Alison Byrnes
Cunningham · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Something I am particularly excited about is that, as of 1 July this year, Australia now has a national environment protection agency. It will be a national environmental watchdog with real powers, a clear set of rules, a clear mandate to monitor and enforce those rules, and big consequences for doing the wrong thing.”
“The ACCC has the funding and the power to seek penalties for supermarkets of up to $10 million per breach of our new laws or 10 per cent of their annual turnover in the previous year. It's just one of the ways that we're working to keep supermarkets competitive and fair for customers.”
“This disproportionately affects younger workers and those in insecure work, who are often lower paid and vulnerable. They are also the people who can least afford to miss out on retirement savings.”
“At the same time, 1 July saw three million workers receive a well-deserved pay rise, with modern award wages increasing by 4.75 per cent and the national minimum wage going up by six per cent. We have advocated for increases to the minimum wage at every annual wage review since we came to government.”
“The Albanese Labor government is delivering the investment the Illawarra needs to be a true force in the advanced manufacturing and clean energy industries. Illawarra company Sicona Battery Technologies is pioneering the next generation of battery materials.”
“This funding will help Sicona expand its production capacity by 300 times, taking the tech from pilot scale towards full commercial scale. As global demand for batteries continues to grow, particularly for energy storage and electric vehicles, this investment will unlock enormous potential across Australia and globally.”
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“Operated by Grand Pacific Health, Wollongong headspace does an incredible job supporting local young people in our community, and I am so pleased that we are enhancing this vital local service. We're also creating the new Medicare Mental Health Check In from January next year, which is expected to support around 150,000 people each year with free digital mental health self-help tools and low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy delivered by trained professionals via phone or video. And we are boosting the mental health workforce, with more than 4,000 psychology scholarships, internships and training places. Just recently, I was delighted to welcome the Special Envoy for Men's Health to my electorate for the Healthier Illawarra Men's luncheon.”
“This includes 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres, which now total 91. The Wollongong Medicare Mental Health Hub opened in December 2023. This free walk-in service aims to improve access to and awareness of mental health care, especially for those who have not accessed support before. Provided by Stride Health, the hub has helped 200 people on more than 1,800 occasions of service since it opened, showing just how important these hubs are. We are also investing over $200 million towards new, upgraded and expanded headspace services. In another win for Wollongong, we're getting a headspace Plus, a new enhanced model of care providing additional staff and capability to support young people who are experiencing more complex and serious mental health issues.”
“I move: That this House notes that: (1) October was Mental Health Month, and the Government is delivering more mental health services in the heart of communities; and (2) as part of the Government's plan to strengthen Medicare, the Government is building a national network of mental health support services across the lifespan, with more: (a) Perinatal Mental Health Centres for new and expectant parents; (b) Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs for children and families; (c) headspace services for young people; and (d) Medicare Mental Health Centres for adults. To mark Mental Health Month in October, I want to highlight some of the fantastic work being done to improve mental health supports in the Illawarra. The Albanese Labor government has invested $1.1 billion to deliver new and expanded free mental health services.”
“We've got the vistas, we've got the proximity to a large city and we've got the talent. I recently went on a tour of Disney Studios in Moore Park. I wasn't surprised to learn that a significant portion of their workers live in the Illawarra, particularly in the animation field. That's a workforce ready to go for the next major Hollywood—or, hopefully, Australian—production. Big stars like Russell Crowe and Pamela Anderson know it. Companies like Disney and Warner Brothers have seen the potential. Our government will do everything we can to create the environment that attracts investment in Australian products and Australian people. It's just one more notch for a future made in Australia. I say to anyone thinking about the next big Australian film or series: come and knock on our door. We're ready and the Illawarra is open for business.”
“I once again highlight the strong dedication our government has to protecting Australia's culture, protecting Australian content and ensuring we don't lose valuable jobs and revenue to overseas markets. I give a special mention here to the Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, and the Minister for Communications, Anika Wells, for their dedication to making these content requirements law. We have a clear and defined purpose to create a future made in Australia. It's not a tagline. It's not just a motto. It is a guiding principle we are following through, with real policy and real funding to ensure it happens. This has real and tangible benefits for Australian communities, particularly in regions like the Illawarra. We have already been big winners here. We have everything you could ever need for a production.”
