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March 5, 2020

The NBN has left WA behind

But there is no doubt that WA got the worst allocation of the multi-technology mess. The dud technology within the NBN is the copper based fibre-to-the-node and WA has received the largest share of all the states. Nearly 60 per cent of our line broadband is delivered with copper. In Queensland, it is 39 per […]

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March 2, 2020

Morrison Government has gutted TAFE, apprenticeships

Mr Wilson (6:50pm) — I’m glad to speak about the importance of vocational training in Australia and about TAFE in particular. I have to say that the motion itself seems at odds with what’s actually going on in Australia. It seeks to superimpose a cheery picture over what in reality is a fairly bleak set of […]

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March 2, 2020

Aurora Australis a sensible buy for national emergency response

Mr Wilson (4:30pm) — It should be a no-brainer for a government that has otherwise ignored the serious decline in Australian shipping to look closely at the opportunity to secure the ongoing service of the Aurora Australis. As an island that is extraordinarily dependent on shipping capacity, it would be derelict to give up a ship […]

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February 26, 2020

Time for action not more rubbish talk

Mr Wilson (7:29pm) — Next week there will be the National Plastics Summit here in Parliament House. It was announced by the government on 30 December and, perhaps not surprisingly, didn’t catch a lot of attention at that time of the year. Any structured conversation on the question of plastic waste is welcome, but there’s a […]

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February 25, 2020

Ocean warming signals climate change harm

Mr Wilson (6:50pm) — I want to take this opportunity to speak up for the oceans and for all the life that depends on the health of our marine environment. That means all the plants and animals in the sea from whales to gobies to giant kelp to phytoplankton, and of course it includes all of […]

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February 25, 2020

Closing the Gap key to national wellbeing

…from basic standards of social inclusion, health care, educational attainment, economic opportunity, cultural respect and freedom from discrimination. We can’t be at peace with ourselves, because, one way or the other, that is the case for too many Indigenous Australians. As others have noted, within the seven key areas of marked disadvantage only two of […]

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February 24, 2020

Australian aid saves lives

Mr Wilson (4:10pm) — I’m glad to speak in support of the amendment to the Official Development Assistance Multilateral Replenishment Obligations (Special Appropriation) Bill 2019 moved by the member for Shortland and shadow minister for international development. And I’m glad to follow some very fine contributions from the members for Perth, Jagajaga and Sydney. Like […]

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February 24, 2020

Family violence a blight on our society

Mr Wilson (1:39pm) — It’s terrible to think that, for all women in Australia and elsewhere, the threat of physical and sexual violence is never far away. The most awful events reach out and shock us—as occurred last week. The fact that men whose family relationships ought to be characterised by love and by care at […]

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February 12, 2020

Nuclear myth-making is a dangerous distraction

Mr Wilson (4:00pm) — I’m glad to make some comments on the tabling of this Environment and Energy Committee report, which covers the inquiry we were tasked with by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to look into the prerequisites for a nuclear power industry in Australia. I should be absolutely clear at the outset, […]

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February 11, 2020

Bushfires Australia’s first national climate change disaster

Mr Wilson (5:27pm) — I’m glad to join with colleagues across the parliament in reflecting on a terrible and unprecedented summer of bushfires. The summer will be remembered as Australia’s first national climate change disaster. It has occurred on a scale never seen before. It has exacted a brutal toll. It reinforces the fact that Australia […]

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