Anthony Albanese
Grayndler · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The ground there at Brookvale Oval, as I call it, was of course sponsored by a gambling company, so every time there's a game on there you see that constant advertising around the ground. What our legislation will do is make sure that future contracts can't be issued with things such as advertising on jerseys or advertising on grounds.”
“She's someone who's passionate about it and tells me about her constituent who is 108 years old and travelled, as a very young boy, from South Australia with family for the opening of the first parliament—and he's still there. We hope he's able to attend again.”
“That is why, just this week, there was the increase in the minimum wage, the decrease in taxes, the support for paid parental leave, super being paid every payday. All of these changes make a positive difference to people's lives.”
“This year, Australia is celebrating 125 years of Federation, and I was with you and other members in Melbourne to commemorate that event of the first sitting of parliament, and it was a very good celebration of our history, which is worthy of celebration.”
“We Australians sometimes think of ourselves as a young nation on an ancient continent, yet by global standards, of course, we are one of the oldest and strongest democracies in the world. Next year will mark an important anniversary: the 100th anniversary of Australian democracy making its home here in Canberra, our national capital.”
“I note the member for McPherson, who's a former attendant in Parliament House, has agreed to be one of the members of that committee as well, and that's a good thing.”
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“It was a commitment we made in the electorate of Bass in January or February at the beginning of this year, but we are now delivering, creating a new incentive payment for GP clinics to bulk-bill every patient. The good news is that more than 1,000 clinics have already signed up to become fully bulk-billed because of our investment. Today I was with the minister and the senator for the ACT, Senator Gallagher, with Dr Conrad and a couple of his patients, John and Lucio. Lucio had been going to that clinic for 40 years; John for over a decade. We heard firsthand the difference that bulk-billing of Medicare will make. Dr Conrad, at that clinic, specialises in sun checks for people's skin, something that we know is an example of where early intervention and identification is not only good for patients but also saves money for the system.”
“I thank the member for Dickson for her question as someone who we welcome back to the parliament. The last time we spoke the member for Dickson hospital receiving the sort of care that comes through our public health system that makes an enormous difference in order for people to fully contribute to society. The member for Dickson will be contributing for a long time, I have no doubt about that, as a member of this place and as a champion of that community in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. On Saturday we deliver the biggest investment in Medicare since Labor created it 40 years ago, tripling the bulk-billing incentive for every Australian.”
“The author of the report that was commissioned by the former government, Graeme Samuel, has come out very clearly and said that the laws that have been put forward are consistent with Graeme Samuel's review. I'm not quite sure that the member is being fair dinkum with the quotes that she says of the groups that are supporting this legislation, to be honest. What we need to do is to not play these games, which led to nothing being carried during the last term, of a 'no-alition'—people saying they're against it. They sat in the parliament for a long period of time and were up there in the Senate, waiting for them to be carried.”
“I thank the member for her question. The truth is that our environment laws aren't working. There is a very broad consensus that that is the case, and we are working to get it right, because they're not working for business and they're not working for the environment. Approvals take too long; processes lack certainty and need to be streamlined. These are laws that were drafted in the Howard era for the Howard era and are just not fit for purpose. We believe that the laws that are before the parliament are balanced. They will help to grow the economy, but they'll also help to make sure that future generations of Australians get to enjoy the benefits of our unique environment.”
“Those opposite will continue to just oppose everything, whether it's opposing what we're doing or opposing what each other are doing. (Time expired)”
“I'd ask the member for Lindsay to think about supporting some of it some time—supporting energy bill relief, supporting cheaper child care, supporting cheaper medicines or the 60-day dispensing, supporting the measures that have come in today, which will allow for increased GP appointments, supporting the batteries that are being rolled out in the member for Lindsay's electorate and supporting free TAFE. Do you remember free TAFE, something that those opposite said, from the top down, people don't value if they don't pay for it? Let me tell you that 685,000 Australians have benefited from free TAFE. Those opposite opposed it. They opposed, as well, student debt relief for more than three million Australians. This government will continue to stand up for a strong economy and continue to stand up on issues like cost-of-living relief.”
