Mr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (13:44): Today I want to talk about Charles Jackson OAM from Port Augusta. Charlie Jackson is the South Australian Senior Australian of the Year and an Adnyamathanha man. The Adnyamathanha are the rock people of the Flinders Ranges. Charlie’s worked all his life for the betterment of his people in a number…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (17:31): The motion is seconded. To the JDRF kids and the Kids in the House program, I’ve got to say, that in the 17 years I’ve been here, I think this is the most effective lobbying campaign we’ve seen. Congratulations JDRF and Mike Wilson on this program. All those blue shirts and…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (10:06): Between the dates of 27 October and 2 November, I was given the great privilege as co-chair of the friends of Morocco at the request of the Moroccan government to lead a delegation to Morocco. One of the reasons I am signed up to be a friend of Morocco is that…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey—Opposition Whip) (16:01): I am an optimistic person. I like to believe in the best of people. The MPI today is: After two and a half years, regional Australians are worse off under this Government. I have said many times that I don’t think members of the Labor Party come here to do harm,…
DetailsMr 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…
Details