Helen Haines
Indi · Independent · Australia
“on indulgence I just want to acknowledge the Leader of the House and thank you for considering this in the way of a conversation with us. I think the crossbench has become a large crossbench because of the way that we engage with legislation in a very detailed way and seek to collaborate and seek to improve legislation.”
“I move amendment (4) on sheet 1, revised 30 June 2026, as circulated in my name: (4) Schedule 1, item 92, page 35 (line 31) to page 36 (line 4), omit subsection 25A(2), substitute: (2A) Treatment may not be appropriate treatment for a person's impairment or impairments if the person's individual circumstances restrict the person from acce…”
“(5) Schedule 1, item 97, page 39 (lines 3 to 7), omit subsection 25B(6), substitute: (6) Before making National Disability Insurance Scheme rules declaring that a support is an alternative support for an impairment, the Minister must be satisfied that: (a) it is not appropriate to fund or provide a support for the impairment through the N…”
“My amendment would give them greater clarity about why decisions have been made and how the evidence they've provided has been used. Again, I hear consistently from people in my electorate that they want to understand the 'why'; they truly do.”
“by leave—I move: (6) Schedule 3, page 101 (after line 12), at the end of the Schedule, add: Part 4 — Whistleblower protections National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 18 After subsection 73ZA(2) Insert: (2A) The disclosure of the information by the discloser qualifies for protection under this Division if it is made for the purpose…”
“Now, the government's recently made improvements to NDIS whistleblower protections, and I really welcome those. But I think many Australians, in fact all Australians, would be very surprised to learn that, under this legislation more broadly across the NDIA and NDIS, whistleblowers may not legally be allowed to talk about their own situat…”
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“Addressing the housing crisis will require sustained commitment from all levels of government—not for a single year, not for a single election cycle, but over many years and many election cycles. This government has taken important first steps with investments in social and affordable housing, critical enabling infrastructure and planning reform at the state and local level. But the work cannot stop there. Australians will expect results over the next three years, and so will I. During the recent election, I highlighted that while the government has conducted significant work to address the affordability of early childhood education and care, the major issues in my electorate relate to accessibility.”
“As with their renewable energy plans, if the government fail to take a strong regional lens to their housing plans, they will be failing our growing regions. We experience the housing crisis just as those in the cities do, and, for too many people in my electorate, finding an affordable home or secure rental feels like a complete impossibility. This is why the Housing Australia Future Fund, and similar investment programs delivered through Housing Australia, must guarantee—guarantee!—funding for regional communities. We represent 30 per cent of the population, so we should receive 30 per cent of housing funding, and I will continue to prosecute the case for this.”
“In 2023, I took my concerns to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to set up an independent community engagement review, and I was very happy to work with Senator Pocock on this endeavour. This review, undertaken by former Australian Energy Infrastructure commissioner Andrew Dyer, made nine recommendations to improve community engagement and consultation on renewable energy projects. I successfully argued for some of these recommendations to be funded in the 2024-25 federal budget. I will continue to advocate for the people of Indi in ways that are appropriate as their federal member, to work to improve the systems for all regional Australia and to also ensure regional communities meaningfully benefit—long-term benefit, long-term legacy and regional development—from their renewable energy transition.”
“It is important that the public has a clear line of sight on all environmental decisions, like whether the large-scale renewable energy or fossil fuel projects should be approved. We need to make laws that lock in transparency, and we can't leave that to chance—or, worse, vested interests and lobbyists. I will keep fighting for this; I'll keep fighting for this hard in the 48th Parliament. Reforms like these are critical as we transition to renewable energy—a goal I support. But I am concerned at the damage done to regional communities from the poor consultation—and bad behaviour, frankly—of some renewable energy companies. Communities deserve to be engaged early and meaningfully in the development of energy projects happening in their area, and right now this is not consistently happening.”
