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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“I remain unconvinced about the integrity and independence of the statutory review process in the legislation as it currently stands. The legislation requires a review of the CDC every five years. However, the requirements for this review really must be strengthened. Any review of the operations and funding of the CDC must be independent, conducted by experts with relevant expertise, to understand the critical nature of the CDC. To that end, I'll be moving amendments to establish best practice for the integrity of the review process. My amendments seek to ensure the independence of the review of the CDC. My amendments would require that three individuals be appointed by the minister to the review panel undertaking the statutory review. These individuals must have relevant related experience to properly understand the function of the CDC.”
“This bill has only one requirement for the appointment of the director-general of the CDC, and that is that the minister is satisfied that the person has appropriate expertise, qualifications or experience. Frankly, this is not good enough. We need to legislate not just for today but for the future. We need to bomb-proof this appointment to the CDC to absolutely be certain of independence. So I'll be supporting amendments to strengthen the independence of the appointment of the director-general. It's essential that our CDC legislation protects against vested political interests appointing individuals to the director-general position who have political biases. The bill before us is an opportunity to get this right—and we must get it right.”
“I talk about this because it perfectly exemplifies why it is essential that our health information comes from trusted sources that understand science and research, that apply science and research, and that can communicate this information accurately and accessibly. It further worries me that former US CDC director-general Susan Monarez has testified in front of a Senate health committee alleging that she was fired after just 29 days in the job for refusing to pre-approve recommendations on vaccines without being given the opportunity to assess the scientific evidence. We are seeing increasing misinformation, anti-science rhetoric and the politicisation of health internationally, so it is more important now than ever that we establish a robust CDC with an independent director-general to provide evidence-based health advice.”
“At a time when, in the United States, the CDC is being gutted and their president is issuing absurd and dangerous misinformation—talking about the use of paracetamol while pregnant—we need to guard against any such things ever happening in our country. We should not be taking health advice from the man who suggested that bleach is a legitimate treatment for COVID. This is a big warning sign. Paracetamol is an important and effective drug for reducing fever. A gold-standard Swedish study of more than two million children found that acetaminophen use in pregnancy is not associated with children's risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability. What the United States president is saying is truly absurd. Why do I talk about this?”
“And it's a mistake to be delaying the CDC's oversight over preventive health measures. It's a mistake that will disproportionately impact negatively upon rural communities. It's a mistake that we can't afford to make. We mustn't delay on this. The government needs to get cracking on preventive health. It's an absolute priority for when the CDC is set up. There are parts of this legislation, particularly around the CDC governance and review process, that also concern me. We've seen in the United States only recently the consequences of politicising health care and the appointment of the director-general of their CDC.”
“However, I am deeply troubled by the delay in the CDC's direction to understand and respond to preventive health, to chronic disease and to environmental health. This is critical. Regional Australia has unique health needs. There is greater prevalence of many diseases and illnesses in rural Australia. Indeed, as you travel further from major cities, the burden of non-communicable disease increases for conditions like coronary heart disease, COPD, lung cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. In rural Australia we have poorer access to health services in our communities and lower than average incomes to pay for expensive healthcare treatments. And, tragically, on average rural Australians die younger than our city counterparts. Preventive health is within the scope of the CDC. It is critical to the CDC.”
“The minister has said that, in its initial years, the CDC's priorities will focus on communicable diseases and pandemic preparedness. I understand that, after two years, the minister hopes for an independent review of the CDC's funding and operation. Following this review, the intention is to progressively expand its areas of remit into areas such as chronic conditions and the health impacts of climate change. However, I'm concerned that this two-year review is not legislated, nor is the direction for the CDC to expand into all areas of public health, as defined within the legislation. I recognise that the intention of the phased expansion of the CDCs operations is to enable the CDC to initially focus on pandemic preparedness. Let me be clear: I want the CDC to have every success at its establishment.”
“Communities in my electorate—border communities in particular—suffered from states differentiating their responses. Albury-Wodonga, a community divided by the Murray River, acts as one community. People living on the border regularly cross it for school, for work, to attend medical appointments or to do their grocery shopping. Indeed, we share a hospital across the border. Yet, when COVID hit and the New South Wales and Victorian border closed, the Albury-Wodonga community was literally split in two. Differing public health responses from two state governments, including closing borders at different times, caused significant strain on my border community, a community I love and represent. A centralised response to infectious diseases and pandemics, coordinated by the CDC, will be a positive improvement for our healthcare landscape.”
