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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“We have no fully bulk-billed GP clinics in Mackay, a city of around 130,000 people. None! The government says bulk-billing will reach nine out of 10 visits by 2030, but in Dawson this promise is a mile from reality. That is not strengthening Medicare; that is slow disintegration of it, and GP practices are sounding the alarm as loudly as their patients. They tell me the same story. They simply can't keep bulk-billing when costs just keep going up. To quote Family Health Care Mackay Rural View: … the incentive does not cover the full cost of providing high-quality care. Therefore, our clinic will continue to charge an appropriate out-of-pocket fee for some consultations to ensure we can keep delivering high-quality care to our community. Power bills have climbed. Commercial rent is climbing. Insurance costs are climbing.”
“Australians are being told that they've never had it better than they have under this government, but families know the truth every time they tap their card at the doctor's reception desk. Out-of-pocket GP costs are now pushing, on average, $50. That is a worrying statistic. That is a barrier to care. When the coalition left office, bulk-billing rates were nearly 90 per cent. Today, bulk-billing is collapsing in 32 electorates. The Prime Minister's famous promise, 'You'll only need your Medicare card, not your credit card,' is now nothing more than a punchline in doctors' waiting rooms. Throughout Australia, people are handing over their credit cards every time they visit a doctor, and many simply can't afford that anymore. In my electorate of Dawson, what used to be a routine GP visit is now a financial decision.”
“When a family business closes, we don't just lose a shopfront; we lose the legacy of hard work, sacrifice and Australian ingenuity. What small and family businesses need is simple: lower power bills; a cheaper, better, fairer energy policy; a simple regulation; a visa system that delivers skilled workers they need; a tax system that rewards effort; and, above all, a government that actually backs them. On this side of the House, we stand with small and family business because we understand one simple truth: when a small business wins, Australia wins.”
“Every new rule, every new layer of red tape, every shift of industrial requirement lands hardest on the smallest operator. A large corporation can hide behind a compliance department. A family business only has itself, its time and its courage. This is why insolvencies are exploding—the highest level in years—in a country that's growing faster than ever. That should terrify everyone who cares about Australia, because small business is not optional. If small businesses collapse, Australia collapses. Small and family businesses employ nearly half of our workforce, train the majority of apprentices, invest their profits locally, keep regional communities alive and build generational wealth that strengthens families.”
“Businesses in Dawson are constantly telling me workshops can't find mechanics, plumbers and sparkies can't secure skilled trades and medical practices can't hire GPs. Meanwhile, the people we do want—surgeons, dentists, builders—are trapped in visa queues for up to two years. What's worse is that small family businesses can't find unskilled workers to pick fruit, to serve drinks or to deliver pamphlets because the government rolls out the red carpet to refugees, places them on welfare and hoards them in Sydney and Melbourne to build their voter base while mum-and-dad business owners work around the clock to pay their taxes that support these new arrivals. This isn't leadership. It's bureaucratic chaos, and it's leaving Australians behind.”
“Business owners are scared of making paperwork mistakes, worried about hiring and terrified of growing because every change seems designed for big unions and big corporates, not the people who actually create the jobs. Labor needs to stop looking after their election cash cows and start looking after real Australians. Power bills for shops, cafes, small manufacturers and workshops have surged because of this government's reckless energy experiment. Small businesses operate for customers and production timetables, not electricity markets. In regional Australia, where distance adds cost, these increases aren't inconvenient; they are lethal. Record immigration has made the situation even worse. Labor is bringing in more people that ever, yet small businesses can't hire the skilled workers they desperately need.”
“This motions asks the House to confront an uncomfortable truth—small and family businesses are being crushed not by market forces but by government choices. Costs are spiralling. Power bills are sky rocketing. Leases are rising. Insurance is blowing out. Interest rates are pushing many to the brink. Every week I hear the same thing: 'I'm working harder for less, and I don't know how long I can keep it going.' That is not economic management. That is economic neglect. The reasons are clear. The government's industrial relations changes have replaced flexibility with confusion, fairness with compliance, and replaced opportunity with fear.”
