Kate Thwaites
Jagajaga · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How has the Albanese Labor government acted to strengthen Australia's fuel security and shield Australians from the impacts of the conflict in the Middle East? What policies would leave Australians more vulnerable?”
“The Albanese government is committed to ending violence against women and children. Within this portfolio, support for victims of gender-based violence who have to interact with the courts and the justice system is particularly important.”
“This completes the national rollout of these services and builds on announcements of the establishment of new pilots across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania and the extension and expansion of existing pilots in the ACT and WA.”
“This will be very important for those people who are facing courts and justice systems as part of their process. I note this funding is in addition to approximately $2.5 million per annum ongoing funding provided to support solutions for domestic and gender-based violence.”
“In this book, Heather shares her experience of advocating for Eddie's education, for his inclusion and for his place in the wider community. The book was cowritten with Meryka Alexander, who has also been part of the Hebbard family for more than 25 years as Eddie's teacher, advocate, adviser and trusted supporter.”
“I really want to congratulate Eddie. I want to especially congratulate Heather for the success of Educating Eddie and for the effort they have made to share his story. I wish them all the very best for the future.”
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“So I am really pleased that our government has announced that we're expanding the opportunity so that people can access the dream of homeownership with a five per cent deposit and that it will come into effect from 1 October this year. In Jagajaga we are also delivering new social and affordable housing through the Housing Australia Future Fund and the Social Housing Accelerator. In Heidelberg West we've teamed up with the state government to rebuild the Bell-Bardia estate. This will mean 104 homes in the area delivering high-quality, modern housing. It's on a site that previously had 94 homes which were not really fit for purpose anymore, so they were demolished some years ago. I am really glad we are getting these new houses built on that site, and I know that it will be really important for the 3081 community.”
“Again, one of the frequent conversations I had with people in Jagajaga during the election campaign was about how difficult it is to get into the housing market. Many people who were having this conversation with me were approaching it from a situation of generational inequality, talking to me about how they were worried for their children or their grandchildren and also how they want their children to be able to live in the vicinity of them. Again, in many parts, Jagajaga is an expensive place to buy a house, and people want to be able to live near families, to live near the places they love and where they grew up.”
“This does come, I think, at an important time for that growing population in that area of Jagajaga. At Eltham Lower Park we've opened a new off-leash dog park, and the sporting pavilion there will be upgraded, which will help the local lacrosse, croquet and cricket clubs. There is lots going on on the sporting and community front in Jagajaga, which I'm very pleased about. One of the main focuses for our government this term is of course housing. We know that right across Australia we have challenges when it comes to housing. It is still very difficult, particularly for people to enter the market. We don't have enough social and affordable housing. We are trying our best to tackle this, obviously, after many years of those opposite neglecting it—neglecting to have a housing minister for most of their time in government, in fact.”
“These investments really help promote active, inclusive communities, the netball encouraging more women to participate in and play sport and the croquet club encouraging people of all abilities, including older people, to be involved. I always enjoy my visits to the Ivanhoe Croquet Club. They are a very lively bunch. They've given me tips. I'm not very good yet, but I hope that I have the opportunity to continue to go back and improve my skills. We are continuing to support community infrastructure more broadly, including at Shelley Park and Heidelberg Heights, which is getting a brand new pavilion and clubrooms through an investment we made during the last term. I'm really looking forward to seeing it become a new hub for local sport and community events.”
“Another part of election campaigns that I always enjoy is engaging with my local sporting clubs. These play a huge role in bringing people together locally and in providing both young people and older people places to keep fit and engaged. I was so pleased to support the Heidelberg West Football Netball Club with an $814,000 grant for female-friendly facilities, including proper changerooms, showers and toilets. I know these facilities will be much appreciated and make a huge difference to the women and girls playing at that club. Congratulations to all of them. I'm absolutely thrilled that we will be delivering $2 million to support Banyule City Council to build a new netball facility and upgrade the Ivanhoe Park Croquet Club.”
