Julie-Ann Campbell
Moreton · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“It was Steven Miles who introduced 50c fares, which go to making sure that people can have relief when they tap their card at the bus or to get on the train. And it was many energy workers who came together to make sure that publicly owned renewables could be back in state government hands.”
“We just heard during the MPI in this parliament every excuse that they could think of—every obfuscation that came to mind, every reason—to not back reform that protects our children. The news I want to give to those opposite is this: we will not lie down when it comes to ensuring that Australian children are safe.”
“It is important to remember that yesterday marked a tax cut, the fifth from this government, for every Australian taxpaying worker. It is important to remember that this government, unlike those opposite, backed in minimum and award wage increases which came into effect yesterday.”
“Yesterday didn't just mark the beginning of a new financial year, it marked the next step in the Albanese Labor government's crusade to ensure that cost-of-living relief is delivered to everyday Australians, and it sits in stark contrast to what we've seen from those opposite this week.”
“If you've ever sat in your car at the Coopers Plains crossing on Boundary Road, you would know that it can feel like an absolute eternity. It's been consistently named by the RACQ as one of the worst crossings in our entire state. Locals in my community have been waiting decades for the promised overpass to that rail level crossing.”
“But if you'd cracked open the LNP's budget last Tuesday, what you would have found as you sorted through the papers is that there was no commitment and no timeline to this important project being delivered, despite the state previously having committed $179.5 million to the project as well.”
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“And that's what's core to this bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. This bill is about health. This bill is about making sure that Australians can be diagnosed as early as possible and that we remove every barrier we can to allow that to be a reality. Australians should never have to choose between their health and their ability to access affordable life insurance, and, with this bill, they won't have to. This bill delivers four core outcomes. Firstly, it bans life insurers from using adverse genetic test results in their underwriting decisions. Next, it reduces licensing exemptions for certain foreign financial services providers. Thirdly, it modernises Australia's legislative framework for multilateral development banks.”
“Genetic testing saves lives. It supports medical practitioners to prevent, to diagnose, to treat and to monitor a range of cancers, cancer predisposition syndromes and other heritable conditions. Medical practice is moving forward in leaps and bounds. We know a lot more than we did a hundred years ago, we know a lot more than we did 10 years ago, and we know a lot more than we did one year ago. Genetic testing is one of the areas where this is the most prominent and, indeed, the most impactful. But, right now, too many Australians are delaying or avoiding genetic testing that could save their lives, not because their doctor hasn't recommended it but because they're afraid their life insurer could use the results against them.”
“It's why we've invested in free TAFE, but it's also why we've invested in 20 per cent off of student debt and why we have invested in $10,000 for apprentices to make sure that we have the people that we need to build homes of the future. And it's working. Free TAFE has supported over 740,000 enrolments nationally. In the first year of free TAFE, in 2023, there were over 355,000 enrolments against a target of 180,000 places. What that means is not only that free TAFE is something that is important for building our skills, our future and our economy but also that Australians want it—they need it. And the only way we're going to build those skills is with a Labor government in power.”
“What a stark contrast there is between those of us on this side of the chamber and those on that side of the chamber when it comes to free TAFE. Those opposite don't back in TAFE. They don't back it in, because they voted against free TAFE. They told those students that Minister Giles and I visited at the Acacia Ridge TAFE that they shouldn't have free TAFE and that they shouldn't have the opportunity to go to TAFE to get skilled and to make sure that they have a pathway to a good, skilled country. It's not just that we've been investing in free TAFE; this Labor government is focused on education and creating the skills that we need more broadly as well.”
“It's about making sure that people can map out a future for themselves, supported by a quality education system. TAFE builds the skills that the Australian economy needs. It builds the skills that we know we need to drive the economy and to drive what our country needs, whether they're in housing, whether they're in construction, whether they're in health care or whether they're in education. TAFE—free TAFE, in particular—removes barriers, as the member for Swan said, and creates a country where we value those skills and make sure that people can have them. It is not just about providing cost-of-living relief to young people and people training to get jobs; it's also about making sure that we are building our nation to be something bigger and stronger with skills that people get at TAFE.”
