Susan Templeman
Macquarie · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The three key focuses of the government's action are, firstly, to disrupt and dismantle border threats to stem the flow of illicit tobacco and vapes to Australia before they make it to our shores; secondly, to enhance detection, disruption and destruction of illicit tobacco and vapes at the border and within the community; and, thirdly, t…”
“AUSTRAC is working with the banks and service providers to shut down the money flows that keep illicit tobacco profitable. Hundreds of accounts have already been closed and payment systems stopped.”
“We need to keep fighting it and not blame each other. Those opposite need to recognise that, just as we supported the steps they made, we need their full support in taking these actions.”
“That's not good enough for participants, it's not good enough for employers and it's not good enough for the economy. That's why these reforms are so important. This is the most significant change to employment services in 30 years. At the heart of these reforms is the end of the one-size-fits-all model.”
“The Commonwealth, states and territories are working together to reverse the equation for organised crime at every step and in every way to make the illicit tobacco trade more risky and less profitable, disrupting the illicit supply chain and shutting down illegal shops. This bill is another step in that process.”
“Mr Robert, at that time, spoke of the actions they were taking and the changes they were making on duty liabilities being paid when tobacco is imported into Australia.”
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“They wanted stronger powers and penalties to be available to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, ACMA. I note the comment of CEO of ACCAN, Carol Bennett: The legislation addresses persistent gaps that have left many consumers exposed to harm. She is absolutely right. This is a bill that really plugs some of the gaps that have allowed consumers to be very vulnerable to actions or the lack of action by the telecommunications businesses, and it provides more teeth for ACMA to be able to tackle those. Let's look at some of those things. We're talking about telecommunications, which is an absolutely essential connector that we all need.”
“This is the second time I've spoken on this bill, because it's one of those matters that we considered prior to the election, but it wasn't able to be dealt with by the parliament at that time. That's a shame, because this is about trying to bring in enhanced protections for consumers. I refer to the comment from, really, the peak communications consumer body, ACCAN, who have welcomed the fact that this bill is now being debated a second time—keeping in mind that it had passed through this place and it had landed in the Senate. As they say, it's time to finish the job of delivering long-awaited powers for the regulator to crack down on telcos that cause consumer harm. This is something that ACCAN and other consumer organisations have long called for.”
“The latest list of roads under the ever-growing Roads to Recovery Program has the go-ahead in Nichols Parade in Mount Riverview and Percival Street in Clarendon. They're part of five years of funding for the Blue Mountains, worth more than $7.6 million, and more than $9.5 million for the Hawkesbury. The bottom line is that there's more funding for councils to look after your roads under Labor.”
“Working with the New South Wales government, we're also delivering seven new and refurbished social homes in the Penrith local government area. We've delivered back-to-back increases to the maximum rates of Commonwealth rent assistance, which is supporting more than 7,350 people in Macquarie. There are two new homes in the Blue Mountains through the Albanese government's crisis accommodation program, providing transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. These will make a real difference. Our road funding, with extra to our region because we've been so badly affected by disasters, has meant our local councils have had the opportunity to upgrade and improve many more local roads, and that work continues.”
“Already 587 batteries have been installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which puts us in the top 10 in the country. We're helping local first homebuyers with Labor's five per cent home deposits, and so far 997 people in Macquarie have been able to buy their first home with a five per cent deposit, or less, thanks to Labor's expanded Home Guarantee Scheme. Our skilled construction workforce has been supported with more than 545 construction trades apprentices in Macquarie benefiting from more than $5,000 incentive payments, and I have no doubt that the $10,000 incentive payment to apprentices commencing their careers in housing construction, from July, will also have a big take-up in Macquarie.”
“I'm very proud of the work I did in two terms in opposition as the member for Macquarie, getting issues on the agenda and highlighting the needs of the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury. But, now, in our second term of government, I'm even more proud of the work Labor is doing to deliver solutions to many of the issues that were unaddressed for a decade under the Liberals. Much of what we've done has delivered to Australians across the country, like cheaper medicines and more bulk-billing, urgent care and endo clinics, Medicare mental health clinics and headspace. I know these also benefit people right across my communities, but I want to focus on some of the specifics delivered in Macquarie. We're delivering solar batteries to homes, businesses and community organisations.”
