Kristy McBain
Eden-Monaro · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“I move: That in accordance with section 5 of the Parliament Act 1974 , the House approve the following proposal for work in the Parliamentary Zone, which was presented to the House on 22 June 2026, namely: Commemoration of Nangar (Jimmy Clements) and Ooloogan (George John Noble).”
“This piece will be located on the lawns opposite Old Parliament House in a setting purpose-built to suit the sculptures. Works are intended to be completed by May 2027 to align with events to mark the centenary of Old Parliament House. A design and construction team has been selected to deliver the commemoration.”
“These two men, well into their 80s at the time, had walked barefoot from the Brungle Aboriginal mission across the Brindabella Range—a multiday trek of some 150 kilometres—to attend the opening. On arrival, they were nearly evicted for their lack of appropriate attire.”
“I thank the member for Lingiari. She's a fierce advocate for her community, and her community has been severely impacted by floods and cyclones. Thank you for all the time you've spent with me in my office speaking about that.”
“I saw firsthand the impacts on our communities, from Harcourt in Victoria and Dolphin Sands in Tassie to Julia Creek in Queensland and Katherine in the NT—homes and livestock lost, businesses closed and major infrastructure damaged. And, tragically, we lost community members, including first responders.”
“They play a critical and trusted role providing services in our communities, and we know our communities rely on those. The Albanese government has a longstanding commitment to local councils, and our budget reaffirms that.”
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“Those opposite scream out for more workers to build more housing or staff our regional childcare centres, but they don't have a plan to grow the workforce. They want to make it even harder for people to pursue jobs in those in-demand industries. We are delivering $66 million over the next five years to local councils for Roads to Recovery, including in the member for Page's own electorate. That's an increase of $27.2 million. We're making local roads safer. That follows what those opposite did when they delivered a funding freeze to every local council across the country, which stripped nearly a billion dollars out of the sector. That means that those roads that are problems now are problems that you created under your government.”
“Let's get serious here, because that's what it means—our communities lose services every time you cut the Public Service. We have been dealing with cost-of-living issues. We know how important it is. We want every regional community to be able to address the challenges, harness the opportunities and take the issues in our community seriously. That's why we have been prioritising cost-of-living issues. The additional $150 in energy bill relief builds on the $300 already delivered to every household and the $325 to every small business. There are the 127,000 free TAFE places that have been taken up in our regions, from construction to child care, and we are making them permanent, which is something that you want to reverse.”
“How many are going to go in the regional electorates that we represent? These are people who spend money in our local economies, buying coffee and restaurant dinners in businesses owned by people we know. How many of those Public Service jobs will go in our electorates? Let's be serious. When we talk about decentralisation, it refers to public servants working from home in our local regions. How many of those jobs are going to go? How many of those jobs are going to leave our regional towns? Before the 2022 election, Services Australia offices, including those across my electorate, were put on the chopping block by those opposite. How many Services Australia offices closed in your electorate under your former government?”
“Will the Defence call centre in Cooma be cut, or will jobs be slashed at HQ JOC? Will it be Medicare urgent care clinics—services making a huge difference in our regions—including the one in Lismore, in the member for Page's own electorate? Will that be cut by those opposite? You only have to look at the millions cut from Medicare when the opposition leader was the health minister to know that their only plan for Medicare is to cut. Just today, at 1.30 pm, a Canberra Times article said that 41,000 Public Service jobs are going; it's 'wasteful' spending. However, more than 22,000 public servants are employed in regional Australia. They spend money every day in our local economy. They provide services that we rely on. How many of those jobs are going in every regional electorate that you guys represent?”
“There is record funding to help regional Australians to build a better future, and important cost-of-living relief to ease pressure on regional families and businesses, which, let's not forget, every member of the opposition voted against as recently as last night. They voted against more tax cuts for every taxpayer, and we know they will cut everything except for tax, because they have committed to throwing that out the door if they are elected. That's right; they are going to the election saying, 'We are going to increase income tax.' They've also confirmed that they will cut 41,000 jobs, but they're refusing to confirm which services and which towns are going to be impacted by that. How many of the 22,000 public servants who work in our regions will be left without a job?”
