Community Newsletter

13 June 2024

It has been an action packed few weeks back in Parliament following the Federal Budget, with three weeks in four in Parliament. As co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action, I hosted the Australian Marine Conservation Society to discuss the impacts of seismic blasting and the urgent need to protect our marine environment and marine economy from significant harm. In the same week, I also hosted a diverse contingent of Indigenous Fishers to discuss their fight for recognition and enforcement of their cultural fishing rights.

I attended an important round table discussion on eating disorders and social media hosted by Zoe Daniel and the Butterfly Foundation and was joined by local young constituent Lucy who gave the experts great youth feedback and perspective.

Following the budget announcements, I followed up with meetings with a number of ministers, including the Treasurer, on a number of issues, in particular funding needs for important organisations in our community.

On the legislation front, we saw debate for the Net Zero Authority and climate disclosures get underway and I had the opportunity to quiz government during the appropriation debate following the budget to ensure the AUKUS agreement provides Australian businesses with commercial opportunities and workforce support. I also kept the pressure on the government to finally support the instant asset write offs for small businesses, first promised in the 2023 Budget.

Sadly, for all the wrong reasons Domestic Violence has again been in the media spotlight. Too many women have died. We’ve seen the government acknowledge the crisis, but not implement an emergency response, so together with other members of the crossbench, researchers and advocacy groups, I pushed the government for more urgent action and funding which culminated in me presenting a motion calling for greater and more urgent action to tackle this crisis which was unanimously passed by the House.

During the week back in Warringah, we had a fantastic turn out for our Traffic and Transport Forum, which looked at what’s next following the cancellation of the Beaches Link tunnel. I have also been door knocking with my fantastic volunteers around rising costs of climate impacts and ever increasing insurance premiums. We urgently need a national risk assessment framework and much more adaptation planning.

And finally, it has been disappointing to see the Coalition this week repudiate Australia‘s 2030 emissions reduction commitment under the Paris Agreement and whilst claiming to still be committed to Net Zero by 2050, argue for a delay to the retirement of coal and gas in the Australian energy mix. We are in an important decade of transition where it is vital to reduce emissions as fast as possible with strong targets and stable policy to encourage investment. Every year, every 0.1 degree of warming matters.

To keep our climate below 1.5-2 degrees of warming, which is the objective of the Paris Agreement, it is essential that we have clear 2030 and 2035 targets in place. We need to aim for an emissions reduction target of at least 75% by 2035.

Urgent, national action to combat domestic violence crisis

Domestic violence is a national emergency and despite a lot of discussion in the lead up to the Federal Budget, there were no real increases for funding especially to frontline and legal aid services who desperately need immediate support. And while we have seen widespread condemnation of the issue, there has not yet been enough action or step change that would see women and children safer in the immediate future.

During budget week I presented a motion in the House of Reps which was unanimously passed recognising the need for increased funding for legal aid, frontline services and community education, reviews of sentencing laws as well as establishing a national database of offenders and a mechanism to track family, domestic and sexual violence deaths to identify risk factors.

By having my motion pass with unanimous support, it means we have a line in the sand and that all sides of politics recognise the need for better and more urgent prevention strategies. I will continue raising this with government until more is done, and women and children are kept safer.

This was followed by a question to the Prime Minister in Question Time the next week. This included asking what his government was doing to better regulate the alcohol and gambling industries to combat the spike in domestic and family violence that occurs during major sporting fixtures, including the State of Origin.

I also attended a round table on the prevention of domestic and family violence with Jess Hill and Michael Salter – you can read their paper here.

Net Zero Economy Authority

One of the major bills debated in the House in recent weeks was the Net Zero Economy Authority. It aims to set up an authority to help governments, industry and private capital work together in a collaborative framework to transition coal and gas-fired power station workers. Whilst I voted for this bill, I challenged the government over its limited to scope to only supporting these workers and not the huge number of other workers in other industries that were being left out entirely. I offered amendments to fix this, but unfortunately, the government chose not to support them – another opportunity missed in the fight to get to a net zero economy as quickly as possible!

Gaza

I continue to be horrified by the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza with the huge loss of civilian lives.

