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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“It was just such a wonderful privilege to be able to encourage that young student, who was incredibly smart and I know had a very bright future ahead of him. So the challenge remains and we all must face up to that. I commend the bill.”
“But we should also be clear-eyed about their limitations. They do not significantly increase funding, they do not fundamentally change payment structures and they do not, by themselves, solve the financial pressures Australian writers are facing—and that is an important challenge to solve. It's an important challenge for young Australians; it's an important challenge for children; it's an important challenge for migrants and our multicultural communities right across Australia. One of the greatest joys of my early 20s was volunteering to help a young migrant student with English literature as one of his VCE subjects. The way that textbooks and literature were able to capture his imagination and encourage him was a great joy for me to watch.”
“The coalition have consistently supported that principle—we supported those programs in government and we support them today—but we will also continue to ask whether enough is being done to genuinely support Australian authors in a rapidly changing environment. Governance reform is one part of the equation. If we truly want better income for authors, it requires more than administrative restructuring; it needs sustained commitment and practical support. Australian authors help shape our national identity. They preserve our history, educate future generations and ensure Australian voices continue to be heard in an increasingly crowded global marketplace. That is worth supporting, that is worth valuing and that is why the coalition will support these bills. They modernise important programs and strengthen existing frameworks.”
“If this parliament is serious about supporting Australian writing and Australian culture, we must also be willing to have a broader conversation around sustainability, funding and longer term support because culture cannot survive on announcements alone. It requires ongoing investment, practical support and governments willing to prioritise outcomes rather than headlines. Libraries remain one of the great equalisers in Australian society, particularly in regional communities like mine. They are places of learning, literacy and connection. In many towns they are also vital community hubs. That is why lending rights schemes matter. We should encourage Australians to read, support strong libraries and ensure authors are appropriately recognised when their work is widely used through those systems.”
“Whether documenting military history, preserving regional stories or connecting with younger generations through modern formats, Australian authors all contribute to our cultural life and deserve recognition for their work. A positive aspect of this legislation is the formal inclusion of the educational lending rights into legislation. As other speakers have referenced, this provides greater certainty, transparency and accountability. The bill will also modernise eligibility arrangements and streamline advisory committee processes. These are sensible and measured reforms. But governance alone is not sufficient.”
“Don grew up on a dairy farm in my electorate, and many years ago he accepted my invitation to present the Gippsland Annual Leadership Address. He's a wonderful author, and I've enjoyed our conversations very much over the years. The late, great Michael Gordon, who was an acclaimed journalist, author and member of the press gallery here, wasn't a Monash constituent, but he was a regular visitor, particularly to Phillip Island, where he tragically passed away a number of years ago. He and his father, Harry, were passionate Hawthorn supporters, like I am, and I've enjoyed very much their books on Hawthorn, including The Hard Way . I treasure a hand-signed book by Michael Gordon on Hawthorn that I have in my office. I know he was a great friend to many longer serving members in this place.”
“She captures not only the landscape itself but the feeling of growing up in regional Australia—the freedom, the adventure and the connection to community and nature. I also want to acknowledge Patrick Morgan, a wonderful Gippsland historian who I first met in my 20s as a participant in the Gippsland Community Leadership Program. Australian writing is not limited to traditional historical literature, though. Modern creators such as Mastro Mayhem are engaging younger audiences in new and evolving ways, reflecting the changing nature of storytelling in Australia. Don Watson is perhaps best known as Paul Keating's speechwriter. Among his most acclaimed speeches is, of course, the speech for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is brilliantly written.”
“Her work has received national recognition, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award, and deservedly so. What makes Alison Lester's work so special is the way she tells her stories that feel unmistakeably Australian and like home. In my electorate of Monash, we're blessed with many of the magnificent landscapes that Alison Lester's storytelling captures so brilliantly—the rolling green hills, the smell of salt in the air, horses standing quietly in paddocks, winding country roads and wild southern coastlines. It's a word picture, I'm sure, Deputy Speaker Sharkie, you can associate with your own electorate as well. Alison Lester has an extraordinary ability to paint those scenes with words and illustrations.”
