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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,285 lines we hold for Michael McCormack, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 26.
“These amendments seek to establish a clear and consistent mechanism to enable the suspension of Defence Force members whilst under investigation. Under current arrangements, a Defence member suspected of committing a service offence may be suspended whilst a disciplinary investigation is under way. Where a member is suspected of a civilian criminal offence, including serious offences, suspension is not available until the formal charge has been laid. As civilian criminal offences are usually investigated by civilian authorities and not service police, this can create some inconsistencies and some unsuitable outcomes, where members may be suspended for minor service related matters yet for more serious criminal allegations such as rape or murder until after charging.”
“Schedule 1 directly implements the royal commission's recommendations 18, 20, 23 and 63. Part 1, schedule 1 introduces amendments to implement recommendation 18 of the royal commission's final report, which called for enhanced safeguards, ensuring alleged victims are not required to work alongside alleged perpetrators whilst investigations are under way. The bill resolves this inconsistency by inserting a new subsection 98(2), introducing a new suspension power where a member is under investigation for a civil court offence by a Commonwealth state or territory or overseas authority. The power aligns with the existing suspension authority under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 for service offence investigations, ensuring a consistent and coherent framework across service, civilian and overseas contexts.”
“Our service men and women deserve nothing less. The coalition has a long history of actively reforming military discipline in Australia. The former coalition government introduced reforms to update and to modernise the Defence Force Discipline Act, streamlining the handling of minor disciplinary matters and strengthening Defence's response to cyberbullying. These are worrying, growing and disturbing incidents. This sends a clear message that bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour have no place within the Australian Defence Force. A strong, fair and effective military justice system is vital to maintaining fairness, discipline, operational effectiveness and confidence in our ADF. If I go through the bill, it implements key recommendations from the royal commission.”
“The coalition appreciates that delays in resolving violations of military discipline adversely affects the morale, the welfare and the operational effectiveness of the ADF. Prolonged uncertainty undermines confidence. It places strain on serving personnel, and this can have an effect on unit cohesion, on unit trust and on command authority. Unresolved disciplinary matters may also have implications for the safety and wellbeing of defence personnel and the Defence community, as well as obviously their families. It's especially so when misconduct is serious in nature or has an impact on operational environments. A fair, effective and timely military system is essential in protecting personnel, in maintaining discipline and in ensuring that the Defence Force remains, as it always is, capable, professional and mission ready.”
“The royal commission engaged with key advocacy groups to understand the impacts of service, including the families of veterans killed, Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans' Association and the Australian Federation of Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex Servicemen and Women. I know that there's a lot of incredible bipartisan support for anything to do with our veterans, and I acknowledge that. As the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, I appreciate the work that the government is doing to help and support our veterans. The coalition acknowledges that this bill provides the necessary framework to implement recommendations 18, 20, 23, 34 and 63 of the royal commission. Our military justice system is the integral framework which underpins discipline in the military and command.”
“When the coalition established the royal commission, we said its aim was to shed a light on the critical steps needed so we could reduce the heartbreaking cases of suicide. The commission confirmed what veterans and their families and the ex-services community had been saying for so long, and they deserve truth, accountability and reform. We also have an obligation to our Defence Force and veteran community to ensure the issues identified by the royal commission are acknowledged and the necessary action is taken. The men and women of the Defence Force serve our nation with honour and bravery. They deserve the very best treatment, care and support.”
“This bill implements recommendations of the royal commission, a royal commission that was established by the former coalition government in 2021. It was necessary. The royal commission was established after the coalition listened to community calls for a national inquiry focused on the systemic issues faced by defence members and veterans that can result in suicide. The suicide statistics are awful reading. Between 1 January 1985 and the end of 2021, there were 2,007 confirmed suicide deaths of individuals who had served at least one day in the ADF. Those are terrible, damning statistics and so tragic. One death is one too many. One suicide is tragic for the community, for the family and for the defence family at large.”
