Aaron Violi
Casey · Liberal Party · Australia
“I think it's really important when we have this discussion, that we separate the intent versus the outcome. Now, it's clear the intent is to make sure all those under 16 do not have access to social media.”
“CFA volunteers give back so much to our community, and today I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine, someone I've known for 20 years: Tim Mitchelson, better known to all of us as Loaf. He's stepping back from the BMT at the Wandin Fire Brigade, but he has served our community with distinction.”
“We see time and time again that the backbench has to follow orders. They can't get what they want on gambling reform. They have to take the sandwich from those. They have to follow the Prime Minister's lead on a bad budget, and they have to continue to follow the minister that is failing when it comes to social media.”
“You spend a lot of time rushing legislation through this House for political means, but doing your job is getting the legislation right. This legislation is not working. Young— A government member: How? How is it not working? I will explain to you if you stop interjecting and listen. Young children are still on social media.”
“The coalition is saying, 'Let's take the time to have an inquiry, to do the work, to understand why it has failed and why we can get it right the second time.' As the member for Berowra said, we don't want to be back here in six months' time having to amend it again. The detail was wrong the first time.”
“They weren't prepared to look at the detail and understand. Let's look at history. This legislation was introduced on Monday this week. This government wants to ram it through the house on Thursday. But let's look at December when the first legislation was brought in.”
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“The sad reality is that, even with all the goodwill that we have, we know we can't solve this problem overnight. Just because you can't solve a problem overnight doesn't mean that you stop trying. We can make a difference; we will make a difference. Motions like this are very important. As the member for Newcastle and the Leader of the Opposition did—those women that we lost should never be forgotten. Their names will now be in the Hansard forever. That is an important statement as we continue to improve as a society and make sure, hopefully, that one day there are no more names to be read out.”
“They can't bottle it up and then have it come out in violence—whether it's against their partner or against another person that's just having a beer with their friends at the pub. We need to stop that cycle. We need to make sure that, if people do the wrong thing, there are serious consequences. The perpetrators have to be held to account. The families and the victims have to be protected by the police, by our court system, by the justice system. If you do the wrong thing, you deserve everything that is thrown at you. This is not an issue, and not a challenge, that will be solved tomorrow. We wish it would be. It will take every day of this parliament, state parliaments, the judiciary and the police force working to improve these outcomes.”
“It's an example of an organisation that is engaging with young men in their teenage years by having conversations with them and explaining to them that it's okay to share their weaknesses and be vulnerable. I, and so many others, grew up in a generation that was told that it was weak to speak. You had to be strong and you had to show strength at all times. And, once that armour is put up, day after day, week after week, year after year, some men can lose some of their humanity and lose touch with what they believe in, with who they are and with what they think is acceptable. We need to continue to support organisations like the Man Cave to make sure that young men learn to be in touch with their emotions and to have conversations.”
“We need to show courage and call it out when we see it. We need to understand that there is a better way and there is a different way. Early intervention is a key part of that. I don't believe that men are evil, clearly. Of the men that perpetrate this, there are clearly a percentage that are evil. But I have to live in hope that, while we can't change what people have done, we can intervene with the younger generation. Can we stop this violence from occurring at an earlier age? I am proud to be part of Parliamentary Friends of Healthy Masculinities, which launched last week, with the member for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, and Senator David Pocock.”
“That is completely unacceptable. Behind those statistics—the member for Dickson shared one story—we know there is a story for every one of those women. And it's not just the women that are impacted. It's their children. It's their parents. It's their loved ones. There are so many people in society impacted by this. We need to understand—and this is the reason I'm standing here to speak—that it is not just the women of this parliament and the women of Australia that have a role to play. The leaders of the country, the men in this place and the men in communities have a role to play. We need to call out any inappropriate behaviour made by our friends, our colleagues and our workmates. We need to make sure that all men understand that violence is not acceptable in any circumstance. We need to hold them to account.”
