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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“As of April 6 this year, 535 insolvencies had already been recorded, representing a 173 per cent increase compared to 2021-2022 and putting the industry on track for another record year— but that's not the record year they would like. Ian Hyman, the CEO of Hymans Valuers and Auctioneers, said: Government regulation is getting worse: industry collective bargaining, unrestrained union behaviour, abolition of employee restraint clauses and a myriad of other government-related controls create roadblocks to efficient and well managed operations. It's all going to make life even harder— particularly in regional Australia. The nation stops without trucking, because trucks deliver all of the food and all of the goods. They are the lifeblood of our areas, particularly in regional Australia.”
“Big R igs , the trusted voice of the transport industry, had this to say on 1 May in the article 'Record insolvencies in transport sector, but there are lifelines': Mounting financial pressure is pushing more Australian transport and logistics operators to the brink, as insolvencies in the sector accelerate, says a leading business recovery and insolvency firm. Jirsch Sutherland said a combination of rising costs, labour shortages, regulatory burdens and falling asset values is driving more businesses to restructure or wind down. The latest ASIC data reveals a sharp upward trend in insolvencies within Australia's transport, postal and warehousing sector. They rose from 196 in 2021-2022 to 347 in 2022-2023— Bear in mind Labor took over in May 2022— and 495 in 2023-2024—a 153 per cent increase in just two years.”
“However, over the last 10 years they've continued to downsize, and that trend has been exacerbated in the last three years under the Labor government, unfortunately. In addition to reducing their fleet size because of staff shortages, they've had to reduce their customer base to ensure they're able to continue providing quality service delivery. The work within the sector exists, but staff do not. They've got so many trucks just backed up to the fence in their depots. As I said, it's a situation that has occurred more and more over the past three years.”
“He said: Mate, I can see this country stopping unless someone in these government departments don't get off and keep people back to work or stop giving people money and get them to go to work to get their money. Well, I can tell you. I'll make a prediction: over the next 10 years transport will be one third of what it is today. And they just don't come to work or they apply for things and they just don't turn up. They're filling out paperwork, so they can say "oh, we can go back to the government, we'll just get more money sitting around and doing nothing". That sounds rather cynical, but, unfortunately, it's the truth. Mr Rodney wants to have more workload. His company is a doer. They've got 138 prime movers. They operate all over the eastern states, particularly.”
“It's been another day, and another trucking company has gone to the wall. Unfortunately yesterday another transport group went belly up—47 trucks. This is a pattern which is happening more and more, and these regional transport companies are doing it really, really tough. What has Labor done to respond to this? They've put in place a truckies tax, put in place high energy costs and slashed road and infrastructure funding. This is placing such a burden on our transport companies. At 10 past nine this morning I took a call from Peter Rodney. Peter has a trucking company in Wagga Wagga, in my hometown. It also has depots in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.”
“In its annual pricing review, the National Disability Insurance Agency has taken an axe to the pricing arrangements and price limits for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, cutting the maximum prices that registered providers can charge NDIS participants. Now, that might not affect the larger regional hubs, which have people who don't need to travel out to see Australia's most vulnerable, but you've got people an hour from, say, Wagga Wagga, Tumbarumba, Narrandera and even Junee. Those people are now not going to get serviced. People who need podiatry, physiotherapy and speech therapy are going to be sacrificed on the altar of the cuts made by Labor, and it's simply not good enough for Australia's most vulnerable—NDIS clients—to have these cuts which are going to have such a drastic effect on their lives.”
“Labor members will tell you that one of the great legacies of the Gillard government was the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and they'd be right—not that they put any money towards it. I can remember that, when John Della Bosca was going around the countryside seeking support for the NDIS, I was the first New South Wales federal parliamentarian from the coalition side to sign up, because Kurrajong Waratah at Wagga Wagga told me it was the right and proper thing to do. But when it comes to callous cuts, the reductions in pricing that Labor have just introduced would be the cruellest of all; they certainly would.”
