Patrick Gorman
Perth · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“It was closed by the former Barnett Liberal government and sat vacant for years, but, again, because of decisions of this Labor government, we have homes being built—affordable homes, specialist disability homes. This will bring even more people into Highgate and the wonderful Beaufort Street strip.”
“One of the things I love doing in this place, as I know do you, Deputy Speaker Sharkie, is to bring the words of our constituents into this parliament. After the budget, I received this email from Perth constituent Sebastian, who said: Dear Patrick, I'm writing to actually thank you for standing up for young Australians.”
“What we also know is that those who are doing all the right things—they're working hard, they're saving, they're trying to get their first home—are struggling, and that's where our five per cent deposit program comes in.”
“Every Australian deserves a place to call home, and that is what the Albanese government's budget delivers. Our $47 billion Homes for Australia plan and our budget provide for even more homes, more support to renters and more support for Australians getting into homeownership. In Perth, we're getting on with the job on the ground.”
“It builds on the work that we've done when it comes to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act, making sure that workers can earn more and keep more of what they earn, and the work we're doing when it comes to those who need more support in our labour market, including the work when it comes to the program we cal…”
“I want to thank all members for their contribution as we consider in detail the important work the government is doing in employment and workplace relations. More jobs, higher wages, lower income taxes—that's what Labor governments deliver and that's what this Labor government is delivering.”
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“So, for millions of Australians, at about five o'clock tomorrow they will be able to clock off, disconnect from their workplace and enjoy their weekends, but, if they are working over the weekend, then they will have access to the compensation that is appropriate—that is, penalty rates for weekend and overtime work. That's what this bill does. It delivers on our government's key election commitment to protect penalty rates. The bill ensures that if you rely on the modern award safety net, if you work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, then you will have your wages protected. You deserve laws that ensure your pay will not go backwards. Penalty rates matter, and overtime rates matter.”
“They now have a workplace where everyone is paid the same amount for doing the same work, as it should be. We also gave workers the right to clock off—the right to disconnect—meaning that work doesn't follow you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Again, our government, is very proud of having introduced that and very proud of recognising that while there is a time for work and there are reasonable expectations that the employer can have about contacting their employees, that doesn't mean that every hour of the day you need to be bombarded by phone calls, text messages and everything else.”
“We banned pay secrecy clauses, which we know were disproportionately affecting women and holding wages back. We criminalised wage theft, making sure that some of the practices we'd seen were well and truly outlawed under the laws of this land. We stopped the underpayment of workers through labour hire loopholes. Some in this place still advocate for those loopholes to be reopened. We closed them, and proudly so. As I was doorknocking during the election, I bumped into someone who had benefited from the closure of those loopholes around their work in the aviation industry. They said, 'Thank you,' not just for them but for their colleagues. They hadn't felt comfortable being in a workplace where people had unfair pay differences when they were doing the same work.”
“It was this government who, in the lead-up, in 2022, backed a $1-an-hour pay rise for minimum and award wage earners. At the time, that was roundly criticised by those opposite, but, as we saw and as the history books will show, it was good for working people, particularly at a time when we had high inflation driven by global events. Over the last term we've brought in legislation to reinvigorate our bargaining system, meaning that employers and workers can reach agreements in their workplace, resulting in higher wages, better conditions and better productivity. That's what the enterprise bargaining process is all about. We introduced and passed legislation that put gender equality and job security as new principles of the Fair Work Act.”
“What is that modern blueprint that the Liberal Party was so enthusiastic to send senior frontbenchers to cheer on? It was a paper that called for the abolishment of all awards. It called for award pay rates to be abolished and to for one lower minimum adult pay rate to be set. It called for the abolishment of the Fair Work Commission and of the Fair Work Ombudsman. And who was there as this paper was launched but senior members of the then Liberal opposition, cheering on as that was released. Thankfully, the Australian people knew what was at stake when they made their decision on 3 May, and they knew which side of this House backs working Australians. They know that 2.6 million Australians will benefit from this bill when it passes this House. It builds upon a very proud record of achievement in our first term.”
