Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Sunday, on social media, I asked my electorate: what issues do you want me to raise in the last week of parliament for 2020? I was flooded with responses from my engaged and passionate community of Wills. The people want urgent action on climate change, by far the most frequently raised issue; manufacturing to return to Australia; a permanent increase to JobSeeker; increases in the age pension; public housing investment; a plan to tackle youth unemployment; fair and humane treatment of people seeking asylum; a federal independent commission against corruption; making big corporations pay their share of tax; protecting language training at universities; and funding for an aged-care system that puts older Australians first.

They want a plan to diversify our supply chains and export markets and a plan to deal with the effects of disinformation spread by bots on social media. They want the appalling cashless welfare card plan dropped and the independent assessments for the NDIS dropped. They want the family from Biloela returned home—not another Christmas in detention. They want more funding to prevent and treat alcohol and other drug use disorders and more funding to combat domestic violence. They want a migration program that brings in temporary migrant workers only when we have genuine skills shortages locally. And—I can't believe I have to say this in a global pandemic—my constituents want to see our medical and scientific research properly funded. They don't want to see our scientists and researchers losing their jobs before Christmas because of a lack of funding. Federal Labor continues to develop policies in these areas. They are the issues that I, and the people of Wills, are passionate about. I will continue to advocate for them on behalf of my constituents.