Simon Kennedy
Cook · Liberal Party · Australia
“Can you guess how long it took Cory to have his injuries accepted? Eight years—eight years of forms, reports, appointments, assessments, delays and uncertainty. Cory, as I mentioned, is president of the Cronulla RSL Sub-Branch.”
“This Albanese government must accept its obligation in return, must explain why veterans are being pushed through repeated reassessments, must explain why veterans are paying out-of-pocket costs for 400 days while waiting for approval and must explain why doctors are being driven away from DVA work.”
“This has to change. I don't want to continue with political point scoring. I want this to flip. If the members across here today and the members watching in their offices right now can take this back to their party room: we want to stop. Let's make this right.”
“A veteran should not be forced through repeated assessments just to keep receiving care. A veteran should not be paying out of pocket while waiting for a government approval.”
“We've announced it and passed it in a budget, and now we're doing the consultation. How backwards is that? We're raising revenue and giving billions of dollars to hydrogen and billions of dollars to billionaires. We're giving $15 billion to the NRF.”
“Luckily, he had a home which he could borrow against, but for those 17 months he had to borrow against his home and he was under constant psychiatric treatment, with no promise that it would ever be reimbursed. This isn't how a grateful country should treat a veteran.”
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“The over-50 male ski winner was Daryn Metti, and the over-50 female ski winner was Kelly Mountier. In the beach championships, the open male flags winner was Levi Statevski, and the open female flags winner was Telia Ellis. The under-17 male flags winner was Melvin Guilbert, and the under-17 female flags winner was Sophie Woodrow. The under-19 male flags winner was Hobbie Smit. The under-15 female sprint winner was Saoirse O'Brien. The under-17 female sprint winner was Sophie Woodrow, and the open male sprint winner was Levi Statevski. The Australian championships is a major national event where surf lifesavers from across Australia compete in a wide range of events. This year's participants were Nikki Jones in the over-35 sprint and over-35 flags, Jon Lavers in the over-70 boardriding longboard and over-70 boardriding shortboard.”
“The open male was Jack Robinson. I now turn to this year's board and ski championship winners. The under-15 male board winner was Diego Ordenes. The under-15 female board winner was Saoirse O'Brien. The under-17 male board winner was Chris Ordenes. The under-17 female board winner was Amelie Sanchez. The under-19 male board winner was Brent Gaddes. The open male board winner was Will Bannister. The open female board winner was Zoe Duchet-Catherine. The under-50 male board winner was Chris Freeman, and the over-50 male board winner was Robert Walker. The under-17 male ski winner was Melvin Guilbert. The under-17 female ski winner was Sophie Woodrow. The under-19 male ski winner was Hobbie Smit, the open male ski winner was also Hobbie Smit. The open female ski winner was Zoe Duchet-Catherine. The under-50 male ski winner was Chris Freeman.”
“I now turn to the ironperson swim and let champions, who excelled in the swim portion of the overall ironwoman or ironman competition. This year the club recognised Saoirse O'Brien in the under-15 females, Melvin Guilbert in the under-17 males, Amelie Sanchez in the under-17 females, Jay Furniss in the open males, Paul Cox in the over-50 males and Chris Freeman in the under-50 males. In the surf race, the under-15 male was Dylan Cooper and the under 15 female was Amelia De -Jongh. The under-17 male was Melvin Guilbert, and the under-17 female was Amelie Sanchez. The under-19 male was Brent Gaddes, and the open male was Will Bannister. The open female was Zoe Duchet-Catherine. The under-50 male was Chris Freeman, and the over-50 male was Baden Green. In the belts, the under-17 male was Ethan Maclachlan. The under-19 male was Jake Boyle.”
“This year, the individuals with the greatest number of points for each sport were Ricky Crompton in the open swim, Paul Cox in the masters swim, Scott Phillips in the vets swim, Chris Ordenes in the open ski and Greg Oldfield in the open board. The Auxiliary Trophy winners were Tiffany Crompton in the opens, Scott Phillips in the vets and Stephen Parkes in the masters. The President's Trophy winners were Daryn Metti in the opens, Rob Walker in the vets and Paul Cox in the masters. The Captain's Trophy winners were Baden Green in the opens, Carolyn Macauley in the vets and Mark Franklin in the masters. The 2025-26 Nipper Leadership Team and winners were the captains, Jackso Swingler and Charlotte Diver-Tuck; the vice-captains, Fletcher Sellick and Madelyn Watts; and the leadership team, Catherine McCulloch and Liana Ellis.”
