Rick Wilson
O'Connor · Liberal Party · Australia
“Instead, it is being used to maintain primary health services that are a Commonwealth responsibility. Last week the Local Government Rural Health Funding Alliance hosted a workshop here in Canberra, with more than 30 councils from across Australia coming together with the Australian Local Government Association, the National Rural Health…”
“For many seniors in O'Connor, the cost of seeing a doctor is becoming almost as painful as the diagnosis. I'm running a survey of constituents aged over 65 and have heard from many people who are doing everything they can just to make ends meet only to find they pay more just to access the health care they deserve.”
“As the federal representative of 47 rural, regional and remote shire councils, I rise today to highlight an inequity that should concern all levels of government and all Australians.”
“These are the very councils least able to absorb those costs. The alliance's workshop revealed many more councils paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars per year covering housing, vehicles, medical premises, staff, locum doctor cover and even utilities.”
“But, in the bush, this Labor government expects some of the smallest and most financially constrained councils to carry a responsibility that lies with them. Meanwhile, these same communities see a Medicare underspend of around 50 per cent per person of what is spent on a city dweller.”
“For seniors in O'Connor, health care is becoming less affordable and harder to access. In regional Western Australia, a hospital is not just down the road, and specialist care can be hundreds of kilometres away, yet today there is still not one single urgent care clinic anywhere in my 1.1 million kilometre electorate, despite the Treasure…”
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“Thousands of jobs have been lost across my electorate, and, going forward, the safeguard mechanism will single-handedly destroy even more productive industries between now and 2030. Of the 219 largest emitters in the country captured under the safeguard mechanism, 36 per cent are in WA, with over 20 of those facilities in my electorate of O'Connor. They include the goldminers of the historic Goldfields; Boddington, the largest goldmine in the country; lithium producers at Mount Marion; the Worsley Alumina refinery; and Premier Coal, in Collie. The safeguard mechanism is forcing companies to buy expensive renewable energy, build their own renewable power stations or buy expensive offsets, which is literally converting productive O'Connor farmland back to bush.”
“I rise today to speak in support of the Repeal Net Zero Bill 2025. My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. We've already seen the total demise of the nickel industry, with 14 out of 16 nickel mines in my electorate closing thanks to cheap, dirty nickel being produced in Indonesia. Of the two remaining facilities, Murrin Murrin has lost $61 million in the last six months and has just declined a $35 million government grant to transform its gas-fired power to renewables. The iconic Kalgoorlie nickel smelter and Goldfields nickel mines are shuttered, and the Ravensthorpe First Quantum nickel mine and processing operation on the south coast has folded.”
“I encourage the coastal dwellers of Australia to take the opportunity that this International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists presents to visit and learn about Australia's amazing interior and the important role it plays in our national identity, productivity and prosperity. I hope 2026 will be the year that puts the rangelands and their pastoralists well and truly on the map.”
“Thanks to 400 kilometres of wild-dog fencing and feral-animal control measures, Rawlinna is the only station in my electorate of O'Connor that can still sustain a large sheep enterprise, and there are plans to double its flock size to 60,000 in the foreseeable future. Rawlinna Station is another great example of a rangeland enterprise that is not only surviving but thriving. I believe the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is an opportunity to recognise the value of our rangelands and the hardworking people who manage these unique environments—people whose specialised knowledge and downright resilience have seen them not only survive but thrive when many would have walked away or perished.”
“A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 09:48 to 10 : 00 Businesses like Challa Station are multigenerational operations whose sustainable agricultural practices have seen their enterprise survive the climate challenges of floods and droughts, and ride out economic boom and bust cycles and government supported interventions—from positive ones like invasive species control, Indigenous ranger and traditional land management programs to negative government interference in vital markets such as live cattle and sheep exports. I take this opportunity to mention Rawlinna Station, which spans one million hectares and runs over 30,000 sheep in some of the most hostile environmental conditions on the Nullarbor Plain.”
