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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“Notwithstanding our efforts in this space, since last year the ART has continued to experience a surge in applications for reviews of decisions to review student visas related to that post-pandemic boom in international students. Given this tribunal is a demand driven organisation, this has highlighted the importance of ensuring that it's equipped with the tools it needs for quick and efficient merits review. It's clear, from the recent operational experience of the tribunal, that some of its current procedures are not flexible enough. That's why we're doing what we're doing here.”
“We tried to rectify this by putting international student numbers on a more sustainable path and reducing the number of student visas issued. To be clear, international education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, including in my electorate of Blair in South-East Queensland. I've got two campuses from the University of Southern Queensland, and I know how important it is for my local community. Indeed, greater priority has now been given to regional and outer metropolitan universities like UniSQ and to TAFE, but we need to manage the growth of the sector in a sustainable fashion, along with our migration program more broadly, and that's exactly what this government is doing.”
“Students were allowed unlimited access to the job market when they were supposedly in full-time study. The result of this was that a lot of non-genuine students came in, not to study but to earn money, which they sent back home and, thus, contributed significantly to the current backlog the ART is dealing with. Another contributing factor was the post-COVID-19 temporary activity visa, which allowed people on student visas to, at no cost, switch from their student visa or suspend it and work unlimited hours. Even before the current surge, the old, dysfunctional AAT had a shocking case backlog which was allowed to build under the coalition. The reality is that our government inherited a shocking mess in this area, and we're attempting to deal with it.”
“The challenge we face now, since the tribunal was established by the Albanese government, is that the tribunal has seen an unprecedented level of demand for independent review services and, in particular, for applications for review of the student visas I referred to and refusals by delegates in relation to those matters. What happened was that, at the height of the pandemic in early 2022, the former Morrison government invited international students back to Australia to work in critical sectors to address workforce shortages. It might seem fine in principle, but the implementation of this decision was badly botched. It effectively opened the floodgates, without any proper management or oversight, and in particular they corrupted the student visa pipeline with their terrible decision to uncap student visa work rights.”
“We, as politicians in the House of Representatives and, indeed, in the other place, would know that our offices deal with people every day in relation to those issues. In this context, efficient review procedures are important to reduce delays in decision-making. Backlogs and extended waiting times at the tribunal create incentives for non-genuine applicants to apply for review in order to extend their stays in Australia. For genuine applicants, this creates an access to justice issue, as the volume of applications that must be dealt with, including from non-genuine applicants, means they have to wait months and, indeed, sometimes years for a decision. This point was made in the Rapid review into the exploitation of Australia's visa system , delivered by Ms Christine Nixon AO, APM in March 2023.”
“Anyone that has to make an application for property settlement in a family law case, when you are the party that's at home and often without the qualifications, skills, talents, ability and money against a very wealthy person, knows the power, imbalances and injustices in our systems. So we need to make sure that we can equalise it, but we also need to make sure that we have efficient methods, and that's why this whole process under the ART is critical for those 111,000 Australians and people who engage with the system. Onshore applicants seeking review of a decision to refuse a grant of certain visas are entitled to stay in Australia on a bridging visa for the duration of the merits review process.”
“It's a sustainable model, but we need to improve it. As part of this, we're committed to making sure the ART has the tools it needs to deliver timely and high-quality review of government decisions. One of the core objectives of the ART is to ensure that applications are resolved quickly and with little expense. The cost of justice—as a former litigation lawyer, I know—often results in inequities and injustices in our legal system due to the power imbalance between litigants. Anyone who has ever been charged with a criminal offence knows the power of the state in criminal matters. Anyone that has to litigate a corporate or civil matter involving commercial matters knows the power of money.”
“We're going to create a new discretion for the tribunal to decide not to hold a hearing if additional circumstances and specified criteria are met. These reforms are balanced and targeted. They will enable the tribunal to efficiently manage the caseload. Quick, efficient and informal merits review is a fundamental feature of our legal system. To say it's not is simply nonsense. It just doesn't bear fact. The fact is it is a feature of our legal system. This will improve government decision-making and help maintain public confidence in our institutions. We're committed to merits review. That is precisely why we abolished the dysfunctional AAT. It was beset, can I just say, with mismanagement and political stacking by those opposite. The new ART that replaced the AAT came into operation in October last year.”
