Ged Kearney
Cooper · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“I rise to inform the chamber of the opening of the 1st Preston Scout and Community Centre. This was a project that I was incredibly proud to attend and speak at alongside wonderful families and volunteers in my electorate of Cooper.”
“We're taking the next step towards a fairer, more sustainable system. The reality is that the current system makes it easier to buy your 10th home than your first, and that is not fair for young Australians. It's not fair for renters. It's not sustainable for the future of our country, and those opposite do not care.”
“Let me tell you the coalition likes to talk about taxpayers. But we on this side—Labor—talk about workers and people getting up early, finishing late, juggling bills, raising children, caring for family members and just doing their best to get ahead.”
“We are doubling maximum penalties to $100 million and providing almost $68 million to strengthen enforcement. Unlike those opposite, we match our words with action. The coalition spent the last parliament opposing sensible and responsible cost-of-living relief while taking higher taxes to the last election. Workers know this.”
“Those opposite want Australians to forget that when they were in government wages were deliberately kept low. Suddenly they're pretending they're the friends of workers, when they deliberately kept wages low. Productivity stagnated and living standards went backwards under them, and working people fell further and further behind.”
“Limiting negative gearing to new builds means these concessions will continue to be available to people who legitimately want to build wealth, but only where they are helping to build the homes that Australia needs. We're reforming capital gains tax.”
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“It is a time that is a stain on our country and one we can't ignore—one that we must acknowledge and commit to never letting happen again. I, like so many Australians, remember that day very well. It was a watershed moment. I remember being on the lawns in front of Parliament House. At the time, I was working at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, and I stood proudly on the lawns with my colleagues from the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives. We stood there listening to those amazing words—those moving words, those important words—from Kevin Rudd. There were tears. There was relief. There was joy. There were lots of hugs.”
“Today marks a sombre but important occasion—a day that reminds us to reflect on the past of this country, examine the present and look to the future for what we as a society should be and what we can be. It's an important day—a day for reflecting on our nation's brutal and dark history and for acknowledging the pain that has occurred and is still occurring. It is a day for transformation and for committing to doing better and being better as a country. Of course, 13 February is the anniversary of the day in 2008 when the then Labor Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, issued his apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to the stolen generations—people whose lives had been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation.”
“The vast majority of people who suffer with autoimmune diseases are, in fact, women. No woman, and no person, should go through what Carmen went through. This government has made a lot of progress addressing medical misogyny, but as I stand in this place and reflect on Carmen's story I am reminded of just how much more there is to do.”
“Over the course of two years, she constantly asked the doctor if this could be MS. What did her doctor do? He ordered a blood test for MS just to placate Carmen, but Carmen later discovered that there's no such thing as a blood test for MS; he was merely mollifying her. Carmen went to another doctor who ordered proper tests, and what showed up was deeply troubling. With concerning neurological symptoms and bilateral changes in her brain, it appeared that Carmen may have had up to 11 strokes. Carmen was later diagnosed with Antiphospholipid syndrome, or APS. This is shocking, I know. But, working with Carmen, I'm pleased to bring attention to APS today, because I share Carmen's grave concern for the underdiagnosis of stroke and other autoimmune diseases such as APS in women.”
“I thank everyone who has raised this issue with me and fought so hard. This will help doctors and families across the country be better informed. It won't bring back young people we've lost but it will help save future lives, so thank you. I also wanted to express my pride about the Albanese Labor government's commitment to women's health. As assistant health minister, I often meet with women to hear their stories and to inform our policy. I heard one such story only last week from Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins, a social justice advocate in my community of Reservoir. At the age of just 13, Carmen suffered from undiagnosed adenomyosis and diverticulitis, and was told by a doctor that 'women just have pain'. Throughout her life, her pain is constantly dismissed. At times, Carmen lost her vision or the use of her hands and arms.”
“I'm pleased to inform this chamber of an important step that will save lives and help Australians make informed choices about their health care. It was community advocates, parents and patients here in Australia, my electorate of Cooper and indeed around the world that raised awareness of the neuropsychiatric side effects of taking montelukast, a prescription asthma and allergy medication. These advocates experienced trauma, confusion and, sadly, even the death of their children. Last month the TGA issued a safety alert to better highlight these side effects, including a new warning at the start of the consumer medication information sheets on montelukast products and additional information for doctors and patients on what to do if serious behaviour and mood related changes happen.”