“I thank the member for Goldstein for raising this important topic. Small businesses aren't just part of our economy; they are the backbone of our economy. They are the beating heart of every main street and every regional town—someone with a dream decides to have a go. They are the bakers opening before dawn, the mechanics working late and the cane farmers handing down the family legacy from one generation to the next. They are the families who back themselves often risking everything, and today that spirit is under threat like never before. Small and family businesses right across Australia are being hit by a tidal wave of pressure that the government either can't understand or simply refuses to acknowledge.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. When asked about the Prime Minister's promise to reduce power bills by $275, the Labor member for Solomon said, 'How long are you guys going to hang on to that $275 piece?' Prime Minister, are power bills $275 lower now than in May 2022?”
“The coalition will work constructively to prune what doesn't work, graft in accountability and clarity and ensure the final product is something Australians can live with and live from. Environmental reform shouldn't come at the cost of national prosperity. It should be about balance, not bans; stewardship, not strangulation; and a greener future that doesn't leave our workers, our industries and our regions out in the cold. Until that happens, the coalition will not support these bills, because, when it comes to Labor's environmental reform, the only thing growing right now is a list of the reasons to vote against it.”
“Labor's reforms dig up our roots and replace them with bureaucracy. This isn't environmental protection; it's economic deforestation—and, when the canopy falls, it's everyday Australians who are left in the shade. We want environmental laws that protect our biodiversity and our competitiveness. We want clean air, healthy soils and flowing rivers, but what we also want is factories that hum, farms that thrive and jobs that stay right here in Australia. That's not too much to ask. It's what every sensible Australian expects. This parliament has a choice. We can nurture growth with balanced, sensible reform or we can let poor ideology fill the garden of prosperity with weeds.”
“We support reducing duplication between state and federal systems, and we support a proper national interest exemption because sometimes projects are just too important to delay with ideology. That's what balanced reform looks like. So why the rush? Why the mad dash to get through this before Christmas when even Labor's own minister said back in June that the legislation wouldn't be ready until next year? Because the government wants to declare a political victory, not a practical one. They think passing a 1,500-page bill before Christmas will prove that they can get things done, but getting things done isn't the same as getting things right. Our nation's wealth was built on natural resources, innovation and hard work. Mining, agriculture, manufacturing—these are the roots of our prosperity.”
“Yet these are the industries Labor is happy to sacrifice to appease the Greens, and a deal with the Greens is a deal to turn off the lights on Australia's economy. Let's remember that, when the coalition introduced reforms to streamline approvals, Labor said no. Australians can see through this spin. If the government were serious about environmental reform, it would bring industry, farmers and conservationists together. Instead, Labor has divided them. The coalition believes in practical environmental policy grounded in science, not slogans. We support ministerial decision-making remaining with the elected government, not unelected bureaucrats. We support no climate trigger. We support forestry exemptions under regional forestry agreements because our forestry industry is sustainable, world class and essential to regional jobs.”
“They incentivise environmental damage under the guise of progress, and that's why these bills cannot be supported. These reforms were sold as part of Labor's so-called productivity agenda, yet every serious economist knows they'll do the exact opposite. They'll drive up costs, slow down approvals and scare away investors. Let's talk about productivity. Australia has now fallen to second last among OECD nations. Only Mexico ranks lower. Labor says we need reform to fix productivity, then proposes legislation that makes it harder to invest and harder to build, mine and manufacture. It's like telling a farmer to grow more crops but locking the gate to his paddock. In the last financial year, mining companies contributed $59.4 billion in taxes and royalties—money that pays for hospitals, schools and roads.”
