Tom Venning
Grey · Liberal Party · Australia
“Residential burglaries, commercial property theft and daylight shoplifting have left citizens and business owners feeling completely helpless as crime targets every sector of this great regional community. Police statistics show the town is in the midst of a spate of burglaries, with 34 incidents recorded in the first half of June alone.”
“For the Port Augusta community, the most difficult part of this crime wave is what they view as a revolving door bail system for serious juvenile offenders and a lack of quality youth diversion programs in the region. Police can only do so much.”
“Mr Kean was personally chosen by the Prime Minister to lead the Climate Change Authority. It has now been revealed that he spent over $32,000 on one single trip to Brazil last year for an international climate conference.”
“Imagine sitting around the dining table with your family and telling them, 'We're going to spend more money than we receive every year for the next 10 years.' You wouldn't. In fact, you can't, yet that's exactly what this Labor government and this Treasurer are doing. To pay for this, they deploy toxic taxes, assaulting aspiration.”
“Labor cannot manage money, so they continue to come after yours. The average Australian's paying 39 per cent more tax under this government. Since Labor was elected, Australia suffered the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world.”
“It's lifting prices, inflating government charges and pushing hardworking Australians into paying more tax. While Labor profits from this inflation, their tax cuts do not keep up. At 70c a day, they won't even buy a cup of coffee a week.”
The complete record
Every one of 619 lines we hold for Tom Venning, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 13.
“Standard economic analysis tells us a scary truth: to cancel out the damage of Labor's $50 billion spending spree, the RBA will need to raise interest rates nine times. You heard that right: nine times. The Treasurer tries to hide. He blames the former government, yet he's the one responsible. It's like being surprised that everyone is drunk when you were the one buying the beers. The Treasurer even hides behind the Governor of the Reserve Bank. He boasts that she hasn't explicitly called him out. Well, out in the country we know that polite folk don't always go around shouting at people. The governor is polite; she tries not to embarrass this Labor government. But for the Treasurer to use her professionalism as an excuse for his bad management shows a total lack of respect. Here is the reality for families in the country.”
“Since Labor came to office, they've added $50 billion of new discretionary spending to this financial year alone—$50 billion! To put this massive number into simple terms: that is money the government chose to spend, but it wasn't scheduled and it wasn't necessary. It was Labor sitting around the table, deciding to spend more money without finding any savings. When a farmer spends more money than they earn, the bank manager steps in. In this case, the Reserve Bank is that bank manager. When the government borrows more and pumps that extra money into the economy, it drives up prices. It makes inflation worse. To fix that, the RBA must raise interest rates to slow the economy and increase prices in the process. And here we are. What a surprise!”
“I'm a farmer from Bute, but I also went to uni and studied economics and engineering. Economics 101: a fundamental principle of government is to act in a countercyclical fashion to the private sector. In fact, Mr Maguire, my high school teacher, taught me this very fact. Unfortunately, our Treasurer, the spin doctor, cannot stop borrowing our money and spending it, completely ignoring the inflation right under his nose. We saw it today. The Reserve Bank of Australia has been forced to raise interest rates again, and Dr Jim, with a PhD in spin, has nobody to blame but himself. The facts are simple. Rates are higher than they should be because this Treasurer has absolutely no discipline. Higher grocery prices; higher mortgage repayments; higher energy prices. The Treasurer's own budget papers tell this story.”
“By representing more than 92 per cent of South Australia, I represent small-business owners, farmers and families who understand the value of a dollar. Out in the country we know that weather, like the economy, can be unpredictable. We know that good years can be followed by lean ones. Because of this, country people understand the discipline that, when you have a good harvest, you don't run into town and blow every cent in the pub. No; farmers put money aside to prepare for the drought that they know is coming. They show restraint. Unfortunately, our Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, is no diligent farmer. Indeed, he has no economic credentials at all. He has a PhD in political science. He, by its very definition, is a spin doctor. I'll go again: he's a spin doctor!”
“They showed us that hate and fear cannot win if we stand together. They showed us that the bond we share is stronger than any act of violence. They showed us what it means to be a unified Australian community. Let us pledge today to support one another. Let us be kind to those who are hurting. On behalf of the people of Grey, I thank the men and women in uniform, who keep us safe. Let us remember that, even when the world feels dark, the light of this great nation and the strength of the Australian spirit will shine through.”
