Andrew Wilkie
Clark · Independent · Australia
“Now, with the avalanche of gambling addiction from online and sports betting, we can safely assume it's hundreds of thousands of Australians either addicted to gambling or at serious risk of developing an addiction.”
“From 2010 to 2013, my first term, I had a written contract with the Prime Minister that there would be widespread and deep gambling reform in the country. But, of course, the gambling industry applied the blowtorch to the government, and I assume the factions applied the blowtorch to the Prime Minister.”
“It has completely ignored that there be a phased out but ultimately complete ban on gambling advertising, which three quarters of Australians desperately want.”
“While governments continue to pledge their commitment to ending family violence and femicide, victim-survivors need to see tangible reform. Perpetrators must be held accountable, removed from their victims' lives, and our system must prioritise community safety. Australia can, and should, do better.”
“It was one of the significant factors among a complex set of factors as to why the Labor Party lost power in 2013, and here we are again—an opportunity for a Labor government to enact very meaningful gambling reform and implement the 31 recommendations of the Murphy report, which is without doubt the best blueprint for gambling reform thi…”
“Last month, I met with a group of victims-survivors of family and domestic violence from my community, and I'd like to use my time today to read some of their experiences into the parliamentary record.”
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“Well, it's now 2026 and I think most Australians would agree that it's way beyond time to get this done. Heavens it's not like we don't know what's needed. In fact since I last stood in this place to introduce my bill of rights, we've had the Australian Human Rights Commission release their discussion paper, Free & equal: Revi tali sing Australia's commitment to human rights , which outlines a model and a way forward. Australia's human rights framework was also considered by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, which recommended in their 2024 report that the government 're-establish and significantly improve Australia's Human Rights Framework' which should include 'the establishment of a Human Rights Act'.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. It's appalling that Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world without some sort of comprehensive national guarantee of human rights, whether this is through a human rights act or a constitutional charter of rights. This needs to be remedied, and that's what this bill would do. I first tabled a bill of rights in this place in 2017, and the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive. Some people couldn't believe we didn't already have a bill of rights. Others knew that it was about time to introduce one. But the government, and the opposition, baulked at the bill back then, as they often do when a good idea comes from the crossbench. So I tried again in 2019 but received much of the same response.”
“Firstly, there is often a fundamental tension between the pursuit of profit and animal welfare. Secondly, self-regulation doesn't work. And finally the worst combination is gambling and animals. One part of the solution is, of course, better animal welfare protections. State and territory governments have shown time and time again that they simply can't be trusted in this space, and, to that end and in closing, I call again for a national independent office for animal welfare.”
“To its credit, the Tasmania Liberal government is seeking to progress legislation to that effect, despite the Labor opposition doing everything it can to thwart the ban. Fancy that! The one issue the Tasmania Labor party has decided to differentiate themselves from the Liberal government on is that they'll stand up for unconscionable and unpopular industrial scale animal cruelty. No wonder no-one votes for them anymore. Meanwhile, on the farm, there are a lot of very decent farmers and animal breeders, but there is simply no conceivable way to justify practices like caged eggs nor so-called free range chickens at 10,000 birds to the hectare, and the continued use of sow stalls and racks is appalling. A couple of themes run through these matters.”
“For instance, there are still puppy mills and kitten factories, those intensive industrial facilities which treat animals as nothing more than breeding machines from which to profit at the expense of their health and welfare. Obviously, these need to be banned. In the racing industries, cruelty remains commonplace. For example, in horseracing, there's the urgent need to ban the steeplechase, which is still legal in Victoria despite its shocking cruelty. The use of the whip, I'd add, is outlawed in some countries and in some jurisdictions in the United States. I've also been a consistent advocate over many years to finally end greyhound racing. The only way to end the systemic cruelty in that industry is to, in fact, end the industry.”
