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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“It's not accountability. It's not what Labor said it would do. And it is a shame because the public expect better. The public deserve better, and they're not getting it. It's yet another attack on transparency and democracy from a government that wants to put accountability behind a paywall. I know the shadow Attorney-General has said this a number of times: it's a truth tax. And it's in this day and age, particularly from this government which says it will hold everything to account, including itself—they're doing exactly the opposite. Labor member after Labor member comes in. They always have their carefully prepared notes, and they just read them like robots—probably AI driven. But the people who put Labor there expect better, and they're not getting it. It's such a shame.”
“The director-general will have extraordinarily broad powers to withhold information. In this day and age, when the public is crying out for major parties and for the government of the day to be upfront and honest, the opposite is occurring. It's simply not good enough. It's not. What we're seeing are vague and subjective terms that could be used to withhold almost any piece of information that the government finds to be an inconvenient truth. There are no clear appeal rights, and, again, this goes against the hallmarks of justice, the precepts of a fair go—all of those things that a democracy holds near and dear. There's no guarantee that the public or indeed the parliament—the people's House, the House of Representatives—will ever see the light of day when it comes to finding out information. It is terrible. It's not transparency.”
“But I shouldn't be getting correspondence from the chief of staff; I should be getting it from the minister himself. Even if he just gives it a perfunctory glance and signs the bottom of the page, ministers should always read every bit of that correspondence—not just every line or every sentence but every word—but that doesn't happen with this particular minister. Despite this clear recognition from the minister, this bill goes out of its way to stop information from being made public. That is indeed unfortunate, because it goes against the grain of what Labor said it would do when it came to office. That was to be more transparent, to be more accountable. Yet the opposite is the case. While the government claims the CDC's advice will be published by default, the devil is in the detail. It tells a different story.”
“In October last year, the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing—someone who, I have to say, is not forthcoming with giving information—alleged that a lack of transparency had driven a decline in trust. This is the same minister who, when another member of parliament writes to him, gets his chief of staff to respond. I do not think that is good enough. I don't. I think that, if a member of parliament writes to a minister, their being from the other side of politics should not matter. The minister should have the decency to respond as a member of parliament to a member of parliament. But that doesn't happen. I shouldn't know the name of the chief of staff of the minister for health, quite frankly. I'm not about to put his name in Hansard ; I don't believe that staff should be hauled before the House of Representatives.”
“I know that, when I was a minister in many portfolios, I had staff dedicated to just answering FOI submissions—mainly put forward by Labor shadow ministers. That's fair enough. We live in a democracy. Sometimes the request for information was just a try-on. More often than not, it was just political gameplay by Labor. My staff and department—the Department of Transport, Infrastructure and Regional Development—answered those queries in good faith, yet we knew that sometimes it was absolutely just political posturing by Labor. Yet now Labor wants to put a cost on those requests. Some might well say that this is a tax on truth, and it probably is.”
“When Labor first took office in the term before this one, they came to power on the promise that they would be transparent and that there would be no secrets. 'Let the sunshine in,' they said, and the public believed them. The public took them at face value as to what they said they would do as far as accountability is concerned. Yet, time and time again, we are being faced with the prospect that this government is more secretive than any before it. That is a shame. Provisions within this particular bill, the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025, create many concerns around transparency and freedom of information. We've heard in recent weeks that Labor now wants to put a cost on FOIs.”
“That's what they're going to be littering this area with. This is because of the rushed renewables rollout. This is really concerning the RFS. Let's not forget they are volunteers. If they're concerned, then we should be concerned. If they're putting out the warning, we should be warned.”