“This includes the magnificent snow gums in the alpine High Country, covered in snow right now; grass-tree orchards in the Warby Ranges; and the native orchids in the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park. These are loved, these are visited and these are cared for by local people. My constituents first sent me to this place in 2019 to protect our beautiful and unique natural environment, and they've re-elected me twice more to push for stronger action on climate change to care for our precious environment and for ourselves. We need to strengthen our environmental laws, and I'll continue to call for comprehensive reforms in the 48th Parliament, including for the inclusion of communities in decision-making—not just businesses and environmental groups.”
“In this parliament I will continue to put pressure on the government to extend practical payments to include students who are studying medicine and the allied health degrees. We are in dire need of excellent health professionals in rural Australia. It's our responsibility to act and help them get their degrees and provide the services we so desperately need. My constituents in Indi care deeply about our natural environment. I often hear that the natural beauty of our region is one of the reasons people move here. My constituents tell me they love to explore the bushland, the mountains and the rivers so close to where we call home. They also care deeply about the preservation and regeneration of Indi's natural spaces and unique flora and fauna.”
“We know that students who live and train in rural and regional Australia are more likely to stay and practice in rural, regional and remote Australia. But we must do more to support them to do so. While undertaking mandatory clinical placements, many students report significant hardship, including loss of income, housing insecurity and the need to pay double rents. Some simply can't afford to do this and are forced to stop their studies. What a waste. I welcome the government introducing the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme for Australians studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work to get the support they need while on practical placement. This is good. However—and it's a big 'however'—this policy leaves behind students who are studying medicine and all of the other allied health professions.”
“But it's not just infrastructure that Indi's healthcare system needs. As a former nurse and midwife and then rural health researcher, I know just how critically important it is to have an exceptional health workforce—doctors, nurses, psychologists, all the allied health professions—in the regions. In Indi we don't have enough health professionals to care for the needs of our community. During the election campaign I consistently heard about long waitlists to see health professionals and about people spending too much and travelling too far to access necessary health care. We need to do everything we can to support the growth of our healthcare workforce, and nowhere more than in rural, regional and remote Australia.”
“Yet a letter from Minister Butler to the Victoria and New South Wales health ministers, who were requesting federal funding for Albury-Wodonga Health, said there were no current Australian government grant opportunities available to support public hospital infrastructure development at Albury-Wodonga Health. Think about that. My building rural hospitals fund would provide hospitals like Albury-Wodonga Health and small regional health services, like those in Bright, in Mansfield and in Alexandra, with a fair, transparent and competitive opportunity to apply for the funding they need. Our rural health infrastructure is falling behind that of our metropolitan counterparts, and rural Australians are paying the price with their lives. That is why I've done the work here for the government to close the gap on healthcare outcomes in the bush.”
“In this parliament I will keep fighting for a single-site hospital at Albury-Wodonga. I've done the work to make it possible for the Commonwealth to come to the table on this. During the recent election I campaigned for a $2 billion building rural hospitals infrastructure fund. I had my policy reviewed and costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office. The Commonwealth government funds hospital infrastructure. This is a fact. The problem is, it's not done transparently, fairly or equitably. Recently the government announced $200 million as an election commitment for infrastructure for a Perth hospital.”
“I'm committed to working constructively with all levels of government—the Victorian and New South Wales governments and the Commonwealth government—and to come together. We need to come together and collaborate on this project. In the last parliament I brought the Wodonga and Albury mayors to Canberra for a meeting with both the Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health and the federal Minister for Health, to make the case for federal funding for a greenfield hospital. I handed the Prime Minister a letter signed by more than 200 doctors—200!—from the Albury-Wodonga region, explaining the duplication of services across the border as inefficient, inadequate and unsafe. The community is calling for a greenfield hospital. Doctors and health professionals are calling for a greenfield hospital. And I'm joining them in this call.”
“Regional Australians have poorer health and die younger than metropolitan Australians. That's a fact, and it's simply unacceptable that in 2025 rural Australians continue to suffer poorer health outcomes because of their postcode. One of the biggest concerns I hear from the people in the north of my electorate is the desperate need for a greenfield single-site hospital on the border in Albury-Wodonga. Albury Wodonga Health is the largest health service between Sydney and Melbourne. It's the only cross-border health service in the country, and it's stretched across two separate hospital campuses. As the border region grows, so too does the need to increase our access to high-quality health care close to home.”