“The member for Page clearly wasn't paying attention yesterday during the Regional Ministerial Budget Statement, because, if he had been, he wouldn't be trying to rewrite history today. When we talk about cuts and delays and broken promises, we have only to look at those opposite us. There was a decade of cuts, of pork-barrelling, of colour coded spreadsheets that left regional people behind—a mess that we've had to clean up and deal with from day one. Across our government's first term, our message to regional Australians has been loud and clear: your postcode should not be a barrier. That's why we're delivering record funding to rebuild critical services that regional people rely on—the services that were left in crisis by those opposite.”
“Labor built the NBN, just like we built Medicare, superannuation and the NDIS, and it is only Labor that you can trust to deliver better connectivity for all Australians. It's an essential part of keeping connected—having reliable affordable services for all of our telcos. You need reliable connectivity to run small businesses, to work from home or, when you are at a point of crisis and need to arrange support. When things go wrong, telcos have an obligation to support you and, if they don't, we are ensuring that there are consequences for them. This is what this bill will support, and this is why I'm so incredibly happy to support this fabulous bill.”
“In addition to fixed wireless upgrades, our investments have also improved NBN's Sky Muster satellite service, which provides much-needed connectivity options for more than 200,000 households and businesses in regional and remote Australia. Thanks to the Albanese government, customers now have unlimited data through NBN Co's Sky Muster Plus premium package, providing download speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second. We know how important NBN is to drive productivity, particularly for regional Australians who work from home, for our small businesses and to access telehealth and so much more. It's for this reason that, under the Albanese government, the NBN is not for sale. But those opposite might sell it off to the highest bidder.”
“Fibre can deliver speeds 18 times faster than the average copper connection and it is less likely to drop out or to degrade. With the completion of the Albanese government's $480 million upgrade to NBN Co's fixed wireless and satellite services, over 14,500 households and businesses in Eden-Monaro are benefiting from faster internet and increased data. The fixed wireless upgrades have already delivered increased download speeds to households from around 48 megabytes per second in 2022 to over 100 megabytes per second today. Regional communities like my own deserve affordable and reliable services just like you'd expect anywhere else in the country. This is exactly what our investments are supporting.”
“In our term, we've invested an initial $2.4 billion and we committed an additional $3 billion earlier this year to expand access to full-fibre NBN for 2.1 million premises across the nation, which includes almost a million in our regions. In my own electorate of Eden-Monaro, this investment has meant that 37,500 premises and businesses can now access full fibre capable of delivering faster, more reliable speeds, with an extra 3,000 premises set to receive upgrades thanks to this additional $3 billion investment. When we came to government, entire postcodes were still stuck on the former government's copper network, impacting the ability to run small businesses, to work from home and to access essential online services.”
“Since coming to government, we have focused on improving connectivity for all Australians, regardless of postcode, because we know that connectivity is no longer a nice-to-have; it is an absolute necessity in the day and age in which we live. Programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program and the Mobile Network Hardening Program are seeing expanding mobile coverage, more resilience and better capacity across our network. In Eden-Monaro, we are investing more than $8½ million towards 13 mobile base stations, delivering improved coverage across our region. And this is in addition to 27 projects being supported across Eden-Monaro under rounds 2 and 3 of the Mobile Network Hardening Program to keep telecommunications online for longer during disasters.”
“This bill will increase the transparency of providers operating in the market, especially telecommunications retailers, through the establishment of a carrier service provider registration scheme. In all, the legislation will provide ACMA with the tools it needs to protect consumers and hold companies to account if they do the wrong thing. It is another way that the Albanese government is putting consumers at the centre of the telco industry, recognising the importance of quality telecommunications services for all Australians, and it builds on other work that we have done to improve connectivity and reliability across our network.”
“It will also ensure that appropriate incentive structures are in place to drive better behaviour by telcos. These proposed changes will simplify the current two-step process and enable ACMA to take direct and immediate enforcement action against telecommunications providers that have breached their obligations to customers under industry codes. The bill also provides for strong determent to telcos, which increases penalties for providers who are in breach from $250,000 to around $10 million. The value will be different depending on the offending conduct. But this penalty framework will bring the telecommunications sector in line with energy, banking and the Australian consumer law and create greater incentives to abide by those industry codes. Nobody wants an industry that sees penalties as simply the cost of doing business.”
