Monique Ryan
Kooyong · Independent · Australia
“I second this motion and commend the member for Curtin's motion to refer the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 to the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. This should not be a controversial request.”
“What about the clinicians, the researchers, the public health experts and the community organisations who have spent years documenting the devastating impact of gambling addiction? Some of them have been given days to review this complex legislation and provide feedback on it to a very limited extent.”
“After this sort of delay, the government has no excuses for not getting this legislation right. But it's rushing to introduce legislation that has been denied input from the public.”
“They're special relationships, the glue that holds us together. For Emily, Matt and Lucy, Noah and Maia, Millie and Rory—I know you share those special relationships and I know that they'll continue. I know that Rich knew that too. Parkrun is something we all do together. It's really symbolic of Rich.”
“We were fortunate to have people in our lives who gave us a sense of what was possible—doctors, engineers, teachers and scientists. We learnt the importance and the wonder of learning and science. There was always plenty of sport. We participated in everything, but particularly footy.”
“The government has not responded to that recommendation appropriately. Its proposals fall well short of that. There are ongoing and serious questions about the extent to which this legislation will provide any support or any protections for children and for vulnerable Australians.”
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“We can't talk about consumer vulnerability without taking a good, hard look at the premier duopoly of Australian corporations: Coles and Woolies. The ACCC has found that our grocery giants are among the most profitable in the world, that their product margins have grown over the last five years and that they have limited incentive to compete with each other on price. When our biggest providers of household essentials are posting billion-dollar profits in a cost-of-living crisis, we are entitled to feel that the only thing that is going 'down, down' is trust in Coles and Woolies. Prices are certainly not 'down, down'. A block of cheese will set you back almost $15. Two litres of milk is pushing $7, and you won't get much change out of $20 for a litre of olive oil. It's $20 for a chocolate bunny.”
“(): I thank the member for Chifley for bringing this motion to the House. For five challenging years, Australian families have weathered high prices to keep the lights on, put a roof over their heads and put food on the family table. In times like these, strong consumer protections are essential. There's no good time to get ripped off. But, in a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, Australian consumers need fairness, transparency and accountability more than ever. Demanding strong protections for Australian consumers means drawing a line between profit and profiteering. It does not begrudge businesses from turning a profit. But, when families are standing in the aisle of a supermarket wondering whether they can afford a block of cheese, something has gone wrong.”
“It should prompt a review of regulatory oversight in our private hospitals, it should prompt a review of Medicare billing compliance measures and it should prompt a review of the national health care regulatory authority. Until we strengthen accountability, regulation and transparency in our healthcare system, our system will continue to fail Australians, and it will fail vulnerable women.”
“An inquiry will be undertaken by the Epworth hospital, and the Victorian government has also referred Mr Gordon to the police. But the state government has not signalled any intention to undertake its own investigation. Given the previous failure of the Epworth hospital to act on multiple complaints over several years, it's confounding that the Allan state government is allowing that private hospital to self-investigate its role in this tragedy. The allegations I've detailed have understandably caused great consternation and distress in a very vulnerable patient group which is now unsure whether or not it can trust its doctors. Mr Gordon's case should represent a canary-in-the-coalmine moment.”
“But, instead, the allegations against Mr Gordon suggest a distressing failure of clinical oversight, system protections and regulatory responsibility over some years. It's a matter of public record that numerous complaints about Mr Gordon's practices were made over a number of years to multiple administrators, from the Epworth hospital to the healthcare regulator Ahpra and to the Victorian Healthcare Complaints Commissioner—complaints made by patients and by his peers. It's inexplicable that this number of complaints did not trigger more effective reviews of his practice. In response to this case, Ahpra has now launched a major external review into its clinical governance. Safer Care Victoria will engage with that inquiry.”