“The government wants Australians to believe that more wind and solar equals better environmental outcomes, but the reality is that uncontrolled, poorly sited projects are causing irreversible damage—all this destruction for emission reductions that are almost meaningless when Australia contributes just one per cent of global emissions. Yet our landscapes and our livelihoods bear the cost. If the minister truly cared about protecting our environment, we wouldn't be bulldozing ecosystems. We must ask ourselves: where does this destruction end? If the goal is net zero at any cost, Australians, their land, their water and our wildlife are being sacrificed with zero meaningful global impact. These bills, in their current form, fail to protect what Australians truly care about.”
“Imagine wind farms on the Great Barrier Reef—an icon of Australia's natural heritage—in the name of emissions reductions that would barely move the needle on global emissions. Across Queensland, fertile farmland is being swallowed up by massive solar arrays. This is land that should be used for feeding Australians but, instead, is being turned into industrial deserts of solar panels. Koala habitats are under threat. Wind farms are being built in areas critical to the survival of these iconic species. Wind turbines that barely spin due to inconsistent wind are causing more environmental destruction than benefit. How many ecosystems, how many more species and how much more farmland will be lost in the name of hitting this arbitrary emission target?”
“Industry says the definition should be removed from legislation and placed in flexible standards, not set in stone. If Labor does not fix it, it could block development faster than a landslide on a rural road. Fourthly, there are the penalties and stop-work orders. The bill allows fines of up to $825 million—nearly $1 billion—for a penalty regime with no appeal rights and no proportionality. The EPA could issue an environmental protection order on the flimsiest grounds, shutting down operations indefinitely—no checks, no balances, no sunset clauses. That's not justice; that's a kangaroo court with a green backdrop! These bills are sold as protecting the environment, yet they risk opening the door to green energy projects in places that should never be touched.”
“Labor's bill requires proponents to report their emissions under the EPBC process, duplicating the existing safeguard mechanism. But nowhere in the bill does it clearly say that this information cannot be used for decision-making or for imposing conditions. That omission is a lawyer's paradise and a miner's nightmare. It opens the door to endless green lawfare. Industry groups have told us that they could live with the reporting if there were guardrails, but in this version the guardrails are gone. It's a slippery slope straight to a climate trigger by stealth. Thirdly, there are 37 definitions of 'unacceptable impacts' spread over eight pages—37. That's not law; that's a complicated maze. Even existing projects that were once approved could be ruled out under these new standards.”
“Under Labor's model, the EPA's CEO will hold enormous powers, including the ability to stop projects indefinitely, without clear accountability or ministerial oversight. That is absurd! There is no binding statement of expectations, there are no performance measures and there's no capacity for the minister to terminate the CEO for failure to deliver. That's not accountability; that's bureaucracy on autopilot. Graeme Samuel's review was explicit: the EPA's role should be compliance and enforcement only, while assessment and approvals remain with the department. Labor ignored that. They created a body that is both regulator and referee. And that's not environmental management; that's environmental mayhem. Secondly, there's scope 1 and scope 2 emissions reporting.”
“When the Leader of the Opposition was minister of the environment, she commissioned the Samuel review, a practical road map for modernising the 1999 EPBC Act. It was based on balance—protecting nature, while enabling responsible development. The coalition government began the reform process by introducing streamlining pathways and bilateral agreements to cut the duplication between Canberra and the states. Labor blocked that reform, then rebranded it and called it their own. We say: 'Fine. If you want to recycle our policies, at least read the instructions before you throw them in the green bin.' Let's be clear about what's wrong here. Firstly, there's the environmental protection authority.”
“Yet, after four years and two elections, Labor still haven't delivered the environmental protection agency they keep promising. They've had more false starts than a wind farm without wind. In the last parliament, Minister Plibersek attempted to push through ridiculous reforms. They were so extreme left that the Premier of Western Australia contacted the Prime Minister, and overnight those bills were stopped. Wow! That's saying something when it's too left for the Premier of WA. That historical failure is a cautionary tale. It shows what happens when reforms are rushed and sets the context for why Australians should be rightly concerned today. The coalition supports strong, sensible environmental laws, and we always have.”
