Lisa Chesters
Bendigo · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“As I said, they are unique and quite often can fall through the cracks of the very large organisation that is known as the CFA, but in my meeting with them I was impressed by their dedication to what they do. They get together. They train.”
“I'd also like to pay tribute and honour to the late Don Drummond. Don and I first met many, many years ago, before I was the federal member for Bendigo, back when Woodend was in the Bendigo electorate. Don passed away recently. Even though Woodend hasn't been in Bendigo for a long time, he had kept in touch.”
“I rise to give a special shout-out to Oscar 1 CFA. The Oscar 1 CFA is quite a unique CFA volunteer unit in Bendigo. Its focus is on mine rescue. Like many old mining regions, Bendigo is littered with empty mine shafts. When people start to renovate, one may open up out in the Whipstick Forest or many of our other forests.”
“Before it was a thing in Labor, he always started branch meetings with a welcome to country and a value statement—the commitment to the burning light, as he said. Someone of great intellect and always a great ear, he was someone who was a true believer. Vale, Don. You will be missed.”
“On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's R eport 233 : agreement on the social security between Australia and the Oriental Public of Uruguay . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.”
“And while we'd all been to the War Memorial prior to that particular event, during that visit we heard why they wanted to build purpose built galleries. They wanted to recognise the contribution of our peacekeepers, to help tell the story of our soldiers and our ADF personnel who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.”
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“It meant that, for the towers at the end, like tower No. 10, the coverage was incredibly low. Even though they finally did get access to the NBN via the fixed wireless, the signal was so low that it was almost not worth it. It took a Labor government's election. In the last term, when Minister Rowlands was the minister for communication, she basically reviewed all of the fixed wireless towers and turned them up, upping what could be transmitted from those towers, allowing more people to be able to access the spectrum that they needed. It's another demonstration of how those opposite didn't really understand what was going on in the regions.”
“That particular tower in Ladys Pass, near Mount Camel, was actually going to be the relay tower for four others. This meant that those other four towers, which were built in the north part of my electorate, around Greater Bendigo, weren't switched on. For the longest period, those residents and businesses in that outer part had people willing to sell them access to the NBN. They had people willing to sell them access to data plans, and they were signing up to them, but, when the technician would come out to connect them, they couldn't get connected. They couldn't work out why. After question after question, even in this place, after email, after protests and after petitions, we finally found out that it was because the relay tower had not been built. In the end, the solution after many years was to connect them to the south.”
“I talk about data because I want to talk about the NBN rollout and how disappointed we in our part of the world were when those opposite took over and formed government and by the way in which they blew up our plan—they literally destroyed our plan—with the NBN rollout. We had a series of mobile phone fixed wireless towers being built in our part of the world. Bendigo is a unique regional centre. Whilst in the town there is fibre to the premises or fibre to the node, now fibre to the kerb, our town and our smaller towns and Greater Bendigo itself has a large fixed wireless footprint. One of the towers within that plan wasn't built. It was knocked back for planning reasons. That tower went into the too-hard basket when those opposite were in government.”
“The proposal that is before us is a critical part of our government's comprehensive work to make sure we reduce the digital divide that exists in our country. It's critical to improving productivity. It's critical to supporting economic growth. But it's making sure that we support people when they need it. It's making sure that people can access support services in case of an emergency or are able to get the information that they need. Once this is successfully introduced, it will also allow us to continue to build on bridging the gap when it comes to other needs—for example, data.”
“The timing, whilst challenging, will create a clear signal to the markets of the importance of making sure that people can have access, and equitable access, to outdoor mobile phone coverage in areas in our regions. We aren't sitting around and waiting for the issue to fix itself. We're not waiting for the market. Our government is acting and sending a clear message to the industry: let's work together to solve this one. Far too often we've heard excuses. Now we're actually making change. That is why this bill should be supported by all in this place and in the other place. It is creating a baseline, an opportunity for all of us to have access to the very basics of mobile phone text and voice.”
“However, it is in our nation's interest that all of these users and anybody visiting these areas can access their mobile phones, and that's where we step in. This is what is different about this bill: for the first time in our country's history, we are drawing a line and saying that everybody should have access. I've heard from people who live in outer metro areas where this is a challenge. Welcome to our world. It's been a challenge for us for a long time, so it is welcome to see more and more people realising the opportunity that comes with this bill. The changes in technology are going to be what makes this bill become a reality. The ability to use new technology as it develops to help people access the very basics will help change things here in Australia.”
