Andrew Willcox
Dawson · Liberal National Party · Australia
“I recently was honoured to visit the wonderful Domenica in the Burdekin, who celebrated her 100th birthday. To hear her deeply moving story of her arrival in Australia as a nine-year-old was amazing.”
“We all know Whitehaven, the best beach in the world, was completely robbed, but we'll let them off the hook this time with a cheeky warning. If you head further down south in Dawson to Yalboroo in the Mackay region, you can find Hold It Flats, which took out a well-deserved second place for the best camping and four-wheel-drive spot.”
“In our local businesses where you can get warmed up, Mal's Pies and Pastries in Oonoonba took out silver, fuelling an army of tradies for 30 years with beaut pies while also backing our community.”
“As a former tomato farmer, I know firsthand that the agricultural sector would be completely lost without the visas that allow international workers to fill critical gaps. Without them, crops would literally rot on the ground.”
“Giving a family a $5 weekly tax cut when their mortgage has skyrocketed by thousands of dollars is like tossing a glass of water onto a roaring bushfire. By continually fuelling government spending, the Albanese Labor government continues to stoke the inflation fire. Let's be real; $5 in this economy doesn't even cover a cup of coffee.”
“Under the Albanese Labor government, this delicate balance has collapsed into chaos. Labor's migration numbers have been far too high, and the entry standards have been far too low. The government allows unmanageable numbers to flood our capital cities, putting immense pressure on housing and infrastructure.”
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“If compliance with this new obligation significantly increases costs, then that is not a good outcome. We want to have communications for every Australian.”
“The recent history of triple zero outages and device compatibility issues have shaken public confidence in the system. Senate inquiries have exposed troubling governance shortcomings and massive gaps in oversight. The tragic loss of two Australians following device incompatibility issues underscores a sobering fact: communications failures are not merely technical glitches; they are matters of life and death. There is absolutely zero tolerance for error when it comes to emergency services connectivity. We need ironclad assurance that the systems put in place by this bill will not leave Australians with older handsets vulnerable and left behind. We cannot afford another botched rollout. Then there is the issue of affordability. Telecommunications costs are a critical issue.”
“That was a foreseeable transaction that required meticulous coordination and instead was characterised by confusion, technical glitches and total incompetence. Hundreds of device models were found to be incompatible, and many Australians only discovered the problem when their service simply stopped working. Consumers were forced into unplanned, expensive upgrades. That wasn't an unforeseeable event; it was a management failure. We cannot repeat the performance with our satellite network. Communications policy is not a theoretical exercise for academics in Canberra. It has direct consequences for the wellbeing of every Australian. Australians expect and deserve that, when they dial triple zero, their call will connect without hesitation or any technical complications.”
“Emergency triple zero access, in particular, must never be contingent on owning a premium handset. We've learnt the hard lessons from the government's failed—botched—rollback of the 3G set-up. The 3G set-up was cut off. How the set-up worked from your tower was that 3G would project a long way so you would get a lot of coverage in the distance between your tower and where you were, but the service wasn't quite as good. When you go to 4G, it won't project as far, but the service and the quality is better—and 5G doesn't project as far but is very, very high quality. What needs to happen, until the satellite service becomes available, is that more towers need to be built. That is because, even though there's higher quality of service if you're close to a tower, if you're not, your service is vastly diminished or not available at all.”
“We must ensure that any new obligation strengthens market competition rather than inadvertently handing monopoly to a few global giants. Even more concerning is the issue of device capability. An outdoor coverage obligation is only meaningful if the phone in your pocket can actually connect to the service. Many of the handsets currently in use were never designed with satellite connectivity in mind. Regional Australians, older Australians and our small-business owners often keep their devices for longer periods of time. They don't want to run out and buy the latest $2,000 smartphone every 12 months. A reform that functions only on the latest high-end handsets would undermine the very principle of equitable access that this bill claims to advance.”
