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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“I came to this place to make a strong stand on behalf of farming families in my community, who do so much to contribute to our national wealth and prosperity and ask for very little in return. Under this proposal, they would have been punished severely. Many older farmers in electorate have their farms in self-managed super funds, and they have done that with the intention of leaving their farms eventually to their children. That helps generate retirement income for the parents while the next generation looks to build and continue to build the family business—but not under Labor's proposal. We know that land prices have increased quite dramatically in some areas, and that does not always reflect the earning capacity of those businesses.”
“The coalition has always stood on principle when it comes to taxation—that Australians pay tax when income is realised, when a gain is crystalised, when the money is actually in hand. But what this government has proposed is something entirely different. They are proposing taxing paper gains, gains that exist only on paper and may disappear the next day. Anyone who is invested in markets, property or business assets understands volatility. Values rise and values fall. They change with economic conditions, circumstances, interest rates and market cycles. Taxing unrealised gains ignores that reality. This is an area I have had very strong feedback on from my regional electorate of Monash.”
“Too often, I see regional Australians bearing the brunt of unintended consequences at the hands of this federal Labor government. That the government has backed down on its proposal to tax unrealised gains in superannuation tells us one thing very clearly, and that is: it wasn't a very good policy to start with. It's only because of sustained pressure from the coalition, from the superannuation sector, from small-business owners, from farmers and from everyday Australians that the government has been forced to retreat on some of the most outrageous and egregious elements of this proposal. It was not a minor policy tweak. This has been a fundamental shift in proposing how Australians are to be taxed, and had it not been challenged it would have set a very dangerous precedent across our entire taxation system.”
“The treatment that farmers in my electorate have had to bear from the Victorian and federal Labor governments is just not good enough. To the local residents and farmers in my electorate who have contacted me: I will continue to work with my state coalition colleagues on this. We will stand up and fight for you. It is not good enough. You deserve better, Gippsland deserves better and Australian farmers deserve far better than what they've had so far.”
“And now it has purchased a wind farm that hasn't been capable of washing its own face as a standalone private enterprise or winning the support of the community in which it is seeking to operate. The purchase, on behalf of the Victorian taxpayer, was around $700 million—this is not loose change!—and yet this is a state that has a debt greater than the debts of the states of Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland combined. I don't think anyone in their right mind can argue that this is a good use of taxpayer money, or that taxpayers should be bearing the risk of a project that to date really hasn't been able to stand up. Our region deserves better. Our community deserves better. Farmers in my region deserve to be treated with respect. Our soil, our prime agricultural land, needs to be better respected and better utilised.”
“The other issue I have with the way these renewable energy projects are being handled in my community, particularly by the Victorian Labor government, goes to the state-owned and managed State Electricity Commission, which has just purchased the Delburn Wind Farm business. Now, this is not the original and best SEC; it's not the SEC that John Monash was the inaugural chair of and that he used to set Victoria up as a manufacturing powerhouse with the once four now three coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley. This SEC was set up by the Victorian Labor government a couple of years ago. It employs one person in Gippsland. It competes with the private sector.”
“State and federal renewable energy zones were established with the goal of keeping these projects in designated areas, presumably away from soil that needs to be preserved for the food that we grow and produce and that ends up on tables across the country. Well, these projects are well outside the designated renewable energy zones that have been established, and in some cases they are in bushfire prone areas and near waterways. The proponents have put together a slapdash approach to community engagement, hosting community forums at inconvenient times, like four o'clock in the afternoon when many impacted residents are in their milking sheds and can't step away.”
“Recently, I've been meeting with a number of local residents and farmers deeply concerned about the impact on prime agricultural farmland, coupled with a lack of social licence, presented by a number of renewable energy projects across West Gippsland. From Yarragon to Darnum and Trafalgar East, I continue to hear from local residents about the giant battery energy storage projects being proposed smack bang in the middle of prime dairy and horticulture country. The residents concerned have no quarrel with the concept of renewable energy, but it needs to win the community support where it seeks to operate.”
“I particularly want to acknowledge the Baw Baw Islamic Network Australia president, Fahad Zakaria; vice-president, Mansoor Shamsi; secretary, Abdul Mohsi Khan; treasurer, Ali Haidar; and committee members Zahid Khan, Mehreen Syed-Shamsi and Sahrish Rafat for their leadership and for the enormous effort that goes into bringing together this event every year. The themes of iftar, including self-restraint and empathy for those less fortunate, are examples for many people in our community who are able to strongly connect to those themes and messages. When I was elected to this place, I committed to standing up for farmers in Monash at every opportunity, and that's exactly what I will continue to do.”