“We saw plumbers just a few months shy of taking their final exams to go out into the workforce and to get their plumbing apprenticeship stamped from that TAFE, giving them the skills to drive not only household plumbing but also work in construction. We need to build homes, and the skills to do so come from TAFE. We saw future chippies—people learning how to build a home, a home our country needs so that we can address the critical supply issues that this Labor government is working to solve every single day. I did have a go at the nail gun, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker Georganas, and I assure you that we need people at TAFE who can build houses. TAFE means something. It's not just about going back to school. It's not just about what they do. TAFE is about building pathways to secure work.”
“When it comes to free TAFE, I have some real-life experience from just last week, because on Monday just last week I had the great pleasure of visiting not just a TAFE but the largest trade training centre in the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere—the Acacia Ridge TAFE. I'm lucky enough that it is housed on Brisbane's southside in the electorate of Moreton. When Minister Giles and I went to that TAFE, we experienced what apprentices and others uplifting their skills were doing. We visited mechanics who were upskilling on EVs so that, when EVs enter the market, they would know how to deal with them safely. As future technology expands, those working people will have the skills that they need, and they get them at TAFE.”
“It's not a gimmick for those young people who are buying their first home. It's not a gimmick for those people who, for the first time, have the ability to plan for their future. The member for Fadden says it's only been the last four years. That shows the profound misunderstanding of this challenge from the coalition.”
“It's about having a home. It's about having security. It's about setting down roots and being able to have a place where you can watch your kids grow up and you can build a life. Our government has been working to do practical things to throw the kitchen sink at what is an incredibly challenging problem for our nation. It's why we're building more homes and we have an ambitious target for 1.2 million new homes—570,000 built since we came to government and new home starts up by 11.6 per cent. It's why we're delivering 55,000 new social and affordable homes through the HAFF, with 6,000 complete and 24,000 in planning and construction. It's why we've introduced five per cent deposits. There are 230,000 Australians who have bought their first homes with it. The shadow minister called five per cent deposits a gimmick.”
“People are doing it tough, but there are green shoots coming through. I've seen the faces of those people who are getting into their first homes because of the work that Labor is doing with our local communities to make housing more accessible and more affordable. The other day I met with Mitchell. Mitchell is a young person in my electorate on Brisbane's south side. He just bought his first home, a townhouse in Moorooka not too far away from the city. It's pretty close to the train station. Mitchell said that he wouldn't have had a hope to get into that first home without the Help to Buy scheme. In my own team, Kane and his partner, Jaxen, have just moved into their first home. They did it because they were able to save the five per cent deposit, something introduced by Labor. Housing is more than bricks and mortar.”
“It isn't business being brought to this place to have a chat about. What Australians need is a plan, and what they need is consistent delivery of that plan. In this country we have a supply problem when it comes to housing. We have a supply problem that has been building for the last 40 years. For Australians, this has real impacts. This has impacts because, everywhere I go—whether it's at the local fete, whether it's across the back fence, whether it's while you're out doorknocking and talking to people—families want the key to their first front door, parents want their children to have the same opportunities when it comes to housing that they did, and young people are contemplating whether housing will ever be a reality for them and their future. We have a long way to go.”
“It's pretty extraordinary that the member for Fadden has come here today to talk about irony. It's pretty extraordinary because he is part of a coalition that didn't have a housing minister for most of the time that they were in government. It's pretty extraordinary because he is part of a coalition that teamed up with the Greens to vote down, to block and to delay critical housing policy. It's pretty extraordinary because he's part of a coalition that voted against Help to Buy. He's part of a coalition that voted against build to rent. He's part of a coalition that voted against the HAFF. It's pretty extraordinary and it's pretty ironic, because, when those sitting on that side of the chamber were in government, they built a measly 373 homes in nine long years. What Australia needs and what Australians need isn't talk.”
