Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Friday, my community was deeply concerned to hear that the door had been reopened on the PEP-11 offshore oil and gas project. Stretching from Manly to Newcastle, the PEP-11 exploration zone covers more than 4,500 square kilometres of Australia's most treasured coastline. It is an area that is home to stunning marine environment, to iconic whale migrations and to a thriving coastal tourism industry. The consequences of exploration and extraction at PEP-11 are dire. It risks irreparable damage to our ocean environment, destroying biodiversity on our east coast and shredding our fledgling climate credentials.

The Prime Minister said in opposition:

… we will stop PEP-11 going ahead, full stop. Exclamation mark. No question. Not equivocal. No ifs, no buts.

He must live up to this commitment. I understand that due process is required, but Labor must not use this as an opportunity or excuse to prevaricate or, worse still, to U-turn.

PEP-11 is not a solution to this fossil fuel energy crisis. It would do irreparable damage to our beautiful coastline, and it will be vigorously opposed by the Wentworth community through groups like the Surfrider Foundation, who were so important in the campaign to stop it last time, and all those who love and care for our oceans. The government must make sure that PEP-11 is dead in the water.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday I met with John Gray and his wife Fay, who live in my electorate of Corangamite. I was able to tell John, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, that the Albanese government has listed Opicapone on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Opicapone is now much more affordable for John and for many others suffering with Parkinson's across Australia. Fay told me the listing was amazing. Affordable access to Opicapone will give John such a quality of life and now it is on PBS. It will deliver a saving of around $1,800 a year for John and for so many others. The Albanese government's cheaper medical policy, launched last month, means Opicapone will now cost just $30 per prescription or $7.30 with a concession card.

Last week I also visited Cottage Pharmacy in Grovedale with the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney, to meet with pharmacists and families. We explained that our government's cheaper medicines policy means savings are $150 per year for one monthly script, or between $300 and $450 for two-to-three monthly scripts. Since last July, extra funding has also been approved for 65 new and amended medicines listed on the PBS. That means many people will no longer have to choose between putting food on the table and their medicines. That's life saving for many Australians