“It was a shock to the soul of our whole nation. We asked ourselves, how could this be? We felt a deep sense of loss for the safety we once knew, yet, even in the middle of that darkness, we saw the very best of who we are. We saw heroes emerge from the crowd. We saw the first responders, who did not hesitate. They ran towards the sound of trouble while others were running away. They did their jobs with a courage that humbles us all. We saw the paramedics and the doctors, who worked until their hands were tired and their eyes were weary, fighting to save every life that they could. They are the shield that holds the night back. We saw the regular people, the heroes in plain clothes, who stood their ground. We saw people who stopped to help a stranger even though their lives were in danger.”
“As described by my incredible colleague and friend and Jewish Australian, Julian Leeser, action is required across three fronts: disbanding violent neo-Nazi cells, silencing hate preachers and radical Islam and ending open Jewish harassment in the arts and the cultural left. This is a moment of choice. Leaders must act with determination to dismantle hate and restore safety to the Jewish people of Australia whose contribution to the national cultural fabric is both generational and truly profound. For many of us, what happened at Bondi felt impossible. Australia is a place where we feel safe. Our beaches are a place of peace. We do not expect the shadows to reach us there. We do not expect the world to break in that way. It was a moment that felt as if it belonged in a bad dream, not in Sydney.”
“We know that, while physical wounds may heal, the sights and sounds of that day stay with you. You were just going about your lives. You were going for a swim. You were simply enjoying a walk in the sun. You were celebrating your faith. You did not ask to be part of a tragedy, you did not ask to be brave, but you were there and you saw things that no human being should ever have to see. This parliament acknowledges your pain. We acknowledge the weight you now carry. It is a weight that no-one should bear alone. Listening to my colleagues in the Jewish community, it is clear they and those in their faith feel a visceral sense of betrayal by leaders in this House. Now it is our time to stop treating antisemitism as a political inconvenience and confront it as a crisis.”
“Today we gather in this place to remember. We gather to honour those who were taken from us too soon. We gather to reflect and to try and heal. We think of the mothers, the fathers, the sons and the daughters who did not come home that day. Their lives were full of light and, although that light was cut short, we will not let it be forgotten. We will hold their memories dearly and the lessons close. On behalf of the people of Grey, I also want to speak to those who were there. I want to speak to the people who walked on the beach on a normal afternoon and saw the unthinkable. I want to speak to the shopkeepers who pulled shutters down to protect strangers. I want to speak to the parents who used their own bodies to shield their children. I want to speak to the young people who had to grow up far too fast in one single hour. We see you.”
“As we close 2025, I am filled with optimism. We have challenges. Labor's cost-of-living crisis bites hard, and the seasons are uncertain. But I look at the strength of the people in Grey and I know they will persevere. With the right leadership in the right political will, I know better days are ahead. Merry Christmas and a safe and restful New Year to all in this parliament. See you again in 2026.”
“I remember standing at the 110th Port Lincoln Show having serious conversations about the harmful algal bloom in our waterways, proving that shows are not just about fairy floss but are vital forums for our primary industries. Of course, it was a real highlight to officially open the Yorke Peninsula Field Days at Paskeville in September, standing there with President Greg Stevens and the whole committee, looking out at the innovation on display, reaffirming what I have always known—our farmers are indeed the best in the world. But we didn't just celebrate; we tackled the hard stuff too. I think back to the Coober Pedy RSL, standing alongside Leon Stevens. We listened to locals, rightfully angry about water costs and the unique pressures of remote living. That meeting reminded me why I am here in Canberra.”
“Whether it is fighting fires alongside a neighbour or rallying after losing a grand final, we show up. And looking back at the thousands of kilometres my team and I have travelled this year, from the dusty tracks of the far north to the beaches and farms of the Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, I can say with absolute certainty to the people of Grey: you showed up. This year I had the pleasure of attending countless amazing regional events. Who could forget the 54th Whyalla Show? Seeing 12,000 people flood the gates on a Saturday was a testament to the resilience and the pride of our steel city in one of its toughest years. I saw that same pride at the Crystal Brook Show, celebrating its 146the year.”
