Peter Khalil
Wills · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Nationally, I think it's important to note that we've delivered multiple tax cuts, more bulk billing, five per cent deposits for people's first home, expanded parental leave and early education, free TAFE, 20 per cent off HECS and so much more.”
“We've backed local arts, schools, sports clubs and community organisations through all of the different federal government investments, grants and election commitments, which have been so critically important for those communities. In the environment, we've revitalised sections of Moonee Ponds Creek, which is the border of my electorate.”
“It was 10 years ago today that I had the great privilege of being elected as a member of Wills. In my first speech, I said that I was elected by the people of Wills to serve them and to make a difference in their lives. That sounds simple, but it is a really important commitment and promise.”
“It's one of the great privileges of my time in this place. In my first speech, I warned that we must beware of the demagogues and charlatans who take advantage of the disaffected and angry in our society and direct that anger towards minorities and refugees to stir up their own political ends. Sadly, that warning still pertains today.”
“But the fact is that 2.7 million businesses and 98 per cent of all businesses will be eligible for generous capital gains tax concessions. Why? Because these reforms are all about helping businesses invest, innovate and grow. That is because they are the backbone of our economy. We know that.”
“If you're a new business, if you're a startup, if you've got an idea and you want to transform that idea into something productive for the economy, we're making sure that we help unlock investors through those tax incentives to change that culture so people are willing and incentivised to invest in those new small businesses.”
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“Back then was a time—which maybe one could argue is not too dissimilar to today—where there were people who were deliberately trying to divide us, as Australians, through fear and differences in our ethnicity and backgrounds, and that fear and division could have triumphed at the time. But, due to decisions like this, and people like Nick Bolkus who stood tall and firm against hatred and prejudice, we triumphed. He stood for the idea that our diversity is a strength and that, regardless of our backgrounds, who we are, where we come from or what our faith is, we can embody the Australia that we live in. We can be part of the Australia that we live in, and we can contribute to the Australia that we love so much. That is modern, multicultural Australia.”
“On the multicultural space and the advocacy that he was known for—obviously coming from a migrant background himself—when he became the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, as well as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, he worked in those roles with not only compassion and empathy but also practicality. He got real and tangible things done. We've heard from previous speakers about the moment—I think most of Australia knows the history—when Bob Hawke, our then prime minister, provided refuge to thousands of Chinese citizens in Australia after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. It was actually Nick who was very much part of that decision. He was, alongside the PM, exceptionally proud of that moment in our history.”
“That's a significant step within the context of multicultural Australia, but, more than that, what Nick did as a cabinet minister should be remembered and recalled. When Prime Minister Bob Hawke elevated him to the cabinet, it was as the minister for consumer affairs. In that role, he introduced watershed legislation to protect the privacy of Australians from data credit agencies. He also set up the banking ombudsman to provide a dispute resolution mechanism for bank customers. He did some really remarkable policy work—Steve, that was probably a bit of work that you did when you were working for him as an adviser; I'm not sure—that was significant and made a difference. Nick insisted on protecting all Australians equally and, in many respects, embodied the Labor values that we hold dear in every role that he held.”
“He was the architect of modern multiculturalism. We call him one of the fathers of multiculturalism, and that's certainly true. He had a long and distinguished career in politics. He was elected to the Senate in 1980, and his life was a life of public service and of literally giving himself to the nation and to his state of South Australia, his beloved South Australia. He actually began his career as a lawyer—we won't hold that against him—before he moved into politics and had a great political career. He served his home state of South Australia, which he loved so much, and he served all of this nation for a political career that spanned 24 years. He is known, very much, for his contribution to modern multiculturalism, but we should not forget that Nick became the first Australian cabinet minister of Greek descent.”
“I want to offer my sincere condolences to his wife, Mary, and his children, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas, plus the wider, very large community of friends and family that have been touched by the contribution that he's made—even to, right beside me, the member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas, who worked for Nick for 10 years. Now, Mikayla has worked for Steve. The amount of wisdom that Steve probably benefited from Nick and his experience in his career and as a mentor to so many talented politicians—I'll put you in that category—who serve their community faithfully and who do everything they can to give people a better life—that was Nick at the national policy level but also at a community level, at a local level. We've heard that he was a pioneer of progressive politics. That's certainly the case.”
