As we all know, it has been a summer of natural disasters for Australia, a summer of floods, fires and storms. I am sure the thoughts of all Australians who were not affected by these disasters go out to the families of those who have lost their lives, their livelihoods and their homes through the d...

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I second the motion. I congratulate the member for Shortland for bringing this motion to the House. I know her passion for the seniors in our society is strong. It is great that we share a role in the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, as we do with the member for Hind...

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I rise to support this motion by the member for Fowler, as I firmly believe in the importance of public libraries for communities across Australia. Again, I do not know about the Liverpool situation, but it is good to see that our members in New South Wales are supporting public libraries. My older ...

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I rise to speak about the continued tax levied by the Gillard government on the state of Western Australia, its economy, its lifestyle and its people. There are many ways that WA is being attacked, whether it be through anti-small-business Fair Work legislation which strikes at the very heart of our...

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Today I want to talk about Mr Tony Manuli, a gentleman from my electorate. I promised him that I would get this on the record. But first, to set the scene: I am sure we all know who the Englishman named Thomas Crapper is and what he is supposed to be famous for. Well, he did not really invent the fl...

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As you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker, there have been many high-profile problems with the government’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. There has been confusion surrounding some programs such as the solar panel rebate scheme, which was unexpectedly cut off by the former environme...

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Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker Bird. I rise to give my address-in-reply. I would first like to congratulate you on your selection to the Speakers Panel. If I had been in the main chamber I would have been congratulating the Speaker on his re-election to the panel. For the people of Swan I would lik...

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Mr Speaker, on indulgence: I would like to associate the coalition with the comments made by the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and congratulate her and, particularly, her staff for the work they did in organising the apology last year. I also acknowledge t...

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I rise to support the motion from the member for Canberra and further to the member for Fremantle for giving a Western Australian perspective on this. I would also like to thank the member for Canberra for bringing this matter to the attention of the House. It was good of the member for Fremantle to...

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I acknowledge the contribution made by the member for Makin and also those made by other speakers on this subject. I rise to speak on Australia’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan. For me, this is an excellent opportunity not only to reflect on and review Australia’s role in the war but also to ...

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