“The coalition cannot and will not support these reforms in their current form because, instead of protecting the environment, they threaten to choke our economy. This is the most significant environmental overhaul in a generation, yet the government is trying to push it through in just weeks. Stakeholders from the Business Council to the mineral sector, from farmers to housing developers, have all asked for more time to read, analyse and consult. They want to make sure this reform is workable. The Business Council of Australia has been crystal clear: without significant changes, we risk embedding a system that is even slower, is more complex and lacks the clarity and certainty needed for investment. In other words, Labor's so-called reform is not fertilising growth; it's strangling it.”
“If good policy is met with greater prosperity, this government seems intent on salting the soil. After three years of promises, backflips and bureaucratic composting, Labor has finally planted its so-called Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six associated bills. Make no mistake, this isn't a plan to make Australia greener; it's a plan to make Australia slower, poorer and tangled in so much red and green tape that no-one can tell where the vines begin or end. These bills, around 1,500 pages long, are a legislative jungle. They were dropped on the parliament floor like a storm-felled tree. Now Labor wants to rush them through before anyone has had a chance to read the warning signs carved in the bark.”
“The Albanese Labor government has certainly betrayed regional Australia. Labor's renewable-only approach to energy has smashed regional Australia. Those opposite believe that solar panels are best placed in good-quality agricultural land—land that should be used for growing food and fibre—and that wind turbines are best placed when you wipe out the whole of the tops of hills and put them there. Koala habitats, native vegetation, virgin vegetation—all wiped out for this renewable fantasy that we see all the time. How is the renewable fantasy going?”
“This government must honour the commitment that has already been made by implementing recommendations 86 in full, to deliver sustainable operational funding. When we stand with our veterans, we stand by the best of who Australians really are.”
“Suicide is the leading cause of death for ex-service men and women under 30. Those are not just statistics. That's a generation of promise. While those numbers should be enough to move mountains, the Oasis is left fighting for survival. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide handed the government a clear roadmap. Recommendation 86 called for sustainable funding for the 17 veterans hubs nationwide, and the government agreed, Yet, more than a year later, nothing has changed. I've written to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs urging immediate action. These veterans don't need more inquiries or promises. They need a lifeline. These men and women fought for our existence. The least we can do is fight for theirs.”
“The Oasis was ground zero for Operation Compass, the trial that shaped the nation's veterans and families hubs that we have today. It was built to give veterans a place to connect, to heal, to rebuild and to have a sense of belonging. Belonging cannot be built on a short-term basis. It needs grants and community fundraising. It requires a commitment. It requires leadership, and it requires a government that honours the service of those who have given everything for our country. We don't need another inquiry to tell us why this matters. We know the statistics, and they are heartbreaking. Between 1997 and 2023, an average of three veterans died by suicide every fortnight. Ex-servicemen are 26 per cent more likely to die by suicide and ex-servicewomen are twice as likely.”
“If the fine men and women of the Australian Defence Force are brave enough to put their bodies and their lives on the line to keep us safe, the very least we should do is promise to protect them when their duty is done. But, right now, that promise is being broken in my electorate of Dawson. In the garrison city of Townsville, the Oasis stands as a lifeline, a home base for those who've worn the uniform and for their families, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with them. But, come early 2026, unless urgent and sustainable funding is secured, the Oasis will close its doors. And then what happens? It won't be just a building that shuts; it will be a lifeline that is severed. This is not just another local facility.”
“The Prime Minister says Medicare represents who we are, but I say this right now: Medicare represents a growing divide between city and country. The people of Dawson don't need slogans; they need services. Until this government stops pretending that Melbourne and Mackay are the same and that metro and regional health systems are equal, we will keep seeing the same result. Regional Australians are paying more, travelling further and getting less. It's time this government delivers Medicare that actually works for all Australians. In the mean time, regional Australians will have to keep carrying their credit cards because their little, green Medicare card is little more than a discount voucher.”
