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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“But it is also good for families, helping them to save costs on child care and providing more choice for parents, particularly women, who may want to return to work or pick up more hours—and, of course, it is good for the economy and for our country as a whole, encouraging more parents back to work and allowing them the flexibility to do more hours, setting up our next generation for the future. All of this brings economic benefits. Alongside the work we have done to support families in early education, we have been supporting early educators, because we recognise that this environment, where our children are being set up for the best start in life, does not just happen.”
“Well, I am proud to say that our government has brought an unprecedented focus to early education over the past 2½ years. We know how important it is to get the building blocks in place for a child to be ready for school and for what comes next. It's why we took to the last election our commitment to cheaper child care—a measure to help families with childcare costs. But we also did it because we want to support families to make the most of early childhood and care. As I said, this is good for children. It gives them the chance to learn and grow in an environment alongside other children, with the guidance of those fantastic educators.”
“Sometimes it is a fact or a figure, sometimes it's a new letter or number, and often times it's learning some of those other skills he gets in this setting—who he played with, how he worked out the disagreements with them, and how he worked out his relationship with the early educators who do a fantastic job with him. It makes me aware of how much growth he and other young children get through that system. No Australian family should be shut out from that because of an unfair activity test. Yet that is what those opposite are doing by opposing this bill. They are saying that my child should have the privilege of having that best start in life because I can afford to pay for it but that others should be locked out of a system that gives their child the best start in life.”
“I have seen this in my community, where I get to visit childcare centres from Watsonia to Bundoora to Eltham North, and talk with the wonderful educators there about the difference they are making in those children's lives, and see the many special moments that add up to giving those children the skills they need for heading on to school. I also get to see it in my own life. My four-year-old is a strong participant in the early education system, and every evening I get to come home and hear from him about what he's learnt during the day.”
“From early education through to school education, university and TAFE, our government has been delivering the investments we need to make sure that Australians are set up to get quality education, to get the education they deserve right through life. Of course, we have been opposed by those opposite, who do not share our belief that the best way to support Australians is to support them with education, with the best start in life, all the way through to a tertiary degree and their best start into a career. Early education is the starting point. It does set children up for their educational journey.”
“Our government started this term delivering on our commitment to deliver cheaper child care to Australian families, and families across Australia have saved up to $2,768 since our government's childcare subsidies took effect. This is real cost-of-living relief that's going back into the pockets of Australian families. Now we are once again delivering reform in early education. We are replacing the activity test introduced by the previous Liberal government. We're introducing the new three-day guarantee from January next year, guaranteeing 72 hours of childcare subsidy each fortnight. We do believe that every child has the right to early education, to the best start in life, and this reform will help make that a reality right around the country.”
“Early education is so important. The evidence is clear that children benefit from access to early education and care, and that it sets them up for the best start in life, so it is confounding to hear those opposite, including the last speaker, try and paint the making sure that all Australian children get the best start in life as being divisive. In what world is that divisive? It would only be in a world where you're prepared to stand against the best interests of Australian children. It does seem that is what those opposite are prepared to do because they are opposing this bill that gives all Australian children the best start in life. That is the hill they've chosen to die on and that is their choice. But, I must say, I am very, very surprised.”
“With this bill, we are saying that more must be done to combat scams, to keep Australians safe and to make sure that others do not end up in the position of Doris in my community and that others do not fall victim to scams that mean they lose their life savings. This is really important work, and it is, of course, the work that a Labor government does to make sure that our communities are safe and fair for all.”
“Again, this is going to make a big difference in the cases such as the one I outlined. There will be somewhere for a consumer to go to actually resolve their dispute when they feel like an entity has not met its obligations. I think that will be a really important part of this puzzle as well. People will be able to take action in court if they have suffered loss or damage because a regulated entity has not met its obligations under the framework. I want people in my community to have increased confidence that this is something our government is bringing a huge amount of attention to.”
“We'll be looking at other sectors that may be coming under it in the future, such as superannuation, cryptocurrency, online marketplaces and other payment providers. We will make sure that there are penalties of up to $50 million that may apply if people breach the framework. Obviously, that's intended to incentivise compliance and provide adequate penalties to deter regulated entities who may, in fact, foresee higher possible gains from breaching the framework. We want to make sure that this works. Regulators will also have other compliance tools available: infringement notices, enforceable undertakings, injunctions, public warnings and remedial actions. These are all to ensure the framework is administered as intended to protect consumers. Consumers will have access to free and transparent dispute resolution processes.”
