Tania Lawrence
Hasluck · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“There are no wild brumbies in Hasluck. We do, however, have a really fine equestrian community, including being home to the State Equestrian Centre, Yarrada Farm Riding School and Magic Millions. I grew up in York surrounded by animals, including horses, which I deeply love.”
“These programs use a vaccine known as PZP that is delivered to the mares, often by remote darting, and works by preventing fertilisation without affecting the animal's natural hormones or behaviour. It doesn't remove the horses from the landscape, and it doesn't break up the herds.”
“Every person in Hasluck who's ever been to one of our three fabulous urgent care clinics, in Morley, Ellenbrook and Midland, knows they have already demonstrated their value and worth—and just to give you a sense of the numbers, 38,000 have already visited the clinic in Morley, 32,000 in Midland, and just over 6,000 our recently opened cl…”
“Alpine peatlands, waterways and native species habitats are being degraded. These are places that simply cannot withstand that level of pressure. So, yes, action is required. Doing nothing is not an option, but how we act matters just as much as whether we act at all.”
“West of here is Hasluck, and what matters to my community in Hasluck is making sure that we deliver. I'm absolutely proud, under the Albanese Labor government, to be their representative and to deliver on what they need.”
“There are also ground based culling approaches that, where necessary, can be conducted under stricter welfare conditions and oversight, significantly reducing the distress associated with aerial methods. This is a complex challenge. It does require coordination.”
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“It's election season in Western Australia. On 8 March Western Australians will go to the polls to, all being well, return a really strong Cook Labor government. And, sometime shortly thereafter, there will be the federal election. What does that mean? It means your doors are going to be knocked on a lot more frequently. I have enjoyed thoroughly, for the past three years and more, doorknocking to understand what my community expect from me as their representative in Canberra. I want to ensure that everyone understands this: when those doors are knocked on, please open them and please enter into and engage in a discussion. I love getting tips on gardening and I love meeting your pets and your children, but what I want you to do right now is ask the right questions.”
“I will stand up for Western Australians, and I know that the voters of the electorate of Hasluck will absolutely back in jobs for themselves and their families and will back in a Labor government to provide those jobs.”
“Further, Senators Cash, O'Sullivan, Dean Smith and Brockman failed to stand up for Western Australia. What on earth are they there for? They are there as Western Australian senators, not Liberal senators. They are there to back in Western Australia's industry. Where were they? They've let the Western Australian people down. They've let my constituents down. These are the jobs of the future, and people want certainty. They want to know that, irrespective of the election outcome, those jobs of the future will be there. But instead, sadly, we now have a Liberal and National opposition that hope to get into government but will be prepared to cut Western Australia's future. We will not let that happen.”
“It would absolutely put us at the forefront, attracting capital into Western Australia and bringing certainty to industry so that they can have the confidence to make the significant investments required to actually start to move into this downstream processing and production. So where were the Liberals? Because we're coming into election season, I'm naming and shaming these members, because when they come knocking on doors I want people to know how they voted. I want my constituents to ask the Liberals who come onto our turf, 'What way did you vote on jobs for me, my family and my friends?' This is their record. The member for Canning, the member for Forrest, the member for O'Connor and, extraordinarily, the member for Durack, where most of these mines actually are, all voted no to this legislation.”
“They called on us to be able to advance the production of our critical minerals and not just to dig them out and ship them off—which is all the Liberals care for, clearly—but to actually work on downstream processing, because that is where the future is. That's where the jobs are. That is what is going to lead to the production of renewable energy—through wind turbines and batteries—and EV cars. This is where Western Australia wants to lead. It wants to be a global leader on this front. The introduction of production tax credits was the way in which we would change the rules of the game.”
