Mary Aldred
Monash · Liberal Party · Australia
“It's a privilege to rise for my 100th contribution to this place. In doing so, I want to address a barbeque-stopper of a conversation topic in my electorate of Monash, and that is homeownership. I'm deeply concerned. Building approvals dropped in May for the third consecutive month. This is an impact of the budget's housing tax changes.”
“You can measure the budget deficit of this government in numbers, but nothing compares to the deficit of trust it has created in Australia. We need to unlock supply and enable local infrastructure like Weebar Road in Drouin, in my electorate of Monash, which I've been fighting very hard for.”
“This Friday is 3 July, and it is the 12-month anniversary of the swearing-in of the class of 2025. It is a momentous occasion for that class among us.”
“I've got a constituent right now who's living with her abuser in fear because leaving means she will be separated from her special needs son and pets, and she cannot afford to move out. There are a couple living in a tent in a stranger's driveway in my electorate, and they cannot afford anywhere to rent on their $450-per-week budget.”
“Our wonderful CFA volunteers in Victoria answer the call in the middle of the night and step away from their work in the middle of the day to protect our community year round. As the daughter of someone who was a CFA volunteer, I know this very well.”
“For all the smirking and the back-patting and the preening that this prime minister carries on with, Australians right now deserve so much better from their government. Look at health.”
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“But, right now, it's never been harder to be a small-business person in Australia. The facts really back this up. MYOB, the accounting business, put out a survey in October that showed that energy was the No. 1 challenge that the majority of small-business owners were grappling with, where they've got high costs and unreliability. This federal government is not doing anything to address that. The next biggest challenge was inflation, which is affecting consumers and families right now, coupled with, of course, interest rates remaining high. That's affecting consumer confidence. It's affecting small businesses and retailers in communities like mine, where this should be a bumper season right now, heading into Christmas.”
“I rise to support the member for Goldstein with this motion because, like me, the member for Goldstein grew up in a family-run small business. He knows what it's like to see his parents answer phone calls at all times of the night and put their customers and their staff first, before they look after themselves. My parents and his parents had small businesses like 2.6 million other small businesses right across Australia, which represent 44 per cent of our workforce. And that's a really important workforce because, for a lot of young people in our community, particularly in regions like mine, small-business employers represent their first shot at a job. They represent their first opportunity to learn processes, teamwork, feedback and resilience—all of the things that you get to learn in a small business that help set you up for life.”
“(): My question is to the Prime Minister. According to Anglicare's 2025 Cost of living index , single-parent families on minimum wage are left each week with $1 after covering essential expenses like rent, transport, and food. Foodbank's Hunger r eport 2025 states that nearly 68 per cent of single-parent households are now going hungry. Prime Minister, in light of these disturbing figures, why are more Australians going hungry under Labor?”
“I came to the last election with support for this from the coalition, and I will continue to raise that as a major priority. I also want to give a shout-out to the film Just a Farmer , which is screening in Warrigal and right across Australia. It's doing a tremendous job raising the issue of mental health for many in our farming communities.”
“As a freight driven area, we need safe, efficient routes to market for our local producers. I'm going to keep fighting for an upgrade to the McCartin Street corner in Leongatha to make sure we get the investment and support we need to upgrade our infrastructure. That is a critical area of priority. I also want to give a shout-out to Leongatha basketball's Leongatha Parrots. The Leongatha basketball stadium has 50-plus upside-down umbrellas attached to the roof to catch the water leaking when it rains heavily, such is the condition and disrepair of their roof. Leongatha basketball players, from young players starting out through to elite players, deserve much better facilities. I will continue to advocate for funding.”