“This is an exciting development. It has the potential to reduce longstanding coverage gaps across the vast regions of Australia. But let's be very clear: it remains developing technology. Global rollout is still underway, and significant technical and commercial variabilities are yet to be settled. Accelerating the rollout is essential, but legislating an outcome does not magically deliver it. You can't simply wave a magic wand in Canberra and expect the satellite to fix a black spot on a Whitsunday island tomorrow. The legislation leaves a trail of unanswered questions. Our domestic carriers may bear the primary regulatory burden, but they will depend heavily on international satellite providers, whose pricing models and deployment schedules are outside Australia's control.”
“Measures claimed to improve connectivity must work in the real world. We need a framework that is practical, reliable and affordable. An obligation must be clearly defined so that carriers understand what is required of them and consumers in places like Kelsey Creek or Gumlu understand exactly what they're getting for their money. Terms like 'reasonably available' or 'equitable access' are lawyer speak. They must be translated into measurable, enforceable standards. Without clarity and a strong compliance framework there is a massive risk that this obligation will be impossible to monitor or even harder to enforce. Australians deserve more than an ambitious headline. They deserve a framework that stands up under the harsh light of regional reality. This bill leans heavily on direct-to-device satellite technology.”
“It underpins our relationships, our economic activity and, most importantly, our safety. For the small businesses, the farmers and the freight operators in Dawson, reliable mobile coverage is essential to the running of their day-to-day operations. It's how they coordinate their logistics. It's how they respond to changing conditions in the paddock. It's how they keep their workers safe. For families separated by the vast distances of our region, it's the only way they can stay connected. Australia's geography makes connectivity both more challenging and also more important. New technologies provide an exciting opportunity to bridge these gaps, but they must be matched by a framework that delivers genuine reliability, not just hollow promises. The objective of this bill must be to actually deliver.”
“We're here today to discuss the universal mobile obligation. The coalition supports the goal of extending voice and text coverage outdoors across more of the country. Improved connectivity for regional Australians is critical and very, very important. However, the credibility of any reform rests not on the lofty aspirations of the minister proclaiming what he does in a press release. It needs to be on the detail, the realism and the actual implications on the ground. This bill must be deeply scrutinised, because if there's one thing we know about this government it's that they're the masters of the headline but they're not very good on the delivery. In 21st century Australia, reliable phone coverage is not a lifestyle extra or a consumer perk; it's a foundational national need.”
“As a result of this government's negligence on any meaningful Bruce Highway investment, combined with a total lack of foresight on our telecommunications network, we're then left with a recipe for disaster. What happens when there's a serious accident on a stretch of the Bruce where there is net zero coverage? The answer is simple, but it's brutal: you have deaths. There is an ultimate human cost to this lack of investment. When a family is trapped in a car or a truckie is in a critical state in his cabin and there is no service on the phone to call for help, minutes turn into tragedies. That is the reality for regional Queensland under this government. While the inner-city elites worry about a dropped call being a minor inconvenience, to my constituents it can be a matter of life and death.”
“When I drive the 400-kilometre stretch, which I do very regularly, I can tell you there are more black holes in the mobile coverage around Dawson than there are holes in a pincushion. Alarmingly, along the Bruce Highway—the main arterial route, I might add, the very spine of the great state of Queensland—there are regular and dangerous black spots. This isn't the remote outback we're talking about; this is the national land transportation network. This is how our kids get to school. This is how our farmers get their produce to market. This is how people get their supplies up from the city. This is how families take their kids to sport on weekends. This is how our patients go to hospital. It's a must, but then they don't have any phone reception, or they have sparse phone reception, as they drive that highway.”
“My biggest area is Mackay, a city of over 100,000 people. A suburb of Mackay called Slade Point is very close to the city but has very poor mobile phone coverage. If you have a look at a little seaside community like Cungulla, there's absolutely no coverage there at all. Some of our telcos say, 'Well, you know, put in some satellites, put some extra things in,' but that's all money, and people just don't have the money in this current cost-of-living crisis. My electorate of Dawson is massive. It's a sprawling powerhouse of our national economy. It stretches over 400km from the heart of Mackay through to the sugar heartlands of the Burdekin, right through to the southern reaches of Townsville. But in the 21st century, it's a disgrace that travelling this region is like navigating a cosmic void.”
