Michael McCormack
Riverina · National Party · Australia
“She told the local newspaper, the Daily Advertiser : He shared his personal story and he was just such a brave, compassionate man— and we heard that from the member for Chifley a moment ago. She continued: He was the most warm, caring, generous man.”
“He knew that he was going to succumb to the diseases that were afflicting his body, and yet he used his final months, weeks, days and hours to send a message to the nation about what can be done, what should be done and how we should act.”
“The coalition has concerns from the sector itself about the consultation process, including but not limited to the fact universities had not seen the bill before it was tabled. There are elements of the drafting surprising the actual sector.”
“My thoughts and love and condolences go out to Katie and his children, Emily, Matthew and Lucy. It is a profound loss that they have suffered. I listened closely to the words of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Health and Ageing yesterday before question time.”
“There are a lot of Australians out there at the moment who are very angry, and, when there is anger, there is unfortunately a race to the bottom when it comes to healthy debate. I don't need to remind the House about the sovereign citizen movement and what that can do to Australia and the nature and discourse of debate.”
“I do believe that children should be allowed to be children. We saw it in the veterans legislation, where there is now going to be a $5,000 cap on allied health for veterans to access important services. The Labor Party said: 'Trust us. We'll do the consultation over the next 12 months.' It's not good enough.”
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“When I was the veterans' affairs minister, for not a very long period between 2017 and 2018, the legislation for veteran-centric reform went into and through the parliament. I'll call that an important first step, because it acknowledged the fact that the lens of veterans had to be placed over every piece of legislation, because our veterans are embedded in all sectors and all areas of endeavour right across society, right across the economy. These bills are intended to give effect to the recommendation of creating that independent, permanent statutory oversight body, and the coalition supports that objective. Oversight bodies without the muscle or the teeth do not drive change. They produce reports, which, unfortunately, gather in in-trays on departmental desks and gather dust. That's not what this is about.”
“It made clear that lasting reform requires independent, system-wide oversight across the veterans and defence ecosystem, not oversight simply and merely and solely embedded with departments. Our departments are very good. Our public servants are exceptional. We should acknowledge that. I do recognise that. But we can always be better. We can always make improvements, and we can always review the performance of what we do as a parliament, the legislation that is in place and the effects that our departments and the law have. And not just the law but indeed such things as the payments, welfare services and health outcomes—all of that, for veterans, prevails across the sector. One of the most significant recommendations was the creation of a permanent, independent statutory oversight body to drive reform and measure progress.”
“But it wasn't just at Wagga Wagga, of course; it was at every hearing the royal commission conducted. We took that step of making sure that royal commission was available to hear from veterans because we knew that too many families had been ignored for too long and confidence in the system for some—not all, but for some—had broken down, and that was indeed unfortunate. The royal commission confirmed what many, including the Julie-Ann Finneys of the world, had known all along: the ex-service community had been saying that systemic failure was affecting veterans and the services available to them and that we needed to do better as a government, as a parliament and as a nation.”
“DVA, of course, are very heavily involved with ministers for veterans' affairs, the defence minister, the government and the opposition. We work as a whole. When it comes to bipartisanship, we need as much as possible to be as one for our veterans, because our veterans deserve no less. The coalition established the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, because veterans and their families deserved truth, they deserved systemic reform and they deserved accountability. There were 122 recommendations from that royal commission. It conducted its eighth hearing block at Mercure Wagga Wagga from 28 November 2022 to 1 December that year and heard some harrowing evidence, sombre evidence, evidence from veterans that needed and demanded an urgent response.”
“The veterans avail themselves of the services at Pro Patria in Ashmont, as well as the service provided in the main street, Baylis Street, at the drop-in veterans centre run by the Returned Services League. Every week, just about, we have a commemoration—a service, an event, a marker, a milestone—in the Victory Memorial Gardens, which are also in the main street. It is very much a garrison town. The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 follows on from the harmonisation that the government is doing with superannuation payments for veterans, and that is a good thing too. It is. For years we have endeavoured to integrate and harmonise MRCA and DRCA and the other various provisions for veterans. It's a big log of work.”
