MOTIONS;Mining, Employment - 21 May 2018

May 21, 2018

I rise proudly to oppose this motion, because it is all crocodile tears from the government, who don't care a single iota for a single coalminer in this country. I have had the privilege of representing two seats in this parliament, the first named after a Lambton coalminer who went on to lead the Australian Labor Party, and the second named after Lieutenant Shortland, who discovered coal in Australia, in Newcastle. So I'm proud to represent a...

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Newcastle Jets game and the failure of the FFA constituent statement in Parliament

May 08, 2018

It has been a brilliant season for the Newcastle Jets football team; they've gone from wooden spooner to grand finalist. Unfortunately, the grand final did not go to them last Saturday night. It was a great show. We had 29,000 people at the stadium. We had big crowds watching the game from Speers Point Park and in town. Unfortunately, the spectacle of the game was ruined by the incredible incompetence of Football Federation Australia. The vide...

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Motions: Billson, Mr Bruce, Censure

March 27, 2018

I second the motion to censure Mr Billson, and I do so with a sense of gravity. Parliament censuring someone—expressing severe disapproval of their actions—is a very significant course. It's a course that the Privileges Committee recommended to the House, in this instance, based on the failure of Mr Billson to give primacy to acting in the public interest and ensuring that there was no actual or perceived conflict of interest. The committee fo...

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MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE;Queensland: Employment

March 01, 2018

I'm proud to make a contribution on this MPI, which really goes to the future of coal in this country—in essence, that is the MPI today. I won't be lectured about support for coalminers by the coalition government—a coalition government that is happy to use them for props, but doesn't give a fig about coalminers. They are happy to use them for props—high-vis vests, hard hats—but they don't give a fig. Most of the people interjecting in this de...

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Treasury Laws Amendment (National Housing and Homelessness Agreement) Bill 2017;Second Reading

March 01, 2018

The three key pillars of our great Australian society are: dignity in work and retirement, the universal provision of health care and access to quality education. But another key element is what many call the great Australian dream, which is really a fundamental human right: the ability to access quality and affordable housing. That's why I rise to speak today on the housing affordability and homelessness crisis that so many Australians are fa...

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Federation Chamber - CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS - Hunter Region: New South Wales Government

February 28, 2018

I rise to speak about the utter contempt the New South Wales Liberal government have for the Hunter region. First they privatised our port after promising us 50 per cent of the proceeds of the sale. They got $1.7 billion for it. Did we get $850 million? No, we got less than $500 million. Second, they privatised our bus service, which has seen a significant deterioration in the service. I was at a protest meeting at Belmont 16s sailing club las...

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