“Some women reported being forced to access their superannuation early or to take out personal loans to pay for procedures which left them with permanent pelvic scarring. Further, it's alleged that some women were rendered infertile unnecessarily, even criminally, by a surgeon that they had trusted—a man in whose hands they'd placed themselves at their time of greatest vulnerability. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' guidelines advise caution before undertaking repeated surgery for endometriosis, but Mr Gordon allegedly undertook such surgery as many as seven times on one of these patients. That should have rung alarm bells through excessive billing for specific item numbers either through the federal government's Medicare compliance measures or through the Epworth hospital's internal audits.”
“Women living with endometriosis, like all patients across Australia, deserve best practice evidence-based care. Mr Simon Gordon was, until recently, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Epworth Freemasons, the largest private hospital in Victoria. It's recently been alleged that Mr Gordon performed aggressive and unnecessary laparoscopic surgeries in which he removed tissue and even internal organs from a number of women with suspected endometriosis. Laparoscopic surgeries for severe endometriosis attract the highest Medicare rebate for this condition, under MBS item 35641. It's alleged that, for each of these operations, Mr Gordon received up to a $1,449 rebate but that he also billed tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket fees paid by vulnerable women.”
“I commend the member for Moreton on this motion. It's true that the additional PBS listings announced in last year's budget do develop and deliver more affordable options for contraception and for the treatment of menopause and endometriosis. These listings represent real gains for Australian women and girls. But, while these reforms mark genuine progress, we still have a long way to go before we ensure that all women receive safe gynaecological care in this country. Endometriosis affects about one in seven Australian girls, women and those assigned female at birth. It's a debilitating condition which can cause chronic pain and infertility. Endometriosis can be hard to diagnose and hard to treat. Symptoms can overlap with other conditions. Sometimes, surgery is required for diagnosis.”
“We have to deal with the scourge and the harm associated with online gambling advertising, and we have to start by recognising gambling harm as an immediate and severe public health emergency. I cede the remainder of my time to the member for Curtin, and I commend this bill to the House.”
“It shifts the focus from a personal burden to the need for systemic change—changes like advertising restrictions and community based education. It frames a necessary national response as prevention and early intervention, comprehensive harm reduction, the need to focus on moderating environments that promote access to gambling and the need to facilitate the use of evidence based policies to inform regulatory changes. As a paediatrician, I'm really conscious of the need to promote and foster the health of all young Australians. Our children are being targeted on social media by betting agencies. They're being exposed to endless betting ads promoted by broadcasters and by our football codes. It's time that we took back control of the mental health of our young people.”
“It's my belief that the biggest challenges that we face as a nation, from infectious disease to chronic illnesses, from antimicrobial resistance to the health impacts of climate change, demand a well-designed, coordinated and expert led response. But the same is true of the health crisis caused by our national addiction to gambling. This new bill, the Australian Centre for Disease Control Amendment (Gambling as a Public Health Issue) Bill, formally recognises gambling as a public health matter, and it will enable public health experts to produce evidence based reports and data on the harms of gambling, just as they have been empowered to do for other addictive and harmful products. Recognising gambling as a public health issue treats gambling harm as a community issue, not as an individual fault.”
“That includes recommendations addressing gambling harm from a public health perspective, like establishing a national strategy to address online gambling harm or introducing a harm reduction levy on gambling companies to fund research, treatment and rehabilitation. During those 978 days, Australians have lost at least $70 billion to gambling. Many have lost a lot more than just money. The bill that I'm introducing today charts a path towards addressing gambling harm as a public health issue in this country. Last year this parliament passed laws that established, for the very first time, an Australian centre for disease control. I commended the Albanese government at that time for taking this action.”
“According to the Public Health Association of Australia, approximately 40 per cent of gambling revenue comes from people who are actively experiencing significant gambling harm. Those harms come at an enormous cost. Gambling costs my home state of Victoria $14 billion a year in social costs. This includes $3.3 billion a year in emotional and psychological harm, including depression, suicide attempts and suicide fatalities. The Murphy report into gambling harm was tabled on 28 June 2023. Regrettably, in the almost 1,000 days that have followed, not one of the report's 31 recommendations has been responded to.”