“This legislation will improve the tribunal's efficiency. There are clear existing caseloads, and we need to address them. We need to reduce the likelihood of backlogs in the future, especially for migration matters. So the bill introduces a new, on-the-papers review process without an oral hearing, and that is just so common in lots of civil matters that are dealt with in our legal system. Student visa matters, like I said, take up two-thirds of the migration matters that the ART deals with. If you look at student visa matters as a percentage of the total number of people who engage with the ART, it is an enormous percentage. We're dealing with a really big problem that has been created courtesy of the Morrison government, and there is a need for us to address this.”
“They're making decisions we do not like.' Well, I'm sorry. There have been a lot of prime ministers and premiers in the history of this country who had decisions they didn't like. I channel Ben Chifley with the bank nationalisation decision. Prime ministers and premiers do not like a whole bunch of decisions made by courts and tribunals. We had to put in the ART. We just had to, to bring integrity back into the system. They made such a mess of the AAT. We had to resolve the huge backlog of student visas created as a legacy of the Morrison government flinging open the borders after the pandemic. And they constantly criticise us about migration, but the massive increase in migration after COVID happened on their watch. They initiated it, often with the support, can I just say, of the business community and the university sector as well.”
“It maintains the right of individuals impacted by a government decision to pursue a review of that decision. This ART is an absolute necessity that we undertook to legislate to establish. Remember what the former government did to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. They absolutely stacked it with their mates. Any form of failed Liberal or National Party candidate they could find who might have had a law degree from some obscure university they stuck on the AAT. It was astonishing. They didn't even need a law degree, frankly. They just stuck them on there. And the great irony of the whole thing with the AAT is that you would see in the media the Liberal and National Party politicians constantly berating the AAT for its failure when they were the ones that stuck their mates on there. And they say: 'It is inefficient.”
“But there won't be trust in the system if people don't get dealt with in a timely way. The 111,000 Australians who dealt with the ART last year, according to the figures from the ART itself, need to make sure they get access to justice. Administrative law and merits review are important. They're a longstanding pillar of Australia's system of government and our legal system. People who are impacted by decisions of government have a recourse, a right to review, or an avenue of appeal in a relatively informal way. It's critical. We see that often with matters that are dealt with in, say, a lower part of the system, where it's not necessarily a magistrate or a judge but a registrar who deals with matters on an informal basis, in the civil courts. That's why I say that this is a good decision of the government. It is efficient but still fair.”
“If you take migration together with the protection visas people are seeking, they form an overwhelming amount of the work that the ART does. So the bill we're debating today is important. It addresses efficiency and effectiveness in our system, and it maintains integrity and allows people to still pursue their rights in a fair way—the idea of dealing with matters on the papers is a very common thing when it comes to our judicial system. I'm pleased to speak on this bill, the Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. We are committed as a government to upholding the rule of law. We are committed as a government to enabling access to justice and maintaining and promoting the public's trust in our legal system, as a matter of principle.”
“Indeed, you would think, with the number of Australians who interact with the social security system, that there'd be many people, through Centrelink or paid parental leave, who would be engaging with the ART as a litigant, but hardly anyone of them does compared to what I'm about to talk about. It's the same with veterans or workers compensation cases, or indeed taxation matters. The majority of the work that's done by the ART is in the area of migration, or indeed those people seeking protection. In any given year, migration makes up 50 to 60 per cent of the work of the ART, or its predecessor, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. That's what's the case. Of those migration cases, about two-thirds of the work that's done relates to student visa issues.”