“I've met people in those electorates, such as workers in the aviation sector, who are literally earning five figures more than they would have, as a direct result of our same job, same pay legislation. We've created 1.1 million jobs. Three on five of them have been full time. Under this government, the gap between women's wages and male wages is the lowest it has ever been. We have record women's workforce participation as well. We've produced tax cuts for every single taxpayer, and there are two more rounds to come. We want people to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. That's something that we've said repeatedly, which I've noticed has been repeated without the substance by some of those opposite as well. We'll continue to roll out cost-of-living support.”
“I thank the member for her question. As the Treasurer has just outlined, since we have come to office inflation is half what we inherited. Interest rates have gone down three times this year. They started to rise under those opposite. We went to an election promising much lower spending than those opposite, which is why they had two higher deficits going forward. At the same time, of course, what matters to a household income is money coming in as well as money going out. What we've done is increase real wages. Quarter after quarter after quarter after quarter, we have increased real wages, opposed by those opposite. They opposed all of our industrial relations measures. They opposed commonsense measures, such as same job, same pay.”
“I'm pleased to get a question from someone who, of course, is now shadow Treasurer. He was promoted into the position of shadow Treasurer after going to an election with a $600 billion plan for nuclear power in the 2040s.”
“Just briefly—before I hand to the arts minister—we very much support local content in the Australian arts sector, right across the board. Whether it be people who are involved in drama and production in that area, whether it be music—and Missy Higgins was good enough to come here to support Australian music today—or whether it be all of the creative sector, we are really proud of what our government has done and we'll continue to engage so that Australian voices are heard.”
“What we did was to do a saving for students and graduates of an average of $5½ thousand each time, and to make a difference to all of these measures: the $20,000 instant asset write-off, extended for another year, and more choice, lower cost and higher quality care for Australian women as well. And of course, importantly, we have frozen draught beer excise for two years, making a difference as well. We will continue to engage in all of these measures, including cheaper medicines. There's one thing they have in common, though. Every single measure by the government, before the last election and since, has been opposed by those opposite.”
“A $10,000 bonus for housing apprentices on top of their wages was opposed by those opposite. The batteries program that has seen more than 100,000—I haven't caught up with the latest figure, but I'm sure you'll hear it later in question time! I'm sure it's coming. I'm confident of that. Australians are taking up that opportunity. The boost to Medicare that we are doing today, where more than a thousand medical practices have already signed up to fully bulk-bill everyone who goes through those doors, is making an enormous difference. We're opening up, as well, another 50 urgent care clinics. We've cut student debt by 20 per cent, something that we announced exactly one year ago and, remarkably, was opposed by those opposite. They took that to an election as a saving for them.”
“I thank the member for his question. Of course cost-of-living pressures are real, and that is why we are acting on them in a real way. We have, since 1 July, delivered a pay rise for all minimum and award wage workers, taking the total increase under this government to over $9,000. The number of times that the coalition, in government or in opposition, has made a submission to a Fair Work case supporting an increase in real wages is zero. We know they don't support net zero, but we know also they are net zero when it comes to increases in real wages. The superannuation guarantee increased to 12 per cent, paid parental leave extended to 24 weeks, and super is now being paid on paid parental leave. More energy bill relief was opposed by those opposite each and every time.”
“That's why we engage with our partners, and APEC alone makes up some 75 per cent of Australia's trading relationships. We are trusted and respected in the eyes of the world precisely because we engage respectfully with the world—the public sector and the private sector as well, as evidenced by the event hosted by BHP and Dominic Perrottet in Washington, DC, as well.”
“This represents an $8.5 billion pipeline of critical minerals projects that's been identified already, where Australia and the United States can work together to create jobs here and to create economic activity and economic benefit right here in Australia as well. Demand is growing, of course, for those minerals, but so is our capacity to value-add to them. One of the things that we want to do is learn the lessons of the past, not just dig up resources, export them and wait for value to be added and jobs to be created somewhere else. We want them created here. Similarly, at ASEAN and APEC, I met with more than 20 leaders, advocating for Australian trade, jobs and industry at every single opportunity. One in four Australian jobs depends upon our trade, and that's why Australia supports free and fair trade.”