“For many years I was honoured to be invited to the annual Gippsland interfaith iftar dinner, which was held in the Latrobe Valley. On Saturday night, I attended the first formal iftar dinner held in the Baw Baw Shire. I deeply appreciate the generosity of spirit behind the invitation to the broader community, which brought people together from different faiths and backgrounds bonded in friendship, respect and shared values that are important to our community in Monash. In an uncertain world, evenings like this remind us that regional communities bring people together.”
“From illegal tobacco to ISIS brides to the CFMEU chaos in Victoria, state and federal Labor governments have their heads in the sand. We urgently need resourcing and investment in law enforcement across a range of areas. Illegal tobacco is hurting small business. It's endangering our community. There are no consequences for actions under state and federal Labor governments, and the illegal tobacco trade is a prime example of that, particularly today, where we see the excise tax increasing yet again. Australians deserve better.”
“While hardworking mum-and-dad small businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water under state and federal Labor governments, there's one sector that's booming, and that's the illegal tobacco trade. And, if business as usual for the crooks and cartels running the illicit trade isn't strong enough, today the tobacco excise increases yet again—this time to $1.52 per cigarette. That's more than $30 for a standard pack. That is up to an estimated $10 billion we are losing that could be spent on roads, schools and hospitals. Small businesses are continuing to get ramraided, and retail staff are worried about being assaulted. This is yet another example of state and federal Labor's record on law and order. They are putting everyday Australians at risk.”
“They don't often do a whole lot of different things, but they can do one thing very well and specialise on that in components manufacturing and in new technology, and they are looking for improved and efficient markets to export those products—to export that expertise. Victoria is also a very large exporter of education. We've got some excellent education providers. It's important to our regional economy. For Federation University, just outside of my electorate of Monash, those linkages to South-East Asia are particularly important. So the South-East Asia economic strategy is a good start. There are some commendable ambitions linked in there, but I want to see those continued with action as well.”
“I think there have been a number of milestones put forward, including investment deal teams—specialists embedded in regional hubs like Jakarta, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City to identify and facilitate those investment opportunities—and the $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility and the Australia Southeast Asia Business Exchange, a program to boost two-way trade and support for Australian exporters. Now that we're a year and a half to two years on from the release of that report, it is important that we see further progress pursued by this federal government, as this will also benefit regional communities like mine, particularly in the agribusiness and SME space. We have a great ecosystem of SME businesses in regional areas like mine in states like Victoria.”
“I commend the DFAT and Austrade officials who I know worked very hard on this report, which goes into some commendable goals, with 75 practical recommendations grouped into four pillars around raising awareness, addressing the lack of market knowledge and declining regional literacy; removing blockages, reducing trade barriers and harmonising standards; building capability, ensuring both regions have the skills to pursue those opportunities; and deepening investment to promote capital flow and economic growth.”
“Preceding this treaty, of course, there were a number of significant milestones in the Australia-Indonesia relationship, and they include the significant funding following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, a historic $1 billion in aid provided by the Howard government for reconstruction; counterterrorism cooperation, particularly in intelligence-sharing and law enforcement; and also the strong personal relationship between Prime Minister Howard and President Yudhoyono that formed lasting and binding ties between our two countries. I also want to reference the report by Nicholas Moore which was released not too long ago. Nicholas Moore is the Australian Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, and his landmark report is titled, Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia economic strategy to 2040 .”
“Australia's got a deep connection to Indonesia as one of our nearest neighbours. Of course, Indonesia is the largest country in South-East Asia by population and geography. The deep ties that we're able to forge through cooperation on key issues across defence, security and trade are in the Australian national interest. I think it's also worth noting that today is the 30th anniversary of the election of the Howard government.”
“It's always a pleasure to follow the member for Sturt, and it is a pleasure to speak on this motion relating to the Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security, also known as the Jakarta treaty, which was officially signed on 6 February to strengthen ties and to bring peace and stability to our region. As someone who has worked in the private sector across the Asia-Pacific region before coming to this place, particularly focusing on areas like national security and defence, I've got a strong interest on this topic. As someone who represents a regional community and who is proud to belong to a region that grows, makes and manufacturers green and clean produce that's known across our region, I'm also pleased to speak on this issue. The sustained prosperity of Indonesia holds immense importance and benefit to our region.”