“People like John 'Black Jack' McEwen were very quick to reorganise trade with Japan, to build Japan back up to where they needed to be, to reconstruct those wonderful four main islands—and a wonderful people. Japanese people are very, very good people, make no mistake. They're trustworthy, diligent and hard working. They have all the same ethics that we do. But, back in World War II, when we'd lost nearly 40,000 troops, what was done was done. It brought a very swift end to the deadliest conflict that mankind has ever known. To that end, whilst we're against nuclear arms, it was something that was relatable then and certainly saved a lot of lives.”
“They were going to continue their cruelty in the jungles of Borneo and Papua New Guinea. They would have kept their attempted incursion of this country, and we may well be speaking a different language now had the actions by the Americans and by the Allied Forces not been taken. Labor, of course, with Prime Minister Curtin, did the right thing by bringing Australian troops back from the European theatre of war to fight for our country, to fight in this theatre of war. It's interesting that this motion immediately follows the Victory in the Pacific Day motion, commemorating, celebrating of sorts, 15 August. But for VP Day, it could have been a very different Australia to the one that we live in now. But for, sadly, the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it could have been a very different Australia to the one that we live in now.”
“But, from that, there is now an understanding; Cowra is a town of international peace and friendship. There is a friendship bell, a peace bell, that they gong in the town on auspicious occasions. There is a cemetery there that is the only recognised Japanese military cemetery outside Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. It is that important. I congratulate Nihon Hidankyo on the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. We've had many, many Japanese ambassadors, diplomats and even survivors of the Cowra breakout go to the central-western town and talk about peace. That's the important thing. For us to now condemn any action that was taken in 1945 is to try to rewrite history. Let's try not to do that, because, 80 years ago, Japan was not going to surrender. They were going to take more Australian lives.”
“But we can't look now and say that they were bad for doing it then, because it was the only course of action they felt could have been taken to stop Japan's imperialistic push in the Pacific. You only have to look at the Sandakan monument in Wagga Wagga. There are so many names—150 men from the local district who died on that death march. The Japanese were very cruel. Let's make no mistake. Let's not beat about the bush. Let's not sugar coat this. The Japanese were very cruel to Australian and British soldiers in their prisoner of war camps. But I will say this: in Cowra, in central-western New South Wales, during the 5 August 1944 breakout when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war broke out from the internment camp there, 231 of them lost their lives. Four Australian soldiers did as well.”
“I thank the member for Hasluck for bringing forward this motion. That said, there are a number of elements and parts to this motion, and whilst I am very much against nuclear war and nuclear armaments—I am—we cannot place a 2025 lens over what happened 80 years ago. There are 39,658 Australians on the Roll of Honour from World War II. How many more Australian diggers would have lost their lives had Hiroshima and Nagasaki not brought a swift end to the Pacific theatre of war? I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, because many, many tens of thousands of innocent people lost their lives in those incidents—and they were far worse than 'incidents'; that almost downplays them—on 6 and 9 August 1945. We should find, in our hearts, the peace to ensure that it never actually happens again.”
“I've got a little tip for the member for Robertson. Before he comes in here and starts disparaging the member for Canning, he should have a look at the member for Canning's biography. Have a look at what the member for Canning has achieved in his political career and, before that, his military career, and don't you ever, ever, member for Robertson, come in here and denounce the member for Canning. He has been one of the finest Australians, as far as his military career is concerned, and don't ever spend two minutes—the first two minutes of your five-minute contribution—denouncing the member for Canning, because that is just not the right thing to do. He is a fine veteran and he is somebody who I think will make a great shadow minister for home affairs.”
“Please consider how we put two farmers—one who has 90 turbines on their property, making a lot of money, and their neighbour with no benefit in the same RFS truck and get them to go and fight a fire that probably is also including an area with BESS storage and lithium batteries and send them home to their families safe. Enough is enough for our regions.' They're the sort of people I'll be sticking up for.”