“The Phillip Island rec reserve is something that I've been advocating for passionately for a very long time. I'm working with the mighty Phillip Island Bulldogs, a footy team, who are at absolute capacity. Locals have been advocating for this project for over 20 years. It's the biggest football club in Gippsland. It's having to divert players away to Dalyston and other clubs. I'm also working with the Phillip Island dog walkers' association, who have limited off-leash areas for their dogs. I'll continue to advocate for their needs as well. The South Gippsland Highway intersection at McCartin Street, Roughead Street and along Hughes Street is a huge headache for lots of parents who suffer a bottleneck every morning on their way to school drop-off. It's also a dangerous black-spot area.”
“Let's go, Dan! Wonthaggi veteran Dan Lucas has been through a lot, but he was kicking goals at the Australian Masters Games just last week. Dan had a terrific debut in archery, finishing first in his group in his first ever competition. I've met Dan a number of times through his volunteer work at the Wonthaggi RSL advocating for veteran welfare, and he is doing a great job. I think it's a timely reminder to reflect with gratitude on all of our veterans community with Remembrance Day next week, on 11 November. I reflect on my grandfather—my mum's dad—who served in World War II. He was captured and imprisoned as a prisoner of war at Changi under terrible conditions. I reflect on his service and the service of so many across Australia.”
“Australians deserve reform that really tackles a number of imperatives: it protects our environment, and it supports jobs, investment and productivity. There should be room for all of those imperatives in the way that we approach policy and legislative reform. Unfortunately, this bill falls short on those areas. In fact, we've seen three years of promises and delays. The government has now finally brought forward—”
“We also have some very special biodiversity and native wildlife species. We've got the orange-bellied parrot, which has its migratory flight path from King Island in Tasmania through our region to South Australia, also known as the Neophema chrysogaster . So environmental conservation and protection is something very dear to my heart. I turn my remarks to debating this bill, the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, the first in a series of seven bills now being considered separately as part of the government's overhaul. From the beginning of this process, the shadow minister for the environment, the member for Moncrieff, has said one thing very clearly, and that is that environmental reform is too important to get wrong. As I referenced earlier, the Liberal Party have a very proud history and heritage on this issue.”
“I come from the Monash electorate, which is part of the great Gippsland region—which is the size of Switzerland. If you look at that entire regional area, there are some very important biodiversity and environmental aspects to that place. In my good friend the member for Gippsland's area, we've got the largest inland lake system in the Southern Hemisphere around Lakes Entrance. My good friend the member for Leichhardt has some family connections to Central Gippsland, which is known for its clean, green horticultural produce. We've got, in my electorate, Phillip Island, which, prior to COVID, attracted over a million international ticketed visitors a year, which I'm very proud of. It is right up there with Kakadu National Park, the Great Barrier Reef and other attractions.”
“It is disappointing to see the watering down and undermining of that bill this week, but it was a crowning achievement of a Liberal government. And there were many milestones that the Fraser government implemented in respect of the environment. We had, of course, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975. The Great Barrier Reef was declared a marine park. We ended sand mining on Fraser Island. We had the declaration of Kakadu National Park. We ended whaling in Australian waters and prohibited oil exploration and drilling on the Great Barrier Reef. And there were a number of internationally important conservation agreements, including a convention against trading endangered species, a convention on the conservation of seals in Antarctica and a convention on the international importance of wetlands.”
“It's a pleasure to follow the member for Newcastle, because—while we differ on a number of aspects of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025—as a new person to this place I do appreciate the real sense of collegiality that she has shown towards me in the last six months. I'd like to record my sincere appreciation for that. It's a pleasure to rise to speak on this bill. I want to reflect—next week is the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the subsequent election of the Fraser Liberal government. Some milestone achievements that were part of that government have been reflected in the parliament this week. We have, of course, the Freedom of Information Act, which was a crowning achievement of the Fraser Liberal government.”
“I have serious concerns about more people being harmed or hurt further in the illegal tobacco wars. I am calling on the government to review its position.”
