Tim Watts
Gellibrand · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Consider all of this growth that we've experienced: this happened after the previous government did nothing on EVs and left Australia's renewable energy policy empty, on a dead battery. Since 2022, the Albanese government has not only caught up, but has completely recharged renewable energy policy in Australia.”
“In my community, 1,600 households have already made the switch using the subsidy. Many of these households have slashed up to 90 per cent off their energy bills, and we've already had over 20,000 solar panel installations in my electorate, in Melbourne's west.”
“In this year's budget, we announced that we are supporting the single biggest boost to Australia's main energy grid, with new renewable energy projects, and by 2030 these projects will supply enough electricity for four million Australian households. We've also been delivering the Albanese government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program.”
“Four years later, our reforms mean that it's now cheaper than ever to make the switch to electric, and we're seeing the consequences of our reforms. When we came into office, Australians bought an electric vehicle once every 45 minutes; now it's once every two minutes.”
“On top of that, we've discounted EVs further by making them fully exempt from import tax. Our government's new vehicle efficiency standard incentivises car companies to supply more efficient vehicles, and this includes hybrid, plug-in hybrid and more-efficient petrol and diesel vehicles.”
“EV models available for under $40,000 have grown from just two in 2022 to more than 10 today. It's no wonder there's been this 2,482 per cent growth in EVs in my electorate in Melbourne's west—in an outer suburb in Melbourne's west—and it'll only go up from here.”
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“EV models available for under $40,000 have grown from just two in 2022 to more than 10 today. It's no wonder there's been this 2,482 per cent growth in EVs in my electorate in Melbourne's west—in an outer suburb in Melbourne's west—and it'll only go up from here. It's all part of our government's plan to address the immediate cost-of-living pressures our community is facing, at the same time as we deliver support for Australian families. Unlike the coalition, the Australian people know that what's good for the planet can be good for your pocket too. I'm proud of a government that's embraced Australia's clean energy advantage. I'm delighted to see Point Cook taking up EVs faster than just about anywhere in the country. (Time expired)”
“Consider all of this growth that we've experienced: this happened after the previous government did nothing on EVs and left Australia's renewable energy policy empty, on a dead battery. Since 2022, the Albanese government has not only caught up, but has completely recharged renewable energy policy in Australia. It's quite extraordinary sometimes to listen to those opposite talk about EV policy. They seem to really hate Australians getting a bargain and reducing their costs, if it comes through an electric vehicle. It really is extraordinary to listen to. But, if you vote against these EV discounts, you're voting against people in my community saving money. You're voting against helping them in this cost-of-living crisis. For those in my community, those reforms mean cheaper cars and more off your energy bill.”
“Four years later, our reforms mean that it's now cheaper than ever to make the switch to electric, and we're seeing the consequences of our reforms. When we came into office, Australians bought an electric vehicle once every 45 minutes; now it's once every two minutes. The share of new vehicles sold which are electric or plug-in hybrid has jump started, from under two per cent in April 2022 to 27.5 per cent in April 2026. In that four-year window, Australians went from buying 29 EVs every day to buying 515. Put simply, the total number of EV models available in Australia has nearly tripled in that period of time. My community has done even better in those four years. We've experienced 453 per cent growth in hybrids and 2,482 per cent growth in EVs.”
“On top of that, we've discounted EVs further by making them fully exempt from import tax. Our government's new vehicle efficiency standard incentivises car companies to supply more efficient vehicles, and this includes hybrid, plug-in hybrid and more-efficient petrol and diesel vehicles. Last month, the sales figures showed that 30 per cent of cars sold in May were electric or plug-in hybrid. More Australians bought EVs in the last quarter than in any previous quarter. Under the coalition government, Australia was missing out on access to these choices, putting us in the same basket as Russia for fuel efficiency standards. Under the last government, we were the dumping ground for expensive cars that the rest of the world just didn't want.”
