Tony Pasin
Barker · Liberal Party · Australia
“But the truth is that, in the modern age, if you want to share and communicate with your constituency, or if you're in business and you want to share and communicate with customers, if you're not on a digital platform then you're missing out.”
“I feel a little like an imposter talking on this bill. Many of my colleagues who know me know that I'm probably best described as a Luddite. Even as a Luddite, in this role one has to be across the role of online presences.”
“But it is important that we understand that, as positive as experiences can be in the digital online environment, there are also substantial risks. Like others, I've read of very tragic circumstances. I've had constituents, parents, come to me concerned about the way algorithms are seeking to lock young people in.”
“I've got to say that, during question time, I do sometimes turn off as the Prime Minister is preening his feathers, giving us the 'never had it better' speech, luxuriating in his hubris.”
“It's true to say that today's an important day. It's a day when our nation turns an important page. I do, just as an aside, have to query why those opposite would spend the majority of their contributions obsessing over the Liberal Party on such an important day—on a day when they could be talking about what those opposite are actually ac…”
“Labor's cuts will not reduce demand for health care; they will simply shift more Australians from private health to the public system. That means greater pressure on public hospitals and health services that are already under strain. I want to conclude with another email from a constituent.”
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“Even worse, the prospect of having reduced or insecure fuel would be a disaster for his business. The Australian economy runs on diesel. Fuel security is national security. It's also economic security. Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Bowen needs to assure Australians that he has a plan to keep fuel flowing and that Australians won't be ripped off at the bowser by fuel companies that are seeking to profit from the war in the Middle East. Not surprisingly, Australians are panicking because they don't trust this minister to get it right. Quite frankly, who would blame them?”
“Families and businesses in my regional electorate are getting smashed by fuel prices and are growing increasingly concerned about supply. In one small town with a single fuel station, that fuel station sold out of fuel yesterday. The closest petrol station is 50 kilometres away, and they're not expecting fuel until later this week. That's not a fuel shortage; that's a fuel crisis. I've been contacted by many concerned constituents in my electorate. Mark from Frances is one. He's a livestock producer who is very concerned at the apparent price-gouging for fuel and is sick of being ripped off. Mark isn't convinced that the ACCC will do anything. Mark says that it's hard enough to make a living from farming, and now having to pay more for fuel imports means that any profit margin is squeezed even tighter.”
“The establishment of the Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation by Chris and Deb Brooks, channelling profound personal loss into advocacy for systemic reform, demonstrates their deep commitment to patient dignity, safety and respect; to ensuring families are care partners, not obstacles; and to ensuring that, when care is failing, there is a clear, independent pathway to act in real time.”
“While Ryan's Rule is specific to Queensland, carer escalation pathways exist in other jurisdictions—for example, the REACH pathway, in New South Wales. Unfortunately, South Australia has no equivalent structured and staged statewide mechanism; this must change. The Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation is also aligning with the DAISY Foundation, an internationally recognised organisation operating in 38 countries and honouring extraordinary compassion in health care. Their vision is not just reform but cultural change—care that is compassionate, collaborative and publicly valued. The DAISY Foundation celebrates excellence in health care, and scholarship recipients and healthcare leaders are recognised and honoured in the same way we celebrate sporting achievements on the world stage.”
“The Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation also advocates for a clear pathway for carers to raise concerns around the care of their loved ones in an inpatient hospital setting. Serendipitously, Queensland has just such a pathway. It's called Ryan's Rule, a three-step patient and family escalation process operating across all public hospitals, developed following the death of a young boy, also named Ryan, in hospital in 2007. That child's parents did not feel their concerns were acted upon in time. In light of his death, Queensland Health made a commitment to introduce an escalation process for patients, families and carers—Ryan's Rule—to minimise the possibility of a similar event occurring. Ryan's Rule remains the gold-standard, core system for patient, family and carer escalation in Queensland.”