“Yesterday, I was lucky enough to join the member for Swan and to second the motion that she moved, speaking to the importance of our critical minerals sector and of passing the legislation for the production tax credits for both critical minerals, including rare earths, and hydrogen. I am absolutely shocked and aghast that last night the Liberal senators representing Western Australia failed to back that legislation in. In Western Australia, we have over 135,000 workers who specifically work across the mining sector. A good portion of those people work in my electorate of Hasluck. They work hard. They work long hours. They fly north, away from family and friends for weeks at a time. They work in sweltering heat to make a future here in Australia, and they look to us.”
“Economist Saul Eslake describes it as a thoroughly bad idea. The Super Members Council tells us that in New Zealand the policy has simply not worked. It has caused a severe spike in housing, seen a fall in homeownership by young people, and seen more New Zealanders fall into greater debt. The Super Members Council CEO, Misha Schubert, warns Australians to heed the example in NZ and to not let this happen here in Australia. Australians are already getting nervous about the coalition's secret cuts. Now young people have to worry about the coalition cutting into their retirement nest egg too.”
“Housing is at the centre of the Albanese government's achievements, with the Housing Australia Future Fund, Help to Buy and crisis accommodation addressing real needs. The coalition created a supply problem over their ten years by failing to act. They didn't even have a housing minister. They didn't care. Now, with an election coming, the only suggestion that the Liberals have is for young people, with an average balance in their super of about $25,000, to raid their super for housing. There are many problems with Liberal policy, and one is that they don't know how to frame policy for people who don't have $12 million portfolios. I'm not alone in this assessment. Economists think the coalition policy is ludicrous. Of 49 economists recently polled by the Economic Society of Australia, 48 voted it down.”
“The Albanese Labor government believe in action, we believe in work and we believe in a future where everybody gets the chance to be all that they can be and to contribute all that they can, because that's where hope comes from and that's where self-respect comes from. Our commitments are in Labor's DNA. They always have been. One more little measure that those present who live in the regions would surely appreciate is the university study hubs. We have one in Northam, where I went to school. I certainly would have appreciated it. And we have one now in my electorate of Hasluck, in Ellenbrook, allowing students access to the support they need to further their studies if they can't study at home.”
“Certainly the member for Hughes, who I'm glad is still here, had the gall to suggest as much. Well, they can't. The numbers who have flooded in since we started providing free TAFE places demonstrate that—more than half a million. That's more than half a million Australians voting with their feet and half a million reasons why the coalition is wrong to oppose free TAFE. In November, we announced more: a 20 per cent debt reduction to help the three million Australians with a student loan debt. That alone removed $16 billion in HELP and other student debt. Our changes to cap the rate of indexation applying to student loans to the lower of the wage price index or the CPI backdated to 2023 removed another $3 million in debt.”
“We are determined to improve education outcomes for all Australian students, wherever they are, whomever they are. That requires commitment to equity and excellence, wellbeing for learning and engagement, and a strong and sustainable workforce. Strong and sustainable workforces are based on a commitment to skills development of all kinds. Free TAFE is part of Labor's pledge to Australia and to Australia's future—to make it a strong, healthy, sustainable future in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex global environment. We can't sit around waiting for things to turn out okay in the end. We can't drift along as the coalition did for almost a decade. Perhaps the Liberals and Nationals imagine that everyone who wants to learn skills at a TAFE can afford to pay the fees.”
“The Albanese Labor government's reforms have already seen 97,000 more children in early education. More than a thousand new early learning services are open, and we're investing a billion dollars more to build even more. Our investment in our schools has produced more individualised support for students, more health support and mandated evidence-based teaching practices. And we aspire. The Albanese Labor government is determined to increase the proportion of students leaving school with the year 12 certificate by 7½ percentage points nationally by 2030. Our Better and Fairer Schools Agreement 2025 to 2034, which began on 1 January—and Western Australia was the first to kick it off—puts every public school on a path to 100 per cent of the school resourcing standard.”