“They're able to go to the clinic, be seen and have certainty. I know it's also taking pressure off the Austin emergency department, so it's appreciated there. I was pleased that, in this last campaign, we also committed—together with the member for McEwen—to secure a new Medicare emergency clinic for Diamond Creek and surrounds. I know that will be beneficial to people living in the northern end of my electorate. It was fantastic to be able to do that with the member for McEwen. I'm very pleased he is back in this parliament so we can continue to work together to serve our communities. In fact, today I met with the Northern Councils Alliance with the member for McEwen, the member for Scullin and some other colleagues, to work together across Melbourne's north to continue building the services we need.”
“Again, this work is about taking pressure off the grid and supporting local people to reap the benefits of the energy transition. Another key issue during the election campaign in Jagajaga, and right around the country, was Medicare and our health system. Labor will always be the party that protects Medicare. We understand that it is the cornerstone of our health system. We know locals want it to be there for them when they need it—for themselves, for their kids and for our entire community. I was so pleased to be able to open the Heidelberg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic during our first term of parliament, and I've seen the huge impact it's had on the community—providing that place that people can go to when they need urgent care, rather than having to go up the road to the Austin Hospital and wait many hours in emergency.”
“The sense of security and of certainty for Australians that we now are committed to climate action and that that will continue under this government is really important. In Jagajaga, just like around the country, we are rolling out community batteries with support from this government. That obviously supports the many solar rooftops that I see as I travel around the electorate. People in my community understand that batteries are not only a good way to help tackle climate change but also a good way to bring down their bills and reduce electricity costs. I know they will continue to be very popular in Jagajaga. Recently—in fact, just before the start of the election campaign—I helped open the Bellfield community battery, which our government has helped fund.”
“That's why we are making major investments in renewable energy. We are improving and protecting the places that we love. We're also, this term, putting a renewed focus on expanding our climate adaptation and resilience work, on making sure that communities like mine are supported to live with the effects of what we already see from climate change. That will be critical right around the country. Very clearly at the last election Australians rejected the divisive nuclear push that we know was steeped in climate denialism from those opposite. Every time they put that policy forward, it wasn't a policy about debating a better way forward for Australia; it was a policy about denial. Again, we see this very clearly now with the motion before the parliament to drop net zero.”
“What was very clear at the last election and what is increasingly clear now, as those opposite continue to debate whether they will actually ditch a commitment to net zero, is that Labor is the party of climate action. We have made tackling climate change a top priority. Again, that is exactly what communities like mine in Jagajaga expect of a government that understands the challenges that we are facing and that understands what this country needs to be doing to provide a safe and secure future with good jobs—not just for people now, but for our children and for their children's children. As a government, we are delivering on our emissions reduction targets. It was really encouraging to see the announcement from the minister this week that emissions are falling and that we are on the right track—with a lot more to do!”
“I know it is something that many people in Jagajaga are passionate about, and they talk to me about it. The Birrarung, the Yarra River, forms a natural border around my electorate. It runs from Ivanhoe all the way through to North Warrandyte. And, certainly, that waterway and other significant waterways such as the Darebin Creek, the Banyule Flats and Plenty Gorge are an important part of Jagajaga. People in Jagajaga care deeply about these places and about our environmental legacy. I can absolutely say that one of the main issues raised with me during the election campaign, and now, by people in Jagajaga is the need for continued action on climate change. There is a real understanding in my community of how environmental protection, emissions reduction and climate resilience action all come together.”
“I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I'm giving this speech today, the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri people, and I pay my respect to their elders past and present. I also want to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land Jagajaga stands on. Theirs is a deep and ongoing connection to land, water and sky, which is absolutely inseparable from that place, and I again pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging in Jagajaga. In this second term, I look forward to getting on with work to continue that connection, to continue to close the gap and to continue to make sure that we are helping First Nations people in our country to be as strong a part of our community as possible.”