“Further, the latest data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman shows that the number of complaints increased by 13 per cent between October and December last year compared to the previous quarter. And that is why earlier this year the Minister for Communications introduced this legislation to parliament—to further improve protections for the majority of us: we, the telco consumers. It recognises how critical telco services are for everyone—in particular, for those in vulnerable circumstances, people living in our regions, First Nations Australians, those who rely upon connectivity to work from home or to run a small business. This bill will boost the enforcement powers and penalties available to ACMA so that it is an empowered and effective regulator.”
“I note the former speaker spoke about mobile phone towers in black spot areas, but it would be great if those opposite came on board and supported a universal outdoor mobile obligation. It doesn't cure all our problems, but it absolutely means that telcos have to get serious about the technologies they provide across our country. We want to ensure that there is a strong, clear recourse if telcos do the wrong thing as well. There have been a number of high-profile incidents in the telco sector in recent years. I'm sure everyone remembers the 14-hour Optus outage, which impacted 10 million Optus customers and prevented more than 2,100 calls to 000 being connected with emergency services.”
“I rise today to speak on the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025. This bill really does build on our commitment to enhancing connectivity and the experience of all Australians by placing them at the centre of the telecommunications industry, recognising that these are essential services that providers deliver. We want a telco industry that works for Australians, ensuring that we have the best consumer safeguards in place to protect our interests. It's why we're introducing a universal outdoor mobile obligation, requiring telcos to provide access to mobile, voice and SMS almost everywhere across the country, and this will have huge benefits for regional and remote communities, particularly during emergencies and disasters.”
“Through our 2025-26 budget we're delivering more energy bill relief, making cheaper medicines even cheaper, and providing extra support to get more regional Australians into their own home. We're strengthening Medicare. We're expanding regional health services. We're delivering further investments to boost regional connectivity, and we're investing in more support to help build workforces in our in-demand sectors. That's because only the Albanese government is serious about building regional Australia's future.”
“Close In his budget reply last year, the Leader of the Nationals said the opposition will take decisive action to give regional Australians a fair go. But all we've seen since then is those opposite continuing to vote against every single cost-of-living measure, while petrifying regional communities with their nuclear thought bubble. An idea that was announced with zero consultation, and most importantly—one that will deliver zero savings for regional Australians and their power bills. Since my last regional budget statement, the Albanese government has continued to relieve pressure on regional families and businesses, while improving access to the services and the supports regional people rely on—regardless of their postcode.”
“This builds on our existing commitment of $2 billion to support aluminium smelters' transition to renewables—in places like Portland, Victoria; Tomago in NSW; and in Queensland's Gladstone region. From our factories to our fields, we're backing our regions—with $11 million to tackle established pests and weeds in our agriculture and forestry sectors—keeping them productive. And an additional $20 million for a new round of the On Farm Connectivity Program so farmers can use the latest technology to make their work more efficient. And $20 million to encourage more Australians to buy Australian made products, which will have huge benefits for regional economies—because so much of what we love and rely on comes from our regions.”
“This includes $38.2 million to boost the diversity of our STEM workforce, with a focus on supporting more women to secure jobs in these critical industries. Through this budget, we're delivering further investments to build regional Australia's future—by leveraging the competitive advantages that come with our vast energy resources, our world-leading agricultural sector, and regional innovation. $250 million to accelerate the pace of Australia's growing domestic low-carbon liquid fuels industry will help to drive economic growth and jobs in regional areas, as well as $1 billion under our green iron investment fund to boost green iron manufacturing in our regions.”
“But Labor has always had the back of regional manufacturing, and we've shown that again with our new investment of $2.4 billion with the South Australian government to save the Whyalla Steelworks, supporting 1,100 direct workers, and encouraging more investment into Australian made steel. This builds on our existing $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia agenda, ensuring we build more in our own backyard. It includes over $500 million to boost Australia's battery manufacturing capabilities, and $1 billion to supercharge the production of solar panels in our regions. Our investments are putting regional communities at the centre of industries of the future—unlocking more secure and well-paid regional jobs, and ensuring that we train and retrain our regional workforces.”
