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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“I want to talk about the LISTO, the low-income superannuation tax offset, first. It was developed to help low-income earners, many of whom are women, to save for retirement and to make the superannuation system fairer for people on lower wages. It gives extra support to those who don't benefit as much from the concessional tax rate applied to super contributions. For most workers, money paid into super is taxed at a rate far below what they'd pay if that income were taken home instead. But, for people on lower incomes, the usual super tax settings can actually leave them worse off. That's what the LISTO is designed to combat.”
“When the superannuation guarantee was first introduced in this place, the opposition were crying that the sky would fall in. The opposition voted for less super for people on low incomes, and, as Treasurer pointed out earlier today, the shadow Treasurer wants to completely dismantle the system, a system that so many people in our nation rely on. Those opposite don't like super. They haven't liked it from the start. At every single point they have tried to pull it apart, and today is no exception. Super is not a bonus. It's not an extra. It's part of people's wages, and that's important. This bill strengthens support for low-income earners and reshapes how superannuation concessions work for large balances. The outcomes will be built in a system that is more fair, more resilient and built to last.”
“Put simply, superannuation is at its core and is every day a Labor success story. Labor introduced superannuation, and we're not content in leaving it where we started. We want to make sure that it gets better, that it gets stronger and that it continues in this modern world to support everyday Australians in saving for their retirement. It is successful because it is grounded in principles of fairness, sustainability and the protection of workers' long-term financial security. It is designed to ensure that all Australians can retire with dignity while reducing long-term reliance on the age pension. To keep that super system strong, it must be equitable. This means that tax concessions and benefits should not disproportionately advantage high-income earners. We know where the opposition stands on superannuation.”
“The name of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Bill 2026 speaks directly to core Labor values—values like equal opportunity for all Australians, values such as inclusive economic growth, values that prioritise reducing inequality and ensuring access to essential services like health and education, and values like security and fairness in retirement. The key word here really is fairness, and fairness is at the very heart of this bill which strengthens our superannuation system and makes it more equitable for all Australians. People all over the world look at Australia's super system with absolute envy because it's a great system. That's understandable. Labor's superannuation system has helped Australians enjoy retirements that are more secure and more comfortable.”
“Not only does that not support a focus on national security; not only does that not support a focus on the Australian people; not only does that not focus on the core things that people in our community are raising, day in, day out, like the cost of living, like housing and like health care—what that means is that social cohesion and community safety go out the window for more cheap politicking.”
“I understand that this has been the fundamental reason behind their behaviour in this chamber and their fundamental lurch to the Right. But let's call this out for what it is. It is a desperate attempt to impersonate Pauline Hanson. It is a desperate grab for votes that they have lost because of their disunity, their dysfunction and the mess that's resulted from focusing only on themselves. When the now Leader of the Opposition stood up, in his first address to the public, he said this: We're in this position because we didn't stay true to our core values … Yet the Leader of the Opposition, in his first days in this place, has not driven a traditional Liberal values based agenda. He has driven the agenda of One Nation.”
“And we find that the bill would shut the gate on people working in humanitarian aid in regions where people need the most help. If the opposition cared about national security, they wouldn't be ignoring the legal framework that the coalition itself created. They wouldn't be ignoring the Constitution. They wouldn't be changing the position that they followed and the approach that they followed when they were in government. Certainly, if the opposition cared about national security, they wouldn't be asking questions in question time about intelligence advice that they know very well is not to be made public. I understand that the opposition has been in a shambles. I understand that they need to put on a show.”
“And this place, this institution and this country deserve better than what we have seen from the opposition today, because, if the opposition cared about national security, they wouldn't have put forward the bill that they put forward earlier today, a bill that the member for Forrest said would shut the gate. What do we find when that bill comes through? What do we find when we look at the fine print? We find that the bill would only shut the gate on pilots getting into the cockpit to fly a commercial air flight. We find that the bill would shut the gate on, and criminalise the work of, flight attendants pushing a trolley down the aisle. We find that the bill would criminalise, and shut the gate on, the work of baggage handlers loading suitcases onto the conveyor belt.”
“I think that the member for Barker's speech proves one thing, and that's that there's been a softening up of the coalition's shadow frontbench. And, can I say, it's been softened up because national security is not a game. National security is not a space for political posturing. National security is not a space for political theatre. It's serious. And this is a government, on this side of the chamber, who takes it—as it should—seriously. When it comes to this cohort, and, indeed, when it comes to all circumstances, this is a government that follows the advice of the security agencies, because we have confidence in those agencies. This is a government that follows the law, as we are required to do. This is a government that, because of those two things, keeps Australia and Australians safe every day.”