“On the illegal market, they sell for anywhere between $10 and $15. I think we seriously need to look at the excise tax. I'm proposing that we look at taking it back to 2018-19 levels, which would effectively see a legal packet of cigarettes go back to $25. If the excise tax increases were working on deterring people from smoking, I would be the first to support them. But the fact is that they are not. ABS stats show that there has been a 22 per cent drop in the smoking rate, but the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission's wastewater report shows that more people are taking up smoking or that there was more tobacco in the wastewater last year than there was eight years ago. I have serious concerns that we have already seen one person killed.”
“We didn't sleep.' Eventually, at 3:30 in the morning, a car was rammed through their business. We need to have a national and honest national conversation about where things are at with the illegal tobacco trade. We saw another five per cent increase in the excise tax at the start of the new financial year. That has seen a 282 per cent increase since the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government in 2013. What those sharp increases are doing is driving people to the illegal market. We saw in the 2022-23 financial year over $6 billion in illicit tobacco attempted to be smuggled into the Australian market. If they are not being imported then illegal cigarettes are being stolen from legal retailers and sold on the black market. At the moment, the ATO gets to pocket about $28 out of a legal pack of cigarettes, which retail for about $50.”
“I rise to speak on the unfolding national crisis that has hit my community in Monash most significantly in recent weeks. I speak about the illegal tobacco trade, which is terrorising Australian small business owners, seeing retail staff assaulted, and seeing the ATO shortchanged. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Longwarry Friendly Grocer store in my electorate, a great local small business—they do the right thing and contribute to the community—received a ransom note. The owners did all the right things and went to the police, didn't pay the ransom, and, a couple of days later, a ram raid destroyed half their shop. I rang Janet, the business owner, a couple of days after. She said, 'We got the ransom note, and my husband and I looked at the CCTV at our shop day after day.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. House prices, in the month of September, grew at a faster pace than at any other time in the last two years. Now industry is warning that the government's reckless expansion of its Help to Buy Scheme will push house prices up by 6.6 per cent in 2026 and for several years after that. Hopes for a Christmas rate cut are now dashed. Is this what the Prime Minister meant when he said he has real and lasting plans for cheaper mortgages?”
“Their team is relentless in their pursuit, vowing not to rest until all avenues are exhausted to locate and identify the missing. There are still over 30,000 Australian soldiers unaccounted for from two world wars. In recent years, Fallen Diggers has successfully identified and recovered many Australian soldiers previously missing. Remembrance Day is more than just a moment's silence; it is an ongoing act of national gratitude.”
“As we approach Remembrance Day, our nation pauses to honour those who gave their lives in defence of our freedom. In my electorate of Monash, we've got the Fallen Diggers group, led by Tony Moon and Andrew Moon, his brother, who are based in Korumburra. They lead a passionate national group of volunteers who play a really important role in preserving the legacy of our diggers. They do this through a number of initiatives Australia-wide and internationally: they research and document the stories of service men and women, they support the restoration and maintenance of war graves and they help families reconnect with the history of their loved ones. Their mission is to ensure every missing soldier receives a dignified and honourable burial, the respect and recognition these courageous men and women deserve.”
“We need an inquiry to reveal the full scale of corruption, cartel networks and why officials have been placed in positions that, it turns out later, have been sacked on allegations of corruption. This is really important; it goes to the heart of integrity and accountability in government. We are now 15 months along since the CFMEU was placed into administration. We've got whistleblowers who are saying corruption inside the CFMEU has got worse, not better. It's just outrageous. Instead of cracking down on corruption, this continues on and it's an absolute farce. Under the Prime Minister's watch, the CFMEU are still refusing to answer questions. The government are still refusing to answer the most basic questions about CFMEU cartel kickbacks, despite the figure now climbing to $6.6 million. It's not good enough.”