“While grieving the death of their cherished son, Chris and Deb Brooks have established the Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation. The foundation exists to ensure improvements are made in the provision of palliative and end-of-life care in regional South Australia, with a focus on strengthening genuine partnerships between clinicians and caregivers. The foundation is also focused on programs which upskill the broader healthcare workforce in palliative care, including nurses, general practitioners and allied health professionals, particularly in regional areas, where specialist access is limited. Australia currently has 1.3 palliative medicine physicians per 100,000 people, and this access ratio declines further in regional areas. The foundation seeks to bridge the divide in knowledge and best practice.”
“In Ryan's final hospital admission, in February 2025, and during the delivery of end-of-life care, his parents—lifetime carers with detailed knowledge and expertise who had worked in partnership with specialists over many years—experienced a disconnect in the communication of care concerns with hospital staff. There was no clear, enforceable pathway for his parents to escalate their concerns when they believed Ryan's care was failing. Carers contribute billions in unpaid work every week in Australia, providing care and support to family members or friends with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition or terminal illness or who are frail or aged. They too often go unrecognised. Carers Australia reports that almost half of carers feel their experience and knowledge as a carer is not recognised by health professionals.”
“Today I rise to speak about palliative and end-of-life care in regional South Australia, about how we listen to carer voices and about ensuring that dignity is preserved during one of the most vulnerable moments in life. I recently met with two of my constituents, Chris and Deb Brooks. Their son Ryan Bowman died in February last year in a hospital in Mount Gambier, South Australia. Ryan lived for 33 years with a rare and complex congenital heart condition. His survival to adulthood can be attributed to not only advanced medical care but the decades of expert and loving care provided by his family. His mother and primary carer, Deb, had spent years advocating for Ryan, ensuring that compassionate, dignified care was provided to him and informed by Ryan's wishes. Ryan was a father, a car enthusiast and, I'm told, an avid Crows fan.”
“Those opposite have an opportunity—we're introducing legislation which will make it a criminal offence to assist people to return to this country. If you seek to support them, then you've committed a criminal offence. Join us. Let's agree to legislate that position because these individuals can never return to this country. If they do, Australians' safety and security will have been compromised. This is a 'whose side are you on' moment in this place. Honourable members interjecting—”
“Who can forget the image of the young Australian boy holding the severed head of a victim or the other image of a child standing before a crucified body all as part of ISIS's campaign of propaganda? Let's not soften the Australian people up for their return. We don't want to reintroduce that level of hate into this country. We do not want to see that, and those opposite have an opportunity. What they are right now is indifferent to the return of these ISIS sympathisers. On one hand, the Prime Minister says: 'You make your bed. You lie in it.' On the other hand, he's quite happy to say, 'I have no power to stop third parties doing these things.' This story has a long way to go yet, and the truth will reveal itself.”
“This is a regime that's built on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes—the Yazidi genocide; mass killing of men; enslavement of women and girls; attempted eradication of the entire people; systematic sexual slavery; women and children treated as commodities, bought and sold under an organised slave market; public executions and beheadings used as propaganda to intimidate a population and recruit extremists; massacre of civilians in Iraq and Syria to consolidate control; the torture and killing of hostages, including foreign journalists and aid workers; and the indoctrination and weaponisation of children, training and arming and deploying minors for propaganda and violence.”
“Now, there's been a softening up of the Australian people regarding this cohort. There are references to brides and children, and— Government members interjecting— No. I'm not softening them up. Those opposite need to appreciate that these are ISIS sympathisers, and I think there's an opportunity to remind those opposite of ISIS's record of terror. Let's start. This is a barbaric terrorist death cult.”
“We've just heard from the member for Sturt, and in her contribution she indicated that, effectively, this government has no plan with respect to this cohort. If we're to take the opposition's position, or be as generous as we can for the opposition's position, it's one of indifference relative to this cohort. Government members: You are the opposition! The government, I should say. Well, hope springs eternal that it won't be long! But the point about that is that, if we're to take the government's position at its highest, it's one of indifference. My friend opposite said, 'What we should be doing is empowering the security agencies.' No. What we should be doing is directing the security agencies to go and get the evidence we require to deal with this cohort, to ensure that all members of this cohort are subject to an exclusion order.”
“It condemns the Treasurer for refusing to take responsibility. It highlights $50 billion in discretionary spending. It recognises the burden that mortgage payers are under, and it calls for measurable budget rules, rules that will restore discipline, restrain spending growth and ensure windfall revenue is used to pay down debt, not fuel pet projects.”