“This legislation brings mobile services into the longstanding universal services regime, which we've had in this country for other telecommunications services—landline and Australia Post, just to name a few—which previously only covered copper based voice services: the landline. By doing so, we are creating a framework that can protect consumers and ensure mobile services if the industry does not deliver in the national interest. That is the difference between us and those opposites. We openly acknowledge to industry, particularly to these privately listed companies, that we get that your shareholders may not want to build a tower in towns like Metcalfe and Axe Creek. We get that. There's no money to be made there. There are literally not enough service providers.”
“In Metcalfe, sometimes they feel like they're stuck in another era where they literally still have a phone tree that they activate on their catastrophic fire days or on days where they're worried, where they're phoning people on the landline to say, 'You have to get out now,' because they cannot rely upon text messages and mobile phones. They simply don't have the coverage. The hope for them in this bill, by establishing this baseline, is that they will be able to join the rest of us when we have those challenging days and that they'll be able to receive the same notifications as others.”
“Instead, we're going to start with a baseline where we say to all Australians, 'If you can see the sky, you will have access to baseline mobile and tech services.' In some of our regions, that is a great foundation and starting point. I think about all of our CFAs in the towns that I've listed, and it's often the No. 1 issue that CFA volunteer services raise with me, or it's a very close second. It's what the SES raise with me—the ability to get to accident sites quicker and sooner because somebody's been able to have access, the ability to communicate with each other, helping people to have access and communicate through.”
“The telco had to say, yes, they'd invest in the project. Federal government would put some money in. Quite often the state would put some money in. You might also get industry putting money in. It was clunky. It didn't actually deliver the broad-span coverage that this bill is trying to do. The fact is that we're trying to draw a line and say that we're not going to leave it up to the market and clunky grants based systems or point systems. We're going to start with a baseline of having a universal obligation to mobile phone coverage. That gives us hope in the regions that we are moving forward. We're not leaving it up to the market. We're not leaving it up to a clunky, subsidised, weird point system like we saw from those opposite.”
“This is a regular occurrence for people in regional centres, so the ability to have a universal obligation, a guarantee that people can do the basics—phone calls and texts—is a game changer for regional Australia. What we saw from those opposite when they were in government was a very clunky black spots program, which was aimed to help expand the coverage for mobile phones and connectivity in the regions. What I ended up getting in my electorate was roughly one tower per election cycle, and quite often it was in an area which didn't improve coverage. We know that because that's what the Auditor-General told us, but that's also what locals told us. It relied upon nomination from local MPs. It was a points based system. The MP could put forward a project. Local council could put forward a project.”
“In this debate, we've heard about the importance of this during natural disasters and when somebody has an accident on a farm or are caught on a road—the ability to connect when required. And it is very true that we need that basic function in an emergency. Far too often, I've been talking to colleagues—safely, of course—on my mobile phone, and I'll warn them: 'Hold on. I'm getting to a black spot. I'll call you back.' The phone drops out on sections of the Calder and the Midland Highway. It is a common occurrence. All locals know those black spots. You make the call before you get to the black spot. You make the call after you've passed through the black spot, or you simply wait until you're home.”
“It's about making sure that for areas where we haven't had the investment from industry and government to co-invest in building the technology, where it hasn't been feasible, we will find another way and use other technologies to make sure that all Australians, if they can see the sky, will have access to basic telecommunications. For many in the cities and even in some regional centres, this is a problem of the past. It is not something that they have experienced. You may argue that that's competition and that's just the way the market works, but that's the very problem. When we leave all of our challenges up to the market, regional areas like my own miss out. We miss out on the basics, on the fundamentals—the ability to make phone calls and to send text messages when we're needed.”
“It has taken our government to put forward for the first time a universal obligation for mobile phone coverage. You would think from the complaints from those opposite that it was their idea and they were waiting for us to implement it, but it's not. It is our idea. We are drawing a baseline and saying to every Australian that, if you can see the sky, your mobile phone will be able to do the basic functions. That is what we're talking about here. We are not pretending that this will give every Australian access to the download and upload speeds. That's separate legislation and a separate program. What we're saying in the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 is that this reform is not about replacing traditional mobile phone coverage. It's about expanding access.”
“Metcalfe, Axe Creek, Faraday, Walmer, Eppalock, Lockwood, Maiden Gully, Marong, Axedale, Mosquito Creek and Raywood are just a number of the communities that have contacted me since I was elected as a federal member for Bendigo, back in 2013, complaining about basic mobile phone coverage—the ability to make phone calls or text—simply disappearing. They have coverage one minute and not the next. There are a variety of excuses that they've been given over the years to explain why they've lost their coverage: more people moving into an area, like Maiden Gully, the weather on days and the topography—the challenges that you have when you live at the edge of these coverage maps. But what we had from those opposite when they were in government was nothing but excuses.”