“It's a book I first read over a decade ago, and it's a poignant reference of our region's history. I also want to acknowledge Alison Lester AM, the beloved children's author and illustrator from Fish Creek in my electorate of Monash. Fish Creek is a little town in South Gippsland. Alison Lester has written and illustrated over 50 books across her 35 year career. She's a prolific Australian children's author known for over 25 picture books, including classics like Magic Beach and Are We There Yet ? , as well as two young adult novels, The Quicksand Pony and The Snow Pony . Alison Lester has shaped the childhoods of generations of Australian children through stories that capture the wonder, imagination and beauty of regional Australia.”
“Calling Gippsland Home : Famous Men and Women of Gippsland shines a light on the remarkable achievements of Gippslanders from all walks of life. G rowing up in Garfield Garfield is now slightly outside of my electorate—helps preserve the history and character of one of our region's small but very proud communities. Dr Connelly's work reflects the importance of regional storytellers in preserving local identity, community memory and the unique character of places like Gippsland for future generations. The same can be said for John Wells and his work, Gippsland : People , a P lace and their Past . That work covers the history, character and development of Gippsland and helps preserve the stories of the people and community that have helped shape our great Gippsland region.”
“I also want to acknowledge Reverend Canon Doctor Jim Connelly OAM of Warragul, a teacher, priest, historian and storyteller of Gippsland who was once described as the conscience of Warragul. Raised in Garfield and still proudly calling Warragul home, Dr Connelly has authored 14 books, spanning children's fiction, local history and regional storytelling, all deeply connected to Gippsland. After my election, Dr Connelly sent me a signed copy of his book, Round and About in Gippsland , and it's a privilege to have that displayed with great pride in my Parliament House office. Round and About in Gippsland paints a portrait of the many towns and communities that make up our region. Mountain B oy is a powerful fiction story following a young boy with a disability who is determined to climb Mount Cannibal against the odds.”
“I commend Roland Perry's book on General Sir John Monash, Monash : T he O utsider W ho Wo n a W ar , because Roland Perry so brilliantly speaks not only of how wars were won—and many thanks to Monash's legacy—but also how Monash taught us the importance of how lives were valued on the battlefield. On the topic of the two best books—and that's one of them—that I believe to have been written on the life and legacy of John Monash, I have to acknowledge the late, great Hon. Tim Fischer, a former member of this place and former deputy prime minister. His book, Maestro John Monash , eulogising one of our greatest Australians, someone who I believe is our greatest Australian, John Monash, is a magnificent read. I've got a photo, which I really treasure, of a very much younger me and Mr Fischer and his book on Monash in my office.”
“She lives next door in my good friend and colleague the member for Gippsland's electorate. She's from Traralgon, and she has dedicated countless hours to writing the history of that town and other parts of Gippsland. I want to acknowledge several other authors whose work has made an important contribution to preserving Australian stories and our regional history. Roland Perry's work documenting General Sir John Monash has helped generations of Australians better understand one of our most significant military and nation-building figures in the history of this nation. Through authors like Roland Perry, Australians are able to engage with that legacy in a meaningful and accessible way, and it was an honour to meet Roland Perry recently at the Victorian Association of Jewish Ex and Servicemen and Women's Anzac commemoration in Melbourne.”
“Australian authors are facing real pressures. Publishing has changed dramatically. Most recently I travelled into Melbourne to speak at a function put together by a range of publishers and authors looking at how new technology can innovate and transform the way some of that material is communicated and made available to more people across the world. The fact is that costs have risen and that global competition is intense. For many authors, writing alone is no longer enough to provide a sustainable income. For some, lending rights payments are not simply a bonus; they're an important supplementary income source that helps to make continued writing possible. This is particularly true for historians and regional writers. I'd like to give a shout-out to Jenny Hammett. She doesn't live in my electorate.”