“And this is a pattern: spending up, debt up, power bills up, mortgage stress up, with accountability nowhere to be found. The Treasurer blames global conditions, but global conditions didn't force the injection of $50 billion of discretionary funding into the economy this year alone. Those were choices, and, when you add that level of spending into an already inflationary environment, the Reserve Bank is left to do the heavy lifting. Higher spending means higher inflation. Higher inflation means higher interest rates. Australian families are once again left to carry the cost of the decisions taken by those opposite. Real wages have gone backwards. Income tax has risen through bracket creep. Mortgage interest rates have surged. Australians are working harder for longer and getting less. That's why this motion matters.”
“While Australian families are struggling with power bills and mortgage repayments, their taxes are being used to subsidise transport fleets overseas. That is the priority of those opposite using Australian taxpayer dollars. That's not cost-of-living relief; that's waste. Billions have been committed to hydrogen and carbon capture experiments, while there's little to show for them in terms of reliable energy supply or lower power prices. Electricity prices, as I said, have surged over 32 per cent. Australians were promised, of course, $275 off their power bill, but that never happened. Instead, we've seen prices skyrocket, and, after all that spending, emissions reductions have flatlined. Billions have been spent. Power bills are up, and emissions are barely moving. That's not political success; that's waste laid on top of failure.”
“This was a project that was meant to cost $4.1 million and is now slated to cost the taxpayer around $96 million. That's $96 million for a website that Australians can't even rely on! That's millions of dollars funnelled out the door to big consulting firms. At CSIRO, more than half a million dollars a year is going to grounds maintenance at their headquarters and—wait for it!—over $100,000 a year goes to indoor plants and flowers. That is while staff positions are under pressure—seriously! And now we learn that Australia and Australian taxpayers are helping to fund a fleet of electric buses and boats. That's okay, until I tell you that those buses and boats are in Wuhan, China, to attract tourists and boost the climate resilience in a Chinese city—spare me!”
“The Treasurer's own budget paper shows $50 billion—that's 'b' for 'billion'—in new discretionary spending in this financial year alone. Two-thirds of the increase in spending this year is the result of deliberate policy decisions taken by those opposite. Spending has risen from 24.3 per cent of GDP to 26.9 per cent. Debt is heading north of $1 trillion, and mortgage holders are paying around $21,000 a year more in interest repayments. That's the real-world cost of fiscal recklessness. And, when you look at where the money's going, the problem becomes even clearer. We've had a bit of weather recently, and a lot of people have turned to the Bureau of Meteorology. Let's leave aside the fact that the new website still doesn't work as well as the old one.”
“I rise in support of this matter of public importance because this is a debate about accountability, discipline and a treasurer who refuses point blank to take responsibility for his out-of-control spending, which is fuelling inflation and keeping interest rates higher for longer. After nearly four years of this Labor government, Australians are paying more for literally everything. Insurance is up 39 per cent, energy is up 32 per cent, rents are up 22 per cent, housing is up 19 per cent and food is up 16 per cent—I think you get the drift. But these aren't abstract figures. They're not just something that's rattled off in this place. This is real life. There are mortgage repayments, there are power bills and there are grocery bills, and they all keep rising. While Australians have tightened their belts, this government hasn't.”
“Government must heed this warning and act now before more families and regions are pushed past the point of no return. When it comes to political will, Labor priorities are unmistakeable. In recent months, Labor has committed more than $2.4 billion in joint state and federal funding to prop up the Whyalla steelworks, with further taxpayer funding flowing to industry at Port Pirie. By contrast, the entire Australian Grape & Wine structural reform package would cost around $140 million over three years. That's a fraction of the billions of dollars Labor has—appropriately—put towards the unionised Australian steelworkers. Yet wine grape growers, who have sustained regional communities, employed thousands of Australians and built an industry over generations, are being told to suck it up and fail quietly. This isn't good enough.”
