Senate Speech – Future Migration Level
I rise to speak in relation to the Plebiscite (Future Migration Level) Bill 2018 and say at the outset that the coalition will be opposing this bill. The issue of immigration is extraordinarily complicated. Whilst I note that Senator Roberts said that the question to be put to the Australian people has been amended since […]
Senate Speech – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
What extraordinary contributions we have heard from the other side of the chamber defending these job cuts at CSIRO. They’re quite extraordinary. The last speaker for the Australian Labor Party referred to the fact that the Morrison government had given so many hundreds of millions of dollars of extra money to CSIRO that they’d actually […]
Senate Speech – Ipswich Waste Management, Tanzania, Kurdish Australians, Hazara Australians
On 7 November 2023, I rose in this place to call for a public health inquiry into the impact of odours from waste facilities on the people of Ipswich. My Senate office is based in the Greater Ipswich region, and Ipswich has a number of waste facilities that were generating odours that have been causing […]
Senate Speech – Goodna Special School, Kenyans in Queensland & Lankan Fest
I’d like to pay my deep respects and congratulations to the 2025 graduating class of Goodna Special School. It was my absolute honour to attend their graduation ceremony earlier this month. I’d like to congratulate all the members of the class, the staff, the P C and all of the families for this momentous occasion. […]
Senate Speech – Social Cohesion
First, I must say that I wasn’t aware that Senator Polley had managed to collect a stray hair from one of my combs and do a DNA test on me, but there you go. I want to thank Punjabi popstar Diljit Dosanjh for his AURA tour to Australia. It was a wonderful tour. I saw […]
Senate Speech – Sudan Motion
I would also like to acknowledge the importance of this motion in terms of our wonderful Sudanese Australian community. What is happening in Sudan is a human catastrophe. Millions and millions of people have been displaced. Famine is having a devastating effect across Sudan, and the images we saw coming out of Sudan last week […]
Senate Speech – Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union
The whole purpose of appointing an administrator to the CFMEU was to get the administrator to clean up the corruption at the CFMEU. That was the purpose, because that corruption in the CFMEU construction division is costing Australians millions and millions of dollars. In my home state of Queensland, the unlawful actions of the CFMEU […]
Senate Speech – Department of the Treasury
On the attendance, if I could, this is a continuation of a disturbing culture of secrecy we continue to see from the Albanese Labor government. Don’t just take my word for it. The Centre for Public Integrity released a report card on the Albanese Labor government’s failure to be appropriately transparent. The first point they […]
Senate Question Time – Questions from Scarr to Watt – Immigration Targets
Thank you, President. My question is the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration, Senator Watt. Net Overseas Migration for the year up to 31 March 2025 was 315,900, which is 46% higher than the 10-year average before the covid nineteen pandemic. That is 34% higher than the long-term assumption used by the Centre for Population […]
Senate Speech – Oakleigh Glendi & Economy
I was delighted on Sunday to attend the Oakleigh Glendi in Melbourne with the opposition leader the Hon. Sussan Ley MP and our wonderful Greek Australian community. Held over two days the festival attracted an extraordinary 40,000 attendees. I pay tribute to all of the organisers, sponsors and volunteers. I’d like to pay special tribute […]