“It was such a great moment to give Adam that news, and I am so pleased to be supporting Yours and Owls with original Australian artist fees, marketing, production and accessibility costs. I mentioned the servo earlier where Pamela Anderson was filming. Once again, I was delighted to provide them with $75,000 under Revive Live. We're also giving $33,832 to La La La's, another local live music venue which is helping to promote local artists and ensuring Australian music is enjoyed by fans in the Illawarra. Since the Revive Live program began this year, we have delivered over $650,000 to help support local artists and venues. I will keep doing everything I can to champion Australian music, our talented Australian artists and the venues that celebrate them.”
“They may have been pipped at the post by Laneway Festival, but that does not diminish the incredible achievement it was to make it into that category in its inaugural year. Congratulations to Adam, Balunn, Ben and all their team on this mighty achievement. What made the night even more exciting was that, while I was there, I got the news that Yours and Owls had been awarded $250,000 under the Revive Live program—so I got to tell Adam this exciting news face to face while we waited for the announcement of their award nomination. Revive Live is supporting our live music industry, keeping venues open, keeping festivals entertaining fans and keeping Australian music alive.”
“Our region is so lucky to have you fighting for us, seeing our potential and helping to make that a reality. Thank you. It is not just film and television where our government is demonstrating our commitment to local Australian artists. Just last week I was so privileged to get to attend the ARIA Awards—our national night to celebrate everything Australian music. I owe a huge thanks to the Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, for helping me to get there, for one very exciting reason. For the very first time, the ARIA Awards had a brand new category of Best Music Festival, and Wollongong's Yours and Owls was nominated. We could not have been prouder of our guys getting this national recognition, and I just had to be there with them to celebrate that.”
“Earlier this year Screen Illawarra took a delegation of industry representatives from Warner Bros, Disney and the BBC on a tour of our coastline, visiting local attractions like Bald Hill, Symbio Wildlife Park, BlueScope and more. I have been speaking regularly with Screen Illawarra about ways that our government can help support them to grow this blossoming market. I look forward to seeing so many more exciting exports coming to a streamer near you very soon. There are lots of exciting possibilities being worked on—I'll say that much—and I can't wait to see what is next. I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the chair of Screen Illawarra, Nick Bolton, and all of his team for their outstanding advocacy and genuine hard work in getting the Illawarra to where it is today and where it will be tomorrow.”
“The film, Over , is a community driven production which has a cast and crew entirely made up of Illawarra artists. It was filmed across Wollongong and last year it won Best Commissioned Film at the Creative Wollongong Short Film Festival. In yet another exciting development in 2025 that has really seen our region hit some high notes for Australian film, it took out the Specsavers Award for Best Australian Comedy Short Film at Flickerfest 2025. How great is that? These are just some examples. There simply is not enough time to celebrate all the amazing productions that have come out of Wollongong in the last few years. A lot of these opportunities have been thanks to the incredible hard work of Screen Illawarra, which has been tireless in its effort to pitch our region to the screen industry.”
“Our very own Yael Stone, of Orange Is t he New Black fame, filmed her recent Paramount Plus series, One Night , in the northern suburbs of the Illawarra, with many instantly recognisable landmarks, like the famous Scarborough pub, the Sea Cliff Bridge, local train stations and more. In the series, Yael's character, Hat, does what many locals do—commutes to the city on the train everyday to get to work. It was actually at Thirroul train station where I met Yael for the very first time during the 2022 election campaign. This is a piece of our community's reality—a small, but important, feature of this drama series. Produced by the company of Screen Illawarra patron Ian Collie, Easy Tiger Productions, the film employed lots of locals and helped project our beautiful coastline onto screens worldwide.”
“Another famous Hollywood movie, Kingdom of the P lanet of the A pes , was filmed in multiple spots across the Illawarra, including in the old Helensburgh Tunnel, a spot many local people would have instantly recognised in the film. At the time, Screen Illawarra's Kingston Anderson said that the production was 'probably the largest feature film to be shot in Australia'. That happened in my hometown. There's not much that gets more thrilling than that. We have so much potential—as you know, Deputy Speaker Freelander—not just for Hollywood but for locally made content as well.”