“You see people in a cloud of dust pull over off the highway and take off into the scrub. They haven't got caught short and are off to the bathroom; they're racing to get on top of a pile of deco or to climb a tree or to find any little hill they can just to look for a phone service. To highlight this, where I live in Bowen, my electoral office is about 2½ hours' drive away. On the trip from Bowen to Mackay my phone drops out seven times. When you spend a lot of time in the car like I do—I do about 60,000km a year—driving is unproductive, so it's always good to be on the phone and doing some work as I go. We really need to improve that. If there was an accident, if something was to happen, the fact that you can't dial triple zero when it suits is a safety issue. But this isn't just in the rural areas.”
“I hear people in the cities talk about black spots, saying, 'Oh, there are black spots. You know, I was driving along and I came to a traffic light and then I couldn't get service.' Well, here's a news flash: in places like where I live, we don't worry about black spots; we have no spots at all. People in my area haven't gone mad. A person would be driving along when, all of a sudden, they pull up, jump out and they're on the front of their car or on their bull bar, looking for a signal, or jumping up on the back of the ute, looking around, just to try to ring somebody. It's absolutely ridiculous. That's why we need to have a universal service obligation and provide the same level of service to the bush. On our dirt roads a little bit further off the highway, you see a similar thing.”
“All the food and fibre is grown out in rural and regional Australia, all the mining royalties are generated in regional Australia and over $1 billion in coalmining is generated out in the regions, so it should be pretty fair for the regional and rural areas to get the same amount of telecommunications as the city. It is the same with our little towns. Young ladies like the member opposite might not know what a home phone is because they're lucky to be young enough to know that everyone carries around a mobile. Whereas in the little town of Bowen that I live in, a lot of people still rely on the old home phone but all the networks just do not work, so they're forced to go to mobile phones. But unfortunately, again, because it's a small town, they just don't have the reception.”
“I rise today to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. Let me say from the outset, the coalition took a telecommunications universal service obligation to the last election. Essentially, that means that the service for telecommunications and data would be the same for city people as what's delivered to country people. That seems pretty fair and reasonable, particularly given what rural and regional Australia contributes to the overall economy, doesn't it? Let's look at what they do contribute.”
“I support the bill, but I demand the scrutiny our workers deserve. Do not let this be a surface level fix. We must drill down until we are sure that all coalmining communities are getting the fair go they were promised. I commend the bill to the house.”
“To the coalminers living in the greatest electorate of Dawson my message is simple: I know how hard you work and I know how much you sacrifice. This bill needs to ensure that your time is counted and your leave is protected. I also know that you are worried about the future. You are worried about this Albanese Labor government, which seems more interested in pleasing inner-city elites than in supporting regional workers who pay the bills. I will continue to be your voice. I will continue to point out the hypocrisy of those who want to use coal to build their green future while calling for that very same industry to be shut down. Let's get this legislation right. Let's ensure the records are accurate, the payments are fair and the future of the Bowen Basin is as bright as the coal is black.”
“This bill is about more than just long service leave; it's about respecting the service of the miners who have built this country. It's about respecting the expertise of the tradies in Paget. It's about respecting the economic reality that coal is and will remain an essential part of the global energy mix. Real respect for our miners would see a government that stops turning its back on Queensland. We want to see real investment in the Bruce Highway, not just intersection repairs that wash away in the first tropical downpour or money pledged that won't be spent in a decade. We want power prices that reflect our status as an energy-rich nation, not prices that force our manufacturers to look offshore.”
“I will be clear on this: the energy transition being pushed by this Labor government is a reckless gamble with regional jobs. Those opposite want to rush headlong into a future they haven't properly engineered. They want to rely on technologies that still require the very resources that they are trying to demonise. But mining isn't going anywhere. It can't go anywhere. There is no such thing as commercially made green steel. If you need steel, you need Australian coal. If the world wants high-tech electronics, it needs the minerals that are extracted using coal powered energy. Those who think that food comes from the supermarket and energy comes from a wall socket don't have any understanding of the digging and doing that happen in regional electorates like Dawson.”
