Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network

December 02, 2021

I rise to express my deep dismay that it's end of the year and the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network has failed to table its report which was due months ago. The committee chair, the member for Barker, has been asked repeatedly by me, as deputy chair, about scheduling a meeting by email, text or in person but has let this final fortnight go without a meeting. In fact, the last meeting of the full committee was on 17 Ma...

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Stepping up when Morrison steps away

December 02, 2021

As we come to the end of this year it is a time for reflection for many of us. It's been a big year, and Australians have been extraordinary in their willingness to do what they are asked to do, time and time again. This is two years of them stepping up.

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Investment Funds Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 Second Reading

December 01, 2021

I'd like to speak to the amendment relating to schedule 4, the Emergency Response Fund. I have had years of experiencing disasters. Having lived in the Blue Mountains for more than 30 years, I've experienced the fires, including the bushfire that took my own home in 2013. But let's go six years forward from my experience in 2013 to the Gospers Mountain fire in 2019. It was a longer fire. It destroyed more habitat, although fewer homes were los...

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FTTN is an absolute disaster

November 30, 2021

Well, I'd like to see some of the coalition government come and talk to businesses in the Blue Mountains, because what they'll tell you is that fibre to the node has been an absolute disaster for their businesses. Let me tell you the story of Ron. When it rains, his fibre-to-the-node connection stops. There's nothing. And what his customers get is a message telling them that his number doesn't exist. So, there's Ron, running a sound and light...

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Cystic fibrosis and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

November 30, 2021

Throughout the electorate of Macquarie, which I represent, there are families facing the challenges of cystic fibrosis. They've joined with more than 35,000 people to urge for a speeding-up of negotiations with the maker of a drug called Trikafta so that it can be available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Trikafta was approved in April by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, but it's not on the PBS.

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The Hawkesbury's Agricultural Roots

November 30, 2021

The Hawkesbury is justifiably proud of its agricultural roots. The first colonial settlers planted crops along the river in 1794, saving the infant colony from starvation—and, of course, First Peoples recognised the bounty of the region long before. Hawkesbury Agricultural College, established in 1891 in Richmond, has been a key part of that agricultural history. The Hawkesbury campus of Western Sydney University has a big role now and going f...

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