Tony Zappia
Makin · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Based on the most recent polling, cost of living remains the most pressing issue for Australians, with around 75 per cent of people putting it at the top of the list of issues that matter to them. Another survey has 3.7 million Australians living in poverty, whilst 122,000 are homeless.”
“However, two issues that I believe directly contribute to Australian poverty are gambling and illicit drug use. According to the most recent figures, $32 billion is spent annually on gambling in Australia, with Australians rated as the biggest gamblers in the world per capita.”
“Some 3.9 million Australians recently used an illicit drug, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Both gambling losses and illicit drug use are increasing. In particular, online gambling has increased by over 60 per cent in recent years and cocaine use has surged by 69 per cent in a single 12-month period.”
“Gambling and drug addiction are both, and often together, directly the cause of poverty, homelessness, suicide, divorce, financial stress, crime and other social problems. I welcome the Albanese government's latest gambling reforms, which I believe will make a difference to Australian gambling rates.”
“Every day there is new technology out there—and, yes, sometimes it's expensive—that allows for much more efficient procedures. As a result of that, you would think that perhaps the costs of those procedures would come down. But that hasn't always necessarily been the case.”
“The referral is to a specialist that they don't question, and they have no idea whether they could possibly get the same treatment at a much better rate using another surgeon. It's not often that people shop around when it comes to medical treatment.”
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“Local governments play a crucial role, acting as the closest tier of governance to the community and addressing various needs and concerns at the grassroots level. Their roles and responsibilities are diverse and multifaceted, encompassing a wide range of services and functions that are essential for the wellbeing and development of communities. The role of local governments has expanded over time beyond rates, roads and rubbish. Today they are being increasingly relied upon to provide services which were the responsibility of the Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments. Many local governments now provide vital municipal services, including health care, child care and aged care, ensuring the liveability and wellbeing of their communities.”
“On behalf of the Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport, and also on behalf of the chair of that committee, the member for Solomon, I present the committee's interim report into local government sustainability, together with the minutes of proceedings. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—On 21 March 2024, the committee adopted an inquiry into local government sustainability following a referral from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. The committee received 287 submissions and held 16 public hearings in person and via videoconference, in Canberra, Launceston, Wallan, Adelaide, Cairns, Beaudesert and Perth.”
“The Rann government in South Australia appointed her to several roles, where she continued to work to make changes in family matters, health care and social justice more broadly. In fact, it was really the social justice and environmental areas where I think most of her work was focused. I'm glad I was able to get to the memorial service on Saturday. It was so well done and such a fitting tribute to a person who made so much difference to the lives of so many people but, even more so, so much difference to the direction that this country has taken as a result of her being there. My condolences to each and every one of her family members and close friends, who, I know, will miss her dearly. I thank her for the contribution she made to Australia both in the time that she was in the Senate and throughout her life more broadly.”
“I have to say that, at the memorial service, which Senate leader Penny Wong MCed, Penny gave a very personal and wonderful tribute to Dr Rosemary Crowley. I thought Penny's comments about Rosemary were wonderful in terms of highlighting the respect that Penny had for her and the influence that Rosemary had on Penny herself, who, as we all know, has now become a leader in her own right. But it was fitting when we also heard from all of the others. When you put it all together, you realise that she was someone who deserved all of the accolades that have been said about her. When she retired from this place, she didn't retire from her pursuit of the matters that were important to her.”
“One of the things that I certainly appreciated was the fact that, when she was elected to this place, one of the first thing she did was go to Pine Gap to support the women at Pine Gap who were protesting against the arms race and the establishment of Pine Gap up there. This, in the day, was probably not something that you might've thought others would do, but Rosemary did it because she believed in it. Again, in my view, it just highlighted the character of the person. I thought the memorial service on Saturday was very fitting, and I say that as I reflect back on her achievements and life, which is something that, before Saturday, I perhaps might not have even given a thought to. But after listening to the different speakers, it became clear it was very deserved. But I think it also inspired other people.”
