Claire Clutterham
Sturt · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Some in this House have asked: how many cups of coffee can you buy with the Albanese Labor government's 1 July 2026 tax cuts? But I ask: how many cups of coffee can you buy with the money that you save from seeing a GP for free?”
“The eSafety Commissioner has identified serious compliance concerns and is actively investigating five major platforms due to their noncompliance.”
“But we need action from the entire parliament, in this place and in the other place, for that to happen. I call on all members and senators to walk together to take this action. I do that because this issue is also deeply personal for me. In my first speech to this parliament, I spoke about my own experience of bullying at school.”
“One of the early scenes in the 2010 movie The Social Network depicted young women at Harvard recoiling in disgust as they discover a website created by one of their peers that allowed male students to compare them based on their so-called 'hotness'. The website was a precursor to what would become Facebook.”
“Social media is a part of the world they have always known, yet they were remarkably forthright about its downsides. They spoke about algorithms that keep them scrolling, the pressure to seek approval through likes and followers, and the impact social media was having on their confidence, self-esteem and mental health.”
“That is why keeping children safe online should be a bipartisan issue. When the Albanese Labor government introduced the social media minimum age of 16 last year, we did so because we listened to parents, educators, experts and young people.”
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“This government recognises that modern, contemporary and effective harm minimisation strategies are critical when it comes to gambling and tobacco and that these strategies are driven by research and development, which focuses on practical, evidence based strategies with the key priorities of safety, health, dignity and the removal of shame and stigma—which is one of the most important factors in harm minimisation, because the removal of shame and stigma surrounding addiction is a key step in helping someone to address a problem. Indeed, the statutory review of BetStop the National Self-Exclusion Register was tabled in parliament on 25 February this year. First and foremost, the review recognised that BetStop is actually working as a harm reduction strategy.”
“This amendment is directed at ensuring the community can have confidence that they are not subsidising this kind of research and development, which can exacerbate serious social problems, including health risks, addiction and associated harms. This is research and development relating to all types of gambling and any type of tobacco. With respect to tobacco, activities related to tobacco, as well as nicotine products and vaping goods, are excluded from what is called core and supporting research and development activities. As I said, R&D directed at harm minimisation is not covered by schedule 4, and that is entirely appropriate.”
“In MYEFO 2024-25, the Albanese Labor government announced that activities related to gambling and tobacco would be excluded from research and development tax incentive eligibility for income years starting on or after 1 July 2025. The government made this announcement following the ATO's first annual R&D tax incentive transparency report , which was handed down in October 2024 and which provided information on companies that claimed the R&D tax incentive in 2021-22. Schedule 4 amends the Income Tax Assessment Act to exclude activities related to gambling and tobacco from research and development tax incentive eligibility—except those related to harm minimisation.”
“Then we have schedule 3, which makes small amendments to legislation within the Treasury portfolio directed at sustaining the government's ongoing commitment to the care and maintenance of Treasury laws. The point is to make sure that the Treasury portfolio of legislation remains current and fit for purpose and continues to work for relevant stakeholders and the broader public. It might be minor and administrative in nature, but it does have significant and important impact. Finally, we have schedule 4. To the extent that it's possible to have a favourite schedule of a bill about the integrity of the tax system, schedule 4 is my favourite. The background to the amendment proposed by schedule 4 is important, and it's relevant to understanding the amendment's purpose.”
“This requirement replaces the obligation for trustees to lodge a tax file number report for the quarter in which a beneficiary quotes their tax file number to the trustee. The amendments support efficiency because they support prefilling of beneficiary income tax returns. This amendment also speaks to the integrity of the tax system, because it will help to ensure the right amount of tax is being paid by trustees and beneficiaries on trust income, which is fair to everyone. This is also about improving and digitising trust and beneficiary income reporting to reduce the compliance burden on taxpayers by increasing prefilling capabilities and improving the ATO's processes—again, something that is worth highlighting in this chamber.”
“These amendments will have retrospective effect applying from 1 July 2024, so anyone who has donated to a deductible gift recipient since then will enjoy the benefit that this amendment brings. Then we have schedule 2 to the bill, which operates to again amend the Income Tax Assessment Act to require trustees of closely held trusts to report in the trust's income tax return the quoted tax file numbers of beneficiaries when they have an entitlement. This will be a requirement from 1 July 2026 and will streamline how trustees report tax file numbers, removing reporting on a separate form. What this means is that trustees must report beneficiary tax file numbers at the same time that the trust tax return is lodged for income years that the beneficiary is presently entitled to a share of income of the trust.”