“I support the requirements for the Director-General of the CDC to publish advice and recommendations given to the government within 30 days of that advice being provided. This is good. This comes with some important exceptions where that advice may identify particular people or groups of people, to protect their privacy, and this is good. This is why I support the government's intention to establish a CDC. As a trusted source of public health expertise and advice, the CDC will be responsible for overseeing coordinated responses to communicable and non-communicable diseases. This is a valuable—a critical—resource for our country. The importance of a coordinated response to infectious diseases was made abundantly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Before being elected as the member for Indi, I worked clinically as a nurse and a midwife and I have a master's in public health and I worked as a regional health researcher. I've dedicated more than half of my life to health care, and I truly care about this bill. As a former health researcher, I'm pleased to see the CDC legislation supporting the improvement of a nationally coordinated approach to health data. National collaboration and sharing of high-quality data across states and territories improve the accuracy of our understanding of the issues impacting our health. It helps us to identify population-level trends and predict and respond to public health issues. There are positive transparency measures included in this bill.”
“The Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill seeks to do three things: (1) establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control, known as the CDC; (2) create a director-general of the CDC and an advisory council to advise the federal and state governments, health peak bodies and the Australian public on public health matters; and (3) introduce a new framework for the transparency of public health advice and data sharing for public health use. The consequential amendments and transitional provisions bill provides for some powers that already exist within relevant government agencies to transfer to the Director-General of the CDC. I welcome this legislation and the establishment of an Australian CDC. Timely, accurate, coordinated public health advice is good for our country.”
“I rise to speak on the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. The establishment of an Australian CDC was a key recommendation out of the Commonwealth government COVID-19 response inquiry report . It's not a new idea. Medical experts and peak bodies in Australia have been calling for a CDC for years. All other OECD nations have a CDC or equivalent health authority, and I am glad to see this legislation being introduced and debated.”
“Australians do not have confidence in the triple 0 system, and this must change. It is unacceptable, and both the government and the telcos are responsible. The government must move quicker to implement the key recommendations of the Bean review, including temporary disaster roaming. Other countries have done it; we must do it too. We can't lag any more. I commend the member for Mallee for the amendments she's about to put before the House. I will be supporting them. We all need to step up here, but no-one more than the telecommunications companies and this government. Stop making excuses, and stop making Australia some kind of exceptional circumstance and risking our lives.”
“When I asked the current Minister for Communications about this crucial reform this week in question time, we were told that simulation drills would occur in the coming weeks. Well, that's a welcome update, but there is no time left to stall, because, folks, this is not a drill. This is real. We have been stalling in this country for more than two years since these reviews. The government have been stalling. We need to get on with this. It can no longer be the case that you just choose your own adventure if you're a telco. The government must compel the telcos to deploy disaster roaming as soon as possible. My communities can't accept further delays, and neither can I. The bill before the House will improve the functioning of the emergency call system, and on that basis I welcome it.”
“In Canada, the government required telecommunications providers to sign an agreement that facilitates emergency roaming and mutual aid during disasters and major network outages. That's not Australia. Frankly, it is not acceptable that in Australia—in our country—in 2025, your choice of mobile provider determines whether you can access emergency information during a natural disaster. Are we satisfied with this? I sure as heck am not satisfied with this. The VicEmergency app, for example, relies on a mobile data connection, and we must have access to it during a disaster. During a bushfire or storm, regional Australians need to be able to make a call through whatever network is available, not the one they're signed up to. Parents need to know a call will get through to their child if they're apart.”
“It is the solution of common sense for remote, mountainous regions like Indi and for regional communities right across Australia. It would enable a phone to connect to any network during an emergency, no matter which telco you are with. We know that temporary disaster roaming is possible. In the United States, the Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative requires carriers to let customers roam onto another network during declared disasters. Those powers were activated during Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene in the second half of 2024. This can be done. In Chile, the national automatic roaming system requires telcos to share their networks in remote regions so people can make calls and receive essential information no matter their provider. So why not Australia?”
“It was recommended by the Senate's 2023 Connecting the country report and by the ACCC's 2023 Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry. The Bean review recommended that any temporary disaster roaming must be expanded even further to include outages such as those recently caused by Optus. How many inquiries—how many recommendations—before we get the action? In my own 2024 submission to the Regional Telecommunications Review, I called for disaster roaming before the next severe fire season, which, at the time, was before the end of 2024. Well, here we are, about to walk into our next bushfire season with no sign of this reform. There has been no public update for two years. Fire season—I cannot emphasise this enough—is fast approaching, and it is completely unacceptable, because an emergency roaming system is common sense.”