“I was also at the Foster Agricultural Show, one of our great regional agricultural shows. From the dog high-jump and the show jumping event—which I enjoyed as a teenager—to the ferret racing and the whip cracking, it was a great showcase of country skill, tradition and family fun. I was also very pleased to attend the Mossvale music concert on Sunday before coming up to Canberra, where Jeremy and Julie Curtis, with the Leongatha Rotarians, Friends of Mossvale Park, the Mirboo North Community Bank and others, put in a huge effort to make this such a big success on behalf of the local community, where live music thrives and we're back to enjoying it again.”
“Recently, it gave me great pleasure to give national prominence to the Korumburra agricultural show, and I was back in South Gippsland over the weekend for a number of really important community events. That's where I get my riding instructions from—our local community, where I'm able to listen and act on their concerns. On Saturday, I was at the South Gippsland Garlic Festival in Korumburra, where I joined Arawata Landcare members on gate duty, welcoming people from all over Victoria to our fantastic local garlic event. And I want to particularly acknowledge president Joel White, secretary Stephanie Anderton, treasurer Mark Aldren and committee member Melinda Griffith, as well as long-time community servants Andrew McEwen and Rowenna Ashley, who made the festival such a success.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Mother of three Pushpanjali told the Herald Sun that Labor's interest rate rises have 'already affected us three times.' She said: 'My kids used to do swimming, karate and soccer, but now they only go to swimming because the three activities were out of our budget. It's like we are just living our lives to pay the mortgage and nothing else.' Meanwhile, the Clean Energy Regulator is looking to spend $411,500 to upgrade fancy meeting rooms. Prime Minister, when Australians are being asked to tighten their belts, why can't this Labor government?”
“We see the hours that you put in, whether it's servicing customers after hours, employing young people, sponsoring local sporting teams and community groups or getting involved in service clubs. We see what you do for the community. We back you, and we'll be there for you every single time.”
“My local wineries, like any small-business sector, are not asking for special treatment. They're not asking for a handout. They're just asking for a fair go—a fair go to employ people and put back into their communities. They want inflation brought under control, they want interest rates to come down, and they want a tax system that encourages them to invest, employ and grow. Instead, they're getting a government that borrows more, spends more and taxes more. Small businesses tell me they've never worked harder and faced more risk and red tape. It's a really tough time right now to be an Australian small-business owner, and I want to say to every small-business owner out there, right across Australia—in the Monash electorate and beyond—I am with you. The coalition is with you.”
“They continue to grow the identity and reputation of the Gippsland region as a premium food and wine destination. But these businesses are being squeezed from all sides: higher energy costs, rising freight and transport expenses, increasing insurance premiums, labour shortages, declining discretionary spending as families tighten their belts. These businesses are resilient, but those banks of resilience are depleting, and the power bills keep coming. The compliance and red tape keep rising. Many of these businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water. While this government pours billions into poorly targeted spending, it has already failed to provide meaningful relief to industries, like the wine industry, that are under pressure from inflation, cost-of-living pressures and weakening consumer demand.”
“On behalf of the electorate of Monash, I say thank you for employing people, for bringing people to our region, for making world-class products and making all of us so proud of the very fine things that we grow, make and manufacture in the Monash electorate. Across South Gippsland and Bass Coast, we've got wineries like Waratah Hills Vineyard in Fish Creek, Fleet Wines in Leongatha, Bass River at Glen Forbes, Silverwaters Vineyard at San Remo, Wild Dog Winery in Warragul and Brandy Creek Estate. They continue to showcase the very best of regional wineries anywhere in Australia. They're family run, small to medium producers. They employ locals. They support tourism. They provide hospitality experiences to draw visitors to our towns who spend money at our cafes, shops and accommodation providers.”
“They need to take responsibility for the fact that their spending decisions are making life harder for people in my electorate of Monash who are trying to pay off a house or, if they're a young person, trying to get a foot in the door and buy their own home. While I'm speaking about my electorate, I will turn to some other points of these appropriation bills. In that context, I'd love to give a shout-out to some local wineries in my electorate. I love to say that, in Monash, we have world-beating products made by world-leading people. We've got the Phillip Island Winery, the Gurdies Winery, Purple Hen in Rhyll, Harman Wines at Wattle Bank, Dirty Three Wines in Inverloch and the Gippsland Wine Company in Loch. These producers are not just businesses; they are part of the fabric of our region.”
