I add my heartfelt sympathy for the victims and their families around the events of 14 December at our beloved Bondi Beach. I acknowledge their pain and embrace those impacted; some, we know, were here in the gallery earlier this morning. The Gold Coast community send our deepest condolences: shalom aleichem—peace be upon you. My local Jewish communities send their love and support for your loss.
Frankenstein’s monster is the new creation of Labor and the Greens’ dirty deal in the dead of night on the EPBC Act. The Prime Minister and his Mr Fixer, the senator from the great resources state Queensland, Murray Watt, has appeased the left flank of Labor’s backbench and caved in to allow a new environmental protection agency with excessive powers and too little oversight. Their new Frankenstein CEO will have the power to mark its own homework and to create its own rules.
The Coalition has engaged in good faith with the government to secure environmental law reform—reform that will deliver for the environment and for jobs, industry and investment—in our great nation because Australians deserve environmental laws that are productive, practical and durable. But the legislation in its current form, despite the lofty rhetoric of those opposite, falls well short of delivering the certainty, the balance and the productivity that our nation needs.
I had the great pleasure of hosting the Leader of the Opposition when she visited my electorate of Moncrieff last week. One of the standouts of her visit was introducing the leader to exceptional young leaders at Merrimac State High School. It’s a beautiful school that I have the privilege of visiting regularly. It’s not far from my home. It’s one of the 34 schools in the electorate of Moncrieff, and I love all of them.
I rise to speak on the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, the first of seven bills, which will now be considered separately, on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. As I’ve said from the very start of this process, when I became the shadow minister for the environment, environmental reform is too important to get wrong. I speak to mainstream Australians about this, about the things that impact them, and there are many things wrong with this reform from those opposite.
We’re very happy on this side that the beard’s gone. Australia is the best country in the world, with the most iconic flora and fauna. Our ecosystem is unique and must be protected, but it seems to be going backwards under this government.
Environmental law reform is well overdue. We can agree on that. That view is very much shared by those on both sides of the House. So why is it that this Labor government is yet to get the balance right? We’ve said that from the beginning. We need to ensure that jobs and investment continue whilst minimising the impact on the environment—it’s important to note that investment is in decline in this country—so this reform is simply too important to get wrong.
I rise today to speak on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025. The coalition will not oppose this bill in the House of Representatives; however, we do have significant concerns about aspects of the legislation that warrant further scrutiny.
Volunteers have a strong presence throughout the Gold Coast community, whether it’s helping out with local sporting teams or responding to natural disasters or emergencies or helping local charities. Volunteers and volunteering have never been more important than they are today, with so many people who need extra support.
Clearly, since the federal budget in March, we’ve had a federal election. Traditionally, after an election, where there is no change of government, we might expect only minor adjustments, such as a reshuffle of ministerial line-ups and a few tweaks in responsibilities across those portfolios. After this most recent election, what we saw in the social services portfolio was far from minor.