“It's an agenda which showed they really don't understand the lives of modern Australians and of people in communities like Jagajaga. I'm thinking here particularly of the way they wanted to limit things like working from home. It was clear to me when I was talking to people, whether it was at early voting centres or when I was knocking on doors or standing outside the local shops, that what they valued were the things that Labor governments do, and they were trusting us to get on and do those things and to build for the future. I am really looking forward to doing that work in the second term, to staying focused on our goals and to making sure that we continue to achieve, not just for Jagajaga but, of course, for the entire country.”
“I was really pleased with the conversations I was able to have with community members during the election campaign. A lot of people spoke to me, both about what they could see our government had achieved in our one term in government and also about the progress they wanted to see come next—about the work still to do. There was a marked difference in those conversations I had in the community between the sense of trust they had in a Labor government to deliver on that work still to come and what was being put forward by our Liberal opponents—which really was an agenda based around negativity, an agenda that clearly wasn't well thought through, particularly if we think about their main plan of a nuclear future for Australia.”
“It's an absolute privilege and an honour to be here once again as the member for Jagajaga, and I am sincerely grateful and humbled to once again be trusted by my community to represent them in this parliament. I've said many times that I love our community. It is the place where I grew up, and it's now the place where I'm bringing up my own children with my husband, Daniel. We absolutely know firsthand just how special our part of Melbourne is. The people who live there, the community groups, the parks, the creeks—there is a strong sense of belonging and connection in Jagajaga, and it makes it a wonderful place to call home. Every day I absolutely take pride in the opportunity to be our community's voice here in this parliament.”
“Again, we know those opposite weren't keen to support the Housing Australia Future Fund, but we can only hope that at some point during this period in opposition they do change the way they look at community infrastructure and they do change the way they look at investing for the future and investing in the future of communities like those in Jagajaga. There is still time for them to come to this realisation, change their ways and support some of these fantastic initiatives that our government is delivering on.”
“We've also just announced another 25 homes to come in Bellfield as part of the second round. I recently, just a couple of weeks ago, had the pleasure of having the Prime Minister and the housing minister visit Rosanna, where we saw the Beetham Parade development take shape. That's a fantastic development that will support women and children leaving family violence, as well as key workers and First Nations people needing a house. It's in a great location—just next to the train station, near our medical precinct. It is absolutely the type of housing we need in our community, so it is wonderful to see this investment going forward.”
“I have spent quite a bit of time recently going to housing that is being built in my community with the support of the federal government. I never had that opportunity under those opposite, because there wasn't any housing being built in my electorate with the support of the then federal government when it was a Liberal-National government. In West Heidelberg, Labor is rebuilding the old Bell-Bardia estate, which was demolished in 2020 because it needed serious upgrades. Together with the state government, we're really proud to be delivering 104 brand new homes—more homes than were there before. They will be high-quality, modern homes that local families can be proud of. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund, Labor is delivering 642 new homes across Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Rosanna and Greensborough.”
“You are showing remarkable patience, forbearance and understanding that in the end this project will be a huge win for our community, so thank you. The final area I want to highlight, as I think it shows the contrast between this government's attitude to investment in community and people's lives and the attitude that was taken by those opposite when they had the opportunity in government, is housing. We do still have a housing crisis in this country—one which built up over a very long time, and it certainly built up under those opposite when they were not investing in housing. They didn't see a role for the federal government in housing, and for most of the time they didn't even have a federal housing minister.”
“The North East Link project, which is the biggest infrastructure project ever delivered in my electorate, will transform the way people live and travel in Melbourne's north-east. Connecting Watsonia to Bulleen, it will fix what is known as the missing link in our freeway network. It will take 15,000 trucks off Rosanna Road every single day and cut travel times by up to 35 minutes. This is something we're putting $3.3 billion towards to support the state government to make this happen. Again, we never saw this level of future investment in much-needed infrastructure in my community under the Liberals. I do want to say thank you to all the community members who I know are putting up with a large level of disruption as this major project goes on.”