“Her Honour Judge Sharon Burchell says: Diversity does not soften the law—it sharpens its sight. And Jerome Martin says: Diversity in leadership matters because it broadens the lens through which decisions are made … (Time expired)”
“It's important at this time to remember that—regardless of your skin colour, regardless of your faith—as Australians, we need to stand up to make sure that no-one is treated differently. Almost one in five Australians have Asian ancestry—I'm one of them—and only one in 18 lawyers is an Australian of Asian heritage. Asian Australians are strongly represented at junior levels, but that diversity is absent in senior roles, such as at the bar, in partnerships and in the judiciary. In fact, there are more judges named Michael than there are Australian Asian judges, and the current rate means it will be a long time before we see that change. These are the findings of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association's report into cultural diversity. I will leave you with the words of some of their key members.”
“I want to thank Minister Plibersek and Minister Watt for their great work in making it a reality. This morning we heard an incredibly powerful speech from Minister Aly on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. I thought that this was an appropriate time to spotlight one of my local communities: the Kuraby Mosque community. It's led by Imam Gamal Fouda, and it's the centre of the Muslim community in the southern suburbs of Brisbane. It's an incredibly multicultural mosque that has up to 40 different ethnicities, with many different life experiences and backgrounds. They're incredibly community minded. Whether it's clean-up days, or whether it's community days inviting everyone into the mosque, what's clear is that the Kuraby Mosque is some of the best of what Australia has to offer.”
“I recently took an unusual walk with my local councillor, Steve Griffiths, in my south-side electorate of Moreton. We walked underneath Toohey Road in Salisbury, from one side of the forest to the other. Toohey Forest is a beautiful part of Brisbane, if you've never had the privilege of being there before. It's 10 minutes away from Brisbane's CBD. It covers about 260 hectares and it's home to over 400 species of native wildlife: birds; amphibians; reptiles; fish; and mammals, including koalas, wallabies, squirrel gliders and echidnas. Those animals just got a shortcut underneath Toohey Road, because the Albanese Labor government has funded $3 million for a new underroad crossing that improves access to food and resources for wildlife while providing safe movement between habitat areas within Toohey Forest.”
“Senator Canavan thinks that the solution to housing is for young people to raid their super, and Senator Canavan's vision for Australian women is for them to have more babies. One thing is abundantly clear. It doesn't matter who sits in an opposition leadership chair, what's clear is that their priority is not the Australian people. Their priority is themselves.”
“It's already March, but it seems like whenever we come down to this place there's another coalition party leadership contest. This week is no different because yesterday, as the dust settled on the latest salvo in one of the coalition party rooms, we saw the fifth leader appointed in less than one year. Count them: five. We had the member for Dickson. We had the member for Farrer. We had the member for Hume and the member for Maranoa, and we now have Senator Canavan. Yesterday, Senator Canavan said, 'We must fight for what we truly believe in.' We know what Senator Canavan believes in, so let's take a look. Senator Canavan doesn't believe in net zero. In fact, he doesn't believe in it so much that he called climate science 'fear porn'. Senator Canavan doesn't believe that farmers are the National Party's core constituency.”
“The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment Bill 2026 means that the NAIF will remain a secure, consistent and transparent source of funding to bolster economic development, jobs and infrastructure for our whole nation.”
“NAIF funding of $96 million enabled the development of a dedicated space where engineering and IT students, researchers and industry partners can collaborate on innovation and technology development. As part of the social infrastructure mandate, there is also investment available for health and aged-care infrastructure to improve wellbeing and support quality care across those regions. The NAIF has already delivered more than $4 billion worth of investments across northern Queensland, the NT and northern Western Australia. The few I've mentioned here today illustrate how the NAIF has the capacity to affect positive and lasting change across many sectors, in many communities and in many families.”
