Shayne Neumann
Blair · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The new service will be built at Rosewood State School to help local families avoid the double drop-off in the morning—and in the afternoon, I might add—and help students to make a smoother transition to school.”
“It builds on our landmark schools funding agreement with the Queensland government to provide a record $2.8 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to Queensland state schools over the next 10 years, all tied to reforms to lift education standards.”
“The second capital upgrade involved $850,000 for a new custom amenities block at Linville State School, a little country school in the northern Somerset region, which has delivered modern facilities to ensure students' health and safety needs are met.”
“Labor is the party of education. The Albanese Labor government is building the education infrastructure we need in my electorate and building a better and fairer education system from preschool to tertiary.”
“An upgrade to the Mount Crosby interchange on the Warrego Highway is critical to the lives, lifestyle and livelihoods of the people of Ipswich. Last night, I was appalled to hear media reports that the Queensland LNP government is proposing in this week's budget to cut funding for the Mount Crosby interchange in my electorate.”
“I remember being in this House, in this parliament, when the coalition voted against the natural disaster funding, much of which was going to local councils in Queensland. It cost $11 billion of taxpayers' funding to rebuild Queensland after the 2011 floods.”
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“This facility would meet a real need in terms of local sporting infrastructure in the lead-up to the 2032 games and beyond. Third, I'm supportive of Ipswich Hospice's plan for a new 30-bed palliative care facility at the University of Southern Queensland Ipswich campus. Fourth, I will support the Brisbane Lions' Brighton Homes Arena stage 2 upgrade. I'll continue to advocate for federal funding for these projects. There's a lot of work to do, and we're making good progress in our region.”
“Stage 1 is currently underway with $20 million of federal money, $10 million of state money and $10 million of local council money. The stage 2 redevelopment would incorporate a new high-performance centre, an administration block and an eastern grandstand. I call on the Ipswich City Council to do the right thing and apply for federal money in the new infrastructure program for that particular facility. Second, I'm engaging with Ipswich City Council and other stakeholders on options for a new synthetic running track and track-and-field complex for our community. I'd like to see Ipswich City Council end their internal divisions and develop a solution for this pressing need. I'd like to see a centre of excellence for athletics in Ipswich.”
“Also, I'm focused on delivering on a number of local election commitments for my community, especially a new rugby league and sports centre in the Ripley Valley; extensions to the Ipswich Basketball Stadium and Fernvale Sports Park netball courts; expanding the Chuwar Koala and Native Fauna Conservation Park; a new headspace mental health centre in Redbank Plains; a new House of India community and cultural centre in Springfield; and upgrades to the Lowood pool and Springfield Central YMCA. On top of these fully funded election commitments, there are three catalytic local initiatives I'm keen to seeing progressed in 2026. First, I'd like to see the Ipswich City Council apply for federal funding for stage 2 of the North Ipswich Reserve stadium redevelopment.”
“Having secured federal funding for several major projects in Ipswich and the Somerset region, I want to see the Queensland government progress the Amberley Interchange and the Ipswich to Springfield rail business case, as well as upgrades to the Mount Crosby Road Interchange, the Bremer River Bridge, the Brisbane Valley Highway and the Ipswich Motorway.”
“In May last year, I was proud to be re-elected again as the member for Blair in the Albanese Labor government. Since then the government has delivered on many of the commitments made in my electorate, including delivering the biggest-ever investment in bulk-billing and cheaper medicines, and cutting 20 per cent of student debt. In 2026 our work continues, and I'm focused on helping local families with cost-of-living relief and delivering on local commitments, which include much-needed transport and community infrastructure in our fast-growing region.”
“This will be a win for the environment, urgently needed housing in Ipswich, critical infrastructure and the national economy.”