“In doing so, they've provided essential support to communities in need, contributed to international security and upheld this nation's responsibilities abroad and, of course, at home. Accordingly, in recognition of their service and sacrifice, it's incumbent upon us to ensure that defence members and veterans are treated with the dignity, the respect and the appropriate support as provided by the Riverina Veteran and Family Hub, as provided by Pro Patria and as provided also in Parker Street, Cootamundra. They've got a wellness centre there. I pay tribute to the late Jacquie Vincent, who has only just recently passed, for her almost 40 years of service providing care and love for veterans in and around Cootamundra and elsewhere.”
“I also thank and commend anybody who has worn a uniform and anybody who is wearing a uniform now, and I encourage anyone who intends to wear a uniform in the future, because our military plays such an important part. We all would have observed that on 25 April, Anzac Day, our nation's most important day. Certainly the 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial bear testimony to the service and sacrifice of so many. The Australian way of life we enjoy today has been secured through the enduring service, the courage and the sacrifice of the men and women who have defended our nation in uniform. In times of natural disaster, peacekeeping service and armed conflict, members of the ADF have consistently served with professionalism and distinction.”
“We have the Blamey Barracks, home of the soldier, 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Kapooka. Air power starts at Wagga Wagga at Forest Hill, RAAF Base Wagga. At that particular base we also have 80 or so Royal Australian Navy personnel. So we've got Army, Air Force and Navy in town. The Riverina Veteran and Family Hub RSL Lifecare at 240 Baylis Street plays a vital role for our veterans, as does Pro Patria at 19 Morshead Street, Ashmont. For veterans seeking assistance, or even seeking to get their head around the 122 recommendations of the royal commission, I urge and encourage them to avail themselves of those wellness centres, of those veterans hubs. I thank and commend the people who run those two facilities.”
“As I rise to address the Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026, I just want to note the attendance in the Federation Chamber of departmental and Australian Defence Force personnel and want to thank them for talking me through aspects of this bill. The DVA is an organisation which provides so much assistance to our veterans and sometimes is criticised unfairly. I would urge and encourage veterans who need support to reach out to the DVA. It is always there. It is always absolutely wanting to provide the best care and support available to our wonderful veterans. I thank the members in the chamber today for their presence. I also want to acknowledge the work being played locally in my Riverina electorate in my home town of Wagga Wagga, which is a triservice city.”
“Our regional roads are crumbling. This is leading to a higher road toll. It's simply not good enough, and shame on Labor for last night's budget, rejecting regional Australia once again.”
“Seeing $103 million cut from the National Water Grid last night is something that they will find very difficult to stomach. I know the Nationals put on the table $30 million to improve the water quality at Narrandera. I don't think that money will now see the light of day, given last night's budget and what happened in that election on Saturday. But we will fight on, and we will always protect our country constituents, whether they are under a Nationals banner or not. Hopefully we'll be able to form government at the next election and make sure that Narrandera gets the water quality it needs for drinking, for bathing and for washing. We saw also $10 billion cut from regional infrastructure—$6.15 billion from the Inland Rail and $4.7 billion from infrastructure spending as a whole. Our councils cannot sustain the road maintenance.”
“The only bitumen that has been laid on the duplication of the Barton Highway was put there by me as the Deputy Prime Minister and infrastructure minister, and we haven't yet seen the money that Labor promised in that by-election materialise. We haven't seen it become bitumen. The duplication of the Barton Highway is necessary. So many people, so many public servants indeed from Canberra, are now choosing to have the lifestyle of living in the Yass Valley. It's a beautiful area, it's picturesque, but we have to get that final section of the Barton duplicated. Anything less is simply not good enough. I spent more than a week on prepolls at Farrer, and you get plenty of free and frank and fair advice. Of course, the Murray-Darling Basin is something close to the hearts of all those people in Farrer.”