“It's not that long ago, and it's in my memory and the memory of pretty much everyone in this place, that we had a Liberal Party determined not only to cut penalty rates but also to sack 41,000 public servants, because the Liberal Party and the National Party are always finding new cheeky, sneaky ways of attacking working Australians. We remember when WorkChoices fell over, and they said that they'll never go back to it. They then sat in government for nine long years, where they put low wages as 'a deliberate design feature' of their economic plan. In the lead-up to the most recent election, we saw the Liberal Party send one of their senior frontbenchers to the launch of the HR Nicholls Society's paper T he employment act : a modern blueprint for the future of work .”
“Protecting penalty rates for millions of workers is an important part of that—making sure Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn. This is about people who are currently earning money, who are relying on that, and who have been compensated for their hard work, often at unsociable hours, for many years. It is about giving them certainty for their household budgets, making sure that these penalty rates that have been relied upon for many in my electorate and across this country are there for the future.”
“I speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, as introduced by the minister, because millions of workers will benefit from that bill. Penalty rates are not an optional extra; they are essential to the household budgets of millions of Australians. People across this country rely on penalty rates, and that is why the minister and this government seek to protect them. It shows the priorities of this government, a Labor government, that wants to deliver for working Australians. As the Prime Minister said, when announcing that this would be one of the first pieces of legislation introduced into the 48th Parliament: Our number one focus is continuing to deliver cost of living relief to Australians.”
“Parliamentarians and their staff have access to a range of resources, which are provided by multiple entities including the parliamentary departments and portfolio departments, as well as the Department of Finance and IPEA, under the PBR Act and other mechanisms. I commend this bill.”
“A transfer date of 1 July 2026 will still allow sufficient time for IPEA to settle its administration of the transferred resources prior to the next independent statutory review of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017, scheduled to occur in late 2027. IPEA will retain its current functions relating to the provision of travel resources to current and former senators and members under the PBR Act and other legislation. This includes the administration of those resources, including processing claims, paying or providing resources, and providing personal and general advice. IPEA's transparency and accountability functions include reporting and auditing resources and giving rulings relating to the public resources IPEA administers under the PBR Act.”
“Extending the current framework for the administration and provision of parliamentary resources beyond this financial year will minimise the degree of change and disruption following the 2025 election, where there will be heightened activity and need for advice and support to both ceasing and commencing parliamentarians and their staff. It will also allow time for the government's substantial Commonwealth parliamentary workplace reforms to mature. This includes the establishment of the statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS), the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) and legislative amendments to the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today the government introduces the Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Machinery of Government Change) Bill 2025. The bill will delay the transfer of the administration of certain parliamentary resources from the Department of Finance to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) by 12 months, from 1 July 2025 to 1 July 2026. The bill will amend the Parliamentary Business Resources Legislation Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Act 2024.”
“In 2017, I remember former Premier Colin Barnett and the WA Liberal Party—I think it was more those in the WA Liberal Party than Premier Barnett, to be fair—signing a comprehensive preference deal with One Nation. It shocked people at the time and, as a result, led to an absolutely catastrophic defeat of the Liberal Party in Western Australia. It was so bad that Scott Morrison, when he was Prime Minister in 2019, put One Nation below Labor on every ballot across the country. But what we learned today is that the Liberal Party of Western Australia is going down, digging into the One Nation rejects, and has chosen Sean Butler to be its state candidate in Perth. It is an absolute disgrace that the partnership between the Liberal Party and One Nation has rejoined— (Time expired ) Federation Chamber adjourned at 11:32”
“It was similarly great to see the longstanding commitment of this government to the Ruah community centre turned into action. I was able to join the Premier at the end of last year for the opening of the new Ruah centre. What I know is that, when you take your local values and bring them here, determined to get results, you can therefore be confident that you are delivering for your community and that you're doing the right thing in our fundamental job of representing the people whom we are here to represent—those who send us here. In my last few moments, I want to talk about when democracy goes really wrong. I want to talk about when democracy gets really sick and twisted.”
“That is on top of the longstanding commitment I have had for what is now the very proud world-class facility known as the JHUB, the Jewish community hub in Yokine. I also commend them for their foresight in ensuring there was child care on that site. We've made sure that we have serious support for local councils in the electorate of Perth to deliver when it comes to our community's determination to make sure there is housing for everyone who wants to live in the wonderful inner city of Perth. That includes the $1 million that we have delivered for housing studies in the City of Vincent to make sure we can do the planning work to get more housing into our inner city. It has been great to work with the City of Vincent mayor, Alison Xamon, in delivering that.”