“Recently, in the last month, I've had three meetings with President Trump—in New York, firstly, then an extensive meeting in Washington, DC, where I went with the Minister for Resources and our minister for industry as well, and then, on the sidelines of APEC, we were able to have dinner last week. That is important because the United States is our most important ally. In the engagement that we have with the United States, whether it be the AUKUS arrangements that, of course, have been not just endorsed but strengthened by President Trump, whether it be our defence investments which were endorsed by President Trump or whether it be our critical minerals and rare earths strategy, it is very important that we engage in the opportunity that is there before Australia.”
“I thank the member for Maribyrnong for her question. In all of our international engagements, there is one focus: how do we support Australian jobs? How do we support Australian economic growth? How do we set Australia up for the future? In today's globalised world, what happens around the world has an impact. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had an impact on global inflation in supermarkets, whether in New Zealand, Australia or anywhere else. That is why we very much enjoy constructive engagement. We deal with our partners and allies respectfully in the interests of our national interest.”
“We are very proud of our record when it comes to the economy, such as the fact that, for the first time in decades, this Treasurer produced two budget surpluses in a row as well as lower deficits than what they went to the election on. At the election, held six months ago today, the Australian people gave their verdict on the choice before them: a Labor government committed to continuing to put downward pressure on inflation, a Labor government continuing to provide cost-of-living relief, a Labor government continuing to stand up for Australian jobs and a Labor government committed to real action on climate change—or the alternative. The alternative that was before the Australian people was—”
“I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question, but, as everyone in this parliament knows, and Australians know as well, the inflation rate had a six in front of it when we came to office and it now has a three in front of it. Yes, there was a rise in the latest figures, but that was after a number of falls. Indeed interest rates, which the member referred to as well, commenced to fall under us. They started to rise under the former government, as the member knows well. And the unemployment rate has a four in front of it. We have seen employment continue to grow—more than a million jobs being created on our watch—and the lowest average unemployment of any government in five decades.”
“on indulgence—I join with you, Mr Speaker, in welcoming Gerry Brownlee to the Australian parliament, from the New Zealand parliament. Gerry, if I can be so bold as to call him that, is an old mate of mine. We served as transport ministers together and worked together very closely across the ditch, as Australia and New Zealand always do and as I did last week with Prime Minister Luxon at ASEAN and APEC. We wish you well. We look forward to continuing engagement with our Kiwi brothers and sisters. I thank New Zealand's parliament, as well, for the very warm welcome that I received during the leaders meeting, which we had in Queenstown just a couple of months ago. We wish you well.”
“I inform the House that the Minister for Small Business, International Development and Multicultural Affairs will be absent from question time this week. The Treasurer will answer questions on her behalf in relation to small business, and the Minister for Home Affairs will answer questions on her behalf in relation to multicultural affairs and international development.”
“She went on to say—a direct quote again … we are always positioned and prepared for any self-managed returns from that region … Op Howth, for example … has been an ongoing investigation since 2014. Think about that. Fact 5—”
“Fact 1: a non-government organisation took this government to court, demanding that we repatriate these people. Fact 2: they lost that court case. Fact 3: we did not repatriate these people, unlike the former process of both the former government and this government in its first term early on. Fact 4: Krissy Barrett appeared in the Senate estimates, which the member has referred to, so I'll quote Krissy Barrett, the AFP commissioner, very directly: I do want to provide assurance and confidence that the AFP remains appropriately prepared and positioned to respond to any self-managed returns from the internally displaced persons camps, alongside our Commonwealth and state partners.”
“The current framework was established in the 1980s, and one of the things that have occurred is that some of those crossbenchers—I don't know if the member for Wentworth is one of them—participated in a business model where a failed former senator set up a model where they're actually paid to put in FOI requests, thereby costing taxpayers money twice the way through. The other thing that is happening is that more than a million hours of time were spent in the last year—”
“With respect to the member for Wentworth, the robodebt royal commission did not find that cabinet processes were the problem. They found that ministers acted directly in contravention of the advice that they were given and knowing—even though questions were being asked in this chamber. So let's not let those responsible for robodebt off the hook by suggesting, bizarrely, that somehow reform of a system that is broken, the FOI system, has something to do with support for robodebt. That is a link which is simply not there, I say to the member for Wentworth. The fact is that the FOI system currently is not working for anyone. FOI is a vital feature of democracy, but right now the system is broken.”
