Tanya Plibersek
Sydney · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The Redress Scheme has, since 2018, received 80,000 applications and disbursed over $2 billion in redress payments to survivors. Thousands have received apologies or counselling that have changed their lives. That acknowledgement has changed their lives.”
“The scheme's operating expenses are met by taxpayers, who also step in as a funder of last resort for compensation payments, so the financial impacts obviously go beyond the victim-survivors themselves.”
“I want to take the opportunity to note recent media reports, particularly those in the Australian Financial Review , which said: Edmund Rice Education was created in 2007 and now operates dozens of schools affiliated with the Christian Brothers. … The split created a new organisation with the bulk of the Christian Brothers assets.”
“And of course they are also part of the larger group of people that are eligible now, because we've increased thresholds. Thanks to our changes, families now get around $30,000 of paid parental leave. That's more than double what it was when we came to government. But it's not just about paid parental leave.”
“The federal government is gravely concerned about the Christian Brothers Oceania Province's 22 June 2026 announcement that it would seek creditor and court approval for a creditors scheme of arrangement and a moratorium on all current and future civil proceedings in connection with child sexual abuse claims.”
“Thanks so much to the member for Cunningham. I know that she is out and about in her electorate all the time, and she knows that over 1,800 parents benefited from paid parental leave in her electorate just last year. Last week, I met Baby Zoe and her mum and dad. Baby Zoe is number three in a family of three children.”
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Every one of 331 lines we hold for Tanya Plibersek, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 7.
“I present a replacement explanatory memorandum and a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill. I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (2) to (25) as circulated together. Leave granted. I move: (1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 5), omit "Schedules 3 and 4", substitute "Schedules 3, 4 and 5". (2) Schedule 2, item 1, page 22 (line 16), after "act", insert ", failure". (3) Schedule 2, item 1, page 22 (line 22), after "act", insert ", failure". (4) Schedule 2, item 1, page 22 (line 27), after "act", insert ", failure". (5) Schedule 2, item 1, page 22 (line 28), after "act", insert ", failure". (6) Schedule 2, item 2, page 23 (line 12), after "act", insert ", failure". (7) Schedule 2, item 2, page 23 (line 18), after "act", insert ", failure". (8) Schedule 2, item 2, page 23 (line 22), after "act", insert ", failure".”
“I remind the member that increasing the small debt waiver to $250, as he supports in this bill, means that we will waive about 1.2 million undetermined debts this financial year alone. This one measure will remove more debts from the backlog than reinstating the old statute of limitations would. Measures such as these bring with them very significant budget impacts, and, as part of our consideration approach, the government have to work through each proposal to ensure that it's of the best possible benefit for the whole community. I assure the member for Clark that this work is ongoing, but we are not able to support his amendments at this time.”
“I want to also remind the House that it was the Albanese government that established the robodebt royal commission. We exposed a very dark chapter in Australian public administration, and we're the ones fixing it. We've agreed or agreed in principle to all 56 recommendations of the royal commission; three-quarters have already been fully completed or substantially progressed. Recommendation 18.2, relating to the statute of limitations, was agreed in principle and it's one of the recommendations that we're working on. For the measure to be effective, it needs to be carefully designed and consulted on—a process that we are carrying out thoroughly. The previous statute of limitations was actually not as effective as it could have been and didn't provide a meaningful limit on the raising and recovering of historic debts.”
“I want to thank the member for Clark. I know that this has been a point of interest for him—he's shown a real commitment for many years—as it has been for our government. He spoke about returning fairness and humanity to the social security system. Certainly, that is also our intention and desire. In his last comments, he spoke about raising the rate. I would remind him that since coming to government we've increased age and disability pensions by about $5,000 a year, we've increased JobSeeker—working-age payments—by about $4,000 a year, and we've increased Commonwealth rent assistance by up to $1,800 a year. Those initial changes, which we made to social security in the first two budgets, were an investment of around $11½ billion in a fairer system. So there have been very substantial investments already.”