“I'm going to listen to the likes of Jasmin Jones, the Yass Valley mayor, who was out the front of Parliament House this morning and who said: 'Don't decimate it on this insane quest of virtue signalling when we're doing all the heavy lifting in the regions for our metro mates. We're already keeping the lights on. We're already doing our heavy lifting, but there are things that we need to look out for, and those things include how do we fight bushfires in Yass Valley surrounded by a thousand turbines. That's what's proposed. We're already doing the heavy lifting for our metro mates.”
“Today I've been accused of being 'irresponsible' and 'gutless' by Zoe Daniel. She's accused me of that because I stick up for the people who send me here, to Canberra, to represent them. Maybe if she had done a little bit more of that herself when she was a one-term, one-time member for Goldstein, maybe she'd be here and she could say it to my face. But you know what? I'm not going to listen to the likes of Zoe Daniel. I'm going to listen to the likes of Tracey O'Reilly from Gregadoo, Kerry Langfield from Mangoplah and Leanne Dunn from Talbingo. They are worried about battery energy storage systems, which are cropping up in their neighbourhood.”
“We blame climate change for all these things, but in 1952 there were a million acres of farm- and bushland in the Mangoplah fire, which started in Mangoplah, south of Wagga Wagga, and went right through to what is now Kosciuszko National Park. The Gold Coast cyclone of 1954 killed 99 people. Nobody was blaming climate change then. We need to do more for the environment—we do—but we need to do more for important things such as pollution, landfill, the ocean, food security and food availability to feed a hungry world. We're not doing enough in that regard, and that's what members opposite should be concentrating on.”
“They are due to a number of factors which have been occurring for millennia, and to blame climate change and to blame, as the member for Canberra did, the coalition for the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 is an absolute folly. It truly is. If we really want to apportion some blame, we could apportion some blame to Greens policies of making sure that the fuel load in our national parks, which are run by state governments, has not been looked at. There has not been backburning. The fire trails are not maintained as well as they should be. This does lead to combustion. When there is a spark or a lightning strike, this does lead to fires that get out of control.”
“I'm proud to say I did that with colleagues' support—indeed, even with, dare I say, the former Greens leader's support, although I think he was in the chamber for different views than mine. We're also here talking about also the fish kill situation in South Australia. Let me remind members in the chamber of the fish kill event between December 2018 and January 2019. Fish kill events, unfortunately, are not new, but we haven't heard anybody in the chamber talking about the one at the moment at Lake Cargelligo in western New South Wales in the seat of Parkes. There is a situation unfolding there which is of concern. Fish kill events, unfortunately, also are commonplace, and they are not always due to climate change.”
“What I am worried about—very, very worried about—is the fact that we have a great potential and ability to grow more food and yet, supposedly for the sake of the environment, we are taking productive water away from our irrigation farmers, many of whom are in the electorate of Farrer, formerly in the region of the Riverina, with the Murrumbidgee and Coleambally Irrigation Area. They have the ability and the capacity and the potential to grow so much more food, and yet, because of our supposed environmental laws with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, we're stopping them from doing so. Indeed, I moved a disallowance motion against the Murray-Darling Basin Plan when it first arrived in this House, and I'm proud to say I did that.”
“We do, as a population—albeit only small compared to other countries—produce a lot of rubbish, and I think companies can do a lot better in the space of packaging to reduce what ends up in landfill. We could do a whole lot more in recycling. I heard the opposition leader, while she was environment minister, talking a lot about the need to have better and more recycling programs. I also heard the environment minister at the time, the member for Farrer, talking about what I believe is the greatest challenge to humanity, and that is to be able to feed the world into the future. We have a lot of children, not just here in Australia but elsewhere in the world, who go to bed hungry of a night-time. When you see Australia and other countries having the capacity to produce more food, we should be doing that.”
