1 speech)
      Pursuant to standing order 17(a), I lay on the table my warrant nominating the honourable members for Mackellar, Macarthur and Parramatta to be members of the Speaker's panel to assist the chair...
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Selection Committee; Report (1 speech)
      I present report No. 17 of the selection committee relating to the consideration of committee and delegation reports and private members' business for this sitting. Copies of the report have been...
  • Business (0 speeches)
    • Rearrangement (1 speech)
      I rise to move a motion to suspend standing orders—it's a suspension motion with respect to private members' business in this sitting—and to advise the House that, pursuant to...
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Petitions Committee; Report (1 speech)
      I present the 14th report of the Petitions Committee of the 46th Parliament, comprising 79 petitions and 93 ministerial responses to petitions previously presented.
  • Petitions (0 speeches)
    • Responses (1 speech)
      Ministerial responses to petitions previously presented to the House have been received as follows:
    • Statements (1 speech)
      This presentation of petitions and ministerial responses is exceptionally large. This is partly due to changes in the sitting pattern because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of the...
  • Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
    • Social Housing (13 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) more than 140,000 Australians were on social housing waitlists in June 2018; (b) the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has identified a...
    • Arts, Tourism (16 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) notes that cultural and creative activity plays an important role in: (a) the lives of 98 per cent of Australians, who engage with the arts by making art, viewing,...
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Agriculture and Water Resources Committee; Membership (1 speech)
      by leave—I move: That Mr Pasin be appointed a supplementary member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources for the purpose of the committee's inquiry into the timber...
    • Northern Australia Committee; Membership (1 speech)
      I have received a message from the Senate informing the House Senator McMahon has been discharged from the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia and Senator Canavan has been appointed a...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Statements by Members (0 speeches)
    • Liberal Party of Australia: Indian Australians (1 speech)
      What is it with the persistent offensiveness of the Liberals towards Australians of Subcontinent background? Not long ago, the Treasurer mocked Hinduism in this chamber. Then last night we saw on...
    • Boothby Electorate: Recycling (1 speech)
      The Morrison government is taking strong and decisive action on waste reduction and recycling. We're banning the export of plastic, paper, glass and tyres and investing almost $360 million in...
    • Northern Territory Election (1 speech)
      Saturday saw the culmination of voting in the Northern Territory election. Voting commenced two weeks ago with mobile teams visiting remote community centres and prepoll centres opening across...
    • Lyne Electorate: Men's Sheds (1 speech)
      Mr Deputy Speaker O'Brien, as you well know, every man needs a shed, and the coalition government is committed to supporting the Men's Shed program around the country. In my electorate of Lyne...
    • Garritty, Mr Patrick 'Paddy' (1 speech)
      I rise to celebrate the life of Paddy Garritty. A proudly militant trade unionist for the Painters and Dockers and for the Seamen's Union, Paddy was a beloved member of the labour movement in...
    • Western Australia: Infrastructure (1 speech)
      I wish to inform the House that, since the last sitting of parliament, a number of development milestones have been achieved in Moore. Both of the grade separated bridges at the intersections of...
    • Macquarie Electorate: Telecommunications (1 speech)
      Residents in Bowen Mountain have spent nearly a month without a landline or internet connection thanks to a Telstra cable being cut. Their situation was more dire because this is one big mobile...
    • Flynn Electorate: Health Services (1 speech)
      Health services in Gladstone are considered by many to be third world. Gladstone is the most populated town in my electorate of Flynn, and yet the state government has failed to address the lack...
    • Indi Electorate: Bushfire Recovery (1 speech)
      I rise today to applaud the communities in the Upper Murray as they rebuild from the summer's destruction, a rebuild that deals with the additional challenge of COVID-19. In Corryong, the Upper...
    • Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (1 speech)
      One of the things we must be very careful about in this place is that when we introduce new legislation that has red tape in it we need to ensure that the unintended consequences do not outweigh...
    • Liberal Party (1 speech)
      It's a big day at the buck-passing factory for this PM, who has said of his own party's branch-stacking scandal that it's simply an organisational matter for the Liberal Party—except that...
    • Parliamentary Representation (1 speech)
      One of the reasons why I put my hand up to be the member for Reid is that I believe more women need to be involved in policy and decision-making in our nation. The recent Eden-Monaro by-election...