“It's an industry led proposal from growers who understand the reality they're facing and are asking governments to confront it with honesty. The submission calls for structural reform and support for orderly adjustments by helping growers who need to exit the industry to do so with dignity, assist those who want to transition to alternative crops or new enterprises and, critically, ensure access to financial counselling and targeted mental health supports for growers and their families who are carrying the emotional burden. These are practical and responsible solutions to a structural problem that individual growers didn't create and, quite frankly, can't fix alone. The message from industry is clear. The evidence is clear. The solutions are on the table. What's missing is not ideas or capacity; it's political will to act.”
“The impact is being felt acutely across the Riverland, the Barossa, the Limestone Coast—anywhere that has wine grapes. Behind every vineyard, of course, there's a family carrying a heavy emotional and financial burden. That toll has grown with every season of delay, and many are now at breaking point. If government continues to look the other way, the cost of inaction will not disappear. It will show up in abandoned vineyards, business failures, job losses and the long-term decline of regional communities like those I represent. So what can government do? Well, the Australian Grape & Wine's prebudget submission released last week represents a clear and responsible call for action from an industry under extraordinary pressure. It's not a wish list. It's not a plea for handouts.”
“I rise today to speak on behalf of wine grape growers across Barker, who are facing a deep and widening crisis that demands urgent government action. This is not a short-term downturn. It's not a cyclical correction. It's not a problem that can be solved with a bigger marketing spend or recycled announcements. Global wine consumption is in freefall. It fell by 3.5 billion litres between 2022 and 2025, with consumption set to decline by a further one billion litres this year. Yet Australia continues to produce far too much wine, and the market can't absorb it. The result is chronic and structural oversupply, collapsing prices and growing pressure on growers, who have done everything asked of them and still can't make the numbers stack up.”
“From the Murray Mallee to the Barossa, from the Riverland to the Limestone Coast, more red tape won't stop criminals or extremists but will impact law-abiding people who are doing the right thing day in, day out. This is a decision the Premier can make, and he's got to make it now. That's why I'm calling on Premier Malinauskas to rule out any changes to South Australia's gun laws and why I'm asking people right across Barker to sign my petition to get him to do the right thing.”
“The Prime Minister doesn't decide South Australia's gun laws; Premier Peter Malinauskas does—and unless he rules out changes, law-abiding firearm owners in my electorate of Barker remain squarely in the firing line. Responsible, law-abiding, licensed firearm owners should never be punished for the actions of criminals or extremists. While other state premiers have already ruled out changes, Premier Malinauskas, in the shadows of an election campaign, continues to leave the door open to enforcing a gun buyback in South Australians. In Barker, firearms aren't a political talking point; they're essential for farm safety, for animal and pest control, for hunting and for sporting shooting.”
“Support should be timely, it should be practical, and it should be driven by conditions on the ground, not by political opportunism. The delay matters, because drought assistance works best when it's delivered early, when it keeps farms viable and prevents hardship, not months later when the damage is already done. Farmers deserve support when they need it most, not months later when the damage is deeply cutting. Sadly, all they get from 'party Pete' is interest only when it suits him and the interests of his party. Shame on him!”
“Many farmers across South Australia have now endured two years of relentless drought. Meanwhile, Premier Peter Malinauskas has splashed cash on major events and photo opportunities otherwise, but regional communities have been crying out for help, and they've been ignored. Only now, in the shadows of a state election campaign, is the Malinauskas Labor government taking meaningful action. Don't get me wrong—any support for farmers is welcomed, but the timing of this announcement raises serious questions. Producers across Barker and, indeed, right across South Australia have been calling for help while conditions have deteriorated. They have watched while low-interest loans that they were calling for were made available to farmers interstate as a matter of course. Droughts don't operate on election cycles.”
“Barker is home to recipients of distinguished service medals. I congratulate Mr John Probert, awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal, and Mr Kieran Johnson, awarded the Ambulance Service Medal, for distinguished service for their respective organisations. Their commitment to protecting lives and community deserves our deepest thanks. To all those recognised this Australia Day, I want to say thank you. Thank you for everything you do. You strengthen our communities and you make Barker an even better place to live, work and raise a family.”