“Unfortunately, our view is that this amendment, as it's currently drafted, may inadvertently offer benefits to perpetrators of violence in some situations. I know that's not the intent of the member, so we would have to be a little bit more careful in the drafting of the amendment to acknowledge the intent of the member for Wentworth. While I won't be supporting this second amendment from the member for Wentworth, I do think that we can work together to progress the intention of her amendments. Question negatived.”
“We're prepared to look at the suggestion to standardise the 14 days, but I think it's important to note that there is already flexibility and that an additional payment has been introduced since the crisis payment first became available. So we won't support the amendment but we will continue to work with the member for Wentworth on the intention that she is pursuing. Our view is similar in relation to expanding eligibility for the payment to a broader set of living arrangements—for example, those fleeing violence who are living in temporary accommodation. We're looking at this as part of future work to expand protection for victims and survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence, wherever they are, and we plan to consult further in relation to the changes.”
“I'd also note that there is already flexibility built into the application process for the crisis payment for people who've experienced family, domestic or sexual violence. For example, for a person who has left their home due to family, domestic or sexual violence, it's not that they have seven days to apply for it; they have seven days from the date they decide they cannot return to their home to submit a claim. That might be several weeks after they've left their home. In addition, Services Australia can also provide an additional 14 days to submit a claim where a person has experienced family and domestic violence.”
“I want to thank the member for Wentworth for the chance to discuss this amendment with her. The government is broadly supportive of the direction she's seeking to take, but there are a couple of things I need to draw to the attention of the House. We completely agree that someone who's fleeing a violent living situation should be able to focus on their safety first and apply for the crisis payment once they're able to do so. Since this crisis payment was introduced, however, the government has also, in addition, introduced the leaving violence payment, which is up to $5,000 for someone who's fleeing violence. The leaving violence payment is much more flexible than the crisis payment.”
“Members should note that three-quarters of these are now implemented or well progressed, and I look forward to getting on with the rest of them. I commend the bill to the House. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.”
“The Albanese Labor government believes in a strong social security system. Part of that commitment means taking on protracted policy challenges which others have put in the too-hard basket. With the passage of this legislation, our system will be stronger, fairer and more responsive to the needs of the Australian community. It's the end result of a major body of work encompassing some very, very complex and contested legal and policy matters. I want to thank the many officials who've dedicated themselves to this work, and also the Minister for Government Services for her cooperation and support. The government remains committed to implementing the remaining recommendations of the robodebt royal commission.”
“This provision addresses another point of weaponisation of the social security system, and it responds to calls from stakeholders articulated through both the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme. Our implementation of this reform is of keen interest to many advocates in the family, domestic and sexual violence area and advocates for social security reform also. It does bring policy change for Services Australia, and the leadership of Services Australia has assured the parliament through the Senate committee hearings that they are ready to deliver this change across the country. Someone who has been coerced into taking on a social security debt should not be further victimised and punished by a system that should be offering her support.”
“The 1.2 million undetermined debts that this will wipe from the backlog in 2025-26 alone are 1.2 million debts that Services Australia will not waste time and resources chasing. The government is strengthening compliance measures to ensure this provision is not exploited, but we know the vast majority of people engage with our social security system honestly and in good faith. The bill also expands access to the special circumstances waiver, to protect victims-survivors of financial abuse and coercion. This is a very important measure. This change provides an explicit recognition of the fact that this abuse can manifest in a victim being coerced into not meeting certain payment requirements. Decision-makers will now be able to take these circumstances into account in considering a special circumstances debt waiver.”
“We will continue to work with non-government organisations to monitor people's take-up of the scheme, making sure the process is as simple as possible. I'll just repeat one assurance I've already made: no-one is obliged to participate in this scheme and no-one is prevented from exercising any legal rights to pursue a claim relating to their debt. The debt reform measures in this bill will bring material changes to many Australians under financial pressure. The bill increases the small debt waiver threshold to $250, to be indexed annually in line with the consumer price index It brings the old thresholds into a single, unified amount, and, through indexation, this amount will maintain its value relative to the broader economy.”