“Animal welfare is one of the issues I've spoken about most often in this place, and it's the one issue that's most consistently generated feedback from the community. No wonder one of the biggest highlights of my parliamentary career will forever be the passage of the legislation to finally set an end date for the cruel live sheep export industry. Good on the Albanese government for delivering that and for also including $42.5 million of transitional industry assistance in this week's budget for the phaseout, which includes funding for onshore processing capacity. But, sadly, this is a rare bright spot amongst the animal welfare crisis in this country.”
“I'm pleased people like Toni Hoffman, Allan Kessing, Jeff Morris, Richard Boyle, David McBride and Troy Stolz have enjoyed the publicity and the public support they have, but spare a thought for the thousands of other Australians who speak up and the local paper won't even give them the time of day—let alone having a story on the news that night, let alone capturing the attention of the media for a protracted period of time to make their case and to sandbag their position and be in a stronger position publicly. In closing, while all of the hullabaloo caused by whistleblowers might well be a bugbear for organisations, it is nonetheless grist to the mill of Australia's democracy. Whistleblowers must be supported, and indeed celebrated, and not be the tall poppies that some people make them out to be.”
“There are any number of things where people speak up, and for many of those whistleblowers it ends in tears. They will be bullied in the workplace, they'll be managed out or they'll be blatantly sacked. They will be ridiculed and marginalised. It leads to financial troubles. It leads to relationship troubles. No wonder the suicide rate for whistleblowers is markedly higher than the baseline rate in our community. Whistleblowing in this country is almost impossibly difficult.”
“I say, through you, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas, to the Attorney-General: this is a worthwhile bill, and I hope it has the unanimous support of everyone in this House and in the other place, but it's almost a clarion call to get moving on all the other stuff—the big stuff, the more important stuff, the more helpful stuff, the stuff that will show whether or not this government has real integrity and is committed to minimising secrecy and maximising transparency and to celebrating the people who speak up and speak truth to power. I rattled off about 10 examples here of particular individuals. We should also be mindful of the thousands of Australians who speak up in all sorts of ways, whether it be about the organisation they're a member of, about the business they're an employee of or maybe about their local council.”
“Take the Public Interest Disclosures Act; there is a convoluted process with a series of hoops you have to jump through, and you need someone figuratively hold your hand and guide you through all those hoops, otherwise you will run afoul of the law. That's something we need to turn our minds to. It's come up from time to time in public utterances by the government, it exists in a number of other countries and it's something that would be very worthwhile. I won't detain the House any longer. I will just say in closing that, yes, minimising secrecy and maximising transparency are building blocks of a healthy democracy and are to be applauded.”
“We saw with Richard Boyle, the ATO whistleblower, that although, from memory, the court understood he was a whistleblower they found he wasn't protected by the relevant act because his collection of evidence was not covered by the act. Well, how can you blow the whistle if you can't collect evidence? The legislation is complex. Frankly, unless you're a lawyer in this area or unless you can go to something like an independent whistleblower authority to get advice, you're behind the game right from the start. There's such a high likelihood that you're going to stumble and fall foul of the law, just like Richard Boyle did. Fortunately, there was no conviction recorded against Richard Boyle in the end. Apart from understanding the law, you need someone to mentor you through the process.”
“But because the management at Neometals didn't regard him as a whistleblower—they thought it was just part of his normal job to observe things like intellectual property theft—the relevant part of the Corporations Act didn't apply. That's a very timely example that I'm able to bring to the Attorney-General's attention through you, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas. Of course, it's not just amending those acts; there is also the pressing need for an independent whistleblower protection authority, as exists in a number of countries around the world. The fact is that whistleblowing in this country is diabolically difficult; it's incredibly difficult. For a start, you've got to be able to safely collect evidence of your complaint.”
“I think consultations are forthcoming on the Corporations Act. But we measure success by outcomes, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act has not been amended in any substantive way, except for a few technical changes—dotted a few i's and crossed a few t's. There hasn't been the deep reform of the Public Interest Disclosure Act that is needed. I don't think the Corporations Act has been touched since Senator Rex Patrick did fabulous work in the Senate some years ago to get those provisions put in. So, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas, through you, I say to the Attorney-General: we've really got to get cracking on this, not just the PID but the Corporations Act as well. I find it unfathomable that Christian Reiche was witness to misconduct. I've spoken to this man personally. I am satisfied that he was witness to misconduct.”