“Unemployment is low. If you think of these three things together—people getting jobs, people with decent wages and inflation going down—it's a recipe to ensure that people in this country can absolutely afford to buy a home and live in peace and security.”
“I think they paint a very stark picture between the coalition and us in this election, and Australians know it. They know that we do not want to go backwards to where only those with rich parents can afford to avoid living in a mould-infested apartment. We want prosperity and housing for all. We want the best things that come with having a house over your head and somewhere to call home, such as security and all those things that a house can provide. One of the best things this government is doing to make sure that Australians can get into a house and call it their own for their families is to see wages in this country go up for every single worker. It's because of our policies and because we have a fabulous Treasurer that we are seeing inflation going down. And, incredibly importantly, we are seeing unemployment dropping.”
“But we know the long-term fix to housing is to build more homes in our cities, our suburbs and our regions. That's why we've started our big housing build—the largest in 70 years—with our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. We're building social housing, including for victims of domestic violence. We're training more tradies, building more infrastructure and directly investing in homes ourselves, as governments should do in a crisis. We're making sure there are affordable rentals for frontline workers and making repairs for maintenance and improvements to remote Indigenous housing. We're making sure that there is crisis and transitional housing for families fleeing domestic violence and housing for specialist services for our veterans at risk of homelessness. I know that not everyone can feel it yet, but these changes are big.”
“We're looking both short and long term and for every type of person, renter and homebuyer. We want to revive the Australian dream—the Australian dream that those opposite left to rot. So what is Labor doing? Led by our fabulous Minister for Housing, Clare O'Neil, we're delivering smaller deposits with our five per cent deposit program and smaller mortgages under our Help to Buy shared equity scheme, which, I want to point out again, those on that side voted against. We're working with states and territories to take stress out of renting with longer five-year leases, stronger tenant protections and the power to make your place your own with pets and your own pictures on the walls. We've halved the inflation rate with two budget surpluses to help bring interest rates down and take pressure off mortgage holders.”
“But after a house is neglected and left out in the elements to decay for the years, rendering itself uninhabitable, it can actually be returned to its former glory. It can again become a safe environment for those who need it—a please to live, a place to share with family, a place with security: a home. Just as a house can be saved, so, too, can a crisis be solved, but it takes more than a quick coat of paint. It means reinforcing the foundations with real investment in affordable and social housing, patching up broken policies that left people out in the cold and rebuilding trust that a home is more than a just an asset for wealthy investors. Piece by piece, brick by brick, a house can be made whole again, and, unlike those opposite who sat there doing nothing and let this crisis unfold, Labor is doing the long, hard work to rebuild.”
“Fundamentally, the coalition didn't think the Commonwealth government should invest in housing. 'Just let the market rip.' Impressively, this manufactured a new class divide, one between those who were able to get into the market early and those with some generational wealth, and everyone else, be it the poor, the middle-class, young professionals and young families or those fleeing domestic violence and women who have to restart after divorce. They, on that side of the House, voted against every one of our housing policies. The faux rage coming from that side is reprehensible. They don't care. They believe, if you can't afford to buy a house, it's your fault and it's not their problem to fix.”
“For almost a decade, the coalition saw housing as an afterthought or really not their responsibility but rather that of the free market. They didn't have a housing minister for most of their time in office, and, even when they did, they didn't use their power to drive any sort of reform, failing to even hold a meeting of state and territory housing ministers in their last five years. To make things worse, the last coalition government left Labor with twin crises: building approvals at an almost-decade low and a skills deficit throughout the entire construction industry. They couldn't be bothered to build homes for the most vulnerable across our community, with social housing increasing by less than 10,000 homes over nine years, compared to 30,000 social homes over five years under the last Labor government.”
“We know that a housing crisis doesn't just happen overnight. It creeps in like a home left to the elements. At first the cracks seem small: a loose tile here and there, a splintered floorboard and a creaky door. Then the roof begins to sag, the windows cloud with dust, and the rain seeps through, warping the very foundations of the house. Clothes are left to mould; forgotten photos lie shattered on the floor. The people who once occupied these houses are forgotten, and just as a house that is left to the elements fall apart from years of inaction, so, too, does a country's housing market that is left to rot by policies that fail to keep up with demand and that fail to support those who need it. The coalition wax lyrical about their record. What a joke!”