“That would be, of course, very stressful for income support recipients who may have incurred a debt decades ago, and it would be both expensive and pointless for taxpayers. This validation also recognises the important fact that, based on Services Australia's sampling, in most cases affected by income apportionment, a debt was still owed but was miscalculated around the edges. The government's resolution scheme is carefully designed to remedy those mistakes. People with historic debts potentially affected by income apportionment will be eligible to apply for payments of up to $600. Any payment they receive will reflect the size of the debt in question and the most generous interpretation of the possible impact income apportionment had on it. I'll release additional details about the scheme soon.”
“2) Bill 2025 is an important step towards a better social security system delivering measures which will produce fairer outcomes for Australians. These measures reform the way we manage social security debts and resolve the longstanding issue of income apportionment. As I said when I introduced this bill, past governments used income apportionment in good faith with a genuinely held but incorrect understanding of the law. The Albanese government has never used income apportionment, but, with this legislation, we are resolving this historic issue in the fairest and most reasonable way possible. By validating the past use of income apportionment we spare taxpayers the cost of having government recalculate millions of debts going back decades.”
“The CEO of Single Mother Families Australia, Ms Terese Edwards, told the committee: For many years—in fact, decades—people who rely upon our safety net have been demonised, and when there are cuts they're usually to social security. Where there's more work for people to do, it's in the social security system. This is a cultural statement as well. This is why it is— an— administrative outcome, but … also a cultural statement, and this cannot be lost. We're hoping that this will build on the fantastic work of saying to Australians, 'If you are in need of our social security net, you can do that with respect and without feeling like you are not being believed and knowing that you will be safe to do that.' The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No.”
“There's always more to do in making our social security system fairer, safer and easier to use. These organisations represent the experiences of so many Australians, and I believe the collaborative approach that we've brought to this legislation lays a foundation for us to achieve further reforms. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee has also inquired into this bill and carried out further consultation. I really want to thank the members of the committee for their considered report and for the support offered for this bill. The committee, too, heard strong advocacy from social security recipients and their representatives. This lived experience is reflected in key parts of the legislation, particularly in the debt reform measures.”
“We are directing taxpayer money more efficiently to the task of helping people who need it now, focusing compliance action on large and deliberate debts, and moving our social security system a step further away from the shame of robodebt. This Labor government has shown we are willing to tackle longstanding problems and to do so fairly and in close consultation with the people who have been most affected. Since the introduction of this bill, officials from my department have continued to consult with the agencies who will administer these changes and the representatives of the people who will be most affected. In particular, I want to thank Economic Justice Australia, National Legal Aid and the Australian Council of Social Service, who have dedicated their time to advising the government on this bill.”
“I want to thank the member for Calwell for his excellent contribution to the debate, as I thank members on both sides who have contributed to the debate. I particularly want to thank the newly elected members who spoke about what these social security reforms will mean in their local communities. These debt reforms will make a big difference in particular to many women who have suffered or continue to suffer financial coercion and abuse. In wiping 1.2 million underdetermined debts from the backlog in 2025-26 alone, the government is also sparing many thousands of low-income Australian families the stress of being pursued for small debts.”
“Those opposite need to come clear with the five million Australians that rely on social security and the 180,000 paid parental leave recipient families every year. What are they going to do? Are they going to cut eligibility? Are they going to slash indexation? Who's going to miss out? We're focused on delivery; they're focused on cuts.”
“Those opposite would, because last time they were in opposition they promised no change to pensions nine times, and they came to government and they tried to cut the pension by $80 a week and raise the pension age to 70. And now the Leader of the Opposition has actually said that she would look at pension eligibility, indexing programs more smartly and capping demand driven programs. What does that mean in practice? We've seen what it means because they've tried it before. Are they going to cap eligibility for demand driven programs like paid parental leave? Last time they called working mums 'rorters' and 'double-dippers'. Are they going to try and cut the pension, as they tried to do last time by slashing indexation?”
