Andrew Wallace
Fisher · Liberal National Party · Australia
“Based on that meeting, I worked pretty closely with the former shadow minister for communications David Coleman, and I was the chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee when, with the member for Newcastle, we held an inquiry into protecting the age of innocence.”
“On 3 January 2018, Dolly Everett passed away at the age of 14. She was a young woman, a young lady, who had been bullied mercilessly. Sadly, she took her own life as a result of the bullying she encountered on social media. That happened not long into my parliamentary term in this place.”
“Later, in June 2024, the then opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged that a coalition government would implement a ban on social media for under-16s within 100 days of taking office. The Labor government did not introduce a bill to protect under-16s from social media until 12 months after we introduced our private member's bill.”
“It was the coalition that consistently led the charge on the protection of children. We actually set up the eSafety Commissioner—and what we now know, from the eSafety Commissioner herself, is that 70 per cent of children are still on social media as a result of this government's flawed legislation.”
“The continuity, the trust and the prevention that a good family GP, like my doctor in Maroochydore, provides cannot be replicated by a clipboard and a six-minute timer. That is where the human cost begins to accumulate. Bulk-billing has collapsed under this government, no matter what those opposite say or how they try and spin it.”
“For decades, Commonwealth governments, including coalition governments, have used health incentive payments to support quality care, to encourage digital health adoption, to sustain general practice in aged-care settings and to keep doctors working in rural and remote communities, where the economics of medicine are hard and the distances…”
The complete record
Every one of 667 lines we hold for Andrew Wallace, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 14 of 14.
“It is Australians like these that I encouraged new citizens to emulate at our two Australian citizenship ceremonies in Maleny and Buddina on Australia Day. I tasked nearly 100 new citizens with embracing the rights and privileges of Australian citizenship while shouldering the responsibility to vote, serve and uphold our values. Congratulations to Mooloolaba Rotary and the Maleny District Sport and Recreation Club for hosting both ceremonies, and a big shout-out goes to Clif Hefner and Theresa Craig for their great work in the Maleny citizenship ceremony. I also want to congratulate the people of Montville and Maleny, who this week were declared the most welcoming places in Australia in the 2025 Traveller Review Awards, based on more than 360 million traveller reviews.”
“I want to take a moment to celebrate a few community legends who were honoured with Australia Day honours just a couple of weeks ago. My friend Carmel Crouch AM was honoured for significant service to people with disability through the incredible national success story that is STEPS Group and STEPS Pathways College. Korey Boddington is a Mooloolaba Paralympic cyclist and Paris gold medallist whose resilience and determination has inspired our community. Jamie Perkins OAM is an Alexandra Headland local and Olympic swimmer who won gold at Paris and has done the Alexandra Headland Surf Lifesaving Club so very proud. I also want to acknowledge the 2025 Queensland local hero Claire Smith, whose warmth and passion for our local wildlife was showcased at the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards.”
“Once again I also pay tribute to the men and women of the National Intelligence Community, of the Australian Defence Force and of law enforcement agencies. Their hard work, service and courage ensure that Australians remain safe from a vast array of threats which we hope we never have to encounter. Thank you for what you do. With that, I commend the report to the House.”
“The review of administration and expenditure remains an invaluable function of the committee, helping provide the Australian public with confidence in the effectiveness and efficiency of Australia's intelligence agencies. These reviews form one key part of the comprehensive oversight of the intelligence community undertaken by the PJCIS and other bodies. The committee extends its appreciation to the six reviewed agencies for their engagement in the process and their candour in the classified hearings of the committee. In addition, the committee thanks the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security and the Australian National Audit Office for their contribution of useful evidence for the committee's considerations.”
“The committee welcomed the agencies' engagement with the issue of attracting and retaining diverse staff with native-language proficiency. The information provided by the intelligence agencies in relation to their engagement with AI and machine learning was detailed and useful. The committee was pleased to see agencies thinking and planning carefully to ensure the appropriate and effective use of these complex technological tools. Regarding the use of contractors by intelligence agencies, the committee did not identify significant concerns and noted efforts by some to review and rationalise their use of external consultants. The committee encourages agencies to continue their endeavours and their transparency in this regard.”
“Much has been said in recent media reports about diversity picks and the like, and that's an issue that has been the subject of discussion, particularly in the United States. But for our intelligence agencies it is incredibly important that we do look at culturally and linguistically diverse personnel because it is those personnel who are able to give our intelligence agencies insights that other Australians may not otherwise have, particularly in relation to culture and language. Another area that we looked at specifically was the agencies' use of external contractors. The committee was satisfied overall with the evidence it received on these areas of focus, while identifying some matters on which improvement could be made.”
“The committee notes that the 2022-23 financial year continued a trajectory of growth and change for several agencies, with the ongoing implementation of significant initiatives that commenced during the term of the previous coalition government, including ASD's REDSPICE program and the development of the National Security Office Precinct. The committee is monitoring these major projects, including by receiving regular briefings from relevant agencies on their progress and administration. In this review, the committee identified some specific focus areas for discussion with the agencies, including artificial intelligence, AI; machine learning, ML; biointelligence; the agencies' efforts to attract and retain culturally and linguistically diverse staff with native-language proficiency; and the agencies use of external contractors.”
