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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“Since being elected to the parliament in 2019, I've noticed a substantial increase in constituents contacting my office about their experiences with child care, and their dominant experience is childcare shortage. Again and again, I'm hearing of years-long waitlists and hour-long commutes, forcing parents and particularly mothers to scale back their hours at work or not go back to work at all. I'm hearing of GPs who can't work because they can't find childcare places. This is one of the reasons we have GP shortages right now. The waitlists for a childcare place are ridiculously long. Parents are putting their children's names down for childcare places eight weeks into pregnancies, and, when their children are 12 months old or older, there still aren't places for them. Take Megan from Laceby in my electorate.”
“This bill is a positive step towards making child care more affordable to families, but making child care affordable is only one piece of the puzzle and achieves very little if there aren't any childcare places available. Across the country, nearly six million Australians live in a childcare desert, meaning that there are more than three children per available childcare space. This is being felt the most in rural and regional Australia, where we're experiencing childcare deserts at nearly double the rate of major cities. According to the ACCC, in inner-regional areas like Wodonga, Benalla and Wangaratta in my electorate, there are three times the number of waitlist places held by children under two years old than there are places offered. So this is real for us.”
“The proposed reforms to the activity test to deliver the three-day guarantee also back in calls from Thrive by Five and the Parenthood—two groups that I want to knowledge for their tireless work in advocating for universal child care. I unequivocally support removing the activity test. As an independent member of parliament and conscientious legislator, when I see evidence that shows a policy doesn't stack up, I back legislation that says, 'Well, let us stop this.' Every child must be able to access all the social, cognitive and emotional benefits that come with child care, regardless of their parents' employment situation. Let's remember that providing a childcare subsidy is first and foremost about ensuring a child has the best start to life.”
“The activity test required a parent to work, study or volunteer to qualify for their childcare subsidy. It's been around since 2018 but evidence shows it is simply failing to achieve its objective. The Australian Institute of Family Studies found that it is not increasing parent workforce participation as it intended and, instead, has operated to disproportionately exclude vulnerable children from accessing child care. It's a handbrake on intergenerational equity and it hurts our most vulnerable families. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission—the ACCC—the Productivity Commission, the government's Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee and the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce have all recommended the activity test be rethought.”
“This benefits the whole community, because so many mums and dads work in vital jobs in our regions, whether that be nursing, teaching, psychology, running a small business, or so many other jobs and professions. This bill is going to see more children receive life-changing early education by guaranteeing all families at least three days of subsidised child care each week, regardless of the parents' activity level. Families that undertake work, study or training for more than 48 hours per fortnight will be guaranteed 100 hours of childcare subsidies each fortnight. Over 67,000 families in Australia will have their childcare entitlements increased under this bill. It will benefit low-income families especially, by saving them on average $1,460 per year. The three-day guarantee of child care under the bill replaces the activity test.”
“Today, I speak in support of the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025. I support this bill because it's another step towards an Australia where all children and their parents can access the child care they need, when they want to. Child care is good for kids, and it's good for parents. Wide-ranging benefits come when government supports an accessible and affordable childcare system. For children, it supports their cognitive, social and emotional development and prepares them for the challenges that life throws at all of us. One of the greatest indicators of success in the first year of school is the quality of the educators and the education in child care. For parents and caregivers, it helps make it easier to balance parenthood and work.”
“Successive governments from both major parties have neglected these regional townships. They focus more on getting power to the major cities. But regional, edge-of-grid towns deserve reliable and secure power supply. Microgrids involving a system of solar, diesel and battery storage connected to businesses, households and community buildings can be a solution. During extreme weather events a microgrid can separate from the network to supply power. We must invest in better energy resilience to ensure our businesses can operate, our food doesn't spoil and we can all stay comfortable as the climate changes. I call on the government—any government—to do better for power supply to regional—”
“Each summer when the temperature rises to 35 degrees or higher in towns like Bethanga, Bellbridge and Euroa, the power can simply switch off. Many towns across regional Australia are far too familiar with regular and lengthy power outages, especially in extreme weather. To be clear: this isn't because of renewables or even because of our aging coal-fired power stations. Increasingly, small towns on the edge of the main grid have their power cut because of something called the rapid earth fault current limiter. These sensitive devices switch the powerline off instantly if a fault is detected, to reduce the risk of a bushfire. Of course this is an important safety measure, but the effects of a power outage are terrible. Businesses are forced to shut, and it's often the elderly and the sick who suffer the most when there's no electricity.”