“In section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997, there is a table that sets out the situations where a gift or contribution is deductible, who the recipient of the gift or contribution can be, the type of gifts or contributions that are deductible, how much is deductible and any special conditions. Schedule 1 to this bill amends that to remove the $2 threshold listed in the 'Special conditions' columns of the table. That means there's no minimum donation amount for the donation to be deductible for a number of organisations and institutions. The removal of the $2 gift threshold is limited to gifts or contributions under subdivision 30-A of the Income Tax Assessment Act. It doesn't extend to donations to political parties—let's be clear on that—candidates or members, including independents.”
“For example, when I go to Petbarn to buy cat food for my cats, I'm always asked whether I wish to round up to make a donation to an animal welfare group. This system, since 2012, has actually helped the Petbarn Foundation itself donate over $25 million to help animal welfare groups and rescue organisations through Australia. The purpose of these amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act is to continue to encourage these low-value donations because, as I have explained—30c here, $1.50 here—low sums that you don't even notice can make a huge difference to charitable organisations, and that is worth highlighting to this chamber.”
“This modernisation takes effect by amending the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 to allow donors to claim a tax deduction on donations to deductible gift recipients under subdivision 30-A even if they are valued at less than $2. There is a background to this, and it stems from the October 2022-23 budget, which led to the Productivity Commission conducting a review of philanthropy as part of the government's election commitment to double philanthropic giving by 2030. The final report from the Productivity Commission was handed down on 10 May 2024 and included 19 recommendations. The measures contained in schedule 1 to this bill implement one of those recommendations. The modernisation reflected by schedule 1 to the bill relates primarily to point-of-sale round-up schemes with retailers and online vendors.”
“There are important things in this bill that deserve to be highlighted. To start with, it's important that our tax system is modern and easy to use, with compliance costs for individuals, trustees, beneficiaries, business and taxation professionals that are as low as possible. This bill, which is comprised of four schedules, seeks to do just that. Firstly, schedule 1 is directed at philanthropic giving and removes the requirement that a donation to a deductible gift recipient be valued at $2 or more before the donor may claim an income tax deduction. This removal supports charitable giving and also contains updates that reflect contemporary fundraising practices.”
“I rise today to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering an Efficient and Trusted Tax System) Bill 2026, which is another bill in support of the Albanese Labor government's drive to strengthen the integrity of the tax administration system. I'm going to do something a little different to previous members who have contributed to this debate and actually talk about what's in this bill. In doing so, I seek to do two things. Firstly, I seek to highlight that this bill contains a number of very uncontroversial measures. Secondly, the measures may be uncontroversial, but they're very important on a number of topics for the Australian people, particularly with respect to research and development—which I didn't hear mentioned in the contribution from the previous member.”
“Bold reform means taking risks and asking what could go right as well as examining what the downside might be. That's important. We'll continue to take risks to deliver for the Australian people because we want and need to move forward, and that is the difference between the progressive and conservative sides of politics.”
“We promised more urgent care clinics across the country and we have delivered them, including one on the Norwood parade in Sturt, which is now a permanent feature of the healthcare system. We promised free TAFE and we have delivered free TAFE, with thousands of Australians answering the call to obtain a qualification in critical industries, such as nursing, early childhood education, and building and construction. We promised paid prac and we have delivered $300 a week to students out on unpaid, lengthy teaching, nursing and social work placements. We promised to make it easier to buy a home, we have delivered and we will continue to deliver, with thousands of young Australians taking the keys to their first home, including just under 500 in my electorate. We're talking about promises; this government made them and has kept them.”
“Conversations of this nature are going on around the country. Now, let's talk about promises. When we came to government, we promised to cut income taxes. That promise has been delivered, with more delivery to come. We promised to make medicines cheaper. That has been delivered, with PBS scripts now costing just $25—or $7.70, frozen until the end of the decade, for concession card holders. We promised to increase bulk-billing rates. This has been delivered in spades, including in my electorate of Sturt, where the number of fully bulk-billed practices has doubled this year to 22. We promised to reduce student debt, and this has been delivered, with thousands of students receiving a 20 per cent cut to the cost of their education.”
“And right now, across Australia, genuine and meaningful consultation is taking place—as it should—with the business community about some of the more controversial features of the proposed capital gains tax reform so we can understand the required settings for things to go right. We understand and we want to create an environment which acknowledges and rewards risk taking, particularly by small business, who so often provide meaningful employment to people—who then pay income tax—and who provide the products and services our community needs and demands. That is why genuine, meaningful consultation is happening, and I would like to thank the 20 or so businesses who joined me at my Sturt small-business forum last Thursday to do just that. The discussion was productive, honest and professional, and it resulted in meaningful feedback.”