“Gambling results in significant psychosocial challenges, mental health conditions, domestic violence, increased substance use, homelessness, self-harm and, in its most devastating circumstances, Australians taking their own lives. Almost 70 per cent of high-risk gamblers suffer cognitive, behavioural or mental health issues. Sixteen per cent experience suicidal thoughts. Young people are more likely to struggle with gambling than adults. Eighteen- to 24-year-old gamblers are nearly twice as likely to experience harm from it, and Indigenous Australians experience gambling harm at almost twice the rate of non-Indigenous Australians. The vulnerable are actively targeted by this predatory industry.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The 2026 footy season is upon us. That means that, once again, our screens and our stadiums will be polluted with wall-to-wall gambling advertising. Our children will be exposed to relentless promotion of a harmful product that is driving a serious and urgent public health crisis. Australians are the biggest per capita gambling losers on the planet. As a nation, we lose $32 billion every year. About one in seven Australian adults experiences gambling related harms every year. That's over three million Australians annually. These harms extend far beyond financial distress into the realm of physical and mental health.”
“At a time when voices of division can sometimes feel louder than those promoting understanding, celebrations like Lunar New Year are ever more important. They remind us that diversity is a source of strength and that we share common values of respect, hard work, care for family and hope for the future. I wish all in Kooyong a happy, healthy and prosperous Lunar New Year: xinnian kuaile; gongxi facai.”
“As the Lunar New Year approaches, families and communities across Kooyong are coming together to share meals, enjoy lanterns and lion dances and celebrate renewal. This year we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse, a rare and powerful symbol that appears only once every 60 years. The horse represents strength, movement and determination, and fire brings passion, resilience and transformation. These values resonate strongly with many in our Chinese communities, people who've made an extraordinary contribution to Australia's multicultural story. From business and education to the arts, community organisations and public life, Chinese Australians have helped shape the open, dynamic country that we are today.”
“In closing, I thank the House and I move: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House: (1) notes that: (a) there is inconsistent funding of potentially life-saving vaccines in different state and territories, leading to significant inequity of healthcare outcomes; and (b) all Australians deserve equal access to life-saving vaccinations such as those for meningococcal and RSV infections; and (2) calls upon the Government to urgently work constructively with state and territory governments to facilitate access to life-saving immunisation products for vaccine-preventable diseases".”
“While I strongly support this bill's amendment to the definition of 'vaccine' so that passive immunisation products can be listed on the NIP, this is a small part of a much bigger problem. Australia's vaccination rates have slipped below herd immunity levels, and we're already seeing the consequences, with rising preventable diseases, cost barriers and inconsistent rules across states. Every community deserves equal protection no matter their postcode. It's time for national consistency, equity and more investment in immunisation coverage.”
“The cost of private health insurance is soaring. Specialist fees and out-of-pocket fees are continuing to surge, and according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, health inflation is rising faster than general inflation. The cost of accessing health care in this country should not be prohibitive. It's unacceptable that many Australians are forced to delay or forego care altogether. Our health care system is shifting from that of a universal guarantee—a guarantee which is, after all, one of the lights on the Labor hill—to a source of anxiety and uncertainty. So while we have to consider the cost barriers to accessible immunisations for Australians, they form only part of a much broader and growing set of cost pressures across the healthcare sector that we need this government to confront.”
“It's not just inconsistent funding across jurisdictions. There's also significant variation in the practitioners who can actually administer vaccines. In different states and territories pharmacists can give different vaccines to different age groups and under varying conditions. It creates confusion and inequity, especially when a community pharmacy is people's first port of call for their vaccines. For example, community pharmacists in Victoria are not permitted to prescribe vaccines for haemophilus influenzae type b—another cause of meningitis—or for rotavirus, despite those vaccines being listed on the NIP, whereas pharmacists in other jurisdictions can. The challenges and accessibility and costs of vaccines aren't isolated within just that sector. I fear that there is a cost-of-health crisis unfolding in Australia.”