“One of the most important things the Albanese Labor government has done, one of the greatest testaments to its deep commitment to the Australian people, is the boosting of wages for early childhood education and care providers. When we delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for early educators, we showed them the sincerity of our respect for what they do. It's part of the reason we have 41,900 more early childhood educators. Dedicated people are no longer being forced out of their chosen profession because they're trying to make ends meet. Education is a fundamental human right. To confine or limit someone's education is to confine and limit their lives. For individuals, that's a crime against their individuality and humanity. For society, it's colossally stupid.”
“From the moment we are born, we are being educated. Some say that even before that they talk to the unborn. They sing and recite poetry because they are so eager to introduce the idea of beauty and a world of beautiful possibilities. Education shapes and transforms us. Everyone on this planet is entitled—yes, I'll use that word—to the best education their families, friends and society can give them. We are all teachers. Those who choose the noble profession of teaching must believe with every fibre of their being in the possibility of good and growth in everybody, regardless of their age, whose education is entrusted to them. Teachers are not simply minding the children or keeping the older ones entertained. Their job is to inspire and to prepare their students as best they can for the world as it is becoming, and that is quite a job.”
“The peak bodies are wholly on board with this legislation. The opposition find themselves very much out in the cold. We need to start listening to what Western Australians are saying. Liberals, you need to pass it; Nationals, get on board.”
“She tells us: Passage of the legislation would set an important investment signal for further value adding activities and provide certainty to industry. The 21st century started 25 years ago; the Liberal and National parties are running out of time to join the new century. We want to establish a hydrogen production tax incentive worth $2 a kilo of renewable hydrogen produced between 2027 to 2028 and 2039 to 2040 for up to 10 years per project. Regarding the US Inflation Reduction Act, Meg O'Neill, the CEO of Woodside, said: It uses carrots, not sticks, to encourage decarbonisation. It delivers tax credits once a project is up and running rather than up front subsidies—which is good for taxpayers. And it focuses on reducing carbon, rather than picking winners … The critical minerals production tax credit is the same.”
“AMEC's CEO, Warren Pearce, expects mining companies to establish valuable projects in Australia rather than overseas as a result of this legislation. The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia—WA's peak resources sector representative body—knows critical minerals are vital to the future. Minerals like copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel and what are known as rare earth elements are needed in electricity networks, electric vehicles and wind turbines, and that's just the start. The CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, Rebecca Tomkinson—who I'm very pleased the member for Curtin and the member for Swan referenced—expressed support for the Albanese Labor government's commitment to supporting industry and to level the playing field in what is an intensely competitive global market.”
“Just last week, Senator Reynolds indicated she would oppose the bill, and she said that we have 'quoted a couple of people in the mining sector who are supportive of this'. A couple of people? That's the understatement of the autumn sitting! If the senator or the member for Dickson think that they've got any friends in Western Australia on this matter, they might need to think again. The production tax credit is about building the future of WA and Australia, and it is supported by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia and the Minerals Council of Australia. These organisations have hundreds of members that they represent and speak for.”
“Introducing and passing the Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Bill 2024 through the House in November was Labor's priority, because we understand the challenges and opportunities ahead for mining, manufacturing, innovation and exports in Western Australia. By contrast, does the Liberal opposition leader understand WA? No, he doesn't. He voted against the bill in November. It's now February. Has the opposition wised up? The lack of Liberal speakers on this motion today is testimony to the fact that they are completely deaf to the needs of Western Australia. It's lovely to have the member for Riverina here, but New South Wales is not Western Australia, and it's certainly not Queensland either. How disappointing indeed.”
“With only 11 per cent of the Australian population, WA is the major driver of external trade, producing almost half of Australia's total merchandise exports in 2023-24. We're proud of it, and rightly so, because it doesn't come easy. It means hard, technically challenging work—often away from partners, children and family—in tough terrain and sweltering conditions. The Prime Minister has visited Western Australia more than any leader in memory. Why? Because he understands the importance of Western Australia and that our federal policies must be shaped by what's happening on the ground in WA.”