“They will also have to provide alerts when free trials are ending and make cancelling a subscription easier. The Albanese Labor government is committed to ensuring strong protections for Australian consumers. Australians deserve a fair go. It's one of the principles that underpin who we are. They deserve to be shielded from misleading behaviour, unsafe products and unfair practices.”
“The updated rules introduce stronger protections against retaliation, along with improved dispute resolution processes so suppliers have clearer pathways to raise concerns and to get fair treatment. We've strengthened unit pricing so shoppers can compare prices quickly and confidently. This means clearer, more consistent unit pricing on supermarket shelves, helping Australians spot genuine value and avoid being ripped off. Labor is also taking aim at unfair trading practices. We're focusing on protecting consumers from free trials and subscriptions that are hiding surprise charges. Businesses will be required to outline all the information before a customer signs up. This includes clear and upfront information about mandatory transaction fees.”
“This new ban is designed to act as a safeguard for consumers in a market where genuine competition can be limited. The new law amends the food and grocery code of conduct from pricing products well over what they should be when the cost of supply and a reasonable margin is considered. This builds on Labor's other work to protect Australian consumers, such as making the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory from 1 April 2025. These changes put real safeguards in place for farmers and suppliers, with tough penalties to keep the big supermarkets in line when they break the rules. It also tackles the longstanding power imbalance between major grocery retailers and the people who supply them.”
“When businesses play by the same rules, it creates a fair, competitive marketplace where small businesses can thrive and customers can enjoy better quality, lower prices and, critically, more innovation. Let's talk about supermarkets. Labor is holding supermarkets to account to make sure that consumers get a fair deal. It's all part of our commitment to help with the cost of living, our No. 1 priority. We're making price-gouging illegal. A new rule banning supermarkets from charging excessive prices for groceries will officially kick in from 1 July 2026. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's supermarkets inquiry found that Coles and Woolies do not have strong incentives to seriously compete on price and that their dominance in the grocery sector is unlikely to shift any time soon.”
“This is particularly important when one of the places Australians most feel the sting of cost-of-living pressures is at the checkout. It's not just at the checkout but at the bowser, at the ATM and at so many places. People and families are doing it tough. That's why the Labor Albanese government is focused on making sure that Australians have strong and reliable consumer protections that actually work in the real world. These protections help people steer clear of misleading behaviour, of dodgy products and of unfair treatment. It gives everyone more confidence that when they shop or when they sign up for services they will be protected and they will be treated fairly. Fair, modern consumer rules don't just help households. They also lift the whole economy up.”
“Every kid growing up in Queensland knows what it feels like to get out of the pool on a hot summer's day, to finish your swimming lesson and to jump up to the canteen to get the big python—to eat a python, which is the Queensland way! When you eat that python, it's so big that you could stretch it and it'd almost be as big as yourself. I went to the Dunlop pool in my local electorate with my daughter, Margaret, and we bought her first python, but it wasn't big enough to stretch. It was much smaller than that. It looked like a tiny version of what I remember growing up. This is shrinkflation. Today's marketplace can be a difficult landscape, full of hard-to-spot risks and traps for consumers. We have to be on guard against practices like scams, supermarket price-gouging and shrinkflation.”
“While the coalition has spent its time infighting and consistently voting against Labor's cost-of-living supports, Labor has been getting on with the job of taking the pressure off Australians. Before the opposition gets to speak on this, the question that they need to ask is: if you want to change that approach, what are you going to cut?”
“They went down, they went backwards. This was by deliberate design. It was a deliberate feature of the economic architecture. As a result, living standards, real per capita incomes, were going backwards too. I'm proud to be part of a Labor government that's turned that story around, a government that stands up for Australian workers, a government that said that wasn't good enough. Labor has the lowest average unemployment rate of any government in 50 years. Most recently, it was at a historically low 4.1 per cent. This is a result of Labor's economic policies; reducing inflation from its peak, wage and employment growth, and tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer.”