“We're investing in our cheaper home battery scheme, which has seen nearly 40,000 home battery systems purchased since 1 July, including 166 in the community of Jagajaga. Of course, we know that those opposite promised a $600 billion nuclear plan to drive up household bills, but we are delivering direct energy bill relief to every household. We're doing this on a community infrastructure level as well. We are supporting the Banyule council to electrify WaterMarc, a well-known and well-loved community pool in my electorate. With federal government support it will become a fully electric facility, helping Council cut costs, lower emissions and reinvest savings back into the community. We're delivering on major infrastructure.”
“It is not work that happened under those opposite. We did not have this local-level investment in my community under those opposite. We're supporting the transition to renewable energy in Jagajaga and around the country while those opposite have a debate about whether they need to be signed up to net zero. As the Prime Minister has said, if you are not prepared to back net zero, what you are actually saying is you don't believe in climate change. If you are not prepared to say that this country needs to reach net zero, then what you are saying is you are a climate denier. And it was not just when they were in government; those opposite are still full of climate deniers. In Jagajaga and around the country we are investing and doing the necessary work.”
“If I look at other infrastructure in my community, community sport is such a big part of how people spend their time. It's a big part of how people come together and how our kids learn about community. Keeping active is so important. I'm really proud that we've been able to deliver investment in community support in Jagajaga, including funding for the Heidelberg West Football Netball Club to build female-friendly facilities—proper change rooms, showers and toilets; funding for the Banyule City Council to build a brand new netball facility and upgrade the croquet club at Ivanhoe Park; and funding for the Shelley Park pavilion in Heidelberg Heights, on which I'm pleased that construction will be starting soon, along with renovating the pavilion at Eltham Lower Park. Again, this is all work that is underway in our time in government.”
“We're backing that up. We are, obviously, making it easier for people to see a GP and to have that bulk-billed—an extra 18 million bulk-billed GP visits every year so that people in Jagajaga can see a doctor without worrying about the cost. I know there's more work to do in this space. We're not there yet. As I said, it takes time to overturn the damage that those opposite did. In 10 years of government, they never invested in local health infrastructure in Jagajaga. They oversaw the collapse of bulk-billing. They took a service that was essential to Australians, a service that that Australians could count on, and they rubbished it. That is, again, indicative of their approach to services. Labor is strengthening Medicare, the Liberals try to destroy it and that is the clear difference.”
“Of course, we know it was at risk because it was neglected for far too long by those opposite who have never believed in Medicare and who have never believed that you should be able to see a doctor with your Medicare card, not with your credit card. It was neglected, but we have been doing the work to fix it. In Jagajaga, that means that we have delivered the Heidelberg Medicare urgent care clinic right in the heart of the Austin Hospital precinct, taking pressure off the emergency department there. I have a lot of positive feedback about this facility, and I'm really pleased that, at the election that we've just had, together with my colleague the member for McEwen, we pledged that we will deliver another clinic in Diamond Creek and surrounds, which will really benefit people who live in the northern end of my electorate.”
“Labor does take a different approach. We believe that every community—city or regional, no matter who they voted for—deserves respect and deserves its fair share, and I'm really proud of what that means and what we're delivering in Jagajaga. When we come to people's health, one of the key things that people talk to me about is the need for good quality healthcare services that can be accessed locally and that are affordable. We absolutely understand that Medicare is the cornerstone of our health system. It was something that I talked to many community members about during the last election campaign, as I'm sure my colleagues did. We had these discussions about making sure that this very Australian institution is there not just for now but into the future.”
“That meant, in Jagajaga, that our community missed out on major infrastructure funding, on school upgrades, on sporting and community facilities and on much more. I stood in this place at the time, when then prime minister Scott Morrison led a Liberal-National government, and I called out that government for their unfair treatment of my constituents. Between 2018 and 2021, the then treasurer and member for Kooyong's neighbouring electorates received $5.7 million in community grants while my community just over the river in Jagajaga received just $800,000. That is more than seven times less, and it is absolutely indicative of how those opposite treated running the country. They were not in it for communities. They were certainly not in it for the community of Jagajaga. They were governing for themselves.”