“Right now we've got a whole generation of Australians who are stuck in rent traps. They feel anger and despair that homeownership may never happen for them. Secure housing isn't just important for comfort and financial security. It's also important for your health. Poor housing is associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory diseases like asthma, cardiovascular diseases, injuries and infectious disease, including TB, influenza and diarrhoea. It's also associated with poor mental health, which can cause physical stress to your body, especially to your nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, immune and respiratory systems. The member who preceded me in this debate spoke very passionately about this, but the reality is the member and, indeed, those opposite ignore some pretty big facts.”
“For far too many Australians, especially younger Australians, the prospect of homeownership feels far away, and being a renter has never felt more insecure. I know that, if I'm driving around the suburbs any weekend in Melbourne, even in my electorate of Cooper, I'll see lines of young people queueing up to inspect a rental property. Much of the housing isn't adequate, either. Housing is mould infested, riddled with mice and doesn't have proper amenities like water and insulation. The rental market is so bad that you'll see tenants put up with those things. Looking at the faces of those queueing, it's apparent that the demographics of renters has changed. It's not just uni students; it's young professionals, middle-income earners and young families. Unless you've got the bank of mum and dad, you might be renting for your whole life.”
“In doing so, these measures will further the government's efforts to strengthen Medicare and will assist to protect the integrity and sustainability of Medicare and its programs. I commend the amendments. Question agreed to. Bill, as amended, agreed to.”
“This will also allow AHPRA and health practitioner boards to admit evidence in national law proceedings if it was referred to them under the legislation for the reasons of a significant threat to life or health or noncompliance with professional standards. These changes are required to ensure all appropriate steps are taken to protect patient safety and that the existing requirement to refer the information to AHPRA and health practitioner boards is not frustrated. In sum, these changes will enhance the Department of Health and Aged Care's capacity to address these identified risks to patient safety and manage and address the consequences of noncompliance and potential fraud.”
“The existing restrictions will no longer apply in respect of prosecutions related to a failure to produce documents, proceedings to recover debts relating to the Professional Services Review scheme and some other proceedings relating to noncompliance. The restrictions will also not apply in respect of documents produced to PSR under notice and passed on to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, AHPRA, or a national board under certain provisions in the Health Insurance Act or information obtained or generated by AHPRA or a national board from its own investigation triggered by documents produced to PSR under notice. This will enable AHPRA and associated health practitioner boards to use PSR related material to trigger their own investigation into allegations involving risks to patient safety.”
“This is because some recovery mechanisms rely on outdated claiming processes and requests for hard-copy documents. These matters are restricting the ability of the Department of Health and Aged Care to protect the integrity of Medicare programs and payments. These changes will enable appropriate inquiries to be made about Medicare payments if available information suggests potential noncompliance or fraud. If payments are found to be incorrect, amounts could be recovered. Further changes will remove some restrictions on the admission of information obtained under the Professional Services Review agency's notice to produce powers as evidence in proceedings, including proceedings under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.”
“They improve the ability of regulators to protect patient safety by removing some restrictions on the admission of information obtained under the Professional Services Review notice to produce powers as evidence in relevant proceedings, including proceedings for the purposes of the national law. The Philip review recommended the expansion of powers to ensure all types of serious noncompliance can be effectively dealt with and a reduction in regulation and legislation that hinders compliance activities. The Philip review concluded that there are limitations and restrictions around current compliance processes. For example, if incorrect payments are identified, current provisions don't always enable amounts to be appropriately recovered.”
“Part 4 — Transitional rules for amendments made by this Schedule 22 Transitional rules The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) relating to the enactment of this Schedule. These amendments insert additional integrity measures into the bill, which also implement the findings of the Philip review into Medicare integrity. They make several changes to the Health Insurance Act 1973. They improve existing powers to obtain information about potential fraud and noncompliance and enable the recovery of amounts if they should not have been paid.”
“21 Application provision The amendments madeby this Part to section 106ZPQ of the Health Insurance Act 1973 apply in relation to the admission of the following in any criminal or civil proceedings instituted on or after the commencement of this Part: (a) a document produced before, on or after that commencement under subsection 89B(2) or 105A(2) of that Act; (b) information, a document or other thing created or obtained before, on or after that commencement as a result of the production of a document before, on or after that commencement under subsection 89B(2) or 105A(2) of that Act.”
“Admissibility of certain derivative materials (4) Subsection (2) does not prevent information, a document or other thing being admitted in evidence in proceedings against the person if the information, document or other thing: (a) is not a document produced under subsection 89B(2) or 105A(2); but (b) is, as a result of the production of a document under subsection 89B(2) or 105A(2), created or obtained by: (i) an appropriate person or body for the person (within the meaning of subsection 106XA(4)); or (ii) the appropriate body, or one of the appropriate bodies, referred to in subsection 106XB(3) in relation to the person.”