“That includes almost 20,000 people in the member for Lalor's seat—age pensioners and jobseekers. The changes that came into effect on 20 September mean that someone on the full age pension got about an extra $30 a fortnight. That means that an age pensioner is about $5,000 a year better off since Labor came to government. A jobseeker is about $4,000 a year better off since we came to government. Commonwealth rent assistance has increased. It has gone up by almost 50 per cent, and that means about an extra 1,800 bucks a year. Of course, that builds on cheaper medicines, more bulk-billing, fee-free TAFE, five per cent deposits, a 20 per cent cut to student debts and a whole range of other cost-of-living measures. But we know what would put all of this at risk.”
“Thanks so much to the member for Lalor, who is a fierce advocate for her local community. Of course, as a Labor government, we want people who can work to work. It's good for them. It's good for our national productivity, and, thanks to the strong economic management of this prime minister and this treasurer, we've seen more than 1.1 million extra jobs created since we came to government. We've given every taxpayer a tax cut, and those workers on a minimum wage have seen a pay bump of around $9,000 a year since we came to government. But, when people can't work or when they've retired, of course we want a social security system that allows them to live with dignity. From 20 September this year, more than five million social security recipients saw a boost in their payments.”
“And, of course, the Minister for Housing's $43 billion Homes for Australia plan includes five per cent deposits that have helped, up till now, about 180,000 first home buyers enter into the market, and she's already built around 5,000 extra social and affordable homes. Cheaper child care means around a million families are better off, cutting out-of-pocket costs for a typical family with a child in full-time care by about $7,000 a year. Cheaper medicines have saved around $1½ billion so far—and counting. And, of course, there's more bulk-billing, and 90 Medicare urgent care clinics are open already, with another 47 to come. Our government is absolutely focused on the cost of living and making sure we deliver on our commitments, meaning more Australians earn more, keep more of what they earn and receive more if they're on the age pension.”
“JobSeeker will go up by around $4,000 a year since we came to government. Commonwealth rent assistance has increased by around 50 per cent, so someone paying, say, 400 bucks a week in rent now gets about $1,800 a year more in rent assistance. And, of course, there's electricity bill support. People on the minimum wage are $9,000 a year better off. Changes to paid parental leave mean more time, more people receiving it and more money. In fact, a parent is about $12,000 better off now with paid parental leave than when we came to government—for each child. There are tax cuts for every taxpayer, averaging $2½ thousand. There have been 650,000 fee-free TAFE enrolments. We've cut student debt by around 20 per cent. That's about $5½ thousand in relief on average.”
“Thanks so much, Member for Macquarie. Of course, we're a Labor government—we want people who can work to work. It's good for them and it's good for the economy. But, when people can't work or when they're retired, we need a social security system that supports them to live with dignity. That's why I'm so pleased that, on 20 September, more than five million social security recipients will see a boost in their bank accounts—up to almost $30 a fortnight for single age pensioners. That'll help with everyday costs like groceries and health care, and it includes more than 21,000 age pensioners and job seekers in the electorate of Macquarie. The changes on 20 September mean the full age pension will go up almost $30 a fortnight. That means that a full age pensioner will be about $5,000 a year better off since Labor came to government.”
“No-one is obliged to participate in this scheme or prevented from exercising any legal right to pursue a claim relating to their debt. The Albanese Labor government believes in a strong social security system. We won't demonise people for needing support, but we'll also make sure that we are achieving value for every dollar of taxpayer money spent. Australia's social safety net should be there for people when they need it. This bill almost halves Australia's social security undetermined debt backlog. It extends supports for victims of coercion and financial abuse. It brings resolution to the long-running issue of income apportionment, with a pathway for compensation for those potentially affected. And it protects the integrity of the social security system. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“Operationalising the requirements of the scheme in a legislative instrument provides flexibility for dealing with historic debts and the different circumstances of individuals impacted by income apportionment. The instrument will detail eligibility criteria, how to apply for the resolution payment, how to accept an offer of a resolution payment, how much the resolution payment will be and other important administrative details to ensure the effective delivery of the scheme. The amount received will reflect the original size of the debt. The instrument will prescribe the amount of resolution payments. For debts under $200, the full debt will be repaid. For debts between $200 and $2,000, the payment would be $200. For debts between $2,000 and $5,000, the payment will be $400. And for debts above $5,000, the payment would be $600.”