“Most Australians don't commit criminal offences and don't get involved in car accidents, so they don't end up in courts, criminal or civil. But 111,000 Australians, or people who aspire to be Australians, appeared before the Administrative Review Tribunal in the last 12 months. When you look at the jurisdiction of this particular tribunal, which is the subject of the amending bill we are talking about today, you will see the breadth of the jurisdiction of the ART. Child support—you would think that that would be a very large proportion of the work the ART does, but it is a very small proportion. There are well over 600,000 Australians who interact or are a part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, but a very small proportion of those people ever get to the ART.”
“And 55,000 social and affordable houses being built under our programs: those opposite, the Liberal and National parties, opposed it, as well as the Help to Buy Scheme and the 45 per cent increase in rent assistance. Those opposite, the Liberal and National parties, opposed these things, again and again. So, don't come in here and give us lectures on your newfound concern about the housing difficulties of this country when you oppose it. This legislation that we're putting forward is about ensuring that superannuation is paid.”
“The member calls superannuation 'neo-feudalism'. What nonsense! It's absolute rubbish! Those opposite would have more credibility in their view on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 if they had supported any of the housing reforms of the Labor government, such as the $43 billion Homes for Australia plan. Those opposite spent nearly 10 years in government and did nothing on housing—could barely find a housing minister to represent the portfolio. And when it came to the reforms on housing that we initiated, they voted against them. So, they've got this false dichotomy between housing and superannuation. We want homes for Australia. More than 4,000 people in my electorate have benefited from the home guarantee five per cent. Those opposite, the Liberal and National parties, opposed it.”
“I've never heard such tosh and nonsense from those opposite. The member for Goldstein thinks he's a member of the modern and moderate Liberal Party. Just that speech: railing against public or state education, claiming it controls children, and the idea that somehow superannuation—and I'll use the words he used about superannuation—is malicious, that there is denial and corruption, cartels and kickbacks, all associated with superannuation. So, when you take your superannuation at the end of your hard earning and working life and realise that it has been a Labor government that has helped you to gain your dignified and financially secure retirement, know that those opposite, in my 18 years of parliament, never once supported a superannuation guarantee increase. They delayed it again and again.”
“A transparent, trusted and independent CDC will strengthen our public capacity to respond, improve our preparedness, and safeguard the health and wellbeing of all Australians. We're safeguarded in many ways by that green Medicare card and by a public health system at a state and territory level that we fund, and the federal government puts a four in front of the amount of money we give to the states and territories, in terms of percentage. But we can do better, and the missing link in our preparedness and prevention is the CDC. Today we've got an opportunity to vote for it, and those opposite are going to vote against it.”
“The Australian CDC will provide high-quality analysis and advice on public health risks to government and the Australian community. It will streamline our public health data-sharing and linkages across the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. Australians deserve public health data, insights and advice that's high quality, nationally consistent and responsive, not just a crisis every day—and not just when a crisis happens on a Liberal Party watch; it should be available when it happens under a Labor Party government as well. The new centre promotes coordinated action to prepare for and respond to public health risks. I mean, the National Cabinet that Prime Minister Morrison presided over was all about that, but those opposite seem to have forgotten that and don't want that National Cabinet approach.”
“When you listen to what they say, it's almost as if those opposite didn't know that—as if somehow nothing happened when we got to government except this legislation. We've established an interim CDC within the health department. In October last year we announced that we would invest $251.7 million to deliver the CDC over four years to 2027-28. On top of that, we've committed $73.3 million in ongoing funding from 2028-29 to enable the ongoing operation of the centre. This bill, along with the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill, delivers an independent statutory agency that will bring critical information experts to protect Australia from diseases and other public health threats. And those opposite today, when given the opportunity, will vote against it.”
“Infectious disease outbreaks, AMR, climate change, changing geopolitical tensions and other things have all impacted on our national health security, and they all demand a permanent national public health authority right now. Hence, one of the central recommendations of the independent COVID inquiry, which those opposite are ignoring again, is a new Australian centre for disease control. That's exactly what this legislation is doing. Back in October 2020, in opposition, we committed ourselves to a transparent, trustworthy and independent CDC consistent with the outcome of the inquiry. When we came to government, we established an interim Australian CDC in January 2023 to immediately improve the way we prepare for and respond to health emergencies.”