“As the member for Grey, I am acutely aware that those living in regional South Australia often feel left behind, so, while Christmas and the holiday season are a precious time that should be enjoyed by all, this time of year also brings into focus the inequality of services each of us outside of those who live in the city faces. Whether it be health care, aged care or child care, this government and governments all over Australia have significant work to do to ensure that nobody is worse off just because of their postcode. In the New Year, it will be a priority of mine to continue bringing these issues of inequality to Canberra. I am reminded of something I said during my first speech back in July. I spoke about the unwritten rule of the country, that when time gets tough, we don't retreat; we stand united.”
“It is my hope that the government will reflect on its response and that, the next time we face drought, farmers receive timely and meaningful support. A shared goal of my coalition partners and I is to strengthen Australia's position as a leading producer of high-quality food and fibre for domestic and international markets. To achieve this, we need to address some key issues. A focus is needed on the rising cost of energy, which impacts every single step of the supply chain. Ensuring access to affordable and reliable power is crucial for businesses of all types to remain competitive and indeed successful. We also need to make processes simpler and more efficient by streamlining rules and by reducing unnecessary red tape. We can free up businesses to focus on what they need, so we can free up businesses to focus on what they do best.”
“As the Christmas season arrives, it's time for family, reflection and festive cheer, and I extend my warmest regards to everyone in regional South Australia. It's a moment to appreciate the incredible contribution that all of you make to your community and to your country. As we enjoy the summer, I also hope the worst of the algal bloom is behind us and that the beautiful beaches and coastlines of Gulf St Vincent can recover. As I continue to be your representative in Canberra, I will fight to support you on this matter. This year in Grey we faced significant challenges. I mentioned the algal bloom, but we also spent much of 2025 in generational drought. This period was one of the toughest faced by South Australian farmers ever.”
“Agencies reported an increase of 80 children needing placements this year alone. Unfortunately, SA has the highest rates of residential care which cannot replicate the warmth of a family home. To our foster parents: thank you. Your dedication builds brighter futures.”
“We do not need more press releases. We need funded, staffed clinics. This announcement completely fails regional South Australia. Uniting Country SA are tireless advocates for our region's most vulnerable young people, and I specifically want to thank Helen Worby from the Kadina team for illuminating a critical issue—the urgent need to keep country kids in the country. When children enter the protection system, the trauma is profound. Minimising the pain requires keeping routines familiar, ensuring students remain in their local schools, staying close to family and keeping siblings together. Consistency is powerful. The statistics, however, are sobering. As of July 2025, nearly 5,000 SA children are in care. While dedicated families care for over 1,600 of them, demand in our region outstrips supply.”
“Endometriosis affects one in seven women, causing debilitating pain, and one solitary clinic cannot physically serve tens of thousands of women across our vast rural and regional expanse. The government claims they are stopping women from struggling in silence. However, by ignoring our states desperate need for additional resources, they are affectively silencing women on the Eyre Peninsula, the mid-north, the upper Spencer Gulf and beyond. How can the minister speak of dignity and access when some women in regional SA faced a seven year diagnostic delay exacerbated by geographic isolation. This $800 million package rings hollow when access remains a postcode lottery, a rigged lottery, a lottery regional SA never wins. It is unacceptable that despite this significant spending South Australian women remain an afterthought.”
“I rise to address the government's recent announcement regarding new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. While this announcement is fantastic on the surface, underneath it is a profound disappointment for South Australia, the health minister's very own state. The minister claims to be leveling the playing field, yet for regional South Australian women the field remains uneven and the game hasn't even started. We are told these 33 clinics ensure care closer to home. This is an insult to South Australia. Of the 33 clinics overall, only two are in SA. Of the 11 new locations, zero are in SA. That is right—zero. In my electorate of Grey, we are left relying on a single existing clinic in Kadina. While the staff there are dedicated and do a fantastic job, they are drastically understaffed and facing an impossible workload.”
“She was even terrified by a recent discharge request, fearing he would be sent home where neither of them would be safe. Her only hope is to wait for a bed in Gawler, which would force her to uproot her entire life. James is being forgotten, and Virginia is being left behind. This government must stop neglecting older Australians. The problem is absolutely real. Time is running out, and the pressure is critical. If the government do not act, if they do not cap these prices, if they do not deliver the beds and if they do not clear the waitlist backlog, this crisis will explode. The consequences for Labor won't just be political; they will have lives on their hands. Stop the clock, fix the mess, and give our elderly the dignity they deserve before it is too late.”