“Also, recently, Yass Valley Council got a report saying that veteran members of the RFS and experienced aviators are refusing to fly near giant net-zero projects for fear of crashing into wind turbines, leaving volunteer fire crews worried that they'll be sitting ducks during major blazes. This is of great concern. It really, truly is. Aerial firefighting support pilots are refusing to fly near these giant projects, for fear of crashing into them. A report handed to Yass Valley Council and peer reviewed by veteran members of the RFS and experienced aviators has also flagged very serious fire management concerns once hundreds of wind turbines and transmission lines are installed in the local area. The project between Binalong and Bowning will have 90 towers nearly as high as One Barangaroo—260 metres high.”
“They do it to protect lives and to save communities. I tell you what, come summer, you want one of those RFS people if your property or your house catches fire. You want one of them to come with their truck, their hoses, their service and their dedication and commitment. Last week, on Wednesday, the new Woodstock fire brigade station opened, and we thank the New South Wales government and the former coalition government for providing the funding for that. But we also give thanks for the handover of a tanker to the Kangaroo Flat brigade. It's these RFS volunteers who are the backbone of our communities. But a word of warning—we are coming into a fire season which looks to be pretty bad, with the fuel load built up.”
“Volunteers are the backbone of our communities. Whether they're regional or in capital cities, they keep Australia ticking. I want to pay special acknowledgement and recognition to some wonderful community members from the little village of Woodstock and from Kangaroo Flat who have given so much to the Rural Fire Service over so many years. I mention 10-year veterans Glenn Daley, James Garling, Emma-Louise Wood, Simon Wood, Brett Dawes and Lachlan Graham; with 20 years service, Robert Moodie, Roslyn Morris, Max Morris and Philip Dresser; with 30 years, John Cooley and Barrie Mumberson; with 40 years, Christopher Rowston; and—wait for this—with 50 years in the RFS, Colin Drury and David Ware. They were acknowledged last week with medals—medals that they didn't want to receive; they don't do it for acknowledgement.”
“They should be strengthened, whether it's at the state or national level. These evildoers need to be weeded out and put behind bars—whatever it takes, to be honest. These amendments in the overall legislation before the House ensure the law is fit for purpose going forward in addressing the most abhorrent online crimes where the persons under investigation are anonymised, including on the dark web and encrypted communications platforms, and that is good. That is absolutely encouraged. The coalition will always support sensible reforms which ensure that the men and women serving in intelligence agencies in Australia are given the best tools, the best support and the funding necessary. They do a wonderful job, and we commend them for it.”
“As I said at the outset, clamping down on these people, identifying who they are and making sure that they are arrested either before they leave Australia or when they return to this country is of paramount importance, not only for the security of our nation but for the protection of those kids who they would seek to do harm to in other destinations, in other countries. In the 2024-25 financial year, there were, according to the ACCCE Child Protection Triage Unit—and this is a sobering and devastating statistic—82,764 reports of online child sexual exploitation. That is nearly 83,000. That is gut wrenching. That is sickening. That is so disturbing. This equates to an average of 226 reports per day. To be honest, the penalties for this are probably nowhere near what they need to be.”
“Schedule 4 is for the technical issue with the operation of interception of international production orders in the T(IA) Act. Schedule 5 amends the Crimes Act, which dates back to the First World War, to clarify the threshold for authorising and varying controlled operations and the circumstances in which a participant is protected from criminal responsibility and indemnified against civil liability. They are necessary, perfunctory things that strengthen this particular legislation. The fifth schedule provides clarity around legal protection for officers involved in undercover operations targeted at taking down sexual abuse syndicates.”
“I've seen them at their best, and I know the member for New England has as well, in our capacities of being second in charge, each of us, of national security during times of government. We are well served, and we have to be. We need to be, because there are bad actors, both overseas governments and overseas individuals, who will do Australia harm. They would and they do. The number of times that these bad actors have been prevented from doing us more harm has only been through absolute diligence. These public servants, these surveillance agencies—AFP and ASIO and other people—are going out of their way to make sure that they undertake every stringent measure to make sure our public safety is No. 1, and I thank them for that.”