“The review showed gaps in data and data-sharing between the Commonwealth and states, as well as fragmented, outdated planning and preparation for health emergencies. Shockingly, when we came to government, we were the only country without a CDC equivalent in the OECD. Now, even more shocking was the fact the former government had not led a national pandemic drill for 12 years. We were hopelessly and woefully underprepared for the COVID pandemic. Our response was confused, slow and lacked authority. And I might add, as I said before, that the Morrison government botched the rollout of the vaccinations. The inquiry warned we mustn't let this happen ever again.”
“The impact was compounded by poor policy choices from the Morrison government. The inquiry report and the progress we have made are proof of this government's economically responsible management. We focused on fighting inflation, delivering responsible economic cost-of-living relief and fixing budgetary health problems. But we know, as a key finding of the inquiry, that Australia went into the pandemic with no playbook, badly stretched health and aged-care systems, no clear national management plan and deficiencies in the National Medical Stockpile. Can I say, as a Labor politician, I really felt from time to time, rightly or wrongly, that there was some politicisation when it came to the distribution of vaccinations. That's how I felt from time to time.”
“Unless you were an ACT MP or senator, we all had to do that at some stage. For Anzac Day services, which are so important for Australians, we celebrated a moment of remembrance outside in our driveways. The inquiry found that an economic response to the pandemic was critical to achieving the desired public health outcomes. Mistakes were made. There were frustrations and inconsistencies. We know that. People experienced it. We know, as parliamentarians, that happened for all of us. Modelling cited in the report I referred to said peak inflation could have been reduced by at least two per cent if the economic policy settings during the pandemic had better matched the public health restrictions. Global supply of stocks contributed to a substantial increase in inflationary pressures in our economy and are still having an impact on it.”
“As a result, the plant had to cut back from two shifts to one. Six-hundred jobs, Member, were lost because of your side of politics. Six-hundred people lost their jobs in my local communities. So don't give us this nonsense about how wonderful Prime Minister Morrison was. To add insult to injury, the Morrison government refused to allow JBS meatworkers to access JobKeeper wage subsidies—a devastating blow for those workers. When I asked a question of Prime Minister Morrison in question time, he said, 'They can go and get JobSeeker.' They couldn't keep their jobs. That was the failure of those opposite. It was an awful time for people, and it was a real time. Borders were closed. Australians were asked to stay in their homes, quarantining at home or in a hotel when they went across state and territory borders. We all went through it.”
“In aged care, anyone who's had a loved one or a friend die and was denied the opportunity or had limited opportunity to go to the funeral, anyone who was denied opportunity to go to a family member's or friend's wedding—we faced those challenges as a family as well. Thousands of Australians lost their lives, while many had their livelihoods severely impacted. I know businesses, workers and community groups in my electorate were profoundly affected. Let me give you one example. A JBS—the meatworks—in my electorate, which is the biggest private employer in the Ipswich region, experienced a perfect storm during COVID. Market conditions were compounded by the Chinese government's beef import ban, widely seen as a retaliation for former prime minister Morrison's call for an investigation internationally into COVID.”
“It's as if they completely forgot about what happened in May 2025. They must have thought they weren't in power before May 2022. This legislation is absolutely vital, and we must do better if we're faced with a pandemic in the future. The doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the aged-care workers, the teachers, the couriers, the truck drivers, the logistics workers who I met during the pandemic in my community of Blair in South-East Queensland are heroes. The council workers who did so much great work during that time, the retail workers who suffered such shocking abuse by people who misbehaved terribly in places like Woolworths, Drakes, Coles et cetera—they are the heroes of the pandemic as well, and we should honour them and thank them for what they did. They got us through. It was a tough time.”