“The Bendigo Sports Star of the Year for 2025 was Dyson Daniels, a Bendigo local and a name that many of us in this place would know because of his achievements on the international scene. We know him in this place for his work in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks and as an Olympian, but Dyson was first and foremost a basketballer locally. I can recall meeting him at the Local Sporting Champions event in my electorate. Dyson was a worthy winner and presented, by video, a message to local kids, including the local kids of his former primary school, Camp Hill Primary School.”
“I rise to share with the House the news that the Bendigo Sports Star Awards have achieved another milestone. On Friday, it was their 60th anniversary. The Bendigo Sports Star Awards are the longest continuing regional sports awards of their kind and date back to March 1965. Locals share with me stories of how they used to gather around and watch the live broadcast of the event for many years. The first ever recipient was Eaglehawk cyclist Frank McCaig, a name which is synonymous with local cycling in my community. Each month, the panel selects a sports star, and those athletes are then considered for the main award, the Bendigo Sports Star of the Year, for which people gather on this night.”
“My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. How is the Albanese Labor government ensuring our farmers and producers benefit from more trade and from rebuilding Australia's standing in the world? Are there any threats to this trade?”
“To the frustration of the club, particularly the junior cricket players, it had basically been relegated to a car park. But, after a commitment that I made in 2022, just under $500,000 and the work of the local government, that ground is now up to playing standards. It was wonderful to see the father-son team playing at their home ground, not being allocated to another ground somewhere else in greater Bendigo. Women and juniors are also playing on the oval. The oval will also be ready for the football season that is coming up soon. This is just one way in which our government is working to hear the local needs of the community, helping to deliver the sporting infrastructure that we need to make sure young players, female players and all players can play their way in their community and not have to travel great distances for home games.”
“In Eaglehawk I visited David and the team at the EUFS pharmacy, a critical pharmacy that serves so many people in the local community. I met with Sanjay at TerryWhite Chemmart White Hills and Dan from the pharmacy in Flora Hill. All of them told a similar story. They strongly support our government's recent changes to the PBS co-payment of $25 from 1 January. They see it as a meaningful step to ease the cost burden on hardworking Australians with cost-of-living pressures. They also mean that their pharmacists won't have those silly or tough conversations about what you can and can't afford when people present their scripts. I stand here today proud to say that cricket is now being played on the Huntly North Cricket Club's second oval. It was a disused oval not up to playing standards for many years.”
“It's been over one month since Labor's cheaper medicines became even cheaper, with us capping the most you'll pay for medicines on the PBS at $25. Millions of Australians are now paying less for medication that they rely upon every day, including in my electorate of Bendigo. For concession card holders, it's just $7.70, with us freezing the price of medicines on the PBS for concession card holders for five years. The last time that PBS medicine cost no more than $25 was 2004. That's more than 20 years ago. This is one of the key measures that our government has introduced to help people with cost-of-living pressures. I've had the opportunity, since the announcement of this policy, to meet with local pharmacies to discuss how this will make a difference to the patients and to their customers that they see each and every day.”
“All week, Charlie and his sister, Daisy, had been discussing what could be under the grey tarp on the way to school and kinder. When the big moment happened, Charlie's eyes lit up and he said, 'Wow, it's a cricket player.' When I asked him why he thought it was a cricket player, he rolled his eyes in that dramatic four-year-old style and said, 'Oh, mummy. They have a cricket bat.' Barbara Rae and her contribution to women's sport is forever immortalised in Bendigo and will be an ongoing inspiration to children for generations. (Time expired)”
“Last Friday in Bendigo, a new statue was unveiled, of Barbara Rae, honouring our town as the home of the first women's cricket match to be held in Australia and the contribution that Barbara Rae made. In 1874, women still needed to seek permission to play sport publicly, and local schoolteacher Barbara Rae organised a fundraiser cricket match to be played at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo between the red team and the blue team—all women. At 19, she recruited two teams and hosted training sessions before the match. Lis Johnson, a local artist, was commissioned to complete the piece, and she has done a tremendous job in capturing the upbeat spirit of Barbara and this moment of Australian sporting history. I was privileged to be able to take my son, Charlie, to the unveiling ceremony on Friday.”