“I'd also like to point out that my colleague the member for Goldstein has been relentless in his pursuit of truth and justice on this issue, and he has yielded some results. Late last week the CFMEU's Zach Smith was forced off the Labor Party's National Executive after the Prime Minister had to distance himself from relying on Smith's support. That being so, the minister is still blocking a Senate inquiry into union corruption, which will still, unbelievably, rely on Smith as a key adviser. I have to ask, why is this government scared of the truth? We know that that resignation was as a direct result of sustained pressure by the member for Goldstein and the coalition, who have only one interest, and that is to get to the heart of this issue and to expose the conflict of interest that the Albanese Labor government is conflicted by.”
“I don't always agree with Michael O'Connor and his division, and I don't always agree with the pulp and paper division of the CFMEU, but locally, in the Latrobe Valley, there have been many occasions when I have stood up with those divisions on the issues of jobs and manufacturing. I remember Anthony Pavey, from the pulp and paper division of the CFMEU in the Latrobe Valley, stood up on behalf of his members who worked at Australian Paper, and Michael O'Connor has been a strong representative of the forestry division in the CFMEU. It is quite clear to see how appalled they are at the actions of the construction division of the CFMEU, that it is a stain on other divisions that are trying to get on with the business of representing their members.”
“I'd also like to quote from the Weekend Australian that this issue has been raised again. The CFMEU's manufacturing division has taken Federal Court action to lock in its split from the union's "dysfunctional and murky" construction division in a move that will formalise the creation of the 10,000-member Timber, Furnishing and Textiles Union. The expected court approval will see the once influential CFMEU reduced to the construction division, which will be in administration for years, and the maritime division. It goes on: The departure of the manufacturing division follows the exit of the mining and energy division to form a stand-alone union. Manufacturing division national secretary Michael O'Connor said on Friday "our members are looking forward to officially getting out".”
“It's always a pleasure to follow my good friend and colleague the member for Sturt. I rise to support the motion moved by my friend and colleague the member for Goldstein. We're both proud Victorians, and we're both in absolute despair at the lawlessness that is pervading our great state at the hands of state and federal Labor governments. The Saturday Paper , which is no cheerleader of the coalition, wrote over the weekend about payback for those who have blown the whistle on the CFMEU. The article says: The costs have been stark for the whistleblowers. To start with, "going to war" against the corruption of the construction division of Victoria's CFMEU has meant their effective blacklisting from union job sites. One has worked very little in the past year, and bills are due. Christmas is near. Their partner has also felt the strain.”
“Energy is one of the drivers of inflation in this country, and we've just seen inflation go up to 3.2 per cent, which is outside the RBA recommended band of two to three per cent. You only need to look at Philip Lowe, the former RBA governor, and his remarks about inflation being a 'homegrown problem'. We're dealing with government overspend, but we also need to look at other areas like energy that are having a direct impact on inflation. Households and families in my electorate are bearing that burden.”
“They are looking down the barrel of a huge battery energy storage project that those neighbouring farms don't want. Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio is riding roughshod over those local communities. I want to commend the effort of my state parliamentary colleague, the member for Narracan, Wayne Farnham, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with that farming community. We've met with the local residents. We've heard the concerns, and I am imploring the Victorian state government to take those concerns seriously and to listen to our regional communities. We cannot shoulder all of that burden. The cost of energy is going up. This government promised a $275 cut to Australians' energy bills no less than 97 times; we're yet to see it.”
“Right now I'm speaking with farmers across my electorate, from South Gippsland and Bass Coast to West Gippsland, where we have the best soil of anywhere in Australia. We are proud to grow, make and manufacture things. About 23 per cent of the nation's dairy output comes from the Gippsland region, and about 26 per cent of Victoria's beef production comes from the Gippsland region. We are proud to provide that produce but we are unfairly being asked to shoulder all of that burden. For example, there are a number of offshore wind proposals off the coast that would have transmission lines going through some of that prime agricultural farmland to Darnum in West Gippsland. We grow great horticultural produce and dairy produce there.”
