Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As senators and members, we're all elected here to represent and fight for our communities. When I say 'fight for', I don't mean 'fight against'. But, unfortunately, last week the member for Leichhardt, Mr Warren Entsch, made some very serious and substantiated claims about leaders in his very own community. My Queensland colleague Cynthia Lui MP and I are very concerned about these disturbing developments in the context of two things I want to talk to the Senate about tonight: Mr Entsch's own questionable conduct and his failure to deliver to the community he represents. Let me go to that conduct, and I want to preface this by saying that these matters are all on the public record. It's just a matter of whether you think this behaviour is appropriate or not.

On 16 June 2023 it was reported:

Veteran Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch organised for a billionaire Liberal National Party donor to jump the queue and fly to the Torres Strait to have a Pfizer Covid jab …

…   …   …

An investigation by The Weekend Australian has confirmed Mr Entsch called Torres Strait health authorities in July 2021 to arrange for Cairns-based Mr Sekler to get the Pfizer Covid vaccination on Thursday Island, where it was being rolled out to protect the residents of the vulnerable region.

Queensland Health has now referred this matter to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission. This is what I'm talking about in terms of conduct.

On 19 June, the Australian also reported that in 2019 a company called YLE Enterprises, trading as Empowering Women, Empowering Communities, which is wholly owned and directed by the LNP candidate for Cairns, Mrs Entsch, received a $200,000 grant from the Morrison government's Indigenous languages and arts program to teach pottery in the remote Queensland Aboriginal community of Doomadgee. This grant in and of itself is concerning. But what is also concerning is that reports soon followed that, in 2020, Mr Entsch gave that very same company a $1,000 taxpayer funded grant from the NAIDOC Week grants that he was able to distribute in his electorate. The member for Leichhardt announced $16,000 worth of grants in a press release saying the cash had been provided to help celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence. And, as we know, further reporting on 23 June confirmed one of Mr Entsch's taxpayer funded staffers who did his personal bookwork from his home office was also at the time working as an executive officer for YLE Enterprises, trading as Empowering Women, Empowering Communities.

This is all too reminiscent of past conduct of the same member. I couldn't help but remember a Cairns Post article from 22 March 2018 in which it was reported that Mr Entsch appointed his election campaign manager to head the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages committee panel to identify key priorities of a $20 million federal grant to stimulate jobs, growth and investment in the region, but, funnily enough, wouldn't you know it, the committee awarded a $2 million grant of funds to a pharmacy distribution facility where the same election campaign manager's partner was listed as a director.

This conduct is incredibly disturbing. It shows a concerning pattern of behaviour. On top of this questionable conduct, what is also concerning is the member for Leichhardt's record in this parliament. Mr Entsch voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund, a bill that would build more social and affordable housing, including making urgent repairs on rural and remote Indigenous housing—something that was promised by his government but never delivered. He has voted against energy bill relief, and there are 4,000 people in Cairns who received a robodebt letter who have never received an apology from Mr Entsch. And, as former Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, Mr Entsch voted against climate change legislation, even though thousands of people in Far North Queensland rely on the Great Barrier Reef.

As I said at the beginning of this contribution, I take this very seriously and I take very seriously someone in a position of power making a very serious and unsubstantiated claim against members of their own community while at the same time displaying such questionable and repeated terrible conduct. Perhaps if Mr Entsch had to spend less time defending his own conduct he would be able to make more time to listen to his community and deliver for them.