“I also, given the fact that, as I say, all politics is local—and this is political—I want to acknowledge the role that Bob and Gladys Bak play at Bethungra Integrated Servicepeople's Association and the role that Jacqui Vincent and her colleagues play at Cootamundra. The drop-in centre in the main street, Parker Street, of that town is important. In Wagga Wagga, where there are many veterans, given the fact that we have Kapooka, RAAF Wagga in Forest Hill, where air power starts—it says so on one of the Royal Australian Air Force hangars—and a Navy base, would you believe. It's a long, long way from the nearest drop of seawater, but we have a naval presence of 80 or so personnel operating out of Forest Hill, operating in close quarters and in conjunction with those at Kapooka and the nearby RAAF.”
“Given the fact that we do send them into conflict, into battle, and put their lives on the line on the front line, we need to be there for them if they do need that support, and, at some stage or other, they will all need our support. I would urge and encourage any veteran to absolutely make sure that they use all of the services that are available to them. I know that the Department of Veterans' Affairs, for some veterans, is a bit of a trigger, but there are very, very good people in DVA—there are—and they are there to provide you with the wraparound support that you need as a veteran.”
“I acknowledge he went on to serve at Singleton, 1RAR out of Townsville, and East Timor, appreciating and recognising the fact that the Prime Minister has just made a successful diplomatic visit there, and I acknowledge the role the member for Herbert played in Afghanistan and his tours of duty there. It's not easy being a veteran, and we need to acknowledge that not all veterans are broken, but, for those who are, we need to be there for them, because we, as a parliament, send them to do their duty for and on our behalf. We, as a parliament, send them into harm's way, and many of them feel the lasting lifelong effects of their service once they hang that uniform up.”
“Like the member for Paterson, who has just finished her contribution—a good one at that—I too acknowledge Julie-Ann Finney and her role in supporting not just her son's legacy but indeed veterans per se. I acknowledge the veteran serving members in the chamber at the moment and thank them for their service: the member for Solomon and the member for Herbert—the shadow minister at the table—who went through Kapooka, Blamey Barracks, 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Wagga Wagga in 2006, when Simone Wilkie was the first female commandant at that important and strategic training centre. As all politics is local, I acknowledge the role that Kapooka has in turning out the best and the bravest, of whom the member for Herbert was one.”
“We are talking about state courts, and that previous sentence or two of mine mentioned bail. I spoke recently to a woman in Melbourne, in the home state of the member for Mallee, who woke to find a large man in her bedroom at 6.15 in the morning and shrieked. The police came. Apparently, he'd got himself through the doggy door and was at the end of her bed. She has three young children. When the police came and apprehended this felon, he had already been bailed 67 times. Just think about that—67 times.”
“Over the last two decades, approximately one in two divorces involved parents with children aged under 18 years. For the co-parents swept into family law, it can be an exhausting journey. It's a sad situation. It's getting even sadder given the fact that marriages aren't lasting as long as they used to. They simply are not. I appreciate that's a matter between adults, but, for the sake of the kids, I think we need to do better and be better. Just on background, this bill makes minor and technical amendments, as I said earlier, to the Acts Interpretation Act, which dates back to Federation in 1901, and other Commonwealth legislation as a result of the Local Court and Bail Legislation Amendment Act of 2025 in New South Wales, which replaces the office of a New South Wales magistrate with the office of judge of a New South Wales local court.”
“But often these matters start in a local court in New South Wales and they go up the chain and they cost people so much money, so much time and so much of their health. It is exhausting. It is expensive. As Isabella Ross wrote: Financial abuse from "high conflict" ex-partners, lawyers "maximising fees" and a family report writer's warning to a client that "your case is a murder-suicide waiting to happen". These are just some of the allegations parents have told the ABC about their experiences in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. I would add, as I said before, that often these cases start before what was once a local magistrate. Isabella Ross writes: But it is the emotional impact on their children that these parents say has taken the biggest toll.”