“They host much of Western Australia's mineral wealth, and the pastoral country provides food and fibre not only for Australians but also for international trading partners. The rangelands support thousands of Western Australians, including pastoralists, Indigenous land managers, mining companies and residents of regional and remote towns, providing their livelihoods and culture. The pastoralists of the rangelands are a resilient lot, raising livestock that graze alongside native wildlife, competing with feral herbivores like wild camels and goats, and under the threat of predation by introduced carnivores.”
“Last Friday, I was honoured to attend the Australasian launch of the United Nations designated International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 at the Perth Royal Show. I take this opportunity to thank IYRP 2026 chair Debbie Dowden, of Challa Station, for hosting this event and for her long-term advocacy for the people and the projects of the WA Rangelands, which lie in my electorate of O'Connor and the neighbouring electorate of Durack. Over 80 per cent of Western Australia is comprised of rangelands, which is more than the Australian average of 75 per cent. The rangelands are vast open spaces, made up of ancient landscapes, unique and complex ecosystems and productive agricultural land.”
“Mac remains a fierce advocate for the recognition of the service of his Aboriginal soldiers and as recently as this year tracked another five of them down in a remote northern Australian community, where none of them had any idea of their entitlement to medallic recognition. Mac has since applied for their medals for services performed over 25 years ago. So I thank Mac for his ongoing advocacy on behalf of his soldiers, and I thank the men of the Gija Patrol personally for their efforts in protecting our nation.”
“Korea and Vietnam veteran and Victoria Cross recipient Keith Payne assisted Mac, and together they built a long and trusted camaraderie with the young Aboriginal men of the Warmun Gija Patrol. Years after the Warmun Gija Patrol was disbanded, Mac and Keith advocated for the recognition of the service of the Gija Patrol members, and in 2019 nine of the Gija men were retrospectively awarded the Australian Defence Force Medal and the Australian Operational Service Medal. In return, Mac and Keith were honoured through a traditional Aboriginal ceremony recognising them as skin brothers.”
“As Mac says, 'Serving diggers need to know that conspicuous valour in action, and military service in general, will always be recognised.' In closing, I want to acknowledge the service of Mac himself, who received an OAM in 2022 for services to the Indigenous communities of Western Australia. As an Army officer, Mac recruited, trained and led remote Indigenous soldiers for the Australian Army in northern Australia for more than 15 years, including operational border protection tasks, when commanding Kimberley Squadron NORFORCE. In the early 1990s the Kimberley Squadron established a new patrol at Warmun, and Mac was assigned to the task of raising the new Warmun Gija Patrol with the help of Warmun elders.”
“Mac Jensen maintains that it is important that advocacy for the recognition of bravery in historic conflicts continue and cited another example of World War II Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean, who, on 1 December 1942, despite being wounded, strapped himself into a gun of HMAS Armidale and fired at the enemy, distracting them from attacking his defenceless shipmates in the water. Teddy valiantly continued to fire until his ship sank, taking him to his death. Teddy was posthumously awarded the first ever Royal Navy Victoria Cross in Australia's history in August 2020—78 years after the event. This was thanks to the uncovering of new evidence by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, together with a public campaign and the overruling of previous rejections of the recommendation to receive this honour.”
“But, thanks to the dogged determination of his former officers through the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, Norden was finally recommended for a Victoria Cross, which was approved by King Charles III on 1 November 2024. The Prime Minister, together with the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, announced this posthumous award on Remembrance Day last year at the Australian War Memorial. So it beggars belief that Mr Albanese supports this bill to curtail the activities of the tribunal in a way that would have prevented Norden's case from being reviewed and his belated award of the Victoria Cross.”
“I take this opportunity to refer to what I consider to be the very valued opinion of O'Connor constituent retired Army General Neil McArthur 'Mac' Jensen OAM. Mac recently stressed to me how important it is that no constraints be put on these processes, citing the recent posthumous granting of a Victoria Cross medal to Richard Norden, awarded retrospectively for his services in the Vietnam War. Norden was previously awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal on 10 December 1968 for his valiant actions during a 14 May 1968 ambush, which saw the 19-year-old using an enemy weapon to cover his commander and retrieve the body of a fallen comrade. Norden died in 1972.”