“I'm very aware that we're all here in this parliament because we hold a deep sense of responsibility to our communities and to our electorates, and, for me, that responsibility is really clear. I do want to improve my community. I want to make it the best place for people to live, work, study and raise a family. I am really proud that, since we've been in government, Labor has been both building our nation and also building our communities, investing in communities like those in Jagajaga, which, unfortunately, were neglected for far too long under previous Liberal-National governments. When those opposite were in power, they put themselves first. They, in fact, allocated community funding in ways that benefited their own seats.”
“We spent the opening of the 47th parliament together, and I so vividly remember her excitement and her determination as we approached that first term of a Labor government. She made her time count, her determination aptly demonstrated—I told myself I would not cry! You don't need length of service in this place to make a difference. I so desperately wish we could have celebrated the opening of this parliament together, and I do feel like I carry a little piece of her with me into this one. I send my love to Rod, to her parents and to her sister, who I know must feel this ache even more constantly than I do, and I know I'm not the only person here who holds a little bit of Peta and her memory close into this new parliament.”
“So, once again, we're back in the situation where those opposite are either deniers or they're a climate rabble. I say to the many Australians who I know are still deeply concerned about the need for climate action, who are urging our government to succeed in tackling this crisis, that we are up to the task, and we certainly won't be wasting this opportunity that this new parliament gives us to get on with this most crucial of jobs. My final point of reflection tonight is once again not nostalgia, but it is deep sadness. Throughout the ceremonies and moments of the past few days of the parliament's opening, I've so deeply missed my good friend the former member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. Peta and I gave our first speeches on the same day, six years ago.”
“Most notably, there are deniers in the ranks opposite. Most recently is the member for New England, who's proposing the Liberal-National coalition abandon net zero. In his recent words: … you have to find issues which are binary, which you are fully for and the Labor Party is fully against. I suppose we've come to expect this type of attitude towards our science and climate action from the member for New England, but I must admit I was slightly disappointed to see he's being joined by the member for Riverina. I expected better from the member for Riverina, who I've always held to be quite a sensible person. The member for Maranoa seems like he might want in on the action as well. He's leaning into suggesting that perhaps net zero needs to go. The Leader of the Opposition has today refused to affirm her commitment to net zero.”
“Since coming to office we've approved a record number of clean energy projects, and we're now at a stage where we're powering homes across the nation. From 1 July we launched our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, providing a 30 per cent discount on battery systems. We're scaling up climate adaptation, investing in disaster preparedness—all of this work that I am pleased with and looking forward to getting stuck into supporting in my role as the Special Envoy for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. I'm very aware that we're not all the way there yet. We must still push ahead with the ambitious action that allows us to land the clean economy future that this country deserves—the one that I want my kids and generations to come to benefit from. There are still risks, and there are still deniers in the ranks.”
“At that time for me—and I think for many Australians—thinking about the need for climate action and the lack of it under successive Liberal-National governments could make you tend towards despair. The denial of successive Liberal-National governments meant we were drifting further and further away from the actions that needed to be taken. In general, I am not someone who tends to lean into despair. I try to lean towards hope. A lot of that hope for me was realised in our first term in government. As a government we have been—and we are—working hard to recover the lost time and the lost opportunities, and we are making real progress. Labor is the party of climate action. We've legislated a 2030 emissions reduction target. We've locked in our commitment to net zero by 2050. We're investing heavily in clean energy projects.”
“Thank you, Speaker. It is a real pleasure to see you back in your role. It's a privilege for me to be back in this place as the member for Jagajaga. This is now my third opening of a parliament, and while I don't yet think I'm at the nostalgia stage, the ceremony and the first speeches of the past few days have certainly prompted some reflections for me. I have in particular been thinking about one of the things that was a huge prompt for me to first stand for parliament, and that is the need for us to urgently tackle the climate crisis. When I first ran for parliament we were well into the decade of Liberal-National climate denial. It was a time when Scott Morrison brought his lump-of-coal prop into question time.”
“It was clear that theirs was a very special relationship, and I once again extend my condolences to Margie, to their children and to all who are missing Kevin. Vale Kevin Andrews.”