“Why I mention Kay Hull in this context is that she presided over a parliamentary committee hearing where they released a report called Every picture tells a story . It was groundbreaking in the recommendations that it made to improve the family court system. But, unfortunately, in New South Wales—and no doubt elsewhere—there are people who just feel powerless. Don't just take my word for it. An online 8 September 2025 article, a well-written piece by Isabella Ross for the ABC News, was headed just that—'$1m on legal fees and feeling "powerless": Parents detail "crushing" Family Court experiences'. Attorney, if you could look into that as a matter of some urgency, I would implore you to do so. I appreciate it's not just New South Wales; it's the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.”
“I know the wheels of justice turn very, very slowly, but, if there is anything that we can do to speed up a good and due process in the family court system, I would appeal to the Attorney-General, a person of good heart and good faith, to do just that. Whilst it has been overtaken by the shambles that is the National Disability Insurance Scheme, we still have people—often men—not being well served by the family courts, and often the cases are taking way too long to hear. The biggest sufferers from this are the children, who seriously don't know whether they're Arthur or Martha. They are pulled and dragged from one home to the other and from one court to the next. It's just not right, and it is just taking too long.”
“Then we've got the New South Wales parliament deciding that, 'Gee, let's change the name "magistrate" and call them "judges".' Really? Why is this important and imperative? I don't understand it. The other thing that is happening and that we see so often is with the system of family courts. My predecessor, Kay Hull, who was a very good member and was the member for Riverina from 1998 to 2010, told me when I took over from her that one of the most heart-rending things that I would oversee and hear about was the situation of family courts and often men being denied access to their children. Justice—or so-called justice—in our family court system is too lengthy.”
“What we saw on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and again last night comes back to the fact that I don't believe our courts are doing well enough when it comes to stopping these protests and, moreover, sentencing those people who end up in the courts as a result of those protests. We have a right to demonstrate in this state and in any state. In Australia, there is that God-given right. We live in a democracy, and may we long uphold that. As Voltaire once said, I mightn't agree with what somebody says, but I very much fervently believe in their right to say it. But with free speech comes responsibility. What we saw last night, what we saw on 3 August last year and what we saw on the steps of the Opera House on 9 October 2023, two days after the initial Hamas attacks, is not the way we should be living.”
“To be honest, I don't think—I can say this given the fact that I have parliamentary privilege here—that the people of New South Wales are being well served by some of the sentences being handed out. When you've got Justice Belinda Rigg making a decision against the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, who is doing a good job, and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, who is doing an excellent job—when they go and apply to the courts to have protests stopped and Justice Rigg then decides to overrule them and allow protests to go ahead, and we see what we saw on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 3 August, I do question why then the NSW government seems to see a priority in changing the titles of people running their courts.”
“Now, in the Local Court and Bail Legislation Amendment Act 2025 New South Wales made a series of amendments to the Local Court Act 2007 and related statutes. We know that because that's why we're here doing this supposedly perfunctory bill. The matters that are coming before the New South Wales courts at the moment are pretty important. And whilst I appreciate a lot of them aren't going before what were once local magistrates are and are going before other levels of courts in New South Wales, I do really worry about some of the sentences and some of the decisions being made in that state. It is my home state, and I care a lot about it and care deeply for the people of New South Wales.”
“Of all the things that the New South Wales government has on its plate at the moment, you would think this would probably be the least imperative and important, but, given the fact that amongst one of its so-called 'primary reforms' was the abolition of the statutory office of Magistrate of the Local Court and the establishment of a new statutory office called Judge of the Local Court, we find ourselves having to update all our statutes, books and paperwork involved in this. Now, of course the coalition supports this bill, but I do want to make a few pertinent remarks in relation to the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (New South Wales Local Court) Bill of 2026 and other related matters pertaining to our legal system.”
“That was right, and that was just, and that was overseen by public servants. Public servants aren't elected by the people of Australia, but ministers are elected by a process. We all go to an election, we put our name on a ballot paper, and the Australian people vote accordingly. We can't keep watering down and eroding the value and the responsibility of a minister. This is what I believe this legislation and other bills that the Labor government is bringing before this House and the Senate are doing. That's what's happening. We must protect our ministers' responsibility. People say that ministers will have too much power. No, they won't. If they err—I see the minister at the table, the member for Sydney, smiling.”