“Despite the title 'better income for authors', these bills do not increase funding for authors or publishers. They do not expand the overall funding pool, change payment calculations or deliver significantly improved financial outcomes for Australian writers. Too often this Labor government announces reforms with impressive titles only for Australians to discover the substance does not match the spin. Payments under these schemes remain capped within an annual allocation of around $28 million. Last financial year, more than 17,000 payments were made, totalling just over $28 million. That framework remains substantially unchanged in this legislation. So yes, the bills modernise governance and provide legislative certainty, but no, they are not a transformative funding package for Australian authors.”
“When books are made freely available through libraries and educational institutions, authors and publishers should receive fair recognition and compensation for that use. The Public Lending Right Scheme has existed in legislative form since 1985. The Educational Lending Right Scheme has operated administratively for decades, including after its establishment by a coalition government in the 2000-01 budget. These bills bring both schemes into one single legislative framework for the first time. They modernise administration, improve consistency and provide greater certainty for the future operation of both programs. They are worthwhile reforms, and the coalition will support them We must also be honest about what these bills do not do.”
“The ability of Australians to record our national history, preserve local history, educate future generations and entertain readers through literature is an essential part of who we are as a nation. Public libraries and school libraries play a central role in that mission. They provide free access to knowledge and opportunity, regardless of your postcode, background or income. While Australians rightly value free access to books, we must also recognise the work of the people who create them. Authors dedicate years to research, writing, editing and publishing, often with no guarantee of financial success. That is why public lending rights and educational lending rights are important. These schemes recognise a simple principle.”
“It's always a pleasure to follow my colleague the member for Maribyrnong. I too rise to speak on the bills before us today: the Public and Educational Lending Rights (Better Income for Authors) Bill 2026 and the Public and Educational Lending Rights (Better Income for Authors) Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions Bill 2026. The coalition will support these bills because, at their core, they are sensible and practical reforms that modernise the governance and administration of longstanding programs supporting Australian authors and publishers. Books matter. Stories matter. History matters. As someone who is passionate about promoting civics education in our schools, telling our own history in our own voices is important.”
“Today, this parliament has an opportunity to send a clear and united message from both sides—a message that survivors matter; a message that justice should be meaningful, not symbolic; a message that perpetrators should never be able to manipulate the law to escape accountability; and a message that superannuation should never again become a safe haven for those who commit horrific crimes against children. The coalition supports this bill. I commend it to the House.”
“I know there are ongoing discussions around retrospective application and the treatment of civil findings. These conversations are important, and they should continue. Indeed, earlier consultation proposals contemplated access for victims of serious violent crimes beyond child sexual abuse alone. But we should not allow the pursuit of a perfect model to delay meaningful reform that survivors need right now—today—not when survivors have already waited years and not when every further delay risks prolonging injustice. That is why the coalition does not support unnecessary delays or referral processes that would simply postpone the operation of these reforms.”
“Hetty Johnston said these reforms would 'give the power back to the victims' and take away from offenders, who 'love' exploiting these loopholes. She's right. That is an incredibly important point, because, at its heart, this legislation is about power and accountability. For too long, offenders retained power over survivors even after criminal convictions and court proceedings. This legislation begins to rebalance that in the way that it needs to. It sends a message that our parliament—this national parliament—will not allow legal loopholes to be weaponised against survivors. I want to also recognise that this bill may not be the final word on reform in this area. Indeed, there is always more to be done. There are advocates who believe broader categories of serious violent crime should eventually be captured by similar provisions.”