“I thank the member for Dickson for her contribution and for sharing that story, and I thank the member for Newcastle for moving this motion. The member for Newcastle is correct that an issue like this has bipartisan support. To sit here and listen to the member for Newcastle and the Leader of the Opposition share those names is a reminder for us all that we need to do more. We need to be better. We would love to be in a world where there were no lives lost to violence, but that world doesn't exist. We need to strive every day to get better. The statistics are shocking—74 women lost in the last 12 months. In 2023-24, one woman was killed every eight days in this country. One woman was killed every eight days. One in four women have experienced domestic violence by a partner, which is 25 per cent of women in this country.”
“It's time for the government to take mental health reform seriously and ensure Australians have the ability to improve their wellbeing and their work, study and contribution to society to the full extent of their passion and potential. When the individual is strong, the family is strong and then the community is strong, and, when we have strong communities all across the nation, we have a strong country. But, when it comes to mental health support in this country, the facts are the facts and they can't be denied. This prime minister has let down the Australian people.”
“She said: Waiting times to see psychologists are too long and people need to be able to see a professional whenever it is needed to support their journey. Many people can't afford to pay their bills and meet their mortgage repayments let alone find $200 for a psychology appointment. Mental health appointments are the first cost saving in many budgets. But, ironically, good mental health is what people need in order to deal with these difficult times. The Labor government, as I have said, have cut the number of Medicare funded mental health sessions Australians can access from 20 to 10, and it's no wonder Australians are doing it tough and mental illnesses are soaring. We're seeing statistics increase but nothing changes. Enough is enough.”
“It is rank hypocrisy from this prime minister, who is happy to stand up and take credit, but won't take responsibility when he cuts such a needed service for the Australian people. Those opposite don't like to talk about that, but they are the facts. This prime minister cut it when the Australian people needed it. I recently had a young man walk into my electorate office. He wanted advice on where he could find support. He was in his mid-20s. He was too old to be seen by the local Headspace services, but was unable to access support elsewhere. Local services are at capacity and waitlists to see a psychologist are lengthy. Unfortunately mental ill-health is often exacerbated because locals can't find support. This would be a similar story across the nation. Last week I received an email from Emily from Healesville.”
“Every time the Prime Minister stands up with his little stunt of holding a Medicare card, it is a slap in the face to every Australian that needs mental health support. It is a slap in the face, because they halved those sessions. If you were going to stand up as the Prime Minister and claim credit with your card—which isn't even true. Everyone knows you need more than your Medicare card; you need your credit card as well. He'll claim credit for that while he cuts sessions for mental health support. What hypocrisy! At a time as I have gone through and when so many Australians are struggling—coming out of COVID, coming out of lockdowns and experiencing financial stress. The Prime Minister says 'no-one left behind', but he has left behind every Australian that doesn't have the bank balance to afford the mental health support that they need.”
“They cut this funding for mental health support despite a report by the University of Melbourne that found that 20 sessions should stay. Page 328 of the University of Melbourne's main report of the evaluation of the Better Access initiative says: On balance, the evidence from the evaluation suggests that the additional 10 sessions should continue to be made available … Ten to 20 is significant. Ten sessions gives you roughly an appointment every five to six weeks. Twenty sessions gives you that every two to three weeks as you need that support. What this government is saying is that your credit card and your bank balance will determine the mental health support you get in Australia.”
“The former Liberal government funded the Lilydale Youth Hub, a local service that provided mental health and social support for young people right across Casey. Upon coming to government Labor has failed to fund the hub, causing it to close down. This is a gap in service that has not been filled in my community. While local headspace offices in Lilydale and Knox provide amazing support to young people, they are at capacity. On top of this, the government cut the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions Australians can access from 20 sessions to just 10. They halved supports when Australians needed them the most. You will hear this government talk a lot about Medicare, but they don't talk about the mental health supports that were cut under their watch.”
“Clinical outcomes from public mental health services are not improving, nor are outcomes for those discharged from psychiatric care. Mental ill health has a real impact on individuals, families and communities but also on our nation. The Productivity Commission showed that the direct economic cost of mental ill health and suicide in Australia is estimated at $43 billion to $70 billion a year in expenditure and lower economic productivity. Mental health reform is critically important to our nation's social and economic success, but unfortunately it seems to have been forgotten by this government. In my community, the government has completely abandoned mental health supports, particularly for our youth.”