“I'm looking forward this Saturday to attending the Rural Fire Service medallion presentations at Murrumbateman, and there'll be a number of long-serving firefighters who will be acknowledged and recognised for the decades that they have volunteered to the RFS and to keeping their community safe. I will be catching up with Katie Anderson and others, the district administrator there. No doubt I will be told when I'm at Murrumbateman that the duplication of the Barton highway is still very, very important. It's been completely neglected and rejected once again in last night's budget by Labor. I do well remember when the now member for Eden-Monaro at her by-election promised $140 million.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Labor's budget of broken promises and higher taxes contains a budget bomb with more than $18 billion in new net zero spending. At the same time, Labor has ripped more than $600 million from essential health services for our veterans. Why has the Prime Minister decided to prioritise breaking promises, raising taxes and spending big on net zero while cutting vital support services for our veterans, including funding for the Invictus Games?”
“He has said that future work may consider whether some civil findings can be included, but the government did not want to delay the current bill while those issues were being worked through. We certainly give a commitment—I do, on behalf of the opposition—to work with the minister and any future ministers to make sure that there is support if the bill can be refined in a better way in the future. That said, I commend the bill to the house.”
“They go a step toward helping the perpetrators have their money taken from them, ultimately assisting the process of doing the right thing by the victims. The bill also amends the bankruptcy law. The purpose is to stop perpetrators from using bankruptcy to defeat compensation claims. Compensation debts should survive bankruptcy. Finally, the bill is a major step forward. It truly is. It has bipartisan support, but it may not capture every case. There are victims of other serious violent crimes not covered by this bill. Survivors and advocates have called for future work on civil findings. Some advocates have also called for broader retrospective application. The Assistant Treasurer has done a power of good and a power of work in this regard. I thank him again for the diligence he has shown.”
“The government has described the bill as closing a loophole where offenders have shielded assets in superannuation and declared bankruptcy to avoid valid court orders. The bill allows survivors of child sexual abuse to apply to the ATO for some information. There's always going to be privacy issues et cetera, but this bill allows the disclosure of limited information about a perpetrator's super. The survivors of child sexual abuse can then use that information to determine whether or not to seek a court order to apply to a court for a perpetrator contributions release order or to access eligible super amounts to satisfy unpaid compensation orders and/or enforce compensation debts even when the perpetrator has entered bankruptcy. All of these provisions are important.”
“Work was delayed due to her retirement. More's the pity. The COVID-19 pandemic didn't help, nor did reprioritisation of Treasury resources. The coalition's reforms were put out for consultation to allow broader input, and victims of violent crimes, not just child sex abuse victims, were fed into that process. The coalition is supportive of what Labor is doing. This sees parliament being at its best. Under the current law, superannuation is generally protected from creditors. It has created a loophole where perpetrators can hold or move assets into superannuation to clear bankruptcy and avoid paying compensation ordered by a court. That is the problem that this bill is endeavouring to fix—and not before time.”
“We acknowledge the work of survivors and advocates, including but not limited to Andrew Carpenter, Madeleine West and Eden Van Haren. There are many others—many, many others. We acknowledge organisations including: Super for Survivors, Bravehearts, Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia and the Carly Ryan Foundation—good organisations all. Their advocacy has exposed a serious injustice; a huge gap that we are now, hopefully, bridging. Their persistence has brought this bill before the parliament. Parliament should honour that work by passing this bill and doing it swiftly. This work builds on the work initiated by the former coalition government. In January 2020, the then assistant treasurer, the honourable Kelly O'Dwyer MP, announced consultation on allowing survivors to access perpetrator superannuation.”
“It's all too easy, sometimes, with legislation that might be difficult and might need to have further fine-tuning, to send it off to an upper house inquiry. Not this time—too important. There will be time to review and strengthen the law after it starts operating. It needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. There are survivors who need the benefit of this law right now. Delay would only benefit the lowest of the low, the worst of the worst: the perpetrators. Survivors and advocates made this happen. We thank them and we acknowledge what they did and what they went through—what they should no longer have to go through or have to endure. These reforms are the result of grassroots advocacy for almost a decade—people power, years of advocacy by survivors, by families, by lawyers and by child protection advocates.”