“The IDCARE program specifically supports small businesses that have had a cyberattack or a scam. They are the people for small businesses to contact when they've been attacked or fallen victim to scams. Again, these scams are insidious. They're happening across our economy. They're happening to people across the country. So, as the government, we are really aware that we need to take an all-in approach, putting the scammers on notice that we are onto them. We are looking at banks, telecommunication providers and digital platforms. Under this framework, we are asking them and requiring them to do more than they have done before. We will be making sure that the framework is kept up to date.”
“In particular, the Be Connected program, which is run in conjunction with the eSafety Commissioner, is a wonderful program that provides all Australians but, in particular, older Australians with workshops and modules to learn how to get online with confidence and with safety. It's often run in community centres, in libraries or through senior citizens groups. So, if you are an older Australian and you are worried about being scammed and want to feel more confident online, I would absolutely recommend looking up the Be Connected program, finding out about where it's running near you and taking some of the modules under that. The Minister for Small Business has reminded me that we are also assisting small business to make sure they're set up to be able to deal with the impact of scams.”
“As Assistant Minister for Ageing, I am particularly aware that older Australians often feel that they are particularly vulnerable to scams as people who haven't grown up being digital natives. They feel as though (a) they're probably more likely to be targeted and (b) they're less likely to understand what's going on. Again, I do want to say to those older Australians: if you are scammed, it is absolutely not your fault and there are avenues to support you. That's the work we are doing here. We are also doing work to make sure that older Australians can feel more confident online.”
“He came to Jagajaga last year and spoke to a packed audience and the Bundoora Community Hall for a scams forum. That was a really useful session talking about the types of scams people face, the avenues people can take to protect themselves from scammers and why our government's work to stop scams is so important. At this moment, I would particularly like to thank the Assistant Treasurer for his dedication and work over the past 2½ years as a minister driving this work to stop Australians being scammed, to protect Australians, and also for travelling the country to electorates like mine to make sure that Australians know what protections are out there for them when it comes to scams.”
“To get the change that we need, we do need to have an all-in effort. It will obviously take government and the work we are doing here, but it will also take all of these companies and our community. Certainly, as a government, that's also a message we have been trying to empower people with. I want to echo what others have said in this chamber: if you have been scammed, it is absolutely not your fault. It's not that you have missed something. I think people sometimes feel ashamed and like they are at fault. It is not your fault. It is the fault of these very sophisticated criminals who are targeting you. It has been great to host in my electorate the Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Financial Services, who has been leading a lot of this work.”
“Scam losses have dropped by 40 per cent. Losses have almost cut in half since we stood up the National Anti-Scam Centre. There is more work to be done, and that's why this bill is going to be so important. The Scams Prevention Framework is the next vital step in our work to stamp out scams. Scamwatch data tells us bank transfer was the most reported payment method used by scammers, with more than $200 million in reported losses in 2023. It was phone calls and social media contact that were the methods associated with the highest value of the losses: $116 million and $93.5 million, respectively, in 2023. With the work we're doing, we will be holding banks, telcos and social media to account to ensure that they are doing their bit to keep people's savings safe from criminals.”
“Absolutely, social media companies have a responsibility to stop the absolute flood of ads and scammers that fill our news feeds, local community group pages where people are just trying to talk about what's happening in their neighbourhood, and the friend requests that aren't actually friends or, in most cases, real people. They are absolutely not doing enough, and this isn't a new problem. It has been like this for years. It had been getting worse until this government took the focus that we have now. Scams have been allowed to flourish for too long in this country. Our government has been and is taking action on an issue that the Liberals and the Nationals put in the too-hard basket for far too long. We have delivered more than $180 million to combat scams and online fraud, and it is making a difference.”
“That's why I'm really pleased to be speaking on the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2024 today and about the work that this government is doing to focus on this insidious problem and to make sure that people like Doris are not at the same level of risk of being scammed in the future. Of course, Doris's story is not a unique one. In 2023, Australians lost a total of $2.7 billion as a result of scams. That shows the scale of the challenge we face. As I said, banks, telcos and social media companies in particular have a responsibility to do more to stop people from being scammed. People like Doris should not be left without their life savings, particularly if there could have been just a bit more done to advise her of risks, to make sure that the transaction she was taking was legitimate before it was too late.”
“Doris took her case to the ombudsman because she was concerned about whether the Commonwealth Bank should have played a bigger role in checking where that money was going. The ombudsman found the bank was deemed to have done all it was required to do in this situation. It is absolutely fair enough that Doris wishes that the Commonwealth Bank could have and would have done more to stop this transaction and that, when she got to that point of transferring the money, there were more warnings to her about the risks before she approved that transfer. Doris did nothing wrong. She is an intelligent woman, and she has shared her story to try to stop others from being in the same position. But it is absolutely the case that banks, telcos and social media companies must all do more.”