“That that has supported great projects, like the $27.2 million program to support upgrading Marulan's sewage treatment plant in the mighty Eden-Monaro, which lays the foundation for more housing. Through this budget, we're delivering $54 million to turbocharge advanced manufacturing of prefabricated and modular homes, which gets more homes into our regions where we need them most—lifting our total housing commitments to $33 billion. Investing i n i ndustries and l ocal e conomies More housing is a key part of how we're building regional Australia's future, and it is supporting our regional businesses and our regional economies to grow. Under those opposite, car manufacturers left our shore, which left our regional people behind.”
“Projects like this that are making our regions better places to live, to work and to invest in but having more housing to attract and retain those workers is something that every community tells me they need, which is why we've already committed $32 billion in housing measures, including over 13,000 homes nationally under the first round of our Housing Australia Future Fund—many of those in our regions. And that's more than those opposite delivered in an entire decade—when they had no plan for building, and their only idea for turning more keys was letting people raid their super for a deposit. But, to their credit, they've now said that they will fund enabling infrastructure—labelling this a fantastic idea. It's so fantastic, we're already doing it—through our $1.5 billion Housing Support Program.”
“After colour coded spreadsheets from those opposite, we've delivered on our commitment to establish transparent grant programs that every postcode can apply for. Our $600 million Growing Regions Program is already supporting 112 projects, with 29 projects supported under our $400 million Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program so far. I had the pleasure of visiting Wagga's Lake Albert—one of this region's most popular recreational sites, which will be completely transformed thanks to $4.4 million in growing regions funding.”
“But let's not forget, when they were responsible for the infrastructure pipeline, it below out from 150 projects to 800 projects, without a single dollar extra being added to the budget, and without the delivery taking place. Regional communities deserve much more than promises in press releases with no follow-through, which is why we continue to deliver critical projects to build regional Australia's future. Funding through this budget includes $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway safety upgrades in Queensland, $200 million towards duplicating the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Katherine, $40 million for the Main South Road upgrade in South Australia, and $1.1 billion towards upgrades along the Western Freeway in Victoria.”
“Investing in places We all know travelling by car is generally how we get around, though, which is why we've already increased local road funding for every council across the country. Roads to Recovery funding is going up from $500 million a year to $1 billion per year, road black spot funding has increased to $150 million per year, and we've launched our $200 million per year Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program—all while continuing to invest in major transport projects—because every local community should have confidence in the roads that they're driving on. In his budget reply last year, the Leader of the Nationals said those opposite would deliver the strong infrastructure funding pipeline that our regional communities need.”
“And they've said that keeping Rex Airlines' regional routes operating during the voluntary administration process is sabotaging the sale process. I'm really proud, as is every member of my constituency, that the Albanese government has kept Rex's regional flights in the air, with an $80 million loan facility to Rex administrators and additional support to reduce the debt that Rex owes, because for regional communities like mine these flights are critical to our local economy, they're critical to accessing important health services, and they're critical for just getting around. The reality of living in our regions is we need to travel longer for some services, which is why we'll continue to stand up for a strong regional aviation sector.”
“We've seen the support that it's provided to regional communities, most recently in Queensland and New South Wales during ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Our $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund continues to support regional communities to be better prepared. And our additional $35 million investment to boost our national aerial fleet gives regional communities more emergency support when they need it most. But it's not just during disasters when our regions need reliable aviation. Despite the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate telling Sky News just last week that the opposition had been fighting for a more competitive aviation sector—the reality is that they sat idle at the departure gate. They did nothing with the Sydney airport slot review handed to them in 2021, something we've responded to with our own Aviation white paper .”
“In this budget, we're providing an additional $3 billion in equity funding to NBN Co to complete upgrades for all remaining fibre-to-the-node premises, including connecting an additional 334,000 regional premises to high-speed internet. A service that we can't forget would be sold off to the highest bidder under those opposite. We're also introducing a universal outdoor mobile obligation—requiring telcos to provide access to mobile voice and SMS almost everywhere across Australia. This will have huge benefits for regional and remote communities, particularly during emergencies and disasters. Natural disasters are something that many regional electorates deal with, including my own of Eden-Monaro, and we've felt this deeply, which is why I'm really proud that our government established the National Emergency Management Agency.”