“Significant challenges remain for my constituents: accessible and affordable health care, housing, child care and aged care. The cost of living is still a challenge for so many households, as is reliable and secure energy, especially as we continue to transition towards net zero. These are big challenges, but I'm confident that the cooperative, consultative and evidence based work that I do with my community means that we can bring solutions to address these very big challenges. Access to health care is one of the biggest issues right across the electorate. This election campaign was no different to any other that I have participated in. From Corryong and Wodonga in the north of Indi through to Alexandra and Kinglake in the south, I heard time and time again about the need for better investment in our health care in the regions.”
“My constituents tell me they want to access cleaner, cheaper energy, so in 2022, and again in 2023, I introduced a Cheaper Home Batteries Bill to include batteries in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Home batteries help households and community groups take control of their energy and receive maximum benefit from their rooftop solar. Over time, we will see this benefit extended to all consumers by reducing overall pressure on the grid. This election campaign, I was very pleased indeed to see the Labor government finally listen to me and take up this idea, right down to the very title of my bill. These are policies and laws that benefit the people of Indi, but they benefit the whole nation too. I'm the first to say that we haven't solved all of the problems.”
“When the people of Indi told me they're struggling to purchase and rent homes, I campaigned for a fund to build the critical enabling infrastructure—the pipes, the poles, the pavements—needed to open up housing supply. I was pleased to see the government adopt my policy under the Housing Support Program, but their commitment of $500,000 is just not enough. I will continue to advocate for this important investment and demand that a fair share be allocated to regional Australia. When I heard Indi farmers tell me they wanted to take climate action but needed the support about how to do it, I successfully secured $76.4 million in the 2023-24 federal budget to establish a network of sustainable agriculture facilitators, or SAFs. This policy delivers tangible support for farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices.”
“I'm proud of my work in the last parliament representing Indi as Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and this term I can assure you that I will continue to advocate for the transparency of the National Anti-Corruption Commission's decision-making, because the work of integrity is never done. It's why I'll continue to champion the establishment of an independent whistleblower protection authority to provide real safeguards and provide support for those who take the personal risk of exposing corruption and misconduct. Without them, and without broader reforms to end things like pork-barrelling and clamp down on the lobbyist free-for-all in Canberra, our integrity framework remains unfinished business.”
“I listen to the challenges people are facing in their lives—the problems that they turn to their members of parliament to help solve. A key part of my job is to bring these voices to the federal parliament. But I don't use this platform just to describe problems. I work with my community to find solutions together and bring them to the parliament and to the government, and my work has a history of having local impact and national influence. The people of Indi demanded better transparency and integrity in our government. That's why I campaigned for a national anticorruption commission in my first term—a campaign that was won with the start of the National Anti-Corruption Commission two years ago.”
“I'm pleased to speak today in reply to the Governor-General's address. In doing so, I want to honour the people of Indi who have granted me the utmost privilege of representing them again in this parliament. Each time I rise when the Speaker says, 'The member for Indi has the call,' I feel this responsibility deeply. It's a responsibility I don't take for granted. The people of Indi elected me first in 2019 and in 2022—again this year because they wanted their representative to act with respect, integrity and accountability to the community and to the nation. This is the Indi way of doing politics. The electorate of Indi covers a vast 29,000 square kilometres, and I travel right across this region. I meet people where they're at, in their home towns, and I represent the unique needs of these diverse Indi communities.”
“The government must release the details of this multibillion-dollar deal. It must ensure that all vaccines, regardless of the manufacturer, are subject to rigorous, transparent assessment, and this government must reaffirm its commitment to public money always delivering public health for Australians and not to the financial interests of international big pharmaceutical corporations. So I am very pleased to second this motion. I support it and I'm very grateful to the member for Kooyong, and every member of this House should be grateful to her, too, for bringing this issue to our attention and demanding of us that we do our jobs and scrutinise this.”