“Perpetrators retain the ability to challenge orders on specified legal grounds. There is judicial oversight. There are safeguards. But, critically, there is finally a pathway for survivors to pursue meaningful compensation where perpetrators have attempted to shield assets within superannuation. The coalition also believe it's important to recognise the organisations and advocates who have fought tirelessly for this reform. I want to acknowledge Andrew Carpenter, who I mentioned earlier, but also Hetty Johnston and the extraordinary work of Bravehearts. I would like to acknowledge Super for Survivors, Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia, the Carly Ryan Foundation and many others who have spent years exposing this injustice and pushing for change.”
“It cannot continue. We must not stand for this. Perpetrators should not be able to abuse children, lose in court, declare bankruptcy and preserve retirement savings while survivors are left with nothing. Superannuation was never intended to become a shield for predators. It exists to provide dignity and security in retirement, not protection from accountability. This bill establishes a court supervised process that seeks to restore fairness, it allows survivors to seek limited superannuation information from the Commissioner of Taxation, it allows courts to issue release orders where compensation debts exist, and it requires the Commissioner of Taxation to facilitate payment through release authorities issued to superannuation funds. Importantly, this is not an arbitrary process.”
“Survivor advocate Howard Brown said Van Ryn even boasted: Everything I have is in my super—and you can't touch that. Imagine hearing that as a survivor. Imagine enduring the abuse, going through the court proceedings and then hearing the perpetrator openly taunt victims because the law protected his assets. That should outrage all of us, and indeed it does, because we are coming together, as a parliament, in a bipartisan manner in the Australian national interest to say to those abuse victims that we all—every single member in this place—stand with you. The case of Edan van Haren further demonstrates why reform is urgently needed. In 2023, Mr van Haren was awarded $1.4 million in damages by the New South Wales Supreme Court after being abused by Maurice Van Ryn. Yet legal loopholes enabled the perpetrator to avoid paying damages.”
“Andrew Carpenter has spent years advocating for reform and supporting survivors through these processes. I recently listened to a podcast he was on and was most significantly impressed by his dedication, over many years, to this cause and by his broader support of abuse victims. Andrew Carpenter put it plainly when he said: There is not one legal justification for sexually abusing a child. Paedophiles should be made to pay and closing this loophole is a no-brainer. And he was right. Another shocking example involved the former boss of Bega Cheese, Maurice Van Ryn. Before being sentenced to prison, he, too, moved assets into superannuation. They were substantial. When victims later sought compensation, they discovered he was broke on paper.”
“The need for this legislation becomes painfully clear when we look at the real cases that exposed this loophole. One of the most notorious examples is the former magistrate Peter Liddy. Back in 2001, Liddy was jailed for horrific offences involving the abuse of multiple children. But, before sentencing, he transferred substantial assets into superannuation accounts, effectively shielding his wealth from victims pursuing compensation claims. Lawyer Andrew Carpenter described it as becoming a 'blueprint for paedophiles everywhere'. That statement should disturb every single one of us in this place, because it demonstrates that this was not an isolated technical oversight. It became a known strategy, a loophole that offenders could exploit while survivors were left without justice.”
“It can help provide stability, and, importantly, it can represent acknowledgement—acknowledgement that harm was done and that accountability matters. As a national parliament, we're coming together in a bipartisan manner to do just that. Many survivors have described the current loophole as a second injustice. Not only were they abused; they also, after enduring lengthy legal proceedings, discovered the perpetrator had deliberately protected their wealth while the survivor was left carrying the emotional and financial burden. That compounds the trauma, it compounds the sense that the system failed them and it undermines public confidence in the justice system itself—because Australians rightly expect that, when a court orders compensation, perpetrators cannot simply manipulate the system to avoid responsibility.”
“They rob Australia of the prospects, the input and the talents of so many brilliant Australians who have had to endure such horrendous circumstances. For many survivors, the abuse does not end when the offending stops. The trauma continues for years and often decades. Many survivors face ongoing medical expenses, counselling costs and lost opportunities because of the abuse they endured as children. For some, maintaining stable employment becomes difficult. For others, trust, safety and stability are things they spend years trying to rebuild. No amount of compensation can ever undo what has happened. No amount of money can erase that trauma, but compensation can help survivors access treatment, counselling and support services.”