“On 1 October, submissions closed for the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee inquiry into the Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal) Bill 2025, with a report due at the end of this month. Today I call out the Albanese government's attempt to curtail the review's timeframes for the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, which will potentially limit awards of honours to ADF personnel to conflicts occurring within the past 20 years. I stand with my coalition colleagues who say there should not be a time limit for acknowledging the service of our ADF veterans and recognising the valiant services of our diggers from as far back as World War II, which should continue to be the remit of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal.”
“How is it fair to those who've lost their livelihoods to have to find up to $75,000 of their own money to receive some assistance from the federal government? Where are they expected to find this sort of money? There is a glaring lack of detail in terms of the sorts of projects or proposals the Farm Business Transition Program grants would actually go towards. Can the minister please provide examples on the specific activities an impacted farmer could reasonably undertake in order to access these grants?”
“The Labor government's transition package sets aside $30 million for the Farm Business Transition Program. These grants supposedly encourage sheep producers to increase on-farm adoption and uptake of alternative farming systems and practices. They require a matching co-contribution for the grants, which are capped at $75,000. This grant program opened yesterday, 15 months after the government rammed through its bill to ban the industry and a year after announcing the $139.7 million package. Minister, in relation to these grants, can you answer the following questions? How many impacted producers in WA is the government expecting to apply for these grants? Why are impacted farmers and applicants required to provide a co-contribution to access this funding?”
“Labor's legislation to shut down live sheep exports, which was rammed through the Senate in a guillotined debate in July 2024, was followed by an announcement of a $139.7 million live sheep exports transition package in October 2024. It is now October 2025. The policy has inflicted a devastating human toll across impacted regional communities in WA. Shamefully, it has thrown many livelihoods into uncertainty and turmoil. Minister, has even $1 been received by any farmer, transporter, shearer or exporter from this package? Why has it taken so long for any funding to go out the door into the pockets of impacted farmers? Why have we seen such a contemptible lack of urgency from this government? Has the government done any investigation into the mental health impacts this live sheep exports ban has caused for farmers and families?”
“From the moment this government were elected more than three years ago to when Labor rammed through their disastrous legislation in July last year to ban the industry by May 2028 and announced their woefully inadequate 'transition package', not one minister has been able to cite any data which justifies the end of this lawful and sustainable industry. Government decisions on agriculture need to be based on facts, not extreme animal-activist agendas which hurt innocent people. Will the minister stop treating WA sheep producers with cruelty and contempt and please explain any scientific or animal welfare data which supports this government's policy to end live sheep exports?”
“With respect to the dramatic decrease in confidence and sheep numbers as a result of this ban, can the minister outline what the impacts, implications and repercussions will be for our farmers and the whole supply chain if this deeply concerning trend continues? Can the minister outline what contribution the policy ban on live exports has made to this significant drop in WA sheep numbers? The Albanese government's decision to forcibly shut down Australia's live export industry is blatantly ideological and not predicated on any available evidence or science.”
“WA sheep numbers have fallen from 12.5 million in 2023 to 9.4 million today and are forecast to hit 7.6 million by 30 June next year. This will have a dramatic effect on the price of sheep and sheep meat for export as well as domestically and a collateral negative effect on wool production. If anyone thinks this is just a WA problem, think again. Where do you think the sheep to restock eastern states farms after the current drought will come from? WA, that's where. With part of this phase-out package earmarked to investigate long-distance land transport, and with the government putting animal activists before producers and consumers, you may not have that option for much longer on the east coast.”
“I acknowledge the minister for being here today and I thank her for taking an interest. Not every minister has. My home state of Western Australia—and, in fact, my electorate of O'Connor—is the region most affected by the government's disastrous live sheep export ban. With the end of the summer shipping moratorium, the Middle East market would normally be clamouring for livestock, but there is not one single export vessel in Gage Roads. There is not one single order for WA sheep prior to the end of the year. Labor will maintain that the ban does not come into effect until May 2028 and that there is adequate time to transition. But, effectively, the ban has already started. Shearers are out of jobs, transporters are selling their crates and stockies and exporters are waiting for orders for shipments that may never come.”