“That's not a healthcare system to be proud of; that's a crisis. And what's the government's answer? 'Don't worry, nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030.' 2030! Tell that to a pensioner in Proserpine who can't get a doctor's appointment now. Tell that to a young family in Bowen choosing between groceries or a GP visit. They don't need a promise of 2030; they need a doctor today. Real Medicare is about care on the ground, not slogans in Canberra. You can't deliver bulk-billing by throwing money at city clinics, when regional towns go without doctors, nurses and clinics entirely. Labor needs a plan—one that recognises that regional Australians deserve the same access to health care as those in capital cities.”
“Meanwhile, regional Australians—farmers, tradies, nurses and teachers—are forced to fork out cash that they simply don't have just to get basic health care. The hypocrisy couldn't be any clearer. Labor talks about strengthening Medicare but, in reality, it has weakened access for the very Australians who rely on it most. Let's look at the facts. People in regional areas are 50 per cent more likely to delay or skip seeing a GP, due to cost, compared to those in the cities. This government loves to talk about record funding, but in communities like mine none of that is reaching the front line. Since Labor came to office, out-of-pocket healthcare costs have jumped by 25 per cent in the electorate of Dawson alone. Families and pensioners are paying more, they're waiting longer and they're getting less.”
“That's not Medicare, that's 'Medi-don't-care'. All last week we heard that side boast, 'In my electorate we've got these bulk-billing clinics.' Frankly, I'm sick to death with how Labor only cares about their own backyard. The people on that side couldn't care less about the communities suffering under Labor's blatant neglect. We're not talking about tiny backwater towns here; Mackay has a population of more than 130,000 people, and there is not one single fully-bulk-billed GP. Medi-fail! And yet, while regional Australians are struggling to access a GP, the government recently announced $10.5 million for three bulk-billing clinics in Canberra. Canberra, the wealthiest city in the country, where the median household income is 30 per cent higher than the national average.”
“On 1 May, the Prime Minister held up his green Medicare card and declared, 'Under Labor, all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card, to see a doctor.' Well, I can tell you this: that is not absolutely true in my electorate of Dawson. In Dawson, you can wave that Medicare card as much as you like, but unless you have your credit card, you can't see a doctor. In Mackay, a regional city of 130,000 people, there is not one single bulk-billing clinic. If you don't have a concession card, you cannot see a doctor without your credit card. In the Whitsundays, Bowen and the Burdekin it's the same story: not one clinic. The nearest bulk-billing clinic is in Townsville, an 800-kilometre round trip from Mackay. That's eight hours of driving and more than $100 in out-of-pocket expenses for fuel alone, just to see a bulk-billing GP.”
“This government spends billions chasing net zero targets while our industries collapse under high power prices and regulation. That is ideological vanity, not leadership. We cannot dig our way to prosperity if we can't power it. It requires bold leadership, investment, certainty and domestic manufacturing. We deserve more than a handshake; we deserve a mining and manufacturing revolution. Australia must capture the value of our minerals to create high-skilled jobs and to secure a sovereign and prosperous future.”
“Without a cheap, reliable and clear plan for onshore processing, Australia will remain dependent on China and will continue exporting our resources and lose our manufacturing base. We need affordable firm baseload power, clean coal and gas, and nuclear must be on the table. Without it, investment will go offshore. We need real investment in incentives for domestic processing and smelting so Australian miners can complete on the global stage. We need a focus on value adding here in Australia, not exporting our jobs, our profits and our knowledge to other countries. The Albanese government's mismanagement, collapsing manufacturers, energy instability and anti-investment policies are driving opportunities away from our soil.”