“A month or two before Christmas last year, I got a call from Nick Bolkus. He was at an aged care facility, actually, and he was struggling. His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the clarity of what he was saying to me and what he was asking me about was very much there despite the difficulty in hearing what he was trying to say. He was interested in the policies that we were implementing. He was asking questions about social cohesion and multiculturalism. He was asking me questions about the new ministry position that I have. He was engaged, he was wise, he gave me some good advice, and he cared. We are all standing here, today, to pay our respects in this condolence motion to a man who gave so much of himself in public service—obviously to the state of South Australia but also to the entire nation.”
“It's not great power that keeps evil in check; it is the everyday deeds of ordinary Australians—the mitzvah, the small acts of kindness and love that keep the darkness at bay.”
“My community of Wills is the embodiment of the society these terrorists want to destroy. Our multiculturalism and the cohesion we've worked so hard to build and protect is what makes Australia stronger. It is our duty to ensure this brutality never becomes normalised in this country. Our national unity is vital to our national security, and our government will continue to strengthen both. In our time of mourning and grief, Australians have put our arms around the Jewish community—our friends, our neighbours, our family. We honour the memory of those lost. May their memory be a blessing. In our darkest moments so many everyday Australians have been the light that has rejected hate. That is real heroism. To all those who have helped, all those Australians who have worked to push back darkness over the past month, thank you.”
“Our multifaith, multi-ethnic society works because we commit to it. It works because the majority of Australians commit every day to disagree peacefully, despite our differences, regardless of the diversity of our backgrounds. That, fundamentally, is our way of life, our democracy, the harmonious and peaceful society we create. It's the type of country we want to live in, in which anyone should be free and at peace to worship, to celebrate their faith and to be free from this kind of violence and hatred we've seen. Whatever differences we have, whatever disagreements we have, we can navigate through those without resorting to violence. These terrorists, filled with hatred, sought to divide and weaken this multicultural democracy we hold so dear. We cannot allow this.”
“Antisemitism is an evil that tears at the fabric of our country because it threatens the peaceful, free and egalitarian society that we all cherish. Since the terrible events of October 2023 we have witnessed a series of appalling attacks targeting Australia's Jewish community. What we do to resist and defeat this hatred and the evil we witnessed at Bondi is our challenge as a nation. If we do cherish our pluralistic society, as lawmakers, political leaders, community leaders and everyday Australian citizens we all share the obligation to protect what we have built over generations. This can be done through the laws we pass here but also every day in every act of kindness, as the Prime Minister has mentioned, and in every resistance to prejudice and discrimination, whenever we hear it and whenever we see it.”
“The first responders, from our amazing paramedics to the local Bondi lifeguards, whom I met today and who acted so swiftly to save as many survivors as possible, even though they told me they didn't have training to deal with gunshot wounds but relied on their training around shark attacks and massive loss of blood, went straight into action and saved people in front of them. All the civilians who found themselves on a typical Sydney Sunday afternoon in the middle of a crisis and who went to aid the wounded—there were so many more people who shone the light so brightly against the darkness of just those two extremist gunmen. All of those Australians demonstrated an unwavering commitment to life and the best of our humanity.”
“They've shown us the light: the strength in our unity when we do come together. The bravery of our fellow Australians, who fought to stop the evil acts of violence inflicted by these terrorists, is the light. Boris and Sofia Gurman and Reuven Morrison all lost their lives trying to stop the attackers, buying precious moments for others to get away and to live. We all know the heroic story of Ahmed al-Ahmed, the Syrian refugee who tackled and disarmed one of the terrorists. We don't know how many lives he saved, but he saved many. The police officers who fought back—detective Cesar Barraza, who brought down one of the terrorists, and constables Scott Dyson and Jack Hibbert, who were both seriously injured during the attack.”