“Special recognition goes to Chris Barber for achieving the 100% Award for over 20 years—how outstanding, 100 per cent for 20 years. The Outstanding Patrol Attendance Award went to Anne Crane and Richard Pinker. The winning patrol of the year was captained by Zoe Duchet-Catherine and comprised a number of surf lifesaving members: Alessio Polimeni, Alicia McCullouch, Andrea Fantechi, Angus Griffin, Anna Cox, Bob Sagar, Brent Gaddes, Brooke Edwards, Darryl Easton, Darryl Gaddes, Dylan Ingram, Harrison Clarke, Isabella Ingram, Joanna Panter, Levi Stateski, Ludovic Catherine, Melvyn Guilbert, Niclas Rogulski, Noah Duchet-Catherine, Freddy Obitz, Rebecca Ingram, Samuel Easton, Sascha Stewart, Sophie Guilbert, Titoan Guilbert, Vincent Guilbert and Wojciech Rogulski.”
“This year, the award winners were Alessio Polimeni, Amelie Sanchez, Angelo Palamidis, Annette Tasker, Freddy Obitz, Benjamin Paton, Brian Dalgarno, Bronessa Smith, Catherine Rubbi, Chloe Teuma, Chris Barber, Claire Pierse, Craig Timbrell, Chris Ordenes, David Dalla-Camina, Damien Carlton, Diego Ordenes, George Ordenes, Phillip Hamilton, Jacinta Watson, Janine Paton, Justine Woolveridge, Kenneth Anderson, Kenneth Rosebery, Levi Stateski, Lew Cochrane, Ludovic Catherine, Maddie Stanton, Maj Sibai, Mark Teuma, Nader Saleh, Nick Rubbi, Noah Duchet-Catherine, Olivier Sanchez, Pablo Azurdia Webb, Paul Spratt, Richard Pinker, Robert Short Junior, Rodd Sanchez, Samuel Easton, Saoirse O'Brien, Sascha Stewart, Stewart Rodham, Tahlia Comb, Tiffany Crompton, Kim Williams, Zack Pontey and Zane Watson.”
“The Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club is our oldest lifesaving club and one of Australia's oldest and most iconic surf lifesaving clubs, established in 1907. Cronulla awarded Silver Medallion Patrol Awards in advanced surf lifesaving that equipped members with skills and knowledge to confidently manage beach patrol, especially in challenging situations. This year, there were a number of winners, including Bridget Cole, Brandon Leelong, Freddy Obitz and Kim Williams. There were 100% Award winners. These winners must have been on patrol for the entire season and performed all their rostered patrols as per the roster without any time missed or any changes.”
“The Rookie Life Saver of the Year Award went to Nicola Dorling. The Most Outstanding IRB Member Award went to Neill Hunt. The Most Improved IRB Member Award went to Khristina Verstraete. The Most Outstanding Under-15 Club Person Award went to Ruby Kelly. The Most Outstanding Under-17 Club Person Award went to Jake Hughes. The Most Outstanding Under-19 Club Person Award went to Angus Jarolimek. The most outstanding club person received the President's Trophy; that was Neill Hunt. The Belinda Emmerson-Franke Encouragement Award went to Tim Grant. The Ted Brooker Memorial Award for most outstanding contribution in club competition and service went to Ruby Kelly. Congratulations to all the winners from Elouera Surf Club.”
“The Most Outstanding Boat Crew Award went to Jessie O'Mahony, Edwina Wright, Gabby Ferris, Terani Inoke and Grant Wilkinson. The Most Improved Boat Crew Award went to Tahlia Ingram, Casey Mood, Caitlin Smith, Isla Lawson, Mia McCarthy and Grant Wilkinson. And the rookie of the year received the Tim Nesbitt Award; that went to Lincoln Rommel. The club's training awards recognise work undertaken to upskill club members in ensuring beach safety and surf lifesaving. The winner of the Most Outstanding Trainer Award was Rob Van der Sanden. The Most Improved Trainer Award went to Byron Watson. To the lifesaving awards: the junior lifesaver of the year received the David Chandler Award; that went to Natalie Hay, as the most outstanding junior patrol person of the year. The Patrol Person of the Year Award went to Caitlin Smith.”