“Over the next few decades, a community of sisters came to Windsor; a convent was established; schools were opened, including a boarding school and a high school; and the sisters would travel to other townships via horse and buggy to give religious instruction—all of this before 1885. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan are formidable. The turnout of parish members in Lawson to say farewell demonstrates how their presence and support has been valued, and they will be missed by their Mountains community. We wish them well.”
“For a century, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan have been part of the Mid-Mountains community in Macquarie, and on Sunday I was honoured to speak at their farewell from Our Lady of the Nativity Parish. The sisters have provided leadership in compassion, social justice and care to our community. Among many things in that 100 years, they've more recently supported novices from Kiribati and people with disability, and they've allowed their centre to be used for groups supporting refugees and community services. The sisters also have a connection with the Hawkesbury region, the other half of my federal electorate. Back in 1859, it was reported that two Good Samaritan sisters travelled with Archbishop John Bede, for whom Bede Polding College, a very large Catholic high school in my Hawkesbury area, is named.”
“It's going to save Australians more than $200 million each year. They've already saved more than $1 billion on the cost of scripts thanks to our commitment to make medicines cheaper. It has already been the largest medicines price reduction in the 75-year history of the PBS, plus there's the ability for people to get 300 medicines on 60-day prescriptions and a lower PBS safety net threshold. This is the other part of the health system where we make a difference to people's lives. I have people in my community, particularly older people, who say health is their No. 1 priority. They say, 'If I can keep my health, if I can get treated for things, then I know I can do a whole lot of other things, and I can be here for my family.' So I'm very proud to be supporting this legislation, legislation that will help secure the future of Medicare.”
“The two really go hand in hand, and we've had to do work on both those sides. At the same time as making it easier and more affordable to see a doctor, you also have to make sure that people are able to access what will be prescribed to them afterwards, and that means cheaper medicines. So making medicines cheaper, with a script coming down to no more than $25 under the PBS, is another Labor commitment working its way through the parliament. It's another key cost-of-living measure that will continue to put downward pressure on inflation. Remember that, along with all the things that we've done, including introducing this bill into the last parliament, we already slashed the cost of medicines with the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS, and that happened in 2023. Of course, we're going even further with that.”
“It's a policy that ensures no-one is held back and no-one is left behind, and it does make Medicare even stronger. It helps with cost-of-living pressures, and it ensures that every Australian receives the very best health care that they deserve. When we talk about the integrity of Medicare, we want to know that, when someone visits their GP or another specialist, there is transparency in the payments that they receive, that they are being properly billed and that, if there are any issues, the department has the power to look into those swiftly. That's the extra layer that this bill brings. In the last couple of minutes that I have, what I'd like to talk about is how this legislation interacts with the other very key part of our health system, and that is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.”
“Across the country, it's been an $8.5 billion investment into more bulk-billed visits, hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors. Australian patients and families have been saving money on out-of-pockets. It's really the first time that bulk-billing incentives have been expanded in a very long time, and our latest round means, we hope, that nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030. This is what's coming and what will find its way onto the ground. It will boost the number of fully bulk-billed practices to around 4,800 nationally. That's triple the number of practices right now that bulk-bill. Our record investment restores every dollar the Australian Medical Association said was cut from Medicare through the funding freeze by the Liberals.”
“So, even on Saturdays or Thursday evenings, there's the capacity to just walk in and say, 'I'm not okay, and I need to talk to someone.' These are the sorts of changes that go to the sustainability and the development of Medicare, and they are backed by the measures in this bill, which is about ensuring the integrity of Medicare. It's becoming very clear to people that, under Labor, what you need is your Medicare card, not your credit card, to access health services. I've spoken about how hard it was to see a GP when we first took office, and I want to say to my community that we know that in three years there hasn't been an instant fix to all those issues, but what we have been able to do, including in Macquarie, is increase the number of bulk-billed visits to GPs.”