“Some survivors have gone through court, relived their trauma—and how difficult must that be?—obtained compensation orders and yet still received nothing, and that is wrong. I think we all agree that that is palpably wrong. A conviction should not be the end of the justice process. A compensation order should not be a piece of paper that can be ignored. If a perpetrator has assets in superannuation, they should not be able to hide behind the law while their victim is left with nothing. This bill helps to fix that. Swift passage of this bill matters. Survivors, as I said earlier, have waited far too long. They've waited long enough. Some survivors and advocates have been fighting for this reform for almost a decade, under both the coalition and Labor. That is why we do not support sending it off to another Senate inquiry.”
“Perpetrators should not be able to abuse a child, lose in court, declare bankruptcy and then preserve their retirement savings whilst their victim receives nothing. We know that child sexual abuse causes lifelong harm. It does. It truly does. It can affect a person's health. It can affect a person's relationships, a person's education, their employment, their employment prospects and their financial security. For many survivors, the abuse does not end when the offending ends. They carry the trauma, the stigma and the psychological and physical effects for years and years. Many also carry the financial consequences. This must be changed, and this bill goes part of the way—a lot of the way—to addressing that.”
“It should not be used to deny compensation to survivors of child sexual abuse. I just want to outline some of what this bill does. It creates a court supervised process for survivors of child sexual abuse to access certain superannuation amounts held by a perpetrator. It applies where there is a court ordered compensation debt. The bill allows survivors of child sexual abuse to seek limited information from the Australian Taxation Office about a perpetrator's superannuation. It allows a court to make an order to release eligible superannuation amounts. It requires the Commissioner of Taxation to issue release authorities to superannuation funds to facilitate payment, and that's important. It also ensures compensation debts for child sexual abuse survive bankruptcy.”
“I think the parliament is seen at its best when it comes together on issues such as this to bring about reform that is good, that is lasting and that is incredibly worthwhile. Under the current law, we have a situation where paedophiles—the lowest of the low, the worst of the worst—have been able to boast that their victims won't see a penny of their superannuation. Survivors should not have to fight their abusers once in court and then fight them all over again to get compensation. This must not be so. The current loophole has allowed perpetrators to shield assets in superannuation, declare bankruptcy and leave survivors with absolutely nothing. The Australian parliament is saying, with a unified voice, that enough is enough. It's time for change. Superannuation is for retirement.”
“This reform is the result of years of advocacy by survivors and their advocates. There is more work that could be done to strengthen these laws even further. Indeed, I will put on the record that the 2018 reforms considered whether all victims of serious violent crimes should be able to access a perpetrator's superannuation as compensation. But we will not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, particularly when it comes to supporting victims of child sexual abuse. This is not about politics. It isn't, and it should never be. This is not a partisan issue. It should be one that unites the parliament in our shared goal to protect children and to rebuke predators.”
“Kay Hull was right then, and it hasn't changed since then. Under the current law, as I say, perpetrators have been able to hide these assets, and we do acknowledge the work of the Assistant Treasurer for his work to get this law before the parliament. Dr Mulino has done a power of work in this regard. We also want to acknowledge the work of the former minister for financial services and former member for Higgins, Kelly O'Dwyer, who began the work on these reforms back in 2018. Most importantly, we thank the survivors. Above all else, we do thank the survivors, we acknowledge them, and we recognise them. We also acknowledge their families and the advocates, many of whom came to parliament in March, showing bravery, showing resilience and certainly demonstrating perseverance and persistence.”
“I am speaking on behalf of the shadow assistant treasurer, the member for Page, who is in the federal budget lock-up as I speak. I rise to speak about Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026, noting it is an important piece of legislation. The coalition's position is clear: we support survivors, and we will support this bill. Victims-survivors and their families have waited too long, and I think we all know that. Australia's superannuation and bankruptcy laws have been weaponised by the worst criminals, and, for far too long, the parliament has failed to act. Under the current law, perpetrators have been able to hide assets in superannuation and avoid paying court ordered compensation. When I became the member for Riverina back in 2010, my predecessor mentioned that this particular element would take up a lot of my time.”