“This is not a criticism of the court in any way, because the court entirely appropriately applied the law as it stands. The issue is that the law is a crock. In fact, isn't it interesting that there has not been one successful whistleblower in a compensation claim under both the federal public sector and the private sector whistleblower laws—not one successful claim for financial compensation under any of those laws since they've existed. Surely that is all the evidence we need that they need to be improved. I'm delighted to see the Attorney-General in the Federation Chamber, and I do note that the government has been working on reform for some time. In fact, for at least the last four years, the Labor government has been talking about reform and have acknowledged the need for reform. Consultations have come and gone.”
“I'll read this from the Fin R eview , so I'll get it right: In a major judgment, the Full Federal Court has backed the company's decision to make Reiche redundant, finding that because the board and CEO subjectively believed his complaints were unfounded, or it was simply "part of his job to raise such matters", he was not protected by whistleblower laws. For those who are listening to me and who are struggling to understand what I just said, I don't understand it myself. I think, in other words, this whistleblower was witness to serious misconduct, he spoke up, he thought he had the protection of the relevant part of the Corporations Act, but, because the management didn't regard him as a whistleblower, he was not protected by the whistleblower protections.”
“There was in fact—this is very timely—no better evidence of this than the report in the Australian Financial Review just three days ago on 10 May regarding Neometals executive Christian Reiche, who thought he was a whistleblower when he flagged governance and strategic risks at the battery technology company. In fact, I met with Christian Reiche about a year ago, and, from memory, one of the issues was an allegation of theft of intellectual property when it came to whatever Neometals was pursuing.”
“Jeff Morris, the bank whistleblower, was sacked by the bank. Richard Boyle from the ATO was charged, and mercifully there was no conviction recorded. David McBride, of course, is in jail only several kilometres from where we meet today. Troy Stolz was taken to court by ClubsNSW. The AFL whistleblower was ridiculed within the AFL and beyond. The Hillsong whistleblower is before the court as we speak. In fact, there's an AAP story circulating today about what's going on there. In other words, the protections just don't work for these people, whether they are in the public sector and are relying or leaning on the Public Interest Disclosure Act or whether they are with the private sector, perhaps relying on the relevant sections of the Corporations Act. They're just not working.”
“Troy Stolz, a former ClubsNSW compliance officer, provided the evidence of non-compliance with money laundering and counter-terrorism legislation at up to 95 per cent of registered clubs in New South Wales. What about the AFL whistleblower, the doctor from Melbourne, who revealed the evidence of secret drug testing within the AFL? Where would we be without the very brave Hillsong Church whistleblower? I think it was in this chamber on her behalf that I tabled something like 17 folders of hard evidence of shocking financial misconduct by the leadership of Hillsong Church. These people should be celebrated, but instead they're ridiculed, persecuted, charged and jailed. Just look at those examples I've given you. Toni Hoffmann was undermined and ridiculed. Alan Kessing was charged and convicted.”
“Where would we be without Richard Boyle? He blew the whistle on the egregious conduct at the Australian Tax Office in Adelaide. David McBride blew the whistle and provided the evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan. In my own work, there have been a number of whistleblowers that I've helped facilitate the disclosure of their information. You might remember the information that was revealed about Crown Casino, and I'm mindful of the whistleblower who provided me with the video footage of a group of young men in a private gaming room laundering literally an Aldi freezer bag full of cash, estimated to contain about $2 million—all because of a whistleblower.”
“I pursue this matter at this time because, frankly, whistleblowers matter. They're one of the most fundamental building blocks of our democracy and one of the fundamental ways that we bring genuine transparency to the way this country is run. Where would we be? Where would we be without someone like Toni Hoffman, who you'd recall was the nurse at Bundaberg Hospital who blew the whistle on Dr Patel and the tragic deaths that occurred there over a period of years? Where would we be without Alan Kessing? He was the Sydney Airport customs officer who blew the whistle on the security lapses at Sydney Airport. Where would we be without Jeff Morris? He blew the whistle on misconduct at CommBank and the incompetence in ASIC and was one of the reasons we ended up having a royal commission into the financial services sector.”