“I think that what it's showing people is that Labor has a commitment to adapt the health system to make the changes that are needed. I note the presence of the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. We've taken the same approach to mental health. It is no longer a requirement in this country to go and see a private psychologist, counsellor or psychiatrist. There are Medicare funded centres now. The Medicare mental health centres, including the one in my electorate, in Richmond, that the assistant minister was so engaged in showing we could deliver on the ground, are places where people can get free mental health support. It can be ongoing support. It's not limited to a certain number of visits. It's not limited to one thing or the other. It's available and accessible. What's more, it's accessible six days a week.”
“I'm very pleased to say that the Hawkesbury urgent care clinic has a tender out for it. The Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network and Wentworth Healthcare are seeking GPs who are keen and interested in operating the Hawkesbury urgent care clinic, which was one of my election commitments this year. More than 1.8 million people have walked through the door of a Medicare urgent care clinic. They've received free care—the urgent care they need. The feedback I get from the Penrith urgent care clinic is that they're seeing a lot of sporting injuries and they're seeing big demand over weekends. But also, during the week, there's a steady flow of people, as they learn that they don't need to rock up to the Nepean Hospital emergency department for some things and that they may well be able to be treated at the Penrith urgent care clinic.”
“I want to note that there was some derision from those opposite towards our Medicare urgent care clinics for quite some time—that they were not needed and that they were just extra things that didn't need to happen. I noticed today in question time that every one of them seemed to be saying, 'Hey, give me one!' Their behaviour in question time seemed to indicate that there has been a bit of a turnaround. We know how effective the Medicare urgent care clinics have been, and it seemed to me that those opposite are starting to understand the difference that they are making in allowing people to get medical attention for things that are urgent but not life-threatening and in having a dual effect of providing people with quick attention and taking pressure off emergency departments in hospitals.”
“The situation we found was that bulk-billing was in freefall. That followed a decade of cuts to and neglect of Medicare, which we had seen, but it was in coming to government that we really recognised how profound the impact of that had been, particularly in peri-urban areas like mine and, no doubt, in regional and rural areas. That's why strengthening Medicare was a key focus of our election platform, and it became even more key when we'd had the time in government to lift up the hood, see what was happening underneath and really try and unpack some of the issues that we were facing. In our first term of government, we were able to deliver more doctors, more bulk-billing and cheaper medicines, and we opened 87 Medicare urgent care clinics.”
“The areas that this bill is addressing are any that we've been able to identify, thanks to the Philip review, where there are issues that can inhibit the ability of the department to conduct efficient, timely and effective compliance activities, because you enhance integrity when you have a department that is empowered to act in a timely, effective way. The amendments include fraud deterrent provisions, such as the reduction of timeframes to make claims on Medicare, updated investigative powers and improvements to pharmacy approval processes. These really go to the core of the system. This is happening in a context where this bill is one part of many things that we have been doing to support Medicare. When we came to government in 2022, it had never been harder or more expensive to find a doctor.”
“The key part of this that really matters to me is protecting the integrity of Medicare. The bill also contains changes that will enhance the regulation of therapeutic goods and vaping goods under the Therapeutic Goods Act, and it makes minor amendments to ensure the smooth and consistent operation of the tobacco act. I'm going to focus on the Medicare side of this bill in the time that I have available. I think we in this chamber all know—and I know my constituents in the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Nepean region appreciate—that Medicare and its programs help Australians pay for the health care they need in a world-class system. We are committed to strengthening Medicare by improving the scheme's integrity.”
“There is also the development of billing software—a totally different way—that could not have been conceived when Medicare first came on the scene, and then the general economics of medicine, and he goes on to list a few other circumstances that have changed. We're dealing with this in a very different time and place to when Medicare was first introduced. Of course, it was Labor that introduced Medicare, and it took two Labor governments, with a gap in the middle, to really ensure that Medicare was something that would be embedded. I think, from our side, we want to continue to do things that ensure Medicare is sustainable, embedded, never taken for granted and always appreciated by every member of parliament. I'm very pleased to be speaking on this bill a second time.”
“The family practice is not as prominent in the mix as it certainly was when I was young in the sixties and seventies or even when my children were young in the nineties through to the 2000s, and different parts of the country experience that differently. Certainly, the Philip review identified that there is just no longer the same connection between patient, practitioner and the payment that comes into it. Then, there are the changes that have occurred with the Medicare benefits scheme, with the complex nature and continuous changes—because of course things change—and then we add to that the corporatisation of medicine, which is another thing that comes into the mix.”