“HSBC's Paul Bloxham has said that the key driver of inflation is not private demand but strong public demand driven by government spending. It could not be clearer. I'll go back to the Reserve Bank governor. Recently, there's been a lot of attention on her comments. Michele Bullock was at Senate estimates recently and again before the Standing Committee on Economics, where the governor confirmed that excessive aggregate demand, including public spending, is contributing to inflationary pressures. What happens when inflation stays high? Interest rates stay higher for longer. The government is forcing the hand here of decisions that are being made on interest rates, and it is hurting everyday Australians. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have been quick to take credit when interest rates have come down.”
“We were talking about shoplifting from supermarkets increasing, and it's not luxury items. It's not entertainment items. It's meat, it's fruit and vegetables—essentials—because people are in desperate circumstances, turning to desperate measures. It's not some global mystery, this inflation problem. Australia's inflation rate is now higher than in comparable economies like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and the Eurozone. Economists have been clear about why. I'll quote AMP's Diana Mousina, who has said, 'The government has been directly adding to inflation through record public spending.' Shane Oliver, a well-known and well-credentialed economic commentator, has said that many of the drivers of inflation relate to government spending.”
“To the tradie who wrote to me and said he wanted to get some additional training and education to, as he put it, better support his family—he said the cost of supplies and reading materials for the course that he was doing on construction was the real cost killer for him. These are real people with real stories, and they're really hurting. Food's up 16 per cent. I had a lady come out of the Coles supermarket in Drouin during the election campaign. She held up two bags of groceries and said, 'Mary, I can't get two bags of groceries for under $100 anymore.' It's just going up and up, and these are not luxuries; they're essentials. They're everyday costs that families, pensioners and small businesses cannot afford. I spoke with a group of financial counsellors in my electorate recently.”
“He moved back in with his mum for a period of time, but there are very real consequences for Australians who are doing it tough, who work hard, who do the right thing, who squirrel money away and who don't spend recklessly. They are hurting. Health is up 18 per cent. How many times have we heard this prime minister say 'all you need is your Medicare card'? Health is up 18 per cent, and your Medicare card is not paying for that. People's credit cards are, and their savings are. Education is up 17 per cent. I thank Trudy, who wrote to me recently about the living away from home allowance. That is the same amount for kids living in metro and city areas as regional kids. Her children are doing it really tough.”
“How many times, member for Mallee, have we heard the government talk about their $275 bill reduction? I think we're nearly up to 100 times now. Energy has gone up 38 per cent. We've seen rent go up 22 per cent. I heard a very sad story during the election, when a lady came up to me outside one of the little IGAs that I was doing a listening post at, and she said her son, who was a truck driver—he's a single dad with a few kids. He was nearly homeless because—I won't mention the town, but in West Gippsland. He had to couch surf with friends because he could not get a rental property, and that was impacting his kids and the broader family.”
“On 28 January, the ABS confirmed that inflation rose to 3.8 per cent in 12 months to December. Trimmed inflation is at 3.4 per cent. Both of these figures are well outside the RBA's target band. After nearly four years of Labor, Australians are paying more for the basics. Insurance has gone up 39 per cent. I go around my electorate of Monash and I speak to community groups and not-for-profits in particular—those sporting teams and clubs that put so much back into our community and that live off the smell of an oily rag—and one of their chief complaints is the cost of insurance continuing to rise. It puts them at such a disadvantage. They work very, very hard to live within the constraints of a very tight budget. But these things have real impacts on communities like mine. Energy has gone up by 38 per cent.”
“Since Labor came to office, spending has gone up by $160 billion. That is, when you think about it, about $16,000 for every household in this country. And the government has added $100 billion to the national debt in just a single term. This is not restraint. This is recklessness, and the consequences of that recklessness are showing up where Australians feel it most—at the checkout, on their power bills, in their rent and on their mortgage repayments. We've had 13 interest rate rises under this government. I would not be surprised if we see a 14th, which the RBA have left the door open to. When you listen to people like Philip Lowe, a highly respected person, who served previously as the RBA governor—he has said that inflation is a homegrown problem and that inflation is being driven by government debt.”
“Because record revenue is being completely outstripped by record spending and record spending growth by a government that treats taxpayers' hard-earned money like a credit card with no limit. You cannot run a household budget like this. You would have your shutters pulled down if you were a small business that operated like this. Yet, again, the standard the government expects of ordinary Australians is not adhered to by its own management. The government is now the highest spending government, outside of a pandemic, in 40 years. Spending is growing at four times the rate of the economy, and national debt is heading towards $1.2 trillion. That is a debt bomb that generations of Australians still yet to come will be paying back. They are at a disadvantage before they even get a start in life.”