“As we welcome the agreement on phase 1 of this plan, we reiterate our support for its calls for Hamas to lay down its arms and that Hamas must play no role in the future of Gaza. Importantly, President Trump's plan also rejects the annexation and forced displacement of the Palestinian people, because the only path to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East remains a two-state solution, with the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side within internationally recognised borders in peace and security.”
“We have always acknowledged that the leadership of the United States of America, together with the Arab League, is vital to achieving these goals. President Trump's plan proves the truth of that. We applaud the diplomatic efforts that have been undertaken by the United States and the Arab League—Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt—and the work that has been done to engage with Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss these matters with a number of leaders in the United States, the UK and the United Arab Emirates, together with a number of key international partners—three of the Five Eyes states, who recognise the State of Palestine—during that UN leaders week. There is growing international momentum to bring peace and security to the Middle East, and we must all continue to work together to build on this.”
“I thank the member for Boothby for her question. Indeed, Australia welcomes the news that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of President Trump's peace plan. In the Middle East, the past two years have been full of dark days. Today, we see a ray of light. Today, the world has cause for real hope—hope for the families of the hostages, who have kept a two-year vigil that must have felt like an eternity, hope for the people of Gaza, who have endured suffering beyond imagining, and hope that, after eight decades of conflict and terror, we can break this cycle of violence and build something better. Throughout this devastating conflict, Australia has been consistently part of the international calls for a ceasefire, for the return of hostages and for the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
“Child sexual abuse is abhorrent, and it's totally unacceptable. All children deserve to grow up safely and free from abuse. And I would have thought, if there were an issue, that should be free from partisan shots. It is that. For new members of the House, private member's business is dealt with on Monday after it's introduced. Everyone knows that that's the case. It's been the case since at least 1996—since I've been here. People know that that is the case.”
“He will inspire countless others with this outstanding achievement, of which all Australians should be proud. It's an achievement for Professor Robson but also a huge achievement for Australian science; for the Australian Research Council, which has backed this research over decades; and for Australia's research sector more broadly. On behalf of the government, I warmly congratulate Nobel Prize winner Professor Robson.”
“As the prize committee pointed out, this world-leading research has the potential to address 'some of humankind's greatest challenges'—harvesting water in arid environments, delivering precise drug doses to cancer patients, capturing carbon, storing and transporting hydrogen, and so much more. These are global challenges, but they are also Australian challenges, and our nation will be better able to meet those challenges and seize the opportunities they present thanks to this landmark Australian scientific research. Professor Robson's work really matters—pun intended. But there's been a clear theme in the coverage of this honour this morning, and that is his humility. He has been researching, teaching and inspiring people at the University of Melbourne for nearly 60 years.”
“On behalf of the government and on behalf of the people of Australia, I want to express my sincere congratulations to Professor Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, who has been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Professor Robson and his colleagues have been working on cutting-edge research into metal-organic frameworks that can trap, store and absorb gases. As I understand it, this research brings a whole new class of solid matter into existence. The nature of Professor Robson's work is molecular, but the scale of its significance is absolutely enormous.”
“I wish him well on his visit across the ditch to New Zealand. I'm sure that this is a relationship that will continue to grow stronger into the future.”
“One of the things that is important is that nations have relationships. It's also important that leaders have relationships, and I've developed a good relationship with Prime Minister Wong. He stood in whilst at the Shangri-La Dialogue that I spoke at—unfortunately his predecessor Prime Minister Lee suffered from COVID, so he hosted me on my bilateral visit to Singapore during that time. This is a relationship between not just nations and leaders but also peoples, and one of the initiatives of the former government was to bring back the Colombo Plan. That is continuing to deliver, with more Australians going to Singapore to study as well as Singapore residents coming here. Prime Minister Wong would have attended here. He wanted to go to the Australian War Memorial to pay his respects as well. He is a most valued leader.”