“We have an ageing population with chronic diseases that they live with but which need care and need support. I think back to when I was a kid—you'd go to the doctor when you broke something or had something short and sharp, rather than for diseases of that chronic nature, because we didn't have the means to identify and treat those chronic diseases. That's one big difference in the environment in which the Medicare system is operating compared to when it started in the 1980s. There are also changes in how health care is delivered, and I think many people can see that there's a shift in the relationship with health providers.”
“This is the second time I've spoken on the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 because this bill lapsed in the last parliament. This is something that we thought, several years ago, needed to be done, and that goes to the previous speaker's comments around the work done in the Philip review in 2022. We commissioned that in late 2022, and the report was delivered in 2023. What that really looked at was how Medicare was operating in the real world situation that we are now facing. I just want to speak for a moment about what the Philip review recognised. It recognised that there is a change in the burden of disease. That means that there are different diseases facing people. We have a different demographic.”
“As we mark the 90th birthday this year of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, I want to reiterate the government's view that no government should interfere in the selection of religious leaders, and successions should be allowed to occur in accordance with religious norms and practices. That is the case for the next Dalai Lama, although we know that this one is planning a very long life. The Albanese government has expressed deep concern over the erosion of human rights and freedoms in Tibet. It has urged the Chinese government to uphold the fundamental human rights of Tibetan people and to enter into genuine dialogue with the Dalai Lama to achieve long-term peace and freedom for Tibet.”
“Every Australian deserves to feel safe in our country, and that includes our newest Australians. At the weekend in the Blue Mountains, we welcomed nearly 70 new Australian citizens, including Tibetans. With my Tibetan friends in the gallery, I want to highlight that, unfortunately, foreign interference is real for some communities. For Tibetans, it can mean that calls to family members in Tibet may be monitored or their community activities here may be under surveillance by foreign actors, which is intimidating and can lead to self-censorship, especially when speaking out about their or their family's experiences of arrest and torture. There's no place for transnational repression here in Australia. I will continue to work with the Tibetan community, including to ensure they feel confident reporting any attempts to intimidate them.”
“This legislation to bring in cheaper medicines is part of a whole suite of things that we are doing to recognise that it's been tough for people and that the most important thing is accessing the health care you need in a timely way when you need it, not when you can afford it. This is all about fulfilling the vision that in Australia it's your Medicare care that gets you health care and it is the PBS that provides you with the prescriptions that you need. I'm very pleased to be supporting this legislation. I have had so many people say to me, 'If you haven't got your health, it's hard to tackle all the other challenges.' If you can get good health care to support your health, there's so much potential that people have and so much that they can do.”
“That's saving about 50,000 women hundreds of dollars a year. In fact, when we're talking about prices at 2004 levels, there had been nothing listed since the 1990s, in terms of new contraceptives for women, until we did it. So there's more choice, lower costs and better access to long-term contraceptives, whether it's oral contraceptives, IUDs or birth control implants—because there are larger Medicare payments for that. There are also new menopausal hormone therapies, the first in over 20 years, with around 150,000 women saving hundreds of dollars a year from the listing of Prometrium, Estrogel and Estrogel Pro.”
“One of the things that we've done is focus very heavily on women's health. One of my commitments at the last election was to open a new endometriosis, pelvic pain and menopause clinic for the Blue Mountains-Nepean region. That is also underway. But, of course, once you've been to experts and you've got advice—that's the expertise in these endometriosis and menopause clinics that are the sort of thing that women tell me they desperately need. Adding menopause to the endometriosis clinics expands the clientele by several decades, I suspect, in terms of who will benefit from these clinics. Of course, you then need to access the medications that may be helpful to you. We've focused a lot on supporting women. We've done the first PBS listing for new oral contraceptive pills in more than 30 years, with the listing of Yaz and Yasmin.”
“We increased Medicare rebates more in just two years than the former government did in nine long years, and the data tells us that this record investment is turning around bulk-billing, which has started rising in every state, delivering an extra six million free visits to GPs in just over 12 months. We know there's much more to do in this area, and certainly in Macquarie it can still be tricky to find a GP offering bulk-billing and to have a reasonable waiting time, but these early results show our commitment to strengthening Medicare is delivering. I'll continue working on the local challenges that we have, because I know how much bulk-billing matters to our community. Earlier, I mentioned women's health, and this legislation will also have particular benefits to women accessing prescriptions.”