“Dr Gransbury has made a sustained contribution to civic life in Angaston through long-term community involvement and service in areas as diverse as mental health, heritage, community and sport. I also congratulate Mr Harold Long OAM, who is recognised for his service to the communities of Mannum, Salt Creek and Padthaway and, in particular, for his work supporting young people. Mr Long's commitment to youth development and to community participation has a long-lasting impact across multiple regional communities. He was, coincidentally, the year 3 teacher of two of my electorate office staff, who have many fond memories of Mr Long, including learning and performing the national anthem to their peers. Under Mr Long's tutelage, students were required to be able to recite both verses of the national anthem before they completed year 3.”
“Mr Bonney has been a longstanding advocate for environmental stewardship and has contributed significantly to local conservation initiatives and community organisations. I also wish to congratulate Stephen Day OAM, whose award acknowledges his service to charitable organisations and to the finance sector. Mr Day has dedicated many years to supporting community and charitable causes through leadership roles and professional expertise within the financial sector. Ms Gerlinde Trappe OAM is recognised for her service to the community of the Barossa and to the arts. Her contribution has played an important role in supporting local cultural initiatives and strengthening community engagement through the arts. I also wish to acknowledge Dr William Gransbury OAM, who has been honoured for his service to the community of Angaston.”
“I rise today to recognise and congratulate the outstanding Australians from the electorate of Barker who have been honoured as part of the Australia Day honours and awards. Australia Day honours provide an opportunity for our nation to acknowledge individuals who have made an outstanding and enduring contribution to Australia. These honours recognise service, leadership and dedication that enrich our communities and strengthen our country. They reflect the very best of the Australian spirit—service above self. This year Barker was proudly represented by a number of exceptional recipients. I congratulate Neville Bonney OAM, who was recognised for his service to conservation, the environment and the community.”
“Professionally, Sue devoted more than four decades to paediatric physiotherapy, improving the lives of children and families. Sue was a mentor, an educator and a researcher. Sue completed her PhD later in life and exemplified a lifelong commitment to learning and evidence based care. In January 2014, Sue was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to the community through philanthropic and charitable organisations and to the profession of physiotherapy. Sue Charlton leaves behind a legacy of service and leadership. Her contribution will endure through the institutions she strengthened and the many lives she touched. Vale, Sue Charlton.”
“I rise today to honour the life and service of Dr Sue Charlton, a deeply respected South Australian whose passing is being felt strongly in Mount Gambier and across the Limestone Coast. Sue was a committed champion of regional communities. As the inaugural chair of the Stand Like Stone Foundation, Sue helped establish a lasting model of community philanthropy and ensured that funds raised locally are directed back into local priorities, strengthening community outcomes across the Limestone Coast. Sue's impact was not confined to the Limestone Coast; Sue played a formative role nationally as a founding member and later chair of what is now Community Foundations Australia. Through that leadership, Sue helped to shape a network of community foundations that continue to deliver for communities right across our nation.”
“It's always the motivation; it's never the method. I say to those opposite: please, don't gaslight Australian gun owners.”
“I'm not going to stand in this place and support it. I know many of my colleagues won't either. The truth—again, a hard truth for those opposite—is that what happened at Bondi was not a failure of our national gun laws but a failure of national leadership. When the time came to deal with the rising tide of antisemitism in this country, our national leadership hid under the doona. We should be reflecting on those poor choices, not seeking to strengthen gun laws in effect as an attempt to distract people from what actually happened here. I remind the House that these terrorists not only had firearms; they also had improvised explosive devices. I remind the House that we have seen this kind of terror in Sydney with people wielding knives. I remind the House that we've seen it in Melbourne with people driving motor vehicles.”
“The 15 souls that tragically lost their lives on 14 December on the beach at Bondi are owed at least the honesty of their polity. The honest truth—perhaps the hard truth for those opposite—is that we don't have a gun problem in this country; we have a problem with radical Islamic extremism. Objectively, a reasonable person might conclude that the US does have a gun problem, but we don't. We have some of the strictest gun laws in the world, a product of very hard decisions taken by former prime minister John Howard and his government. That's why I can't support these changes in the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026. They're a product of a couple of things, principally an attempt to hoodwink the Australian people and, sadly, to gaslight lawful, legitimate licensed Australian gun owners.”