“In conducting its administration and expenditure reviews the committee examines a large volume of classified evidence. For that reason, much of the detail of the review is not able to be publicly reported. The committee's report to parliament and my comments to the House today provide an unclassified, general overview of the committee's key findings. Having reviewed the administration of the six agencies for the 2022-23 financial year, the committee is satisfied that they are administering their outcomes and outputs effectively. In reviewing the expenditure of the agencies, the committee is similarly satisfied with their financial integrity, their efforts to achieve value for money for the Australian taxpayer and their management of budget and expenditure over the reported period.”
“The committee is empowered to review the administration and expenditure of six of the 10 agencies that form Australia's national intelligence community—namely, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, ASIO, Australia's leading domestic intelligence agency; the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, ASIS, Australia's foreign intelligence agency; the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, AGO, responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of geospatial intelligence; the Defence Intelligence Organisation, DIO, which brings together all of Defence's intelligence capabilities for Defence decision-making; the Australian Signals Directorate, ASD, who provide intelligence support in relation to signals, communication, cyberwarfare and information security; and the Office of National Intelligence, ONI.”
“On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report entitled Review of administration and expenditure No. 22 (2022 - 23)—Australian intelligence agencies . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—This review is one of the key functions of the Intelligence and Security Joint Committee as set out by section 29 of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, and it's undertaken on an annual basis.”
“They slashed the Caloundra transport corridor upgrade and callously cut funding to the Mooloolah River Interchange, where over a hundred houses had been demolished to make way for it. Now, once again, the Sunshine Coast rail project is on the chopping block, despite record funding. If we kick it down the road for another generation, it'll only be more expensive. As a result, hundreds of thousands of locals will miss out on an Olympic-sized opportunity to transform the way we move on the Sunshine Coast. I call on all levels of government, every area of the community and all parties and persuasions to get on board with Sunshine Coast rail. (Time expired)”
“I've made building better roads and rail a priority since my election in 2016 so that families like mine can get home sooner and safer. I've fought to upgrade local roads, like Beerburrum Street in Aroona, Currimundi Road and University Way. I've fought to improve the safety of roads like Citrus Road in Palmwoods and Cooroora Street in Dicky Beach. I've fought to expand our network of walkways and cycleways in places like Beerwah, Battery Hill and Tanawha, and I've fought to connect the Sunshine Coast with $6.7 billion in major projects, like the Bruce Highway, the North Coast rail duplication, Steve Irwin Way, the Mooloolaba transport corridor and more. In contrast, Labor slashed a number of vital projects, including future Bruce Highway upgrades.”
“This government tried to stand on both sides of the barbed wire fence by abstaining on a UN General Assembly vote, proposed by Palestine, to demand Israel cede its territory and end its so-called occupation. Under this Prime Minister the Australian Labor government sided with UNRWA and its Hamas affiliated counterparts after Israel's elected legislature voted to revoke UNRWA's right to operate on Israeli sovereign territory.”
“This Prime Minister watched on as the trade union movement backed Hamas and the two-state solution in a public statement, another affront to the long history of trade union antisemitism. Labor chose cowardice over courage when the International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israel's democratically elected leaders. This government failed to hold the Australian Human Rights Commission to account for antisemitism within its senior leadership. This government dithered and delayed instead of responding to vile antisemitism on our Australian university campuses. This government has since refused to support an urgent judicial inquiry into antisemitism on those campuses. This government were woefully slow to act when their own Senator Fatima Payman chose solidarity with Hamas and the Greens over the Jewish people.”
“This investigation inevitably proved that as many as nine UN relief workers were involved in the murder of 1,200 innocent Israeli people and the kidnapping of 251 men, women and children. This Labor government called for a ceasefire and a two-state solution just months after the 7 October attack, and this announcement, by this government, came on a Jewish high holiday—of all days! This government has consistently refused to instigate a judicial inquiry in relation to the antisemitism that has pervaded our university campuses, instead opting for a parliamentary inquiry. This government voted to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, breaking with allies and decades of bipartisanship on this matter.”
“When the foreign minister visited Israel—I think it was in early 2024—she refused to visit the sites of the atrocities. That was our foreign minister. I've been to the sites of the atrocities, and for our foreign minister to have travelled to Israel shortly after the incident but to have refused to go to those sites is a travesty, and she stands condemned for not doing so. In fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago that this government's Attorney-General visited Israel. That was in the last couple of weeks. This government reinstated funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine despite an ongoing investigation into the agency's complicity in the 7 October attacks.”
“There's been a lot of talk this morning about what the government has done or wants to do to address antisemitism. But I think it's important that in this chamber, at this time, we actually deal with some facts. Part of the reason we are where we are today and for the rise of antisemitism is the appalling lack of political leadership and, it has to be said, the appalling lack of leadership from our leaders. That's not the men and women of the police and security services on the ground. It's a lack of leadership at our utmost top levels in those security and policing services. In the last year alone, this federal Labor government has delayed a visit to Israel by senior ministers and then refused to visit the sites of the atrocities.”