“This is an important time where the world is seeing a lot of turbulence and uncertainty. What we can be certain about is that our friends in Singapore have the same values and the same interests as we do here, in Australia, and the agreements that we've signed today and the presence of Prime Minister Wong here, along with his delegation, are so important. All of that underlines the value of true and trusted friends such as Australia and Singapore. This is a friendship of course—it is 60 years of Singapore's independence. We were one of the first countries to recognise Singapore and that's not surprising, because of the relationship that we had—including, of course, with the devastation that Singapore suffered during World War II. The people-to-people relations are absolutely critical.”
“This is about allowing access—which currently only the United States has—to Singapore's ports and, of course, its magnificent airport. This really is a game changer for Australia's presence in our regions to the north. It's really important and is something I've worked through with Prime Minister Wong. I thank the Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister for the work that he's done with his counterpart on that as well. We also have our economic resilience agreement and an agreement working with our ASEAN partners. Both our nations are proud and constructive supporters of multilateral dialogues. Both of our nations support free and fair trade. We spoke about Australia and Singapore's focus on ASEAN and its central role in this region—particularly in the lead-up to Singapore chairing ASEAN in 2027.”
“This year, as we celebrate 60 years of Singapore's independence, 60 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of our comprehensive strategic partnership, we are taking that cooperation to the next level. Today, Prime Minister Wong and I agreed to an upgraded comprehensive strategic partnership. This will help ensure supply chains remain resilient. It will support our action together on climate change. It will strengthen pandemic preparedness and research cooperation. It will boost development on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. It will further partnerships between our public services, universities and the arts. In addition to our upgraded partnership, ministers have signed MOUs across the board, including an important one on enhanced defence cooperation.”
“Today I had the great pleasure of welcoming Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to our parliament, his first official visit to Australia as Prime Minister of Singapore. Last night at the Lodge, Jodie Haydon and I had the privilege of hosting Mr and Mrs Wong—a delightful dinner, great company, good discussion on an informal level about the challenges that the world faces together. Prime Minister Wong's delegation included the minister for defence, the minister for foreign affairs, the minister for manpower and a minister in charge of energy, science and technology. In defence cooperation, medical research, education, clean energy and a range of other sectors, Singapore and Australia are close partners. Our two nations are even closer friends.”
“It's also part of our cost-of-living measures, together with other measures we've put in place—the cheaper medicines, the cheaper batteries that are in place—to provide cost-of-living support and to make a real difference for people to be able to get by. And when Australians now raise a glass, they know that the Australian government won't be raising the price at the same time, something they've campaigned on for a long period of time. It's good news for Australian beer drinkers, it's good news for Australian small business, it's good news for Australian pubs and clubs and it's good news for you, Mr Speaker, that, on that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper .”
“And increasingly, with smaller families and people wanting to interact and have that social interaction face-to-face, these venues are becoming really important in bonding our community together. Indeed, if you go into any of your local pubs or clubs, they are the people who are sponsoring the local rugby league team, the local AFL team or the local netball team. They are the people who are really contributing and putting back. They're having barbecues at pubs to raise money for funds and for charities, making an enormous difference. Ten thousand hospitality venues will benefit from this freeze. Overwhelmingly, they are small businesses run by mums and dads, by people who pitch in and work really hard on a day-to-day basis. That's why this freeze is a good thing.”
“I thank the member for Moore for his question. I'm reminded of his fantastic first speech in this place where he spoke about his background as a publican, the work he did engaging with people and how it motivated him to go into public life, to represent the people he used to serve across the bar. He's now serving across his electorate and doing a fantastic job. Today we introduced legislation cementing our two-year freeze to the draft beer excise—the first time this has happened in 40 years. Forty years—that's a long time between drinks! As a local member, with so many terrific small breweries in my electorate, I know what this means for brewers, for publicans and, most importantly, for their customers, people who enjoy the odd beer. Those local pubs, sporting clubs and RSLs are community focal points; they're places where we gather.”