“Debt is $176 billion lower in 2025-26, which is a saving of $60 billion in interest costs. The budget position has improved by more than $233 billion over the seven years to 2028-29, compared to what Labor inherited in May 2022. There are positive signs for our economy too. Growth in the economy is increasing, being driven by that private sector. The data shows that private investment recorded its fastest quarterly growth in almost five years. There's also been growth in dwelling investment. Under the coalition it was going backwards by 3.6 per cent in annual terms. Now, under the Albanese Labor government, it is growing 6.5 per cent and has risen for seven consecutive quarters. This is the longest consecutive period in 10 years. As I mentioned before, under the former coalition government, annual real wages fell.”
“We understand that Australians remain under pressure, that families are continuing to do it tough. That's why we're continuing to roll out targeted cost-of-living relief. Australians are benefiting from cheaper medicines and from more bulk-billing GPs. In my electorate, that's risen from 11 to 23 under our investment for GPs. We have reduced student debt, provided fee-free TAFE and are supporting students on mandatory pracs. We've delivered cheaper child care and are holding the supermarkets to account. We've delivered tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. We've done this all in a responsible way. While providing this range of measures, we've paid down Liberal debt, delivered two budget surpluses and delivered the biggest budget turnaround in a parliamentary term ever.”
“The Albanese Labor government, on the other hand and in comparison, has a clear and consistent focus, and that is supporting Australians with the cost of living. Every day, our focus is on delivering cost-of-living relief for those across our nation. The truth is that if the opposition seeks to change that approach, if the opposition thinks that that's not a good idea, then they have to come clean with the people of Australia and tell them what they intend to cut, because we know that the opposition has got form in this space. We've seen them try to destroy bulk-billing by introducing a co-payment. We've seen them send manufacturing jobs overseas. We've seen them rip billions of dollars out of the Public Service, and we have seen them cut from health and education over and over again.”
“All that the member for Fairfax has demonstrated with this motion today is that he obviously has an incredibly short memory. He has forgotten that, when Labor came to office, inflation had a six in front of it and now it has got a three in front of it. He has forgotten that the former government left us with huge deficits, $1 trillion of Liberal debt, and he has forgotten that annual real wages fell for five consecutive quarters before Labor came to office. I suppose focusing on the economy takes a back seat to the coalition's self-made drama, to the on-again off-again relationship with the National Party and the unedifying jostling for leadership positions. The Australian people deserve more than that. They deserve a functional opposition.”
“They excel across the deck, whether it's sport with interschool premierships; music with choir, string orchestra, symphonic winds, concert band; or the arts with their school musical, dance and drama awards; and for being the highest performing primary school in Queensland NAPLAN for the last five years running. It is something that only this state school has achieved out of all the states and territories across this nation, and we are so incredibly proud of them for it. I want to leave you with a quote from their principal which sums up Sunnybank Hills State School: Our teachers drive a learning program with high expectations, a high level of engagement and importantly a healthy dose of fun.”
“On 16 February, I walked into a classroom. It was a classroom at Sunnybank Hills State School, and specifically it was class 3D. I was there with their principal, Geoff Mill, and the teacher of 3D, Jess Daly. Jess was teaching the students about analysing stimulus using examples. I told those students that I would talk about them today and about the great work that their school is doing, and that's why I'm up here right now. Sunnybank Hills State School is a fantastic school with 1,680 students and 54 different cultures represented, and so many students with multilingual households.”
“Whether someone is facing a natural disaster stuck on a country road, hurt while working on a property or lost in remote bushland, the universal outdoor mobile obligation bill is designed to make sure mobile services are there at the moments when it matters the most. For people in rural, regional and remote parts of Australia, leveraging direct-to-device satellite technology from low-Earth-orbit satellites will translate to greater safety. In modern Australia, this baseline requirement is critical.”
“It doesn't matter if you are living in a regional or remote area and you've had an accident and you need medical assistance as soon as possible. It doesn't matter if you're living somewhere where you need to be connected to family to avoid social isolation. And it doesn't matter if you're a bushwalker who needs immediate assistance to help you get back home. That is what this bill is all about. It's the safety net we need, it's the connectivity we deserve and it's about ensuring that all Australians have access. As I've said, this bill reflects the Albanese Labor government's foundational belief that every Australian, regardless of where they live, should have access to a basic level of mobile connectivity.”