“In my community, 1,600 households have already made the switch using the subsidy. Many of these households have slashed up to 90 per cent off their energy bills, and we've already had over 20,000 solar panel installations in my electorate, in Melbourne's west. Australians want cheaper, cleaner energy, and we're taking up renewables faster than anywhere else in the world is. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the adoption of electric vehicles. We have supported Australians into cheaper-to-run cars through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Act and the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act. The electric car discount is a full exemption from FBT for EVs under $75,000, pushing car companies to offer more affordable choices. Almost 100,000 vehicles have already benefited from an FBT tax exemption.”
“In this year's budget, we announced that we are supporting the single biggest boost to Australia's main energy grid, with new renewable energy projects, and by 2030 these projects will supply enough electricity for four million Australian households. We've also been delivering the Albanese government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Through this program, Australian households, businesses and community organisations can get a discount of around 30 per cent on the upfront cost of installing a range of small-scale battery systems. Under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, more than 400,000 households have installed a cheaper home battery. Around half of them have also installed new or upgraded their solar systems at the same time, and they can recharge an EV with their solar systems.”
“Point Cook, in my electorate, is known for a few things. It's Australia's biggest suburb and Australia's most multicultural suburb. It's the No. 1 postcode in Australia for internet shopping, and, of any suburb in Australia, it has the second-highest uptake of the Albanese government's EV discount. Residents of Point Cook know a bargain when they see it. EV discounts are one of the myriad of ways that this government is building a cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy system in Australia. Let's look at the progress. Over the past year, Australia's emissions have fallen by 9.7 million tonnes. The decline has been driven by more renewable energy, cleaner cars and practical emissions reduction.”
“Shortly, the House Standing Committee on Education, which I chair, will release its report into building Asia capability in Australia, and it will make further recommendations on how to build a pipeline of future Asia-capable Australians to chart our way forward.”
“We visited Solo, a political and cultural hub in central Java and the home of President Jokowi and the current vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, both former mayors. We engaged with young political leaders, including the current mayor, Respati Ardi; and the 10th Prince of the Mangkunwgaran royal house. In Jakarta, we met with members of parliament, including the Chair of Indonesia's Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ibu Sara. It's an experience that more MPs in this building need and more Australian leaders need. The Australia-Indonesia leadership dialogue will help us better understand Indonesia.”
“Rod Brazier immersed himself in the local culture in Makassar in South Sulawesi on a university exchange in 1990. These opportunities are essential for building intrinsic interest and a deep passion for Indonesia, for its people, for its culture and for its language. To continue to be effective in our region, we need more people like Ambassador Brazier and former ambassador Williams. We know that we need to have deep connections at a leadership level too, and that's why we've committed $3.4 million to establish an annual Australia-Indonesia leadership dialogue. Last month, I visited Indonesia as Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Indonesia along with Vice Chair Senator Richard Colbeck.”
“New funding to support Indonesian study and engagement in the federal budget is another significant step. The $11.4 million announced in the budget is a further targeted strategic investment for Indonesian language study. Funding will go towards increasing Indonesian language and country expertise, including through cultural exchange. A cultural exchange early in a student's life plays an essential role in fostering the Indonesian experts of the future. Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, Rod Brazier; and former ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams are two key examples of this. Williams lived in Jakarta with a local Indonesian family for a year as a high-school student in 1981. She was our first ambassador who spoke Bahasa Indonesia.”
“Today, only 13 of our universities offer Bahasa Indonesia, almost half the number of institutions that offered it in 1992. Without intervention, the teaching of Bahasa Indonesia in Australia will be extinct in the next term of parliament. This government has already started to take action to turn around this trajectory through our reforms to the New Colombo Plan. In 2025, NCP reforms placed greater emphasis on long-term, immersive experiences and study of priority Asian languages like Bahasa Indonesia. As a result, this year, there are a record 29 long-term NCP scholars heading to Indonesia, an over 80 per cent increase from 2025. Under the new semester program, there were 170 grants awarded to universities to support students going to study in Indonesia for a full semester.”
