Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016-2017 and Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016-2017—bills that provide some vital expenditure. These bills also allow me to segue into other facets of my electorate that are supported directly and indirectly through these bills and associated coalition government policy.

Ryan is proudly home to the Gallipoli Barracks, the second largest military base in the country. I am pleased that the coalition are committed to defence, with an $810 million appropriation to the Department of Defence. The coalition have a long history of supporting and bolstering the Australian Defence Force, and we are increasing defence spending, improving capabilities and providing better support for current and past personnel.

The coalition government is also looking after those younger Australians who suffer from childhood cancer by committing $10 million to the establishment of a national research network which focuses on improving childhood cancer survival rates. In fact, it was only late last year that the Turnbull government provided $20 million to the Zero Childhood Cancer Collaboration Network to help improve health outcomes for children with cancer. The aim of the Zero Childhood initiative is for every child with cancer—up to a thousand a year—to be able to access the network's cutting-edge technology and collaboration by 2020 to push survival rates for childhood cancer towards 100 per cent. Not only will this initiative change lives; it will save lives.

As a government whose welfare mantra is about a hand-up, not a handout, I welcome the funds through these bills that will provide for the expansion of the Department of Human Services' fraud prevention and debt recovery capabilities. I acknowledge that this topic is of great contention at present, especially from those opposite, who would hand welfare out willy-nilly if they had their way. Members only need to think back to 2009, when the Rudd government's failed stimulus package paid $900 cheques to hundreds of people who were dead—because, as we know, according to the Labor side the afterlife economy was in dire straits as well.

Australians must remember that we, as a government, must ensure that those most vulnerable and in need amongst our community are cared for. To this extent, we must also maximise the welfare dollar. We are a government based on strong economic foundations, which are providing the means for the success of all Australians. We are wealth creators and see fit to do everything in our power to do what is right for each and every Australian. After 12 consecutive quarters of decline, it was encouraging to see new business investment increase for the first time in the final 2016 quarter—up almost two per cent, results attributed to the coalition's strong economic policy. To do this is often met with obstruction from those opposite, at the direction of their acrobatic leader Bill Shorten, who is better known for his flip-flop tricks, saying one thing yet doing another. Each time Labor and the Leader of the Opposition attempt to stymie the successful passage of worthy policy through this House, they are inflicting unknown havoc on hardworking Australians. One needs to look no further than the recent frivolous debate thrown around by those opposite in their blocking the necessary steps, only the coalition is taking, to fully fund the NDIS—something that Labor could not and did not do during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era.

Let me highlight some subjects that are closer to my home in the Ryan electorate and, in some, way will affect all Australians. First, I would like to discuss Closing the Gap. Let me be clear, there should be bipartisan support for anything that can be done to right the wrongs of yesteryear. Aboriginal policy must be personal not political. The Prime Minister recently noted:

Yet even with the determination of our First Australians to create a better future … with successive Commonwealth and state governments … and thousands of dedicated Australians seeking to contribute … we still are not making enough progress.

During the past month, my office and I have engaged in discussions with Lyndall De Marco, the ever enthusiastic CEO of IDEAS—an acronym that possibly has your mind full of ideas stands for Indigenous Diabetes Eyes and Screening. Lyndall began our conversation eloquently, referring to eyes as being the window to our sole. With this aptly put, Lyndall began to discuss the IDEAS Van, an initiative that is closing the remoteness and health gaps for Indigenous Australians.

Not many people are aware that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 40 years or more have six times the rate of blindness than any other Australian, or that 94 per cent of this vision loss is preventable and treatable. Considering that Australia is home to some of the world's leading optometric and ophthalmic specialists, how can this be? IDEAS Van is not just a semitrailer with basic medical facilities in tow; rather, it is a mobile and fully-equipped ophthalmology, optometry and imaging specialist centre with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools. It is bringing the care most needed by our first peoples, who do not have access to the services that many Australians take for granted. It contains everything you need to diagnose and treat eye problems in diabetics, who have suffered vision impairment through diabetic retinopathy and associated complications. On board, telehealth facilities also provide a link to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane for endocrinology consultations. Supported initially by the Queensland LNP government in 2013, the IDEAS Van has travelled more than 186,000 kilometres of regional and remote Queensland. By visiting regional hubs around Queensland every four weeks, the IDEAS Van allows remote communities regular access to services. Commendably, the IDEAS Van is providing vision with considerable support from the private sector and the professional specialists who volunteer their time. However, there is still an underlying operating cost that needs to be funded to continue this visionary service. The IDEAS Van realises savings for the government by transporting two patients as opposed to the government subsidising expensive airfares for patients to travel to major centres like Brisbane or Townsville. I am currently working with Lyndall De Marco and my ministerial colleagues to discuss potential support for the initiative.

The coalition is supporting science, innovation, research and commercialisation in Australia. My electorate of Ryan is home to many outstanding research facilities and scientific minds, all of whom are benefiting from our commitment to the National Innovation and Science Agenda. Industry research and development are well and truly established in my electorate, which boasts some of the world's leading discoveries in research.

