Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 and an amendment to the explanatory memorandum relating to the High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022 and I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation A mendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022

The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 marks a significant step in fulfilling the Government's election commitment to implement the recommendations of the Respect@Work Report.

The Respect@Work Report was a watershed moment in recognising the impact of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces and setting out a clear path to reform. The National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces found that 33% of people who had been in the workforce in the preceding 5 years had experienced workplace sexual harassment. The National Inquiry found that almost two in five women said they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years. Gender inequality is a key driver of sexual harassment in the workplace, which is borne out by the disproportionate impact this behaviour has on women.

The Government acknowledges the work of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and the work of the Commission more generally in producing the Respect@Work Report and also the work that Commissioner Jenkins and the Commission have done since the report was published to implement the report's recommendations, including through the Respect@Work Council.

This Bill would not have happened without the individuals and organisations who contributed their stories, advocacy and expertise to inform the findings and recommendations in the Respect@Work Report.

The Respect@Work Report made 55 recommendations to federal, state and territory governments, independent government agencies, the private sector and the community more broadly, all driven by the same impetus: to put an end to sexual harassment and make Australian workplaces safe for all.

The Government is moving decisively to implement the outstanding legislative recommendations of the Respect@Work Report, as these changes will have an immediate impact in setting cultural norms around preventative efforts and are essential to eliminating workplace sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation.

Hostile Work Environment (Schedule 1)

Schedule 1 to the Bill introduces an express prohibition in the Sex Discrimination Act to protect people from hostile workplace environments on the ground of sex. This protection will not require that conduct is directed at a specific person, but instead prohibits conduct that results in an offensive, intimidating and humiliating environment for people of one sex.

As noted in the Respect@Work Report, sexually charged or hostile workplace environments can increase the risk of a person experiencing other forms of unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment. This new provision will provide clarity to employers, employees and other people in the workplace of their obligations to create safe and respectful workplace environments. This will implement recommendation 16(c) of the Respect@Work Report.

Positive Duty (Schedule 2)

Schedule 2 to the Bill creates a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment, as far as possible. This will implement recommendation 17 of the Respect@Work Report.

The Australian Human Rights Commission will also be equipped with appropriate compliance powers to enforce the positive duty. The Commission will prepare and publish guidelines for compliance with the positive duty and will educate businesses and employers to better understand and comply with their obligations. This will implement recommendation 18 of the Respect@Work Report.

This cornerstone of the Respect@Work Report recommendations is a key step to focusing actions on the prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination, looking beyond remedies to misconduct. The focus on prevention of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination also shifts responsibility from those who experience that discrimination and harassment to those who are best placed to prevent it: employers.

The positive duty will complement the existing work health and safety framework, which also requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the physical and psychological health and safety of workers.

The Bill will enable the Commission to monitor and assess compliance, working with businesses along the way to support their compliance. The Commission's functions will include:

Inquiries into Systemic Unlawful Discrimination (Schedule 3)

Schedule 3 to the Bill will provide the Australian Human Rights Commission with a function to inquire into systemic unlawful discrimination. This will implement recommendation 19 of the Respect@Work Report.

The Respect@Work Report found that there are significant cultural and systemic factors that drive sexual harassment in the workplace and that addressing these drivers can be challenging.

This function will enable the Commission to inquire into any matter that may relate to systemic unlawful discrimination or suspected systemic unlawful discrimination. Systemic unlawful discrimination is unlawful discrimination that affects a group of people and is continuous, repetitive or forms a pattern. The Commission can undertake an inquiry where requested by the Minister, or when the Commission considers it would be desirable. At the conclusion of an inquiry, the Commission may publish a report and provide it to the Minister, which may include recommendations.

Representative Actions (Schedule 4)

Schedule 4 to the Bill will enable representative actions to proceed from conciliation at the Commission to make an application to the courts, and will implement recommendation 23 of the Respect@Work Report.

Currently a representative body is able to make a representative complaint to the Commission on behalf of one or more persons, however, where a complaint is not resolved, the representative body is not able to initiate court proceedings.

This Bill will enable a representative body to progress a complaint on behalf of one or more affected persons from conciliation at the Commission to application to the court. This will improve support for people who experience harassment and discrimination to navigate the legal system and resolve their complaints. It will also better enable issues of systemic discrimination, affecting a broad range of people, to be addressed.