“That might sound like it's perfunctory, but it's not. It is a major change and is seen by the government to be a necessary amendment and update. Schedule 3 amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to permit limited access to stored communications to allow agencies to undertake development and testing activities in situations where they otherwise would have been authorised to intercept the same communication if they were still passing over a telecommunications system. I want to point this out: we are served—and very well served—by some wonderful public servants in ASIO, in the AFP and in those surveillance organisations and departments.”
“The federal government and the AFP need to work in with states and the various state police forces to ensure that, when we have incidents such as the Dural caravan incident, we absolutely get the information, we absolutely share it as much as possible with the public as soon as possible and we are upfront about it. And I'm not quite sure, in that particular case, that everything happened that way. I have to say that what we've seen is, unfortunately, party and factional politics winning over common sense and public safety, and that is perhaps not the greatest outcome. The second schedule amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to transfer the statutory function of the Communications Access Coordinator from the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department to the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs.”
“It ensures key provisions operate as intended, taking in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and the Crimes Act from way back in 1914. It flows from the government's decision to reconstitute the Home Affairs portfolio from the federal election. The decision to reconstitute the Home Affairs portfolio after the May election and the Prime Minister's recognition that there were issues with information sharing during the Dural caravan incident are an admission that the national security framework that he put in place by dismantling the Home Affairs portfolio failed, and it did so at a critical juncture. It did. That has to be said.”
“I want to commend the work that Bruce Billson has done as the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman in this particular area. I'm sorry that the government hasn't seen fit to increase his time with ASBFEO. I think it's a very good organisation; in fact, I know it's a very good organisation. I also commend him for the work that he is doing in the area of small business, building on the work he did as the best small-business minister this parliament has seen. I say that with all due respect to other small-business ministers, including me, who have actually occupied that role—and I know Anne Aly is doing it at the moment. But it's a critical role. It truly is. But, to this bill, we are supporting the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.”
“And, of course, we've seen some spectacularly bad breaches in recent times with companies now, because they didn't take the measures, didn't take the steps, didn't take the precautions, having to pay up big time to customers who were quite innocently—or perhaps, in some cases, stupidly—separated from their money. Allert said: Since email scams remain a common attack method, business owners must watch for red flags like unusual sender addresses, poor grammar, urgent requests, and emails impersonating trusted contacts. Again, that's from the report. Allert then said: Establishing verification protocols for payments and sensitive requests can help prevent costly mistakes. Again, that's an understatement, but it's so true.”
“But the difficulty, too, is that often you'll go onto a website that you need to access quickly—I know that this is the same for business—and you have to prove that you're a human. It's almost like the computers are taking over. And you have to look at each of the squares and mark the number of umbrellas or cars or bus signs or whatever the case might be to prove that you're not a bot and to prove that, in fact, you are a real human being. I know it's another form of ensuring that you are what you say you are and who you say you are, but—I tell you what—it is frustrating. The article continues: Allert added that many businesses also overlook the importance of cyber insurance, which can provide a safety net in the event of a breach.”
“Speaking with SmartCompany, Reckon's chief executive officer, Sam Allert, said: … business scams cost Australia's small businesses millions each year— of course, that's an understatement, because they absolutely do— The financial and operational impact is often devastating, particularly for micro-businesses operating on tight margins. That's what was reported. The quote that he gave was: Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, using AI-driven phishing attacks and business email compromise scams that can be difficult to detect. This makes cybersecurity no longer optional but essential … Small businesses must take a proactive approach by embedding cybersecurity into their daily operations. Implementing two-factor authentication, regularly updating software, and training staff to recognise scam tactics are crucial first steps.”
“I know that the former minister, the former assistant treasurer and member for Whitlam, who's now gone on to other things, did a lot of work in this regard. I applaud him for the efforts that he went to, to crack down on scams. I know he headed up a very well-attended forum in Wagga Wagga, where he warned people of the white-collar crime that exists, particularly in the area of small business and especially targeting older Australians. These scams have become much slicker, much more professional and much more believable. Anything that we can do to prevent this has to be seen to be a good thing. This report from SmartCompany says: For investment scams, small businesses saw a loss of more than $3.7 million, with 50 reports made, while false billing, which had 422 reports, recorded a loss of over $3.6 million.”