“My next appointment is going to be in the Sky News studio, where I am going to be talking about, indeed, the other things that I've been talking about this week! I will take the member for Macnamara up on a few points. He talked about the Leader of the Opposition and her record as the Minister for the Environment. I can well remember when the opposition leader was environment minister. She talked a lot about the ocean and the need to protect the sea. She talked about pollution, and that is of great concern. She talked about landfill. We have at the moment a situation in Australia where a lot of local councils are very worried about the amount of space that they have in their tips for the amount of rubbish.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, for what you have achieved and pursued in the past. I can think of no better person in this parliament to occupy the presiding chair and to continue your significant work in this place and beyond. I truly wish you every success, good humour and limited need to use 94(a)—except maybe for some of those around me. I'll let you know when I feel they should go! The Clerk: Does the member for Oxley accept the nomination?”
“Whilst he is progressive in some ways, he is very much conservative in other approaches. I think he strikes a good balance—the right balance. The promotion of our democratic system and our flag is important to the nation. The Speaker recognises this and is using his office and his position for education and for the enhancement of these two cornerstones of our country. Additionally, what he has done to foster diplomatic ties and advance and strengthen collective interests with our Blue Pacific friends is encouraging and outstanding. As chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Asia-Pacific Group, he oversaw a webinar series on women's leadership and youth engagement in the Pacific. This is making vital inroads into a region which is a really contested space at the moment.”
“He seeks to ensure people in the future make their ballot count through understanding how critical their vote is, what sacrifices have been made to have a fair and free democracy, and the different systems in place in various legislatures across the country. This is vital work and has been admirably promoted by this Speaker, and I commend him for this. As well, he is a fearless advocate for Australia's national flag. He has taken our famous red, white and blue ensign to electorates far and wide and will again embark on this popular program in this term of parliament. This is well received wherever and whenever it is held, as you would expect from those who love our national flag, as we all should. There are those who would wish norms be changed and traditions go by the wayside—not this Speaker.”
“I also particularly like what the Speaker is doing to improve the education of young people in civics and democracy. The informal vote at the 3 May federal election was way too high—disturbingly so. The member for Oxley took it upon himself when he first landed this job, in July 2022, to do what he could to take the parliament to the classroom, especially in remote parts of our nation. This has been done before, obviously, but the Speaker has taken it to a new level. He has been to Bullarah, Charters Towers, Croppa Creek, Gravesend, Kangaroo Island, King Island, Longreach, Muttaburra, Orbost, Pallamallawa, Port Hedland, Rowena and many, many others. He's been everywhere, man—and he's coming to a postcode near you. The Speaker wants Australian schoolchildren to know the difference between local, state and federal governments.”
“That, too, is this Speaker—let me elaborate. Many a sitting night last term, I had the privilege of attending a function in the Speaker's chamber, where he happily hosted everyone from international diplomats to captains of industry and ordinary, everyday Australians for whom such an invitation was so very much appreciated. One such industry person was Stephen Ferguson, a close friend of both the Speaker's and mine, who represents so many hotels which employ thousands of people. Pubs are a quintessential part of the Australian way of life, especially in regional areas. For the Speaker to acknowledge this in an era of wowsers, when such people and sectors are sometimes pooh-poohed, showed courage and determination, I believe. Bravo, Mr Speaker.”
“I have served under seven Speakers, and each has brought their own level of panache and style to the position. The member for Oxley is no different in this regard. I rate him highly, and I'm not alone in that. He has earnt the respect of all who have previously sat on these benches and deserves another term in this highest of offices. A good Speaker is one who has presence in the chair, who lets the debate flow without ever losing control and who allows the robustness of question time whilst keeping the tenor and tone at an acceptable level for politicians and the public alike. That is this Speaker, who fulfils his obligations also with humour, with pleasantry and, sometimes, with even a degree of clever wit. A great Speaker is one who uses his position to do good beyond the realms of this place.”