Costs Protections (Schedule 5)

Schedule 5 to the Bill will insert a costs protection provision into the Australian Human Rights Commission Act to provide greater certainty in relation to the cost of pursuing legal action. This will implement recommendation 25 of the Respect@Work Report.

The Respect@Work Report heard that concerns about adverse costs orders deter applicants from seeking to resolve complaints through the courts. Costs reforms will give both applicants and respondents greater certainty in terms of the costs they may face, while not impacting their access to legal representation.

The cost reform in this Bill is the model supported by the Australian Human Rights Commission in their 2021 Free and Equal Position Paper and these reforms will apply to all applications under Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The approach balances the need for certainty and the clear impact costs can have on applicants taking action in the courts, against the unintended consequences of cost reform, such as impacting access to legal representation.

Public Sector Reportin g to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (Schedule 6)

Schedule 6 to the Bill will amend the Workplace Gender Equality Act to require the Commonwealth public sector to report against 6 gender equality indicators to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The Respect@Work Report found that improved data collection is important to ensure that there is a robust understanding of gender inequality in Australian workplaces. This will implement recommendation 43 of the Respect@Work Report for the Commonwealth public sector.

Victimisation (Schedule 7)

Schedule 7 to the Bill will clarify that victimisation can be the basis for a civil action of unlawful discrimination under Commonwealth anti-discrimination law, being the Age Discrimination Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Racial Discrimination Act.

The Respect at Work Act 2021 included an amendment to clarify that victimisation can be the basis of a civil—and not just a criminal—action of unlawful discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act. It had always been the intention that the provisions in relation to victimisation in the Sex Discrimination Act—and the equivalent provisions in other Commonwealth anti-discrimination Acts—could form the basis of either a civil or criminal cause of action, but the clarifying amendment in the Respect at Work Act 2021 was made necessary by a number of court decisions which gave rise to uncertainty around whether the relevant provisions achieved their intent.

The amendments in Schedule 7 would address the same potential issue in other Commonwealth anti-discrimination Acts by ensuring that the victimisation provisions in those Acts reflect what has always been the intention—which is that acts of victimisation can form the basis of both civil and criminal causes of action.

Objects clause and termination timeframe alignment (Schedule 8)

Schedule 8 to the Bill will amend the objects clause of the Sex Discrimination Act to state that an object of the Act is to achieve substantive equality between men and women. This will implement recommendation 16(a) of the Respect@Work Report.

The Bill will also insert a new objects clause to support the operation of the new hostile work environment protection. The addition to the objects clause will state that an object of the Act is to eliminate, so far as is possible, discrimination involving workplace environments that are hostile on the ground of sex.

This Schedule will also change the timeframe for when a complaint under anti-discrimination law may be terminated by the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 6 months to 24 months.

The Respect at Work Act 2021 amended the timeframe for complaints made under the Sex Discrimination Act, but not for any other anti-discrimination law. This has led to procedural challenges and complexity for people who are entitled to make a claim under more than one Commonwealth anti-discrimination Act.

The President retains a discretion to consider complaints beyond the statutory timeframe, but this change will give greater certainty to complainants that intersectional aspects of an anti-discrimination complaint can be considered without procedural obstacles.

Conclusion

Sexual harassment is a serious and pervasive issue that affects all industries and all professions and demands a fundamental re-think in how our laws are shaped to prevent and respond more effectively. The Respect@Work Report represents a paradigm shift in how public policy and the legislative framework support people who experience sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. This Bill takes those steps as set out in the Respect@Work Report, makes that paradigm shift, and signals to all workers that they deserve to be safe at work.

Sexual harassment is by no means inevitable. It is preventable. And this Government will continue to work to ensure it is addressed.

I am both pleased and proud that the Government is taking this next crucial step in fully implementing the Respect@Work Report.

The Attorney-General's Department consulted with a number of key stakeholders in relation to the measures contained in this Bill, including members of the Respect@Work Council. I would like to thank the unions, business groups and other individuals and organisations that provided constructive feedback to the Attorney-General's Department as part of that process.

I expect the Bill will be referred to a Senate Committee for an inquiry. Given the range of views about how best to implement the recommendations of the Respect@Work Report, I have no doubt that the Committee will receive a number of thoughtful and constructive suggestions for refinements and improvements to the Bill. The Government looks forward to engaging, through the Attorney-General's Department, with that important parliamentary process.

Atomic Energy Amendment ( Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022

It is a longstanding legislative requirement that the Ranger mine must be restored to a condition similar to surrounding Kakadu National Park. For such an environmentally, culturally and historically important region, only the highest standard of rehabilitation will do.