I have again made clear that the Australian Government must use all possible diplomatic pathways to unequivocally call for the Israeli government to uphold the international rule of law, keep civilians safe and encourage both sides to agree to a permanent ceasefire. All remaining hostages from the 7 October attack by Hamas must also be released immediately. I asked the PM last week what the government was doing within its power to ensure humanitarian aid was getting through to the civilians in Gaza who so desperately need it. Along with other crossbenchers, I have called on the Australian Government to support the integrity of the ICC and condemn any threats or efforts to undermine the independence and impartiality of the ICC.

I supported a Treasury Laws Amendment bill that would bring climate related disclosures for businesses into law, another key step in managing the risk for businesses that climate change represents.

The government’s first NDIS bill was debated and passed with amendments from Dr Monique Ryan. The bill starts to put into effect the recommendations of the NDIS review, including how needs assessments are to be done.

There was debate on the different appropriation bills for government departments following the budget and I was able to question government ministers about how they would ensure that Australian businesses would be able to contribute to the technology uplift that AUKUS will provide, as well as how the government plans to ensure we have the right workforce for this uplift.

On small business, the government has been big on announcements but small on delivery with its delays on passing the instant asset write offs and energy incentive bonus, first promised in the 2023 Federal Budget. So, I asked all parties to stop playing politics with small business and that either Government support the amended bill, or reach agreement for additional support for small business.

I also seconded Kate Chaney MP’s motion calling on the government to go further in its commitment to the Future Made in Australia plan announced in the budget.

And I spoke of the great work Manly-based charity Royal Far West do in regional and remote communities for children’s health where there often aren’t enough health specialists that are required, particularly to help young children still coming to grips with the aftermath of natural disasters such as the Black Summer Bushfires.

To view my parliamentary speeches visit my Parliament Updates.
I seek to represent the views of Warringah and welcome feedback. My approach to legislation is on my website as is my Voting Record.

Warringah & Wakehurst Transport Forum

The Northern Beaches corridor is one of the most congested transport corridors in Sydney. I recently held a forum to discuss the future of public transport and road infrastructure in the wake of the State Government’s cancellation of the Beaches Link tunnel. 

Co-hosted with Michael Regan MP, panellists included:

• The Hon. John Graham, MLC, Minister for Roads (NSW) 
• Dr Marjorie O'Neill MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Transport (NSW) 
• Mathew Hounsell, Senior Research Consultant, Transport Research Centre, UTS 

There were also representatives from Northern Beaches and Mosman Councils; Keolis Downer and CDC Bus Companies; Bicycle NSW; and Transport for NSW. 

It was great to have all levels of government and key stakeholders represented at the forum and we will continue to work together to provide Warringah with better public transport and infrastructure both now and into the future.

I welcome the recent announcement of the $21 million upgrade to the Brookvale bus depot to support the transition to electric buses and I remain optimistic about a more sustainable future of public transport, which includes better infrastructure for e-vehicles and active transport.

At the federal level there are two key priority projects for our area, which I will continue to work on, on behalf of our community, namely the North Sydney to Northern Beaches capacity improvements and the Northern Beaches (A8) corridor capacity: Seaforth to Mona Vale.

If you missed the event, you can view the event recording.

You can also view what I had to say in parliament about the opportunities.

Warringah Transport & Traffic Survey

Ahead of the forum, I conducted a transport and traffic survey in Warringah.  The key takeaways included: Public transport on the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore was ranked as the biggest concern (49%), followed by traffic & congestion (35%). The largest barrier to using public transport was reliability (32%) and journey times/frequency (28%).

You can review the full results on my website.

Volunteer Grant

We are delighted to announce that 29 community organisations in Warringah will receive funding of up to $5,000 each to support the wonderful work of their volunteers. Through the $10 million 2023-24 Volunteer Grant Round, community organisations across Australia will receive funding to buy small equipment for volunteers or reimburse their fuel, transport, or training costs. These grants ensure that we are supporting our volunteers to continue to provide the essential services to our community.

Some worthy recipients in Warringah include One Meal Northern Beaches, Mosman Netball Club, The Rotary Club of Mosman, and Manly Warringah Pipe Band.

Australia Post’s 2024 Community Grants Program is now open for applications!

Australia Post recognises the importance of local community groups in creating positive change in people’s lives and each year awards Community Grants of up to $10,000 to fund community led, local projects. This year, the grants program is focused on projects that connect people and improve mental wellbeing in local communities.

Applications are now open until Monday, 1 July 2024.

For full guidelines and applications, click here.

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