“It's why I support the universal outdoor mobile obligation, which has the potential to make universal mobile access for Australians a reality. I've supported the government's trials of voice services through the low-Earth-orbit satellites, including tests at the alpine resort of Falls Creek in my electorate. It's why I'm pushing for further funding for projects that increase local communications resilience. Community energy nodes and public wi-fi projects are already benefiting towns such as Jamieson in my electorate, and additional funding for such initiatives will support life-saving communication and essential economic activity during prolonged outages. It's why I've been calling for temporary disaster roaming as a priority reform, and I'm not the only one.”
“When outages do occur, backup generators and batteries aren't lasting long enough. It's why in the 2025 election I put forward a policy to require at least 24 hours of power backup for all mobile towers in high-risk areas. This is so important because, when mobile phone towers don't have sufficient power backup, entire towns become isolated. People can't contact emergency services, nor can they contact each other, and I will continue to call on the government to implement this policy. It's a no-brainer. It's been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office at around $159 million to provide potentially life-saving upgrades to 3,200 high-risk sites. Get on and do it. It's why I fought for communities in my electorate affected by the 3G shutdown who saw their connectivity go backwards. It's completely unacceptable.”
“When the mobile network had gone down, and with the fire fast approaching, it was through their landline that the call to evacuate got through. But today their landline has fallen completely into disrepair. They have little confidence their mobiles will work during a bushfire, and they told my office that, despite all the technological progress of the last decade, the Stinears are less confident than they were 15 years ago that a life-saving message will reach them when it's most needed. What a failure of government! This is a widely felt sentiment in Indi. No matter where I go across the 29,000 square kilometres of my electorate, I hear loud and clear from the community that regional telecommunications are inadequate, particularly during emergencies. Recent outages like those caused by Optus only reinforce this belief.”
“North-east Victoria is also susceptible to riverine and flash floods, with major river systems such as the Murray, the Goulburn, the King, the Ovens, the Broken and the Yea rivers traversing the electorate. In towns like Wangaratta, Yea and Benalla, floods are a fact of life. During the Black Saturday and Black Summer bushfires, people's safety and survival often depended on whether a phone call got through to triple 0 or whether an emergency warning reached them in time, and this was true for Grant and Alice Stinear, who gave me significant evidence during the recent RTIRC review last year. They live in Buxton in the south of my electorate, and they credit their landline for saving their lives during the Black Saturday bushfires 15 years ago.”
“That's why I've been fighting for a more resilient system since I was first elected in 2019. People deserve confidence that, when disaster strikes, their phones will work, their call will get through and their community will stay connected. During an emergency, this is doubly true. While good communications can save lives, bad communications can cost lives. Unfortunately, Indi's heightened disaster risk means that communication outages are frequent. Indi is mountainous, heavily forested and prone to widespread and devastating bushfires. We were devastated both in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and again in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.”
“I support this bill because recent Optus outages have shown all Australians just how fragile our telecommunications systems can be and how quickly this fragility can put lives at risk when things go wrong. But let's be clear. This bill will help, but it won't fix this problem. Ensuring our telecommunications systems are resilient and futureproof will require much more action by this government, and I will be relentless in holding them to account for this, because, unfortunately, this fragility is something people in regional Australia know far too well. We already live with outages during storms, bushfires and floods. Communities in my electorate of Indi know exactly how dangerous it is to be cut off, whether it's for an hour, for a day or, in some circumstances, even for a week.”
“These are binding directions, with civil penalties available for noncompliance. Third, the bill sets out how information gathered under these powers can be used and shared. The custodian and ACMA can share relevant information with emergency services and with the National Emergency Management Agency—importantly—as well as with state authorities and others to help respond to outages or improve the system. And fourth, the bill requires ACMA to provide biannual reports to the minister on the actions it's taken in relation to emergency call systems and the Triple Zero Custodian. The bill will also enable the minister to launch a review into the effectiveness of the new custodian arrangements in two years time.”
