The crisis in Afghanistan can only be described as heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking for the people of Afghanistan, for the families in Australian Afghan communities, for the women and girls now facing the prospect of a cruel regime and for Australia's friends, the Afghan staff who supported our military and our diplomatic operations for more than 20 years. There is great relief that the Australian Defence Force has been able to carry out some...
Read MoreThose opposite must be breathing a sigh of relief that they can blame everything on COVID—that they have no power over anything, that they can't predict it. Hello! We know that there are going to be different versions of COVID that hit us, not just this year but in years to come. There is ample capacity to plan—but not this mob. What they're going to do is blame everything on COVID. They're going to say, 'We don't have enough jobs. Oh, that's...
Read MoreI'm very grateful to have a few moments in the chamber to pay tribute to Senator Alex Gallacher on behalf of the electorate of Macquarie. There's a really strong link between Alex and my electorate, especially the Blue Mountains, which may seem odd for a South Australian. But it's due to his commitment to road safety. Alex was such a proud co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Road Safety, and when Peter Frazer, a Blue Mountains resident...
Read MoreMy question is to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that today the New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, confirmed that the gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine in Sydney will be spaced out to eight weeks? Mr Hazzard said: Simply, there is not enough Pfizer in New South Wales … or Victoria—for the people who are now wanting it … Why didn't the Prime Minister do his job on vaccines?
Read MoreWe needed a headspace before the fires, we needed it before the floods and we have needed it throughout this pandemic, but just hinting about something that this government—your own party—could deliver right now and should have delivered eight years ago doesn't cut it. I say to her and her Liberal masters: it's clear you're going to announce a headspace at some point. So announce it. Build it. Staff it. Open it.
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