“That denialism seems so evident, so obvious, in their fractured factional thinking, with Liberal against Liberal, National against National, Liberal against National. It's there in the speeches we heard in this chamber yesterday and today. This legislation is absolutely good public policy and deserves to be supported by everyone in this chamber. Now, the crossbenchers have some amendments that they want to bring in, and it's their province and their right as parliamentarians to bring those amendments forward. But those opposite have railed against this legislation here. They took a policy to the last election opposing this legislation. It's as if the consequences of that election had no impact on their thinking not just on climate but also on disease control and management.”
“They have criticised us on transparency and accountability during their speeches on this bill. It's a bit galling that those who brought us robodebt and a prime minister that actually put himself into multiple ministerial portfolios criticised us in relation to gag issues. They're the party that gagged nearly every charitable organisation they could possibly fund. If you weren't gagged and didn't sign up, you couldn't get funding. That was what Prime Ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison presided over. We had lectures during this debate about all these issues as if they have some sort of political amnesia, as if they never formed government from 2013 to 2022. We've got a bill before the chamber today that those opposite claim they're not going to support.”
“We might have seen cooperative federalism. We might have seen the Commonwealth government having greater powers through High Court decisions—sometimes High Court decisions frustrated Labor governments; Ben Chifley could talk all about that. But, when it comes to issues of the Constitution, it is very specific about the Commonwealth's power under section 51 of the Constitution. The states have primary responsibility for the delivery of public health services through hospitals and are in control of their state borders. I don't understand Gough Whitlam talking about rail gauges, but the state governments have enormous power, and during the pandemic we were reminded of the power of the premiers. But those opposite seem to think there were no LNP or Liberal and National party premiers dealing with a Liberal prime minister.”
“Now it seems that health science and its efficacy are at risk of being something they deny. They don't like medical research, and they don't seem to support the idea that we should prepare ourselves. This was a once-in-100 experience that we had with COVID-19. But those opposite also, when I listen to their speeches relating to this bill, seem to forget that they were in government at the time and that the National Cabinet was something that was initiated by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. I think they also seem to forget that, when the colonies formed the Federation in 1901, premiers were powerful. The states were still powerful. We might have had some changes with respect to the financial capacities between the Commonwealth and the states on income tax, and I'm not going to go through the High Court decisions there.”
“That inquiry found that Australia was one of the most successful nations in its pandemic response, but, as a country, our preparedness left a lot to be desired. I can recall that back in the 1980s people were talking about an Australian centre for disease control in response to HIV and AIDS, and I'm pleased to see this legislation before the chamber today. It has taken a while, but I think it's a matter of good public policy and a matter of necessity. That's why it's so puzzling that those opposite are opposed to this. We've seen them rail against tertiary education. They don't like TAFE, the way they go on—they think we shouldn't be providing free TAFE. They don't like properly funding the university sector. The arts seem something that they think is an optional extra. Climate science seems like something that they don't believe in.”
“I'm pleased to speak on the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. These bills deliver on a key Albanese Labor government election commitment to establish an independent Australian centre for disease control and responds to recommendations from the COVID-19 response inquiry report released in October 2024, a landmark inquiry. It was established by our government in September 2023 to consider the Commonwealth's responses to the pandemic, including vaccination and financial support. This is because we thought it was important to be transparent about the response from a Commonwealth point of view to COVID-19 and how we managed it and the lessons we can learn to inform better management of future public health emergencies.”
“The future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. At the end of the day, a lasting peace should uphold Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, support security and stability in Europe and ensure that Russia does not renew its aggression. To that end, we welcome the United States recently convening the meeting with President Zelenskyy and the European leaders to work towards a peace deal that ends Russia's illegal and immoral war and safeguards security and stability. Now it's up to President Putin. He needs to show he's serious. So far, he hasn't. We will continue to support a just, lasting and comprehensive peace for Ukraine, on its terms, and security and stability in Europe.”
“The ADF personnel who were there are committed, like the Australian public, to training thousands of these Ukrainian citizen soldiers. We have, in fact, trained about 3,000 of their soldiers. Australia is open to working with other countries, as we've done in that effort and operation. Australia will consider any further request to contribute to future peacekeeping efforts in support of a just and lasting peace, which we all want for Ukraine. We have, as a country, a proud tradition of supporting peace through 80 years of contributions to international peacekeeping missions. Of course, peacekeeping missions, by definition, require a precondition of peace, and that's why we support all meaningful progress towards a just and enduring peace in Ukraine for the broader security of Europe.”