“An additional $30 million has been allocated to improve on-farm connectivity, enabling farmers to adopt and benefit from connected machinery, smart sensors and advanced agricultural technologies. Other initiatives already underway include major government funding to upgrade the NBN and expand its fixed wireless network and $68 million in a package of measures to support First Nations digital inclusion. This bill is about so many different things. At its core, it is about connectivity and making sure that that stopgap is there so that every Australian can get connected to who they need to wherever they are in this country. When we talk about the impact of that—it's big. It doesn't matter if you are a worker who's been injured on the job and is trying to call in to get assistance as soon as possible.”
“A total of $400 million was directed to expand multicarrier mobile coverage along regional roads, to improve service in underserved regional and remote communities and to strengthen the reliability of communications network and public safety infrastructure. This included support for the Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation program. It included support for the Mobile Black Spot Program, the Mobile Network Hardening Program and the Regional Roads Australia Mobile Program. The plan also provides $200 million for two further rounds of the Regional Connectivity Program, which delivers locally tailored digital infrastructure projects to support regional communities' specific circumstances and needs.”
“This bill is part of the government's response to the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Review, the MacTiernan review, and it is the continuation of Labor's commitment to reducing the digital divide. Improving this will support economic growth and increase productivity while meeting the needs for more seamless connectivity across our massive landmass. The better connectivity plan is delivering more than $1.1 billion in improvements for rural and regional communities. This investment forms part of the government's overall commitment of more than $2.2 billion to strengthen communications infrastructure across regional Queensland. As part of the plan, the government allocated $656 million in the October 2022-23 budget over five years to enhance mobile and broadband services and to build greater network resilience in regional and remote areas.”
“Now, this direct-to-device satellite technology is still being implemented out around the world, but Labor is pushing ahead with this legislation now because it's crucial for Australians in regional and remote areas and because we want to ensure this vital technology is rolled out as broadly and as soon as possible. The bill introduces a default start date for the new universal obligations of 1 December 2027. The bill also allows for flexibility to alter this according to how quickly the technology develops and how ready the market is. This timeline sends a clear message to mobile network operators. It tells them that we're serious about ensuring better, fairer and safer mobile coverage for all Australians.”
“This will act as a safety net for those occasions too. This technology will be the important backup when that occurs, enabling people to continue to receive warnings, to seek help and to contact their families. So you can see it's not just about convenience; it is far more critical than that. It's not an exaggeration to say that, in some cases, the universal outdoor mobile obligation will be the difference between life and death. It will also help with the day-to-day business in areas which previously had no coverage. Think of how much more easily workers on remote properties will be able to stay connected, enabling more efficient and, importantly, safer workplaces. For those Australians who travel long distances, such as truck drivers and tourists, there will be fewer dead zones along highways and better access to roadside assistance.”
“Remote communities will get that reliable baseline connectivity, helping to address the digital inequality between cities and the bush. It will remove the black spots that have a negative impact on businesses, on day-to-day life and on the safety of Australians. We're all familiar with stories of travellers stranded for days alongside their car in the outback, sometimes with tragic outcomes. The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will enable quicker locating and rescue in these situations where minutes matter and getting through is important. It will help when there is an emergency such as a bushfire or a flood, with SES, fire crews and volunteers being able to stay connected and offer assistance more quickly. We're all familiar with extreme weather or natural disasters like storms, cyclones and bushfires bringing down mobile towers.”
“With this technology, you will have full mobile coverage. The low-Earth-orbit satellites are close and they're fast-moving. They can pick up mobile signals from standard phones, provide stronger connections than older, faraway satellites and, ultimately, give more reliable coverage in remote areas. Another way of thinking about low Earth orbit satellites is that they are back-up coverage. They're the safety net for Australians when they need it the most. That's what this legislation is about. This legislation and this emerging technology is combining to be a game changer in rural, regional and remote Australia. It will fill the gaps where mobile towers have never been viable because of distance, geography or cost. It will give people a level of certainty and safety that simply hasn't been possible before.”
“The answer is on your existing phone. You don't need a satellite phone. You don't need heavy equipment. Direct-to-device is engineered so that normal, everyday smartphones can connect to satellites in the same way that these phones connect to mobile towers now. If you're in an area with mobile coverage, your phone will use the usual mobile tower network. But, if you're in a remote area with no towers, your phone will automatically switch and connect to a satellite overhead. You won't even know it's happening. That's important because, in an emergency, when you need it, making sure that you're not having to think about technology is key. You only need to be able to get through. You might be exploring a distant national park. You might be enjoying a day offshore, hiking up a mountain or simply driving home along a remote road.”