“I'll just quickly outline some of the funding and support that has flowed into Victoria as a result of the Commonwealth state disaster recovery funding arrangements: over $15 million towards establishing community recovery offices and recovery hubs, $16 million in financial assistance for prolonged power outages, $40 million for primary producer grants, $10 million for concessional loans, $11 million for council support, $122 million for a state coordinated clean-up program, $1.7 million for case support work for business, $500,000 for the reconstruction of the Harcourt cool stores in my electorate—and the list goes on. The Albanese government will continue to stand with communities through this recovery, and it's a reminder every summer that another one of us will stand in this place to move a similar motion.”
“People can remember the names of the trucks that rolled in to help them to defend their homes, and people listened to their CFA when they said, 'We've got this; it's time for you to go.' Now that the fire has passed and people are starting to recover, the Albanese and Allan governments are there with support, and the support will continue.”
“In my own electorate, the town that was devastated that we've heard most about was Harcourt, impacted by the Ravenswood South and Harcourt fire. The fire started quickly and, before we knew it, it was in the town of Harcourt, a small town of about a thousand people. It jumped the Calder within half an hour. As a legacy of Black Saturday, not just the CFA but all the other emergency services were deployed quickly and got there as quickly as they could. The coordination efforts on the day and after need to be recognised. It was the CFA, the SES, VicPol, Forest Fire Management Victoria and also the FRV. How they worked together through the incident control centre needs to be acknowledged. The stories from the day are harrowing not only in the way in which some people just got out but in how people worked together.”
“As other journalists and writers and speakers have commented, their legacy does lie in how many lives we saved this 9 January. In Victoria, 9 January was the first day since Black Saturday that a catastrophic fire day had been declared for Victoria. The conditions were the same. I am pleased to stand here and say that people in my electorate, like across Victoria, heard the message and got out. Kinders were closed. Council services were suspended. People stayed at home as directed. People did what was required. Some people grabbed their go box, ready to go just in case. As I stand here today, even when we did everything right, we still lost a significant number of homes, land and livestock in the state of Victoria. Over 400 homes and countless properties were lost—small businesses, livestock. The damage was immense.”
“I rise today like many in this place to express condolences to the Australians who have lost their lives during this period and to offer sympathy to Australians who've lost property or livestock as a result of these events. I'd also like to thank the emergency services personnel and the first responders for their work in what they've done to help keep Australians safe. It is very fitting, perhaps, that this motion comes after the previous motion, acknowledging the loss and the devastation of the Black Saturday event that devastated our home state of Victoria. I'd like to acknowledge the many speakers that spoke on that motion and the stories that they shared with this chamber. Their legacy was learnt. Their loss was not in vain. Victoria, like all other states, has changed how it responds to days of catastrophic fire.”
“I move: That this House: (1) notes the significant natural disasters that have taken place during the summer of 2025-26, including major flooding in Queensland and fires across Victoria; (2) expresses its condolences to the Australians who have lost their lives during these events; (3) offers its sympathy to Australians who have lost property or livestock as a result of these events; and (4) thanks emergency service personnel and first responders for their work in keeping Australians safe. The motion that is before us acknowledges that it's been another tough summer for the Australian people. Whether it be major flooding in Queensland's north or bushfires that have devastated parts of Victoria, it has been another summer of challenges.”
“My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How are the Albanese Labor government's investments in 1800MEDICARE and Medicare urgent care clinics taking the pressure off emergency departments and ensuring Australians get the healthcare advice they need after a decade of cuts and neglect?”
“As we speak, players are staging training sessions outside AFL House in the hope of getting the attention of the AFL CEO. To date, they have not been successful. We are still unsure why they've been refused and are not allowed to play. They don't want special treatment. They just want to be treated as equals and play the game they love, like so many other women in our region. There are leagues ready to take the 'Wedgies' for the 2026 season, yet they are still being refused and overruled by the AFL. They've done the work. They've built the club. They are ground led. Let them play. I call upon the AFL to let them play. Empower more women in our region to play their way. If we genuinely want to see participation in grassroots women's sport grow, then let the Kyneton Women's Football Club team play.”
“There are several that they could play in in central Victoria, but so far the AFL has said no. The club has been knocked back from competing with any affiliated leagues in the region and is unable to appeal the decision, which we all find quite shocking. In the Central Victoria Football League there are already two standalone women's football clubs, the Bendigo Thunder and the Mount Alexander Falcons, so it is not unusual for women to come together to organise their own club. If we want to encourage women to play, it should be on their own terms. We already have a strong track record in central Victoria of having standalone women's clubs that are financially sound and able to field teams. It is staggering that the AFL are refusing to hear from the club and allow them to play.”