“We have provided more than $1.5 billion in support, including $1.3 billion in military assistance and through vital equipment and training of Ukrainian forces—making us the largest non-NATO contributor of military assistance to Ukraine—and more than $85 million in humanitarian assistance. As part of this, we transferred the first tranche of Australian gifted M1A1 Abrams tanks in July, in response to a request from Ukraine. The Australian Defence Force also continues to contribute to multinational efforts to train Ukrainian military personnel under Operation Kudu. I met with ADF personnel based in southern England who are training with Ukrainian citizen soldiers as a part of Operation Interflex, and I spoke with Ukrainian translators and Ukrainian troops. I did this as part of a parliamentary delegation to the UK in 2023.”
“It's clear that President Putin's regime has imperialistic designs for Ukraine and beyond. We must ensure that Russia's illegal and immoral actions are not rewarded through any peace process. Australia supports all meaningful progress towards a just and enduring peace in Ukraine for broader security in Europe, but pressure will need to be applied to Russia to engage in good faith. Australia will continue to work on delivering concrete actions to support Ukraine now and into the future. We are always open to considering any new proposal to support Ukraine, as we've done in the past according to our capacity and based on our comparative strengths.”
“I want to take this opportunity to reiterate Australia's strong and steadfast support for Ukraine and its people, not just because it's in Australia's national interest but because it's the right thing to do. What happens in the Euro-Atlantic region has serious implications for our region, the Indo Pacific, and vice-versa. In my capacity as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I have met the Ukrainian ambassador, His Excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko, a number of times, and I've conveyed that message to him directly. Make no mistake: this is a David and Goliath struggle not just for the people of Ukraine but for their national sovereignty and existence. This is a monumental struggle for international rule of law and the global rules based order, and it is a just war on the part of Ukraine.”
“I want to thank my good friend the member for Adelaide for this motion. I want to acknowledge his longstanding support for the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Australian community in his electorate and across the country. Just over a week ago, on 24 August, we marked the 34th anniversary of the Ukrainian declaration of independence. It was wonderful to see the Ukrainian community sharing the occasion, with independence day events around Australia, many of which were attended by MPs and senators, including in Brisbane. At the same time, it was a bittersweet moment and a poignant reminder of the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia's illegal, immoral and unprovoked full-scale invasion of their country.”
“Throughout this journey she's become deeply committed to advocating for change and is currently involved in Bowel Cancer Australia's Never2Young campaign, calling for greater investment in primary care, development of age-specific clinical practice guidelines and increased federal funding for research to investigate the causes of early-onset bowel cancer. Sadly, Ann-Marie lost her best friend in February this year at the age of 44 due to the same illness. I want to thank Ann-Marie for sharing her experiences with me today. I wish Anne-Marie and all those like her well. We must do better in this country.”
“Today I met with a constituent of mine, Ipswich mother-of-three Ann-Marie Foster, who is affected by early-onset bowel cancer. Anne-Marie is in parliament today for the Call on Canberra, Bowel Cancer Australia's annual advocacy event, which is supported by the Parliamentary Friends of Bowel Cancer, of which I'm a member. Australia has the world's highest rates of early-onset bowel cancer—diagnosed in people under 50 years of age—with over 1,700 young Australians diagnosed every year. This is despite the fact that we have a world-class health system. Early-onset patients can take 60 per cent longer to receive a diagnosis, and that results in delays in treatment and poorer outcomes. Ann-Marie was diagnosed in October 2023 and has had to undergo five surgeries and more than 20 gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, with ongoing treatment.”
“That's exactly what this budget, along with the associated appropriations bills discussed here today, will do. Our election commitments and our second-term agenda will achieve this. It backs my electorate of Blair and the strong record I have of delivering for our community, and it builds for the future. That's why this budget and the appropriations bills that we are discussing are important. I commend the appropriations bills to the House.”