“You get this wrong image that criminal activity, when it is blue collar—if I could put it that way—is really bad but white-collar crime is in some way forgivable. In many ways, when you think about it, white-collar crime costs people their life savings, and it harms them—it sometimes even kills people—in other ways. In this article, the journalist wrote that a software company, Reckon, prepared some research. It's an accounting firm. This report analysed scam data from micro- and small businesses using scam statistics provided upon request by the National Anti-Scam Centre. They found that small businesses lost $17.3 million in 2023, with 2,490 cases reported. And the article says: From January 1 to November 30, 2024, business scams cost Australian small businesses $7.9 million with 1,707 reports made according to Reckon's report.”
“I know, from when I was the shadow minister for the Pacific and international development, that the greatest exploiters of child sex trafficking in these areas were Australians, and that is very sad to say; it is abhorrent. Anything in this bill that can amend that, fix that, eradicate that has got to be seen as a good thing. There was recently an article on SmartCompany, written by Morganne Kopittke, in relation to investment and false-billing scams costing small businesses $25 million. In the very well-researched article, the journalist wrote that Australian small businesses have lost just over $25 million to scams in two years, with investment scams and false billing pinpointed as the biggest drains on their bank accounts.”
“Anything that can make Australia's telecommunications even more watertight—the security thereof—has to be commended and supported, and the coalition does support the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. It's important legislation. As you've just heard from the member for Goldstein, our national security is vital. Obviously, what we need to do in the space of child exploitation through sex trafficking, particularly in the Philippines and South-East Asia, is crack on those nefarious characters who use telecommunications devices and other ways and means to do the wrong thing and to do great harm not only to children but, indeed, also to our nation's reputation.”
“Even in my own home town of Wagga Wagga there have been appalling things done in the name of being pro-Hamas, in the name of, apparently, being pro-Palestine. But it's not pro-Palestine, because what they ask for—a free state for Palestine—has been granted by the Australian government. I don't believe it should have been. I believe our government should have and could have done more, but this is the world in which we live. It is not just confined to capital cities, and I think it is a terrible, terrible state of affairs. I mourn for the Jewish people. I stand with Israel today and every day.”
“The same people are now wanting to have another protest in front of the opera house. We already had the opera house used—I would say abused—in the past two years, very soon after the October 7 attacks. Of course, these Hamas lovers want to use iconic symbols to show the world that this is what Australia thinks. Well, this is not what Australia thinks. I know that most Australians are appalled at what happened on October 7 and are appalled at the attacks on Jewish synagogues and on Jews themselves since that terrible, terrible day. Yet sometimes, when you read the media, particularly social media, you would think the opposite was the case. Well, it is not. It's not just confined to capital cities.”
“That's what he was given by his adopted country, Australia. He lived a long life—101 years. We thank him for what he brought to this country. What we've seen in this country in the last two years has been beyond belief. It's been un-Australian. I see the member for Isaacs nodding. He, like me and like all of us, agrees it's just appalling. I was appalled at the decision by New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg to allow a protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 3 August, a protest which was not about bringing peace and a safer world for all. It was antisemitic. Let's call it what it was. The people who engaged in the sorts of things that day, carried the sorts of signs and chanted the sorts of slogans should take a good, long, hard look at themselves.”
“It was a concentration camp run by the Nazis. They were no better and no worse than Hamas—despicable people, absolutely abhorrent people. I recommend everybody read this book. It was given to me by Josh Frydenberg, a great friend of mine; we communicate every day. In this book, there are 15 chapters. The book runs to 195 pages. Each chapter has a little verse just under the number. Particularly I want to note four of those. Chapter 8 says: If you lose your morals, you lose yourself. That's what Eddie wrote. Chapter 10 says: Where there is life, there is hope. Chapter 11 says: There are always miracles in the world, even when it seems dark. And chapter 13 says: We are all part of a larger society, and our work is our contribution to a free and safe life for all. Of course, that's all he ever hoped for.”