“I didn't know her well, but I met her on several occasions and I certainly came to the view very early on that she was a formidable person, someone that you needed to take seriously because she was—how can I say it?—a very strong person in pushing the views she had. But she was a person who also loved life in every sense of the word. It seems to me that I don't know too many people—when you look at the list of things that she did in her life, in terms of her fitness interest, her love for the environment, her love for music et cetera, it just seems that she loved life in every sense of the word. But she also was a person who knew that things had to change.”
“In doing so, just with that dogged determination, she ultimately ensured that the matters that she was raising were noted by this parliament and by the Labor Party itself, and ultimately she won the day on most of the issues she would raise. I thought that the memorial service was incredibly interesting, in that we not only heard from her family members; we heard about a woman who, apart from her public life, was an incredible mother as well. You could just sense in the comments made by both her son and her grandchildren that she was someone who valued her family as much as she valued everything else in life. But she was also—and I have to say this surprised me a little, because I knew Rosemary.”
“When I listened to the many comments from both her family members and other personal friends, including Chris Schacht, who himself is a former senator, and Barbara Weise, who served as a member of the Legislative Council in South Australia and who herself was also a trailblazer—and we also heard from Kathryn Harby Williams, who is a legend in her own right because of her netball career—it was clear that Rosemary's influence extended so far throughout the community. It was an influence that others have spoken about, particularly in terms of pursuing what we refer to as 'women's issues'—issues that, at the time when she came to this place, were not even on the agenda, yet she put them on the agenda, against considerable resistance.”
“As I look at them, there are two full pages of different roles in which she served throughout her life, which just highlight two things: the level of interests she had as a person in this place and also the work determination that she pursued once she got here. She took the view that she was here, and that she was here to make a difference, and that's what drove her. She didn't waste her time here; she actually used it effectively from the day she got here.”
“Interestingly, she came to this place after having to put up her own fight, which others have already spoken about. But as someone who can remember the 1980s in South Australia—and Rosemary was a member of the centre-left faction, which, at the time, had considerable influence—I can recall many of what I would call the 'internal factional fights' about who was going to get here, and I can well understand the comments made by Senator Chris Schacht, one of the speakers at the state memorial service that was held last Saturday in Adelaide, when he spoke about the challenges she faced in coming to this place. When she came to this place, and even after, she went on to serve in many different roles that, in fact, are way too lengthy for me to list here.”
“It must have been a very different era in terms of the proceedings of this place, when you had so few women in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, for a woman to be a part of the parliament of Australia. Yet Rosemary did that and did that with an incredible amount of determination. Perhaps her determination arose from her upbringing, which others have spoken about, and the fact that, throughout her own personal career, she served not only as a medical practitioner but as a tutor at Flinders Medical Centre, a lecturer in childbirth at the Mothers' and Babies' Health Association, a member of the mental health review tribunal from 1979 to 1983 and so on. Those kinds of roles, particularly when you're dealing with families, certainly shape the person that you become.”
“Often it is not until a person is no longer with us and we then reflect back on their life that we appreciate how truly important their life was and the impact that they have made on the lives of so many others. Such was the case with Dr Rosemary Crowley, who left an extraordinary legacy when she passed away on 1 March. Dr Crowley was a senator for South Australia between 1983 and 2002. She was, indeed, the 371st senator to come to this place and the 68th from South Australia. But, more importantly, she was the first woman Labor senator to come to this place and the first woman Labor senator to serve in the ministry. Interestingly, as others have already noted, throughout all of her time here, she was the only Labor woman senator in this place.”
“I also note that there are good alternatives to engineered stone, whether it is marble, natural stone, porcelain, terrazzo or even steel and timber products. They can now be used as an alternative. So there is no need to use a product that is deadly. We need to get our message out there loud and clear, and that's exactly what this legislation does.”
