Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Scott; I know you will be hanging on this. To the Townsville Fire team, congratulations to all concerned. The second grand final in the Women's National Basketball League in a row. We will travel to Bendigo—I see the member opposite, the member for Bendigo, is very keen to see the Townsville Fire in Bendigo again—this weekend where this time we will go all the way. We will beat Bendigo. The whole city is behind coach, Chris Lucas; our captain, Rachael McCully—she is no longer Flanagan; Suzy and all the girls. Can I wish a very happy birthday, a special birthday, to assistant coach, former player and all round great girl, Claudia Brassard. Claudia, for your birthday we got you a grand final. What you have to do from there is win the thing.

I also say a special thank you to the ABC. The ABC are the national broadcast partner for women's NBL. Queensland remains on correct time—New South Wales and Victoria jump an hour ahead for whatever reason—but the ABC have changed their telecast time so that we in Queensland can watch the fantastic Townsville Fire play basketball for glory. We will win in Bendigo this weekend. Get behind our Fire, Townsville; get behind our girls. They are fantastic bunch, and they will win this weekend.

My city of Townsville also now has its first NRL silverware. It adorns the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys' mantle as I speak. Winning the Auckland Nines was a fantastic way to start the year. Paul Green's new defensive patterns took a little bit of time for the guys to get used to on a playing field, but once we got them down pat our line was barely crossed. It was a great quarter final against Auckland, then a great semifinal and an even better final to beat the Broncos at the end.

An honourable member: Were you playing?

I was not there, mate; I had nothing to do with it. To all concerned at the Cowboys—remember for any organisation to succeed, your back office needs to be strong so that your front office can succeed—from Chairman, Laurence Lancini, CEO, Peter Jourdain, and player managers, Peter Parr and Michael Luck, to the coaching staff, Paul Green, David Furner and Terry Matterson, I wish you all the best for season 2014. To the playing group headed by the magnificent Johnathan Thurston and the super tough and rugged Matt Scott, I wish you all the best. My son Andrew and I will be there on the weekend when we belt Canberra. It will be funny this year, Deputy Speaker, seeing the Cowboys run out without the fantastic Matty Bowen in the No. 1 jersey. If there is ever an icon in the sport for Aboriginal and Islander Australians, it is Matty Bowen—a truly great Australian. It was incredibly unlucky for a bloke by the name of Lachlan Coote, who came up from Penrith to come to us. I wish you all the best. The Cowboys are my team and we do it to the dot.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the former speaker on his spirit in speaking about the team for Townsville that will be taking on the Bendigo Spirit this Sunday in an important grand final which I am sure the minor premiers, the Bendigo Spirit, will again win. It is great for sport in general that we in this House are speaking about women's sport, because quite often women's sport is not flagged, as it should be, as an area of importance.

I am here today to flag another area of importance which has received quite a bit of attention—that is, the changes being proposed by the new coalition government to our welfare system and the falsehoods and the rhetoric coming from the government about supporting those most in need. They are using phrases such as 'the age of entitlement is over'. For whom is the age of entitlement over? What specifically are we talking about? The government claims that in 10 to 15 years Australia will find itself in the same situation as some European countries. Who are you referring to? Who are you going to be targeting if you reduce entitlements as you say they need to be?

This rhetoric is preparing people for a budget of savage cuts. Classic coalition tactics involve creating a sense of crisis to pave the way for cruel cuts to the living standards of vulnerable Australians. The fact is that many in our community are struggling to survive on current payments, particularly Newstart, and are already living in poverty. I will highlight two particular women I met with recently in my electorate.

One is a single parent who is now on Newstart, and she is trying desperately to find work. Her daughter is 11 years old, and she came in to see me with $6,000 worth of debt. These are not big debts; they are her telephone bill, her rates, her school fees and her electricity bill—just your classic, standard bills. She has $200 left in her bank account. She said to me: 'You, Lisa, decide which bill I pay.' This is reality for so many people living on low Newstart payments.

The other is a woman suffering from Lyme disease. She is too sick to work, and every six months she has to go in to Centrelink to prove she is too sick to work. Her mother is now supporting her, and is it fortunate for this woman—Christie is her name—that her mother is in a position to support her, because otherwise she and her children would be going without.

Our country should continue to be based upon the principles of equity and opportunity. We should ensure that all are looked after when they are in need and that people are given the opportunity to pick themselves back up if they need to. (Time expired)