“They need to know that, if they do the right thing and pay their levies, the system won't buckle under administrative incompetence. The bill is a step forward to that certainty, but it does require constant monitoring. We support the bill because we support the 42,500 Australians who work in this sector. We support the families in Townsville, Bowen, Burdekin, the Whitsundays and Mackay who depend on the prosperity of mines out west. We support the vision of Australia that remains a resources superpower. But I will be clear on this: the energy transition pushed by this Labor government—the reckless race to renewables—is a tough gig. They want to rush headlong into a future that hasn't been properly engineered. They want to rely on technologies that still require the very resources that they are trying to demonise.”
“The people of Dawson are tired of being treated like a resource to be tapped but never replenished. They see the billions in royalties flowing out of the Bowen Basin and into the city-centric projects—into light rail in Canberra or stadiums in Hobart—while our local infrastructure is left to weather in the sun. They see a government that is happy to take the cold cash but is too embarrassed to stand up for the workers because coal has become a dirty word in the cities. In my electorate, Paget is the service hub for the entire Bowen Basin. It is a world-class precinct where innovation is happening every single day. The METS sector in Mackay doesn't just service mines; it invents the future of mining. These are small and medium-sized businesses—family run fabricators, engineering firms and specialised technicians. They need certainty.”
“We want to ensure that every miner receives every single cent they have worked for. We also need to look at the hidden costs of Labor's policy settings, because, let's be honest, it's never easy under Albanese. This government has a habit of undermining the very industries that pay the nation's bill. Their own minister for transport stood up in a question time to rattle off a list of minor road repairs, claiming Labor was investing in the Bruce Highway, while those who actually drive it know the Bruce is crumbling. The Bruce is the artery that carries the lifeblood of our mining communities, and right now that artery is in desperate need of major surgery. It certainly needs a few extra passing lanes. Real investment is what's needed, not just patch-up repairs that are packaged to look like investment.”
“When a miner earns their long service leave, they haven't just put in time; they have earned the seam of gold in their career. They have earned the right for a hard-fought rest with their loved ones. However, our bill for this support comes with a strong warning: the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation has a track record. Frankly, it's less than stellar. We've seen reports of underpayments and a payment system so convoluted you'd have to be a forensic accountant to try to work it out. We're not going to let this government tunnel through this legislation without proper oversight. That's why the coalition is insisting this bill be referred to as Senate inquiry. We need to ensure that the simplified calculation methods aren't just a way for the government to shave the edges off what workers are rightly owed.”
“If you want a wind turbine, you need steel. If you want a solar array, you need steel. If you want steel, you need metallurgical coal. You can't decarbonise the future without the carbon provided by the Bowen Basin. Coal is not a relic of the industrial past. It is a foundational component of a renewable future. Every time the members opposite look at a wind farm or a solar panel, they should be thanking a coalminer in Central Queensland. But while we're digging deep into the future of the industry, we must ensure that the workers aren't left in the dark when it comes to their entitlements. Mining is a tough, gritty business. It requires true strength from men and women who work 12-hour shifts, often in the blistering heat or in the dead of the night, away from their families for weeks at a time.”
“This bill finally provides a mechanism for employers to onboard those workers and settle historical arrears without facing catastrophic collapse of their own financial viability. It is a suitable path, but let's not pretend it's a perfect one. It is a patch-up job for a system that was allowed to get sooty with neglect. The coalition is resolute in defending our resources sector. We know that Australian coal is the best in the world. It is high quality, it is efficient and it is the essential ingredient for the global future. And this is where I'd like to provide a little illumination for the members opposite. There is a persistent, almost religious belief on the other side of the chamber that we can simply phase out coal and phase in renewables. It is a hollow argument that ignores the common sense of physics and engineering.”
“When we talk about coal in North Queensland, we aren't just talking about a commodity; we are talking about community. We're talking about a sector that contributes circa $100 billion to our national economy and generates over $70 billion in export earnings. It is the black gold that pays for the hospitals in the city and the roads in the bush. Yet for too long a grey haze of legislative uncertainty has hung over the long service entitlements of our workers. It is a disgrace that it took two Federal Court cases to do the work that this parliament should have done years ago—just to clarify that these entitlements belong to the workers, regardless of whether they are full-time employees or part-time labour hire arrangements. That is totally irrelevant.”