“To do this, mobile network operators will have to use a combination of their existing mobile networks, such as mobile towers and new direct-to-device satellite technology from low-Earth-orbit satellites. Telecommunications companies will use their existing mobile towers which enable the regular network we all use daily and technology that enables normal mobile phones to connect directly to satellites. What that means is that, if a mobile tower can't reach you, a satellite will pick up the signal instead. This bill also updates existing universal service rules, which used to only cover copper landline voice services. Labor is modernising the framework by bringing mobile services on board, by protecting consumers and by ensuring that government can step in if the industry doesn't deliver what this country needs. So how does it all work?”
“Ensuring fairer access to essential mobile voice and text services across the country is a priority for this government. As I said, it's simple. Every Australian, regardless of where they live, should have access to a basic level of mobile connectivity. This is why Labor is introducing the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation. This initiative will deliver foundational outdoor coverage designed to improve public safety and extend the reach of emergency communications. With the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation, Australians will be able to access outdoor mobile connectivity in almost any location. For the technical part, the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation laws will require mobile network operators Telstra, TPG and Optus to provide universal baseline outdoor mobile coverage wherever it's reasonably possible.”
“We need our telecommunications services to be reliable because we depend on them every single day for so many reasons. These might be to keep in contact with friends and family or for running your own small business. Above all, we need them, crucially, to reach emergency services when something goes wrong. Despite these needs, traditional mobile networks currently reach only about one third of Australia's vast land mass. There is coverage in the areas where approximately 99 per cent of Australians live and work, but in large parts of regional, remote and rural Australia you can't make a triple zero call through standard mobile services. Labor has listened to the communities of regional, remote and rural Australia, and these communities have been very clear about the consequences that these gaps in coverage leave during emergencies.”
“These days we can take photos or videos and share them instantaneously with friends across the globe. One thing hasn't changed though. The core purpose of a mobile phone is to be able to make and receive calls, and that is the essence of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 before us here today. The bill has a simple premise. It's about keeping Australians connected. The Albanese government recognises that reliable mobile connectivity is essential for modern life and wants every Australian to have access to baseline mobile voice and text services right across this country. Connectivity is important. It's key to preventing social isolation, it's key to delivering modern health care and it's key to keeping our economy moving.”
“I still remember my first mobile phone, which I got back in 2002. It was the Nokia 5510. It was pretty great. It had a full Qwerty keyboard, a calculator, a stopwatch and, for the first time in a phone, a built-in MP3 player which held a whopping 11 songs, about a third of which were by Christina Aguilera on my phone. Back in the early 2000s, coverage could be patchy. For me, as I was only really using my phone to let my mum know where I was and to play S nake , that wasn't a huge deal. Fast-forward over 20 years and mobile phones look a lot different. When I got my Nokia 5510, I wouldn't have been able to imagine reading the news on it. I wouldn't have been able to imagine ordering stuff online or getting directions or accessing social media.”
“This historic women's health package provides support for women across a range of women's health conditions that were simply never discussed before.”
“We're also expanding the role of several clinics so that they can offer perimenopause and menopause services, with the first of these enhanced clinics already seeing patients and the rest set to come online in the first half of the year. We've introduced Medicare funded menopause health assessments, and these have already been accessed by more than 71,000 women, reflecting the often complex nature of conditions and additional supports required. This year the government will roll out Australia's first national awareness campaign on perimenopause and menopause, finally giving women the recognition and the clear information they have gone far too long without. We're supporting the development of Australia's first national clinical guidelines for perimenopause and menopause—crucial for ongoing evidence based care.”
“The package's focus on support for women and girls with endometriosis has had a significant impact too. It builds on work already undertaken by the Albanese Labor government in 2024, such as funding for Southside based QENDO for its national endometriosis mentor program, providing crucial peer support. I'm very proud to have one of QENDO's pioneers in MacGregor in my electorate, Jude Perryn, who has put in close to 40 years of advocacy for women facing endometriosis. Now not only have 7,000 women saved $5.7 million on 30,000 scripts; they've benefited from the rollout of 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics.”
“It is addressing longstanding gaps in access, affordability and specialised care, and it is ensuring that women receive timely, evidence based health care that was previously out of reach for so many. This not only improves individual wellbeing but supports women's participation in work and in the economy as well. For the first time in 20 years a new hormone therapy for menopause was listed on the PBS, and, for the first time in 30 years, a new contraceptive pill was listed. That's right—women went without additions to the PBS for these medicines for decades. These additions have already seen 383,000 women save $53 million across 1.6 million menopause therapy scripts, and 328,000 women have saved more than $27 million on 660,000 contraceptive pill scripts.”