“It is my honour, and a rare one at that, to second the nomination for the honourable member for Oxley to be Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 48th Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. The fact that nominations have been moved from either side of the floor says a great deal about the person the member for Lalor and I seek to continue as the 32nd Speaker in this chamber—the people's house. The member for Oxley upheld the finest Westminster traditions in the previous parliament, and I have every confidence he will do the same in this term. He is well versed in the Practice and is a scholar of the precedents of past speakers, which can often determine a ruling on a particular point of order or a course of action to be taken. Impartiality has been a feature and the hallmark of his speakership.”
“I know that he and I would both be as one when it comes to ensuring that the money that was sent back home went straight into the bank accounts and that they received, but for maybe some minor adjustments, full recompense for their labours. That's critically important. The guarantee covered by this particular legislation supports Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions—ADIs—operating in the Pacific region to maintain vital banking services there. The minister; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong; and the former shadow foreign affairs minister Senator Simon Birmingham from South Australia; and I have travelled to the Pacific together, although we didn't all come home in the same state! We went there as team Australia. We went there as one.”
“I know Teys will continue to work with her family, her community and, indeed, all her island friends to make sure that she is remembered and that she is supported, and that is a good thing. On this Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill, we heard the minister outline the fact that an arrangement was struck between the Commonwealth Bank and Nauru when Bendigo withdrew, and we acknowledge that. We acknowledge all the banks which have for many decades operated in the Pacific, because it is important. I know the minister would be interested to hear this, and I know he probably made representations as well when financial institutions—and not necessarily Australian ones—were taking too much of the remittances and it was actually difficult for the people in the island nations to withdraw their money or to have access to that money.”
“It struck me so vividly that, at the end of the service, her female friends and all the women there were virtually moved to one side of the hall, and the men—big, robust men as they were—had prepared the food. They moved the chairs. They put the tables out. They laid on the feast that followed and allowed the women to mourn. You could see the love and support and family. They weren't all related, but they were all family. It was a very moving service, and I want to pay tribute to Pastor Jerry Rokosuka and all of the island nations that turned up to farewell Tuota, because it was a moving service. I know her loss will be felt keenly in Kiribati, no more so than by her teenage daughter. Australia is better for having her work in that PALM scheme, for her coming to our city and for contributing what she did.”
“Sometimes, when you're sitting in the front row, you don't get an appreciation for just how many people are in that hall, but, when I glanced around, the hall—and it's only a small hall—was filled to overflowing. There were more than 400 mourners who turned up. So I want to pay tribute. It is very much relevant to the topic of debate because she had a 15-year-old daughter back home. She was in Australia, in about her third year working here, and sending the money back to Kiribati. She was sending the money back so that her daughter could have a better life. She was sending the money by banks to ensure that her daughter, her village, her community and her island could have better outcomes. All too sadly, she's passed away in Wagga Wagga.”
“It's horticulture and it's agriculture, but it's more than that. It's in so many areas of endeavour. Australia relies on Pacific workers, and those from other international countries besides, to ensure that we can get the jobs done that cannot be filled by Australians—by our own citizens. We very much thank, admire and value the efforts made, particularly by those PALM workers. It really came home to me when I attended a very sad farewell on Sunday 16 March at the North Wagga Hall. The previous week, a young woman—just 41—passed away. Her name was Tuota Kirition, and she inexplicably passed away at the Teys Meatworks. Teys were very much in there offering support and whatever they could to her family and to her many friends. I was in the front row at that memorial service.”
“You and I, Deputy Speaker Georganas, have been on overseas trips together before in various delegations. Hopefully we'll get to do that again. When Australian politicians and members of parliament, senators et cetera travel overseas, foreign countries need to see us at our best, and they need to see us speaking as one. When it comes to the Pacific, we need to do just that. The Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill 2025 is an important piece of legislation. I know just how important the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme is, because my electorate benefits from it. The remittances that go back to the Pacific island nations—for some of those tiny countries, they are more than half of their gross domestic product. It is something those families back home rely on very much, and it's earned in various capacities.”