“We support it because at its core it's about fairness for the people who do the heavy lifting for this country. It's about ensuring that a worker's history isn't lost in the overburden of administrative errors or legislative confusion. However, our support is not a blank cheque. While we're prepared to help clear the path for these amendments, we have serious concerns about the legacy of mismanagement that has brought us to this point, and we have even deeper concerns about how this government intends to manage the resources sector moving forward. In Dawson, the coal industry is the very pulse of the region. From the Abbot Point coal terminal in Bowen to the massive industrial service sector engine that is Paget in Mackay, coal is what keeps the lights on. It's what keeps the shops open, the schools funded and the families together.”
“I rise today to support the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. I wish to speak for the men and women who keep the lights on in this country, those who spend their days and nights at the coalface to ensure Australia remains a resources powerhouse. The legislation before us might seem like a mere administrative clean-up of payroll levies and service records, but in the electorate of Dawson we don't look at our mining industry through the cold lens of a spreadsheet. We look at it as the bedrock of our community, the lifeblood of our local economy and the physical foundation upon which our regional prosperity is built. I want to be clear from the outset that the coalition will support this bill.”
“Why is a social media company facing a $50 million fine while gaming developers are allowed to facilitate predatory gambling targeted at exactly the same kids? It is staggeringly inconsistent. This government has effectively locked the front door to social media, but has left the back door wide open for the gambling industry to walk in. Families need real protection. Yesterday was World Teen Mental Wellness Day. I ask this government to stop rushing for the sake of the news cycle and to start protecting the neurological future of our children. We cannot allow the next generation to be the sacrificial lamb for a government that is too lazy to finish the job. The experts at Relationships Australia Mackay are pleading for a chance to stop this fire at the spark before it burns down children's entire lives.”
“A child uses their parent's credit card to pay for a chance to win a digital item. It's the habit, the near miss, the dopamine rush of the win. Research from the University of Tasmania proves these games activate exactly the same neurological pathways as a casino. These games hardwire our children's brains for a lifetime of addiction before they even reach high school. The Albanese Labor government recently rushed through a social media ban for under-16s, but they left a gaping hole in the legislation. Time and time again, this government loves a headline, but they hate the hard work of being thorough. This government ignores recommendations. They dismiss amendments from the opposition, and, as a result, they leave our children exposed.”
“We often think our children are safest when they are at home, but, for thousands of Australian families, a predator is sitting right there in the palm of a child's hand. I recently met with the team at Relationships Australia in Mackay. These are the people on the front line. They see the gut-wrenching reality of a mother handing over the keys to a family home. They see the hurt on the face of a father who feels he has failed his children. They see the once happy homes shattered by the silent, invisible plague of gambling addiction. But they told me something even more chilling. The next generation of addicts are being groomed right now through their video games. We're talking about loot boxes. The technical term is 'random reward microtransactions', but let's call them for what they really are: digital poker machines for children.”
“A net zero fable that's empty and thin, where the power bills rise because the blades barely spin. As Dr Seuss would say with a frown, this Labor performance is letting us down. The cat has made chaos, and our wallets are flat, and no clever rhyme will ever fix that.”
“Today is a day for a cat and a hat. A Labor tax grab—imagine that! Today is Dr Seuss Day—let's give him a cheer! A question time session where the answers aren't clear. The more that you read and the more that you'll know, the more that you learn and the further you'll go. But look at the forecast. It's easy to see your money is fleeing as fast as can be. Labor promised a cut to the bill for your lights—$275 was meant to be right. Instead, the prices have shot oh so sky high like a Grinch in the night. It was a big porky pie. Families go shopping for green eggs and ham, but the checkout is feeling more like a big scam. The Whos down in Whoville are clinging to hope while inflation is pulling the end of their rope. Labor talks about windmills and solar powered schemes while bankrupting businesses with green tinted dreams.”
“In a market where rents are rising and returns remain strong, investors will have even less reason to exit and to sell up to potential homeowners. If the goal is to free up existing housing stock, policy should encourage turnover, not discourage it through heavier taxation. We need homes for every Australian. We need housing policy that creates the conditions for people to enter the market and stay there. We need a housing policy that accelerates approval, increases building productivity and incentivises private investment. Housing policy must be more than writing cheques and announcing big numbers. It must focus on getting the supply right and ensuring it keeps pace with demand. You can't fix a housing shortage by giving government guarantees instead of building houses.”