“What we're seeing in Penrith at the urgent care clinic are treatments for minor fractures, sprains and other kind of sport injuries; neck and back pain; respiratory illnesses; urinary tract infections; minor cuts; burns; and insect bites and stings—all those things for which you know you need to get to a doctor fast but are not necessarily things that warrant being in the emergency ward. It really fills a gap in the system and complements the work that we're doing here to reduce the cost of medicines. The other area where we've worked hard is to make it more affordable just to see your local GP, with the two largest increases to Medicare rebates in 30 years.”
“One of the measures that I know is really helping locals in my community is the Penrith urgent care clinic, which is open extended hours and weekends. That is a bulk-billed service that allows people to access urgent but not life-threatening medical care. I'm very pleased that work has started by the Nepean Blue Mountains local health area and Wentworth Healthcare to identify the providers and location for the Hawkesbury urgent care clinic, which we committed to earlier this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing the level of interest there is in providing a service that is so badly needed in the Hawkesbury region. We promised 50 urgent care clinics in our last term of government. We delivered. Now there have been 90 that have opened their doors—although new ones are opening nearly every week, so I hope my figures are the latest.”
“Seeing that best-practice model pharmacy treatment room builds on my firsthand experience of going into my local pharmacies for a flu shot, a top-up COVID shot and my very recent whooping cough vaccination. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank pharmacists, particularly my local pharmacists across the Emu Plains, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury area, because they are being asked for—and, from what I can see, being very pleased to offer—additional services and giving people additional reasons to come into their pharmacies. I'm certainly clear that they are part of how we improve health delivery across our communities. The changes that we're debating today really do sit within a context not just of making medicines cheaper but of making healthcare more accessible and affordable. There's a whole range of ways in which we're doing that.”
“That includes reinvestments like expanding the National Immunisation Program to pharmacies and ensuring that a pharmacist gets the same fee as a doctor gets to administer a vaccine and increasing support for rural and regional pharmacies through new and increased payments, which will deliver around $300,000 or $400,000 in additional funds to eligible pharmacies across four years. Earlier today, I had the opportunity to step into a model pharmacy consult room, set up here in Parliament House, to see an example of the types of services that have been increasing in our pharmacies. It was particularly focused on women's health, and I'll have a bit to say about that a little later on.”
“What that means is that things like diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, breast cancer and menopause—stable conditions—may, on doctors' advice, allow the person to get a 60-day prescription, which means you can get twice as much medication on a single prescription for a single prescription price. Eligibility for the 60-day prescription has been introduced gradually in three tranches over the last 12 months or so, with around 300 medications now included. We started it back in September 2023, the second stage was March 2024, and the third stage was September 2024. What that tells you is that this is not a piece of legislation that's sitting in isolation. Importantly, we've also invested in new programs and payments for pharmacies, who are the ones issuing these scripts.”
“As I say, I know when patients and families have multiple prescriptions to fill at the pharmacy, particularly in winter, when stuff goes around, it's measures like these that make a real difference. I am aware that patients who are on multiple medicines have to make choices about which script to fill when times are really tough for them. These are all steps that the Albanese Labor government's taking to ease these cost-of-living pressures. It's worth noting that pensioners and concession card holders will continue to benefit from the freeze to the cost of their PBS medicines. That cost is frozen at its current level of $7.70 until 2030. One of the other measures we've taken that sits alongside this cost cut is to introduce 60-day prescriptions for certain stable health conditions.”
“We were living in a very different time, and how amazing is it that this bill takes the price of medicines back to that era? The bill reduces general patient co-payments from $31.60 to $25 from 1 January next year, which was our 2025 election commitment. Let's remember that this builds on the work that we did in January 2023, which saw the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS, with the maximum cost of a general script falling from $42.50 to $31.60. We've all got a bit nostalgic about 2004, and we have good reason to be proud that we are bringing prices down to what they were then. Relatively speaking, that means cheaper medicines for families, even compared to what it was like for our families back then.”