“And it makes it clear that this government and we, in Australia, will not accept the continued use of this product. I will make this observation. I recently spoke with someone who works with engineered stone, and the person said, 'Provided you work with it safely and abide by all the preconditions, it is really a product that you can continue to use.' I accept that, if you work with it safely, that might be the case. But the reality is, once it's in use in the community, there will be times when people will have to deal with it who don't know that they have to work with it safely and who don't know how to work with it safely, whether they're doing repairs or the like. It still presents an ongoing risk to people in the future. Therefore, I support the ban.”
“I note that the Department of Home Affairs will receive $32 million over the next two years of additional funding to cover the costs associated with the seizure, storage and disposal of any imported product. I don't know just how much it will cost. What I also don't know is whether any of those costs will be recovered. I hope that we might be able to do so. But, as we know from past experiences, the reality is that recovering costs isn't always possible, so we need to act. Nor should we delay the disposal of the product whilst we look at whether we can recover the costs. To me, the fact is that the product needs to be disposed of. Dealing with it quickly saves costs in any event, so let's get on with it, and that's exactly what this legislation does.”
“Quite frankly, my care is not only for the people of this country, when it comes to a known product that is deadly, but for all people that are forced to work with it. That brings me to this legislation. Put simply, anyone importing engineered-stone products must have a valid permit or an exemption. Without a valid permit or an exemption, any engineered stone that is detected will be seized and disposed of by our customs departments. The seizure, holding and disposal of those products will come at a significant cost to government. This is why an expedited disposal process is in the public interest—and hence the need for this legislation.”
“Other colleagues have quoted estimates of the numbers of workers that have already being affected by silicon dust—or silicosis as it is often referred to with respect to some of the illnesses—but, in my view, we won't really know what the true effect of silicosis, or of engineered stone, on people's health has been until more years have passed, as was the case with asbestos. Whatever the statistics are—and I commend my colleagues who have quoted some of those statistics, which are based on sound research—the reality is that hundreds, if not thousands, of people will die because of their use of this product. We banned it in Australia, and I believe that's an important first step. I would like to think that other countries might do the same.”
“That ban took effect when new national work health and safety laws came into effect across the country, because it had to be done in conjunction with each of the states. That ban was strengthened with a ban on all imported finished engineered-stone products, coming into effect only on 1 January this year. Engineered stone is quartz or a conglomerate stone that is crushed and then bound with a resin. The dust from engineered stone, when it is drilled, polished or cut, is deadly.”
“Human lives and the devastated families left were sacrificed for money and for profit. There have, however, been some lessons learnt from society's use of asbestos—in particular, a much better understanding of dust related diseases, including the risk products, the health effects and the treatment options that are now available. Of course prevention is always better than cure. So, when the evidence was clear that engineered stone presented a serious health risk to workers within the industry, we needed to act. I'm proud to be member of a parliament that was not going to wait another hundred years, as we did with asbestos. It's a parliament that introduced a ban on the use, manufacture and supply of engineered stone on 1 July 2024. We were, I believe, the first country to do so.”
“I've personally watched people who were affected by an asbestos disease, in their last months, in their struggle to survive, and the strain and the heartache it places not only on them but on their family members who are caring for them. It is truly devastating. Disturbingly and incomprehensibly, asbestos is still legally used in some countries, even though the statistics and the evidence are now as clear as they can ever be. Just as sinister is the reality that the deadly nature of asbestos was known over a century ago, and yet its use was allowed to continue for the best part of the last century and, in particular, in the post World War II years, where it was used in just about every home throughout Australia and in so many other different applications.”
“I'll make a short contribution on the Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024 because I believe it's very important legislation. For the past two decades, every year in November the Asbestos Victims Association of SA holds a remembrance service at Pitman Park in Salisbury in recognition of the people who have died from asbestos related illnesses over the years. Each year, white crosses are placed on the lawn area where the service is held, with the names of those people who have died, and each year the number of crosses continues to increase. For all the deaths to date that we know of, there are, sadly, many more to come because asbestos diseases often take years to take effect.”
“Whilst we are nearing the end of this parliamentary term, yesterday's launch was an important first step towards an ongoing parliamentary friendship group that will give voice and hope to Uighur people both here in Australia and in their homelands.”