“No government has done more for regional services than the Albanese government—but health care wasn't the only service completely abandoned, during the wasted decade, by those opposite. We're already investing $2.2 billion to strengthen regional communication, particularly in disaster-prone areas—after programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program were pork-barrelled by those opposite. We've invested record amounts of money in the NBN, where we've seen half of some streets and half of some suburbs being stuck on unreliable copper, including just 15 minutes down the road in Jerrabomberra. It takes more than a bit of string and a can to run a small business or to work or study from home.”
“The urgent care clinic just down the road in Queanbeyan has already supported over 7,000 fully bulk-billed presentations in the last nine months alone. Rusty, a local constituent of mine, told me about the huge difference it made for him when he had an infection. He walked right into the clinic and received the help he needed, for free—a service that's also supported his children and grandchildren. As Rusty said, this type of clinic is critical to taking the pressure off our hospitals—as we continue to rebuild the health sector. But regional services like this will cease to exist under those opposite, because you only have to look at the billions that were cut from Medicare by the Leader of the Opposition when he was the health minister to know their plan for Medicare is nothing but cuts.”
“100 more Commonwealth supported places for medical students a year from 2026, increasing to 150 more by 2028—with a focus on encouraging students to pursue general practice in our regions—and hundreds of scholarships for nurses and midwives to help meet our current and future demands. A re-elected Albanese government will deliver another 50 Medicare urgent care clinics across the country, from Burnie in Tassie to Bega in my own electorate, with our $644.3 million investment. This builds on the 87 Medicare urgent care clinics we've already delivered, which are making a huge difference in our communities. Of these 137 clinics, 48 are in our regions, from Broome in WA to Townsville in Queensland and Tamworth in New South Wales.”
“We've delivered an additional $1.6 billion to strengthen our public hospitals and to reduce waiting times across the country, bringing our hospital funding to a record $33.9 billion in 2025-26. We've also increased the number of regional GP training places, along with waiving HECS for doctors and nurses that work in our regions—getting more skilled workers where we need them most. Through this budget, we're investing $662.6 million to grow our health workforce. There will be hundreds more GP and rural generalist training places to grow the future pipeline of GPs—with fairer salary incentives for junior doctors who choose general practice as their speciality.”
“$792.9 million to deliver more choice, lower costs and better health care for women—including the first PBS listing for a new oral contraceptive pill in more than 30 years along with more bulk billing for long-term contraceptives, more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics to treat more conditions, and more Medicare support for women experiencing menopause. Investing in Services Regional health and aged care were left in crisis under those opposite—a mess the Albanese government has been cleaning up from day 1. We've delivered $17.7 billion to fund increases to the minimum award wage for aged-care workers—not only to support and retain these critical workers but also to ensure that our loved ones get the care that they need as they get older.”
“Through this budget, we're investing an additional $7.9 billion to deliver more bulk-billing to all Australians, including in our regions. Having delivered the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, we're now making medicines even cheaper. $689 million to bring a PBS script down to $25, keeping more money in the hip pockets of regional Australians—with our pensioners and concession card holders to continue paying $7.70 for PBS medicines until 2030.”
“Existing investments like the 56 regional university study hubs we're delivering—from Port Augusta, in South Australia, to Goulburn, in my own electorate—will mean you don't have to leave the region that you live in and love. A further $33.6 million will flow to the Clontarf Foundation to support up to 12½ thousand First Nations boys and young men access better education support. We're delivering record investments to continue improving the affordability and accessibility of regional health care—because when you need to see the doctor, or when you need to buy a script, your street address and your wallet shouldn't stop you. We've already delivered $3½ billion to triple the bulk-billing incentive, supporting over 2½ million additional claims across regional Australia.”