“This includes investment in facilities for education and skills development, enabling people to train, skill up, learn and build long-term career pathways. One example is the Cairns Seniors Community Housing Project, which has benefited from a loan of up to $140 million from the NAIF. Construction on this project is due to be completed by December this year, with 490 dwellings being available to house around 690 people. Another North Queensland example is the NAIF's loan to James Cook University to construct new student accommodation. It's a seven-storey facility that houses over 400 students, and it's right next door to James Cook University's Engineering and Innovation Place.”
“I know that this is also something particularly important to the member for Leichhardt, who's sitting there as a great representative of those Queensland regional communities every day. When you think about regional and remote communities and what they need to stay strong, it's facilities such as schools, medical clinics, housing, community hubs and cultural spaces which are critical. When these services are strong, they help attract and retain residents, support the local economy and workers and boost overall liveability. They're important. The NAIF helps address these challenges by providing long-term, flexible finance for social infrastructure projects, with a focus on developing infrastructure that provides clear and lasting public value.”
“The NAIF complements its economic development mandate with finance for vital social infrastructure projects—I say 'vital', because northern Australia spans vast distances, with small, widely dispersed populations, making it difficult for many communities to access essential services. The region's remoteness, climate and limited infrastructure create unique challenges for delivering education, health care, housing and other everyday needs. A large share of the population is made up of First Nations communities, each with specific cultural and social priorities. Purpose built social infrastructure is vital to support these communities, to preserve cultural identity and to improve access to key services.”
“Aligned with A Future Made in Australia, this investment is enabling industry diversification in the Gladstone area, creating hundreds and hundreds of jobs and injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the regional economy in Queensland. Over in WA—this might be an interesting one for you, Deputy Speaker—the Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid Project is part of the drive to a net zero economy. The $90 million loan from the NAIF enabled the development of a new solar generation facility. The facility is expected to displace 100 million litres of diesel generation annually from the Pilbara, and the result is a cleaner and more affordable supply of energy. It's not only the economic impact, though; it's also the social impact that NAIF brings.”
“It's the mining and processing of two rare-earth elements which are critical for producing high-performance permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, smartphones and a range of robotic technologies. What the NAIF does is bring together so many things that are important to this Labor government. It brings together secure jobs. It brings together investment in regions. It brings together the technologies that we know are economy driving, and it packages them up to make sure that we get a boost for our nation. The Alpha HPA project in Queensland is also accessing $200 million through NAIF to support the production of over 10,000 tonnes of high-purity alumina. This will be used in manufacturing for products such as LED lights, lithium-ion batteries and semiconductors.”
“The NAIF was accordingly directed to set aside $500 million of its appropriation to support projects aligned with this strategy. It's a big investment, and it's a big investment because we know that these are the projects that drive our economy and that also drive and lift up those local communities in and across northern Australia. An example of this is the Arafura Nolans Bore Rare Earths Project. This Northern Territory based project received up to $200 million in financing in January 2024. It's expected to deliver around $1.4 billion in economic benefit and generate approximately 334 jobs, supporting long-term growth in the region. Behind each and every one of those 334 jobs is a story, a family, skills and a pathway for their future. What is the project?”
“The first concerns strengthening accountability for compliance with the investment mandate, and the second establishes joint responsibilities for the two ministers responsible, the Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, and the Minister for Finance. This brings the facility in line with standard practice for Commonwealth specialist investment vehicles. It's worth looking more closely at some specific projects that were made possible by NAIF—projects that came to life only because the Albanese Labor government has made an investment in this space, projects only made possible because NAIF exists and because we've worked to make sure that we continue to invest in it. The Critical Minerals Strategy 2023 to 2030 outlines the government's plan to strengthen and indeed expand Australia's critical minerals industry.”
“These positive outcomes for First Nations peoples reflect the requirement of NAIF financed projects to support local businesses and local communities—the ones that need that investment, those skills, those secure jobs the most—and project plans that specify First Nations involvement from procurement all the way to employment. This bill amends the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016 to extend its operations until 30 June 2036. This comes after a recent review, which involved significant consultation across northern Australia, concluded the facility is fit for purpose. The bill implements five-year reviews to ensure it remains that way. There are two other key amendments to this bill.”