“Making sure that we've used the power of democracy to deliver, I'm pleased with the upgrades we've delivered in lighting for Axford Park and the brand-new playground for Joondanna Reserve. It was an honour to be there last year with families who, some 40 years ago, had planted the first trees of that reserve and were there to see the upgrades we had made. Just a few days ago, I went and helped plant the first trees at the new Bayswater Urban Forest, making sure that what once was bushland and became a tip now returns to bushland in my community. I'm pleased at the support that we've given when it comes to the announcement I joined the Prime Minister in making on the Holocaust Institute of Western Australia, for their education centre in Yokine, with some $2 million to ensure that that vision is fully realised.”
“At train stations in my electorate, including in Bayswater and Morley, you can walk through the doors onto the train of the Perth Morley-Ellenbrook Line, which is connecting so many suburbs across the Perth metropolitan area and making sure that more people can get the benefits of a great public transport system—a public transport system that I want to commend Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti for, for making it cheaper for Western Australians, meaning that we don't have unfair zones that put all the costs onto those in the outer suburbs, making it cheaper and more affordable to catch one of the most sustainable forms of transport ever created: public transport. We will see, soon, the doors open at the revitalisation of the WACA, turning it into a true community facility for all to use. Similarly, my community values our local parks.”
“We've seen the commitment that we've got going through the parliament right now for our littlest learners, making sure we open the doors of opportunity to make sure that we have a fairer system of early childhood education. We've opened the doors of the Rudloc Road urgent care clinic, making sure that the people of Perth can walk through the doors and get health care based on what they need, not how much they can afford. Equally, we've opened the doors, in this term of government, of headspace Osborne Park, making sure that young people in Perth can get the mental health support that they need and deserve.”
“Our job in this place is to take the local values of our communities and turn them into national results. Every day that I've been in this place that's exactly what I have sought to do—taking my community's values of opportunity, fairness and democracy and turning them into national results that don't just lift up my community of Perth but lift up the nation. That's what we've done when it comes to education, opening the doors of opportunity by literally building new doors for a new university in the CBD in the heart of Perth, where we'll see, later this year, Yagan Square open up with a brand-new university, the Edith Cowan city campus.”
“There's only one word that I remember more than any other from the Nemesis program, the word 'thug'. The word 'thug' was chosen by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull when he was asked to define the now Leader of the Opposition. So they argued, Liberal against Liberal, National against National. What we know is what those opposite have said about themselves. We had former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull say—”
“Well, there's another anniversary they don't want to talk about. Today is the day we say happy birthday to the ABC's N em e sis . We saw the Liberal Party and the National Party fighting amongst each other on the public purse for nine whole years. We saw the Leader of the Opposition arguing with his cabinet colleagues about why he opposed a fair share of the GST for Western Australia. He opposed those tax initiatives when he was in government; he opposes critical minerals tax incentives now that he's in opposition. We saw them more focused on one another than on the Australian people. We saw them say that secret ministries were a good thing. The Leader of the Opposition defended secret ministries, saying that it was in the national interest.”
“More than 10,000 of my constituents have walked through the doors of that urgent care clinic to get the care that they need. At the same time, it's taking pressure off Royal Perth Hospital and St John of God Midland Public Hospital, amongst others. This term, we opened headspace Osborne Park to support young people in Perth who are managing their mental health and to give them the support they need and deserve. We have opened the Morley-Ellenbrook line, making sure that we delivered on a train line that had been promised by so many sides of politics for so long. It was opened by federal and state Labor governments, delivering on our commitment to deliver for public transport across Perth.”
“Similarly, we have funded our local primary schools, delivering bespoke funding for schools like Osborne Primary School, Maylands Peninsula Primary School, St Paul's Catholic Primary School, Ashfield Primary School and Australian Islamic College Dianella. It was an honour to be there with the Minister for Education, the Prime Minister and Premier Roger Cook last year as we signed the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement for Western Australia to fully find our public schools across the great state. Then it comes to the importance of the value of fairness, and there's nothing fairer than making sure people have access to health based on need rather than how much money they have in the bank. It's that value of fairness that we have delivered by opening the Morley urgent care clinic on Rudloc Road.”