“In his 2020 address to the Australian parliament, President Jokowi commended Australian students for learning Bahasa Indonesia. He noted that our people-to-people links were a strategic asset and that investing in the next generation would strengthen the bilateral relationship. In 2010, then president SBY said a similar thing to our parliament when he said that he knows of 'no other Western country with more Indonesianists in your governments, universities and think tanks'. But, unfortunately, since 2010, when SBY gave that speech, there's been a 58 per cent decrease in the number of Australian year 12 students studying Bahasa Indonesia. In 2024, just 486 Australian year 12 students across the whole country studied Indonesian.”
“While it's clear that there's no partner more important to Australia than Indonesia, it's also clear that there's no partner more important for Australia to understand than Indonesia. And that's why, in this year's budget, the Albanese Labor government has committed $33.2 million to support the implementation of the Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security. It includes $11.4 million to boost Indonesian language education and $3.4 million to establish an Australia-Indonesia leadership dialogue. Language is essential for building a relationship underpinned by trust and understanding between Australia and Indonesia. It's a pathway for deeper relationships across all sectors—government, business and civil society—for the benefit of both countries.”
“There is no more important partner for Australia than Indonesia, or, as former Indonesian president Jokowi told this place in 2020: Australia adalah sahabat paling dekat Indonesia. And this year's federal budget says 'Oke, gas!' or 'Let's go!' to furthering Australia's engagement with our neighbour, partner and friend Indonesia. The recently signed Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security embodies the spirit of respect and friendship that lies at the heart of our relationship between our peoples and our governments. The treaty builds on our long history of cooperation and takes our bilateral partnership to the next level. To implement this treaty, to take this next step in our relationship, we need Australians who understand Indonesia and speak its national language.”
“That brings the total we've committed to housing infrastructure to a record $6.3 billion. Change is hard in the current political and social media environment. The people who benefit from the status quo make a lot of noise. But we know, when the system's not working, it's up to governments to act, and that's exactly what we're doing.”
“We still understand, though, that the major cause of Australia's housing challenge is that for decades our country hasn't built enough homes. So we'll ensure that, if you're adding to the nation's housing stock by building a new home, you'll still be able to negatively gear it. In addition, we're continuing with the biggest, boldest, most ambitious Commonwealth housing agenda we've seen in 70 years: a $47 billion commitment to building more houses in Australia. In this year's budget, we've committed an extra $2 billion to fund enabling infrastructure for housing construction: the pipes, paths and power that communities need for more housing. Even better, we're delivering this funding in a way that incentivises state governments to fix their planning processes and accelerate construction.”
“Our tax system shouldn't crush the aspiration of first home buyers by turbocharging the buying power of investors buying their second, third, fourth or 10th home. For too long in Australia, people who earn a wage for a living, the vast majority of working Australians, have been treated more harshly by our tax system than people who can afford expensive accountants. Housing is too important to our society for the tax system to be rigged against first home buyers. So instead of sitting on our hands, we're doing something about it, just like we took action in last year's budget through our five per cent deposit policy, which has already helped over 250,000 Australians buy their first home, including more than 2,700 in our community in Melbourne's west.”
“Today, negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts give property investors an unfair advantage at auctions over people wanting to buy their first homes. We're going to change that. Plenty of Australians, particularly young Australians, feel like the system just isn't working for them at the moment—that, no matter how hard they work, the system won't let them get ahead. If people don't think the system is working for them, they'll give up on it. They'll give up on the political parties that won't fight for them, and then they'll give up on our democratic system altogether. We're seeing the consequences of this in democracies around the world. Housing is ground zero for this kind of frustration and anger in Australia. Every Australian should be able to aspire to own their own home.”