“In February the incredible Russell Crowe was spotted in Wollongong Harbour filming his movie The Beast in Me with a famous Australian line-up that included Daniel MacPherson, Luke Hemsworth and Amy Shark. Russell has felt the Illawarra magic before, filming Poker Face in Kiama and Gerringong in 2022 as well. Then, in April, the small and very quirky and arty town of Port Kembla was absolutely abuzz. The original Baywatch girl, Pamela Anderson herself, was filming on Wentworth Street. The film, Place to Be , used the Servo as its set—a fantastic local bar and live music venue that is also committed to giving local Australian artists a platform. Port Kembla was also the set for Stan's series Exposure in 2023 and featured in the BBC's mystery series Return to Paradise last year.”
“If I have one message for the streaming companies it is: the Illawarra is open for business and we have it all. We are a short helicopter ride from Sydney, as we saw with Elton John, who proved this when he flew in and out of WIN Stadium for his amazing concert a few short years ago. From memory, it took him about 20 minutes—a very short commute, if you ask me. We have the most picturesque coastline you could imagine. Our famous Seacliff Bridge has featured in advertisements and television shows multiple times, showcasing one aspect of what makes our coastline so beautiful—where the mountains meet the sea—as beautiful a picture as you can get. And Hollywood has already started to discover our wonderful recipe. This year alone we have seen two famous and recognisable faces come to Wollongong to make their latest Hollywood blockbusters.”
“That is not just manufacturing and goods exports but also our cultural exports, and we simply cannot guarantee the future of Australian cultural exports without protecting them through content requirements. We have Australian content requirements on free-to-air television and on pay television, protecting Australian cultural identity and Australian jobs. The growth of streaming services over the past few years has been huge and it is important they be subject to the same requirements for the same reason—to protect our stories and to ensure that we see ourselves represented in arts and culture. This guarantee means there will be Australian stories on all screens. In my electorate of Cunningham in the Illawarra. we are proving ourselves to be a big drawcard when it comes to content creation.”
“Streamers with more than one million Australian subscribers will need to invest at least 10 per cent of their total expenditure on new Australian commissions or first-release acquisitions, or, alternatively, streaming providers can choose into invest 7.5 per cent of their gross Australian revenue. The eligible programs will be new local drama, children's shows, documentaries, arts and educational programs. This is part of the Albanese Labor government's commitment in Revive, our national cultural policy to set local content requirements on streaming services. Our government is committed to ensuring that our future is made in Australia. We believe in our core that our future must start at home.”
“Because while we share many similarities with places like the United Kingdom and the United States, there is something unique and special about Australia. Seeing that uniqueness represented on our screens is so important for cementing our own national identity, for us to know who we are, who our neighbours are and for fostering that shared sense of pride and understanding. You can't be what you can't see, and Australians need to see ourselves represented in the ever-growing streaming content that we consume every day. This bill introduces a requirement for streaming services to include a minimum level of Australian content on their platforms.”
“I am also proud to rise today in support of this Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025. I am a fierce advocate for celebrating and protecting Australian content and Australian artists in all their forms, so I was really pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the buzz happening in the Illawarra right now with some really exciting projects we have seen this year. Supporting Australian content is crucial, not only for the jobs and economic benefit that it gives supporting thousands of Australians every year and positioning Australia on the global stage but also for sharing our stories and for protecting our culture and way of life.”
“My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government's investment in Medicare urgent care clinics helping Australians to get urgent care when they need it? How do urgent care clinics help strengthen Medicare after a decade of cuts and neglect?”
“He was instrumental in one of the biggest land transformation projects in the world, which will secure thousands more jobs in the long term, creating space for new industries and positioning Port Kembla on the world stage of innovation. BlueScope's impact on the Illawarra cannot be overstated; it's our biggest employer and a key player in Australia's critical manufacturing industry. I thank Mark for his passion and commitment to our community, and wish him well in the future. I also congratulate his successor, Tania Archibald, another demonstrated steel leader and BlueScope's first female CEO. We are fortunate to have effective and capable BlueScope leadership from individuals that value our community and the continued importance of Australian steelmaking in our clean-energy future. I am confident Tania will be another visionary leader.”