“They now look to this parliament to speak plainly and to act responsibly, and to demonstrate our values are not just slogans but standards backed by resolve. To the Jewish community, I want to say: the people of Barker stand with you. We grieve with you. We will not allow your safety, your dignity or, indeed, your sense of belonging to be compromised. Your struggle against antisemitism is ultimately Australia's struggle to defend the values that define all of us. May the memories of those who lost their lives be a blessing, may the injured recover fully and may this parliament honour their suffering by reaffirming the principles that make Australia the country we love—principles that we must protect with vigilance and resolve. I commend the motion to the House.”
“This attack was not only an assault on Jewish Australians; it was an assault on the values that underpin our liberal democratic society, and that's an attack on all of us. Freedom of religion, freedom of association, egalitarianism and mutual respect are all important principles that make the Australian nation what it is. This attack has made clear that antisemitism is not confined to particular suburbs or cities, nor is the responsibility to oppose it confined to any single community. Across the Australian nation, Australians looked to Bondi with shock and sadness. They understood instinctively that this was an attack on all Australians, and they understood something else—that hatred left unchallenged never remains merely words.”
“That means calling out antisemitism explicitly and recognising the role that Islamic extremism played in this attack. It means recognising the threat that this twisted ideology poses to the safety and security of all Australians. And it requires acknowledging an uncomfortable truth—that antisemitic hatred was allowed to fester in our streets and in our public discourse and that the warnings were not ignored until lives were lost. At Bondi, we saw the terrible cost of hatred when it metastasises into violence. But we also saw bravery. From victims, from bystanders and from first responders who ran towards danger to protect others. In the face of darkness, everyday Australians showed extraordinary courage, and I want to, as others have, honour them as well.”
“Their families carry a burden of grief that no-one should be forced to bear, and they have our deepest sympathy and support. To the Jewish community, we offer not only our condolences but our solidarity. I extend my heartfelt condolences to all who mourn and all who grieve. Antisemitism has no place in Australia. It is an ancient hatred that has taken a modern and aggressive form, emboldened by events abroad and normalised by a failure to challenge it at home. No Australian, Jewish or otherwise, should walk their neighbourhood in fear or be forced to gather, pray or learn behind guarded gates. This parliament has a responsibility not merely to condemn antisemitism but to confront it. That includes naming it, rejecting it and refusing to tolerate attempts to excuse or justify it.”
“Innocent lives were taken, others were wounded, and countless more carry the emotional and psychological scars of an incident that has caused everyday Australians to gasp and to think to themselves that this doesn't happen in Australia. Australia is a safe, peaceful and tolerant nation. It is precisely because of those qualities that this attack has been so deeply felt. We pride ourselves on being a place where people can worship freely and congregate without concern. When that basic expectation is violated, when Australians are targeted for who they are and, indeed, for what they believe, we must confront it honestly and without equivocation. The victims of this attack are in the thoughts and prayers of my constituents.”
“Today, we pause to acknowledge and honour the victims of the antisemitic terror attack that occurred at Bondi. We do so in sadness, in sympathy and in solidarity with the Jewish community and, indeed, with all Australians who have been shocked by this most hateful of acts. The scenes that unfolded at Bondi were confronting and heartbreaking—families freely and joyously celebrating Hanukkah, a celebration of light turned dark in an instant; a community going about an open expression of their faith until they were met with unthinkable violence driven by hate; the worst loss of Jewish life outside of Israel since the Holocaust.”
“Others in this place have made clear that the cost per turbine for decommissioning, in today's dollars, ranges from a quarter of a million dollars to a million dollars. Of course, we know of the risks. There's blade rot, blade shear, PFAS chemicals, lubricants et cetera. We heard this week in this place that asbestos is present in some of the wind farm brakes. There have been concerns raised by Livestock SA, and I share those concerns. The bottom line that I want to deliver directly to potential hosts of these assets is: insist on a rehabilitation bond; get independent legal advice, and that doesn't mean speaking to the developer's lawyer; do your homework; and demand guarantees around soil, water and livestock protection. This is your asset, and you must take action to protect it. Question agreed to.”