“Case numbers of the B strain are low in Victoria, but I would argue that the loss of even one child's life from a preventable disease is unacceptable. I know that the Minister's office has engaged supportively and repeatedly with the families of the two boys from Victoria—Levi Syer and James Hall—and that they're doing their best to get this vaccine on the NIP, but our state government has not agreed to fund meningococcal B in the interim. I call on the Allan state government to do that in the name of Levi Syer, who died within six hours of the very first symptoms of meningococcal disease. We should have a harmonised immunisation program across Australia so that access is consistently funded for all vulnerable Australians no matter their postcode. Accessibility issues are not just limited to the states and territories.”
“Many parents are unaware of that fact. The B-strain is included in the NIP only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under two, and individuals with specific risk factors. For other Australian children additional vaccination is necessary. Some Australian states—Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory—have made that vaccine free for all children and teens, but Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT and WA are yet to do so. For many families, the cost of vaccinating their children against Meningococcus B—approximately $200 to $300 for the two doses required—is a significant barrier. Tragically, most are simply unaware that their children are not protected against a tragic but preventable disease.”
“That means that a newborn in one state might be entitled to state funded RSV prevention at little or no cost but an infant in another state might miss out completely because their parents cannot cover the $550 cost of this agent. While this bill should secure national access to Beyfortus on the NIP, other immunisations will remain unfunded in some jurisdictions. Last year, I wrote to the health minister about two devastating cases of meningococcal B disease in young Victorian men. Meningococcal disease is devastating and often fatal. It causes sepsis and meningitis. A vaccine for meningococcus is funded through the NIP for all adolescents aged 14 to 16 in Australia, but the B and W strains, which are responsible for most meningococcal disease in children, adolescents and young adults, are not covered by that vaccine.”
“A two-dose course of Shingrix, the vaccine protecting against the painful and often debilitating varicella virus, can cost $560 for someone who's ineligible for funding under the NIP. I've also heard from constituents about Arexvy, which is recommended by ATAGI, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, for adults aged 75 years or more but is not supported on the NIP. This important protection against RSV can set seniors back more than $300. This is something I wrote to the Minister for Health and Ageing about more than two years ago. I've had no response as yet. The minister replied that Arexvy has received a positive PBAC recommendation, but it's still not getting coverage under the NIP. Beyfortus, which is not on the NIP, is funded in some jurisdictions but only seasonally.”
“Accessibility remains a major barrier for many Australians to receive their full immunisation schedule and, in many cases, that's because of cost. Under the National Immunisation Program schedule, vaccines for diseases like shingles, pneumococcus and influenza are available at no cost to specified groups—those with specific medical conditions, those who are older Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Those are appropriate and important protections. But millions of Australian adults who fall outside of those categories are left to cover the out-of-pocket costs themselves. And, like for many products in health care, those costs can be very significant.”
“It's a preventable disease, but they've died because others in the community have chosen not to be immunised and those people have spread the disease to babies who were too small, too young, to have received the vaccines themselves. There is no greater tragedy than the unnecessary death of a child because of negligence towards them. These numbers reflect more than epidemiology. They reflect a loss of public trust. They reflect vaccine hesitancy and a post-Covid fatigue with immunisation. Rebuilding trust and public buy-in on Australia's vaccination program requires consistent engagement, clear communication and strong leadership. We have to ensure that as many vaccines as possible are accessible to Australians.”
“Measles is on the rise in Australia, as is RSV and influenza, across all age groups. That puts strain on our healthcare system. In 2023-24, nearly 10 per cent of all preventable hospitalisations were attributed to diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines. Infections with pertussis, or whooping cough, are at their highest since records started in 1991. They are at least four times higher than pre-pandemic levels. Babies are very susceptible to whooping cough as they're not yet protected by their own vaccinations. They're simply too young to have received them. I've seen babies die in hospital from whooping cough.”