“Doris completed an international money transfer at the bank and thought that all seemed well. Six weeks later, Doris went to try to withdraw some of her funds, and she found that there was nothing there. She in fact had been scammed. Her life savings were gone. And, again, Doris is towards the end of her working life, and this has a devastating impact for her and her future. As she said, 'They made it sound so perfect, and I lost the lot.' Doris is a smart woman, and she has worked hard. Like many people, she's had her share of challenges, but she did what she thought was her due diligence on this investment. She was caught out by a sophisticated scam designed to lull her and others into a false sense of security.”
“She was looking online at banks to invest with, looking for a good investment rate, and she came across what looked like a very legitimate Singapore based bank offering what looked like a very good return on that investment. Doris spoke to someone who said they were from the bank. She got sent some very legitimate-looking documents. I've seen those documents myself. I looked at them, and they looked like the kinds of documents that a bank would send you if you were looking to set up an account and invest with them. Doris thought: 'Great! This is what I'm going to go ahead with. This is a good rate of return. This will secure my retirement.' She went along to her local Commonwealth Bank branch, where her money was, to send the money to this allegedly Singapore based bank.”
“Scams have been a feature in many of our lives for decades, but in today's digital age they have taken on a new, invasive form that is leading to devastating outcomes for too many people. Like nearly every member in this place, I have heard some terrible stories from constituents in recent years about the scam losses that they or a loved one have experienced. Top of my mind is an experience of a local resident, Doris. Doris has shared her story with the media to make other people aware of the very creative ways that scammers try to reach out to people, and she is really hoping that sharing her story will stop others from falling victim to similar scams. Doris was trying to set herself up for retirement by investing her savings, $260,000.”
“to build their future and to have a career that is lasting and meaningful, with the approach of those opposite, which is both to deny that opportunity—to be very clear that they do not support that opportunity for people to get ahead in Australia—and, at the same time, to say that what they do support is Australian taxpayers funding a long lunch for bosses, which is actually outrageous, we get a very clear indication of the choice that will be before the Australian people when we go to ask them to support this government at an election. It is a very clear indication of this government's priorities: building Australia's future, making sure that all Australians can access that prosperity and giving young people and older people in my community the opportunity to gain the skills that will set them up for their future.”
“I really would encourage those opposite to get out and meet some of these apprentices and students who are doing this training. I can assure you that every single one I have met really appreciates the opportunity they are getting to set themselves up for the future, and that includes young people who are training for the first time. It includes older people who are retraining to extend their time in the workforce. It includes Australian women who are getting opportunities that they have not had before. When we contrast the approach of this government, which is investing in these people to build their skills.”
“Whether it is through a construction trade at Melbourne Polytechnic in Heidelberg West, where they're studying carpentry and plumbing and where they will be building the houses that we need to overcome our housing shortage in Australia, or it's studying a healthcare science or early childhood education, providing the workforce we need in those care industries, these are the opportunities that Labor is providing from free TAFE. Of course, all we get from those opposite, once again, is an attempt to shut down these opportunities for Australians. Those opposite have very clearly said that they do not support this bill. They have suggested that, in fact, those who are taking up this opportunity do not value the opportunity.”
“The vast majority of growth in women's jobs has been in full-time work—84 per cent of all new women's jobs—with the number of women in full-time work now reaching a record high of almost four million. That is impressive growth in that time, and we will see that continue as we see Australian women able to take up the opportunities that free TAFE provides. None of this is a given. This is the work of Labor governments—to provide people with the opportunity that comes from education and to broaden that opportunity so that all Australians have the opportunity to take up a training, a skill and a career in an area that both works for them and contributes to our national prosperity and our national growth.”
“These are all opportunities that would be taken away from Australian women under those opposite, who do not support free TAFE. These women would not have the opportunity to study, to grow their skill set and to grow their future prosperity and the prosperity of their families and our country under those opposite, who, for ideological reasons, are standing against this government's work to make free TAFE permanent in this country. In terms of the flow-ons from Australian women being able to take up those training opportunities, we know we are already seeing positive results for women in the workforce. The latest data from the ABS tells us we are fast approaching seven million Australian women having jobs. The December 2024 data tells we've got more than six million Australian women with jobs.”
“Another area that I'm really pleased and encouraged to see growth in through the investment this government has been making in free TAFE is the opportunities it is providing for Australian women. Free TAFE has allowed women to take up opportunities that otherwise are hard to come by. We do know that six in 10 learners in free TAFE are women, and they're doing courses like nursing, cybersecurity, carpentry, mental health and early childhood education. I have spoken with a number of these women, including some who are taking some of the different pathways into construction apprenticeships, and they all talk about how much they appreciate the opportunity, how they really understand that this is setting them up to further their career and how they really value the skills that they have been able to gain as a result of free TAFE.”