“I rise to support the Kyneton Women's Football Club and call on the AFL to let them play. The Kyneton women's football team broke away from the Kyneton Tigers at the start of 2025. They formed a standalone club but were knocked back by several leagues and weren't able to play. Last year, the Kyneton women's football team merged with Gisborne for the 2025 season, but it was only a short-term decision. What they really want to do is play on their own. The club is player led. They've formed a strong governance support structure. They've organised grants and have facility access. The local council have said that, if they have a league, they will accept them; they will make playing grounds available. They are organised. The Kyneton Wedge-Tailed Eagles are campaigning to get into a league—any league.”
“From the $1,000 payments that people have accessed through Services Australia to $500,000 to kickstart the redevelopment of the cool stores, the disaster allowance and so much more, Harcourt will rise again. They're planning their fundraisers, they're planning their recovery and we will stand with them every step of the way.”
“Recovery has begun, and I need to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the local Harcourt Progress Association and the way in which they have rallied to really help coordinate the recovery efforts on the ground—people who have lost their own homes and businesses helping others. I must acknowledge the efforts of Michael Henry. He is the son of Drew Henry, Henry of Harcourt, who all of us know so well—one of the original cideries in the area. They lost their business, their house and their orchards, and it will take decades to replace the variety of trees. Yet there was Michael, in the days after, helping others—an inspiration for all of us. The government response has been strong, state and federal working together to fund the recovery that's needed.”
“The fire came so close, and he can remember the Redesdale truck rocking up and saying, 'Okay, Buzz, it's our turn now.' Everybody can remember the trucks that came to support them, whether it be Tony the local councillor remembering the Golden Square truck roll in or the people who were trying desperately to dampen down their roofs remembering the Kyneton truck arriving and so many other trucks from the region. The CFA got there as quick as they could and helped so many save their homes. Those scars are obvious when you drive through the town today. The fact that they saved so many homes needs to be remembered and acknowledged in this place. This fire could have been so much worse, but so many people got out, and the CFA, with the efforts of the local forest teams and the support that they had from the air, were able to save so many.”
“Roads were closed, and many were not opened for at least 10 days. But what I will remember the most are the stories in the town hall meetings the days after and in the evacuation centres and in the recovery hubs—the stories of the amazing bravery of the CFA who were deployed to go fight the fire and who saved so many assets in the town, and the stories of Buzz, a local who, with a pair of thongs, went up to the school and just started batting out the embers. He helped to save the school and helped to save the kinder.”
“On its path, it burnt over 50 homes and other buildings, including the cold stores, which housed not only the apples and pears that were harvested locally but also many types of local produce—our wine in the area, our cider and our craft beers. The cool stores had become home to so many products on their way to their destination at market. The communications tower at Mount Alexander was destroyed, so the signal for free-to-air TV services in the region were lost. Most of those have been restored, but work is still ongoing to restore the others. We lost the ABC emergency radio for a period, and I want to acknowledge Phoenix FM, who gave over their frequency to the ABC so that emergency broadcasts could continue. Many followed the advice to evacuate. It was a catastrophic fire day. We knew it was going to be tough if a fire broke out.”
“On 9 January, a Friday, a grassfire started on Fogarty's Gap Road in Ravenswood South in the electorate of Bendigo. It burnt out of control for approximately a week—a fast-moving grassfire. It could have gone north. It could have gone west. It could have devastated Bendigo. It could have devastated Maldon or Castlemaine. Instead, it chose Harcourt. It devastated the town of Harcourt, dear to my heart and to those of many who live in the area. The town has about a thousand people. It is home to our apples and cider making for Victoria. It's a place of a lot of heart and community resilience, and it's being put to the test as we speak, in this difficult time. The fire burnt over 4,000 hectares, and it ended up burning out of control for a week in the state forest of Mount Alexander.”
“My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management. What support measures have been activated for communities in Victoria hit by recent bushfires, and what is the outlook for the rest of the high-risk-weather season?”
“My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management. How is the Albanese Labor government supporting communities in my state of Victoria and in Queensland that have been affected by recent natural disasters?”