“Once a global leader in vaccine coverage, Australia is now seeing sustained declines across childhood, adolescent and adult vaccination programs. Data from the Productivity Commission released in January shows that Australia's rate of childhood immunisation has fallen to a 10-year low. Only 89.8 per cent of children aged 24 months or less are fully immunised. This represents an almost three per cent decrease since the COVID pandemic. Full vaccination coverage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander one-year-olds dropped to 89.2 per cent in 2024, while coverage for two-year-olds declined to 86.7 per cent over the same period. While this decrease might seem modest, it takes us below the limits for herd immunity. Its effects are already clear. We're seeing a resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases in children.”
“But, until now, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has had to defer approval for Beyfortus because it doesn't actually fit under the NIP's remit. So I'm glad the minister is bringing this issue to parliament. I support this bill and the potential for us to increase protection against preventable infectious diseases, which it will deliver. But as a paediatrician I remain concerned about access and uptake issues contributing to the declining immunisation rates in Australia. Australia's national aspirational coverage target for vaccinations is 95 per cent. There's a reason we have that number. It's the number needed to achieve herd immunity—the slowing or even prevention of highly contagious diseases. But across Australia we're seeing a really concerning trend. Vaccination rates are falling below the herd immunity benchmark.”
“Under this new definition, the minister will be able to more easily and more quickly list new and emerging technologies on the National Immunisation Program. It will render it more flexible and able to respond more quickly to a rapidly evolving healthcare environment. One example of the positive impacts this bill will have is for the monoclonal antibody Beyfortus, which provides prolonged protection for children and babies from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which causes serious and often life-threatening chest infections in premature and susceptible babies. It can cause persistent and sometimes lifelong respiratory problems, like asthma. Beyfortus has substantially reduced infants' risk of hospitalisation from RSV infection in recent months.”
“That's why Australia's National Immunisation Program, or the NIP, is so important. The NIP increases Australia's national immunisation coverage by providing free essential vaccines to eligible cohorts for a whole range of diseases. Under the current legislation, the NIP extends only to modes of active immunisation. The definition of 'vaccine' is limited to substances that elicit an immune response. Products that provide only passive immunological protection in a way that does not actually elicit an immune response can't, at this stage, be listed on the NIP. This bill will amend the definition of 'vaccine' in the National Health Act 1953 to include preparations conferring disease protection via either active or passive immunity.”
“I rise to commend the National Health Amendment (Passive Immunological Products) Bill 2026 to the House. Vaccines are a cornerstone of our public health system. They protect us against serious and preventable illnesses, reduce the burden on our hospital system, help manage our chronic disease load and lower our lifetime healthcare costs. The World Health Organization and the Australian Medical Association recognise immunisation as the world's single most effective medical intervention. Globally, immunisation programs prevent two to three million deaths every single year. And the AMA reports that, since the introduction of vaccines to Australia in 1932, there has been a 99 per cent decrease in the number of deaths caused by vaccine-preventable diseases—conditions like tetanus, polio and diphtheria.”
“I'm very proud and honoured to represent an electorate in which a third of constituents were born overseas, having come from 150 countries of origin, and as many as one in six speak a language other than English at home. I celebrate each and every one of those nations and those cultures, and I thank those who have come from overseas and who choose to make Kooyong their home. That's why I'm pleased to second this motion calling for careful, responsible, evidence based immigration policy—policy that rejects rhetoric that inflames division and recognises that multiculturalism enriches our culture and our democracy and the richness and freedom of our society.”