“We've invested $3 million in the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program to improve habitat for species like platypus and the Queensland lungfish and to improve the Bremer, Woogaroo and Brisbane catchments in the Ipswich region. You don't have to choose between the environment and business. It's not a zero-sum game. We need to get this done to deliver what the Australian people voted us in to do—establish a national environmental protection agency, strengthen protection for native forests and create a $300 million forestry growth fund to support jobs. These reforms are good for the environment. They're good for jobs, good for certainty and good for industry. I am very pleased to hear the announcement today by the Prime Minister and Minister Murray Watt.”
“This was a big theme of a local Blair growth and productivity roundtable that I held in August this year, as well as of the Treasurer's national Economic Reform Roundtable. Going forward, the government's reforms will tackle the underlying causes of these delays while also delivering greater protection for nature. It's not an either-or. Indeed, what we're doing in my electorate will benefit both business and the environment. During the last election, I was proud to announce a $1.2 million commitment from Labor towards Goodness Enterprises' Koala Rehabilitation and Education Centre at the Goodness Chuwar Conservation Corridor in Tivoli, on the north side of Ipswich. This builds on our support for local environment groups and projects in Blair during the last term with the government's $76 million Saving Koalas Fund.”
“The reality is that, in the Ipswich area, the current laws are holding up critical housing and road projects. Some housing developments in Ipswich have been in limbo for five years as a result of green tape and the EPBC approvals, delaying vital housing supply in the middle of a housing crisis. On top of this, the EPBC requirements and associated ecological assessments for the much needed Mount Crosby Road interchange upgrade on the Warrego Highway in my electorate—a major freight and commuter corridor—have seen the finalisation of the design pushed back by around 18 months. The laws are costing business time and money, and strangling the homes and infrastructure that we need.”
“During the recent debate on the government's reforms of the national environmental legislation, I didn't get the opportunity to speak on the bills. So I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Minister Murray Watt and the Prime Minister in terms of the agreement that's been reached in relation to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and say a few words about the beneficial impact it will have for my electorate. The new streamlined assessment pathway will significantly reduce the timeframe for proponents to provide sufficient information upfront. It will provide an incentive to meet the standards upfront. It will deliver faster decisions, saving businesses time and money. New and improved bilateral agreement with the states will remove duplication for the assessment and approval of projects.”
“But we've had to do it in terms of what we've done in this country because they didn't invest in education or TAFE. They didn't train enough people up. We had to establish Jobs and Skills Australia with the identification of the workforce shortages and needs. Today we're going to vote to make bad employers good employers and allow people choice. The party of free enterprise and liberalism, the party that believes that people should have the right to choose and have free will, today will come across, sit on that side of the chamber on that side of the chamber and vote against everything they claim they believe in.”
“So how about the Liberal and National parties for once support the business community in the way they voted in this chamber? Later on this morning, they'll have a chance. Do you support workers? Do you support business? Or are you going off to the realms of the far right—not believing in your philosophical or economic treatises that were by the people you claim you're devoted to? There are no moral moorings or economic understanding in the coalition parties if they vote against this legislation. Through their ignorance and their actions during the time they were in government, they opposed a good national economy. They opposed decency in the workplace. They opposed good wages and conditions in jobs. As the member for Makin rightly pointed out, we will always bring in migrants to the community in a regulated steady approach.”
“Put it in the caucus room of the opposition and have a flick through it from time to time. You might end up voting for legislation like this from time to time and doing the right thing. What this bill does is establish a legislative framework for a public register of approved work sponsors to be published and maintained on the Department of Home Affairs's website. Why is this necessary? To make sure we have better targeted temporary skilled work visa programs. It's important for transparency and oversight, for people to make a choice and for the public to understand who's a good employer and who's a bad employer. It might change people's behaviour. It might make a bad employer think about becoming a good employer from time to time, whether it's on a farm or in a pub, whether it's in a hospital or, can I say, in retail.”
