Parliamentary speeches

Bodhi Day, Multicultural Statement

December 08, 2020

For many Buddhists, today, 8 December, is Bodhi Day. Bodhi Day marks the day that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha. It's a special time when more than half a million Buddhist Australians reflect on the Buddha's universal teachings of peace, service and recognition of common humanity. These are values that we saw in practice this year during the pandemic, when Australians cared for each other and looked after the most vulnerable members of...

December 08, 2020

I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the Immigration (Education) Amendment (Expanding Access to English Tuition) Bill 2020 and to indicate the Labor Party's support for this bill. This bill would amend the Immigration Education Act 1971 in four ways: to remove the current 510-hour limit on an eligible person's entitlement to English tuition...

December 07, 2020

Over eight days Jewish Australians and Jews right around the world will gather to light the Hanukkah menorahs, display them proudly and come together to appreciate both ancient miracles and more recent ones. The celebration of Hanukkah is inspired by the story of the miracle of the lamp: how a ration of oil—enough for one day—burned for eight.

December 07, 2020

One of, if not the most discriminated people in the world: that's how UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the Rohingya people. The level of suffering and the level of abuse that's been experienced by the Rohingya has been well documented, but it bears repeating in this place.

December 03, 2020

I rise to remind the House of a shameful anniversary. On this day a year ago this parliament voted to repeal the medevac laws. On this side of the House and in the Australian community, we haven't forgotten and we won't forget. The medevac laws were modest, measured and working to do justice. The parliament in putting those laws through this place and the other place had done its job...

December 03, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest health challenge of our time. As I speak, more than 1.4 million have died from the virus and more than 63 million people have been infected. While we have great hope about the future, following the discovery of vaccines, we also understand that this battle does not end with the discovery of vaccines.