“We would meet each other in the corridors in this place, where he also held the role of Father of the House, and we would meet each other back home in places like pre-poll, where even within the heightened emotional environment of a campaign, Kevin continued to steadfastly and politely interact with the community and with me. In that, I think that he did set an important example in this place, that even when your political views do not align—and there are many of my values that did not align with Kevin's—dignity and respect for others should always win out. I am very aware that, as with so many who choose to serve in public life, the contributions that Kevin made over decades could not have happened without the support of his family—in particular, his wife, Margie, who was so often by his side.”
“Kevin Andrews was the member for Menzies between 1991 and 2022. In addition to that long service to that community, he was well known and respected in my electorate, which neighbours Menzies, for both his service to the nation and his role as a devoted parishioner of St. John's in Heidelberg. I do believe that word, 'service', sums up Kevin's approach to public life. It was clear that he approached his many roles as a respected local MP, a minister and as a parishioner with humbleness and devotion. After I was elected to the neighbouring seat of Jagajaga in 2019, I always appreciated the courtesy and thoughtfulness Kevin brought to our interactions, both in the parliament and in the community.”
“I say the way to get that done is to make sure that the Labor government is re-elected to this place so that we can make sure that we are protecting our climate, nature and our very important species and special places in this country.”
“That is why we are on track to meet our 2030 targets. It's because of the policies that our government have put in place. It's why we are bringing emissions down in the electricity and land sectors. It's why emissions have fallen to 28 per cent below 2005 levels. It's why again the Minister for the Environment and Water is approving projects for renewable energy—to get that renewable energy that we need into the grid. In fact, our government has boosted the wind and solar capacity in our system by more than 40 per cent compared to what it was in 2022 when we entered office. And it's why we've got our commitment to A Future Made in Australia—to unlock the jobs and the investment that also go with this commitment. So I'm passionate about doing this work. I do want to see a future parliament pick this up and run with it.”
“In fact, the one policy pledge in this space when it comes to the future of the environment, the climate and biodiversity in this country that we know those opposite are committed to is slow, expensive, risky nuclear energy, a plan for climate denial, really, dressed up with a risky $600 billion commitment to drive up the cost of Australians' power bills. That is all we have from those on the other side. All we get from those on the other side is denial and a failure to back laws that would have allowed us to do this work on a national level and put in place a sensible Environmental Protection Agency with that national focus, making sure that these unique and precious spaces and species that we have in Australia are protected. We know that environmental action and climate action go hand in hand.”
“Last year, $7 billion in green bonds were issued in what was a first for Australia's sustainable finance market, backing projects right around the country that focus on nature repair and restoration as well as energy transformation. We are investing in Indigenous rangers, which is a fantastic program doing wonderful work in so many communities—$1.3 billion, doubling the number of rangers. Twelve new Indigenous protected areas have been established, allowing traditional owners to manage these areas for nature conservation. So there is a lot being done and, as I say, there is more to go. We do know that all of this work is at risk if the Leader of the Opposition and his Liberals and Nationals get the opportunity to be back on this side of the House after the next election.”
“We've added more oceans under our country's protection—an area, in fact, that's larger than the size of both Italy and Germany put together. We've saved the Great Barrier Reef from an endangered listing, investing $1.2 billion to protect the reef with water quality projects, land restoration and much more. Again, I want my kids to be able to snorkel, dive and see the beauties of that incredible part of Australia and the legacy that is there. We've legislated to establish the world's first national nature repair market, we're increasing recycling by 1.3 million tonnes a year and we're keeping more rubbish out of landfill.”
“Just like the member for Sydney, I want my kids and my grandkids to be able to grow up and see a koala in the wild. My four-year-old son is particularly obsessed with koalas, so I'm putting that on his list. We don't have much time left. We need to act now. I greatly appreciate all the people in my community who raise this really important issue with me, over and over again, and who urge us to keep doing the work that needs to be done. We have invested more than half a billion dollars to help protect our threatened species. This includes $224 million for our government's Saving Native Species program, which has done important work to protect 73 species, like the swift parrot and the Australian sea lion. We've doubled funding to our national parks.”