“Yes, this atrocity at Bondi was targeted at our Jewish Australian community, but it was also an attack on all of us. What sense could any of us make of this depraved evil act? For many of us, there was no sense to it. It is an unalloyed hatred, borne of evil. It's an extremist Islamist world view, a perversion of a great faith. It's a perversion that rejects our pluralism, our democracy and our very way of life. It's a world view that encourages its adherents to dehumanise and demonise minorities—people of Jewish faith—and that encourages deadly attacks on innocent people, with no respect for human life. That is the simple evil of it. But there is light in the darkness. There is something to grasp in the emptiness. That has been the response of Australians in the wake of this brutality.”
“While we're all strangers on this earth, even so, our souls melt from the heaviness of last month's heinous attack on Australia's Jewish community. It showed us, horrifically and graphically, the evil that can reside in the souls of human beings, an evil that seeks to destroy our humanity. All Australians and the rest of the world were utterly horrified by this ISIS-inspired terrorist atrocity at Bondi Beach. What we've been faced with is tragedy, pain and grief: the tragedy of 15 innocent people losing their lives, including 10-year-old Matilda; the visceral pain of survivors and family members who witnessed the horror; and the aching grief of our entire nation at the incomprehensible loss of those innocent lives and of our nation's innocence.”
“But, once we found out, the Albanese Labor government jumped into action, repeatedly urging cohealth's board to pause their decision. The department of health and the Primary Health Network have been trying to work with cohealth to help them utilise the record investments that Labor have made into Medicare, without compromising the high-quality, complex care that they provide. In fact, just last week Minister Mark Butler announced $1.5 million in additional federal funding to assist cohealth in keeping these clinics open at least until 31 July next year. But this issue isn't over. I want them, this board, to understand that they provide an essential community health service. We want to work with them together to make sure that these clinics stay open.”
“It is a community service; it is not just for profit. This is a service that's been provided by government for hundreds of years—like the military, the police and other frontline services. It is important that the community are consulted when changes are happening locally, and we will keep fighting for them. It was also disappointing to learn through the media just last month that the local community health service, cohealth, planned to cease operations at three of their clinics in Melbourne's inner north. This will impact thousands in my community, many of whom I've spoken to directly in the past month. The announcement by cohealth's board was not done in consultation with our government. We actually found out as the public did—through the media.”
“However, our pleas to reopen a Glenroy site have fallen on deaf ears. Despite improper metrics being used—they measured the foot traffic while the Glenroy train station was being rebuilt, so that didn't give an accurate reflection—and a lack of community consultation, there's still resistance to reopening this vital community service. The Glenroy Post Office closure is not unique to my electorate. I know this is occurring in many electorates around Australia. Many constituents have contacted my office—and I'm sure those of other MPs here—in distress about the inability to access local postal services. My hope for the Glenroy community, and for those affected across the country, is that Australia Post continues to come to the table with realistic solutions toward the viability of postal services.”
“Last week my office hosted my neighbour, the member for Maribyrnong, Joe Briskey; the local state MP for Broadmeadows, Kathleen Matthews-Ward; and the Glenroy Post Office working group, a local working group led by John and Sonja Rutherford. We've had many meetings with that working group over the last two years since the closure of Glenroy Post Office in 2023. I wanted, once again, to commend the work of the entire working group—all those locals who care, as we continue to advocate together for Australia Post to reopen an LPO in Glenroy. The effects of this closure, which occurred two years ago, cannot be underestimated for the community: the elderly, people with disability, local shopkeepers, people that don't have cars, and many others who have felt the negative effects of the post office closing.”
“The profound impact of telling First Nations stories, not just for Indigenous people across Australia but for all Australians, has been really felt and benefits have developed from that. It's also about telling our multicultural stories—who we are as a nation. Earlier in my speech I referred to Acropolis Now and some of these other multicultural sitcoms, and we had a laugh about that. They were great shows—”
“In the past, those requirements ensured that our screens reflected our lives as Australians, reflected us back to ourselves and reflected our stories. They ensured that, when we turned on the TV, we saw our cities, our unique humour, our history and our culture on the screen. But the world has changed and the way Australians engage with and watch content has shifted, as I mentioned earlier. There has been a 17.5 per cent decline in the number of Australian titles this year alone and a large reduction in overseas investment from streaming services. Before politics, I worked as an executive at SBS. I've worked in film finance, financing independent film. I'm very passionate about the importance of local content and telling Australian stories. When I was at SBS, we brought on NITV to be part of SBS.”