“This budget will not bring the resilience or the restoration or the recovery or the relief to Australians right throughout this country. It's only going to bring more heartache, and Labor stands condemned because of that. Every single item tonight—you're not going to see the hope and confidence, the cost-of-living measures that the people of Australia are so desperately seeking. They want a government to succeed. They want a government to have their backs. And this government is doing nothing but bring more heartache and less hope to Australians—Mr and Mrs Average, farmers, small businesses, people right across particularly regional Australia, regional Australians who keep the lights on, who keep the exports going and who produce the food and fibre. They've been neglected by this shameful government. (Time expired)”
“What they should be doing is picking up the phone and talking to some of those hardworking businesses—such as AusRock Quarries at Parkes, such as Calvani Crushing at Forbes, and such as KB Concrete, which has offices in Dubbo, Wellington, Narromine, Coonabarabran and Gilgandra—who were left high and dry by axing the Inland Rail, not to mention Austrak at Wagga, which was going to build the sleepers for the Parkes and Narromine section through to Brisbane. It's simply not good enough, and Labor needs to explain why it is not delivering this nation-building piece of infrastructure. More than that, it's in defence, it's in housing, it's in the capital gains, and it's in the whacking pensioners who need that rebate for the private health insurance that Labor said that they wouldn't touch and are now bringing the sledgehammer to.”
“Certainly, the Inland Rail has caused so many businesses so much heartache in the last 48 hours since Labor axed the program and said it was going to only become a Melbourne to Parkes line—less than half the distance of the total 1,700-kilometre corridor of commerce, which was first talked about in the 1890s and which was funded and started under a coalition government in 2018. I remember when the first lot of steel was dropped off at Peak Hill on 15 January in that year, 2018, and it took a Labor government in 2026 to shelve it, to axe it, to bring the sledgehammer to it, and that is typical Labor, because typical Labor brings the sledgehammer to anything that's aspirational in this country. The Treasurer and every infrastructure minister and regional development minister stand condemned for doing this. It is just not right.”
“The National Stronger Regions Fund, which became the Building Better Regions Fund, has been axed by this mob, and, when they came to power, the member for Ballarat, the minister for infrastructure, said that they were going to pause and they were going to review and that there was going to be a 90-day review of all the infrastructure spending. It then became a 206-day review, but we haven't seen any programs or projects built since then. Regional Australia and certainly our councils on low rate bases are crying out for infrastructure. Their roads are deteriorating. They can't see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
“They recognised the importance of Commonwealth-state relations in building infrastructure. I'll tell you what, there are a lot of Labor infrastructure ministers and roads ministers who are now not so sure that they've got the right team, the right colour, in Canberra, because they're unable to build anything because they've got to stump up a whole lot more money. Certainly, tonight's budget will not bring the relief or the resilience or restore the funding that they so desperately need. Our roads in regional Australia are crumbling.”
“I did, and I'm happy to fess up right here, right now. You know what I did? A government member interjecting Go on. I'm being goaded now by the minister. I enlisted the services of the ARTC to build the Inland Rail. I should have got the CFMEU on board. Had I got the CFMEU on board, the Comancheros, the Bandidos and all of those bikie gangs that benefit from the CFMEU, Inland Rail would continue. It would be continuing right now, and it would continue from Melbourne to Brisbane. Unfortunately, I erred. I mucked up. I apologise to the Australian public. I apologise to regional Australia for not getting the CFMEU on board. Anyway, there we go. Jacinta Allan was right. I have to say Mark Bailey, another Labor minister, was right, because he also signed the intergovernmental agreement for inland rail.”
“And they are coming, rest assured, under the Rescue our Rail commitment that we're making to ensure that Inland Rail is actually delivered—not just half baked, under this mob; not just Parkes to Melbourne, but indeed Melbourne to Brisbane. And Minister Allan said: 'I'm also pleased that, in addition to the $1.57 billion Regional Rail Revival package, the Commonwealth will increase its contribution by $135 million to upgrade the north-east rail line to a class 2 standard to allow faster modern trains and give communities along the north-east line the services they expect and deserve.' See, there's a minister saying how pleased she is with what a federal government will do. The only thing that Premier Allan is now banking on is the Suburban Rail Loop. Do you know what the reason is? I made a mistake when I was the Deputy Prime Minister.”