“They understandably still have a strong attachment to their original homelands, and the family members and friends they left behind, where allegations of widescale human rights violations—including mass detention and re-education camps; slave labour; forced marriages; destruction of culture, language, religion and music; and intense surveillance and brutality—have been the subject of reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and numerous investigative journalists. The priorities for the Australian Uighur community are compassionate assessment and an increased quota for Uighur visa applications to Australia, enforcement of Magnitsky Act sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations and for Australia to stand strongly against slave labour.”
“(): Yesterday the member of Fisher and I, as co-chairs, launched the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Uyghurs with the support of several parliamentary colleagues and representatives of Australia's Uighur community, otherwise known as people from East Turkistan or China's Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region. With their enterprising and strong work ethic, Uighur people have settled well into Australian life and are contributing to Australia's growth and prosperity.”
“Hope is driven by faith—faith in our leaders, faith in humanity and faith that good will prevail over evil. So, in the spirit of Reverend Bennett's sermon, we can have hope when government policies unite rather than divide people; when compassion and tolerance are at the centre of administration; when we all strive for lasting peace; when our environment is valued and protected; when injustice, discrimination and inequality are not acceptable; and when human life is sacrosanct. The ecumenical prayer service was a reminder to us all of these values. In the uncertain world we live in, where the truth has been eroded and misinformation and disinformation flourishes, it is our commitment to these values that will raise our hope for a better future. House adjourned at 17:00”
“I note that in 2023, according to one report, an estimated US$2.4 trillion was spent on arms globally. That is US$2.4 trillion that could otherwise have done so much good for so many people. Our world is in economic turmoil. Our environment is being degraded, and every day billions of people struggle through life. So many people I speak with are both anxious and fearful of the world's future. They see a world driven by greed and power. There is no light on the hill or at the end of the tunnel, but they have hope—hope that the future will be better and that peace will prevail. In my community, it is the Christian and other faith leaders who have become the loudest voices of reason, compassion, social justice and lasting peace. Their voices need to be heard by the global political leaders. Hope can become reality when global leaders act.”
“Whilst most Australians live in relative peace and comfort far from rocket fire and bombs, throughout the world billions of others live in deep poverty, enslaved, oppressed, persecuted or in the midst of armed conflict. In his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, marked on 1 January, Pope Francis spoke of the inhuman treatment inflicted on migrants, environmental degradation, the refusal to engage in any form of dialogue, the immense resources spent on the industry of war and how each of us must feel in some way responsible for the devastation to which the earth has been subjected. He went on to talk about true and lasting peace, foreign debt as a means of control by richer nations, and the abolition of the death penalty, and he calls for less money for weapons and more for development.”
“It then states: The last century was the most violent in human history, with the piles of corpses of Auschwitz and Hiroshima its demonic emblem. At the dawn of the new century and the third millennium there were hopes for a time of peace. But that was not to be. In 2022, it was reported that there were 55 state-based conflicts around the world and 82 non-state conflicts. According to the United Nations, this is the highest number of violent conflicts the world has faced since the Second World War. Two billion people live in countries wracked by such conflicts. According to the UNHCR, as of June 2024, there were an estimated 122.6 million people around the world who had been forced to flee their homes. Of them, 43.7 million were refugees.”
“On Tuesday morning, at the ecumenical prayer service for the opening of the 2025 parliamentary year held at St Christopher's Cathedral in Forrest, the Right Reverend Vanessa Bennett delivered an inspiring sermon entitled 'Hope in an uncertain world'. I emphasise the words 'hope' and 'uncertain' because right now the world is facing grave uncertainty. For billions of people throughout the world, hope is what keeps them going. On a similar theme, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference statement of 2024-25, entitled Truth and peace: a gospel word in a violent world , quotes the following statement from Pope Francis: A global ceasefire is urgent: either we do not realise it or we are pretending not to see that we are on the brink of the abyss.”