“The Albanese government's recent budget is all about making it easier for young people in Melbourne's west to buy their first home. I want young Australians in my community to know that, while making big changes sometimes triggers a lot of predictable noise from those opposite, online and in the media, we are fighting for you. In the recent federal budget, we committed to a series of tax changes that will even the playing field between first home buyers and investors at auctions across the country, tax changes that will cut income taxes for all Australian workers five times in three different ways, and tax changes that will even the playing field between people trying to buy their first home to live in and investors buying second, third, fourth, fifth or 10th home to profit from.”
“And thank God they did, because in the 1990s when Pauline Hanson first said that we should stop Asian migration she was talking about the Australians in my electorate who have arrived since then—she was talking about all of the Chinese Australians, Indian Australians, Vietnamese Australians, Bangladeshi Australians, Nepali Australians who make my community the place that it is today. Imagine if the Liberal and National parties of the 1990s made the mistake that the Liberal and National parties of today are currently making. I'm proud of my community in Melbourne's west. I'm proud of modern Australia. I'm proud to be a part of an Albanese government that represents all Australians, that brings together Australians at times like this instead of playing the politics of division.”
“She's never changed that view—20 years later, in 2016, she was again saying that we would be swamped by the Chinese. In 2017 she said: I don't change my tune … If you look back at what I said 20 years ago— in 1996— it's exactly what I'm saying now. This is the party that the Liberals and Nationals recommended that voters preference in the Farrer by-election. This is the party that the Liberal and National parties cannot govern without the support of. In the 1990s, the Liberal and National parties made a different choice. People like Peter Costello and Ron Boswell chose to confront One Nation instead of collaborating with them.”
“They make our country a better place every single day. It's who we are. This is the modern Australia that the Albanese government proudly represents in this parliament with a caucus that similarly draws on the contributions of MPs whose stories began in every corner of the globe before becoming a part of our shared story as Australians. We love modern Australia—the country that we've all built here together. The three right-wing parties in this parliament have a different view. In 1996, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said plainly that all Asian migration to Australia should be stopped. She said that Australia had been 'swamped by Asians', as though being Asian and being Australian were somehow different things. She declared that Asian people 'have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate'.”
“It didn't work. As a result, there's now no way that the Liberal and National parties can form government without One Nation. My community in Melbourne's west should know what this means for them and our country. Modern Australia is a nation where more than half of our population is born overseas or has a parent born overseas. It's the story of my community in Melbourne's west. More than two-thirds of my community are born overseas. I have a parent born overseas. Families that call my community home come from all corners of the world. Our doctors, our nurses, our researchers, our IT geeks, our aged-care workers, our entrepreneurs and business owners—they are an invaluable part of every dimension of Australian society and our economy. They are our friends and family, our fellow Australians. They contribute to Australia every day.”
“It's a budget that delivers for all Australians, confronting immediate challenges to our resilience, delivering genuine economic reforms to make Australia fairer and more productive in the future and delivering cost-of-living relief for all Australians. In contrast, the three right-wing parties of this parliament have been focused on the politics of division. The Farrer by-election revealed a number of fundamental truths about the Liberal and National parties. First, the campaign they ran in Farrer shows they have absolutely nothing to offer the Australian public on the issues that matter to them. Second, the result of this campaign showed that the Liberal and National parties are unable to beat One Nation in electorates like Farrer by imitating them. The Liberals tried to protect themselves from One Nation by preferencing them.”
“These changes will give more young Australians a fair shot at owning their own home. The budget also recognises the pressures that Australians are under now and takes real action to deliver cost-of-living relief for all Australians and even more tax relief for Australian workers. The Albanese budget does all of this with lower deficits and lower debt, and we're delivering $63.8 billion of savings to help us pay down Liberal debt and fund the services that Australians rely on. It's responsible economic management at a time of global uncertainty, taking the pressure off inflation and building our fiscal buffers.”