“Tiffany has been an integral part of the Keep the Sheep movement, and I commend her for her courage in proudly supporting an industry that has been so publicly vilified. Tiffany is pleased to have a platform to help rural Australians tell their stories and share their passion for what they do as farmers, shearers, transporters and stockpeople. She firmly believes city people want to meet farmers and know more about where their food comes from. This makes Tiffany the perfect advocate for rural and regional Australia, so I take this opportunity to wish her every success in her year ahead as WA's rural ambassador.”
“I rise to give a big shout-out to Western Australia's newly minted rural ambassador, Tiffany Davey. I caught up with Tiffany last week at the Perth Royal Show and congratulated her on her well-deserved accolade. Tiffany is an accomplished young rural professional who studied agribusiness at my old alma mater, Muresk College. She has been an accredited Australian stockperson since 2019, ensuring the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of sheep on live export vessels to the Middle East. Tiffany understands more than most the importance of maintaining Australia's international reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality protein to countries that cannot produce their own. In her role as project manager for the rural advocacy group the Livestock Collective, she is passionate about enhancing the public understanding of farming.”
“Ken recently helped secure federal funding to construct a repository to protect the diary minutes, photos and records related to Mount Barker and its surroundings. For 16 years, Ken was co-owner and publican of the Plantagenet Hotel, which has become synonymous with the TV advertisement for Mount Barker Free Range Chicken. Ken's hospitality provided the obvious answer to the age-old question: 'Why did the chickens cross the road?' I congratulate Ken on this well-deserved honour of an Order of Australia medal.”
“Ken received his Order of Australia medal for service to local government and to the community of the Mount Barker region of WA. A shire councillor since 1980, Ken was shire president when I took office in 2013, and we have worked together on many Mount Barker projects, including the mammoth Sounness Park redevelopment, incorporating sports grounds and a community centre much valued by the local Mount Barker community as well as visitors to the town. In 2009, Ken acknowledged his commitment to local government with a Long and Loyal Service Award from the WA Local Government Association, of which he has been a life member since 2016. Ken's passion for local history is embodied in his role as chair of the Plantagenet Historical Society, where he is a fierce guardian of local artifacts and anecdotes.”
“Russell has been an exceptional wheat and sheep farmer but is also passionate about caring for his country, co-founding the local Wagin Woodanilling Landcare Zone and serving as an active member for over a decade. He was also a founding member of the Blackwood Basin Group, remaining as a member for over 20 years. For his commitment to Landcare, Russell has received awards and commendations from all levels of government—local, state and federal. I close by commending Russell on his ultimate honour: the Order of Australia medal. Ken Clements is another local legend I've known for many years in his capacity as shire councillor, deputy president and president of the Shire of Plantagenet, and through his passion for local history.”
“The contributions of 61 Western Australians were recognised in this year's King's Birthday Honours List. You can imagine how proud I was, as the federal member for O'Connor, to see six local heroes acknowledged with a King's Birthday honour. I've known two Order of Australia medal recipients for many years, so I rise today to congratulate them individually. Russell Thomson is a lifelong farmer from Woodanilling, just down the road from our family farm. Russell received an Order of Australia medal for services to his community of Woodanilling. Russell has served on his local council, the Shire of Woodanilling, since 1982. He was deputy shire president from 1991, then shire president from 1995 to 2021 and he's still a shire councillor to this day.”
“This new caravan park site is at the convergence of two iconic outback adventure routes: the Canning Stock Route, which connects Wiluna to the Kimberley and at 1,850 kilometres is perhaps the longest historic stock route in the world, and the Gunbarrel Highway, a remote desert track connecting Wiluna to Victory Downs Station in the Northern Territory. The new caravan park offers 22 powered caravan sites, seven queen-bed cabins with ensuites, two spacious family suites and a grassed camping area. It has a well-equipped camp kitchen, shaded barbecues, free laundry and wi-fi. So, whether you're overnighting in Wiluna to stock up on supplies for your big adventure or staying longer to explore the region, the Wiluna Caravan Park now offers all the creature comforts anyone could hope for.”