Today, I introduce the Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill. This Bill is the first step towards ensuring the unique Environmental Requirements prescribed at Ranger remain legal obligations until Ranger's rehabilitation is complete.

When Ranger was established 40 years ago, it was envisaged rehabilitation would take five years and be completed by January 2026 when current regulatory arrangements lapse. However, based on the best environmental science of today, it is apparent Ranger's rehabilitation will take longer.

Accordingly, the Government is acting to extend Ranger's regulatory framework until the job is complete. The Bill enacts a number of measures for securing Ranger's full rehabilitation and eventual closure.

Firstly, theBill allows the mine's operator, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), to transition to a new Authority that permits its rehabilitation to be continued at Ranger beyond January 2026. This in no way reflects ERA's performance at Ranger. ERA has long been progressively rehabilitating Ranger, and it is well-advanced with the task—for instance, one of the mined-out pits is now fully backfilled, with Mirarr Traditional Owners participating in the first revegetation planting.

The reason for allowing a new Authority is simply because more time is needed to complete rehabilitation. ERA acknowledges this. Mirarr Traditional Owners acknowledge this. Environment groups acknowledge this. But the current Atomic Energy Act simply does not allow the Government to extend ERA's authority.

The Bill will also enable progressive closing out of the site. This means that discrete parcels of land at Ranger—some of which are relatively undisturbed—can transition back to underlying Aboriginal land tenure when ERA is deemed to have rehabilitated those areas. The Northern Land Council have asked that Ranger be progressively closed out so that Ranger's Mirarr Traditional Owners can get on Country as soon as it is safe to do so.

Recognising that the Ranger mine was established under controversial circumstances, it is equally important Parliament is clear about what this Bill does not do.

Many people today who were not around in the 1970s will not remember the history of the Ranger Uranium Mine. To say that Ranger was opposed by the Mirarr Traditional Owners is an understatement. Ranger became a flashpoint in the struggle of land rights, attracting national media attention and protests.

And many people today may not appreciate that Ranger's history is also intrinsically linked to the Kakadu National Park which, like Ranger, was established without the agreement of Traditional Owners.

Fast forward almost half a century later to March this year; In Opposition we supported the long-awaited return of the remaining half of Kakadu National Park back to 13 clan groups. This was a milestone in the unfinished business of Aboriginal culture and history in Australia.

Now, in Government, we are putting forward amendments through this Bill that take that next step toward the eventual return of Ranger to its Aboriginal Traditional Owners. This too will form part of the story of this country's unfinished business.

In concluding, I wish to thank ERA, the Northern Land Council and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporating representing the Mirarr people for their close engagement on this Bill. Ranger's rehabilitation is a priority for all parties and we all look forward to seeing Ranger being a world-class example of mine rehabilitation.

I commend this Bill to the Chamber.

Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Special Operations and Special Investigations) Bill 2022

Transnational serious and organised crime is destructive, pervasive and complex. In 2020-21 serious and organised crime was estimated to cost Australia up to $60.1 billion. As Australia's national criminal intelligence agency, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (the ACIC) is central to our national response to transnational serious and organised crime. The ACIC uses its collection and assessment capabilities to generate intelligence to drive disruptions, seizures and arrests by law enforcement, intelligence and international partners.

The Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Special Operations and Special Investigations) Bill 2022 amends the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 to provide greater certainty with respect to the ACIC Board's powers to authorise special operations and special investigations.

The Bill does not expand or otherwise alter the powers available to the ACIC when undertaking ACIC special operations or special investigations.

Under the Act, the ACIC may only use its coercive powers where the ACIC Board makes a determination for a special operation or special investigation. The Board may only exercise the power to authorise special operations or special investigations when it considers that it is in the public interest to do so.

However, the existing provisions in the Act include key definitions which cross-refer to other definitions that are central to the process for making determinations. This layering of definitions adds unnecessary complexity to the process in making determinations.

The proposed amendments address this issue by repealing the current definition of federally relevant criminal activity in subsection 4(1) and replacing it with a new definition of federally relevant crime. The current definition of relevant crime in subsection 4(1) is also amended. These changes reduce the multi-layered definitions that currently exist which add unnecessary complexity.

The Bill also makes minor consequential amendments to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

The measures in this Bill provide that the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission can continue to exercise its powers with greater legal clarity when conducting activities to combat transnational and serious organised crime in Australia.

Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Amendment Bill 2022

I am pleased to present the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Amendment Bill 2022.

The Bill fulfils the Albanese Labor Government's election commitment to boost home ownership for Defence members and veterans by expanding the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme eligibility criteria.

The Scheme was established in 2008 by the Rudd Labor Government, and continues to be an important retention offering by the Australian Defence Force. The Scheme also has an important secondary benefit of improving home ownership levels for Defence Force members, veterans and their families.

The Bill advances these objectives and is cognisant of the fact that housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Australia.

Further to this, the Bill responds to the struggles experienced by the veteran community and the role that housing can play in their greater wellbeing. The Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing found that safe, secure and affordable housing is fundamental to veteran wellbeing. While maintaining the retention focus, the Bill makes four broad policy amendments to the Scheme which look to further home ownership levels amongst serving Defence members and veterans.

Firstly, the Bill expands access to the Scheme by providing Defence members with access to the benefits earlier in their careers. This amendment reduces by half, the period of effective service that a Defence member must complete before accessing the Scheme. What this means for members of the Permanent Defence Force is that their qualifying service period will be two years; for members of Defence Reserves, four years; and for a foreign service member, two years.

To accommodate the halving of the qualifying service period, the Bill similarly amends the requisite period of effective service to access each subsidy tier. There are three subsidy tiers, which are 40, 60 and 80 per cent of the average house price. Based on the years of effective service, the tiers determine the subsidy amount received by participants of the Scheme.

The Bill provides members of the Permanent Forces and the Reserves, as well as members who have separated from the Defence Force because of a compensable condition, with access to each subsidy tier between two and four years earlier than currently provided by the Act. The amendment will provide members of the Permanent Forces access to tier one where they have less than four years of effective service; tier two where they have between four and eight years of effective service, and tier three where they have between eight and 12 years of effective service.

Secondly, the Bill allows veterans to apply for their final subsidy certificate any time after they have separated from the Defence Force. Currently, veterans must apply to access the Scheme within five years of separating from the Defence Force. Removing this limitation will ensure veterans can access the Scheme at a time that suits them without feeling pressured to do so within a five-year period.

The Albanese Labor Government acknowledges that the nature of military life is unique and families can be deeply affected by military service. This can include the frequency of postings throughout Australia which has an impact on home ownership. Accordingly, this amendment has been extended to surviving partners who have similarly been impacted by the nature of service within the Australian Defence Force.

Thirdly, the Bill creates a power to continue paying a subsidy amount where a genuine error, mistake or accident caused all outstanding amounts due under the subsidised loan to be paid. This amendment is in response to observations by Defence that the current legislation provides little reprieve where a loan is paid down due to a genuine error, mistake or accident, and as a result the subsidised borrower stops receiving their monthly subsidy.

It is intended that this power will address scenarios including, but not limited to, where a subsidised borrower mistakenly transfers money into their loan account which results in it being paid off, or where a third party mistakenly transfers money to a subsidised borrower's loan account when it was not for the purpose of paying the loan down.

Finally, the Bill provides a power to make and recover relevant payments, including overpayments, which may occur in the administration of the Scheme. This technical amendment assists the Scheme's administrators in efficiently processing subsidy payments. For transparency and good governance, the Bill also requires the Secretary to report any such payment every financial year.

The Bill assists in positioning the Australian Defence Force as an employer of choice, assisting serving members and veterans to own a home, and ensuring the Scheme can be administered as efficiently and beneficially as possible.

The Bill is scheduled to commence on 1 January 2023. From this date, new applicants will be able to apply for a subsidy certificate under the proposed amendments. The Bill will also allow applicants who are veterans to re-apply where they were previously refused a subsidy certificate because they had not completed their qualifying service period or made their application outside of the five-year post-separation limit.

For existing members of the Scheme, their monthly payments may increase as they move up the subsidy tiers, and additional subsidy credits applied to their subsidised loan.

In recognition of the Scheme's original intent, I emphasise that the Bill reinforces and furthers the Government's commitment to retention in the Australian Defence Force, home ownership for members and veterans, as well as veteran wellbeing.

I commend the Bill.

Education Legislation Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022

I'm pleased to introduce the Education Legislation Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022.

This Bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to improve equality of access to higher education and support this Government's commitment to building a highly skilled workforce.

The Bill delivers on an election commitment to remove the ten per cent HECS-HELP discount for students who pay upfront their student contribution amounts for Commonwealth supported places.

