Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

In reply to the Governor-General's speech it's so important to lay out some of the issues. Yesterday I spoke about the environment, global warming and the economic challenges that we face and that will need to be addressed in this parliamentary term, but it's also important to reflect on the last two years and the health challenge around COVID. We must make sure that we keep our communities healthy and connected. I am very focused on looking at responsible and proportionate responses to the challenges.

We've learnt so much over the last 40 years. Today is the international day for the fight against HIV/AIDS. We learnt so much about how to fight infectious diseases from that, for example. That really assisted and informed our approach to dealing with COVID. Now we have learnings from COVID and how the world responded that can go back into other infectious diseases treatment, prevention and in particular education and testing. It is really important that we listen to epidemiologists and businesses, that we act on the advice of health experts and that we increase funding and support for essential frontline workers.

We had a very important debate in this place yesterday around eating disorders and the sharp increase we've seen in relation to that issue since COVID. We know that there is a lack of treatment facilities. It's an incredibly distressing ailment. It interrelates with mental health issues and it disproportionately impacts our young people, particularly women. It's really important to take a holistic approach to health—the whole-body health—and not separate out mental health and physical health. Too often we focus on the physical ailments, where it's immediately evident—broken bones or blood, which are much more visible—but mental health needs to be approached in a holistic way. That's why improving mental health services nationally and in Warringah, especially youth mental health services, is very much a focus of mine—to make sure we take care of our young people.

We need to modernise and increase the channels to access health care. We know that telehealth was incredibly successful during COVID, and we need to continue going down that path of digitising access to health while being mindful, of course, of those of an older generation for which that might be challenging. But, obviously, we need to make sure delivery of services is in tune with the times.

I don't think there is a community around Australia that isn't focused on aged care, the delivery of those services and the difficulty in making sure that the vulnerable in our community are properly cared for. We need to ensure that implementation of all the recommendations of the aged-care royal commission occurs without delay. We know there remains a significant waitlist when it comes to aged-care plans, and we need to make sure that support is accelerated. I so strongly support flexible funding options for home care and increasing accountability and resources in aged-care facilities.

I have spoken with the minister about the NDIS and improving access to participants and providers. So many in my community approach my office for assistance. It shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't need that individualised attention. The system should work. But I reiterate to the people in Warringah that my office is absolutely there to help you navigate this process, and I look forward to hosting a forum with the minister to address issues and challenges that participants have, because it is such an important program. The NDIS is such an important aspect of making sure that all Australians have the opportunity to be supported and participate meaningfully in society.

I'll continue to stand up for integrity and accountability to restore trust in Australian politics. We absolutely have a duty in this place to ensure scrutiny and accountability at every level of government, in particular at federal level. It was a big day in this place yesterday with the censure motion moved in relation to the former Prime Minister. I must say I was disappointed by the words that were said by him in this place, because there still seems to be no willingness to acknowledge the issue of the secrecy. I have no issue with responsibilities and appointments. The issue is the secrecy. The accountability and the conventions of this place are incredibly important to uphold, and it is pulling back that curtain on the operations of this place that is so important for the Australian people to have trust in what happens here—trust that things are done in their best interests.

It was a big day yesterday, and I was very pleased to see the National Anti-Corruption Commission come into law. It's good legislation, but I still have to say it's not great legislation. I have my concerns that it may not provide the public scrutiny and accountability that I think so many Australians want, because of the threshold test that says that investigations and hearings can only be held in public in exceptional circumstances and if it is in the public interest, at the discretion of the commissioner. My legal experience says, and I suspect, that that will be a very high bar to meet, and the public simply won't be aware of much in the way of investigations. They won't be aware of what investigations are occurring, when they're occurring, what evidence is being heard and also what the outcomes of those investigations are by way of reports, because there is no requirement for reports to be published or presented to the parliament. So I do have concerns.

It was a little bit with mixed feelings that I welcomed the passing of the legislation. Getting a National Anti-Corruption Commission is long overdue, and I certainly fought hard with the member for Indi and so many others in this place in the last parliament to get that to happen. But I think it puts us on the start line of the fight for integrity and against corruption. We need to be vigilant and to continue pushing for the other things, because, in isolation, it won't be enough. We need whistleblower protections and we need much better scrutiny around our media ownership and diversity. We need truth in political advertising and, in particular, around the referendum that is coming next year. We need to stop misinformation and disinformation in our public debate.