“This bill amends the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to establish a permanent Triple Zero Custodian within the government. The custodian will have powers to request that ACMA direct industry in relation to the emergency call system. The aim is to clearly establish the custodian as the end-to-end oversight body of the emergency call system. First, the bill gives ACMA powers to compel carriers, carriage service providers and emergency call system actors to disclose detailed information about an incident, including the cause of a failure, which services and regions are affected, restoration timeframes and its communications to the public. If the custodian requests action, ACMA must issue direction within a set time frame and provide the information and analysis back to the custodian.”
“The review's key recommendations were to share real-time outage information across stakeholders and to establish a Triple Zero Custodian to set standards and compel cooperation. As we know, the government accepted all 18 recommendations in April 2024. But here we are, 18 months later, and several remain to be fully implemented. Following the last absolutely unacceptable outage, the minister has moved to fast-track the establishment of the Triple Zero Custodian in the legislation that we have before us and to give ACMA new powers to hold the telcos to account. Of course I welcome this, and I welcome this bill, and I will support its passage through the House. But I criticise the government most strongly for its slow implementation of key outstanding Bean review recommendations.”
“When ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, conducted an investigation into the nationwide Optus outage in 2023, it found that 2,145 people could not access triple 0 and that 369 welfare checks were not conducted. Optus paid penalties totalling more than $12 million, although I have to say—and I say this very strongly—that this is an absolutely insignificant amount of money for a multibillion-dollar corporation, and I would support any move to make that penalty much stronger. Following the 2023 outage, the government appointed the former deputy chair of ACMA to conduct an inquiry into the outage, which resulted in 18 recommendations to address structural issues in the emergency call system. This was known as the Bean review.”
“The Australian people are looking not only for answers but also for action. Ultimately it is the government's and the minister's responsibility to ensure that laws are applied to our telecommunications providers, and clearly the laws are failing in serious ways, and that is completely unacceptable. When one system fails, like Optus did here, your phone is meant to connect to another network. Now, we don't yet know why that didn't happen. This need for backup systems is also why roaming during emergencies is essential. If Optus goes down during a bushfire or because of an outage, Telstra or another carrier must be able to pick up the call, allowing people to access emergency information or, critically, make a life-saving triple 0 call. I'll return to this later. Unfortunately, we've been here before.”
“I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. The bill is welcome, but the circumstances in which it has been introduced are definitely not. This urgent bill responds to yet another catastrophic triple 0 Optus outage. In the past two weeks, Australians have experienced two serious Optus outages, leaving customers without coverage for hours at a time. Hundreds of calls failed to go through, and, tragically, at least three deaths have been linked to people unable to reach emergency services. No greater failure could be linked to any telecommunications company than that. Australians should be confident that when they dial triple 0 the call will go through, but right now Australians can't hold that confidence.”
“My question is to the Minister for Communications. Multiple inquiries into triple 0 outages recommend temporary disaster roaming during national disasters and outages. This would keep Australians connected during emergencies no matter who their providers are. Minister, the bushfire season is fast approaching. In your previous answer you said that telcos have agreed to go faster on this outstanding reform from the Bean review. Will you give the telcos a deadline to implement disaster roaming?”
“Thank you for standing before us, with us and amongst us and thank you for standing in situations that not one of us would ever have to face. I honour you and I respect you. I pledge that my solidarity and support are with you always.”
“We will stand with you on 29 September on National Police Remembrance Day in memory of all the lives lost, and we will stand with you on 29 September, in particular, with Neal and Vadim's names so firmly in our minds. So to all police officers and their families—and I note the member for Riverina is here, who is a family member of a serving police officer, and I thank him and his family for the way they support their son and for the sacrifice that they make in holding the anxiety that comes with being not only a proud parent of a police officer but one who knows all too well the risks that their son or daughter has taken on behalf of us. I thank you and so many like you. To all police officers: thank you for what you do.”
“They stood in silence; they stood in honour of their fallen friends and colleagues. Right across Australia, and indeed all across little towns in my electorate, we've seen buildings lit up in blue. We've seen the water towers of Wodonga and Wangaratta shine brightly in blue, at the same time that 480-plus police officers and emergency services crews comb the mountainous terrain around Mount Buffalo to seek the person allegedly responsible for the heinous crime that happened in Porepunkah. As the police operation continues, I say to police officers all over Australia and most especially to the police officers in my own patch—on behalf of my community, we stand in solidarity with you, and we will always stand in solidarity with you.”