“I'd now like to share, not for the first time in this parliament, a harrowing story of a constituent in Grey who has been totally let down by Labor and this aged-care crisis. This is a confronting tale. This story comes from Virginia in Kadina, whose partner, James, was diagnosed with dementia last year and has been stuck in Wallaroo hospital since January—since January! He cannot return home. His condition has become violent and he is a flight risk. Police have had to retrieve him from the main street four times. James was bounced between Maitland, the Lyell McEwen and respite care, only to be returned to a hospital bed because there are no secure memory support units available on the Yorke Peninsula. The system is failing them. Virginia has been pressured by hospital staff to provide daily care because they are too thinly stretched.”
“This government loves a one-size-fits-all plan, but a plan made for the city does not work for the bush. My electorate is bigger than the whole of New South Wales. Older constituents must drive or be driven hundreds of kilometres for the most basic care. City solutions do not work in Grey. Imagine finding out that the extra money you spent on fuel must now stretch even further because your provider increased prices. It is truly heartbreaking. This bomb is ticking in hospitals as well. Labor has failed to deliver beds—only 802 new residential aged-care beds, when the system needed 10,000 new beds every year just to keep pace. That is a total and abject failure. Because there are no beds, our elderly are trapped in hospitals when they've no medical need to be there. They are effectively homeless within the health system.”
“There were just confused elderly Australians opening letters, wondering why they were suddenly paying more than before. We promised older Australians they would be no worse off. That was the guarantee. But that guarantee is gone, and right now the clock is ticking. Between now and July next year is open season for providers to crank up their costs. In my electorate, this is no exaggeration. The offices in Kadina, Port Pirie and Whyalla are inundated by calls from people with questions about aged care. In fact, we've had to dedicate staff to handle the influx of emails and calls from people in need. It truly is a desperate situation. For every second that Labor waits to act, a pensioner in regional South Australia loses a little more dignity. This is the reality of the aged-care time bomb. It is going to cost lives.”
“We've heard a lot from the Albanese Labor government, whenever there is an issue, that they blame the previous coalition government. Well, the Albanese government has been in power for over 3½ years. When will this government take responsibility for its failures? The sound that echoes along the busy hallways of our regional hospitals and through stricken aged-care facilities in my electorate is the sound of a ticking time bomb. This government is sitting on an aged-care crisis that is, quite frankly, about to explode—and I don't think Labor even realise it. This bomb sits right in the middle of our aged-care system. On 1 November, when Labor's new Aged Care Act came into effect, they supercharged the problem. There was no proper education campaign. No-one explained what these changes meant.”
“We are staring down the barrel of a future where regional travel is becoming a luxury for the wealthy, not a service for regional communities. The government has botched the transition of air services. They have withdrawn programs that support regional airlines with capital upgrades and security screening costs. They have sat on their hands while fees and charges rise, hurting the ability of smaller carriers to compete with the big players. We need a government that understands that aviation is not just about Qantas and Virgin fighting for the city routes. We need one that understands that this is also about the staff at Anna Creek Station, Indigenous communities on the APY Lands and the students in Port Lincoln. Regional Australia deserves better than a government that just manages decline while airlines fall from the sky.”
“The minister's aviation white paper found that the average ticket price per kilometre was 52c higher for regional flights than capital city routes. In Grey, in regional South Australia and in the outback we know this. We live this. Yet this government's solution is to wait for a report that won't arrive for a year and a half. By the time that report lands, how many more routes will have vanished? How many more airports will close? I'd like to know why an airport like Whyalla, which only receives one flight some days, needs eight staff for security screening? I'm sure the people of Whyalla would happily come to the airport 20 minutes earlier if they halved the cost of security from 60 bucks to 30 bucks. Even better, share the cost of security across every airfare in Australia.”
“The Labor government is effectively asking ratepayers in regional towns to forgive bad debt because the Commonwealth failed to manage the aviation framework correctly. The collapse of Bonza and the administration of Rex have left us with a sector that is more concentrated than ever. The Qantas Group and Virgin Australia now hold a combined 98.3 per cent of the market. This duopoly is suffocating competition. What is Labor's response to this concentration and soaring costs? A review. The Treasurer has asked the Productivity Commission to investigate why regional Australians are suffering high airfares. This is laughable. They don't need 18 months and a series of public hearings to tell us why airfares are high. I will tell you: prices are high because competition has been decimated by rising costs under this government.”