I think Australians can handle the facts and the truth. But we know how pervasive misinformation and disinformation are, and they really erode trust in outcomes and trust in democracy. We saw in the US, with the 6 January insurrection, the sway that misinformation and disinformation can have in relation to the public perception of facts and reality, and it's incredibly dangerous. Democracy is fragile, and it is only as strong as how well we defend its pillars. Misinformation is a massive threat to that. One of the first things autocratic governments do is to control media and access to information. That's why it is so important that we remain vigilant on that.

I am also pleased to be on the task force in relation to the implementation of the Set the standard report by Kate Jenkins that was done after the very serious allegations and events that arose in the last parliament. I'm pleased to see the work in relation to the code of conduct for parliamentarians that is coming, and I look forward to further developments and the implementation of those recommendations. It's so important that Australians respect and look to this place as a gold standard of a workplace and for it not to be a workplace that is miles behind other places in Australia. I must say, as a former barrister, I was quite shocked to come into this place in the last parliament and discover that there was no code of conduct, there were no standards and there was very little expectation other than just the assumption that the public will hold you to account every three years at election time. But, in circumstances where misinformation is rife, I don't think that's good enough. I think there should be a duty to this place—a standard of conduct expected of all members.

We need to make sure we're focusing on merit based policies and we have fiscal discipline in that process. I definitely want to encourage the government to focus on recommendations and the evidence around reducing the influence of vested interests and big money in politics and in the Public Service.

I'd like to encourage the government to look at long-term approaches to policies, because we know we have big challenges ahead. This is a very important decade, for Australia and for the world, on very big issues. We are facing headwinds. There are challenges. But no generation has ever been without challenges. There are always going to be those aspects. It does take courage, leadership and bravery to focus beyond what is immediately rewarding in a political sense—those short-term policies that we know are a quick sugar hit, are quick and easy and will be pleasing to electorates and will win votes. We must actually tackle the big issues—the things that go beyond a three-year election cycle. We must tackle those big challenges such as global warming and climate change and really set up our economy for the future. We need to support our young people in the challenges and the anxieties they have towards the future.

I do think there needs to be a discussion around, for example, the rapid revolving door of election cycles. We need to look, as our state governments have, to four-year fixed terms when it comes to the federal parliament, because I think this focus on constant turnaround towards elections means that we simply never address the long-term issues that require focus.

As I just mentioned, there's also a concern around our diversity of media. I strongly support the member for Goldstein's push—obviously, her experience is so telling in this space—for a royal commission or an inquiry into media diversity in Australia. We know misinformation and disinformation play a huge part, and we need to ensure that access to information remains diverse. We have, I think, an unhealthy media ownership concentration in Australia. Media have taken, more and more, a partisan position in relation to so many issues. That is dangerous. The role of the fourth estate is to sit outside of that. Journalism is protected by defamation laws because it's in the public interest to have information, but it shouldn't be partisan. The point of the fourth estate is, in fact, to provide that information and to protect democratic principles. I do support the member for Goldstein's push in that respect and hope the government is really contemplating that. These are hard discussions to have, obviously, but I think they're incredibly important.

Coming from the 2022 election, I can't fail to talk about diversity and inclusion. We need to make sure that we are a more caring and inclusive society. We've talked a lot in this place about improving inclusivity when it comes to workforce participation, pay equity and, in particular, gender. I moved a motion in August in relation to increasing paid parental leave to at least 26 weeks, shared between both parents, because the economic analysis shows the cost is reasonable and there's a significant return on investment. So it was very welcome to see the government shift its position and bring forward a commitment to legislating around 26 weeks of shared paid parental leave, making it accessible equitably to men and women or both parents, to improving access to affordable child care and to driving gender-equity tax reforms.

But we do need to do more. We know discrimination is rife when it comes to ageism, and older women are still very much disadvantaged—we know they pay for it. The difference in superannuation is quite substantial, and, incredibly, older women are the fastest growing group at risk of homelessness. It is unacceptable, when we think of this generation who has cared for us as a society, that they face such a prospect. We need to make sure we improve crisis accommodation, particularly in Warringah, and work to combat domestic violence, bullying and intimidation.

There is also, obviously, the issue of refugees. We've had an intractable policy situation in Australia for some 20 years, and it was ironically formed on misinformation and disinformation at the very start. Who can forget the 'children overboard' misinformation used to sway an election and really harden Australians' views? It became this divisive debate instead of focusing on where our human rights are, what our obligations under international law are and what it means to be Australian. We should be a welcoming country.

We have had so many years of policies of keeping people out, but we now find there is competition internationally to bring people to countries to help with jobs, skills and workforce shortages, so we actually need to think about growing Australia. I look forward to having more discussions with the government about increasing Australia's humanitarian intake and exploring all options to resettle asylum seekers. There are so many issues and challenges, but I look forward to working with the government in this term of parliament.

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