“I thank the member for Shortland, the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, for his kind words about me. I thank him for his actions and involvement with the Pacific. Let's not be partisan about the Pacific. We need statesmen and stateswomen, we need diplomacy and we need team Australia when it comes to the Pacific. It's too important to allow any other foreign interests or any other incursions into the Pacific. That is why the minister and I have been very firm about what's important to Australia and very firm about what's important to the Pacific island nations we call family and we call friends. He and I would agree that, when it comes to faith, family and football, the Pacific and Australia are as one, and we need to continue, irrespective of who forms the next government.”
“I am so glad the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the member for Eden-Monaro, has raised Rex Airlines, because there is a petition that's been distributed within the Riverina and Farrer electorates to save Rex and protect regional Australia from the Liberals and Nationals. Please don't go, Minister. Please stay and listen to this, because—”
“I note that federal and state authorities very quickly stumped up a recovery centre for those townships at the Harden Country Club and were very active and quick to respond, as you would expect them to be.”
“I'd like to commend Rose Hamilton. She works at the Harden bowling club. She's been the licensee there for a dozen years. Despite suffering extensive damage at her residence on Whitton Lane in Harden, she was there mopping up and cleaning up the bowling club. Fair dinkum, if you saw this bowlo—the ceiling was totally missing. The hail that hit in that wide, yet very concentrated area, did so much damage. It looked like a snowstorm had completely blanketed the area, when that devastation occurred on that fateful afternoon. Thankfully, no-one was badly hurt or, indeed, worse. Again, the State Emergency Service personnel were very, very quick to act. We see the best of Australians in the worst of times.”
“The house lost its roof and he wasn't allowed to go back to his property because of fears around electrical wiring et cetera. The house absolutely looked like a cyclone had ripped through it, and some might argue that one had. He is right on the boundary of the Coolamon shire and Wagga Wagga City Council local government areas and, because he is just on the wrong side of the boundary, so to speak, he cannot claim any of the disaster assistance relief or any emergency services payments et cetera. Cyclones and storms don't discriminate; they don't follow boundary lines, and he's been left high and dry. I'd also like to mention the Hilltops local government area that was hard hit on 10 February, when a hailstorm whipped through Harden-Murrumburrah, the twin towns on the south-west slopes. Again, the ministers came to the fore.”
“I'd like to thank Senator Perin Davey and Gurmesh Singh PM, the shadow ministers for emergency services in both the federal and New South Wales parliaments, for the work they did to also ensure there were people like assessors on the ground, making sure they were doing what they do, that insurers were on notice and, of course, helping out any in which way they could. Speaking of insurers, the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australian, Andrew Hall of Cowra, has also been very much at the forefront whenever I've called. This is important, because insurers and insurance companies often come under fire when these sorts of things happen. But, I have to say, our discussions have been fruitful. Let's hope that insurers do the right thing. I'm sad to say the property of Andrew Roberts, Glenrock, on Marrar South Road, was severely hit.”
“One, which hit Wagga Wagga, Downside and Cowra on 15 January, caused quite some damage, including the Downside Hall being almost totally demolished. Unfortunately, it had been recently refurbished, so all of the work in that regard was almost for naught, some locals would argue. But, thankfully the member for Cootamundra, who is also the shadow minister for crown lands, and the state government have seen fit to get the repairs underway. I commend them all for that. To that end, I thank the Minister for Emergency Services in the state parliament, Jihad Dib, for also reaching out, as Senator McAllister did, on a weekend and at night—whatever was required—which I really think is very professional of him and of her. It's the least you do expect, but it's still that you are able to pass on to your constituents that ministers are on the job.”