“We held the leverage, a chance to negotiate tariff reductions for our steel, aluminium and other value-added exports, a chance to demand real investment in our industries, a chance to secure a genuine economic partnership. But what did we get? A handshake and a photo opportunity. The opportunity was squandered because this government prioritise headlines over substance, because the Prime Minister was too worried about negative press over his rocky relationship with President Trump. This was not diplomacy; it was capitulation disguised as achievement. This government could have turned our resources into a bargaining chip; instead, they handed it away with a thank you. The minerals under our feet should be our prosperity, not someone else's economy.”
“Industrial electricity in Australia costs up to twice as much as in Canada and the USA, making it almost impossible for local refineries and manufacturers to complete globally. The difference is not minor. It represents tens of millions of dollars in extra costs every year for energy-intensive operations like refineries, costs that make local processing economically unviable. Until the government delivers affordable, reliable and stable power, any plan for a domestic processing industry is nothing more than an economic fantasy. Let's be clear: the United States needed this deal far more than Australia did. Their defence and clean energy industries are vulnerable because of China's chokehold. Australia had the US over a barrel.”
“For 19 out of 20 strategic minerals, China dominates refining, controlling around 70 per cent of the global market. That is not just a trade issue; it is strategic vulnerability. The deal with the US is a strategic band-aid designed to secure their supply chain, not to transform our industry. The real profits, high-skilled jobs, intellectual property and economic security that come from processing and manufacturing are still flowing out of this country. Without a plan to process minerals in Australia, we are locked into a low-value end of the supply chain. Even if we wanted to build these facilities, the reality is harsh. Our energy costs are crushing our competitiveness—once our advantage, now a crippling burden.”
“We've all seen the headlines—a new critical minerals deal with the United States celebrated as a triumph for democracy. But the truth is it's a geopolitical token gesture, leaving Australia dangerously exposed and underinvested in. We're being asked to cheer a handshake when what we need is a manufacturing revolution on our own soil, turning our raw minerals into value added products and keeping the profits and the jobs here at home. Australia is still a quarry for China, not a manufacturer for the world despite being one of the top producers of critical minerals—lithium, nickel and rare earths. More than 90 per cent of our lithium is exported overseas, mostly to China, where it is refined and turned into products that we buy back at many times the cost.”
“We cannot have a bureau site that looks flashy but leaves families and farmers in the dark. It's time to put practicality before aesthetics. I have formally written to the Minister for the Environment and Water urging immediate improvements. Either reinstate the previous layout or fix the current one, because Queenslanders need confidence, clarity and control when checking the weather. At the end of the day, it's not just a website; it's the difference between being prepared and being caught in a storm.”
“I rise today to highlight a major issue, the BOM website—a source of serial frustration for regional Queenslanders. The Bureau of Meteorology's new site is failing the very people who rely on it the most: farmers, weather forecasters, transport operators and everyday Queenslanders. Constituents tell me it's confusing, clunky and hard to navigate. One farmer said, 'You may as well have a blank page.' With cyclone season looming, every second counts. It's time the bureau stops clouding the facts and delivers what people really need. Accessing the radar, forecasts and warnings should be simple, quick and reliable, not a treasure hunt through a maze of menus. This is about safety, livelihoods and common sense. A modern design is worthless if it comes at the expense of function.”
“I'm supporting this motion because it is restoring common sense, accountability and fiscal responsibility. It is about protecting Australians from the consequences of unchecked reckless government spending. It is about ensuring that taxpayers' hard-earned money is directed towards priorities that actually matter—health, education, national security and infrastructure—and is not squandered politically. Time and time again, Labor has proven that, when they run out of money, they come after yours. Australians cannot continue to fund this spending spree.”
“This reckless spending is felt across every corner of Australia, with families working extra shifts just to make ends meet, small businesses facing increasing energy costs while trying to keep staff employed, pensioners deciding to go without meals so they can afford their electricity, and, all the while, the government pours more money into programs with no economic return, creating temporary fixes while the underlying problems—debt, inflation, cost-of-living pressures—continue to grow. Australians continue to pay more every month—not because of their choices, but because of this government's fiscal bad management. The result is falling real incomes, record insolvencies and a cost-of-living crisis unlike anything that has ever been seen before.”