“Our universities and TAFEs also develop clarity around overseas student numbers, which have a huge impact on institutions like Swinburne University of Technology, which is in my electorate of Kooyong. Some Australian media outlets, think tanks and politicians avoid honest debates and conversations about immigration. They prefer to mislead and to foster discord. Their narratives oversimplify complex issues, unfairly target migrant communities and risk undermining the mutual respect and shared identity that underpin Australia's multicultural success. They create division and distract from the evidence based policy solutions needed for the real challenges that face all Australians.”
“Without ongoing migration, our workforce will shrink, threatening our capacity to deliver essential services like aged care, child care and health care. Jobs and Skills Australia data from 2025 shows ongoing unmet labour demand in key sectors such as health care, education, construction and utilities. These are shortages which can be resolved by careful, targeted migration intake. Migrants increase our economic productivity and resilience. They tend to be younger and more educated than the general population, contributing to productivity and to wage growth. They diversify our labour market, and they often demonstrate great entrepreneurship. They own about one-third of all Australian small businesses. These enterprises translate into job creation, community investment and new enterprise development.”
“But we do still have a significant issue with onshore backlogs for both permanent and temporary migration. For the first time, we have more than 400,000 individuals in this country on bridging visas. This is an issue which started when Peter Dutton and Mike Pezzullo oversaw Home Affairs. It worsened after COVID, when the coalition stomped on the immigration accelerator, and then it consolidated under the first term of the Albanese government. We need to discuss immigration levels in an open, honest and transparent way. Australia's birthrate is at a record low. Immigration is a major driver of population growth. Migration is playing an increasingly critical role in maintaining our quality of life and supporting Australia's long-term economic stability.”
“In recent years, real and urgent economic strain, a national housing shortage, international conflicts and an increasingly polarised public debate have rendered migrant communities more vulnerable to negative and harmful political narratives. Politicians like Pauline Hanson have repeatedly chosen the low road by politicising immigration for their own ends. The coalition has proposed to cut permanent and net migration but without a coherent plan for how we could do that without hurting our economy. Labor's approach has been to fail to specify migration targets while allowing others to imply that immigrants are at fault for the policy failures of successive governments. The reality is that net migration has fallen significantly in the last two years after significant, albeit belated, tightening of student visa policies.”
“Australia's success as a prosperous and successful democracy is inseparable from the contribution of migrants. Migrants strengthen our economy, enrich our social fabric and increase the resilience of our communities. In seconding the member for Warringah's motion, I recognise that migrants are not only central to our national identity; they are key to Australia's economic and cultural prosperity. Australians understand this. The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute's 2024 M apping social cohesion report found that 85 per cent of Australians agreed that multiculturalism has been good for this country, with 82 per cent believing that immigrants improve Australian society.”
“It would also help trigger timely health responses in households, by local governments and by healthcare services. In a rapidly warming world, we can best protect people by slashing the carbon pollution that drives climate change. But, in the meanwhile, by recognising heatwaves as the lethal events that they are and by acting decisively to prepare for them, we can protect vulnerable people and we can save lives.”
“Two weeks ago, Australia's east coast was scorched by extreme heat, with temperatures in Kooyong soaring to 43 degrees and temperature records being broken across three states. This was the worst heatwave since Black Saturday 2009, when almost 400 Victorians died from heat and 173 died from bushfires. Experts warn that 50-degree summers have arrived, and these heatwaves are deadly. Extreme heat strains every system of the body, worsening heart disease, diabetes and respiratory illnesses. But, despite killing more Australians than floods, storms and bushfires combined, heatwaves remain a silent killer. That's why I'm urging the government to confront this danger head-on by naming heatwaves in the same way that we name cyclones. Doing so would increase public awareness of the immediate risk associated with extreme heat.”
“All we have now before us is an act to establish a commission that cannot address this issue. My amendment to this legislation is a simple one. It's only two words—two words which mean a huge amount to the students whose lives it would transform. The amendment seeks to remedy the ongoing and worsening burden of student debt by expanding the commission's remit to consider student contributions—two words. The sector wants it, Australian students deserve it, and our parliament should insist upon it.”