“I move: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House: (1) notes that: (a) Australia has been described as 'the most secretive democracy in the world' due to the proliferation of national security, counter-terrorism and secrecy laws, and the lack of whistleblower and public interest journalism protections; and (b) despite the Labor party promising in its 2021 platform to overhaul and improve Australia's whistleblower protections, only small changes have been introduced to date, and protections remain patchwork and inadequate; and (2) calls on the government to: (a) introduce comprehensive reforms to the Public Interest Disclosure Act and the Corporations Act to better protect whistleblowers; (b) introduce comprehensive reforms to the Crimes Act and Criminal Code Act and Evidence Act to better protect public interest journalism and media sources; (c) establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority to oversee public and private sector whistleblowing; and (d) establish a federal whistleblower rewards scheme encouraging whistleblowers to come forward and expose wrongdoing".”
“Minimising secrecy and maximising transparency are obviously building blocks of a healthy democracy and are to be applauded, so the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026 is a worthwhile bill and is obviously supportable. It's supportable not just because of what it does but also because of the way it reminds us of what the government isn't doing, which is why I move the amendment circulated in my name.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, many Australians have lobbied tirelessly for gambling advertising reform, so you can imagine how interested we are in today's media report that the government is set to announce some reforms. To be clear, they are only a first step, though, because they will only partly address just one of the 31 recommendations in the Murphy report. So what is the veracity of today's report and what's the government's plan to address the other 30 recommendations?”
“It's a fact that Tasmanian teachers are amongst the lowest paid in the country, partly because the state government is so out of touch with the day-to-day challenges experienced by teachers—or should I say uncaring, because it's no secret that the education system is strained and that teachers face mounting difficulties like the increase in violence and disruption in the classroom, as well as the steep increase in after-hours work. It's also no secret that the state government is the architect of the ballooning budget debt crisis, but the government's mistakes should not be the public sector workforce's problem. So I call on the government to award our teachers and other public sector workers the pay and conditions they so clearly deserve and to find more sensible and respectful cost savings elsewhere.”
“On Thursday last week, instead of being in the classroom, doing what they love and do best, Tasmanian public school teachers and thousands of other public sector workers rallied outside Parliament House in Hobart after the Tasmanian education union rejected the state government's most recent pay offer. Indeed, the union has slammed the offer as outrageous on the basis that it falls well short in key areas of pay and workload relief. As a result, all public schools were closed for the day.”
“At the moment it looks to me like a case of caucus being completely subordinate to the Prime Minister. Frankly, the current impasse is scandalous. So I say to the PM again: if you can't bring yourself to take on the parasites benefiting from gambling, then get out of the way and let the rest of us do the work for you.”
“It's not to wait for the companies she regulates to come and beg her to regulate them. No, it's to act in the public interest—in the interests of the hundreds of thousands of Australians experiencing or impacted by gambling addiction—and to enact reforms. Of course, I don't blame the minister entirely because, as we all know, it's the Prime Minister that's the real blockage here, because he's scared of the media and gambling companies as well as the sporting codes. Hence he resorts to gaslighting and obfuscating and by crowing about reforms that were initiated by the Morrison government. When I called for a free vote on the matter, the Prime Minister deferred responsibility by saying that the Labor caucus makes decisions and that there's caucus solidarity. Well, there's solidarity and there's subordination.”
“No, in this parliament Labor has an historic majority, the opposition are still in disarray, we have Peta's blueprint for reform and there's broad support for at least banning gambling advertising. In other words, the government has all they need to stand up to the gambling lobby. That's why it's particularly galling that, more than 1,000 days since the Murphy report was handed down, still the government has shown all the spine of a jellyfish. In fact, in a particularly outrageous example of this lack of guts, the Minister for Communications personally told a former gambling addict and reform campaigner that she shouldn't speak to the government but instead go and convince the wagering companies, television networks and sporting codes of the need for reform. Good grief! Doesn't the minister know what her job is?”