“We've also seen it in Victoria, where our once-four, now-three coal-fired power stations—looking at Yallourn, for example, owned by EnergyAustralia—are still providing 22 per cent of Victoria's baseload electricity. Yallourn is set to close in the next three years. All of those coal-fired power stations will come to the end of their natural engineering life at some point, but the Victorian government have been able to come up with a clear, sensible way forward to replace, effectively, 22 per cent of our baseload electricity within those next three years. I also have real concerns that the burden for most of this transition is being put on regional Australia. We all want to pay our fair share. We all want to contribute our fair share of responsibility.”
“That includes carbon capture and storage, nuclear and other options. Australia at the moment is an outlier to the rest of the world: Canada, the United States, Japan, China, India, the eurozone and New Zealand. Chris Bowen seems to know something that the rest of the world doesn't, and that is because they are confronting those three key challenges of reliability, affordability and sustainability. I fear the teals are making a lot of this worse in spooking state governments. We've seen it in New South Wales, where Penny Sharpe, the energy minister there, is effectively using government funding to get Origin to keep its Eraring power station open for longer than its natural life.”
“Reliable, affordable, sustainable—that is what we should be driving at when developing Australia's national energy policy. We absolutely need to have an emissions reduction plan, and, in fact, the coalition has got a strong history of preparing that since the Shergold review during the Howard coalition government. But it can't be at any cost or at a timeline that's unrealistic and puts households and industry at a significant disadvantage. Labor and the teals would have you believe that the energy transition Australia is confronting is simple, cheap and easy. It's not. It's actually complex, complicated and at a cost. That's what we've got to work our way through in a sensible, pragmatic manner. We need to make sure that we've got all technology available and on the table.”
“I want to commend the local Indian community across the Monash electorate, from West Gippsland through to the Bass Coast Malayalee Association. Thank you for all that you bring to our community. Diwali was a vibrant and joyous occasion that I was deeply honoured to be invited to participate in. I also want to talk about the terrible impost of the illegal tobacco trade. We need to be much stronger on the front foot— (Time expired)”
“I know the demand for your services is going up and up, and I want to commend the incredible work that you do. I also had the shadow minister for health and aged care, Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, in Warragul recently to do a number of visits. We had an aged-care forum. We went to Trafalgar Football Netball Club to look at their change rooms and also met with local government. Aged care is an incredibly important issue in my electorate of Monash, and I will stand by older Australians, their families and carers to make sure that choice and respect is at the heart of every decision they're able to make. West Gippsland recently had its first Diwali celebration. I still have the henna tattoo to prove that I was there. It was a wonderful celebration.”
“Over the 57-year history of the club, they've never seen more interest or more enthusiasm, and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Warragul and District Netball Association on an amazing launch. I also want to congratulate and encourage the tremendous work that community kitchens and food banks do across the Monash electorate. I volunteer from time to time at Frankies Community Kitchen, which is such a great initiative, led by a number of people, including Luke Hagel, who is an accomplished chef in his own right. I cracked a few hundred eggs on my last shift, but there's good company and good tunes played in that kitchen, and an amazing team of volunteers. From Longwarry to Warragul to Corinella, all of the community food banks do such a good job.”
“'Here if you need'—that should be the motto of the Monash electorate, and it was certainly a call that was put out loud and clear at the recent launch of the Warragul and District Netball Association's summer competition. I was so pleased to be able to launch it recently with Karen Romano, the president; Meaghan Romano, who runs the NetSetGo program for young up-and-coming players; and the whole committee, who do such a fantastic job of encouraging players of all abilities and from areas across west Gippsland to get involved. There were about a thousand players on that launch evening—70 umpires, who do a terrific job, and around 150 teams.”
“I've been calling for a nationally coordinated framework to support local communities because groups like the Silverleaves Residents Action Group have been doing tremendous work for many years, but many of those residents are staring down the barrel of losing their homes. Coastal inundation continues to encroach upon many South Gippsland and Bass Coast communities. It is an issue of concern for my electorate and electorates right across Victoria. It's also an issue for the community of Port Melbourne, in the electorate of Macnamara. Victorians and Australians deserve better on the environment.”