“This is a pricing system with no coherent policy background or logic. It's neither fair nor efficient. It is simply punitive. The universities accord reported that student contributions need to be fixed urgently. That was in 2024. We're now in 2026, and nothing has changed. In fact, the maximum student contributions for cluster 1 degrees, including law, accounting, economics and business are almost seven per cent higher in 2026 than they were in 2024. If the government were to tackle this issue today, it could consider reforming section 93.10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003—this division sets the maximum student contribution price per place for disciplines as well as their indexation under the act—but the government has declined to consider this simple reform for over two years.”
“That omission significantly weakens the commission's ability to provide the honest and robust advice that the government needs to hear. Many submissions on this bill from higher education experts and from within the university sector have raised the alarm that the legislation fails in this respect. I know that the minister has heard these calls, but he continues to ignore them. After years of expensive university degrees, it's irresponsible, in my view, to legislate a new national steward that is deliberately blind to the significant policy failure of the job-ready graduates scheme. The reality is that, because of this scheme, students are paying more than $17,000 a year for studies in disciplines like arts, the law and business. That's over $50,000 for a basic three-year degree and upwards of $80,000 for combined programs like arts/law.”
“The government says that it wants a tertiary education commission able to drive long-term reform, but the bill before the House creates a commission that cannot speak for or investigate the plight of students unless it's politically convenient to the government of the day. Under this bill, the commission is empowered to examine what the Commonwealth contributes to higher education, but it's prevented from looking at what students themselves are charged. It's extraordinary that the government has drafted a bill that gives the future steward of Australia's tertiary education sector the power to review and advise on what comes out of the Commonwealth purse but pays no mind to the financial burden on students. The government's omission is not accidental; it's deliberate.”
“I move amendment (1) as circulated in my name: (1) Clause 11, page 9 (line 13), after "Commonwealth", insert "and student". This amendment to the Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Bill 2025 is about one thing: it's about ensuring fairness for students in our higher education system. Today, for many young Australians, university education has become a narrow and expensive pathway. Students are being burdened with rising fees, growing debts and a funding structure that fails to reflect the realities that they face. My amendment takes steps towards recognising those issues.”
“My question is for the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors. The government's new single assessment scheme is failing older Australians. I'm hearing from many constituents about the long wait times for assessments and that experienced clinicians are unable to override algorithmic decision-making. It's been reported that more than 120,000 Australians are still waiting for one of these automated assessments. Minister, are these once-in-a-generation reforms just 'robo aged care'?”
“All of us should be able to afford affordable care through the private healthcare system. It's a matter of urgency and something that this government needs to address immediately.”
“Over the last five years, out-of-pocket costs for common procedures have increased by 300 per cent. People who are vulnerable and seeking urgent medical care for sometimes life-threatening conditions should not be expected to deal with unexpected costs through the private healthcare system. They need to be able to put themselves in the hands of medical professionals they can trust, and it is heartbreaking when they realise that they cannot afford to do that. I'm asking the government to urgently commission a health committee inquiry into the cost of specialist care in this country. All Australians need to be able to access medical specialists, whether they live in the city or in the regions. They shouldn't have to wait three or four years to see a paediatrician or for a hip replacement or to see a cardiologist.”
“They've paid thousands of dollars every year for what they thought would guarantee timely access to care, choice of practitioner and protection from large, unexpected medical bills. Instead, they're encountering extreme out-of-pocket fees to receive specialist care, including costs sometimes multiple amounts more than the Medicare schedule fee. They're getting bills for surgery a day or two before. I heard this morning from a constituent who, as they entered the car park of a private hospital, had been contacted by the surgeon's assistant with a demand for a fee that they didn't anticipate they were going to have to deal with. They're being asked to pay full fees upfront, even those portions that will attract later reimbursement. Since 2010, private specialist fees have increased by 73 per cent.”