“The problem is the high-voltage transmission line doesn't exist. It would require a new 300-kilometre double-circuit 275 kV line from Mount Gambier to Tailem Bend, effectively. This proposal is south-east stage 2. ElectraNet previously built stage 1, Tungkillo to Tailem Bend, at a cost of $1.45 billion. That means this project would run to $5 billion to $6 billion. So, if constituents are wondering, the power bills are going up because these are the kinds of projects that have to be paid for. I'm concerned, in particular, that there's no rehabilitation bond required in these projects, unlike mining and gas projects. I'm concerned that the developer and, ultimately, the asset owner may not be liquid at the time that these turbines ultimately fall into disrepair.”
“This has laid bare the hypocrisy of those opposite. I look forward to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy—if he can keep the lights on during question time—advising the House of how it is that the government made that submission to the Federal Court, when its rhetoric both at question time and at every other opportunity is directly the opposite. I also rise to draw the attention of the House—courtesy of a whistleblower in my electorate—to a proposed wind farm at Keilira in the south-east of South Australia and to highlight what I think are some true costs. The proposal would see 80 to 100 turbines of between five and seven megawatts rolled out across an 18,000-hectare patch—landholders have been contacted—and it would involve not only the turbines but also a high-voltage transmission line.”
“… Australia's targets alone are unlikely to have any impact on climate change or the risks posed by its impacts. Well, well, well. On the one hand we have a government that at question time and at every opportunity tells us that, if we don't pursue these unrealistic and unachievable carbon emissions reduction targets, then effectively we will be facing bushfires, cyclones and all manner of climate risks. But on the other hand, quietly, away in the Federal Court, instructions are provided to counsel to make the very opposite submissions. I repeat: The Commonwealth, on the other hand, submitted— in a court no less, the Federal Court of Australia— that it had no control over the risk of harm to Torres Strait Islanders … This is a government that believes deeply in the maxim of 'do as we say, not as we do'.”
“I wish to draw the House's attention to a Federal Court judgement. It was a judgement of Justice Wigney, delivered on 15 July of this year, in the case of Pabai Pabai & Anor v the Commonwealth of Australia. It's significant for a reason that I'll make clear. The case involved a group of Torres Strait Islanders who argued that the Commonwealth had been negligent in not protecting them from climate change. Justice Wigney, helpfully, summarised the government's defence in this case—the defence, by the way, that was authorised by this government via this government's Attorney-General. Justice Wigney said: The Commonwealth, on the other hand, submitted that it had no control over the risk of harm to Torres Strait Islanders from the impacts of climate change. … It is not a problem over which Australia alone has any, or any significant control.”
“Southend's coastline is one of the Limestone Coast's great natural assets, and with timely assistance we can ensure it remains intact for generations to come. This is not just a local issue; it's a clear opportunity for the federal government to support a community taking responsible, forward-looking steps to protect itself. I urge my colleagues across the aisle to stand with their fellow Australians at Southend and provide the support they deserve and, in fact, need.”
“Furthermore, South Australia's Department for Environment and Water has recognised the urgency through the Coast Protection Board's grant program. Wattle Range Council applied for funds to address erosion, flooding, sand drift and other coastal risks. They received $32,000 from the state government for detailed design work at Southend, but this is only a small fraction of what is required to actually undertake the works. It's vital we invest more federally in this region. Failing to act now will result in greater damage to public infrastructure, community assets and local businesses. I call on the relevant minister to urgently review the circumstances surrounding this unsuccessful application and work directly with the Wattle Range Council and the Southend community to identify an immediate pathway.”
“Wattle Range Council rightfully sought $1.8 million from the federal government through the Disaster Ready Fund to implement key erosion mitigation works. Their vision included not just short-term sand replenishment but durable infrastructure to secure the beach, defend assets and preserve the natural beauty that underpins the region's identity and economy. Yet their application was rejected. That decision requires scrutiny because responsible early investment now will prevent far greater loss in the years ahead. This not an isolated incident. A number of regional communities across my electorate face similar pressures. Flinders University research warns that the data is still limited, but what they measure already shows a worrying trend of repeated storm events preventing natural recovery and leaving dunes permanently eroded.”