“The sad reality is that one in five Australians have delayed or avoided seeing a mental health professional due to cost. The national mental health report card released in July paints a bleak picture of mental health in this country. The latest National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing shows that in 2020-22, an estimated 4.3 million people aged 16 to 85 had experienced a mental health disorder in the previous 12 months. The prevalence of mental health conditions increased in young people aged 16 to 24 from 25.8 per cent in 2006 to 38.8 per cent in 2022. Signs of financial distress are elevated, rising from 17.1 per cent in 2020 to 34.6 per cent in 2024. While more people are seeking treatment than they used to, treatment rates are still well below current targets.”
“At a time when households are paying 15 per cent more for food, 40 per cent more for electricity and 37 per cent more for insurance, services like HICCI are more important than ever. We cannot allow decades of vital community support to simply disappear overnight.”
“HICCI has informed me that they have been forced to retrench an experienced community support worker, reduce appointment availability for those seeking assistance and reduce the extent of bill assistance that they can provide. This complete cut has already and will significantly impact Healesville and the surrounding communities. More concerning is the thought that vulnerable members of our community will be left without necessary support. On behalf of my community, I've written to Minister Plibersek, seeking the minister's urgent attention to this matter, including that the appropriate member of her department engages directly with HICCI, and asking that the minister reconsider the decision to cut all funding to HICCI. Families and locals in my community are struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis.”
“The partnership between HICCI and the federal government has spanned over 20 years, ensuring these vital services have reached our region. Yet, despite this decades-long partnership, HICCI received a letter earlier this year that their application for continued funding under the Financial Wellbeing and Capability Activity program was unsuccessful. This decision was a complete cut in funding. There was no discussion, there was no consultation and, disappointingly, there was not even an opportunity for HICCI to receive a reduced sum. The greatest concern now is for the community members who rely on HICCI and where they can turn for help. The financial shock has already forced immediate, painful cuts.”
“For nearly 40 years, Healesville Interchurch Community Care Incorporated, better known as HICCI, has been a steadfast provider of vital support for residents throughout my community in the Healesville region. Their critical assistance extends across a vast service area, including Healesville, Yarra Glen, Steels Creek, Badger Creek, Dixons Creek, Castella, Toolangi, and frequently reaches Narbethong and Marysville. HICCI's capacity to sustain these crucial services has long relied upon federal government funding, specifically through food relief and financial wellbeing support. Through these funds, they've been able to assist countless people, offering essential food packages, assistance with paying bills and critical advocacy to additional support services.”
“The reality is that we know this bill has been introduced because, despite what the Prime Minister says, he wants to shield the Australian people from his incompetence. He wants to shield the Australian people from their ability to understand the failures of this government, and the failures of this government are many. Energy prices are up 40 per cent under this government despite them promising to reduce power bills by $275. Interest rates are up under this government. Inflation is out of control under this government. They continue to fail, and all they can do is not solve the problems of the Australian people but seek to hide from scrutiny of the Australian people.”
“The government claims it will modernise the FOI framework and improve efficiency, but the reality is that it weakens the public's right to know, entrenches secrecy and reduces accountability. The bill lacks public support. Every major integrity and transparency body has condemned this bill. None support it. Media and civil society are warning of increased costs and impeded investigative journalism. Apart from the bureaucrats who stand to benefit from reduced workloads and increased control, this bill does not have a friend in the world. This bill has been rushed. It was introduced without consultation, it ignored the 2023 Senate FOI inquiry, and it has not advanced any credible national security reasons for it.”
“Australians will now see only announcements, never the critical debates that led to them. This prevents Australians from forming informed opinions about their government. When you limit what citizens can know, you fundamentally limit what they can decide. Schedule 5 changes information commissioner review processes in a way that limits third-party participation, and schedule 8 allows a different minister or agency to respond if the original minister leaves office, clarifying that FOI responses can be provided by successive ministers or agencies. These are not merely technical provisions. They add complexity and reduce consistency, ensuring that new thresholds, exemptions and caps will lead to more disputes, more appeals and less transparency. The opposition is not alone in its condemnation of this bill.”