“If we as a parliament keep watering down that level of responsibility by people who are ministers of the Crown, then what we're doing is just giving rubber stamp value to the role that they play. We can't have the bureaucrats down the hill running the whole show. I have every faith and trust in the public servants, who serve us very, very well. They do. I saw the best of public servants during COVID-19, when this country was very much facing the prospect of losing tens of thousands of people. Public servants such as Steven Kennedy, Simon Atkinson and others did a mighty and amazing job—and also, no doubt, in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander space. What we saw during that time was vaccines going out to remote Aboriginal communities at the same time, or at almost the same time, as in metropolitan Australia.”
“We want to see their youth in particular being given the same opportunities as anybody else in this country. But does this bill do this? I'm not so certain. The new position is essentially about consultation, providing advice to government and undertaking research and advocacy responsibilities that already exist within roles across government. I do wonder, not just with this bill but with others besides, that we are seeing a constant decay and erosion of responsibilities that once lay firmly and squarely and fairly with a minister. Under the Westminster system, ministers carry a lot of responsibility, as they should, and ministers are elected and then appointed by prime ministers through the cabinet process. They wear that responsibility not just as a badge of honour but as a duty to improving the outcomes and the futures of Australians.”
“The bill has a financial impact of $33½ million. Whilst that might sound like a reasonably large figure in the scheme of the money that goes towards Indigenous issues, it's not. That money would be well spent if the commission was not building yet another bureaucracy, duplicating much of the work of existing Commonwealth, state and territory bodies. That's where I think the issue for this particular legislation and this particular initiative lies. It does duplicate the work already being done by existing bodies such as the National Children's Commissioner and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner with the Australian Human Rights Commission. We want to see the best for people who, as members quite correctly point out, are the oldest continuous culture on Earth.”
“The legislation defines the commissioner's objectives as promoting, improving and supporting the rights, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children while driving greater accountability for policies impacting this group. That's what the legislation says. But will it? That's the question. We all want what is best for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. We all need to work towards the common goal of ensuring that they are not overrepresented in incarceration rates, that they have a future—the sort of future that Clontarf would lay out for them, The Commissioner will be—I will say 'will be' because we know that this legislation will pass this House, given the Labor government's huge majority of 50-plus seats. It may be amended in the Senate, but who would know?”
“He said that he appreciates the role that government and corporate partners have played, and the dedicated staff, past and present. He also said this: I would like to acknowledge … … … … most importantly, the thousands of young men who have been Clontarf members. Your stories of success, resilience and contribution to your communities are the true measure of Clontarf's legacy. It's organisations such as this and people such as Gerard Neesham OAM who, I think, hold the key. I appreciate that the government is pushing for a national commissioner. This bill, the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026, and the related bill transition the national commission from its current status as an executive agency to an independent statutory agency.”
“It supports 12½ thousand students at 161 academies, including 1,100 year 12 students, final year students who but for Clontarf would not, perhaps, be sitting for those final exams and who would not, perhaps, have the opportunities that will be afforded them because they've stayed the course at school. And that is in no small measure due to the work of Gerard Neesham. I thank him for the role he has played to enable young Aboriginal boys, in particular, to be the best versions of themselves. In his remarks on retiring from the position he acknowledged some key people he has worked with in his 26 years of service to Clontarf: Ross Kelly, the founding chair; and Craig Brierty, who has stood alongside him for most of the journey.”
“Gerard Neesham is a celebrated Australian football player and coach in Australia. He played in five West Australian Football League premiership teams and is a member of the West Australian Football Hall of Fame. He's a former coach of Fremantle. He played for the Sydney Swans as well as other clubs throughout his celebrated career. But the best thing that he perhaps will be remembered for is the fact that he established Clontarf. He steps down from his position as chief executive officer of that organisation this year. I'll give you a few statistics about Clontarf, which gives hope to young Aboriginal people.”