I have said it before in this House but I am proud to say it again: the prestigious University of Queensland, ranked 55th in the top universities of the world and in the top 10 in commercialisation, is in the heart of my electorate. UniQuest, the main commercialisation arm of UQ, is one of the world's most experienced private companies in technology transfer. I congratulate UniQuest, as they have had a direct involvement in many of the university's successes, which, in turn, have led to the betterment of humankind.

I was delighted to visit the University of Queensland recently, to meet with some of their leading researchers and for a guided tour of the university's state-of-the-art research facilities, including the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. The innovation coming from the University of Queensland never ceases to amaze me. The universal language of science draws the brightest researchers from all over the world. I was intrigued, during my visit to the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, to find out more about the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative, QEDDI, which aims to translate innovative academic research to clinical development and commercialisation by investing in partnerships with industry. By investing in further development and commercialisation, the university is ensuring that vital research is not being forgotten in the often deep academic abyss—research like that by Dr Kate Schroder, whose breakthroughs in cell biology and molecular medicine are paving the way for cures and treatments for diseases like Parkinson's. Described to me by Dr Schroder and her colleagues as being 'the potential silver bullet', they may have the efficacy to treat multiple other diseases. Dr Schroder's research focuses on the innate immune system and is leading this field in the world in understanding how immune cells launch healthy inflammation to fight infection and unhealthy inflammation to promote disease. The brilliant minds of those like Dr Schroder; Professor Ian Frazer, with his HPV vaccine; Professor Maree Smith, with her treatment for chronic pain; and Professor Mark Kendall, with his breakthrough Nanopatch immunisation technology, have placed the University of Queensland on the international map.

Let me pose a question to the House: how many members here would find it acceptable that residents of suburbs in their electorate also shared the same postcode with suburbs more than 130 kilometres away? I dare say that members would be flabbergasted to know that this is the situation in which thousands of residents in my electorate find themselves. Postcode 4306 is one of Australia Post's largest delivery zones, covering some 53 localities, including Karana Downs, Kholo and Mount Crosby in my electorate of Ryan. I have called on Australia Post to review the allocation of unique postcodes for localities which currently share a postcode with geographically separate localities. On many occasions, I have written to the Postal Industry Ombudsman to seek his intervention in this matter and, as of December 2016, I note that the ombudsman had written to the Managing Director and CEO of Australia Post to seek action. I am still waiting for their response. It seems that the CEO was too busy sledging my colleague the member for Corangamite, instead of doing his overpaid job. Australian taxpayers have recently shown their dismay at the excessive salary of former Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour, but what about the dismay of many of my constituents who are affected by what is often dubbed 'the postcode from hell'? These constituents have sought action to remedy this matter for more than 20 years, yet are still no closer to a resolution. We are not talking about an electorate as large or as spread out as that of the member for Maranoa; we are discussing a metropolitan seat within 20 kilometres of Brisbane city. I take this opportunity to again place on the record Ryan electorate constituents' disdain towards Australia Post's continual oversight of this significant issue. It affects five federal seats, and five federal members are in bipartisan unison that this must improve.

We have seen, time and time again, the ALP plague Australia with poorly-formed policy and economic mismanagement akin to an adult with mountains of credit card debt who constantly shifts debt from one card to another. Irresponsible moves by those opposite at the behest of their union puppet-masters and Greens allies jeopardise the future of this country. The actions of the Labor Party are comedic, to say the least, resembling the antics of the Griswold family from the National Lampoonseries, endlessly circling the roundabout, trying to exit. This was clearly demonstrated by the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd reckless governments, and now by this current cohort, with many of the same, recycled faces, who traverse a familiar, well-worn path.

During the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era we saw the establishment of the Fair Work Commission, an independent body with full independent powers. Yet Labor has the audacity to try to blame the coalition for stripping workers of their penalty rates. The decision of the commission is a direct result of the process put in place in 2013 by none other than Bill Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition. Meanwhile, the unions have already done a deal with big business to cut their penalty rates for their workers. Part of the deal is that the business collects the fees for the unions. No longer can they claim to look after the worker. It is no wonder the Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine died!

Meanwhile, once again, it is the hard-working mums and dads in small business who are on the receiving end of Labor's attacks and unfair policy. And do not get me started on another of Labor's masterminded policies, the Energy Efficient Homes Package, which saw the pink batts debacle and the deaths of innocent hardworking Australians. It is one thing to form bad policy but to implement bad policy and to have Australians die is another. And who is responsible? The Labor government.

These bills are integral to ensure the continuity of the government's programs. As a strong coalition government we are ensuring that Australian taxpayers' money is being spent wisely. Unlike those opposite, we are creating a stronger future for Australians, for their safety, health, education and employment prospects. We are creating the foundations for investment in this country. We are reducing Labor's debt and providing for those least able to.

I can assure the House that only the coalition will provide for all Australians. We not only have a plan for today we also have a plan that ensures longevity and prosperity of the nation into the future. Just like Australians who want to provide for their families, we will continue to provide for all Australians. I commend these bills to the House.

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