“That's why we're boosting apprentice wages and we're easing cost-of-living pressures—because we value their hard work and we know that building this workforce is essential to delivering more homes. My mum, my dad, my brother, my sister and my husband all went to TAFE, which is why I'm incredibly proud to be part of a government that is strengthening this sector—and ensuring more regional people can build a better future. Through this budget, we're delivering $407.5 million to states and territories, as part of the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement. This is record funding to give our teachers, including in our regional schools, more support—to lift education standards, and to better support students from kindergarten through to year 12. And, if you want to go on to further study, fantastic.”
“We've also added $800 million to expand our Help to Buy scheme to support more people to get into their own home—including in our regions. This builds on the 32,000 regional Australians we've already helped into homeownership, through the regional home guarantee. There is $626.9 million to support $10,000 incentive payments for construction sector apprentices—with $7 million to increase the living away from home allowance for apprentices. As an operator of a small plumbing business that hires apprentices, and having recently spent time with bricklaying apprentices at Queanbeyan, I know that every cent counts when you're starting out, especially when you're living away from home.”
“We're getting more people into industries that are screaming out for workers, after those opposite gutted the vocational education system during their failed decade. We've introduced legislation to make free TAFE permanent—something those opposite have said they'll repeal, because, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said in this very chamber, 'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' But I want my kids and every regional person to know that your postcode and your bank balance shouldn't limit your potential. Through this budget we'll provide additional cost-of-living relief, along with increased investments to remove study barriers, and $1.8 billion to provide all households, and around one million small businesses, with an additional $150 in energy bill relief.”
“1 priority has been easing pressures faced by regional families and businesses today, while supporting more work, training and economic opportunities outside of our big cites. We've delivered tax cuts for every regional taxpayer—a huge impact for taxpayers in my own electorate of Eden-Monaro, putting an average of $1,633 back into their pockets—with two new rounds of tax cuts on the way, which those opposite just voted against. We've delivered $300 in energy bill relief to millions of households and $325 to small businesses, along with cheaper child care and cheaper medicines. We've cut $3 billion in student debt, with a further 20 per cent to be cut if we're re-elected. And we've supported over 127,000 free TAFE places in our regions—from construction courses to child care.”
“While we're delivering record investments to build regional Australia's future, the wreckers opposite are determined to leave regional communities, which aren't the right colour on their spreadsheets, behind. The Albanese government is delivering better outcomes for every regional community, because we're addressing the challenges, harnessing the opportunities and taking the needs of our regions seriously. Through our Regional Investment Framework, we're ensuring targeted investments support regional people, the places they live, the services they need, and the industries that stimulate our local economies, with investments through the 2025-26 budget building on everything we've delivered across our first term. Investing in p eople Our No.”
“I'm proud to be part of a government that, across its first term, has delivered record investments to improve the reliability and the accessibility of critical services that regional people rely on to support more regional people to work and train closer to home, because you shouldn't have to pack your bags to build your career; to build more things in our own backyard, investing in the hard work and know-how of regional people; to give regional Australians more support to buy or rent a home; to support local businesses and local economies to grow, with small businesses in particular the backbone of our regions; to ensure the local roads we drive every day to drop the kids off at school and to get to work are safe and keep pace with growing communities; to improve our major highways linking our cities to our regions so more visitors support our local businesses and experience everything we have to offer; to keep our regions connected and better prepared for natural disasters, something that so many regional communities, including across Eden-Monaro, have needed to rebuild from; and, most importantly, to relieve immediate pressures on regional families and businesses, which, let's not forget, those opposite talk a big game on, despite opposing every single cost-of-living measure to date and committing to tearing apart every measure that'll support regional Australians into the future.”
“From the Hunter region in NSW, Caboolture in regional Queensland, Devonport in Tasmania to communities across the 42,000 square kilometres in my electorate, regional Australia is a great place to live, to work, to study, to visit and to invest—and I wouldn't live anywhere else. Our regions generate a third of the nation's economic output, and there are so many opportunities that our government wants to take advantage of. You'd be living under a rock if you said life outside of our big cities doesn't come without its unique challenges; it absolutely does. Unlike those opposite though, on this side of the House we're not shying away from that.”