“It was really great to talk to Adam about what he's getting out of teaching these skills, and as a government we absolutely want to encourage people to look at the option of teaching skills training and being part of the training workforce. We recognise, particularly in these types of construction trades, there may be older people who have worked for some time in the industry and are now perhaps looking to not to be on the tools all day every day, for the other opportunities that teaching provides and, as I said, to be able to give back the community. With teachers like Adam working in our local community I am confident that our local plumbing industry, our local plumbing apprentices and the future of construction in our local area are in good hands. I'm very pleased to see that.”
“In the main, they were positive experiences, where they had found the blend of the practical work they were getting through their apprenticeships and of the training was really useful, and they could see how that was setting them up for an excellent career to come. While I was at Melbourne Polytechnic I was also really pleased to meet Adam, a local who's been teaching plumbing to students there. Adam has a long history of working as a plumber, and he told me he had come to be teaching the profession so that he could give back to the next generation and help build that generation of workers we will need to continue to do this work.”
“I know in my electorate they are skills that in housing will be put to work locally in Heidelberg West, at places like Bell-Bardia, which is just up the road from Melbourne Polytechnic, where together with the Victorian government we're constructing 104 social and affordable homes with an investment of $27.5 million. That will be a big investment for my community. I encourage all local students to have a look at the work that is happening at Melbourne Polytechnic—have a look at the opportunities that are there. It was fantastic speaking with a lot of the local students there about the experiences they are having through their apprenticeships and through their training.”
“What that will mean is that those people training at this centre will get the most up-to-date training in the construction of houses, looking at things like how we build more houses more quickly with less environmental impact and new models like prefab and modular. It is really exciting work. So those people will get training and cutting-edge skills at the same time that we are helping to push along the construction of new houses, which we most desperately need in this country. Again, this is an example of how our government sees this investment in TAFE, this investment in helping people get the skills and training they need to build their future, as part of how we build our nation and do the work we need to do to build things like new houses and have people working in clean energy industries. This is nation-building work.”
“I was very pleased last week to visit Melbourne Polytechnic in Heidelberg West in my community. I visited with the Minister for Skills and Training. I have been there a number of times, and I always enjoy talking with the apprentices, the students and the staff training them about the work they are undertaking. There is a big focus at that campus on building trades in particular. I was really pleased to be visiting last week because the minister was making a very exciting announcement, which is that this government will deliver a $50 million future-of-housing-construction centre of excellence at Heidelberg West. I'm really proud that this centre will be located in Jagajaga and that we will be home to the first dedicated training facility in Australia that's focused exclusively on advanced construction courses.”
“Locals remember that it was the Liberals in Victoria who oversaw the closure of the Greensborough TAFE in 2013. The impact of that was huge in our local community. It took away this longstanding local training institution for people in the northern end of my electorate. It took the return of a Labor government to see the Greensborough campus reopen in 2017, followed by the opening on the same site of the Banyule Nillumbik Tech School in 2018. Once again, the work of the Labor government has meant that countless people in Jagajaga, whether it be young people or older people retraining for new skills, have had the opportunity to take up education and training through TAFE. That is a really practical demonstration in my community of the value that Labor governments put on this work and the complete disregard that those opposite have.”
“In fact, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has said: … if you don't pay for something, you don't value it. The apprentices and trainees that I have met in local TAFEs in my community would disagree strongly with that statement. They do know that what they are doing at the moment is investing in their future and that what free TAFE gives them is the opportunity to do that—the opportunity to take up a career or a skillset that will last them for their lifetime. It is very clear this week that Labor is for helping Australians to get the skills to build their careers and our country. Of course, those opposite, the Liberals, are for taxpayers paying for bosses' lunch. It is a very clear contrast. We have seen this contrast directly in my community in the past. My local community knows all too well what the Liberal Party thinks about TAFE.”
“I rise to support the Free TAFE Bill 2024 because Labor is, of course, the party of skills and training. We are the party of education for all, and we absolutely understand the power of education and how it can change someone's life. What has become very clear through the debate and the discussion in this place around this bill is that the Liberals do not understand this. They do not understand that fundamental to governing this country is helping people to get the skills and training they need to build a good career to provide workers for those industries that our country needs for the future. The actions and the words we are seeing from those on the other side show that they do not value this work. They do not value our education and our training system. They certainly do not value free TAFE. They've been very upfront about that.”