“We need it and we need it now. We need comprehensive whistleblower protection reform. In 2019, Labor promised to establish a whistleblower protection authority. The clock has been ticking for three years. We're rapidly facing an election and it's nowhere to be seen. We need the crossbench to push on this. Debate adjourned.”
“The courts—this is the bit that is amazing—have accepted that 'Mr Boyle is a whistleblower as the term is commonly understood', and yet our whistleblower protection laws are so flimsy that he has no protection. This is why we so desperately need the promise fulfilled by this Albanese government to establish a whistleblower protection authority to help future people come forward. Right now there are everyday Australians out there potentially wanting to blow the whistle, and we need them to, but they take a grave risk in doing so. A whistleblower protection authority will support and protect whistleblowers and potential whistleblowers by being that much needed one-step shop. Furthermore, as the member for Clark has said, a whistleblower protection authority would assist us in the prevention of corruption in the first place.”
“But right now Australia's whistleblower protection laws are broken. Brave people who speak up about war crimes or corruption are facing criminal charges and even prison. And as the member for Clark just noted, right now, on foot, is the case with Richard Boyle. Mr Boyle helped expose the Australian Taxation Office's unethical practices of seizing money directly from taxpayers accounts without regard for that person's circumstances, such as whether they are women escaping domestic violence or small business owners with serious health issues. It was just appalling. And for this decision, Mr Boyle is now facing prosecution and potentially jail.”
“I'm very proud to second this bill from the member for Clark today, who has been a champion for whistleblowers for the whole time that he has been in this place. Whistleblowers are vital to a healthy democracy. They play a significant role in exposing serious wrongdoing by politicians, by government agencies and by corporations. And just in the last few years, whistleblowers have helped reveal the harmful and unlawful robodebt scheme, elder abuse in the aged-care sector and the PwC scandal, just to name a few. In the PwC case, confidential government information was used to help private clients avoid paying tax. When whistleblowers make the hard decision—and it is a hard decision, a risky decision—to speak out about wrongdoing such as this, we, all of us, need to have their back.”
“The terror attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 was abhorrent. The destruction and loss of life in Gaza in the time since then has been devastating. The current ceasefire is fragile. There are those in Australia who have sought to capitalise on these events to drive division, to widen the cracks into a fissure that cannot be crossed. And they have done so through threats, through violence, through intimidation. We must not stand for it. We must stand for peace.”
“How will the government, the parliament and we as legislators and leaders of this country influence our social fabric, our social cohesion? We must continue to act to combat hate, to build trust and safety and bonds across all the different communities that make up our great country of Australia because we will not prosecute our way to social cohesion. We won't. Social cohesion is something that is created, something that is tended and something that is protected. Tim Costello recently wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age : Social cohesion is both a gift and a challenge. Building it requires risk, and maintaining it requires crossing lines. He called out 'conflict entrepreneurs' who have politicised the conflict in Gaza and then decried the breakdown in social cohesion.”
“And I also note the coalition's amendments to explicitly outlaw threats and attacks against places of worship. Again, I condemn the abhorrent attacks and threats against synagogues that have recently occurred. It's for this reason I support the coalition's amendments. This bill is a crucial element of our nation's response to the rising antisemitism the Jewish community faces. It's an addition to our Criminal Code that, frankly, is overdue. But it's not the start and end of how we as a parliament, as legislators from across the political spectrum, should respond to the problems that we face. In their submission, the Law Council of Australia warned: … there are significant limitations on the role of criminal law an instrument of social policy. We should dwell on this point.”
“The member for Wentworth's electorate has experienced horrific attacks over the last few months in particular, and we must listen to them to find the solution. The member for Wentworth's amendments to the bill would address gaps in legislation where the promotion of violence and hatred is not considered a crime because it does not meet the requirements of explicitly urging or threatening violence. The offence will focus on promotion of hatred and violence and draws upon existing laws in Western Australia that have been tested in the courts to ensure it achieves the right balance with free speech principles. I support these amendments, and I urge the whole parliament to also support them. This is not about restricting freedom of speech; it's about proper consequences for threats and promoting violence against specific groups.”
