PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: I rise to speak on the Aged Care (Living Longer Living Better) Bill 2013 and the package of bills before us. The aged-care sector is at a crossroads. We have an ageing population. We have providers who are operating in the red, and we have a sector which has been reviewed and…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: In the time that I have available this evening, I would like to make some remarks in relation to three important local issues in my electorate. The first of those relates to manufacturing. As everyone across Australia knows, Ford will stop producing cars in 2016 and this once mighty car company, which…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: The East West Link is a vital piece of infrastructure that is desperately needed for Melbourne, particularly for residents in eastern Melbourne, including in my electorate of Aston, who face daily traffic congestion. I rise today to express my disappointment and frustration that the federal government ignored this important piece of infrastructure in…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: I am proud to report to the House that the Knox headspace centre was officially opened this week. The opening of this centre has been the culmination of a two-year campaign which I have spearheaded, along with community members in my electorate. The Headspace Foundation runs these headspace centres. They are terrific…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: Over the last few weeks we have had a lot of debate about the quality of teacher education courses, with both the NSW government and the federal government announcing policies to address standards. It is fair to say that there is bipartisan concern about how our future teachers are being trained. I…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: We have just had five minutes from the member for Wakefield as to how fantastic the carbon tax is and the impacts it is having. He says house prices are up, job numbers are up, new companies are being created and cars are running off the line because of the carbon tax…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: We know that the government has no shame, but the hospital ads that the government has placed into Victorian metropolitan newspapers go to new lows. We know the history of this. The government ripped $107 million from Victorian hospitals causing beds to close at the premier cancer institution, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre,…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: The Knox Relay for Life, a fantastic community event in which members across my electorate come together to raise funds for the Victorian Cancer Council, is due to take place in a week or so. I know that this event also occurs in other electorates and that other members are also getting involved.…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: The Australian Education Bill 2012 is an extraordinary bill and this is an extraordinary debate, because we are discussing a bill which expressly says that it does not create rights or duties that are legally enforceable. I believe that this will be unique in Australian history: a discussion in this chamber of…
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Canberra: I rise to express my concern about the proposed cuts to the private health insurance rebate. Private health insurance is very important in my electorate—70 per cent of my residents take out private health insurance. I represent a very middle-class electorate. It is not overly wealthy; it is not overly poor. It…