This was a measure we took to the election on the principle that all students should pay the same amount for the same course, regardless of their ability to pay up-front.

The measure will take effect on 1 January 2023 and is projected to save $144 million over the forward estimates.

Those savings will help fund the 20,000 new university places recently announced by this Government.

Those places are allocated to support students who are under-represented in our universities.

Students from poorer backgrounds.

Students from the bush.

Indigenous Australian students.

Students who are the first in their family to cross the threshold of one of our universities.

The Bill will also extend the FEE-HELP loan fee exemption for a further twelve months.

This exemption originally commenced on 1 April 2020 as a COVID-19 financial relief measure, and will now continue through to 31 December 2022.

The measure will help around 30,000 full-fee paying undergraduate students accessing FEE-HELP to study in 2022. It will also support the higher education providers at which these students are enrolled.

The Bill also extends FEE-HELP to eligible students who participate in the Government's microcredential pilot.

The microcredential pilot encourages universities to develop and deliver industry targeted, flexible short courses as part of building a highly skilled workforce.

The Bill makes other amendments to the Higher Education Support Act to clarify and improve its operation.

It clarifies arrangements around enabling courses.

Enabling courses help prepare students for higher education study like a bachelor's degree.

The measures in the Bill clarify that these courses won't count toward a student's lifetime limit of Commonwealth support.

The Bill also improves consistency by aligning the HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP citizenship and residency requirements for New Zealand citizens with the existing requirements for those students accessing a Commonwealth supported place.

The measure will require that these students be resident in Australia for the duration of their unit of study to be eligible for HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.

The Bill strengthens administration and accountability by requiring that students seeking Commonwealth funding provide their Unique Student Identifier to their institution and the Commonwealth.

It also makes other minor technical amendments to the Higher Education Support Act and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act to improve their operation.

The measures in this Bill support the Government's commitment to equal access to higher education and building the skills of Australia's workforce.

I commend this Bill to the Chamber.

High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022

I rise to introduce this Bill to establish a High Speed Rail Authority as an independent body to advise on, plan and develop the high speed rail system in Australia. There has been little action to progress high speed rail in Australia until now.

This Government is committed to establishing this authority to oversee the construction and operation of a high speed rail network along Australia's eastern seaboard. The High Speed Rail Authority will reinvigorate work on this very important nation-building project, and Australians will no longer miss out.

The benefits identified in the former Labor government's comprehensive two-stage rail study were significant, not just in substantially reducing travel times; but also unlocking regional economies, providing significant employment opportunities, and supplying a remarkable economic boost in the medium and long term. The study found that, for every dollar of costs, there would be a return of $2.30 in benefits to society.

The evidence has shown that without high speed rail, Australia is missing out on significant opportunities, which is why the Authority will be established. The Authority will provide expert independent advice and work with the Victorian, New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland governments, local government and the private sector to drive this change.

A high speed rail network will revolutionise interstate travel in Australia, significantly reducing travel time to move between capital cities compared to other modes of travel. Imagine a high speed train connecting capital cities from Melbourne, to Canberra, to Sydney, to Brisbane, all across our regional centres, through our semi-urban populations, straight to our international hubs with trips taking as little as three hours.

We will no longer be behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to land infrastructure and technology. Japan introduced its first bullet train in 1964, France in 1981, and China introduced in 2003. These countries have since grown their high speed networks, increased their top train speeds, and now celebrate annual patronage in the hundreds of millions on their high speed rail networks. Let's get on board and give the Australian public a modern, efficient, and high speed rail network.

A well-patronised high speed rail service will assist us to meet our net-zero commitment by providing lower ongoing energy and greenhouse emissions than interstate travel by air, and has an added benefit of reducing road traffic. Settlement patterns across Australia's east coast will be transformed, alleviating pressure on outer suburban areas and growth corridors in major cities.

The construction of high speed rail will secure significant jobs for the economy, impacting all Australians. Through Labor's National Rail Manufacturing Plan, the Australian Government will ensure that more trains are built in Australia by local manufacturing workers and that every dollar of federal funding spent on rail projects will go towards creating local jobs and providing a sustainable industry.

This Bill will ensure that high speed rail is progressed in Australia, with the immediate priority of updated analysis and commencing work on an initial connection between Sydney and Newcastle. Once established we will begin work on planning and overseeing the construction of a reliable, safe, efficient and cost-effective high speed rail network.