“Schedule 7 dramatically expands exemptions especially around cabinet and deliberative documents, making refusals significantly easier. New clauses allow agencies to block access to any document that describes or refers to cabinet material. Furthermore, they allow the classification of factual briefs as deliberative documents, keeping them hidden from the public eye. The expansion of cabinet and deliberative processes exemptions makes it easier to refuse requests without even searching for documents. Given we have the recent example of FOIs showing the Australian people that power prices will go up under this government, it is no wonder this government want to shield the Australian people from their incompetence and their mismanagement. That doesn't make it right. This move expands ministerial and bureaucratic secrecy.”
“This cap allows agencies to stop searching once a request is deemed too difficult, effectively limiting agency workload and allowing them to simply abandon complex inquiries. Coupled with this cap, schedule 4 extends decision timeframes from 30 calendar days to 30 working days. Agencies already breech the FOI timeframes. Extending them will only make this system slower and less accountable, rewarding delay and dysfunction. The coalition stands ready to hold the government accountable for undermining transparency, but the mechanisms introduced in this bill make that essential work exponentially harder. The Prime Minister spoke of ensuring faith in processes, yet this bill attempts to cloak the very heart of government decision-making in new layers of secrecy.”
“This imposition of new barriers through fees is nothing less than a tax on transparency and severely reduces access to legitimate applications. This measure is designed to choke off access and reduce investigative journalism. I must say, given the work that Nick McKenzie and the Age have done when it comes to investigative journalism into the CFMEU and the links to the Australian Labor Party, we can see why this government wants to make it harder for investigative journalism to thrive in our country. The coalition will ensure any new fees are subject to parliamentary disallowance. The barriers do not end with fees. Schedule 3 introduces a discretionary 40-hour cap of processing FOI requests.”
“This is not building trust; this is instilling fear. We have pledged to retain anonymity and protect whistleblowers, because true accountability requires mechanisms that shield the brave individuals who speak truth to power. Thirdly, this bill introduces a punitive mechanism designed to discourage all but the most well-resourced applicants: the truth tax. Schedule 6 creates application fees for FOI requests and reviews, except for requests concerning personal information. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will now be engaged to charge these fees, and, by imposing application fees and processing caps, Australians will have to pay for access to information that already belongs to them.”
“This change signals the government's true intention, by prioritising the proper functioning of government over the public's right to access information. When the objectives of the law shift from facilitating access to protecting government machinery, the culture of secrecy is immediately validated. Secondly, and perhaps most dangerous, is schedule 2, which bans anonymous requests. The bill requires FOI requests to be made with applicant identification, thereby banning anonymous or pseudo-anonymous requests. This provision is a direct attack on courage and integrity. It ends protection for whistleblowers, for advocates and for citizens who fear reprisal from their government or their employers. By silencing whistleblowers and vulnerable applicants, the government strips away the protection of those who fear retaliation.”
“So let's look closely at what this bill proposes to do and why it thoroughly violates the spirit of transparency that the Prime Minister championed. The bill makes major changes to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010. The coalition stands opposed to this bill in the House, the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025, because it fundamentally weakens the rights of citizens to scrutinise government actions and reverses four decades of progress towards open government. The proposed changes are extensive, spread across nine schedules, and each schedule represents a fresh barrier erected between the government and the people it serves. Firstly, let's consider schedule 1, which rewrites the objects of the act.”
“It is the height of hypocrisy for the Prime Minister to preach about trust and accountability in the contest between democracy and authoritarianism, only to introduce a bill that actively entrenches secrecy and weakens the public's right to know. I wonder what those on the backbench of the government really think about this bill. I can imagine the speeches they would deliver if they were in opposition and it was the Morrison government or any coalition government that had delivered this bill. We should remind those members of the backbench that, in our democratic system, even though they might be in the same party as the executive, they too have a responsibility to hold the executive to account.”