“The under-19s athlete of the year received the Terry Trevillian Award; that went to Nick Hughes. The open athlete of the year received the Rick Pallister Award; that went to Alex Duggan. The water man of the year received the Robert Chapman Award; that went to Nathan Neale. The water woman of the year received the Sharon Muddle Award; that went to Mikaela Mead. The most outstanding male beach athlete received the Gilchrist Family Award; that went to Peter Thoroughgood. The most outstanding female beach athlete received the other Gilchrist Family Award; that went to Natalie Hay. The most outstanding masters competitor was Robert Humphries. They next had the boat awards, recognising members who display exceptional skills in manning the club boats. The Most Outstanding Boat Competitor Award went to Jessie O'Mahony.”
“Firstly, in my address-in-reply, I want to congratulate an extraordinary group of individuals who have made exceptional achievements in my community, particularly in surf lifesaving, and who have kept my community safe by patrolling our beautiful Bate Bay. We have four proud and active surf lifesaving clubs in my community: Cronulla, North Cronulla, Elouera and Wanda. All recently held their annual presentation awards. There were a number of individuals honoured. The Elouera Surf Life Saving Club awarded the Surf Sports Awards, recognising members of this club for their athletic prowess. The under-15s athlete of the year received the Constance and Colin Toll Award; that went to Nate Robertson. The under-17s athlete of the year received the Daile Banning Award; that went to Jake Hughes.”
“I actually thought this would be an inquiry where we got together, we looked at it and we talked about it but, instead, what we had was an inquiry with a majority of Labor members who actually wrote a report. We proposed amendments, none of which were considered, none of which were debated, all of which were rejected in about 10 minutes. Therefore, we had no option left but to put together a dissenting report to try and help Australian businesses, to try and help Australian households, make ends meet. (Time expired)”
“Embarrassingly, they actually announced that Australia would be part of this and would be sharing research with the US and UK. But, embarrassingly, our government trotted someone out there to say that we'd be withdrawing from an agreement where they would voluntarily share intel and research with us to help us decarbonise our grid and lower prices. We backed out of it—pathetic. Even the former chief scientist of South Australia gave evidence saying that we should be looking at nuclear, and she had no hope that we could get to a decarbonised grid or lower prices without nuclear. We heard expert after expert over these weeks. I'm new to parliament.”
“It predates blockchain and all these energy-intensive industries. That is why we've seen Google, Microsoft and Meta all investing in this sector. This is why we've heard evidence from the Minerals Council of Australia that it's negligent. This is why we heard from Dr Chris Greig from Princeton, who worked on Australia's and America's net zero plans and gave evidence. The Daily Telegraph called it 'not even close' in the article 'Leading scientist's scathing review of Australia's net zero progress'. This is someone who actually promotes net zero in both Australia and America. Further, our continued prohibition stands in stark contrast to the rest of the world. Twenty-five countries in COP28, including the US and UK, pledged to triple global nuclear capacity, but not Australia.”
“Do we think we can increase by 500 per cent the amount of offshore wind to meet their targets? Actually, offshore wind has been decreasing. Yet we're meant to believe this magic pudding plan that, somehow, it will increase by 500 per cent. Labor also assumes hydrogen power will become available in the 2040s. This is despite Origin and Twiggy Forrest walking away from it and no leading country in the world planning on hydrogen to be a significant part of their energy mix. Yet there it is in the AEMO step change and Labor's plan. We're banking on hydrogen. It also says gas should increase by 50 per cent. That's Labor's own plan. Yet they're not approving further gas. We are not approving it. This is why this will send this country broke. It's because we've gone woke. Labor's plan also predates artificial intelligence.”
“This is why Australians are paying a thousand dollars more and will pay, as I said, up to $300 more next financial year. Yet we watch them high-fiving over that $150 subsidy and talking about the relief they're wreaking for everyday Australians. We watched them high-fiving over these subsidies when we watched Whyalla Steelworks close, because businesses are going broke. And it's not just big businesses like Whyalla Steelworks; it's small and medium manufacturers, small boilermakers, machine workers and shop workers. This plan is not realistic and it's not fit-for-purpose; it's intermittent energy and higher prices. Let's take onshore wind as an example. Onshore wind will need to increase to five gigawatts a year to meet their 2030 target. Is that realistic? Guess what—we have not produced more than one gigawatt a year to date.”