As a statutory agency, the Authority will provide independent and impartial advice on the policy and standards, develop business cases and secure corridors. Specific measures will be taken to prevent and reduce the environmental impact on surrounding land and the Authority will coordinate and consult with state and territory governments, industry, businesses and communities to enhance Australia's long term-trail investment.

Faster rail will continue under the Authority. Whilst the National Faster Rail Agency will be ceased, its functions will be absorbed into the Authority and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts to retain the existing capability and expertise and ensure that both faster rail and high speed rail are delivered.

High speed rail and faster rail will help all Australians to secure jobs, build a better future for our regions, and reinvigorate manufacturing in Australia.

We know there is a strong interest internationally and from the private sector with experience in high speed rail. The Authority will work with consortiums collaboratively and with transparency to investigate alternative funding and financing opportunities including value uplift. The Authority will also commence work to secure corridors now and not waste any opportunities.

We have already committed $500 million to commence early works and secure corridors for the rail connection between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle. The Government will continue negotiations with the NSW Government on the allocation and other investment options will be identified between the Australian Government and NSW further down the line.

As a Government, it is expected that we serve the Australian community and improve the lives of the Australian people. Establishing the High Speed Rail Authority and investing in high speed rail will improve the lives of all Australians and transform our beautiful country. The time is now and we need to stop procrastinating and start taking action. This is a long term project with significant benefits and it is not just about a political cycle but rather a focus on Australia's future. A high speed rail network along the east coast of Australia will truly be a transformational project that has the ability to touch the lives of all Australians. It is a project that has the support of the regions and cities, and of businesses and industries. Now is the time to complete transformational infrastructure projects that not only sets Australia up for the future but also provide jobs and opportunities immediately.

High speed rail will be an economic game changer for the country and will improve growth, access and sustainability. It will provide countless social benefits long into the future and create broad economic benefits for our regional centres.

The Bill I am introducing to you will allow all of these things to finally happen in this Parliament. We must not delay the Australian public any longer. Let us give our fellow Australians the bipartisan support to pass this Bill into legislation. The time is now to invest in our country's future.

Veterans ' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2022

President

The Australian community has a clear expectation that defence personnel, veterans and their families are well looked after. This is an important task and responsibility of government—a solemn commitment.

I am pleased to be introducing this legislation today, as it demonstrates the Albanese Labor Government's commitment to addressing the adequacy of support to Totally and Permanently Incapacitated veterans—oft referred to as TPI veterans and their families, providing them greater financial support to ultimately deliver a better future for veterans and families.

Before the 2019 election, the then Prime Minister raised expectations he would increase the TPI Payment by committing to a review of the pension, even telling the TPI Federation they had a "compelling case", however after the election, funnily enough, no increase was recommended by that review.

Typical of the all announcement no delivery games of the previous Government, Labor Senators decided they couldn't rely on anyone else to get the job done—they rolled up their sleeves and initiated their own inquiry.

This Bill responds to that recommendation of that Labor initiated inquiry—the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into the Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) Payment (Special Rate of Disability Pension) for Government to consider an increase to the TPI payment.

The Committee's report on the Inquiry was tabled in Parliament on 1 July 2021, recommending an increase to the TPI payment. The Committee did not provide advice on the quantum or amount of the increase, but suggested it should be "modest".

However, the Government of the day ignored the bipartisan recommendation, which was another slap in the face for our Veteran community.

This Bill implements the Albanese Labor Government's 2022 pre-election commitment to provide an increase to the TPI payment from 1 January 2023.

It is disappointing that it's taken a new Government to implement this necessary change, rather than action that could have been taken more than a year ago… but here we are.

This initiative implements the Senate Inquiry's recommendation, providing an increase of $1,000 to the annual rate (or $38.46 per fortnight) of TPI payment to ensure veterans and their families are better supported financially, helping keep up with cost of living pressures.

The increase to the TPI payment means it will be comparable with the national Minimum Wage and greater than the after tax national Minimum Wage a wage earner would receive.

This initiative recognises the importance of supporting veterans who have been severely impacted by their experiences in the Australian Defence Force.

The Bill will achieve this by amending the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to increase the rate of pension payable to TPI veterans.

This Government is committed to implementing practical support measures to better support defence personnel, veterans and their families.

We want our service personnel, veterans, and veteran families to know that Australia is proud of them and that our country will always be there for them.

That they get the support they not only need, but deserve.

I commend the Bill.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.