Senate debates
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
- Ryder, Mr Arjen (1 speech)
It is with a degree of grief that I rise to honour the memory of Mr Arjen Ryder and his wife, Yvonne, who were so tragically taken when flight MH17 was shot out of the sky on 18 July. Arjen was a... - Youth Employment (3 speeches)
I rise in this place tonight because my home state of Tasmania is under attack from a government which is undertaking its legislative agenda on the run and with blatant disregard for the... - Building and Construction Industry (1 speech)
I rise to tonight in the adjournment to talk briefly about the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. It is quite clear to me that this is a political attack on the trade... - Budget (1 speech)
I rise in the adjournment debate to add my voice to the continued opposition to this government's cruel and unnecessary budget. It is a budget that stands in delusional denial of the reality of... - Davidson, Mr Francis Michael, OBE (1 speech)
I rise tonight to pay tribute to a remarkable and wonderful Australian, Francis Michael Davidson OBE of Little Yarran in Young. Michael, as he was better known, passed away on 7 August. He was a... - Indigenous Health (1 speech)
For several years now I have spoken in this chamber on the state of Indigenous eye health in this country. My motivation for doing so is simple—it is absolutely unacceptable that any... - Health (1 speech)
I rise today to talk about the battle that is going on around the future of Australia's health system. We are currently involved in a debate about whether our health system is affordable, whether... - Queensland: Agriculture (1 speech)
I rise tonight to talk about debt, in particular rural debt, and drought—the two D's, if you like. When you have debt plus drought, you often end up with desperation, so you end up with... - Asthma (1 speech)
Asthma is a serious problem in our society. This is particularly so in my home state of Tasmania, which has the highest rate of asthma sufferers per capita in Australia, with around 13 percent of... - Racial Discrimination Act (1 speech)
Tonight I am rising to thank the community for a job well done. Through resolute and strong community action, we have seen off a threat to fundamental decency in Australia and won the battle, at... - Federation Reform (1 speech)
I rise to speak on the coalition government's white paper on the reform of our Federation. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister and the government for providing all... - Forced Adoption (1 speech)
In our February 2012 Community Affairs References Committee report, Former forced adoption policies and practices, we made, as is our wont, 20 recommendations. Some of those are moving through... - Economy (1 speech)
Tonight Opera Australia performed in the Great Hall of Parliament House. Many may be surprised that I appreciate opera, but then again many are surprised about many things I say. Tonight's... - Tasmanian Forestry (1 speech)
I rise tonight to highlight the importance of what is currently being debated in the upper house of the Tasmanian parliament and of understanding what is under threat of being locked up in... - Mental Health (1 speech)
Tonight I would like to discuss an issue that is most serious, and has not been discussed enough. In fact, many would say that, through neglect or indifference, it has been swept under the... - Agriculture (1 speech)
I intend to continue a theme that has been present in many of my speeches since I came to this place in February—that is, matters that are of significant importance to people in agriculture... - Broadband (1 speech)
Another sitting of parliament and there are yet more politically motivated coalition reviews of the NBN that need to be repudiated. As the Senate is already aware, the coalition has, since the... - Middle East (1 speech)
The war against Palestine continues. Along with the deaths of more than 2,000 and the destruction of essential infrastructure, many aid funded projects of vital importance to the health and... - Veterans (1 speech)
Tonight is my first speech for the Australian Greens on the portfolio responsibility for veterans' affairs, which I have recently taken over from my party room colleague Penny Wright. I would...