“They're not just undercutting wages and they're not just harming the Australian business; they're undercutting wages and conditions. Those opposite will come in here and have a vote later today, they will not support Australian workers or migrant workers, and they will not support businesses. Once again, the Liberal and National parties show that they're party of the far right, not the party that supports free enterprise, individual autonomy and the right to choose. Do they really believe in some sort of feudalism in terms of the workplace? Is that their view? I'm telling you they should all go and have a look at John Stuart Mill's works and Adam Smith's works. The W ealth of Nations I commend that to you, by the way. It'd be a good thing for you to have a look at from time to time.”
“As the member for Makin said, this is just a reporting mechanism and making sure we have a website that does the right thing and allows people to get information to work out, if you get a sponsored visa, who's a good employer and who's a bad employer and making sure the market does its work. It's almost like they do not believe in individual freedom for migrant workers. Where are the John Stuart Mill devotees in the small-l liberals opposite? They don't believe it. Where are the devotees to Adam Smith in those opposite? Well, Adam Smith—he's just a statue you see in Edinburgh. You don't worry about him. I don't think they ever read any of the liberal and conservative devotees of free enterprise, because what they're doing is opposing individual choice for migrant workers. That's what they're doing.”
“We increased the TSMIT when we came to power, and rightly made sure that we protected wages and conditions, not just for migrant workers but for Australian workers generally. Today, yesterday, I heard those opposite lauding the fact that they kept the TSMIT low at $53,900. It is now $76,500. That is what it should be, and employers should pay those sorts of wages. We want the system to have integrity. We do not want people being paid less than they deserve. That is exactly what the coalition members are supporting. With the legislation before the chamber, those opposite would have the public believe that we will be putting some massive impost on business.”
“One of the things that they did, and they did it as a deliberate design feature when they were in government, was to keep the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, the TSMIT—the amount of money you had to pay a worker—at the same rate, $53,900, from 2013 for over nine years, effectively with inflation undercutting wages and thereby conditions in this country. That is what they did, therefore undercutting Australian wages and conditions as a 'deliberate design feature'—to use the words of Mathias Cormann, the former finance minister. That is what they did for nine years. And I have heard speakers in this chamber reference it to the glory days almost—the glory days of keeping wages low.”
“They had the report from Alan Fels over three years and did nothing. Talk about a government of inertia and idleness and ignorance—ignorance and looking the other way on worker exploitation in migrant communities. We had to strengthen the rules. We increased the penalties. We did it through our strengthening employer compliance bill and we made sure we established new criminal offences and associated civil penalties to deter employers from using migrant visa conditions or statuses to coerce undue influence or undue pressure on people in the workplace. We established a new mechanism to prohibit employers from hiring additional people on temporary visas, and we increased the maximum criminal and civil penalties. We did a whole bunch of stuff to strengthen the situation. Those opposite were again quiet, quiescent and did nothing about it.”
“It harms those businesses, and there are many, who do the right thing. It damages our international reputation for being a place where you can come and work, and it undermines really deeply the community's confidence in our migration system. They are the consequences of allowing migration exploitation to continue in workplaces around the country, whether it be on farms, in hospitality, in hospitals, in schools—wherever it may be. Sometimes I cannot understand the coalition parties. They are supposed to be parties who believe in free enterprise and in supporting the business community. If you are harming businesses that do the right thing, why would you allow that to continue? They did nothing. They were in power from 2013 to 2022 and did nothing. They had the report from Graeme Samuel on the EPBC Act for five years and did nothing.”
“I have heard people opposite speak in relation to this particular bill. It is almost like they forgot every review that has been undertaken. Let's go through a couple of them. The Grattan Institute released a report on 23 May 2023, which found that exploitation of migrant workers was rife. Recent migrants were twice as likely to be underpaid, up to 16 per cent less than the national minimum wage. The Immigration Advice and Rights Centre did a report that they released in November 2024 which found that migrant workers were 40 per cent more likely to face worker exploitation than Australian workers. Let's get this straight. If people can undercut wages and they can exploit cheap labour, what happens? It weakens the bargaining of Australian workers to get decent wages and conditions.”