“I second the motion. Labor's energy plan is off the rails. It's gone woke and it's sending companies broke. I firmly believe Labor's plan to reach net zero is unrealistic. It's a plan for higher prices, rolling blackouts and environmental damage. Labor's plan is just for higher household energy bills, and we see it. We see it in the bills that have gone up to $1,000 since they've entered office, and, with the new plan passed, we will see bills rise a further $300 more next financial year. And why? We now know Labor's plan, which it previously touted at $122 billion, will actually cost $642 billion. This is a number that the government does not dispute, and there's still north in that figure of $642 billion. It excludes Snowy Hydro, Orana and a whole host of other projects. It excludes consumer energy costs such as batteries and solar.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Tomorrow, it will be 1,000 days since the election, where the Prime Minister promised life would be cheaper under him. Instead, food is up 12 per cent, gas is up 34 per cent, rents are up 17 per cent, and Australian families have paid $50,000 more on a typical mortgage. Why won't the Prime Minister apologise to Australians for his weak leadership, bad decisions and wrong priorities?”
“The International Monetary Fund is projecting that in 2025 Australia will have the second-highest inflation in the developed world, the largest fall in disposable income in the developed world and the second-highest inflation, just after the Slovak Republic. After 12 interest rates under Labor, we now have the highest interest rate since 2011. Respected economics firm Deloitte released figures showing Australia's standard of living will not recover until 2030. The damage wreaked by those on the other side has taken three years. It's going to take us six years just to get back on track. Australia has had enough.”
“What have the Labor Party in government done to cause this? They've spent an additional $347 billion—$30,000 per household—since the election. I can tell you that the households of Cook do not feel $30,000 better off. They would have much preferred that $30,000 to go into their pockets, to have cost-of-living relief through lower taxes and less government spending. Over the past two years, these policies have seen Australia have the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world. Australia has gone from the top of the pack to the bottom of the pack. The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, has been under increasing pressure from this government and says the Treasurer is 'fully aware of the inflationary implications of his own policies'.”
“It's up 19.4 per cent since Labor came to power. If you are a hardworking family out there, that is what you are paying more. That is almost 50 per cent more than what CPI has gone up. So CPI is not the right measure. If you're an employee out there slogging it out, you have had double the increase of what CPI tells you and that is how you know you are poorer. That's why Australian families feel so much poorer. That's why for the last 21 months Australia has been in a per capita recession. What does that technical economic jargon mean? It means, for two years, you and your family have been getting poorer. It means, for two years, the average disposable income you have has gone down. This is the first time in Australia's living history that that has ever happened over that period of time. That's under this Labor government's watch.”
“At the check-out aisles you are paying up to 12 per cent more. If you own your own house, you're paying 14 per cent more. If you are renting, guess what? It's worse. You're paying 17 per cent more. Electricity is up 32 per cent after the government subsidy. Gas is up 34 per cent. In Cook, my local electorate, unfortunately things are not looking good for my constituents, with 54.4 per cent of households saying they are financially stressed. If there is financial stress in Cook, there are parts of the rest of Australia that are doing it even tougher, w3ith 31.5 per cent of households experiencing mortgage stress and 83.4 per cent of those renting experiencing rental stress. The employee living cost index gives us an idea of what's happening to Middle Australia, those who are being employed by others.”
“They are saying, 'We'll throw out energy subsidies; we'll subsidise everything,' unless it's a sustainable way to bring down energy costs like we are proposing with nuclear energy. This government has failed Middle Australia. The school year is starting, and I recently heard a story in my electorate from a mother who was cutting expenses around the house and struggling with bills and even cutting their grocery bills. But the one thing she was hoping not to cut was the amount of food she put in her child's lunchbox, and she wasn't. These are the real faces of bad decisions made by a bad government on cost of living. Across the board, people are hurting and families are reeling from prices going up. The average Aussie has had their mortgage go up by $50,000. These government decisions have seen prices increase across the board.”
“After listening to the government speakers, it's clear that this is a government that has stopped listening. It oscillates, whipsawing, between telling us how good Australians have it, how good unemployment is—if you listen to the Chief Government Whip over there—how good wages are, how good it is that inflation is coming down. Then it whipsaws to say, 'Oh no, we're listening on cost of living.' The truth is that after two years of not listening on cost of living, after two years of divisive social policies, after two years of pushing everything else, they are now burning the furniture in a late attempt to try and say that they are listening on the cost of living.”
“Michael's also volunteered for Elouera Surf Club, has played soccer for 48 years and has played cricket for 38 years. Paul Archer received an Order of Australia medal for service to rugby league, having served for 50 years as a referee and served as president of Canterbury-Bankstown referees association. Graeme Wynn also received an Order of Australia medal for his service to rugby league. He was a member of the inaugural New South Wales blues origin team in 1980, played 230 games for St George and western suburbs and won a premiership with the dragons in 1979.”