“I'm delighted to second the motion of my friend and colleague Zaneta Mascarenhas from the neighbouring electorate of Swan in the great state of Western Australia. In Hasluck, as in Swan, and right across Western Australia, the Albanese and Cook Labor governments are working with our vocational training institutions and universities, along with industry, to create the jobs for Western Australian workers. In WA, we have the lowest unemployment rate in the country, at 3.4 per cent. That's in a country where the Albanese government's policies have managed to keep unemployment low while getting inflation down from over six per cent to under three per cent. Western Australia is the engine room of Australia's economy. It is one of the most productive and diversified mineral and petroleum regions on the planet.”
“There will be free TAFE courses at the centre as a matter of priority because the Albanese government prioritises manufacturing. The coalition voted against this support in the House and looks set to vote against it in the Senate. If the coalition won't support our manufacturing workers and won't support a future made in Australia, why should our manufacturing workers support the coalition?”
“We have reached out to support apprentices with a $10,000 incentive to assist them in completing their training. The coalition opposes free training for the very people who will build the houses we need. So, if the coalition won't support the tradies, why should the tradies support the coalition? The third area is our sovereign capability in manufacturing and defence. Henderson in Western Australia is now home to continuous naval shipbuilding. In concert with this excellent decision, the Albanese and Cook Labor governments are establishing Western Australia's Defence TAFE Centre of Excellence across four south metropolitan TAFE campuses in Perth. As well as helping WA workers to upskill and secure high-tech, well-paid jobs, this centre will create a pipeline of skilled workers in defence industries to keep Australia safe.”
“They now oppose free training, and they refuse to tell us about their secret cuts to these sectors. If the coalition won't support our care workers then why should our care workers support the coalition? The second area is housing construction. In the debate on the Free TAFE Bill, the member for Petrie said, 'We don't have enough tradies.' He's right. After a decade of neglect on the part of the Liberals and Nationals, it is no wonder we don't have enough tradies. This is the coalition that didn't even have a federal housing minister for most of its tenure. Not only has the Albanese government made the greatest investments in housing of any federal government since the Second World War, but the Liberals and Nationals have opposed those housing investments.”
“The Free TAFE Bill 2024 was passed by the House last week and sits now with the Senate. Hasluck, and indeed Western Australia, look forward to the passage of the bill. The legislation lists seven national priority areas, and I've hopefully got time to mention three. The bill includes a focus on the caring professions: aged care, child care, health care, disability care. We know there are shortages. We know there's a growing demand in these areas. We all know it. The Liberals and the Nationals know it. But knowing it, and purporting to care about the caring professions, and then failing to act is inexplicable. The Liberals and Nationals want to say they care about aged care, child care, health care and disability care, yet they allowed training in these sectors to run down for over a decade.”
“To this end, because of the importance of building homes, we are granting visas for construction workers. Unlike the member for Cook, we know that this is going to take a collaborative effort, thanks to the mess that they left this country with.”
“I note that the member for Dixon is quickly selling off his private portfolio and shoving it into a trust instead, so he can avoid scrutiny. He's not about first home buyers. That's why they're telling people to call on their super. Young people taking $50,000 out of their super? You show me a 20-year-old who's got $50,000 in superannuation, and then we can start talking about what a serious policy looks like. It's absolute nonsense to ask young people to pinch from Peter to pay Paul, robbing their future prospects to be able to get a roof over their heads today. We're not about that. This party is about fairness. We're about accessibility and affordability in these areas of policy, working to ensure housing is available to all Australians, not just a few.”
“I don't think we're going to get a house built in six months, sadly, but investments are coming through from that. We have $32 billion locked away in order to make sure there's a housing future for all. There's $19 billion specifically for housing in the middle of a housing crisis. We've helped 140,000 people with lower mortgage deposits, double what the former government was ever able to achieve. We are investing in 55,000 social and affordable homes, including in an area of Bassendean right opposite the train station. It's going to be super accessible, mixed-residential housing. These are the kinds of investments and opportunities that we see for everyone, not just the few that are focused on investment portfolios.”