“In not knowing this, you can't move forward. This government is prepared to take risks in order to move forward. The status quo, particularly with certain tax settings and housing, is not working. Doing nothing, keeping things the same, will mean that nothing will change. So the government asked, 'What could go right if we undertake reform and take some political heat in the name of trying to move forward?' So what could go right with this budget? Well, 75,000 first home owners could be in their own home within the decade. What else? Businesses could benefit from loss-carry-back provisions, the $20,000 instant asset write-off, regulatory reforms resulting in a reduction in compliance costs, and tax incentives for investment by venture capital. Businesses will also continue to benefit from the existing four capital gains tax exemptions.”
“If you stand still, you don't move forward. Things stay where they are, and opportunity passes you by. If you never step out of your comfort zone, never take a risk, never seek to challenge, then things will stay the same. Taking risks and managing risks is all about navigating uncertainty. It goes beyond just avoiding the risk, to balance what could go wrong, the downside, with what could go right, the upside. What has been lost in the chaos of unbalanced reporting, scare campaigns and dedicated social media crusades deliberately designed to spread misinformation is that this budget contains many positives for Australian individuals and businesses. There are many things that could go right, but, if you don't take the risk, if you don't look for these opportunities, you will never know what could go right.”
“Then we have the establishment of the Australian Fuel Security Reserve, which will reserve approximately one billion litres of fuel to increase long-term diesel and aviation fuel supply and storage, with the minimum stockholding obligation also increasing Australia's critical fuel reserves to 50 days. The focus of this is addressing potential supply constraints for essential users, including in the regions, in anticipation of further probable supply disruptions—which we will inevitably face. The fuel security features of the budget, including the establishment of a domestic gas reservation mechanism, are an efficient and effective step that respond to global challenges at the same time as acting in the immediate and long-term interests of the Australian people.”
“The recent federal budget contained many measures designed to benefit all Australians. One area of benefit is a significant investment the budget makes into the management of fuel supply risks. This is a critical step taken firmly in the interests of the Australian people, and it takes the form of a nearly $12 billion commitment through the National Fuel Security Plan, with the aim of securing Australia's near-term fuel and fertiliser security. This involves the establishment of the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility, designed to increase the domestic supply and storage of fuel and fertiliser by providing financial support—including loans, equity guarantees, insurance and price support.”
“As this government has demonstrated, it requires a broad approach that is more considered than simple populist calls to drill at all costs.”
“Separately, the budget also committed just over $35 million to be spent over four years from 2026-27 for the establishment of a domestic gas reservation mechanism, which aims to ensure a secure and affordable domestic gas supply through the wholesale market from 1 July 2027. These funds will be spent over four years to not only develop and implement the domestic gas reservation mechanism but to conduct gas market analysis and policy development to promote market reliability and energy security, to modernise offshore resources regulation, to support gas investment and to mitigate supply shortfalls. The Labor government's Domestic Gas Reservation Scheme is a landmark Labor reform designed to deliver more supply and the lowest possible prices for gas users. Energy sovereignty is not 'one size fits all'.”
“Within this was the establishment of a fuel and fertiliser security facility, a $7.5 billion investment, which is intended to increase the domestic supply and storage of fuel and fertiliser by providing financial support, including loans, equity guarantees, insurance and price support. Secondly, $3.2 billion was committed for the establishment of an Australian fuel security reserve. As part of this initiative, approximately one billion litres of fuel will be reserved to increase long-term diesel and aviation fuel supply and storage, and the minimum stockholding obligation will increase Australia's critical fuel reserves to 50 days. The focus of this is to address potential regional lack of stock and supply constraints for essential users in anticipation of future potential supply disruptions.”
“Claims to this effect are oversimplified, ignore the complexities and level of investment involved in exploration and also risk detracting from other things that can be done, and are being done, to improve energy sovereignty—such as the government's recent release of 20 per cent of Australia's fuel reserves; the change to petrol and diesel standards to increase the flow of fuel, especially to regional Australia; and the simplification of the process for Australia's refineries to access government support. A basket of measures to improve energy sovereignty was also a feature of the recent federal government budget, which committed $11.9 billion to the previously existing National Fuel Security Plan, with the aim of securing Australia's near-term fuel and fertiliser security.”
