Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2023-2024 - Consideration in Detail

14/06/2023 Federation Chamber - BILLS - Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2023-2024 - Consideration in Detail

 I start, as I wrap up this part of the consideration in detail, by thanking the public servants who work tirelessly to put our budgets together.

These are genuine documents of teamwork, where thousands and thousands of people come together to find the policy solutions put forward to government and then to the parliament, where we get to both analyse and vote upon them.

On that measure, I want to thank the officials I've worked with closely in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Australian Public Service Commission, the National Australia Day Council, the Office of Impact Analysis and, indeed, those at Government House and the Honours Secretariat, all of whom, amongst many others, do terrific work serving this nation.

I would also like to note that I'm really proud that we have seen the women's budget statement put back, front and centre, in the budget process. It was hard to understand why that went away, but it is very welcome that it is back. I will quickly say: on the speeches we've heard today, I think my colleague the Minister for Indigenous Australians outlined the government's agenda so well when it comes to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

I want to commend the member for Robertson in not just sharing what some of the investments in Indigenous health mean but also explaining a little bit more about the physical and social impacts of diabetes, and I think he did that incredibly well.

The member for Lingiari showed her ongoing passionate advocacy for the reduction and addressing of FASD. And the member for Boothby did a terrific job of advocating and highlighting the terrific work of our Australian of the Year, Ms Taryn Brumfitt.

I will address that the member for Lindsay asked questions around a range of things in the women's portfolio space, and I'll simply say this: when we first came to government we appointed Senator Katy Gallagher as Minister for Women; when those opposite first came to government they appointed Tony Abbott. I need say no more.

When it comes to the contribution from the member for Wide Bay, nothing in his contribution dissuaded me one bit from this government's commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, but it did make me realise why we are seeing high-profile resignations from the Liberal Party. It's because of how the opposition has chosen, unnecessarily, to politicise an important debate around the Voice.

If I go to the member for North Sydney, I will happily pick up—because I have a few other things I need to say—some of the contributions you've made, but I commend your advocacy for those who don't always have a voice in this place, or don't always have a voice in public policy debates, particularly when it comes to the important goal, which we all share in this place, of ending violence against women.

This budget delivers on what the Australian people voted for: to end a wasted decade and to get moving again.

We are doing clear things like making child care cheaper; making medicines cheaper; increasing the minimum wage; making sure we fund a pay increase for aged-care workers; delivering fee-free TAFE places so more people can get the skills and the good, high-quality, secure jobs that they want; delivering 20,000 new university places, including 3,000 in Western Australia; making sure we deliver on our commitment for new energy apprenticeships, which I was pleased to announce alongside the Prime Minister at East Perth TAFE just a month or two ago; and making sure we do deliver on our commitments to support those tragically experiencing domestic violence, including the now legislated 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. We initiated the robodebt royal commission to make sure that we increase integrity standards in government, and we are advancing a Voice to Parliament.

I will go to the contribution of the member for Deakin, who asked about appointment processes.

To be asked about appointment processes by someone who served as a minister in the former government, which will be famous forever for one particular type of appointment process—the appointment process that those opposite presided over was the secret ministries scandal.

Let's not forget that this was something that happened for years throughout the former government. We saw the advice from the Solicitor-General and we have seen an inquiry held into this, both of which are damning.

We saw five departments with secret ministers, where the most senior public servants in those departments didn't even know they existed. The ministers didn't even know they existed—the minister for health, the Minister for Finance, the minister for industry, the Treasurer and the Minister for Home Affairs.

As Solicitor-General Dr Stephen Donaghue KC said, 'The principles of responsible government are fundamentally undermined by the actions of the former government.'