“20 At the end of section 106ZPQ Add: Admissibility of information passed on under certain provisions (3) Subsection (2) does not prevent information, a document or other thing being admitted in evidence in proceedings against the person if: (a) the information, document or other thing is obtained by: (i) an appropriate person or body for the person (within the meaning of subsection 106XA(4)); or (ii) the appropriate body, or one of the appropriate bodies, referred to in subsection 106XB(3) in relation to the person; and (b) the information, document or other thing is obtained under subsection 106XA(2) or (3) or subsection 106XB(2); and (c) the proceedings are for the purposes of the National Law.”
“Note: For the purposes of subparagraph (c)(ii), an example of an amount required by or under this Part to be repaid to the Commonwealth is an amount that is to be repaid to the Commonwealth in accordance with a final determination under section 106TA.”
“18 Before subsection 106ZPQ(2) Insert: Use and derivative use immunity 19 Subsection 106ZPQ(2) Omit all the words after "evidence against", substitute: the person in any criminal or civil proceedings (including proceedings for the purposes of the National Law) other than the following: (a) proceedings for an offence against subsection 106ZPN(1) (failing to produce documents or give information) or section 106ZPP (false or misleading documents); (b) proceedings before a Committee or the Determining Authority; (c) proceedings to recover an amount that is: (i) recoverable under this Part as a debt due to the Commonwealth; or (ii) otherwise required by or under this Part to be repaid to the Commonwealth; (d) any other proceedings in relation to compliance with a requirement under this Part.”
“Part 3 — Use and derivative use immunity Health Insurance Act 1973 17 At the end of subsection 106ZPQ(1) Add: Note: Under subsections 89B(2) and 105A(2), a person may be required to produce documents relevant to the Director's review of the provision of services by a person, and documents relevant to the referral made to the Committee.”
“Division 2 — Amendments if Modernising My Health Record amendments do not commence before or at the same time as Part 1 Health Insurance Act 1973 11 Subsection 129AAI(1) Before "129AC(1)", insert "129AAK(1) or". 12 After paragraph 129AEF(1)(a) Insert: (aaaa) an amount under subsection 129AAK(1) where any rights of review by the Chief Executive Medicare (the CEO ) under section 129AAJ have been exhausted or have expired; 13 Subparagraph 129AEF(1)(aa)(i) Omit "the Chief Executive Medicare (the CEO )", substitute "the CEO". 14 Subsection 129AEG(1) After "(a),", insert "(aaaa),". Division 3 — Amendments if Modernising My Health Record amendments commence after Part 1 Health Insurance Act 1973 15 Subsection 129AAI(1) Omit "(8) or", substitute "(8),". 16 Paragraph 129AEF(1)(aaaa) Omit "Chief Executive Medicare (the CEO )", substitute "CEO".”
“6 Section 129AC (heading) Repeal the heading, substitute: 129AC Recovery of amounts — false or misleading information, failure to produce document etc. 7 Subsection 129AED(3) After "section", insert "129AAK or". Part 2 — Contingent amendments relating to recovery of overpayments Division 1 — Amendments if Modernising My Health Record amendments commence before or at the same time as Part 1 Health Insurance Act 1973 8 Subsection 129AAI(1) After "or (8)", insert ", 129AAK(1)". 9 After paragraph 129AEF(1)(a) Insert: (aaaa) an amount under subsection 129AAK(1) where any rights of review by the CEO under section 129AAJ have been exhausted or have expired; 10 Subsection 129AEG(1) After "(a),", insert "(aaaa),".”
“Note: For the purposes of paragraph (c), an example of an amount not in fact payable in respect of a professional service is a medical benefit that, in accordance with section 19AA, is not payable because the service was rendered by a medical practitioner who did not meet the requirements under that section. Recovery does not preclude other enforcement actions (4) The recovery, by the Commonwealth, of an amount recoverable under subsection (1) does not preclude any other action being taken under this Act or any other Act in relation to any non-compliance with a requirement under this Act, or an instrument made under this Act, that resulted in the amount being recoverable under subsection (1).”