“Sure, a call to explore is worth exploring in itself, and there are many factors that determine whether exploration should proceed, including environmental factors, economic factors and how prospective the area earmarked for exploration is. But there should be no confusion: gas exploration and drilling do not automatically mean the energy sovereignty problem is solved.”
“We have seen gains of trade in action recently through the Albanese Labor government's broad approach to improving energy sovereignty in this country. This approach includes drawing on our relationships with Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia to secure new agreements for the supply of fuel and fertiliser. Our mutually beneficial relationship with Indonesia was also recently illustrated through the securing of three shipments of additional fertiliser, or 90,000 tonnes, and 250,000 additional tonnes of urea. In securing these resources, the government was able to emphasise that energy security is a dual carriageway, with our gas playing a critical role in this gain-of-trade approach. Achieving energy sovereignty, however, should not be automatically conflated with calls to drill and calls to explore.”
“What are we talking about when we talk about energy sovereignty? It means the capacity of a territory to meet its energy needs in an autonomous and sustainable way to guarantee its independence and to have direct control over its energy resources, production and infrastructure. It could mean guaranteeing security of the energy supply in a particular territory. It could mean encouraging the development of renewable energy to reduce imports of fossil fuels. It could mean investing in the adaptation or construction of infrastructure to strengthen energy resilience. It could mean developing meaningful and long-lasting relationships with allies and partners in our region to achieve gains of trade. Or it could mean a combination of these things.”
“Ashleigh was one of those people for whom nothing was too much trouble when it came to the Redlegs and when it came to inspiring young women, building their confidence and teaching them that you can have resilience, determination and strength at the same time as empathy and compassion. To be able to harness all of these characteristics as Ashleigh Young did, and then to be determined to use those skills to empower other women and girls, is the calling card of a true leader, which Ashleigh was. Her legacy will live on through the scholarship, which continues her mission through the Marjorie Jackson Nelson Program to support professional learning opportunities for women in sport. Vale, Ashleigh Young.”
“On Saturday 23rd May 2026, I attended the South Australian National Football League Women's clash between the mighty Norwood Redlegs and the North Adelaide Roosters. Despite putting on a solid fourth quarter, the Redlegs fell just short, going down to North by nine points. It was an honour to be invited to toss the coin before the start of the match but an even bigger honour to have been invited to the prematch event, which was a brunch to remember the legacy and contribution of Redlegs legend Ashleigh Young, who passed away too soon in December 2023 at the young age of 31. Ashleigh, for whom the Ashleigh Young Scholarship is named, was an outstanding contributor to not only the Norwood women's footy program but to growing sport for women and girls.”
“We know that, when women's peacemaking skills are harnessed and women have a seat at the peace agreement negotiating table, peace is more sustainable and longer lasting. We also know that women and girls are more deeply and catastrophically affected by conflict and instability. So the importance of the acknowledgement of gender equality in this partnership and the importance of the acknowledgement of the role gender equality plays when it comes to conflict avoidance and sustainable peace in this partnership cannot be underestimated.”
“The partnership also specifically calls for Australia and the European Union to build secure and sustainable critical and strategic minerals value chains between them, with a specific goal being to support the defence industry plus other key industrial sectors. Finally, the third theme of the partnership is stability and peace. The partnership quite rightly commits to the women, peace and security agenda and calls on Australia and the European Union to ensure that gender equality is integrated in all facets and all levels of cooperation with regard to defence and security. Gender equality must remain a political, economic and national security priority. We know that countries where gender equality is further progressed and reasonably well functioning are more peaceful and stable. There is less conflict.”
“The partnership will also allow Australia and the European Union to increase information sharing and capacity building in order to partner to combat the curse that is online radicalisation, to join forces to combat terrorist financing, to establish a new space security dialogue and to identify, manage and withstand the increasingly complex security risks in each other's respective regions. As rightly recognised by the partnership, the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic are interconnected and interdependent. With regard to the second theme, economic security, the partnership will also create new defence procurement opportunities for Australian and European businesses.”