“Many of the local residents in my community were awake in the early hours of the morning while Dan was in France winning a silver medal in the recent Paralympics with his ramp assistant, Ashlee Maddern. Well done, Dan. Jarvis Earle got Young Sports Citizen of the Year. Jarvis is an amazing young surfer from Cronulla and has won many awards, including the Australian junior open championships and the Australian Open of Surfing. I'd also like to acknowledge the Order of Australia recipients in my local community. Michael Byrne was appointed as an Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the transport industry and his community. Michael was a former CEO of Linfox and advised the government on logistics and supply chain during the COVID pandemic.”
“Harrison, who is 12 years old and in year 8 at Inaburra School, is a volunteer for the Barden Ridgebacks Football Club. He has made an amazing contribution to that community. Project Youth won Community Group of the Year. I've spoken about them many times before. They help young people facing homelessness. They've received over 500 referrals in the last year that they've had to turn away, so I hope they can get more funding to help homelessness in my local electorate. Rhonda Daniels got Environmental Citizen of the Year. Rhonda has volunteered with Bushcare for over 20 years. Congratulations to Rhonda on what you're doing for our local environment. Dan Michel got Sports Citizen of the Year.”
“I'd like to acknowledge some recent award recipients in the Sutherland shire. Most recently, John Veage was awarded the 2025 Citizen of the Year. If you've seen a photo of someone in the Leader or you've seen a photo of someone surfing at the alley, there's a pretty good chance John took the photo. John, or Veagey as he is known around the shire, was a founding member of the Cronulla Boardriders Club and president of Surfing Sutherland Shire. He was the official photographer for 39 years at our local newspaper, the Leader . Next up, Veagey is looking at a surfing museum in Cronulla, so Loretta can help him get rid of the hundred-plus boards they're storing around their house. I'm going to support him to get it done. I'd also like to acknowledge Harrison Edwards, the Young Citizen of the Year.”
“If elected, a coalition government will contribute $4 million, to be matched by the Cronulla Sharks, to construct change rooms for those teams. I'm proud to deliver for the thousands of locals who've got behind this initiative. In Oyster Bay, the Oyster Bay oval is used by over 1,000 players and students from the local public schools and Georges River Football Club. Preparing the fields for this volume of use is no easy task and the club is dependent on so many volunteers. That's why an elected Liberal government would contribute $35,000 to fund a new line-marking machine.”
“I congratulate Terry O'Hara on his OAM for 36 years with the St Vincent de Paul Society Oyster Bay conference. He also volunteers with TOFS, who organise outings for retired or semi-retired men. Well done, Terry. I'm delighted to announce that an elected coalition government will invest $674,000 to upgrade the field lighting at Gwawley Park's north oval. This funding will ensure the members of the Taren Point Titans Rugby League Club as well as the Taren Point Touch Association can play and train safely in the evenings. Many thanks to the hundreds of locals who signed the petition. Did you know the Cronulla Sharks NRLW team currently have no fit-for-purpose change rooms for female players? Female players don't have private showers, don't have room for a physio and don't have their own purpose-built change rooms.”
“They were not laughing when they came to see me about having to move away from their parents and their jobs because they couldn't afford their home loan.”
“We have a crisis that has stolen hope from Australians, a crisis that's leading Australians to skip meals. Of course Aussies want to own their homes—even renters. Even though we're addicted to the build-to-rent scheme, 94 per cent of renters aspire to owning their own home. So why aren't we delivering what these people want? Instead of delivering them hopeless build-to-rent schemes, why don't we give them pathways to actually purchasing their own homes? So what's gone wrong? House prices have not kept up with wages. In Cook I hear heartbreaking stories all the time. Just last month I heard a story of two teachers who could no longer afford to live in my electorate and so were packing up and moving their family. They're moving away from their parents. It's not funny. I see people smiling over there. This is not funny.”
“The member for Swan said Labor has a plan and also talked about accountability. Well, right now we've got a Labor federal government and almost wall-to-wall Labor governments across our states, and, sadly, a plan is not good enough for everyday Australians. Australians are sick of plans. They want and need action. I'm reminded of what Mike Tyson said: 'Everyone's got a plan until they're punched in the face.' The Australian economy has punched this government squarely in the face. Why? Once, more than half of all adults under 29 owned homes in Australia—half, 50 per cent. That number has now plummeted to less than 30 per cent. This government's inaction now has Australians fearing for their future. It has Australians fearing for their children's future.”