“I rise today to give a big shout-out to the Shire of Wiluna, shire president Peter Grundy and the entire community after last week's official opening of the Wiluna Caravan Park. I visited Wiluna back in April and saw the terrific progress on the $1.16 million Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program funded component. Since its completion, the Wiluna Caravan Park has welcomed over 500 guests, generating accommodation revenue of over $90,000. For those of you who have never heard of Wiluna, it truly is the outback. Situated on the edge of the Western Desert, the entire shire has just over 500 inhabitants, including the people of the Martu country.”
“So it's not a matter of destroying the budget by making concessions and accommodating this small group of people who will be impacted; it's simply about providing equity and fairness for people who live in regional and remote Australia.”
“This will have an even greater impact on participants in rural and regional settings. What this all adds up to is a situation where people living in regional and rural Australia will receive a significantly lower level of care than their city cousins, and that is simply not fair. I call on the government and the minister—who I have written to, and to her credit she has responded, but she responded by saying there'll be no change—to revisit this and to take into account the impact on those people who live outside the box. We're not talking about millions and millions of recipients here. The people mostly impacted in my electorate would be in the hundreds, if not the low thousands.”
“In conclusion, I did want to say that the decision to reduce NDIS travel funding to 50 per cent of the service rate creates a significant barrier to the service provision for families in regional areas, particularly in my electorate of O'Connor. A physiotherapist from Collie, at the other end of the electorate, says he has 'grave concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Agency's decision to lower price limits and travel funding for physiotherapy supports'. He says: Physiotherapy services under these new pricing limits are unsustainable and will dramatically reduce choice and control for vulnerable NDIS participants. New rate cuts and reduced funding for clinician travel do not keep pace with the growing operational costs required to provide individualised care.”
“From July 1st, however, travel to and from these communities has been capped at 50% of … what our hours total, regardless of distance, duration, or number of therapists involved. This results in an estimated loss of 20+ hours of unfunded travel time per therapist per outreach trip which makes it financially unviable. The Consequences Are Clear: This is just one example. I do thank very sincerely the service providers across the Goldfields, not only for what they do on a daily basis but also for providing me with a whole host of case studies, which I'm not going to get a chance to get through in the time available.”
“Our team … one of the few mobile OT services willing and equipped to travel to the NG Lands—is working with her to restore function, dignity, and safe access to her community and home environment. Without face-to-face, culturally responsive OT input, here's what she would go without: That's a pretty extensive list that this particular client will go without. There's no question that this service can be continued under the current rules. She goes on to say: Her nearest regional centre is over 1,000 km from Kalgoorlie, meaning service delivery requires up to 22 hours of round-trip travel per therapist, often over several days. Until June 30th, 2025, NDIS travel rules allowed providers to claim this time in full—making the service possible, if still tight financially.”
“This is the impact of the travel cuts on an amputee client in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands: I'd like to share the story of an NDIS participant living in the remote Ngaanyatjarra Lands—an Aboriginal woman in her mid-50s who recently underwent a below-knee amputation due to complications arising from unmanaged Type 2 diabetes. In her case, early intervention and health literacy supports were not accessible, contributing directly to the progression of her condition. There is no regular podiatry or diabetes education service available in her community. By the time she presented to hospital, her condition had deteriorated to the point of requiring surgical amputation. She now requires significant support to regain independence and avoid further decline. This is where the NDIS-funded occupational therapy becomes critical.”
“What the service providers that I have spoken to are calling for is the reinstatement of full travel rates on regional and remote services, a genuine consultation with regional providers and communities, and a three-month pause on changes until the regional impact is addressed. I mentioned the situation with the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, and one of the service providers—the only service provider, in fact—who travels out to Warburton and many surrounding Aboriginal communities to provide these services has given me a case study she'd like me to present to the House.”