“There's a lot going wrong in the world, and we all know that, whether it's the world, the nation or even locally, but when you can get together on something as great as the terrific Tumbatrek and talk about the things that we have in common, it gets you to realise that there is much more that unites people than divides us.”
“It reminded us all about the importance of sometimes going and smelling the roses, the crisp clean air of Tumbarumba shire. There were people from right across the political divide, people with vastly different opinions. But there were 140 people trekking through the mountains. It was absolutely fantastic. We were joined by a large group of teenagers, mostly Tumbarumba High School year 11 and 12 students, but there was one apprentice there as well. All were just young people using the exercise as training for their mid-year Kokoda Trek expedition. As I said, the annual dinner the previous night was also fantastic, as it gave people the opportunity to gather and to talk about the things that are common to us, as Tim Fischer would want us to do.”
“I give her credit for the job that she's doing, particularly this week. It was great to join state MPs Dr Joe McGirr and Justin Clancy on the actual walk with Julia Ham, the Snowy Valleys' mayor, and with Paul Culhane, the Mayor of Upper Lachlan shire. We trekked 12.2 kilometres from the Bago forest to the Henry Angel Campground. We trekked to the Burra Creek, passing the side of the Hussell's Mill before joining the famous Hume and Hovell Track. One of the morning highlights was seeing a crackle of cockatoos—that's the collective noun for cockatoos. There were six of the gang-gang cockatoos nesting. They were fantastic. We were also joined by the Consul-General of the Czech Republic, Hana Flanderova, and a German exchange student, Sophie, who's with Rotary International.”
“The Tim Fischer Tumbatrek is over for another year, and the walking and talking is done. The conversation and perspiration has ended. It is a great event, and it reminds us of the legacy that Tim Fischer leaves. He started this trek in 1985 as a way of promoting the tourism and the business opportunities in Tumbarumba shire. Now, of course, that's part of Snowy Valleys Council. It's soon to be demerged. But so many representatives of Tumut and Tumbarumba gathered there. Prior to that, we had a very good meeting with Carlie Porteous and the Softwoods Working Group, Hyne and Visy, talking about the Walwa fire and the devastating impacts upon the forestry industry from that January incident. Then we had the dinner that night at the memorial hall, where the New South Wales Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Cately, attended.”
“And for what? Holding that city at ransom and those businesses which take risks, which invest—those people, those protesters, would be far better off doing something good for a change and keeping their hate to themselves. They don't need to do it all. Australia's better than this.”
“I do not understand how and why these people think it's right that they can use Australian icons like Bluey, the Sydney Opera House or the Sydney Harbour Bridge to promote their hatred, their spite, particularly after what went on on 14 December, when 15 beautiful, innocent lives were taken—and there is a correlation. Make no mistake, there is a correlation. It might be alright for some commentators on the ABC to argue that there might not be, but there is. I would urge and encourage people to read the op-ed in the Daily Telegraph today by Paul Nicolaou, who is a leading advocate in the Sydney business community. He, like so many in Melbourne, has had a gutful of the protests which have such an impact on those small businesses in the CBDs of those two cities. In Melbourne they've had more than 100 protests week after week after week.”
“She's doing a good job under tremendous pressure. So too, I have to say, is Premier Chris Minns. He has shown leadership against all of this. Thank goodness we have Mal Lanyon in as the police commissioner, because he has requested, and rightly so, extensions to prohibitions on these protests. Then, of course, we've got the Teachers Federation and others involved in teaching our children using—I should say abusing—Bluey, a much-loved children's character, to promote their propaganda, their river to the sea. I don't get it. I'm sorry, I just don't.”
“I disagreed with it, but this is what the United Nations and our nation did and followed through on. And yet still we're seeing protests week after week, day after day in our capital cities and in our country cities. And for what? I just don't understand it. Some of them are saying, 'Well, they're peaceful demonstrations.' No, they're not, because if you talk to the officers who are engaged with babysitting these people, they will tell you that these people throw things at them—anything they can lay their hands on—and they spit at them. Where have we got to as a country? Why is this happening? They would be far better off volunteering their time at a soup kitchen, attending a cancer hospice, doing anything but what they're doing. I spoke to Labor New South Wales Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley on Friday night.”