“Today, Australia's largest steelmaker, BlueScope, has announced the retirement of its CEO and managing director, Mark Vassella. For eight years, Mark has led BlueScope through a transformational period with integrity and a determination to redefine BlueScope's role in our community. Mark's leadership has helped change the face of local steelmaking. His admirable legacy includes a 14 per cent reduction in emissions intensity, a 25 per cent uplift in female workforce participation and a focus on First Nations inclusion. He led the $1.15 billion relining of the No. 6 blast furnace, improving environmental outcomes of local operations and creating jobs.”
“His commitment to excellence has seen Warrigal recognised nationally, including as Employer of Choice for Women for nine consecutive years and twice as National Aged Care Provider of the Year. In 2024, Warrigal achieved a triple win at the Illawarra Business Awards, including as Business of the Year. Wyn's legacy is one of compassion, innovation and community service. His decades of voluntary leadership have improved the lives of thousands of older Australians and their families. I thank Wyn Janssen for his extraordinary contribution.”
“Mr Wyn Janssen has dedicated nearly three decades to improving aged-care services in our region, and he has just concluded his remarkable tenure as chair of Warrigal. Since joining the board in 1997, Wyn has transformed Warrigal into one of Australia's leading aged-care providers. Under his leadership, Warrigal has grown from serving 727 residents to supporting more than 4,500 older Australians through residential care, community villages, home services and social programs. The organisation expanded from 438 staff to over 2,000 employees and 525 volunteers, operating across the Illawarra, Southern Highlands, Queanbeyan and the ACT. Financially, Wyn guided Warrigal from a deficit position to a robust organisation, with revenues exceeding $335 million.”
“Our plan is working, and we will keep at it. Again, I want to thank the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer for these bills. I want to thank all of those industry bodies that worked constructively with us through this process. I'm looking forward to another term as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing. I'll again be working closely with the Brewers Association of Australia, the Independent Brewers Association, my co-chair, the member for Nicholls, as we keep bringing the spotlight on Australia's brewing and live music industries to the Australian parliament. I encourage everyone who hasn't yet tasted the amazing craft beer that the Illawarra has to offer to come and visit the South Coast Ale Trail. You won't be disappointed. I commend this bill to the House.”
“I will keep doing what I can to support my community with real and impactful cost-of-living relief, just like we have done by investing in Medicare, making home solar batteries 30 per cent cheaper, cutting student debt by 20 per cent, increasing the minimum wage, increasing the super guarantee and paid parental leave, boosting the pension, cutting taxes, cutting energy bills and helping more people to be able to afford a home. Always, we have given cost-of-living relief to local people. All of this support has been done at the same time that headline inflation has come down, our economy has stabilised, unemployment has been low and real wages have grown. It is sensible economic management by a government that knows which levers to press and when, balancing support of our community with support of our economy.”
“We're keeping it measured, we're keeping it responsible and we are keeping it in line with what will help these important small businesses right now, protecting the jobs that they create, protecting the economic value they drive and protecting our Australian culture, by responsibly enjoying our pubs and clubs—just like that lovely gentleman and his mates down at the Thirroul bowlo. I am proud to be part of a government that knows our values, knows what is important to protect and knows what can be adjusted for the benefit of all Australians. I will keep doing what I can to ensure that local voices are heard in these important conversations. I will keep doing what I can to ensure our local beer industry can continue to thrive. We have so many people employed in manufacturing.”
“We are also supporting businesses, like the Headlands hotel, the Illawarra Hotel, Howlin' Wolf Bar, the Prince, His Boy Elroy, Steamers Bar and Grill and so many others, who are getting on board and stocking local Illawarra beers on tap, because supporting small businesses and supporting local people to deal with the cost of living is No. 1 on our priority list. Manufacturing, hospitality, tourism—they run the regions, they feed our national economy, and they are vital. We want to support our small local brewers to compete against the large multinational producers. We want to ensure that our beer and hospitality market has diversity and healthy competition.”