“That portrait won both the Archibald Prize and the People's Choice Award, which was only the second time that exhibition visitors agreed with the judges' decision since the publicly voted award was introduced in 1988 and just the second time that an Aboriginal sitter was the subject of the Archibald-winning work. Now, this sort of paints the picture of who we were in Australia then. At the ARIAs, Jet won album of the year for Get Born , Kasey Chambers won best female artist, John Butler won best male artist, Guy Sebastian had the highest selling single with 'Angels Brought Me Here' and Delta Goodrem had the highest selling album with Innocent Eyes . Rove McManus announced the Little River Band was being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
“Of course, the Left Right Out band reprises that Jets song whenever we get the chance. S hrek 2 was around, and I know we would have been singing along to Smash Mouth's cover of the Monkees' 'I’m a Believer' from the soundtrack. Out of the car and on to what we might have been seeing at home, at the Oscars ceremony in 2004, Australian Adam Elliot won in the Best Animated Short Film category with Harv ie K rumpet , which I know we enjoyed very much. In the publishing world, Shirley Hazzard won the Miles Franklin Award for her novel T he G reat F ire . The Archibald Prize was awarded to Craig Ruddy for his portrait of actor David Gulpilil.”
“I was in the throws of chauffeuring around two children—a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old—to after-school activities like soccer, ballet and music. At the same time, I was juggling my small business. I did that juggling thanks not to Motorola but to Blackberry. I remember it as a really hectic time, and it was a time when I know I would not have loved having the whole family sick at the same time, because it was, even then, and as families know now, a challenge when you all ended up at the doctor's. I think that, as Special Envoy for the Arts, I should just point out a few other things about that period. I think it's incumbent on me to do that. During those trips in the car with the kids, we would have been listening to Missy Higgins's 'Scar' and The Jets' 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl'.”
“While this legislation to lower the cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines is being debated, it has been great to hear what people in this chamber were doing in their lives 21 years ago. For me, in 2004, which was when medicines last cost $25, I was probably midway between my two stints in our wonderful parliament. My first stint was down the road in Old Parliament House in the 1980s. I had no idea that I would be doing a second stint in this new Parliament House—as those of us who worked in Old Parliament House still call this place—as the member for Macquarie 15 or 20 years later and standing here to talk about that time. That's not the sort of thing that you really imagine is going to happen. But I think back to that time when you did pay $25 a script, at the most, at the chemist.”
“It has no income limits, no limit on the number of places in the program, and the house price caps actually reflect the cost of houses. In Macquarie, a $900,000 cap applies to the property. If you're a single parent with a dependent child, you can use this program and only pay a two per cent deposit. Since we came to government, 855 Macquarie locals have already been assisted into their own homes with the five per cent guarantee scheme. But these changes that we're making open the program to every first homebuyer. Where we see a need and a way to provide more support, that is exactly what the Albanese government is going to do.”
“We'll discuss what individuals can do so they can build back better from a flood and how that is recognised by insurers. We'll discuss the appetite for government buy-back options for homes with very high flood risk where alternative mitigation measures are unlikely to manage the risk—because if you're in a home where you can't get insurance, it's likely a future buyer won't be able to get insurance either. I want to see individuals get the support they need so they can build back better from a flood or get on with their lives, and the time to start is when the sun is shining. Our program to buy a home with only a five per cent deposit is great news for first homebuyers. It's available to every single first homebuyer from October.”
“My visit to the US last year and discussions with people in the UK and NZ in insurance and government roles tell me this is a global issue. But I'm joining with the Insurance Council of Australia to continue the discussion locally with my community and key stakeholders, to unpack what is and isn't an option for my community. Residents, businesses and other stakeholders are invited to a special insurance forum I'm hosting in Windsor in September. We'll hear individual experiences, but, more than anything, this is an opportunity to focus on solutions—because we already know the problem. We'll discuss everything from whether there are innovative insurance products for homes and small businesses, including where homeowners have ways to minimise the repair or clean-up costs.”