“The government has pumped over $160 million of taxpayer money into keeping Rex afloat during this administration, yet they cannot guarantee that the current network will survive. We have heard vague assurances about critical aviation links, but regional Australians know that 'critical' is corporate code for 'profitable'. We face a future where Air T could focus on select high-yield routes, leaving smaller towns even more isolated. Look at the cost being borne by our local communities right now. Rex owns several regional airports managed by local councils. The City of Albany is owed $456,000. The Shire of Esperance is owed $440,000. Under this deal it is doubtful those funds will ever be repaid.”
“The primary beneficiaries of Rex's decline seem to be the administrators, with EY collecting $25 million in fees, while the airline itself faces a heavy financial burden. The new arrangements carry forward $90 million of debt and adds $60 million as a commercial loan, and they're supplemented by $50 million from Air T themselves. This raises a critical question: how will Air T, a company with recent adjusted earnings of only US$7.4 million, finance such a commitment? When paired with their promise to expand an ageing fleet of 30 aircraft to 44, the viability of the plan is uncertain. What happens in the future when the new owners realise, as others have, that serving our remote communities is difficult?”
“I rise today to speak on a critical matter of importance to every Australian who lives or works outside our capital cities. We are witnessing a slow collapse of our regional airline industry that has unfolded under the watch of Labor. The facts are stark. Under this government, two regional airlines have collapsed. First we saw the demise of Bonza, a low-cost carrier that promised to connect our regions but instead left passengers stranded and Boeing 737s repossessed. Now we've watched the slow and painful administration of Rex, an airline that has been the lifeline for bush communities for decades, including Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Port Lincoln and previously Whyalla and Port Augusta. Although the government is celebrating Air T's acquisition of Rex, the details of the deal paint a concerning picture.”
“We also acknowledge the 90 people hospitalised and those who carry the physical and emotional scars of that terrifying afternoon. However, amidst the darkness there was light. We owe a debt of gratitude to 1,700 firefighters from the CFS and MFS who surged towards the danger. Your courage saved lives. As the heat returns and we face another summer, the greatest way to honour those we lost and thank those who fought is to be prepared. Please, do not be complacent. Have a bushfire action plan. Talk to your family. Know when to leave. Let's honour 2015 by keeping each other safe today.”
“I rise to mark a sombre chapter in the history of the lower mid-north of South Australia. On 25 November 2015, just after midday, a single spark near Pinery unleashed a vicious grassfire, changing the landscape and many lives forever. In a matter of hours, a 50 kilometre trail of devastation carved through 80,000 hectares. We saw 91 homes reduced to ash. We saw the backbone of our local economy, critical machinery, unharvested grain, and over 70,000 head of livestock and poultry lost to the flames. While structures can be rebuilt and machinery replaced, some things will never be the same. I pause to remember the two lives lost that day, Janet Hughes and Alan Tiller. To their families, our community has not forgotten you and we never will.”
“It would expand exemptions for cabinet and deliberative documents, making refusals easier and transparency rarer. It would extend the time agencies have to respond from 30 calendar days to 30 working days, further delaying public access, and give the Information Commissioner power to remit reviews back to the very agencies that made the decisions in the first place. These are not minor procedural tweaks; these are major structural changes to how Australians access information from their government. The coalition will oppose this bill because it strikes at the very heart of democratic accountability.”
“But when you read it, when you listen to those who understand the FOI system—journalists, integrity experts, transparency advocates—the truth becomes clear: this bill is about control, not modernisation. The bill proposes a long list of sweeping changes to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010. It would require all FOI requests to include verified identification, banning anonymous requests, and would impose a 40-hour cap on the processing of requests, allowing agencies to simply stop searching if they decided a request was too hard. It would allow new application fees for requests and for reviews, except for personal information, effectively taxing Australians for seeking the truth.”
“It weakens transparency, it increases secrecy and it shifts power further away from the public and into the hands of the bureaucracy. This parliament should not vote for longer delays, higher costs and wider exemptions. We should vote for openness, honesty and confidence. Freedom of information is not a nuisance; it is a right. It is a right. This bill does the opposite. It narrows it, it entrenches secrecy and it weakens the fundamental rights of Australians to know what their government is doing in their name. This bill represents a profound step backwards for transparency, accountability and open government. The government tells us that this bill will modernise the freedom of information framework, that it will streamline processes and improve efficiencies.”