“But Victoria and other states suffer when you don't have the local content. The number of crew members is at a historic low. There's a very high attrition rate. People are being forced out of the industry due to depleted employment opportunities. The group expressed to me that the situation is so dire that, if this continued, in one year probably only one member of the group would be sitting in our meeting as a working creative. For decades, the Australian screen industry thrived because of the Australian content requirements on free-to-air TV. Quotas for local content have long been required for free-to-air broadcast, but they have not existed for the streaming services as they've emerged and taken over a lot of the platforms that people use to watch content.”
“It's been something that has characterised the debate around the streaming services and the lack of obligation to provide some of their revenue towards local content. I recently met with a constituent, Sky Davies, who is a cinematographer and screen practitioner in my electorate of Wills. I've met with a number of creatives in my electorate. Wills, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, has one of the highest concentrations of creatives in Australia, I would say. She was joined by all these screen practitioners. There was Ryan. There was Mike. There was Con. All of them have felt the devastating decline in Australian stories, and not having any quotas for local content on streaming services has impacted their work, particularly in Victoria. I mentioned some of the film work that's happening up in Queensland. That's great.”
“There is a place for us to provide support for emerging artists, for new art and for new film and television as it emerges. Otherwise, we won't have an industry. It can't just be totally based on the commercial value. Otherwise, we'd just be making Hollywood productions up in Queensland. That's an important part of the industry, but having Dwayne Johnson run around with his top off and pretend to be in Los Angeles while he's in the Gold Coast is not an Australian story. Let's be honest about that. It's filmed in Australia but it's not an Australian story. While it's important for work for those creatives, I'm talking about Australian stories. When you speak to people in the industry, it's this idea of a strong local industry that is such a point of advocacy.”
“It's an industry that employs tens of thousands of people, such as writers, editors, actors and technicians, and many others whose contributions often go unseen unless you sit there—and you should, by the way—until the end of the credits. It takes a lot of work and effort to produce some of those films and TV shows. This all depends on a strong local industry. But to be clear: I've heard it said that more people go to the NGV, the National Gallery of Victoria, than the MCG. Therefore, there is this great notion of looking at all the arts and of people enjoying the arts more than they're enjoying sports. And remember that Melbourne is the sporting capital, so that's quite a statistic. But do you know what I'd say to that too? I'd say that that's great, but not all of the arts is commercially viable.”
“Writers, performers, producers, directors, costume and make-up artists, set designers, gaffers—I could go on, but I don't know all the technical roles that exist. All Australian creatives deserve to have the streaming giants invest in their talent and in their work, their brilliant work, and I'm not alone in saying that. The majority of Australian streaming-service users agree that it's important to have Australian stories, voices and culture platformed on these services. There have been a number of studies done on this. Australians want to see more Australian content available to them. Beyond this, we can't overstate the importance of the Australian screen industry, for not just entertainment but our economy. This is an industry that creates Australian jobs, innovation, cultural identity and international influence.”
“Streaming services now dominate the media landscape in many respects. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that the majority of Australians use streaming services as their preferred method for consuming screen content. That's about 81 per cent of Australians subscribing to at least one streaming service. That's a significant shift in the way that we consume this content. In Australia, we're spending a whopping $3.8 billion on videostreaming services and have a total of 26.6 million videostreaming accounts. Yet, until now, until this bill, these services have had no obligation whatsoever to invest in the country from which they have profited or are profiting.”
“As a kid, I remember getting so excited when there was an Australian film or television show with Australian accents. You'd get a lot of American television and so on, and some of the sitcoms were very funny and great, but there was a certain buzz and excitement when you'd watch BMX Bandits or shows like Skippy , or whatever it might be, with Australian accents on the screen. That was important for us growing up. We also get to see our values reflected, our diversity and our character. In a sense, the stories on the screen show the world who we are. They also give us a way to interpret our past, to define our present and to showcase the creativity that exists here in Australia by putting it out on the global stage. We know that the world has changed the way that we consume media, art, television and film.”