“This has created a serious loophole—a loophole where offenders facing criminal or civil proceedings can deliberately move assets into superannuation accounts to shield wealth from victims seeking compensation, and, in some cases, those perpetrators have boasted about such moves. As a result, survivors can endure years of abuse, pursue justice through the courts and be forced to relive their trauma through legal proceedings before obtaining compensation orders—and still receive absolutely nothing. A compensation order should mean something. It should be enforceable to the full extent. Justice should not exist only on paper. This issue is about far more than money. The impacts of child sexual abuse are lifelong. They affect mental health, physical health, relationships, education, employment, housing stability and financial security.”
“The purpose of this bill is straightforward, but it is profoundly important. It amends the Commonwealth law to allow victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to apply for a court order to access certain superannuation amounts held by perpetrators. The bill also amends the Bankruptcy Act to ensure perpetrators cannot simply declare bankruptcy in order to escape compensation debts. At present, superannuation trustees are generally prohibited from releasing preserved benefits, except in very limited circumstances. Compensation owed to victims of crime is not one of them.”
“Above all else, this debate belongs to survivors. It belongs to the victims-survivors, the families, the advocates and the organisations who have spent years exposing this injustice and demanding change. Many have fought for close to a decade to ensure this parliament has finally acted. I know many are relieved, but it goes without saying that they have had to endure deeply traumatic experiences in the hope that future survivors would not face the same barriers to justice. As someone who previously served on the board of Lifeline Gippsland, I know that Lifeline and many other organisations are there to support victims-survivors in the battles and the hurdles that they face ahead. This is important work. This legislation exists because those survivors refuse to remain silent.”
“It is frankly unacceptable that this loophole has been able to exist for so long. This should never be a partisan issue. This national parliament should speak with one united voice when it comes to protecting children, supporting survivors and ensuring perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. I acknowledge the work of the Assistant Treasurer, Daniel Mulino, in progressing this legislation. He is a good man. I had the privilege of working with him when he was the member for Eastern Victoria Region and I was CEO of the Committee for Gippsland. I commend his progression of this legislation. I also acknowledge the fine contribution a short time ago of Andrew Wallace, the member for Fisher, my colleague on this side, who I know cares deeply about standing up for victims of child sexual abuse.”
“In rising to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026, I want to commend the thoughtful and reflective remarks made by my colleague the member for Melbourne and associate myself with her contribution. The coalition supports this bill. We support it because this parliament should stand with survivors, not with loopholes that protect perpetrators. For too long, Australia's superannuation and bankruptcy laws have been manipulated by offenders to avoid paying court ordered compensation to the very people whose lives they have destroyed. Under the current law, perpetrators of child sexual abuse have been able to move assets into superannuation accounts, shield those assets from compensation claims, declare bankruptcy and leave survivors with nothing. That is not justice.”
“My question is to the Minister for Communications. Does the minister stand by her declaration to the independent inquiry into her travel that, on the evening of Saturday 7 June last year, she held an official ministerial meeting with South Australian Labor minister Chris Picton at Mrs Picton's 40th birthday party, which was held at a live music venue?”
“These people have every right to feel let down by the Prime Minister because he promised a better Australia. Instead, Australia's standard of living has disintegrated. They've broken promises on mortgage reductions, energy rebates, housing targets and changes to superannuation. The deficit of trust continues. The first thing they did when they got into government was put a tax on super. Finally, I just want to acknowledge Geraldine Shellcott and Robert Bruce from my electorate of Monash. They drove up from Leongatha yesterday, and they're in the gallery. I'm very proud to have the great privilege of representing them as their federal member. Thanks for everything you do for our community.”