“Coastal inundation is a huge issue of concern for many communities across my electorate of Monash. Bass Coast Shire Council, South Gippsland Shire Council and the Silverleaves Residents Action Group have been doing tremendous work but have been terribly let down by the Victorian state government, who literally have their heads in the sand about this very significant environmental issue. It's not just my community across Bass Coast and South Gippsland; communities right across Australia are grappling with the issue of coastal inundation. From Noosa to Port Stephens, this is a huge issue of concern, and, unfortunately, state Labor governments have left communities in the lurch.”
“The bill also closes a loophole that has allowed some offenders to walk free on recognisance release orders after serving only a fraction of their sentence. This is not good enough. Australians deserve better. We have to do better on this. Our children deserve to grow up safely. I implore my colleagues on the other side of this chamber to support this motion, and I strongly commend it to the House.”
“We are offering the government an opportunity to show the Australian people that their parliament can come together and work in the common good, beyond the political fray, when there are circumstances such as this. The sentence was in part due to mitigating circumstances. In instances of child abuse, there should be none, because there is never any reason—any excuse—for abusing a child. There should be no mitigating circumstances, and today we seek to fix that. This bill ensures that those who abuse, exploit or prey upon children face real consequences. This bill, which is the subject of the motion which I am proud to second, introduces mandatory minimum sentences of five years imprisonment for serious Commonwealth child sexual abuse offences. This increases to six years for second or subsequent offences, as it should.”
“The offender abused their child on no less than 19 occasions. They then produced and communicated child abuse material from those occasions. There could not be a more profound breach of trust. I think of that little girl, that five-year-old, and I think about how she is doing now, a few years on. And I think about the rest of her life and what that holds because of that abuse. That child, who hopefully will become an adult one day, has a life sentence. Her abuser does not. He doesn't have a fraction of the life sentence that he imposed on that child. Maloney was given an effective non-parole period of six months for the Commonwealth offences of producing and distributing child abuse material. That followed a two-year non-parole period for the other offences. That is manifestly inadequate; that is wrong.”
“The ABC's Four Corners program last night identified almost 150 childcare workers convicted, charged or accused of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct against children. I saw some of journalist Adele Ferguson's story. It was shocking, and what she uncovered chilled me to the bone. I'm familiar with Adele Ferguson's work across several topics. She is forensic and has a strong sense of justice. As a proud Victorian who currently watches in despair at the lawlessness running rampant across my state, let me remind the House about why we are here on this issue. We are here because of the Maloney case. Let's remind ourselves of the main points of this case. I'm not going to go into the details of offending, but this is about a parent who abused their child—their daughter, who was five.”
“I second the motion. In rising to support the shadow Attorney-General, I reflect on the No. 1 priority of any government: to keep Australians safe. Protecting children is an imperative of that special compact. This proposal has been put together in a considered, thorough and careful way because we have a problem here. And we, as a collective of this federal parliament, need to fix it. This is above politics, this is beyond partisanship, and this is solely and entirely centred on wanting to protect children, to deter predators and to keep Australians safe. I am deeply disturbed by the horrific allegations of abuse occurring in child care around Australia. We cannot look the other way. We cannot hope that it will go away.”
“We replant in Victoria—or we did, with the hardwood industry—everything that was harvested. It is the ultimate renewable asset. I really condemn the direction that Labor and the Greens are taking the industry at a state and federal level, and I support wholeheartedly the motion of my friend and colleague the member for Gippsland on this issue.”
“We have seen that in small rural communities Australia-wide, where those little communities have just been left to wither on the vine because of really poor decisions made in Melbourne or Canberra with no regard to regional communities. Those employers do so much good work in supporting the local Lions and Probus clubs. They are really good corporate community citizens in the towns in which they operate. I have huge concern about where the future of our timber industry is heading under state and federal Labor governments. We need to make sure that we've got a manufacturing future in this country. Timber products are in high demand. They're in increasing demand for construction, for homes. If we want to build more homes and more buildings, we need timber and wood as a good renewable product.”