“Crucially, the facility also invests in social infrastructure, enhancing essential services such as education, health care, housing and community facilities to improve liveability and support thriving local communities. Perhaps the best summary is this: the NAIF's investments are forecast to generate around $33 billion in direct economic benefit from the 32 funded projects across northern Australia. They are also supporting thousands and thousands of jobs—good jobs, jobs that create pathways and futures not just for the individual but for the family and the community as well. Many of these jobs—over 1,385 of them as of 31 December 2025—have gone to First Nations people.”
“They're critical to connectivity. They're critical to health. They're critical to education. They're critical to our economy. In transport and logistics the NAIF finances infrastructure like ports, airports, rail and freight networks, which connect communities and unlock supply chains. Beyond these core sectors the NAIF supports additional industries where investments leads to substantial new or improved infrastructure. This is about building our nation, it's about driving our economy and it's about making sure that we've got the skills to continue do so. This includes areas such as manufacturing, telecommunications, tourism related developments and aquaculture.”
“It provides financial assistance, primarily in the form of concessional loans, to projects that deliver new or materially enhanced infrastructure, boosting the economies of the Northern Territory, of my home state of Queensland and, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas, of your home state of Western Australia. In the energy sector the NAIF contributes to projects involving the generation, transmission and storage of renewable energy, supporting the growth of a sustainable energy future and national net zero objectives. The NAIF also plays a significant role in the resources sector by funding developments across critical minerals, rare earths, fertilisers, gold and copper. These minerals are so critical to our modern way of life. They're so critical to the way that the world works now and the way that our country works now.”
“The NAIF is a $7 billion Commonwealth government financier providing concessional loans for the development of infrastructure projects in northern Australia and the Australian Indian Ocean Territories. Its primary aim is to accelerate infrastructure development across northern Australia. Its core purpose is to stimulate economic growth, attract private sector investment and deliver broad public benefit, including sustainable Indigenous participation and employment outcomes. The NAIF supports a wide range of sectors that are critical to northern Australia's economic and social development.”
“Australia is extremely well positioned to capitalise on our strengths in this evolving landscape. We have abundant natural resources, a skilled workforce, R&D excellence and a geographic location in the Indo-Pacific. We need to invest in that. We need to make sure that those things continue and we need to make sure, if we're going to drive our economy, that it involves this mix. Our nation's future prosperity, and indeed our security, will be reliant on our ability to capitalise on these strengths and harness and support the emerging industries focused on critical minerals, rare earths and the net zero economy. At the core of this drive is the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, the NAIF, which is the foundation of northern Australia's economic development agenda.”
“It affects livelihoods; it affects families. Making sure that those families have a strong foundation—at the same time as building economic resilience for our nation, at the same time as value adding to core and critical supply chains in our globe—is something that we can never forget. Once those skills are lost, once those industries are lost, they are very hard to get back. These factors are all part of Australia's strategy in what is very much a changing landscape—how nations secure supply chains, how they develop advanced manufacturing and how they prepare their workforces for a low-emissions global economy. Because that's what the future is, that's what the future holds. We as a country, as a nation and as a people want to be at the forefront of that future if we are to secure both our communities and our economy going forward.”
“Phrases such as 'critical minerals', 'rare earths', 'net zero economy' and 'a future made in Australia' are not just passing buzzwords, and they're not just convenient political catchphrases. These words represent the strategic foundations of Australia's economic resilience and growth, our national security and our long-term competitiveness. Those words mean something. They mean something to a lot of people. I cut my teeth representing workers in the manufacturing industry, representing boilermakers, fitters and turners and sheet metal workers. Can I tell you that, whether those working Australians are working to build trains, working in medical manufacturing or making components, what is clear is that manufacturing is important because it creates jobs. It creates good jobs, ones that offer secure pathways and a job with dignity.”