“We must call out all types of hatred, all efforts to threaten and intimidate people based on their faith, their sexuality, their gender, their disability because this is how we become a truly cohesive society. And I agree with the words of the member for New England and the member for Riverina who both spoke earlier that it's not just the parliament who is responsible here, as indeed we most certainly are, but it is every single Australian who must look into their own heart and into their own actions and never walk past or remain silent when they see this hatred in action. I acknowledge the amendments put forward in good faith to this bill. The member for Wentworth has worked closely with Jewish leaders and equality advocates to draft amendments that expand the bill to cover serious vilification offences.”
“There are people out there who wish them ill will, who wish to do them harm because of their faith, their sexuality, their gender, their identity, their disability. These fears are not unfounded as anti-Muslim graffiti and incidents are also increasing in our community. These incidents must be acknowledged, they must be counted, they must be stamped out. I acknowledge the fear and unease in the LGBTIQ community, and we must be constantly alive to the discrimination and hatred members of this community experience as well. Acknowledging the hatred and the intimidation experienced by other members of the community does not seek to minimise the impact of the escalation in antisemitism on the Jewish community in Australia.”
“These incidents must not be normalised. They must never be excused. The perpetrators of these attacks must be held to the full force of the law. There must be consequences for these vile actions, which have no place in our society. They have no place in Australia. This bill is just part of the ways in which government can and should respond to the hateful acts of violence and threats against the Australian Jewish community. More must be done as well. It's important to note that this bill is not exclusively about antisemitism but covers hate crimes against members of the community with protected attributes including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status and disability. This is vital because there are many marginalised groups in our community who are also feeling vulnerable.”
“Just last week we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and we know antisemitism is one of the oldest forms of hatred. It is a fear and a wound that is generations deep. In Australia we are free to practice our faith but it's clear there are people out there who seek to intimidate, to terrorise and to hate, and to do this to people because of their Jewish faith, with graffiti on cars, homes, schools, childcare centres, workplaces and places of worship. The arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne, and the discovery in Sydney of a caravan packed with explosives and with the address of a Sydney synagogue on a piece of paper inside—these incidents are truly terrifying. Of course, that is their purpose—to incite terror, hatred and fear. We cannot allow these incidents to go by unremarked and unchecked.”
“This will help fill a gap in the current laws to address conduct which involves a direct threat from one person to another rather than to a group or a member of a group. Third, the bill strengthens the 'public display of prohibited hate symbols' offences—laws that were passed by this place last year. The bill does this by expanding the list of groups which these offences protect to include groups distinguished by sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. We debate this bill at a time of grave risk and vulnerability for Australia's Jewish community. The level of antisemitism we have experienced in this country over recent months is unlike anything I've witnessed in my lifetime. I can't imagine the fear Jewish Australians are living with.”
“It does so by widening their application so that they apply when someone urges force or violence against members of a group distinguished by sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status and disability. The offence currently protects groups distinguished by race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin or political opinion. The bill also strengthens the offence for urging the use of force or violence by removing the defence of good faith and changing the fault element that the prosecution must prove from intent to recklessness. These changes will make it easier to successfully prosecute this offence. Second, the bill creates a new criminal offence for threatening force or violence against targeted groups and members of targeted groups I listed earlier.”
“I rise today to speak on this bill with deep sadness and deep concern about the state of our nation and with a deep sense of purpose. Our country is at a decisive point, and it's the role of this parliament to ensure that we set this nation on the right course and that we send a strong message and call out appalling behaviour and actions for what they are—criminal acts. The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 aims to strengthen Australia's criminal laws to provide better protection against hate crimes. It does so in three main ways. First, the bill strengthens existing offences for urging the use of force or violence.”
“My question is to the Minister for Communications. Before the 3G shutdown, regional communities in my electorate were told that no-one would be worse off, but, since the final shutdown, my constituents have experienced worse connectivity, completely losing the ability to make calls in some areas, and have been told to spend their own money on aftermarket antennas. Does the minister recognise that some people are worse off after the 3G shutdown, and what will the government do to fix it?”