“Seeing ourselves on the screen is all about being able to express culturally what we're about and who we are and to help us understand who we are, what we're on about and sometimes why we are—when you get some of those deeper artistic efforts. The national cultural policy, Revive, affirmed a simple truth that the people of Australia and the stories we tell are effectively our greatest cultural asset. They are worth every dollar because they tell the story of us. And the power of seeing ourselves on the small and large screen is so undeniably important because the stories cultivate community. They share the experiences that we have with each other, and a sense of belonging is nurtured by telling those stories, being part of those stories and seeing ourselves reflected back on the screen.”
“This bill is going to require that streaming services with more than one million Australian subscribers invest at least 10 per cent of their total expenditure in Australia or 7.5 per cent of their revenue on new local drama, children's TV or film, documentary, and arts and educational programming. The bill marks a major shift in how Australians will access Australian made content. The world has changed. We know that Australian stories are fundamental to shaping our national identity. I say that in the sense that—people might think it is just TV or movies. But what the screen does, what those stories do, is contribute to our social cohesion as a nation. It reflects back to the community the stories.”
“The screen industry is one of the most powerful platforms we have to share Australian stories—to share our stories with the world—whether it's Crocodile Dundee or Kath and Kim . This bill ensures that our national identity, our voices, our experiences and our creativity are not only preserved but projected out proudly to future generations and to audiences across the globe. This bill will amend the Broadcasting Services Act to introduce an Australian screen content requirement for subscription video-on-demand services and will guarantee a minimum level of expenditure on new Australian content on streaming services. This is about ensuring access to Australian content and making sure that it's made readily available to and not unreasonably denied of Australian consumers and international audiences.”
“It's a fantastic show for kids. This is what this is about. The Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill is about supporting Australian storytellers, Australian cinema and Australian TV and about making sure, in amending through the Communications Legislation Amendment Bill, that we introduce content obligations on streaming services to make sure that, no matter which screen people are watching on, they have guaranteed access to Australian stories. We've always been a nation of storytellers, from the world's oldest continuous cultures—the First Nations storytellers—to the more modern storytellers that have brought to life the modern multicultural stories of ours to our screens, both the small screen and the silver screen.”
“Wake in F right sometimes that happens when I'm in Canberra. Death in Brunswick that happens in my electorate. Breaker Morant and Gallipoli are great historical stories. Picnic at Hanging Rock ; Lantana ; Phar L a p ; The Castle , which is another great favourite; Strictly Ballroom ; Two Hands ; Walkabout I could go on about great Australian cinema. I've got some for you, Deputy Speaker Georganas: Acropol i s Now , Our Generation , The Wog Boy . There was all of that great TV that we saw growing up: The Slap , Skippy the Bush Kangaroo do you remember that one? I watched that when I was a kid. Then there's Kath and Kim . Look at me, Deputy Speaker; I'm talking about Kath and Kim . T he Secret Life of Us , Mystery Road , H eartbreak High , and on and on—it's great Australian television. My kids watch InvestiGators . That was on the ABC.”
“I thank the member for Bradfield for her contribution. The government will not be supporting this amendment to the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025. The membership arrangements of this proposed committee reflect, quite rightly, the arrangements of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and the reason they reflect those arrangements is the success of the longstanding and well-respected PJCIS. It is a key model for the parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence which allows for effective, balanced oversight of defence matters by both government and non-government members. The selection of members of parliament is made in the same way as for the PJCIS—by the Prime Minister, who will select up to 13 members, non-government and government members.”
“We spoke about their thoughts and the Australian government's work in this place. We agreed on some things and disagreed on others, but it was an important conversation that was worth having. It was worth sharing their perspectives. Thank you to the students of Coburg High School for your engagement and your advocacy.”
“I explained my longstanding support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood and that I have supported this cause, peace through a two-state solution, for decades. I am hoping, as are we all, that, as we enter the next phase of the ceasefire, Palestinians will be afforded the safety to rebuild lives. Peace can only be achieved through a two-state solution—Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace and security. It is, has been and will ever be the only viable solution that affords peace and a secure future for both peoples. Fundamentally, that peace will only come when Israelis and Palestinians accept that the annihilation of the other can no longer and never will be a path forward. The conversations with these students was over an hour long. We touched on a lot of topics.”