“They're in shock, and they are experiencing deep sadness and disbelief. It's brought into sharp focus, for me personally and for the people I represent, the extraordinary risk our police face every day to keep us safe. Really it's a risk that we take for granted as we go about our lives, but it came into stark relief for us just over a week ago. Over the past week, we've seen the community respond with love and solidarity for our police officers. Countless people have visited the Wangaratta and Wodonga police stations. They are coming in droves. They're laying flowers in memory of these two members. They're bringing food, their friendship and their solidarity. Even if they did not know these police officers, they know the police. Emergency services and SES crews, firies and ambos stood the other night in the pouring rain.”
“Their names, tragically, will be added to the memorial roll, and across the nation Australians will stand in solidarity in their honour. Most tragically, and so close to home, two new names will be added to this memorial honour roll. In the coming days, the families, friends and colleagues of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart will pay their final respects and farewell two fine members of the Victoria Police. It's been a little over a week since an unspeakable tragedy unfolded in my electorate, in the beautiful, idyllic alpine town of Porepunkah—a town that was forever changed by an unspeakable event that no-one could ever have possibly imagined. The communities across Indi, particularly across Wangaratta and the Alpine Valleys, are in mourning.”
“The work of police can be gruelling. It can be complex and, as we know, too often it can be risky. It requires not just the highest level of training, discipline and physical resilience; it takes mental resilience too. It's not just the police officers themselves who need to have this resilience but also their families. Police officers are often the first responders to tragic events. Again, in rural and regional communities such as mine, all too often the events that they're responding to are events that involve people that they may well know. As we learn too often, and as we will commemorate on 29 September, too many times our police officers are the victims of tragedy themselves. On 29 September, we will remember members of the police force who have passed away over the past 12 months.”
“In my former life as a nurse a long time ago, I worked in the emergency department at St Vincent's Hospital, and there I forged many friendships with the police who came in, in the most difficult of circumstances. Those police officers stood by me as a young nurse; they stood by my other nursing colleagues, the junior doctors and all of the support staff in what was a very hectic and difficult situation at St V's in Fitzroy. Then, some years later, I was working in a tiny rural bush nursing hospital. There, the local policeman, who lived in Chilton, where I did, became a firm friend and a valued colleague—someone who was always there at the end of the phone when I needed him. I have to say, unfortunately, I often needed him. In communities such as mine, local police, as I'm showing you, are very much a part of us.”
“I rise to speak on National Police Remembrance Day, ahead of the 29 September commemoration time. Across Australia, thousands of people don the blue uniform in a commitment to the safety of our communities. They take an oath to protect us, putting the safety of others above themselves. This is a courageous pledge; this is a selfless pledge. In regional communities such as mine, you'll often find the local police taking an active role in the community, both in uniform and out of uniform. They visit day cares and schools and stop by local sporting and community events to bring visibility to their work and forge long-term relationships with locals. Local police are often footy coaches or netball coaches. They're out and about; they're part of us; they are our friends.”
“I listened carefully to the speeches of both the minister and the shadow minister this morning and they made a big impact on me, particularly listening to the shadow minister, the member for Gippsland, and his experiences when it came to seeking the award for Teddy Sheean and, finally, having it approved. It was compelling. But at least he could do it—he could not do it under this legislation.”
“Secondly, it narrows who can apply for a review, shutting out advocates and supporters who, so often, stand in for veterans who are too physically or mentally unwell to fight these battles themselves. They've fought battles, but this one—arguing for an honour or award—is a battle too far to go. Thirdly, it introduces a six-month deadline to seek review, knowing full well that many veterans are never even told that they have that right. Indeed, they may be dealing with mental or physical health issues that limit their ability to respond in a timely fashion. These aren't minor or technical changes, they are significant. They significantly reduce the ability of veterans, their families and advocates to seek review for decisions made by Defence.”
“We've heard, from contributions this morning, that we're not talking about veterans from the Boer War, we're talking about veterans who are still active members of our community from recent wars. We've heard too, from many contributions this morning, that this bill would mean that the recent Victoria Cross recipient Teddy Sheean would have been ineligible. I was in this House when there were contributions from many members of parliament lauding the Victoria Cross award going to the extraordinary Teddy Sheean. In fact, the Prime Minister himself said: 'It's never too late to honour the meaning of "Lest we forget" or to commemorate the courage of one of our own.' That's what he said about Teddy Sheean. Now this government's bill means that it will be too late to recognise heroes like Teddy Sheean. If it goes through, it will be too late.”