“It ensures they are cost effective, and it ensures Australians can have confidence that their government is acting in the public interest. By exempting Moderna from these longstanding processes, the government risks undermining that very confidence. During the height of the pandemic, extraordinary measures were justified. We needed vaccines fast, and the government rightly used its discretionary powers. But we are no longer in this emergency phase. The member for Kooyong has pointed out so clearly why we need to be now putting great scrutiny on this very decision. Australians deserve transparency at the very least. At the very least they deserve transparency. They deserve confidence that their government is buying vaccines fairly, openly and, ultimately, in their interests.”
“The government has committed to annual minimum purchases of Moderna's vaccines; however, remarkably, those vaccines will not undergo assessment by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, which, for decades, has ensured Australians receive the safest and best medicines at a fair price. Instead, the government has proposed an independent health technology assessment pathway, but this pathway has not yet been established. So one multinational pharmaceutical company has been granted a regulatory light touch, but this light touch won't be available to Australian firms or, indeed, to other vaccine producers. Why? Australia's vaccine procurement system is one of the most robust in the world. It ensures vaccines are safe.”
“This was a decision made by the Morrison government, but, critically, this secrecy continues, now, into this Labor government. In October 2024, the government tabled a legislative instrument creating what it calls the Moderna Partnership. These regulations grant Moderna exemptions from the usual Commonwealth procurement and assessment processes. What we're debating today is whether the parliament should draw back the curtain on the Moderna partnership between Moderna and the Australian government. It is our role as parliamentarians to ensure scrutiny of governments and the decisions of ministers, and, thanks to the member for Kooyong, that's exactly what we're doing today. It is exactly what this motion is all about.”
“By December 2021, the Morrison government had entered into a confidential agreement with Moderna to build the facility. Now, we know very little about this deal. How much are we as taxpayers spending? What are we getting for our money? What guarantees do we have? We were told this plant would be operational by the end of 2024, producing up to 100 million doses of vaccines for COVID, influenza, RSV and more. This was a significant national investment during an unprecedented crisis, but the details were and, alarmingly, continue to be hidden from the Australian public, and the question is: why? The parliament and the public do not know what Australia is paying, how much vaccine we are guaranteed or on what terms, and that's simply not good enough.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the world made huge asks of their people, and we were no different here in Australia. When governments ask such big sacrifices of their people, governments must also uphold the faith. That means acting with integrity and being open to scrutiny. In this case, we're talking about the deal between the former Morrison government and international company Moderna in May 2021 to build an mRNA manufacturing facility at Monash University in Melbourne under pressure over vaccine supply. I was here in the parliament at that time and there was enormous pressure. The then health minister, Greg Hunt, announced the government would test the market for domestic manufacturing. Only two credible bids emerged: Australia's CSL and the internationally owned Moderna.”
“I'm pleased today to rise to support and second this very important motion from the member for Kooyong because it goes to the very heart of accountability, transparency and trust that decisions made by government are in the public interest. We should all be very grateful to the member for Kooyong for bringing this issue to the attention of the House. Decisions that were made back in COVID times were decisions that were made under the spotlight, pressure and uncertainty of a global pandemic. We are no longer in that situation. We know that Australians value transparency and fairness in government. This includes procurement and, most especially, spending on health. These values were not swept aside during the pandemic. In fact, they were more important than ever.”
“When she was declared the winner at the world finals, the announcer said, 'The lamb down under is going all the way to the top.' Those who know her well talk about Tup's infectious perseverance and talk about her passion, something she hopes will inspire the next generation of women to take up bronc riding. Just like Tup's parents, Anne Maree and Graham Forge, we're all so proud of you, Tup. Congratulations from Indi.”