“In 2024, the ICJ made a provisional ruling that Palestinians in Gaza have plausible right to protection from genocide and ordered Israel to take steps to prevent that. The Australian government supported this. As a matter of important principle, though, it is not in the power of or appropriate for any lawmaker in this place to make determinations on war crimes or genocide. I say that because we have entrusted these international tribunals, through their judicial processes, with prosecutions based on evidence presented to make these determinations on breaches of international humanitarian law such as war crimes and genocide. The students also asked why it has taken so long for countries around the world to recognise Palestine.”
“During our meeting, the students asked why Australia has not placed sanctions on Israel in the same way we have on Russia. I discussed how Australia has placed sanctions on two Israeli cabinet ministers as well as targeted financial sanctions on various entities. A straightforward answer for the students is that, while Australia has never been a major player in the region, when applying sanctions they are most effective in getting results when done in conjunction with partners such as we have done with the UK, Canada and New Zealand. The students also asked me why we have not been referring to what is happening in Gaza as 'genocide'. I explained that we publicly support international law and the work of international tribunals such as the ICJ and the ICC.”
“I recently had the opportunity to sit down with students from Coburg High School to discuss advocacy for peace in the Middle East. The students were thoughtful and deeply passionate. They came ready with considered questions and asked me to discuss my reflections on these today. The loss of innocent life that has occurred on and since October 7 in Gaza is horrific, and we all agree that the suffering must end. I've consistently called for a permanent ceasefire and return of hostages over the past two years and I welcome the recent ceasefire and release of hostages. It is all our hope that this ceasefire holds. But, I stress, it is the first of many more steps that will need to be taken to secure long-term peace in the region. The challenges of political transition, a security framework and economic reconstruction in Gaza are immense.”
“Baby Priya's parents have been so instrumental in ensuring that occurs. It's a promise that no-one is going to face this pain alone and that they're not going to be forced back to work while they're still trying to survive the deepest loss imaginable. It honours the strength of Baby Priya's parents, whose real courage actually made this possible. It is going to make our workplaces fairer and more compassionate. For that, I commend this bill to the House. The Federation Chamber transcript was published up to 12:11. The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.”
“This legislation, when passed, is not going to take away the pain of those who are suffering and enduring the loss of an infant, of a child. It's not going to take that away; that's always going to be there. But it does acknowledge an important issue which affects thousands of Australian families each year. It does provide parents some sense of stability and certainty in their most difficult time. While you can make that time worse, by cancelling paid parental leave—that's one of the ways it happens—we are making sure that time is not worse and that at least they have that certainty. There hasn't been that legal protection, up until now, to stop employers from cancelling PPL. For parents like Baby Priya's and for every family who has lost a child in that unthinkable way and had that experience, this is going to be a lasting legacy.”
“These investments are not just figures in the budget; they demonstrate the intent to make a difference to women every day with respect to their quality of life and their health outcomes across Australia. As the member for Bennelong noted, there's a lot of discussion here about statistics and numbers and percentages. I've just rattled off a few. I guess that's what we do here. But, as I said at the start of my remarks, the fact that there is bipartisan support across the aisle and there is support across the parliament for this bill is so encouraging. Our actions today make a difference. They go beyond the numbers. They're about honouring lives. They're about helping shape futures and doing what's right for people who experience this unthinkable tragedy in their lives. Importantly, this bill honours young lives lost too soon.”
“This reform to leave entitlements on paid parental leave forms part of a broader set of work that we are undertaking toward strengthening the rights and opportunities for women at every stage of their life through their working life. As a government, we've made these record investments to support women in this context as well—expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks, making it more flexible to share between parents, paying superannuation on paid parental leave, making child care cheaper, opening 22 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics with 11 more on the way, and investing over half a billion in women's health, including new measures on the PBS.”