“He concluded this assertion by affirming that integrity, transparency, accountability and fairness are 'the principles that drive the government that I'm proud to lead'. Now, let's hold those words up—trust, accountability, transparency and integrity—against the grim reality of the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025. As my mum used to say to me, 'It's not what you say; it's what you do.' The Prime Minister has a dismal record of saying one thing and doing another. This is not a blueprint for a stronger, more prosperous Australia built on trust. It is a monument to bureaucratic control and ministerial secrecy.”
“This is another example of the Prime Minister saying one thing when he was in opposition and doing the complete opposite when in government. We've seen the continual degradation of transparency and accountability by this Prime Minister. Freedom of information is so important—to whistleblowers, to the Australian public and to the media—holding the executive to account. But the Prime Minister did not stop there. He went on to articulate the very principles that he claimed define his government. He stated: … the health of our democracy depends on the integrity of our institutions and the transparency and the fairness of our laws, and because the trust that is generated by that accountability and transparency helps to build national cohesion, bringing the country together, overcoming divides, finding common ground.”
“I want to quote a member of this House, a member of this parliament, who has been in this parliament for a very long time. They entered this parliament in 1996, so they will have seen a lot of the Australian journey and democracy. They said: At a time where we have a global contest between democratic systems and authoritarianism, we need to do all within our power to ensure that our great democracy is trusted; that our politicians, our public servants are accountable; and that there is faith in the processes that overwhelmingly are conducted in good faith with people of integrity, with people who are honest. Those are fine words indeed. Who delivered those fine words? It was the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Anthony Albanese.”
“I must admit it's nice that the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 has returned to the House today. The manager saw the light. The member for Fisher's speech yesterday no doubt convinced him that we needed to move the bill from the Federation Chamber back to the House. It is wonderful that the Manager of Opposition Business and the member for Fisher were able to convince the government to bring this bill back where it belongs—in the House. This is an important bill when we look at freedom of information, democracy and the rights of our citizens, our media and our community to hold the government and parliamentarians to account. This is one of the fundamental challenges we face as a democracy—how we make sure we protect democracy by holding the government and the executive to account.”
“It's important—we absolutely support that—but not at a time when the triple 0 network is failing. It is about priorities. It is about making sure the Australian people are safe, and this minister has shown time and time again that she does not have the ability to deal with these issues. She does not have the ability to call Optus to account. She is afraid of transparency. She has refused to attend the Senate hearing into the triple 0 failures. The Australian people can have no confidence in this minister or this government, and that is a shame because it is the Australian people who pay the price for their continual failures.”
“We are now into November. We are now entering the disaster season for all Australians. I've been lucky enough and honoured to attend a lot of CFA annual dinners in my community in the last three to four months, and the messaging from the district commanders and the captains has been consistent: stay safe and look after yourself, because the conditions we see this summer are some of the most dangerous we have seen since Black Saturday and Ash Wednesday. That's the reality. It is why we are urging the minister to act. But we get talk of roundtables. Roundtables aren't going to make sure that, when someone who was on the 3G network needs to call triple 0, it's going to work now. We have a minister who's obsessed with the spin and is happy to fly to New York to talk about the social media ban.”
“He seemed very generous in giving them a leave pass. But we will see as we move forward. He'll learn very quickly that this government is big on spin but low on delivery. I'm going to look forward to tracking the reception in Leichhardt, and when it doesn't improve, which I'm very confident it won't, because we know it's spin from this government, we will see whether the member for Leichhardt will call out the failures of this minister. I will watch with interest. This minister was warned about the 3G network. This minister has been warned about triple 0. And what has been the minister's response? It has been: 'I'm sorry. I'm a new minister.' That's what we have had from this government. This is time urgent. This is not a time for politics; this is a time for making sure the Australian people have the support they need.”
“That's what we talk about and that's why we're so passionate on this side about making sure we have strong communications in this country. And we have a minister that is failing the Australian people. We just heard it from the member for Leichhardt. They are so quick to blame private enterprise—Optus, Telstra et cetera—and they absolutely have a role to play, but there's a little bit of a hint in the title: Minister for Communications. That makes this government and the minister responsible for making sure the Australian people get the communications they need. This minister has failed when it comes to triple 0 and has failed when it comes to 3G. It's a pity the member for Leichhardt has left because I would've loved to have reminded him that this government has been in power for 3½ years.”