“Today I rise to celebrate a world champion from Indi. Tuppence Forge—or Tup, as she likes to be known—has bucked her way into the history books, winning the women's World Championship Ranch Bronc Riding title in Wyoming in the USA. Eight seconds must feel like an eternity when you're atop a bucking bronco, but Tup did this twice to secure her win. Some of you may have heard of 28-year-old Tup, who hails from the small town of Oxley in my electorate. Tup stormed onto the world stage with an impressive win at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo world championships in Wyoming in May. This historic win is even more impressive when you learn that Tup, as the first international competitor to win the women's title, only took up bronc riding 18 months ago.”
“We can see that automation without oversight is still a barrier to vulnerable Australians getting the help they need. It's clear we have a long way to go before the lessons of robodebt are learnt and implemented. We need a true turnaround in attitudes to guard against the demonisation of welfare recipients.”
“It also mandates notifying recipients if a debt has been raised against them as a result of automation. It places a six-year time limit on debt recovery actions, among other measures. Robodebt cannot be allowed to be forgotten or to be repeated. We can't allow the most vulnerable in our community to come up against the might of the government—of automated systems—without compassion or compromise. Yet I worry that bills like this and the ethos behind them are needed more than ever. The Commonwealth Ombudsman found this month that 964 JobSeeker recipients had their social security payments unlawfully terminated between April 2022 and July 2024, due to IT glitches in the targeted compliance framework which automatically cancelled payments without oversight.”
“I second the motion. I'm proud to rise in support of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Responding to Robodebt) Bill 2025, moved by my friend the member for Clark. This bill represents unfinished business when it comes to robodebt, more than two years after the final report from the robodebt royal commission was handed down. It implements or complements some of the outstanding recommendations from the royal commission's final report. It sets out new positive duties that require the government to emphasise and prioritise the needs of social security recipients when administering social security law and designing systems and policies. It mandates human oversight of debts raised above $2,000 before the decisions come into effect or decisions which would cause the cancellation of a payment or benefit.”
“My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors. The government's delay to the new aged-care system leaves nearly 90,000 people waiting for a home-care package—nearly 90,000 families under pressure. Despite this, the government ignored the call to fund 20,000 packages to bridge the gap to the new system in November. What are you doing to support these people in the meantime?”
“With four months until the lights go green on the new aged-care system, our aged-care system must, as the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety emphasised, 'assist older people to live an active, self-determined and meaningful life in a safe and caring environment that allows for dignified living in old age'. To the government more broadly: please, make sure that this is our focus.”
“I promised the people of Indi that I would hold the government accountable on services such as these, and I'll keep up that fight; this is way too important not to do that. I welcome the establishment of a Senate inquiry into Home Care Packages, initiated by Senator Pocock. This inquiry will examine the impact of delaying the Support at Home program and the withholding of the new home-care packages in the transition. The crossbench continues to ensure that there is oversight and accountability of the government. This is always important, but it is especially so for services that are critical to preserving the dignity and quality of life of our older Australians.”
“Yet, while more than 87,000 Australians remain stuck on a waitlist, the government has provided no explanation—none—as to why it won't act on this. This gives no comfort to my constituents and it gives no comfort to me as these people, these hardworking older Australians, are trying to secure assessment or services. As National Seniors Australia said, when we are talking about packages we are talking about people—people who physically cannot shower themselves, mop their floors, mow their lawns, clean their gutters or prepare their meals. These matters are some of the most common and also some of the most heartbreaking stories that my office deals with week in, week out.”
“In delaying the full rollout of aged-care reforms—a move the sector acknowledges was necessary but frustrating—the government has also delayed the rollout of its promised 83,000 new home-care packages. This has caused real and growing concern. For those older Australians simply trying to live independently, this delay risks making an already difficult situation even worse. For their families, it means that they have to juggle providing what care they can and navigating the system—and that this is drawn out for even longer. The crossbench, alongside aged-care advocates, made a clear, compassionate and practical plea to the government to fund 20,000 new home-care packages under the current scheme and then transition those packages into the new Support at Home program when it begins.”