“Fundamentally, it's important for parents to have certainty about their entitlements at such a difficult moment in their lives, a difficult period, giving them the time and space to grieve. Our government shares this belief, and that's why we've acted to safeguard employer paid parental leave entitlements. The government knows that women should never be faced with workplace insecurity if such a tragedy does strike. It's about enabling confident family and career planning. The bill is another step towards supporting women's long-term participation in the workforce. It ensures their skills and experience aren't lost to the economy when they take time to care or recover.”
“We know no parent should have to go through what Priya's mum experienced. Unfortunately, we see the tragic loss in the statistics. Over 3,000 Australian babies died in the perinatal period in 2021. That's about six babies being stillborn every day and two dying within 28 days of birth. Behind every one of those deaths is a heartbreaking period of loss and mourning and grief by the families, with their lives being changed forever. When they face that unimaginable loss, often without the time or support they need to begin healing, it just compounds the grief and pain. So many of them find themselves navigating complex systems and unclear entitlements at a moment when they should be focusing solely on saying goodbye and caring for each other.”
“The loss of a child is profoundly tragic. The fact that Baby Priya's mother had to return to work while she was still grieving that loss and that trauma is absolutely devastating. In the darkest moment a family can have, Priya's parents were still able to muster the strength to highlight this devastating issue through an online petition which they organised, which was remarkable in the courage that they had, even in their darkest moment, to do that. That caught the attention of so many Australians. It was 30,000 people who signed that online petition. The issue reached the desks of key federal Labor ministers, and they knew they had to act. So, thanks to the tireless advocacy of Baby Priya's parents, this important issue will now be enshrined in legislation, and they take great credit for that effort.”
“We've heard some disturbing stories on the news during the course of this debate about employers, who otherwise have had a great relationship with employees, suddenly deciding to cancel what had been approved periods of paid parental leave. One of the parents informed their employer and then was told that they had to come back to work in a couple of days; they were only entitled to two days of bereavement leave. These changes include those who have had children through surrogacy or adoption arrangements as well. The bill is named after Baby Priya, who heartbreakingly died when she was just 42 days old. In the aftermath of Priya's loss, her mother was told that her paid parental leave was no longer available. It's the same story that so many parents have faced. Meanwhile, Baby Priya's father was allowed to take his full leave entitlement.”
“This bill delivers on our election commitment to legislate for that continued access of employer and paid parental leave for working parents dealing with stillbirth or early infant death. It removes the archaic sections out of the Fair Work Act which state that, where a child is stillborn or dies, an employer may give notice to cancel or reduce the leave period. Today we are changing that. Amendments in the bill will preserve entitlements to paid parental leave in situations of infant loss by preventing employers from either refusing to allow employees to take PPL or unilaterally cancelling approved periods of PPL.”
“I am standing in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025. I do so encouraged by the fact that we are having this debate in good faith, and with a bipartisanship that is probably all too rare for our parliament—we should have more of that. It is good to see that there is a genuine debate we are having around something that there is bipartisan support for. All of us, on either side of the aisles, know that we are passing this because we want to make sure parents don't have to make that devastating choice between returning to work or giving themselves the space to heal post the loss of a child. I think we're all in agreement that no parent should have to be forced to return to work after enduring a stillbirth or the death of a child.”
“I had the great pleasure of meeting Susie and Ruth and the team of volunteers at RIMERN. They're in my local electorate, right on the border, actually, of that of my good friend Ged Kearney. We visited together. The work they do is really important. It allows people who are in these crisis situations to access furniture, homewares, supplies and other things that they need to fit out a home and a place to live that they might be moving into. It really gives them that sense of feeling at home. The volunteers at RIMERN do amazing work. Thank you for all of the great work that you do.”
“Additionally, we're investing $30.8 million to attract and support more than 6,000 extra skilled aged-care workers to rural and regional Australia. Those who support older Australians to live and age with dignity deserve a dignified and liveable wage. That's why we're lifting wages, improving conditions and restoring respect to a sector that holds up our communities. To the aged-care workers of Wills, to Rebecca, Gulsen, Precious and everyone who works in aged care across Australia: thank you so much for your hard work. I also recently visited RIMERN. RIMERN is in north Melbourne. It's a project that provides furniture, appliances and homewares to welfare agency clients who have experiences of homelessness, domestic violence, incarceration, refugee displacement and other crises.”