I rise to express my concern about changes that the government has made to childcare under the “National Quality Framework”. As of 1 Jan this year, childcare operators had to reduce their staff:child ratios from 5:1 to 4:1. The impact of this has been to dramatically increase the cost of child... ... (13-Feb)
I also rise to speak against the passage of the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2011, which I believe will be a dagger through the heart of the private health insurance industry. I commend the Member for Kooyong, who was just speaking, for his remarks, and I associate myself with his... ... (13-Feb)
I rise to speak this afternoon on the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2011 and to argue passionately against its passage in this parliament. This bill impacts one of the most important sectors in our economy: the building and construction indus... ... (09-Feb)
I rise to add my comments to the condolences that we have heard today and yesterday on the passing of Sir Zelman Cowan on 8 December last year, the day that marked the 34th anniversary of his swearing in as Australia's 19th Governor-General in 1977. Sir Zelman was a true giant in our nation. There a... ... (08-Feb)
I rise to speak on the Excise Amendment (Reducing Business Compliance Burden) Bill 2011 to express my support for its measures. We on this side of the House understand two things in relation to small business. The first is that small business is indeed the backbone of our economy. It employs million... ... (07-Feb)
I rise tonight to express my support for the introduction into Australia of a new cancer treatment called CyberKnife. This is a remarkable technology that has the capacity to save or improve the lives of hundreds of people who are suffering from cancer. In short, it provides a more targeted radiothe... ... (07-Feb)
Thankyou to Peter and the committee for inviting my wife Teri and I here today to celebrate Australia Day with you for the second year in a row. You have always made me feel very welcome here, just as I know you did to my predecessor, Chris Pearce. Australia Day is probably my favourite day of... ... (26-Jan)
I rise today to also speak on the mining tax bills that are before us. I do not wish to go over all the material, which previous coalition members have spoken on, but I would like to associate myself with many of the comments that the coalition speakers made today and yesterday. What I would like to... ... (22-Nov)
I rise to speak on Dr Leigh's motion concerning the increasing incarceration rates of Australian citizens, and particularly those of Indigenous Australians. This issue is an important one. The figures quoted in the motion are alarming and should make all Australians, particularly policy makers, stop... ... (21-Nov)
I rise today to again express my concern in relation to the Federal government's decision to cut $12.6 million from the Take a Break program, which funds Occasional Care. In Victoria some 220 community centres that operate Occasional Care may now need to close down their programs. Thousands of paren... ... (03-Nov)