“At the outset, I want to commend the members for Berowra, Isaacs and Macnamara for their contributions. It would not have been particularly easy for them to stand and speak on this very important matter of public importance. 7 October 2023 was a day of shame, infamy and savagery. It is a day we must never forget. I wonder what Eddie Jaku would think about what happened on that day and about what has happened in his adopted country since that day. He, of course, wrote The Happiest Man o n Earth , an autobiography of his life. In the frontispiece of that 2020 publication, which was reprinted six times that year, is written: Eddie Jaku has always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.”
“They don't go out to serve to win tin that they can wear on Anzac Day or Remembrance Day, as proud an experience as that is. They do it for the country, and that piece of legislation should never have passed the parliament. But, again, thank you for your service to all those veterans, and I commend this update.”
“Anybody who helps veterans is a good person—good of heart, well-intentioned. I do thank those two, who have been deservedly recognised with OAMs in the past for the work that they do. We say 'TYFYS'—thank you for your service. Those words should not be meaningless; they should be words with purpose, meaning and impact. That's what, hopefully, will occur with the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. I don't want to make too much of a political point about this, but I am, again, disappointed by the Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal) Bill 2025 passing through the House of Representatives last night. I think that disrespects our service people. They should have longer for that medallic recognition.”
“We have, with the Forest Hill airbase, a Navy presence of around 80 officers. That's significant, given we're a long, long way from the nearest drop of sea water. But Wagga Wagga is a garrison city, and it's very proud of its Defence roots. May that heritage lead to the longevity of those bases, which, I appreciate, we are very much updating with nearly $1.5 billion of infrastructure investment at the moment. The government is to be commended for continuing that investment that was announced and initially funded by a coalition government. It's important because our Defence people have to have modern support bases, modern infrastructure and modern equipment. I also commend Bob and Gladys Bak at Bethungra. They run the Integrated Servicepeople's Association, helping veterans.”
“The number of documents and volumes that ended up leading to those 122 recommendations were voluminous—as they needed to be. I represent an electorate which has all three arms of Defence in my hometown of Wagga Wagga. The colonel of the 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Colonel Gerard Kearns, takes his job very seriously. I've said on a number of occasions that I believe he has the most important job in Defence. I appreciate that the CDF probably think they do, but I think that if you are in charge of the base where they are recruiting people and turning ordinary, everyday Australians into something quite special—continuing that tradition of the long line of khaki—then you are the most important person in Defence, and I stand by that belief. We also have RAAF Base Wagga.”
“There are 122 recommendations—104 are very much in the process of being followed through. I appreciate that 17 of those 122 were noted. I know it's a difficult task being the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, but that person is representative of those who have served and are serving, insofar as they're also Defence personnel. The stories that came out of the commission were very difficult for normal, average, everyday citizens to comprehend. The hurt, the experiences—if they lead to better outcomes for those who wear the uniform, then that absolutely is worth it. The Chief of the Defence Force, the Secretary of the Department of Defence and the Secretary of DVA all made statements on the release of the government's response. A task force was established to support the functions of the royal commission while the inquiry was still underway.”
“Please avail yourselves of that opportunity if you need help. There are many veterans who do not seek the assistance of DVA for whatever reason, and they are entitled to do that, but help is there if it's needed. Defence thanks those serving and ex-serving personnel and their families who bravely shared their stories with the commission. In many instances, it opens up old wounds. It's hard for veterans to talk about their experiences, whether they saw combat or whether they were in bases and never left Australia. They all shared different experiences; they all shared similar experiences. The government's response, announced on 2 December 2004, outlines significant reform. This will hopefully have a positive impact on the defence community. Defence and the Department of Veterans' Affairs are implementing the agreed recommendations.”
