Community Newsletter

Fighting for climate, the environment & women's safety

6 May 2024

 

Sadly, a long overdue national focus on gendered violence is happening due to significant rise in tragic deaths of women at the hands of men. The issue of women's safety and violence against women is at an unacceptable level. It is a national crisis and requires a crisis response from all levels of government.

Earlier this year, I presented a motion in parliament urging the government to act with urgency on domestic violence and proposed five key actions to tackle the crisis. I have discussed the actions needed with the Attorney General and the Prime Minister, and written again, urging the government to take urgent action on women's safety including repeating my calls for a review of sentencing laws, the end of good character references and consideration of mandatory sentencing akin to the one punch laws in NSW for those accused of domestic violence related offences.

Following the Prime Minister finally agreeing to convene a National Cabinet meeting to address women‘s safety, the House of Representatives crossbench sent a letter to the PM outlining a range of expert informed measures to tackle the issue in both the short, medium and long term. Frustratingly, whilst the measures announced are welcome, they fall far short from the step change needed to keep women safe now. No additional funding was announced to support frontline services currently having to turn women away. No changes to laws were agreed by State counterparts.

This is a national crisis and more must be done. Thank you to the many wonderful organisations and services in Warringah supporting families impacted by domestic violence. Thank you to the many women and men speaking up. Please continue.

If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT

Parliamentary Business

PEP-11 Update

The PEP-11 project which has seen widespread opposition from local communities, and many attempts at both the state and federal level to stop it, has taken another turn with Minister King releasing a statement recusing herself from future decision making on the project, handing responsibility to Minister Husic.

I will continue to fight against the proposal. The government could put a stop to it immediately by supporting my Stop PEP-11 Forever Bill which would also protect the area from future applications as well.

Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation

It was disappointing to see the government walk back its commitment to reform our environmental laws last week. Instead of reviewing the full suite of environmental reforms, the government first decided to establish two new bodies, Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Information Australia, delaying much needed key reforms to the main environmental laws to better safeguard our environment.

Along with other colleagues on the crossbench in the House and Senate, we wrote to Minister Plibersek calling on her to complete the reforms before the next election due before May 2025 – as the Albanese government promised in 2022.  Australia is already experiencing major biodiversity loss and increasing climate change impacts, we simply cannot afford any further delays. It has already been four years since the Samuel Review made its recommendations.

Australia has a methane reporting problem!

Two new reports from Open Methane and ACF a have indicated major fossil fuel polluters are grossly under reporting methane emissions which already make up over 7% of Australia’s overall emissions. Australia is significantly falling behind the world in accurately reporting emissions and in order for our decarbonisation targets to be recognised by the international community, particularly the investor community, we must take immediate steps to improve our reporting and then focus on strong, ambitious targets of at least 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 to remain on a Paris Agreement aligned trajectory.

You can pressure the government to address inaccurate and underreporting of methane urgently by engaging in campaigns run by Methane Zero or ACF and email Minister Bowen directly, or by making a submission to the 2024 Issues Paper: Targets, Pathways and Progress.

Federal Budget

The next Federal Budget will be delivered on 14 May. Many households and small businesses are continuing to struggle with the current high cost of living. I have made a number of pre-budget submissions in support of various issues, organisations and needs on behalf of Warringah and met with a number of Ministers to discuss these issues. Thank you to everyone who participated in my Small Business survey and online webinar. A recording will be available soon for those who missed it.

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 Matters

Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club's Centenary

Over the weekend I was pleased to attend the centenary celebrations for Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club. Congratulations on this significant milestone.

Did you know there have been no drowning fatalities during any patrols at the club over the 100 years? Impressive. A huge thank you to all the volunteers for keeping beachgoers safe.

Northern Beaches Hospital

I have had reports of concerns in respect to the unsustainable staffing ratios and pressure being put on the wonderful staff at Northern Beaches Hospital. Many in our community are concerned about maintaining high quality public hospital care on the beaches for our community. I have written to the state Health Minister and Healthscope to seek further clarity on the issues being raised in respect to Northern Beaches Hospital and Healthscope‘s prioritisation of profit over sustainable levels of care.

I am also very concerned at the unacceptable delay in provision of youth mental health facilities to our community. Following the horrific incident at Westfield Bondi, it is clear that all levels of government must do better on mental health services. I encourage you to engage with my office and state counterparts if you share my concerns.

Traffic and Transport Forum & Survey

Have your say on local traffic and transport ahead of next month's Warringah and Wakehurst Traffic and Transport Forum, which I'm co-hosting with Michael Regan on 23 May.

Cancelled buses, congested roads, the Spit Bridge, trackless trams, more cycle paths … what are your views and suggestions for our local traffic and transport? We want to hear from you!

My team is out at shops, markets and bus stops, or you can access the community survey at https://www.zalisteggall.com.au/surveys.

If you'd like to register for the May event you can register at https://events.humanitix.com/warringah-and-wakehurst-transport-forum

Assisting Seniors and their families to navigate aged care support

We have had a lot of positive feedback from the community about our new Seniors Guide, developed by my team to help simplify information about essential services and outline a roadmap through the array of government supports available. As many are online, it is of great assistance to have a hard copy roadmap.

You can pick up a hard copy from the electorate office. If you can’t make it to the office, you can download a copy or email [email protected] to request one to be mailed to you.

On a similar note, if you are a senior member of our community looking to increase your computer literacy, I recently met with Manly Computer Pals who provide 1 on 1 tuition.

The Newsroom

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