“(3) This subsection applies to the amount if: (a) the amount was paid, purportedly by way of benefit or payment under this Act, in respect of a professional service; and (b) a person: (i) rendered or purportedly rendered the service; or (ii) is identified, in a claim for benefit or payment under this Act, as having rendered the service; and (c) the amount was not in fact payable in respect of the service because: (i) at the time the service was rendered or purportedly rendered, the person, the service, or the rendering or purported rendering of the service, did not meet a requirement under this Act or an instrument made under this Act; or (ii) the person, the service, or the rendering or purported rendering of the service, breached a contract between the person and the Commonwealth; or (iii) the service was rendered or purportedly rendered by a person who was, at the time, partly or fully disqualified under this Act or an instrument or agreement made under this Act.”
“From whom the amount may be recovered (2) The amount may be recovered from: (a) if subsection (3) applies to the amount—the person mentioned in paragraph (3)(b), or the estate of that person; or (b) otherwise—the person to whom the amount was paid, or the estate of that person.”
“5 After section 129AAJ Insert: 129AAK Recovery of amounts — overpayments in general Amounts recoverable under this subsection (1) An amount is recoverable under this subsection, as a debt due to the Commonwealth, if: (a) the amount was paid purportedly under this Act in respect of a professional service to a person who was not entitled to be paid the amount under this Act in respect of that professional service; or (b) the amount was paid purportedly by way of benefit or payment under this Act to a person who was not entitled to be paid the amount under this Act by way of that benefit or payment; or (c) the amount was paid purportedly by way of benefit or payment under this Act, and the benefit or the right to the payment was assigned other than in accordance with section 20A.”
“(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if: (a) the contravention is brought about by: (i) another person over whom the defendant has no control; or (ii) a non-human act or event over which the defendant has no control; and (b) the defendant could not reasonably be expected to guard against the contravention. Note: A person who wishes to rely on this subsection in proceedings for a civil penalty order bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection (see section 130H). 2 Section 129AAD (heading) Repeal the heading, substitute: 129AAD Notice to produce documents relating to professional services Division 2 — Recovery of overpayments Health Insurance Act 1973 3 Subsection 129AAJ(3) Omit "28", substitute "45". 4 Subsection 129AAJ(4) After "must", insert ", unless the application has been withdrawn by the applicant".”
“relevant to Act administration (1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person is given a notice under subsection 129AACA(1) requiring the person to give information, a document or a thing; and (b) the person fails to comply with the requirement within: (i) if the Chief Executive Medicare has, under subsection 129AACA(4), extended the period specified in the notice—the extended period; or (ii) otherwise—the period specified in the notice. Strict liability offence (2) A person commits an offence of strict liability if the person contravenes subsection (1). Penalty: 30 penalty units. Civil penalty (3) A person is liable for a civil penalty if the person contravenes subsection (1). Civil penalty: (a) for an individual—30 penalty units; and (b) for a body corporate—150 penalty units.”
“Meaning of relevant material (6) In this section, relevant material means information, a document or a thing that is relevant to the administration of this Act and includes information, a document or a thing that relates to: (a) compliance with a requirement under this Act or an instrument made under this Act; or (b) an amount paid under this Act; or (c) a person's entitlement to a benefit or payment under this Act. 129AACB Consequences of failure to give information etc.”
“(4) The Chief Executive Medicare may, in writing, extend the period within which the person is required to give the relevant material. The Chief Executive Medicare may do so before or after the end of the period. Section not limited (5) This section is not limited by: (a) any other provision of this Act; or (b) any provision of the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 or any other Act; that relates to powers to require information, a document or a thing to be given.”
“Content of notice (2) The notice must: (a) specify all of the following: (i) the relevant material; (ii) the grounds on which the Chief Executive Medicare suspects that the person has the relevant material; (iii) how the relevant material is to be given; (iv) each person to whom the relevant material is to be given; (v) the contact details of an APS employee in the Department who may be contacted in relation to the notice; (vi) the period within which the person is required to give the relevant material; and (b) contain a statement about the effect of section 129AACB (consequences of failure to give information etc. relevant to Act administration). Period to comply with notice (3) The period specified for the purposes of subparagraph (2)(a)(vi) must be a period ending at least 21 days after the day on which the notice is given.”
“(1) If the Chief Executive Medicare reasonably suspects that a person has relevant material, the Chief Executive Medicare may, by notice in writing, require the person to give the relevant material: (a) if the relevant material contains clinical details relating to an individual—to a specified APS employee in the Department who is a medical practitioner; or (b) otherwise—to a specified APS employee in the Department.”