“She thanked the Deputy Prime Minister—I wonder who that could be? An opposition member: Who was that? I might have been me!—for acting quickly to release the funds which would provide much-needed upgrades to every regional rail line through the Regional Rail Revival program. Tick! That was under a coalition federal government. And we know, when there's a coalition federal government in Canberra, the split between federal and state is 80-20. And when Labor gets to power, gets to office in Canberra, it's fifty-fifty. And so, therefore, the states hold off on building infrastructure. They hold off on building anything. And this minister for infrastructure is now the minister for no structure, because the only thing she's building is complaints in her in-tray.”
“We heard the Prime Minister today so often saying that he has not broken his promises, when he actually has, on numerous occasions, whether it came to energy relief, whether it came to the number of houses he was going to build—whatever the case might be. We also heard, interestingly enough, from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Now, she was talking about the Inland Rail, and that is yet another broken promise by this broken government. When she said that ministers should go and hang their heads in shame—any of those before her responsible for this project—I tell you what: she's not in agreement with the now Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, because it was on 16 March 2018 that Jacinta Allan, then a Victorian minister responsible for infrastructure and transport, actually said this.”
“Well, this isn't a responsible government; it's actually an irresponsible government, and it has been for four years. It has let Australians down so often. Now, up the top—and it might give Cluedo, or whoever is investigating this, some sort of point and guide as to who might have misplaced it—it says either '6,060' or '6,000'—I don't know which—'social and affordable homes since elected'. It also then adds '23,000 in planning'. Well, that's a long way short of the one million, which then became 1.2 million, homes that Australia said it would build—a long, long way short. The government's broken promises and failure to deliver for regional Australians is the topic of the matter of public importance debate today, and never has there been a better time to discuss this important topic.”
“What it should actually say is: 'You have broken a promise,' because each and every one of them—particularly the Prime Minister—has broken a promise. The first dot point under 'Have you broken a promise'—lack of question mark—is: The right decision is to do the right thing with the right policies at the right time I agree with that—tick! The second dot point is: Young people, and their parents and grandparents are worried they will never own their own home I agree with that, too—a tick for that. I would suggest Labor members don't go out to the doors and repeat this next dot point: They are frustrated with the intergeneration all equity. I'm not quite sure what that actually means, but don't repeat it. Anyway, the next is: Any responsible government must take these issues seriously.”
“At the moment, in the government, there is much more than an Agatha Christie novel going on. It's a whodunnit: who leaked, or who misplaced, the talking points? Some are suggesting the Butler did it! But we don't actually know. But I tell you what: it makes for very interesting reading on this, the fifth budget day by the member for Rankin. What we see here is the main message: 'We will deliver a responsible budget for working Australians, focused on relief, resilience and reform.' I think not. Moreover, the Australian public thinks not, as well. Then there's this subheading, in bold, just so that it stands out, and it reads: HAVE YOU BROKEN A PROMISE It should carry a question mark, but grammar has never been the strong point of those opposite.”
“Well, I look forward to that, Minister, because the only thing that's been built in your time is complaints in your in-tray, because you've actually derailed Inland Rail. You've taken that off the plan—off the budget. And that is neglecting regional Australia. That is going against the needs and wants and expectations and demands of rural constituents. Honourable members interjecting— And you can yell all you like—”
“When I was the Deputy Prime Minister and minister for infrastructure—and I know the member for Gippsland held that role, too, of the minister for infrastructure—in the halcyon days of Australian democracy, we used to look forward to budget night. We used to look forward to a Treasurer coming to the dispatch box, just there, and talking up, and not only talking up but funding, infrastructure. But the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government now, the member for Ballarat, who sits opposite—and I'm glad she has come in early—I don't think will be smiling tonight when Dr Chalmers announces his fifth budget. I don't think she'll be happy, because there's nothing in there for infrastructure.”