“It begs the question, if they didn't know it was coming, if they had no sense of this, what consultations really occurred? I've spoken with RSL Victoria who, likewise, feel blindsided that this bill's being rushed through without the voices of veterans truly being heard. They tell me that they can't see why this bill is really a priority when there are still so many outstanding recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. They're completely bewildered. This bill limits who can apply for review of decisions in relation to defence awards and honours. Firstly, it imposes a 20-year time limit on reviews, which would exclude entire generations of veterans.”
“I have several concerns with this bill, which have come to light to me over the past 48 hours or less, and I'll briefly outline them. This bill has been rushed through the House with consultation, with veterans, that seems very light. In fact, veterans in my electorate of Indi tell me that they're blindsided by this. There's apparently been little or no consultation with them or their representative bodies and no scrutiny by a committee of parliament. I've been speaking to veteran leaders in my electorate and, really, they didn't know what I was talking about when I rang them. They didn't know this bill was coming. They're concerned about the impact. They're concerned, particularly, about the impact on their membership.”
“I rise today to speak on Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal) Bill 2025. I acknowledge that the minister is in the House today, and I want to say to him that I appreciated the briefing we had the other night, but I must admit that, when I went away and had a closer look at this bill and had a ring around my electorate, I came to the conclusion that I needed to jump up and speak on this today. This bill amends key features of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. The tribunal was established to provide an independent and fair review of defence honours and awards decisions. It exists as an independent statutory body and has finalised 465 reviews since its commencement in 2008.”
“I put this government on notice: I will continue to fight for fairer funding in this term of parliament, call out bad practices where I see them and do my utmost to make sure that hard-earned taxpayer dollars are spent fairly and transparently.”
“It means only the most meritorious projects will be funded. It means money goes where it will make the greatest difference. It's decision-making based on community need, not on political expedience. Allocating taxpayer funds on the basis of political interest is called pork-barrelling, and Australians think it is a form of corruption. I agree. I've fought long and hard to end the practice of pork-barrelling, not just with this government but with previous ones, because I, like most Australians, believe that taxpayer money should be spent fairly and transparently through an open process. It's why I twice introduced my end pork-barrelling bill to the previous parliament.”
“The other, funding the restoration of South Melbourne Town Hall, is located in the electorate of Macnamara. Crucially, both electorates were key battlegrounds in the 2025 election, seen as fundamental to the Labor party's path to victory in what most expected to be a closely fought election. This is millions of dollars in taxpayer money with no transparent process, no apparent value-for-money assessment and no clarity on whether the money would deliver a better outcome elsewhere. Instead, it seems the government is choosing to fund projects as line items in the budget. On anyone's measure, that's poor budget practice and, frankly, poor governance. All community infrastructure projects should be funded through open-access, competitive grant processes. This means every community in every corner of Australia has a chance to secure funding.”
“We are really on board with this. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is not only a win for Indi but a win for the nation. It shows what democracy should look like. It shows that regional communities can and do lead the way, and that integrity and persistence in politics deliver real and practical outcomes for everyday people. Before I conclude my remarks on these bills, I do want to note that these bills also make provision for a number of so-called election commitments made by the Labor Party during the 2025 election campaign. I want to be absolutely clear with the House: my issue is not with the projects themselves—I am sure they are excellent projects—but I do question the process through which they're being funded. One, supporting the construction of the first-ever Hindu school in Australia, is located in the electorate of Macquarie.”
“Batteries can store excess solar power generated during the day and release it back into the community in the evening when demand and prices are highest. This eases pressure on the grid and ensures plentiful, cheap power is available after sunset. It will be essential in the transition towards a zero-emissions electricity network. One of the most important aspects of virtual power plants is that they enhance grid resilience and strengthen our energy security. When the grid is under stress during heatwaves, bushfires or storms, virtual power plants can keep essential infrastructure and services operating for days or possibly weeks. This is something communities in my electorate know only too well, and why regional communities, like those in my electorate of Indi, recognise the transformative potential of home and community batteries.”
“Reputable retailers in my electorate have already told me about a rise in unsolicited marketing calls, counterfeit batteries and cowboy retailers trying to make a quick buck selling the biggest battery possible, even if it's not a good fit. The government needs to work carefully with regulators to stop this bad behaviour wherever and whenever it occurs. The government has also signalled that households who install a battery under this scheme will be able to take part in virtual power plants, programs where thousands of small batteries are linked together to provide clean, reliable power back to the grid in times of stress. This means that the Cheaper Home Batteries Program will benefit not only households who install a battery but the wider community as well.”