“I second the member for Curtin's bill. It's an honour to second this bill because it would do what the Albanese government has revealed itself as too weak and too scared to do, and that is to finally ban gambling advertising. I've stood in this place countless times since I was elected in 2010 and quoted the research, the statistics and the reams of evidence about the ill effects of gambling addiction and the cost to the community, individuals and the economy. I even chaired the Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform. So in June 2023, when Peta Murphy handed down a unanimous cross-party report on gambling harm with 31 clear recommendations, I was hopeful. I was hopeful because this isn't the minority government of 2010, which was so fearful in the face of a campaign from the gambling lobby.”
“I'm focusing on the Prime Minister because it is patently obvious that a majority of members of this House, and a majority of members of the government, want to see the Murphy report recommendations implemented speedily and in full. It's an open secret in this place that the only reason nothing is happening is the Prime Minister is personally standing in the way because he's putting his relationship with the sporting codes, the gambling companies and the media companies ahead of the interests of millions of Australians who are affected by this.”
“But that reform was an initiative of the Morrison government. It was not an initiative of the Labor government in this parliament or the previous parliament; it was a coalition reform. It's bad enough that the government hasn't even responded to the Murphy report, but to be crowing about the achievements of other governments and making them its own is quite scandalous—and the public see through this. No wonder there is this kerfuffle in the Labor caucus among numerous backbenchers, some of whom have spoken to me about this. A number of members of the opposition have also spoken to me about this. They all agree it is completely and utterly unacceptable that the Prime Minister stands in the way.”
“She asked, 'When will the government respond to that report that was handed to the government over a thousand days ago?' And the Prime Minister stood there and he misled the parliament when he said that the government had responded to the report and had implemented those 31 recommendations. But, in fact, when you look at those recommendations in detail, it is patently obvious that the government has not introduced a single one of those reforms—not one out of 31. It certainly has not implemented the flagship reform of a phased ban on gambling advertising. Then, to make matters even worse, the Prime Minister referred to BetStop, which, yes, I agree with the Prime Minister, is a very good reform. It's not a silver bullet, but it is helping thousands of Australians to deal with gambling addiction.”
“That's not to mention—well, I will mention—the hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering the ill effects of gambling addiction, have lost more money than they can afford and are in dire financial strife, have lost their jobs, have lost relationships, have lost their families and have lost their mental health. We also know, from credible research out of Victoria, that, after drug addiction, gambling addiction is the second-most prevalent reason for crime in that state, yet the government continues to stand by and do nothing. I was outraged—I think a lot of people were outraged—the other day when the member for Curtin asked a very reasonable question of the Prime Minister in question time.”
“How on earth the Prime Minister can continue to obstruct meaningful reform and continue to tolerate the government not even responding to that report absolutely beggars belief. Did you know, Speaker, that that report was handed to the government more than 1,000 days ago? We know from good research that, in that period of a thousand days, well over 1,000 Australians affected by gambling addiction have suicided. That is the human face of this matter—that over a thousand people affected by gambling addiction have suicided since that report was brought down.”
“I've got a lot of time for the Prime Minister. I think he's a pretty decent character and I think he's doing a pretty good job. But I will not be silent as he continues to stand in the way of meaningful gambling reform in this country. I will not stay silent when I see him continue to silence his backbenchers who want to see meaningful reform. No wonder there's a kerfuffle in the cabinet, when so many members of his own government are outraged that the government has not even bothered to respond to the report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, known as the Y ou win some, you lose more report—known more often, actually, as the Murphy report, seeing as the late Peta Murphy was the chair of that very important committee.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The Minimum Stockholding Obligation for liquid fuel only applies to diesel, petrol and jet fuel. It does not apply to bunker fuel, which is a specialised marine fuel oil used by the shipping industry. Minister, seeing as shipping is responsible for transporting almost all of our island nation's trade and indeed Tasmania's trade, will you use your power the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act to bring the same priority to bunker fuel?”