“That built on the work that was done when the former minister for home affairs, back on 2 September 2022, announced that three eminent persons would undertake an independent review of our migration system to make sure it was meeting the existing challenges that we faced. It came out with strong recommendations, and the report was presented to the government on 21 March 2023. As part of that review process, there was a discussion paper and we considered 483 submissions. The reviewers undertook eight roundtables with peak organisations, unions and senior state and territory officials. Business was involved in the review. And what did the coalition do in opposition? They were quiescent. They did nothing in government and were quiescent in opposition. So we had to undertake important changes.”
“Who could forget the underpayment scandals? Who could forget the 7-Eleven scandals, where as little as 47 cents an hour was paid to workers who were migrants? There was the systemic underpayment of wages, poor living conditions, poor housing in which they had to live and a lack of payment of superannuation. There should be no tolerance of undercutting workers' wages and conditions, but that's what happened. So we had to undertake some work when we came to power. We undertook a migration strategy, which we released on 11 December 2023. We outlined some reforms that were undertaken.”
“Back in 2016, they commissioned the Migrant Workers' Taskforce supremo, or chief, Allan Fels, who has a long history of business involvement in the community, to undertake an inquiry looking at employer-employee relationships in terms of the migrant community. He found that employers engaged in deliberate and systemic underpayment of migrant workers. He made 22 recommendations to the previous coalition government in March 2019. That inquiry started in 2016. They came to power in 2013. The federal government—Kelly O'Dwyer was the responsible minister at the time—accepted all 22 recommendations. And then what did they do? Absolutely nothing—no legislation, no regulations. There was a commitment to do something, knowing there was widespread and entrenched systemic abuse and exploitation of workers, and they did absolutely nothing.”
“There can be pressure to work more hours than the visa conditions allow and pressure to engage in unwanted sexual acts, and there wouldn't be a federal MP that hasn't had stories like that given to them at a mobile office, on the phone or in their office. There can be pressure to accept poor living conditions, and I've seen up to 15 or 20 people living in appalling conditions at the hands of unscrupulous employers in suburbs in Ipswich. And there's poor housing, with a lack of access to running water or electricity. We've had to do a number of things since we came in, in terms of strengthening the laws, and the Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025 is yet another one of them. It's not like the coalition government didn't know what was going on.”
“The coalition made a number of decisions—consciously, while averting their eyes—in the way they carried out their policy on migration. Some of it was to do with wages and some of it was to do with migration. Migration is critical to our economy. Every business in every city of this country knows that. The business community knows that. BCA knows it. ACCI knows it. The National Farmers' Federation knows it. But those opposite seem to subconsciously or consciously not recognise it. Workplace exploitation of migrant communities can take a number of forms: underpaying workers, pressuring a person to hand over their passport or threatening to cancel a person's visa—employers really can't do that, but they threaten anyway.”
“This country has been built on three aspects: first, the immense contribution of First Nations people, who've been here for tens of thousands of years; second, the British colonial settlement that was established in the aftermath of Captain Phillip's arrival; and, third, the waves of migration that came to this country post World War II. We are blessed for having had those waves of migration. Those migrants have made an immense contribution to our culture, economy, sport, arts, education, law, finance and commerce and to our nursing and allied health professional workforces. Where would we be in terms of our doctors, nurses and regional and rural hospitals without migrant workers? But this government is once again fixing up the coalition's mess.”
“I know how important this is. It is important reform legislation. I think it's one of those things about which the current Attorney-General could say, at the end of her long career, 'I was involved in this process.' It's a good thing. It's a good outcome. I have no qualms and I have no reservations in relation to this. This happens at the state and territory level. It's good practice. It's world's best practice. We should do it. It's long overdue, and I support the bills.”