“Three thousand police. Snipers on the roof. A ring of steel around the central business district of Sydney. Workers, visitors, residents told to stay either at home or away. What is going on in this country? How has it gotten to this? The visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been greeted with remarkable scenes not just in Sydney, not just in Melbourne, but in Wagga Wagga and Benalla. This has to stop. It simply must stop. I'm not quite sure indeed what these people are still protesting about. I have nothing against peaceful demonstrations. It's part and parcel of living in a democracy. But the Australian government's adherence to Palestinian statehood was announced on 11 August last year. It was formally recognised on 21 September last year.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. In the lead-up to the 2022 election, the Prime Minister repeatedly promised a $275 reduction in household energy bills, and I quote: I don't think, I know. I know because we have done the modelling. Without mentioning home batteries, will the minister finally admit that the Prime Minister was wrong, the modelling was wrong and Australian families are paying the price every day for this government's abject failure to deliver on its promise?”
“We should congratulate them for staying together for that long of a period. We should admire them. We should follow their example indeed. As you would know, Valentine's Day is this Saturday, 14 February—that day of universal love. For some it's come early. For some it's in the air. Love is in the air. May it abound in this place, the House of Representatives, in the Senate and elsewhere. Love is truly in the air.”
“It's never too soon to fall in love—or back in love, as the case might be. And, with apologies to John Paul Young: Love is in the air everywhere I look around, Love is in the air in every sight and every sound. And I don't know if I'm being foolish, don't know if I'm being wise, But it's something that I must believe in And it's there when I look in your eyes. There have been some wonderful wedding anniversaries in the Riverina lately, and I mention Faye and Barry Irvine, who have had 60 years together, a diamond wedding anniversary; Margaret and Robert Hamilton, who have 65 years of commitment; Barbara and David Carter, with 60 years as well; Beth and Bruce Irvine, with 60 years of marriage—Bruce and Barry Irvine are cousins—and Erica and Michael Coghlan, who celebrated a golden 50th wedding anniversary. Isn't that just beautiful?”
“That's not fair, and they're not convinced by the Prime Minister, the health minister or anybody else saying that there is equity in postcodes when it comes to health services, because there is not. There simply is not, and regional people are suffering as a result—regional people who already have lower longevity and, unfortunately, have more cancers and those types of thing. They are going without, and I just despair when I see so many Labor members getting up and hear them reading the talking points that they've been given. It doesn't matter how convincingly they say it; it doesn't make it true. We do need more bulk-billing. We do need more access to better health services and care. We particularly need it in regional Australia—in the Northern Territory, in the Riverina or wherever it might be.”
“It's true that, over the last election period when everyone was trying to win power, the Prime Minister said on no less than 71 occasions: 'It's okay, just produce your Medicare card. That will get you by.' It's not true, and it doesn't matter how often he says it. It doesn't matter how often he said it then, and it doesn't matter how often he says it at the dispatch box now. The services aren't available and, if they are, you've got to pay through the nose for it. It is all well and good for those Labor seats or those marginal seats that Labor wants to win to add to its majority to get those clinics, but in regional Australia, where people matter too, they're missing out, and that's not good enough.”
“Thank goodness we've got the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, which was set up and established by a coalition government—a coalition government which recognised that regional Australians have health issues too. This government does not provide equity for postcodes when it comes to health provision. We see that with the urgent care clinics. I hear the member for Lyne all the time going on about Taree. Taree and a whole host of other regional centres don't have those regional aftercare clinics, those emergency care clinics, and that's just one point. When it comes to bulk-billing and myriad of other health access services, they are just not there. The access is missing. Then we have the member for Macquarie moving this motion.”