“We've increased the maximum penalties, we've extended their powers and we've allowed for on-the-spot fines to make sure that, unlike the opposition, others are not also taking advantage of a crisis in the Middle East. Thirdly, we're working with experts, we're working with the Farmers Federation, we're working with truckies, we're working with stakeholders across the deck. What do they say? They say that when demand is up by 40 per cent because of pressure, we need responsible communication. We need to talk to the Australian people responsibly and we need to make sure that they understand that not only has that stockpile not been touched but fuel is arriving on time. There is one thing that is clear about this opposition: in relation to fuel, they are the villain.”
“I want to take you through just three things when it comes to that approach. Firstly, we've secured an Australian based fuel reserve, a fuel reserve close to home, unlike what we saw from the now leader of the opposition, who thought that that fuel reserve should be in Texas. Now, if you're a Queenslander, you might think to yourself, 'Well, that's not too far away; Texas, Queensland is pretty close.' But it wasn't Texas, Queensland; it was Texas in the United States. On this side of the chamber, we believe that fuel reserves should be held here in this country. We believe, if you're a Queenslander, that there should be a bit of it in Brisbane too. Secondly, we've bolstered the ACCC to stop gouging.”
“The opposition didn't ask themselves, 'How do we help Australians at a difficult time?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we drive fear?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we eke every single political opportunity out of this?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we exploit an international crisis for our own personal advantage?' I believe that when you sit on that green leather, you form a compact. It's a compact with the Australian people, and it's a compact of responsibility. It's a compact of a promise that you have to ensure that you are acting in the national interest. Today, with this MPI, that compact is in tatters. It's in tatters and it is in absolute stark contrast to the approach and the action that this Albanese Labor government has taken on such an important issue.”
“And, when you drive up to the servo, when you saddle up and pick up the pump, when you watch the numbers tick over as you're filling up, of course you are watching your hip pocket. We know that cost of living is the most important thing to Australians right now, and it's not limited to the bowser. Australians are feeling it when it comes to their hip pocket and when it comes to housing and paying their rent. They're feeling it when they pay their bills; they're feeling it at the checkout. That's the landscape that our nation is in right now. When you couple that with a devastating conflict in the Middle East, we have to think how we approach this situation for the betterment of all Australians.”
“The member for Grey has said that action is more important. The question that I have for him is: what action did he take when that mother called him? What action did he take when his constituent said to him, 'I'm worried about the cost of living. I'm worried about the money that I'm paying when I'm at the bowser'. Did the member for Grey tell her that he was here fuelling the fire? Did the member for Grey tell her that he and his party are here taking political opportunity from a crisis, and that she is the ultimate victim of that irresponsibility? It is downright dangerous, and the member for Grey should reach out and let her know that when he gets home. We know that people are doing it tough. They're doing it really tough.”
“The Parliamentary Frameworks Legislation Amendment (Reviews) Bill means the required reviews of the PWSS Act, MOP(S) Act and PBR Act can be captured into a review of all legislation that departments and agencies associated with Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces fall under. It will enable a holistic review of the Commonwealth parliamentary workplace system, navigating the complexity of the different frameworks and providing recommendations to ensure the standards in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces meet community expectations and the expectations that Australians hold of all of us.”
“In addition to that oversight and reporting, IPEA conducts audits of all categories of work expenses and allowances, reinforcing public confidence in the proper use of Commonwealth funds. It is also responsible for processing claims, ensuring they are administered consistently, transparently and in accordance with legislative requirements. This bill is supported by a commitment from the Albanese Labor government of $7.5 million over two years from 2025 to 2026 to implement a review with the purpose of ensuring the frameworks governing members, governing senators and governing staff are fit for purpose.”
“The establishment of IPEA marked the most substantial reform to the management and oversight over parliamentarians' work expenses in more than 25 years, signalling a major step towards improving accountability and improving transparency in this area. As an independent authority, IPEA is responsible for advising on, reporting and auditing the work expenses of parliamentarians and the staff employed under the MOPS Act. IPEA's functions are broad and are designed to strengthen integrity in the administration of public resources. IPEA provides guidance to parliamentarians and to MOPS Act staff on expenses and allowances, ensuring that they understand the rules and obligations that apply to them. It monitors the expenditure of both parliamentarians and their staff and prepares regular public reports.”