“The government can't always be there to make up the shortfall when these sorts of crises occur, and it would be in people's best interests to ensure not only that they are insured but also that their home and contents insurance is of an adequate level so that, if something of this nature does occur, they are properly and sufficiently covered. I also note that many speakers have commended the federal Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Jenny McAllister. I, too, have had a lot of contact with Senator McAllister in her capacity as minister in that important portfolio area. I too can inform the House that those discussions were above politics and were very professional, and she was there when I needed her. We've had some quite severe storms go through the Riverina this summer just passed.”
“Now, we were fortunate that the early reports of this cyclone were not realised and that the damage caused, while significant, was not as widespread as early suggestions would have had it, and that, in Queensland and northern New South Wales, while they certainly did not escape unscathed, the actual damage wasn't as bad as first feared. That said, I know that there will be pressure now on insurers. I know that the clean-up continues. I know that, as previous speakers have also mentioned, many people these days are underinsured or uninsured.”
“One vehicle had left the roadway and rolled several times into a paddock; the second vehicle tipped on its side in an attempt to avoid the first vehicle—those were the early suggestions from the investigations and inquiries. But, needless to say, those soldiers were on their way to do a job. Those soldiers were on their way to help out. Our soldiers are always there, at the ready—prepared, as they are at Wagga Wagga—to do what they can for our nation. The emergency services personnel are always outstanding when these natural disasters occur. Previous speakers on this motion have mentioned the preparedness of the Crisafulli government, because they did put measures in place to batten down the hatches and to do what they needed to do to lessen the impact and the damage.”
“The current Commandant at 1RTB is Colonel Gerard Kearns. I often say that the person who fills that role has the most important job in the Australian Army, because they are training the best of the best. Whether they are on peacekeeping missions, going into combat for and on behalf of our nation and others besides, or whether they're doing the sort of work that these soldiers were embarking upon and going to, it is vital work for our nation. We pay tribute to them. We hope there are no long-lasting effects from the injuries sustained in that accident. I know the New South Wales police confirmed the two ADF trucks had not collided, and investigations continue.”
“At the outset, I want to acknowledge the tragedy that was ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. It did take a life. We should also acknowledge those soldiers, those brave troops, who were injured when two trucks rolled over near Tregeagle near Lismore, and certainly we thank the people who helped out at the crash site. Twelve or 13 Australian Defence Force personnel, who were injured after their military vehicles tipped over in flood-affected northern New South Wales, were released from hospital the day after. But 32 soldiers, 16 per vehicle, were assisting the community in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred when that crash occurred. I don't know how many, if any, or if maybe all of them, were trained at 1st Recruit Training Battalion Kapooka, Blamey Barracks, Wagga Wagga, but I know the precision with which they are trained.”
“I'm sure she would have been very proud in recent years of just how far women's sport has come in this country, with the rise of the Matildas and the fact that Australian Rules football is now the fastest growing sport in this nation. She was, as I say, a trailblazer. Certainly I pay tribute to her work and to her pioneering efforts. I also very much pay my condolences to her family and to the overall Labor family. May she rest in peace.”
“I rise to pay tribute to the Hon. Dr Rosemary Anne Crowley AO, and in doing so also acknowledge the participation in the parliament, the longevity and the work that the member for Sydney has done as well as former Liberal New South Wales senator Marise Payne. We need trailblazers in this place, and we need women to be able to absolutely champion their causes for social justice. I've always admired anyone who, before parliament, has worked in the area of mental health, and Rosemary did just that. She was an original member of the South Australian Mental Health Review Tribunal. She was also very much an active voice for women's sport.”
“The Member for Eden-Monaro mentioned the NDIS. I might remind her that, yes, it was something that Labor built, but unfortunately Labor didn't put one red cent towards it. It's a bit similar to telecommunications, mobile phone communications particularly. Labor never, until this term of government, put a single cent towards that vital service, and yet, when their colour-coded spreadsheet came out for the round they were responsible for, it was all red. They criticised our colour-coded spreadsheets. At least ours had a few different colours. There's was just all one colour—red!”