“What did we see when somebody complained about this in the media to the health minister from the leafy suburbs of Adelaide? He said, 'Well, if you can't get a bulk-billing doctor, pick up the phone and ring another one.' That might be well and good in Adelaide. It doesn't cut it in regional Australia. In some communities in regional Australia you're lucky if you've got a doctor at all, let alone trying to phone for another doctor to get an appointment. In country Australia it shouldn't be the case that, when in pain, catch the plane. You should be able to have access and availability of a doctor when you need it, but the difficulty is that we don't.”
“I am in furious agreement with the good member for Chisholm when she says that it should not matter what your postcode is to get access to health services. One-hundred per cent—the member for Chisholm is absolutely right. But the trouble is that it doesn't ring true. The trouble is that this Labor government has not done what it said it was going to do when it comes to bulk-billing or access and availability of health services. In fact, it's been an abysmal, dismal failure. Bulk-billing rates have gone from 88 per cent to 77 per cent. That's an 11 per cent drop. It doesn't matter how those members opposite colour it, how they argue it or how often they say that they are doing something. It doesn't matter how often that is the case; saying it doesn't make it true. Bulk-billing rates have dropped.”
“He'd be humbled by it, but, in his own special way, I think he'd quite enjoy the fact that he was being honoured in this way, because he was gregarious and he was a great people person. May he rest in peace. We love you, we honour you, and we miss you dearly. Vale, Luch.”
“I did go into the attendants room just before question time on the first day back here, on Tuesday, for the parliamentary year—apart from the extraordinary January sittings we had—and I offered my condolences to the attendants, and I do so again now, because I know how each and every one of you would be feeling because he was a special person. It's like losing the mentor who you've known, loved and respected. I say, again, what an extraordinary human being—the fact that the Parliament of Australia can stop, can grind to a halt, and we can all as one rise in our places, offer him the respect he deserved and then give speeches for his passing. Who else would get that but Luch? He'd be looking down on us now and he'd be almost annoyed at the fuss.”
“He said, 'Every time Luch saw me, each time we walked the mace or he opened the door, he always said, "Let's do this, Mr Speaker."' It was a little thing, but, as the Speaker said, it made him laugh. Milton Dick said, 'I saw how kind he was to every new member. What a hero.' Too true, Mr Speaker. He was such a generous soul. We mourn his loss. The place, as the member for Fisher said, will not be the same without him. It would be nice to think that we could do something for him—maybe name the attendants room in his honour—that would honour his memory.”
“Nothing was ever too hard for him to do. Nothing was too menial. He would do anything for you. He treated everyone the same, from the prime minister of the day to the newly minted backbencher, and everybody loved him for his trademark smile, his happy disposition and his wisdom. He didn't clean your office like the two sisters, and he didn't make your coffee like Brigette, but what he brought to this place and to each and every member was his love, his care, his support and his friendship. He was a stalwart. Hundreds upon hundreds of MPs have benefited from his more than 40 years of experience, his wisdom and him just being Luch. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the member for Oxley, described Luch as his 'main man'. When Luch passed away, I contacted the Speaker.”
“There were a few parliamentarians there, and I must admit I didn't understand the whole service; it was done in the native tongue. But the eulogies were very special. They were done in English as well, and they described a man who was a wonderful human being. We all saw him just as somebody who we thought we owned, but he was more than that. Out in his Macedonian community, he was a sports follower. He was somebody who, as here, had an infectious way about him. But he was a family man as well. He was a husband, he was a father and his family just adored him, as you can understand. But so did the entire community who turned up at that service—a bigger service than probably most of us will get, and deservedly so. He ran the green-coated attendants with good humour, with professionalism and with aplomb.”
“He was always wanting to gee you up and make you feel good about yourself and make you feel good about the fact that you were here in the people's house and you were here representing the nation and representing your electorate. Like the member for Cunningham, I too shared in Luch's want—his need—to know about your electorate and your people. I attended his Monday 12 January service, his funeral, at Queanbeyan's Macedonian Orthodox Church of the Prophet Ilija, and I got there early. I could not believe the throng of people. It's only a little church, but I was astounded by the number of people who turned up at that service. I was one of the lucky ones to be inside the church. I felt a bit guilty, but I was dragged in there by someone who felt that I should be in there.”