“There are many people in Australia and right around the world who haven't forgotten this and continue to fight for the skate. To that end, I'm pleased to welcome to parliament many who were involved in the documentary Love Letter to the Unseen , which follows youth conservationist Spencer Hitchen on a journey to understand more about the skate. The film will be screened in Canberra this week, and I hope it might provide a fresh perspective from a young Australian which can educate my colleagues and the new environment minister about the need to act now to save the skate for future generations.”
“It's one year this week since the federal government rushed through changes to the EPBC Act to exempt the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour from oversight and, in doing so, knowingly hastened the extinction of the Maugean skate. This was an egregious act of environmental vandalism done for the grubby purpose of harvesting votes in the seat of Braddon. And it was done despite the environment department's own expert conservation advice detailing the catastrophic impact of salmon farms on the skate and recommending a significant reduction in stocking. Moreover, just this month we've also learned from FOI documents that the environment minister ignored the department's recommendation to revoke salmon farming expansion approvals in January last year, months before the government brought those amendments to the EPBC Act to the House.”
“This levy, proposed by the Australia Institute, would be placed on fossil fuel exports so that the companies whose products are driving climate change actually contribute to the cost of the disasters they help to cause. This could raise up to $100 billion each year—money that could be invested in preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. It's money Australians won't be forced to fork out to cover the damage caused by these multinational companies. I seek leave to table a copy of the petition. Leave granted. I table the petition.”
“At the same time, the fossil fuel companies, whose products are driving the climate crisis, pay a pittance in tax. We've seen just in recent weeks, amid global energy shock and geopolitical instability, how many fossil fuel producers are recording record windfall profits. These companies contribute significantly to climate change and profit from global instability, but they don't contribute in any meaningful way to the costs of the damage they cause. In fact, they continue to enjoy generous tax rates and concessions, which are granted to few others, let alone ordinary taxpayers. That's why I bring to the chamber today a petition signed by 35,171 Australians calling on the government to introduce a climate disaster levy.”
“Bushfire in particular is an increasing risk in my home state of Tasmania, with the fire service estimating that 98 per cent of the state is now bushfire prone, with projections suggesting a 40 per cent increase in extreme fire danger days in Tassie by 2050. This risk, of course, comes as no surprise to Tasmanians, with one in six people living within 50 metres of the bush and with greater Hobart widely regarded as one of the most bushfire prone cities in the world, with more than 4,000 buildings facing at least moderate bushfire exposure. No wonder insurers are sounding the alarm. No wonder taxpayers and ratepayers are increasingly lumbered with the cost of mitigation measures and cleaning up. And no wonder households, more and more, simply can't afford cover.”
“Right across the country, communities are being forced to come to terms with the rapidly escalating frequency, intensity and the cost of climate disasters. Indeed, bushfires, floods, storms, droughts and marine heatwaves are inflicting growing damage on fisheries, farms, homes, critical infrastructure and local economies. We're seeing it almost constantly, even right now in northern Australia, and the financial toll is staggering. In fact, climate related disasters are already estimated to cost around $38 billion a year in Australia, or about two per cent of GDP, and that figure is only expected to grow. Moreover, insurance claims from extreme weather in the 2020s have averaged $4.5 billion annually—that's about triple the levels of the 1990s.”
“But I suggest they try to take the blinkers off and re-examine the issue in light of the national interest and the interests of their constituents. Moreover, adding extra capacity and stability to our grid through investment in household measures will be beneficial in freeing up energy capacity and investment for Australian industry. In other words, if you're fair dinkum about being 'hyper-Australia' and starting to make things again in this country, then you'd actually support and fast-track home energy measures. In closing, I want to thank the member for Kooyong for bringing this important topic before the House, because it's increasingly clear that investment in the energy transition for households is good economic policy, good environmental policy and good national security policy.”