“Governments that fear scrutiny don't trust the people, and, when governments don't trust the people, the people stop trusting government. We already see that distrust growing across the country. People are cynical about politics, frustrated by spin and tired of decisions being made without explanation. If this bill passes, that cynicism will deepen, and the next government will inherit a system even more closed off than before. Transparency should not be a partisan issue. It is not about left or right; it is about fairness, honesty and accountability. When people can see the facts for themselves, democracy gets stronger. In Grey and right across regional Australia, people expect straight talk and fair play. They expect government to answer questions honestly, even when the answer is uncomfortable. This bill fails that test.”
“If the government was serious about improving the system, it would take a very different approach. Here is what genuine reform looks like: keep the law's purpose clear—that information belongs to the people, not to the government; protect anonymity so whistleblowers and citizens can speak without fear; replace the 40-hour cap with a duty to assist so agencies must work with applicants to refine requests, not block them; limit the cabinet exemption to genuine cabinet documents, not every piece of paper that mentions a minister's name; and properly fund the information commissioner so that the system actually works. Those steps will deliver real transparency. They would make government more open, not more opaque. Freedom of information is meant to make governments uncomfortable. It is meant to hold power to account. That is the point.”
“It comes from better training, clearer systems and a culture that values transparency instead of fearing it. Right now, there is a stack of unresolved reviews. Applicants wait years. Departments drag things out until a story is cold and the issue is forgotten. That's not efficiency; that is delay by design. In Grey, people do not have the money or time to fight through red tape to get answers. When a community wants to know why a hospital service was downgraded or why a road repair project fell off the budget, they should be able to ask and get a straight answer. They should not need a lawyer, a lobbyist or a media team to do it. That's what this bill forgets. It treats the public as a nuisance, not a stakeholder. It forgets the power is lent to us by the people, not owned by us.”
“It's the community group in Ceduna trying to trace where regional grants went. It's the citizen in Kimba asking simple questions about infrastructure funding and getting stonewalled by a process. This bill will make it harder and more expensive for those people to participate in their own democracy. Freedom of information should not be a luxury item for those who can pay the most. It should be the ordinary right of every Australian. This government says this bill is about efficiency. Let's be honest: it is not. Efficiency doesn't come from new excuses to say no. It comes from properly resourcing the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner so it can clear the backlog. I will repeat that: it comes from properly resourcing the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner so it can clear the backlog.”
“We've seen it in the refusal to release energy modelling, in the endless redactions on defence and procurement and in the Prime Minister's own handling of his diary. The culture of 'no' is spreading through this government. Right now, we need absolute transparency on energy policy and power prices. This government has not released anything on how much it will cost the country to get to net zero, for example. Some say $8 trillion to $9 trillion. What does that mean for a steelmaker in Whyalla or the worker at the lead smelter in Port Pirie? Their livelihoods are on the line. And regional manufacturing is hitting the wall because of this government's energy policy. Who loses when transparency dies? It's not ministers and not the big corporates with lawyers and lobbyists. It's the local paper in Port Augusta that cannot afford the new fees.”
“Schedule 4 changes the timeframe from 30 days to 30 working days. That means longer wait times—six weeks instead of four. And that's before you add the usual extensions. Then there's schedule 7, which quietly expands the cabinet exemption to cover any document that merely refers to cabinet material. That means a department could refuse to search at all, claiming that papers might be related to cabinet. That's not protecting cabinet confidentiality. That's burying anything that might cause political discomfort. It's the difference between keeping deliberations private and hiding inconvenient truths. This bill does not come in isolation. It fits a pattern, a pattern of control, concealment and centralisation.”
“Who asked for it doesn't matter, but for the whistleblower, the community advocate, the local journo or the local public servant who spots something wrong, anonymity is protection. Removing it will silence the people who most need it to be heard. Schedule 3 caps processing times at 40 hours. That's not efficiency; that's a get-out clause. It lets agencies stop searching when things get hard. The big, complex cases, the ones that expose systematic issues, will be the first ones to hit the wall. Imagine a journalist in Balaklava trying to uncover why local job funding fell through or a volunteer group in Port Lincoln asking for correspondence about a fisheries decision. Once that search hits 40 hours, the answer will simply be: 'Too hard. Denied.' That's not accountability; that's called obstruction.”