“In an exciting new venture, the Bus of Hoppiness rolls into town this coming weekend—a bus tour on a travelling loop of five local breweries: Seeker, Five Barrel, First Light, Dusty Lizard and Principle, helping to shepherd beer lovers and novices alike around the Illawarra's exciting craft beer culture, all thanks to the new Wollongong Brewers Association. I think this is the other important point: that craft beer is actually about doing beer differently—doing it responsibly and doing it for enjoyment. They are a community helping and supporting each other to give the Illawarra just one more reason to be the best region in Australia. And I certainly agree with that. That is why I am so thrilled that the Albanese government is supporting this industry.”
“Their specialty, hop-focused brewing, makes them one of the country's top producers in this style. Five Barrel Brewing was the Illawarra's second brewery, and it was named the state's best new brewery in 2016. Five Barrel is owned by Phillip O'Shea and his sister Lucy Timpano, with help from their parents and other family members as well, making Five Barrel a true family organisation. Since 2016, they have kept moving to greater and greater heights. Following in the footsteps of Dave McGrath from the Illawarra Brewing Company, Phil and Lucy wanted to turn the Gong from a VB town to a craft beer town, and I think you could say they've had a lot of success. Local brewers are focusing on shifting attitudes to drinking from drink-to-drink culture to drink-to-enjoy culture, by educating patrons on what craft beer is all about.”
“Flash forward to 2025, and now we have eight local brewing companies: Resin Brewing, the Barrel Shepherd, Principle Brewing, Reub Goldberg Brewing, Dusty Lizard Brewing, Five Barrel Brewing, First Light Brewing Co and Seeker Brewing. We also have the South Coast Ale Trail and the Wollongong Brewers Association—local companies banding together to change the face of beer in Wollongong and to catapult this booming local industry. And it's working. Local bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants are getting on board, fighting to become stockists of locally made beer. And it is really good beer, at that. Seeker Brewing in Unanderra took home six silver and two bronze medals at this year's Australian International Beer Awards—their latest haul in an impressive line-up of awards, having won multiple golds in 2022 and 2023.”
“In my electorate in the Illawarra, I know this is going to make a huge difference, because this local industry is absolutely booming. Independent breweries alone contribute $1.18 million to the Australian economy every year. Back home, the Illawarra Brewing Company started brewing local beer in 2011, taking over from the Five Islands Brewing Company, which began in 2001. At the time, it was the only one—a small father-and-son outfit run by Garry and Dave McGrath that supplied beer to the Illawarra Brewery, a popular local venue. In 2012, they won five awards at the Australian International Beer Awards, and they became the first pioneers of craft beer in the Illawarra.”
“In New South Wales alone, brewing supports more than 28,000 full-time-equivalent jobs across the supply chain and adds around $4.2 million to our economy. It's significant. Without support, jobs are at risk, communities are at risk and the economy will be left worse off. These bills also support Australian brewers, particularly those small and independent producers supplying draught beer to local venues. The government has announced tax relief for Australia's distillers, brewers and wine producers. Currently, brewers and distillers get a full remission of any excise paid, up to $350,000 each year. We will increase the excise remission cap to $400,000 for all eligible manufacturers, and we will also increase the wine equalisation tax producer rebate cap to $400,000 from 1 July 2026.”
“A 100 per cent member funded association, they have worked hard, along with the Australian Hotels Association and others, to see this issue given the attention that it deserves, and they have worked with the government on a practical solution. Around 10,000 hospitality venues across Australia will directly benefit from this change. Around 75 per cent of those are small businesses, and small businesses have been doing it tough. Across the supply chain, the brewing industry contributes $17 billion every year to our economy—that's agriculture, transport, logistics, hospitality, retail and tourism—and it creates about 100,000 full-time-equivalent jobs. In fact, there are 6,591 full-time-equivalent jobs linked directly to brewing.”
“In the regions in particular, they are community hubs, and they are important for our economy. The measure applies only to containers between eight and 48 litres, those commonly used in pubs and clubs, and containers over 48 litres, used in larger hospitality venues, helping to ensure this is targeted at keeping operating costs stable for our hospitality venues while maintaining our broader alcohol excise framework. This is sensible, practical and responsible, and that is what our government is about. In my work as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing, I have worked closely with the Brewers Association of Australia.”