“This has been a defining week for Australia, one where the Australian public has been able to see clearly where the people in this parliament stand and who they are fighting for. On Tuesday night, the Albanese government delivered a budget focused on national resilience, economic reform and cost-of-living relief for Australians. The budget confronted the challenge to Australia's resilience that followed the global oil shock caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Our $14.8 billion fuel resilience package will deliver more fuel for Australians and more fuel security for our economy. The budget also delivered a series of economic reforms designed to boost productivity, intergenerational equity and access to housing. Our changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts will deliver a better tax system and a fairer housing market.”
“Just imagine what Australia would have missed out on if we had followed her advice 30 years ago. My family, my electorate and my country are in a better place for rejecting divisive, race based politics. Modern Australia is a country we've all built together and we can all be proud of.”
“We're a country that can cheer on Sam Kerr at the Asian Cup as the captain of the Matildas with Indian heritage, a country that can cheer on Jason Day, a magnificent world-class golfer with Filipino heritage, at the Masters, a country that can cheer on Saya Sakakibara and Arisa Trew, gold-medal-winning Asian Australians, at the Olympics, a country that can celebrate Rose as part of Blackpink, a country where Terry Tao can become a maths prodigy and our first Fields Medal winner, a country where Jack Zhang can found Airwallex, a company worth $12 billion and a country where Melanie Perkins can co-found Canva, a company worth $60 billion. Some things never change, though. In 1996, Pauline Hanson said, 'All Asian immigration should stop.' She said: They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.”
“We can be so proud as Australians of the journey we have taken as a nation and of the country that we have built together—a country drawing on 60,000 years of Indigenous heritage, a country leveraging the Westminster institutions of our democracy and our rule of law to change and recognise mistakes, a country where now half of us are either born overseas or have a parent born overseas, enriched by that multicultural migration.”
“We've gone from a country that passed a White Australia policy at the moment of Federation to become a modern Australia, the most successful multicultural nation on earth. Today, the parliament that first passed that Immigration Restriction Act now includes 17 members of parliament with Asian heritage, 10 from the government's side. I was so proud to see them all come together for a celebratory photo last week. Today's parliament includes eight members of parliament with Indigenous heritage, something that would have been unimaginable at the moment of Federation.”
“Saturday 21 March was the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This is a day that all Australians can be proud of. It's a day to be proud to be Australian. Australia's a country that has made terrible mistakes in its history with respect to race. Indeed, the first substantive bill passed by this parliament after Federation was the Immigration Restriction Act, better known today as the White Australia policy. But Australia's greatest strength as a country is our ability to change as a democracy, to recognise mistakes and to set a new course, and this is what Australia has done as a nation. We have recognised the mistakes and the dead end that race based politics can lead a country down, and we've corrected it.”
“We encourage all Australians in the region to monitor and subscribe to Smartraveller for advice on how to stay safe and to return home, and we'll continue to support Australians to navigate the disruption and provide consular assistance where we can.”
“Our concerns include the impacts of Israeli military action on civilians in Lebanon, especially given the large numbers of Australians in the country and the potential for further displacement of the Lebanese population. For Australians in the region, commercial flights are still the best way to leave. The Australian government is working closely with airlines across the region on commercial flight options, and since 4 March approximately 3,000 Australians have returned to Australia on 21 flights. The Australian government will continue to look at all options available, engaging partners and taking action to help Australians who want to leave the Middle East.”
“Iran's retaliatory strikes have targeted energy infrastructure and civilian areas across 12 countries in the region. We are gravely concerned at the expansion of the conflict into Lebanon. It's been heartbreaking to see the loss of life there and across the region, especially the number of children killed. I know how painful this has been to watch for so many members of the Australian community. If the conflict escalates further, it will have devastating consequences for civilians across the region. The Australian government has raised with Israel our concern about potential Israeli military action in the suburbs of southern Beirut.”
“There have been some appalling incidents targeting mosques and even iftars this year driven by Islamophobia. It's un-Australian and it needs to be called out. Every Australian Muslim, just like every other Australian, has a right to feel safe and to be safe. Every Australian politician has an obligation to ensure that their words do not incite hateful actions. In the Middle East conflict, our first priority is the safety and security of Australians in the region. Although not all want to leave, we are aware that there are still over 100,000 Australians in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the conflict in the Middle East remains volatile and dangerous. For decades, the Iranian regime has posed a threat to its own people, the region and international peace and security.”