“For older Australians, getting help with basics like cleaning and gardening preserves their ability to stay in their home for longer. For their families, it provides the peace of mind that their loved ones are getting the care and support they need when they need it. But, while the benefits of these packages are clear, the reality of getting an assessment leaves too many older people languishing on waitlists; we've just heard graphic descriptions of this from the member for Mayo. Workforce shortages across the aged-care sector mean older people in more remote parts of my electorate of Indi can struggle to receive services, or they receive a lower level of service with funding swallowed up by travel costs instead of care.”
“I'll be watching closely how it works in reality as home support transitions into the new home-care packages. Travel costs remain a major challenge in regional and rural Australia. Impacting service availability puts pressure on an already stretched workforce, and these costs are often higher than they are in our cities. Packages must account for this and not disadvantage regional Australians. I support this bill, but I take this opportunity to highlight serious deficiencies in the current home-care system, which my constituents are so very much relying on, before the new Aged Care Act and support-at-home system commences. Home-care packages make a life-changing difference for people across in my electorate in north-east Victoria.”
“I urge the government to ensure that any changes the minister makes to the act under this power be communicated to the parliament and to the community more broadly. It's crucial that, as we move into this new system, consultation with organisations like the Council on the Ageing and the Older Persons Advocacy Network does not stop. This is a once-in-a-generation change. We must get it right, and to do so involves constant reflection and taking on board feedback from the people most affected. Second, this bill clarifies that, under Support at Home, gardening and cleaning services will no longer be capped at specific times. This is a measure I welcome. When I spoke on the Aged Care Bill 2024, I noted the concerns from my electorate of Indi about whether package funding would be enough to meet the real costs of these domestic services.”
“While I would usually prefer powers such as these to remain within the parliament, in this case I support the inclusion of these delegated legislation powers because I support the intent behind them—that is, to ensure that continuity of care is maintained for older persons in the event of unforeseen or unintended consequences arising during the transition to the new act. I'm also comforted by the safeguards in the delegated legislation powers. The scrutiny of bills committee will continue to provide oversight, the powers will only operate for the first two years of the act and any rules made by the minister which change the act will be disallowable by the parliament, allowing for some scrutiny.”
“First, this bill includes a new rule-making power that allows the minister to make rules modifying the operation of the Aged Care Act we passed last year without passing legislation. This is a broad power of delegation. According to the scrutiny of bills committee, provisions such as these may limit parliamentary oversight and subvert the appropriate relationship between the parliament and the executive. They're the types of provisions the scrutiny of bills committee is particularly concerned with.”
“But that ambitious start of 1 July became unrealistic, and the commencement of the new act has been delayed until 1 November. These delays are not without consequence, and we're seeing an impact of the delay in the delivery of services that help keep older Australians at home for longer. This bill legislates a myriad of technical amendments to give effect to the aged-care reforms. Many of these are minor in nature but still important to ensure that provisions like the 'no worse off' principle can be applied for people who are already in aged care. I support these changes for the smooth implementation of the new aged-care system, but there are two changes in particular that I wish to highlight today.”
“I rise to speak to the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. I note the contribution from the member for Mayo, and I'd like to note her extraordinary commitment to and knowledge of aged care and her advocacy in this space. We all learn a lot when we listen to the member for Mayo. The response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety required a rebuild of our aged-care system. It was ambitious for the government to implement the long-awaited aged-care reforms to commence from 1 July. For the dignity and safety of the older people that our aged-care system supports, for their families and for workers across the sector, I understand that reforms of this magnitude must be implemented in a considered and effective way.”
“I look forward to understanding the outcome of this work and how it will improve access to affordable, modular and prefab housing in places across my electorate of Indi. Solving the housing crisis will take commitment by all levels of government—not over one year or one election cycle but over many years and many election cycles. This government has made a good start through its investment in new social and affordable housing, critical enabling infrastructure and planning reform at the state and local level. But we need to resolutely keep going, and Australians expect results in the next three years. I'll be expecting results in the next three years too.”