“Labor recognised that, and we acted on it very early on. We have yet again passed more legislation to put that investment into TAFE to ensure that we have the trades that are needed to build our homes for the future. Already 32,000 people have signed up for the free TAFE places, and there has been a 32 per cent increase in people working to complete their apprenticeships. But houses take time. I don't know where the member for Cook or the member for Deakin lives, but I know that where I live, in Hasluck, it can take three years to build a home. We passed the Housing Australia Future Fund Act in the middle of 2023. Unfortunately, the Liberals cared so little about this matter that they continued to block it, but we finally got it passed.”
“Had the coalition thought, in 2019, when the member for Deakin assumed that portfolio, that something akin to having a housing Australia future fund, a help-to-buy scheme or efforts to train more tradies would actually help to address the construction workflows to build more houses—perhaps if he had actually thought about it then and done something—we wouldn't be in the position that we are today. But he didn't. They didn't give it any regard or thought. Consequently, they ripped out $3 billion from TAFE, from the educational institutions that actually create the skill pathways to housing—the trades and skills needed to ensure people have a roof over their head. They ripped $3 billion from TAFE. Imagine how long it takes to build a house today because of the lack of skilled workers in the workplace.”
“They demonstrated how little they actually cared by not even having a minister—not even an assistant minister, not even an envoy. No-one held on to housing in the Liberal and National parties while they were in government from 2013. They did not even in 2014. In 2015, no, they still didn't think it was important. They didn't even in 2016. Not even in 2017 did they think we needed to have regard to housing and homelessness. They didn't even in 2018. Only towards the end did they actually start having regard to it, because the research was confronting. But they still didn't care.”
“The member for Deakin, the member for Dickson and the member for Cook must all think Australian voters were born yesterday. They come into this place and expect Australians to completely forget their complicity in the creation of all the policy mess that this Albanese Labor government has been working steadfastly to fix. In housing there was a decade of lost opportunity. If Labor had been in office in those lost years, we might not have any housing crisis today. In 2013 we had a housing and homelessness minister—a full minister in cabinet. Then the Liberals and Nationals came into the office and, unfortunately, demonstrated their absolute, utter lack of commitment to housing and their lack of commitment to addressing homelessness.”
“My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel. How has the Albanese Labor government improved the lives of Australian veterans? Is the minister aware of proposals that would leave veterans worse off?”
“We need to make special efforts to ensure their full participation in our democracy so that their voices are heard and their votes are counted. I am proud of the work done by the committee to further these goals. I thank the committee secretariat, who fulfilled their duties with their usual professionalism, and I make special mention of the leadership of the chair, Senator Brown, and of the former chair, the member for Jagajaga. I thank the many individuals and organisations that gave up their time and effort during the inquiry process. I commend the report to the House and move: That the House take note of the report. Debate adjourned.”
“In my first speech in this place, I said that our representative institutions must be representative in order to be legitimate and instil confidence. The parliament and the government must always lead in this respect. I am proud of the gender diversity, the cultural diversity and the diversity of the life experiences that this parliament is now increasingly reflecting. But that reflection only endures and increases if the Australian people are able to engage adequately at each election with the democratic process. The Australian people include, without qualification, the young Australian people, the Indigenous Australian people and the Australian people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.”
“The 23 recommendations of the report include a nationally mandated civics and citizenship curriculum in the next version of the Australian Curriculum, more resourcing for professional development for civics teachers, finding ways to encourage more remote and regional schools to visit Canberra or access digital learning experiences, providing the better resources needed for regional and remote communities at voting time, working with community organisations to better engage youth and culturally and linguistically diverse communities on voter education and their opportunities, and a greater focus on media and digital literacy to address the growing rise of mis- and disinformation distorting the foundations of our democracy.”