“The feedback from stakeholders is that they are overwhelmingly in favour of this method, including the Australian Law Reform Commission, the Law Council of Australia and National Legal Aid. The Law Council has had a longstanding position supporting the establishment of a Commonwealth parole board and welcomes the legislation. The Law Council said the Parole Board would 'protect the rights of prisoners to have their application for freedom considered in a transparent manner and without political interference'. The chair of National Legal Aid and chief executive of the Legal Services Commission South Australia has supported the change. She said: This will promote high-quality, evidence-based decision-making, and guard against the risk of politicisation … It's also been welcomed by victim support groups and legal advocacy organisations.”
“It's limited to federally convicted criminals, those who committed crimes under Commonwealth legislation, including drug importation, online child sex offenders and social security fraud among other things. Let's be clear; the board's going to make decisions in relation to terrorism offenders, and the bill won't change the statutory prohibition against parole for terrorism offenders. It's a very high threshold that must be met for a person convicted of terrorism offences to gain parole, and parole can only be granted in exceptional circumstances that justify the release. That won't change at all. The board is expected to commence operation in the second half of 2026, subject to passage of the legislation, and we've allocated money for it.”
“We're going to have a chair and a deputy chair. It's not unusual. You would think, if you listen to the member for Riverina, that we will just gather a few people off the street without any expertise and no knowledge and put them on the board, and they can go into a room and make decisions. We're going to have a chair, a deputy chair and three sessional members who will have the power to amend, make, revoke and rescind parole for offenders. It's absolutely important. The board will consider a broad range of matters. I won't go through the whole thing, but it's really important for people to understand that the board's remit does not override the states and territories.”
“She was a very experienced lawyer and she's a good parliamentarian as well. So she is not an expert, and neither am I, and I spent nearly 10 years practising in criminal law as well as other areas of litigation. I don't consider myself an expert in the area. My grade 12 biology at Bundamba State Secondary College does not qualify me for understanding anything in relation to the human brain and how it operates. It does not. So we need experts in this area to strike a balance between having relevant subject expertise on the board and people who are reflective of the wider community, in tune with community expectations and standards. That's absolutely critical. Ultimately, community safety will be the board's highest priority. It's important to ensure that all decisions about parole assess risk.”
“It's important that the board's membership includes individuals with a range of skills, expertise, lived experience and knowledge of the needs of the people and groups of people significantly affected by the board's decisions. That includes experts in law enforcement, the criminal justice system and the effective reintegration of offenders—making sure that people don't re-offend. Recidivism is a big issue in our community, and we've got to make sure that people no longer commit repeat offences. The board will include people who are involved in community issues such as substance abuse or mental health issues—experts that understand these things and the impact of offences on victims. I've got a lot of faith in the Attorney-General, but I don't think she would portray herself as an expert on substance abuse or mental health issues.”
“They're the kinds of people—experts in law and order, experts in law enforcement and corrective services staff—that will be on the board because they're the people we would employ to be on the board. When recommending appointments to the board, the Attorney-General would ensure that the board possesses a range and a mix of qualifications, experience and knowledge and reflects as closely as possible the composition of the Australian community at large, to ensure the integrity of the scheme. Many parts of the Australian community have different experiences of the criminal justice system, either as victims or offenders.”
“It will provide for the Commonwealth Parole Board's membership, functions, decision-making and administrative arrangements for the release and management of federal offenders and other detainees. We will amend the Crimes Act 1914 to replace the Attorney-General with the board as the decision-maker for the management and release of federal offenders in the community on parole and licence, including the conditions under which they are released. We'll also make changes to the statutory timeframes for parole decision-making. The board will bring together experts from a range of professions. If you listen to the member for Riverina, he obviously doesn't trust crime advocates, psychologists and other community safety experts.”
“On top of this, over time the federal offender cohort has changed, and now that includes increasing numbers of offenders that pose a direct risk to community safety, such as terrorists and child sex offenders. That's happened, by the way, at a state level, in my experience and observation, as well. So we need to act now to address this based on the evidence, based on the reports, based on the Law Council's recommendation and based on the parliamentary committee's recommendation. Looking at these bills, just briefly, I want to say what this will do. It will establish a Commonwealth parole board as a secondary statutory structure in the federal Attorney-General's portfolio.”