“While Australia is a world leader in things like rooftop solar, too many people in regional Australia, as well as low- and middle-income earners, renters and other marginalised communities, are missing out. So the government must ensure that investment in household measures means they are available to everyone, not just those who can afford the upfront costs. To that end, the government should enhance and extend its targeted grants, low-interest loans, community energy programs and minimum energy efficiency standards to help ensure that the transition is fair and equitable as well as effective. Of course, the opposition probably won't have a bar of this because they're still hooked on fossil fuels or, depending on the time of day, nuclear power and seemingly baffled by renewable energy.”
“All of this goes to show that, in a world where energy markets are increasingly volatile and geopolitical tensions have the potential for prolonged disruption of global supply chains, Australia must think carefully about its energy independence and its sovereign capability, and it must think too about the impact that energy insecurity has on the lives of ordinary Australians. When households generate and store their own energy, they are not just saving money; they are contributing to a more decentralised, distributed and resilient national energy system. That makes Australia less vulnerable to international shocks and supply lines, less reliant on our ageing fossil-fuel based energy infrastructure and a harder target for price gouging and cartel-like shakedowns from energy suppliers. But, as with anything, how we do this matters.”
“But that's not to say that the government has clean hands, because, like its predecessors, it has virtually ignored the International Energy Agency's fuel-holding guidelines and, even now, is failing to urgently introduce the sorts of pricing restrictions adopted by, at least, Germany. Like most of my colleagues, I've been hearing regularly from constituents about increased prices at the bowser. I take the point of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy that Australia currently has a sufficient fuel supply and that supplies continue to reach Australia, but that just makes it even more appalling that retailers are jacking up prices in this way. Frankly, it's just shameless price gouging done under the cover of the illegal war in Iran, and it should come with serious consequences, but, so far, it doesn't.”
“They also accelerate Australia's transition to cleaner energy, which is essential, of course, if we are to meet our climate obligations and protect our environment for future generations. Of course, there's another very important dimension to this conversation that's often overlooked, and that's energy security. If that wasn't staring us in the face previously, it sure is now, with global oil supplies in doubt and oil shares whiplashing like there's no tomorrow. While some bowsers run dry and fuel prices spike, this is unsurprisingly the hottest political topic right now, turbocharged by the opposition, which is shamelessly and cynically trying to tap into it for political gain.”
“I applaud the member for Kooyong for bringing this matter of public importance before the House. It's a powerful reminder at a critical point in time that, if we get it right, the energy transition can support climate action, ease the cost-of-living pressures for Australians and enhance Australia's energy independence. The reality is that the cheapest energy available to many households today is the energy they don't have to buy, or the renewable energy they generate themselves. That is why investments in household measures, such as rooftop solar, home batteries, insulation, energy efficient appliances and electrification, should all be priorities for governments at all levels in this country. These measures reduce energy demand, cut household bills and ease pressure on the broader energy system.”
“Regrettably, the legislation for this ban was deferred by the Legislative Council, which has given the greyhound racing industry and gambling companies the time to pull out all stops to try and prevent the ban passing parliament. So I urge LegCo members and the Tasmanian government to hold firm, and I encourage Tasmanians to get in touch with their state parliamentarians and to let them know you want these beautiful dogs protected for good. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, a nation-leading opportunity, to end a cruel, unpopular and outdated industry, and Tassie owes it to the dogs to get it done.”
“A great many Australians were heartened by the Tasmanian government's promise to end greyhound racing in the state by 2030 and the subsequent introduction of legislation to do just that. Heartened indeed, because Australians are well aware that the greyhound racing industry in Australia inflicts unspeakable cruelty on an industrial scale and no wonder. One dog has died already on Tassie tracks this year and 13 have died across the country. Countless more have been injured or been put down, often simply because they don't run fast enough. The greyhound racing industry only exists because of gambling money, which means there's a fundamental tension between animal welfare and corporate interests, and this tension can't be addressed with tweaks to welfare standards, so the only way to end the cruelty is to end the industry.”