Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Goldstein's representative, I want to put on the official record some issues that have been raised with me by three community organisations within my electorate: firstly, the Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children; secondly, the Bayside Refugee Advocacy and Support Association; and thirdly, the Bayside Climate Change Action Group.

The grandmothers regularly raise the situation of asylum seekers in onshore and offshore detention with me, including by protesting at the front of the Goldstein office on 9 June, when about 30 of them appeared. I was very happy to receive them and I always enjoy their company. They are always polite and respectful and engage with people who are interested in the issues. It is a great privilege to have people who are so concerned about the plight of other humans and their circumstances. Thank you, grandmothers. But their overwhelming message is that they want all children out of detention. As you know, that is a topic very close to my heart.

Similarly, we have had the Bayside Refugee Advocacy and Support Association, who have raised with me their ongoing concerns around the issues affecting people in offshore and onshore detention to the point where it has led me, at times, to go and visit detention centres, including the Maribyrnong detention centre at the end of last year. The clear point of BRASA is to ensure that everybody is treated with dignity and respect, and I respect their role and contribution in our community in discussing these important issues and hope they continue to do so.

The Bayside Climate Change Action Group have been in regular contact with me, raising various concerns. One of the things I do like about BCCAG, even though I may have some disagreements with them from time to time, is that they always engage constructively. In fact, in a recent email to me, they wrote that they believe very strongly that there is a growing understanding in the community of the magnitude of climate change risk and they are feeling that the government must show leadership in facing these challenges as well as meet its commitments to reduce emissions. That is what we are seeking to do. We do recognise the 'imperative need for energy security and a wish to present ideas on how that can be achieved while promoting environmentally conducive outcomes to investment in renewable energy'. That is what we are also seeking to achieve as a government.

The Bayside Climate Change Action Group welcomes moves by the government to place the matter of energy security on the national agenda—which has been very welcome. They agree that energy security does need attention at a time when coal-fired power stations are being replaced by intermittent renewables and that other factors, including the role of distributed energy and distributed energy storage, the need for utility-scale energy storage and the roles of demand-side management and risk management also need to be factored in. That is one of the things—as I said, they are very constructive. They have also regularly raised with me their views on the Queensland Carmichael mine and the use of the concessional loan for the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility to build a complementary railway line. Like all of these groups, I would like to thank them for their contribution.