“I say this as someone that's always lived in our regions—from Traralgon in regional Victoria, to Merimbula on the NSW far South Coast—where I watched my parents work hard every day to build a small business and to provide our family with a better life. It is in a regional community where I myself now run a small business with my husband and where we're raising our kids. And I say this as someone that's had the privilege of spending a lot of time talking to regional people across Australia—both as the member for the mighty Eden-Monaro and as the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories.”
“by leave—On behalf of the Albanese Labor government, I'm proud to deliver our fourth regional ministerial budget statement. I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of where we are today and pay my respects to their elders past and present. Across our first term in government, our message to regional Australians has been loud and clear—your postcode shouldn't be a barrier. Just because you grow up in Bega, on the NSW far South Coast or in Gladstone in Central Queensland and just because you live at Mount Gambier in regional South Australia or in the Pilbara Region in outback WA doesn't mean that the services and the opportunities available to you are second best. I say this as a proud regional member of this place and on behalf of my fantastic regional colleagues here with me today.”
“I'm honoured this year to be the guest speaker at Goulburn VIEW Club's International Women's Day event on 6 March. It's a tremendous organisation, and if you are looking to volunteer somewhere, join your local VIEW Club. Finally, on International Women's Day I am proud to support another fabulous event in Eden-Monaro. The Queanbeyan evening branch of the CWA is holding a high tea in support of the Love Your Sister charity. Love Your Sister co-founder Samuel Johnson OAM—gold Logie award winner, everyone knows him—will be live in Queanbeyan on Saturday 8 March from 2 pm at the B in Queanbeyan. Tickets are on the Q's website from $75. Come along and have a conversation. All money raised goes to that magnificent charity. Thanks, CWA.”
“VIEW is a leading women's national volunteer organisation, providing the opportunity for women from all walks of life to meet regularly, establish lasting friendships and help disadvantaged Australian kids through supporting the work of children's charity the Smith Family. It's driven by the mission of creating social change in Australian communities. VIEW empowers women to have their voices on issues of importance for the future wellbeing of our society. There are more than 300 VIEW clubs around Australia, including in Adelong, Batlow, Bega, Braidwood, Bungendore, Cooma, Eden, Goulburn, Marimbula, Narooma, Queanbeyan and Yass, across the mighty Eden-Monaro. VIEW offers a friendship network, providing fun and a sense of purpose for members by supporting the education of disadvantaged Australian children.”
“These American aviators tragically died when their large air tanker, bomber 134, crashed during firefighting operations, and on 23 January this year, emergency service personnel, members of the community, many people involved in fighting that fire and representatives from Coulson Aviation came together to honour their service and sacrifice at the memorial. It was a real honour to join them at Peak View this year, as I have in previous years. Again I'd like to extend my sincere condolences to their families. The men died whilst trying to protect our community, and we are forever in their debt. I give a shout-out to VIEW Clubs. For those of you who don't know, VIEW stands for Voice, Interests and Education of Women.”
“I concur with my colleague, the member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, who has done Tumbatrek with me a couple of times. It is such a fabulous event, which continues Tim Fischer's legacy but shows the beautiful, pristine nature of our communities across the country, most importantly in Tumbarumba. I'm sorry to have missed it, and I do hope, for that community's sake, that they are in one electorate for a period of time, because they do get shuffled around. I have no doubt that, for many years to come, they will be in good hands with the member for Riverina. I will comment on something that came up in our electorate. Five years ago, on 23 January 2020, during the Black Summer bushfires, we lost aerial firefighters Captain Ian McBeth, First Officer Paul Hudson and Flight Engineer Rich De Morgan Jr.”
“Pasha Jacyshyn, with her husband, contributed enormously to the Queanbeyan community. She should be acknowledged for her upcoming milestone, considering the hardships she encountered earlier in her life. Pasha and her husband were taken from Ukraine in their late teens and used as forced labour during World War II in Germany. However, post war they were given the opportunity for a better life. Hence, they came to Australia in 1949 seeking a better future. While they came with nothing, they both worked extremely hard and managed to build their forever home in Queanbeyan. Pasha forged a career in catering and worked at the Queanbeyan hospital and then at the National Library, while her husband was a carpenter and worked here on the construction of this building. Congratulations to Pasha and her family at this special time.”