“It is putting Australian families at a disadvantage, it is hurting regional communities like mine and it is also putting us well behind the eight ball on our international competitiveness. We've got record levels of revenue in this country, and, I might add, a lot of that is thanks to our mining and resources sector, which funds the roads that we drive on, the hospitals that we rely on and the schools that educate our young people. We've got record levels of revenue. In fact, in the 2024-25 year the Commonwealth raised $717 billion in receipts. That's 25.9 per cent of GDP—the highest level in 25 years. Despite this river of revenue flowing into Canberra, Australians across the country, particularly in electorates like mine, are staring down strong deficits. Why?”
“In the broader context, let's reflect on the fact that, this week, we've seen $15 billion siphoned away in CFMEU cartel mismanagement and corruption. We've got a $1.2 trillion debt bomb gestating under this government, and there's a whole range of inappropriate expenditure, mismanagement and poor decision-making that we see on a daily basis. While families in my electorate of Monash are being asked to tighten their belts—and many of those families have to make weekly decisions on whether to buy groceries and put food on the table for their families or to pay their bills on time—this government is not living by the standard that it preaches to ordinary Australians. While this debate matters, I want to go into some examination of the flagrant spending that we are seeing under this government, because it is getting worse.”
“I rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2025-2026 and related appropriation bills. Let me be clear from the outset: the coalition won't oppose or delay the passage of these bills. While we don't support all of the policies and programs funded in this budget, these appropriation bills are necessary legislative mechanisms to fund decisions that the government has already made. But just because we're not opposing these bills does not mean we will remain silent on the reckless spending and bad choices that sit behind them. These appropriation bills authorise a further $12.7 billion in spending—$9.1 billion for ordinary services, $3½ billion for non-ordinary services and just over $9 million for parliamentary departments—on top of what was already a big-spending budget.”
“I've spoken a number of times over the last fortnight on digital connectivity and mobile blackspots in my electorate. Those difficulties are getting harder, more immense and less serviceable under this government. Housing is a huge issue for many people in my electorate, from families to young people. Rental vacancies remain tight. Young people who grew up locally are finding it increasingly difficult to secure housing, let alone save for a deposit for their own home. When supply is limited, even modest increases in demand can push prices well beyond what local wages can sustain. Energy costs are a huge burden. Under this government we've seen—Member for Casey, is it $275 in bill relief?”
“When my electorate of Monash does well, the rest of our state succeeds and our country thrives, but right now people in my community are telling me they've never done it tougher. Families tell me it's never been harder to raise a family. Businesses tell me they've never worked longer and faced more risk and red tape for less reward. Young people tell me it's just too hard to get ahead. That dream of homeownership is getting further and further away under this federal government. I want to talk about the cost of living because the economy is central to being able to maintain our standard of living, maintain our global competitiveness as a nation and give young people their best shot at a strong, secure and stable future. Regional communities are facing structural challenges across many fronts, with greater distances between services.”
“I am proud to represent a region that grows, makes and manufactures things—from the Latrobe Valley to West Gippsland and the Bass Coast through to South Gippsland and the southernmost point of mainland Australia. Our region contributes 23 per cent of the nation's milk output, 26 per cent of Victoria's beef production and over 60 per cent of Melbourne's water, and through the Latrobe Valley power stations we still produce well over 60 per cent of Victoria's baseload electricity. People in my electorate spend long hours on their feet, from retail shops through to manufacturing businesses, and they work with their hands in farms and shopfronts, making and producing things that the rest of our country relies on.”
“The A ge , which is not exactly the bastion of conservative publishing, has been like a dog with a bone on this issue, and I commend the bravery and the persistence of reporters like Nick McKenzie, because we need to get to the bottom of this. We need to see a report that is not redacted. If you are serious about standing up to corruption, putting out that report in full without bits and pieces taken out, redacted and blacked out is important. It's important to get to the bottom of why bikie gangs were running building sites. We need to know what is happening from here on in with that report, with cleaning up union corruption and with CFMEU donations to the Labor Party, because Australians deserve so much better.”
“In my electorate of Monash, there are many family-run building SMEs. They do a terrific job. They employ young people. They give tradies a go. We've got a wonderful local workforce, but, so often, I speak to them about skills and labour shortages. These corruption issues in Melbourne that relate to the CFMEU have profound, ongoing and institutional consequences for the rest of the building sector and for small businesses, who are expected to abide by a very high level of compliance and regulatory standards. Clearly, the CFMEU are not. There are some really profound flow-on impacts here. The member for Goldstein has done an outstanding job in holding a light to systemic corruption.”