“That's why we have to validate the past practice of income apportionment and embed it for future decisions that relate to debts from the pre-2020 period. Resolution scheme Alongside these amendments, the bill will establish the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme. People with historic debts potentially affected by income apportionment from 20 September 2003 to 6 December 2020 will be eligible to apply for a resolution payment of up to $600, in recognition of the fact that we now know this method of calculating entitlements was not valid. Once established, the scheme will provide those affected a clear pathway to seek fair and reasonable compensation from the government. The bill provides that the minister may determine provisions related to the scheme in a legislative instrument following commencement of schedule 3.”
“But we do need to deal with the legacy of income apportionment in the most responsible and cost-effective way we can. This bill will resolve the historic use of income apportionment with a twofold approach, including: By validating the use of income apportionment, we will avoid the need to recalculate potentially millions of debts, many of which date back many decades. Reopening debts and manually recalculating them would cause distress and protracted uncertainty for the people affected. In many cases, the debts are decades old, they've been repaid, and people have moved on with their lives. It would also divert critical government resources totalling billions of dollars away from frontline services that are helping people who need support now.”
“Around 5.5 million social security debts, previously or currently held by around three million people and worth a total of around $4.4 billion, may potentially be affected by the practice of income apportionment—'potentially affected' because we can't know whether a debt is actually affected without an individual, manual review of every debt. The vast majority of these debts were paid off many years ago. We know that income apportionment was adopted in good faith, with the Commonwealth Ombudsman stating that it reflected a genuinely held incorrect understanding of the law. This was not robodebt. It's very important to remember that, based on sampling by Services Australia, in almost every case individuals still owed a debt, but the amount owing was slightly miscalculated at the margins.”
“Income apportionment was used to assess income earned between 1991 and 2020. This is a practice that has never been used by the Albanese government. Income apportionment was a practice that was used for many decades to determine social security debts for some income support recipients who also received some employment income. The method involved using evidence from the individual, such as payslips, to determine their entitlement to a social security payment as part of calculating a debt. In circumstances where it wasn't clear what a person's daily earnings were from their payslip, Centrelink would sometimes spread a person's reported income across the payroll period so that it better matched their systems. On occasion, when this income was spread, it overlapped to social security payment periods.”
“This is a very significant and important change. The social security system should be there to assist vulnerable people when they need it most, not to punish them further. This change responds to calls from stakeholders and addresses a recommendation of the 2024 parliamentary inquiry into financial abuse. It also delivers on our commitment to support victims-survivors under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and responds to recommendation 18.1 of the Robodebt Royal Commission, which called for the government to 'take each person's circumstances into account before commencing recovery action' and to 'respond appropriately and proportionately to cases of hardship'. Income apportionment The bill also includes provisions to provide legal clarity to the historic practice of income apportionment.”
“To give just one example—and, sadly, I have heard very many examples—a woman, who we will call Ashley, was receiving the disability support pension and family tax benefit while she was experiencing severe mental illness. During her illness, her former partner who was acting as her nominee incorrectly declared their family income, and a debt of $7,000 was raised against Ashley. Under the system as it exists at the moment, Ashley would be denied the special circumstances waiver because her former partner knowingly made a false declaration. But, under the change that we are proposing to this legislation, Services Australia staff would be given the discretion to take into account Ashley's illness as well as the controlling and abusive behaviour of her former partner, meaning she would be eligible for a waiver.”