“Schedule 1 rewrites the whole purpose of the act. Right now, the law says government information should be released unless there's a good reason for it not to. Under this bill, information will only be released if it is part of the 'proper functioning of government'. That sounds harmless, but it's a huge shift. It gives every department an easy way out: 'Sorry, we cannot release that. It might interfere with our processes.' What a cop-out! It's the kind of language that breeds bureaucracy, not accountability. Schedule 2 bans anonymous requests. The government claims that that's about protecting national security from bots. That's nonsense. Once a document is released, it's public.”
“In Grey, people don't expect perfection from government, but they do expect honesty and openness. They expect to see where their money is being spent. They want to know why a road project in the mid-north has stalled or how decisions about aged care or rural hospitals were made. They want to know why programs are announced but the delivery never seems to reach the Eyre Peninsula, the Yorke Peninsula or the far north. Freedom of information helps us keep that trust alive. It's how the local paper in Port Augusta or Whyalla can ask the hard questions. It's how communities make sure decisions about them are made with them, not for them behind closed doors. That's why this bill matters. It's because, when you shut down transparency, you shut out the people. Now, let's look at what this bill actually does.”
“I want to thank my colleagues who have called this bill what it is—a truth tax. Australians will be made to pay more, wait longer and receive less when they simply ask to know what their government is doing. Let's remember what FOI is actually for. It's for journalists to expose waste. It's for community groups to check on decisions that affect them. It's how citizens hold us, their representatives, to account. Remember what 'FOI' stands for—'freedom of information'. It's not 'freedom of information if we feel like it'. If FOI fails, bad decisions multiply in the dark. This government already has a transparency problem, and now, under this bill, even that small window of sunlight will start to close. In regional Australia, we value straight talk.”
“Freedom of information isn't a privilege; it's a right that belongs to the Australian people. The documents of government don't belong to ministers or departments; they belong to the people. When Australians ask for information, they are not being difficult. They are exercising their right to know how their government works. That right, one of the most important in our democracy, is what this bill, the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025, puts at risk. The government says this bill will modernise the FOI system, but it does not modernise it; it weakens it. It moves our system from a presumption of openness to a presumption of control. It gives agencies more excuses to say no and gives citizens fewer tools to hold government accountable. That's not reform; that is retreat.”
“Imagine being on this waitlist if you're a rural and regional Australian—hundreds of kilometres from help, with only your friends and family on hand. These elderly rural and regional Australians built this country, fought for this country, produced food for this country and worked to make us who we are. This failure is unacceptable. Labor have forgotten rural and regional Australia. They've been put to the test but they've failed to deliver. The government needs to get its head out of the city and put some focus back on all Australians, which includes regional Australians, before its failures become disasters.”
“Given this Labor-fuelled cost-of-living crisis, where you need two incomes to raise a family, it is impossible to employ young parents. This alone is a problem, but, combined with already widespread severe workforce shortages in regional and rural Australia, it makes for a dangerous ticking time bomb for already struggling towns. Not only has the Albanese Labor government refused to deliver any effective action on addressing this childcare crisis; they have made it worse. Failure No. 5: the Albanese government's aged-care nightmare. More than 230,000 older Australians have been left stuck in limbo, waiting for access to home-care packages under Labor—and it's true that you'd expect an 18 per cent higher risk of death compared to those who receive support within 30 days.”
“Under Jim's plan, farmers' self-managed super funds would have been taxed at 30 per cent, up from the current 15 per cent, without indexation. This policy was one of the clearest indications that Labor is only focused on the city and that the policymakers in this government just do not get it. This report card is getting worse and, if grades don't improve soon, they might get expelled. After all, next week is the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Whitlam. Failure No. 4: Labor's inability to tackle the childcare deserts impacting rural and regional families all across Australia, particularly in Grey. Despite the proven lifelong positive impacts of early learning and education, my electorate of Grey has the worst childcare access in the country. Around one-third of families don't have access to child care.”
“This government threatens to cut speed limits to 70 kilometres per hour, which shows us yet again that Labor doesn't get rural and regional Australia. Rather than fixing the problem, they want to create more red tape. Why is Labor fixated on making our lives harder? Under this government, regional roads have severely deteriorated, with Labor cutting the levels of Commonwealth funding for regional road projects from 80 per cent down to 50 per cent, following its 2023 review of the infrastructure investment pipeline. Labor's rural and regional report card is a disaster. Failure No. 3: the Albanese government's shameless attack on farmers' superannuation—an unworkable, half-baked tax on unrealised gains. It was a move that could have destroyed farming families.”