“I knew straightaway that there was a group of blokes down at Thirroul bowlo who would be cheering. I want to thank the Treasurer not only for listening to this story but for taking it seriously and taking action—just one more piece of cost-of-living support from the Albanese government. This is what these bills are about—a targeted, measured change to pause indexation on draught beer excise and excise-equivalent customs duties for two years. For 40 years, beer excise indexation hasn't changed, with two annual excise increases in line with CPI each year. The pressure on small businesses has been growing. Pubs, clubs and breweries are part of what makes Australian culture. They bring us together, and in some cases they hold us together during good times and bad.”
“Not everyone could come every week, and it was getting tougher to stay in touch. This might sound small, but, to this group of local Thirroul blokes, that Friday beer could not be important. I could see the impact it was having, and I was really grateful that this lovely gentleman was persistent in bringing this to my attention. So, when discussion about the beer excise came up, I shared this story with the Treasurer to let him know the impact the cost of beer was having on groups of pensioners in my electorate, because this is absolutely not an isolated group of blokes. That social interaction is so important to so many people across Australia. One of the best texts I have ever received from my good friend the Treasurer was to let me know that we were freezing the beer excise.”
“Like so many of us here in this place, I spend many mornings standing at local train stations talking with commuters and local people about what matters most to them. There was one gentleman that really stood out to me. He used to drop in and see me when I was at Thirroul train station, one of our major commuting hubs, because he wanted to tell me how hard it had been getting together with his mates. This group of local blokes would get together on a Friday night down at the local bowlo in Thirroul. They are pensioners, and it was one of the treats they gave themselves, to have a bit of fun and keep in touch with each other—a group of blokes who really needed that weekly beer to check in on each other and keep them going for another week. But their beer was getting more and more expensive, and they were having to wind things back.”
“I am absolutely delighted to rise today in support of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025, which accompanies the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025. I am really excited about this bill for so many reasons. As I'm the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Brewing with my good friend, the member for Nicholls, it is probably not all that surprising. The Illawarra has a bustling and ever-expanding craft beer industry growing our tourism industry, delighting locals and visitors alike and working together to support the growing network of local brewers. But one of the big reasons is that this is a win for regional communities like mine in the Illawarra. I want to share a little story about why this bill excites me so much.”
“This could open up new career opportunities, provide experience, improve life skills and make you generally more employable when leaving school. Support youth business—teach entrepreneurship early, build brighter futures. Well done Audrey on such an interesting take on supporting young entrepreneurs. I want to thank everybody who took part in this year's Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign and acknowledge the work of the Raise Our Voice Australia team.”
“I am the Business Manager, and founder of Sharkies Sharpening since 2021. It's a knife sharpening business. The experience of running a business has enabled me to become more confident, improve my communication with people, build resilience and gain a diverse range of general business skills. I believe that the government should initiate classes committed to teaching young students about how to start and run a business and the benefits of doing so. Being able to run a business at a young age is a major life advantage. Operating a business can improve young Australian's skills like how to treat and serve customers, how to handle money, budget earnings and outgoing costs and eventually profit, at a young age.”
“The Australian government can help correct this injustice by improving the National Health and Medical Research Council's and Therapeutic Goods Administration's approval of clinical trials through implementing more measures to ensure trials are representative of the entire Australian population. If this is enacted, women will be at a decreased risk of negative health effects from drugs and other treatments because they will be more informed of the correct dosages, possible adverse events, and even have access to drugs made specifically for women's health needs, ensuring safe healthcare for all Australians. Thank you so much, Poppy, for that thoughtful speech on such an important topic. My second one is from Audrey: Hi, I'm Audrey. I am 12 years old, and my electorate is Cunningham.”
“Today, I am reading speeches written by two young people in my electorate as part of the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign. The first one is: My name is Poppy. I'm 14 years old and my federal electorate is Cunningham. It is a human right to be confident that drugs and other treatments recommended by medical doctors are tested on groups representative of the entire population. Women experience many more accidental drug overdoses than men because recommended dosages are based on the average male body. Women are also at higher risk of unwarned adverse drug reactions because more men are tested than women in clinical drug trials. Women are at higher risk of serious and even fatal medical issues due to thoughtless exclusion from the drug development process, and are unable to trust prescribed drugs and other treatments.”