“It examined the systemic issues and common themes in past deaths by suicide of ADF members and veterans. This included suspected suicides and lived experience of suicide risks. The royal commission delivered its interim report on 11 August 2022. By that stage, the government had changed. But this is and should always be above politics. The final report was delivered on 9 September 2024. I thank the minister for his update today. Defence welcomed the royal commission as an opportunity to learn and bolster the department's approach to mental health and welfare, and I would say that, if there are veterans out there who have not sought help and need it, please do so. There's not just the Department of Veterans' Affairs; there are many wonderful organisations to help their mates and comrades.”
“That's an important distinction to make. When we talk about our veterans, sometimes we think of them as a bit of a mess from their service, and they are not. Many—in fact, most—are contributing mightily to the nation. In fact, all are. Some are incapacitated, absolutely. Some of them carry the mental and physical scars of their service. That is why, on 8 July 2021, the former coalition government announced the formal establishment of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which cast a light on some of the harrowing experiences of current serving personnel and our veterans. The royal commission's inquiry concluded on 28 August 2024. It came to Wagga Wagga. It took evidence, and some of the evidence presented at those Wagga Wagga hearings was horrific.”
“The Legacy badge, as the website says, is a special emblem of support for our veterans' families, symbolising our nation's greatest values of mateship, compassion and fairness. Legacy badges may be small, but the funds they raise make a big impact on the lives of our veterans' families. Legacy Week is a time to give back to the families of those who have given so much. That's what the Legacy foundation says—and it is so very true. When you take those words and listen to them, they are very much aligned with the service of our veterans. I see the member for Spence entering the chamber. I thank him for his service. I thank each and every person who has ever worn a uniform for and on behalf of our nation, for and on behalf of our flag. They have kept us safe. They continue to do so. Not every veteran is broken.”
“Little badge, big impact. That's the message being put out there by Legacy. This week is Legacy Week, and it's important in the context of the update on the implementation of the recommendations of the final report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide because it's not just about currently serving Australian Defence Force personnel or veterans; it's also about their families. Their families are very much impacted by the service and the former service of our ADF and our veterans. This week, as I said, is Legacy Week.The Legacy Week appeal has been running since the 1940s. It's a time for all Australians to show their support for the widows and children whose loved ones have served our country.”
“I told the then prime minister, and he said, 'That will be far greater than anything we do today or perhaps ever.' That's what police do all the time. It's in their DNA. As parliamentarians, we should be very proud of our police officers. I commend those parliamentarians now who were serving officers in the past. I know that they are now representing and doing their duty in a different space in a different phase of their lives. I thank each and every one of them. I sit beside one of them, the member for Wide Bay. Thank you to everybody who pulls on a uniform. We honour you, we pay tribute to you and we will always do our very best to uphold what you do for us, and that is to save lives.”
“Will that person be? There's the test for the courts. There are a few test for the courts at the moment. There's one more local which I won't refer to. People don't have to do much of a Google search to find it. But these are tests for the courts, and we shouldn't be promoting sovereign citizens. They are terrorists. We shouldn't be promoting Nazism. We shouldn't be promoting people who kill our police, our brave officers. I say that as the father of a brave officer. I can remember one day when Scott Morrison and I had done something particularly noteworthy during a time of crisis in this country. We were reflecting upon it, and my son on that occasion had talked a very vulnerable person out of doing themselves in.”
“No-one denies people have the right to protest, but, when they are protesting, they do not—absolutely do not—have the right to take placards and pictures of the person responsible for the deaths of those two police officers at Porepunkah, an alpine town in north-east Victoria which at the moment is mourning. I very much adhere to the words of acting South Australian police commissioner Linda Williams, who told ABC radio Adelaide of the charge against the individual who put himself in it for holding a placard showing the alleged police killer. It will now be tested before the courts. Here is the challenge for those courts: make good on what you should be doing when you took the oath to serve justice, just like our police officers. This individual who held up that placard at the time of volatility in society should be thrown behind bars.”