“That's what the member for Riverina could not understand, and that's why what we're doing is at the back end of this process. At the front of the process, we anticipate and expect that the DPP will act in an apolitical way and act on the law and the evidence and the facts in determining whether someone gets prosecuted. We do not live in a communist dictatorship or a fascist dictatorship. We live in a democracy, a liberal democracy, where the rule of law is absolutely critical and the separation of powers is absolutely vital to respect human rights and liberties that we anticipate and expect all Australian citizens to experience. The number of parole decision at a federal level has continued to rise every year. More than 530 parole related decisions were made in 2024-25, and the number of decisions has increased by 10 per cent every year.”
“Given this history of expert and stakeholder support and the current environment, the government believes the time is right to establish a Commonwealth parole board. There are about 1,200 federal offenders currently serving sentences across every state and territory in Australia, which is more than the prison populations of the ACT and Tasmania combined. The current legislative framework is no longer appropriate, given the significant rise in the number of Commonwealth criminal prosecutions and convictions since 1990. We don't have the Attorney-General make decisions here with respect to prosecuting people. We have the Director of Public Prosecutions, the DPP, do that because we live in a democracy that believes in the rule of law and the separation of powers.”
“Then, during the Gillard government, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs recommended 'the Australian government give further consideration to establishing a federal parole board' in a report on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers and Offences) Bill 2011. More recently, the Law Council of Australia called for an independent Commonwealth parole board, including in its detailed 2022 position paper Principles u nderpinning a federal p arole a uthority . So this is not new. It's been going on for 50 years, and it's about time we did it because it's the right thing to do and it's the right thing to do in terms of separation of powers.”
“There have been a range of calls for an independent Commonwealth parole board over the years, as well as some preparatory work to establish such a board. The former Whitlam government attorney-general Kep Enderby, who's widely respected as a very important figure not just in terms of the law but in Australian Labor history, was reported as having early discussions with state justice ministers to establish a federal parole board back in 1975. At different times, the Australian Law Reform Commission recommended that the Commonwealth could and should establish a federal parole board, noting intractable challenges within the federal parole system.”
“If we were to take reductio ad absurdum, for the member for Riverina, we would have no Administrative Review Tribunal, no Federal Circuit and Family Court, no Federal Court and no High Court of Australia. That's the argument he's putting, if you take it to the extreme, because everyone brings their own views, philosophies and beliefs into the system, but judges and people who engage in these particular roles, in terms of the Parole Board, have to make decisions based on the evidence, the facts of the case and the law. That's the case. At the same time, we're making amendments here that provide the Commonwealth Parole Board with flexibility. The background is really important. The member for Riverina should listen to this. The idea of a parole board is not new.”
“The Commonwealth is currently the only jurisdiction in Australia where elected officials make primary decisions about parole. Currently, once a federal offender is sentenced, responsibility for determining parole shifts to the executive branch of the government in the federal Attorney-General and delegates within the Attorney-General's Department. And that's exactly the problem which the member for Riverina does not quite understand, in terms of separation of powers. A federal parole authority will help take the politics out of parole and address the risk of perceived political interference, ensuring apolitical, consistent and evidence based parole decisions.”
“What we're doing here is very similar to what's happening in the states and territories, and it's important that we have separation of powers. I grew up under the Bjelke-Petersen regime, which had no respect for the separation of powers. It's critical that we have separation of powers. It's best practice, and it's happening across the states and territories. International partners who we follow and respect—such as Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand—are doing it as well. Independent parole decision-making bodies are widely accepted as an improvement in the administration of justice, having been adopted throughout Australia. All states and territories have implemented parole decision-making schemes that provide a degree of independence from the primary decision-making of the executive.”