“Some are lucky—they have the bank of mum and dad for a loan or even a cash gift to get them into the market, but what about those who don't? What about those Australians who dream of homeownership but do not have that safety net? As prices continue to soar, that $50,000 deposit will need to increase. And what about those who were once homeowners but have fallen off the property ladder—perhaps someone who has gone through a life-changing divorce or someone who has little left? First home buyer schemes don't help those people. It is clear the Labor government is struggling. They're having Treasury review the numbers on capital gains. They're not doing it in the hope of opening up supply; they're simply looking for extra tax revenue. Let's be honest about the impact of reducing the current discount.”
“If this imbalance isn't corrected fast, it won't be long before a five per cent deposit catches up to what a 20 per cent deposit is today. Since the government expanded the five per cent deposit scheme, last October, the average house price has continued to climb, and interest rates are again heading north. The scheme has done nothing but fuel demand and turbocharge property prices, making it even harder to get into the market. With inflation surging and interest rates continuing to rise, many participants in the scheme risk falling into mortgage stress. If they default, the government and, ultimately, the taxpayer have the liability as guarantors. Worse still, these buyers could be locked out of the market for good, unable to access their first home concessions again in the future, while struggling to recover financially.”
“Lower deposit rates and greater buying power for first home buyers will not fix the housing crisis. Labor must fix the supply-and-demand imbalance. Labor needs to build more homes quickly and efficiently. This means cutting red tape and green tape to get approvals flowing and construction happening. It means giving people a reason to build and a reason to invest. Labor must open up the supply and urgently put downward pressure on the number of people coming into this country, who then compete for the shrinking number of homes that are available. Five per cent doesn't sound like much, but, with the median house price in Australia having now surpassed $1 million, you still need a $50,000 deposit. With rent spiralling and the cost of living rising, how is anyone on a lower income or even an average income meant to save 50 grand?”
“(): Two hundred and twenty thousand is a big number, a big number that the Albanese Labor government is now on the hook for. I'm glad the member for Calwell is acknowledging the housing crisis that Australia is facing, because—make no mistake—housing in this country is in crisis. After four years of Labor, housing has become a crisis, and it's getting worse. Demand has grown rapidly, while supply has fallen sharply. While the government pats itself on the back for backing in loans for kids of millionaires, more Australians are finding themselves homeless. Families are living in tents. The number of people sleeping rough is growing. Young Australians trying to find their way in this world are staring down the barrel of a lifetime of perpetual renting. Entry-level homes are now 70 per cent more expensive than they were five years ago.”
“It effectively outsources our own national security to NGOs, allowing individuals linked to terror back into our suburbs without direct ministerial oversight. This is why the coalition has introduced the 'keeping Australia safe' bill. Our bill restores accountability. Assisting the return of anyone linked to a terrorist organisation will become a criminal offence, punishable by 10 years in jail. If ministers want these returns, they must be prepared to sign their name to them. It's time for Labor to front up to the public, stop the secrecy and put the safety of Australians first.”
“National security is the first duty of government, and this Albanese Labor administration is failing the most basic test. The Prime Minister tells Australians, 'These ISIS brides aren't welcome,' yet their own ministers are quietly shuffling them in the back door. While the Home Affairs minister says that his hands are tied, the Foreign minister is busy issuing passports to bring them in. Wow! These women didn't just join a book club; they chose to align themselves with a most brutal, terrorist regime. Radicalisation doesn't just vanish, and every high-risk returnee exerts extra pressure on our already stretched security agencies. Labor's self-managed returns policy is a reckless loophole.”
“No family, no business and no community should be collateral damage from this government's ideological net zero experiment. It's time to restore power, it's time to restore the promise and it's time to restore protection to the people who are keeping this nation running. Australians are living under an Albanese Labor created cost-of-living crisis. Labor needs to do better.”
