This government was elected on a very clear promise: no changes to capital gains tax, no changes to negative gearing. The Prime Minister didn’t say it once; he said it more than 50 times. But now—’We’ve changed our position. We’ve changed our minds.’ This is yet another grievous broken promise, and it’s one among many. […]
Today I recognise the extraordinary work of the Women’s Legal Service Queensland and wish to commend their powerful community initiative known as the Epic Walk for domestic and family violence. The Epic Walk brings Queenslanders together to walk five kilometres from North Burleigh Surf Club in my electorate to Burleigh Headland in the member for Macpherson’s electorate and back, standing in solidarity with women experiencing domestic and family violence and raising vital support for the free legal services WLSQ provides.
I rise to pay tribute to Their Majesties King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark on their recent state visit to Australia. Thank you to the Member for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes as Co‑Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Denmark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, members and senators- for attending the event held in their Majesties honour at Parliament House on Monday March 16th. Her Excellency Ingrid Dahl-Madsen for her great deal of work on Denmark-Australia relations and the state visit.
Australians have been under enormous pressure every time they pull up to the bowser, and, after months of delay, the Prime Minister has finally acted to halve the fuel tax. But—let’s be clear—this announcement, while welcome, has come far too late and has only done half the job, because cutting the tax means very little if Australians can’t access affordable fuel in the first place. Right now, the real concern is supply. Families, tradies and small businesses don’t just need cheaper fuel; they need certainty that, when they turn up to the servo, the fuel will actually be there. This is where the government is still falling short.
I rise today to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill and to outline the coalition’s position on this important legislation. The coalition supports this bill. It’s necessary legislation and it’s legislation that will finally put in place the high seas treaty negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations, a treaty that has been a long time in the making and one that, frankly, has been unnecessarily delayed by the current government. This is not a new conversation. This is not a new issue.
Fine words from the Minister for the Arts. Perhaps he should consider a career post politics as a writer, with such wonderful words and his contribution this morning. As an author myself, I’ll try and do my best, but I don’t think I can match that poetic speech that the minister’s just delivered. Australians are indeed known for punching above their weight on the world stage in the arts. We’ve seen it time and again across the different subsectors of the arts, including our Australian actors like Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, for example, who are household names, and many, many artists across all the different disciplines within the arts.
I commend the minister on his very fine words, and I have some words to say from the coalition. I acknowledge the passing of Rhoda Roberts, AO, a remarkable Australian whose contribution to our nation’s cultural life cannot be overstated. A true trailblazer, artist, storyteller and, indeed, a cultural leader, her passing at the age of 66 marks the loss of one of Australia’s most influential voices in the arts and in the elevation of First Nations culture in our country.
I’ve been visiting schools in Moncrieff to present students with leadership certificates and engage in very rich discussion about what leadership is and means. The electorate of Moncrieff, the heart of the Gold Coast, is home to 33 schools, almost half of which I’ve already had the privilege to visit this year. When visiting schools, I present each of the leaders with their congratulatory leadership certificates.
Australians don’t need spin. We need honesty. And right now, the reality is, the economy is weak. Fuel supplies aren’t guaranteed, and Australian families are hurting. Households are being squeezed from every direction. Grocery bills are climbing, energy prices are biting, and now uncertainty around fuel supply is adding yet another layer of pressure. For families already struggling to make ends meet, this isn’t abstract economics.
It’s a sad state of affairs when every time I step up to the dispatch box, it’s to talk about how much Australians are struggling. Why? Because of those opposite. Australians are being hit from every direction in this government’s home grown cost of living crisis.