“This includes situations where someone is found to be cheating the system to regularly have debts waived in this way. The bill also includes amendments to help deliver on our election commitment to embed safety in our Commonwealth systems. Financial abuse and coercive control are serious forms of family and domestic violence, and these changes will better protect victims-survivors from coercive social security debt by expanding access to the special circumstances waiver. This will mean that the waiver can be applied more widely and more fairly in situations where a person has genuine limitations on their ability to comply with their reporting requirements. This includes cases of family and domestic violence, where a debt arises due to coercion or financial abuse.”
“It will mean that Services Australia does not waste time or resources chasing small debts that are uneconomical to recover, and it will spare Australians with these small debts from significant stress. Setting the new threshold at $250 recognises that people generally engage with the social security system in good faith, while continuing to ensure responsible fiscal management. As well as increasing the debt waiver threshold to $250, we will now index it annually in July, in line with changes to the consumer price index. This change means that people will no longer be disadvantaged by the decline in the waiver value over time. At the same time, we will strengthen existing safeguards to ensure the waiver system cannot be manipulated.”
“It includes provisions that: Debt r eform The bill will standardise and increase the threshold for waiving small social security debts for the first time in over 30 years, up from the current thresholds of either $50 or $200 to a single, unified amount of $250. Because we know that, often, the administrative cost of recouping small, accidental debts is higher than the value of the debt itself, making the process of debt recovery often uneconomical. As a result of this change, we will wipe almost half of Australia's social security undetermined debt backlog. This backlog has grown exponentially in recent years, including due to pandemic-era measures. But, through the amendments in this bill, around 1.2 million undetermined debts are expected to be waived or will no longer need to be raised in 2025-26 alone.”
“Under the leadership of the government services minister, Senator Gallagher, call wait times at Services Australia are down, and claims processing at Services Australia is up. We have worked hard to rebuild the system following the legacy of robodebt. The government accepted, or accepted in principle, all 56 recommendations made by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme and 75 per cent of those—three-quarters of those—are either already implemented or well progressed. And we're committed to implementing the recommendations that remain. This hard work has meaningfully improved the way we manage social security debts. But we recognise, of course, that there is more to do, and this bill is another important step by the government to reform the way we manage social security debts.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Albanese government is committed to further strengthening Australia's social safety net. The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 is a significant step towards a fairer, more efficient social security system that better supports Australians when they need it most. The bill builds on the substantial investments the government has made since the 2022 election. These include: We also established the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, ensuring expert advice on the social security system is delivered directly to our government. And we've improved the experience of engaging with the social security system, treating those needing support with dignity, transparency and respect.”
“There's record legal services funding, and I have to particularly draw out the $800 million extra funding for family violence legal services. All of us, I'm sure, agree that one victim of domestic, family or sexual violence is one too many, and all of us across the parliament acknowledge that we have a role as parliamentarians to lead change in this area, and our state and territory colleagues have a role. Every single Australian can play a role, too, in keeping people safe where they should be safest—in their own homes.”
“No government has invested more in adolescent boys or children who have been the victims of domestic violence, to make sure that they're not going to go on and perpetrate violence in the future. We've introduced the leaving violence payment and made it permanent—up to $5,000 to support victims of violence as they're leaving home—because too often we've asked, 'Why doesn't she go?' when the reality is that she had no choice in the matter. There's $1.2 billion in emergency and transitional housing, and I have to compliment the Minister for Housing for this work. There's 10 days paid domestic violence leave. There are changes to family law that make the system safer and simpler. Too often we've seen the family law system also used against victims of violence.”
“So we will be introducing legislation later this week to expand the special circumstances debt waiver in social security. That means that Services Australia will be able to take a more commonsense and more compassionate approach. Where there are debts run up by perpetrators of violence, they should not be left for victims of violence to pay. We've seen examples where perpetrators of violence have run up thousands of dollars worth of debts and then walked away and left the victim of the violence to suffer the consequences of that. But, of course, this is not the only thing that the Albanese Labor government is doing. No government has invested more in frontline services. No government has invested more in programs working with men to stop them using violence.”