“The announcements last week to cut through red tape and delays in federal environmental laws are very welcome and precisely what a number of local participants said. Going forward, the economic reform roundtable will inform the next three budgets and beyond with clear and broad areas of consensus and common ground. It's very encouraging to see real appetite and ambition for change with some clear reform directions and a number of immediate actions, or low-hanging fruit, and some further work areas coming out of the event. In closing, we know the best way to boost living standards and modernise our economy is to make our economy more productive and resilient and to make our budget more sustainable, but we need to ensure that promotes fairness and tackles intergenerational equity so that no-one is left behind or held back.”
“Locally we've seen strong economic and jobs growth in recent years, but we've got growing pains in a fast-growing region. We need to be investing in more housing, infrastructure, skills and services to support our high population growth. We want to keep securing good, well-paid jobs for locals now and into the future. That means backing local industries, tracking new investment and equipping people with the skills they need to succeed. I wrote to the Treasurer with a range of ideas coming out of the Blair roundtable and sent that feedback back to participants in the roundtable. This has been fed into the national economic reform roundtable, and I'm pleased to see the initiatives coming out of the national reform roundtable.”
“In the last term, our budgets focused largely on inflation and the cost of living, but this term we know we also need to look at reforms to drive growth and productivity while ensuring inclusion and intergenerational equity. The best way to improve living standards over time is to make our economy more productive, to make it more resilient and to make sure our budget is more sustainable. These themes were all discussed at a recent Blair economic reform roundtable I hosted in Ipswich at the Ipswich Jets Leagues Club with representatives from local business, chambers of commerce, unions, government agencies, community groups and experts. The forum canvassed a wide range of issues from the need to fast-track more housing and road infrastructure to cutting red tape for local charities and cracking down on sham contracting and tax evasion.”
“Finally, this budget invests in key road infrastructure that will improve congestion and safety in our fast-growing region. It locks in the $20 million in funding for the Brisbane Valley Highway safety upgrades, bringing the total Australian government commitment to $40 million. That's the amount that was asked for by the Somerset Regional Council. During the election campaign, I was delighted to announce $200 million to deliver a new Amberley interchange on the Cunningham Highway, drawing on previously allocated funding. I call on the Crisafulli government to match that funding; they didn't do it in their recent budget.”
“The Building Early Education Fund will deliver grants to providers, and the government will look at options for the Commonwealth to invest in owning and leasing out services. This will build on our earlier Cheaper Child Care reforms, which have helped 8,900 families in Blair, saving families $7,049 on average over the last two years. On the eve of this year's budget, the Albanese government signed a new $2.8 billion school funding agreement with the Queensland government, which will see more funding for local state schools in Blair over the next 10 years. I recall going to a number of schools after that agreement, particularly schools like Raceview State School and Bremer State High School, where that announcement was really well received.”
“We're also supporting renters through a range of measures, including improving renters' rights, incentives for the private sector to build more long-term rentals, a 45 per cent increase in Commonwealth rent assistance and delivering more social and affordable housing rentals. Another area that's made a big difference to families in Blair is support for child care. The government is taking the next step in building a universal early education and care system by replacing the much discredited and loathed current activity test with a guaranteed eligibility for three days a week of subsidised early education for children who need it. We've established a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, allowing more centres to be built and expanded in areas of need. That'll help in electorates like mine, outer suburbs and regional areas.”
“Just last week, the Prime Minister announced that this will start from 1 October 2025 instead of next year for all first home buyers, with no caps on places or income limits—in other words, it'll be demand driven. Property price caps will also be set high, in line with the average house prices. This is a real game changer, and it will bring the great Australian dream of owning a home back into reach for so many people. We're also going to invest $10 billion to build 100,000 homes that only first home buyers can buy. This is building on the fact that we've already helped more locals buy their own home, with more than 3,400 people in my community able to get into home ownership with the support of the Albanese government—the highest rate of take-up in the country.”