    • Democracy (1 speech)
      I rise today to talk about trust in democracy. According to research from the University of Canberra's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, the level of satisfaction with democracy has...
    • Lindsay Electorate: Manufacturing (1 speech)
      Western Sydney is the key to unlocking the potential of Australian manufacturing, and it's time to get behind Australian manufacturers to create local jobs for local people. Local manufacturers...
    • Prime Minister (1 speech)
      This Prime Minister just won't take responsibility for anything. He won't take responsibility for the devastating bushfires that occurred during our summer. It's been more than six months, and...
    • COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (1 speech)
      Before I talk about what I wanted to talk about, I will just say that what the previous speaker said is absolutely ridiculous. I'm no big punter for anybody around here, but I think the Prime...
    • Prime Minister (1 speech)
      Australians right now deserve political leadership that is consistent and which demonstrates a determination to take responsibility, a determination to rebuild trust in the capacity of this place...
    • COVID-19: State and Territory Border Closures (1 speech)
      To say it's a challenging time to be living in a cross-border community is an understatement. As members would be aware, the electorate of Barker, which I represent, stretches the length of the...
    • Morrison Government (1 speech)
      Last night, senior members of the Morrison government were exposed by claims of branch stacking and the misuse of taxpayer funded resources. Assistant Treasurer Mr Sukkar is at the centre of this...
    • Braddon Electorate: Central Coast (2 speeches)
      Delivering on election commitments is a priority for me, and it's been great to be out and about across the Central Coast of Tasmania doing just that. The Ulverstone Recreation Ground upgrade is...
  • Parliamentary Representation (0 speeches)
    • Members Sworn (1 speech)
      I have received a return to the writ which I issued on 28 May 2020 for the election of a member to serve for the electoral division of Eden-Monaro in the state of New South Wales to fill the...
  • Condolences (0 speeches)
    • Johnston, Mr James Roger (1 speech)
      I inform the House of the death on 24 June of this year of James Roger Johnston, a member of this House for the division of Hotham from 1977 until 1980. As a mark of respect to the memory of...
  • Shadow Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
    • (1 speech)
      by leave—For the information of the House, I present a revised list of the shadow ministry. The member for Paterson has been appointed the shadow assistant minister for defence, and Senator...
  • Statements on Indulgence (0 speeches)
    • Covid-19 (6 speeches)
      I join with the Leader of the Opposition in welcoming the member for Eden-Monaro, and, to her family, I welcome you also here to this place today. Today, like the rest of our country, our...
  • Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
    • (1 speech)
      I inform the House that the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel will be absent from question time today and for the remainder of the week. The Deputy Prime Minister...
  • Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (3 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Counsel assisting the aged care royal commission said, 'Neither the Commonwealth Department of Health nor the aged-care regulator developed a COVID-19 plan...
    • Covid-19 (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the Morrison government is driving Australia's economic and health recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic?
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. The health department says 328 aged-care residents have died from COVID-19. How many more aged-care residents have to die before the Prime Minister accepts...
    • COVID-19: Economy (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House how the Morrison government's plan for jobs growth is supporting Australian businesses and families during this pandemic?
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his answer to my previous question, in which the Prime Minister claimed that there was really an aged-care plan for COVID-19, even though his own...
    • COVID-19: State and Territory Border Closures (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. For the past seven weeks, the closure of the New South Wales-Victorian border has upended the lives of thousands of people. There is confusion, frustration,...
    • COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister please inform the House how the Morrison-McCormack...
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (12 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. The commissioners presiding over the aged-care royal commission said today: Had the Australian government acted upon previous reviews of aged care, the...
    • COVID-19: Economy (2 speeches)
      Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House how the Morrison government's economic support packages are helping businesses and families in...
    • Aged Care (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister wait until now, six months into the pandemic and after hundreds of aged-care residents have died, to announce the Aged Care...
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (6 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison government is working to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in Victorian aged-care facilities,...
    • COVID-19: Vaccine (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister please update the House on the Morrison government's coronavirus vaccine strategy?
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that the government's own report on the COVID-19 outbreak at Dorothy Henderson Lodge warned that even well-managed providers...