“The bills will ensure these decisions are made by experts who have the qualifications, experience and knowledge to assess the risk posed to the community and whether an offender is suitable for release into the community on parole. We believe these decisions should be made by law enforcement and other community safety experts, not by politicians. Currently decisions are made by the Commonwealth Attorney-General. Parole decisions are complex. Sitting suspended from 17:55 to 17:57 The Commonwealth Parole Board will strengthen the public's trust and confidence in the federal parole system by protecting the rights of incarcerated individuals to have their applications for liberty considered in an independent, transparent, fair and accountable manner and by addressing the risks of perceived political interference in parole decisions.”
“I'm pleased to speak on the Commonwealth Parole Board Bill 2025 and the Commonwealth Parole Board (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. At the outset, the Albanese government's highest priority is keeping Australians safe. To that end, the legislation will establish a new independent Commonwealth Parole Board, which will strengthen community safety by empowering law enforcement and community safety experts to make critical decisions about whether convicted federal offenders are released into the community on parole and the conditions under which they are released. Determining what circumstances a federal offender should be released into the community on parole is a critical decision.”
“Capral is Australia's largest producer of aluminium extrusions as a major facility employing more than 400 workers in Ipswich in my electorate. So this decision will help preserve local manufacturing industry and jobs. I've visited Capral many times and I support local jobs in the local industry. Free trade and fairer trade mean stronger suburbs and stronger industrial regions and mean that manufacturers like Capral Aluminium can invest with confidence in jobs, which is good for our local economy. It's all part of our Future Made in Australia plan to protect local manufacturers and secure jobs.”
“The Albanese Labor government is backing local manufacturing and jobs at Capral Aluminium in my electorate of Blair. We're extending our antidumping protections to support locally made aluminium products for another five years following an investigation by the Australian Anti-Dumping Commission. These measures help maintain the value of Australian-produced aluminium extrusions, which are used in the construction, automotive, aerospace and electronics industries. The reality is that a large volume of underpriced aluminium extrusion imports into Australia are undercutting local industry prices and undermining Australian jobs and investment through unfair trade practices. Under our protections, these products will be subject to import duties if they are priced below local market values, so local products can compete on a level playing field.”
“They're the home of the Medicare urgent care clinic as well, which has seen nearly 30,000 patients. The practice estimates that moving to 100 per cent bulk-billing will save our local community more than $238,000 every year. It was great to drop in with the local state MP, Wendy Bourne—the member for Ipswich West—to chat with patients and to thank the hardworking local staff there. We're making it easier to see a doctor and providing significant cost-of-living relief for locals. All you need is your Medicare card—not your credit card.”
“Last week I dropped into the Riverlink Medical & Dental Centre in Ipswich to celebrate the Albanese Labor government's massive expansion of bulk-billing. On 1 November our historic investment to strengthen Medicare kicked in, with bulk-billing incentives to GPs for every patient they bulk-bill and extra incentives for practices which bulk-bill every patient. This is the single biggest investment in Medicare in over 40 years and delivers on Labor's signature election commitment. Currently, around 83 per cent of GP services in Blair are bulk-billed, and at least nine clinics have said they will become fully bulk-billing clinics, thanks to our new incentives. Riverlink Medical & Dental Centre are one of these practices, and last year they saw nearly 87,000 people in my local area for health services.”
“We'll seek submissions and consider those submissions before a decision, and that's important. The process will reduce backlogs. Oral hearings will not be required for this visa class, and the growing backlog will be addressed. This is an important reform. We're cleaning up the Liberals and Nationals mess yet again.”
“Inefficient allocation of resources and significant delays and backlogs, particularly in the temporary migration space, means that applicants are left in limbo for far too long—a one-size-fits-all approach that's resource intensive and not appropriately targeted. So this bill gives the tribunal the additional flexibility. It enhances the powers and procedures of the tribunal to ensure that it achieves the objective we want: resolving matters as expeditiously yet as justly as possible. Informed by the recommendation of the Nixon review and, I might add, the operational experience of the ART since October 2024, the bill ensures that the merits review is proportionate in so many ways. It amends the legislation to ensure an on-the-papers process, and that's important. What we do in relation to this is critical.”