“The NDIA's annual pricing review says that it needed to address excessive claims and that the current arrangement could lead to travel claims that are higher than the value of the support, especially in regional or less-populated areas. Well, yes, that's absolutely right. If you live in Warburton, which is a thousand kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, then, yes, the travel is going to cost more than your actual service, but that is just the way it is. If the NDIA has a better solution then it should put it on the table. I will come to the impact that it's going to have on that particular community in a moment.”
“That story is repeated across my electorate in the 100-plus towns that I represent. The peak bodies have complained that there was a lack of engagement, a lack of consultation, prior to these changes being brought in. Only 14 days notice was given to the service providers to make whatever changes they needed to make to adjust when this came in on 1 July. One would have thought that, when making decisions around service provision to remote and regional communities, the providers based in Albany, Esperance and Kalgoorlie would have been consulted to get their view on how this would impact them, but I haven't been able to find anybody yet who was consulted by the NDIA on these changes.”
“What this actually means on the ground for the providers and, more importantly, the recipients of these services, is that, for example, in a town like Albany a service provider was travelling to Katanning, which is an hour and three quarters there and an hour and three quarters back, and they were previously absorbing the lack of payment for the 45 minutes, because they were capped at an hour. They were absorbing that and they were continuing to travel beyond the one hour to provide the service in a town which has limited service providers. I have been told by those providers that they will no longer be able to viably provide those services, which means that people in a reasonably significant-sized regional town in my electorate will no longer have access to these allied health services.”
“I rise today to draw the House's attention to the NDIS travel policy changes and their impact on regional and remote electorates like my own. Around the middle of June I started to get a lot of communication from NDIS providers who were very concerned about this change that was coming at them from 1 July and how it would impact their clients. What has happened is that the NDIA has reduced travel labour that can be claimed to 50 per cent of the standard hourly rate. It has maintained the existing time limit of 30 minutes each way in the MMM—or Modified Monash Model—areas 1 to 3, 60 minutes in MMM areas 4 to 5, and continued with no limit in areas MMM 6 to 7.”
“His pro-mining views saw him cross the floor in 1988, challenging then treasurer Paul Keating's plan to remove company tax exemptions for goldminers. He gained a reputation as a political maverick, winning a second term as an independent and serving his Goldfields community long beyond his tenure in parliament. Graeme joined the Liberal Party in later life and was a regular visitor to my Kalgoorlie office, joining my staff for coffee so often that he actually had his own biscuit stash. Graeme was one of a kind, and I will forever treasure his friendship and his sage words of advice and encouragement. My heartfelt condolences go to Michele, Ainsley, Leyland and family. Vale, Graeme Campbell.”
“I rise today to acknowledge the passing of a Goldfields legend whose name will be familiar in this place. Graeme Campbell, former member for Kalgoorlie, passed peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones on 16 August, aged 86. Graeme was a champion of the workers of the mining and pastoral region, and his loss will resonate across the greater Goldfields region. Graeme's family emigrated from England, and he grew up in South Australia. He went on to establish Kybo Station, a remote pastoral property on the sparse Nullarbor Plain, with his brother Rod. There he met his French wife, Michele, and started a family, eventually moving to Kalgoorlie to work in the mining industry. Graeme joined the Labor Party in 1980 and was elected as the federal member for Kalgoorlie, then Australia's largest electorate.”
“The concept has spread like wildfire to 55 other regional and remote communities, not only in my electorate of O'Connor but throughout Australia. I conclude by saying how proud I am to have been involved in this initiative, and I welcome Lee and Helen to Canberra, where they will be giving evidence to the inquiry of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee into aged-care service delivery. But I'm also not alone in my praise. The Department of Social Services, who funded Staying in Place as a pilot, praised its cost effectiveness and positive health outcomes. Helen herself agrees that people who leave their communities often don't thrive; Staying in Place gives them a chance to age with dignity in the place they know best.”