    • Covid-19 (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology. Can the minister please inform the House about how the Morrison government is backing the development of a COVID vaccine to...
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (4 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his statement: We regulate aged care but when there is a public health pandemic, then public health, which, whether it gets into aged care,...
    • COVID-19: People with Disability (3 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services. Will the minister please update the House on what steps the Morrison government...
  • Documents (0 speeches)
    • Presentation (2 speeches)
      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.
  • Auditor-General's Reports (0 speeches)
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Adjournment (0 speeches)
    • Beirut: Explosion (1 speech)
      Three weeks ago, the lives of millions of people in Lebanon and hundreds of thousands in Australia were changed when a devastating explosion ripped through the port of Beirut. The explosion sent...
    • Reid Electorate: Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway (1 speech)
      On 15 August this year, Australia commemorated 75 years since the end of the Second World War. Some one million Australians served in World War II, one of whom was my maternal grandfather, George...
    • Heritage Listing (1 speech)
      Parramatta Park is one of Australia's most significant sites. Its importance reaches as far back as 39,000 years, for the Burramattagal people. It was also recognised by UNESCO as being of World...
    • Lindsay Electorate: Roads (1 speech)
      In my electorate of Lindsay, we're busting congestion so that people in our community spend less time in traffic and get to work and home again more quickly so they can spend time with their...
    • Beirut: Explosion (1 speech)
      We stand in solidarity with the Lebanese people and offer our sincere condolences with regard to the catastrophic devastation arising out of the blast that occurred in Beirut on Tuesday 4 August...
    • Flynn Electorate: COVID-19 (1 speech)
      I rise tonight to speak on the effects of COVID-19 in my electorate of Flynn. There's some good news, but, unfortunately, there's some bad news that goes with it. Some businesses have increased...
    • Queensland Government: Paradise Dam (1 speech)
      My understanding is that, if a private member doesn't jump up, I can seek the call. In the last remaining minutes, can I call out the hapless Premier Palaszczuk in Queensland, who is knocking...
  • Constituency Statements (0 speeches)
    • Tasmanian Whisky Week (1 speech)
      Earlier this month we marked Tasmanian Whisky Week, celebrating the achievements and craft of Tasmanian distillers. Tasmanian Whisky Week offers an excellent excuse to treat yourself to a nip or...
    • Member for McPherson: 10th Anniversary (1 speech)
      Today I wanted to say a few words to mark the 10th anniversary of my election to parliament. Milestones are always a cause for reflection. The passage of time reminds us that it is a precious and...
    • Greenway Electorate: Community Services (1 speech)
      I rise to acknowledge the residents of Greenway for the way in which they continue to respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19. These past few months have been difficult and...
    • COVID-19: State and Territory Borders (1 speech)
      Cross-border communities have justifiably received media attention in the last few weeks, but nowhere near enough. The hard closure of the South Australian border has resulted in enormous anxiety...
    • Kingston Electorate: Aged Care (1 speech)
      During the parliamentary break I've been talking with my constituents about many issues. One of the issues that regularly came up and continues to come up is the issue of aged care and the...
    • Brooks, Mr Malcolm (1 speech)
      Today I rise in honour of a history-maker and champion of the Central Coast, Malcolm Brooks, who passed away on 19 June this year. Such was his contribution to our community, to local and state...
    • Higher Education (1 speech)
      The government recently announced a new policy on the funding of university education, so I want to take this opportunity to talk about my region in terms of university education so that we can...
    • Moncrieff Electorate: Reimagine Jobs, Skills and Industry Forum (1 speech)
      I know everyone in this place is highly conscious of the hardship this pandemic is causing for all Australians. In the engine room of the Gold Coast there are 9,700 businesses relying on...
    • Gilmore Electorate (1 speech)
      The New South Wales South Coast is the most beautiful place on earth but, boy, have my communities had it rough this year—unprecedented drought, never seen before bushfires, a global...
    • Brisbane Electorate: Music Industry (2 speeches)
      One of the great privileges of representing Brisbane is the engagement I have with our amazing local creative sector. Our live music operators, venue owners, artists and musicians in both the CBD...
  • Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
    • Renewable Energy (10 speeches, 1 comment)
      I move: That this House: (1) recognises that: (a) in the 19th century it was regional Australia that led the transition from gas to electricity and that in the 21st century it is again regional...
    • Census (8 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) notes the Census and Statistics Amendment (Statistical Information) Regulations 2020 tabled in Parliament on 11 February 2020 seek to ask a question in the 2021...
    • Superannuation (10 speeches)
      I move: That this House notes: (1) the purpose of superannuation is to enable Australians to save for a dignified retirement; (2) superannuation has made an enormous contribution to converting...
  • Motions (0 speeches)
    • Roads to Recovery Program (7 speeches)
      The Roads to Recovery Program is a bipartisan program. It is something that Labor had when we were in government and it is something that we are pleased to see this government continue. But what...
  • Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
    • Precision Medicine (4 speeches)
      I'd like to thank the member for Ryan for putting this motion forward and highlighting the emerging tsunami of precision medicine that's occurring around the world in developed countries. I will,...
  • Statements by Members (0 speeches)
    • St Augustine's College (1 speech)
      I'm grateful to share with the parliament this afternoon the fantastic visit that the Queensland state member for Jordan, Mrs Charis Mullen, and I had with the grade 5 students of St Augustine's...
    • McDermott, Mr Michael: Debut Novel (1 speech)
      I rise today to commend the creativity, passion and dedication of one of Mona Vale's very own—author Michael McDermott. Mr McDermott's debut novel is a dystopian thriller set in a future...
    • Kingston Electorate: Winter Appeal (1 speech)
      I rise today to acknowledge and thank the incredible generosity and sense of community we have in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. This was evident yet again in response to my winter appeal....
    • Stirling Electorate: City Centre Development (1 speech)
      The Stirling city centre in my electorate has been identified as a strategic metropolitan centre. Over the past 10 years, a consolidated vision for the Stirling city centre has been compiled,...
    • JobSeeker Payment (1 speech)
      There are over 10,000 people in the Bendigo electorate currently receiving JobSeeker, many of them for the very first time. We are still at stage 3 in Bendigo, in terms of the COVID-19...
    • Saunders, Dr Norman (Sandy) (1 speech)
      Thank you. I've been honoured to have spent quite a bit of time with veterans in my electorate, recently, commemorating significant anniversaries of the Korean War, World War II and the Vietnam...
    • Freedom of the Media (1 speech)
      On 12 August Gavin Morris, the ABC's director of news, told the Senate inquiry into media freedom that despite the very welcome decision to abandon the prosecutions of Annika Smethurst and Sam...
    • Forde Electorate: Qscan (1 speech)
      It's always a pleasure to rise in this House and speak about the great work the Morrison government is doing in the electorate of Forde, and nowhere is more important than the fast-growing...
    • Media (1 speech)
      From 2006 to 2016, the number of journalists in Australia fell by nine per cent. Health reporting is down by 30 per cent, and science reporting is down by 42 per cent. In the past decade, more...
    • Bass Electorate: Community Organisations (1 speech)
      One of the joys of working closely with community organisations in northern Tasmania is seeing the tangible difference they make on the ground. In the outer suburbs of Launceston, Starting Point...
    • Scullin Electorate: Aged Care (1 speech)
      For those of us who are here from Melbourne, the privilege of being in this place seems particularly important here. The people who have sent us here have got extraordinarily pressing concerns...
    • Higgins Electorate: Aged Care (1 speech)
      I rise in this House to give my heartfelt thanks to those working in aged care in my electorate of Higgins. It hasn't been easy during this pandemic. Families have been distressed that visitation...
    • Macquarie Electorate: The Australiana Pioneer Village (1 speech)
      AGMs are not always a source of celebration but the AGM of the Friends of The Australiana Pioneer Village was just that, because, for many of us, it was the first time we could attend an AGM in a...
    • Azerbaijan (1 speech)
      As the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, today I want to speak about a battle of a different type: the recent Azeri-Armenian border conflict. I'm sad that I need to do so. Under the cover of...
    • COVID-19: State and Territory Border Closures (1 speech)
      In the very difficult circumstances of COVID-19, the decision of this Liberal government to join forces with Clive Palmer to seek to force open WA's hard border will never be forgotten by me nor...