“For most of us, our home is our most valuable asset, and I know that recovering from a natural disaster is easier—still awful, but easier—when there is insurance to repair, replace and rebuild. I know that from personal experience. But imagine what it's like to know you simply can't afford the $20,000 or $30,000 that insurers quote for a standard home insurance policy to be covered for flood in these flood-prone areas. People have few options: they pay a rate that really stretches their means, they try to get a policy for everything except flood, or they have no policy at all. That means they're not insured for any unexpected event—not for fire, hail damage or serious accidental damage. This cannot go on. It's an urgent issue, and I know we in Australia are not alone in facing it.”
“Yes, there's a bunch of relatives in there because that's what happens in the brigade—it's families. Fifteen Hazelbrook members were recognised, with Allan Catt and Cris Hofland being recognised for more than 40 years of service. I also want to record the passing of Hazelbrook RFS member Group Captain Mat Hunter, a former captain with the brigade with more than two decades of service. My thoughts are with his family, and I know that Mat is being mourned by brigades right across the Blue Mountains and by the many volunteers he trained and supported. When you live on a floodplain like the Hawkesbury-Nepean, forecasts of heavy rain can inspire real fear and anxiety—not least because, for many people, flood insurance has become out of reach.”
“Mount Riverview Brigade life member Dennis 'Wayne' Hancock, who's dedicated more than 50 years to the RFS and local community, was recognised. He was a founding member of the Mount Riverview Brigade. The professionalism of these people does not go unnoticed. None of them work for the praise, but it was so good to be able to be there to recognise their service. Another special mention is Linden Brigade member Colin Anlezark, who's given more than 50 years of service to the RFS and who, like many of the volunteers, serves the Blue Mountains district in various roles. My local Winmalee brigade National Medal recipients included Steven Manning, Catrina Jordan, Bec Southwell and Adrian Schovers, with Peter Church, Col Church, Alison Davis and Tony Moore receiving their second clasp.”
“No hair—it had burnt the hair off all of us. How the guys on the back of our truck didn't die, I'll never know.' That is the calibre and the bravery of the men and women who serve my community in the RFS brigades across the electorate of Macquarie. The dedication of 31 New South Wales volunteers from the Blue Mountains district was recognised earlier in August with a presentation of national medals. These volunteers had more than 900 years of combined service, ranging from 15 to 57 years of service. Many of these volunteers had dedicated significant portions of their life to serving and protecting others. The National Medal is presented to individuals who go above and beyond what's expected of active members within the brigade.”
“A 60th anniversary is pretty special, even more so when it marks six decades of operation as a rural fire brigade. The Katoomba/Leura Rural Fire Brigade have celebrated their 60th. It was a mixture of laughter and tears, which remarkably included some of the founding members. This brigade is a leader in the Blue Mountains district, with a third of its members being women. Many stories were shared, and this one from Charlie Brown, who started his firefighting career at 15 years old, describes the North Springwood fire in 1968 when three firefighters lost their lives right next to where his crew was operating. He said: 'We escaped in the old Blitz truck with no windows. Everyone rode on the back; I was driving. We got to Hawkesbury Road and thought, "Phew, that was close." Then we took off our hats.”
“The event was organised by Rotarians from the three Hawkesbury Rotary clubs—Windsor, Richmond and Kurrajong-North Richmond. I've been closely involved with Rotary since the 1970s, and even a decade or so ago I didn't hear Rotarians talking about domestic and family violence, let alone spending months planning a fundraiser to support our local frontline organisations like the Women's Cottage, San Miguel, hope4u and the Haven. People signed up to bike ride, run and walk—some with their dogs—and there was plenty of food to help people refuel, including the Jeremiah Project's food truck, ice creams and, of course, a Rotary sausage sizzle. It was a terrific first event to raise awareness and funds for this cause, and I really want to congratulate Rotarians, sponsors and all the participants.”
“We've worked closely with the New South Wales government, and there are now nine additional DV workers across the Nepean Blue Mountains region as a result of our increased funding. I want to commend the state member for Penrith, Karen McKeown, who has provided more than $70,000 from the Community Building Partnership program for the Haven. The funding for this service will provide essential upgrades to support more women and children fleeing domestic and family violence. All of this is good progress, but, of course, there is more to do. I joined my community this weekend at the Hawkesbury Walk Ride Run Against Domestic Violence at the Hawkesbury Showground, and it demonstrated how far attitudes have changed in our community when it comes to domestic and family violence.”