“We have engaged across the parliament to try and find a pathway forward, and I thank those on the crossbench who engaged in good faith in those discussions, who did try and help us find a nature-positive way through this parliament. This is my message to voters in my community, and communities right around Australia who value our environment and know how precious the biodiversity we have in this country is and understand how urgent it is: this is unfinished business for a Labor government, and by voting Labor, you are getting our commitment that this is unfinished business that we will complete and that we want to get done. I know there's more to be done, but our government has brought a focus to the environment and to the need to protect our biodiversity that we haven't had in this parliament before.”
“That is what, unfortunately, has happened with our very sensible, very necessary nature-positive reforms. As I said, it is perhaps not all that surprising from those opposite who, in the main, spent almost a decade in government ignoring the needs of our environment, ignoring the pressing need to protect our unique biodiversity. I think it is more disappointing from the Greens political party. For Greens supporters out there in communities like mine, I think there is a sense of disappointment and frustration that the Greens chose to also stand in the way of environmental reform and that they chose to say no to a strong new environmental cop on the beat, an environmental protection agency that could have done the work from a federal level to help protect our environment and our biodiversity. I am proud of our government's efforts.”
“On this occasion, they were joined by the Greens political party. The Greens, the Liberals and the Nationals all worked together in the Senate to block our nature-positive laws. We have been here before, of course. This is, in some ways, history repeating itself, and I know that this has been said in this place before, but it is important that we learn from our past, and, as a parliament, that we learn from some of the mistakes we've made before, because we know that it was that same trio of political parties—the Greens, the Liberals and the Nationals—who teamed up to block the CPRS, and it led to 80 million extra tonnes of carbon dioxide being in our atmosphere. The reality of this parliament, of how it is made up, means that if the coalition and the Greens both say no in the other place then a bill does not pass.”
“I want to pay tribute to Minister Plibersek and to the work that she's done to bring that proposal forward, because that is what governments do in this place. We bring these really important reforms forward, and we seek the support of a parliament to pass them. And it is important to reflect on how we got to this disappointing place, where these sensible laws are not being passed by the parliament, when, in fact, all of us in this place do know that the current EPBC Act is outdated and does need reform. Even those opposite had an inkling of this, when they commissioned the Samuel review. Yet, when the work was done, when Minister Plibersek put together these laws and brought them to the parliament, we had the typical reaction that we get, particularly from those opposite—obstructionist and negative, saying no.”
“I thank the member for North Sydney for bringing forward this important topic. I absolutely respect her as a champion for the environment and someone who is passionate about the incredible biodiversity in this country, and it is so important that we work to protect that. I agree that this parliament, as a whole, needs to do more to protect Australia's nature and biodiversity. I would hope that this would be an issue where the parliament could come together to get the action that we need to see. Certainly, from our point of view, from the government side, we have been working tirelessly to put together the bills that we brought forward to deliver a new, sensible, federal Environmental Protection Agency.”
“So we are respecting those educators while also making sure that we are keeping costs down for families. This is really important. The next part is what this bill does, which is replacing the activity test and introducing the three-day guarantee. This is another part of our government's ambition to make our early education system the best it can be. I did say I wasn't surprised that those opposite are opposing this, because they regularly come into this place and oppose measures that are good for Australian women and for Australian families. In fact, in responding to this announcement, some of the rhetoric from those opposite has been—I wouldn't say 'unhinged'—”
“It happens because there are qualified, wonderful and dedicated staff who are in there every day, thinking about creative ways to teach our children, to guide them on their journey. I am sorry to say that for far too long those wonderful early educators were underappreciated—and they were certainly underpaid. This is a heavily feminised industry, and like many highly feminised industries, such as our aged-care industry where we have also raised wages, for too long it wasn't recognised through its wages as it should have been. I am very proud to say this government is fixing that. We are raising the wages for those who are taking our next generation on the path that is going to set them up for a quality education and a quality start in life.”