“The New South Wales government is also introducing a new 10-day approval process. This fast-track pathway will facilitate approval and the start of construction within weeks of an application being made, processes which, as we know, can often take years. These ideas demonstrate an innovative approach to getting more of the medium-density housing our cities and regional centres require. I'll be watching progress on this closely and hoping that we can replicate some of these ideas if they work. Prefab and modular homes have, for too long, been looked down on as a cheap and second-rate form of housing, but, today, they're an affordable option for sustainable energy-efficient, quality and beautiful housing. I recognise that the government are working in this space and have committed $50 million to modernising the modular housing industry.”
“So I continue to call for the government to go further and commit $2 billion, which, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office, would unlock tens of thousands of much-needed homes in our regional towns and cities. Like the member for Bradfield, I also recognise there are other creative and innovative solutions we must explore. With the housing crisis not seemingly getting any better, we must put all ideas on the table. We must investigate how to get more builders and tradies to build more homes, and we must work with the states and territories to create opportunities for homes that go beyond the straight-up, traditional quarter-acre block. For example, the New South Wales government recently released its NSW Housing Pattern Book. From only $1, aspiring home builders can access architectural designs for terraces and townhouses.”
“In addition to a fair share of overall funding, we also need to ensure that Commonwealth investment is going to the critical enabling infrastructure that unlocks new homes—the pipes, the pavements, the poles, the wires. It's one of the top issues raised by local governments and developers in my electorate. That's why I welcomed the government's adoption of my idea for a regional housing infrastructure fund that would do just that. That was rebranded by the government as the Housing Support Program. However, it's unclear whether the government intends to commit more funds to this program, which at present is $500 million, and, frankly, it's too small to make a significant difference.”
“I note the words from the member for Calare, who shares these concerns and this aspiration. This is because without a strong regional lens the government's housing plans will fail to benefit our growing regions. When the bills establishing the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund and the Housing Supply and Affordability Council were passed in the previous parliament, I was proud to secure amendments ensuring that regional views were front and centre. But I was disappointed that the government failed to back me in my amendments that would have guaranteed a clear line of sight on funding. This concern is something, again, I know I share with the member for Calare. The regions represent 30 per cent of the population, so we should receive at least 30 per cent of housing funding, and I will continue to prosecute the case for this.”
“I thank the member for Bradfield for this excellent MPI and for the way we're engaging in this House on an issue that matters to every Australian, because housing remains unaffordable for most Australians. During the election, housing stress was a constant theme in towns across my electorate of Indi. House prices are higher than ever, and rents have grown by more than 10 per cent in the past year. Too many people tell me it's a fool's errand to find an affordable home or a secure rental in regional Victoria, and they're right. This government has made big promises on housing, and, as the Independent member for Indi, I'll be holding the government accountable on these promises. I hope to continue working with them in good faith and a collaborative spirit to ensure housing investment benefits regional areas such as those in my electorate.”
“In Indi, providers aren't just travelling 15 minutes to see a client; they are often making a two-hour round trip from our bigger towns like Wangaratta or Wodonga to smaller communities like Corryong and the Upper Murray or Myrtleford in the Alpine Shire. Slashing travel prices will likely mean it is no longer financially viable for NDIS providers to reach these communities and provide home based supports that are crucial for participant choice and comfort. I heard from one of just two paediatric dietitians in the region who may no longer be able to provide home based care. Children on PEG feeds could miss out on feeds or assessments, and that is unacceptable—absolutely unacceptable. I urge the government to pause these pricing changes immediately, to consult with providers and to protect these NDIS services in the regions.”
“Last month I met with more than a dozen of Indi's physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech pathologists and support coordinators about their serious concerns and worries about the recent NDIS pricing review changes, particularly the changes to travel. Under the new rules, the amount that therapy providers can claim for travel is halved. The NDIA says the changes respond to participants whose travel costs are draining their plans. This might be true in the cities, but this cookie-cutter approach completely fails to recognise how NDIS service providers operate in regional areas, and the impacts are dire for communities like mine.”