“I want to thank the member for Newcastle for her question. There are few people in this parliament who have done more to stand up for victims and survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence than the member for Newcastle, and all of us acknowledge that work. Too many Australians have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence, and too many of them have experienced financial abuse and coercive control. It's particularly bad when that happens in the private sector where debts are run up by perpetrators of violence, but we know that it also happens in government systems. The social security system, which is supposed to protect and support victims of violence, should never be able to be used by perpetrators to financially control or coerce victims of domestic violence.”
“The Albanese government has announced a $2.3 million investment for Plate It Forward and 21 other social enterprises around Australia working with people who would otherwise be locked out of the labour market. It will provide training and employment opportunities, and start them on their journey to independence. It's just one part of our $230 million Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package, and it's wonderful to see how these operations are delivering on the ground. I thank David Hetherington from Impact Investing Australia, who does wonderful work. (Time expired)”
“Kabul Social is one of three restaurants run by Plate It Forward, run by Shaun Christie-David, who is an amazing social entrepreneur. Plate It Forward runs Kabul Social, Kolkata Social and Kyiv Social, all in my electorate and all providing the same sort of training opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers who have come from around the world. Plate It Forward also reinvests its profits in training more people, employing vulnerable migrants, and fostering long-term economic and social resilience in these groups, and for every meal that's sold at these restaurants, two are donated—one in Sydney and, in the case of Kabul Social, one in Afghanistan.”
“Over a plate of dumplings cooked by Kabul Social's head chef, Roya, we talked about how her work at this social enterprise has helped her achieve agency and autonomy in her life. She told me, 'I can look after my family and I work outside and independent. You know, I feel independent. It's so good for everyone. I feel so good, and I want a big restaurant.' She's planning her own business. When Roya was living in Afghanistan she wanted to study law but she was stopped from studying by the Taliban. She is now earning a living and seeing her son and daughter grow up able to study. Her daughter and son are both at university pursuing their own studies, and the fact that she is bringing home an income and is able to support herself and them is a source of pride for Roya. That's true of all the women who are working at the restaurant.”
“A fortnight ago I had the pleasure of visiting Kabul Social in the heart of my electorate of Sydney, a unique restaurant designed to inspire, uplift and support Afghan women who have fled the Taliban. It provides them with training and employment in an industry they might otherwise struggle to enter because, quite often, coming from Afghanistan they have not been in the paid workforce before coming to Australia. It provides them with the training and information they need to make a successful career here in Australia. Kabul Social is a terrific restaurant not only because the food is great but also because it's providing support and training to a group of women who are then entering the workforce and building their economic independence right here in Sydney.”
“It is, indeed, a big term coming, and I'm hopeful that my time in this portfolio will be marked by a sense of urgency, purpose and engagement, making sure we do what works to make people's lives better.”
“We've committed $27 million over five years to work in partnership with all states and territories to explore innovative approaches to address perpetrator behaviour. If we want to see change, we need to make sure there's accountability. During the election campaign, we announced another $8.6 million to add to that work, including approaches like electronic monitoring or ankle bracelets, intensive behaviour change and specialist early intervention for young people who are at risk of using violence. We've reformed the family law system. We've invested in the eSafety Commissioner. We've had targeted education campaigns for young people to understand consent and sexual violence. We're working in the higher education sector and doing so much more.”
“It's why we have invested more than any government before—and I have to pay tribute to the member for Richmond for the work that she did in the last term; it really was transformative—$4 billion across government, focusing on specialist services for women and tailored support for children and young people to heal and recover and on men's behaviour change. We've invested $700 million in new matched funding with state and territory governments for frontline services so women and children can live more safely. We're investing almost a billion dollars in making the leaving violence payment permanent to make sure that women have the support they need to leave a violent relationship. We're investing around a billion dollars in emergency and transitional housing.”