“We recently marked 12 months of the Albanese Labor government's landmark women's health package, a package worth nearly $800 million, representing the largest single investment in women's health in the history of this nation. I want to pay tribute to the member for Cooper and the member for Lyons for their work in making that package become a reality. This package is enabling expanded access to essential health services. It's delivering more choice, lower costs and better care for women and girls nationwide. It pulls women's health out of those dark corners, it pulls it out of taboo and it pulls it out of the hushed conversations and into the sunlight. It's important because it means women's health is a national priority.”
“Women are drivers of our national economy, women are drivers of our local communities and now women are drivers of the places where we make laws for this country. This representation means that this parliament mirrors the gender make-up of the broader Australian population more closely than ever before. For the first time, parliament is starting to look like the people we represent, parliament is starting to look like the communities that we call home and parliament is starting to look like Australia. Crucially, it broadens the perspectives shaping policy, boosting work on priorities such as safety, workplace equality, families and health. It's health that I want to talk about today.”
“I move: That this House notes that: (1) twelve months into the landmark $792.9 million women's health package, the Government is continuing to deliver on its promise of more choice, lower costs and better care for Australian women and girls; and (2) since the announcement, more than 660,000 women have accessed more than 2 million cheaper scripts for new contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and endometriosis treatment listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. When you come into this place at the beginning of any given sitting day, when the opening of the parliament happens, you only have to look around you: the 48th Parliament has a record-breaking number of women representatives. The Labor caucus is 56 per cent women, and, for the first time, cabinet has more women than men.”
“After listening to the member for Fairfax, I have one question: what are you going to cut, mate? The member for Fairfax has spoken again and again about the budget. The member for Fairfax has said that those opposite are an alternative government. The member for Fairfax has said that he rejects the economic approach this government is taking and that the budget needs to change. If that's the case, he needs to stump up, he needs to front up and he needs to tell the Australian people what he is going to cut. How do we know this is a coalition that cuts? It's because they cannot help themselves. It's because this is what they do year in, year out. It's in their DNA, and we have seen cut after cut.”
“Together with payday super and the LISTO and backed by previous reforms, they will help ensure that Australians keep more of what they earn and retire with more—retire with dignity. While those opposite delayed the superannuation guarantee and undermined the foundations of the system, Labor is strengthening superannuation. We should all be proud of our super system and the hardworking Australians it supports and back in these changes to make sure that we're delivering for future generations. (Time expired)”
“Taking time out of paid work to do this essential care has a real and unfair financial impact on women. Earlier in this speech, I mentioned payday super. This generational reform deals with the problem of unpaid superannuation. In 2021-22 alone, the ATO estimated that $5.2 billion in super went unpaid. That's around $100 million, every single week, that workers earned but never received. The payday superannuation legislation passed last year will help ensure employees are actually paid the super they're entitled to at the time they are entitled to it. Under the legislation, employers must ensure that the super payment hits the employee's super fund within seven days of payday. The amendments in this bill are important because they bolster Australia's world-leading superannuation system.”
“Another Labor superannuation reform that has had a huge impact, both financial and social, is superannuation on paid parental leave. On 1 July 2024, Labor added an additional two weeks to paid parental leave, increasing the total from 20 weeks to 22 weeks. The scheme has continued to grow by a further two weeks each year and will peak when it reaches 26 weeks of paid leave this year. As of July 2025, superannuation has been paid on government funded paid parental leave. This directly targets the unfair gap created when women's income drops, on average, by 55 per cent in the first five years of parenthood. Yes, I say 'women's income' because it reflects the reality that women still shoulder most of the unpaid caring responsibilities in this country. That could be raising children, supporting ageing parents or caring for family members.”
“Schedule 5 of the bill concerns measures to maintain trust and integrity in the administration of tax concessions accessed by not-for-profits that have deductible gift recipient status. Specifically, it amends the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 to update the list of deductible gift recipients, providing transparency and, indeed, clarity for donors. The reforms in schedules 1 and 2 of this bill build on Labor's significant work to strengthen the superannuation system. This includes legislating the purpose of superannuation—that is, that the objective of superannuation is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way. In other words, it's not a piggy bank that can be raided at the behest of others.”