“Ramadan is a time for reflection and for connection in our community, and there's no better place for this connection than at a local iftar in your community with friends and family. Attending iftars in recent weeks, many members of parliament in this place would have heard about the trauma of the conflict in the Middle East and how that is causing anxiety across Australia. They will also have heard about the effects of the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric from some in this place and the way that is compounding this anxiety. The reality is that the Australian Muslim community has been experiencing increased levels of Islamophobia in Australia in recent times, and the rhetoric in this place inevitably filters down into the community and into our schoolyards.”
“We all need to work together to ensure there isn't panic-buying or opportunistic buying on the spot market. That's the biggest risk to fuel security in Australia, and it's a risk that's being fuelled by the opportunistic, fantasy politics of those opposite.”
“We start from a position of national fuel security. Our petrol companies have confirmed their fuel stock continues to arrive on time and in the volumes expected. There are obviously impacts, though, on the international supply chain resulting from the conflict, and international markets are dealing with uncertainty and global price pressures. But it's important to understand that national fuel supply remains the same and fuel consumption remains consistent. The only thing that has changed is that demand has significantly increased, and that's why we've been engaging with the fuel, transport and agricultural industries, and all responsible stakeholders, who have made it clear industry must act in the national interest and everyone has a role to play in keeping Australian transport moving and farmers growing.”
“Of course, this intervention wasn't helped by the fact that four of Australia's six refineries closed while those opposite were in government, including the Altona Mobil refinery in my electorate in Melbourne's west. That said, as a result of the responsible intervention of the Albanese government, we are currently above our minimum petroleum stockholding obligations. Australia is a fuel-secure nation. It is secure with fuel stored in Australia, in Brisbane and Geelong, not in the United States, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. That's the real-world context that we bring to a real-world international challenge, and the recent conflict in the Middle East has created a serious external shock for global fuel markets. It's an international event that poses challenges to Australia, and we've set about responding to it responsibly.”
“These are political figures who are happy to live in their own ideological fantasy worlds, political figures who are happy with hot takes, happy to trade in fear and division, obsessed with the latest internet conspiracy theories and unconcerned when their delusions come into conflict with reality. This issue of fuel security is a perfect case in point. On this side of the House, we take our responsibilities of governing seriously, and, as on all issues, we're ruthlessly focused on delivering in the real world. Serious governments take fuel security seriously. That's why, in 2023, the Albanese government introduced the minimum stockholding obligation, a government intervention that has required Australia's two remaining refineries and major importers of refined fuels to hold baseline stocks of fuels onshore.”
“It was different parties with different values and priorities competing to persuade the Australian public about their vision for the future of our nation. Unfortunately, in Australia, as in a number of Western democracies in recent times, a new divide has emerged. It's a divide between the politicians and the political figures who want to win government in order to shape outcomes in the real world—the people who actually want to do things—and, on the other side of the divide, the politicians and political figures who don't want to do the hard work of governing, who don't even aspire to be in government.”
“The resignation of another leader of the coalition is happening outside of this chamber. I have some sympathy for the position of the former leader of the Nationals in this respect. He determined the coalition's policy on the Voice to Parliament. He determined the coalition's policy on climate change and the abolition of net zero. Then he got to choose the new leader of the Liberal Party. The National Party now gets to set not just policy in the coalition; it also gets to set the leadership of the Liberal Party. So it's reasonable to say, 'Job done.' Now it's time to move off into the sunset. On this matter of importance and the enormous audience that we have for it on the opposite side of the chamber, it's worth noting that the biggest cleavage in Australian politics used to be a Left-Right ideological divide.”