    • Goldstein Electorate: Queen's Birthday Honours (1 speech)
      A healthy and prosperous society is not handed down by the government from Canberra; it's built up from citizens when they come together to form family, community and country. It is built from...
    • Shortland Electorate: Queen's Birthday Honours (1 speech)
      I'd like to congratulate the seven constituents from Shortland whose achievements were recognised in this year's Queen's Birthday honours, a wonderful acknowledgement of your contribution to our...
    • Robertson Electorate: COVID Economy (1 speech)
      Many small businesses on the Central Coast are struggling with the challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic, but in response a number of residents in my electorate of Robertson have...
    • Indigenous Heritage Protection (1 speech)
      The Australian community was rightly aghast to learn of the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters. Those sites contained material that was 46,000 years old, including a hair belt that was...
    • Mallee Electorate: COVID Restrictions (1 speech)
      I want to talk today about the issues that are going on in my cross-border communities. We have adults who cannot go to work. We have children who cannot go to school. We have nurses who cannot...
    • Warringah Electorate: Oil and Gas Exploration (1 speech)
      Petroleum Exploration Permit 11—known as PEP 11—covers 4,500 square kilometres of ocean, from Newcastle, through the Central Coast to Manly. The permit area exists adjacent to the...
    • Bonner Electorate: Carina State School (1 speech)
      I'd like to take this opportunity to share with the chamber some exciting news out of Carina State School in my electorate of Bonner. During the 2019 election campaign I visited the school and...
    • Bruce Electorate: Aged Care (1 speech)
      I rise on behalf of the hundreds of people in my electorate touched by the failure of the Morrison government to adequately plan and prepare for the coronavirus crisis in residential aged care....
    • Gold Coast Community Fund (1 speech)
      In a time of crisis, the Gold Coast Community Fund stands for and behind Gold Coasters. In Moncrieff, since the pandemic hit, more people have needed financial and social support. It's been my...
    • COVID-19: Aged Care (1 speech)
      It's been a scary fortnight in my electorate. More than 100 aged-care residents and workers have been infected in COVID-19 outbreaks. Tragically, seven people have died in my electorate and 335...
    • Defence Industry (1 speech)
      I'd like to take the opportunity to update the Chamber on an opportunity I was given last week to be given a tour of the Osborne south shipyards in Adelaide, which has been built by Australian...
    • Higher Education (1 speech)
      Happy anniversary to the Prime Minister! It's two years since the Liberal Party tore down Malcolm Turnbull for the second time, although it turned out well for the former member for Wentworth....
    • Ryan Electorate: Baby Give Back (1 speech)
      Those who know me in this chamber know that I am passionate about supporting the families of in my electorate of Ryan. So it is with pleasure that today I stand to pay tribute to a local...
    • Greenway Electorate: Festival of Mahavir Jayanti (1 speech)
      I come with greetings in Gujarati and proudly say 'kam cho' to convey my best wishes to Greenway's Jain community on the auspicious occasion of Mahavir Jayanti, the festival marking the birth of...
    • Wentworth Electorate: Travel Industry (2 speeches)
      Many businesses are struggling through this pandemic. It is a unique crisis affecting every corner of society. I wanted today to particularly single out the travel industry today for whom this...
  • Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
    • Tourism (11 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) recognises that Australia's tourism sector is vital to a strong, growing economy; (2) notes: (a) that 2020 has seen an incredibly tough start to the year for tourism...
    • Pacific Maritime Security Program (10 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) recognises the importance of working with our Pacific neighbours to deliver a region that is secure and sovereign; and (2) notes the: (a) Government's Pacific...
    • Domestic and Family Violence (12 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) at least 23 women have been murdered so far this year at the hands of an intimate partner in Australia; (b) on average, more than one woman a week is...
    • Environment (9 speeches)
      I move: That this House: (1) recognises the importance of environmental management and conservation in our local communities; (2) acknowledges the importance of local environmental volunteer...
    • Gilmore Electorate: Volunteers (2 speeches)
      I am always excited to talk up the amazing volunteers in my electorate on the New South Wales South Coast. This year really has been the year of the volunteer. With so many disasters impacting on...