“I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill and ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) and (2), as circulated, together. Leave granted. I move government amendments (1) and (2), as circulated, together: (1) Clause 2, page 2 (at the end of the table), add: (2) Page 40 (after line 4), at the end of the Bill, add: Schedule 4 — Additional amendments to improve medicare integrity Part 1 — Amendments relating to administrative inquiries and recovery of overpayments Division 1 — Administrative inquiries Health Insurance Act 1973 1 After section 129AAC Insert: 129AACA Notice to give information etc. relevant to Act administration Chief Executive Medicare may require person to give information etc.”
“These amendments are largely clarifying in nature and have been identified as necessary during implementation to ensure the smooth and consistent operation of the act. I thank the members for their contribution to the debate on this bill.”
“The bill also makes several sensible amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to enhance the Department of Health and Aged Care's capacity to manage and alleviate the consequences of therapeutic goods shortages and support compliance and enforcement activities undertaken in relation to unlawful therapeutic goods and unlawful vaping goods. These amendments are consistent with this government's unwavering commitment to public health and mitigate the public health risks associated with therapeutic goods and vaping goods by supporting strong and effective regulation under the Therapeutic Goods Act. The bill also amends the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023.”
“2) Act 2023 made amendments in response to the recommendations of that Philip review. This bill will support the integrity and sustainability of Medicare by addressing a range of issues to enable the department to conduct more efficient, timely and effective compliance activities. The bill will improve payment integrity by reducing the time for making bulk-billed claims. The bill will allow investigative powers to be used consistently and effectively across all health schemes, including Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and will improve the processes relating to pharmacy approvals.”
“Australia has a world-class health system, largely thanks to the various health benefits schemes such as Medicare which help Australians pay for the healthcare they need. In 2023-24, payments for health benefits including medical services, pharmaceutical services and private health insurance rebates totalled at least $65.1 billion. The government is committed to protecting this investment and strengthening Medicare by improving the compliance framework that ensures its integrity. The government commissioned the independent review of Medicare integrity and compliance, known as the Philip review, in November 2022 to respond to concerns about the operation of the Medicare system. The Health Insurance Amendment (Professional Services Review Scheme) Act 2023 and the Health Insurance Amendment (Professional Services Review Scheme No.”
“The cost of not investing in TAFE is too high. If we don't, businesses will struggle to find skilled workers. Essential industries like health care, construction, early childhood education and care, and clean energy will face crippling staff shortages, and too many Australians will be locked out of the training they need to build a better life for themselves and their families. Australians deserve opportunities, and they deserve to dream. I know what education has meant for me. Deputy Speaker, given how spritely I look, it might surprise you to know I've had other careers before politics.”
“It cements the Albanese Labor government's commitment to free TAFE, making it a permanent feature in Australia's education system. It locks in funding and ensures that states and territories can continue to deliver the skills training we so desperately need. The bill underpins our government's commitment to funding at least 100,000 free TAFE places a year from 2027. I'd like to commend the previous minister for skills and training, Brendan O'Connor, and of course the current minister, Andrew Giles, for leading this incredibly important initiative. These initiatives are in contrast to what the coalition oversaw in their term of government—a VET sector that was thrown into neglect and fracture, one that led Australia into its biggest skills shortage in 50 years and the second-biggest skills shortage in the OECD.”
“We know that education is the foundation of a strong economy. Over the next decade, nine in 10 new jobs will require post-secondary education and half of them will require vocational education and training. That means we need a strong, well-funded TAFE system. We in the Albanese Labor government strongly believe in uplifting Australia's workforce through TAFE. We believe in public education and giving people the skills they need to succeed, to leave intergenerational poverty, to have opportunity. It sounds corny, I know, but so many people have said to me it means they can reach for their dreams. We believe in backing our world-class TAFEs to train the workforce of the future. That side, as we heard from the previous speaker, only believes in the private sector. But this bill does so much more than offer someone a profit.”
“I am incredibly proud to rise today in support of free TAFE and the Free TAFE Bill, which is before the parliament at the moment. I was in a taxi recently, and I did what I often do as a litmus test. I asked the taxidriver what he knows about the Labor government, the Albanese Labor government. I asked: what good thing does he know has come from this government? Before hesitating, without even thinking, he said to me, 'Free TAFE.' It was in his consciousness, and that taxidriver knew that this was a good thing, that people in his taxi talked about it and it is something that this government is delivering. This bill is about opportunity. It's about equality. It's about ambition. It's about building a stronger Australia, one where education is accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford it.”