“As we've heard from the member for Indi, there is a long line of blue that stretches all the way to the Australian National Police Memorial. We will remember them near the end of this month, 29 September. Not only will we remember the service and sacrifice of those who gave their lives; we will reflect upon the dangers of those who go out each and every day to ensure the safety of society, not helped by judges who turn a blind eye to the requests—the decent requests, the honest requests, the sensible demands of the New South Wales Premier and the person tasked with leading the New South Wales Police. That is a great shame. That is to the detriment of society. I don't understand why—particularly in a society which at the moment is very fractured and volatile.”
“The four constables I mentioned before, their lives are no different than the lives of Sergeant Michael Kennedy, Constable Thomas Lonigan, Constable Michael Scanlan, Constable Samuel Nelson, Senior Constable Ed Mostyn Webb-Bowen and Sergeant Edmund Parry. Those names, in one sense, will never be lost to history either. They were killed by bushrangers. In Australia, we sometimes romanticise the outlaws of the 19th century. Ned Kelly and his gang killed three Victorian police officers at Stringybark Creek. Samuel Nelson lost his life at Collector, killed by John Dunn. Senior Constable Webb-Bowen lost his life in the battle at Wantabadgery, where the Moonlite gang was holed up. And Sergeant Edmund Parry was shot dead by Johnny Gilbert near Jugiong way back in 1864. They lost their lives in the long line of duty.”
“Everyone wants to protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge because it's iconic, because it's internationally famous, because it's renowned. And the police are the poor ones who will have to monitor and protect and save and do what they usually do—and they'll do it without complaint. They'll do it because that's what they do in the line of duty. The likes of Justice Belinda Rigg and Lees—I'm not going to say 'Mr' because he doesn't deserve it—should not be running the show. When Premier Chris Minns and the New South Wales police commissioner, the person acting in that role, ask for a determination, they should be listened to.”
“Despite the fact that the brave men and women in blue and the leader thereof, the police commissioner, no less, applied for a prohibition order against an individual by the name of Josh Lees, an organiser from the Palestinian Action Group, a professional stirrer, professional protester, who wanted the Sydney Harbour Bridge used for a protest, Justice Belinda Rigg, a faceless unelected official, for whatever reason, decided that she knew better than police. And what did we see? We saw signs of hatred. We saw actions of hatred. We saw the New South Wales police have to call just about every officer they had on duty and others who should've been enjoying a day off, to monitor that particular protest. Now what have we got? We've got the floodgates open.”
“Police officers, like other emergency service personnel, run to danger when others, most of us, would run in the other direction. They are the bravest of the brave, and Australia is very, very well served by our police officers, by our Australian Defence Force personnel, by those who don a uniform and go and fight the good fight for and on behalf of us, by those who serve, by those who protect and by those who save. We should never forget that. Never, ever should we forget that. I really take exception when the New South Wales police and, indeed, the New South Wales government make a request that is then ignored by an unelected judge, and I refer to Justice Belinda Rigg.”
“Thank you, member for Indi. They were beautiful words eloquently spoken, as were your words the other day prior to question time. Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Queensland constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold are sadly seared into the consciousness of a bereaved nation for they have been the victims of recent tragic events where nutters, sovereign citizens and terrorists—call them what you'd like—took their lives in a burst of bullets. This is not right. This is not the way Australia should be. We live in very volatile times. But, when our police officers leave home to go and serve, they should be able to, at the end of the shift, come back home safe and sound.”
“These arrangements are similar to those in the energy sector, where the Australian Energy Regulator has the power to forbid operators from operating in a market where there is risk to consumers. They can't determine the price of power, unfortunately, but they're able to do that. This telecommunication amendment is good legislation. It's worthwhile legislation, but I do commend to the House the amendment put forward by the member for Lindsay.”