“She said their sales for chocolate Easter eggs are at an all-time low because people simply can't afford them. The other thing is that people aren't going through their little shop because they can't afford the fuel to get out to that place. That is just a tragedy for that business. It's emblematic of what's happening right across regional Australia.”
“He appoints Anthea Harris. My goodness! As if she's not busy enough already doing the review into the Water Act, he gives her his own job; he outsources his own job, for her to do it as well. That's not good enough, Minister—simply not good enough. It's as if the people of the Murray-Darling Basin haven't got enough on their plates and on their minds. Now the person who's supposed to be doing the Water Act review is now doing another task outsourced by the hapless minister. It's simply not good enough. This is the same minister who couldn't stop the boats when he had the responsibility to do so. Now he can't tell us what boats are coming and what isn't coming. It's simply not good enough. As a little aside, it's Easter this weekend. I just finished speaking to Rhiannon Druce from the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory.”
“And it's not just the truckies. It's also the farmers because it is sowing season. I know a lot of those opposite don't realise how crucial it is to have diesel at this point in time, in April and early May when the seeds go in the ground to grow the crops that are then harvested later in the year. That's how it works. But it can't work, and it won't work, if farmers have no diesel to put in their tanks to drive their heavy farm machinery to sow the crops—to direct drill and to scarify. Then, later in the year, they won't be putting their headers out in the paddocks because they won't have a crop to strip. And that is so tragic because the fuel security crisis will lead to a food security crisis, and that will lead to a national security crisis. And this is all on Labor's watch. What does the Minister for Climate Change and Energy do?”
“But the thing is that they haven't realised it.' Andrew Duff and his wife, Claire, are good people. They are emblematic of people right throughout regional Australia. They can't afford to pay for the fuel for their trucks. That's if they are lucky enough to have fuel. Goolagong, in the Central West of New South Wales, has been out of diesel and fuel for three weeks, and that's simply not good enough. When the Prime Minister comes in here and says that he and his government are transparent—well, yes they are, because people can see right through them! The issue is about supply, accessibility, availability and affordability. All of those things have disappeared in regional Australia. It's just like the leadership of this Prime Minister and his government, because they have been missing in action right throughout regional Australia.”
“I've had my own truck since I was 26, and I'm 41 now. This is the first time in 15 years that I'm staring down the barrel of financial ruin. That's hard to swallow because we've never defaulted on anything. I went to check the account three weeks ago because I knew what was coming. What a lot of these politicians don't understand, or maybe they do—I'm talking about this Albanese government—is that the margins weren't there before this happened. The base inflation is killing us. When I started out, I used to buy a 20-litre drum of Cat DEO for engine oil. It was $80. I bought oil; one of our trucks was out. We buy bulk everything now. It's the only way to save. It cost me $200 for 20 litres of oil the other day. The margins and the insurances have literally, and I'm not being dramatic in this sense, collapsed the industry. They have.”
“The member for Kingsford Smith, the assistant minister, ought to know that the fuel excise cut was what the coalition asked—demanded, implored—the government to do, and the government then saw fit to do it. It was the plan put forward by the coalition. The road user charge was also proposed by coalition members to make sure that we could keep our trucks on the road. Speaking of keeping trucks on the road—I spoke to Andrew Duff from Goolagong. He's got a couple of trucks in that little town on the Lachlan Valley Way in the Cowra shire, and this is what he said to me. Labor members ought to listen to this. He said: 'We've got no reception; we've got no services. We've always bought bulk fuel off BP Lowes, and we're not hoarding. We've always paid our bill. I've always paid my taxes. I've been in business.”
“The minister says the supplies are there. Well, the supplies might be there, but they're not getting out to regional Australia, and people are going broke because of it. People are going bankrupt because they can't get their trucks on the road. Our farmers can't get the fuel in their tanks to sow the crops to grow the food to feed you lot—you ungrateful lot—who have deserted regional Australia for far too long. An honourable member interjecting— You can yell all you like. Go out to regional Australia and tell them that, because they are jack of it. They have had a gutful of this government's poor policies. (Time expired)”