“You will see a timber truck coming up the Monash Freeway with a trailer load of Tasmanian hardwood products, taking it to a manufacturing business like Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, and it will come back in the opposite direction with finished products. Now, that is just a crime against good economic management. It's a crime against good environmental stewardship as well. I have real concerns for the communities and the blue-collar workers that are being left behind. This doesn't protect the environment, and it does nothing to advance blue-collar workers. Often one partner might work in a mill, and the other might be a teacher at the local school or a nurse at the local hospital. If you take that timber job out of a regional community, that whole family will go somewhere else.”
“A lot of the harvesters use their harvesting equipment to be able to maintain a lot of that forest estate in a way that prevents and mitigates significant fire risk. I'm proud to have had an association, prior to coming to this place, with Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, which is in the electorate of my good friend and colleague the member for Gippsland. They made a variety of incredible products using Victorian hardwood—Vic Ash—but now, because of the state Labor government's policies, that timber mill, like many timber mills in Victoria, is having to import timber and wood products from other areas, such as jarrah from WA and glacial oak from the United States.”
“Our entire forest estate in Victoria is about six per cent—sorry, of what we harvest—on 80-year rotation for the hardwood industry, which the Victorian state government has absolutely decimated. If you are going to harvest hardwood in Victoria, it is basically 1/80th of six per cent. That is the entire forest estate that was being harvested. The ramifications of the closure of the hardwood industry in Victoria are absolutely profound. Don't even get me started on the fire risk as we approach a very hot, dry summer. Many farmers in Gippsland and my electorate of Monash are still drought-impacted—right now—so, heading into summer, we are heading into extreme fire danger. A lot of those timber workers are CFA volunteers.”
“It's a pleasure to support my friend and good colleague the member for Gippsland on this motion because I know how passionate he is about the timber industry, timber workers and regions like ours that grow, make and manufacture things. We have incredibly talented people that make world-leading products. The people that make them are world-beating people. I am incredibly concerned about where our timber industry is headed Australia-wide, no more so than in our shared region of Gippsland. I'm proud to represent blue-collar workers. I look at the Victorian state Labor government. They have waged an absolute battle against regional communities, against blue-collar workers and particularly against our timber industry.”
“My farmers in Monash are struggling, and I say to them: I will keep fighting for you, and the coalition will keep fighting for you. This Labor government has let you down, and you deserve so much better.”
“Shortly after I was elected, I wrote a letter to the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. I wrote on behalf of drought impacted farmers in my electorate. They are doing it really tough. For many, this drought has depleted not just financial but mental reserves. I asked the Treasurer to please prevail upon the ATO to show leniency to drought stressed farmers who had been forced to sell their stock early and would have a resulting ATO debt bill that reflected this. Those farmers are doing it really tough. I'll tell you what response I got. It wasn't a response from the Treasurer; it was just a standard proforma fact sheet from the ATO. It didn't even address the concerns that I had raised. That is the level of interest and care shown to farmers right across Australia by this government.”
“Every dollar that is spent on repaying Labor's debt is a dollar that we are not investing in schools, hospitals and regional roads in electorates like mine. You couldn't run a small business like this. You couldn't run a big business like this. You certainly could not run a household budget like this, but everyday Australians are paying the consequences. The former governor of the Reserve Bank, Philip Lowe, said that inflation remains high because of Labor's spending. When he was governor, he diplomatically said that inflation remained sticky and that it was a homegrown problem—in other words, government spending was too high. There seems to be an invisible ring around Australia such that anyone outside of metropolitan areas falls into Labor's 'no-care zone'. Our plight and our challenges are invisible to this Labor government.”