“Trust in government is an issue in modern democracies. We build trust through the way we conduct ourselves, through creating sturdy institutions and by demonstrating respect for them, and through education and providing voters with the tools they need to make the choices and decisions within the political process. During the inquiry, there were over 130 submissions, 11 public hearings, five site visits and an online survey with almost 1,000 responses. We heard that civics education is crucial and also that the current state of civics education nationally is inadequate.”
“On behalf of the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I present the committee's report, incorporating dissenting reports, entitled From classroom to community: C ivics education and political participation in Australia . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—Democracy only works where citizens are able to engage in the democratic process in an informed way. In Australia, we require our citizens to show up to the polls, and that expectation must be matched with the readiness to provide the education and tools to make an informed choice. Democracy is under pressure in the world today. We have a duty to ensure that we learn from best practice and that we provide within our own institutions and practices examples of democratic functioning that others can learn from.”
“Who gets cut? Surely it won't be the hundreds of newly employed public servants who are working on claims for the veterans from the Ellenbrook RSL right now, after being long neglected by the opposition. Who gets cut in the coalition's secret cuts? Who gets cut, and why the secrecy? Tell my constituents, the people of Hasluck, what you intend to cut from them. What don't they deserve?”
“The Liberals and the Nationals are trying something new and different, a novel campaigning tool for this election, but they have left my community of Hasluck concerned and confused. The coalition are proposing to go to the election without telling the voters of Australia any detail except that there will be secret cuts—the coalition's secret cuts. But these cuts are not just a line item in the budget. They are 36,000 real people, all of whom we know. So who gets cut? Will it be our neighbour working at the counter at Centrelink in Midland, or the uncle on the phone at the Cannington call centre right now, talking to pensioners in Hasluck? Who gets cut? Will it be your dedicated brothers and sisters working at the NDIS in Morley, actively working to help mums and dads ensure that their children have the care and support they need?”
“The work is going to be significant, and it will create fabulous opportunities to incorporate traditional land management practices together with modern science.”
“There are weeds everywhere. It's a significant ecological site and an area of cultural significance as well. For thousands of years, the Bennett Brook, or Korndiny Karla Boodja, a major tributary of the Swan River, or the Derbal Yaragan, has been a place for local Indigenous people for hunting, gathering and camping, and it's home to native fish species, long-necked turtles and freshwater mussels. This area, for scale, is not dissimilar to a major popular area called Lake Monger, which is fully accessible and utilised by its whole community. I'm really pleased that, under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, the Labor government has committed $1.7 million to the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation to work with our universities and local leaders to restore this incredible area. I'm looking forward to seeing what they achieve.”
“Thanks to the Labor government—we believe in the value of wetlands like the Ashfield Flats—the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program was established, which conserves exactly this type of area and improves the quality and health of our urban waterways. I was super pleased to be able to announce that this local and committed group of volunteers together with the council will be receiving just shy of $2 million for the management plan of the Ashfield Flats. It's a significant achievement for this group, and I'm really excited to get out there and see them start to work on and restore that area. Also, over in Lockridge, there's an area that many in the community probably weren't aware even existed, and that's Grogan Swamp. I had to go and bush-bash my way in to find it myself! It's really in great need of restoration.”
“Since 1985 the Bassendean Preservation Group has been at the head of efforts to preserve, protect and rejuvenate the Ashfield Flats. They have long understood that this is a critical area, over 40 hectares, of ecological and cultural significance. They, together with local member Dave Kelly and the town of Bassendean, have worked to create an incredibly strong business case master plan for the area that understands the need for fencing to protect endangered saltmarsh species, weed control and monitoring of the flora and soil and water quality, and even creating paths to ensure that people can activate and utilise the space without damaging the native flora and fauna. The master plan can't just sit on the shelf, though.”