“There is also a focus on emerging technologies, maritime security, economic security, through critical minerals, and defence industry cooperation. As an island continent, maritime security, which includes border protection and protection of seaborne supply, is critical. The partnership recognises the importance of a rules-based regional maritime security architecture, including secure and resilient sea lines of communication and freedom of navigation in accordance with international law—first and foremost, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
“As recognised in the preface to the partnership document, both Australia and the European Union recognise and respect democratic principles, human rights, gender equality, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The partnership recognises the urgent need to protect and double down on these principles in the face of significant global pressure and disruption being put on them. The benefits of this defence and security partnership with the European Union are many. They can be categorised under three key themes: national security, economic opportunity and peace. With regard to national security, the wide-ranging partnership will boost cooperation across defence industry, cyber, economic security, counterterrorism, combating all forms of hatred, which is growing in breadth and complexity, and countering hybrid threats.”
“This motion speaks to a changing world, where it's more important than ever to cement relationships with our traditional allies—to build, grow and nurture them through the lens of shared values, a desire for peace, stability and security, and an understanding of how the scales of global power are shifting. The Albanese Labor government entered into the defence and security partnership with the European Union in March this year with that framework firmly in mind. The partnership is a demonstration of Australia's growing strategic partnership with the European Union. Building from already existing friendships, taking those friendships and deepening them, has become urgent. It is something the government will continue to do, because the government's first order of the day is keeping Australians safe and safeguarding our national interests.”
“I move: That this House: (1) acknowledges the significance of the recent signing of the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership; (2) notes that this broad-ranging partnership reflects the: (a) meaningful cooperation between Australia and the European Union across the defence and space industries; (b) collaborative motivation to build capacity to manage and resilience to meet complex security threats in the Indo-Pacific and European regions; and (c) joint determination to combat online radicalisation and terrorism financing; and (3) affirms the Government's commitment to continue to provide new international opportunities for Australian businesses at the cutting edge of defence technology and innovation, in parallel with a Future Made in Australia.”
“We see constant updates regarding the prospects of finalising negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but these updates constantly change, and, even if a negotiation were concluded successfully today, returning things close to where they were prior to 28 February 2026 would likely take months to be achieved, so there's further disruption ahead of us. This bill, which promotes early coordination so that businesses avoid risks to them and to the Australian people, who are the most important consumers in the marketplace, is entirely appropriate in these circumstances and completely on point. I commend the bill to the House.”
“Given what is happening in the world at the moment in our region and beyond and given general global unpredictability and instability, the intention of the bill—that the ACCC will be able to work with industry to complement the actions of the Commonwealth, state and territory governments in working to minimise public detriment—is entirely appropriate. The first cab off the rank will be the ACCC, industry, the Commonwealth, the states and the territories working together to minimise future disruptions to fuel supply.”
“Although the ACCC already has class exemption powers to enable businesses to engage in conduct otherwise prohibited by the Competition and Consumer Act, the cost and the time involved in the existing administrative processes for establishing these exemptions can delay efforts by businesses to respond rapidly to exceptional circumstances, which then has the potential to cause further public detriment. The ability to respond quickly and early may even prevent or substantially mitigate the extent of significant harm to the economy, which is exactly what this bill seeks to prevent.”
“The ACCC must also have regard to any other public benefit that would result, or be likely to result, from the conduct, and must also consider the detriment to the public that would result, or be likely to result, from the conduct. The factors that must be considered in determining class exemptions seek to strike a balance between ensuring that class exemptions are determined in a structured decision-making process that has proper regard to public benefit and public detriment and ensuring that the ACCC can respond rapidly to allow businesses to address whatever the exceptional circumstance at hand is. Any class determination must precisely specify the exceptional circumstances or emergency to which it relates.”
“Importantly, the ACCC may only determine a class exemption if an exceptional circumstances declaration or national emergency declaration within the meaning of the National Emergency Declaration Act is in force. Further, the ACCC must not determine a class exemption unless it's satisfied in all the circumstances that the kind of conduct specified in the exemption class would actually assist or be likely to assist in the response to or recovery from the matter at hand. In conducting this analysis, the ACCC must have regard to the likely benefit to the public which would result from the assistance or likely assistance in response to the issue.”
“A class exemption of this nature will also enable businesses to coordinate to manage the circumstances themselves, so long as they are reasonably restricted to conduct that would assist, or would be likely to assist, in the response or recovery from the harm posed by the exceptional circumstances. So this is not a green light for businesses to participate in anticompetitive conduct outside of the class exemption framework applicable to the exceptional circumstance declaration. Businesses will have the ability to respond rapidly, which they should have, but will still need to take care to ensure the rapid response does not result in scope creep beyond the rapid response directly and genuinely needed.”