“It's the same story for student loans for anyone who's studying at Northbridge TAFE, East Perth TAFE, Mount Lawley TAFE or Leederville TAFE. We're not just delivering for those in their tertiary studies. We're delivering for our littlest learners—investing in early childhood education centres such as Casa Mia Montessori School, Yokine Community Playgroup and others—through the delivery of our cheaper childcare policy and what we are doing in parliament this fortnight: delivering the legislation that will see the abolition of the unfair and unnecessary childcare subsidy activity test and making sure that three days of subsidised early childhood education is available for every child in Perth who needs it.”
“Perth sent me to this place in 2022 to turn our local values into national results, and every day of this term that is exactly what I have done. My community believes in the opportunity that comes from a great education. The investments that we are making in education in Perth are making a difference now and well into the future. You can't walk through the Perth electorate without seeing the iconic ECU City Campus springing to life out of the ground. In 2023 I was honoured to be there for the sod-turning ceremony, and next year students will arrive to start or complete their education in everything from business and IT through to the performing arts. If those students are at that campus and they have a student loan, they will get 20 per cent off their student debt under a re-elected Albanese Labor government.”
“That's what we're doing as well when it comes to the Commonwealth's investments in building new centres across the country, particularly in regional areas in what are referred to as 'childcare deserts'. I would urge every local government to meet their obligations when it comes to investing in early childhood education and care. I commend the bill to the House.”
“They have an obligation to community service. I'd say to any local government that's thinking of selling off land that's currently used by a childcare centre or closing a childcare centre that they will have strong community opposition to doing that. They can't pass all the responsibility on to the states, the territories and the Commonwealth. Local government has a role to play as well. I want to commend the work that the City of Vincent does under Mayor Alison Xamon when it comes to leadable early childhood education and care. But, again, I just recognise that the fact that we are putting money in is not an excuse, especially for local governments, to pull money out. We all need to find ways to invest more in this sector, to make sure that every child across the country has opportunity.”
“It will also show the way for others. Again, I commend my good friend Roger Cook for making that commitment. Finally, in concluding my remarks, I want to say that the Commonwealth is stepping up to the plate when it comes to investing in the next generation of Australians. State and territory governments are stepping up to the plate when it comes to delivering, particularly when it comes to kindergarten. There is also an obligation on local councils. I was deeply disappointed when the City of Perth made the choice—an active decision—to close a childcare centre in the heart of my electorate. They did that purely because they wanted a bit more rent. That was disgraceful. It's something that I think really shows that local governments can sometimes trick themselves into thinking that they are just landlords renting out space.”
“One of the things that makes you proud to be a member of the Australian Labor Party is that our commitment to early childhood education and care isn't just one we have in this place; we also see it in state Labor governments. I want to commend the announcement that was made by Premier Roger Cook of Western Australia just last week. It was a huge commitment to transform early childhood education and care in the great state of Western Australia, which is a nation-leading rollout of free full-time kindergarten for four-year-olds. That is a game changer for parents. It's a game changer for children. It's a game changer introducing more capacity into the early childhood education and care system. It is a trial that will commence, should that government be re-elected, on 8 March this year. It will make an incredible difference.”
“Since the election of the Albanese Labor government, there's been an additional 97,000 children accessing the benefits of early learning. That's great news. But we should go further. That's what this bill is about. It's about going further. It's also about knowing that when something didn't work you've got an obligation to fix it. When the former government introduced the activity test in July of 2018, they promised the reforms would 'enable and encourage greater workforce participation and simplify childhood payments'. What we actually saw was an increase in the barriers to workforce participation. It made the system more complicated for families. It made it harder for families to access early childhood education and care.”
“We saw the shadow spokesperson from the opposition benches say today that replacing the activity test was 'fundamentally unfair and divisive'—that removing the activity test was fundamentally unfair and somehow divisive. I don't think there's anything divisive about making sure that children have access to the care and education they need to have the best start in life. We saw, in that same speech, the member say that this government has 'not delivered any new places'. But that's fundamentally untrue. We know that, since this government came to power, there have been 1,083 additional early childhood education and care services put into the sector, with some 30 per cent of those services located outside a major city.”
“I'm also proud of being a very strong advocate for the rebuilding of the JHUB in Yokine, in my electorate. JHUB is the centre for the Jewish community in Western Australia. They've had the foresight to include in that JHUB some 120 places in that early childhood education and care centre to make sure we continue to cater for the needs of families in my local community. I want to go to something that hit my inbox at 6.48 pm, as I was sitting here about to give my speech. It was a media release from Dr Anne Aly, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, the Minister for Youth and the Minister assisting the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I think it's worth putting some of this into Hansard .”