“There is not a more vulnerable feeling that you have as a husband and as a father than knowing that, if a disaster had happened and if a tree had fallen across our house as it did to many in our community, I wouldn't have been able to call triple 0 to get the help my family needed. We had situations where our CFA brigades, who were not trained in storm recovery or helping people in storms, were navigating in pitch dark, and CFA communications officers were having to try and text message other brigade members to make sure they could know where they were and what was going on. One of the brigade communications officers shared a story with me at that time about how they could not move their phone for want of losing reception. If they moved it a centimetre, they would lose reception.”
“I want to commend the member for Mallee for this motion. It's a very important one, because the reality is—as we on this side talk about often—the phone lines working can be the difference between life and death. When Australians pick up the phone and call triple 0, they expect that the phone will be answered and that they will get the help that they need, and it's not a political line. Many in my community, including me, were impacted by the June storms of 2021. We were blocked into our home, with trees across the front of our driveway, unable to get out. When the power ran out—which it did, late in the night—we woke up early that morning and had no phone reception.”
“These food hampers are not just about food; it's about the nourishment of knowing someone cares about them. There is a shopping list of items on the Holy Fools website which includes things like long-life milk, custard, coffee, tea and Christmas cakes. If you're able to add a few extra items to your shopping trolley, they can be dropped off at my office or in the purple bins around our community. Let's work together to ensure no-one goes without this Christmas.”
“With Christmas fast approaching, many locals are worried about how they will put presents under the tree and food on the table. I am proud to be working with the Rotary Club of Lilydale to once again launch their Christmas gift wishing tree appeal. My office is a drop-off point to donate toys and gifts to make Christmas a little brighter for families. Rotary works alongside Yarra Ranges police and Anchor Community Care to distribute gifts to vulnerable families, including those in foster care and kinship care. These gifts are often the only presents these children will receive. So, if you can, please give a Christmas gift to a child in our local community. This Christmas, I'm working with local homelessness organisation Holy Fools to help them reach their goal of 150 hampers for families in need.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, research conducted by the St Vincent de Paul Society shows Australian families are still confronting cost-of-living turmoil. Thirty-two per cent have skipped meals or gone without food to cover essentials, 36 per cent of Australian families are concerned about going without food and 62 per cent said that cost-of-living pressures are making it difficult to plan for Christmas this year. Is this what the Prime Minister meant when he said no Australian would be left behind?”
“In March this year, Ben received the Brian Wright Trophy, a trophy awarded to the junior player who shows the correct attitude and dedication to playing the game. The game of cricket is Australia's national game. I, and so many others, have spent countless Tuesday afternoons at the nets playing cricket. That last Tuesday turned to a tragic day is heartbreaking for all of us who have played the game, and for all Australians. Rest in peace, Ben. I offer my deepest condolences to his dad, Jace, his mum, Tracey, and his brothers, Cooper and Zach.”
“This morning, my community and the cricket community across Australia woke to the devastating news that Ben Austin was taken too soon. He was 17 and doing what he loved: playing cricket. Ben was actively involved in the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club, the Mulgrave Cricket Club and the Eildon Park Cricket Club. He played representative cricket, and he captained his side to a premiership for the Ferntree Gully and District Cricket Association. He started his cricket with Ferntree Gully juniors in 2018-19. He also turned out for Croydon and Lyndale teams, where he was a premiership player for the Dandenong District Cricket Association. He was well respected and liked by all who knew him. He was, as an emerging bowler and batter, a star cricketer.”
“Their winning project was a long-term environmental initiative spanning 128,000 hectares of the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. Throughout the years, the group has contributed to the quadrupling of the helmeted honeyeater population and saving the habitat of the Leadbeater's possum. I met with Nangana's vice president and secretary, Jenny Lyndon, earlier this year, and it is amazing to see the network round the year out with his well-deserved recognition. Congratulations, and thank you to all our local environmental volunteers who have been involved in protecting our faunal emblems and making sure that in the Yarra Ranges agriculture and nature work side-by-side.”