“Businesses coordinating with each other to take certain relevant actions in response to an exceptional circumstance is the most obvious example which would likely qualify for a class exemption, and this will operate in the form of a new section 95AC that will allow the ACCC to create class exemptions for particular kinds of conduct to ensure that the ACCC has the power to quickly, flexibly and broadly grant exemptions to specified provisions of competition laws in exceptional circumstances. It also has the effect of supporting businesses to work together to respond efficiently and effectively to any exceptional circumstances event. Businesses will need to consider whether their conduct falls within a class exemption once that class exemption is in force, in the usual self-assessment way.”
“It can include things like collusion on prices or collusion on the supply of goods or bid processes. It can include a larger company using its market dominance to eliminate smaller competitors, or it can include businesses banding together to refuse to deal with particular classes of individuals or consumers and suppliers. It can also include resale price maintenance, which is where retailers have minimum prices dictated to them. Conduct of this nature distorts the market, which ultimately disenfranchises the consumer, which is why it is prohibited. The bill proposes that the ACCC be able to authorise an exempt conduct, which may ordinarily breach competition laws, where it is in the public interest, in that it provides assistance in responding to exceptional circumstances.”
“An exceptional circumstance may not include circumstances that meet the threshold for a national emergency declaration, although a national emergency would always be an exceptional circumstance. These things work together. The effect of the minister issuing an exceptional circumstance declaration is that it triggers the operation of exceptional circumstances class exemptions and authorisation provisions, which would otherwise not operate. So what does this mean? Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 prohibits a wide range of anticompetitive conduct, which, at a very high level, operates to distort, restrict or prevent healthy competition in the market. Anticompetitive behaviour compromises the consumer by limiting choice and also prevents smaller market operators from competing for business fairly.”
“We know with almost 100 per cent certainty that conflict, disruption and global instability is only going to increase, meaning domestic powers need to be in place now so that businesses can more easily meet the challenge this instability will inevitably bring to their operations in Australia. Schedule 1 to the bill includes a power for the minister to make what is called an exceptional circumstance declaration. The term 'exceptional circumstance' is taken to have its natural and ordinary meaning and has not been defined with any more specifics, in order to not limit the circumstances in which such a declaration can be made. This level of flexibility is appropriate because it reflects the unpredictability and range of exceptional circumstances that may materialise.”
“The Albanese Labor government, particularly the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, have devoted significant efforts to drawing on established regional relationships—which the government had the foresight to build when it came to power in 2022—in order to secure the fuel and fertiliser supplies Australia needs for both critical industries and general domestic consumption. But the conflict continues, meaning the government has determined that also looking for domestic opportunities to meet the challenges being faced by businesses is essential. This is not only seeking to meet current global circumstances but also planning for the future.”
“Challenges may also be faced by businesses in circumstances which do not meet the threshold for a declaration of a national emergency, as I've just outlined. It is challenges that fall outside of these thresholds that this bill seeks to address, such as the ongoing and unpredictable effects of the conflict in the Middle East. The conflict began on 28 February 2026, and, on some assessments provided by the US government, was estimated to be over in several weeks. But, three months on, it's still going and still having an impact on global and regional energy security, on global and regional supply chains and, therefore, on our domestic businesses.”
“If a national emergency declaration is issued by the Governor-General, several things can happen, including the mobilisation and deployment of Commonwealth resources to assist states and territories to deal with the matter. The minister may also be granted powers to modify, bypass or suspend certain administrative laws like requiring physical signatures on documents or undertaking routine reporting so that there are no delays to the issuing of emergency assistance. It also allows the federal government to take action in a state or territory, even if no assistance has been requested. Businesses large and small face significant challenges when there is a national emergency declaration. We last saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic, where businesses were put under significant and protracted hardship.”
“This must be declared for not longer than three months but can be extended, and the legislation includes a requirement that the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, or an equivalent committee, must review each national emergency declaration on the first anniversary of the day that declaration was made. What is nationally significant harm? It's broadly but carefully defined. It includes harm that has a significant national impact because of its scale or consequences, and includes harm to the life or health, including mental health, of an individual or group of individuals; harm to the life or health of animals or plants; damage to property, including infrastructure; harm to the environment; or disruption to an essential service.”
“It's also a requirement that either each state and territory government experiencing or likely to experience the harm has requested the national emergency declaration in writing; or that the emergency has affected, is affecting or is likely to affect Commonwealth interests; or the making of the declaration is appropriate, considering the nature of the emergency and the nature and severity of the harm; and the declaration is desirable for emergency management to allow national emergency laws to be utilised. If these conditions are satisfied, then, under that act, the Governor-General may make a declaration that there exists a national emergency.”