“People in my electorate are already hurting, and they're about to be let down by tonight's budget of broken promises and higher taxes. I hear them loud and clear, because Gippslanders in Monash are feeling the impact of these broken promises across the board. I saw it last week when I volunteered at Frankies Community Kitchen, helping out. They do a great job, but they are doing more with less. Likewise at the Corinella & District Community Centre. Thanks to Janice Orchard, the president there, for inviting me along. They do a great job. Most of their volunteers are retirees, and some of them drive an hour and a half just to help out. The people who are accessing the support of the food pantry in some cases walk up to an hour just to get there.”
“It is very important as far as affordability and reliability for families in my electorate. I want to take a stand against the Greens and the teals, who have no consideration for people doing it really tough right now or for manufacturing businesses and small businesses that need affordable and reliable gas. I commend the member for Hunter. We have different perspectives on things, but coming from a regional area he gets this issue as well. Finally, I would just like to wish everyone in my electorate a happy Easter. Please stay safe on our roads.”
“The transition off gas must happen faster.' We've got a teal MP in this House saying, 'Stop new gas fields.' We've got another teal MP in this place saying, 'We don't need more gas; we need smarter use and a faster transition to electrification.' Well, tell that to a food-manufacturing business in my electorate. Tell that to a family struggling to pay their gas bill. We've got another teal MP in this place saying: 'Labor's gas strategy betrays future generations. Expanding gas now wipes out climate progress.' These teals are like to lecture regional communities and low-socioeconomic families. The Greens do as well. They're on a unity ticket on this issue. Australians deserve better. Families in my electorate deserve better. Gas is incredibly important right now for industry. It is in a very sensitive and precarious state.”
“There are hidden agendas, and behind those hidden agendas there are higher bills. I think Australians deserve better, because when activism drives policy Australians pay the price. A Greens senator said, 'Blasting and new gas projects are environmental disasters and we must ban them.' That senator is now calling for an increase in taxes and royalties for the sector. Another Greens senator said: 'Gas companies are greedy and destructive. It's time to stop new gas projects.' We've got a teal senator who said: 'Gas is cooking our present. No more approvals. Protect future generations.' We've got an excommunicated Labor senator saying: 'We can't reach net zero with Labor's gas strategy.”
“There are families in my electorate having to choose between gas and groceries right now because the costs of both are going up. We've got businesses who can't electrify their processes. We've got food manufacturers who can't electrify. They need gas. It is absolutely critical to their business operations. Right now, we have a huge amount of hypocrisy from the teals and the Greens on gas policy. I want to go through a number of MPs who have supported a policy of increasing taxes and royalties on the sector at the moment while also making anti-gas and anti-gas-expansion comments prior to this year. The exception to that is my well-respected colleague the member for Chifley. I disagree with him on parts of the policy that he has raised, but at least he's been consistent, unlike the teals and the Greens.”
“He said, 'It's just absurd and it is unacceptable.' It is unacceptable, and it reflects the broader failure in the Victorian health system, where pressure across regional services and a lack of leadership by the state government has led to multiple examples of unresponsiveness and lack of accountability. I'm calling for an urgent intervention from the health commissioner and the state and federal health ministers. I've written to the federal health minister, and I want to commend his office for helping in a number of sensitive and serious situations that have arisen during this time on this issue. But local people in my electorate deserve better. Danny O'Brien and Melina Bath, our two state MPs, have done an outstanding job. I want to acknowledge their tremendous efforts in sticking up for our community as well.”
“It has been 75 days since the Leongatha Healthcare clinic closed, and patients are still waiting for access to critical medical records. We've had a very dedicated group of local general practitioners and broader medical administrative staff work around the clock to set up a new clinic. I want to commend their dedication to our community. But the fact remains that many patients from the old clinic are still waiting on their medical records. Just last week, I had a Leongatha resident contact my office. He's been fortunate enough to find a new doctor, but he still cannot access his medical records despite having serious multiple health issues. He's currently awaiting surgery. He described this situation in two simple words.”