“I acknowledge that there are some farmers who have used guns responsibly, safely and ethically to put down their much-loved livestock. Not all of them did; some of them worked with Agriculture Victoria to euthanise in other ways. This was not what occurred in Bondi. As we saw in the Bondi attack, the terrorists had the racial ideology but also the means to conduct this awful crime. We have to prevent the ready access to guns by people who do not need them and who will inflict violence with them. (Time expired)”
“Following the devastating impact of the Bondi terrorist attack in Sydney, our government is rightfully reviewing the gun laws in Australia, as Australians demand. Based upon the circumstances around the attack, the government—not on its own but through National Cabinet—is progressing reforms to ensure and improve public safety. Regional Australians, by and large, are responsible gun owners. Their use of firearms is legitimate and professional. From recreational hunting and pest management to the unfortunate occasions where livestock or wildlife need to be put down, they are responsible. I want to acknowledge the local people in my electorate who have reached out to me, who do want to see safety and who want to have a dialogue on this. An example is the bushfires that occurred in the last fortnight.”
“A report conducted by the Australia Institute, assisted by Gun Control Australia and the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, released this time last year, stated: The overwhelming majority of Australians expect that our gun laws strictly control the licensing and ownership of firearms and expect their governments to ensure our firearm laws and regulations are responsible, safe and strong, putting community safety before the needs of those people wanting firearms. It went on to say: The gun reforms introduced after Port Arthur have served Australia well. It is deeply concerning to see the firearm industry exerting influence on policy and marketing, resulting in over 4 million firearms now in circulation … They're circulating legally in our community.”
“That's a lot of guns legally in our community. On average, a firearm licence holder owns more than four guns, with two individuals in the suburbs of Sydney owning over 300 firearms. Firearms are not confined to rural areas, like some of those opposite might try to suggest. A third of the guns legally owned in New South Wales are located in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. These are the facts. This is what we must confront as a parliament and as a society. This isn't new.”
“But I stand here today in this place to speak because there are over four million licensed guns in Australia. That was a figure that shocked me post the tragedy in Bondi. The reality hit—just like after Port Arthur, when I was a teenager. Four million guns are circulating legally in our community. I've had conversations with people in my electorate: 'My brother has guns. He lives with my mother. He's not working.' 'How many guns?' 'Four or five.' 'Well, is it four or is it five?' This is just around the corner from where I live. It's a hidden reality that a lot of us don't know. There is at least one gun for every seven Australians. That's a lot of guns. To put it another way, that's more than one gun for every person living in Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory, combined.”
“I rise to speak today to this bill, the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026, as a mum of young children and as someone who can recall the Port Arthur tragedy in 1996 as a teenager and the way in which the country rose up. We saw leadership in this place, working together to get guns off our streets. I also rise as a regional member, a regional MP and a member of parliament. My electorate is 10 minutes from the border of New South Wales, runs through the centre of Victoria and ends an hour north of Melbourne. We are a regional electorate. We have suburbs, we have farms, we have rural communities, and we at the moment are in a challenging time, recovering from the bushfires that devastated the tiny town of Harcourt not more than a fortnight ago.”
“Compassion, respect and humanity unite us. On that night, my children and I joined thousands of other Australians to light a candle, place it in our window and pause for a moment of reflection. My son, Charlie, had questions—some that I could not answer, so we asked a family friend that could. The next night he asked if we could light another candle, because that's what young children do to work things out and to understand. When Charlie returned to kinder, there were no guards. He got to run in happily, smile and thumbs up. That should be the experience of every child returning to kinder, and, until all children at schools and kinders have that opportunity, this place still has work to do. On behalf of the constituents of my electorate, I wish to say to those affected: you are not alone.”
“It was a targeted antisemitic attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of … a joyous celebration of faith. It was an act of evil. Our thoughts are with every person affected, in particular the loved ones of those who died and those injured. We pay tribute to the bravery of those who responded, including police, paramedics and civilians. An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian. Together we all need to stand together against this hatred and division. We need to be one another's light in this difficult time. Leaders of community and faith groups across Australia have condemned this horrific violence and have called for Australians to stand together in solidarity at this time of trauma and grief. Like many of us, I believe in Bendigo, and we stand together today to demonstrate hate will not divide us.”
“As their elected representative, like all elected representatives in this place, this motion is an opportunity today to acknowledge the deep pain, despair and heartbreak that this event has caused Jewish Australians. On Sunday 21 December, the national day of reflection, the Bendigo Interfaith Council organised an interfaith gathering at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. It was to be in their peace park. The focus was on togetherness and mutual understanding. I prepared a statement for the event because I could not attend: Today, the Bendigo interfaith community will be gathering at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. The focus is togetherness and mutual understanding. The devastating terrorist attack at Bondi Beach is shocking and distressing.”