“I heard the same story when I went and read a story to the students at the Marjorie Mann centre in Mount Lawley, a great early childhood education centre that's been a proud part of the Perth electorate for some 40-plus years. I heard the same story when I went with the Minister for Early Childhood Education to Buttercups in Northbridge, where we got to congratulate some of the workers who had recently received awards for their outstanding work in educational leadership through early childhood and to hear about how investing in them had helped with the professionalisation of their profession and enabled people who otherwise might have gone on to do other things because they couldn't afford to stay in the profession to stay in the job that they love. We hear it time and time again.”
“Further, it notes: The Bill promotes the rights of parents and children, and the best interest of children, by providing greater subsidisation of the costs of ECEC. That is something Australia can stand proud of on the world stage. We then come to the practical things this government has done to make sure we have the workforce that we need to deliver on early childhood education and care objectives and go towards that universal system. I've been fortunate to go to Goodstart Early Learning in East Perth with the President of the Senate to talk to educators about how they've benefited. They said that it has made a serious difference both in retention and recruitment.”
“Jay Weatherill, once a South Australian but these days a proud Western Australian, says: 'Early childhood education is a fundamental building block for children's cognitive, social and emotional development. Together with the care and guidance they get at home, attending child care and kinder supports children's development and gets them school ready. Early childhood education is the great equaliser.' I couldn't agree more. This bill also delivers on the obligations that many nations, including Australia, have under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I draw members' attention to the explanatory memorandum, which clearly outlines that this delivers on our obligations: … to ensure that children of working parents have the right to benefit from child care services and facilities.”
“Let's take the example of a Perth family who might live in Yokine with an average income of, let's say, $90,000, with one person working full time and the other working a casual job. Under the current system that we've had under the Liberals, they would've been eligible for 18 hours per week or 36 hours per fortnight of subsidised early childhood education and care. Under this change, which I hope every member of this parliament will vote for, they will instead be eligible for 36 hours a week, 72 hours a fortnight, and that means something for their bank balance. That means an extra $230 in their household budget per week, or $11,400 per annum. That's the good news for parents living in Yokine, where you've got one working and the other doing a casual job. It's so much better for the kids. There is what we know from the experts.”
“In the Productivity Commission's report entitled A path to universal early childhood education and care , released in 2024, they said, very clearly, that the children and families most likely to benefit from early childhood education and care were the least likely to attend. Those who are likely to benefit the most were the least likely to walk through the door of their local childcare centre. This bill makes it much more likely that those children will walk through the door, and we're doing it in a way that makes sure that families really benefit in terms of that certainty but also in terms of the finances of a household as, when you have a new child join your household, you have a few pressures.”
“I don't want to make it harder for anyone to get those benefits. It shouldn't come down to whether or not you or the child's parents are working. It should come down to what the needs of the child are. That's exactly what this does. It supports the idea of universal access to early childhood education and care. When I first came to this place in 2018, I spoke about my belief in universal early childhood education and care. I was standing up the back, and I had a few of my colleagues saying, 'Oh, I don't know if that's going to be the right path,' but now here we are legislating down that path. We know from the Productivity Commission's report that this will enable us to give more benefits to those who need them the most.”
“It will mean all families will be eligible for at least 72 hours of subsidised early childhood education and care per fortnight regardless of activity levels. Families can still get 100 hours of subsidised early childhood education and care if they meet the various activity requirements or have a valid exemption. This will provide certainty. For those who know, when households are managing their budgets and planning to get their child into early childhood education and care for the first time, having certainty about what is available to you and also the certainty that you'll get the support that you need makes such a difference. I've seen in my children's lives, as they've now gone on to kindy and primary school, the huge benefits of having access to early childhood education and care.”
“Looking at how a nation treats its children, some of the most vulnerable in our society, can be a really proud reflection on us, and that's what I see in this bill, the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025. It recognises the inherent value and rights of children to have high-quality early childhood education and care to make sure that they can have not just the best start in life but the best life possible in this great country we call Australia. In this bill, the government wants to ensure that we replace the unfair activity test that left children at a disadvantage and instead guarantee three days of subsidised early childhood education and care for the children who need it.”