“I was at Ripplebrook Primary School recently in West Gippsland, where they really have gone above and beyond to provide Japanese as a language offering to their very small school. I just want to commend the ingenuity and creativity and determination of the principal and the teachers at Ripplebrook for being able to deliver that. This is an important topic, but let's not rewrite history. I'm proud to be part of a coalition that has and will continue to invest very strongly in better educational outcomes for young people across Australia and in my electorate of Monash. Debater adjourned.”
“I want to also acknowledge the challenge that smaller regional schools face in offering the full breadth of subject choices, specialist programs. This can mean fewer pathways in areas like advanced science, VET programs or emerging industries requiring students to relocate, to travel, or compromise their study options. We have a great number of great TAFE campuses, but we have a terrific TAFE in our region that I know works very closely with industry and high schools to engage young people in a range of skill offerings. Our workforce pressures are felt locally, with schools competing to attract and retain teachers in those regional areas, particularly in specialist subjects.”
“Families in towns like Foster and Korumburra, which I've mentioned, have a significant challenge in being able to meet those demands. I regularly talk to families where the daily commute is easily over an hour each way, and I know that this has had a real impact on student wellbeing in participation and outcomes. It limits involvement in after-school activities like sport, tutoring, music or part-time work. We've got some very gifted athletes and young people in all parts of my electorate, but there are quite a few in South Gippsland as well. I really do take my hat off to their determination and commitment because they have to meet a higher hurdle to be able to engage in that training and those activities than perhaps students and athletes from metropolitan areas in the same situation.”
“In today's economy, I hear so often that you've got to have a dual-income household to be able to meet the cost-of-living challenges, and that places additional pressure on parents who are trying to juggle job demands as well as giving their children all of the support they need in and around their schooling. Access to specialist subjects, support programs and pathways can be more limited in smaller regional schools, and that means that students often have to leave their local community to access the same opportunities that are available to students in metropolitan areas. In South Gippsland, education is shaped by geography as much as it is by policy, with distance playing a huge role in access to opportunity.”
“In towns like Foster and Korumburra, I talk to families and students who are regularly commuting daily to larger centres for schooling, adding hours to their day and limiting their ability to participate in extracurricular activities. In many parts of my electorate, you can't jump on a train and there are limited bus services, so, with the cost of fuel going up, this is placing additional pressure on families moving around their community, certainly families taking their children to school of a morning. For many families, this also means managing additional costs and balancing work commitments around school access.”
“Schools are working hard to absorb the growth that we are seeing in population, but it is placing a real strain on teachers, with larger class sizes, increased workload and less time available for individual student support. I'm very proud to represent a region that stretches all the way down to the southernmost point of mainland Australia: Wilsons Prom and Foster. We've got some remarkable schools there. I was at the Foster Primary School not so long ago. In South Gippsland, access to education is shaped by distance, with families often travelling long distances to access secondary schooling and subject choice.”
“Rapid population growth in Warrigal and Drouin, which Bernard Salt, the demographer, notes are the fastest growing towns anywhere across Australia, is driving significant growth in school enrolments in those schools, with classrooms reaching capacity, portable buildings becoming more common and growing pressure on shared facilities like libraries, playgrounds and specialist learning states. I want to commend my state Liberal colleague the member for Narracan, Wayne Farnham, who's been working with a range of schools in the west Gippsland area, particularly Drouin Secondary College and the marvellous principal and teaching staff there, to address some of those challenges.”
“But funding is only part of the story, because outcomes are going backwards. The minister claims reading is improving, but NAPLAN data tells us a different story. Schools have declined in recent years, including a year-on-year drop under the current government. International data shows the same trend. Australia's reading performance has fallen over time. In Monash, getting an education isn't just about what happens in the classroom; it's about distance, access and the pressure that growth is putting on our local schools.”