“Under the new laws, telcos will face significant consequences—as they should—if they don't act as they must, if they don't provide the information that they must during an outage. We take this seriously, and this new bill demonstrates that. I would encourage those opposite to stop playing political games and get on board with what our government has done. Fast, strong and effective action to protect all Australians. That's what we will continue to do because that's what all Australians deserve.”
“This is tough action. This will make sure that Australians can be confident that triple 0 will be there for them when they need it. Minister Wells has worked hard on this. She has worked fast on this. Our government is taking the action that we need to right now. Under these laws, ACMA will have new statutory powers to issue binding directions to carriers, carriage service providers and emergency call persons. It will be able to mandate specific actions and it will ensure that all stakeholders are informed as soon as possible to ensure a coordinated response. I reiterate that this is a failing of Optus. The law already required that triple 0 calls not fail, and Optus has let our community down.”
“As the minister has said, we have announced six key points to make sure the triple 0 system is as resilient and safe as it can be. We've introduced that legislation. We're introducing real-time reporting of outages to ACMA and to emergency services so that everyone can know when these outages are happening and take steps to address them straightaway. Telcos will also now be required to test triple 0 during upgrades and maintenance, and there will be new requirements to fully ensure that triple 0 calls will go through to another network—something the law already requires. We will make sure they meet it. Additionally, there will now be mandatory improvement plans after triple 0 outages, and the new custodian will issue additional performance requirements to telcos, through ACMA, within six months of these new laws. This is decisive action.”
“These were Optus's failures, and they are unacceptable. Every telco has a responsibility to ensure that Australians can connect to emergency services when they need to. Optus failed, and we will not only find out why but also hold them to account. The minister has been very clear that there will be consequences, and so there should be. In the meantime, we have taken action to ensure that this can't happen again. We've introduced the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025. This critical bill will immediately strengthen government oversight of the triple 0 system. It enshrines the Triple Zero Custodian framework into law and gives ACMA powers to act quickly and decisively. It also gives government the ability to step in during outages.”
“Nine calls to triple 0 did not go through thanks to the Optus outage in Dapto on 28 September, which was caused by an issue with an Optus mobile phone tower. We were lucky that there do not appear to have been any adverse outcomes for those callers, but that is by pure luck and chance, and we know how easily that can go the other way. One person, I understand, was forced to use someone else's phone to call for an ambulance, so clearly there were other services that could have filled that gap, and that is the law. If an outage occurs, emergency calls must be redirected to alternative mobile towers. That is the responsibility of all telcos in Australia. So why weren't they? Already our government has directed the Australian Communications and Media Authority to investigate what happened to cause these failures.”
“Our triple 0 system is an Australian staple and one that all of us have come to rely upon as a given, to be there when we need it. It's well known, it's trusted and it's essential. That's because the triple 0 system saves lives, and that is why it is completely unacceptable to see that system fail during an outage of a telecommunications provider. This simply should not ever happen, and our government has been working hard to make sure that it doesn't. During the first Optus outage in September, 631 calls could not connect to triple 0, and this cost lives. That is completely devastating, and my heart goes out to those families who tragically lost a loved one. It should not have happened, and it is reprehensible. Then, just 10 days later, came another outage in my region.”
“I want to congratulate Sam, Charlie, Shane, Danny and the entire Gravitas team for the incredible work that they've put in to reach this point. They're building more than just a facility; they're helping to build the future of advanced manufacturing in this country.”
“I was proud to join the team at Gravitas Technologies in July to officially turn the first sod on their new facility right in the heart of the Illawarra. Gravitas is at the cutting edge of critical minerals processing. Their team has created an incredibly innovative material called Vulloy that's built to perform in extreme heat and tough environments. It has real potential in industries like defence, aerospace and green steel. The Albanese Labor government has supported Gravitas with $1.5 million under the Industry Growth Program to build a facility that will help boost our sovereign capability, strengthen supply chains and create highly skilled local jobs. This is what the Future Made in Australia agenda is all about: backing Australian ideas, investing in regional jobs and putting local manufacturing back on the map.”