Mr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (17:02): on indulgence—I must say, coming fourth in the line after some very fine valedictories, I feel a bit like I’m the last speaker in the session after lunch and I’m stopping people from going to drinks! Seventeen years—you wouldn’t believe it would go so quickly, quite frankly. It’s more than a…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:33): Last Thursday, 14 November, was World Diabetes Day. This chamber will have heard many times that one of my honours in this place has been to be the co-chair of the parliamentary enemies of diabetes. Along with my good friend who’s not in the chamber at the moment, the member for…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (17:34): I rise to speak on the government’s Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024. George Orwell has had a bit of trot-out in this debate. I’m not surprised. He published Nineteen Eighty-Four 75 years ago, a novel about the control of people’s lives through surveillance, propaganda and thought control. The technologies…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (18:38): I also recognise what the member for Nicholls just put on the line there to share with Australia, and I thank him for it. Reforming the aged-care sector is necessary; it’s a fair call, and it is time for reform, with the Aged Care Bill 2024. We have co-operated with the…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:29): I rise to speak on the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024. It’s difficult to make any argument against better wages for childcare workers, and I certainly don’t intend to. This side of the House will be supporting these increases. But it is worth…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (10:12): Let me say from the outset that I strongly support the amendments put forward by the member for Fairfax at the beginning of this debate. It is no secret, of course, that I’m a supporter of nuclear energy. I think it is the right way forward for Australia. Not only do…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (19:08): I’ve been the member for Grey for 17 years—well, it will be 17 years in November. I have announced my retirement, so I won’t be coming back after the next election, whenever that might be. Mr Rob Mitchell interjecting— Mr RAMSEY: I appreciate your concern. Thank you, member for McEwen. I’ve worked…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:15): I have severe doubts about the last statement. I do defend the Labor Party in my electorate when people say to me, ‘Why do they hate us so much?’ I say, ‘I don’t think the Labor Party hates miners or farmers, but they think they can bear any amount of pain…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (18:31): I thank the member for Barker for bringing this motion forward. From the outset, I recognise Joan Hall in the chamber, as my colleagues have done. Welcome, Joan. I extend Teresa’s and my condolences to your family. As we’ve heard, Steele was born in Balaklava in 1928. He worked on the…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (09:36): Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award event in the Great Hall. There were 600 of us there, celebrating the best and finest of Australia’s young women entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. The award winner was Tanya Egerton. She’s from the Northern Territory and…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:17): We’ve just come out of the Olympics. Australia won 18 gold medals, 19 silver and 16 bronze—53 in total. It was an amazing performance and it filled Australians with great pride. It showed that our athletes and Australia are up with the best in the world in whatever they choose to…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:47): Like many, I have been transfixed by the Olympics in the last two weeks and the outstanding efforts of our Australian athletes. Naturally, we are particularly proud of those who come from our communities and, in Grey, we congratulate Leigh Hoffman, the son of proud Whyalla parents Kristen and Rene,…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (18:51): South Australia is the state that is both the least and the most reliant on natural gas to supply its electricity. That sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? But in South Australia last year our electricity grid was 71.5 per cent renewable. More than 4,000 megawatts of installed capacity in South…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:47): Today, on the front page of the Advertiser, we can read the story of young Holly Zerk, a seven-year-old from Balaklava, and her parents Lee-Anne and Travis. Last year, Holly was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer which affects the nervous system, which had already spread to her spine and lymph nodes. She’s…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:42): As many would know, I am the co-chair of the ‘parliamentary enemies of diabetes’. I’m joined by my co-chair, the member for Moreton. Today I’m here to inform the House that I’ve just put on a constant glucose monitor—about two hours ago. Thirty minutes ago my blood sugar content was 4.2…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:42): Earlier today people from the Keep the Sheep campaign were in Canberra and met with the coalition backbench. I congratulate the 15 or so Western Australians that have come here for the Senate debate on this very, very important subject. There is no doubt, and no doubt in their minds or…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (19:11): I open these comments by saying I support the amendments put forward by the opposition. I’ve become increasingly concerned that Australian environmental evangelists are intent on shutting down our economy. Australia has one of the world’s highest standards of living, and I think it behoves us to reflect on how we…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:02): In Australia we are told that renewables are the cheapest form of energy—the cheapest form of electricity at least. In South Australia—on the mainland; apart from Tassie Hydro—we lead the nation with 71.5 per cent of our electricity grid delivered from renewables last year. Second is Victoria, with 36.8 per cent.…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (18:31): I was in this chamber earlier today when the member for Paterson delivered the parliamentary committee majority finding. I was also here when the member for O’Connor tabled the dissenting report. I believe the member for Paterson; I found her a fine person. She’s a nice lady. I think she works…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:30): Last Wednesday, the former Northern Power Station site at Port Augusta in South Australia was announced as one of the coalition’s planned nuclear reactor sites. I met with the mayor of Port Augusta, Linley Shine, yesterday and went through some of those plans. I was very pleased with at least her…
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