“Currently, large lithium batteries are being sent to Melbourne, where they sit in storage until they're shipped to Singapore. This government claims to protect the environment, but its own policies are driving the country towards environmental catastrophe while bankrupting the nation in the process. This government is creating a toxic landfill and has no plan and no clue about how to manage it. Australia is one of the most resource-rich nations on the planet. Yet this government would rather export our own resources so that other countries can enjoy cheap, reliable power, while making life harder and more expensive for everyday Australians. This government is shipping away our nation's prosperity while our citizens sit in the dark.”
“We often hear the Minister for Climate Change and Energy tout the government's home batteries scheme as a success. At question time, he loves to tell us how many batteries people are buying. But how can a family who can't afford to eat pay for a battery? How is a pensioner expected to find $15,000 for a battery when they're struggling to buy a loaf of bread? This government is using taxpayers' money to subsidise a luxury item that only the wealthy can afford. Meanwhile, the vulnerable are left to sweat. They sweat over the cost of their next power bill, and they sweat through summer because they can't afford to turn their aircon on. Then, let's address the elephant in the room. What happens to these batteries when they inevitably fail in a few years? There is nowhere to recycle them.”
“They're being beaten by competitors who have access to cheaper electricity overseas. This government is making our local industries pay more and produce less. Australians have been let down by this government. They were promised cheaper power. The reality is a 40 per cent price increase. They were promised a decrease. The reality is a $1,300 increase. This government said the renewables would lower the power bills. Instead, they have pushed prices through the roof and delivered no meaningful emissions progress. Without the farmland locked up for carbon credits, emissions today are exactly the same as when the coalition left office. After more than three years of hollow slogans, nothing has changed except the elevated price of electricity. The only thing this government has successfully delivered is a darker future.”
“High energy costs are threatening jobs and livelihoods across our whole nation, and these are the human costs of Labor's broken promises. Let's look at the cold hard facts. Australians were promised a $275 cut in their power bills. That was the headline. That was the hook. But under this Labor government households are instead paying on average $1,300 more. Energy bills have already increased by close to 40 per cent, and this Labor government has broken its most basic promise to the Australian people. Worst of all, they knew it was coming. The department of energy advised the minister of further significant increases in retail electricity prices, yet this government pushed ahead with the same failing policies. Our manufacturers are being strangled. They aren't being beaten by better products.”
“The Prime Minister promised to lower our power bills, but instead he has simply lowered the standard of living. In a country as resource rich as ours, turning on the lights should not feel like a criminal act against the family budget. Yet under this government electricity bills have become a tax on existence. We're not talking about extravagant luxuries; we're talking about the basics of survival—light, heat and the ability to keep food cold. Yet under this government, electricity bills continue to climb, adding to the crushing cost-of-living crisis that families in my electorate of Dawson are struggling to manage. The social impact is stark. Families are being forced to choose between paying their power bills and putting food on the table. This is not a choice any Australian should ever have to make.”
“By investing in your culture and your children, you are equipping the next generation with a sense of pride that benefits us all. Thank you for the example you set in embracing the life in regional Australia while keeping your rich heritage alive.”
“I'm incredibly proud to say that I've recently become a grandfather. My eldest son and his wife welcomed a beautiful baby girl last month. She came into the world one month early. We are extremely grateful for the expertise and specialist paediatrician Dr Sithambarampillai Sivayoganathan. His professionalism and care ensured a great start to life. He is a daily reminder of the incredible impact that Tamil professionals have on our families and on our future. I would also like to personally thank Dr Agilan for the invitation to join these celebrations. I was truly moved by the incredible energy of the event, from the authentic flavours of the traditional food to the vibrant, rhythmic beauty of the cultural dances.”
“While the local Tamil population may be modest in size, their contribution to our state is immense. As a third-generation tomato farmer, I've seen firsthand how the community has stepped up for our primary producers. I want to personally acknowledge the work of Dr Siva Subramaniam, a man of great respect in the Tamil community. When I was farming, I remember when the silverleaf whitefly threatened to wipe out our horticultural area. It was Dr Subramaniam's pioneering work using a biological control that made the whitefly manageable and saved our industry. Australian horticulture owes him and his scientific expertise a great deal of gratitude. That tradition of service continues today in our healthcare system. On a deeply personal note, the skill of this community has touched my own family.”