“In case you need more convincing that Casey is the best part of Australia, our community is the only place in the world you can find the helmeted honeyeater and the Leadbeater's possum in the wild, and that is because we are dedicated teams of environmental volunteers who work tirelessly to save habitats and increase biodiversity in Yellingbo and across our region. Today I want to congratulate the Nangana Landcare Network, which was recently awarded silver for their work saving Victoria's faunal emblems at the Australian Geographical Society's award night. The network was one of 70 applicants across the country. They made it through the shortlist of 21 groups and were named just one of five winning groups across the country.”
“So how are this treasurer and this prime minister going to pay for this black hole? Is it higher taxes? Is it cutting services? Or is it bigger deficits? They are the three options for this treasurer and this prime minister, and they've refused to answer those questions. If it's higher deficits, we need to understand that debt is not free. The debt we take on today will be repaid by our children and our grandchildren. Today, as it stands, as I speak, there is $50,000 a minute in interest repayments under this government. What it shows us is that Australians are paying the price.”
“He got pulled back into line, and it became a productivity roundtable, with one outcome: suspension of changes to the National Construction Code, which was coalition policy at the last election. So there was a three-day talkfest for the government to rebadge a coalition policy. We argued at the time that, when it came to the super changes, indexation is a must and you should not tax unrealised capital gains. It is a fundamental accounting principle that can't be breached. The Treasurer—and those opposite—defended to the hilt the importance of the changes, but then he had to change when his boss pulled him into line. This change by this government is going to leave a significant black hole in the budget, a budget that, by the Treasurer's own admission, is having 10 years of deficits. There are deficits as far as the eye can see!”
“We know that because the Treasurer had to stand two weeks ago and backtrack on his biggest commitment when it came to raising revenue in the budget, the superannuation changes. The Prime Minister was clever. He asked, or ordered, the Treasurer to deliver that backtrack and that backflip on the first day of the Prime Minister's leave for a holiday. The Prime Minister then went to the US, and he is now at ASEAN, not in the country to face questions in question time about that huge backflip. What does that say about this Treasurer? He's been rolled again by this Prime Minister, just as he was rolled at the productivity roundtable, which the Treasurer wanted to turn into an economic reform roundtable.”
“Government spending has an impact on all Australians, but we need to remember as lawmakers, and the government need to remember every time they look to spend money, that it's not their money; it's taxpayer money. It's the community's money. Every dollar raised was earnt by someone—a factory worker in Casey, a farmer or a small-business owner who has taken an risk. It is important and so crucial for the health of the country and the health of the community that that taxpayer money is spent well. Unfortunately, in Australia today we have a treasurer who has clearly lost the confidence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister clearly has no confidence in the Treasurer, and that is a dangerous situation for our country.”
“I move: That this House: (1) notes that: (a) the Government's spending will reach its highest level outside of recession since 1986; (b) since the Government came to office, it has added $100 billion to the national debt, set to breach $1 trillion this financial year and $1.2 trillion by the time of the next election; (c) the Government's new decisions since coming to office total a shocking $22 billion, and had the Government shown any fiscal discipline to find savings to fund the new commitments, the Government would be delivering a healthy surplus today; (d) we are spending $50,000 on interest every minute, which is money that cannot be spent on essential services; (e) the persistence in inflation has pushed out the prospect of further interest rate relief with markets now expecting it may be 'one and done', that is, for interest rates to remain at around 3.25 per cent indefinitely, little more than one rate cut lower than the current level; and (f) millions of Australian mortgage holders will have repayments on the average mortgage set to remain at $1,700 higher per month indefinitely under this Government than under the previous Government; and (2) calls on the Government to reintroduce the quantifiable fiscal rules that every recent government of either political persuasion has adopted, and to heed the calls of leading economists like former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, and former Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Phillip Lowe, as well as leading international organisations like the International Monetary Fund to introduce such rules.”