“Average mortgage repayments are set to remain $1,700 higher per month under this government than they would have previously. The government's solution ignores basic economics. Economics warns that the government's approach could push housing prices even higher, worsen affordability and leave buyers saddled with higher debt, especially in a market with limited supply. There is a real risk of negative equity, leaving first home buyers trapped in a price fall, and all because this government refuses to manage its spending responsibly.”
“The government's heavy-handed intervention in the gas sector has strangled investment, pushing us to the brink of energy shortages and even higher prices. Instead of lowering emissions in a practical technological way, Labor is importing solar panels and wind turbines built with foreign materials, eroding our sovereign manufacturing capability and exporting Australian jobs. The truth is simple: every dollar of reckless green spending that fails to deliver cheaper, reliable power is another dollar added to inflation, another rise in power bills, and another blow to the cost of living. It is time the government stopped chasing headlines and started chasing outcomes by a cost-of-living target not an emissions target. Consider young Australians trying to enter the housing market.”
“We all know that Labor cannot manage money, and, when they run out of their money, they come after yours. Australians are left to pay the price in higher taxes, higher bills and higher debt. This government's reckless pursuit of net zero at all costs has become a blank cheque for wasteful spending. Billions of taxpayer dollars are being poured into tokenistic gestures that will not make a measurable dent in global admissions yet they are driving up costs for everyday Australian households and businesses. Labor is shackling our energy security to weather-dependent sources while ignoring the smarter baseload power options that keep factories running, farms producing, and families' lights on.”
“We are here to consider the real cost of this Labor government's reckless spending, not just in abstract numbers but in the lives of everyday Australians. Reckless spending isn't just bad economics; it's a tax on hope, a tax on ambition and a tax on every family trying to get ahead. Since the Albanese Labor government came to office, it has added $100 billion to the national debt, a figure set to breach $1.2 trillion by the next election. That is not just a number on a page; it's a burden that will be forced upon our children and grandchildren to carry. On the cost of interest alone, Labor are now spending $50,000 every single minute—money that can't go to hospitals, schools, infrastructure or frontline services. Yet, despite this ballooning debt, the government has committed $22 billion in new decisions.”
“And it chips away at our confidence and our dreams. Unfortunately, we don't have multi-million-dollar research centres, nor do we have access to world-class tutors. What we do have is determination—a will, to extend beyond our boundaries and defy limitations. But we can't do that alone. We are grateful to live where we live. But gratitude shouldn't equate to limitation. It's time to open the doors to equal education … because a nation that abandons its youth abandons its future. Wise words, Wiremu.”
“As part of our Raise Our Voice campaign, I'm proud to share the words of Wiremu from Proserpine State High School. He states: Education should be a doorway—a way forward for every young person in this country. But for students in regional communities, that door often feels locked. Each day we wake up before sunrise, travelling for hours to reach school. Every wet season, flooded roads block our way and we wait to hear if school will even open. The constant uncertainty, that our education depends on things outside of our control is a barrier to our futures. Many of us study without the subjects that city students take for granted—ancient history, languages, physics—because there aren't enough teachers. Some of us study alone, online, without the support that face-to-face learning brings. It's isolating. It's frustrating.”
“Somewhere along the way we've lost sight of this fairness and lost sight of what Australia should look like. We should never see genuine contributors waiting years while others navigate a much easier path. It undermines the integrity of our system. We need an immigration process that rewards contribution not convenience, that protects opportunity for those who have earnt it. Ann's story reminds us that true belonging is not granted by chance. It is earned by character, effort and heart. To those like Ann, who have earnt their place in this national story through contribution and commitment: thank you. Your story makes our story stronger, because being Australian is not just where you live. It's how you live, and it's what you give.”