“We read about this sort of thing internationally. We like to think it doesn't happen here in Australia, but it does when it comes to the CFMEU, and it's allowed to flourish under a Labor federal government that is not prepared to toughen up and deal with it. We're talking about organised crime figures buying and selling workplace agreements. I note that, at the moment, we're paying something like $500,000 a minute on government debt. Every dollar lost to corruption is a hospital bed not funded, a road not fixed, a school not repaired. But that's the Victorian government. That's Labor in Victoria, which has infected Labor federally. The standard that you choose to walk past is the same one that you choose to accept. It's also impacting regional communities and small businesses. I'll give you an example.”
“She said she was more interested in community perceptions, but the reality was that nearly 90 per cent of MPs in the Victorian state parliament were worried about corruption, and the figure was a bit less than that for local government councillors. That is one example of how prolific some of these issues are. We're not talking about some minor infractions here. We are dealing with some pretty profound issues—$15 billion didn't just vanish. It was siphoned off while the government looked the other way. We're talking about strippers being brought into a workplace. In what other workplace or office in Australia would that be acceptable? That's what's happening in Victoria. This is not incompetence; it's wilful ignorance. I read today about a contract that was taken out on the administrator when he was appointed. This is really serious stuff.”
“Something is rotten in the state of Victoria, and it's starting to infect Labor federally. Something is rotten in the state of Victoria when, over a long period of time, you've got such a significant undermining of public confidence in public institutions and in government integrity, which has become so much worse under Daniel Andrews and since his tenure. I only need to look at how state government ministers treat this issue. I go back to 30 September last year. Australia's worst energy minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, was asked about an IBAC survey on the perception of corruption, and she waved reporters away and was extremely flippant.”
“The means testing of our combined incomes (needs to be under $62,500!!!) to qualify for youth allowance as a dependent and I believe it is completely unfair that the same rules apply for Melbourne youth as it does for regional youth. And so Trudy provides a really good example where, unfortunately, your postcode is determining your potential for higher education outcomes and skills access under this federal government, who don't support people from regional communities and who don't recognise the additional burdens and challenges of young people who want to get ahead and want to get skills and education attainment. They're not getting a fair go under this federal government.”
“There is an example of another issue in an email that I got recently from Trudy, who is a mum in my electorate who wrote to me about the impact that her kids are experiencing. Trudy wrote to me: As parents of three young adults who are all wishing to move to Melbourne for university the financial stress is immense. I have looked at the details for both youth allowance and relocation allowance. We had zero financial assistance for our now 22 year old. (Who is now living hand to mouth in a rental in Melbourne). Our 19 year old deferred and so won't be eligible for the relocation allowance and our youngest may be eligible for $3000 being from inner regional Inverloch.”
“I want to read out an email that I received recently from a constituent, who wrote: Hi, my name is Brett, I am a 30 year old plumber studying a Diploma of Building in construction to enable my career progression and provide better for my family. My issue I want to discuss is the lack of access to Critical study materials for students, Apprentices, Trades and other industry professionals. Brett goes on to say that, while there's been a focus on access to TAFE, the cost-prohibitive areas actually relate to Brett's study materials—critical information, books and other areas. He cites some examples: masonry and small buildings, $261; concrete structures, $387; and residential slabs and footing, $347. I could go on, but Brett's point is very well made.”
“They are doing really important work to help drive jobs and skills outcomes that benefit our whole region across a number of areas. They're working very well with local employers to support that. I also want to give a shout-out to local LENs—the Baw Baw LLEN and the South Gippsland Bass Coast LLEN. They will go along to local skills and job fairs from Leongatha to Lardner Park. I attended one in Leongatha last year. Those local LENs do a great job of supporting job applicants with CV-checking and with their skills forums, and I want to encourage them to continue to do that. There are a number of other barriers that people in my electorate face.”
“Public transport, particularly for those communities in South Gippsland and the Bass Coast which are not on the train line, acts as a real barrier to university and TAFE in the Gippsland region. Lack of access to child care for a lot of young people trying to further their education and skills outcomes is something that we still desperately need to address. For small businesses that want to give young people a go through apprenticeships, those cost barriers are still prohibitive. Those things today are areas which this federal government need to better address in my region, just as they need to address them in regional communities right across Australia. I do want to give a shout-out to local organisations that are really putting their best foot forward in supporting young people. I've met with TAFE Gippsland a number of times.”