“I must admit, before I get into the substance of this motion, that the chamber before us really speaks to the seriousness of those opposite. We saw the Deputy Leader of the Nationals come in and move this motion. He hasn't had the wherewithal to hang around and stay through the debate. There was a reasonable turnout from the bloke's world of the frontbench when the bloke was talking. As soon as it became time for a woman on the frontbench of the coalition to speak, there was an exodus from the room. Indeed, there were two backbenchers in this chamber when the previous member got on her feet and started speaking on this matter of public important debate; it attracts four spectators from the side that moved it. Now, why is this? Maybe it's because outside of this chamber we are seeing yet more leadership turmoil in the coalition.”
“The portraits are extraordinary, I think, and they are striking tribute to David's skill as an artist, allowing these magnificent individuals in modern Australia to show their most important, essential parts of identity to our community. His project has been a gift to our community in Melbourne's west, and it's been generously supported by the Asian Business Association of Wyndham, which made an exhibition of this portrait series possible in the CBD and allowed the book of the series to be published. I'm proud to have a copy in my parliamentary office here in Canberra and in my electorate office in Melbourne. We need projects like this in Australia today—projects that show that, while we are proud of our diversity in Australia, the things that make us special in Australia are the things that bring us together.”
“I thank all the very hardworking committee members that made that festival possible and gave our community a chance to come together in our diversity. One of the most significant contributions I've seen from volunteers in my community is from David Mullins. David Mullins prepared the Faces of Wyndham photographic series. This is an extraordinary portrait series that began in 2019 to capture the diversity of the more than 160 cultures that make up our community in Melbourne's west—hundreds of individual stories coming together in our community in Melbourne's west to become part of one story, the story of modern Australia.”
“This year saw an extraordinary confluence of cultural and religious celebration around the world. Within a two-week period, half the world's population celebrated Lunar New Year, Lent, Ramadan and Holi. The last time this happened was in 1863. I can tell you that my community in Melbourne's west, including Point Cook—Australia's most multicultural suburb—didn't miss the opportunity to mark this occasion. At the Wyndham Multicultural Lunar Festival, thousands of members of my community came together to celebrate this confluence of events. I told the community there 'xinnian kuaile', 'chuc mung nam moi', 'kung hei fat choy', 'holi hai', 'Ramadan kareem' and 'best wishes for this extraordinary holiday and cultural celebration season'.”
“We should be the best country in the world for understanding Indonesia, not fighting to save it. The treaty on common security recognises the best way to secure peace and stability in our region is by acting together through engagement and dialogue, but dialogue and engagement are a two-way street. Indonesians have the phrase bertepuk sebelah tangan tidak akan berbunyi, or one side clapping will not make any sound. To get the most of this treaty, both Australia and Indonesia need to be the best partners they can be. We should make the signing of this landmark treaty the moment we start turning around Indonesian studies in Australia.”
“Stakeholders say that Bahasa Indonesia teaching in Queensland is functionally extinct, with only two senior secondary schools in Queensland left teaching Indonesian at year 12 level in 2026. Some experts have warned that, without urgent intervention, we'll see the end of Bahasa Indonesia teaching in Australia nationwide by 2031. That's in the next term of government. Indonesian studies in Australia are facing an existential crisis. We need to do better. Australia's security and prosperity rely on our ability to make our own way in Asia. As the Prime Minister has said: No country is more important to Australia—or to the prosperity, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific—than Indonesia. Given this, there is no country that is more important for Australia to understand than Indonesia.”
“But, to operationalise this treaty on common security, we need more Australians who know our neighbour, friend and strategic partner deeply, including its history, culture, society and, importantly, language. Today, unfortunately, Indonesian studies at our schools and universities are in crisis. In 2023, there were less than half as many high school students studying Indonesian in Australia than there were when the Garnaut review started our Asia capability journey in 1989. This is despite the fact that the number of Australian high school students today is around 40 per cent bigger than in 1989. Of the more than one million Australian domestic students at Australian universities in 2023, barely 500 students were enrolled in Bahasa Indonesia nationwide.”