“This bill also changes the frequency of future periodic reviews of the PWSS Act. This is currently undertaken each parliamentary term but would extend to once every five years. I detailed some reforms that followed the release of the Set the standard report earlier. Others included the development and adoption of behaviour codes and standards for parliamentarians and their staff as well as Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces more generally. The implementation of the Set the standard report's recommendations were the continuation of a series of necessary and major reforms which have reshaped the Commonwealth parliamentary workforce as we know it. This includes the establishment of the Commonwealth statutory authority Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, or IPEA, in July 2017.”
“As part of these updates, a one-time statutory review was introduced with the review to occur no sooner than three years and no later than five years after those changes. This timeframe was set to allow sufficient opportunity to assess how the new provisions were operating in practice and also to determine whether additional amendments may be needed. The PWSS Act, in turn, established the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, creating a centralised source of human resources, advisory services and other employment related support for parliamentarians and, importantly, their staff. Subsequent amendments to the PWSS Act also created the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, or IPSC, an independent body responsible for impartially investigating allegations of conduct that breech parliamentary behaviour codes.”
“It sets out the rules, the principles and the accountability mechanisms that govern the responsible use of public funds and ensures that parliamentarians are equipped to fulfil their roles while also upholding the highest standards of integrity and stewardship. The MOPS Act and the PWSS Act regulate the employment of staff who support parliamentarians in carrying out their parliamentary duties day in and day out. These are the people who give up their time to ensure that democracy gets done. Specifically, the MOPS Act provides the legislative basis that enable parliamentarians and office holders to employ staff on behalf of the Commonwealth. It was amended in 2023 to ensure the employment framework remains effective and aligned with modern workplace conditions.”
“These are the acts that underpin the parliamentary environment that we sit in right here today. They provide the interdependent set of legislative and administrative frameworks that regulate how resources are provided to parliamentarians, how their staff are employed and what services and supports are available to enable members and senators to carry out their democratic responsibilities effectively. Put simply, these frameworks make this place tick, and these frameworks are administered by multiple entities, each contributing to the delivery of support and guidance for parliamentarians and their staff across Australia. The Parliamentary Business Resources Act establishes the core legislative foundation for how public resources are allocated and used by parliamentarians in the course of their official parliamentary duties.”
“These are standards and frameworks that need to be up to date, and these are standards and frameworks that need to accord with the way things work today. It will also ensure that these structures remain fit for purpose, support best practice governance and reflect the expectations of a contemporary workforce and a contemporary community. Specifically, the bill will amend the commencement dates of the statutory reviews of three acts which are required during the 48th Parliament: (1) the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Act of 2023, (2) the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act of 1984 and (3) the Parliamentary Business Resources Act of 2017. The amendments will mean that the required reviews can be carried out concurrently but also maintain the flexibility to be reviewed separately.”
“As I mentioned, this bill amends various different frameworks, such as those used to guide employment and expenses. It is acknowledged that these are complex frameworks in both application and administration. They are also subject to differing review schedules, further adding to operational complexity. This bill will combine multiple legislatively required reviews. This will enable the government to undertake a comprehensive and integrated review of the frameworks that govern the parliament and the frameworks that govern Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. This is a responsive and effective approach to ensuring the standards are meeting the needs of our diverse and continually evolving parliamentary environment.”
“Key recommendations included establishing clear codes of conduct, creating an independent body to receive and investigate complaints, introducing trauma informed support systems and improving leadership accountability. The recommendations called for a foundation of safety, respect and professional behaviour in all aspects of parliamentary work. Those principles, those foundations, should be true wherever you work, no matter where you work in our community, because that is the standard that we should set. Accordingly, in 2023, the Albanese government passed the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Act of 2023, which established the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, the PWSS, as an independent statutory agency. This delivered on a key recommendation of the report, and it's one of the acts that will be amended by this legislation.”