“To date, this virtual village has brought together over 270 participants separated by the tyranny of distance and lack of transport or inability to travel and has connected them through modern-day technology. Upon this they built an entire suite of home-care services delivered by a latent local workforce comprised of retirees, stay-at-home parents and other skilled persons not engaged in the workforce. The result, Staying in Place, is a community led initiative whereby locals with various skill sets deliver a full suite of care options, enabling older people to age and thrive in the communities they have lived in and contributed to all of their lives. This sounds like a simple concept, but it's taken a lot of hard work by Helen, Lee and their team to get the machine working, and now they are on the move.”
“Conceived in 2018, in the small O'Connor town of Pingelly, 150 kilometres south-east from Perth, the Staying in Place program has been driven by former WA Liberal cabinet minister the Hon. Helen Morton and Pingelly local Lee Steel of the Pingelly Community Resource Centre. Their dream was to support Pingelly seniors with services delivered by a locally sourced care workforce. As the Somerset Alliance, they secured federal funding under the previous coalition government for a pilot program to find ways of reducing loneliness and improving connectedness between geographically isolated older people in regional and remote communities. The concept of a virtual village was hatched, wherein activities could be hosted remotely by a concierge in much the same way as a real aged-care village.”
“I rise today to highlight this government's appalling record of delivering on its promises. The delays in transitioning to the new model of seniors home-care packages have been a disgrace, and this government should be ashamed to be kicking the can down the road for six months, causing considerable uncertainty and distress to some of the oldest, most isolated and most vulnerable constituents in my electorate. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating when I say people will die waiting for the assessment, approval and delivery of their life-changing, life-sustaining packages. But this is a constituency statement, not a grievance debate, so I actually rise today to commend the hardworking team behind the staying-in-place model of care for seniors.”
“We're talking about providers who regularly travel up to 12 hours to service some of O'Connor's most isolated and disadvantaged communities. They're now saying that providing these outreach services will be financially unviable. Due to the tyranny of distance, many O'Connor constituents eligible for the NDIS have never been able to use their plan, and so many more will now be excluded from services that cannot be substituted with telehealth or any other remote form of delivery. Again the people of the bush are left behind by policies designed with only city and suburban voters in mind.”
“I rise today to call out the Albanese government for its neglect of regional Australians. Throughout the recent election campaign, the Prime Minister flashed his Medicare card around, stating that this would be the only card needed to visit a doctor. For many constituents of O'Connor, this was never going to be their reality. They may be living in towns that may not even have a doctor, much less one that offers bulk-billing. And, as of 1 July, the changes to the NDIS, particularly the change to the travel labour charge rate, have resulted in even less essential service delivery to the bush. I've spoken to NDIS service providers who say that these latest changes, introduced with only two weeks notice, leave them with little option but to reduce or cease services.”
“I know the Labor Party think they're on a political winner here, but we did see in the Queensland election that they gave up on trying to run the scare campaign after a few weeks. In the recent WA election—which, I'll be the first to admit, wasn't great for the WA Liberal Party—it was very revealing that in the seat of Collie-Preston, which is a Labor town and a union town, there was a 19 per cent two-party preferred swing against Jodie Hanns, who led the scare campaign on behalf of Labor in WA. The member for Perth popped up with the odd cameo performance, but it's mainly been the member for Collie-Preston running the scare campaign. The swing against the sitting member on the primary vote was 20 per cent. I'm just not that sure that this is the political winner, particularly in the town of Collie, that people think it is.”
“Collie has long been the energy capital of Western Australia, with several coal-fired power plants delivering reliable electricity to large parts of Western Australia through the comprehensive transmission network which radiates out of Collie. Collie also produces the electricity for the nearby Worsley Alumina refinery, which supports over 2,000 jobs. The good people of Collie and surrounds have a high degree of energy literacy. If they haven't worked in the coalmines or in the power plants, they've have been involved in other industries dependent on the reliable energy produced in Collie and are most accustomed to wages commensurate with their skills. They're all concerned about their employment, particularly given that the WA state government plans to close down the coalmines and the Muja power plant in 2029.”