“I am concerned about pests; I assure the House of that. And I know that this is a really serious issue around our national parks, and not just around regional Queensland but right around the country. Some time ago I visited the Northern Territory, with the Cattlemen's Association, looking at the issue of feral pigs there. It is devastating the country and having a real impact on our wildlife, and therefore it is something that we do take seriously. I will ask the minister for agriculture, though, to supplement—although I will say to the member for Kennedy that, as a South Sydney supporter, we've been 40 years in a drought, and we always have hope! And we have something that those on this side of the House have in abundance: it's called loyalty.”
“That's what today's announcement will deliver. Once again, this government is backing jobs and backing industry. We're making sure we're also backing regional Queensland.”
“It is a highly profitable company, delivering billions in dividends to shareholders this year alone. Future opportunities for industry mean that companies must invest to meet those opportunities. Of course, as the member for Kennedy has reminded the House on a number of occasions, there are third-generation workers at the Mount Isa facility. Our government wants there to be a fourth and a fifth generation. I've met workers there in the many visits that I've had to Mount Isa and it's quite clear that, if that facility closed, it would have a devastating impact on that community and on that important town in north Queensland. We say to those workers at that facility that we're going to look after your jobs. We want to make sure that your children can have a good job too. That is what we are determined to do.”
“It's jobs, it's industry capability and it's economic power, and I thank Premier Crisafulli for the constructive engagement that we have had over recent weeks to be able to deliver this announcement. The investment announced today, though, has been made contingent on Glencore taking their share of responsibility as well. This includes conducting a transformation study, putting in the work to bring the facility into the modern day, evaluating the end-to-end copper value chain in the region so that Mount Isa and Australia continue to benefit from a sustainable and long-term industry. Both the Commonwealth and the Queensland governments will support Glencore in that evaluation process. Glencore needs to back Mount Isa just as Mount Isa has backed Glencore. Both the Premier and I are very clear about that with the company.”
“I thank the member for Leichhardt for his question. Today our government has announced a joint investment with the Queensland government, in Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery. Support will be jointly provided to ensure more than 600 direct jobs remain ongoing, with an additional 500 jobs at the nearby Phosphate Hill facility. Glencore's Mount Isa smelter reinforces Australia's position as a key global supplier of copper. In this century, part of the transition to clean energy requires a greater use of copper. It is used as a conductor in everything, from electric vehicles to batteries, that will power the globe in the 21st century. This is a valuable resource that we can't afford to lose. It's important to Queensland and it's important to the nation.”
“I thank the member for Petrie for her question. Indeed, Australians were very clear, when they voted for the member for Petrie on 3 May, that they wanted action on climate change that not only protects our environment—and I must say that the member's electorate is particularly pristine there, around Redcliffe and that beautiful part of Queensland—but also strengthens our economy. Our government is taking precisely that action with our target to reduce emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035. It's a responsible—”
“I move: That leave of absence from today until 27 November 2025 be given to Ms Payne for parental leave purposes. Speaking to that, if I may, I can inform the House that Joseph Douglas Phillips arrived over the weekend—the newest ACT constituent. Young Joseph weighed 3.7 kilograms and was 49.5 centimetres long. Mum and young Joseph are going very, very well and are delightful. I have seen some fantastic photos of the very, very happy family. So, to Alicia and her partner, Ben—I'm sure on behalf of everyone in this House—congratulations. We look forward to meeting young Joseph when he arrives here, although 27 November is the last sitting day of parliament. I'm not sure if it goes to 5 pm that day, but maybe young Joseph can drop in and say g'day to us on that day. Question agreed to.”
“This alliance ups this relationship to a new level following the request of Papua New Guinea, through Prime Minister Marape, and accepted by my government, and I am sure it will be welcomed by both of our peoples.”
“The Pukpuk treaty is only our third alliance, and it's our first in over seven decades. Our nearest neighbour is now our newest ally. It is an alliance born of respect, an alliance to meet common dangers, to act in our mutual interests and to safeguard each other's sovereignty—two houses with one fence, as Prime Minister Marape has said. We are two neighbours, partners, mates and now allies. I cannot comprehend the possibility of anything as significant as this for the defence of Australia as well as the sovereignty and defence of Papua New Guinea. Just over 50 years ago, PNG, during our darkest hour—during World War II and through that period—was considered to be part of Australian territory.”